Bristol

Bristol
City, countyand unitary authority
Clifton Suspension Bridge& Observatory Floating Harbour St Peter's Churchin Castle Park Victoria Rooms The Centre Wills Tower Bristol City Hall
Coat of arms
Motto(s): Virtute et industria (With courage and industry)
Bristol Location of city centrewithin county Show map of Bristol Bristol Location within England Show map of England Bristol Location within the United Kingdom Show map of the United Kingdom Bristol Location in Europe Show map of Europe
Coordinates:51°27′13″N02°35′51″W / 51.45361°N 2.59750°W /51.45361; -2.59750
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Country	England
Region	South West
Royal charter	1155; 869 years ago(1155)[2]
County corporate	1373; 651 years ago(1373)
City status by diocese creation	1542; 482 years ago(1542)
Ceremonial county	1996; 28 years ago(1996)
Status	City,countyandunitary authority
Government
• Type	Unitary authority
• Governingbody	Bristol City Council
•Executive	Labour
•MPs	Carla Denyer(G) Kerry McCarthy(L) Darren Jones(L) Karin Smyth(L) Damien Egan(L)
Area [3] [4]
• City and county	40 sq mi (110 km2)
Elevation [5]	36 ft (11 m)
Population (2021) [7]
• City and county	472,500[1](Ranked10th districtand43rd ceremonial county)
• Density	11,000/sq mi (4,248/km2)
•Urban	707,412[6]
Demonym	Bristolian
Ethnicity(2021) [8]
•Ethnic groups	List 81.1%White 6.6%Asian 5.9%Black 4.5%Mixed 1.9%other
Religion(2021) [8]
•Religion	List 51.4%no religion 32.2%Christianity 9.7%other 6.7%Islam
Time zone	GMT(UTC)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1(BST)
Postcode	BS
Area codes	0117, 01275, 01454
ISO 3166 code	GB-BST
GVA	2017
• Total	£21.2bn ($26.9bn) (4th)
• Growth	1.6%
• Per capita	£33,700 ($42,800) (4th)
• Growth	3.1%
Website	bristol.gov.uk
Click the map for an interactive fullscreen view

Bristol(/ˈbrɪstəl/^ⓘ) is acity,unitary authorityarea andceremonial countyinSouth West England, the most populous city in the region.^[9][10]Built around theRiver Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties ofGloucestershireto the north andSomersetto the south. The county is in theWest of Englandcombined authority area, which includes theGreater Bristolarea (eleventh most populousurban area in the United Kingdom) and nearby places such asBath.^[7]

Iron AgehillfortsandRoman villaswere built near theconfluenceof the riversFromeand Avon. Bristol received aroyal charterin 1155 and washistoricallydivided between Gloucestershire and Somerset until 1373 when it became acounty corporate. From the 13th to the 18th century, Bristol was among the top three English cities, after London, in tax receipts. A majorport, Bristol was a starting place for early voyages of exploration to the New World. At the height of theBristol slave trade, from 1700 to 1807, more than 2,000 slave ships carried an estimated 500,000 people from Africa to slavery in the Americas. ThePort of Bristolhas since moved fromBristol Harbourin the city centre to theSevern EstuaryatAvonmouthandRoyal Portbury Dock.

The city's modern economy is built on the creative media, electronics andaerospaceindustries; the city-centre docks have been redeveloped as cultural and heritage centres. There are a variety of artistic and sporting organisations and venues including theRoyal West of England Academy, theArnolfini,Ashton Gateand theMemorial Stadium. The city has two universities; theUniversity of Bristoland theUniversity of the West of England(UWE Bristol). It is connected to the world byBristol Airport; to the rest of theGreat BritainviaBristol Temple MeadsandBristol Parkwaymainline rail stations; by road by both the south-west toWest MidlandsM5and the London to South WalesM4(which connect to the city centre by thePortwayandM32).

Bristol was named the best city in Britain in which to live in 2014 and 2017; it won theEuropean Green Capital Awardin 2015.

Early recorded place names in the Bristol area include the Roman-eraBritish CelticAbona(derived from the name of theAvon) and thearchaic WelshCaer Odor('fort on the chasm'), which may have beencalquedas the modern EnglishClifton.^[11][12]

The current name "Bristol" derives from theOld EnglishformBrycgstow, typically etymologised as 'place at the bridge';^[13]"the place called Bridge by the place called Stow" has also been suggested, the Stow in question referring to an early religious meeting place at what is nowCollege Green.^[14]However, other derivations have been proposed.^[15]The formBricstowprevailed until 1204,^[16]and theBristolian 'L'(the tendency for the local dialect to add the sound "L" to many words ending in a neutral vowel) is what eventually changed the name toBristol.^[17]The original form of the name survives as the surnameBristow, which is derived from the city.^[18]

Archaeologicalfinds, including flint tools believed to be between 300,000 and 126,000years old made with theLevallois technique, indicate the presence ofNeanderthalsin theShirehamptonandSt Annesareas of Bristol during theMiddle Palaeolithic.^[19]Iron Agehill fortsnear the city are atLeigh WoodsandClifton Down, on the side of theAvon Gorge, and onKings Weston HillnearHenbury.^[20]ARomansettlement, Abona,^[21]existed at what is nowSea Mills(connected toBathby aRoman road); another was at the present-dayInns Court. IsolatedRoman villasand smallfortsand settlements were also scattered throughout the area.^[22]

Bristol was founded by 1000; by about 1020, it was a trading centre with amintproducing silver pennies bearing its name.^[23]By 1067, Brycgstow was a well-fortifiedburh, and that year the townsmen beat back a raiding party from Ireland led by three ofHarold Godwinson's sons.^[23]UnderNormanrule, the town had one of the strongestcastlesinsouthern England.^[24]Bristol was the place of exile forDiarmait Mac Murchada, the Irishking of Leinster, after being overthrown. The Bristol merchants subsequently played a prominent role in fundingRichard Strongbow de Clareand theNorman invasion of Ireland.^[25]

The port developed in the 11th century around the confluence of theRivers FromeandAvon, adjacent toBristol Bridgejust outside the town walls.^[27]By the 12th century, there was an importantJewishcommunity in Bristol which survived through to the late 13th century when all Jews wereexpelledfrom England.^[28]The stone bridge built in 1247 was replaced by the current bridge during the 1760s.^[29]The town incorporated neighbouring suburbs and became acountyin 1373,^[30]the first town in England to be given this status.^[31][32][33]During this period, Bristol became a shipbuilding and manufacturing centre.^[34]By the 14th century, Bristol,YorkandNorwichwere England's largestmedievaltowns after London.^[35]One-third to one-half of the population died in theBlack Deathof 1348–49,^[36]which checked population growth, and its population remained between 10,000 and 12,000 for most of the 15th and 16th centuries.^[37]

During the 15th century, Bristol was the second most important port in the country, trading with Ireland,^[38]Iceland^[39]andGascony.^[34]It was the starting point for many voyages, includingRobert Sturmy's (1457–58) unsuccessful attempt to break the Italianmonopolyof Eastern Mediterranean trade.^[40]New exploration voyages were launched by VenetianJohn Cabot, who in 1497 made landfall in North America.^[41]A 1499 voyage, led by merchantWilliam Westonof Bristol, was the first expedition commanded by an Englishman toNorth America.^[42]During the first decade of the 16th century Bristol's merchants undertook a series of exploration voyages to North America and even founded a commercial organisation, 'The Company Adventurers to the New Found Land', to assist their endeavours.^[43]However, they seem to have lost interest in North America after 1509, having incurred great expenses and made little profit.

During the 16th century, Bristol merchants concentrated on developing trade with Spain and its American colonies.^[44]This included thesmugglingof prohibited goods, such as food and guns, to Iberia^[45]during theAnglo-Spanish War (1585–1604).^[46]Bristol's illicit trade grew enormously after 1558, becoming integral to its economy.^[47]

The originalDiocese of Bristolwas founded in 1542,^[48]when the formerAbbeyofSt. Augustine(founded byRobert Fitzhardingfour hundred years earlier)^[49]becameBristol Cathedral. Bristol also gainedcitystatus that year.^[50]In the 1640's, during theEnglish Civil War,the citywas occupied byRoyalists, who built theRoyal Fort Houseon the site of an earlierParliamentarianstronghold.^[51]

Fishermen from Bristol, who had fished theGrand Banks of Newfoundlandsince the 16th century,^[52]began settling Newfoundland permanently in larger numbers during the 17th century, establishing colonies atBristol's HopeandCuper's Cove. Growth of the city and trade came with the rise of England'sAmerican coloniesin the 17th century. Bristol's location on the west side of Great Britain gave its ships an advantage in sailing to and from the New World, and the city's merchants made the most of it, with the city becoming one of the two leading outports in all of England by the middle of the 18th century.^[53]Bristol was the slave capital of England: In 1755, it had the largest number of slave traders in the country with 237, as against London's 147.^[54]It was a major supplier of slaves toSouth Carolinabefore 1750.^[55]

The 18th century saw an expansion of Bristol's population (45,000 in 1750)^[56]and its role in theAtlantic tradein Africans taken forslaveryto the Americas. Bristol and laterLiverpoolbecame centres of theTriangular Trade.^[57]Manufactured goods were shipped to West Africa and exchanged for Africans; the enslaved captives were transported across the Atlantic to the Americas in theMiddle Passageunder brutal conditions.^[58]Plantation goods such as sugar, tobacco, rum, rice, cotton and a few slaves (sold to the aristocracy as house servants) returned across the Atlantic to England.^[58]Some household slaves were baptised in the hope this would lead them to be freed. TheSomersett Caseof 1772 clarified that slavery was illegal in England.^[59]At the height of theBristol slave tradefrom 1700 to 1807, more than 2,000 slave ships carried a conservatively estimated 500,000 people from Africa to slavery in the Americas.^[60]

In 1739,John Wesleyfounded the firstMethodistchapel, theNew Room, in Bristol.^[61]Wesley, along with his brotherCharles WesleyandGeorge Whitefield, preached to large congregations in Bristol and the neighbouring village ofKingswood, often in the open air.^[62][63]

Wesley published a pamphlet on slavery, titledThoughts Upon Slavery,in 1774^[64]and theSociety of Friendsbegan lobbying against slavery in Bristol in 1783. The city's scions remained nonetheless strongly anti-abolitionist.Thomas Clarksoncame to Bristol to study the slave trade and gained access to theSociety of Merchant Venturersrecords.^[65]One of his contacts was the owner of theSeven Starspublic house, who boarded sailors Clarkson sought to meet. Through these sailors he was able to observe how slaver captains and first mates "plied and stupefied seamen with drink" to sign them up.^[65][66]Other informants included ship surgeons and seamen seeking redress. WhenWilliam Wilberforcebegan his parliamentary abolition campaign on 12 May 1788, he recalled the history of theIrish slave tradefrom Bristol, which he provocatively claimed continued into the reign ofHenry VII.^[65]Hannah More, originally from Bristol, and a good friend of both Wilberforce and Clarkson, published "Slavery, A Poem" in 1788, just as Wilberforce began his parliamentary campaign.^[67]His major speech on 2 April 1792 likewise described the Bristol slave trade specifically, and led to the arrest, trial and subsequent acquittal of a local slaver captain named Kimber.^[65]

The city was associated with Victorian engineerIsambard Kingdom Brunel, who designed theGreat Western Railwaybetween Bristol andLondon Paddington, two pioneering Bristol-built oceangoingsteamships(SSGreat BritainandSSGreat Western), and theClifton Suspension Bridge. The new railway replaced theKennet and Avon Canal, which had fully opened in 1810 as the main route for the transport of goods between Bristol and London.^[68]Competition from Liverpool (beginning around 1760), disruptions of maritime commerce due to war with France (1793) and the abolition of the slave trade (1807) contributed to Bristol's failure to keep pace with the newer manufacturing centres ofNorthern Englandand theWest Midlands. The tidal Avon Gorge, which had secured the port during the Middle Ages, had become a liability. An 1804–09 plan to improve the city's port with afloating harbourdesigned byWilliam Jessopwas a costly error, requiring high harbour fees.^[69]

During the 19th century,Samuel Plimsoll, known as "the sailor's friend", campaigned to make the seas safer; shocked by overloaded vessels, he successfully fought for a compulsoryload lineon ships.^[70]

By 1867, ships were getting larger and the meanders in the river Avon prevented boats over 300 ft (90 m) from reaching the harbour, resulting in falling trade.^[71]The port facilities were migrating downstream toAvonmouthand new industrial complexes were founded there.^[72]Some of the traditional industries including copper and brass manufacture went into decline,^[73]but the import and processing oftobaccoflourished with the expansion of theW.D. & H.O. Willsbusiness.^[74]

Supported by new industry and growing commerce, Bristol's population (66,000 in 1801), quintupled during the 19th century,^[75]resulting in the creation of new suburbs such asCliftonandCotham. These provide architectural examples from the Georgian to the Regency style, with many fine terraces and villas facing the road, and at right angles to it. In the early 19th century, the romanticmedievalgothicstyle appeared, partially as a reaction against thesymmetryofPalladianism, and can be seen in buildings such as theBristol City Museum and Art Gallery,^[76]theRoyal West of England Academy,^[77]andThe Victoria Rooms.^[78]Riotsbroke out in 1793^[79]and 1831; the first over the renewal oftollson Bristol Bridge, and the second against the rejection of the secondReform Billby theHouse of Lords.^[80]The population by 1841 had reached 140,158.^[81]

The Diocese of Bristol had undergone several boundary changes by 1897 when it was "reconstituted" into the configuration which has lasted into the 21st century.^[82]

From a population of about 330,000 in 1901, Bristol grew steadily during the 20th century, peaking at 428,089 in 1971.^[83]Its Avonmouth docklands were enlarged during the early 1900s by the Royal Edward Dock.^[84]Another new dock, theRoyal Portbury Dock, opened across the river from Avonmouth during the 1970s.^[85]As air travel grew in the first half of the century, aircraft manufacturers built factories.^[86]The unsuccessfulBristol International Exhibitionwas held on Ashton Meadows in theBower Ashtonarea in 1914.^[87]After the premature closure of the exhibition the site was used, until 1919, asbarracksfor theGloucestershire RegimentduringWorld War I.^[88][89]

Bristol was heavily damaged by Luftwaffe raidsduringWorld War II; about 1,300 people living or working in the city were killed and nearly 100,000 buildings were damaged, at least 3,000 beyond repair.^[90][91]The original central shopping area, near the bridge and castle,is now a parkcontaining two bombed churches and fragments of the castle. A third bomb-damaged church nearby,St Nicholaswas restored and after a period as a museum has now re-opened as a church.^[92]It houses a 1756William Hogarthtriptychpainted for the high altar ofSt Mary Redcliffe. The church also has statues ofKing Edward I(moved fromArno's Court Triumphal Arch) andKing Edward III(taken from Lawfords' Gate in the city walls when they were demolished about 1760), and 13th-century statues ofRobert, 1st Earl of Gloucester(builder ofBristol Castle)^[93]andGeoffrey de Montbray(who built the city's walls) from Bristol'sNewgate.^[94]

The rebuilding ofBristol city centrewas characterised by 1960s and 1970sskyscrapers,mid-century modernarchitecture androad building. Beginning in the 1980s somemain roads were closed, theGeorgian-eraQueen SquareandPortland Squarewere restored, theBroadmeadshopping area regenerated, and one of the city centre's tallest mid-century towers was demolished.^[95]Bristol's road infrastructure changed dramatically during the 1960s and 1970s with the development of theM4andM5 motorways, which meet at theAlmondsbury Interchangejust north of the city and link Bristol with London (M4 eastbound),Swansea(M4 westbound across theSevern Estuary),Exeter(M5 southbound) andBirmingham(M5 northbound).^[96]Bristol was bombed twice by theIRA, in1974and again in1978.^[97]

The 20th-century relocation of the docks toAvonmouth DocksandRoyal Portbury Dock, 7 mi (11 km) downstream from the city centre, has allowed the redevelopment of the old dock area (the Floating Harbour).^[98]Although the docks' existence was once in jeopardy (since the area was seen as a derelict industrial site), the inaugural 1996International Festival of the Seaheld in and around the docks affirmed the area as a leisure asset of the city.^[99]

From 2018, there were lively discussions about a new explicative plaque under a commemorative statue of one of the city's major benefactors in the 17th and 18th centuries. The plaque was meant to replace an original which made no reference toEdward Colston's past with theRoyal African Companyand theBristol Slave Trade.^[100]On 7 June 2020 astatue of Colstonwas pulled down from its plinth by protestors and pushed into Bristol Harbour.^[101]The statue was recovered on 11 June and has become a museum exhibit.^[102]

Bristol City council consists of 70 councillors representing 34 wards, with between one and three per ward serving four-year terms.^[103]As of May 2024, No party has an overall controlling majority, butGreen Partyare the largest group on the council.

Political makeup of the council ^[104]

Party	Councillors
Green Party	34
Labour Party	21
Liberal Democrats	8
Conservative Party	7

Between 2012 and 2024, the council was led by a directly elected mayor, theMayor of Bristol. The post was abolished following a 2022 referendum, in which voters chose to replace it with a council committee system.^[105][106]

Thelord mayor of Bristolis a figurehead elected each May by the city council. The lord mayor is Councillor Paul Goggin.^[107]

In theHouse of Commons, Bristol is represented by 5 constituencies,East,North East,North West,South, andCentral.^[108]

The city has a tradition of political activism.Edmund Burke, MP for theBristol constituencyfor six years beginning in 1774, insisted that he was a Member of Parliament first and a representative of his constituents' interests second.^[109][110]Women's-rights advocateEmmeline Pethick-Lawrence(1867–1954) was born in Bristol,^[111]and theleft-wingerTony Bennserved as MP forBristol South Eastin 1950–1960 and again from 1963 to 1983.^[112]In 1963 theBristol Bus Boycott, following theBristol Omnibus Company's refusal to hire black drivers and conductors, drove the passage of the UK's 1965Race Relations Act.^[113]The1980 St. Pauls riotprotested against racism and police harassment and showed mounting dissatisfaction with the socioeconomic circumstances of the city's Afro-Caribbean residents. Local support offair tradewas recognised in 2005, when Bristol became afairtrade zone.^[114]

Bristol is both a city and a county, sinceKing Edward IIIgranted it a county charter in 1373.^[30]The county was expanded in 1835 to include suburbs such asClifton, and it was named acounty boroughin 1889 when that designation was introduced.^[32]

On 1 April 1974, Bristol became a local government district of the county ofAvon.^[115]On 1 April 1996, Avon was abolished and Bristol became aunitary authority.^[116]

The former Avon area, calledGreater Bristolby the Government Office of the South West (now abolished) and others,^[117]refers to the city and the three neighbouring local authorities—Bath and North East Somerset,North SomersetandSouth Gloucestershirepreviously in Avon.

TheNorth Fringe of Bristol, a developed area between the Bristol city boundary and the M4, M5 and M32 motorways (now in South Gloucestershire) was so named as part of a 1987planprepared by theNorthavonDistrict Council of Avon county.^[118]

TheWest of England Combined Authoritywas created on 9 February 2017.^[119]Covering Bristol and the rest of the old Avon county with the exception of North Somerset, the newcombined authorityhas responsibility for regional planning, roads, and local transport, and to a lesser extent, education and business investment. The authority is led by theMayor of the West of England,Dan Norris.

Bristol's boundaries can be defined in several ways, including those of the city itself, the developed area, orGreater Bristol.

Thecity councilboundary is the narrowest definition of the city itself. However, it unusually includes a large, roughly rectangular section of the westernSevern Estuaryending at (but not including) the islands ofFlat Holm(inCardiff, Wales) andSteep Holm.^[120]This "seaward extension" can be traced back to the original boundary of the County of Bristol laid out in the charter^[121]granted to the city byEdward IIIin 1373.^[122]

TheOffice for National Statistics(ONS) has defined aBristol Urban Area, which includes developed areas adjoining Bristol but outside the city-council boundary, such asKingswood,Mangotsfield,Stoke Gifford,Winterbourne,Almondsbury,Easton in Gordano,Whitchurchvillage,Filton,PatchwayandBradley Stoke, but excludes undeveloped areas within that boundary.^[123]

Bristol lies within alimestonearea running from theMendip Hillsin the south to theCotswoldsin the northeast.^[124]The rivers Avon and Frome cut through the limestone to the underlying clay, creating Bristol's characteristically hilly landscape. The Avon flows from Bath in the east, throughflood plainsand areas which were marshes before the city's growth. To the west the Avon cuts through the limestone to form the Avon Gorge, formed largely by glacial meltwater after thelast ice age.^[125]

The gorge, which helped protect Bristol Harbour, has been quarried for stone to build the city, and its surrounding land has been protected from development asThe Downsand Leigh Woods. The Avonestuaryand the gorge form the county boundary withNorth Somerset, and the river flows into theSevern EstuaryatAvonmouth. A smaller gorge, cut by theHazel Brookwhich flows into theRiver Trym, crosses theBlaise Castleestate in northern Bristol.^[125]

Bristol is sometimes described, by its inhabitants, as being built on seven hills, like Rome. From 18th-century guidebooks, these 7 hills were known as simply Bristol (the Old Town), Castle Hill, College Green, Kingsdown, St Michaels Hill,Brandon Hilland Redcliffe Hill.^[126]Other local hills include Red Lion Hill,Barton Hill,Lawrence Hill, Black Boy Hill, Constitution Hill,Staple Hill,Windmill Hill, Malborough Hill, Nine Tree Hill, Talbot, Brook Hill and Granby Hill.

Bristol is 106 mi (171 km) west of London, 77 mi (124 km) south-southwest ofBirminghamand 26 mi (42 km) east of the Welsh capitalCardiff. Areas adjoining the city fall within a loosely defined area known asGreater Bristol.Bathis located 11 mi (18 km) south east of the city centre,Weston-super-Mareis 18 mi (29 km) to the south west and the Welsh city ofNewportis 19 mi (31 km) to the north west.

The climate isoceanic(Köppen:Cfb), milder than most places in England and United Kingdom.^[127][128]Located in southern England, Bristol is one of the warmest cities in the UK with a mean annual temperature of approximately 10.5 °C (50.9 °F).^[129][130]It is among the sunniest, with 1,541–1,885hours of sunshine per year.^[131]Although the city is partially sheltered by the Mendip Hills, it is exposed to the Severn Estuary and theBristol Channel. Rain is fairly evenly distributed throughout the year, with autumn and winter the wetter seasons. The Atlantic Ocean influences Bristol's weather, keeping its average temperature above freezing throughout the year, but winter frosts are frequent and snow occasionally falls from early November to late April. Summers are warm and drier, with variable sunshine, rain and clouds, and spring weather is unsettled.^[132][133]

The weather stations nearest Bristol for which long-term climate data are available are Long Ashton (about 5 mi (8 km) south west of the city centre) and Bristol Weather Station, in the city centre. Data collection at these locations ended in 2002 and 2001, respectively, and following the closure of Filton Airfield, Almondsbury is the nearest weather station to the city.^[134]Temperatures at Long Ashton from 1959 to 2002 ranged from 33.5 °C (92.3 °F) in July 1976^[135]to −14.4 °C (6.1 °F) in January 1982.^[136]Monthly high temperatures since 2002 at Filton exceeding those recorded at Long Ashton include 25.7 °C (78.3 °F) in April 2003,^[137]34.5 °C (94.1 °F) in July 2006^[138]and 26.8 °C (80.2 °F) in October 2011.^[139]The lowest recent temperature at Filton was −10.1 °C (13.8 °F) in December 2010.^[140]Although large cities in general experience anurban heat islandeffect, with warmer temperatures than their surrounding rural areas, this phenomenon is minimal in Bristol.^[141]

Bristol was ranked as Britain's most sustainable city (based on its environmental performance, quality of life,future-proofingand approaches to climate change, recycling and biodiversity), topping environmental charityForum for the Future's 2008Sustainable CitiesIndex.^[144][145]Local initiatives includeSustrans(creators of theNational Cycle Network, founded as Cyclebag in 1977)^[146]and Resourcesaver, a non-profit business established in 1988 by Avon Friends of the Earth.^[147]In 2014The Sunday Timesnamed it as the best city in Britain in which to live.^[148]The city received the 2015European Green Capital Award, becoming the first UK city to receive this award.^[149]

In 2019 Bristol City Council voted in favour of banning all privately owneddiesel carsfrom the city centre.^[150]Since then, the plans have been revised in favour of aclean air zonewhereby older and more polluting vehicles will be charged to drive through the city centre. The Clean Air Zone came into effect in November 2022.^[151]

The city has green belt mainly along its southern fringes, taking in small areas within theAshton Court Estate, South Bristol crematorium and cemetery, High Ridge common and Whitchurch, with a further area around Frenchay Farm. The belt extends outside the city boundaries into surrounding counties and districts, for several miles in places, to afford a protection fromurban sprawlto surrounding villages and towns.

Bristol population data

Year	Population	Year	Population
1377	9,518[152]	1901	323,698[83]
1607	10,549[153]	1911	352,178[83]
1700	20,000[83]	1921	367,831[83]
1801	68,944[83]	1931	384,204[83]
1811	83,922[83]	1941	402,839[83]
1821	99,151[83]	1951	422,399[83]
1831	120,789[83]	1961	425,214[83]
1841	144,803[83]	1971	428,089[83]
1851	159,945[83]	1981	384,883[83]
1861	194,229[83]	1991	396,559[83]
1871	228,513[83]	2001	380,615[83]
1881	262,797[83]	2012	432,500[154]
1891	297,525[83]	2017	459,300[155]

According to the2011 census, 84% of the population wasWhite(77.9%White British, 0.9%White Irish, 0.1%GypsyorIrish Travellersand 5.1%Other White); 3.6%mixed-race(1.7% white-and-black Caribbean, 0.4% white-and-black African, 0.8% white and Asian and 0.7% other mixed); 5.5%Asian(1.6%Pakistani, 1.5%Indian, 0.9%Chinese, 0.5%Bangladeshi, and 1% other Asian); 6%Black(2.8% African, 1.6%Caribbean, 1.6%Other Black), 0.3%Araband 0.6% with other heritage. Bristol is unusual among major British towns and cities in its larger black than Asian population.^[156]These statistics apply to the Bristol Unitary Authority area, excluding areas of the urban area (2006 estimated population 587,400) in South Gloucestershire, Bath and North East Somerset (BANES) and North Somerset—such as Kingswood, Mangotsfield, Filton and Warmley.^[83]56.2% of the 209,995 Bristol residents who are employed commute to work using either a car, van, motorbike or taxi, 2.2% commute by rail and 9.8% by bus, while 19.6% walk.^[157]

The Runnymede Trust found in 2017 that Bristol "ranked 7th out of the 348 districts of England & Wales (1=worst) on the Index of Multiple Inequality."^[158]In terms of employment, the report found that "ethnic minorities are disadvantaged compared to white British people nationally, but this is to a greater extent in Bristol, particularly for black groups." Black people in Bristol experience the 3rd highest level of educational inequality in England and Wales.^[158]

The population ofBristol's contiguous urban areawas put at 551,066 by the ONS based on Census 2001 data.^[159]In 2006 the ONS estimated Bristol's urban-area population at 587,400,^[160]making it England's sixth-most populous city and tenth-most populous urban area.^[159]At 3,599/km²(9,321/sq mi) it has the seventh-highest population density of any English district.^[161]According to data from 2019, the urban area has the 11th-largest population in the UK with a population of 670,000.^[162]

In 2007 theEuropean Spatial Planning Observation Network(ESPON) defined Bristol'sfunctional urban areaas including Weston-super-Mare, Bath and Clevedon with a total population of 1.04 million, the twelfth largest of the UK.^[163]

Bristol has a long history of trade, originally exporting wool cloth and importing fish, wine, grain and dairy products;^[164]later imports were tobacco, tropical fruits and plantation goods. Major imports are motor vehicles, grain, timber,produceand petroleum products.^[165]

The city's economy also relies on theaerospace, defence, media, information technology, financial services and tourism industries.^[166][167]TheMinistry of Defence(MoD)'s Procurement Executive, later known as theDefence Procurement AgencyandDefence Equipment and Support, moved to its headquarters to Abbey Wood, Filton, in 1995. This organisation, with a staff of 12,000 to 13,000, procures and supports MoD equipment.^[168]One of the UK's most popular tourist destinations, Bristol was selected in 2009 as one of the world's top-ten cities by international travel publishersDorling Kindersleyin theirEyewitnessguides for young adults.^[169]

Bristol is one of the eight-largest regional English cities that make up theCore Cities Group, and is ranked as a Gamma levelglobal cityby theGlobalization and World Cities Research Network, the fourth-highest-ranked English city.^[170]In 2017 Bristol'sgross domestic productwas £88.448billion.^[171][172]Itsper capitaGDP was £46,000 ($65,106, €57,794), which was some 65% above the national average, the third-highest of any English city (after London andNottingham) and the sixth-highest of any city in the United Kingdom (behind London,Edinburgh, Glasgow,Belfastand Nottingham).^[171]According to the 2011 census, Bristol's unemployment rate (claimingJobseeker's Allowance) was three per cent, compared with two per cent forSouth West Englandand the national average of four per cent.^[173]

Although Bristol's economy no longer relies upon itsport, which was moved to docks at Avonmouth during the 1870s^[174]and to the Royal Portbury Dock in 1977 as ship size increased, it is the largest importer of cars to the UK. Until 1991, the port was publicly owned; it is leased, with £330million invested and its annual tonnage increasing from 3.9million long tons (4million tonnes) to 11.8million (12million).^[175]Tobacco importing and cigarette manufacturing have ceased, but the importation of wine and spirits continues.^[176]

The financial services sector employs 59,000 in the city,^[177]and 50 micro-electronics and silicon design companies employ about 5,000. In 1983Hewlett-Packardopened its national research laboratory in Bristol.^[178][179]In 2014 the city was ranked seventh in the "top 10 UK destinations" byTripAdvisor.^[180]

During the 20th century, Bristol's manufacturing activities expanded to include aircraft production at Filton by theBristol Aeroplane Companyand aircraft-engine manufacturing by Bristol Aero Engines (laterRolls-Royce) at Patchway. Bristol Aeroplane was known for their World War IBristol Fighter^[181]and World War IIBlenheimandBeaufighterplanes.^[181]During the 1950s they were a major English manufacturer of civilian aircraft, known for theFreighter,BritanniaandBrabazon. The company diversified into automobile manufacturing during the 1940s, producing hand-built,luxuryBristol Carsat their factory in Filton, and the Bristol Cars company was spun off in 1960.^[182]The city also gave its name to Bristol buses, which were manufactured in the city from 1908 to 1983: by Bristol Tramways until 1955, and from 1955 to 1983 byBristol Commercial Vehicles.^[183]

Filton played a key role in the Anglo-FrenchConcordesupersonic airliner project during the 1960s. The British Concorde prototype made its maiden flight from Filton toRAF Fairfordon 9 April 1969, five weeks after the French test flight.^[184]In 2003British AirwaysandAir Francedecided to discontinue Concorde flights, retiring the aircraft to locations (primarily museums) worldwide. On 26 November 2003 Concorde 216 made the final Concorde flight, returning toBristol Filton Airportas the centrepiece of a proposed air museum which is planned to include the existing Bristol Aero collection (including a Bristol Britannia).^[185]

The aerospace industry remains a major sector of the local economy.^[186]Major aerospace companies in Bristol includeBAE Systems, a merger ofMarconi Electronic SystemsandBAe(the latter a merger of BAC, Hawker Siddeley and Scottish Aviation).Airbus^[187]and Rolls-Royce are also based at Filton, and aerospace engineering is an area of research at the University of the West of England. Another aviation company in the city isCameron Balloons, who manufacturehot air balloons;^[188]each August the city hosts theBristol International Balloon Fiesta, one of Europe's largest hot-air balloon festivals.^[189]

In 2005 Bristol was named by the UK government one of England's six science cities.^[190][191]A £500million shopping centre,Cabot Circus, opened in 2008 amidst predictions by developers and politicians that the city would become one of England's top ten retail destinations.^[192]TheBristol Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone, focused on creative, high-tech and low-carbon industries aroundBristol Temple Meads railway station,^[193]was announced in 2011^[194]and launched the following year.^[193]The 70 ha (170-acre)Urban Enterprise Zonehas streamlinedplanning proceduresand reducedbusiness rates. Rates generated by the zone are channelled to five other designated enterprise areas in the region:^[195]Avonmouth, Bath,Bristol and Bath Science Parkin Emersons Green, Filton, and Weston-super-Mare. Bristol is the only big city whose wealth per capita is higher than that of Britain as a whole. With a highly skilled workforce drawn from its universities, Bristol claims to have the largest cluster of computer chip designers and manufacturers outside Silicon Valley^{[citation needed]}. The wider region has one of the biggest aerospace hubs in the UK, centred on Airbus, Rolls-Royce and GKN at Filton airfield.^[196]

Between 2012 and 2020, the city had the largest circulatingcommunity currencyin the UK, theBristol Pound, which waspeggedto thepound sterlingbefore it ceased operation.

Bristol has a thriving arts scene. Some of the modern venues and modern digital production companies have merged with legacy production companies based in old buildings around the city. In 2008 the city was a finalist for the 2008European Capital of Culture, although the title was awarded to Liverpool.^[197]The city was designated "City of Film" byUNESCOin 2017 and has been a member of theCreative Cities Networksince then.^[198]

TheBristol Old Vic, founded in 1946 as an offshoot ofThe Old Vicin London, occupies the 1766 Theatre Royal (607 seats) onKing Street; the 150-seat New Vic (a studio-type theatre), and a foyer and bar in the adjacent Coopers' Hall (built in 1743). The Theatre Royal, a grade Ilisted building,^[199][200]is the oldest continuously operating theatre in England.^[201]TheBristol Old Vic Theatre School(which originated in King Street) is a separate company, and theBristol Hippodromeis a 1,951-seat theatre for national touring productions. Other smaller theatres include theTobacco Factory,QEH, the Redgrave Theatre atClifton College, The Wardrobe Theatre, Bristol Improv Theatre, and the Alma Tavern. Bristol's theatre scene features several companies as well as the Old Vic, includingShow of Strength,Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factoryand Travelling Light. Theatre Bristol is a partnership between the city council,Arts Council Englandand local residents to develop the city's theatre industry.^[202]Several organisations support Bristol theatre; the Residence (an artist-led community) provides office, social and rehearsal space for theatre and performance companies,^[203]andEquityhas a branch in the city.^[204]

The city has many venues for live music, its largest the 2,000-seatBristol Beacon, previously Colston Hall, named afterEdward Colston. Others include theBristol Academy,The Fleece,The Croft, the Exchange, Fiddlers, theVictoria Rooms, Rough Trade,Trinity Centre,St George's Bristoland several pubs, from the jazz-orientedThe Old Duketo rock at the Fleece andindiebands at the Louisiana.^[205][206]In 2010PRS for Musiccalled Bristol the UK's most musical city, based on the number of its members born there relative to the city's population.^[207]

Since the late 1970s Bristol has been home to bands combiningpunk,funk,dubandpolitical consciousness. Withtrip hopandBristol Soundartists such asTricky,^[208]Portishead^[209]andMassive Attack,^[210]thelist of bands from Bristolis extensive. The city is a stronghold ofdrum and bass, with artists such asRoni Size'sMercury Prize-winningReprazent,^[211]asDJ Krust,^[212]More Rockers^[213]andTC.^[214]Musicians were at the centre of the broader Bristol urban-culture scene which received international media attention during the 1990s.^[215]The Downs Festivalis also a yearly occurrence where both local and well-known bands play. Since its inception in 2016, it has become a major event in the city.

TheBristol Museum and Art Galleryhouses a collection encompassingnatural history, archaeology, local glassware,Chinese ceramicsand art. TheM Shedmuseum opened in 2011 on the site of the formerBristol Industrial Museum.^[216]Both are operated by Bristol Culture and Creative Industries, which also runs three historic houses—theTudor Red Lodge, theGeorgian HouseandBlaise Castle House; andBristol Archives.^[217]The 18th- and 19th-century portrait painterThomas Lawrence, 19th-century architectFrancis Greenway(designer of many of Sydney's first buildings) were born in the city. ThegraffitiartistBanksyis believed to be from Bristol, and many of his works are on display in the city.

TheWatershed Media CentreandArnolfini gallery(both in dockside warehouses) exhibit contemporary art, photography and cinema, and the city's oldest gallery is at theRoyal West of England Academyin Clifton.^[218]The nomadicAntlers Galleryopened in 2010, moving into empty spaces onPark Street, onWhiteladies Roadand in the Purifier House on Bristol's Harbourside.^[219]Stop-motionanimation films and commercials (produced byAardman Animations) are made in Bristol, such asWallace and GromitandChicken Run, while Aardman has also branched out into computer-animation, such asArthur Christmas.^[220][221]Robert Newton,Bobby Driscolland other cast members of the 1950Walt DisneyfilmTreasure Island(some scenes were filmed along theharbourside) visited the city along with Disney himself. Bristol is home to theregional headquartersofBBC Westand theBBC Natural History Unit.^[222]Locations in and around Bristol have featured in the BBC's natural-history programmes, includingAnimal Magic(filmed atBristol Zoo).^[223]

Bristol is the birthplace of 18th-century poetsRobert Southey^[224]andThomas Chatterton.^[225]Southey (born onWine Streetin 1774) and his friend,Samuel Taylor Coleridge, married the Fricker sisters from the city.^[226]William Wordsworthspent time in Bristol,^[227]whereJoseph CottlepublishedLyrical Balladsin 1798. ActorCary Grantwas born in Bristol, and comedians from the city includeJustin Lee Collins,^[228]Lee Evans,^[229]Russell Howard^[230]and writer-comedianStephen Merchant.^[231]

The authorJohn Betjemanwrote a poem called "Bristol".^[232]It begins:

Green upon the flooded Avon shone the after-storm-wet-sky,
Quick the struggling withy branches let the leaves of autumn fly,
And a star shone over Bristol, wonderfully far and high.

—  John Betjeman, Bristol

Bristol has 51Grade I,^[200]500Grade II*and over 3,800Grade II listedbuildings^[233]in a variety ofarchitecturalstyles, frommedievalto modern. During the mid-19th centuryBristol Byzantine, a style unique to the city, was developed, and several examples have survived. Buildings from mostarchitectural periodsof the United Kingdom can be seen in the city. Surviving elements of the fortifications and castle date to the medieval period,^[234]and the Church of St James dates back to the 12th century.^[235]

The oldest Grade I listed buildings in Bristol are religious.St James' Priorywas founded in 1129 as aBenedictinepriory by EarlRobertof Gloucester, the illegitimate son ofHenry I.^[236]The second-oldest isBristol Cathedraland its associatedGreat Gatehouse.^[237]Founded in 1140 as anAugustinianmonastery, the church became the seat of thebishopand cathedral of the new Diocese of Bristol in 1542. Most of the medieval stonework, particularly the Elder Lady Chapel, is made from limestone taken from quarries aroundDundryandFeltonwithBath stonebeing used in other areas.^[238]Amongst the other churches included in the list is the 12th-centurySt Mary Redcliffewhich is the tallest building in Bristol. The church was described byQueen Elizabeth Ias "the fairest, goodliest, and most famous parish church in England."^[239]

Secular buildings includeThe Red Lodge, built in 1580 for John Yonge as alodgefor a larger house that once stood on the site of the presentBristol Beacon(previously known as Colston Hall). It was subsequently added to inGeorgiantimes and restored in the early 20th century.^[240]St Bartholomew's Hospitalis a 12th-century town house which was incorporated into a monastery hospital founded in 1240 bySir John la Warr, 2nd Baron De La Warr(c. 1277–1347), and becameBristol Grammar Schoolfrom 1532 to 1767, and thenQueen Elizabeth's Hospital1767–1847. The round piers predate the hospital, and may come from an aisled hall, the earliest remains of domestic architecture in the city, which was then adapted to form the hospital chapel.^[241]Three 17th-century town houses which were attached to the hospital were incorporated into model workers' flats in 1865, and converted to offices in 1978.St Nicholas's Almshouseswere built in 1652^[242]to provide care for the poor. Several public houses were also built in this period, including theLlandoger Trow^[243]on King Street and theHatchet Inn.^[244]

Manor housesincludeGoldney Hall, where the highly decoratedGrottodates from 1739.^[245]Commercial buildings such as the Exchange^[246]andOld Post Office^[247]from the 1740s are also included in the list. Residential buildings include the Georgian Portland Square^[248]and the complex of small cottages around a green atBlaise Hamlet, which was built around 1811 for retired employees ofQuakerbankerandphilanthropistJohn Scandrett Harford, who ownedBlaise Castle House.^[249]The 18th-centuryKings Weston House, in northern Bristol, was designed byJohn Vanbrughand is the only Vanbrugh building in any UK city outside London.Almshouses^[250]and pubs from the same period^[251]intermingle with modern development. Several Georgiansquareswere designed for the middle class as prosperity increased during the 18th century.^[252]During World War II, the city centre was heavily bombed during theBristol Blitz.^[253]The central shopping area nearWine Street and Castle Streetwas particularly hard-hit, andthe Dutch HouseandSt Peter's Hospitalwere destroyed. Nevertheless, in 1961John Betjemancalled Bristol "the most beautiful, interesting and distinguished city in England".^[254]

Bristol is represented by professional teams in all the major national sports.Bristol CityandBristol Roversare the city's mainfootballclubs.Bristol Bears(rugby union) andGloucestershire County Cricket Clubare also based in the city.

The twoFootball Leagueclubs are Bristol City and Bristol Rovers—the former being the only club from the city to play in the precursor to thePremier League.Non-leagueclubs includeBristol Manor Farm,Hengrove Athletic,Brislington,Roman Glass St GeorgeandBristol Telephones. Bristol City, formed in 1894, were Division One runners-up in 1907 and lost the FA Cup final in 1909. In the First Division in 1976, they then sank to the bottom professional tier before reforming after a 1982 bankruptcy. 28 October 2000 is a date of significance in the city as it is the last time Bristol Rovers were above Bristol City in the Football league. Bristol City were promoted to the second tier of English football in 2007, losing toHull Cityin the playoff for promotion to the Premier League that season.^[255]Bristol City Womenwere formerly based atTwerton Park, but now share Ashton Gate as a home venue with the men's team and occasionally relocate to The Robins High Performance Centre in Failand for cup games.^[256]

Bristol Rovers, the oldest professional football team in the city, were formed in 1883 and promoted back into the football league in 2015. They were third-tier champions twice (Division Three Southin 1952–53 andDivision Threein 1989–90),Watney CupWinners (1972) and runners-up for theJohnstone's Paint Trophy(2006–07) although have never played in England's top Division. The club has planning permission for a new 21,700-capacity all-seater stadium at the University of the West of England'sFrenchaycampus. Construction was due to begin in mid-2014, but in March 2015 the sale of the Memorial Stadium site (needed to finance the new stadium) was in jeopardy.^[257][258]

Bristol Manor Farmare the highest-ranked non-league club within the city boundaries. They play their games at The Creek,Sea Mills,^[259]in the north of Bristol. Formed in 1960, the club play in theSouthern League Division One Southhaving finished the2016–17 Western Leagueseason as champions. They reached the quarter-finals of theFA Vasein2015–16.^[260]

The city is also home toBristol Bears,^[261]formed in 1888 as Bristol Football Club by the merger of the Carlton club with rival Redland Park. Westbury Park declined the merger and folded, with many of its players joining what was then Bristol Rugby.^[262]Bristol Rugby has often competed at the highest level of the sport since its formation in 1888.^[263]The club played at theMemorial Ground, which it shared with Bristol Rovers from 1996. Although Bristol Rugby owned the stadium when the football club arrived, a decline in the rugby club's fortunes led to a transfer of ownership to Bristol Rovers. In 2014 Bristol Rugby moved to their new home,Ashton Gate Stadium(home to Bristol Rovers' rivals Bristol City), for the 2014–15 season.^[264][265]They changed their name from Bristol Rugby to Bristol Bears to coincide with their return toPremiership Rugbyin2018–19.

Dating from 1901, theBristol Combinationand its 53 clubs promote rugby union in the city and help support Bristol Bears.^[266]The most prominent of Bristol's smaller rugby clubs includeClifton Rugby,Dings Crusaders, andCleve.Rugby leagueis represented in Bristol by theBristol Sonics.^[267]

Thefirst-class cricketclubGloucestershire County Cricket Club^[268]has its headquarters and plays the majority of its home games at theBristol County Ground, the only major international sports venue in the south-west of England. It was formed by the family ofW. G. Grace.^[269]The club is arguably Bristol's most successful, achieving a period of success between 1999 and 2006 when it won nine trophies and became the most formidable one-day outfit in England, including winning a "double double" in 1999 and 2000 (both the Benson and Hedges Cup and the C&G Trophy), and the Sunday League in 2000. Gloucestershire CCC also won theRoyal London One-Day Cupin 2015.

TheBristol Flyersbasketball team have competed in theBritish Basketball League, the UK's premier professional basketball league, since 2014.^[270]Bristol Aztecsplay in Britain's premierAmerican footballcompetition, theBAFA National Leagues.^[271]In 2009ice hockeyreturned to Bristol after a 17-year absence, with theBristol Pitbullsplaying at Bristol Ice Rink; after its closure, it shared a venue withOxford City Stars.^[272]Bristol sponsors an annualhalf marathonand hosted the2001 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships.^[273]Athletic clubs in Bristol include Bristol and West AC, Bitton Road Runners and Westbury Harriers. Bristol has staged finishes and starts of theTour of Britaincycle race^[274]and facilities in the city were used as training camps for the2012 London Olympics.^[275]TheBristol International Balloon Fiesta, a major UK hot-air ballooning event, is held each summer at Ashton Court.^[276]

.

BristolUnderwater Hockeyclub are the city's competitive team for the sport.^[277]They train at Hengrove Park Leisure Centre. In the 2023 Nationals Competition, Bristol came 4th in group C.^[278]In the 2023 Nautilus Tournament, Bristol A finished 2nd in Division 2 with Bristol B finishing 4th in Division 6.^[279]

A dialect of English (West Country English), known as Bristolian, is spoken by longtime residents, who are known as Bristolians.^[280]Bristol natives have arhotic accent, in which the post-vocalicrincarandcardis pronounced (unlike inReceived Pronunciation). The city is regarded as one of the last locations in England, along withBlackburn, to preserve the traditional English rhotic R sound.^[281]The unique feature of this accent is the 'Bristol (or terminal) l', in whichlis appended to words ending inaoro.^[282]Whether this is a broadlor awis a subject of debate,^[283]withareapronounced 'areal' or 'areaw'. The ending ofBristolis another example of the Bristoll. Bristolians pronounce-aand-oat the end of a word as-aw(cinemaw). To non-natives, the pronunciation suggests anlafter the vowel.^[284][285]

Until recently,^[when?]Bristolian was characterised by retention of the second-person singular, as in thedoggerel"Cassn't see what bist looking at? Cassn't see as well as couldst, casst? And if couldst, 'ouldn't, 'ouldst?" The West Saxonbistis used for the Englishart,^[286]and children were admonished with "Thee and thou, the Welshman's cow". In Bristolian, as in French and German, the second-person singular was not used when speaking to a superior (except by the egalitarianQuakers). The pronountheeis also used in the subject position ("What bist thee doing?"), andIorhein the object position ("Give he to I.").^[287]LinguistStanley Ellis, who found that many dialect words in the Filton area were linked to aerospace work, described Bristolian as "a cranky, crazy, crab-apple tree of language and with the sharpest, juiciest flavour that I've heard for a long time".^[288]

In the 2011 United Kingdom census, 46.8% of Bristol's population identified asChristianand 37.4% said they were not religious; the English averages were 59.4% and 24.7%, respectively.Islamis observed by 5.1% of the population,Buddhismby 0.6%,Hinduismby 0.6%,Sikhismby 0.5%,Judaismby 0.2% and other religions by 0.7%; 8.1% did not identify with a religion.^[290]

Among the notableChristian churchesare theAnglicanBristol CathedralandSt Mary Redcliffeand the Roman CatholicClifton Cathedral.Nonconformistchapels includeBuckingham Baptist ChapelandJohn Wesley's New Roomin Broadmead.^[291]AfterSt James' Presbyterian Churchwasbombedon 24 November 1940, it was never again used as a church;^[292]although itsbell towerremains, itsnavewas converted into offices.^[293]The city has eleven mosques,^[294]several Buddhist meditation centres,^[295]aHindu temple,^[296]Reformand Orthodox-Jewish synagogues^[297]and fourSikh temples.^{[298][299][300]}

Bristol has been awarded Purple Flag status^[301]on many of its districts, which shows that it meets or surpasses the standards of excellence in managing the evening and night-time economy.

DJ Mag'stop 100 club list ranked Motion as the 19th-best club in the world in 2016.^[302]This is up 5 spots from 2015.^[302]Motion is a complex made up of different rooms, outdoor space and a terrace that looks over the river Avon.^[303]In 2011, Motion was transformed from a skate park into the rave spot it is today.^[304]Other famous clubs in the city includeLakotaandThekla.

The Attic Bar is a venue located inStokes Croft.^[305]Equipped with a sound system and stage which are used every weekend for gigs of every genre, the bar and the connected Full Moon Pub were rated byThe Guardian, a British daily paper, as one of the top ten clubs in the UK.^[306]In 2014, the Great British Pub Awards ranked The Apple as the best cider bar in the UK.^[307]

Bristol is home to the regional headquarters of BBC West and the BBC Natural History Unit based at Broadcasting House, which produces television, radio and online content with anatural historyorwildlifetheme. These includenature documentaries, includingThe Blue PlanetandPlanet Earth. The city has a long association withDavid Attenborough's authored documentaries, includingLife on Earth.^[308]It was made public in 2021 that the BBC was moving the production of many of its programmes from Broadcasting House to Bridgewater House in Finzels Reach in Bristol City Centre.^[309]

Bristol has two daily newspapers, theWestern Daily Pressand theBristol Post(both owned byReach plc); and a Bristol edition of the freeMetronewspaper (owned byDMGT).The Bristol Cablespecialises in investigative journalism with a quarterly print edition and website.

Aardman Animations is a Bristol-based animation studio, known for the charactersWallace and GromitandMorph. ItsfilmsincludeChicken Run(2000),Early Man(2018), shorts such asCreature ComfortsandAdamand TV series likeShaun the SheepandTimmy Time.

The city has several radio stations, includingBBC Radio Bristol,Heart West,Greatest Hits Radio Bristol & The South West,Hits Radio Bristol,Kiss, andBCfm, a community based station. Bristol's television productions includePoints Westfor BBC West, Endemol productions such asDeal or No Deal,The Crystal Maze, andITV News West CountryforITV West Country. The hospital dramaCasualty, formerly filmed in Bristol, moved to Cardiff in 2012.^[310]In October 2018,Channel 4announced that Bristol would be home to one of its 'Creative Hubs', as part of their move to produce more content outside of London.^[311]

Publishers in the city have included 18th-century Bristolian Joseph Cottle, who helped introduceRomanticismby publishing the works of William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge.^[312]During the 19th century, J.W. Arrowsmith published the Victorian comediesThree Men in a Boat(byJerome K. Jerome) andThe Diary of a NobodybyGeorgeandWeedon Grossmith.^[313]The contemporary Redcliffe Press has published over 200 books covering all aspects of the city.^[314]Bristol is home toYouTubevideo developers and stylistsThe Yogscast, with founders Simon Lane and Lewis Brindley having moved their operations fromReadingto Bristol in 2012.^[315]

Bristol has two major institutions of higher education: theUniversity of Bristol, aredbrickchartered in 1909;^[316]and theUniversity of the West of England, opened as BristolPolytechnicin 1969, which became a university in 1992.^[317]The University of Lawalso has a campus in the city. Bristol has twofurther educationinstitutions (City of Bristol CollegeandSouth Gloucestershire and Stroud College) and twotheologicalcolleges:Trinity College, andBristol Baptist College. The city has 129infant,juniorand primary schools,^[318]17 secondary schools,^[319]and three learning centres. After a section of north London, Bristol has England's second-highest number ofprivate schoolplaces.^[320]Independent schools in the city includeClifton College,Clifton High School,Badminton School,Bristol Grammar School,Queen Elizabeth's Hospital(the only all-boys school) and theRedmaids' School(founded in 1634 by John Whitson, which claims to be England's oldest girls' school).^[321]

In 2005,Chancellor of the ExchequerGordon Brown named Bristol one of six English 'science cities',^[322]and a £300million science park was planned atEmersons Green.^[323]Research is conducted at the two universities, theBristol Royal InfirmaryandSouthmead Hospital, and science outreach is practised atWe The Curious, the Bristol Zoo, theBristol Festival of Natureand the CREATE Centre.^[324]

The city has produced a number of scientists, including 19th-century chemistHumphry Davy^[325](who worked inHotwells). PhysicistPaul Dirac(fromBishopston) received the 1933 Nobel Prize for his contributions toquantum mechanics.^[326]Cecil Frank Powellwas the Melvill Wills Professor of Physics at the University of Bristol when he received the 1950 Nobel Prize for, among other discoveries, his photographic method of studying nuclear processes.Colin Pillinger^[327]was the planetary scientist behind theBeagle 2project, and neuropsychologistRichard Gregoryfounded the Exploratory (a hands-on science centre which was the predecessor of At-Bristol/We The Curious).^[328]

Initiatives such as theFlying Start Challengeencourage an interest in science and engineering in Bristol secondary-school pupils; links with aerospace companies impart technical information and advance student understanding of design.^[329]TheBloodhound SSCproject to break theland speed recordis based at the Bloodhound Technology Centre on the city's harbourside.^[330]

v t e Railways in the Bristol area
Legend
Cross Country Route Thornbury branch line Yate South Wales Main Line New Passage Pier Westerleigh Junction New Passage Halt Cross Hands Halt South Wales Main Line viaSevern Tunnel Pilning Severn Beach Coalpit Heath Severn View Industrial Park Winterbourne Chittening Industrial Estate Bristol Parkway Patchway Smoke Lane Industrial Estate Ram Hill Colliery Chittening Platform Hallen Halt Avonmouth Docks Henbury St Andrews Road Charlton Halt Avonmouth(BPR&P) North Filton Platform Avonmouth (Royal Edward) Stoke Gifford depot Avonmouth Docks Westerleigh Goods Depot Avonmouth Avonmouth Light Railway Filton Junction Avonmouth Docks Filton Portway Park & Ride Filton Abbey Wood Shirehampton Horfield Sea Mills Ashley Hill Clifton Down Tunnel Mangotsfield (1845–1869) Clifton Down Mangotsfield (1869–1966) Redland Staple Hill Montpelier Fishponds Hotwells Halt Warmley Hotwells Narroways Hill Junction Stapleton Road sidings Grey line represents Stapleton Road boundary of Bristol Oldland Common unitary authority area Avon Valley Railway Lawrence Hill Waste depot Bitton Bristol St Philip's Barton Hill Depot St Mary Redcliffetunnel Avon Riverside Bristol Temple Meads Bristol Temple Meads Princes' Wharf Kelston Bristol Harbour Railway St Philip's Marsh T&RSMD SSGreat Britain East Depot Bristol Docks (North) Bedminster Bristol Docks (South) Parson Street CREATECentre Mangotsfield to Bath line South Liberty Lane Depot Ashton Gate St Anne's Park Clifton Bridge Brislington Nightingale Valley Halt Long Ashton Ham Green Halt Bristol–Exeter line Pill Whitchurch Halt Portbury shipyard Keynsham Royal Portbury Dock Bristol & North Somerset Rly Portbury Shipyard Saltford Portbury Great Western Main Line (1954–1964) Portishead Weston, Clevedon and Portishead Light Railway (1879–1954) Portishead PortisheadPier

Bristol has two principal railway stations.Bristol Temple Meads(near the city centre) hasGreat Western Railwayservices which include high-speed trains toLondon Paddingtonand local, regional andCrossCountrytrains.Bristol Parkway, north of the city in Gloucestershire, but within the conurbation, has high-speed Great Western Railway services toSwansea,Cardiff Centraland London Paddington, and CrossCountry services reachingBirmingham,ManchesterandEdinburgh. A limited service toLondon Waterloo, viaClapham Junctionused to operate, from Temple Meads was operated bySouth Western Railwaythis service stopped in December 2021 because of a shortage of train drivers and there are scheduled coach links to most major UK cities.^[331]

Bristol's principal surviving suburban railway is theSevern Beach Lineto Avonmouth andSevern Beach. AlthoughPortishead Railway'spassenger service was a casualty of theBeeching cuts, freight service to the Royal Portbury Dock was restored from 2000 to 2002 with aStrategic Rail Authorityrail-freight grant. TheMetroWestscheme, formerly known as The Greater Bristol Metro, proposes to increase the city's rail capacity^[332]including the restoration of a further 3 mi (5 km) of track on thelinetoPortishead(adormitory townwith one connecting road), and a further commuter rail line fromBristol Temple MeadstoHenbury, on anexisting freight line. Following numerous delays, the two lines are due to be opened in 2026.^[333][334]

The M4 motorway connects the city on an east–west axis from London toWest Wales, and the M5 is a north–south west axis from Birmingham to Exeter. TheM49 motorwayis a shortcut between the M5 in the south and the M4Severn Crossingin the west, and theM32is a spur from the M4 to the city centre.^[331]ThePortwayconnects the M5 to the city centre, and was the most expensive road in Britain when opened in 1926.^[335][336]

As of 2019, Bristol is working on plans for aClean Air Zoneto reduce pollution, which could involve charging the most polluting vehicles to enter the city centre.^[337][338]

Private car use is high in the city, leading to traffic congestion costing an estimated £350million per year.^[339]Bristol allows motorcycles to use most of the city's bus lanes and provides secure, free parking for them.^[340]

Public transport in the city consists primarily of aFirst West of Englandbus network. Other providers are Abus,^[341]Stagecoach West, andStagecoach South West.^[342][343]Bristol's bus service has been criticised as unreliable and expensive, and in 2005 FirstGroup was fined for delays and safety violations.^[344][345]

Although the city council has included alight railsystem in itslocal transport plansince 2000, it has not yet funded the project; Bristol was offered European Union funding for the system, but theDepartment for Transportdid not provide the required additional funding.^[346]As of 2019, a four-linemass transit network with potential underground sectionsradiating from Bristol Temple Meads is proposed; a southern line toBristol Airport, a northern line toAztec West, a northeastern lineBristol & Bath Science Parkand a southeastern line toBrislingtonorKeynsham.^[347]

In 2006, a project to develop abus rapid transitsystem (BRT) namedMetroBuswas started,^[348]with the purpose of providing a faster and more reliable service than buses, improving transport infrastructure and reducing congestion.^[349]The project was approved by thegovernmentin December 2013,^[348]and in June 2017, it was announced thatFirstwould operate the buses,^[350]and the service branding was restyled as 'metrobus'. metrobus services commenced in 2018, with the opening of a route betweenEmersons GreenandBristol City Centre(route m3).^[351]Further routes were introduced betweenCribbs CausewayandHengrovePark (route m1), and betweenLong AshtonPark and RideandBristol City Centre(route m2).^[352]In May 2022, it was announced that a fourth route would open in Spring the following year to connectCribbs CausewaywithBristol Parkway Railway Station(route m4),^[353]this route eventually began operating betweenBristol City CentreandCribbs CausewayviaBristol Parkway.^[354]

Threepark and ridesites serve Bristol.^[355]The city centre has water transport operated byBristol Ferry Boats,Bristol Packet Boat Tripsand Number Seven Boat Trips, providing leisure and commuter service in the harbour.^[356]

Bristol was designated as England's first "cycling city" in 2008 and one of England's 12 "Cycling demonstration" areas.^[357]It is home toSustrans, the sustainable transport charity. TheBristol and Bath Railway Pathlinks it to Bath, and was the first part of theNational Cycle Network. The city also has urban cycle routes and links with National Cycle Network routes to The rest of the Country. Cycling trips increased by 21% from 2001 to 2005.^[339]

In 2019Bristol Airport(BRS) was ranked the eighthbusiest airportin the United Kingdom. It handled nearly 8.9 million passengers, an over 3% increase compared with 2018.^[358]

Bristol was among the first cities to adopttown twinningafter World War II.^[359][360]Twin towns include:

• Bordeaux, France^[361][362](since 1947)
• Hanover, Germany^[363](since 1947; one of the first post-war twinnings of British and German cities)
• Porto, Portugal (since 1984)^[364]
• Tbilisi, Georgia (since 1988)^[365]
• Puerto Morazán, Nicaragua (since 1989)^[366]
• Beira, Mozambique(since 1990)^[367]
• Guangzhou, China (since 2001)^[368][369]

People and military units receiving theFreedom of the Cityof Bristol include:

• Billy Hughes: 20 May 1916.^[370]
• Kipchoge Keino: 5 July 2012.^[371]
• Peter Higgs: 4 July 2013.^[372]
• Sir David Attenborough: 17 December 2013.^[373]
• The Rifles: 2007, 2015.^[374]
• 39 Signal Regiment: 20 March 2019.^[375][376]

• Atlantic history
• Bristol Christian Fellowship
• Bristol Pound
• Bristol power stations
• Healthcare in Bristol
• Parks of Bristol
• Subdivisions of Bristol

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• Visit Bristol, tourism website
• Bristol Guide, tourism website
• Bristol City Council
• BristolatCurlie
• Know your Place: Bristol, historic maps website.