Peter Malpass - The Making of Victorian Bristol

THE MAKING OF

VICTORIAN BRISTOL

Overshadowed by more economically vibrant towns of the industrial north, Bristols prospects in 1800 were far from certain. This book provides a detailed account of how Bristol was transformed by a growing population, industrial change, technological innovation and urban expansion over the course of the nineteenth century. It explores the development of the physical fabric of the city, looking at the impact on the landscape of new types of buildings, increased housing and the repurposing of older areas, the growth of manufacturing, and the disruptive technologies of the railways and steam-powered ships. The book examines how the population responded to the opportunities, and challenges, afforded by national economic growth and world trade and which groups had the power to decide what solutions should be adopted. Finally, it considers the growing influence of central government on local decisions in relation to issues such as public health, education and housing. The book offers a distinctive and original contribution not only to the historiography of Bristol, but also to the study of urbanisation in nineteenth-century Britain in general.

PETER MALPASS is Emeritus Professor of Housing and Urban Studies at the University of the West of England, Bristol.

Peter Malpass 2019

All Rights Reserved . Except as permitted under current legislation no part of this work may be photocopied, stored in a retrieval system, published, performed in public, adapted, broadcast, transmitted, recorded or reproduced in any form or by any means, without the prior permission of the copyright owner

The right of Peter Malpass to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

First published 2019

The Boydell Press, Woodbridge

ISBN 978 1 78327 391 1

eISBN 978 1 78744 708 0

The Boydell Press is an imprint of Boydell & Brewer Ltd

PO Box 9, Woodbridge, Suffolk ip12 3df, UK

and of Boydell & Brewer Inc.

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website: www.boydellandbrewer.com

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

The publisher has no responsibility for the continued existence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this book, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate

Outline map of Bristol

Broad Street, in 1824, painted by Edward Cashin, Braikenridge Collection, Bristol Museum and Art Gallery (BMAG), M2335, Bristol Culture Museums, Galleries and Archives

Avon Gorge and Clifton Suspension Bridge, with a fourmasted barque being towed up the river to Bristol, BMAG, Lant93, Bristol Culture Museums, Galleries and Archives

River Frome and St Johns Bridge, BMAG, M2880, Bristol Culture Museums, Galleries and Archives

Weares Buildings, Bedminster, with adjacent tannery, Bristol Archives (BA) PicBox-2-BSt-73a, Bristol Culture Museums, Galleries and Archives

A twentieth-century photo of an unidentified inner-city court, BA PicBox-2-Bst-73b, Bristol Culture Museums, Galleries and Archives

Old cottages, East Street, Bedminster in the early 1890s with the first stage of the Wills factory to the left, BA, PicBox-2-Bst-74, Bristol Culture Museums, Galleries and Archives

Part of the tithe map for St Philip and St Jacob, 1847, showing the area that became Newtown, BA, EP/A/32/10, Bristol Culture Museums, Galleries and Archives

Standard plan of working-class houses, 1851, BA, Building Plans vol. 1, f. 4, Bristol Culture Museums, Galleries and Archives

Pre-1847 houses in Harleston Street, off Stapleton Road, close to Newtown, Bristol Regional Buildings Record (BRBR), Archives and Research Collections, University of Bath Library, 3159

Gas Lane Kingsland Road junction, Samuel Loxton, 1911, Bristol Reference Library (BRL)

Landownership in Bedminster in 1843, BA, EP/A/32/7, Bristol Culture Museums, Galleries and Archives

Landownership in Clifton in 1844, BA, EP/A/32/12, Bristol Culture Museums, Galleries and Archives

Fern Villa and Auckland House, Clifton Down, now home of the Society of Merchant Venturers, picture in the public domain downloaded from the internet

Vyvyan Terrace, BRBR, Archives and Research Collections, University of Bath Library, 757

The heart of Redland, from the Westbury on Trym and Stoke Bishop tithe map, 1841, with some modern road names added, BA, EP/A/32/41, Bristol Culture Museums, Galleries and Archives

Hampton Terrace, Hampton Park, 1840s, photograph P. Malpass

A pair of semi-detached houses on Hampton Park, 1862, photograph P. Malpass

Nettle Lane area of Woolcott Park, 1877, BA, M/BCC/SAN/2/4, Bristol Culture Museums, Galleries and Archives

A pair of houses in Elgin Park, Redland, built by Richard Cosslett in the late 1860s, photograph P. Malpass

Typical Redland house plan, 1871, BA, Building Plans vol. 9, f. 59, Bristol Culture Museums, Galleries and Archives

Bush Warehouse, Narrow Quay, BRBR, Archives and Research Collections, University of Bath Library, 4605

Offices of the Bristol Tines and Mirror in Small Street, before 1867, BRL, L93.11, 2415

West of England and South Wales Bank, Corn Street, 1854, BRL, L33.02

Corn Street, before 1878, featuring St Werburghs Church, BRL

Frys factory on the corner of Union Street and Nelson Street, BMAG, TC3140 Bristol Culture Museums, Galleries and Archives

E. S. and A. Robinsons premises on the corner of Redcliff Street and Victoria Street, BMAG, Pd1520, Bristol Culture Museums, Galleries and Archives

W. D. and H. O. Willss original building, Redcliff Street, BRL

Willss rebuilt Redcliff Street factory, BMAG, PD9959, Bristol Culture Museums, Galleries and Archives

Wait and Jamess granary, Welsh Back, 1869, BMAG, PBAN9376, Bristol Culture Museums, Galleries and Archives

Industrial Redcliff, with Thomas Proctors artificial fertiliser works, BMAG, P10199, Bristol Culture Museums, Galleries and Archives

W. D. and H. O. Willss No. 1 factory, East Street, Bedminster, BA, 42375/5, Bristol Culture Museums, Galleries and Archives

Plan showing the land purchased by the GWR from Bristol Town Council in 1836, BA, 000975 Estate title deeds 256, Bristol Culture Museums, Galleries and Archives

The GWR Temple Meads Terminus from the south-east, 1846, BRL

The interior of the Temple Meads depot, 1846, BRL

The Joint Station at Temple Meads, BRL

Congestion at Welsh Back in the 1870s, BMAG, PBA2304, Bristol Culture Museums, Galleries and Archives

Cumberland Basin locks before 1850, viewed from Rownham Woods, BRL

St Augustines Reach, 1868, BMAG J4787, Bristol Culture Museums, Galleries and Archives

Routes to Clifton

, BRL

Steep Street, BRL

The improved Baldwin Street, looking towards the drawbridge, BRL

Covering the Frome, BA, 42562/Ph/1/1/260, Bristol Culture Museums, Galleries and Archives

Temporary Exhibition Hall constructed over the River Frome, BRL

The Tramway Centre, early 1900s, BA, PicBox-2-Bst-88b, Bristol Culture Museums, Galleries and Archives

The author and publisher are grateful to all the institutions and individuals listed for permission to reproduce the materials in which they hold copyright. Every effort has been made to trace the copyright holders; apologies are offered for any omission, and the publisher will be pleased to add any necessary acknowledgement in subsequent editions.