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England Bristol

Guide to Bristol history, family history, and genealogy: parish registers, census records, birth records, marriage records, and death records.

HISTORY
Bristol is a very old city. The town of Brycgstow (Old English, "the place at the bridge") appears to have been founded by 1000 and by c.1020 was an important enough trading center to possess its own mint, producing silver pennies bearing the town's name. It was identified as a 'burgh' in the Domesday Book of 1088.

CIVIL ALLOCATION
Early in its history, Bristol was associated with the Shire of Gloucester. Later, it was incorporated into the Shire of Somerset and stayed there for most of its medieval history. Today it is both a county and a city in its own right.

MARITIME CONNECTIONS
Bristol is favorably located on the wide river Severn estuary. This river estuary is known for its high tides, especially when the river contains much 'fresh water' from rains. Because of this, sailing ships could be warped out from the dock, and could then tack easily out to the Irish Sea.

Because of its location, by the 12th century Bristol was an important port, handling much of England's trade with Ireland, including slaves. In 1247 a new stone bridge was built, which was replaced by the current Bristol Bridge in the 1760s, and the town was extended to incorporate neighboring suburbs, becoming in 1373 a county in its own right.

In the 15th century, Bristol was the second most important port in the country. A number of intrepid sailing masters left from Bristol. culminating in John Cabot's 1497 voyage of exploration to North America and the subsequent expeditions undertaken by Bristol merchants to the new world up to 1508.

One of the most heinous aspects of British history was tied to Bristol. Along with Liverpool, it became a center for the Triangular trade between Britain, Africa, and North America. In the first stage of slavery triangle, manufactured goods were taken to West Africa and exchanged for Africans who were then, in the second stage or middle passage, transported across the Atlantic in brutal conditions. The third leg of the triangle brought plantation goods such as sugar, tobacco, rum, rice and cotton back across the Atlantic, along with small number of slaves, who were sold to the aristocracy of Britain as house servants.

During the 19th century Samuel Plimsoll, "the sailor's friend", campaigned to make the seas safer. He was shocked by the number of ships he saw with completely overloaded cargoes, and successfully fought for a compulsory load line on ships. This line is still known today as the "Plimsoll line."

Bristol remained the second port of Britain until the advent of steam driven vessels, obviating the need for a wide estuary to tack. Even today, however, Bristol is an important maritime location.

RELIGION
Parallel to its civic importance, the Diocese of Bristol was founded in 1542,together with the former Abbey of St. Augustine, founded by Robert Fitzharding in 1140. becoming Bristol Cathedral. Traditionally this was equivalent to the town being granted city status, which was granted to Bristol in that year.

AFTER WORLD WAR TWO
Bristol suffered badly from Luftwaffe air raids in World War II, claiming some 1,300 lives of people living and working in the city, with nearly 100,000 buildings being damaged, at least 3,000 of them beyond repair. The original central shopping area, near the bridge and castle, is now a park containing two bombed out churches and some fragments of the castle, kept to remind the citizens of the havoc caused.

INDUSTRY
A large part of the industrial strength of Bristol came from its ability to import raw materials, and to then re-export them. Today, in addition to Bristol's nautical connections, the city's economy relies on the aerospace industry, defense, the media, information technology, financial services and tourism.

CEMETERIES
The following links provide information on the major cemeteries in Bristol:

Arnos Vale Cemetery

Canford Cemetery and Crematorium and Greenbank Cemetery

GENEALOGY RECORDS
Genuki England

Bristol and Bath Genealogy Society

Family Search Bristol Parish Registers

Bristol Community Genealogy

NEWSPAPERS
The Bristol Post This web site includes a huge historical archive, including obituaries.

/7662034.stm Local Bristol Newspapers