History of Clifton

Clifton has become a great residential suburb of Bristol, but is unusual among suburbs in having a separate and well recorded history as long and as full of human interest as that of the city of which it forms a part. In this book the author has drawn upon his own research over some twenty years and the work of others during roughly the same period to produce the first full study of Clifton's entire history, from Roman times to the present day, in which he presents much new material in a compelling narrative. The heritage that is Clifton is at last made accessible - to the interested resident as well as to the student of local history. From the Domesday manor to the later medieval village and its owners, the eventual acquisition at the Dissolution of the Monasteries and, in the 17th century, by the Society of Merchant Venturers, a wealth of detail survives. The modern period is richly documented, highlighting not only the burning of the village by Prince Rupert in 1645, but the successive developments, overseen by the Merchant Venturers, and the growth in Lower Clifton of industry, docks, yards, and Hotwell Spa.

The speculative building of 1783-93 and the erection of the famous terraces, were followed in the next two centuries by the growth of the residential suburb with its public schools, zoological gardens and Catholic cathedral - not forgetting the Suspension Bridge. This well researched, indeed definitive, work is a major contribution to the history of greater Bristol. For the local resident with any interest in Clifton's heritage and environment it is essential reading and a source of insight as well as of intriguing information.