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N 


ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL. 


THE 


ANNALS  OF  BRISTOL 


IN  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY. 


BT 

JOHN   LATIMER, 

BDITOB  or  TMI  BBISfOL  MMCUBT,  1868-^. 


lSrt0toI: 

W.  A  F.  MORGAN,   CLARE   STREET. 

1887. 


Batler  A  Tanner, 

The  Selwood  Printing  WorkB, 

Frome,  and  London. 


TO 
MR.   CHARLES   SOMERTON, 

AND 

MR.  GEORGE   SOMERTON, 

WHOSE   UNTAILIN6    KIKDNESS  AND   CONSTANT   COURTESY 

DURING  A   LITERARY   CONNECTION 

EXTENDING   OVER  UPWARDS  OP  A  QUARTER  OP  A   CENTURY 

HAVE   BEEN   AMONGST  THE 

PLEASANTEST   INCIDENTS  OP  MY    LIPE, 

AND   HAVE 

ILLUSTRATED  THOSE   GENTLER  AMENITIES  OP  LETTERS 

WHICH   IT   IS 
GOOD   TO   REMEMBER   AND   RECORD. 


\  ■        L 


I  • 


PREFACE. 


The  collection  of  materials  with  a  view  to  a  continuation  of 
Evans's  Chronological  History  of  Bristol  was  begun  upwards 
of  twenty  years  ago  by  the  compiler  of  this  work.  The 
pressure  of  other  literary  pursuits^  however,  caused  the  pro- 
ject to  be  deferred  from  time  to  time;  and  it  eventually 
became  a  question  whether,  if  a  supplementary  record  were 
to  be  produced  at  all,  the  story  of  so  eventful  a  century  was 
not  deserving  of  a  worthier  memorial  than  the  bald  epitome 
of  facts  and  dates  which  had  been  originally  contemplated. 
As  is  not  unusual  in  such  labours,  the  introduction  of  details 
in  connection  with  topics  of  prominent  importance  threw  into 
relief  the  meagreness  of  the  rest  of  the  narrative ;  and  it  at 
length  seemed  desirable — whilst  retaining  the  chronological 
form  adopted  at  the  outset — to  attempt  a  comprehensive 
sketch  of  the  political,  municipal,  commercial,  and  social  life 
of  the  community  during  a  period  which  has  been  hitherto 
imperfectly  treated  by  local  writers. 

To  what  extent  the  task  has  been  satisfactorily  performed 
must  be  left  to  the  judgment  of  the  reader.  Some  may 
possibly  complain  that  events  which  they  deem  important 
have  been  inadequately  treated,  or  even  omitted.  Others 
may  object  that  incideut^  in  their  eyes  trivial  have  received 
an  attention  they  did  not  deserve.  A  third  class  of  critics, 
again,  may  disapprove  of  the  expressions  of  personal  opinion 
which  are  sometimes,  though  rarely,  introduced.  To  those 
who  do  not  find  all  their  conceptions  realised,  it  can  only  be 
pleaded,  that  the  work  of  selecting  and  narrating  historical 
facts,  either  in  a  national  or  a  local  point  of  view,  is  seldom 
accomplished  so  as  to  satisfy  all  tastes.  Disclaiming  any 
pretension  to  complete  success  where  faultlessness  was  per- 
haps unattainable,  the  compiler  trusts  that  few  occurrences 
of  permanent  interest  have  wholly  escaped  notice,  that  his 


PBSFACE. 

criticisms,  where  he  has  ventured  to  express  an  opinion,  are 
untinctured  by  party  or  sectarian  spirit,  and  that  the  volume 
presents  as  broad  and  faithful  a  picture  of  the  period  under 
review  as  space  and  materials  would  allow. 

Though  the  "  annals  '*  have  been  for  the  most  part  compiled 
from  the  local  newspapers — of  which  many  thousand  copies 
have  been  examined — much  new  and  valuable  matter  has 
been  derived  from  official  documents,  notably  from  the  re- 
cords and  account  books  of  the  Corpoi'ation,  a  perusal  of 
which  was  kindly  permitted  by  Mr.  Daniel  Travers  Burges, 
the  Town  Clerk,  and  Mr.  John  Tremayne  Lane,  the  City 
Treasurer.  Both  gentlemen  were  also  so  obliging  as  to 
render  personal  assistance  in  clearing  up  points  of  difficulty, 
and  the  former  has  also  contributed  some  interesting  anec- 
dotes of  bygone  celebrities.  A  friend  who  passed  away 
whilst  the  closing  sheets  of  the  work  were  in  the  hands  of 
the  printer,  the  late  Mr.  Edward  Greenfield  Doggett,  Clerk 
to  the  Incorporation  of  the  Poor,  allowed  extracts  to  be  taken 
from  the  minute  books  of  that  ancient  body.  Mr.  John  Taylor, 
the  City  Librarian,  offered  essential  service  by  throwing  open 
the  large  and  curious  store  of  local  literature  under  his  charge, 
and  by  supplementing  it  from  his  private  collection.  Amongst 
others  to  whom  the  compiler  owes  grateful  thanks  may  be 
mentioned  the  Rev.  Canon  Noms,  Archdeacon  of  Bristol,  the 
Rev.  S.  W.  Wayte,  Mr.  P.  W.  Newton,  Secretary  to  the 
Charity  Trustees,  the  late  Mr.  Leonard  Bruton,  Secretary  to 
the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  the  Rev.  J.  M.  Wilson,  headmaster 
of  Clifton  College,  the  Rev.  Talbot  Greaves,  vicar  of  Clifton, 
Mr.  Edward  C.  Sampson,  Postmaster  of  Bristol,  Mr.  C.  H. 
Hunt,  Clerk  to  the  Barton  Regis  Board  of  Guardians,  Mr. 
Alderman  Naish,  Mr.  W.  Edwards  George,  Mr.  S.  H.  Swayne, 
Mr.  Josiah  Thomas,  and  Mr.  John  Lavars.  Finally,  an 
especial  acknowledgment  is  due  to  Mr.  William  George,  an 
indefatigable  antiquary  whose  knowledge  of  local  history  and 
vast  accumulation  of  rarities  rendered  his  unwearied  assist- 
ance of  peculiar  value. 

Tbelawkt  Place, 

March,  1887. 


THE   ANNALS   OF   BEISTOL 

IN  THE 

NINETEENTH   CENTUEY. 


Before  entering  upon  the  chronological  record  to  which  the 
following  pages  are  devoted^  a  faint  attempt  to  sketch  the 
state  of  Bristol  and  its  inhabitants  at  the  commencement  of 
the  century  may  not  be  uninteresting.  The  great  com- 
mercial prosperity  of  the  city  down  to  the  revolt  of  the 
American  colonies  is  a  matter  of  history;  and  though  the 
subsequent  war  was  disastrous  to  some  distinguished  local 
firms>  the  vast  wealth  that  continued  to  flow  in  from  the 
West  India  Islands^  and  the  lucrative  Spanish  wool  and  wine 
trades,  contributed  largely  to  the  well-being  of  the  com- 
munity,  and  were  advantages  on  which  the  merchants  of 
other  ports  looked  with  envious  admiration.  It  is  true  that 
Bristol  had  lost  its  long-cherished  title  to  rank  as  second 
city  of  the  kingdom.  The  marvellous  growth  of  the  cotton 
trade  in  Lancashire  after  1785  had  caused  a  corresponding 
increase  in  the  exports  and  imports  of  Liverpool ;  and  no 
adequate  efforts  were  made  to  compete  with  the  upstart  rival, 
either  by  the  introduction  of  new  industries,  the  reduction 
of  the  exorbitant  duties  levied  upon  shipping  by  the  Corpora- 
tion, or  the  removal  of  those  difficulties  in  the  navigation  of 
the  Avon  which  had  tempted  commerce  to  forsake  the  Bristol 
Channel  for  the  more  commodious  Mersey.  As  is  not  un- 
frequently  the  case  in  ancient  and  solidly-founded  com- 
munities, Bristol  was  too  wealthy  to  be  enterprising,  and 
many  of  her  influential  sons,  having  become  rich  in  the 
beaten  paths  of  commerce,  were  opposed  through  selfishness 
or  indolence  to  the  striking  out  of  new  ones.  In  despite,  for 
example,  of  the  local  cheapness  of  labour  and  fuel,  only  one 
feeble  effort  was  made  to  introduce  cotton  spinning.  The 
competition  of  Yorkshire  in  cheap  woollen  goods,  which  must 
have  been  an  uphill  task  against  the  reputation  and  skill  of 
the  West  of  England,  was  contemptuously  ignored  until  men 
suddenly  awoke  to  the  fact  that  the  bulk  of  the  trade  was 
irrevocably  lost  through  northern  enterprise.     With  equally 

B 


2  THE  ANNALS  OP  BRISTOL.  [1801. 

disastrons  consequences,  the  Avon,  which  from  tidal  pecu- 
liarities could  not  be  entered  in  safety  except  by  ships  specially 
built  for  lying  on  its  muddy  shores  at  low  water,  was  left 
with  all  its  natural  defects,  as  if  to  deter  strangers  from 
venturing  in  to  jostle  the  old  magnates  of  the  Exchange. 

The  government  of  the  city  was  conducted  on  the  same 
narrow-minded  principles.     Many  men  of  capital,  paying  large 
rentals,  employing  many  workmen,  and  being  in  every  sense 
entitled  to  rank  as  leading  citizens,  were  not    "  freemen  ** 
according  to  corporate  technology ;  they  had  consequently  no 
votes  at  parliamentary  elections,  and  their  influence  in  local 
government  could  not  have  been  less  if  they  had  been  Hotten- 
tots.    Having  wrested  their  birthright  from  the  inhabitants, 
the  Corporation,  self -elected,  and  repudiating  all  control,  spent 
a  large  proportion  of  the  city  revenues  in  the  maintenance  of 
ostentatious  ^'state,^'  and  in  luxurious  entertainments  to  the 
select  circle  which  found  favour  in  its  sight.     On  the  other 
hand,  the  duties  of  civic  government  were  for  the  most  part 
either  evaded  or  loftily  ignored.     The  paving,  lighting,  and 
watching  of  the  city  were  miserably  imperfect.     The  foot- 
ways, where  they  existed,  were  so  narrow  that,  even  a  quarter 
of  a  century  later,  the  newspapers  occasionally  congratulated 
their  readers  when  a  week  passed  away  without  an  accident 
to  pedestrians.     These  casualties  were  largely  due  to  what 
a  writer  in  the  Monthly  Magazine  for  May,  1799,  termed 
"  the  barbarous  custom  of  using  sledges  in  the  public  streets 
for  the  conveyance  of  goods,"  which  appears  to  have  been 
almost  universal.     The  drivers  in  descencting  a  slope  dragged 
their  sledges  against  the  edge  of  the  pavement;  and,  as  the 
packages  overhung  the  vehicles,  the  peril  of  foot-passengers 
may  be  imagined. 

The  cleansing  of  all  but  the  leading  thoroughfares  was 
generally  left  to  the  elements.  One  of  the  local  newspapers 
of  Nov.  9th,  1799,  complained': — "Pigs,  goats,  and  other 
animals  are  suffered  to  wander  about  the  streets  with  im- 
punity ;  at  the  same  time  the  lives  of  the  inhabitants  are 
nightly  endangered  by  heaps  of  mortar,  ashes,  and  rub- 
bish." The  sprinkling  of  feeble  lamps,  lighted  by  the 
parochial  authorities,  often  became  extinct  about  midnight 
through  lack  of  oil.  From  occasional  broad  insinuations 
in  the  public  press,  the  watchmen — ^frequently  decrepit  old 
drunkards,  and  sometimes  worn-out  servants  of  members 
of  the  Corporation — ^were  not  merely  ineflBcient,  but  were 
suspected  of  conniving  at  nocturnal  offences.  Beyond  the 
city  boundaries^  in  Clifton^  Gotham,  Bedland^  and  the  popu- 


1801.]  MANNERS   AND   CUSTOMS   IN    1801.  3 

lous  eastern  suburbs,  there  was  not  a  single  public  lamp  or  a 
single  night-constable.  As  was  natural  under  such  circum- 
stances, burglaries  and  highway  robberies  were  of  constant 
occurrence,  and  a  vast  majority  of  the  criminals  escaped 
detection. 

The  prevalence  of  crime,  however,  contributed  to  delay 
that  complete  separation  of  the  upper  and  lower  classes  of 
citizens  which  is  one  of  the  most  striking  phenomena  of 
later  times.  In  1801,  with  comparatively  few  exceptions, 
the  merchant  dwelt  near  his  warehouses,  as  the  trader  lived 
over  his  shop  ;  and  many  narrow  and  sombre-looking  streets, 
now  lined  with  stores  and  offices  or  given  up  to  labouring 
families,  then  contained  the  dwellings  of  the  rich  as  well  as 
the  poor.  Though  the  sanitary  conditions  of  old-fashioned 
town  life,  especially  in  a  city  which  had  no  public  water 
supply,  left  much  to  be  desired,  they  were  accompanied  by 
some  compensating  advantages.  There  was  not  that  gulf 
between  master  and  workman  which  has  been  deepened  if 
not  created  by  the  isolation  of  the  capitalist  from  the 
labourer,  and  disputes  between  the  two  classes  were  arranged 
without  those  terrible  social  conflicts  which  are  amongst  the 
greatest  calamities  of  modem  industry.  A  neighbourly  feel- 
ing and  habit  of  association  also  existed  amongst  the  citizens 
to  an  extent  unknown  in  our  day.  ^'Perhaps  there  is  no 
place  in  England,**  observed  the  writer  in  the  Monthly 
Magazine  already  quoted,  "  where  public  and  social  amuse- 
ments are  so  little  attended  to  as  here.'*  Such  pleasures, 
in  fact,  were  limited  to  a  short  theatrical  season  and  to  the 
rare  dissipation  of  a  ball  or  concert.  Travelling  for  purposes 
of  health,  relaxation,  or  amusement  was  never  dreamt  of 
by  the  trading  classes — a  fact  not  very  surprising  when 
it  is  remembered  that  the  speed  of  stage-coaches  averaged 
only  five  miles  an  hour,  that  the  fares  were  high,  that 
the  traveller  was  almost  shaken  to  pieces  through  the 
execrable  state  of  the  roads,  and  that  highway  robberies 
formed  an  inevitable  item  of  each  week's  news.  A  holiday 
sojourn  at  the  seaside  was  practicable  only  to  the  wealthy. 
The  population  of  the  parish  of  Weston-super-Mare  in  1801 
numbered  138,  only  twelve  of  whom  (probably  three  families) 
were  not  dependent  on  agriculture ;  and  the  lodging-house 
keeper  was  still  in  the  future.  The  summer  recreation  of 
prosperous  tradesmen  therefore  chiefly  consisted  in  an  evening 
stroll  on  the  Grove  or  in  Queen  Square,  where  the  noisy 
rooks  added  a  rural  attraction  to  the  stately  mansions  of 
the  merchants  and  to  the  masts  of  the  sturdy  old  vessels 


4  THE   AKNALS  OF  BRISTOL.  [1801. 

njoored  in  the  river.  College  Green  had  also  its  votaries,  for 
there  the  youth  of  Bristol,  enrolled  as  volunteers,  trooped 
to  drill  after  the  labours  of  the  day.  But  the  most  cherished 
amusement  of  middle-aged  citizens  was  an  occasional  visit  to 
the  suburban  bowling-greens  kept  at  the  Ostrich  Inn,  over 
Durdham  Down,  Stapleton,  Totterdown,  Brislington,  Henbury, 
and  other  villages,  to  which  parties  of  friends  resorted  to 
enjoy  their  grog  and  tobacco  in  the  country  air,  and  afforded 
each  other  mutual  protection  from  footpads  on  their  return. 
In  the  long  nights  of  winter,  after  the  dismal  tallow  candles 
in  the  shop  windows*  had  been  extinguished,  and  warerooms 
had  been  carefully  secured,  the  parlours  of  the  principal 
taverns  were  filled  by  neighbours  eager  to  exchange  the 
gossip  of  the  day.  Almost  every  citizen  had  his  habitual 
evening  resort ;  and  when  a  charitable  or  patriotic  subscrip- 
tion was  on  foot,  "  the  gentlemen  frequenting  '^  the  Bush,  the 
White  Lion,  the  Rummer,  or  the  Mulberry  Tree,  would  some- 
times club  upwards  of  fifty  guineas  in  token  of  their  sympathy. 
Conviviality,  as  may  be  supposed,  was  often  carried  to 
excess.  In  fact,  entire  sobriety  was  commonly  regarded  as 
more  contemptible  than  drunkenness,  and  there  is  abundant 
evidence  that  a  "  three-bottle  man  "  had  fewer  censors  than 
admirers.  At  the  dinner  of  the  Parent  Colston  Society  in 
1865,  an  old  member,  whose  father  had  also  belonged  to  the 
society,  described  the  manner  in  which  the  anniversary  was 
celebrated  about  the  beginning  of  the  century.  The  party 
assembled  for  dinner  at  four  o'clock  (an  unusually  late  hour 
in  those  days),  had  oysters  at  nine,  and  grillea  bones  at 
four  in  the  morning.  Drinking  was  then  resumed  until 
the  time  came  for  breakfast,  which  was  always  hot  and 
sumptuous,  being  made  out  of  the  presentable  remains  of 
the  previous  day's  banquet.  The  example  of  the  richer 
classes  was  followed,  as  far  as  their  means  would  allow, 
by  the  poor,  and  in  spite  of  the  multitudinous  public-houses 
few  trades  were  so  prosperous  as  that  of  the  innkeeper. 
Schools,  on  the  other  hand,  were  few  in  number  and  bad 
in  quality  —  facts  which  appear  to  have  been  regarded 
with  great  equanimity,  for  the   general   committee   of   the 

*  By  a  common  imderdtanding,  the  number  of  candles  in  each  window  was 
limited  to  two.  According  to  a  tradition  preserved  by  Mr.  Leech,  an  old  trader 
who  had  been  alarmed  by  the  competition  of  a  new  rival,  was  relieved  of  appre- 
hension when  the  latter  took  to  lighting  up  an  additional  dip :  such  reckless 
extravagance  could  end  only  in  ruin.  *'  Open  "  shops — that  is,  shops  with 
unglazed  windows — were  rapidly  disappearing  at  the  beginning  of  the  century, 
but  there  was  one  in  High  Street  until  1824 ;  and  another,  at  23,  Castle  Street, 
kept  by  a  brushmaker,  lingered  until  1827,  if  not  later. 


1801.]  MANNERS  AND   CUSTOMS  IN    1801.  5 

local  Sunday-scliools  reported  in  1786  that  ''the  instruction 
to  be  obtained  at  a  Sunday-school  is  fully  adequate  to  all  the 
purposes  of  the  lower  classes  of  people/'  Three-fourths  of 
the  labouring  community  thus  attained  mature  age  wholly 
illiterate^  and  many  of  the  remainder  gradually  became  so 
owing  to  the  literary  destitution  in  which  they  lived.  Books 
were  so  dear  that  few  were  purchased  by  the  trading  class. 
And  when  the  paltry  little  newspapers  of  the  time  cost 
sixpence  each^  while  the  average  wages  of  working  men 
did  not  reach  16«.  a  week^  it  is  not  difficult  to  imagine  the 
scantiness  of  political  knowledge  amongst  the  masses. 

As  if  the  mental  deprivation  of  the  people  was  not  suffi- 
ciently degrading  in  its  tendency^  the  legislature  lent  its  aid 
to  make  matters  worse.  It  was  at  that  time  a  capital  felony 
to  pick  a  pocket  or  to  steal  a  pewter  pot;  and  constant 
executions  took  place  of  men^  women^  and  even  boys  and 
girls,  for  crimes  now  deemed  deserving  of  only  a  few  months' 
imprisonment.  Persons  merely  suspected  of  offences  were 
treated  whilst  awaiting  their  trial  with  abominable  cruelty ; 
ruffianly  press  gangs,  trampHng  upon  the  liberty  of  the 
subject,  seized  upon  unhappy  sailors  as  they  reached  homo 
after  long  voyages,  and  dragged  them  from  their  families 
for  lifelong  servitude  in  the  navy ;  public  whippings  and 
the  punishment  of  the  pillory  took  place  in  the  principal 
streets  after  almost  every  quarter  session. 

Brutalized  by  scenes  to  which  the  law  lent  its  sanction, 
the  poor  plunged  in  so-called  amusements  of  a  congenial 
character.  Bull-baiting,  dog-fighting,  badger-baiting,  cock- 
fightiuff,  had  their  devoted  admirers ;  but  pugilism  was  the 
especial  delight  of  Bristolians,  some  of  whom  attained  national 
fame  for  their  tenacity  and  ''  science."  It  must  be  added 
that  these  inhuman  sports,  so  far  from  being  disapproved, 
were  lauded  and  patronized  by  distinguished  politicians  and 
men  of  fashion.  Members  of  the  Royal  Family  were  not 
ashamed  to  be  present  at  a  prize-fight,  while  the  services 
of  a  practised  "  bruiser  "  were  in  request  by  political  aeents 
at  every  contested  election.  One  more  social  fact  of  the 
period  is  worthy  of  record.  Down  to  1800,  nearly  one- 
tenth  of  all  the  deaths  in  the  kingdom  were  due  to  small- 
pox, and  a  large  proportion  of  the  population,  in  Bristol 
as  elsewhere,  had  their  faces  disfigured  by  that  terrible 
disease.  The  beneficent  discovery  of  vaccination  by  a 
Gloucestershire  worthy  began,  however,  to  be  largely  re- 
cognised in  1801,  and  in  a  few  years  the  ravages  of  the 
malady  sank  to  insignificance. 


i 


6'  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL.  [1801. 

The  nineteenth  century  opened  gloomily.     The  war  with 
France  during  the  previous   seven   years  had  doubled  the 
national  debt  and  imposed  a  constantly  increasing  burden  of 
I  taxation  on  the  people^  whilst  the  extensive  conquests  of  the 

I  French  on  the  Continent,  coupled  with  the  armed  neutrality 

organized  by  Russia  against  England,  had  caused  great 
embarrassment  to  commerce  and  deprived  the  consumer  of 
foreign  supplies  of  com.  The  latter  circumstance  was  the 
more  calamitous  inasmuch  as  the  domestic  crops,  which  had 
been  deficient  for  four  successive  years,  produced  scarcely 
half  of  their  average  yield  in  1800.  In  January,  1801,  the 
official  price  of  wheat  in  Gloucestershire  Btood  at  169«.  6(/. 
per  quarter.  Various  measures  were  adopted  by  Parliament 
to  avert  the  effects  of  the  famine.  Bounties  were  ofiered 
apon  imports  of  grain  and  fish.  The  distillation  of  corn  was 
forbidden.  The  manufacture  of  starch  was  suspended  for  a 
twelvemonth.  Millers  were  subjected  to  supervision  by  the 
Excise  and  to  a  legal  standard  of  profits,  and  they  were 
prohibited  from  manufacturing  fine  flour.  Bakers  were 
allowed  to  make  brown  bread  only,  and  penalties  were  im- 
posed on  those  who  sold  bread  less  than  twenty-four  hours 
old,  or  who  heated  stale  bread  for  the  purpose  of  stimulating 
the  consumer's  appetite.  [One  Bristol  baker  was  mulcted 
in  a  fine  of  £19  10^.,  and  a  large  quantity  of  his  bread  was 
confiscated,  for  infringing  the  stale  bread  laws.] 

Private  ingenuity  was  racked  to  assist  the  efforts  of  the 
legislature.  The  mayor  of  Bristol,  following  the  example  of 
many  of  the  nobility,  announced  that  the  Mansion-house  dinners 
would  be  restricted  to  a  single  course ;  the  serving  of  bread 
at  '^  afternoon  tea  '*  was  given  up ;  pastry  of  every  kind  was 
tabooed  from  the  tables  of  the  rich ;  wearers  of  hair-powder, 
an  article  which  had  been  almost  universally  used  by  the 
upper  classes  of  both  sexes,  adopted  various  substitutes  for 
flour,  or  dropped  the  practice  altogether ;  poultices  at  public 
institutions  were  ordered  to  be  made  of  linseed  or  turnips  ; 
persons  in  receipt  of  relief  from  the  poor  laws  were  forbidden 
to  keep  dogs.  The  Corporation  of  Bristol,  which  had  voted 
£500  in  the  previous  year  for  purchasing  com,  offered  pre- 
miums for  importations  of  potatoes,  and  promised  loans 
without  interest  to  fishermen  for  fitting  out  additional  boats. 
[Between  1800  and  1803  inclusive,  the  bounties  paid  for  fish 
by  the  Corporation  amounted  to  over  £970.]  In  spite  of 
every  exertion  the  official  average  price  of  wheat  in  Gloucester- 
shire for  the  month  of  March  reached  the  astonishing  sum 
of  184tf.  4d.  per  quarter.    The  wages  of  unskilled  labourers 


1801.]  DEARTH  AND  DISTBESSi  7 

in  Bristol  being  only  about  Ss,  or  9s.  per  week^  it  is  needless 
to  say  that  when  coarse  bread  advanced  to  Is.  lOd.  the 
quartern  loaf  it  was  beyond  the  reach  of  great  numbers  of 
the  inhabitants.  The  flour  of  rice^  oats^  barley^  rye>  and  peas 
was  largely  resorted  to  as  a  substitute ;  some  housewives 
even  attempted  to  make  loaves  from  potatoes  :  while  nettles 
were  gathered  and  cooked  in  lieu  of  ordinary  vegetables. 

When  prices  had  attained  their  maximum,  some  of  the  poor, 
driven  almost  mad  by  the  misery  of  their  children,  made  one 
or  two  riotous  attacks  on  the  stall-keepers  in  the  city  markets, 
and  soldiers  had  to  be  called  in  to  prevent  further  outbreaks. 
No  account  of  the  disturbances  was  published  by  the  news- 
papers supporting  the  Government,  on  the  pretext  that  such 
intelligence  was  likely  to  have  a  bad  effect,  but  the  following 
item  appears  in  the  Corporation  accounts :  "  Paid  expenses 
during  the  market  riots  in  the  month  of  April,  1801,  £117 
7s.  4d.''  To  what  extent  political  discontent  prevailed  in 
the  city  it  is  now  impossible  to  say.  The  prosecution  of 
Hardy  for  high  treason  had  brought  out  the  fact  that  a 
*'  Bristol  Society  for  Constitutional  Information,"  similar  to 
the  Radical  organizations  in  other  towns,  had  existed  in  1794 
["  State  Trials,*'  xxiv.  480-484] ;  but  the  suspension  of  the 
Habeas  Corpus  Act  and  other  arbitrary  measures  of  the 
Government  had  suppressed  every  indication  of  popular  feel- 
ing, public  meetings  and  even  lectures  being  forbidden  except 
by  consent  of  the  magistrates.  The  extreme  distress  of  the 
lower  classes,  however,  induced  many  half-famished  men  to 
seek  relief  by  resorting  to  crime,  and  Felix  Farley's  Bristol 
Journal  announced  that  highway  robberies  and  burglaries  in 
and  around  the  city  were  of  nightly  occurrence.  In  the  hope 
of  checking  the  efil,  justice  was  administered  with  relentless 
severity.  After  the  spring  assizes  of  1801  three  criminals 
were  executed  at  Bristol,  six  at  Gloucester,  and  nine  at 
Taunton,  although  in  none  of  the  cases  were  the  malefactors 
charged  with  murder. 

An  interesting  incident  of  this  disastrous  period  was 
the  first  appearance  of  the  system  of  co-operative  trad- 
ing. The  manufacture  and  sale  of  flour  and  bread  were 
the  objects  chiefly  aimed  at  by  the  societies  which  started 
np,  it  being  widely  believed  that  millers  and  bakers  were 
reaping  extortionate  profits  during  the  general  distress. 
Flour-mills   on  the  co-operative  prmciple  were  started*  in 

*  A  plot  of  ground  for  a  mill  at  Baptist  Mills  was  porohased  by  a  few 
philanthzopista ;  bat  the  project  was  apparently  dropped. 


8  THE  ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1801. 

yarions  parts  of  the  country;  and  the  Bristol  Flour  and 
Bread  Concern  is  a  still  existing  relic  of  a  movement  which 
for  the  most  part  parsed  away  with  the  dearth.  In  Bristol^ 
as  elsewhere,  the  wealthier  classes  contributed  largely 
towards  the  relief  of  their  famine-stricken  neighbours.  Mr. 
John  Weeks,  the  landlord  of  the  "  Bush  *'  Hotel,  earned 
great  popularity  by  buying  upwards  of  fifty  tons  of  meat  and 
a  corresponding  quantity  of  peas,  etc.,  which  were  sold  to 
the  poor  at  moderate  prices.  The  extreme  severity  of  the 
distress  rapidly  diminished  with  the  advance  of  summer, 
which  ended  in  a  productive  harvest ;  but  the  semi-starvation 
Buffered  by  the  labouring  classes  was  followed,  according  to 
custom,  by  a  terrible  epidemic  of  fever.  "The  number  of 
cases,**  wrote  Dr.  Beddoes  in  The  Monthly  Magazine,  "  was 
prodigious.  .  .  .  Twenty-eight  people  lay  down  with  fever 
in  one  house  in  Back  Street  (it  is  believed  they  had  very 
little  medical  assistance),  and  eight  were  buried  out  of  a 
single  house  in  Elbroad  Street.**  During  the  dearth,  the 
Corporation  of  the  Poor  set  up  a  coarse  woollen  manufac- 
tory in  St.  Peter*s  Hospital,  for  the  purpose  of  employing 
some  of  the  poor  who  were  forced  to  apply  for  relief.  The 
plan,  however,  did  not  succeed,  and  the  place  was  closed. 

A  change  of  Ministry  took  place  in  the  spring  of  1801, 
when  Mr.  Addington  (afterwards  Lord  Sidmouth)  became 
Premier  in  the  room  of  Mr.  Pitt.  Lord  Eldon  is  recorded  to 
have  complained  that  although  Addington*s  followers  were 
few  in  number  they  all  claimed  to  be  officers ;  and  it  is  clear 
that  Mr.  Charles  Bragge,  one  of  the  members  for  Bristol,  and 
a  brother-in-law  of  the  new  minister,  was  no  exception  to 
the  rule.  Mr.  Bragge  was  already  Chairman  of  Ways  and 
Means;  in  November  he  was  transferred  to  the  Treasurership 
of  the  Navy,  thus  vacating  his  seat.  No  opposition  was 
offered  to  his  re-election.  On  the  evening  after  his  return, 
"  Brother  Bragge,**  as  he  was  contemptuously  styled  in  one  of 
Canning's  well-known  satires,  is  reported  by  an  admiring  jour- 
nalist to  have  treated  "  the  freemen  in  general  with  a  supper, 
and  liquor  to  drink  his  health.**  Besides  being  returned  at 
the  general  election  in  the  following  year,  Mr.  Bragge 
was  again  re-elected  in  1803,  when  he  became  Secretary  at 
War.  He  took  the  name  of  Bathurst  in  1804,  on  the  death 
of  a  relative  who  bequeathed  to  him  the  Lydney  estate. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Common  Council  in  March,  1801,  it 
was  reported  that  the  vestry  of  Christ  Church  had  applied 
for  the  payment  of  £500,  the  last  instalment  of  the  gift  of 
£2,000  promised  by  the  Corporation  in  1784  towards  rebuild- 


1801.]         CENSUS  0?   1801.      THE   CUFTON   CRESCENTS.  9 

ing  the  cliurch,  A  committee  pointed  out  that  the  vestry 
had  not  complied  with  the  conditions  on  which  the  subscrip- 
tion was  granted^  but  suggested  that  if  the  churchwardens 
would  so  far  fulfil  their  engagements  as  to  lay  into  Broad 
Street  enough  ground  then  covered  by  houses  to  widen  the 
thoroughfare  to  twenty-two  feet  (!),  the  money  might  be  paid. 
It  may  be  presumed  that  this  condition  was  complied  with^ 
as  the  Corporation,  in  1803,  ordered  the  remainder  of  their 
gift  to  be  paid  in  instalments. 

The  census  of  1801,  the  first  attempted  in  England,  was 
taken  in  March,  greatly  to  the  dissatisfaction  of  many  pious 
persons,  who  condemned  the  numbering  of  the  people  as 
a  national  sin.  The  statistics  showed  that  the  population 
of  the  ancient  city  was  40,814.  The  inhabitants  of  Clifton 
numbered  4,467 ;  St.  George's  had  4,038 ;  the  district  of  St. 
James  and  St.  Paul,  1,897 ;  St.  Philip's,  outside  the  city, 
8,406  j  Mangotsfield,  2,942;  and  Stapleton,  1,54L  Adding 
these  suburban  districts,  the  total  given  by  the  census-takers 
was  63,645.  Bedminster,  which  had  a  population  of  3,278, 
was  omitted  from  the  suburbs  for  reasons  unexplained. 
Much  disappointment  was  felt  at  the  result,  local  writers 
having  confidently  asserted  that  the  city  was  inferior  only  to 
London  in  point  of  inhabitants,  and  that  more  than  100,000 
persons  dwelt  within  its  boundaries. 

About  ten  years  before  this  date  a  project  was  started  for 
the  erection  of  an  imposing  crescent  at  Clifton,  and  several 
thousand  pounds  were  expended  on  the  undertaking.  The 
outbreak  of  war  with  France,  however,  had  ruinous  effects 
on  this  and  many  other  speculations,*^  and  the  scheme  was 
abandoned  for  some  years.  On  the  17th  of  May,  1800,  "the 
pile  of  buildings  called  the  Eoyal  York  Crescent,"  with  the 
land  adjoining,  being  the  sites  for  the  unbuilt  houses,  was 
offered  for  sale  in  Felix  Farley's  Journal,  but  without  success. 
In  July,  1801,  the  newspapers  announced  that  the  Government 
intended  to  buy  the  site  of  the  unfinished  portion  of  the 


*  Tyndall's  park  was  sold,  in  1790,  for  conversion  into  an  extensive  orescent, 
and  the  construction  of  some  houses  had  begun,  when  the  war  broke  oat 
and  the  project  coUapsed  (Bonner's  Bristol  Journal^  May  24th,  1794k 
About  the  same  time,  **  Mother  Pngsley's  field,"  on  which  St.Matthew*s  Churcn 
and  a  number  of  streets  now  stand,  was  sold  to  speculators,  who  sank  the 
foundation  of  several  houses — part  of  an  immense  crescent — but  the  purchasers 
were  unable  to  complete  the  contract,  and  the  turf  was  restored  (Evans*  Chnm. 
HitU,  p.  202,  where  the  owner  is  inaccurately  styled  **  Freenum  **  instead  of 
Fremantle).  Several  builders  became  insolvent  in  1798,  and  a  great  number  of 
unfinished  houses  in  St.  James's  Parade,  Richmond  Place,  York  Buildings, 
Portland  Square,  the  Mall,  Gave  Street,  etc.,  were  offered  for  sale. 


10  THE  ANNALS  OF  BRISTOL.  [1801. 

crescent  (about  three-fourths  of  the  whole),  and  to  construct 
barracks  there  for  the  accommodation  of  a  large  body  of 
troops.  The  ground^  in  fact^  was  actually  secured  for  this 
purpose,  but  earnest  petitions  were  forwarded  by  the  inhabi- 
tants, urging  that  the  intended  building  would  be  ruinous  to 
the  fame  of  Clifton  as  a  watering-place,  and  the  army  autho- 
rities abandoned  the  design  in  July,  1803.*  The  crescent 
long  remained  in  a  desolate  state.  In  May,  1809,  a  sale  by 
auction  was  announced  "by  order  of  the  Barrack  Depart- 
ment," of  fifteen  unfinished  houses,  adjoining  the  first  ten 
already  standing  at  the  west  end.  In  the  following  year 
another  sale  was  announced  of  "  the  remaining  twenty-one 
unfinished  houses,  with  a  long  ran^e  of  void  ground  behind 
the  same.''  The  advertisement  of  1809  was  accompanied 
by  a  notice,  by  private  persons,  of  a  sale  of  eleven  partly 
erected  houses  "  in  the  crescent,"  by  which,  it  may  be  pre- 
sumed, was  meant  the  lower  or  Comwallis  Crescent.  This 
row  was  also  begun  in  the  prosperous  years  before  the  war, 
the  first  leases  being  granted  by  the  Merchants'  Society  in 
November,  1791,  but  was  left  in  an  equally  forlorn  condition. 
In  October,  1805^  a  local  newspaper  stated  that  the  number 
of  permanent  residents  in  Clifton  was  becoming  greater  every 
season,  "  so  that  we  should  not  be  surprised  if,  in  a  very  few 
years,  the  present  ruinous  piles  of  unfinished  houses  were  to 
offer  a  lucrative  speculation  to  the  builder."  The  last  gaps 
in  York  Crescent,  however,  were  not  filled  until  about  1818. 
Comwallis  Crescent  was  still  longer  in  hand,  nine  of  its  un- 
finished houses  being  advertised  for  sale  in  July,  1824.  In 
Saville  Place,  described  in  an  advertisement  as  "  in  the  centre 
of  the  village,"  there  were  eleven  houses  partially  finished 
in  June,  1796.  Some  were  not  completed  until  a  much  later 
date.  Richmond  Terrace  contained  several  unoccupied 
houses  at  the  close  of  1799,  when  a  gang  of  thieves  attempted 
to  steal  the  lead  from  the  roofs,  "  which  was  only  prevented," 
according  to  a  local  journalist,  "  by  one  of  the  gang  being 
caught  in  a  man-trap,  which,  from  the  quantity  of  blood  left 
on  the  trap  and  premises,  must  have  severely  wounded  him." 
Another  row  of  dweUings  which  remained  lon^  incomplete 
was  Bellevue.  "  Eight  of  the  unfinished  houses  there  were 
offered  for  sale  in  July,  1810. 

*  The  result  was  disappointing  to  the  liquor  interests.  The  minutes  of  the 
Court  of  Aldermen  for  February,  1808,  record  the  presentation  of  a  petition 
from  **  several  distillers,  rectifiers,  maltsters,  etc.,  praying  that  the  mayor  and 
aldermen  would  recommend  to  Goyemment  the  building  barracks  in  or  near 
thii  city.    And  it  is  agreed  not  to  reoommend  the  said  petition.*' 


1801.]  COBPOSATE   PENSIONS.      THE   PEACE.  11 

On  the  petition  of  several  tanners  and  curriers  in  the  city, 
the  Common  Council,  in  June,  1801,  resolved  on  the  establish- 
ment of  a  market  in  the  Back  Hall  for  the  sale,  every 
Wednesday  and  Saturday,  of  hides  and  skins,  and  every 
Thursday  of  leather. 

The  Council  at  the  same  meeting  granted  a  pension  for  life 
of  £60  per  annum  to  Mrs.  Harris,  widow  of  Alderman  John 
Harris  (mayor  in  1790-91),  who  had  died  a  few  days  before. 
Two  gentlemen,  Gregory  Harris  and  Wintour  Harris,  were 
about  the  same  time  nominated  to  comfortable  offices  under 
the  Corporation.  Such  arrangements  were  not  unusual  under 
the  irresponsible  system  of  government.  In  1808  a  pension 
of  £40  was  granted  to  the  widow  of  Samuel  Sedgley,  common 
councillor.  In  1817  the  widow  of  Alderman  Auderson  was 
granted  a  life  annuity  of  £100;  and  a  little  later  Charles 
Anderson,  presumably  her  son,  resigned  his  seat  in  the 
Council,  and  was  elected  to  the  well-endowed  office  of 
collector  of  town  dues.  J.  H.  Wilcox  (who  twice  filled  the 
office  of  mayor)  relinquished  his  aldermanic  gown  under 
financial  reverses  about  the  same  time,  and  became  deputy- 
chamberlain.  In  1820,  upon  the  death  of  Mr.  Joseph  Edye 
(mayor  1801-2),  his  widow  was  voted  a  pension  of  £60  yearly. 
Other  cases  occur  in  the  minutes,  and  will  be  mentioned 
hereafter.  Another  singular  item  occurs  regularly  every  six 
months  in  the  civic  accounts.  The  following  is  an  example  : 
— ''  1800,  September  29,  paid  sundry  coachmen  for  attending 
with  their  masters'  carriages  on  public  days;  half-year 
to  this  day,  £32  12^.''  Then  there  are  numerous  payments 
for  the  robes  and  cocked  hats  of  the  petty  officers  of  the 
Corporation,  who  were  freshly  caparisoned  every  other  year. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  Corporation  declined  to  pay  more  than 
£26  12«.  towards  lighting  the  city.  For  this  sum  a  lamp  was 
lighted  at  Wine  Street  pump,  four  at  the  Drawbridge,  as 
many  in  the  centre  of  Queen  Square,  and  three  each  at  the 
Mansion  House  and  Council  House. 

The  tidings  of  the  signature,  at  Amiens,  of  preliminaries 
of  peace  with  France  were  received,  in  October,  1801,  with 
enthusiastic  tokens  of  joy.  At  Bath,  the  populace  took  the 
horses  (which  on  this  happy  occasion  were  ten  in  number) 
out  of  the  mail  coach  which  brought  the  news,  and  insisted 
on  dragging  the  vehicle  as  far  as  Twerton.  Through  the 
delay  thus  caused,  the  intelligence  reached  Bristol  by  a  stage- 
coach, whereupon  arrangements  were  made  for  meeting  the 
mail  and  escorting  it  into  the  city.  The  procession,  which  to 
a  later  generation  may  have  a  somewhat  ludicrous  air,  con- 


12  THR  ANNALS  OP   BRISTOL.  [1801. 

sisted  of  a  troop  of  cavalry  stationed  in  the  city,  some  civic 
officials,  Mr.  Weeks  of  the  Bush,  in  a  gig,  magniloquently 
styled  a  curricle,  accompanied  by  a  "  musical  gentleman,"  the 
"delightful  sounds"  of  whose  trumpet  greatly  affected  the 
newspaper  chronicler,  and  some  thousands  of  the  commonalty, 
whose  continuous  cheers  were  re-echoed  by  the  spectators 
stationed  along  the  route.  This  spectacle  occurred  about 
noontide  on  a  Sunday,  but  the  chronicler  hastens  to  observe 
that  the  demonstration  "  did  not  trench  upon  the  duties  or 
decencies "  of  the  day.  On  Monday,  however,  the  air  was 
rent  with  bell-ringing  and  cannon  firing,  and  the  irrepressible 
Weeks  appeared  on  the  balcony  of  his  hotel  "  habited  as  a 
sailor,  and  delivered  a  string  of  appropriate  toasts  and  senti- 
ments, which  were  each  of  them  preceded  by  an  air  from  the 
band  of  the  Oxfordshire  militia,  and  by  the  plaudits  of  the 
populace."  At  night  the  city  was  ablaze  with  tar  barrels, 
oil  lamps,  and  tallow  candles,  Mr.  Weeks  coming  out  again 
triumphantly  with  an  illuminated  allegorical  group  repre- 
senting Britannia,  Cupid,  the  arts  and  sciences,  Hercules, 
Fortitude,  Minerva,  a  French  sansculotte,  and  various  other 
astonishing  personages.*  The  popular  joy  broke  forth  afresh 
npon  the  proclamation  of  peace  in  the  following  May.  Unpre- 
cedented crowds  flocked  into  the  city  from  the  surrounding 
districts  to  witness  the  ceremony,  which  was  carried  out 
according  to  ancient  precedent,  the  proclamation  being 
read  on  the  site  of  the  High  Cross,  at  St.  Peter's  pump,  at 
St.  Thomas's  Church,  at  Queen  Square,  and  lastly  opposite  the 
Exchange.  A  large  platform,  covered  with  crimson  cloth, 
for  the  use  of  the  civic  authorities,  was  carried  about  in  the 
procession  from  place  to  place.  In  the  evening  the  city 
Droke  into  a  general  illumination,  Felix  Farley's  Journal 
remarking  that  so  numerous  were  the  emblematical  trans- 
parencies that  a  full  detail  would  occupy  "nearly  every 
column  "  of  the  pigmy  newspaper. 

*  Although  Mr.  Weeks's  demonstrations  were  sometunes  rather  grotesque, 
his  fellow-citizens  bad  reason  to  be  grateful  to  bim.  In  an  advertisement  pub- 
lished in  1814,  he  stated  that  when  ne  entered  upon  the  Bush,  in  1772,  there 
was  no  ooaoh  from  the  city  to  London,  Exeter,  Oxford,  or  Birmingham  which 
performed  its  journey  in  less  than  two  days.  After  ineffectually  urging  the 
proprietors  to  quicken  their  speed.  Weeks  started  a  one-day  coach  to  Birming- 
ham himself,  and  carried  it  on  against  a  bitter  opposition,  charging  the  pas- 
sengers only  lOt.  6d.  and  6$,  Qd,  for  inside  and  outside  respectiyely,  and  giving 
each  of  them  a  dinner  and  a  pint  of  wine  at  Gloucester  into  the  bargain.  After 
a  two  years'  struggle  his  opponents  gave  in,  and  one-day  journeys  to  the  above 
towns  became  the  established  rule.  Another  of  Weeks's  boasts  was,  that  he  had 
**  the  honour  to  conduct  Lord  Rodney  into  the  city  in  1782/'  which  cost  him 
the  sum  of  £447.— Brntoi  Jowmal,  June  11, 1814. 


1802.]  8CHSKE   FOB  A   FLOATINQ   HABBOUB.  13 

Considerable  difficulty  was  found  in  filling  the  civic  chair 
in  1801.  Three  gentlemen,  Messrs.  Gordon,  Page,  and 
Anderson,  were  successively  elected  mayor,  but  each  in  turn 
refused  to  accept  the  office,  and  paid  the  fine  of  £400.  After 
a  long  delay,  Mr.  Joseph  Edye  was  appointed. 
.  The  urgent  need  of  improvement  in  the  shipping  accom- 
modation  of  the  port  had  been  widely  felt  for  many  years 
before  this  date,  and  many  schemes  for  that  purpose  were 
devised  during  the  last  half  of  the  previous  century.  80  early 
as  1765,  Smeaton,  the  greatest  engineer  of  the  time,  proposed 
to  convert  the  lower  part  of  the  Froom  into  a  dock,  the 
estimated  outlay  being  only  about  £20,000,  Two  years  later, 
William  Champion,  an  ingenious  Bristolian,  produced  a 
scheme  for  damming  up  the  Avon,  the  cost  of  which  he  esti- 
mated at  £35,000.  This  was  followed  by  a  dock  project, 
designed  by  John  Champion.  The  completion  of  the 
merchants'  dock,  near  Rownham,  in  1768,  which  was  the  work 
of  W.  Champion,  and  was  regarded  as  a  g^eat  improvement, 
temporarily  shelved  the  question;  but  the  complaints  of  ship- 
owners gradually  became  pressing,  and  numerous  fresh 
schemes  of  improvement  were  promulgated  towards  the  end 
of  the  century. 

It  was  not,  however,  until  1802  that  the  citizens  began 
to  consider  the  matter  seriously.  Early  in  that  year  a 
plan  was  laid  before  the  Corporation  and  the  Merchants' 
Company,  who  agreed  upon  referring  it  to  Mr.  William 
Jessop,  an  engineer  who  had  some  nine  years  before  sug- 

fested  a  floating  harbour  by  means  of  a  dam  at  Bownham. 
hat  gentleman  having  approved  of  the  project,  it  was 
brought  before  the  inhabitants  generally;  and  on  the  1st  May 
a  subscription  was  started  to  carry  out  an  undertaking  the 
boldness  of  which  exceeded  any  engineering  work  hitherto 
attempted  in  the  kingdom.  Jessop  proposed  to  cut  a  new 
course  for  the  Avon  from  Prince's  Street  to  Rownham,  and 
to  form  the  old  channel  into  a  dock ;  which  he  estimated 
could  be  done  for  about  £150,000.  If  this  plan  had  been 
adopted,  vessels  would  have  had  the  option  of  entering  the 
new  harbour,  or  of  taking  up  berths  in  the  old  river  at  the 
Grove  and  Welsh  Back,  as  before.  But  the  promoters  of 
a  floating  harbour  declined  to  sanction  an  arrangement  which 
would  have  allowed  merchants  to  escape  the  charges  intended 
to  recoup  the  cost  of  the  undertaking.  They  preferred,  at 
a  great  additional  expense  to  themselves,  to  monopolize  the 
whole  of  the  ancient  harbour;  and  their  engineer  was  re- 
quested to  alter  his  plan  so  as  to  extend  the  float  to  Temple 


14  THB  ANNALS  OP  BRISTOL.  [1802. 

Back^   a  ''cut"   for  the   Avon  being  thus   required  from 
Bownham  to  Netham. 

Vast  as  was  the  addition  thus  made  to  the  intended 
excavations^   Mr.  Jessop^  with  the  light-heartedness  of  his 

{)rofession^  estimated  that  the  outlay  for  the  cutting  and 
ocks  would  still  not  exceed  £212,000,  or,  including  the 
cost  of  the  land,  £300,000.  It  being  arranged  that  the 
shareholders  in  the  proposed  company  should  receive  4  per 
cent,  per  annum  for  six  years  and  8  per  cent,  in  perpetuity, 
a  subscription  covering  £250,000  of  the  proposed  capital 
was  eventually  obtained.  An  application  to  Parliament  for 
the  necessary  powers  was  made  in  the  session  of  1803,  when  a 
lively  opposition  was  manifested.  The  assent  of  the  Corpora- 
tion to  the  bill — ^which,  besides  imposing  a  tax  upon  every 
ship  entering  the  port,  levied  an  annual  rate  amounting  to 
£2,400  (equal  to  sixpence  in  the  pound)  on  the  fixed  pro- 
perty within  the  city— had  been  given  by  a  majority  of  only 
one  vote ;  and,  as  was  natural,  the  difference  of  opinion  in 
the  Council  largely  prevailed  out  of  doors.  Many  local  ship- 
owners, amongst  whom  were  found  the  influential  names  of 
Bright,  Gibbs,  King,  Baillie,  Protheroe  and  Pinney,  urged 
before  the  House  of  Commons'  committee  that  at  all  the  other 
ports  where  docks  had  been  established  the  use  of  such 
accommodation  was  optional,  the  proprietors  being  content 
to  look  for  profit  from  those  who  voluntarily  came  to  them, 
whereas,  if  the  proposed  float  were  carried  out,  ships  could 
not  discharge  their  cargoes  at  Bristol  without  been  mulcted 
for  works  which  many  of  them  did  not  require.  Other 
opponents  of  the  scheme  submitted  that  an  impost  on  house 
property  for  the  benefit  of  private  individuals  was  as  unjus- 
tifiable as  it  was  unprecedented.  The  legislature  thought 
proper,  however,  to  treat  the  scheme  in  an  exceptional 
manner,  and  the  bill  received  the  royal  assent.  Under  its 
provisions  a  company  was  incorporated  under  the  title  of  the 
Bristol  Docks  Company,  consisting  of  the  Corporation,  the 
Merchants'  Company  and  the  subscribers  to  the  sum  of 
£250,000.     The  total  capital  was  fixed  at  £300,000. 

According  to  the  original  draft  of  the  bill,  approved  by  the 
Common  Council,  the  Corporation  estates  were  made  liable  for 
the  payment  of  one  moiety  of  the  interest  on  the  intended  loan 
of  £60,000.  The  Court  of  Aldermen,  however,  denounced 
the  proposed  mortgage  as  unjust  and  dangerous,  and,  after 
the  bill  had  passed  the  Commons,  a  successful  appeal  was 
made  to  the  Upper  House  to  strike  out  the  provision.  Par- 
liament also  rejected  an  audacious  clause  levying  dues  on 


1802.]  CONSTBUCnON   OP  THB   FLOAT.  15 

shipping  trading  to  Newport.  Twenty-seven  directors  were 
appointed^  comprising  the  mayor  and  eight  members  of  the 
Common  Coancil,  the  master  and  eight  members  of  the 
Merchants'  Company^  and  nine  gentlemen  chosen  by  the 
shareholders.  It  was  stipulated  in  the  Act  that  the  two 
corporate  bodies  were  to  have  no  interest  in  the  dividends. 

The  excavation  of  a  new  bed  for  the  Avon  from  St  Philip's 
Marsh  to  Bownham  was  necessarilv  the  first  portion  of  the 
intended  works^  and  was  of  itself  an  undertaking  of  a 
gigantic  character.  The  first  sod  of  '^  the  cut ''  was  turned 
in  a  field  near  Mr.  Toast's  shipbuilding  yard^  at  Wapping^  on 
the  1st  of  May,  1804.  The  hour  of  five  in  the  morning,  then 
the  usual  time  at  which  labourers  began  work,  was  fixed  for 
the  ceremony,  which  was  performed  by  Mr.  G.  Webb  Hall, 
in  the  presence  of  the  directors  and  many  influential  share- 
holders. The  tax  on  the  city  came  into  operation  on  and 
from  this  date.  At  a  meeting  of  the  Company  in  the  follow- 
ing year  it  was  reported  that  the  directors  had  been  unable 
to  borrow  the  £50,000  authorized  by  the  Act,  and  that  the 
share  capital  was  deficient  by  £14,500,  owing  to  some  of  the 
subscribers  having  withdrawn  their  names  before  the  bill 
became  law.  It  was  thereupon  determined  to  augment  the 
amount  of  the  existing  shares  from  £100  to  £135  each, 
thereby  supplying  the  required  sum.  (£12  ds.  was  after- 
wards added  to  each  share  by  dividing  the  forfeited  capital, 
making  the  total  £147  9s.)  As  a  sop  to  the  proprietors  for 
this  compulsory  demand  upon  them,  the  board  promised  that 
the  interest  named  in  the  Act  should  be  raised  from  4  to 
6  per  cent. ;  and  a  bill  to  legalize  this  arrangement  passed 
soon  afterwards. 

This,   however,    was    but    the    beginning    of    the    com- 

Eany's  financial  difficulties.  The  estimates  originally  framed, 
oth  as  to  the  expense  of  the  works  and  the  time  required 
for  their  completion,  proved  altogether  deceptive.  The 
task  of  constructing  the  lock  and  basin  at  Rownham 
had  been  especially  underrated,  and  it  was  at  last  found 
necessary  to  contract  the  area  of  the  basin  by  one-third. 
Even  after  making  this  reduction,  the  time  fixed  for 
the  completion  of  the  works  was  exceeded  by  a  year,  while 
the  original  capital  of  £300,000  defrayed  only  one-half  of 
the  total  expenditure.  To  meet  this  formidable  deficit,  the 
directors,  in  1807,  promoted  another  bill,  empowering  them 
to  raise  fresh  capital  on  the  security  of  greatly  enhanced 
charges  on  shipping  and  ^oods :  the  coasting  trade,  which  had 
origmally  been  exempted  from  dues  on  goods,  being  now 


16  THE  ANNALS  OF  BRISTOL.  [1802. 

deprived  of  its  immunity.  Through  the  slovenly  manner  in 
which  private  legislation  was  conducted  at  that  period,  the 
bill  was  presented  and  made  some  progress  in  the  House  of 
Commons  before  the  citizens,  or  even  the  Common  Council, 
became  acquainted  with  its  character;  but  the  underhand 
proceedings  of  the  Dock  Board  having  been  at  length  dis- 
covered, an  opposition  was  organized  in  the  city,  and  was 
supported  by  the  Corporation  and  by  the  petitions  of  several 
seaport  towns.  The  scheme  was  ultimately  rejected  in  the 
Commons  by  88  votes  against  55.  But  in  1808  another  bill, 
deemed  less  objectionable  in  some  of  its  details,  and  giving 
powers  for  the  erection  of  a  toll-bridge  and  caisson  near 
Prince's  Street,  was  allowed  to  pass  unopposed.  The  capital 
was  raised  by  this  Act  to  £500,000.  Under  a  fourth  statute, 
obtained  in  1809,  the  amount  was  increased  to  £600,000. 
During  the  parliamentary  struggle  the  works  had  been  slowly 
progressing,  and  it  was  not  until  January,  1809,  that  the 
Avon  was  diverted  into  its  new  channel.  On  the  2nd  of 
April  the  first  vessels  passed  up  and  entered  Bathurst  Basin 
— so  called  in  honour  of  one  of  the  city  members.  Finally, 
on  the  1st  May  following,  the  docks  were  certified  as  com- 
pleted.* 

To  commemorate  this  striking  event  in  the  history  of 
the  city,  a  thousand  of  the  labourers  who  had  been  em- 
ployed on  the  works  were  entertained  to  dinner  in  a  field 
opposite  Mardyke.  The  principal  items  of  the  bill  of  fare 
consisted  of  two  oxen,  roasted  whole,  a  proportionate  weight 
of  potatoes,  and  six  hundredweight  of  plum  pudding,  a 
gallon  of  strong  beer  being  also  provided  for  each  guest. 
The  excessive  supply  of  liquor  led,  as  might  have  been  ex- 
pected, to  a  general  fight  between  the  English  and  Irish 
parties  amongst  the  labourers,  who  had  always  been  on  bad 
terms.  The  Irishmen,  according  to  a  reporter,  attempted  to 
take  possession  of  a  cart  bringing  up  a  fresh  supply  of 
'*  stingo,"  and,  being  defeated  in  their  attempt,  ran  off  in 
a  rage  to  their  head-quarters  in  Marsh  Street,  whence  they 
reappeared  armed  with  shillelaghs.    The  Englishmen,  equally 

*  At  Oloucestev  summer  assizes  in  1809,  the  proprietors  of  a  local  braR8 
manafaotory  (names  carefully  suppressed  by  the  newspapers)  claimed  £40,000 
damages  from  the  Dock  Company  for  depriying  their  factory  of  water  during  the 
construction  of  the  floating  harbour.  The  jury  awarded  the  plaintiffs  £10,000. 
Another  dispute,  which  long  remained  unsettled,  arose  out  of  the  practical 
destruction  of  the  water-mill  on  St.  James's  Back,  by  the  damming  up  of 
the  Froom.  The  mill,  which  belonged  to  the  Corporation,  let  for  £48  a  year. 
It  was  not  nntil  1822  that  the  Dock  Company  consented  to  pay  £992  to  the 
Corporation  and  £50  to  the  tenant. 


1802]  8TRAN0K    SCENE   AT   THE   INPIBMARY.  1? 

eager  for  the  fray,  having  followed  them  up,  the  hostile 
camps  met  in  Prince's  Street,  and  a  battle  royal  ensaed 
immediately.  As  the  civic  guardians  of  the  peace  were  ridi- 
culously inadequate  to  meet  the  emergency,  the  "  press  gang," 
a  social  institution  already  referred  to,  was  called  in  to 
arrest  the  leaders  of  the  two  factions,  and  the  tumult  wa;a 
suppressed.  The  new  "Float,"  eighty  acres  in  extent, 
entirely  removed  the  greatest  defect  of  the  port — the 
stranding  at  every  ebb  tide  of  the  vessels  awaiting  discharge 
or  loading,  a  test  of  strength  which  few  ships  save  those 
built  at  Bristol  were  able  to  endure  with  impunity.  The 
benefit  conferred  on  local  commerce  by  the  dock  was,  how- 
ever, in  the  opinion  of  some,  outweighed  by  the  extortionate 
dues  imposed  by  the  directors  in  their  short-sighted  and  self- 
destructive  efforts  to  realize  large  dividends  for  the  share- 
holders. Complaints  respecting  tnis  policy  soon  made  them- 
selves heard,  and  they  increased  from  year  to  year ;  but,  as 
will  subsequently  be  seen,  they  long  failed  to  produce  the 
least  effect  upon  the  Board.  No  dividend  on  the  .  share 
capital  was  paid  until  1823.* 

It  has  been  already  observed  that  the  barbarity  of  the  law 
in  the  reign  of  George  III.  afforded  some  excuse  for  the 
brutality  which  characterized  the  habits  of  the  people.  But 
for  the  indisputable  testimony  on  which  the  following  state- 
ments rest,  they  might  well  be  deemed  incredible  by  modem 
readers.  In  April,  1802,  two  women  were  executed  at  St. 
Michael's  Hill  gallows  for  infanticide.  The  bodies,  according 
to  the  judge's  sentence,  were  taken  for  dissection  to  the 
Infirmary,  in  an  open  cart,  followed  by  an  immense  mob. 
Some  of  the  surgeons  were  in  attendance,  and  after  the 
bodies  had  been  at  least  partially  stripped,  a  '' crucial  in- 
cision "  was  made  in  the  breast  of  each,  in  the  presence  of  as 
many  of  the  rabble  as  were  able  to  crush  into  the  room.  On 
the  following  day,  at  the  request  of  the  mayor  and  aldermen 
— who  were  present — ^the  brain  of  one  of  the  women  was 
dissected  and  lectured  upon  by  Mr.  Richard  Smith.  The 
authority  for  this  story  is  a  manuscript  note  by  Mr.  Smith 
himself,  who  appears  to  have  revelled  in  operations  upon 
malefactors,     ^though  somewhat  out  of  date,  another  inci- 

*  The  Dock  Company  obtained  authority  in  one  of  their  Acts  to  employ  the 
waste  water  of  the  Float  in  driving  mills,  which  were  intended  to  be  constructed 
at  the  **  overfall  **  near  Cumberland  Basin.  An  advertisement  appeared  in  the 
Brittol  Journal  of  November  22,  1810,  of   a  sale  by  auction  of  this  water 

C>wer,  and  of  the  foundations  of  three  *'  thoroughs,'*  for  powerful  mills.    No 
ter  reference  to  the  subject  has  been  discovered. 

C 


18  THE   ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL.  [1802. 

dent  relating  to  this  gentleman  may  as  well  be  added.  In 
April,  1821,  a  man  named  John  Horwood  was  hanged  at  the 
nsaal  place,  for  the  murder  of  a  girl,  and  his  body  also  fell 
into  Mr.  Smith's  hands.  The  following  tradesman's  account 
is  the  first  manuscript  contained  in  a  book  in  the  Infirmary 
library: — ^^ Bristol,  June,  1828.  Richard  Smith,  Esq.,  Dr. 
to  H.  H.  Essex.  To  binding,  in  the  skin  of  John  Horwood,  a 
variety  of  papers,  etc.,  relating  to  him,  the  same  being 
lettered  on  each  side  of  the  book,  '  Cutis  vera  Johannis 
Horwood,'  £1  10«."  Perhaps  all  that  can  be  said  in  excuse 
for  such  an  act  is,  that  it  had  been  surpassed  in  a  neighbour- 
ing county  a  few  years  previously.  According  to  the  Bristol 
Jouimal  of  May  11,  1816,  after  a  man  named  Marsh  had 
been  hanged  in  Somerset  for  murder,  his  body  was  flayed, 
and  his  skin  sent  to  Taunton  to  be  tanned. 

At  the  general  election  in  the  summer  of  1802,  John  Baker 
Holroyd,  Lord  SheflSeld,  who  had  represented  the  city  dur- 
ing two  Parliaments  in  the  Whig  interest,  announced  his 
intention  to  retire.  He  had  been  promised  an  English 
peerage,  to  which  he  was  promoted  a  few  weeks  later. 
Lord  Sheffield  gained  much  credit  for  his  exertions  in  sup- 
pressing the  riots  in  London  in  1 780,  but  he  will  be  chiefly 
remembered  by  posterity  as  the  correspondent  and  literary 
executor  of  Gibbon.  Sir  Frederick  M.  Eden,  a  supporter  of 
the  Addington  Ministry,  attempted  to  secure  the  vacant 
seat,  but  being  unknown  to  the  freemen,  he  met  with  a  cold 
reception  and  speedily  withdrew.  The  Whig  party  found 
a  champion  in  Mr.  Evan  Baillie,  ex-Colonel  of  the  Bristol 
volunteers,  and  a  wealthy  local  banker.  Mr.  Bragge  was 
again  the  nominee  of  the  Tories.  There  being  no  opposition, 
the  two  candidates  were  elected  on  the  5th  of  July. 

A  somewhat  astonishing  illustration  of  the  character  and 
conduct  of  ecclesiastical  dignitaries  in  the  Georgian  era 
is  afforded  by  an  incident  which  occurred  in  the  summer  of 
this  year.  During  some  trivial  reparations  in  the  cathedral, 
the  dean  and  chapter  resolved  that  the  lectern,  which  had 
been  presented  by  a  sub-dean  in  1683,  should  be  removed 
and  sold  as  an  inconvenience  and  obstruction.  A  firm  of 
brassfounders  was  consequently  called  in,  and  the  eagle, 
which  weighed  about  the  third  of  a  ton,  was  disposed  of  as 
old  brass  at  the  rate  of  d^d.  per  lb.  The  only  person  who 
appears  to  have  been  shocked  by  this  procedure  was  a 
gentleman  named  William  Ady,  residing  in  St.  James's,  who 
rescued  the  eagle  from  the  melting-pot  by  offering  an  ad- 
vanced price.     His  attempt  to  awaken  better  feelings  in  the 


1803.]     THB   DFKS   OV  NOBFOLS:  AT  THE   STONE   KITCHEN.  19 

chapter  by  proffering  to  return  it  for  the  sum  paid  down, 
proved,  however,  fruitless,  and  in  August  the  lectern  was 
advertised  for  sale  by  auction  at  the  Exchange  Coffee  Room, 
Clergymen,  churchwardens,  and  persons  contemplating  bene- 
factions to  their  parish  churches  were  especially  invited  to 
attend ;  but  the  advertiser,  apparently  dubious  of  finding  a 
buyer  in  this  direction,  pointed  out  that  "  traders  with 
foreign  parts  may  find  it  worth  their  while  to  purchase,  as  a 
like  opportunity  may  never  occur  again."  It  was  not  until 
the  scandal  had  reached  this  stage  that  Dean  Layard  and 
his  colleagues  thought  fit  to  offer  an  explanation  to  the 
public.  According  to  a  brief  statement  published  in  Felix 
Farley's  Brvstol  Joumaly  the  eagle,  which  "  had  not  been  used 
for  many  years,''  had  been  removed  simply  to  accommodate 
the  congregation ;  and  the  authorities  promised  the  introduc- 
tion of  ^'  something  in  its  stead  of  equal  or  greater  value  and 
ornament."  There  is  no  evidence  to  show  that  this  promise 
was  ever  performed.  On  the  contrary,  there  is  reason  to 
believe  that  other  articles,  more  especially  two  large  candel- 
abra that  once  stood  on  the  communion  table,  disappeared 
about  the  same  time.  Churchmen,  however,  were  almost  as 
indifferent  as  the  chapter.  At  the  auction  Mr.  Ady  could 
not  get  a  bidder  for  the  eagle,  and  he  finally  presented  it  to 
the  authorities  of  St.  Mary-le-port,  on  condition  that  it  should 
be  '^  placed  in  the  chancel,  there  to  remain  for  ever."  The 
conduct  of  the  cathedral  officials  can  scarcely  have  been 
approved  by  the  citizens,  but  the  only  audible  expression  of 
censure  is  reported  to  have  been  uttered  by  one  of  the  half- 
witted paupers  then  allowed  to  wander  about  the  streets. 
Being  rebuked  by  Dean  Layard  for  disturbing  the  peace  of 
the  college  precincts,  the  vagrant  made  an  inquiry  as  to 
bird-stealers  which  effectually  silenced  the  irritated  dig- 
nitary. 

Felix  Farley's  Bristol  Journal  of  February  5,  1803,  contains 
the  following  singular  paragraph: — "On  Saturday  last,  in 
order  to  decide  a  bet  for  200  guineas  which  had  been  made 
dependent  on  his  grace's  presence  there,  the  Duke  of  Nor- 
folk dined  with  a  party  of  gentlemen  at  what  is  commonly 
known  in  this  city  by  the  name  of  the  stone  kitchen,  at  the 
JRose  and  Crown,  in  Temple  Street,  where  the  evening  was 
3pent  in  the  utmost  conviviality  and  good  humour."  From 
another  paragraph  in  the  same  paper,  it  appears  that  the 
duke  had  been  presented  a  short  time  previously  with  the 
freedom  of  the  city  by  the  Corporation.  "  Jockey  of  Nor- 
folk," as  he  was  styled  by  his  convivial  contemporaries,  had 


( 


I 


20  THK  ANNALS  OF  BRISTOL.  [1803. 

for  some  reason  a  strong  liking  for  the  West  of  England, 
and  especially  for  the  city  of  Gloucester,  of  which  he  was 
elected  mayor  in  1798,  afterwards  becoming  its  recorder, 
lord  high  steward,  and  on  two  later  occasions  chief  magis- 
trate. His  visit  to  the  ^'  stone  kitchen  ^'  is  said  to  have  been 
brought  about  by  one  of  his  sporting  friends  in  Herefordshire, 
who  had  been  invited,  during  a  brief  sojourn  in  Bristol,  to 
one  of  the  tripe  and  beefsteak  feasts  given  every  Saturday, 
for  which  the  inn  was  famous.  In  despite  of  its  name  and 
locality,  the  place,  which  is  said  to  have  been  occupied  by  a 
family  named  Sloper  for  nearly  two  centuries,  until  thev 
died  out  in  1841,  was  the  resort  of  several  '^well-seasoned 
members  of  the  Common  Council  and  other  leading  citizens, 
amongst  whom  was  the  royal  academician.  Bird,  who  painted 
a  large  rose  upon  the  ceiling  of  the  "  kitchen.'^  *  In  accord- 
ance with  the  terms  of  the  wager,  no  alteration  was  made  in 
the  usual  fare  on  the  day  of  the  duke's  attendance,  but  his 
grace  thoroughly  enjoyed  the  entertainment,  which  indeed 
was  congenial  to  his  tastes,  and  is  said  to  have  ''  eaten  like 
Ajaz,  and  drunk  with  twenty-aldermanic  power."  There  is 
a  further  tradition  recorded  by  an  old  contributor  to  the 
Bristol  Times,  namely,  that  the  convivial  nobleman,  on  his 
departure,  was  being  conducted  through  a  narrow  alley 
which  enabled  visitors  to  avoid  the  front  tavern,  when  his 
ffrace,  whose  size  was  proportioned  to  his  gastronomic  capacity, 
knocked  over  an  oyster  stall,  and  was  objurgated  by  the 
choleric  virago  who  owned  it  as  a  pot-bellied  old  brute. 
The  duke,  it  is  added,  was  profuse  in  his  apologies,  and 
assisted  the  angry  dame  in  gathering  up  her  stock-in-trade. 

A  sad  incident,  peculiar  to  the  time,  occurred  one  Sunday 
afternoon  in  March,  1803.  On  the  previous  night  a  large 
press-gang  had  scoured  the  city  and  seized  upon  upwards  of 
two  hundred  able-bodied  men,  who  were  carried  off  to  the 
"  rendezvous,''  or  headquarters  of  the  impressment  service. 
On  Sunday  the  gang,  aided  by  a  party  of  marine  infantry, 
were  conveying  the  unfortunate  captives  to  Rownham,  in 
order  to  their  being  shipped  on  board  a  frigate  lying  in 
Kingroad,  when  a  mob  attacked  the  guard  in  Hotwell  Bead, 
pelting  the  officers  and  soldiers  with  mud,  stones,  and  broken 
bottles.  Some  of  the  marines,  injured  by  the  missiles,  re- 
taliated by  firing  into  the  crowd,  with  the  effect  of  killing  a 
boy.     A  woman  was  also  shot  in  the  breast,  and  a  man  had 

*  It  appears  from  Dr.  Bruce's  Handbook  to  Newcastle-upon-Tvne,  that  a 
'*  atone  kitchen  '*  also  existed  in  that  town  about  the  same  date,  and  that  it  was 
equally  popular  amongst  the  leading  merchants. 


..I 


1803.]  KNSOLKENT   OF   THK   BRISTOL   YOLUKTEEBS.  21 

an  ankle  fractured  by  a  bullet.  At  the  inquest  on  the  boy, 
the  jury,  after  hearing  evidence  as  to  the  provocation  offered 
by  the  mob^  returned  a  verdict  of  justifiable  homicide. 

A  musical  festival,  extending  over  three  days,  took  place  in 
Easter  week.  The  morning  performances  were  given  in  St. 
Paul's  Church,  and  consisted  of  a  selection  from  Handel's 
works,  and  the  oratorios  of  "The  Creation"  and  ''The 
Messiah.''  Two  miscellaneous  evening  concerts  were  ffiven 
in  the  theatre.  Mrs.  Billington,  ''  The  British  Syren,''  was 
the  leading  vocalist,  and  excited  general  admiration. 

War  with  France  having  again  broken  out  in  the  summer, 
the  Bristol  volunteers,  who  had  been  disbanded  with  scant 
courtesy  after  the  Peace  of  Amiens,  forgot  the  affront,  and 
were  forthwith  reorganized,  a  subscription  of  several  thousand 
pounds  being  raised  by  the  citizens  in  support  of  the  move- 
ment. Owing  to  the  arrogant  language  of  Napoleon,  and 
his  stupendous  preparations  for  invading  England,  the  ardour 
shown  in  defence  of  the  country  rose  to  enthusiasm.  It  was 
at  first  proposed  to  enrol  only  1,000  infantry  volunteers,  but 
1,100  citizens  pressed  forward  to  join,  and  similar  zeal  was 
shown  in  volunteering  for  the  local  cavalry  and  artillery,  the 
total  number  of  effectives  having  soon  reached  1,474.  The 
following  gentlemen  were  appointed  as  oflicers :  Infantry — 
Colonel,  Evan  Baillie,  M.P. ;  lieut.-colonels,  William  Gore 
and  Thomas  Tyndall ;  majors,  Thos.  Kington  and  Thomas 
Haynes ;  adjutant,  G-eo.  Bradshaw ;  quarter-master,  Stephen 
Cave;  captains,  G-.  Groldney,  S.  L.  Harford,  R.  Vaughan,  junr., 
Thos.  Cole,  Robert  Bush,  C.  Payne,  A.  P.  CoUings,  P.  Baillie, 
J.  Gordon,  and  J.  Haythome.  Light  horse — Major  com- 
mandant, Henry  Dnpont ;  captains,  Levi  Ames,  junr.,  Robert 
Kingsmill.*  Artillery — Captain,  W.  Innis  Pocock.  Corps 
numbering  about  200  each  were  also  formed  in  Clifton,  West- 
bury,  and  Bedminster,  the  two  former  being  united  in  a  bat- 
talion. In  a  short  time  more  than  16,000  men  were  enrolled 
in  Gloucestershire  and  Somerset — a  notable  fact  when  it  is 
remembered  that  the  entire  population  of  the  two  counties 
was  little  more  than  half  a  million.  In  order  to  make  use  of 
the  waterside  community,  a  corps  of  about  150  Sea  Fencibles 
was  established,  having  its  head-quarters  at  Pill.  The  com- 
mandant was  Captain  Sotheby,  R.N.  The  Common  Council 
voted  400  guineas  towards  the  establishment  of  the  various 
corps,  and  also  offered  £300  in  bounties  of  £3  each  to  the 

*  The  cavalry  oorpi,  having  become  greatly  diminished  in  numbers,  was  dis- 
solved in  July,  1813. 


22  THE  ANKAL8   OF  BRISTOL.  [1803. 

first  hundred  sailors  who  volunteered  to  enter  the  Boyal 
Navy.  Finally,  Sir  John  White  Jervis,  then  living  in 
Clifton,  undertook  to  raise  at  his  own  expense  a  volunteer 
rifle  corps,  two  companies  of  which  were  soon  organized.  It 
may  be  observed  in  parenthesis  that  the  land  volunteers  were 
exempted  from  service  in  the  militia,  then  compulsory  on 
persons  capable  of  bearing  arms,  and  that  the  pilots  and 
watermen  enrolled  in  the  Fencibles  secured  protection 
against  the  ruthless  press-gangs.  The  colours  of  the  Bristol 
infantry  were  consecrated  by  the  Eev.  Sir  A.  Elton  after  a 
service  in  the  cathedral ;  a  "  war  anthem  "  being  composed  by 
the  organist  for  the  occasion.  Telegraphs  and  beacons  were 
erected  on  the  principal  hills  of  Somerset,  Gloucestershire, 
and  the  neighbouring  counties;*  and  the  Duke  of  Cumber- 
land, who  had  been  appointed  military  commandant  of  the 
Severn  district,  visited  the  city  to  inspect  the  volunteers  and 
to  '^  fix  on  spots  best  calculated  for  the  erection  of  batteries 
on  the  Avon.*'  The  freedom  of  the  city  was  presented  to 
him  on  the  occasion.  A  more  lasting  honour  to  a  prince  who 
was  destined  to  be  the  most  unpopular  of  his  family,  was  the 
adoption  of  his  name  for  the  new  tidal  basin  constructed  a 
few  years  later  at  Bownham,  in  connection  with  the  floating 
harbour.  In  October  the  "  Boyal  Bristol  Light  Infantry '' 
were  engaged  in  guarding  500  French  prisoners  from  Wells 
to  Stapleton  prison  [now  the  Bristol  workhouse].  These 
captives,  who  had  marched  from  Plymouth,  were  followed 
from  time  to  time  by  several  thousand  others  consigned  to 
the  same  place.  In  December  a  meeting  was  held  in  the 
Guildhall,  at  which  General  Tarleton,  who  had  succeeded  to 
the  Duke  of  Cumberland's  command,  laid  before  the  mayor 
(Mr.  D.  Evans),  and  other  leading  citizens,  the  defenceless 
state  of  the  port  in  view  of  the  threatened  invasion.  After  a 
discussion,  it  was  resolved  to  provide  for  the  security  of  the 
harbour  by  gunboats,  for  the  construction  of  which  it  was 
resolved  to  apply  for  an  Act  to  raise  £20,000,  to  be  cleared 
off  by  a  tax  upon  the  citizens.  This  project,  however,  met 
with  such  decided  disapproval  at  the  parochial  meetings 
which  followed,  that  it  was  promptly  abandoned.  The 
volunteer  regiments  of  each  locality  were  called  upon  to 
perform  permanent  duty  for  a  few  weeks  yearly,  being 
generally   quartered   in   some   neighbouring  town.     During 

*  The  Corporation  voted  £200  for  the  erection  of  four  U  theee  sifinial  post8> 
"  fifty  feet  long,  with  halyyiurds  *'  at  *'  the  snuff  mill  on  Clifton  Bocks,  Dun  dry 
lower,  Kingsweston  Down,  and  Hohba'  Hill,  aboye  Portiahead  battery,**  for  the 
Mciirity  of  the  city. 


1803.]  DEATH   OP   THE   MA  YOB.  23 

this  period  the  men  received  military  pay.  In  September, 
1804,  when  it  was  believed  that  a  French  landing  might 
occur  at  any  moment,  it  was  arranged  that  the  Bristol  corps, 
on  receiving  a  signal,  should  march  on  Burford,  while  the 
Somerset  and  Gloucestershire  corps  should  be  directed  on 
Marlborough,  measures  being  taken  for  the  subsequent  trans-  . 
port  of  the  whole  force  eastwards  by  carts,  to  take  part  in 
the  defence  of  London.  Early  in  1805,  the  city  Guard-house 
in  Wine  Street,  which  had  been  for  some  years  in  a  ruinous 
state,  underwent  a  thorough  repair  in  order  to  accommodate 
the  garrison.  About  the  same  time  the  War  OflSce  entered 
into  a  contract  for  a  magazine  for  20,000  stand  of  arms,  "  to 
be  erected  in  the  Gloucester  Road,  without  Lawford's  Gate." 
This  building,  locally  known  as  the  Armoury,  has  long  dis- 
appeared, but  its  memory  is  preserved  by  the  name  of 
Armoury  Square,  given  to  the  dwellings  now  standing  on 
its  site. 

The  Common  Council  was  specially  convoked  in  August, 
1803,  owing  to  a  mournful  event  of  an  unusual  character, — 
the  death  of  the  mayor,  Mr.  Robert  Castle,  during  his  year  of 
office.  According  to  ancient  precedent,  the  chair  was  taken 
by  the  senior  alderman.  Sir  John  Durbin,  who  announced  the 
cause  of  the  meeting.  The  quaint  official  minutes  continue 
as  follows: — "And  the  robes,  swords,  and  other  insignia 
belonging  to  the  office  of  mayor,  which  the  late  mayor  died 
possessed  of,  being  laid  upon  the  table  in  order  to  be  dis- 
posed of  to  such  person  as  should  be  elected,"  three  gentle- 
men were  nominated,  and  David  Evans  was  chosen.  "  Then 
the  mayor-elect,  there  putting  on  his  scarlet  gown  and  the 
scarlet  robe  (always  worn  by  the  mayors  of  this  city  at  their 
swearing),  with  the  old  sheriffs  and  the  rest  of  the  Common 
Council,  also  in  their  scarlet  gowns,  removed  out  of  St. 
George's  Chapel  to  the  High  Desk  in  the  Guildhall,"  where 
the  oaths  were  administered  by  the  mayor  of  the  preceding 
year.  "  After  which  all  the  insignia  were  in  the  usual  man- 
ner delivered  to  Mr.  Mayor,  who  in  the  scarlet  robes  afore- 
said was,  with  the  sword  and  pearl  scabbard  borne  before 
him,  attended  by  the  others  of  the  Common  Council  (in  their 
scarlet  gowns)  to  the  Council-house,  where  they  separated." 
Only  four  years  later,  the  Corporation  had  again  to  regret 
the  loss  of  its  head,  Mr.  Henry  Bright  having  died  in  Novem- 
ber, 1807,  in  the  second  month  of  his  mayoralty.  Mr.  Samuel 
Birch  was  appointed  his  successor  in  December,  when  the 
above  ceremonies  were  repeated. 

Puritanic  views  and  practices  respecting  the  sanctity  of 


24  THE   ANNALS  OV   BRISTOL.  [1804. 

the  first  day  of  the  week  lingered  long  amongst  local  guar- 
dians of  order.  Felix  Farlsy^s  Journal  of  Feb.  2,  1804, 
contained  the  following  paragraph  : — "  Several  boys  were  on 
8anday  taken  to  Bridewell  for  playing  in  the  streets  in  St. 
Jjikmes  s  parish  during  the  time  of  morning  service."  In  the 
following  year  the  corporate  accounts  record  a  payment  of 
£1  \8,  lOi.  '^paid  George  Merrick,  costs  in  prosecuting  a 
man  for  prophaning  the  sabbath.'' 

Down  to  the  year  1804,  the  only  thoroughfare  from  Broad 
Street  to  Nelson  Street,  for  foot-passengers  as  well  as  for 
vehicles,  was  the  central  archway  under  St.  John's  Church 
tower,  now  appropriated  to  carriages.  Serious  accidents 
were  consequently  of  frequent  occurrence.  In  March  of 
this  year,  the  Corporation  purchased  a  lease,  granted  by  the 
feoffees  of  the  parish,  of  the  premises  adjoining  the  west 
wall  of  the  tower,  and  opened  in  1805  what  a  contemporary 
journalist  called  a  "noble"  (though  it  was  really  a  very 
mean)  archway  as  a  footpath  for  the  public.  In  1827,  the 
parochial  vestry  resolved  upon  restoring  the  tower  and  re- 
moving the  cistern  attached  to  the  south  side  of  the  church 
(the  appearance  of  which  is  shown  in  plates  in  Mr.  Seyer's 
and  the  Rev.  J.  Evans's  histories),  with  the  view  of  opening 
another  footway  on  the  east  side  of  the  tower.  The  entrance 
to  the  church,  previously  inside  the  great  archway — as  may 
still  be  seen  from  existing  remains — ^was  removed  to  the 
spot  previously  occupied  by  the  cistern  and  fountain,  and 
the  latter  was  set  up  on  its  present  site.  While  these  alter- 
ations were  in  progress,  the  vestry  memorialized  the  Common 
Council,  pointing  out  that  the  gateway  under  the  tower  had 
been  '^  for  many  years  complained  of  as  a  great  public  nui- 
sance, fraught  with  danger  and  difficulty  from  its  extreme 
narrowness  and  the  multitude  of  carriages  and  passengers 
passing  through  the  same ;  and  that  by  proper  and  adequate 
footways  on  each  side  of  the  tower  the  grievance  would  be 
greatly  diminished."  To  effect  this,  it  would  be  necessary  to 
take  down  the  house  abulting  upon  the  west  side  of  the  tower, 
and  the  property  being  leased  by  the  Corporation,  the  peti- 
tioners prayed  that  the  Common  Council  would  surrender 
its  interests,  in  order  that  the  site  might  be  sold  and  the 
proceeds  devoted  to  the  improvement.  The  Corporation 
having  assented,  the  building,  which  contained  some  window 
mouldings  and  other  slight  relics  of  the  church  of  St.  Law- 
rence (the  roof,  according  to  J.  Evans,  was  remarkably  pet*- 
fect  in  1824),  was  swept  away.  The  alterations,  which  were 
generally  approved,  were  finished  in  1829. 


1805.]  TAX  OK   SALT.      JOANNA   SOUTHCOTT.  25 

In  February^  1805,  four  habitaal  thieves,  captured  under 
peculiar  circumstances,  were  committed  to  Newrate  prison 
charged  with  a  burglary  in  St.  Augustine's  parish.  A  local 
journalist  wrote  : — "  They  had  converted  a  cavern  in  Cook's 
Folly  wood,  called  St.  John's  Hole,  into  a  kind  of  store-room, 
which  was  well  supplied  with  bacon,  cheese,  etc.,  and  were 
in  the  act  of  cooking  when  detected."  Crime  was  exceed- 
ingly prevalent  about  this  time,  and  the  Corporation  had 
made  the  following  payment  only  a  few  weeks  before  : — 
"  Paid  Wm.  Gibbons,  Esq.,  and  Co.,  for  86  dozen  hard  Hand 
Cuffs  for  city  use,  £130  19«." 

Amongst  the  ill-advised  fiscal  laws  passed  during  the 
struggle  with  the  French,  the  tax  on  salt  was  probably  the 
most  oppressive  and  injurious.  In  seeking  to  lighten  its 
severity  on  the  poor,  many  of  whom  lived  mainly  on  vege- 
tables, and  consequently  consumed  more  of  the  condiment 
than  the  wealthy,  Parliament  resorted  to  singular  devices. 
At  the  city  quarter  sessions  in  March,  the  justices,  in  com- 
pliance with  the  statute  law,  fixed  the  price  of  '^  rock  salt, 
otherwise  Bristol  salt,''  at  fivepence  per  pound,  and  la.  4d. 
per  quarter-peck.  The  penalty  upon  a  tradesman  charging 
a  higher  price  was  £20  for  each  offence.  One  conviction  is 
recorded  about  the  same  date. 

During  the  summer  it  was  currently  reported  that  George 
III.,  whose  most  extensive  journeys  had  previously  been  to 
Cheltenham  and  Weymouth,  intended  to  make  a  tour  in  the 
West  of  England.  The  Corporation  was  immediately  on  the 
alert,  and  Sir  John  Durbin,  Alderman  Noble,  the  two  sheriffs, 
and  the  town  clerk  were  sent  off  to  London  with  an  invita- 
tion to  his  Majesty  to  visit  the  city.  If  the  king  had  ever 
contemplated  a  '^progress,"  however,  he  had  changed  his 
mind.  The  expenses  of  the  deputation  amounted  to  no  less 
a  sum  than  £282 ;  but  the  details  are  unfortunately  wanting. 

The  religious  delusions  of  a  semi-lunatic  Devonshire 
woman,  named  Joanna  Southcott,  attracted  much  attention 
about  this  time.  Joanna  had  many  enthusiastic  followers, 
and  probably  some  relatives,  in  Bristol.  In  1805  and  1806 
her  "  inspired  writings  "  were  advertised  as  on  sale  at  "  Mr. 
Southcott's,  69,  Broad  Quay."  Shortly  afterwards  her 
votaries  announced  that  ^'  there  was  a  place  in  Bristol " 
where  her  inspirations  "  were  publicly  read  and  explained ; 
which  opens  every  Sunday  evening  at  6  o'clock  and  every 
Friday  evening  at  7."  Further  information  was  to  be  had 
of  "the  expositor,  the  Eev.  Samuel  Eyre."  The  place 
rented  by  the  fanatics,  at  £25  a  year,  was  a  large  room  in 


26  THE   ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL.  [1805. 

what  has  been  called  Colston's  house  in  Small  Street,  then 
chiefly  occupied  by  the'printing  office  of  the  Mii-ror.  Joanna 
died  in  1814,  and  the  discovery  of  imposture  upon  a  surgical 
examination  of  her  body  so  shook  the  faith  of  her  Bristol 
admirers  that  the  furniture  of  the  room  was  seized  for  rent, 
and  sold  in  the  street.  The  more  infatuated  section  of  the 
Southcottites  nevertheless  retained  the  belief  that  their 
prophet  would  reappear ;  and  the  rent  of  the  chamber  was 
paid  until  1854,  when  the  death  of  Mr.  Eyre,  *'  of  Stokes 
Croft,"  put  an  end  to  the  occupancy. 

On  Sunday,  the  15th  of  Sept.,  1805,  the  date  fixed  by  the 
charter  of  Queen  Anne,  Mr.  John  Foy  Edgar,  a  member  of 
the  Common  Council,  was  elected  mayor,  but  refused  to 
accept  the  office,  and  was  fined  £400  for  his  contumacy. 
The  fine  was  paid,  although  the  refusal  may  have  been  due 
to  the  declining  fortunes  of  Mr.  Edgar,  who  had  tw^ice  filled 
the  then  costly  office  of  sheriff.  In  1818,  he  relinquished  his 
seat  in  the  chamber,  and  was  appointed  sword-bearer.  Mr. 
Edgar,  who  was  descended  maternally  from  Sir  Robert 
Cann,  a  masterful  mayor  and  member  of  Parliament  occupy- 
ing a  conspicuous  place  in  the  city  annals,  was  of  a  different 
stamp  from  the  ordinary  ruck  of  civic  officials.  Educated  at 
Christchurch  College,  Oxford,  he  was  found  an  acceptable 
acquaintance  by  young  men  of  high  social  and  intellectual 
position ;  and  when  the  Earl  of  Liverpool  and  Mr.  Canning 

Said  a  visit  to  Bristol,  in  1825,  they  recognised  and  cor- 
ially  saluted  their  old  companion  at  the  university — the 
Premier  and  his  colleague,  it  is  said,  making  offers  of  assist- 
ance which  the  fallen  merchant  was  too  proud  to  accept. 
Mr.  Crabb  Robinson,  who  visited  Bristol  in  1836,  after 
recording  in  his  diary  a  call  upon  Joseph  Cottle,  wrote  : — 
**  Here,  too,  was  living  a  man  I  became  acquainted  with 
through  Flaxman — Edgar,  a  man  of  accomplishments  and 
taste.  A  merchant  once  enjoying  wealth,  he  was  the  patron 
of  Flaxman  when  little  known.  Adversity  befell  him,  and 
then,  though  he  was  a  Conservative,  and  the  Radicals  were 
in  power,*  they  behaved,  as  he  himself  said,  with  generosity 
towards  a  political  adversary,  allowing  him  to  retain  the 
office  of  sword-bearer  on  terms  more  liberal  than  could  have 
been  required.  He  was  an  F.S.A.,  and  possessed  an  unusual 
degree  of  antiquarian  knowledge." 

It  would  appear  that  the  Common  Council  found  it  im- 

*  There  it  obvionsly  some  error  in  Mr.  Robinson  *8  reminiscence  of  the  facts. 
ICr.  Edgar  was  president  of  the  Anchor  Society  in  1798. 


1806.1  THE   MAYOB^S   SALARY.      COEPORATE   PRESENTS.  27 

possible  to  fill  the  civic  chair  except  by  promising  to  increase 
the  salary  attached  to  it.  At  all  events,  Mr.  Daniel  Wait 
had  no  sooner  been  elected  in  the  place  of  Mr.  Edgar,  than 
the  sum  annually  granted  to  the  mayor,  which  had  been 
increased  from  £1,200  to  £1,500  in  1800,  was  further  aug- 
mented to  £2,000.  Yet  a  twelvemonth  after,  Mr.  Wm.  Fripp 
refused  the  office,  and  was  fined  £500.  Four  years  later,  in 
1810,  Sir  Henry  Protheroe  also  paid  the  same  fine  rather  than 
accept  the  chief  magistracy,  and  indicated  the  cause  of  his 
refusal  by  giving  notice  of  a  motion  for  raising  the  salary  to 
£2,500,  to  which  amount  it  was  actually  advanced  in  Septem- 
ber, 1813.  Two  gentlemen,  Levi  Ames,  junr.,  and  W.  Inman, 
had  declined  the  costly  honour  in  1811,  and  paid  a  fine  of 
£500  each. 

Intense  public  emotion  was  caused  in  November  by  the 
naval  victory  of  Trafalgar  and  the  death  of  Nelson  at  the 
moment  of  his  greatest  triumph.  On  the  occasion  of  the 
national  thanksgiving,  in  December,  the  collections  made  on 
behalf  of  the  Patriotic  Fund  at  the  places  of  worship  in  the 
city  amounted  to  over  £1,000.  The  largest  gifts  were  made 
at  St.  James's  and  St.  Paul's  Churches  and  Lewin's-mead 
Chapel,*  each  of  these  collections  slightly  exceeding  £100, 

On  the  20th  of  February,  1806,  the  ironwork  of  the  bridge 
intended  to  carry  the  Bath  road  over  the  new  course  of 
the  Avon  suddenly  collapsed  when  it  was  on  the  point  of 
completion.  Two  of  the  workmen  were  mortally  injured. 
The  art  of  iron  bridge  building  being  then  in  its  infancy, 
the  faultiness  of  the  design  escaped  attention,  and  the  bridge 
was  rebuilt  on  the  original  plan.  As  had  frequently  been  pre- 
dicted, it  fell  a  second  time,  many  years  later  (see  March,  1855). 

The  account  books  of  the  Corporation  for  the  month  of 
March  contain  the  following  item,  which  is  eloquent  enough 
to  speak  for  itself : — "  Paid  John  Noble,  Esq.,  for  wine  sent 
as  a  present  to  the  High  Steward,  members  in  Parliament, 
and  Recorder,  by  order  of  Common  Council,  £295  9fiJ'  The 
gifts,  which  were  made  every  year,  consisted  of  a  butt  of 
sherry  to  the  two  members,  another  to  the  Lord  High 
Steward,  and  a  hogshead  to  the  Recorder.  The  fortunate 
purveyor,  "  John  Noble,  Esq.,'^  was  one  of  the  aldermen  of 
the  city,  and  a  Whig,  as  were  the  majority  of  the  municipal 
body  at  that  date.      Mr.  Noble  was  appointed  one  of  the 

*  The  congregation  of  Lewin'B  Mead  Chapel  at  one  time  consisted  of  so  many 
leading  citizens  that,  with  one  exception,  its  members  included  the  whole 
aldermanio  bench.  Of  the  feoffees  of  the  Unitarian  almshouse  in  Stokes  Croft 
in  1785,  eight  had  been  mayors  and  three  sheriffs. — Brittol  Timei,  April  9, 1853. 


28  THE  ANKALS  OF  BRISTOL.  [1806. 

Auditors  of  public  accounts  during  the  ministry  of  Lord 
Grenville  (1806),  and  afterwards  lived  in  London,  but 
retained  his  aldermanic  gown  until  his  death  in  1828. 

The  foundation-stone  of  the  left  wing  of  the  Infirmary  was 
laid  in  June  by  Mr.  B.  Protheroe.  Prior  to  commencing  the 
work  the  committee  had  collected  a  fund  sufficient  to  provide 
for  the  cost  of  the  building,  and  had  also  obtained  by  a 
public  subscription  the  sum  of  £10,500,  which  was  invested 
as  an  endowment  for  maintaining  the  new  wards.  For  some 
inscrutable  reason,  the  whole  of  the  Infirmary  buildings  were 

fainted  black,  and  presented  a  most  lugubrious  appearance, 
rince  Puckler  Muskau,  who  visited  the  city  in  1828,  noted 
the  fact  with  astonishment,  and  compared  the  place  to  "  an 
enormous  mausoleum.^'  It  was  not  until  more  than  thirty 
years  later  that  the  doleful  aspect  of  the  institution  was 
removed  at  the  expense  of  Mr.  H.  A.  Palmer. 

A  bill  for  amending  previous  local  Acts  relating  to  the 
sewerage,  cleansing,  paving,  and  lighting  of  the  city,  received 
the  royal  assent  during  the  parliamentary  session  of  1806. 
For  several  years  previous  to  this  date,  the  Corporation  was 
looked  upon  by  the  ratepayers  with  extreme  distrust,  and 
every  effort  made  to  extend  its  powers  over  the  citizens  had 
been  obstinately  resisted.  On  the  present  occasion  the 
Common  Council,  in  order  to  carry  a  bill  unquestionably 
desirable,  proclaimed  its  willingness  to  delegate  the  powers 
of  the  statute  to  a  body  of  commissioners.  This  announce- 
ment was  received  with  as  much  approval  as  surprise ;  but' 
upon  looking  into  the  matter,  the  citizens  found  that  the  con- 
cession was  rendered  delusive  by  a  provision  under  which 
the  Corporation  retained  its  predominance  under  disguise. 
The  bill  provided  that  the  ratepayers  of  each  parish  should 
nominate  ten  persons,  from  whom  the  Council  were  to  select 
two  at  their  discretion — an  arrangement  by  which  the 
authorities  doubtless  expected  to  eliminate  all  who  were 
likely  to  be  critical  or  hostile.  An  influential  body  of  rate- 
payers, acting  as  parochial  delegates,  combined  to  oppose 
this  clause;  but  the  corporate  officials,  after  promising  to 
delay  the  measure  until  the  objectors  had  laid  their  case 
before  Parliament,  pushed  the  bill  through  its  final  stages, 
and  then  coolly  laughed  at  their  dupes.  The  latter  held  an 
indignation  meeting  to  denounce  the  conduct  of  the  author- 
ities and  protest  against  the  blow  struck  at  the  rights  and 
interests  of  the  citizens ;  but  the  triumph  of  the  Corporation 
was  not  the  less  complete,  the  commissioners  being  always 
the  subservient  instruments  of  the   Common   Council.      A 


1806.]        SLAVERY   IN   BRISTOL.      ELECTION   EXPENDITURE.  29 

sum  of  £2^230  in  consols,  being  tlie  surplus  of  the  trust  for 
repairing  and  lighting  Bristol  Bridge,  was  handed  over  to 
the  new  body,  which  continued  to  exercise  its  functions  as  a 
highway  board,  and  to  levy  rates  throughout  the  ancient 
city  until  so  late  a  date  as  1851,  when  it  was  superseded  by 
the  adoption  of  the  Health  of  Towns  Act  by  the  Council. 

The  short-lived  Whig  Ministry  of  1806  succeeded  in  pass- 
ing through  Parliament  a  bill  for  the  suppression  of  the 
inhuman  slave-trade  between  Africa  and  the  West  India 
colonies.  The  measure  was  opposed  by  Mr.  Bathurst,  one 
of  the  members  for  Bristol,  where  the  trade  had  flourished 
exceedingly  during  the  previous  century.  Public  opinion, 
however,  had  nearly  brought  about  its  extinction,  a  paper  in 
the  Monthly  Magazine  for  May,  1799,  observing  that  it  was 
"just  expiring"  in  Bristol;  and  Mr.  Protheroe,  M.P.,  stated 
thiat  when  the  Act  passed  not  a  single  slaver  hailed  from  the 
port.  A  reference  to  Clarkson's  work  on  the  subject  will 
prove  that  the  conversion  of  local  merchants  had  been  re- 
markably rapid.  Slavery  was  even  recognised  in  England. 
In  Sarah  Farley^ 8  Bristol  Journal  for  Jan.  9,  1768,  was  the 
following  advertisement : — '^  To  be  sold,  a  healthy  Negro 
Slave,  named  Prince,  17  years  of  age,  5  feet  10  inches  high, 
and  extremely  well  grown.  Enquire  of  Joshua  Springer,  in 
St.  Stephen's  Lane.  So  late  as  Dec.  8,  1792,  a  local  journal 
reported  that  a  wealthy  citizen  had  just  sold  a  '^  black  ser- 
vant girl,  who  had  been  many  years  in  his  service,'^  into 
perpetual  bondage,  and  that  the  price  of  the  unhappy 
woman,  who  was  shipped  to  Jamaica,  was  £80,  colonial 
currency.  When  she  "put  her  feet  into  the  fatal  boat  at 
Lamplighters'  Hall,  her  tears  ran  down  her  face  like  a 
shower  of  rain." 

The  three  election  contests  in  1780,  1781,  and  1784  were 
long  remembered  for  their  extreme  costliness.  In  1780,  the 
Prime  Minister,  with  the  consent  of  George  III.,  contributed 
£1,000  from  the  king's  private  purse  with  the  object  of 
defeating  Burke  and  his  Whig  colleague,  Cruger.  Tnis  gift 
was  but  a  drop  in  the  bucket,  however,  and  in  1781,  upon 
the  death  of  one  of  the  successful  Tory  members,  the  local 
leaders,  exhausted  by  the  previous  struggle,  made  an  earnest 
appeal  for  further  assistance,  and  secretly  received  £5,000 
from  the  royal  bounty.  About  the  same  time  the  king's 
income  was  drawn  upon  to  the  extent  of  £2,000  on  behalf  of 
the  Tory  party  in  Gloucestershire  (see  "  Correspondence  of 
George  III.  and  Lord  North,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  425) .  The  still  more 
expensive  struggle  in  1784  ended  in  a  drawn  battle^  each  side 


\ 

Li 


80  THE   ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL.  [1807. 

returning  a  candidate,  and  the  rival  camps  appear  to  have 
thereupon  mutually  agreed  to  avoid  further  conflicts  upon 
the  basis  of  a  divided  representation.  Thus  for  many  years 
there  was  not  even  the  semblance  of  a  struggle.  A  general 
election  took  place  in  October,  1806,  when  Mr.  Bathurst,  the 
Tory  nominee,  and  Colonel  Baillie,  the  representative  of  the 
Whigs,  were  re-elected.  Parliament  was  again  dissolved  in 
the  spring  of  1807,  and  as  the  old  compromise  remained  in 
force,  Mr.  Bathurst  (who  had  just  been  appointed  Master  of 
the  Mint)  and  Colonel  Baillie  were  nominated  for  the  third 
time.  The  intended  unanimity  of  the  proceedings  at  the 
Guildhall,  on  the  5th  of  May,  was,  however,  interrupted  by  a 
man  named  Henry  Hunt,  who  had  recently  started  a  "  Clifton 
genuine  beer  brewery  "  at  Jacob's  wells,  and  who  afterwards 
obtained  national  notoriety  for  his  demagogic  oratory  in 
support  of  annual  parliaments  and  universal  suffrage.  Hunt 
presented  himself  on  the  platform  to  propose  Sir  John  Jervis, 
a  popular  lawyer,  and  afterwards  Lord  Chief  Justice  of  the 
Common  Pleas ;  but  the  sheriffs  refused  to  accept  the  nom- 
ination, on  the  ground  that  its  proposer  was  neither  a  free- 
holder  nor  a  free  burgess  of  the  city.  During  the  chairing 
of  the  members.  Hunt's  followers,  who  had  on  the  previous 
night  demolished  the  windows  of  the  Council  House  and 
White  Lion  Hotel,  pelted  Mr.  Bathurst  so  vigorously  with 
mud  and  sticks  that  he  was  forced  to  leave  his  gilded  car 
and  beat  a  retreat.  Another  attack  was  being  organized 
arainst  his  hostelry,  the  White  Lion,  when  Hunt  successfully 
diverted  the  attention  of  the  mob  by  offering  to  distribute 
two  butts  of  beer  at  his  brewery.  In  the  evening,  the  win- 
dows of  the  Council  House  and  the  neighbouring  hotel  were 
again  assailed  by  a  drunken  crowd. 

A  new  hotel  was  opened  during  the  summer  in  a  large 
mansion  in  College  Place,  for  many  years  the  residence  of 
Alderman  Noble.  The  opening  dinner  of  ^'  Reeves's  Hotel " 
took  place  on  the  25th  of  June,  the  mayor,  Mr.  (afterwards  Sir) 
Richard  Vaughan,  presiding.  The  company,  twenty-two  in 
number,  consisted  chiefly  of  aldermen  and  common  council- 
lors, and  the  bacchanalian  powers  of  the  party  may  be 
judged  from  the  "wine  bill'  drawn  up  by  the  chairman, 
and  religiously  preserved  by  Mr.  Reeves.*  The  items  were 
as  follows : — ^Dinners,  at  2b8.,  £27  10«. ;  12  bottles  of  sherry, 
at  5tf.  6d.,  £3  6s.;  12  bottles  of  port,  at  5^.,  £3;  12  bottles  of 
hock,  at  10«.  6d.,  £6  6ft.;  20  bottles  of  claret,  at  Us.,  £11 ; 

•  •*  MS.  AnnalB,"  Citj  Library,  IL,  388. 


1S08.]     VISIT   07  THE   PSINCE   07   WALES.      7ATAL   DUELS.  31 

with  6  bottles  of  champagne  (paid  for  by  the  mayor).  The 
total  was  sixty-two  bottles  for  twenty-two  persons.  Mr. 
Keeves,  who  was  famous  as  a  caterer^  made  a  fortune  of 
£20,000  before  retiring  from  business. 

The  Prince  of  Wales,  accompanied  by  the  Duke  of  Sussex, 
having  arrived  at  Berkeley  Castle  during  a  short  tour  in  the 
West,  his  royal,  highness  responded  to  an  invitation  of  the 
Corporation  by  paying  a  visit  to  Bristol  on  the  6th  of  October. 
Attended  by  his  brother^  his  noble  host,  and  a  numerous 
party  of  friends,  he  entered  the  city  by  Park  Street,  and  was 
conducted  by  the  sheriffs.  Sir  H.  Protheroe  and  Mr.  Hay- 
thome,  to  the  Mansion  House,  amidst  the  usual  tokens  of 
rejoicing.  An  address  was  there  presented,  in  which  the 
Corporation  assured  the  prince  that  while  they  contemplated 
the  blessings  they  enjoyed  under  the  paternal  reign  of  his 
father,  "the  true  principles  of  greatness  which  adorn 
the  character  of  your  royal  highness  encourage  us  to  hope 
in  the  prospect  of  their  continuance."  A  suitable  reply 
having  been  made,  the  prince  was  presented  with  the  free- 
dom of  the  city  in  a  gold  box.  The  royal  visitor  explained 
that  his  entrance  into  the  city  in  a  close  cairiage — ^which, 
says  the  reporter,  had  greatly  disappointed  the  spectators, 
and  especially  the  fair  sex — was  due  to  his  suffering  from  a 
swelled  face,  and  he  then  condescended  to  inspect  the  guard 
of  honour  in  front  of  the  house,  and  to  show  himself  to  the 
populace.  Having  partaken  of  a  sumptuous  banquet  at  the 
Merchants'  Hall,  the  royal  party  left  for  Berkeley,  the  visit 
having  lasted  about  four  hours.  The  entertainment  cost  the 
city  £1,225.  The  Duke  of  Sussex  also  received  the  freedom 
of  the  city  shortly  afterwards,  and  a  similar  compliment  was 
conferred  upon  the  Duke  of  Gloucester  in  the  following  year. 

The  small  dome  surmounting  the  tower  of  All  Saints' 
Church, — a  grotesque  whim  of  churchwardendom  in  the 
previous  century, — having  become  dilapidated,  was  replaced 
in  January,  1808,  by  the  existing  structure,  which  is  not  less 
incongruous  with  a  Norman  fabric  than  was  its  predecessor. 

On  the  25th  March,  1808,  a  double  duel  took  place  amongst 
four  of  the  French  war  prisoners  at  Stapleton,  two  of  whom 
were  mortally  wounded.  A  verdict  of  manslaughter  against 
the  two  survivors  was  returned  by  the  coroner's  jury ;  but 
at  the  Gloucester  assizes  in  the  following  month  they  were 
acquitted.  In  July,  1809,  another  fatal  duel  took  place  in 
the  prison.  Two  of  the  captives,  a  naval  and  a  military 
officer,  quarrelled  over  a  game  of  marbles,  by  which  they 
were  seeking  to  beguile  the  dreary  monotony  of  the  place. 


32  THE  ANNALS  07  BRISTOL.  [1808. 

whereupon  a  duel  was  arranged  to  come  off  in  the  chapel. 
Ordinary  weapons  being  of  course  out  of  their  reach^  the 
antagonists  fought  with  sticks^  to  the  ends  of  which  they 
had  contrived  to  fix  sharp  pieces  of  iron^  and  one  of  the 
men  was  mortally  injured.  The  coroner's  inquest  resulted 
in  a  verdict  of  wilful  murder  against  the  other ;  but  at  the 
ensuing  summer  assizes  at  Gloucester  the  jury  acquitted  the 
prisoner^  who^  it  was  deposed,  acted  in  self-defence.  A 
contemporary  local  newspaper  stated  that  not  less  than  150 
duels  had  been  fought  amongst  the  prisoners,  averaging 
about  5,500  in  number,  during  the  previous  three  years. 
Owing  to  the  enforced  idleness  of  the  unhappy  men,  gaming 
became  a  passion  amongst  them ;  and  it  was  not  uncommon 
to  find  a  prisoner  reduced  to  nakedness  through  wagering 
away  the  clothes  upon  his  back. 

An  additional  butcher  market  in  Nicholas  Street  was 
opened  on  the  25th  of  June,  1808.  The  building  had  cost  the 
Corporation  upwards  of  £5,000. 

The  local  journals  for  the  early  weeks  of  September  con- 
tained an  advertisement  of  the  intended  sale  by  auction,  by 
order  of  the  mayor  (Mr.  S.  Birch)  and  the  other  surveyors 
of  the  city  lands,  of  ''the  materials  of  Temple  Grate,  now 
standing  at  the  top  of  Temple  Street.''  This  step  was  deter- 
mined upon  in  consequence  of  a  petition  addressed  to  the 
Common  Council  by  residents  in  the  neighbourhood,  setting 
forth  that  the  gate  was  very  narrow  and  ruinous,  a  great 
impediment  to  traffic,  as  well  as  dangerous  and  inconvenient, 
and  that  its  removal  would  considerably  improve  the  street. 
Strangely  enough,  none  of  the  newspapers  appear  to  have 
noticed  the  sale  itself,  nor  the  destruction  of  a  building  which, 
though  neither  ancient  nor  beautiful,  was  still  identified  with 
the  history  of  the  city.  From  the  diary  of  a  citizen  pub- 
lished in  the  Times  and  Mirror  (March  15, 1884),  it  appears 
that  the  materials  were  bought  by  a  Mr.  Wilmot,  carpenter, 
for  £107.  The  city  arms  were  on  the  outside  of  the  gate, 
and  the  royal  arms  on  the  inside.  The  structure  was  re- 
moved shortly  afterwards,  much  to  the  convenience  of  public 
traffic.  In  September,  1869,  workmen  came  upon  some 
remains  of  the  gate,  or  possibly  of  its  predecessor,  when 
excavating  the  foundations  of  the  bridge  connected  with  the 
harbour  railway. 

A  proposal  to  establish  a  Commercial  Coffee  Boom,  on  the 

Sattem  of  Lloyd's  Coffee  Room  in  London,  was  circulated 
uring  the  autumn  of  this  year.     The  project  having  been 
favourably  received^  a  meetinpr  was  held  in  November,  the 


1809.]  COMMERCIAL   BOOMS.      MALL  ASSEMBLY   HOOM.  33 

mayor  (Mr.  J.  Haythome)  in  the  chair,  when  it  was  stated 
that  £10,000  would  be  required  to  carry  out  the  undertaking 
in  a  manner  worthy  of  the  city.  The  value  of  the  shares 
was  fixed  at  £25  each,  and  a  subscription  having  been 
started,  the  entire  sum  was  guaranteed  within  twenty-four 
hours.  A  design  by  a  Mr.  Busby  having  been  selected, 
the  foundation  stone  of  the  building  was  laid  in  March,  1810, 
by  Mr.  George  Dyer,  treasurer,  in  the  presence  of  most  of 
the  leading  citizens.  The  rooms,  which  cost  about  £1 7,000, 
were  opened  in  September,  1811,  when  the  original  title  was 
altered,  the  word  **  coffee  "  being  suppressed.  The  number 
of  members  at  the  outset  was  about  500,  but  they  increased 
in  a  few  months  to  over  600. 

A  heavy  snowstorm  occurred  early  in  the  year  1809.  Being 
followed  by  an  unusually  rapid  thaw,  the  greatest  flood  ever 
remembered  took  place  in  the  valleys  of  the  Avon  and  the 
Froom,  and  caused  great  damage  in  the  city.  The  water 
spread  over  large  portions  of  Newfoundland,  Callowhill, 
Milk,  King,  and  Merchant  Streets,  St.  James's  Back,  and 
Broadmead,  some  houses  being,  inundated  to  the  depth  of 
six  feet.  Provisions  had  to  be  conveyed  to  imprisoned 
families  by  means  of  boats.  A  temporary  bridge  over  the 
Float,  for  use  whilst  the  drawbridge  was  under  repair,  was 
carried  away,  some  passengers  having  a  narrow  escape. 

Up  to  this  time  both  of  the  assembly  rooms  established 
in  Clifton  for  balls  and  entertainments  were  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Dowry  Square,  which,  through  the  increasing 
number  of  residences  on  the  brow  of  the  hill,  was  ceasing  to 
be  patronized  by  fashionable  visitors.  The  need  of  a  suit- 
able public  building  in  a  commodious  situation  had  been 
recognised  in  1 792,  when  a  scheme  was  started  to  build  an 
assembly  room  and  hotel  by  means  of  a  tontine,  but  the 
project  collapsed.  Having  been  revived,  the  foundation 
stone  of  the  Mall  Assembly  Rooms,  to  which  a  new  hostelry, 
to  be  called  the  Clifton  Hotel,  was  to  be  attached,  was  laid 
in  the  spring  of  1806.  In  January,  1809,  the  structure, 
which  was  of  an  imposing  character,  and  occupied  the  whole 
east  end  of  the  Mall,  was  roofed  in,  when,  says  a  contem- 
porary diarist  {Times  and  Mirror,  March  15,  1884),  "the 
proprietors  had  an  ox  roasted  whole,  and  gave  it  to  the 
populace.^'  The  Assembly  Boom  was  opened  in  November, 
1811,  with  the  most  brilliant  ball  ever  known  in  Clifton.  A 
room  attached  to  the  York  Hotel  (on  the  site  of  Clifton 
Down  Hotol)  which  had  occasionally  served  for  balls,  was 
rarely  used  after  this  date. 

D 


•34  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL.  [1809. 

A  fatal  duel  took  place  in  a  field  near  the  Montagu  Hotel 
on  the  1st  of  March^  1809^  and  caused  a  lively  sensation  in  the 
district.  The  parties^  who,  it  was  reported,  had  quarrelled 
at  the  theatre,  were  Mr.  Henry  Smith,  attorney,  a  member 
of  an  old  Bristol  family,  and  Mr.  Bichard  Priest,  a  tailor  in 
Clare  Street.  The  latter  was  mortally  wounded  in  the  thigh, 
and  died  within  a  few  hours.  [The  account  of  the  affair 
given  in  the  local  newspapers  does  not  occupy  half  a  dozen 
lines.]  Smith  fled  to  Portugal,  but  surrendered  at  the 
assizes  in  April,  1810.  No  indictment,  however,  was  pre- 
sented against  him,  and  after  being  arraigned  upon  the 
verdict  of  the  coroner's  ]ury,  a  convenient  informality  was 
found  in  the  document,  upon  which  he  was  at  once  dis- 
charged. 

In  consequence  of  the  occupation  of  Spain  by  the  armies 
of  the  French  emperor,  and  the  enormous  destruction  of 
sheep  by  the  foreign  invaders,  Spanish  wool,  which  had 
previously  formed  one  of  the  largest  imports  into  Bristol, 
rose  in  this  market  to  wholly  unprecedented  prices.  The 
highest  rate  known  before  the  war  for  fine  Spanish  wool  was 
6«.  9d,  per  lb. ;  but  at  a  sale  in  the  Exchange  CofTee  Boom  in 
the  spring  of  1809,  Mr.  Lane,  a  broker,  disposed  of  a  lot  at 
20«.  6cZ.  per  lb.  A  few  days  later,  a  cloth  manufacturer  of 
Wotton-under-Edge  offered  21«.  per  lb.  for  a  parcel,  which 
was  refused.  One  large  transaction  took  place  at  30«.  per  lb. ; 
but  the  purchaser,  discovering  that  he  had  been  deceived 
by  false  representations,  forced  the  vendors  to  return  him 
a  considerable  sum.  Some  flocks  of  merino  sheep  were  after- 
wards brought  from  the  Peninsula,  and  sold  at  exceedingly 
high  prices  on  being  landed  at  Shirehampton.  The  Spaniards, 
through  carelessness  and  blundering,  subsequently  allowed 
Germany  to  wrest  from  them  the  supremacy  they  had  long 
enjoyed  in  the  fine  wool  trade ;  and  Bristol  suffered  much  by 
the  loss  of  this  branch  of  her  commerce. 

One  of  the  earliest  i-ailways,  if  not  actually  the  first,  pro- 
jected in  the  West  of  England,  was  a  proposed  line  to  con- 
nect the  Bristol  with  the  English  Channel.  The  promoters, 
whose  scheme  is  mentioned  in  the  Bnstol  Gazette  of  October 
18,  doubtless  contemplated  the  laying  down  of  a  horse  tram- 
way, similar  to  the  colliery  lines  then  common  in  Northumber- 
land; but  the  severe  financial  exigencies  of  the  war  rendered 
the  project  abortive. 

Notwithstanding  the  gloomy  condition  of  British  affairs, 
international  as  well  as  domestic,  the  commencement  of  the 
fiftieth  year  of  the  reign  of  George  III.  was  celebrated  on 


1810.]  STATUS  OF  OXORaX  in.   THX  DUKK  07  PORTLAND.    35 

the  23rd  of  October  with  much  rejoicing.  A  triumphal  arch 
was  erected  in  Com  Street  near  St.  Werburgh's  Church, 
under  which  the  mayor  and  members  of  the  Corporation 
passed  in  procession  on  their  way  to  the  mayor's  chapel. 
Large  congregations  also  attended  divine  service  in  the 
various  places  of  worship.  Subsequently,  as  the  result  of  a 
liberal  subscription,  to  which  the  Corporation  contributed 
£220,  distributions  of  meat,  etc.,  were  made  to  several 
thousand  poor  people,  the  children  in  the  endowed  schools 
were  treated  with  cake  and  wine,  and  about  twenty  miserable 
debtors  were  liberated  from  Newgate.  In  the  evening  a 
gigantic  bonfire  was  lighted  on  Brandon  Hill,  and  lighted  tar- 
barrels  were  kicked  about  in  Com  Street.  A  more  perma- 
nent memorial  of  the  king's  "  happy  reign  "  was  devised  in 
St.  Paul's  parish,  the  foundation-stone  of  an  obelisk  being 
laid  during  the  day  in  Portland  Square,  in  the  presence  of 
the  volunteer  corps  of  the  city  and  neighbourhood.  In  the 
following  April  the  obelisk  was  superseded  by  what  the 
newspapers  termed  ''  a  very  fine  statue  of  his  Majesty,''  the 
pedestal  of  which  bore  an  inscription  expressive  of  the  grati- 
tude of  the  subscribers  for  ^'  the  blessings  enjoyed  under  the 
best  of  kings.''  The  size  of  the  figure  is  not  recorded,  but 
the  editor  of  the  Gazette  asserted  that  in  point  of  execution 
it  was  equal  to  the  work  of  ''  Flaxman  and  NoUekens."  On 
March  23,  1813,  the  night  after  one  of  ''Orator  Hunt's" 
demagogical  performances  on  one  of  the  brazen  pillars  at  the 
Exchange,  a  party  of  eight  or  ten  men  entered  the  inclosure 
in  Portland  Square  and  flung  down  the  statue,  which  was  so 
much  injured  that  it  was  never  replaced.  One  of  the  per- 
petrators of  this  act  was  sentenced,  at  the  ensuing  quarter 
sessions,  to  twelve  months'  imprisonment. 

The  death  of  the  Duke  of  Portland,  then  Prime  Minister, 
in  1809,  caused  a  vacancy  in  the  office  of  Lord  High  Steward 
of  Bristol.  The  Common  Council,  in  March,  1810,  appointed 
as  his  successor  another  eminent  statesman.  Lord  G-renville. 
The  new  High  Steward  visited  the  city  in  May,  1811,  and 
was  magnificently  entertained  by  the  Corporation  on  being 
presented  with  the  freedom  of  the  city,  the  outlay,  as  shown 
by  the  civic  accounts,  being  no  less  than  £1,396.  Many 
prominent  citizens  were  excluded  from  this  banquet  because 
of  their  Tory  principles,  much  to  the  discredit  of  the  ruling 
party  in  the  Uorporation.  Lord  Grenville  was  also  present 
at  a  banquet  given  by  the  Whig  Club.  Another  guest  at 
the  latter  feast  was  the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  the  eccentric  gas- 
tronome already  referred  to  [p.  19]^  who  was  toasted  as  ''our 


36  .   THE   ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1810. 

friend  and  fellow-citizen."     Lord  Grenville  held  the  oflSce 
of  Lord  High  Steward  until  his  death,  in  1834. 

Shortly  after  the  appointment  of  Lord  Grenville,  the  Whig 
party  in  the  Common  Council  lost  its  predominance.  Some 
old  Whigs,  following  the  example  of  Burke,  had  previously 
changed  sides,  but  the  final  defeat  of  the  party  in  the  civic 
chamber  seems  to  have  been  due  to  the  reckless  conduct  of 
its  leaders,  who  lost  the  sympathy  of  the  younger  Whigs 
out  of  doors.  A  strong  feeling  had  grown  up  amongst  the 
citizens  that  the  revenues  of  the  Corporation,  instead  of 
being  squandered  in  useless  pomp,  should  be  made  subser- 
vient to  purposes  of  public  utility.  The  Corporation,  on  the 
other  hand,  showed  a  disposition  to  devote  a  continually  in- 
creasing amount  on  enjoyments  monopolized  by  themselves 
and  their  friends.  The  advance  in  the  mayor's  salary  to 
£2,000  at  a  time  of  much  national  distress  has  been  already 
recorded.  The  proceeding  was  followed  by  similar  liberality 
towards  the  sheriffs,  who  had  been  previously  allowed  £420 
each.  This  amount  was  found  to  be  far  from  adequate  to 
meet  the  expenditure  on  dinners,  etc.,  expected  from  the 
functionaries  in  question ;  and  when  a  gentleman  was  patri- 
otic enough  to  serve  the  office  twice,  it  became  the  custom 
to  allow  him  a  larger  honorarium.  In  1808,  Sir  Henry 
Protheroe  was  granted  £974  12/?.  3(i.,  and  Mr.  J.  Haythorne 
£840  on  this  account ;  they  subsequently  got  a  further  vote  of 
£84  between  them,  being  the  cost  of  a  piece  of  plate  pre- 
sented by  them  to  the  mayor  (H.  Bright),  who  died  during 
the  municipal  year.  In  1811,  the  sheriffs'  salaries  were  raised 
to  £630  each;  yet  one  of  the  functionaries  of  that  year,  W. 
Inman,  was  thought  deserving  of  £213  ISs.  4 J.  additional, 
for  having  served  a  second  time.  Adding  to  the  salaries  of 
the  mayor  and  sheriffs  the  expenditure  on  the  Mansion 
House,  about  £1,000  per  annum,  it  appears  that  fully  a 
fourth  of  the  civic  income  was  expended  on  display  and 
feasting  at  a  period  when  the  mass  of  the  inhabitants,  in 
common  with  the  country  at  large,  were  suffering  under  the 
burdens  and  misfortunes  of  the  long  struggle  with  the  French 
emperor.  The  effect  on  public  opinion  in  the  city  was  mani- 
fested when  it  became  necessary  to  fill  vacant  seats  in  the 
Common  Council.  Although  a  fine  of  £300  was  imposed  on 
gentlemen  refusing  to  accept  office  after  being  elected,  the 
repudiations  became  numerous  after  1805.  Five  years  later 
the  difficulty  assumed  a  form  which  strikingly  illustrated  the 
disgust  of  intelligent  lookers-on.  In  August,  1810,  upon  the 
death  of  two  common  councillors,  Messrs.  J.  B.  Bence  and 


1810.]  BKD  07  WHIG   RULE   IN  THE   CORPORATION.  37 

J.  Thomson  were  elected^  but  they  both  refused  to  serve,  and 
were  fined.  Messrs.  W.  Dowell  and  R.  Bash  were  next 
chosen,  only  to  pursue  the  same  course.  Messrs.  J.  Fowler 
and  J.  Vaughan  were  thereupon  elected,  and  the  former  took 
his  seat.  Mr.  Vaughan  refused,  and  the  gentleman  elected 
to  succeed  him,  Mr.  C.  Hill,  refused  also.  At  this  point 
another  councillor  died,  and  fresh  efforts  were  made  to  fill 
the  two  vacancies.  Remembering  that  the  Corporation  was 
one  of  the  wealthiest  and  most  distinguished  in  the  kingdom, 
it  is  not  a  little  significant  that  fourteen  gentlemen  were  suc- 
cessively appointed  and  successively  paid  the  fine  rather 
than  accept  what  was  once  regarded  as  an  honour.  Their 
names  were  J.  Cave,  J.  Sutton,  Tim.  Powell,  C.  Saunders, 
G.  Thome,  J.  R.  Lucas,  J.  Hurle,  Jos.  Powell,  T.  Stock, 
Jer.  Hill,  W.  Dowson,  J.  Nicholas,  G.  Gibbs,  and  T.  Hellicar. 
Finally,  after  a  delay  of  two  years,  two  gentlemen  were 
found  willing  to  accept  the  equivocal  distinction — Messrs. 
George  and  Abraham  Hilhouse.  They  were  supposed  to  be 
Whigs  by  Alderman  Bengough,  who  was  then  all-powerful  in 
the  Corporation  ;  but  a  few  months  after  their  election  they 
joined  the  Tory  camp,  which  by  their  help  obtained  a  majority, 
and  Alderman  Daniel,  its  leader,  a  strong-willed  disciplin- 
arian, gradually  obtained  so  complete  a  predominance  in  civic 
affairs  as  to  be  styled  by  his  admirers  the  ''  King  of  Bristol.'' 
Bad  as  had  been  the  system  of  local  government,  the  change 
of  autocrats  cannot  be  said  to  have  wrought  any  improve- 
ment. In  1812,  at  the  close  of  the  shrievalty  of  Messrs.  B. 
Brice  and  B.  Bickley,  who  had  served  twice,  they  were 
awarded  £1,687  16«.  Sd,,  as  well  as  a  further  sum  of  £150, 
the  fee  paid  to  a  barrister  for  acting  as  their  assessor  during 
the  first  election  of  that  year.  In  1813,  the  salary  of  the 
mayor  was  increased  to  £2,500,  and  in  1816,  Sir  W.  J. 
Struth  was  voted  £3,346  for  his  second  term  of  oflSce.*  A 
few  years  later,  as  will  be  seen  hereafter,  the  extravagance 
of  the  new  riginie,  maintained  as  it  was  by  crushing  imposts 
on  the  trade  of  the  port,  excited  a  fierce  storm  of  indignation 
amongst  the  leading  Tory  merchants,  and  the  mayor's  allow- 
ance was  reduced  (doubtless  with  much  unwillingness)  to 
£2,000.  Returning  for  the  present  to  the  diflficulty  experienced 
in  recruiting  the  Council,  a  remarkable  resolution  was  adopted 


*  Sir  William  claimed  and  received  a  farther  sum  of  £120  lis.  for  earthen- 
ware left  hy  him  at  the  Mansion  House.  ThjB  breakage  there  must  have  been 
enormous,  for  only  a  few  months  later  a  tradesman  was  paid  nearly  £40  for 
another  supply  of  crockery. 


38  THE  ASHilS  01  BBIBTOL.  [1810. 

in  June,  1813,  at  the  instaiice  of  the  ma^or  (Mr,  K.  Castle), 
who  moved  that  application  be  made  to  the  Crown  for  a  8up- 
plementaiy  charter  to  the  Corporation,  empowering  them  to 
augment  the  fine  for  refusing  to  serve  the  oflice  of  mayor, 
alderman,  sheriff,  or  common  councillor,  to  any  sum  not  ex- 
ceeding £2,000,  exemption  being  granted  only  to  persona 
willing  to  swear  that  they  were  not  worth  £8,000.  It  was 
thereupon  ordered  that  proper  measures  should  be  forthwith 
adopted  for  obtaining  such  powers;  but  the  only  further 
reference  to  the  subject  in  the  records  is  a  payment  to  the 
city  solicitors  of  £51  I7».  "for  the  intended  new  charter," 
after  which  the  project  was  abandoned  owing  to  the  deter- 
mined opposition  of  influential  citizens  of  both  political 
parties.  For  some  years  Alderman  Daniel  appears  to  have 
easily  obtained  new  adherents,  a  result  probably  due,  in 
Bome  measure,  to  the  system  of  adndtting  freemen  which  was 
adopted  under  his  rule.  In  the  e^ly  years  of  the  century 
the  fee  imposed  on  "  foreigners " — ^that  is,  men  not  free 
burgesses — on  taking  up  the  freedom  averaged  abont  15 
guineas.  But  in  1815  the  fee  of  Mr.  Joseph  Reynolds  (son  of 
the  philanthropist)  was  fixed  at  £84.  Shortly  after,  Mr.  B. 
Blakemore,  Mr,  G«orge  Grenfell,  and  Mr.  C.  Hare  were 
severally  required  to  pay  £105  before  their  admission.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  fees  demanded  from  Mr.  Gabriel  Goldney, 
Mr.  C.  L.  Walker,  Mr.  C.  Pinney,  and  Mr.  F.  Savage,  who 
all  became  town  councillors,  and  were  elected  mayors  (the 
last  named  refused  the  chief  magistracy],  were  reduced  to 
12  guineas.  Towards  the  close  of  the  reign  of  George  IV., 
when  the  Corporation  had  become,  if  possible,  more  unpopular 
than  ever,  it  again  became  difficult  to  induce  leading  citizens 
to  enter  the  Common  Council.*  Several  gentlemen  paid  the 
fine  rather  than  serve ;  and  seven  seats  were  vacant  in 
December,  1829,  of  which  only  three  could  then  be  filled. 
The  Whig  element  in  the  chamber  had  by  that  time  dwindled 
away  to  insignificance;  but  Alderman  Daniel  was  sagacious 
enough  to  prevent  its  entire  extinction,  and  could  easily 
afford  to  grant  it  an  occasional  recruit. 

Great  popular  discontent,  arising  partly  from  the  distressed 
state  of  industry  and  partly  from  the  repressive  measures 
adopted  by  the  Government,  existed  in  the  spring  of  1810. 
The  feeling  was  much  exasperated  by  the  arrest  of  Sir 
Francis  Burdett — a  refined  "  Orator  Hunt " — for  expressions 


1810.]       A   KIOT   PREVBNTED.      FASHION   IN   THE    PITHAT.  39 

that  in  later  days  would  pass  without  remark^  and  by  the 
shootine  down  of  several  persons  in  the  streets  of  London 
whilst  the  frothy  baronet  was  being  conducted  to  the  Tower. 
Unfortunately  the  protests  of  the  people  against  arbitrary 
rule  too  often  assumed  a  violent  character.  On  the  16th  of 
April,  1810,  the  day  fixed  for  opening  the  assizes.  Sir  Vicary 
Gibbs,  the  Recorder  (who,  as  Attorney-General,  had  made 
himself  highly  unpopular  by  his  informations  against  the 
press),  was  received  by  the  populace  on  his  entry  into  the 
city  with  groans  and  hisses ;  and  in  the  evening,  whilst  he 
was  being  entertained  at  the  Mansion  House,  the  windows 
were  destroyed  by  stones  amidst  shouts  of  "  Burdett  for  ever; 
no  Tower !"  The  mob  afterwards  visited  the  Council  House 
and  Guildhall,  where  the  windows  were  also  demolished.  In 
fact,  but  for  the  action  of  the  authorities,  disasters  similar  to 
those  of  1831  would  probably  have  occurred.  On  this  occa- 
sion, however,  the  danger  was  faced  with  a  courage  and 
firmness  which  should  have  been  an  example  twenty-one 
years  later.  The  Bristol  Gazette  eulogizes  '^  the  temperate 
and  dignified  behaviour  of  the  mayor  and  aldermen,  who 
went  among  the  people  and  reasoned  with  them  on  the  im- 
propriety of  their  conduct;*'  and  praise  is  rendered  to  ''the 
spirited  exertions  of  a  number  of  gentlemen  who  volunteered 
as  constables,''  these  combined  efforts  being  successful  in 
suppressing  the  disturbance. 

At  this  assize.  Sir  Henry  Lippincott,  bart.,  a  somewhat 
debauched  representative  of  the  old  Bristol  family  of  Cann, 
was  arraigned  upon  a  charge  of  felonious  assault  upon  a 
woman,  whom  he  was  alleged  to  have  decoyed  from  the 
cathedral.  Sir  Vicary  Gibbs  summed  up  strongly  in  his 
favour,  and  the  jury  returned  a  verdict  of  acquittal.  In 
another  case  two  men,  one  of  them  a  sheriff's  officer,  were 
convicted  of  a  disgusting  offence,  and  were  sentenced  to  two 
years'  imprisonment,  and  to  stand  in  the  pillory  in  Wine  Street. 
The  latter  part  of  the  sentence  was  carried  out  a  few  days 
later,  when  one  of  the  men,  according  to  the  contemporary 
diarist  already  referred  to,  "was  very  near  being  killed." 

It  would  require  a  vivid  imagination  on  the  part  of  any 
one  now  traversing  the  Pithay  and  the  sordid  neighbouring 
thoroughfares  lying  between  Broadmead  and  Tower  Lane, 
to  represent  to  himself  the  locality  as  a  place  of  public  re- 
creation and  fashionable  resort.  No  more  singular  testimony 
of  the  local  changes  effected  by  time  could  well  be  adduced 
than  is  to  be  found  in  an  advertisement  published  in  the 
Bristol  papers  in  May,  1810,  announcing  the  sale  of  twenty- 


40  THE   ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL.  [1810. 

nine  void  old  houses  in  the  Pithay  and  Bowling-green,  in  the 
parish  of  Christ  Church.  Amongst  the  lots  were  "the 
timber  and  materials  of  the  Old  City  Assembly  Eoom,  situ- 
ated in  the  Bowling-green  aforesaid,"  and  "  the  timber  and 
materials  of  the  Old  City  Assembly  Boom  Tavern,*'  in  the 
same  place.  Both  those  buildings  had  been  last  in  the 
occupation  of  a  basket-maker.  The  property  belonged  to 
All  Saints  parish,  which  afterwards  disposed  of  the  ground — 
now  occupied  by  Wellington  Street  and  All  Saints  Street. 

The  advantages  of  "Wieston-super-Mare  as  a  watering-place 
appear  to  have  dawned  upon  a  speculative  innkeeper  about 
this  time.  In  July,  1810,  an  advertisement  in  the  Bristol 
newspapers  announced  that  an  hotel  had  been  opened  in  that 
village  for  the  accommodation  of  bathers.  The  house  was 
stated  to  have  about  forty  bedrooms,  so  that  it  could  have 
sheltered,  on  an  emergency,  the  entire  population  of  the 
parish,  which  contained  less  than  forty  families.  The  enter- 
prise came  speedily  to  ruin ;  in  about  nine  months  the  hotel- 
keeper  failed,  and  the  furniture  was  dispersed  by  auction. 
The  fact  was,  that  the  mercantile  and  trading  classes  had  not 
yet  acquired  a  taste  for  the  seaside.  Their  utmost  desire  in 
that  direction  appears  to  have  been  a  stroll  or  sail  towards 
the  mouth  of  the  river.  From  an  advertisement  published 
in  June,  1810,  it  seems  that  Lamplighters'  Hotel — a  house 
built  about  half  a  century  before  by  one  Swetman,  an  oil- 
man of  Small  Street,  out  of  his  profits  as  a  contractor  for 
lighting  several  Bristol  parishes  by  means  of  oil-lamps,  who 
reared  his  hostelry  in  full  view  of  the  picturesque  beauties 
of  Pill — ^was  in  especial  favour ;  the  landlord  stating  that  his 
house  was  "so  much  frequented  on  Sunday*'  that  he  was 
"under  the  necessity  of  engaging  additional  waiters  from 
Bath."  "  Ordinary  every  Sunday  at  28."  The  Weston  hotel 
does  not  appear  to  have  been  reopened  until  the  summer  of 
1814,  when  a  couple  of  coaches  commenced  plying  to  and 
from  Bristol  "  every  Saturday  during  the  season."* 

One  or  two  aerial  ascents  by  means  of  the  Montgolfier 
system  of  heated  air  had  been  made  in  Bristol  a  quarter  of 
a  century  previous  to  this  date.  The  announcement  by  a 
Mr.  Sadler,  in  September,  of  a  balloon  which  was  to  be  raised 
by  hydrogen  gas,  was  deemed  still  more  astonishing,  and 
nearly  20,000  of  the  inhabitants  thronged  to  the  Assembly 


*  Clevedon  did  not  obtain  mach  patronage  until  a  later  date.  The  village  is 
mentioned  as  a  *' newly  established"  watering-place  in  Phelps'  "History  of 
Somerset/'  published  in  1836. 


1810.]  THE  KENNET  AND  AYOK  CANAL.  41 

Boom  to  see  the  ''  machine.'*  On  the  appointed  day,  almost 
the  whole  population,  and  many  thousands  from  the  suburban 
Tillages,  flocked  to  Stokes  Croft  and  the  adjoining  high  ground 
to  witness  the  marvel.  Coal  gas  being  still  in  the  future, 
the  cost  of  providing  the  needful  supply  of  hydrogen  was 
considerable,  upwards  of  three  tons  of  iron  filings  and  a 
proportionate  quantity  of  sulphuric  acid  being  placed  in 
twenty-five  large  casks.  The  arrangements,  however,  were 
satisfactorily  carried  out,  and  the  balloon  arose  about  the 
time  appointed,  amidst  the  firing  of  cannon  and  the  applause 
of  the  spectators,  not  a  little  astounded  at  the  spectacle.  The 
voyage  of  the  two  aeronauts,  Mr.  Sadler  and  a  citizen 
named  Clayfield,  proved  of  a  highly  perilous  character. 
The  balloon  sailed  down  to  near  Woodspring  Priory,  when 
it  crossed  the  Channel  to  Cardiff;  then  it  was  again  driven 
over  the  sea,  nearing  both  shores  alternately,  till  it  ap- 
proached the  coast  of  Devon,  where  a  large  escape  of  gas 
caused  it  to  descend  rapidly,  until  the  car  floated  on  the 
water,  four  miles  from  land.  After  remaining  three-quarters 
of  an  hour  in  this  perilous  plight,  the  voyagers  were  happily 
rescued  by  a  boat  from  Lynmouth. 

In  December  of  this  year  the  Kennet  and  Avon  Canal, 
completing  the  water  communication  between  Bristol  and 
London,  was  opened  for  traffic.  The  canal  had  been  originally 
proposed  so  long  ago  as  1661;  but  bills  for  its  construction 
were  frequently  rejected  by  Parliament,  owing  to  the  vehe- 
ment opposition  of  the  landed  interest  and  of  the  townspeople 
of  Chippenham,  Devizes,  and  other  places,  who  declared  that 
if  com,  butter,  and  cheese  reached  the  inland  districts  from 
the  ports,  the  country  markets  would  be  destroyed,  husbandry 
discouraged,  the  breed  of  horses  deteriorated,  and  carriers 
and  innkeepers  ruined.  The  undertaking  was  eventually 
accomplished  at  a  cost  of  a  million  sterling.  The  competition 
which  it  opened  with  the  older  Thames  and  Severn  Canal 
was  so  disastrous  to  the  latter  concern  that  the  original  £100 
shares  were  sold  in  1814  for  £1  each.  The  route  of  the  link 
between  the  Kennet  and  Avon  was  not,  however,  well  chosen, 
the  summit  level  being  404  feet  above  the  basin  at  Bath, 
necessitating  the  construction  of  seventy  locks,  exclusive  of 
forty-four  more  on  the  rivers  Thames,  Kennet,  and  Avon. 
This  obstacle  greatly  impeded  traffic,  and  it  was  stated  before 
a  committee  of  the  House  of  Commons,  in  1834,  that  the 
average  time  required  to  pass  goods  from  London  to  Bristol, 
even  in  fine  weather,  was  seven  days,  while  during  frosts 
and  floods  there  was  generally  a  delay  of  a  month,  although 


42  THE   ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [181  h 

the  distance  to  be  traversed  was  only  150  miles.  The  Kennet 
and  Avon  Canal  was  transferred  to  the  Great  Western  Rail- 
way Company  in  September,  1851. 

In  January,  1811,  the  Floating  Harbour  was  frozen  over 
for  the  first  time,  affording  the  citizens  an  unprecedented 
opportunity  for  recreation  on  the  ice,  of  which  numbers 
availed  themselves.     The  frost  continued  for  several  days. 

The  second  census  of  the  kingdom  was  taken  early  in  1811, 
when  the  population  of  the  *'  ancient  city "  was  found  to  be 
46,592.  In  the  suburbs  Clifton  contained  6,984  (showing  an 
increase  of  over  50  per  cent,  in  the  previous  ten  years) ; 
St.  George's,  4,909 ;  the  District,  2,427 ;  St.  Philip's  out 
parish,  10,702;  and  these,  with  Mangotsfield,  2,901,  and 
Stapleton,  1,921,  brought  out  a  total  of  76,433.  Bedminster, 
excluded  by  the  eccentric  enumerator,  had  4,577  souls.  The 
increase  over  1801  was  greater  in  Bristol  than  in  any  pro- 
vincial town  except  Liverpool  and  Manchester.  In  many 
towns,  and  notably  in  Newcastle  and  Hull,  the  population 
had  diminished,  owing  to  the  effects  of  the  war. 

Nearly  all  the  ports  in  Europe  being  at  this  time  closed 
against  English  vessels,  through  the  despotic  influence  of  the 
French  emperor,  imports  of  grain  became  almost  impracti- 
cable, notwithstanding  the  urgent  demand  for  supplies  owing 
to  successive  bad  harvests  at  home.  Bread  therefore  ad- 
vanced to  excessive  rates,  the  average  price  throughout  the 
year  being  Is,  per  quartern  loaf.  Butter  during  the  spring 
rose  to  28.  6d.  per  lb.,  which  provoked  a  riot  in  the  city 
markets,  a  mob  of  colliers  and  labourers  seizing  the  farmers' 
baskets  and  selling  the  contents  for  Is.  a  pound  (though 
many  of  the  purchasers  re-sold  the  butter  at  28.).  Finding 
that  the  attempt  to  regulate  the  price  of  bread  made  matters 
only  worse,  the  magistrates  abandoned  the  system  during  the 
summer.  The  harvest  of  the  year  was  again  disastrous,  and 
bread  advanced  to  Is,  8d,  per  quartern  loaf,  causing  terrible 
distress  amongst  the  poor. 

During  the  parliamentary  session  of  this  year  an  Act  was 

?assed  for  constructing  a  canal  from  Bristol — or  rather  from 
ill — to  Taunton.  Although  warmly  supported  for  a  time,  the 
required  funds  were  not  forthcoming,  and  by  an  Act  of  1823, 
the  canal  from  Pill  to  the  parish  of  Kenn  was  abandoned. 
The  company  were  then  constructing  the  canal  between 
Taunton  and  Bridgwater. 

The  first  attempt  in  Bristol  to  resort  to  coal  gas  for  pur- 
poses of  illumination  was  made  this  year  by  a  Mr.  Briellat,  a 
dyer  in  Broadmead,  who  is  supposed  to  have  seen  the  gas 


1811.]  INTRODUCTION   OF  QAS  LIGHTINQ.  43 

apparatus  erected  by  Bobert  MardocH,  some  years  earlier^  at 
the  Soho  works^  BirmiDgham.  The  following  advertisement 
appeared  in  the  Bristol  Gazette  of  the  6th  oi  September : — 
"  Lecture  and  Exhibition  of  the  Gas  Lights.  J.  Briellat  re- 
spectfully informs  the  nobility,  gentry,  and  public  that  he 
intends  for  a  short  time  to  exhibit  every  evening  at  his  own 
house  a  specimen  of  the  above  interesting  discovery,  ac- 
companied with  a  descriptive  lecture,  this  present  evening, 
Thursday,  at  7  o'clock.  For  particulars  see  handbills.  No. 
66,  Broadmead."  After  having  lighted  up  his  shop,  Mr. 
Briellat  set  up  a  few  lamps  in  the  street,  thereby  giving 
Bristol  precedency  over  London  in  the  use  of  gas  for 
thoroughfares,  the  first  experiment  of  the  same  kind  in  the 
metropolis  bein^  made  at  Westminster  Bridge  in  1812.  It 
seems  strange  that  the  Bristolians  who  witnessed  Briellat's 
success  should  have  been  reluctant  to  abandon  their  flickering 
and  malodorous  tallow  candles ;  but  for  some  time  the  Broad- 
mead  dyer  passed  amongst  the  vulgar  as  a  man  having 
unholy  dealings  with  an  infernal  power,  while  the  upper 
classes  treated  the  innovation  with  contemptuous  indifference. 
The  aristocracy,  indeed,  were  decidedly  hostile  to  gaslight- 
ing.  In  1816,  Lord  Lauderdale,  in  the  House  of  Peers, 
protested  strongly  against  an  invention  which  threatened  to 
ruin  the  whale  fisheries.  Even  some  scientific  men  were  not 
less  opposed  to  the  new  system.  When  it  was  proposed  to 
place  gas  lamps  in  the  streets  of  London,  Sir  Humphrey 
Davy  sneeringly  asked  whether  the  promoters  were  going  to 
convert  the  dome  of  St.  Paul's  into  a  gasholder.  It  was  not 
until  1816  that  the  Bristol  Gas  Company  began  operations, 
Mr.  Briellat  being  engaged  as  manager.  The  views  of  the 
promoters  must  have  been  singularly  modest,  for  the  capital 
of  the  undertaking  was  fixed  at  £5,000 ;  but  great  exertions 
were  needed  to  raise  even  that  paltry  sum.  A  serious 
difficulty  next  arose  with  the  Corporation.  The  company, 
after  having  erected  a  small  gasometer  near  Temple  Back, 
applied  to  the  authorities  for  leave  to  lay  pipes  in  the  streets; 
but  the  Court  of  Aldermen  (October,  1816)  expressed  grave 
apprehensions  of  danger  from  the  proximity  of  the  gaso- 
meter to  the  city  depot  of  gunpowder  (at  Tower  Harritz), 
and  "  considered  it  their  imperative  duty  to  withhold  any 
measures  being  taken  in  the  streets,  the  gasometer  being  in 
its  present  situation."  The  obstacle  havmg  been,  however, 
overcome  by  some  means,  a  few  shops  were  lighted  up  in 
May,  1817,  and  lamps  were  placed  in  the  principal  streets  in 
the  following  December.     In  the  same  month,  Lewin's  Mead 


44  THE   ANNAJiS   OF   BRISTOL.  [1811. 

chapel,  the  first  public  building  in  which  the  novelty  found 
favour,  was  opened  for  evening  service.     In  March,  1818,  it 
was  proposed  to  extend  the  gas  pipes  into  the  Commercial 
Rooms,  where  the  annual  cost  of  oil  and  candles  was  £140. 
As  the  new  company  asked  £120  for  the  supply,  however, 
the  members  of  the  rooms  stuck  to  lamps  and  dips  until 
1825.     Although  the  charge  for  gas  was  lbs.  per  1,000  feet, 
the  undertaking  gradually  won  its  way  against  prejudice, 
and  the  company  was  incorporated  by  an  Act  passed  in  1819, 
the  authorized  capital  being  fixed  in  the  statute  at  £60,000. 
Complaints  were  raised  from  time  to  time,  and  not  without 
reason,  against  the  ofEensive  odour  and  the  poor  illuminating 
power  of  the  new  agent,  the  purification  of  which  was  then 
very  defective  ;  and  in  September,  1822,  a  rival  establishment 
was  started,  styled  the  Bristol  and  Clifton  Oil  Gas  Company, 
which  undertook  to  produce  a  superior  article.     In  spite  of 
the  vigorous  opposition  of  the  original  company,  the  rival 
concern  obtained  an  Act  of  Parliament  in  1824,  and,  its  capi- 
tal of  £30,000  having  been  subscribed,  works  were  started 
near  Limekiln  Lane.    The  price  of  oil  gas  was  40*.  per  1,000 
feet;  but   its  producers  asserted,  amidst  the  angry  denials 
of  the  coal  gas  directors,  that  its  illuminating  power  was  four 
times  greater  than  that  of  coal  gas.     Unfortunately  for  the 
rival  establishment,  the  price  of  oil  advanced  considerably, 
and  no  dividend  was  paid  for  ten  years.     In  1836  it  was 
admitted  that  the  system   of   manufacture  from   oil   was  a 
failure;  and  an  Act  was  obtained  to  permit  distillation  from 
coal,  though  not  until  severe  restrictions  had  been  imposed 
in  the   interests  of  the  original   company.     Both   concerns 
then  reduced  the  price  to  12s.  per  1,000  feet,  further  con- 
cessions being  made  subsequently.     The  competition  went  on 
until  1863,  when  the  undertakings  were  amalgamated  under 
a  new  Act.     By  this  time  the  apparatus  for  purification  had 
greatly  improved,  and   the   rapid  introduction  of   gas  into 
houses  brought  in  handsome  profits,  notwithstanding  repeated 
reductions  in   price.     In  1878  the  company  (whose  capital 
had  increased  to   £550,000)  purchased  forty  acres  of   land 
near  Stapleton  Road,  for  the  extension  of  their  works.     The 
first  contract — for  one-sixth  of  the  buildings  proposed  to  be 
constructed,  was  let  for  £80,000.     It  included  a  retort  house 
capable  of  making  a  million  cubic  feet  of  gas  daily,  and  a 
gasometer  capable  of  storing  IJ  million  cubic  feet.     The  old 
works  at  St.  Philip^s  and  Limekiln  Lane  then  yielded  5 4 
million  cubic  feet  daily.     The  foundation  stone  of  the  new 
building  was  laid  in  March,  1879.     On  its  completion,  the 


1811.]  8I0N   SPBINQ.      INCLOSUBE   OF  COMMONS.  45 

mains  of  the  company  were  extended  to  Westbury,  Shire- 
hampton^  and  Ayonmouth. 

During  the  year  1811  water  pipes  were  laid  from  Sion 
Spring  to  most  of  the  houses  in  the  neighbourhood,  which 
had  previously  been  supplied  from  it  by  means  of  water- 
carts.  The  spring  was  capable  of  yielding  33,560  gallons 
per  day,  and,  as  the  quality  was  irreproachable,  the  owner 
was  patronised  by  nearly  every  household  within  the  range 
of  his  pipes.  In  1845,  during  the  Health  of  Towns  inquiry, 
it  was  stated  that  804  dwellings  were  thus  supplied.  The 
spring  was  soon  afterwards  purchased  by  the  Bristol  Water 
Company. 

The  practice  of  "stealing  the  common  from  the  goose'' 
was  in  great  vogue  during  the  early  years  of  the  century, 
when  the  landlords  were  rolling  in  wealth  through  the 
high  prices  occasioned  by  the  continental  blockade.  Large 
tracts  of  commonable  land  in  the  parishes  of  Henbury  and 
Westbury  were  inclosed  this  year  under  the  provisions  of 
an  Act  promoted  by  Mr.  E.  Sampson,  solicitor,  of  Henbury, 
on  behalf  of  himself  and  other  landowners,  who  appropri- 
ated nearly  the  whole  extent,  with  the  utmost  indiffer- 
ence to  the  claims  of  the  resident  labourers  and  of  the 
public  at  large.  Similar  inclosures — for  the  most  part 
unauthorized  by  Parliament — had  been  made  in  other  sub- 
urban parishes,  those  in  Clifton  being  especially  obnoxious  to 
Bristolians ;  but  except  a  few  timid  grumbles  in  the  news- 
papers, nothing  was  said  or  done  in  defence  of  public  rights. 
In  1813  another  Act  swept  into  the  hands  of  landed  gentry 
a  large  extent  of  commonable  land  in  the  parishes  of  Long 
Ashton,  Wraxall,  Nailsea,  and  Bourton,  and  further  extensive 
inclosures  were  made  at  Portishead,  Dundry,  and  Almonds- 
bury  by  subsequent  statutes.  Even  before  those  "  convey- 
ances'' were  effected,  a  writer  in  the  Bristol  Gazette  of  August 
13,  1812,  says: — ''They  who  remember  Ashton,  Leigh, 
Westbury,  Kingsweston,  Clifton,  and  Stapleton  twenty 
years  ago,  will  need  no  description  to  recall  to  their  minds 
the  delightful  and  healthy  walks  now  untrodden  by  vulgar 
feet — ^then  open  to  the  public  for  exercise  or  pleasure." 

An  Act  was  passed  this  year  for  authorizing  the  cutting  of 
a  canal  between  Bristol  and  Bath,  and  the  construction  of 
works  for  supplying  Bristol  with  water.  The  canal  was  to 
have  been  without  locks,  and  the  western  terminus  was  in- 
tended to  be  in  Temple  Meads,  adjoining  the  Floating  Harbour. 
The  proposed  waterworks  excited  signs  of  life  in  a  concern 
which  had  long  lain  dormant  and  forgotten — the  old  company 


46  THE  ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1811. 

formed  in  the  seventeenth  century  for  supplying  water  from 
the  Avon  at  Hanham.  The  local  newspapers  for  June  and 
July  contained  announcements  of  an  intended  sale  by  auction 
of  "  all  the  right,  title,  and  privilege  of  the  Bristol  Water- 
works Company  to  supply  the  inhabitants  of  Bristol  with 
fresh  water,  granted  to  them  by  an  Act  passed  in  the  reign  of 
William  III.,  and  also  all  their  leasehold  land  situate  near 
Bristol,  and  a  small  piece  of  leasehold  land  near  Hanham 
Mills."  A  reservoir  belonging  to  the  company  then  existed 
at  Lawrence  Hill;  but  the  supply  of  water  had  ceased  for 
about  half  a  century — it  is  supposed  from  want  of  funds  to 
renew  the  pipes,  which  were  formed  of  hollow  trunks  of 
trees.  The  projects  authorized  by  the  Act  of  1811  were 
never  carried  out,  and  the  land  purchased  for  a  depdt  and 
warehouses  at  Temple  Meads  was  bought  by  the  Great 
Western  Railway  Company,  and  forms  part  of  the  site  of 
the  existing  terminus. 

The  death  was  announced  in  October  of  the  Bev.  Charles 
Lee,  who  had  been  head-mast«r  of  the  Grammar  School  for 
forty-seven  years.  Having,  when  a  young  man,  married  the 
daughter  of  Alderman  Henry  Dampier,  an  influential  member 
of  the  Corporation,  his  father-in-law  induced  the  Common 
Council  to  remove  the  Grammar  School  from  Bartholomew's 
Hospital,  Christmas  Street,  to  the  large  mansion  in  Unity 
Street  belonging  to  the  City  School,  the  boys  in  the  latter 
being  sent  to  dwell  in  the  unhealthy  premises  near  the  then 
open  Froom.  Mr.  Lee  is  stated  to  have  been  a  good  classical 
scholar,  and  during  the  early  years  of  his  management  the 
Grammar  School  was  largely  attended  by  the  sons  of  respect- 
able citizens.  For  a  long  period  before  his  death,  however, 
the  institution  "  sank  into  disrepute,"  to  use  the  expression 
of  a  contemporary  newspaper;  and  there  is  a  tradition  that 
for  some  years  the  head-master  had  only  one  pupil,  commonly 
known  as  **  Lee's  chick."  In  1805  his  friends  in  the  Common 
Council  endeavoured  to  induce  that  body  to  grant  him  a 
pension  of  £200,  more  than  double  his  salary,  but  the  pro- 

iKvsal  was  rejected,  as  was  another  to  the  same  effect  in 
[S0\^.  His  death  afforded  the  Corporation  an  opportunity  of 
intrv>daoing  regulations  calculated  to  restore  the  s^^hool  to  its 
former  popularity;  but  the  recommendations  made  by  a  com- 
mittee appointed  to  consider  the  matter  were  linle  adapted 
for  such  a  result.  The  trust-deed  of  the  fv>under,  Nicholas 
Thorne*  in  1%V>1«  declared  that  no  charge  was  to  be  made  for 
education  other  than  fourpence  on  the  admission  of  every 
tckolar^    This  fee  was  xmiaed  in  the  rei^irii  of  Chariea  n.  to 


1811.J  ABUSES   IN   THS   GRAKXAR   SCHOOL.  47 

five  shillings.  It  was  now  determined  to  increase  it  to  £4. 
By  the  regulations  of  1666,  each  boy  was  required  to  pay  ten 
shillings  yearly  for  firing,  and  the  same  sum  for  sweeping 
the  school.  For  these  charges  the  committee  recommended 
the  substitution  of  a  yearly  fee  of  £6  68,,  but  the  Common 
Council  made  no  change  under  this  head.  The  new  master 
was  permitted  to  take  as  many  boarders  and  day  scholars 
as  he  thought  fit,  and  was  left  at  liberty  to  fix  his  own 
terms  for  such  pupils.  The  only  other  regulation  worthy  of 
notice  was,  that  the  scholars  were,  as  under  the  old  rules,  to 
answer  to  their  names  at  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning  in  the 
summer  half  year,  and  at  eight  o'clock  in  the  winter  months. 
The  person  chosen  in  March,  1812,  for  the  post  of  head- 
master, was  the  Rev.  John  Joseph  Goodenough,  who,  like 
his  predecessor,  had  married  a  daughter  of  a  member  of  the 
Common  Council,  and  who  lost  no  time  in  converting  the 
institution  into  a  private  high-class  school.  Fortified  by  a 
judgment  of  Lord  Chancellor  Eldon  in  the  Highgate  case, 
Mr.  [afterwards  Dr.]  Groodenough  refused  to  teach  the 
"  free  ''  scholars,  who  were  exclusively  the  sons  of  freemen, 
anything  save  Greek  and  Latin ;  and  the  natural,  as  it  was 
the  intended,  efiect  was,  to  reduce  the  endowment  to  a  sine- 
cure. The  complacent  Common  Council  spent  upwards  of 
£220  in  1815,  on  the  construction  of  a  gallery  in  the  mayor's 
chapel  "  for  the  Grammar-school  boys,"  in  other  words,  for 
the  head-master's  private  boarders,  who  were  generally 
thirty-five  in  number.  In  1820,  in  flagrant  violation  of  the 
regulations,  Dr.  Goodenough  was  permitted  to  take  a  Church 
living  in  Buckinghamshire,  his  memorial  for  the  leave  of 
the  Corporation  asserting,  with  perhaps  unintentional  irony, 
that  his  acceptance  of  the  incumbency  "would  not  in  any 
way  interfere  with  the  duties  of  his  situation  in  this  city. 
In  1828,  when  the  school — as  a  grammar  school — was  prac- 
tically deserted,  the  Charity  Commissioners  addressed  a 
letter  to  the  Corporation  on  the  state  of  the  institution,  with 
the  effect  of  obtaining  a  reduction  of  the  entrance  fee  to  its 
original  amount.  The  opportunity  was  taken,  however,  to 
shut  out  the  sons  of  free  burgesses  living  beyond  the  limits 
of  the  "  ancient  city,''  and  as  the  lowered  charge  was  un- 
accompanied by  any  alteration  in  the  system  of  teachings  it 
wrought  no  change  in  the  condition  of  the  school.  How  the 
abuse  was  remedied  will  be  narrated  at  a  later  date. 

Clifton  churchyard  having  become  much  too  small  as  com- 
pared with  the  population  of  the  parish,  a  piece  of  ground 
near  Bellevue — part  of  the    site    of    an   old  quarry — ^was 


48  THE   ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1811. 

obtained  about  the  close  of  1811^  and  was  laid  out  as  an 
additional  cemetery. 

Towards  the  end  of  1811  the  Assembly  Rooms  in  Princess 
Street  *  underwent  considerable  internal  alteration,  and  were 
in  the  following  year  reopened  under  the  name  of  the  Regency 
Theatre.  For  some  time  the  entertainments  consisted  chiefly 
of  concerts,  but  during  the  summer  it  was  announced  that  a 
Mr.  Lawler,  from  London,  having  taken  the  management,  a 
company  had  been  engaged  for  pantomimes  and  bnrlettas, 
and  a  '^  prodigious  expense  "  had  been  incurred  to  make  the 
theatre  worthy  of  public  patronage.  The  first  performance 
took  place  on  the  24th  of  August ;  but  Mr.  Lawler's  efforts 
were  unsuccessful,  and  at  the  end  of  eight  weeks  the  house 
was  closed.  A  Mr.  Clark  became  manager  in  November;  and 
although  he  complained  that  he  sustained  heavy  losses,  the 
competition  affected  the  receipts  of  the  old  theatre,  which 
had  now  opened  for  the  regular  season.  Alarmed  at  the 
attack  upon  their  chartered  rights,  the  proprietors  and  man- 
ager of  the  latter  applied  to  the  magistrates  in  January, 
1813,  and  a  warrant  was  issued  against  Clark  under  the  old 
law  placing  stage-players  under  the  category  of  rogues  and 
vagabonds.  The  public,  strongly  resenting  this  proceeding, 
lent  its  patronage  to  the  new  enterprise.  The  law,  however, 
could  not  be  evaded,  and  the  Regency  shut  its  doors.  When 
it  was  next  noticed  in  the  newspapers,  in  the  following 
autumn,  it  had  sunk  to  giving  entertainments  on  the  '^miusi- 
cal  glasses." 

The  social  condition  of  the  Kingswood  district, t  early  in 
the  year  1812,  is  graphically  illustrated  in  an  address  pub- 

*  Local  annalists  having  overlooked  the  etory  of  this  building,  it  may  be  stated 
that  in  March,  1754,  the  Corporation  granted  a  lease  of  foor  tenements  to 
Cranfield  Becher,  John  Heylyn,  Morgan  Smith,  and  others,  at  a  rent  of  £5, 
and  a  fine  of  £100  on  renewal  every  fourteen  years,  on  condition  that  they 
pulled  down  the  old  buildings  and  erected  a  large  room  suitable  for  an  assembly 
room,  with  convenient  appurtenances.  The  Corporation  reserved  a  right  to  the 
free  use  of  the  premises  for  six  days  every  year,  should  they  be  needful  for 
the  entertainment  of  members  of  the  royal  family  visiting  the  city. 

t  A  large  part  of  this  district  lay  in  the  parish  of  Bitton,  a  fact  that  explains 
the  following  anecdote,  the  date  of  which  is  ascribed  to  the  dosing  years  of  the 
previous  century.  Mr.  Justice  Heath,  while  sitting  in  the  Crown  Court  at 
Gloucester,  asked  a  lying  witness  from  what  part  of  the  county  he  came,  and 
beiuR:  answered  **  From  Bitton,  my  lord,**  he  exclaimed.  **  Tou  do  seem  to  be  of 
the  Bitton  breed,  but  I  thought  I  had  hanged  the  whole  of  that  parish  long 
ago.**  (CampheWs  Lives  of  the  Chancellors,  vi.  154.)  A  Bristol  newspaper  of 
April  8, 1786,  stated  that,  including  two  men  then  under  sentence  of  death,  ten 
persons  from  the  parish  of  Bitton  had  been  hanged  at  Gloucester  within  three 
years.  They  had  all  belonged  to  the  "  Cock-road  gang,**  which  regularly 
received  black-mail  from  the  neighbouring  farmers  at  the  annual  fair  on 
Lansdown. 


1812.]  TERRORISM   IN   KINQSWOOD.  49 

lished  in  the  local  journals  by  a  committee  of  the  respect- 
able inhabitants.  The  document  stated  that  robberies^ 
bnr^laries^  and  other  crimes  were  daily  committed  by 
an  extensive  combination  of  villains,  who  extended  their  rav- 
ages for  miles  around.  "  This  scheme  of  enormity  has  been 
maturing  for  a  long  series  of  years,  and  whole  families  are 
dependent  on  this  combination  for  their  maintenance,  and 
many  hundreds  of  the  younger  branches  are  well  known  to 
be  in  training  for  the  like  purposes.  Labourers  are  decoyed 
from  employment  and  admitted  into  the  society;  great 
numbers  of  hucksters  are  in  alliance  with  them,  and  the 
vendors  of  the  [stolen]  goods  are  seen  passing  with  cart- 
loads by  night,  none  presuming  to  interrupt  them.'*  The 
address  goes  on  to  say  that  many  of  the  malefactors  were 
known,  but  that  the  terrorism  they  exercised  deterred  honest 
persons  from  giving  information,  "  and  when  it  is  recollected 
that  thousands  are  connected,  by  receiving  and  vending  the 
goods,  it  will  not  appear  surprising  that  very  few  remain 
sufficiently  virtuous  or  courageous  to  unite  with  us."  Appeals 
were  therefore  made  to  the  citizens  of  Bristol  and  Bath  for 
subscriptions  to  crush  the  gigantic  conspiracy.  Funds 
having  been  obtained,  patrols  were  established  in  the  dis- 
trict, which  had  a  temporary  effect  in  intimidating  depre- 
dators. Nevertheless,  throughout  the  severe  distress  which 
occurred  during  the  winter  of  1812-18,  the  number  of  rob- 
beries and  burglaries  in  Kingswood  exceeded  anything 
before  known.  In  1813  the  Wesleyan  body,  desiring  to 
strike  at  the  roots  of  the  evil,  started  a  school  at  Cock-road, 
in  which  locality  seven-tenths  of  the  children  were  found  to 
be  ignorant  of  the  alphabet.  Owing  to  lack  of  funds,  how- 
ever, the  school  for  several  years  could  not  be  kept  open  on 
week  days.  Improvement  under  such  circumstances  was 
necessarily  slow.  In  August,  1814,  a  Bristol  journalist  com- 
pared the  state  of  the  honest  population  in  and  near  Cock- 
road  to  that  of  loyal  persons  in  some  parts  of  Ireland.  ''They 
are  frequently  obliged  to  sit  up  all  night  with  loaded  muskets 
by  their  side  to  guard  against  assaults,  depredations,  and 
even  murder.*'  An  account  follows  of  the  firing  of  two 
giins  into  the  bedroom  of  a  constable  who  had  been  sum- 
moned to  Gloucester  assizes  to  give  evidence  against  some 
captured  ruffians.  A  few  days  later,  when  a  gang  of  robbers 
was  arrested,  with  a  quantity  of  plunder  in  their  possession, 
the  constables  were  nearly  killed  by  the  friends  of  the 
thieves,  who  attempted  to  rescue  them. 

As  the  time  drew  near  for  the  renewal  of  the  East  India 

£ 


50  THE   ANNALS   OP  BRISTOL.  [1812. 

Company's  charter,  a  movement  sprang  up  in  the  leading 
provincial  ports  for  the  abolition  of  the  monopoly  so  long 
enjoyed  by  the  Company  in  the  trade  between  India  and  this 
country.  The  mercantile  interest  in  Bristol  bestirred  itself 
vigorously  in  the  matter ;  and  the  Corporation,  at  a  meeting 
in  June,  contributed  £200  towards  the  subscription  started 
for  pressing  the  subject  upon  the  attention  of  Parliament. 
The  agitation  was  successful,  an  Act  for  throwing  open  the 
trade  being  passed  in  1813.  The  first  two  Bristol  vessels 
bound  for  Hindostan  sailed  in  April,  1814,  amidst  various 
demonstrations  of  rejoicing.  On  the  27th  of  October,  1818, 
a  ship  arrived  in  Cumberland  basin  .bringing  the  first  East 
Indian  cargo  imported  into  Bristol,  -^bout  5,000  spectators 
greeted  her  appearance,  and  the  bells  rang  merry  peals  when 
she  passed  into  the  Float.  The  hopes  entertained  of  a  large 
development  of  commerce  in  this  direction  were,  however, 
disappointed.  In  August,  1862,  when  a  vessel  arrived  with 
a  cargo  from  Calcutta,  it  was  stated  in  one  of  the  local  news- 
papers that  no  importation  direct  from  India  had  been  made 
into  Bristol  for  twenty-five  years. 

Mr.  Br^rgge  Bathurst,  M.P.,  obtained  another  ministerial 

Sromotion  in  June,  1812,  being  appointed  Chancellor  of  the 
^uchy  of  Lancaster,  and  a  vacancy  was  thus  created  in  the 
representation  of  the  city.  From  some  unexplained  cause, 
the  understanding  which  had  long  existed  amongst  local 
politicians  was  broken  up,  and  as  a  costly  struggle  threat- 
ened to  take  place  at  the  ensuing  general  election,  Mr. 
Bathurst  declined  to  ofior  himself  for  re-election.  Three 
candidates  presented  themselves  for  the  vacancy — Mr.  Rich- 
ard Hart  Davis,  M.P.  for  Colchester,  who  resigned  that  seat 
at  the  request  of  the  Bristol  Tories ;  Mr.  Henry  Hunt,  the 
former  brewer  at  Jacob's  Wells,  but  now  a  blacking  maker  in 
London;  and  the  well-known  William  Cobbett.  The  name 
of  Cobbett  was  withdrawn,  and  the  candidature  of  Hunt  was 
merely  th^  idle  outcome  of  his  vanity,  the  respectable  Whigs 
holding  aloof  from  him.  With  a  recklessness  that  later  days 
would  deem  criminal,  Mr.  Davis's  friends  set  no  limit  to  the 
corruption  employed  on  behalf  of  their  nominee,  spending 
over  £1,000  a  day  during  the  fortnight  for  which  the  poll  was 
kept  open.  The  numbers  at  the  close  of  the  voting  were : — 
Mr.  Davis,  1907 ;  Mr.  Hunt,  235.  Owing  to  the  floods  of 
beer  dispersed  by  the  Tory  committee,  fights  between  the 
partisans  of  the  rival  candidates  were  almost  continuous 
throughout  the  contest,  and  the  city  was  kept  in  a  state  of 
constant  agitation.     Hunt's  mob,  on  the  night  of  the  first 


1812.]  COSTLY  XLKCTIONS.  51 

day's  poll,  smashed  the  doors  and  windows  of  the  Council 
House,  and  then  proceeded  to  Mr.  Davis's  residence,  Mortimer 
House,  Clifton,  where  similar  destruction  was  committed. 
The  military  were  called  out,  and  in  the  confusion  one  man 
was  killed  and  many  wounded.  It  was  deemed  advisable  to 
retain  a  guard  of  soldiers  at  the  powder  magazine  at  Tower 
Harratz  until  after  the  close  of  the  polling.  Amongst  the 
items  of  corporate  expenditure  caused  by  the  conflict  was  one 
of  £437,  "  paid  to  J.  H.  Wilcox,  mayor,"  expended  in  enter- 
taining the  military  and  peace  officers,  and  for  "beer  for 
guards  mounted  in  the  city  during  the  election'';  a  further 
sum  of  £158  4«.  6d,  being  reimbursed  to  the  sheriffs, 
''what  they  expended  for  constables,  etc."  The  repair  of  the 
Guildhall  and  Council  House  windows  cost  £108  more.  In 
October,  the  general  election  threatened  to  bring  a  renewal 
of  disorder,  and  a  large  body  of  special  constables  was 
enrolled  at  an  outlay  of  £516.  Mr.  Davis  was  again  the 
nominee  of  the  Tories.  Mr.  Baillie,  the  late  Whig  member 
having  retired,  Mr.  Edward  Protheroe  came  forward  in  the 
''old  Whig"  interest,  whilst  the  progressive  Whigs,  or 
Reformers  as  they  were  beginning  to  be  called,  styled  Mr. 
Protheroe  a  Tory  in  disguise,  and  nominated  Sir  Samuel 
Eomilly,  the  distinguished  lawyer.  Finally,  Mr.  Hunt, 
whose  hand  was  against  all  respectable  parties  and  persons, 
offered  himself  as  the  champion  of  democracy.  Owing  to  a 
coalition  between  Mr.  Davis  and  Mr.  Protheroe,  or  at  least 
between  the  two  political  sections  of  the  West  India  interest, 
which  heartily  concurred  in  detesting  the  anti-slavery  prin- 
ciples of  Romilly,  the  latter  withdrew  at  the  close  of  the 
ninth  day's  poll,  when  the  numbers  were  :  Mr.  Davis,  2,895 ; 
Mr.  Protheroe,  2,435 ;  Sir  S.  Eomilly,  1,683 ;  Mr.  Hunt,  523. 
This  was  another  costly  contest.  To  insure  success,  the 
Davis  and  Protheroe  parties  were  at  the  expense  of  placing 
about  1,100  freemen  on  the  burgess  roll,  at  an  outlay  of  about 
£2,500.  About  600  more  freemen  were  entered  by  the 
Romilly  party.  [Amongst  the  total  were  seventy-five  men 
who  had  obtained  qualifications  by  means  of  marrying  the 
widows  of  deceased  freemen.  It  was  said  that  many  of  these 
unions  were  merely  colourable,  the  parties  separating  at  the 
church  doors.]  In  ordinary  years  the  average  number  of 
burgesses  taking  up  their  freedom  did  not  exceed  fifty*  Mr. 
Hunt  petitioned  against  the  two  members,  one  of  his  leading 
points  being  that  the  payments  for  freemen  were  acts  of 
bribery,  the  value  of  the  freedom  being  considerable.  In 
support  of  this  contention  before  a  committee  of  the  House 


52  THE  AKNALS  OF  BRISTOL.  [1812. 

of  Commons,  lie  showed  that  the  mayors  of  the  two  pre- 
ceding years  had  been  paid  £42  each  out  of  the  civic  purse, 
''  for  not  having  nominated  a  freeman  ^^  during  their  official 
term,  as  they  were  entitled  to  do  by  ancient  custom.  [This 
item  occurs  in  the  civic  accounts  every  year  until  the  Cor- 
poration was  reformed.]  It  was  unquestionable  that  corrup- 
tion had  also  extensively  prevailed.  Oxen  ornamented  with 
blue  ribbons  had  been  paraded  through  the  streets,  and  every 
'^  blue  "  voter  who  claimed  his  '^  rights  '^  had  an  allowance 
of  fourteen  pounds  of  beef,  three  quartern  loaves  (then  sell- 
ing at  about  Is.  6d.  each),  and  7«.  6d.  in  money.  Bludgeon 
men,  styled  constables,  took  possession  of  the  entrance  to  the 
Guildhall  on  the  nomination  day,  denying  admission  to  all 
but  their  employers'  partisans,  and  about  1,500  bludgeons, 
painted  blue,  were  seen  to  be  carried  to  the  house  of  one  of 
Mr.  Davis's  agents.  It  was  alleged,  moreover,  that  charity 
money  had  been  corruptly  dispensed  by  the  parochial  church- 
wardens, who  were  all  active  canvassers  in  the  ''  blue " 
interest.  The  conduct  of  the  Protheroe  Whigs  was  not  less 
demoralizing  than  that  of  their  allies,  and  the  printed  evidence 
offers  the  reader  a  glimpse  of  Sir  Henry  Protheroe  scattering 
his  money  at  the  Mulberry  Tree  Tavern,*  and  damning 
'* French  principles" — an  allusion  to  Romilly's  Huguenot 
descent.  The  Commons'  committee,  however,  declared  the 
members  duly  elected,  to  the  unbounded  delight  of  their 
chief  supporters  in  Bristol,  who  forthwith  repaired  to  a 
tavern,  and  emptied  a  gigantic  bowl,  containing  twenty- eight 
gallons  of  punch,  "suitably  decorated  with  blue,"  in  honour  of 
the  victory.  The  Bristol  Times  of  August  2,  1862,  published 
a  detailed  account  of  the  outlay  of  the  Tory  party  at  the 
above  two  elections.  The  total  amounted  to  the  sum  of 
£29,429  14^.  7rf.,  paid  through  the  Steadfast  Club.  The  first 
election,  although  never  in  doubt,  cost  £14,362,  of  which 
nearly  £3,000  were  distributed  in  money  amongst  the  "  con- 
stables" (voters),  and  over  £2,000  at  public-houses  in  enter- 
taining the  so-called  guardians  of  order.  The  cost  of  blue 
ribbons  supplied  at  the  first  contest  was  £3,366,  yet  £2,318 
more  for  the  same  frippery  were  squandered  three  months 
later.  "  This  money,"  says  the  above  authority,  '*  seems  to 
have  been  distributed  amongst  all  the  constitutional  mercers 
in  the  city."  The  expenses  of  the  chairing  were  formidable, 
one  Charles  Smith,  "the  great  physical   force   purveyor," 

•  An  etching  inaccurately  professing  to  give  a  view  of  this  hostelry  having 
been  recently  pubUshed,  it  may  be  useful  to  state  that  some  remnants  of  the 
tavern  may  still  be  seen  at  the  back  of  Guildhall  Chambers,  Broad  Street 


1812.]  BSTABLI8HKBNT  OF  THE   SAVINQS  BANK.  53 

being  alone  paid  £2,577.  The  blue  umbrella  held  over  Mr. 
Davis's  head  figured  for  £6  13/».,  and  £7  12«.  were  paid  for 
the  gaudy  dress  of  the  man  who  bore  it.  There  were  also 
charges  for  "  the  gold  banner/'  gold  fringe,  etc.  The  enter- 
tainment of  the  committee  at  the  White  Lion  Hotel  cost 
£2,182,  besides  which  there  was  a  heavy  disbursement  for 
the  expenses  of  the  various  parochial  committees.  Towards 
defraying  the  total  charge,  Mr.  Davis  contributed  £10,000. 
The  balance  was  liquidated  by  means  of  subscriptions^ 
several  wealthy  Tories  giving  £500  each.* 

A  piece  of  ground  at  Clifton,  somewhat  less  than  ten  acres 
in  extent,  was  sold  in  September  for  building  sites,  and 
brought  what  was  then  regarded  as  the  extraordinary  sum 
of  £15,000.  The  houses  erected  upon  it  were  called  Rich- 
mond Hill,  and  an  advertisement  in  September,  1814,  shows 
that  certain  sanitary  arrangements  were  limited  to  a  short 
sewer  and  a  cesspool.  Clifton  was  still,  so  far  as  the  elevated 
district  was  concerned,  a  mere  village,  and  all  its  arrange- 
ments were  primitive.  An  aged  correspondent  of  the  Times 
and  Mirror  (May  26,  1883),  recalling  the  appearance  of  the 

glace  in  1813,  stated  that  the  post  office  was  near  Saville 
lace — a  mere  cottage  with  two  small  shop  windows.  The 
postmaster  was  a  tailor,  who  used  to  sit  at  his  work  on  the 
shopboard  in  one  window,  while  his  wife,  at  the  other  side, 
sold  gingerbread  and  sweets.  There  were  two  letter  carriers, 
one  of  whom  was  a  woman,  and  the  work  of  carrying  the 
letter  bags  to  and  from  Bristol,  and  of  delivering  the  contents, 
was  divided  between  them. 

The  Prudent  Man's  Friend  Society,  for  the  then  novel 
object  of  encouraging  thrift  amongst  the  poor,  founded  by 
the  philanthropic  Richard  Reynolds,  Mr.  T.  Sanders,  and  a 
few  friends,  came  into  existence  in  December.  To  this 
society  the  city  is  indebted  for  the  establishment  of  the 
Bristol  Savings  Bank,  which  was  opened  a  few  weeks  later 
at  No.  20,  Small  Street,  although  the  title  it  now  bears  was 
not  assumed  until  1815.  The  society  made  great  exertions  to 
promote  economy  among  the  labouring  community,  but  only 
seventy-three  persons  opened  accounts  at  the  bank  during  the 
first  nine  months  of  its  existence,  and  as  their  deposits 
averaged  over  £7  each,  very  few  could  have  belonged  to  the 
class  it  was  designed  to  benefit.     It  was  not  indeed  until  1817, 

*  Not  content  with  bis  demagogic  displays  in  this  city,  Hunt  made  exoar- 
fiions  to  Bath,  with  the  effect  of  exciting  serions  rioting  in  that  city.  The 
power  of  choosing  members  for  Bath  was  vested  solely  in  the  Corporation,  con- 
•isting  of  thirty  persons,  self-eleoted,  and  irresponsible. 


^1 


64  TEX    ANNALB   OF   BRISTOL.  [1812, 

when  the  first  Saving  Bank  Act  was  passed,  that  artisans 
and  servants  were  attracted  to  the  institation.  Progress  was 
afterwards  rapid,  and  by  1827  the  accumulated  deposits 
amounted  to  over  £300,000.  It  was  not,  however,  until  twenty- 
six  years  later  that  the  aggregate  exceeded  £400,000,  and  the 
increase  in  the  fund  has  been  still  slower  since  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  postal  institutions.  Soon  after  its  establishment 
the  Savings  Bank  was  removed  to  Bridge  Street,  whence  it 
again  removed,  in  December,  1831,  to  St.  Stephen's  Avenue, 
where  a  building  had  been  specially  erected  for  it  at  a  cost, 
including  site,  of  £3,-500.  The  premises  have  since  been 
reconstructed  on  an  enlarged  scale. 

In  the  course  of  the  year  1812,  the  Bev.  Samuel  Seyer, 
who  was  then  engaged  upon  his  valuable  history  of  the  city, 
published  "  The  Charters  and  Letters  Patent  granted  by  the 
£ings  and  Queens  of  England  to  the  City  and  County  of 
Bristol,  newly  Translated,  and  accompanied  by  the  Original 
Latin."  In  the  preface  to  the  work  it  was  stated  that  the 
manuscripts  forming  the  text  were  found  in  the  Bodleian 
collection,  but  that  Mr.  Seyer,  fearing  verbal  errors  or 
omissions  in  those  copies,  addressed  a  memorial  to  the 
Common  Council,  praying  to  be  permitted  to  have  access  to 
the  originals  for  the  purpose  of  collation.  The  response  was 
a  point-blank  refus^,  although  the  charters  were,  as  Mr. 
Seyer  went  on  to  remark,  'f  open  letters,"  granted  to  the 
burgesses  generally,  and  for  their  benefit,  and  ought  to  have 
been  accessible  to  all  of  them  as  members  of  the  Corporation. 
It  appears  from  the  official  minutes  of  the  Common  Council 
that  the  rejection  of  the  reverend  gentleman's  request  was 
due  to  the  Recorder,  Sir  Vicary  Gibbs,  whose  advice  was 
solicited  by  the  Corporation. 

A  "grand  gala  ffite,"  in  honour  of  the  British  victories  over 
the  French  armies  in  Spain,  took  place  in  September,  1813, 
"in  the  gardens  of  the  Three  Blackbirds  tavern,  neai 
Btapleton."  In  the  following  year  the  name  of  the  place  wat 
changed  to  the  "Wellington  Gardens,"  under  which  il 
became  a  fashionable  resort  for  many  years.  The  galas  were 
of  a  somewhat  exclusive  character.  The  price  of  admission 
was  half  a  crown ;  gentlemen  were  expected  to  appear  in  full 
evening  dress;  and  livery  servants  were  excluded.  The 
gardens  remained  popular  notwithstanding  the  opening  of  the 
Zoological  Gardens  at  Clifton,  though  that  event  greatly 
altered  the  status  of  those  who  resorted  to  them.  The  latest 
notice  of  the  place  that  has  been  found  in  the  newspapers 
occurs  in  1847,  when  there  was  a  large  attendance  at  a 
balloon  ascent. 


1813.]  TTBUBN   TICKETS.      THE   BISHOP's   INCOME.  65 

A  somewliat  singular  accident  occurred  in  September^ 
1813^  at  Cumberland  Basin.  A  heavily  laden  West  India- 
man^  named  the  William  Miles,  was  entering  the  basin  by  the 
upper  lock^  when  a  press-gang  was  seen  approaching  for  the 
purpose  of  seizing  the  crew.  After  having  been  many 
months  absent  from  home,  the  men  were  by  no  means  disposed 
to  be  captured,  and  instantly  fled.  Unfortunately  the  ship 
had  not  cleared  the  entrance,  and  as  the  tide  rapidly  ebbed^ 
she  remained  suspended  in  the  lock,  the  weight  of  the  cargo 
crushingthe  hull  out  of  shape  and  firmly  fixing  it  between  the 
walls.  The  lock  thus  became  impracticable  for  other  vessels 
until  the  obstruction  was  removed,  which  was  not  effected  for 
upwards  of  three  weeks. 

Mr.  Bathurst,  late  member  for  the  city,  who  had  retreated 
to  the  cheaper  and  less  arduous  representation  of  Bodmin, 
was  presented  by  his  Bristol  admirers,  in  September,  with  an 
elegant  piece  of  plate,  valued  at  700  guineas,  in  gratitude  for 
his  lengthened  services. 

The  Bristol  Journal  of  September  the  4th  contains  the 
following  advertisement : — ''  For  sale,  a  Tyburn  Ticket,  ex- 
empting the  holder  from  serving  the  parish  and  ward  oflSces 
of  the  parish  of  St.  Paul  and  ward  of  St.  James.  Apply  to 
Mr.  Evans,  Bridewell.''  The  same  newpaper  a  few  weeks 
later  announced  that  ''two  Tyburn  tickets  for  the  parish 
of  Clifton''  were  for  disposal.  These  ominously  named  docu- 
ments had  their  origin  in  the  statute  10th  William  III.  c  12, 
which  enacted  that,  after  the  20th  of  May,  1699,  every  person 
convicted  of  burglary,  horse  stealing,  or  theft  from  a  shop  to 
the  value  of  five  shillings,  should  be  debarred  from  benefit  of 
clergy — that  is,  should  be  hanged;  and  that  every  person 
who  should  apprehend  such  an  offender  and  prosecute  him  to 
conviction  should  be  entitled  to  a  certificate  to  that  effect 
from  the  judge  who  tried  the  case,  such  certificate  to  dis- 
charge the  holder  from  fulfilling  all  manner  of  parish  and 
ward  offices  in  the  district  where  the  felony  was  committed. 
The  ticket  was  capable  of  being  assigned  to  another  person, 
but  only  once.  The  privilege  was  abolished  by  an  Act  passed 
in  June,  1818.  Only  three  months  previously,  according  to 
the  Stamford  Mercut-y  for  March  17,  1818,  a  Tyburn  ticket 
was  sold  in  Manchester  for  £280.  A  copy  of  one  of  the 
tickets  is  given  in  Notes  and  Queries,  2nd  series,  xi.  395. 

Up  to  this  time  the  income  of  the  bishopric  of  Bristol  does 
not  appear  to  have  exceeded  £600  or  £800  a  year — not  a 
twentieth  of  the  revenue  of  one  of  the  episcopal  prizes  of  the 
English   Church.     The  irregularities  which  then  prevailed 


.' 


56  THE   ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  1813.] 

in  the  value  of  the  various  sees  were  considered  to  "work 
well.'*  A  spiritual  lord  in  the  reign  of  Georee  III.  might 
find  it  difficult  to  make  ends  meet  at  Brist<M^  Exeter^  or 
LlandafE;  but  he  knew  that  preferment  would  come  sooner 
or  later  if  he  offered  himself  as  a  submissive  instrument  to  the 
royal  or  ministerial  will.  The  distinguished  Bishop  Newton, 
declining  to  be  a  *'  king's  friend/'  was  left  in  the  cold  at 
Bristol  for  twenty-one  years.  But  in  the  next  twenty-seven 
years  he  had  eight  successors,  though  only  one  vacancy  was 
caused  by  death.  If  the  fact  proved  that  the  system  "worked 
well"  for  those  who  lived  long  e»ough,  it  was  silent  as  to 
those  who  dropped  by  the  wayside.  At  a  meeting  of  a  local 
clergy  society  so  recently  as  1860,  it  was  stated  that  a  former 
bishop  had  left  a  daughter  absolutely  penniless,  and  that, 
after  having  kept  a  small  parish  school  until  old  age  rendered 
her  incapable,  she  had  applied  for  relief  to  the  society,  having 
not  a  farthing  to  live  upon  save  £5  a  year  granted  by  a 
charity  in  London.  Going  back  to  1«813,  it  would  appear 
that  the  leaders  of  the  Church  were  Jiot  wholly  satisfied  with 
"the  system."  In  the  course  of  the  year  an  arrangement 
was  effected,  at  the  instance  of  the  Archbishop  of  Can- 
terbury, by  which  the  rectory  of  Almomdsbury  was  united  to 
the  bishopric  of  Bristol.  The  effect  of  this  union,  according 
to  the  contemporary  press,  was  to  increase  the  income  of 
the  see  from  £600  to  £2,000  per  annum ;  but  this  estimate 
appears  to  have  been  greatly  exaggerated.  A  significant 
incident  of  the  affair  was,  that  neither  the  primate,  the 
bishop,  the  Government,  nor  the  newspapers  appear  to  have 
bestowed  the  slightest  thought  on  the  fact  that  the  living 
of  Almondsbury  existed  for  the  benefit  of  the  parishioners, 
and  that  the  non-residence  of  a  lector — even  though  a  bishop 
— was  a  scandalous  abuse.  The  living  was  again  detached 
from  the  see  by  Order  of  Council  in  July,  1851,  when  Bishop 
Monk  was  granted,  in  compensation,  an  additional  income 
of  £650  yearly. 

Bristol  Exchange,  never  very  popular  amongst  mercantile 
men,  was  entirely  abandoned  by  them  upon  the  opening  of  the 
Commercial  Rooms.  The  Corporation,  in  September,  directed 
the  south  row  of  the  deserted  quadrangle  to  be  converted  into 
a  com  market,  an  institution  of  which  grain  merchants  and 
the  neighbouring  farmers  had  long  felt  the  want.  The 
market  was  opened  on  the  18th  of  October. 

A  Bristol  newspaper  editor  of  this  year  gravely  speaks  of 
pugilism  as  an  "  elegant  and  fashionable  science."  That  it 
was  fashionable    was   beyond  dispute,  as  the  memoirs    of 


1818.]  BRISTOL   PUGILISTS.      SIB  N.   W.   WBAXALL.  57' 

George  IV.,  of  Mr.  Windham,  and  of  other  notabilities  of  the 
time  bear  witness.     In  Bristol  "the  rin^"  was  especially 
popular,  several  of  the  leading  "  bruisers     being  natives  of 
the  city  or  of  its  environs.     Of  these,  early  in  tie  century, 
the  Belchers,  one  of  whom  was  "  champion,'*  and  Nichols,  the 
'^  Game  Chicken,'*  another  "  champion,**  were  the  most  con- 
spicuous.    A  Bristol  paper  of  1805  stated  that  Miss  Belcher,  a 
sister  of  the  heroic  brothers,  had  a  fight  with  another  woman 
in  one  of  the  streets  of  the  city,  seconded  bv  her  mother,  the 
combat   lasting  "more  than  fifty  minutes.       Tom   Belcher, 
who  won   eight  great  battles   and  lost  only  three,  retired 
from  the  ring  in  1814,  but  survived  as  a  reputable  London 
publican  until  December,  1854.     Another  favourite  pugilist 
was  William  Neat,  famed  for  many  arduous  victories,  though, 
being  at  length  unsuccessful  in  an  encounter  with  Spring,  in 
1823,  he  was  denounced  by  his  former  admirers  for  having 
'^sold  the   fight.**     Neat   was   prevailed   upon  to   quit  the 
'^  ring'*  by  Mrs.  Fry,  the  celebrated  philanthropist.     A  local 
annalist,  in  recording  Neat's  death,  in  1858,^   states   that 
80,000  persons  were  present  at  his  last  battle,  which  took  place 
near  Andover.     A  large  contingent  had  come  from  Bristol, 
every  available  horse  in  the  city,  including  the  black  horses 
employed  at  funerals,  being  hired  for  the  occasion.     A  still 
more  famous  combatant  was  John  Gully,  in  youth  a  Bristol 
butcher.     After  having  won  national  fame  in  "  the  ring,'* 
he  betook  himself  to  the  congenial,  though  not  yet  so  miry, 
"  turf,**  where  he  was  patronized  by  the  Duke  of  York,  and 
made  a  large  fortune  as  a  *' betting  man.**     In  1832  Gully, 
then  metamorphosed  into  a  country  gentleman,  was  elected 
member  of  parliament  for  Pontefract,  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  which  town  he  resided.     He  died  in  1863,  aged  80  years. 
On  the  2l8t  of  December,  1813,  the  Prince  Regent  was 
pleased  to  confer  the  honour  of  a  baronetcy  on  Mr.  Nathaniel 
William  Wraxall,  whose  claims  to  such  a  distinction  were 
much  criticized  by  his  contemporaries.     Wraxall  was  the  son 
of  a  Bristol  merchant,  and  was  bom  in  Queen  Square,  on  the 
8th  of  April,  1751.t     At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  entered  the 
service  of  the  East  India  Company,  and  sailed  for  Bombay ; 
but    he    relinquished    that    employment    on    attaining    his 
majority,  and  after  returning  to  Europe  he  occupied  himself 
for  seven  years  in  travelling,  extending  his  tour  from  Italy 


•  •♦  Local  AnDals/'  City  Library,  iii.  37. 

t  Another  Nathaniel  Wraxall,  probably  a  cousin,  was  swordbearer  to  the 
Bristol  Council  in  1768.    A  thirdi  holding  the  same  office,  died  in  1781. 


58  THE   ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1813. 


* 


I 


to  Lapland.     During  a  portion  of  his  ramblings  he  was  em- 
ployed by  an  unfortunate  princess,  Caroline,  wife  of  Christian 
^  VII .  of  Denmark,  to  seek  the  support  of  her  brother,  George 

III.,  to  a  conspiracy  for  placing  the  queen  on  the  throne. 
I  Wraxall  afterwards  alleged  that  the  English  king  was  so 

;  f  pleased  with  his  services  as  to  order  him  to  be  presented 

with  1,000  guineas;  but  it  is  clear  from  his  majesty's  letter 
to  Lord  North  ("  Correspondence,^'  ii.  359),  that  the  nego- 
tiator was  treated  with  great  indifference,  and  that  his 
mission  was  unsuccessful.  In  1775  Wraxall  published  an 
account  of  his  travels,  under  the  title  of  '^  Cursory  Remarks," 
the  easy  style  of  which  carried  the  book  through  several 
editions.  Other  works,  chiefly  on  the  history  of  France,  fol- 
lowed at  intervals,  but  excited  little  attention.  In  1815, 
however,  he  produced  a  work  in  three  volumes,  entitled 
'^  Memoirs  of  My  Own  Times,''  which  caused  some  sensation 
in  political  circles,  and  which  the  literary  critics  of  the  day 
concurred  in  condemning  as  throwing  equal  discredit  on  the 
1  author's  head  and  heart.     For  a  libel  on  the  Russian  Am- 

I  bassador,  printed  in  this  book,  Wraxall  was  fined  £500  and 

';   '  sentenced  to  six  months'  imprisonment.     The  general  charge 

of  mendacity  levelled  against  the  author  is,  however,  denied 
by  Carlyle  in  his  '^  Life  of  Frederick  the  Great."  After  revis- 
ing the  ''  Memoirs  "  for  a  second  edition,  Wraxall  published 
nothing  more,  though  he  enjoyed  vigorous  health  until  his 
eightieth  year.  He  died  on  the  7th  of  November,  1831,  whilst 
preparing  for  an  extensive  continental  tour.  In  1836  was 
published  ''  Posthumous  Memoirs  of  My  Own  Times,"  in 
three  volumes,  which  in  character  resembled  the  previous 
work,  and  which,  as  the  author  virtually  confessed,  had  been 
held  back  until  he  should  be  beyond  the  reach  of  those  whom 
he  assailed.  A  new  edition  of  both  the  above  works  has  been 
published  within  the  last  few  years.  One  of  Sir  Nathaniel's 
grandsons  and  successors,  Sir  C.  F.  Lascelles  Wraxall,  de- 
voted himself  to  literature  with  considerable  success.  Hav- 
ing served  in  the  Crimea  with  the  Turkish  contingent,  the 
result  was  .a  book  called  '^  Camp  Life,"  which  was  perhaps 
the  best  of  his  productions.  "The  Armies  of  the  Great 
Powers,"  a  "Life  of  Caroline  of  Denmark,"  "The  Second  Em- 
pire,"  and  several  novels  also  issued  from  his  pen.  On  his 
death,  in  his  thirty-seventh  year,  in  1865,  the  title  reverted 
to  his  brother,  Horatio  Henry,  who  followed  the  vocation  of  a 
"betting  man,"  but  died  in  a  lunatic  asylum  in  1882,  having 
been  for  some  time  chargeable  as  a  pauper  to  the  Union  of 
Southwark.     The  baronetcy  is  still  in  existence. 


I 


i 


1814.]  A   DISINTIBMBNT.      FALL  OF  NAPOLEON.  59 

A  frost  of  extreme  severitj  and  unusual  length  was  ex- 
perienced in  the  opening  months  of  1814.  The  Floating  Har- 
tx>ur  from  end  to  end  was  so  thickly  covered  with  ice  as  to 
permit  of  general  locomotion  upon  it^  and  some  thousands  of 
persons  are  said  to  have  enjoyed  the  novel  experience  of 
passing  under  Bristol  bridge  on  foot.  Owing  to  heavy  snow- 
storms, the  roads  in  all  parts  of  the  kingdom  were  drifted 
up,  conununication  by  coaches  was  cut  off,  and  the  mails 
were  everywhere  delayed  for  some  days.  So  extensive  a 
dislocation  of  traffic  had  not  before  occurred  since  the  estab- 
lishment of  mail  coaches. 

On  March  16,  1814,  whilst  workmen  were  sinking  a  vault 
near  the  vestry  in  St.  Mary-le-port  Church,  under  a  mural 
monument  in  the  Early  Tudor  style,  they  came  upon  a  lead 
coffin,  the  ancient  appearance  of  which  was  thought  worthy 
of  the  inspection  of  local  antiquaries.  A  group  of  amateurs 
was  soon  assembled,  and  it  was  forthwith  decided  that  the 
remains  were  those  of  Robert  Yeamans,  one  of  the  "  royal 
martyrs ''  executed  in  1643,  though  there  is  incontestable  con- 
temporary testimony  to  prove  that  the  unfortunate  man  was 
buried  in  Christ  Church.  Assuming,  however,  that  the  suppo- 
sition had  been  correct,  its  authors  displayed  their  admiration 
of  the  victim  of  Puritan  vengeance  in  a  remarkable  manner. 
Mr.  Richard  Smith,  surgeon,  who  was  always  foremost  in 
such  affairs,  cut  up  the  body,  which  was  in  excellent  preser- 
vation, and  removed  the  heart  as  a  precious  addition  to  his 
*'  anatomical  museum.*'  The  incumbent,  the  Rev.  W.  Waite, 
carried  off  a  slice  of  the  shirt.  Mr.  Henry  Smith  possessed 
himself  of  a  portion  of  the  same  garment,  and  further  made 
prize  of  part  of  the  handkerchief  that  bound  up  the  head. 
The  spoil  of  the  other  members  of  the  party  is  not  recorded, 
but  it  is  highly  probable  that  they  followed  the  example  of 
their  leaders.  Mr.  Richard  Smith  subsequently  published  a 
characteristic  account  of  the  proceedings. 

A  musical  festival  for  the  benefit  of  the  Infirmary  took 
place  in  June,  three  oratorios,  "  The  Messiah,"  "  The  Crea- 
tion,*' and  "  The  Mount  of  Olives,*'  being  given  in  St.  Paul's 
Church,  and  two  evening  concerts  at  the  theatre.  The  chief 
vocalists  were  Madame  Catalani,  then  at  the  summit  of  her 
fame,  and  the  equally  celebrated  Mr.  Braham.  The  surplus 
receipts,  including  collections,  amounted  to  £845. 

Bristolians,  in  common  with  Englishmen  generally,  were 
profoundly  stirred  at  this  time  by  the  mighty  events  occur- 
ring on  the  Continent.  The  battles  of  Leipsic  and  Dresden, 
the  general  rising  of  Germany,  the  successive  victories  of 


60  THE   ANNALS   OF  BBI8T0L.  [1814. 

the  English  army  on  the  Franco-Spainish  frontier,  and  the 
final  downfall  of  Bonaparte  caused  repeated  illuminations 
and  other  tokens  of  rejoicing.*  When  the  newspapers  be- 
came almost  hysterical^  and  shouted^  as  did  the  editor  of 
Felix  Farley's  Bristol  Journal,  *'  Huzza  !  huzza !  huzza  I  the 
Dutch  have  taken  Holland  I  "  one  may  imagine  the  fervour 
which  animated  the  masses.  The  intelligence  of  the  conclu- 
sion of  a  definitive  treaty  of  peace,  closing  a  war  with  France 
which  had  lasted,  with  a  brief  interval,  for  twenty-one  years, 
was  received  with  transports  of  joy.  The  mail  coach  con- 
veying the  news  was  stopped  at  Totterdown  by  the  populace, 
who  removed  the  horses,  and  dragged  the  vehicle  through 
the  streets  amidst  a  whirlwind  of  cheers.  The  customary 
proclamations  were  made  by  the  civic  authorities  on  the 
27th  of  June,  the  details  of  the  ceremony  being  identical  with 
those  of  1801.  In  the  evening  the  city  was  illuminated.  A 
lofty  triumphal  arch,  erected  in  Com  Street  in  front  of  the 
Commercial  Rooms,  was,  when  its  pictorial  embellishments 
were  lighted  up,  an  especial  attraction ;  but  the  inhabitants 
of  the  chief  streets  appear  to  have  vied  with  each  other  in 
the  production  of  fanciful  allegories,  the  description  of  which 
fills  many  colunms  of  the  newspapers.  Probably  the  most 
picturesque  and  effective  displays  were  the  illumination  of 
the  battlements  of  the  tower  of  St.  Mary  Redcliff,  and  the 
huge  bonfire  on  Brandon  Hill.  Immediately  after  the  peace, 
the  volunteer  infantry  were  disembodied  by  order  of  the 
Government.  After  the  final  parade,  when  Lieut.-Colonels 
Gore  and  Goldney  took  farewell  of  the  regiment,  the  colours 
were  deposited  at  the  house  of  Colonel  Baillie,  in  Park  Row, 
and  the  weapons  stored  at  the  Armoury  in  Stapleton  Road. 
Lieut.-Colonel  Gore  died  within  a  fortnight  of  these  events, 
deeply  regretted  by  his  regiment,  which  at  once  resolved  to 
give  £3,000,  part  of  the  fund  subscribed  and  invested  for 
the  use  of  the  corps,  to  the  widow  and  five  children  of  the 
^  deceased,  ''  in  respectful  testimony  of  his  meritorious  con- 

i  duct."     A  further  sum  of  £200  was  ordered  to  be  spent  in 

:  striking  silver  medals  to  commemorate  the  services  of  the 

regiment,  one  of  which  was  given  to  each  officer  and  private. 
Colonel  Baillie  was  presented  by  the  Common  Council  with 

■ 

*  The  statue  of  William  III.  in  Queen  Square  was  brilliantly  illuminated 
upon  the  evacuation  of  Holland  by  the  French.  The  Corporation  contributed 
£20  towards  the  expense.  Another  item  in  the  civic  accounts  is  £7  6<.  6d,  for 
'*  500  fagots,  haling t  etc.  to  Brandon  hill,  to  make  a  bonfire  on  the  arrival  of  the 
glorious  intelligence  that  the  allies  had  obtained  a  decisive  victory  over  the 
enemy  of  mankind.'* 


1813.]  A   PENURIOUS   MAYOR.      OISt's   CHARITY.  61 

a  piece  of  plate,  value  £200,  for  nearly  twenty  years'  services 
in  connection  with  the  regiment.  In  November,  1816,  a 
cenotaph  to  the  memory  of  Colonel  Gore,  bearing  his  portrait 
in  basso-rilievo,  was  placed  in  the  cathedral  at  the  expense 
of  the  volunteers. 

During  the  brief  sojourn  of  the  allied  sovereigns  in  London 
in  1814,  the  Common  Council  sent  off  a  deputation  to  invite 
the  Prince  Regent  and  his  imperial  guests  to  visit  Bristol. 
The  arrangements  of  the  illustrious  strangers  rendered  the 
step  abortive;  but  the  deputation  by  some  means  succeeded 
in  spending  £378  of  the  corporate  money  in  performing  the 
duty  imposed  upon  them. 

The  close  of  the  mayoralty  of  Mr.  James  Fowler  was 
marked  by  an  unusual  scandal  in  the  history  of  the  Corpora- 
tion. At  the  usual  meeting  in  December,  1814,  a  motion 
that  the  ex-mayor  should  receive  such  a  sum  as  would  raise 
his  receipts  from  fees  and  perquisites  to  £2,500  was  rejected 
in  favour  of  an  amendment  to  limit  the  payment  from  the 
civic  chest  to  such  an  amount  ''  as  should  appear  to  the 
mayor  and  aldermen  to  have  been  expended.^'  The  inferen- 
tial censure  having  been  ratified  by  a  majority,  the  case  was 
investigated  by  the  Court  of  Aldermen  in  the  following 
month,  when,  after  an  examination  of  the  accounts  and 
vouchers,  it  was  resolved  "  that  the  sum  of  £2,000  should  be 
paid  to  Mr.  Fowler  as  a  full  and  ample  reimbursement  for 
the  expenses  incurred  by  him."  Mr.  B.  Bickley  was  at  the 
same  time  voted  £844  for  his  third  shrievalty.  Some  stories 
respecting  an  exceedingly  parsimonious  mayor  early  in  the 
century  probably  date  from  this  year.  It  is  said  that  a  large 
placard  was  posted  upon  the  walls  of  the  city,  notifying  that 
a  cat  had  just  brought  forth  kittens  in  the  kitchen  grate  of 
the  Mansion  House,  and  was  doing  well.  "  The  only  fear  is 
that  the  kittens  may  suffer  from  cold,  as  a  fire  has  not  been 
for  some  time  lighted  in  the  said  kitchen  grate."  A  few 
mornings  later,  three  dead  rats  were  found  suspended  to  the 
knocker  of  the  civic  residence,  with  the  label :  "  Starved  out 
of  the  Mansion  House." 

On. the  16th  of  January,  1815,  the  death  occurred  in  London 
of  a  Mr.  Samuel  Gist,  a  wealthy  planter  in  Virginia,  but  who 
was  educated,  three-quarters  of  a  century  earlier,  in  Queen 
Elizabeth's  Hospital.  The  remains  of  the  deceased  were  buried, 
at  his  own  request,  at  Wormington,  Gloucester.  By  his  will 
he  left  the  sum  of  £10,000  in  consols,  upon  trust,  to  maintain 
six  poor  men,  six  poor  women,  and  six  poor  boys  in  Queen 
Elizabeth's  Hospital,  and  to  maintain  and  educate  six  poor 


62  THE   AKNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1815. 

girls.  It  being  impossible  to  carry  out  this  bequest  in  the 
manner  directed^  an  application  was  made  by  the  Common 
Council  to  the  Court  of  Chancery,  which  in  1820  decreed 
that  the  income  should  be  distributed  in  payments  to  three 
male  and  three  female  annuitants,  who  were  to  receive 
£115 16s.  amongst  them ;  £100  to  Queen  Elizabeth's  Hospital, 
for  the  maintenance  of  three  boys  ;  and  £72  to  the  Red  Maids' 
School  for  three  girls.  Mr.  Gist's  will  also  directed  that  his 
800  slaves  should  have  their  freedom,  and  he  devised  a  large 
sum  for  the  education  and  religious  instruction  of  their 
descendants,  as  well  as  for  food  and  clothing  to  such  as 
might  become  destitute. 

A  war  with  the  United  States,  which,  though  of  brief 
duration,  had  been  exceedingly  disastrous  to  English  ship- 
owners through  the  ravages  of  the  enemy's  privateers,  was 
brought  to  a  close  by  the  Treaty  of  Ghent,  in  the  spring  of 
1815.  A  congratulatory  address  to  the  Prince  Regent  was 
i  sent  up  by  the  Corporation,  two  of  whose  representatives 

\    .  Mr.    W.   J.    Struth,   then   mayor,   and    Alderman    Richard 

f  Vaughan,  received  the  honour  of  knighthood.     The  expenses 

;  of  the  deputation  were,  as  usual,  excessive,  the  amount  paid 

out  of  the  civic  purse  being  £195  10s. 

The  close  of  the  long  continental  struggle  caused  an  almost 
immediate  collapse  in  the  artificial  system  which  had  grown 
up  whilst  nearly  all  the  great  foreign  ports  had  been  closed 
against  us,  and  whilst  prices  had  been  almost  continually 
rising  under  a  factitious  paper  currency.  When  wheat 
rarely  sold  at  under  SOs.  per  quarter,  and  meat  advanced  to 
lOd.  per  lb.,  or  three  times  its  price  before  the  war,  the  rent 
of  land  naturally  rose  in  proportion,  estates  more  than  doubled 
in  value,  and  the  price  of  labour  in  many  trades  was  notably 
enhanced.  The  opening  of  the  ports  brought  down  prices  of 
food  with  a  crash,  wheat  falling  to  56^.  per  quarter,  and 
meat  to  4rf.  per  lb.  As  a  natural  consequence,  the  highly- 
rented  farmers  could  no  longer  earn  a  profit,  and  every 
branch  of  industry  felt  the  reaction.  The  panacea  of  a 
parliament  of  landlords  was  the  prohibition  of  imports  of 
corn  whenever  the  domestic  rates  were  under  80«.  per 
quarter.  Bristol,  like  all  the  commercial  towns,  strongly 
condemned  the  proposed  law,  and  a  petition  signed  by  40,000 
of  the  inhabitants  prayed  the  Commons  for  its  rejection; 
but  in  the  then  state  of  the  popular  chamber  all  such  efibrts 
were  futile.  The  attempt  to  bolster  up  prices,  however, 
failed,  and  the  first  to  feel  the  effects  were  the  labouring 
classes.     The    workmen  endeavoured    to  combine    against 


:t 


r      • 
I 


1815.]        THE    PBICI   OF  NEWSPAPERS.      MACADAMIZATION.  63 

reductions  of  wages,  but  trades  unions  were  illegal,  and 
were  sternly  put  down.  On  the  other  hand,  it  was  equally 
illegal  for  employers  to  unite  against  their  servants,  and  two 
master  plasterers  in  Bristol  were  brought  to  trial  charged 
with  combining  to  lower  wages.  It  transpired  during  the 
hearing  that  the  journeymen  did  not  earn  more  than  16«.  per 
week  throughout  the  year.  The  counsel  for  the  two  parties 
agreed  to  leave  the  matter  to  the  bench,  which  decided  that 
the  old  rate  should  be  continued ;  but  the  masters  refused  to 
employ  their  former  hands.  The  workmen  of  other  trades, 
especially  the  tailors,  took  advantage  of  another  old  law, 
which  forbade  employers  to  hire  any  person  who  had  not 
served  an  apprenticeship  of  seven  years.  The  effect  of  this 
movement,  however,  was  the  abolition  by  Parliament  of  an 
obnoxious  restraint  on  natural  rights.  The  manufacturers 
and  tradesmen  of  the  city  were  so  rejoiced  at  the  relief,  that 
they  presented  a  piece  of  plate  to  Serjeant  Onslow,  who  had 
framed  the  measure  and  conducted  it  through  the  House  of 
Commons. 

"  The  newspapers  of  Great  Britain  may  be  reckoned  among 
its  noblest  spectacles,**  modestly  observed  the  Bristol  Journal 
of  September  9, 1815.  The  assertion  was  made  in  connection 
with  the  Budget  of  the  year,  which  increased  the  stamp  tax 
on  newspapers  from  threepence-halfpenny  to  fourpence  per 
copy.  A  discount  of  20  per  cent,  was  allowed  on  this  oppres- 
sive impost ;  but  the  concession  was  counterbalanced  by 
the  duty  of  3d.  per  lb.  on  printing  paper,  which  was  charged 
in  addition  to  the  stamp.  Newspaper  proprietors  were  con- 
sequently obliged  to  advance  to  sevenpence  the  price  of  each 
copy,  the  largest  of  which  in  Bristol  contained  much  less 
than  half  the  typography  of  the  penny  journals  of  later  days. 
The  Eldon  and  Sidmouth  party,  which  at  that  time  was 
supreme  in  the  Cabinet,  had  always  shown  hostility  towards 
the  press,  and  it  was  suspected  that  the  tax  was  increased 
not  so  much  for  the  sake  of  the  revenue, — which  was  only 
slightly  benefited, — as  to  check  the  circulation  of  political 
intelligence  amongst  the  people.  The  duty  on  advertise- 
ments was  raised  simultaneously  to  Ss.  6d,  upon  each  an- 
nouncement, a  sum  practically  prohibitory  to  poor  persons  in 
search  of  employment. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Bristol  turnpike  trustees,  in  Decem- 
ber, 1815,  Mr.  John  Loudon  McAdam  was  appointed  general 
surveyor  of  the  roads  belonging  to  the  trust.  Mr.  McAdam 
was  a  Scotch  country  gentleman,  who  migrated  to  Bristol 
early  in  the  century  and  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits.     In 


64  THE   ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1815. 

July,  1805,  the  Common  Council  assented  to  his  becoming  a 
freeman  on  paying  a  fine  of  thirty-eight  guineas.  After 
making  practical  experiments  in  road  construction,  at  an 
expense  to  himself  of  several  thousand  pounds,  he  invented 
the  system  which  is  now  known  by  his  name  throughout 
tha  civilized  world.  It  was  long,  however,  before  he  could 
overcome  the  dead  weight  of  prejudice  and  the  hatred 
of  innovation  which  have  so  often  obstructed  great  public 
improvements  in  this  country;  and  the  Bristol  trust  had 
the  credit  of  being  the  first  to  appreciate  the  value  of  his 
labours.  Some  idea  of  the  state  of  the  turnpike  roads  prior 
to  McAdam's  improvements  is  furnished  by  a  letter  in  the 
Monthly  Magazine  for  August,  1804.  "The  usual  method  of 
making  or  mending  roads,"  says  the  writer,  '^  consists  in 
breaking  stones  taken  out  of  neighbouring  quarries  into 
masses  not  much  less  than  a  common  brick,  and  spreading 
them  over  the  line  of  road.  It  may  be  conceived  with  what 
pain  and  difficulty  a  poor  horse  drags  a  carriage  over  such  a 
track.''  The  change  efiected  by  McAdam  in  the  roads  of 
this  district  was  too  notable  to  be  denied  even  by  the 
admirers  of  ''ancient  ways,"  and  in  the  course  of  a  few 
years  '' macadamization "  spread  into  the  most  secluded 
parts  of  the  island,  everywhere  working  a  beneficent  revolu- 
tion. It  is  painful  to  add  that  the  section  of  local  trustees 
representing  the  Corporation  of  Bristol,  and  animated  by  its 
reactionary  spirit,  attempted,  in  September,  1824,  to  sum- 
marily dismiss  Mr.  McAdam,  without  giving  him  a  hint  of 
their  intention,  and  that  a  motion  to  that  effect  was  negatived 
only  by  the  casting  vote  of  the  chairman.  Mr.  McAdam's 
salary  from  the  trust  barely  covered  his  travelling  expenses. 
In  an  address  to  the  trustees,  he  pointed  out  that  he  had 
V  accepted  the  post  with  no  view  to  profit.     When  he  entered 

on  his  work,  the  roads  in  the  district  were  all  but  impassable 
in  bad  weather,  and  the  trust  was  on  the  verge  of  bank- 
ruptcy. Through  his  exertions  its  funds  had  become  flourish- 
ing, and  the  roads  had  been  made  ''an  example  that  has 
been  followed  and  imitated  from  one  end  of  the  kingdom  to 
the  other."  Mr.  McAdam  resigned  his  office  in  the  follow- 
ing year,  protesting  against  what  he  termed  the  "mean 
persecution"  of  his  enemies  in  the  Common  Council.  He 
was  then  nearly  eighty  years  of  age.  About  the  same  time, 
the  House  of  Commons,  regarding  him  as  a  great  benefactor, 
both  to  the  public  and  to  beasts  of  burden,  voted  him  a  grant 
of  £10,000.  In  1827,  the  Metropolitan  road  trustees  (who 
had   not    adopted    McAdam's    system    until    1823)    gladly 


f 


1816.]  sHOOKDra  state  of  kxwgatb.  65 

appointed  him  their  superintendent.  Mr.  McAdam  died  in 
1836,  in  comparative  poverty,  aged  ninety  years.  His  son, 
many  years  surveyor  of  the  Bristol  roads,  died  in  1857. 

From  the  time  when  the  philanthropic  Howard  undertook 
his  beneficent  crusade  in  favour  of  prison  reform  down  to 
the  period  now  under  review,  numberless  records  exist  as 
to  the  abominable  condition  of  Newgate,  the  Bristol  gaol. 
Howard  himself  describes  it  as  white  without  and  foul 
within.  Criminals,  he  says,  were  allowed  to  mix  with  un- 
fortunate debtors,  and  men  with  women;  and  although  the 
place  reeked  with  filth,  yet  the  authorities  made  no  allow- 
ance for  mops,  brooms,  or  towels.  The  accommodation  was 
lamentably  insufficient  for  the  number  of  prisoners;  and 
partly  from  this  cause,  and  partly  for  security,  a  place 
called  the  "  dungeon,*'  or  ''  pit,*'  some  twelve  feet  below 
the  level  of  the  soil,  to  which  scarcely  a  ray  of  light  could 
penetrate,  was  used  for  the  detention  of  the  worst  class  of 
felons.  Seventeen  persons  slept  nightly  in  this  den,  which 
was  only  fourteen  feet  square,  neither  straw  nor  rugs  being 
provided  for  them,  and  the  stench  arising  each  morning  on 
its  being  reopened  turned  the  stomachs  even  of  the  warders. 
There  was  no  employment  to  break  the  monotony  of  deten- 
tion ;  but  the  chapel,  on  week-days,  was  used  as  a  tippline 
room,  and  during  the  service  on  Sundays  drinking  ana 
smoking  went  on  in  the  galleries.  It  would  appear  that  the 
city  authorities  provided  nothing  in  the  shape  of  food  except 
two-pennyworth  of  bread  daily  per  head.  The  local  papers 
consequently  contained  almost  every  week  an  acknowledg- 
ment of  gifts  from  the  public  to  *'  the  poor  felons  in  New- 
gate," who  sometimes  declared  themselves  to  be  "  in  great 
distress  for  the  necessaries  of  life.**  Besides  numerous 
donations  of  money,  the  journals  record  the  receipt,  between 
1785  and  1787,  of  many  sacks  of  potatoes,  various  cartloads 
of  coal,  and  doles  of  beef,  salt  fish,  herrings,  vegetables, 
*'  136  sixpenny  loaves,**  and  '^  a  dozen  towels.**  In  1792  the 
prisoners  were  even  allowed  to  affix  a  box  near  the  gaol  door 
for  the  reception  of  donations;  but  many  undoubtedly  perished 
from  want  and  fever.  Another  class  of  unhappy  wretches 
consisted  of  those  dragged  to  prison  under  the  law  of  mesne 
process,  and  to  these  were  added  a  great  number  of  persons 
immured  for  non-payment  of  their  debts.  Under  the  mesne 
process  system,  any  man  could  be  arrested  for  a  debt  exceed- 
ing £10,  and  detained  in  prison  until  the  cause  was  heard, 
which  might  not  be  for  several  months.  It  was  notorious 
that  this  power  was  often  used  for  iniquitous  purposes,  and 

F 


66  THE  ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1816. 

the  legal  abuse  was  rendered  still  more  grievous  by  the  fact 
that,  even  if  the  victim  proved  at  the  trial  that  the  claim  was 
unfounded,  he  could  not  obtain  release  except  by  an  expen- 
sive course  of  procedure  beyond  the  means  of  the  poor.  So 
late  as  1820,  nearly  3,700  persons  were  languishing  in  prison 
under  the  law  of  mesne  process;  and  the  filthy  Bristol  gaol 
contained  its  full  share  of  them.  As  for  the  ordinary 
class  of  prisoners  for  debt,  the  penalty  to  which  they  were 
liable  was,  until  1813,  detention  for  life.  But  the  condition 
of  Newgate  was  so  horrible  that  local  philanthropists  fre- 
quently raised  subscriptions  for  paying  the  debts  of  poor 
labourers,  and  thus  obtained  their  removal  from  horrible  sur- 
roundings. The  state  of  Bridewell  was  no  better.  Howard 
found  the  place  shockingly  offensive  from  open  sewers^  and  a 
Mr.  Neild,  who  visited  it  in  1807,  stated  that  so  numerous 
were  the  rats  that  a  cat  was  kept  in  each  room  at  night  to 
prevent  the  vermin  from  gnawing  the  prisoners*  feet. 
Howard's  revelations  having  excited  general  disgust,  the 
Corporation,  in  1792,  obtained  an  Act  to  build  a  new  gaol 
on  the  site  of  Bristol  Castle;  but  as  the  authorities  proposed 
to  levy  a  county  rate  upon  the  citizens  for  the  future  main- 
tenance of  the  prison,  the  statute  was  threatened  with 
universal  opposition,  and  ultimately  became  a  dead  letter. 
In  the  meantime,  the  condition  of  the  gaol  became  an  ever* 
increasing  reproach  to  the  city  through  the  increase  of  the 
population.  Felons  convicted  of  atrocious  crimes  and  un- 
tried striplings  charged  with  venial  offences  were  locked  up 
promiscuously,  as  if  the  object  of  the  authorities  was  to 
provide  for  an  unfailing  succession  of  housebreakers,  ruffians, 
and  thieves.  In  April,  1813,  the  grand  jury  at  quarter  ses- 
sions, having  received  a  report  from  four  eminent  physicians 
of  the  city,  to  the  effect  that  "  it  was  almost  impossible  for 
any  building  to  be  worse  calculated "  for  its  purpose,  drew 
up  an  unanimous  presentment,  declaring  that  ''  any  measure 
short  of  rebuilding  the  prison  would  be  of  no  effect  as  to 
remedying  those  great  evils  so  long  and  so  justly  complained 
of."  The  Corporation  soon  after  announced  that  it  would 
apply  to  Parliament  for  powers  to  erect  a  new  gaol  near 
Castle  Street,  provided  the  citizens  would  consent  to  pay  for 
the  structure  and  relieve  the  Council  of  the  burden  of  main- 
taining it ;  but  the  proposal  was  indignantly  scouted  at  meet- 
ings held  by  the  ratepayers.  Nothing  having  been  done, 
Mr.  J.  S.  Harford  published  a  pamphlet  in  1815,  in  which 
the  practice  of  herding  together  degraded  people  of  both 
sexes  was  denounced  as  monstrous.     The  author  added : — 


1816.]  TBEATMBKT   OF   UNTEIBD   PRISONERS.  67 

"  I  saw  the  irons  put  upon  a  little  boy  ten  years  old,  who 
had  just  been  brought  in  for  stealing  a  pound  and  a  half  of 
sagar ;  he  was  then  introduced  into  the  felon's  court,  crowded 
with  wretches  among  the  most  abandoned  of  their  class." 
Yet  in  spite  of  this  and  other  protests,  it  appears  from  an 
incidental  remark  in  a  local  newspaper  that  untried  prisoners 
were  kept  in  fetters  in  1817.     In  the  following  year,  Mr. 
(afterwards  Sir)  T.  P.  Buxton  visited  the  gaol  and  published 
his  experiences.     In  the  too  notorious  "  pit,**  lying  in  a  very 
dirty  bed,  was  "  a  wretched  human  being  who  complained  of 
severe  illness.     This  was  his  infirmary — a  place  one  short 
visit  to  which  affected  me  with  nausea  for  two  days.     The 
preceding  night  eighteen  persons  had  here  slept,  and  some  of 
them  were  untried,    A  person  only  accused  of  crime  may  wear 
heavy  irons  and  sleep  in  the  '  pit,*  and  this  a  whole  year 
before  his  trial.**     By  this  time,  however,  the  scandal  was  in 
process  of  being  removed.     In  the  session  of  1816  a  com- 
mittee of  citizens  had  promoted  a  bill  for  building  a  new 
gaol   on   a  proper  site;  but  as  the  scheme  repudiated  the 
claim  of  the  Corporation  to  control  the  expenditure,  it  was 
stoutly  opposed  by  the  civic  oligarchy,  who  wrote  secretly 
to  other  close  corporations  asking  their  help  to  resist  the 
invasion  on  chartered  "  rights.**     The  discovery  of  this  pro- 
ceeding caused  a  commotion  in  the  House  of  Commons,  and 
the  Common  Council,  dreading  that  further  obstinacy  would 
end  in  a  defeat^  reluctantly  came  to  terms  with  the  promoters 
of  the  bill,  consenting  to  abandon  the  Castle  Street  scheme, 
permitting  the   ratepayers  to   nominate   some  of  the   com- 
missioners charged  with  supervising  the  new  erection,  and 
confessing  the  liability  of  the  Corporation  to  maintain  the 
prison  establishment,  as  in  the  past.     Newgate,  with  its  site, 
was  moreover  given  up  to  the  commissioners.     The  measure 
received  the  royal  assent  in  June,  1816.     The  estimated  cost 
of  the  new  gaol,  £60,000,  was  raised  by  a  rate  on  the  ancient 
city,  and  the  site  chosen  was  in  Bedminster  parish,  between 
the  new  course  of  the  river  and  the  floating  harbour.     A 
singular  dispute  with  the  revenue  officials  arose  in  Novem- 
ber, 1817,  soon  after  the  works  were  begun.     Some  of  the 
stone  intended  for  the  walls,  brought  from  Blackrock  quarry, 
on  the  Avon,  was  seized  by  a  customs  officer,  who  contended 
that  it  was  liable  to  the  duty  imposed  by  the  Customs  Con- 
solidation Act  of  1809,  which  imposed  a  tax  of  £20  per  cent. 
ad  valorem  on  limestone.    The  customs  authorities  also  asserted 
that  the  stone  brought  from  Hanham  and  Bath  was  liable  to 
the  same  duty.    The  claim^  however^  was  soon  afterwards 


68  THE   ANNALS   OP  BBISTOL.  [1816. 

abandoned.  On  the  completion  of  the  new  building,  in 
August,  1820,  the  prisoners  in  Newgate  "were  removed  in 
a  wagon  to  their  new  quarters.'^  The  site  of  the  old  gaol 
was  thereupon  re-purchased  by  the  Corporation  for  £682, 
and  the  nmterials  were  sold  for  £500.  As  will  be  seen  here- 
after, the  new  gaol  was  itself  condemned  as  unfit  for  the 
purpose  for  which  it  was  constructed. 

Great  local  rejoicing  took  place  upon  the  2nd  May,  1816, 
upon  the  occasion  of  the  marriage  of  the  Princess  Charlotte 
of  Wales,  heiress  expectant  to  the  throne,  with  Prince  Leo- 

¥old  of  Saxe  Coburg  (maternal  uncle  of  Queen  Victoria), 
he  Common  Council  sent  a  deputation  up  to  London,  to 
present  an  address  to  the  Regent  on  the  happy  event.  As 
the  expense  of  the  trip  was  £166  11^.,  the  emissaries  appear 
to  have  enjoyed  themselves.  Unhappily  the  hopes  which 
were  excited  by  the  union  were  speedily  blighted ;  and  the 
princess's  death  in  the  following  year  evoked  a  manifestation 
of  national  sorrow  such  as  had  never  been  witnessed  since 
the  accession  of  the  House  of  Brunswick. 

Bull-baiting  was  still  a  popular  amusement  amongst  the 
lower  classes.  A  paragraph  in  a  local  journal  for  June  8, 
1816,  gives  the  reader  a  brief  but  vivid  glimpse  of  the 
manners  of  the  time  : — "A  poor  animal  was  led  tiirough  our 
streets  on  Monday,  with  blue  ribbons  to  its  horns,  for  the 
savage  purpose  of  being  baited  on  Clifton  Down.  One  of 
the  ill  effects  of  such  an  assemblage  was  a  quarrel,  in  which 
the  parties  agreed  to  fight,  when  a  man  of  the  name  of 
Donald  was  killed  upon  the  first  blow  by  a  postboy  of  the 
name  of  Lambert.^'  There  is  no  record  that  Lambert  was 
brought  to  trial  for  the  homicide.  A  few  weeks  later  a 
parochial  constable  complained  in  the  newspapers  that  after 
he  had  arrested  a  ruffian  for  an  assault,  the  only  two  resident 
aldermen,  as  well  as  the  mayor,  proved  to  be  out  of  town, 
and  he  was  thus  forced  to  release  his  prisoner.  The  latest 
case  of  bull-baiting  in  Bristol  noticed  in  the  local  press 
occurred  in  1822;  but  as  the  ''sport''  was  continued  at  Wells 
until  1839  or  1840,  it  is  not  unlikely  that  the  newspaper 
record  is  defective. 

On  the  27th  July,  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  the  idolized 
hero  of  the  time,  paid  a  visit  to  Bristol  in  response  to  an 
invitation  from  the  Common  Council,  which  had  sent  deputies 
to  Cheltenham  for  that  purpose.  His  grace's  entry  was  by 
Redland,  where  the  sheriffs  were  in  attendance  to  welcome 
him  to  the  city.  In  the  procession  which  was  then  formed, 
the  duke's  carriage  was  followed  by  the  barouch  of  ''that 


1816.]  DEATH   OF   RICHABD   BETNOLDS.  69 

old  veteran,  John  Weeks,"  whose  mode  of  displaying  his 
enthusiasm  was  not  less  characteristic  than  it  had  been  years 
before  (see  p.  12).  In  the  midst  of  laurels,  roses,  leeks,  and 
shamrocks,  six  ladies  were  seated  in  his  vehicle,  displaying 
banners  inscribed  with  mottoes  in  honour  of  the  great  captain 
and  his  brother  officers,  while  Weeks  himself  performed  the 
feat  of  bearing  an  Irish  harp,  a  royal  standard,  and  three 
other  national  flags.  On  arriving  at  a  handsome  triumphal 
arch  erected  across  Park  Street,  surmounted  with  "  a  figure 
of  the  genius  of  Bristol  '* — whatever  that  may  have  been, — 
the  horses  of  the  noble  visitor  were  removed  by  a  party  of 
sixty  men,  whose  habiliments  would  probably  appear  gro- 
tesque to  later  eyes,  but  which,  it  is  believed,  formed  the 
customary  garb  of  those  who  bore  the  members  for  Bristol 
during  the  triumphal  ceremony  of  chairing.  The  men  were 
''dressed  in  black  hats,  white  shirts  over  their  waistcoats, 
ornamented  with  white  ribbons,  black  breeches  and  white 
stockings."  After  being  dragged  to  the  Mansion  House, 
the  duke  was  received  by  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  coun- 
cillors in  the  banqueting  room,  surrounded  by  the  grandest 
state  paraphernalia.  The  mayor  (Sir  W.  J.  Struth)  in  a 
brief  address — the  turgidness  of  which  excited  some  ridicule 
out  of  doors — presented  his  grace  with  the  freedom  of  the 
city  in  a  gold  box;  and  a  similar  gift  was  made,  in  much 
more  graceful  terms,  by  the  Merchants'  Company  through 
their  master.  After  a  brief  adjournment  to  the  drawing- 
room  to  gratify  the  curiosity  of  a  large  gathering  of  ladies, 
the  distinguished  guest  was  conducted  to  the  Merchants'  Hall 
for  dinner.  A  sumptuous  repast  having  been  followed  by  a 
few  toasts,  the  duke  left  early  in  the  evening  to  undergo  a 
similar  reception  at  Gloucester.  The  cost  of  the  entertain- 
ment, including  £100  for  the  loan  of  plate  to  decorate  the 
tables,  £63  for  the  gold  box,  and  £50  spent  by  the  deputa- 
tion to  Cheltenham,  was  £925  178.  Much  dissatisfaction 
was  expressed  by  the  members  of  the  Merchants'  Society  at 
the  conduct  of  the  corporate  officials,  who,  after  borrowing 
the  Company's  hall  for  the  banquet,  excluded  its  owners 
from  the  feast. 

The  next  public  ceremonial  in  the  city  was  of  a  more 
touching  character.  On  the  10th  of  September  Richard 
Reynolds,  who  has  been  styled  '^  the  greatest  of  Bristol's 
great  philanthropists,"  expired  at  Cheltenham,  where  he 
was  sojourning  by  the  advice  of  his  physicians,  and  ten 
days  later  his  remains,  which  had  been  removed  to  Bristol, 
were  conveyed  from  his  house  in  St.  James's  Square  to  the 


70  THE   ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL.  [1816. 

burial-ground  attached  to  the  Friends'  meeting-house  in  the 
Friars.  The  attendance  of  mourners  included  many  of  the 
resident  clergy,  dissenting  ministers  of  every  persuasion, 
prominent  citizens  of  every  sect  and  party,  the  staffs  of  the 
various  charitable  institutions  of  the  city,  to  which  the 
deceased  had  been  a  munificent  patron,  the  children  of  the 
parish  schools  of  St.  James's  and  St.  Paul's,  and  great 
numbers  of  the  poorer  classes,  who  displayed  much  eager- 
ness to  pay  a  token  of  respect  to  the  remains  of  their  de- 
parted friend.  A  more  affecting  ceremony  was  probably 
never  witnessed  in  the  city.  Mr.  Reynolds  was  a  native  of 
Bristol,  having  been  bom  in  Com  Street  in  1735;  but  he  left 
the  city  in  early  life,  and  his  wealth  was  accumulated  during 
his  long  residence  at  and  near  Coalbrookdale.  In  1804  he 
returned  to  his  native  town,  where  he  soon  distinguished 
himself  by  diffusive  and  universal  benevolence,  though  from 
his  solicitude  to  escape  notice  only  a  few  of  his  munificent  acts 
could  be  clearly  traced.  Of  these  may  be  mentioned  a  fund 
of  £10,500  invested  in  the  hands  of  trustees  for  the  benefit 
of  seven  local  charities,  gifts  of  £2,000  and  £4,000  for 
augmenting  the  weekly  payments  to  the  inmates  of  Trinity 
almshouses,  and  a  donation  of  £2,600  for  an  extension  of 
the  Infirmary.  These  instances,  however,  do  little  to  show 
the  extent  of  his  liberality.  During  one  of  the  famine  crises 
which  occurred  during  the  great  war,  he  remitted  £20,000  to 
an  agent  in  London,  and  throughout  his  residence  in  Bristol 
he  employed  four  almoners  charged  to  inquire  into  the  state 
of  the  poor  and  to  distribute  relief  to  the  deserving.  From 
statements  made  by  Mr.  Bathbone,  who  published  a  sketch 
of  his  career,  Mr.  Reynolds  seems  to  have  bestowed  during 
his  life  upwards  of  £200,000  in  acts  of  charity,  exclusive  of 
anonymous  gifts  of  which  no  record  appeared  in  his  private 
accounts.  A  few  days  after  the  funeral,  a  meeting  was  held 
at  the  Guildhall,  the  mayor  (Mr.  J.  Haythome)  presiding, 
when  it  was  resolved  to  establish  a  Reynolds'  Commemo- 
ration Society,  for  continuing  relief  to  objects  of  his  bounty, 
for  assisting  the  charities  of  the  city,  and  especially  for 
succouring  an  institution  founded  by  the  deceased — the 
Samaritan  Society.  Unfortunately  the  support  extended  to 
the  Commemoration  Society  has  never  been  worthy  of  its 
objects. 

During  this  year,  the  Freemasons  of  the  city  purchased  a 
house  in  Bridge  Street  for  £1,600,  and  fitted  it  up  for  the 
use  of  the  craft  at  a  further  expense  of  £2,000.     The  removal 


1816.]  THE   HOTWILL  IN   PBOSPIBOUS  DATS.  71 

of  the  Freemasons'  hall  to  Park  Street  will  be  recorded  at  a 
later  date. 

An  interesting  paper  on  the  declining  popularity  of  the 
Hotwell  Spring,  with  suggestions  for  its  revival,  was  ad- 
dressed, in  1816,  to  the  Society  of  Merchant  Venturers  by 
Dr.  Andrew  Carrick,  then  one  of  the  leading  physicians  of 
Clifton.  The  paper  did  not  reach  the  public  until  nearly 
half  a  century  later,  being  first  published  in  the  Bristol  Times 
of  October  18,  1862.  The  following  are  extracts :  '^  Seven 
and  twenty  years  ago  (viz.  1789)  when  I  first  became  ac- 
quainted with  the  place,  the  Hotwells  during  summer  was 
one  of  the  best-frequented  and  most  crowded  watering-places 
in  the  kingdom.  Scores  of  the  first  nobility  were  to  be  found 
there  every  season,  and  such  a  crowd  of  invalids  of  all  ranks 
resorted  to  the  waters  that  it  was  often  difficult  for  them  to 
provide  themselves  with  any  sort  of  lodgings.  About  that 
period  a  considerable  number  of  lodging  letters  had  in  the 
course  of  a  few  years  realized  very  handsome  fortunes,  without 
any  complaint  of  extortionate  exactions.  [Matthews'  Guide 
to  Bristol  and  Clifton,  written  in  1793,  states  that  the  general 
price  of  lodgingps  was  10s.  per  week  in  the  summer  and  5«. 
per  week  in  the  winter  half  year;  boarding  16«.  per  week; 
servants'  rooms  and  boarding  half  price.]  Three  extensive 
taverns  were  constantly  full,  and  two  spacious  ballrooms  were 
profitably  kept  open.  There  was  a  well-attended  ball,  a 
public  breakfast,  and  a  promenade  every  week,  and  often 
twice  a  week.  The  pump-room  was  all  day  long  the  resort 
of  invalids,  who  left  with  the  keeper  of  the  well  many 
hundreds  a  year  in  voluntary  donations,  and  from  twelve 
to  two  o'clock  was  generally  so  crowded  that  there  was  often 
some  difficulty  in  getting  up  to  drink  the  water.  The  walk 
adjoining  was  in  the  meantime  filled  with  fashionable  com- 
pany, to  whom  the  sublime  scenery  of  the  clifis  was  enlivened 
by  the  sounds  of  a  band  of  music.  The  downs  and  all  the 
avenues  to  the  Hotwells  were  filled  with  strings  of  carriages, 
and  with  parties  on  horseback  and  on  foot."  Having  drawn 
this  graphic  sketch  from  personal  experience.  Dr.  Carrick 
proceeded  to  (K)ntrast  it  with  the  condition  of  the  place  in 
1816 :  "  The  silence  of  the  grave,  to  which  it  seems  the  inlet. 
Not  a  carriage  to  be  seen  once  an  hour,  and  scarcely  more 
frequently  does  a  solitary  invalid  approach  the  neglected 
spring.  One  of  the  ballrooms  and  taverns  has  been  long  ago 
shut  up,  and  the  other  with  great  difficulty  kept  open.  The 
lodging-houses,  or  such  of  them  as  still  remain  open,  almost 
entirely  empty  in  summer,  and  not  very  profitably  filled  even 


72  THB  ANNALS   OF  BBISTOL.  [1816. 

in  winter/'  He  went  on  to  say  that  ''  not  one  tenth  of  the 
visitors  of  rank  and  fortune,  and  of  invalids  perhaps  a  still 
smaller  proportion"  then  resorted  to  the  place;  that  the 
letters  of  lodgings  became  "  almost  nniversally  bankrupt  in 
a  few  years,"  though  visitors  complained  of  "  bad  usage  and 
exorbitant  charges;"  and  that  the  value  of  houses  at  the 
Hotwells  had  "  vastly  depreciated — ^many  houses,  and  even 
whole  rows,  are  unoccupied  and  as  it  were  deserted."  *'  With 
great  difficulty  can  a  ball  be  supported  once  a  fortnight  at 
Clifton ;  no  public  breakfasts ;  no  promenades,  or  none  de- 
serving the  name.  At  the  Hotwells  nothing  of  the  kind." 
Dr.  Carrick  attributed  the  declining  fortunes  of  the  spring, 
chiefly,  tp  the  fact  that  about  1790  its  proprietors  (the 
Merchants  Company)  let  the  place  at  a  price  vastly  beyond 
its  value,  and  allowed  the  tenant  to  impose  an  exorbitant 
price — 26«.  a  month  from  each  individual — ^f or  permission  to 
drink  the  water.  People  in  health  refused  to  pay  the  impost, 
and  betook  themselves  to  other  resorts.  The  charges  thus 
restricted  the  use  of  the  water  to  those  who  were  suffering 
from  consumption,  and  who  were  in  fact  incurable,  and  the 
high  rate  of  mortality  amongst  the  drinkers  cast  discredit 
upon  the  spring  itself.  "From  the  day  that  the  Hotwell 
became  practically  a  fountain  sealed  to  the  lips  of  every  one 
but  the  actually  moribund,  the  fame  of  the  place  began 
rapidly  to  decline.  None  who  drank  of  the  Lethean  waters 
were  thenceforth  found  to  recover ;  because  none  did  drink 
of  them  but  such  as  were  past  recovery.  It  was  now  one 
uniform  black  list  of  disappointment  and  death ;  and  in  the 
course  of  a  very  few  years  it  became  all  over  the  kingdom 
a  source  of  horror  and  despair,  instead  of  hope  and  con- 
fidence, to  be  ordered  to  the  Hotwells,  from  whose  awful 
bourne  no  traveller  now  returned."  A  subsidiary  cause  of 
the  decline  was  said  to  be  the  "  difficult  and  dangerous " 
descent  from  Clifton  to  the  well.  "  To  many  the  hire  of  a 
carriage  twice  or  thrice  a  day,  at  the  increased  charges  of 
such  conveyances,  presented  an  insuperable  obstacle.  To 
others  the  fatigue  and  the  terror  of  riding  up  and  down  the 
precipitous  track  (for  it  even  now  scarcely  deserves  the  name 
of  a  road)  of  Granby  Hill  was  an  objection  not  to  be  over- 
come." Dr.  Carrick  concluded  by  suggesting  that  a  com- 
modious footpath  might  be  made  from  Prince's  Buildings  to 
the  bottom  of  Granby  Hill,  and  that  a  carriage  road  should 
be  constructed  from  the  Hotwell  house  to  the  downs.  The 
latter,  he  urged,  would  not  be  difficult,  as  ''  the  space  at  the 
foot  of  St.  Vincent's  rocks  is  already  practicable  for  carriages^ 


1817.]  SOMAN  BEUCS.      THB   SILVER  COINAGE.  73 

or  nearly  so.'**  If  this  thoroughfare  were  made^  and  the 
tollgate  [which  then  stood  opposite  the  site  now  occupied  by 
Camp  House]  removed  to  the  edge  of  the  downs,  Dr.  Carrick 
believed  the  improvements  would  offer  "  a  material  accom- 
modation to  that  part  of  the  parish,  and  a  powerful  incite- 
ment to  the  use  of  the  waters.  The  worthy  doctor,  however, 
did  not  make  allowance  for  the  popularity  of  Continental 
watering-places  that  arose  after  the  conclusion  of  the  long 
French  war,  a  popularity  which  struck  a  permanent  blow  at 
all  the  English  resorts  of  the  wealthy  classes. 

On  January  17,  1817,  whilst  workmen  were  engaged  in 
improving  Leigh  Down,  the  inclosure  of  which  had  been 
recently  effected,  they  discovered  a  large  quantity  of  Roman 
coins,  which  had  apparently  been  buried  about  six  inches 
below  the  turf.  It  was  believed  that  about  1,000  pieces  of 
silver  were  found;  but  the  labourers  lost  no  time  in  disposing 
of  their  booty,  and  about  500  coins  at  once  disappeared. 
The  specimens  seen  by  Mr.  Seyer,  who  gave  a  lengthy 
account  of  them  in  his  history  (vol.  i.  164-173)  ranged  from 
the  reign  of  Nero  to  that  of  Constantius  II.,  so  that  the 
treasure  was  probably  buried  about  the  year  350. 

Prom  the  beginning  of  the  century  the  deteriorated  con- 
dition and  scarcity  of  the  silver  coinage  had  been  painfully 
felt  by  the  trading  classes  and  the  poor.  In  some  districts 
employers  of  labour,  unable  to  obtain  coins  for  the  pa3rment 
of  wages,  issued  cards  which  were  equivalent  to  notes  for 
a  given  number  of  shillings ;  and  these  billets  passed  with 
comparative  ease  when  confidence  was  placed  in  the  issuers. 
Forgeries,  however,  were  often  perpetrated,  to  the  great 
injury  of  the  labouring  community,  as  tradesmen  made  heavy 
deductions  on  the  value  of  the  primitive  notes  to  secure 
themselves  against  loss.  At  a  city  meeting  in  Bristol,  in 
1803,  it  was  stated,  as  the  result  of  an  extensive  experiment, 
that  forty  of  the  sixpences  then  current  were  not  by  weight 


*  Df .  Carrick  here  refers  to  operations  which  were  proceeding  at  the  time  he 
wrote.  Down  to  1816,  St.  Vincent's  rocks  protruded  almost  to  the  brink  of  the 
Avon  at  high  water,  there  being  only  a  narrow  path  on  the  verge  of  the  river  to 
admit  of  the  towage  of  vessels.  In  1816-17,  when  extreme  distress  prevailed 
amongst  the  poor,  owing  to  deficient  harvests  and  the  high  price  of  food,  a  sub- 
scription was  raised  for  employing  labourers,  to  which  the  Corporation  subscribed 
£241 ;  and  the  Merchants*  Society  having  granted  permission  to  quarry  the  pro- 
jecting rocks,  a  large  quantity  of  stone  was  removed  and  broken  for  the  roads 
around  the  city.  [Bedcliff  HiU  was  lowered  about  three  feet  by  another  party  of 
labourers,  the  wages  in  both  cases  being  provided  out  of  the  fund.]  The 
widening  of  the  path  continued  for  several  years  ;  and  it  will  be  seen  hereafter 
that  Dt,  Carriok's  suggested  road  was  constructed  in  1822. 


74  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL.  [1817. 

worth  more  than  10/».  9d.,  and  twenty  of  the  current  shillings 
not  more  than  14«.  5d.  A  memorial  to  the  Government 
praying  for  a  new  coinage  was  adopted,  but  nothing  was 
done ;  and  the  old  coins  becoming  steadily  worse  from  year 
to  year,  most  of  them  at  length  became  mere  smooth  pieces 
of  silver  of  less  than  half  their  assumed  value.  The  difficulty 
was  exasperated  in  1810-11  by  the  depreciation  of  bank 
notes  through  excessive  issues.  A  20«.  note  being  really 
worth  only  about  14«.  or  lbs,  in  gold,  many  who  got  posses- 
sion of  silver  coin  naturally  refused  to  part  with  it  in 
exchange  for  paper,  and  thus  shillings  and  sixpences  became 
scarcer  than  ever.  Many  persons  now  ventured  to  issue 
*'  tokens,"  generally  of  about  half  their  nominal  value,  un- 
dertaking to  redeem  them  for  the  sum  they  represented. 
Knavish  people  followed  this  example,  issuing  debased 
tokens,  which  were  not  intended  to  be,  and  which  never  were, 
redeemed;  and  the  Government,  whose  short-sighted  mis- 
management had  caused  extreme  embarrassment  and  distress 
to  the  retail  trade  of  the  country,  was  forced  to  shut  its 
eyes  whilst  large  profits  were  thus  reaped  at  the  expense  of 
the  community.  Another  source  of  public  injury  was  the 
issue  of  10«.  notes  by  various  persons,  in  spite  of  their 
illegality ;  but  several  convictions  took  place  an  Bristol  in 
1815,  which  put  an  end  to  the  system  in  this  locality.  At 
the  close  of  the  war,  when  bank  notes  rose  in  value,  the 
hoarded  silver  money  reappeared,  and  the  currency  of 
tokens  became  illegal  after  December,  1814.  Nearly  all  the 
silver  coin  in  circulation,  however,  was  so  much  worn  as  to 
be  perfectly  smooth  on  both  sides ;  and  in  July,  1816,  owing  to 
mischievous  rumours  as  to  the  intentions  of  the  Government, 
a  panic  arose  in  Bristol  market,  and  rapidly  spread  to  Bath 
and  other  neighbouring  towns,  the  refusal  of  many  farmers 
to  accept  the  "  smooth  shillings ''  in  payment  for  their  pro- 
duce causing  an  almost  complete  suspension  of  business. 
The  Ministry  at  length  saw  the  necessity  of  action,  and  a 
large  coinage  was  ordered.  On  January  27,  1817,  says  the 
diary  of  a  contemporary  citizen  {Times  and  Min'or,  April  11, 
1885),  "sixty  boxes  of  the  new  silver  coinage,  of  the  value 
of  £36,000,  were  sent  from  the  Mint  to  the  mayor,  to  be 
circulated  in  this  city,  which  were  deposited  in  the  Council 
House  till  the  13th  February,  when  inspectors  were  appointed 
to  examine  the  old  silver  and  give  the  new  in  exchange, 
which  was  done  at  the  Council  House,  Guildhall,  and 
Merchants'  Hall,  for  the  space  of  fourteen  days."  Although 
every  genuine  coin,  however  worn    and    defaced,  was  ex- 


1817.]  TNTEODUCriON   OP  STEAMBOATS.  75 

changed  at  its  full  value,*  many  people,  especially  country- 
folks, neglected  the  opportunity,  and  retained  their  hoards 
until  after  the  old  coinage  was  declared  an  illegal  tender. 
The  Bristol  journals  contain  numerous  advertisements  of  a 
later  date,  in  which  tradesmen  offered  to  allow  their  customers 
4d.  for  old  sixpences,  9d.  for  shillings,  and  2«.  Id.  for  half- 
crowns — the  latter  being  soon  scarce  and  curious. 

The  first  steam  vessel  seen  in  Bristol  made  its  appearance 
in  the  Float  in  June,  1813,  and  is  reported  to  have  been 
constructed  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Theodore  Lawrance, 
one  of  the  city  coroners.  It  was  called  the  Charlotte,  and 
was  intended  to  carry  passengers  and  goods  between  Bristol 
and  Bath.  The  boat  had  accommodation  for  twenty  cabin 
passengers,  who  paid  half  a  crown  each,  the  steerage  fare 
being  Is,  6d.  A  few  months  later  it  was  announced  that  the 
journeys  of  the  boat  had  been  suspended  during  the  rebuild- 
ing of  Keynsham  bridge,  but  that  it  would  resume  work 
shortly,  a  larger  and  quicker  vessel  being  also  promised  at 
an  early  date.  The  enterprise,  however,  proved  a  failure. 
In  thQ  Bristol  Journal  of  May  3,  1817,  is  a  paragraph  stat- 
ing that  the  Britannia  steam-packet  had  arrived  in  this  port 
from  Swansea,  *'  making  the  passage  against  the  ebb  tide  in 
twelve  hours."  This  vessel  was  built  for  the  Dublin  and 
Holyhead  service,  and  it  is  fair  to  surmise  that  the  builders 
Bent  her  to  Bristol  in  the  hope  of  stirring  up  a  feeling  of 
emulation  amongst  the  citizens  which  might  not  be  un- 
profitable to  themselves.  If  so,  they  were  disappointed,  for 
the  mercantile  classes  here  made  no  effort  to  compete  with 
their  northern  rivals,  who  for  several  years  had  a  monopoly 
of  steam  trafiic  with  Ireland.  An  advertisement  in  the 
Bristol  papers  of  July  28,  1821,  at  last  announced  that ''  the 
steam-packets  Talbot  and  Ivanhoe,  so  well  known  on  the 
Holyhead  station  " — where,  it  may  be  suspected,  they  had 
been  replaced  by  larger  vessels — had  "  commenced  plying 
between  Bristol  and  Cork;"  and  a  paragraph  of  the  same 
date  adds  that  the  voyage  was  to  be  made  in  thirty  hours. 
The  first  steamboat  from  Bristol  to  Dublin  started  in  May, 
1822,  for  the  summer  season  only,  calls  being  made  at  Tenby 
and  Wexford  on  the  outward,  and  at  Liverpool  on  the  return 
voyage.  A  daily  steamer  to  Newport  started  at  the  same 
time.     From  inferential  remarks  in  the  contemporary  press, 


*  The  Corporation  bad  old  silver  in  the  city  chest  to  the  large  amoant  of 
£356  It.  Bd.  It  sustained  a  loss  in  the  exchange  of  £3  12«. ;  in  other  words, 
ooins  representing  that  sum  proved  to  be  counterfeit. 


76  THK  ANNALS  OP  BRISTOL.  [1817. 

it  is  evident  that  many  travellers  refused  to  trust  their  lives 
to  these  dangerous  novelties,  in  spite  of  difficulties  and  dis- 
comforts attending  the  old  mode  of  transit  which  seem  almost 
incredible  in  the  present  age.     Mr.   S.  C.  Hall,  the   well- 
known  art  critic,  in  a  little  work  published  in  1861,  wrote  : — 
*'In  the  year  1815  it  was  my  lot  to  visit  Ireland.      I  was 
then  a  schoolboy  in  Bristol^  my  family  resided  in  Cork  ;  and 
the  voyage  from   one  port  to  the  other  occupied  just  six 
weeks.     .     .     .     The   packet  boat  under  the   best  circum- 
stances  was   miserable   enough.      There    was   no    separate 
accommodation  for  ladies.     To  undress  was  out  of  the  ques- 
tion.    Each  passenger  took  his  own  sea  store.     Salt  junk 
and  hard  biscuit  were  the  only  food  to  be  obtained  if  the 
voyage    lasted   above    three   or  four    days.      Imagine   the 
wretchedness   ...   of  those  who  had  to  bear  it  for  weeks  ! 
The  case  I  have  stated  was  by  no  means  rare.     The  voyage 
from  Holyhead  to  Dublin  often  consumed  a  fortnight."     It  is 
not  surprising  that  in  the  face  of  such  miseries  old-fashioned 
apprehensions  of    steam   rapidly  died  out.      In    1823   the 
owners  of  the  Irish  steamers,  in  a  petition  to  the  Common 
Council,   stated  that  they   proposed   to   run  three   vessels 
weekly,   but  that  the   mayor's  dues  on  the   vessels  would 
amount  to  £359  yeariy,  and  they  prayed  relief  from  a  burden 
which    was   not    imposed  either    at  Dublin    or   Liverpool. 
Similar  appeals  were   made  by  other  companies;  and  the 
Corporation,  though  declining  to  abate  the  charge,  voted  a 
sum  of  money  to  a  committee,  which  practically  refunded 
the  dues  at  the  end  of  the  season.     By  1824  steamers  had 
come  into  general  use  for  passenger  traffic,  and  the  Bristol 
Steam  Navigation  Company,  which  was  established  in  1837, 
soon  possessed  a  numerous  fleet.     The  slowness  with  which 
Bristol  is  charged  by  her  critics  was,  however,  remarkably 
exemplified  in  her  attitude  towards  steam-tugs.     Although 
vessels  of  this  class  had  been  started  on  the  Clyde  in  1803, 
and  were  soon  after  introduced  on  the  Tyne,  Mersey,  and 
Thames,  and  although  the  cost  of  towing  by  men  and  horses, 
whether  on   entering  or  leaving  the   Avon,  was  £9   for  a 
vessel   of  only   100  tons,  many  years  passed  away  before 
Bristol  shipowners  thought  of  resorting  to  steam  power,  by 
which   the   cost  would   have  been   largely   reduced.      The 
Chamber  of  Commerce  vainly  pointed  out,  in  1824,  that  tugs 
were  successfully  employed  at  all  the  other  leading  ports. 
Two  well-known   Bristolians,  Mr.    C.    Claxton   and  Mr.    M. 
Whitwill,  showed  by  actual   experiment  that  steam  power 
was   equally   applicable   here,  but  their  arguments   for   its 


1817.]  FATAL   8HIPWBECK.      VISIT   OF  THE   QUEEN.  77 

adoption  met  with  no  response;  and  the  Common  Council 
passed  a  resolution  affirming  that  its  members  ''at  present 
were  not  capable  of  forming  any  accurate  judgment  of  the 
expediency  of  the  proposed  plan."  The  Oreat  Western 
steamer  was  designed  about  ten  years  later  for  opening 
rapid  communication  with  America^  yet  local  bigwigs  refused 
to  admit  that  either  time  or  money  would  be  saved  by  sub- 
stituting steam-tugs  for  men  and  horses  on  the  Avon.  In 
short,  it  was  not  until  1836  that  a  little  vessel  called  the 
Fury  was  brought  into  operation  between  Kingroad  and 
Bristol.  Her  appearance  excited  disturbances  at  Pill  amongst 
the  labourers  who  gained  a  scanty  living  by  acting  as  towers. 
In  February,  1836,  the  Fury  was  seized  by  a  party  of  these 
men,  who  attempted  to  scuttle  her,  but  finally  set  her  adrift 
on  the  Severn.  The  vessel,  however,  soon  returned  to  work, 
and  her  success  being  beyond  dispute,  the  old  arrangements 
at  last  became  a  matter  of  history.  [The  Fury  was  de- 
stroyed in  Kingroad,  by  the  explosion  of  her  boiler,  on  the 
21st  September,  1859.] 

On  the  night  of  the  23rd  October,  1817,  the  sailing  packet 
William  and  Mary,  which  had  left  Bristol  a  few  hours 
previously  for  Waterford,  with  a  number  of  passengers, 
struck  on  a  rock  near  the  Flat  Holmes,  and  almost  immedi- 
ately sank.  Out  of  about  sixty  persons  who  were  on  board 
only  twenty-three  were  saved.  The  night  was  clear,  with 
only  a  gentle  breeze  blowing,  and  the  disaster  was  unques- 
tionably due  to  the  flagrant  misconduct  of  the  mate,  who  had 
been  left  in  charge  by  the  captain.  The  inhuman  criminal 
saved  his  own  life  by  forcing  some  ladies  to  quit  the  only 
boat — holding  four  persons — belonging  to  the  packet.  Most 
of  the  survivors  were  rescued  by  Pill  pilots. 

Queen  Charlotte,  wife  of  George  III.,  being  on  a  visit  to 
Bath  for  the  purpose  of  drinking  the  waters,  was  invited 
to  this  city  by  the  mayor  and  Corporation,  and  responded 
to  their  request  by  driving  over  on  the  17th  December,  ac- 
companied by  the  Duke  of  Clarence,  afterwards  William  IV., 
and  the  Princess  Elizabeth.  After  breakfasting  at  the 
Mansion  House,  the  royal  party  crossed  Prince's  Street 
bridge,  and  proceeded  along  the  ''  newly  formed  road ''  by 
the  side  of  the  New  Cut  to  the  Hotwells.  They  then  re- 
turned to  College  Green,  ascended  Park  Street,  and  drove 
through  Berkeley  Square  to  Clifton,  "  passing  under  ^the 
York  Crescent,  up  Sion  Hill,  and  through  the  turnpike  to 
the  Look-out  (Wallis's  Wall),*on  DurdhamDown;"  returning 

*  Now  ealled  Sea  Walls. 


78  THE  ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1817. 

through  another  part  of  Clifton  to  Colonel  Baillie's  residence  * 
in  Park  Row,  where  ''every  delicacy  and  luxury  of  the 
season "  was  ''  served  up  in  the  drawing-room  on  a  most 
costly  service  of  embossed  plate."  On  returning,  the  queen 
was  to  have  gone  over  the  Drawbridge  and  through  Clare 
Street  and  Com  Street ;  but  as  the  procession  approached, 
the  rigging  of  a  small  vessel  passing  the  bridge,  which  was 
then  really  a  drawbridge,  got  entangled  in  the  lifted  struc- 
ture— an  accident  of  common  occurrence.  The  royal  carriage 
was  consequently  stopped;  and  as  the  Float  was  then  the 
receptacle  of  the  city  sewage,  the  overpowering  odour  of 
the  water  is  said  by  a  local  poet  to  have  forced  her  majesty 
to  "  snufE  her  royal  nose."  [''  Rhymes,  Latin  and  English,'* 
by  the  Rev.  John  Eagles.]  Her  majesty  had  at  last  to  be 
taken  to  Bristol  Bridge  by  way  of  Nelson  Street,  Union 
Street,  and  Dolphin  Street,  the  beauties  of  which  thorough- 
fares she  had  an  opportunity  of  admiring,  as  the  cortSge 
proceeded  at  "  a  slow  rate."  The  queen,  who  died  in  the 
following  year,  was  far  from  popular,  and  a  courtly  news- 
writer  in  the  city  noted,  with  assumed  ''  surprise,"  that  the 
tradesmen  in  the  principal  streets  manifested  no  tokens  of 
mourning  on  her  demise. 

An  illustration  of  the  bibulous  habits  of  the  Regency  is 
afforded  by  a  tavern  bill  paid  by  a  Bristolian  in  August, 
1817,  to  the  landlord  of  the  Montagu  Hotel  (communicated 
to  the  Times  and  Mirror,  May  24,  1873).  The  dinner,  which 
was  for  twelve  guests,  and  included  venison  and  turtle,  was 
charged  14  guineas ;  dessert,  2  guineas.  The  giver  of  the 
feast  supplied  twelve  bottles  of  wine  from  his  private  cellar. 
Beside  this,  the  guests  drank  claret  costing  £7 ;  Madeira, 
£1  18<f. ;  two  bottles  of  hock,  £1  8/i. ;  two  bottles  of  cham- 
pagne, £1  14/?.;  and  two  bottles  of  port,  12«.  Altogether 
the  party  must  have  swallowed  about  three  bottles  of  liquor 
per  head.  The  hotel  bill  amounted  to  £31  7«.,  exclusive  of 
the  wine  privately  supplied. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Common  Council  in  August,  Alderman 
Daniel  announced  that  a  citizen  of  Bristol,  Thomas  Bonville, 
had  authorized  him  to  express  his  willingness  to  transfer  into 
the  hands  of  the  Corporation,  for  charitable  purposes,  several 
sums  of  money  invested  in  Government  securities,  subject  to 
the  life  interest  of  himself  and  others.  The  Council  accepted 
the  proposed  trust.  In  February,  1822,  Alderman  Daniel 
announced  that  Mr.  Bonville  proposed  to  hand  over — subject 

*  Site  of  the  Princess  Theatre. 


1817.]  BONVILLE   AND   BENQOUOH's   CHARITIES.  79 

to  a  similar  proviso — a  further  considerable  sum,  which  was 
also  accepted.  Altogether  the  donations  amounted  to  about 
£32,800  in  three  per  cent,  stock,  ten  shares  in  the  Bristol 
Dock  Company,  and  £1,200  in  dock  bonds;  producing  a 
revenue  of  upwards  of  £1,000  per  annum.  Upon  the  decease 
in  April,  1842,  of  Mrs.  Bonville,  widow  of  the  donor,  the 
Charity  Trustees,  who  had  taken  the  place  of  the  Corporation, 
came  into  possession  of  nearly  all  the  income,  and  the  last 
annuitant  died  in  1866.  The  receipts,  in  accordance  with  Mr. 
Bonville's  trust  deeds,  are  distributed  yearly  in  sums  varying 
from  £o  5^.  to  £21  amongst  124  poor  housekeepers  and 
residents  in  the  "  ancient  city,"  of  a  station  of  life  superior 
to  that  of  recipients  of  parochial  relief.  In  some  remarks  on 
charitable  bequests  in  the  Bristol  Times  of  April  4,  1874,  the 
editor  said :  "  Benevolent  deeds  done  to  the  world  at  large 
while  there  are  those  of  our  own  family  who  are  in  need  can 
scarcely  be  an  acceptable  offering  either  to  heaven  or  society. 
There  is  on  our  local  list  of  charities  one — that  of  Bonville's — 
the  founder  of  which  got  the  money  which  he  bequeathed 
through  marriage  with  a  lady,  some  of  whose  relations  were 
poor  when  he  passed  them  over  to  endow  strangers.'' 

The  Common  Council  were  informed  by  Mr.  H.  Bright  in 
December,  1817,  that  a  member  of  the  Corporation  "  taking 
into  consideration  the  length  of  time  (now  400  years)  since 
any  member  hath  endowed  a  hospital  as  a  perpetual  place  of 
refuge  for  the  aged  and  infirm,"  proposed  at  his  own  charga 
to  execute  a  deed  granting  to  the  Corporation  in  perpetuity 
the  reversion  and  inheritance  of  a  freehold  estate  purchased  by 
him  for  the  purpose,  and  situate  in  the  parishes  of  Nempnett 
and  Blagdon,  the  rack  rental  of  which,  subject  to  several 
leases  for  lives,  was  estimated  at  £600.  The  donor  proposed 
that  the  Corporation,  pending  the  existence  of  the  leases, 
should  allow  the  income  to  accumulate,  and  that  when  the 
entire  property  had  fallen  in  hand  an  almshouse  should  be 
erected  for  the  residence  of  poor  aged  people,  in  the  propor- 
tion of  three  women  to  one  man,  half  of  the  inmates  to  be 
members  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  the  remainder 
Dissenters.  The  Council,  in  accepting  the  trust,  expressed 
its  opinion  that  the  gift  reflected  the  highest  honour  on  the 
Corporation.  As  was  announced  by  Mr.  Bright  at  the  next 
meeting,  the  benevolent  donor  was  Alderman  Bengough — 
long  the  ruling  member  of  the  civic  body — who  was  then 
suffering  from  an  illness  which  proved  fatal.  On  his  demise, 
in  the  following  April,  it  was  found  that  the  alderman, 
though  a  Unitarian,  had  expressed  a  wish  in  his  will  to  be 


80  THE  ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1818. 

buried  in  the  Mayor^s  Chapel,  and  had  left  a  large  sum  for 
the  erection  of  a  monument  there  to  his  memory.  The  Court 
of  Aldermen  gave  the  required  permission  for  the  interment, 
and  it  appears  from  the  civic  records  that  the  inscription  upon 
the  monument  was  achieved  by  Mr.  Bengough's  former 
colleagues.  His  intentions  with  reference  to  the  hospital, 
which  legally  were  void  under  the  statute  of  mortmain,  were, 
under  the  provisions  of  his  will,  fulfilled  by  his  nephew  and 
heir,  George  Bengough,  who  executed  a  conveyance  of  the 
estate  in  September,  1818.  The  last  of  the  leases  expired  in 
1878,  when  the  accumulated  profits  exceeded  £11,000.  The 
trustees  shortly  afterwards  proceeded  to  the  erection  of  a 
handsome  almshouse  in  the  Queen  Anne  style,  a  piece  of 
ground  in  Horfield  Road  being  purchased  for  the  purpose 
from  the  Merchants'  Society.  The  building  cost  about 
£5,500,  and  the  site  £3,500.  A  peculiarity  of  this  charity — 
suggested  by  its  founder — is  that  some  of  the  inmates  are 
aged  married  couples.         * 

At  the  December  meeting  of  the  Common  Council  it  was 
reported  that  the  accounts  of  the  late  chamberlain,  Wintonr 
Harris,  who  had  died  a  few  months  previously,  showed  a 
serious  deficiency.  The  sureties  were  called  upon  to  make 
good  the  sum  of  £3,600,  which  was  subsequently  reduced  to 
£3,000  on  the  surrender  by  Mrs.  Harris  of  certain  securities. 
The  new  chamberlain,  John  Langley,  was  deprived  of  his  post 
in  1822,  on  the  ground  that  he  had  allowed  his  sisters  to  claim 
and  collect  the  rents  of  a  small  property  in  Portwall  Lane, 
which  really  belonged  to  Whitson  s  charities.  The  matter  is 
obscurely  recorded  in  the  civic  minute  books,  and  it  is 
significant  that  a  common  councillor  forthwith  resigned  in 
order  to  take  the  office  of  deputy  chamberlain,  in  the  place 
of  Mr.  Garrard,  promoted.  The  defalcations  of  the  new 
chamberlain  will  be  noticed  hereafter. 

In  January,  1818,  Sir  Vicary  Gibbs,  Lord  Chief  Justice 
of  the  Common  Pleas,  resigned  the  office  of  Recorder  of 
Bristol,  owing  to  ill  health.  His  lordship  was  notable  in  his 
time  as  a  stickler  for  the  maintenance  of  his  personal  dignity, 
and  always  had  an  officer  to  gallop  before  his  carriage  on  his 
to  and  fro  journeys  between  Bath  and  Bristol.  He  was  also 
famed  for  an  acrid  temper,  which  earned  him  the  name  of 
Sir  Vinegar,  and  for  extreme  harshness  towards  offenders 
tried  before  him.  On  one  occasion  a  criminal  named  Lewis 
received  the  following  sentence  : — '^  You  are  to  be  whipped 
at  a  cart's  tail  from  Newgate  to  the  Gallows  Field  '*  [the  site 
of  Highbury  Chapel] .     The  prisoner  having  rashly  retorted  : 


1818.]        A  NEW   BECORDEB.     .8IB  T.   WHITE's   CHABITT.  81 

''  Thank  you,  my  lord,  that  is  all  you  can  do,"  Sir  Vicary 
coolly  added,  as  if  he  had  been  interrupted,  ^'and  back 
again."  He  was  a  favourite,  however,  of  the  Corporation, 
which  in  1816  paid  Mr.  Owen,  R.A.,  £131  for  painting  his  lord- 
ship's portrait.  The  new  recorder  was  Sir  Robert  Gifford, 
then  Solicitor-General,  and  subsequently  Lord  Chief  Justice 
and  a  peer.  At  this  period,  and  down  to  1827,  the  recorders 
were  accustomed  to  hold  only  one  assize  yearly,  to  the  great 
injury  of  persons  committed  for  trial,  some  of  whom,  after 
lying  in  the  filthy  and  unwholesome  gaol  for  nearly  twelve 
months  before  their  cases  were  decided,  were  found  guiltless 
of  the  crimes  imputed  to  them. 

The  Bristol  Crown  Fire  Office,  established  in  1718,  became 
extinct  through  effluxion  of  time  early  in  1818.  A  new 
company,  however,  was  established  under  the  name  of  the 
Crown  Fire  Office,  and  an  advertisement  soliciting  continued 
support  appeared  on  the  17th  January.  A  portion  of  the  old 
proprietors  seceded,  and  started  a  new  concern  called  the 
Bristol  Union  Fire  Office.  The  latter  company,  the  last  local 
institution  of  the  kind,  resolved  on  discontinuing  business  on 
the  3rd  of  May,  1844.  The  goodwill  of  the  concern  was 
purchased  by  the  Imperial  Company,  which  had  in  January, 
1840,  bought  up  the  business  of  the  Crown  office. 

During  the  month  of  January,  1818,  an  altar  tomb,  bearing 
an  effigy,  which  had  been  plastered  over  early  in  the  present 
century,  when  the  building  was  repewed,  was  discovered  in 
a  recess  in  the  south  aisle  of  St.  James's  Church.  The  local 
Monkbams  of  the  time  forthwith  rushed  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  tomb  was  that  of  Robert,  Earl  of  Gloucester,  the 
builder  of  Bristol  Castle  and  founder  of  St.  James's  Priory  ; 
and  an  inscription  to  that  effect,  bearing  the  alleged  arms  of 
the  earl,  was  placed  over  the  monument.  Scientific  anti- 
quaries are  agreed  in  repudiating  the  authenticity  of  the  effigy, 
which  is  of  later  date  than  the  period  assigned  to  it,  and 
clearly  represents  a  civilian. 

In  the  year  1818,  the  Attorney-General,  at  the  instance 
of  several  corporate  towns  interested  in  Sir  Thomas  White's 
charities,  filed  an  information  against  the  Corporation  of 
Bristol  in  reference  to  its  management  of  the  estates.  In 
the  year  1562,  Sir  Thomas  White,  an  alderman  of  London, 
gave  £2,000  to  be  laid  out  in  the  purchase  of  land  for 
charitable  uses,  to  produce  "  six  score  pounds  or  more,"  the 
Mayor  and  Corporation  of  Bristol  being  appointed  trustees. 
Sir  Thomas  ordered  that,  for  the  first  ten  years  £100  yearly 
were  to  be  advanced  for  the  benefit  of  poor  apprentices  in 

0 


82  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL.  [1818. 

Bristol,  to  be  selected  by  the  Council ;  then,  for  twenty-four 
years,  the  same  number  of  English  Corporations  were  in 
succession  to  receive  £104  each,  to  be  applied  to  a  similar 
purpose ;  and  finally,  at  the  end  of  thirty-four  years,  the 
rotation  was  to  recommence.  No  provision  was  made  for 
the  application  of  the  surplus,  and  it  was  supposed  that  the 
donor  intended  it  to  provide  for  contingencies.  But  in  the 
course  of  years  the  estates  originally  producing  about  '^  six 
score  pounds  "  were  estimated  to  be  of  the  value  of  £3,500 
a  year,  and  the  question  raised  by  the  information  was 
whether  the  surplus  should  be  appropriated  by  the  Corpora- 
tion of  Bristol,  as  had  hitherto  been  the  case,  or  should  be 
divided  amongst  the  Corporations  benefited  by  the  original 
gift.  The  Bristol  Council,  contending  that  it  was  entitled 
to  the  balance,  raised  a  demurrer,  which  was  overruled  by 
the  vice-chancellor j  but  the  cause  was  then  carried  on 
appeal  to  Lord-Chancellor  Eldon,  whose  strong  sympathies 
with  Corporations  overpowered  his  customary  love  of  delay, 
and  led  to  the  immediate  reversal  of  the  previous  judgment. 

At  the  general  election  in  1818,  Mr.  R.  H.  Davis  again 
came  forward  in  the  Tory  interest.  Mr.  Protheroe's  votes 
in  support  of  Lord  Sidmouth's  repressive  system  of  govern- 
ment (the  Habeas  Corpus  Act  had  been  again  suspended  in 
the  previous  year)  had  ofiended  many  of  the  Whigs,  and, 
finding  that  they  proposed  to  start  Colonel  Hugh  Baillie,  who 
was  a  parliamentary  reformer,  and  an  opponent  of  the  laws 
against  Roman  Catholics,  he  declined  to  offer  himself.  Some 
of  his  supporters,  however,  insisted  upon  nominating  him, 
and  after  a  poll  of  four  days,  ending  on  the  20th  June, 
during  which  many  Tories  split  their  votes  in  his  favour, 
he  was  elected.  The  numbers  were  :  Mr.  Davis,  3,377;  Mr. 
Protheroe,  2,250 ;  Colonel  Baillie,  1,684.  The  friends  of  the 
rejected  candidate  petitioned  against  the  return,  on  the 
ground  that  the  sheriffs,  by  prematurely  closing  the  poll, 
had  prevented  nearly  a  thousand  non-resident  freemen  from 
voting.  The  petition  was  unsuccessful.  A  few  months  later 
a  serious  misunderstanding  arose  between  Mr.  Protheroe  and 
his  committee  (of  which  Mr.  W.  Fripp,  jun.,  was  chairman), 
respecting  the  expenses  of  the  election,  and  the  former 
announced  that  he  should  not  again  solicit  the  representation 
of  the  city.  Mr.  Fripp's  name  subsequently  appeared  in 
the  list  of  leading  Tories. 

An  Act  of  Parliament  having  been  passed  this  year 
appropriating  the  sum  of  one  million  sterling  of  the  national 
funds  towards  the  erection  of  additional  churches  in  popa- 


1819.]  FLOQOING   CRIMINALS   IN   WINE    STREET.  83 

lous  places^  an  early  application  was  made  to  the  Ministry 
by  the  authorities  of  St.  Augustine's  parish,  for  a  grant  in 
aid  of  the  erection  of  a  proposed  church  near  Brandon  hill. 
A  donation,  equal  to  one-third  of  the  cost  of  the  building 
and  site  (£7,000),  having  been  made  in  October,  the  work 
was  begun  shortly  afterwards,  the  workmen  in  the  first 
place  removing  seven  houses  partially  erected  on  the  spot 
many  years  before,  but  never  finished.  [Other  uncompleted 
houses  in  the  neighbourhood  remained  in  ruins  many  years 
after  this  date.]  The  church  was  consecrated  in  September, 
1823.  In  December,  1832,  a  portion  of  St.  Augustine's 
parish  was  separated  from  the  mother  church,  and  formed 
into  an  independent  parish,  called  St.  George's,  the  incumbent 
of  which  became  a  vicar.  The  new  church,  as  originally 
built,  was  destitute  of  a  chancel,  but  an  annexe,  after  the 
model  of  some  ancient  basilicas,  was  erected  in  1871. 

The  punishment  of  whipping  appears  to  have  been  still 
highly  approved  by  the  local  justices,  and  continued  so  for 
several  years.  The  Bristol  Journal  of  December  4,  1819, 
contained  the  following : — "  A  man  who  has  been  loitering 
about  our  city  for  some  days,  and  who  was  taken  to  the 
Council-house  charged  with  being  a  nuisance,  was  publicly 
whipped  on  Tuesday  at  the  pump  in  Wine  Street,  and  im- 
mediately after  passed  to  his  parish.  We  cannot  too  highly 
applaud  the  conduct  of  the  magistrates."  The  same  paper 
of  May  12,  1821,  stated  that  "three  men  were  flogged  yes- 
terday at  Wine  Street  pump,  being  apprehended  as  rogues 
and  vagabonds."  A  month  later,  it  is  recorded  that  "  a  man 
was  placed  in  the  stocks  in  St.  James's  churchyard  last  week 
for  drunkenness."  In  August,  1823,  to  quote  the  same 
authority,  a  man  and  two  boys  were  flogged  through  Bed- 
minster  for  stealing  fruit  from  a  garden.  To  give  one  more 
example,  the  Journal  of  April  22,  1826,  reported  that  a  man 
convicted  of  stealing  a  piece  of  meat  had  received  forty- 
eight  lashes  at  Wine  Street  pump.  "  During  the  exhibition 
several  persons  in  the  crowd  had  their  pockets  picked." 

The  Bristolians  who  ventured  at  this  early  period  to  "trans- 
parish^'  themselves  to  Clifton  must  have  found  that  subur- 
ban enjoyments  were  not  without  a  drop  of  bitterness.  The 
Bristol  Journal  of  November  27, 1819,  after  recording  several 
highway  robberies  in  the  suburbs,  added : — "  The  roads  lead- 
ing to  Clifton  are  so  infested  at  night  with  desperadoes  that 
few  gentlemen  think  it  safe  to  walk  about  alone  or  unarmed ; 
and  yet  we  hear  that  at  a  vestry  meeting  of  the  parish  on 
Thursday,  to  propose  measures  for  lighting  and  watching  it. 


84  THE   ANNALS   OP  BRISTOL.  [1819. 

a  majority  determined  that  it  was  unnecessary."  Repeated 
attempts  were  made  without  success  to  overcome  the  invete- 
rate conservatism,  or  perhaps  the  parsimony,  of  the  parish- 
ioners. At  length,  however,  a  Watching  and  Lighting  Act 
was  obtained  during  the  session  of  1824,  and  a  sprinkling  of 
gaslights  and  a  few  night-constables  were  established  during 
the  ensuing  winter^  Another  great  improvement  dates  from 
the  year  now  under  review.  The  roads  in  Clifton  had 
hitherto  been  in  as  unsatisfactory  a  state  as  was  the  police  of 
the  parish.  But  amongst  a  number  of  roads  which  became 
turnpikes  under  an  Act  obtained  in  1819  were  "the  road 
from  the  top  of  Bridge  Valley,  along  the  southern  side  of 
Durdham  Down,  to  the  top  of  Gallows  Acre  Lane  "  (Pem- 
broke Road),  and  "  the  road  from  the  bottom  of  Granby  Hill 
to  the  Hot-well  pumping  room.''  The  construction  of  several 
new  roads  was  authorised  by  the  same  Act,  amongst  them 
being  ^'  a  new  road  to  lead  from  .  .  .  the  Hot-well  pump- 
ing room,  to  lead  or  pass  by  the  river  side,  and  up  the 
hill,  into  the  road  leading  from  Clifton  to  Pill  Passage,  at 
the  top  of  Bridge  Valley."  Dr.  Carrick's  suggestion  (see 
p.  72)  was  thus  adopted,  and  the  new  thoroughfare,  laid  out 
in  1822,  afforded  Cliftonians  a  point  of  view  which  has  ever 
since  been  a  theme  of  admiration. 

A  few  references  to  the  coaching  arrangements  of  this 
period  may  not  be  unworthy  of  record.  On  the  6th  April, 
1819,  a  new  coach  began  running  from  the  Bush  Hotel  to 
Exeter,  the  time  occupied  in  the  journey,  74|  miles,  being 
fourteen  hours — ^less  than  5i  miles  an  hoUr !  In  June,  1820, 
another  new  coach  started  for  Manchester,  performing  the 
journey  in  two  days — the  intervening  night  being  spent  at 
Birmingham.  To  accomplish  the  first  half  of  the  task,  the 
vehicle  left  Bristol  at  half  past  eight  in  the  morning,  and 
reached  Birmingham,  85 i  miles,  in  thirteen  hours.  Finally, 
an  advertisement  published  in  December,  1821,  headed 
^^  speed  increased,^'  informed  the  public  that  the  Regulator 
coach  left  London  daily  at  5  a.m.,  and  arrived  at  the  White 
Hart,  Bristol,  at  five  minutes  before  nine  at  night — the  speed 
being  barely  seven  miles  an  hour. 

Great  consternation  was  caused  in  the  city  and  neighbour- 
hood on  the  5th  July,  1819,  by  the  failure  of  the  Tolzey 
Bank,  the  proprietors  of  which  were  Messrs.  Worrall  and 
Pope.  Though  of  recent  origin,  the  bank  had  issued  a  great 
number  of  notes  for  20/r.  and  30«.  each,  and  the  disaster 
affected  all  classes  in  the  locality,  causing  a  "  run ''  upon 
some  of  the  other  banks,  then  eleven  in  number.     The  town 


1819.]  A  BIBULOUS   TOWN   CLERK.  85 

clerk,  Mr.  Samuel  Worrall,*  being  one  of  the  partners  in  the 
Tolzey  concern,  was  obliged  to  resign  his  office  a  few  days 
later,  on  being  declared  a  bankrupt.  He  was  succeeded,  on 
the  22nd  July,  by  Mr.  Bbenezer  Ludlow,  afterwards  a  ser- 
jeant-at-law. At  a  meeting  of  the  Common  Council,  in 
December,  it  was  ordered  that,  in  consideration  of  Mr. 
WorralFs  faithful  services  for  thirty-two  years,  the  sum  of 
£400  should  be  annually  paid  to  the  mayor  and  aldermen,  in 
trust  for  the  use  of  the  late  town  clerk  and  of  his  wife  and 
family,  for  the  remainder  of  his  life.  Mr.  Worrall,  who  died 
in  November,  1821,  was  in  his  prosperous  days  a  man  of 
great  entertaining  powers  in  convivial  society,  which  led 
to  his  introduction  to  the  Prince  Regent,  and  he  was  a  fre- 
quent guest  at  Carlton  House.  On  the  other  hand,  he  was 
rude  and  coarse  to  his  inferiors,  and  gained  in  some  way  the 
name  of  "  Devil  Worrall,"  of  which  he  seemed  proud.  The 
present  town  clerk,  Mr.  D.  Travers  Burges,  has  been  good 
enough  to  furnish  the  following  anecdote,  preserved  in  one 
of  his  late  father's  note-books,  which  affords  an  illustration 
of  the  social  habits  of  the  upper  middle  class  in  the  early 
years  of  the  century : — '^  Worrall  lived  for  many  years  in  a 
house  opposite  the  Council  House,  and  on  one  occasion,  upon 
coming  home  from  a  party  a  little  '  elevated,'  as  he  was  get- 
ting out  of  the  hackney  coach  his  foot  slipped,  and  he  fell  to 
the  ground.  A  crowd  immediately  assembled,  and  amongst 
them  a  very  harmless  and  quiet  silk  mercer  who  resided  in 
High  Street,  of  the  name  of  Camplin.  Worrall,  still  on  his 
back,  fixed  his  eyes  on  the  unfortunate  mercer,  and  pointing 
at  him  said,  '  That's  the  man  that  knocked  me  down,'  upon 
which  the  crowd  took  part  with  the  town  clerk,  and  poor 
Camplin,  protesting  his  innocence,  was  obliged  to  run." 
To  fully  realise  this  scene  it  must  be  remembered  that  the 
bibulous  official  presided  on  the  magisterial  bench  at  every 
quarter  sessions. 

In  July,  1819,  the  Common  Council  increased  the  allow- 
ance to  the  master  of  Queen  Elizabeth's  Hospital — ^who  then 
fed  and  educated  the  boys  by  contract — to  £20  per  head. 
This  was  the  last  of  several  advances  made  in  consequence  of 
the  great  rise  in  prices  in  the  early  years  of  the  century. 
Down  to  the  outbreak  of  the  French  war,  the  master  received 
£12  per  head  for  the  food  and  instruction  of  the  boys.     In 

*  In  addition  to  his  high  position  in  the  Corporation  and  his  business  as  a 
banker,  Mr.  Worrall  held  the  Government  appointment  of  distributor  of  stamps, 
and  the  patent  office  of  publisher  of  the  Bristol  presentment  in  connection  with 
the  costom  house. 


86  THE   ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1819. 

the  years  of  scarcity  which  followed,  the  Council  allowed 
him  an  extra  lump  sum  of  £70.  This  being  found  inade- 
quate, an  advance  of  £3  per  head  instead  of  the  gratuity  was 
made  in  1805,  £2  additional  was  voted  in  1806,  £1  more  in 
1813,  and  £2  more,  as  stated  above,  in  1819.  A  year  or  two 
later,  "  in  consequence  of  the  reduction  in  the  price  of  pro- 
visions," the  grant  was  again  fixed  at  £17  a  head,  but  the 
master  received  a  further  allowance  of  £50  for  instruction. 
The  contract  system  was  also  adopted  in  the  Red  Maids' 
and  Colston's  Schools,  and  from  some  reminiscences  of 
"old  boys,"  published  in  the  Bristol  Times  in  November, 
1856,  it  appears  that  the  fare  in  the  latter  institution  down 
to  the  end  of  the  Regency  was  of  a  somewhat  Spartan  char- 
acter. On  Saturdays  the  dinner  of  the  boys  consisted  of 
milk  gruel,  with  bread  only.  On  Mondays  they  were  regaled 
with  water  gruel,  and  bread  and  butter.  For  the  rest  of  the 
week  ihey  had  meat,  with  bread  or  vegetables.  Breakfast 
always  consisted  of  bread  and  butter ;  for  supper  there  was 
a  double  allowance  of  bread,  with  butter  or  cheese.  Table 
beer  was  given  with  each  meal.  The  boys  were  required  to 
mop  and  scrub  the  schoolroom,  dormitories,  and  hall,  and 
performed  various  other  menial  duties.  Details  are  wanting 
in  reference  to  the  Red  Maids'  School,  but  if  the  accomplish- 
ments of  the  mistresses  are  to  be  inferred  from  the  caligraphy 
of  one  of  them  appointed  about  this  time,  and  whose  sig- 
nature is  found  in  the  aldermanic  minute  book,  there  can 
have  been  little  ground  for  the  old-fashioned  complaint  that 
the  girls  were  '^  spoilt  by  education." 

Edward  Bird,  the  only  artist  resident  in  Bristol  ever 
honoured  with  the  title  of  Royal  Academician,  expired  after 
a  protracted  illness  on  the  2nd  November,  at  his  house  in 
King's  Parade.  His  interment  took  place  a  week  later  at 
the  cathedral,  when  about  two  hundred  leading  residents 
attended  to  mark  their  respect  for  a  man  whose  distinguished 
talents  had  conferred  honour  on  the  city.  A  subscription 
was  subsequently  raised  for  the  relief  of  the  deceased's 
family,  to  which  Prince  Leopold,  husband  of  the  late  Prin- 
cess Charlotte,  to  whom  Bird  was  appointed  historical 
painter,  sent  £100.  The  Earl  of  Bridgwater  gave  £650  for 
a  picture  of  ^'the  embarkation  of  Louis  XVIII.,"  the  last 
great  work  of  the  artist.  In  the  memoir  of  Bird  published  in 
Cunningham's  ''Lives  of  British  Painters,"  strong  charges 
were  made  against  the  citizens  of  Bristol  for  their  alleged 
neglect  of  the  painter,  but  these  statements  were  controverted 
in  Blackwood's  Magazine  for  December,  1833,  in  a  paper  by 


1820.]  ACCESSION   OF   OEOBOE   lY.      ELECTION.  87 

Bird's  friend,  the  Rev.  J.  Eagles.  Subsequently  the  charges 
were  revived  by  Mrs.  S.  C.  Hall  in  the  Art  Journal  for 
April,  1843,  when  Mr.  Eagles  again  stigmatised  them  as 
untruthful  in  the  Bristol  Journal  of  the  22nd  April  of  the 
same  year. 

The  death  of  George  III.  occurred  on  the  29th  January, 
1820.  The  proclamation  of  his  successor  took  place  five  days 
afterwards,  and  as  no  such  event  had  occurred  within  the 
memory  of  nineteen-twentieths  of  the  population,  it  excited 
some  interest.  The  members  of  the  Corporation  assembled 
at  the  Council  House  in  their  black  robes,  but  after  proclaim- 
ing the  new  king  at  the  site  of  the  High  Cross,  they  returned 
to  their  place  of  meeting  and  donned  their  scarlet  habili- 
ments. A  procession  was  then  formed,  the  mayor  (Mr.  W. 
Fripp,  junr.)  and  sheriffs  taking  their  places  in  "  a  splendid 
car,  carried  by  twenty-four  men,"  and  proclamation  was 
made  at  the  customary  sites.  At  three  of  these — St.  Peter's 
pump,  St.  Thomas's  conduit,  and  the  Quay  pipe — a  hogshead 
of  wine  was  distributed  to  the  populace,  and  four  hogsheads 
of  porter  were  given  away  at  other  places.  Altogether,  the 
Corporation  spent  £279  over  the  ceremony.  Drinking  ap- 
pears to  have  been  thought  the  most  appropriate  manner  of 
inaugurating  the  new  reign.  According  to  the  accounts  of 
the  Commercial  Rooms  for  that  year,  the  committee  spent  £67 
18s,  lid.  of  the  proprietors'  money  on  wine  '^ drunk  on  the 
night  of  his  majesty's  accession  "  !  Perhaps  these  and  other 
excesses  brought  about  a  certain  amount  of  reaction.  Down 
to  this  period  it  had  been  the  custom,  on  the  evening  of  the 
king's  birthday,  for  the  mayor  and  aldermen  to  invite  many 
of  their  friends  and  acquaintances  to  drink  his  majesty's 
health  at  the  Council  House.  A  company  of  soldiers,  stand- 
ing opposite  to  the  building,  fired  salutes  at  intervals,  and 
a  military  band,  stationed  on  the  stairs,  rendered  musical 
honours  to  the  carousal.  Unseemly  results  had  frequently 
arisen  from  this  custom,  which  was  also  regarded  by  many 
as  a  gross  misappropriation  of  the  civic  revenue;  and  the 
entertainment,  which  generally  cost  from  £80  to  £90,  was 
now  abolished. 

The  general  election  caused  by  the  demise  of  the  crown 
found  both  political  parties  in  Bristol  in  a  state  of  disorgani- 
sation. In  the  previous  year,  Mr.  R.  H.  Davis,  the  Tory 
member,  had  been  plunged  in  financial  embarrassments  by 
the  ill  success  of  a  funding  scheme,  which,  it  is  said,  the 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  (Mr.  Vansittart)  had  adopted 
under  his  advice,  though  some  contemporaries  gave  the  credit 


88  THE  AKNALS  OJ  BRISTOL.  [1820. 

or  discredit  of  the  suggestion  to  Dr.  Beeke^  the  Dean  of 
Bristol,  another  private  friend  of  the  minister.     In  either 
case,  Mr.  Davis,   having  lost  heavily  by  speculations  con- 
nected with  the   scheme,   had  withdrawn  from    the   local 
banking,  mercantile,  and  manufacturing  firms  of  which  he 
was  a  partner,  and  the  Steadfast  Society  (*7hich  claimed  the 
right  of  nominating  the  ^'blue"  candidate),  under  the  belief 
that  the  honourable  gentleman  would  be  unable  to  continue 
his  former  profuse  expenditure  at  elections,  did  not  invite 
him  to  come  forward.    Mr.  Davis,  deeply  hurt,  consequently 
announced  his  retirement,  observing  in  his  address  to  the 
electors  that  "under  the  painful  recollections  of  the  past 
year,  an  invitation  would  have  poured  balm  into  a  wounded 
mind.'*    Mr.  P.  J.  Miles  was  chosen  by  the  Steadfast  Society 
as  their  champion,  but  his  acceptance  of  their  proposal  was 
briskly  followed  by  a  withdrawal.    Much  difierence  of  opinion 
became  apparent  in  the  party,  the  friends  of  Mr.  Davis  being 
indignant  at  the  action  of  the  society;   and  the  latter  at 
length  declined  to  nominate  a  candidate  unless  the  late 
member  refused  to  offer  himself.     In   the  meantime,  Mr. 
Davis  had  found  S3rmpathiser8  whose  "  liberality,"  to  use  his 
own  words,   had  "removed  the  obstacles  which  originally 
opposed*'   his   candidature,   and   he   again   took   the   field. 
These  incidents  excited  much  irritation,  and  greatly  shook 
the  influence  of  the  Steadfast  Club,  which  had  been  allowed 
for  many  years  to  nominate  persons  for  Government  appoint- 
ments.    (The  value  of  the  offices  under  its  "  patronage  **  was 
estimated  at  upwards  of  £20,000  a  year.)    On  the  other  hand, 
the  division  caused  amongst  the  Whigs  by  the  contest  of 
1818  continued  to  rankle.     Mr.  Henry  Bright  having  offered 
himself,  a  discontented  section  of  the  party  nominated  Mr. 
J.  E.  Baillie  without  obtaining  his  consent,  and  insisted  on 
demanding  a  poll.      In  the   result   Mr.  Bright  had   2,997 
votes;  Mr.  Davis,  2,250;   and  Mr.  Baillie,  115.     Mr.  Davis 
refused   to  be  chaired,  by  which  he  saved  his  friends  an 
expenditure  of  about  £2,500.    Mr.  Bright,  however,  continued 
the  old  practice,  and  John  Evans  states  that  "  he  appeared 
in   a  procession  of   splendour  without   example  on   similar 
occasions."    [Ghrov.  Hist  p.  316.] 

The  Common  Council  were  informed  in  June  that  Mr. 
Alderman  Ames,  who  died  a  few  weeks  previously,  had 
devised  the  sum  of  £1,200  in  consols  to  the  Corporation, 
in  trust  to  purchase  for  the  night  constable  and  nine  night 
watchmen  of  the  ward  of  St.  Mary-le-port  "  a  good  and  sub- 
stantial great  coat,  a  good  strong  pair  of  boots^  and  a  good 


1820.]  QUEEN   CABOLJNE.      A   VOLUNTEER   POLICE.  89 

strong  hat,  every  two  years.'*  Mr.  Ames  had  been  many 
years  alderman  of  the  ward.  On  the  establishment  of  the 
present  police  force,  the  Corporation,  on  the  pretext  that 
the  kind-hearted  gentleman's  bequest  could  no  longer  be 
applied  in  accordance  with  his  intentions,  thoughtlessly  threw 
the  £1,200  into  the  borough  fund,  and  without  doing  any 
appreciable  good  to  anybody  the  donation  was  irrecoverably 
lost. 

Much  inconvenience  being  caused  by  the  want  of  a  trust- 
worthy public  clock  in  the  city,  the  Corporation  ordered  the 
erection  of  a  timepiece  at  the  Exchange.  The  clock,  which 
was  set  up  during  the  spring,  cost  £166  9*. 

The  forced  withdrawal  of  the  Bill  of  Pains  and  Penalties 
against  Queen  Caroline  was  hailed  by  a  majority  of  the 
citizens  with  demonstrations  of  delight.  In  spite  of  a  cir- 
cular issued  by  the  magistrates  "  earnestly  recommending " 
the  inhabitants  to  abstain  from  ''  a  measure  which  might 
disturb  the  peace  of  the  city,"  a  spontaneous  illumination  took 
place  on  the  13th  November ;  and  it  was  remarked  by  the 
unsympathetic  editor  of  the  Bristol  Journal  that  the  display 
extended  to,  and  was  most  general  in,  the  districts  inhabited 
by  the  labouring  classes.  *'  The  splendour  of  the  dwellings 
of  the  out-door  paupers,"  wrote  the  angry  scribe,  ^'  announced 
that  the  whole  week's  allowance  from  the  workhouse  had 
been  expended  in  honour  of  Queen  Caroline."  On  the  other 
hand,  the  upper  class  Tories  displayed  their  affection  for 
George  IV.  by  keeping  their  houses  in  darkness.  A  con- 
gratulatory address  to  the  Queen  on  the  defeat  of  her  per- 
secutor was  afterwards  adopted  at  a  meeting  in  the  Guildhall, 
and  this  again  was  followed  by  a  gathering  of  the  kind's 
friends,  at  which  an  address  expressing  fidelity  to  the 
monarch,  and  horror  at  the  "  treason  and  blasphemy " 
abetted  by  a  'licentious  press,"  was  agreed  upon  with 
enthusiasm. 

The  following  paragraph,  from  the  Bristol  Journal  of 
December  16,  1820,  indicates  the  miserable  inefficiency  of 
the  police  of  the  city  at  this  date  :  "  We  hear  that  the 
inhabitants  of  College-green  and  its  vicinity  have  enrolled 
themselves,  for  the  purpose  of  patrolling  the  neighbourhood 
nightly,  during  the  winter,  by  an  alternate  watch  of  four 
hours  each,  armed  with  a  bludgeon,  dirk,  and  pistol.  Were 
this  plan  generally  adopted,  it  would  doubtlessly  be  the 
means  of  preventing  many  depredations."  Although  the 
Common  Council  regarded  this  scandalous  state  of  affairs 
with  perfect  indifference,   it   allowed   one  of   its  members. 


90  THE    ANNALS   OP  BRISTOL.  [1821. 

Mr.  J.  George,  the  exorbitant  sum  of  £903  lOsAd.  for  serving 
the  office  of  sheriflF  a  second  time  during  this  year. 

A  controversy  between  the  Corporation  and  Mr.  Edward 
Griffith,  steward  (judge)  of  the  Tolzey  Court,  broke  out 
about  this  time.  It  appeared  from  the  complaints  of  the 
Bristol  solicitors  that  Mr.  Griffith,  having  succeeded  in  ob- 
taining an  appointment  as  a  stipendiary  magistrate  in  London^ 
had  taken  up  his  residence  in  the  capital,  and  persistently 
neglected  his  duties  in  the  Tolzey  Court,  although  continuing 
to  receive  the  fees  of  his  office.  Remonstrances  being  with- 
out effect,  the  Common  Council  resolved,  on  the  6th  January, 
1821,  that  as  Mr.  Griffith  had  left  the  city,  caused  great 
inconvenience  to  the  public  by  absenting  himself  from  his 
court,  and  ignored  the  summons  to  attend  that  meeting,  he 
should  be  "  amoved  and  removed  "  from  his  functions.  Mr. 
Griffith  had  the  audacity  to  appeal  to  the  superior  courts  in 
support  of  his  claim  to  the  judgeship,  but  was  unsuccessful, 
and  thenceforth  dropped  out  of  sight. 

Much  to  the  displeasure  of  many  residents  in  the  neighbour- 
hood, four  rows  of  lime  trees,  standing  upon  that  part  of  the 
quay  still  known  as  the  Grove,  were  removed  about  the  close  of 
1820.  It  may  be  worth  while  to  add  that  five  or  six  large  trees 
remained  in  front  of  the  Apple-tree  Inn,  Broadmead,  a  door 
or  two  to  the  eastward  of  Union  Street,  so  late  as  1828  or  1829. 

On  the  28th  February,  1821,  the  Royal  Commissioners 
appointed  under  an  Act  of  1819  to  inquire  into  the  condition 
of  the  charities  of  the  kingdom  opened  their  investigations 
in  the  Council  House,  the  charities  under  the  control  of  the 
Corporation  being  the  first  subject  of  inquiry.  The  Com- 
missioners paid  another  visit  to  the  city  in  March,  1822, 
when  they  dealt  with  the  parochial  charities.  The  result 
was  given  in  two  thick  Blue-books,  known  as  the  sixth  and 
tenth  reports  of  the  Commissioners,  of  which  the  portions 
relating  to  Bristol  were  locally  reprinted,  in  two  quarto 
volumes,  by  Mr.  T.  J.  Manchee,  in  1831. 

The  Bristol  Journal  of  March  1 1  stated  that  a  few  nights 
previously  "  a  brother  of  Mr.  Sou  they,  the  Poet  Laureate, 
performed  the  character  of  Sir  Robert  Bramble  in  the  comedy 
of  '  The  Poor  Gentleman,'  at  our  theatre.  He  is  from  Exeter 
theatre,  and  will  be  an  acquisition  to  the  company.**  No 
further  allusion  to  him,  however,  was  made  in  the  JoumaL 
About  two  years  later  the  same  paper  had  an  announcement 
of  the  publication  of  ^'  The  History  of  the  West  Indies,"  in 
three  volumes,  by  Captain  T.  Southey,  R.M.,  another  brother 
of  the  poet. 


1821.]  CENSUS.      CORONATION    FESTIVITIES.  91* 

The  census  of  1821  credited  the  ancient  city  with  a  popula- 
tion of  52,889.  To  these  figures  Clifton  added  8,811;  St. 
George's,  5,334 ;  the  district  of  St.  James  and  St.  Paul,  3,605  ; 
St.  Philip's  out-parish,  11,824;  Mangotsfield,  3,179;  and 
Stapleton,  2,137,  making  a  total  for  the  city  and  suburbs  of 
87,779,  an  increase  of  15  per  cent,  on  the  return  for  1811. 
The  population  of  Bedminster  was  now  7,979,  and  the  tything 
of  Stoke  Bishop,  in  Westbury  parish,  was  credited  with  1,883. 

A  local  journal  of  the  23rd  June  records  that  on  the 
Monday  previous,  "as  some  workmen  were  removing  a 
monument  at  the  east  end  of  the  south  aisle  of  our  cathedral, 
they  discovered  an  elegant  altar-piece,  similar  to  that  which 
was  lately  found  in  the  Mayor's  Chapel.  At  the  east  end  of 
the  north  aisle  was  also  discovered  a  very  superb  piece  of 
workmanship,  the  gilding  and  colours  of  which  were  remark- 
ably bright,  and  the  fluted  columns  very  perfect.  There  are 
niches  on  each  side  with  small  pedestals."  There  is  no 
appearance  of  an  "altar-piece"  in  the  south  aisle  at  the 
present  time,  a  recess  for  a  tomb  occupying  the  place  de- 
signated ;  but  the  existing  work  is  not  ancient,  and  as  there 
was  no  outrage  on  the  integrity  of  a  building  which  chapters 
of  the  Georgian  era  were  not  capable  of  committing,  the 
above  account  is  probably  t;orrect.  As  regards  the  altar- 
piece,  or  reredos,  in  the  north  aisle,  which  is  supposed  to 
have  been  walled  up  during  the  civil  war,  its  relics  still 
attest  the  richness  and  beauty  of  the  original  workmanship 
and  the  barbarism  of  the  authorities  by  whom  it  was  brought 
to  light.  In  1821  the  seventeenth  century  monument  of  the 
Codrington  family  was  in  the  chancel,  near  the  tomb  of 
Abbot  Morgan.  But  the  chapter  resolved  upon  fixing  it  to 
the  reredos  in  question,  and  a  large  hole  was  hacked  in  the 
tabernacle  work  for  the  purpose !  Four  tablet  monuments 
are  also  fixed  in  the  reredos,  little  of  which  can  now  be  seen. 

The  coronation  of  George  IV.  took  place  on  the  19th  July, 
but  was  not  celebrated  in  Bristol  with  the  liberality  that  had 
marked  a  similar  event  sixty  years  previously,  there  being 
no  record  of  fat  oxen  roasted  whole,  or  of  fountains  running 
wine  or  beer.  The  members  of  the  Corporation,  accompanied 
by  the  parochial  clergy  and  oflScials,  the  Society  of  Merchants, 
the  Freemasons,  and  representatives  of  various  trades  * 
walked  in  procession  through  the   principal  streets  to  the 


*  The  incorporated  companies  were  by  this  time  practically  extinct.  The 
BrUtol  Journal  states  that  the  company  of  wire  workers  and  pin  makers  was 
the  only  chartered  one  which  took  part  in  the  procession. 


92  THE   ANNALS  OF  BRISTOL.  [1821. 

cathedral  to  attend  service.  The  building  was  filled,  but 
it  was  believed  that  the  only  person  who  had  attended  a 
similar  service  at  the  coronation  of  the  last  king,  and  who 
now  applied  for  a  seat,  was  the  Dowager  Lady  Smyth,  who 
had  been  the  reigning  "toast"  of  her  generation.  The 
procession  returned  to  the  Council  House  by  a  circuitous 
route.  The  most  remarkable  feature  of  the  parade  was  a 
triumphal  car  bearing  a  crown,  and  a  man  cased  in  armour 
of  the  time  of  Henry  V.  In  the  afternoon  there  was  a 
dinner  at  the  Assembly  Rooms,  the  Mayor  presiding,  after 
which  the  company  were  called  upon  to  drink  thirty-five 
toasts,  that  of  "  Our  glorious  and  inestimable  Constitution  in 
Church  and  State  "  being  followed  by  the  glee  "  With  a  jolly 
full  bottle."  At  night  the  Corporation  gave  a  ball,  which 
cost  upwards  of  £700.  The  public  buildings  and  many  private 
houses  were  illuminated,  but  one  gentleman  dyed  his  candles 
black  on  account  of  "the  unmerited  exclusion  of  my  queen.' ' 
On  the  Sunday  following  the  coronation.  Prebendary  Ran- 
dolph, then  in  residence  at  the  cathedral,  took  as  the  text 
of  his  sermon  two  verses  from  the  Book  of  Daniel,  beginning : 
"  Belshazzar  the  king  made  a  great  feast  to  a  thousand  of 
his  lords,"  and  ending  with  a  reference  to  the  said  monarch's 
"wives  and  concubines."*  The  prebendary,  it  has  been 
alleged,  was  a  disappointed  courtier;  but  a  more  probable 
explanation  of  his  impropriety  is,  that  he  was  a  warm  sym- 
pathiser with  Queen  Caroline,  and  had  been  irritated,  like 
many  other  Whigs,  by  the  political  tergiversations  of  George 
IV. 

Mention  having  been  made  of  one  of  the  cathedral  digni- 
taries of  the  period,  the  opportunity  may  be  taken  to  notice 
some  of  his  ecclesiastical  contemporaries.  In  touching  upon 
some  of  the  abuses  of  the  age,  however,  it  is  only  fair  to  observe 
that  the  functionaries  in  question  ought  not  to  be  judged  by 
the  standard  of  the  present  day,  but  by  that  of  their  own 
generation.  In  an  interview  which  once  took  place  between 
Sydney  Smith  and  Mr.  Gladstone,  the  witty  canon  frankly 
observed  to  the  then  youthful  statesman  that  "  whenever  you 
see  a  clergyman  of  my  age,  you  may  feel  certain  that  he  is  a 
bad  clergyman;"  and  allowance  must  be  made  for  the  habits 
of  a  time  when  nearly  the  whole  profession  was  apathetic, 
slothful,  and  self-seeking.  These  conditions  being  premised, 
the  prebendary  entitled  to  precedence  on  the  ground  of 
seniority  is  the  Rev.  F.  W.  Blomberg,  on  whom  the  favours 


•  "Local  Annals,"  City  Library,  vol.  i.  p.  282. 


1821.]        CATHEDBAL  DIQNITABIES.      BLOMBERG's   GHOST.  93 

of  royalty  were  abundantly  showered.  Very  soon  after  his 
ordination  he  was  appointed  to  the  valuable  living  of  Shepton 
Mallet^  in  the  gift  of  the  Prince  of  Wales,  to  whom  he  was 
chaplain  and  private  secretary,  generally  living  at  Carlton 
House.  In  1790,  in  his  28th  year,  he  was  appointed  Pre- 
bendary of  Bristol.  A  few  years  later  he  became  Prebendary 
of  Westminster,  Vicar  of  Bradford,  Wilts,  and  Vicar  of  Ban- 
well.  His  next  elevation  was  to  a  canonry  of  St.  Paul's, 
by  right  of  which  he  obtained  the  vicarage  of  St.  Giles's, 
Cripplegate,  one  of  the  richest  livings  in  London.  In  ad- 
dition to  all  this  preferment, — for  much  of  which  he  rendered 
no  service  whatever, — Felia:  Farley's  Bristol  Journal  of 
November  2,  1816,  announced  that  he  had  '*  lately  been 
presented  to  a  very  handsome  estate,  which  had  become  the 
property  of  the  Crown  in  default  of  an  heir-at-law."  Such 
abundant  favour  exciting  curiosity,  an  explanation  was 
offered,  with  the  alleged  approval  of  Dr.  Blomberg  himself. 
His  father,  it  was  said,  was  an  officer  in  the  army,  who  had 
made  a  secret  marriage  with  a  lady  that  died  in  a  few  years, 
whereupon  the  two  children  of  the  union  were  nursed  in  an 
obscure  part  of  the  country.  During  the  wars  the  father 
died  abroad,  but  immediately  (ifterwards  his  ghost  presented 
itself  to  a  fellow  officer,  and  gave  him  instructions  where  to 
find  the  children,  and  how  to  put  them  in  possession  of  a 
valuable  estate.  This  having  been  done,  the  marvel  reached 
the  ears  of  Queen  Charlotte,  who  sent  for  the  youthful  Blom- 
berg, and  had  him  brought  up  and  educated  with  the  royal 
children.  If  the  narrators  of  this  story  obtained  it  from  the 
person  chiefly  interested,  it  is  singular  that  their  versions, 
three  in  number,  should  be  utterly  irreconcilable  respect- 
ing the  date  and  the  place  of  the  ghost's  appearance,  the 
locality  of  the  deceased's  estate,  and  every  other  detail  into 
which  they  enter.  Cynical  people  ofiered  a  perfectly  unro- 
mantic  explanation  of  Dr.  Blomberg's  good  fortune.  That 
he  was  brought  up  at  Windsor  appears  certain,  and  it  was 
generally  agreed  that  in  features  he  strikingly  resembled  the 
royal  family.  Dr.  Blomberg's  successor  as  Prebendary  of 
Bristol  was  Lord  W.  G.  H.  Somerset.  His  lordship  had 
been  an  officer  in  a  cavalry  regiment  during  the  long  war, 
but  upon  the  army  being  reduced  after  the  fall  of  Napoleon, 
he  applied  for  ordination  and  entered  the  Church,  when  he 
was  rapidly  promoted  by  the  head  of  his  family  to  four 
rectories — Tormarton,  Llangattock,  Crickhowell,  and  Conduc. 
After  obtaining  a  stall  at  Bristol,  his  income  from  the  Church 
was  estimated  at  £3,000  per  annum.     It  was  stated  by  those 


0 

94  THE   ANNALS   OJ  BRISTOL.  [1821. 

acquainted  with  him  that  he  never  wrote  a  sermon ;  but  there 
is  a  tradition  that  he  preached  twice  in  the  cathedral  in  the 
course  of  twenty-three  years.     On  the  other  hand^  he  had  all 
the  skill  of  his  family  for  driving  a  coach  and  four,  which  it 
was  his  constant  practice  to  do  after  morning  service  during 
his  periods  of  residence  here ;  and  the  stables  he  built  at 
Tormarton  were  much  more  imposing  than  was  the  rectory. 
The  Rev.  John  Surtees,  appointed  to  a  seat  in  the  chapter  in 
1821,  and  holding  two  valuable  Crown  rectories  in  Norfolk, 
had  no  other  claim  to  wealth  and  dignity  than  the  fact  that 
he  was  a  relative  of  Lady  Eldon,  wife  of  the  Lord  Chancellor. 
He   was   as   guiltless   of   sermon-writing   as   was   his  noble 
colleague,  but  he  preached  at  intervals  when  in  Bristol.     If 
report  is  to  be  credited,  he  bought  his  discourses  from  one  of 
the  minor  canons,  but  eventually  availed  himself  of  a  cheaper 
market,  though  the  reduced  price  and  inferior  quality  of  the 
article  did  not  induce  him  to  increase  the  quantity.     During 
the  latter  half  of  his  connection  with  the  cathedral,  which 
extended  over  thirty-six  years,  his  irregularity  of  attendance 
and  slovenly  performance  of  his  duties  became  almost  pro- 
verbial.    "  Belshazzar  Randolph,"  as  he  was  sometimes  called 
in  consequence  of  the  escapade  reported  above,  was  the  son 
of  a  Bristol  physician,  residing  in  Trinity  Street.     He  was 
forty  years  a  prebendary,  holding  for  much  of  the  time  the 
lucrative  rectory  of  St.  Paul's,  Covent  Garden,  London,  the 
gift  of  his  friend  the  Duke  of  Bedford,  and  also  the  vicarage 
of  Banwell,  Somerset.     He  was  famous  for  his  courtly  man- 
ners, but  through  having  misdelivered,  in  early  life,  a  letter 
written  by  the  Princess  of  Wales  to  a  friend,  sarcastically 
commenting  on  the  English  royal  family,  he  destroyed  his 
prospects  of  higher  advancement  in  the  Church.     One  of  his 
contemporaries,  the  Rev.  F.    Simpson,  held  a  prebend  for 
nearly  twenty  years,  but  nothing  is  recorded  of  him  save  that 
he  had  three  rectories  and  a  vicarage  in  various  parts  of  the 
kingdom.      Another  was  the  Rev.  H.  J.  Ridley,  a  brother-in- 
law  to  Lord   Chancellor  Eldon,  and   described  by   Sydney 
Smith  as  ''  worldly-minded,  vain,  noisy,  and  perfectly  good- 
natured."     Ridley    was    succeeded    by    the    Rev.    Edward 
Bankes,  who,  having  married  a  daughter  of  the  Lord  Chan- 
cellor, had  more  than  the  usual  share  of  favours  extended  to 
the  great  lawyer's  connections.     In  addition  to  his  prebend 
at  Bristol,  he  had  another  at  Gloucester,  and  a  good  living  in 
Dorset.     Although  he    became    enormously    rich   upon   the 
death  of  his  father-in-law,  Mr.  Bankes  continued  to  hold  his 
preferments  for  some  years  after  he  was  incapable  of  per- 


1821.]  CATHEDBAL   DIOKITABIES.  95 

forming  the  daties  attached  to  them.  This  was,  however, 
natural  enough,  seeing  that  he  had  rendered  very  perfunctory 
service  when  in  his  vigour.  In  a  letter  addressed  to  the 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  of  which  a  copy  appeared  in  the 
London  Sun  of  the  13th  January,  1834,  a  citizen  complained 
of  "  the  general  neglect  and  almost  total  abandonment  of  our 
cathedral  service."  "We  have  had,*'  added  the  writer, 
''neither  dean  nor  prebendary  in  residence  for  many 
months."  The  defaulting  officials  at  this  date  were,  it  was 
understood,  Messrs.  Surtees  and  Bankes.  The  dean.  Dr. 
Beeke,  who  was  then  in  his  84th  year,  was  a  finished  scholar, 
and,  before  age  disabled  him,  an  energetic  promoter  of  litera- 
ture and  science  in  the  city.  His  only  shortcoming,  apparently, 
was  his  stature,  Sydney  Smith  alleging  that  if  Bishop  Gray 
stood  on  the  dean's  shoulders  their  combined  height  would 
not  equal  that  of  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury.  As  to 
Sydney  himself,  it  must  be  added  that,  although  a  political 
reformer,  he  was  a  zealous  champion  of  abuses  in  the  Church. 
Soon  after  becoming  a  prebendary  of  Bristol,  he  claimed  by 
rotation  the  chapter  living  of  Halberton,  Devon,  a  place  he 
is  supposed  to  have  never  visited  except  to  go  through  the 
legal  formalities  needed  to  secure  the  income.  Non-residence 
in  those  days  was  so  common  as  to  excite  little  remark. 
Hannah  More,  writing  from  Cowslip  Green  in  1 790,  remarked 
that  "thirteen  adjoining  parishes  had  not  so  much  as  one 
resident  curate,  much  less  rector.''  And  according  to  a 
parliamentary  return  printed  in  1829,  out  of  the  443  clergy- 
men holding  livings  in  the  diocese  of  Bath  and  Wells,  only 
177  were  resident.  Bishops  were  content  to  follow  the 
customs  of  their  inferiors.  Dr.  Kaye,  who  held  the  see  of 
Bristol  from  1820  to  1827,  was  also  Master  of  Christ  Church 
College,  Cambridge,  Regius  Professor  of  Divinity,  and  the 
incumbent  of  a  valuable  rectory.  So  indifierent  was  he  to 
episcopal  duties  that  on  one  occasion  he  is  said  to  have  com- 
pelled the  local  candidates  for  ordination  to  take  a  journey 
to  Cambridge.  His  successor.  Dr.  Gray,  was  a  prebendary 
of  Durham,  which  was  more  valuable  than  his  bishopric, 
whilst  Bishop  Monk  held  the  deanery  of  Peterborough  and 
two  or  three  other  preferments. 

A  musical  festival  was  opened  on  the  30th  October,  1821, 
in  St.  Paul's  Church,  when,  after  a  sermon  by  the  Dean  of 
Bristol,  Handel's  oratorio  of  "  Esther  "  was  performed.  On 
the  following  day  a  selection  of  sacred  music  was  given,  and 
the  third  morning  performance  was  devoted  to  *'  The  Messiah." 
Evening  concerts  also  took   place  at  the  Assembly  Rooms 


96  THE  AKKALS  OJ  BRISTOL.  [1822. 

and  theatre.  Madame  Catalan!^  equally  famous  for  her 
voice  and  her  rapacity,  was  the  "star"  of  the  festival,  which 
was  financially  successful.  The  receipts  from  the  first  per- 
formance, indeed,  reached  only  £59,  which  says  little  for  the 
persuasiveness  of  the  Dean's  discourse  ;  but  "  The  Messiah  " 
was  especially  productive,  and  the  aggregate  amounted  to 
£1,856.  Including  the  collections  made  at  the  doors,  the 
Infirmary  secured  £587  by  the  gathering. 

The  minutes  of  the  Common  Council  for  the  9th  of 
February,  1822,  contain  a  reference  to  a  local  undertaking 
the  story  of  which  has  been  strangely  neglected  by  Bristol 
annalists.  Little  more  is  recorded  of  the  first  Bristol  Water 
Company  than  that  it  was  formed  about  1695  under  a  special 
Act  of  Parliament,  that  it  undertook  to  pay  the  Corporation 
a  septennial  sum  of  £166  13x.  4d.  for  the  privilege  of  supply- 
ing the  city,  that  a  supply  of  water  obtained  from  the  Avon 
at  Hanham  Mills  was  driven  to  the  higher  level  by  means  of 
a  remarkable  atmospheric  engine  near  Conham,  that  there 
was  a  reservoir  at  Lawrence  Hill,  and  that  the  pipes  into  the 
city  were  formed  of  the  hollowed  trunks  of  trees.  It  has 
been  stated  that  the  company  "  soon  failed ; "  but  the  Act 
of  1760  for  rebuilding  Bristol  Bridge  contained  a  clause 
requiring  the  bridge  trustees  to  lay  down  new  and  sufiicient 
pipes  if  they  removed  those  belonging  to  the  waterworks, 
and  empowered  the  company  to  repair  their  pipes  on  or  near 
to  the  bridge.  Yet  it  is  difficult  to  imagine  how  service 
pipes  could  be  attached  to  trunks  of  trees,  and  there  is  no 
record  of  reservoirs  for  dispensing  the  water  in  another 
manner.  The  sixteenth  septennial  payment  to  the  Corpora- 
tion was  made  in  1807.  The  Common  Council,  on  the  day 
mentioned  above,  ordered  ^'that  the  city  seal  should  be  affixed 
to  a  deed  of  release,  from  the  Corporation  to  the  proprietors 
of  the  waterworks,  of  the  payments  and  covenants  contained 
in  a  certain  deed  bearing  date  the  10th  day  of  August,  1695, 
in  consideration  of  the  sum  of  £500  to  be  paid  by  the  said 
proprietors  to  this  Corporation."  It  may  be  presumed  that 
this  release  was  obtained  in  order  to  enable  the  proprietors 
to  dispose  of  their  land  at  Lawrence  Hill  and  other  places. 
In  1848  several  trunks  of  elm,  hollowed  with  a  very  large 
bore,  were  discovered  during  excavations  in  Old  Market 
Street,  and  a  similar  pipe  was  disinterred  in  West  Street  in 
March,  1886. 

The  West  India  interest  was  about  this  time  in  a  seriously 
depressed  state.  In  a  petition  of  the  West  India  merchants 
of  Bristol,  presented  to  the  House  of  Commons  in  April,  1822, 


1822.]  EASTEB  AND   MAT-DAT  AMUSEMENTS.  97 

it  was  stated  that  owing  to  the  prohibition  imposed  by  Par- 
liament on  intercourse  between  the  islands  and  the  United 
States,  the  planters  were  compelled  to  ship  nearly  the  whole 
of  their  rum  and  molasses  to  this  country,  and  that,  as  the 
supply  exceeded  the  demand,  the  price  of  rum  barely  cleared 
the  expense  of  distillation,  while  the  low  price  of  sugar, 
owing  to  the  increased  imports  from  our  eastern  colonies, 
left  no  return  for  capital  after  defraying  the  cost  of  pro- 
duction. The  petitioners  therefore  prayed  for  a  renewal  of 
the  free  intercourse  formerly  existing  between  the  settle- 
ments and  the  continent  of  North  America.  In  response  to 
this  and  other  similar  appeals,  the  Ministry  brought  in  and 
passed  a  Bill  for  abolishing  the  restrictions  complained  of, 
the  colonies  being  permitted  to  trade  both  with  each  other 
and  with  the  American  States.  This  was  the  first  great 
inroad  on  the  old  Navigation  Laws,  and,  although  disap- 
proved by  the  ultra-Tory  party,  was  highly  applauded  by 
most  of  the  mercantile  community. 

The  Easter  holidays  of  1822  were  thus  recorded  in  the 
Bristol  Journal  of  April  13  :  "  The  annual  scenes  of  rude  fes- 
tivity, and,  we  may  add,  of  low  debauchery,  known  by  the 
name  of  '  the  Bedminster  revels,'  took  place  on  Monday,  as 
usual  at  this  period  of  the  year ;  and  a  fight  of  no  interest 
was  exhibited  on  Durdham  down,  between  two  combatants 
of  '  little  note  and  less  skill.' "  The  following  equally  singular 
indication  of  the  changes  eflFected  by  time  is  found  in  the 
same  paper  three  weeks  later :  ''  May-day  was  celebrated 
this  year  with  more  than  its  wonted  gaiety.  Soon  after 
sunrise  there  was  an  unusually  strong  muster  upon  Clifton 
down  .  .  .  ^to  sport  the  light  fantastic  toe.'  .  .  .  During 
the  morning  kings  and  queens  out  of  number  paraded 
the  streets.  The  chimney  sweeps,  too,  made  a  splendid 
appearance.  The  next  and  most  attractive  ^  bit  of  life  '  was 
on  CUfton  down  to  see  the  racing.  Here  was  life  in  all  its 
variety.  .  .  .  The  Fancy  [pugilists]  too,  mustered  pretty 
numerously.  [An  account  of  the  racing  follows] .  A  better 
day^s  sport  was  never  witnessed.  After  the  races,  a  ring 
was  formed,  and  Jacky  Cabbage  shelved  to  challenge  Hazel  1 
for  a  bellyful.  Some  interruption,  however,  occurred  by  the 
appearance  of  a  Deputy  Beak  in  the  ring,  so  it  was  off. 
There  was  some  milling  afterwards.  ...  A  [dinner  and] 
ball  concluded  the  evening."  It  is  rare  to  find  the  old- 
fashioned  editor  descending  from  his  stilts  in  this  way  to 
notice  the  manners  and  customs  of  the  time.  In  addition  to 
the  above  seasons  of  revelry,  a  correspondent  of  the  Times 

H 


98  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL.  [1822. 

and  Mirror,  whose  memory  carried  him  to  about  this  period, 
recently  stated  that  on  Boxing  Day  a  pleasure  fair  was  held 
"  outside  the  gate,"  and  was  known  as  the  "  Horn  Fair." 
"  It  took  its  name  from  a  grotesque-looking  gingerbread  cake 
known  as  '  the  horn,^  which  was  made  to  represent  a  man's 
head  and  shoulders,  with  two  trumpets  branching  out  from 
his  back ;  they  varied  in  size  from  a  few  inches  to  a  yard 
long.  .  .  .  The  fair  was  held  in  Wade  Street.  Stalls 
were  pitched  on  the  sides  of  the  road  .  .  .  gilt  horns 
were  everywhere  by  hundreds.  It  was  a  wild,  noisy  affair, 
notable  for  petty  gambling.  .  .  .  From  morning  till  night 
groups  of  pleasure-seekers  wandered  up  and  down  amongst 
the  stalls,  staking  their  pence  until  their  pockets  were 
emptied.  On  New  Tear's  Day  a  similar  fair  was  held  in 
West  Street,  from  Bullpaunch  Lane  [famous  for  bull  baiters] 
to  Gloucester  Lane." 

Coronation  Road,  Bedminster,  a  new  turnpike  road  from 
Harford's  Bridge  to  the  Ashton  road,  was  opened  on  the 
23rd  April,  1822,  with  some  ceremony.  The  Dowager  Lady 
Smyth,  of  Clift  House,  in  a  coach  and  four,  preceded  by 
Captain  Smyth's  troop  of  Yeomanry,  took  part  in  the  in- 
augural ceremony.  The  road,  which  had  been  under  con- 
struction for  about  a  year,  had  received  its  name  when  the 
workmen  employed  upon  it  were  regaled  on  the  coronation 
day  of  the  new  king. 

In  July  the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Denmark  made  a  brief 
visit  to  the  city  during  their  incognito  tour  in  the  West  of 
England.  Being  waited  upon  by  the  Mayor  (Mr.  A.  Hilhonse) 
at  their  hotel  in  Clifton,  they  went  down  to  the  Mansion 
House  and  were  sumptuously  entertained.  Subsequently 
they  visited  Mr.Ricketts's  glass  house  and  Mr.  Hare's  floor- 
cloth factory.  The  prince  also  accompanied  the  Mayor  to 
the  Guildhall,  where  I  the  quarter  sessions  were  proceeding, 
and  subsequently  visited  the  new  gaol. 

The  parish  church  of  St.  Andrew,  Clifton,  a  small  and 
mean  edifice,  rebuilt  during  the  Commonwealth,  had  long 
been  inadequate  to  accommodate  even  a  tithe  of  the  in- 
habitants. Much  diflSculty,  however,  was  encountered  in 
obtaining  funds  for  its  reconstruction  on  a  scale  worthy  of 
the  parish,  and  it  was  at  length  found  necessary  to  guarantee 
to  each  subscriber  of  a  certain  amount  a  freehold  right  to  a 
pew  in  the  best  portions  of  the  new  church.  More  than  two- 
thirds  of  the  pews  on  the  floor  of  the  edifice  were  disposed  of 
in  this  way.  The  foundation  was  laid  in  the  summer  of  1819, 
another  site  being  selected  in  order  that  the  old  building 


1822.]  CLIFTON  CHUBCH.      8TSALING  DEAD   BODIES.  99 

shoald  remain  until  its  successor  was  finished.  The  edifice — 
a  characteristic  specimen  of  Georgian  mock  Gothic — was 
consecrated  on  the  12th  August^  1822^  by  the  Bishop  of 
Bristol.  An  admission  fee  of  four  shillings  each  was  de- 
manded from  all  save  a  limited  section  of  the  poorer  inhabi- 
tants. A  '*  capital  dinner ''  afterwards  took  place,  at  which, 
says  the  reporter,  "the  utmost  harmony  and  gentlemanly 
deportment  prevailed,"  the  compliment  being  doubtless  an 
indirect  slap  at  the  dubious  amenities  of  Clifton  parochial 
life  sixty  years  ago.  The  freehold  pews — locked  up  against 
the  invasion  of  the  vulgar — soon  became  a  scandal.  Many 
of  the  subscribers,  on  leaving  the  parish,  sold  their  "  pro- 
perty  "  by  auction,  and  a  "  good  family  pew  "  was  eagerly 
bought  up  for  from-  £100  to  £150;  others  were  let  at  heavy 
rents.  In  1844,  when  Mr.  Leech  wrote  his  "  Church-goer," 
he  spoke  of  Clifton  church  as  being  "  not  to  any  extent  the 
church  of  the  parishioners;  the  rich  and  the  non-resident 
occupy  the  reserved  seats,  and  those  few  that  are  nominally 
free  are  filled  with  powdered  footmen."  Further  reference 
to  the  subject  will  be  found  under  the  year  1863. 

Amongst  the  social  incidents  of  the  reign  of  George  IV., 
the  practice  of  stealing  human  bodies  for  anatomical  pur- 
poses, which  was  then  constantly  resorted  to  by  agents  of  the 
surgical  profession,  was  perhaps  the  most  revolting.  The 
Bristol  Journal  of  the  26th  October,  1822,  narrated  that,  a 
few  nights  previously,  a  body  was  stolen  from  a  grave  in 
St.  Augustine's  churchyard,  and  conveyed  to  the  "  dissecting- 
room,''  a  chamber  hired  by  two  or  three  Bristol  surgeons,  and 
situated  in  the  precincts  of  the  cathedral.  A  quarrel  having 
arisen  betwixt  the  '^resurrection  men"  and  their  employers, 
a  crowd  gathered  near  the  house,  the  door  of  which  was 
eventually  forced,  aifd  the  crime  discovered.  The  church- 
wardens were  bound  over  to  prosecute  the  ostensible  occupier 
of  the  room,  but  no  result  is  recorded,  the  surgeons  having 
doubtless  succeeded  in  hushing  up  the  matter.  Less  than  a 
fortnight  after  this  affair,  three  parish  constables,  in  con- 
sequence of  private  information,  visited  Bedminster  church- 
yard at  midnight,  and  found  six  persons  busily  engaged  in 
raising  the  recently  interred  body  of  a  young  woman.  A 
severe  struggle  followed.  *'  There  were  pistols  snapped  and 
rapiers  drawn,  bloody  noses  and  broken  heads.  The  battle 
was  long  and  severely  contested  before  the  patrol  was  able 
to  secure  five ;  the  sixth  escaped."  The  prisoners  were  com- 
mitted for  trial,  but  the  result  has  not  been  found.  Offences 
of  this  character  could  not  have  been  committed  with  im- 


100  THE   ANNALS   OP  BRISTOL.  [1822. 

punity  in  populous  localities  if  the  streets  had  been  adequately 
guarded.  As  a  matter  of  fact  the  police  regulations  were 
farcical.  In  the  newspaper  recording  the  Bedminster  out- 
rage is  the  mock  trial  of  a  gentleman,  a  stranger  in  the  city, 
charged  with  whistling  in  the  public  thoroughfares  between 
eleven  at  night  and  two  in  the  morning,  thereby  preventing 
the  watchmen  from  enjoying  their  accustomed  slumbers. 
One  of  the  injured  fraternity,  "  about  sixty  years  old,  and 
decrepit  in  the  extreme,"  is  made  to  depose  that  "  he  had 

originally  been  in  the  employment  of  a  member  of  the 

[Corporation],  but  his  infirmities  having  unfitted  him  for 
labour,  he  was  appointed  watchman."  As  regards  "body 
snatching  "  in  rural  parishes,  there  is  evidence  that  it  was 
frequently  practised,  to  the  great  horror  of  country  people. 
A  ghastly  affair  of  this  kind  occurred  about  1824  or  1825. 
Three  medical  students  connected  with  "  the  college  dissect- 
ing room  "  started  one  dark  evening  in  a  gig  for  Long  Ashton 
churchyard,  for  the  purpose  of  disinterring  the  body  of  a 
person  whose  malady  had  excited  professional  interest.  One 
of  the  youths  being  left  in  charge  of  the  vehicle,  his  com- 
panions entered  the  cemetery  and  began  operations,  when 
one  of  them  was  almost  frozen  with  terror  on  seeing,  or 
imagining  he  saw,  the  ghost  of  the  intended  '^  subject."  His 
companion  became  infected  with  his  panic,  and  both  fled  to 
their  conveyance,  in  which  they  hurried  homewards.  On 
the  following  day,  the  Long  Ashton  authorities  offered  a 
reward  for  the  discovery  of  the  body,  which  had  been  stolen 
during  the  night;  and  the  students  are  believed  to  have  had 
ocular  evidence  that  they  had  been  frightened  away  by  the 
trick  of  a  gang  of  professional  "  resurrectionists,"  who  did 
not  relish  the  interference  of  amateurs.  The  youth  who 
supposed  he  saw  a  spirit,  however,  died  shortly  afterwards, 
having  never  recovered  from  the  mental  ^hock.  He  was  the 
son  of  a  dissenting  minister  in  Bristol.  His  companion  in  tl^e 
churchyard,  long  a  member  of  the  Infirmary  staff,  recounted 
the  story,  under  feigned  names,  in  Once  a  Week  for  Octo- 
ber, 18G0. 

During  the  year  1822  the  old  Hotwell  house,  overhanging 
the  river,  built  about  1696,  and  the  resort  of  so  much  fashion- 
able company  for  several  generations,  was  removed,  to  admit 
of  the  construction  of  the  new  Bridge  Valley  road  to  Clifton 
Down.  A  handsome  pump  room,  in  the  Tuscan  style,  was 
shortly  afterwards  erected,  a  suite  of  baths — the  want  of 
which  had  always  been  complained  of — being  added  to  the 
building.      The    improvement   came   too   late,   however,   to 


1822.]        THE    HOTWELL.      A   DESTRUCTIVE    RESTORATION.  101 

arrest  the  declining  popularity  of  the  spring ;  and  with  few 
exceptions  visitors  resorted  to  the  well  rather  from  curiosity 
than  from  belief  in  its  medical  eflScacy.*  In  June,  1867,  the 
new  pump  room  was  in  turn  closed  and  demolished,  in  order 
to  carry  out  Mr.  Howard's  plan  for  the  removal  of  Hotwell 
Point — an  inconvenient  prominence  on  the  right  bank  of  the 
Avon.  As  the  spring  reached  the  surface  in  the  projecting 
rock,  it  became  entirely  inaccessible  to  the  public  after  March, 
1868,  and  remained  so  for  about  ten  years.  At  length,  owing 
to  the  reasonable  complaints  of  the  inhabitants,  pipes  were 
laid  down  in  the  summer  of  1877,  and  a  pump  was  erected  in. 
a  cavern  hollowed  out  of  the  neighbouring  cliff;  but  Dr.  P. 
W.  Griffin,  in  a  letter  addressed  to  a  local  paper  in  July,  1880, 
expressed  his  belief,  as  the  result  of  analyses,  that  the  true* 
spring  had  been  lost,  or  that  it  was  subject  to  variable 
admixture  from  other  sources.  In  any  case,  the  distance 
between  the  source  and  the  pump  caused  the  water  to  lose 
its  characteristic  temperature  before  it  reached  the  consumer, 
and  the  title  of  "  hot ''  well — a  misnomer  from  the  outset — 
became  wholly  inapplicable. 

Soon  after  the  accession  of  George  IV.  the  beautiful  little 
church  of  St.  Mark's,  College  Green,  commonly  known  as 
the  Mayor's  Chapel,  having  been  again  allowed  to  fall  into 
ignorant  and  presumptuous  hands,  became  the  victim  of 
destructive  "  restorations  "  carried  on  for  upwards  of  seven 
years.  Strange  to  say,  no  reference  to  the  subject  appears 
in  the  records  of  the  Common  Council ;  but  the  cash-book  of 
the  city  treasurer  contains  so  many  brief  yet  eloquent  items 
that  it  is  possible  to  form  a  chronicle  of  the  devastations. 
The  first  payment  occurred  in  August,  1822,  when  Mr. 
Thomas  Clarke,  sometimes  called  a  sculptor  and  sometimes  a 
mason,  received  £100  for  ^^  repairing  vestry  room,  etc."  From 
an  item  in  the  following  month,  it  appears  that  the  renovators 
had  resolved  on  pulling  down  the  great  west  window  of  the 
church — an  interesting  specimen  of  the  last  era  of  Decorated 
architecture.  For  producing  and  setting  up  a  copy  of  the 
original  work,  Mr.  Clarke  received  £180.  The  old  masonry 
was  given  to  Mr.  J.  Cave,  then  or  soon  after  a  member  of  the 
Qommon  Council,  who  had  it  placed  in  a  mock  ruin  in  his 
park  at  Bf entry,  where,  after  being  buffetted  by  the  storms 

*  The  management  appears  to  have  been  of  an  illiberal  character.  Three- 
pence per  glass  was  charged  for  the  water,  equivalent  to  a  shilling  a  day  for 
average  dnnkers,  and  only  paupers  were  allowed  to  draw  from  a  tap  in  the 
back  yard.  In  1831  this  tap  was  removed,  but  in  1837  a  free  pump  was  erected 
in  consequence  of  tbe  public  discontent. 


102  THE   AKN'ALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1822. 

of  more  than  sixty  years,  its  sound  condition  still  demon- 
strates the  recklessness  of  those  who  expelled  it  from  its 
original  site.  The  next  payment  to  Mr.  Clarke  is  £25  4«.  for 
"repairing  tombs."  The  erection,  in  1815,  of  a  gallery  for 
the  accommodation  of  Dr.  Goodenough's  private  pupils  has 
been  already  mentioned  [see  p.  47].  In  1823  it  was  deter- 
mined to  construct  a  new  gallery,  and  Mr.  Clarke  received 
£185  3«.  for  carrying  out  the  order.  At  this  point  Mr. 
William  Edkins,  a  house-painter,  begins  to  figure  often  in 
the  accounts.  This  gentleman  was  entrusted  with  the  task 
of  designing  the  gallery  and  superintending  the  "  sculptor's  " 
operations,  for  which  he  received  £10 ;  and  he  had  £21  more 
for  "  superintending  the  erection  of  the  altar  screen  " — ^the 
original  work  having  been  "  restored  "  by  Clarke  after  the 
removal  of  a  huge  and  unsightly  fabric,  in  the  Dutch  style, 
with  which  the  church  was  "  beautified  '*  about  1721.  These 
works,  completed  in  1824,  were  merely  preliminary  to  the 
grand  "  embellishment "  which  the  authorities  had  been  in- 
duced to  sanction  through  the  persuasion  of  the  city  chamber- 
lain, Mr.  Thomas  Garrard,  a  well-meaning  collector  of  antique 
curiosities,  but  as  ignorant  of  Gothic  architecture  as  was  the 
churchwardendom  of  his  time.  HaWng  obtained  practically 
unlimited  powers,  the  amateur  architect's  first  efforts  were 
directed  to  the  collection  of  stained  glass  of  various  styles 
and  dates.  One  lot,  costing  £166,  was  obtained  at  a  sale  of 
the  effects  of  Sir  Paul  Bagot,  a  Gloucestershire  baronet; 
another,  for  which  £192  were  paid,  was  bought  at  the  great 
sale  at  Fonthill :  a  third  lot  was  purchased  in  London  for 
£45 ;  and  "  the  figure  of  a  bishop,"  the  original  locality  of 
which  is  not  mentioned,  cost  £8.  In  1828,  the  so-called 
renovation  of  the  church  began  in  earnest.  The  west  window 
of  the  south  aisle  was  reconstructed,  the  ''  cieling "  under- 
went great  alterations,  a  new  gallery  was  built  for  the  City 
School  boys,  the  church  was  fresh  paved,  and  the  windows 
were  "  scraped."  Worse  than  all  this,  however,  the  house- 
painter  already  mentioned  designed,  in  conjunction  with  Mr. 
Garrard,  an  "  ante-chapel,"  with  wooden  columns  and  mock 
vaulting,  and  was  allowed  to  introduce  into  the  building 
itself  a  mass  of  lath-and-plaster  ornamentation,  in  imitatiqn 
of  carving,  bedizened  with  gold  and  colour,  but  in  execrable 
taste,  and  glaringly  incongruous  with  the  true  character  of 
the  fabric.  Upon  this  paltry  gingerbread  work  alone  nearly 
£1,400  were  squandered.  The  entire  "  renovation,"  including 
a  new  organ,  a  picture  over  the  communion  table,  by  Mr. 
King,  a  local  artist,  and  a  quantity  of  "  velvet  with  cloth  of 


1823.]       PORT   CHARGES.      THE   CHAMBER   OF   COMMERCE.  103 

gold  fringe  for  the  pews/'  entailed  a  cost  of  over  £6,500. 
The  chapel  was  reopened  in  October,  1830,  when  the  Mayor 
and  Corporation  attended  in  great  pomp.  The  organ  at  that 
time  was  placed  over  the  "  ante-chapel,"  where  it  blocked  up 
the  western  window.  It  was  removed  to  a  more  suitable 
position  in  1870,  and  it  may  be  hoped  that  the  time  is  not 
far  distant  when  the  chapel  will  undergo  a  real  restoration 
in  intelligent  and  sympathising  hands. 

It  has  been  already  observed  that  the  high  charges  imposed 
on  shipping  by  the  Bristol  Docks  Company  became  the 
subject  of  complaint  soon  after  the  completion  of  the  Floating 
Harbour ;  and  there  can  be  no  question  that  those  burdens, 
aggravated  as  they  were  by  the  exorbitant  town  and  mayor's 
dues  levied  by  the  Corporation,  crippled  the  commercial  pro- 
gress of  the  port,  and  diverted  trade  to  places  more  liberally 
managed.  A  striking  illustration  of  the  shortsighted  rapacity 
of  the  local  bodies  had  been  furnished  in  October,  1818,  when 
a  consignment  of  400  flasks  of  quicksilver  was  sent  from 
Cadiz  to  Bristol  for  a  Liverpool  consignee.  The  dock  dues 
charged  were  £15;  the  town  dues,  £14  11*.  4d;  and  the 
wharfage  dues,  £3  14».  9d  ;  making  a  total  of  £33  6«.  Id.  The 
owner  protested  against  the  charges,  observing  that  at 
Liverpool  the  total  dues  demanded  would  have  been  only 
£10  8«.  4d. ;  but  the  authorities  curtly  replied  that  "  it  was 
not  in  their  power  to  make  any  alteration.^'  It  was  stated, 
again,  that  Bristol  might  have  carried  on  a  large  business  in 
indigo,  which  was  extensively  used  by  the  west  of  England 
clothiers ;  but  that  the  charges  on  a  chest  of  about  3  cwt. 
being  16«.  b^d.,  against  2«.  is^d.  levied  at  Liverpool,  the 
trade  was  almost  entirely  diverted.  The  mayor's  dues  on  a 
vessel,  imposed  without  reference  to  burden,  were  £2  58.,  so 
that  an  Irish  trading  sloop  of  60  or  80  tons,  making  twelve 
voyages  yearly,  paid  £27,  while  a  West  India  sugar  ship  of 
ten  times  the  tonnage  paid  only  £2  bs.  on  her  annual  entry. 
With  a  view  to  pressing  for  relief  from  these  and  other 
grievances,  several  influential  firms  co-operated  in  the  spring 
of  1823  in  establishing  a  local  Chamber  of  Commerce,  of 
which  Mr.  Joseph  Reynolds  was  the  first  president,  Messrs. 
Thomas  Stock  and  Joseph  Cookson  being  appointed  vice- 
presidents.  The  new  institution  lost  no  time  in  appealing 
to  public  opinion  on  the  subject.  A  paper  showing  the 
duties  payable  on  leading  imports  at  the  chief  ports,  bringing 
into  relief  the  enormous  excess  of  taxation  at  Bristol,  was 
published  by  the  Chamber,  and  made  a  profound  impression. 
When   the   new   body  memorialised   the   Common   Council, 


104  THE   ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1823. 

however  (in  September),  urging  for  a  remission  of  the  taxeSj 
the  document  was  contemptuously  "  laid  on  the  table.'*     The 
Chamber  soon  after  returned  to  the  charge,  whereupon  the 
Council,  in  January,  1824,  passed  a  resolution  condemning 
the  acts  of  its  critics  as  ''hasty,  premature,  and  animated 
by  hostile  feelings.'*     The  result  was  a  petition  to  the  House 
of  Commons,  praying  for  an  inquiry  into  the  causes  of  the 
languishing  condition  of  the  city.     The  Corporation  met  the 
threatened    attack   by  introducing  a  Bill   into   Parliament, 
ostensibly  for  the  purpose  of  enabling  it  to  reduce  its  dues, 
but  really — its  opponents  asserted — with  the  object  of  obtain- 
ing legislative  sanction  for  taxation  which  many  merchants 
held  to  be  illegally  imposed.   The  Bill  was  withdrawn  through 
the  opposition  offered  by  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  supported 
by  the  citizens  generally,  who  subscribed  £3,000  to  carry  on 
the   struggle.     It  was,  however,  revived   in    1825,  when   a 
prolonged  conflict  took  place  between  the  civic  authorities 
and  the  mercantile  and  trading  interests.     The  latter,  after 
laying  bare  the  real  motive  of  the  promoters  of  the  scheme, 
and  asserting  that  the  preferred  abatement  in  the  dues  still 
left  them  excessive  as  compared  with  those  of  other  leading 
ports,  made  a  powerful  attack  on  the  Corporation  itself.     It 
was  shown  that  the  Common  Council  was  self-elected  and 
irresponsible,  that  it  rendered  no  services  in  return  for  the 
taxes  it  imposed  on  shipping,  that  it  published  no  accounts, 
and  administered  the  revenues  of  which  it  was  trustee  with 
a  wanton  disregard  for  the  opinion  of  the  citizens.    The  oath 
of   secrecy  imposed  on   its  members  was,  it  was  added,  a 
practical  avowal  that  its  proceedings  would  not  bear  the  face 
of  day.     What  lent  the  greatest  weight  to  these  charges  was 
the  fact  that  they  were  supported  by  the  testimony  of  in- 
fluential citizens   of  both   political  parties,  some  prominent 
Tories  being  even  more  zealous  in  the  attack  than  were  their 
Whig  colleagues.     The  Corporation,  however,  defiantly  re- 
torted  through   their  parliamentary  counsel,  that  the  port 
dues,  as  well  as  all  their  other  estates,  though  applicable  to 
public    purposes    at    their  discretion,   were   their   personal 
property — **  as  much  so  as  any  estate  belonging  to  any  peer  " 
— and  that  no  one  had  a  right  to  demand  an  account  as  to 
how  the  revenues  were  administered.     Mr.  Serjeant  Ludlow, 
the  town  clerk,  scornfullv  declared  to  the  Commons*  committee 
that  it  was  a  new  thing  to  contend  that  the  law  courts,  or 
even   Parliament  itself,  could   control  a  Corporation  in  the 
expenditure  of  its  own  money.     He  flatly  denied  that  the 
people  of  Bristol  had  any  interest  in  the  corporate  funds^ 


1823.]  THE  TOWN   DUES.      DR.    WHITE's   CHARITY.  105 

and  against  sncli  a  principle^  lie  said^  the  Corporation  would 
Rtrnggle  to  the  utmost  extremity.  What  answer  a  reformed 
House  of  Commons  would  have  made  to  these  insolent  pre- 
tensions may  be  left  to  the  judgment  of  the  reader.  Even 
the  Legislature  of  1825,  dominated  as  it  was  by  aristocratic 
influences,  repelled  the  attempt  of  the  Common  Council  to 
exchange  a  doubtful  prescriptive  title  for  one  resting  on  an 
Act  of  Parliament.  As  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  had 
suggested,  power  was  given  to  reduce  the  dues  without 
trenching  on  the  question  of  legal  rights,  and  in  this  form 
the  Bill  passed.  A  Government  Commission  to  inquire  into 
the  collection  and  management  of  the  revenue  having  visited 
the  city  in  November,  one  of  its  members,  the  Hon.  Mr. 
Wallace,  deploring  the  differences  between  the  authorities 
and  the  inhabitants,  offered  to  remain  in  Bristol  with  a  view 
to  effecting  a  reconciliation.  The  Merchants^  Society  and 
the  Chamber  of  Commerce  cordially  accepted  the  overture ; 
but  the  Council  forwarded  Mr.  Wallace  a  resolution  in 
December,  declaring  that  negotiation  was  useless,  seeing  that 
the  differences  "  wholly  consist  of  hostile  aggression  on  the 
one  hand  on  the  revenue  and  constitutional  government  of 
the  Corporation,  and  on  the  other  on  the  necessary  defence 
and  maintenance  of  rights  established  for  centuries.*'  By  the 
alterations  effected  under  the  new  Act,  the  obnoxious  corporate 
imposts  *  were  reduced  nearly  two-fifths,  or  from  £5,500  to 
about  £3,500.  But  the  results  justified  the  apprehensions  of 
those  who  had  contended  that  the  concessions  would  prove 
inadequate  to  revive  the  commerce  of  the  city,  inasmuch  as 
they  left  the  port  charges  in  excess  of  those  of  more  enter- 
prising rival  towns.  The  question  again  became  a  burning 
one  in  1833. 

For  some  time  previous  to  this  date  the  Corporation  had 
been  perplexed  how  to  administer  the  increasing  revenues  of 
Dr.  Thomas  White's  charities  with  a  due  regard  for  the 
wishes  of  the  donor.  According  to  Dr.  White's  will,  the 
Corporation  were  yearly  to  devote  £100,  part  of  the  surplus 
income  of  his  estate  after  providing  for  his  collegiate  endow- 
ment, to  repairing  the  highways  leading  to  the  city  of  Bristol. 
But  whilst  the  general  introduction  of  turnpikes  rendered 
this  expenditure  unnecessary,  the  rents  of  the  property  con- 
tinued  to  increase,  and  though  large  sums  were  spent  on 


*  Preyious  to  the  passing  of  the  Bill,  the  daes  on  a  packet  of  woollen  cloths 
exported  from  Bristol  were  £3  16«.  8(2.,  whilst  at  Liverpool  they  were  sixpence. 
^MS.  AnnaU,  City  Library.  1824. 


106  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL.  [1823. 

roads  which  were  not  turnpikes,  the  unexpended  surplus 
accumulated  from  year  to  year.  The  recorder.  Sir  Robert 
Gifford,  having  advised  the  Corporation  that  they  were  not 
justified  in  spending  more  than  £100  per  annum  on  roads, 
it  was  determined  in  1820  to  apply  for  a  scheme  to  the  Court 
of  Chancery,  by  which  they  might  spend  £200  in  that  way, 
and  devote  the  remaining  surplus  to  introducing  additional 
almspeople  into  Dr.  White's  hospital  in  Temple  Street — ^the 
inmates  of  which  they  had  already  increased  from  twelve  to 
twenty-four.  The  court  having  objected  to  some  of  the 
details,  a  new  scheme  was  suggested,  which  was  ultimately 
sanctioned,  and  which  the  Common  Council  in  March,  1823, 
formally  approved,  and  ordered  the  mayor  and  aldermen  to 
carry  into  effect.  By  this  plan  the  surplus  applicable  to 
roads  (£479)  was  distributed  as  follows: — £100  to  roads; 
£100  to  loans  and  gifts  similar  to  those  created  by  Dr.  White ; 
£162  to  eight  additional  almspeople;  £83  to  augmenting  the 
pay  of  those  in  the  hospital ;  and  £34  for  contingencies.  The 
fund  in  hand,  £3,400,  was  to  be  spent  in  renovating  and 
extending  the  almshouses.  To  avoid  recurring  to  the  subject 
again,  it  may  be  added  that  through  the  alterations  made  in 
the  laws  respecting  highways,  the  last  appropriation  of  money 
for  the  repair  of  roads  was  in  1860,  when  about  £5  were  paid 
to  the  Local  Board  towards  the  cost  of  repairing  a  footway 
to  Bedminster.  The  fund  having  accumulated  afresh  to 
nearly  £3,900,  the  Charity  Trustees,  in  1859,  obtained  an  Act, 
under  which  £700  were  applied  to  augment  the  endowment  of 
Queen  Elizabeth's  Hospital,  £1,200  to  the  Grammar  School 
endowment,  about  £100  towards  repairs  at  Trinity  Hospital, 
and  the  balance  towards  the  exhibition  fund  of  the  Grammar 
School.  It  was  further  enacted  that  future  surpluses  should 
be  invested  for  the  benefit  of  the  last-named  institution. 

Much  consternation  was  excited  amongst  the  West  India 
interest  in  the  spring  of  1823  by  an  attempt  of  certain  East 
India  merchants  to  obtain  the  abolition  of  the  heavy  extra 
duties  on  sugar  imported  from  our  Eastern  settlements.  The 
Common  Council  adopted  a  petition  to  Parliament,  asserting 
that  as  the  West  India  trade  was  the  most  important  branch 
of  local  commerce,  and  had  largely  absorbed  the  capital  of 
the  citizens,  the  project  to  deprive  the  sugar  industry  of  the 
islands  of  its  ancient  protection  had  excited  serious  alarm. 
The  Council  expressed  its  belief  that  "from  the  ruinous  prices 
of  sugar  of  late  years,  the  slightest  further  depression  would 
lead  to  the  total  and  speedy  ruin  of  the  planters,  and  the 
extinction   of   West   India   commerce " — with   consequences 


1823.]  DEODANDS.      THE   BRISTOL   INSTITUTION.  107 

disastrous  to  Bristol.  [The  wholesale  price  of  raw  sugar  was 
then  about  4d.  per  pound.]  Notwithstanding  this  and  similar 
protests,  the  Government,  in  1826,  admitted  Mauritius  sugar 
at  the  West  India  rates,  and  in  1830  reduced  the  extra 
burden  on  Bombay  sugar  to  Ss.  per  cwt.,  to  the  great  grief 
of  the  interest  previously  "  protected.^' 

Some  curious  illustrations  of  the  old  law  of  deodands  occur 
in  the  civic  accounts  about  this  time.  According  to  the 
immemorial  custom  of  the  realm,  any  personal  chattel  which 
was  the  immediate  occasion  of  the  death  of  a  man  or  woman 
(but  not  of  a  child)  was  forfeited  to  the  king  or  to  the  lord  of 
the  manor,  the  value  being  applied,  prior  to  the  Reformation, 
to  the  purchase  of  prayers  for  the  soul  of  the  person  snatched 
away.  Thus,  if  a  man  fell  from  a  ship  in  fresh  water,  and 
was  drowned,  ancient  legal  sages  had  laid  down  that  the 
vessel  and  cargo  were,  in  strictness  of  law,  forfeited  as  a 
deodand.  The  absurdity  of  the  system  had,  however,  been 
mitigated  by  the  juries  empannelled  to  inquire  into  the  cause 
of  death,  who  took  upon  themselves  to  fix  the  value  of  the 
article  forfeited  to  the  lord  of  the  franchise ;  and  the  Corpora- 
tion of  Bristol  are  thus  found  receiving  one  shilling  as  the 
value  of  a  wagon  and  team  of  horses.  In  another  case  a  ship 
is  valued  at  two  shillings ;  and  in  a  third  the  jury  assessed  a 
ship  and  its  contents  as  worth  only  one  shilling.  Reformers 
long  protested  against  a  law  which  practically  forced  coroners' 
juries  to  trifle  with  their  oaths.  Deodands  were  not  abolished 
until  1847.' 

The  Bristol  Philosophical  and  Literary  Institution  was 
founded  in  1817  by  a  few  public-spirited  citizens  who  felt  the 
want  of  a  local  organisation  for  the  promotion  of  science. 
Funds  having  been  subscribed  for  the  construction  of  a  build- 
ing suitable  for  the  purpose  in  view,  a  site  was  purchased  in 
Park  Street,  and  the  foundation  stone  was  laid  by  the  mayor 
(Mr.  W.  Fripp,  junr.)  in  February,  1820.  The  edifice,  which 
was  much  more  imposing  in  its  appearance  than  commodious 
in  its  arrangements,  cost  £11,000.  It  was  finished  and  opened 
early  in  1823.  A  dinner  was  given  on  the  occasion,  and  some 
merry  local  gossips  have  recorded  that,  during  the  dubious 
''  feast  of  reason  "  which  followed  the  banquet,  Mr.  Samuel 
Lunell,  an  energetic  promoter  of  the  institution,  in  order  to 
teach  his  scientific  hearers  humility,  let  an  apple  drop  from 
his  hand,  and  asked  why  it  fell  rather  than  rose,  concluding 
with  the  poser :  "  What  keeps  the  moon  up  in  the  sky  ? '' 
The  inconvenient  querist  received  no  response,  save  a  request 
from  an  alderman  to  '*  pass  the  decanters.^' 


108  THE   ANNALS  OF  BRISTOL.  [1823. 

In  an  Act  for  "  preventing  encroachments,  annoyances,  and 
other  nuisances/'  obtained  by  the  Corporation  in  1788,  power 
was  taken  for  placing  barriers  at  each  end  of  Broad  Street 
during  the  time  business  was  being  transacted  at  assizes  and 
quarter  sessions.  This  provision  does  not  appear  to  have 
been  exercised  between  1793  and  1818,  but  after  the  election 
to  the  town  clerkship  of  Mr.  Ludlow,  that  fretful  official 
caused  the  street  to  be  blocked  at  every  sitting  of  the  court. 
After  submitting  to  the  annoyance  from  1819  to  the  summer 
of  1823,  the  tradesmen  of  the  city  complained  loudly  of  the 
interruption  to  business ;  and  the  Court  of  Aldermen,  after  a 
brief  attempt  to  maintain  the  obstruction,  advised  that  the 
portion  of  the  street  in  front  of  the  Guildhall  should  be 
macadamised.  The  only  subsequent  occasion'  on  which  the 
barriers  were  raised  was  in  1832,  during  the  sitting  of  the 
special  commission  for  the  trial  of  the  rioters. 

A  new  assessment  of  the  city  was  laid  before  the  Court  of 
Aldermen  in  May,  1823.  The  total  annual  value  of  the 
property  within  the  ancient  boundaries  was  £186,756. 

During  the  mayoralty  of  Mr.  James  George,  1822-3,  he 
was  presented  by  his  wife  with  an  addition  to  his  family.  It 
was  resolved  by  his  brother  corporators  to  commemorate  an 
event  so  rare  at  the  Mansion  House  by  the  presentation  of  a 
^'silver  cradle,''  value  100  guineas;  and  the  gift  was  soon 
afterwards  made  through  the  sheriffs,  Messrs.  Cave  and 
Goldney. 

The  Council  House,  a  modest  but  not  ungraceful  structure 
erected  in  1704,  had  been  long  condemned,  as  inconvenient 
in  its  arrangements  and  unworthy  of  the  wealthy  body  to 
whom  it  belonged.  So  early  as  1788  an  Act  had  been 
obtained  for  rebuilding  the  house  on  an  enlarged  scale  by 
the  absorption  of  the  site  of  the  disused  church  of  St.  Bwen's 
(the  south  aisle  of  which  had  been  appropriated  for  the 
original  Council  House)  and  by  the  purchase  of  what  was 
formerly  known  as  Forster's  Coffee  House,  together  with  an 
adjoining  dwelling  in  Corn  Street.  The  church  was  dis- 
mantled in  1791,  but  for  some  reason  the  Corporation  took 
no  further  steps  until  the  date  now  under  review,  when  it 
obtained  from  the  then  celebrated  architect.  Sir  R.  Smirke, 
a  design  for  a  spacious  and  stately  edifice  in  the  classical 
style,  comprising  not  only  a  Council  House  but  a  new  Guild- 
hall. The  desirability  of  throwing  back  the  municipal 
building  in  order  to  widen  Broad  Street  and  Corn  Street  led, 
however,  to  the  rejection  of  the  plan ;  and  it  was  suggested 
that  a  Council  House,  assize  court,  etc.,  should  be  erected  in 


1824.]  THE    COUNCIL   HOUSE    EEBUILT.  109 

the  centre  of  Qaeen  Square.  Eventually  Smirke  produced  a 
design  for  a  Council  House  only  on  the  old  spot,  suggesting 
that  the  streets  could  be  widened  to  the  extent  desired  by 
the  authorities  if  the  two  adjoining  houses  in  Corn  Street 
were  removed.  This  scheme  was  approved  in  1823,  and  the 
houses  in  Corn  Street  were  afterwards  bought  for  £2,740, 
but  only  one  was  then  demolished.  The  foundation  stone  of 
the  new  civic  premises  was  laid  by  the  mayor  (Mr.  J.  Barrow)* 
in  May,  1824.  A  grand  procession,  including  the  members 
of  the  Corporation,  the  Merchants'  Society,  the  Incorporation 
of  the  Poor,  the  clergy,  citizens,  schoolchildren,  etc.,  marched 
from  the  Guildhall  by  Broad  Street,  Quay  Street,  St.  Stephen 
Street,  and  Corn  Street,  to  the  vacant  ground ;  and  his  worship, 
after  duly  laying  the  stone,  delivered  an  appropriate  little 
address.  As  the  building  progressed,  it  became  a  subject  of 
general  remark  that  the  lines  of  Smirke's  design  did  not 
harmonise  with  those  of  Corn  Street  and  Broad  Street. 
Amongst  the  epigrams  to  which  the  fact  gave  rise,  the 
following  appeared  in  the  high-Tory  Bristol  Journal : — 

**  Why  yonder  mansion  stands  awry, 
Does  Bristol  wondering  seek  ? 
Like  to  its  councils  is  its  site, 
Oblique,  oblique,  oblique !  *' 

During  the  reconstruction  of  the  council  chamber,  the  Cor- 
poration held  its  sittings  in  a  large  room  between  Small  Street 
and  Broad  Street,  appertaining  to  the  (former)  Mulberry  Tree 
tavern.t  The  Council  House,  which  cost  about  £16,000,  was 
completed  and  occupied  in  February,  1827,  when  a  figure  of 
Justice  by  the  Bristol-born  sculptor,  Bailey,  R.A.,  was  placed 
over  the  front  in  Corn  Street.  The  aldermanic  body  was 
not  held  in  much  esteem,  and  a  joke,  to  the  effect  that  the 
statue  was  only  too  faithfully  symbolic  of  the  bench,  inasmuch 
as  it  was  armed  with  a  sword  but  was  destitute  of  a  balance, 
had  widespread  success.  The  court  for  magisterial  business 
designed  by  Smirke  was  so  badly  lighted  that  it  was  con- 
demned, and  another  was  subsequently  erected  at  the  west 
side  of  the  Council  House,  and  finished  in  November,  1829,  at 
a  further  cost  of  about  £1,400.  To  improve  the  approach  to 
this  court,  '^  Forster's  Coffee  House,"  the  second  of  the  quaint 
old  houses  in  Corn  Street  purchased  in  1823,  was  demolished 
in  1834. 

*  Mr.  (afterwards  Alderman)  Barrow  was  educated  in  Colston's  School  {MS, 
AftnaU,  City  Library),  and  was,  it  is  believed,  the  only  Colston  boy  who 
attained  the  chief  magistracy. 

t  The  Corporation  bought  the  premises  for  about  £1,500. 


110  THE  ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1824. 

Mr.  Matthew  Brickdale,  eighteen  years  Member  of  Parlia- 
ment for  the  city,  and  long  the  senior  member  of  the  Common 
Council,  resigned  his  seat  in  the  latter  body  in  Jannary,  1824. 
He  had  been  in  early  life  a  wealthy  woollen  draper  in  High 
Street,  but  impoverished  himself  by  profuse  expenditure  at 
four  contested  elections.  During  the  closing  years  of  his  life 
he  was  chiefly  supported  by  his  daughter,  who  obtained  the 
modest  situation  of  housekeeper  at  the  Custom  House.  On 
his  resignation  being  read  to  the  Council,  it  was  suggested 
that  he  should  be  granted  a  pension  of  £200.  The  gift  was, 
however,  limited  to  a  single  vote  of  £200.  Mr.  Brickdale 
died  in  1831,  aged  97.  Mr.  Cruger,  Brickdale's  Whig  rival, 
and  once  his  colleague  in  the  representation,  surrendered  his 
aldermanic  gown  in  1792,  when  he  returned  to  his  native 
city.  New  York ;  but  he  retained  the  office  of  Common  Coun- 
cillor until  his  death  in  1827.  An  interesting  letter  from 
Cruger  to  Brickdale  will  be  found  in  Mr.  Leech's  "  Brief 
Romances  of  Bristol  History,"  p.  237. 

In  February,  1824,  in  the  course  of  some  reparations  on 
the  first  floor  of  the  house  in  College  Green  adjoining  the 
western  side  of  the  Mayor's  Chapel,  a  small  oratory  was 
discovered  in  the  thickness  of  the  party  wall,  proving  that 
the  place  had  originally  formed  part  of  the  monastic  build- 
ings. A  piscina  was  found  intact,  and  remains  of  paintings 
were  observed  on  the  walls,  some  of  which  were  supposed 
to  represent  the  Nativity  and  the  Resurrection.  In  one 
corner  was  a  double-sighted  squint  or  hagioscope,  by  which 
an  inmate  would  have  been  able  to  see  the  performance  of 
Mass  at  the  high  altar  of  the  church. 

The  foundation  stone  of  the  Arcade  leading  from  St. 
James's  Barton  to  the  Horsefair  was  laid  in  May ;  and  the 
building,  which  was  esteemed  at  the  time  as  remarkably 
ornamental  and  graceful,  was  finished  and  opened  in  1825. 
The  Lower  Arcade  was  completed  soon  after. 

For  the  purpose  of  making  a  street  improvement  in  the 
neighbourhood,  the  Corporation  during  the  spring  purchased 
the  interest  of  a  Mr.  William  Player  in  the  Castle  Mill,  for 
£453  10«.  lOd.,  and  the  building,  which  represented  the  most 
ancient  industrial  institution  in  the  city,  was  soon  afterwards 
removed. 

Locomotive  steam  engines  had  been  employed  upon  two 
colliery  railways  near  Newcastle-upon-Tyne  for  nearly  ten 
years  previously  to  this  date,  but  the  surpassing  importance 
of  the  invention  of  Hedley  and  Stephenson  remained  unre- 
cognised by  even  the  keenest  and  most  enterprising  men  of 


1825.]       PBOPOSSD   RAILWAYS.      DISTINGUISHED   VISITORS.  Ill 

basiness.  At  length,  during  a  specalative  mania  which  was 
to  end  in  widespread  disaster,  the  matter  excited  attention, 
and  in  December,  1824,  a  prospectus  appeared  of  the  Bath 
and  Bristol  Railway  Company,  which  proposed  to  avail  itself 
of  '*  that  grand  improvement,  the  locomotive  steam  engine," 
for  the  conveyance  of  passengers  and  merchandise.  The 
cost  of  the  proposed  undertaking  was  estimated  at  £8,000  a 
mile,  and  a  prospect  was  held  out  of  travelling  from  Bristol 
to  Bath  in  the  incredibly  short  space  of  one  hour.  The 
8cl\eme  was  received  with  much  approval,  and  applications 
were  made  for  shares  to  the  amount  of  double  the  proposed 
capital  of  £100,000.  Shortly  afterwards  a  meeting  was  held, 
the  mayor  (Mr.  T.  Hassell)  presiding,  at  which  it  was  resolved 
to  form  a  company,  to  be  called  the  Bristol,  Northern  and 
Western  Railway  Company,  for  opening  communications 
"with  the  midland  and  western  counties.  The  capital  was  to 
be  £800,000  in  £50  shares.  The  capital  reserved  for  Bristol 
"was  subscribed  within  an  hour,  and  equal  enthusiasm  was 
shown  in  Birmingham  and  other  towns.  This  prospectus 
was  followed  by  that  of  the  London  and  Bristol  Railroad 
Company,  with  a  proposed  capital  of  £1,500,000  in  £100 
shares.  The  celebrated  road  improver,  Mr.  McAdam,  had 
made  a  preliminary  survey  of  the  country  for  this  under- 
taking, which  he  recommended  should  follow  the  course  of 
the  White  Horse  Valley,  characteristically  suggesting  that  a 
new  turnpike  road  should  accompany  the  railroad  from  end  to 
end,  by  which  the  distance  to  London  would  be  reduced  from 
120  to  110  miles.  The  shares  of  thiscompany  were  taken  up  be- 
fore even  the  prospectus  was  printed.  Next,  some  enterprising 
people  at  Taunton  proposed  the  construction  of  the  '*  Grand 
Western  '^  railway  from  Bristol  to  Exeter,  the  cost  of  which 
was  estimated  at  only  £200,000.  The  whole  of  these  magni- 
ficent schemes,  in  common  with  hundreds  of  others  less  sub- 
stantial, collapsed  in  the  panic  which  is  about  to  be  noticed. 
Early  in  the  year  1825,  the  Earl  of  Liverpool,  Prime 
Minister,  and  Mr.  Canning,  Secretary  of  State  for  Foreign 
Affairs,  who  were  sojourning  at  Bath  in  the  hope  of  recovering 
health — though  the  life  and  labours  of  both  were  fast  hasten- 
ing to  a  close — accepted  an  invitation  from  the  mayor  and 
Corporation  to  pay  a  visit  to  Bristol,  and  arrived  accordingly 
on  the  12th  January.  The  distinguished  guests  were  first 
presented  with  the  freedom  of  the  city.  In  reply  to  the 
town  clerk,  who  in  a  well-turned  speech  communicated  the 
intention  of  the  corporate  body.  Lord  Liverpool  expressed 
his  thanks.     He  had,  he  observed,  some  patrimonial  claims 


112  THE   ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1825. 

upon  the  city  which  would  have  rendered  such  an  honour 
desirable  to  him,  but  he  preferred  receiving  it  as  a  testimony 
of  public  approval.  Mr.  Canning  having  also  briefly  ac- 
knowledged the  compliment,  the  two  statesmen  were  then 
presented  with  the  freedom  of  the  Merchants'  Company,  and 
afterwards  received  an  address  from  the  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce, thanking  them  for  the  reforms  recently  efFected  in 
the  commercial  code  of  the  country.  In  his  reply  to  the 
latter,  Mr.  Canning  expressed  his  belief  that  "a  free  and 
liberal  policy  in  regard  to  trade  was  increasing  throughout 
the  world."  In  the  evening  the  guests  were  entertained  to 
dinner  at  the  Mansion  House,  after  which  twenty-eight 
toasts  were  drunk.  (The  entertainment  cost  the  Corporation 
£665.)  The  Prime  Minister  returned  to  Bath  after  dinner, 
bat  Mr.  Canning  slept  in  Clifton,  and  viewed  the  scenery  of 
the  neighbourhood  next  morning,  before  his  departure. 

The  early  months  of  1825  are  memorable  in  English  history 
for  a  speculative  mania  as  unreasoning  and  as  widespread  as 
that  which  seized  the  nation  during  the  South  Sea  frenzy  in 
the  previous  century.  People  of  all  classes  rushed  into  joint- 
stock  enterprises  which  were  expected  to  bring  in  oceans  of 
wealth  ;  and  gambling  operations  in  shares,  fomented  by  the 
madness  of  the  hour,  actually  enabled  some  to  make  fortunes, 
which  they  forthwith  invested  in  new  bubbles.  The  rage 
could  not  have  extended  so  far  had  not  the  Bank  of  England, 
in  spite  of  continuous  exportations  of  gold,  enormously  in- 
creased its  issues  of  paper  money,  in  which  course  it  was 
followed  with  still  greater  recklessness  by  the  provincial 
bankers,  who  in  a  few  months  more  than  doubled  the  previous 
circulation  of  their  notes  by  making  free  advances  to  specu- 
lators. At  length,  in  September,  the  London  issues  were 
materially  "reduced,  and  the  inevitable  collapse  which  followed 
brought  about  the  most  overwhelming  revulsion  of  commerce 
ever  known  in  the  country.  In  December  two  largo  London 
banks  stopped  payment,  and  about  seventy  country  banks 
became  insolvent  within  a  few  weeks.  The  only  failure  in 
Bristol  (December  20)  was  that  of  Messrs.  Browne,  Cava- 
nagh  &  Co.,  whose  establishment — the  Bullion  Bank — stood 
nearly  opposite  to  the  Exchange.  Intense  alarm  being  caused 
by  the  suspension,  there  was  a  rush  upon  the  other  banks 
to  demand  payment  of  their  notes.  A  declaration  of 
confidence  in  these  establishments  was,  however,  rapidly 
signed  by  the  leading  firms  of  the  city,  and  the  panic  sub- 
sided. The  crash  nevertheless  brought  about  a  notable 
reduction   in   the   local    banking   houses.      In   June,    1826, 


1825.]      mechanics'  institutb.    the  frsnch  chapel.         113 

Messrs.  Pitt,  Powell  &  Fripp,  Bridge  Parade,  retired  from 
business.  Messrs.  Cave,  Ames  &  Cave,  Corn  Street,  about 
the  same  time  joined  the  Old  Bank  of  Messrs.  Elton,  Baillie, 
Tyndall  &  Co.  A  few  weeks  later,  Messrs.  Ricketts, 
Thorn e  &  Courtney,  whose  premises — the  curious  house 
at  the  corner  of  Wine  and  High  Streets — were  known 
as  the  Castle  Bank,  also  withdrew,  and  their  example  was 
immediately  afterwards  followed  by  Messrs.  Worrall  and 
Gold,  who  had  an  oflSce  in  the  Exchange.  Half  the  private 
banks  in  Bristol  thus  disappeared  in  less  than  a  twelvemonth. 
In  December,  1828,  the  firm  of  Savery,  Towgood,  Yerbury 
&  Towgood,  Wine  Street,  also  relinquished  business. 

In  1824,  a  few  promoters  of  education  amongst  the  poor, 
the  most  prominent  of  whom  were  Dr.  Birkbeck  and  Mr. 
(afterwards  Lord)  Brougham,  suggested  the  establishment  of 
Mechanics'  Institutes  in  populous  towns.  The  movement 
found  local  supporters  in  the  following  year,  and  in  June, 
1825,  an  institution  on  a  modest  scale  was  opened  in  some 
rooms  in  Prince's  Street.  Projects  of  this  character  were 
then  regarded  with  suspicion  by  old-fashioned  politicians. 
The  Bnstol  Journal  denounced  the  "mania  for  raising  the 
lower  orders  above  their  proper  sphere,"  and  gave  promi- 
nence to  an  article  extracted  from  a  London  paper,  a  brief 
extract  from  which  may  be  amusing.  After  remarking  that 
"  there  only  wants  a  few  years'  working  of  Mr.  Brougham's 
infidel  college  [University  College,  London],  to  enlist  the 
shopkeepers  on  the  side  of  the  rabble,  and  thus  sever  the 
only  remaining  bond  by  which  poverty,  ignorance,  and 
numbers  are  held  in  subordination  to  rank,  wealth,  and 
knowledge,"  the  able  editor,  referring  to  mechanics'  institu- 
tions solemnly  added:  "A  scheme  more  completely  adapted 
to  the  destruction  of  this  empire  could  not  have  been  in- 
vented." Unfortunately  for  the  working  classes,  their 
educational  training  was  so  deficient  at  that  period  that  com- 
paratively few  could  avail  themselves  of  the  advantages  of 
the  institution,  which  was  mainly  supported  by  tradesmen 
and  their  families.  In  November,  1832,  it  was  removed  to  a 
new  building  erected  for  the  purpose  in  Broadmead,  but 
when  the  attraction  of  novelty  had  passed  away,  the  sub- 
scribers who  had  been  gained  by  the  change  of  site  gradually 
fell  off.  After  languishing  for  some  years,  the  institution 
was  dissolved,  and  its  library  was  transferred  to  the  Athe- 
naeum, founded  in  February,  1845. 

An  interesting  religious  body — descendants  of  the  Hugue- 
nots who  fled  from  France  and  settled  in  Bristol  after  the 


^ 


114  THS   ANNALS  OF  BBISTOL.  [1825. 

revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes — disappeared  in  the  summer 
of  1825.  The  original  fugitives  were  for  some  years  per- 
mitted to  use  the  Mayor's  Chapel  for  their  weekly  worship ; 
but  in  the  reign  of  George  I.  the  Corporation  resolved  on 
resuming  occupation  of  the  building,  and  offered  the  French 
Protestants  a  plot  of  ground  in  Orchard  Street  at  a  nominal 
rent,  upon  which  they  built  a  chapel  of  their  own.  It  was 
highly  characteristic  of  the  old  Corporation,  that  the  land 
thus  disposed  of  was  not  its  own  property,  but  was  held  in 
trust  for  charitable  purposes,  being  part  of  the  estate  of 
Queen  Elizabeth's  hospital.  A  lease,  renewable  every  14 
years  at  a  small  fine,  was  granted  in  September,  1729,  to 
Jacob  Peloquin,  merchant,  and  Peter  Panon,  stuff-maker,  at 
a  yearly  rent  of  £1  I7s.  6d.  The  congregation  were  negligent 
in  securing  renewals  of  the  lease,  but  on  several  occasions 
no  advantage  was  taken  of  their  carelessness.  In  1797  the 
lease  seems  to  have  lapsed,  but  the  Rev.  Francis  de  Soyres, 
chaplain,  was  allowed  to  rent  the  chapel  at  a  charge  of  two 
guineas  yearly.  His  successor,  the  Rev.  J.  S.  Pons,  had  a 
similar  grant  in  1823.  The  rent  was  paid  up  to  June,  1825, 
when  the  congregation,  which,  though  once  numerous,  had 
been  constantly  diminishing,  was  finally  broken  up.  The 
chapel,  in  1832,  was  granted  at  the  old  rent  to  Dr.  Kentish, 
Dr.  Davies,  and  Mr.  Wm.  Mortimer,  who  fitted  it  up  as  a 
medical  library.  Having  been  again  vacated  about  1850,  it 
was  taken  in  1856  by  a  congregation  of  Plymouth  Brethren 
at  a  rent  of  £25  per  annum. 

The  merchants,  shipowners,  and  others  who  had  agitated 
for  the  reduction  of  the  town  and  mayor's  dues,  observing 
the  impracticable  tactics  of  the  Corporation,  resolved  about 
this  time  upon  trying  whether  the  rights  and  privileges 
claimed  by  the  civic  oligarchy  were  not  assailable  in  the 
law  courts.  It  is  noteworthy  that  the  movers  in  this  experi- 
ment were  for  the  most  part  leading  Tories,  and  that  they 
were  zealously  supported  by  the  Journal,  one  of  the  chief 
organs  of  the  party,  which  denounced  what  it  called  "  the 
system  of  favouritism  perpetuated  by  a  select  body  who  have 
by  degrees  elected  themselves  into  close  and  tyrannical  family 
compacts.'^  The  Whig  Oazette,  on  the  other  hand,  was  the 
organ  and  apologist  of  the  Corporation.  Towards  the  close 
of  1825  an  application  was  made  in  the  King's  Bench  for  a 
writ  of  qtco  warranto,  calling  upon  the  mayor  and  sheriffs  to 
show  by  what  authority  they  exercised  their  offices.  The 
promoters  of  this  proceeding  contended  that  in  the  reign  of 
Edward  III.  the  mayor   and   sherifis   were  elected  by  the 


1826.]  PORT   CHABGBS.      INTRODUCTION   OF   FLYS.  115 

burgesses  of  the  town^  and  that  this  right  of  the  inhabitants 
generally  had  been  filched  from  them  by  the  help  of  an  illegal 
charter  obtained  from  Charles  II.  For  the  Corporation  it 
was  contended  that  the  governing  charter  of  the  city  was 
that  of  Queen  Anne,  by  which  the  right  of  self-election  was 
distinctly  given  to  the  Common  Council ;  and  this  defence 
was  upheld  in  May,  1826,  by  the  Court  of  King's  Bench.. 
Whilst  this  case  was  pending,  the  assailants  of  the  Corpora- 
tion commenced  another  action,  directed  against  the  town 
dues.  It  appeared  that  whilst  the  civic  archives  were  being 
explored  in  reference  to  the  quo  warranto ^  a  charter  of 
Edward  IV.  was  found,  which,  in  conferring  upon  the  Cor- 
poration the  power  to  levy  dues  on  shipping,  directed  that 
the  receipts  should  be  applied  to  the  reparation  of  the  quays, 
pavements,  etc.,  of  the  city.  In  consequence  of  this  dis- 
covery, application  was  made  for  a  mandamus  against  the 
Corporation,  requiring  them  to  pay  over  to  the  commissioners 
of  paving,  in  aid  of  their  funds,  the  income  derived  from  the 
town  dues.  In  May,  1826,  the  Corporation  put  in  the 
technical  plea  that  they  had  never  been  asked  to  do  so.  In 
reply  the  promoters  pointed  out  that,  as  all  the  paving  com- 
missioners were  nominees  of  .the  Common  Council,  there  was 
no  independent  oflScial  capable  of  taking  action  on  behalf  of 
the  ratepayers ;  but  the  judges,  whose  sympathy  for  privileged 
bodies  and  vested  rights  was  in  those  days  carried  to  excess, 
held  the  plea  of  the  Corporation  to  be  sufficient,  and  the 
rule  for  a  mandamus  was  discharged.  The  Corporation's  law 
costs  in  the  above  cases  exceeded  £3,500.  In  November, 
1826,  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  changing  the  object  of  its 
attack,  requested  the  Society  of  Merchants,  who  held  a  lease 
of  the  wharfage  dues  of  the  Corporation  for  the  sum  of  £10 
yearly,  to  permit  an  examination  of  their  accounts,  it  being 
urged  that  the  dues  were  grievous  to  commerce,  and  produced 
a  revenue  enormously  in  excess  of  the  expenditure  incurred 
in  maintaining  the  quays  and  wharves  of  the  port.  The 
society's  emphatic  refusal  of  this  demand  was  warmly  ap- 
plauded by  the  Common  Council. 

^'  Cabriolets,"  or  ^'  flys,"  drawn  by  a  single  horse  had  been 
introduced  into  London  shortly  before  this  time,  and  had  in 
a  large  measure  superseded  the  old  lumbering  ^^  hackney 
coach.''  The  Common  Council  in  March,  1826,  sanctioned 
a  similar  innovation  in  Bristol,  but  limited  the  number  of  the 
new  vehicles  to  forty.*     The  number  was  doubled  four  years 

*  The  Common  Council  had  of  coarse  no  jurisdiction  in  Clifton,  where 


116  THE  ANNALS  OF  BRISTOL.  [1826. 

later.  As  another  novelty  in  locomotion,  it  may  be  stated  that 
passenger  "  wherries  '*  began  to  ply  from  Cumberiand  Basin 
to  Princess  Street  bridge  in  1824,  and  proved  so  popular  that 
bye- laws  fixing  the  fares  were  passed  by  the  Common  Council 
in  1827. 

Many  thousand  persons  assembled  on  the  banks  of  the 
Avon,  near  the  Hotwell,  on  the  22nd  May,  1826,  in  conse- 
quence of  an  announcement  of  an  American,  named  Courtney, 
that  he  would  take  a  "  flying  leap ''  from  St.  Vincent's  rocks 
to  the  opposite  side  of  the  river.  A  rope  stretched  from  the 
highest  point  of  the  rocks,  above  Giant^s  Cave,  was  made  fast 
to  a  tree  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  stream ;  and  at  the  time 
fixed  Courtney  appeared,  suspended  below  the  rope  in  a 
horizontal  position,  and  accomplished  the  descent,  1,100  feet, 
in  a  few  seconds,  amidst  great  applause.  The  feat  was 
repeated  on  the  5th  June  with  equal  success.  It  may  be 
added  that  it  had  been  achieved  nearly  a  century  earlier,  by 
a  man  named  Thomas  Kidman — immortalised  in  Hogarth's 
engraving  of  "The  Fair,'' — who  visited  Clifton  in  April,  1736. 

A  general  election  took  place  in  July,  and  promised  at  the 
outset  to  pass  off  quietly  in  this  city.  The  sitting  members, 
Messrs.  Bright  and  Hart  Davis,  had  informed  their  respective 
parties  that  they  should  prefer  to  resign  rather  than  bear  the 
^onerous  expenses  of  a  contest ;  whereupon  the  local  leaders 
resolved  to  avoid  a  struggle  by  re-electing  the  old  repre- 
sentatives, and  started  private  subscriptions  for  defraying 
the  cost.  This  amicable  arrangement,  however,  was  promptly 
denounced  by  the  more  advanced  section  of  the  Whig  party, 
who  were  discontented  with  Mr.  Bright's  votes  on  religious 
disabilities  and  other  questions,  and  who  determined  to  nomin- 
ate Mr.  Edward  Protheroe.  Though  the  latter  declined  to 
stand,  he  was  brought  to  the  poll,  to  the  great  joy  of  the 
freemen,  who  regarded  economy  in  election  matters  as 
"  robbing  them  of  their  rights:"  A  serious  riot  took  place 
on  the  nomination  day,  during  which  the  Bush  Hotel,  Mr. 
Bright's  head-quarters,  was  partially  sacked  by  the  mob. 
The  poll  (the  last  taken  in  the  Guildhall)  was  kept  open  for 
a  week,  and  resulted  as  follows :  Mr.  Davis,  8,887 ;  Mr. 
Bright,  2,315;    Mr.   Protheroe,  1.873.      The  names  of  099 


ladies  chiefly  depended  upon  sedan  chairs.  The  Bristol  Times  and  Mirror  of 
GctolxT  5,  1875,  published  a  reminiscence  to  the  effect  that  the  chairmen  of 
Olifton  were  so  alarmed  at  their  interests  being  imperilled  by  a  fly  which  a 
daring  individual  started,  that  they  assembled  at  night,  broke  open  the  door  of 
the  outhouse  where  the  revolutionary  vehicle  was  kept,  and  hurled  it  (the 
vehicle)  over  St.  Vincent's  rocks. 


1826.]  SEWAGE  IN  THE   FLOAT.      THE   STOCKS.  117 

persons  were  added  to  tlie  burgess  roll  daring  tlie  contest, 
doubtless  at  the  expense  of  the  candidates'  committees. 

The  noxious  condition  during  the  summer  months  of  the 
Floating  Harbour,  which,  as  has  been  already  observed,  was 
then  the  receptacle  of  nearly  all  the  sewage  of  the  city, 
had  for  several  years  provoked  loud  complaints  on  the  part 
of  citizens  whose  dwellings  or  places  of  business  lay  near  its 
banks.  The  dock  directors,  however,  treated  appeals  for  im- 
provement with  contemptuous  indifference.  In  1825,  when 
the  weather  was  exceptionally  hot,  and  when  the  Float  was 
described  in  one  of  the  local  journals  as  a  '^  stagnant  mass  of 
putridity,' '  the  intolerable  character  of  the  nuisance  at  last 
stirred  up  the  citizens  to  co-operate  for  their  own  relief.  In 
February,  1826,  the  Attorney-General  applied  to  the  Court 
of  King's  Bench  for  a  mandamus  against  the  Dock  Company, 
requiring  them  to  make  proper  provision  for  carrying  the 
sewage  into  the  tidal  river,  as  it  was  held  they  were  under 
an  obligation  to  do  by  their  original  Act.  It  was  stated  in 
court  that  nearly  six  miles  of  sewers  drained  into  the  Float. 
The  directors  denied  their  liability,  but  a  mandamus  Was 
granted  in  modified  terms,  ordering  them  to  make  such- 
alterations  as  were  necessary.  Attempting  to  evade  thia^ 
requirement  by  delay,  further  proceedings  were  taken  against 
them  in  the  following  year,  when  a  peremptory  order  wa» 
issued.  They  then  set  about  the  construction  of  a  culvert,, 
known  as  Mylne's  culvert,  from  the  name  of  its  designer, 
by  which,  at  a  cost  of  about  £7,000,  the  filthy  waters  oi  the 
Frome  were  diverted  from  the  harbour,  and  conveyed  by  a 
tunnel  under  the  old  bed  of  the  Avon  to  the  New  Cut. 

The  latest  record  of  punishment  by  the  stocks  in  this  city 
occurs  in  August,  1826,  and  the  incident  throws  some  light  on 
the  habits  of  the  lower  classes  of  that  generation.  One  Sun- 
day afternoon  fourteen  labourers  entered  St.  Mary  Redcliff 
churchyard,  took  possession  of  a  form  which  had  been  placed 
at  the  south  porch  preparatory  to  a  funeral,  and  carried  it 
away  to  the  lower  part  of  the  burial  ground,  where  they  held 
a  noisy  carousal.  On  being  brought  before  the  magistrates, 
two  of  them,  refusing  to  pay  a  small  fine,  were  ordered  to 
be  '^  exposed  for  three  hours  in  the  stocks  on  Redcliff  Hill," 
and  the  sentence  was  forthwith  carried  out.* 

The  recordership  of  the  city  became  vacant  in  September 


*  The  stocks  belonging  to  St.  Jameses  parish  were  in  existence  in  1837,  when 
the  Corporation  took  a  lease  of  the  ground  now  used  as  a  hay  market,  the  stocks 
and  parish  watch-house  being  reserved. 


118  THI   ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1827. 

througli  the  death  of  Lord  Gifford,  in  whose  room  the  Common 
Council  elected  Sir  John  Copley,  Master  of  the  Rolls.  A  few 
months  later,  on  the  break  up  of  the  Liverpool  Ministry,  Sir 
John  was  appointed  Lord  Chancellor,  and  raised  to  the  peer- 
age under  the  title  of  Lord  Lyndhurst.  It  is  said  that  Mr. 
Canning's  despatch,  offering  him  a  seat  in  the  Cabinet,  was 
delivered  to  the  recorder  during  morning  service  in  Henbury 
church.  The  assize  of  1827  was  certainly  held  a  day  or  two 
before  the  reconstruction  of  the  Ministry.  On  the  election  of  a 
new  recorder  some  members  of  the  Corporation  appear  to  have 
had  presentiments  as  to  the  danger  of  appointing  a  violent 
political  partisan.  At  a  meeting  of  the  Common  Council 
on  the  11th  July,  1827,  a  resolution  inviting  Sir  Charles 
Wetherell  to  accept  the  oflSce  was  lost,  the  votes  for  and 
against  it  (eleven)  being  equal.  Another  meeting  on  the 
2l8t  had  a  like  result,  thirteen  votes  being  given  on  each 
side.  A  week  later,  however,  the  opposition  was  withdrawn, 
and  Sir  Charles  was  unanimously  elected. 

On  the  28th  of  May,  1827,  appeared  the  first  number  of 
a  daily  journal  of  four  pages  (about  the  size  of  Punch),  styled 
The  BristoUan:  Daily  Local  Publication,  and  published  at 
16i,  Broad  Street,  price  three-halfpence.  Its  proprietor  and 
conductor  was  a  person  named  James  A  eland,  who  had  re- 
cently taken  up  his  residence  in  the  city.  The  contents  were 
almost  exclusively  of  a  local  character,  reports  of  police  cases 
being  a  prominent  feature.  The  newspaper — for  it  was  un- 
questionably a  newspaper — did  not  bear  the  stamp  (costing 
nearly  fourpence)  required  by  law,  the  editor  coolly  alleging 
that  the  work  was  a  pamphlet ;  and  for  a  few  days  the  Stamp 
OflSce  mithorities  were  content  to  receive  the  pamphlet  duty 
of  Ss,  on  each  publication.  On  the  5th  June,  however,  they 
decided  that  the  BristoUan  was  a  newspaper,  whereupon 
Acland  next  morning  produced  what  he  called  a  new  work, 
The  BristoUan :  Daily  Literary  PnhUcatian,  all  the  local 
intelligence  being  suppressed.  Though  in  this  form  it 
escaped  the  duty  on  newspapers,  it  ceased  to  be  attractive 
to  local  readers,  and  the  proprietor  on  the  14th  June  boldly 
revived  his  police  intelligence.  The  case  reported  that  day 
is  still  worthy  of  note.  A  sailor  named  Bedding,  who  had 
served  about  twenty  years  in  the  navy,  was  convicted  of  having 
brought  with  him  from  Ireland  a  two-gallon  keg  of  whisky, 
which  he  had  bought  of  a  spirit  dealer  at  Cork.  Irish  whisky 
could  not  then  be  imported  in  less  quantities  than  100  gallons, 
and  Bedding,  convicted  of  the  "  offence,''  was  sentenced  to 
''five  years'  compulsory  service  on  board  a  king's  ship  " — the 


1827.]  THE   FIRST   DAILT  NEW8PAPEB.  119 

punishment  imposed  by  an  Act  passed  in  1825.     The  indigna- 
tion excited  by  the  decision  was  not  lessened  by  the  fact  that 
Alderman  Fripp,  jun.,  one  of  the  presiding  justices,  anxious 
to  prevent  the  case  from  coming  to  the  public  ear,  had  in- 
sisted on  expelling  Acland,  the  only  reporter  present,  from 
the  court.     As  the  latter  naturally  made  the  most  of  the  affair, 
public  feeling  was  so  strongly  stirred  that  Redding  was  event- 
ually liberated ;  and  the  prisoner  and  his  champion  enjoyed  a 
triumphal  procession  through  the  streets.     In  the  meantime, 
however,  Acland's  newspaper  had  come  to  grief.     The  anger 
of   the  Government  oflBcials  at  the  infraction   of  the  stamp 
laws  was  aggravated  by  Bedding's  case,  which  redounded 
so  little  to  the  credit  of  their  employers ;  and  on  the  18th 
June — in  the   nineteenth  daily  number  of    the  Bristolian — 
Acland   announced    its    cessation,   but  promised  to  produce 
a  pamphlet  every  Wednesday  and  Saturday.     In  that  form, 
owing  largely  to  the  personality  in  which  its  compiler  in- 
dulged, the  periodical  attained  a  large  circulation.     Up  to 
that  time  no  Bristol  newspaper  had  reported  the  business  in 
the  police  court,  although  evidence  is  not  wanting  that  the 
aldermen  sometimes  conducted  themselves  in  a  manner  open 
to  public  criticism.     To  the  extreme  irritation  of  those  gentle- 
men and  their  oflBcers,  the  cases  heard  at  each  sitting  were 
not  only  narrated  at  length  by  Acland,  but  were  embellished 
with  remarks  far  from  complimentary  to  the  dispensers  of 
justice.  Alderman  Sir  Richard  Vaughan  being  for  some  time 
an  especial  target  for  banter.     Orders  were  at  length  given 
to  exclude  the  censor,  and  as,  by  some  means,  Acland  still 
contrived  to  get  information,  a  sergeant  was  placed  at  the 
door  of  the  court,  with  orders  to  prevent  the  admittance  of 
every  one  not  concerned  in  the  day's  business.    This  aggression 
on  public  rights  gave  the  Bristolian  new  matter  for  attack, 
and  its  conductor  boldly  assailed  the  entire  Corporation  as 
unjust,  tyrannical,  and  corrupt.     These  charges  provoked  the 
Court  of  Aldermen  to  institute  a  criminal  prosecution  against 
their  author,  who  was  tried  before  Mr.  Justice  Park  at  the 
assizes  in  August,  1828.     On  being  called  on  for  his  defence, 
Mr.  Acland,  in  a  speech   occupying  nearly  three  hours  in 
delivery,  contended  that  the  conduct  of  the  justices  had  been 
indefensible,  and  that  he  had  not  trespassed  beyond  legitimate 
criticism.     He  also  commented  strongly,  and  it  must  be  con- 
fessed justly,  on  the  circumstance  that  several  of  the  jurymen 
were  related  to  members  of  the  Corporation,  or  were  closely 
connected  with  them  in  business.     He  did  not  know — though 
it  is  now  apparent  in  the  civic  cash-book — that  no  less  than 


120  THl  ANNALS  OF  BBI8T0L.  [1827. 

£582  had  been  spent  in  bringing  him  to  trial.  A  verdict 
of  guilty  being  returned,  the  defendant  was  subsequently 
sentenced  to  two  months*  imprisonment  in  Gloucester  gaol. 
In  the  following  year  Acland  had  the  effrontery  to  petition 
the  Common  Council  to  be  admitted  a  free  burgess.  His 
appeal  was,  of  course,  rejected,  and  the  scribe  revenged 
himself  by  renewed  libels  on  prominent  corporators  in  his 
Bristolian,  which  continued  to  appear  twice  a  week  until  the 
spring  of  1831.  During  a  portion  of  this  period  of  his  career 
Acland  got  up  a  Bread  Association,  and  one  of  the  advertise- 
ments in  his  periodical  stated  that ''  pure  flour  and  bread 
(4  lb.  loaves  at  lOd,) ''  were  sold  at  the  Bristolian  office,  at 
4,  All  Saints'  Street.  Being  threatened  with  another  prosecu- 
tion by  the  aldermen,  Acland  removed  to  Hull,  where  he  set 
up  a  journal  of  a  similar  character,  and  where  his  acrimony 
against  the  aldermen  was  quite  as  bitter  as  before.  Three 
prosecutions  for  libel  having  resulted  in  convictions,  he  was 
sent  to  prison  for  fifteen  months.  Shortly  afterwards  his 
wife,  who  had  continued  the  Hull  newspaper,  was  sentenced 
to  a  term  of  imprisonment  for  publishing  additional  libels. 
And  no  sooner  was  Acland  at  liberty  than  he  began  to  print 
another  unstamped  journal,  for  which  he  underwent  incar- 
ceration for  half  a  year  more.  A  copy  of  probably  his  last 
local  production,  dated  September  29,  1832,  is  in  the  City 
Library.  It  is  a  newspaper,  styled  A  Free  Reporter.  To  evade 
the  stamp  duty,  its  publisher  added  to  the  title,  ^^  Left  to  read 
six  months,  for  three-halfpence.*' 

A  branch  of  the  Bank  of  England,  for  which  premises  had 
been  purchased  at  the  east  end  of  Bridge  Street,  was  opened 
for  business  on  the  12th  July,  1827.  The  institution  was 
regarded  with  great  disfavour  by  the  private  bankers  of  the 
city,  and  appears  to  have  been  long  disliked  by  many 
members  of  the  mercantile  community.  In  April,  1844,  the 
bank  purchased  two  picturesque  old  houses  in  Broad  Street, 
which  were  pulled  down,  and  the  existing  heavy-looking 
edifice  was  erected  on  the  site. 

The  city  chamberlain's  cash-book  contains  the  following 
curious  item :  '*  August  1st,  1827.  Paid  James  Poole  for  a 
scarlet  and  black  gown  and  a  pair  of  gloves,  the  property  of 
Mr.  George  King,  late  a  member  of  the  Common  Council, 
£12."  There  is  no  reference  to  the  matter  in  the  minute 
books,  but  it  seems  probable  that  the  payment  was  made  to 
avoid  scandal.  The  robes  were  purchased  three  years  later, 
at  the  same  price,  by  a  new  councillor,  Mr.  H.  W.  Newman. 

The  foundation-stone  of  the  new  asylum  for  orphan  girls. 


1827.]  STEAK   CABBIAGSS.       TRAYELLIKO  BT   KITES.  121 

at  Hook's  Mills,  replacing  the  bailding  in  which  the  charity 
had  been  established  in  1795,  was  laid  by  the  mayor  (Mr.  T. 
Camplin),  on  the  22nd  August,  in  the  presence  of  a  numerous 
gathering  of  citizens.  The  chapel  attached  to  the  institution 
was  consecrated  a  few  months  later  by  the  bishop  of  the 
diocese. 

The  Drawbridge,  a  cumbrous  structure,  raised  and  lowered 
by  a  winch,  which  had  been  condemned  by  the  Council  so  far 
back  as  1808,  was  replaced  in  August  by  a  new  bridge,  on 
the  swivel  principle.  The  opening  of  the  latter — which  cost 
£2,000 — took  place  on  a  Sunday,  the  first  to  pass  over  being 
the  mayor  and  sheriffs  as  they  proceeded  to  morning  service 
at  the  Mayor's  Chapel. 

Much  public  interest  was  aroused  about  this  time  by  a  Mr. 
Gumey's  invention  of  a  steam  carriage,  intended  to  supersede 
passenger  coaches  on  turnpike  roads.  One  of  the  vehicles, 
which  was  intended  to  run  between  London  and  Manchester, 
was  of  twelve-horse  power,  and  carried  six  passengers  inside 
and  fifteen  outside,  exclusive  of  the  guard,  the  promised  rate 
of  speed  being  from  ten  to  twelve  miles  an  hour.  The  Gentle- 
man's  Magazine  for  November,  1827,  announced :  "A  steam- 
coach  company  are  now  making  arrangements  for  stopping 
places  on  the  line  of  road  between  London,  Bath,  and  Bristol, 
which  will  occur  every  six  or  seven  miles,  where  fresh  fuel 
and  water  are  to  be  supplied.  There  are  fifteen  coaches 
built."  Owing  to  the  conservative  prejudices  of  many  turn- 
pike trustees,  who  imposed  inordinate  tolls  on  steam  carriages, 
the  inventor  was  unable  to  make  any  practical  progress.  The 
threatened  competition  moreover  stirred  up  the  coach  pro- 
prietors, whose  vehicles  were  still  going  at  a  jog-trot  of  six 
or  seven  miles  an  hour,  and  a  notable  increase  of  speed  took 
place  throughout  the  country.  Mr.  Gurney  had  also  to 
contend  with  the  ignorant  passions  of  the  poor.  On  one 
occasion,  as  a  steam  carriage  was  on  its  way  from  London 
to  the  west,  it  was  stopped  on  its  arrival  at  Melksham  by  a 
crowd  of  agricultural  labourers,  at  that  time  greatly  irritated 
by  the  introduction  of  thrashing  machines  and  other  rural 
apparatus.  Believing  that  the  steam  coach  was  likely  to 
injure  manual  labour,  they  attacked  it  with  stones,  amidst 
shouts  of  *' Down  with  machinery!"  its  occupants  narrowly 
escaping  serious  injury. 

A  still  more  remarkable  locomotive  novelty  than  that  of 
Mr.  Gurney  excited  local  attention  about  this  time.  An 
ingenious  schoolmaster,  Mr.  George  Pocock,  residing  near 
St.  Michael's  church,  discovered  that  by  fastening  a  kite  to 


122  THE   ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1827. 

the  string  attached  to  another  kite  already  in  the  air^  the 
combined  power  of  the  two  toys,  when  elevated  in  a  good 
breeze,  was  sufficient  to  drag  a  considerable  weight  along 
the  surface  of  the  ground.  After  many  experiments,  Mr. 
Pocock  invented  a  vehicle  somewhat  similar  in  form  to  the 
modern  tricyle,  and  found  that  one  of  these,  capable  of  carry- 
ing four  persons,  could  be  drawn  by  two  kites  of  twelve  and 
ten  feet  in  height  respectively — the  speed  attained  with  a 
brisk  wind  being  about  twenty-five  miles  an  hour.  With 
kites  of  twenty  feet  and  twelve  feet,  a  carriage  loaded  with 
six  persons  was  drawn  with  equal  rapidity.  When,  by  further 
developments,  the  kites  were  made  capable  of  "  tacking,'' 
the  carriages  could  be  used  in  any  wind  which  was  not 
directly  opposed  to  the  intended  line  of  advance.  In  June, 
1828,  the  novel  vehicle  was  exhibited  at  Ascot  races  before 
George  IV.  In  the  following  month  Mr.  Pocock  was  at 
Liverpool,  and  made  an  experiment  to  show  the  use  of  kites 
for  drawing  a  ferry  boat  across  the  Mersey.  The  Liverpool 
Mercury,  recording  the  results,  observed  that  with  a  good 
wind  '*  a  boat  furnished  with  one  of  the  largest  pairs  of  kites 
would  be  able  to  make  the  passage  from  and  to  Birkenhead, 
whatever  might  be  the  state  or  the  strength  of  the  tide," 
thus  avoiding  the  great  detentions  which  frequently  occurred 
before  steam  power  was  adopted.  The  same  paper  stated 
that  the  kites  could  draw  the  boat  in  a  direction  '^  less  than 
five  points  from  the  wind.''  On  another  occasion  a  yacht 
was  hired,  and  after  the  sails  had  been  replaced  by  kites,  a 
numerous  party  cruised  for  three  weeks  in  the  Bristol  Channel 
oflf  the  coasts  of  Wales  and  Devon.  In  1836,  during  the  visit 
of  the  British  Association  to  Bristol,  a  kite  carriage  was 
shown  on  Clifton  Down,  and  amongst  those  who  tried  its 
remarkable  powers  was  Prince  George  of  Cumberland,  after- 
wards King  of  Hanover.  The  local  journals  stated  that  a 
gigantic  kite,  thirty  feet  high,  capable  of  drawing  four  cars 
with  four  persons  in  each,  had  been  prepared,  but  that  owing 
to  some  accident  to  the  tackle  it  could  not  be  used.  Mr. 
Pocock  obtained  a  patent  for  his  kites  and  carriages,  by  which 
he  and  his  family  travelled  about  for  many  years.  A  not 
unimportant  advantage  of  the  vehicles,  was  their  immunity 
from  turnpike  tolls,  a  heavy  tax  upon  locomotion  in  those 
days.  According  to  a  ^'  Treatise  on  the  Aeropleustic  Art, 
with  a  Description  of  the  Charvolant,  or  Kite  Carriage," 
published  by  Longman  &  Co.,  the  travelling  kites  were 
shown  in  operation  daily  at  Ealing,  Middlesex,  during  the 
Great  Exhibition  of  1851. 


1828.]  FIRST   LOCAL   RAILWAY.      CATTLE   MARKET.  12? 

A  partial  revival  of  the  project  for  constructing  a  railway 
from  Bristol  to  Birmingham  [see  p.  Ill]  occurred  in  1828, 
when  an  Act  was  obtained  for  making  a  colliery  tramway  from 
Coalpit  Heath  to  St.  Philip's,  Bristol,  on  the  line  of  country 
laid  out  for  the  previous  undertaking.  The  promoters  of 
this  modest  work  adopted  the  name  of  the  Bristol  and 
Gloucestershire  Railway  Company;  but  their  energy  was 
scarcely  equal  to  the  pretentiousness  of  the  title,  for  the  nine 
miles  of  tramway,  which  cost  about  £77,000,  were  not  opened 
until  August,  1835.  The  line  was  worked  by  horses  until 
1839,  when  an  Act  was  passed  for  adapting  it  to  locomotive 
engines.  In  the  meantime  another  tramway,  styled  the  Avon 
and  Gloucestershire  railway,  had  been  laid  from  Coalpit  Heath 
to  the  Avon,  near  Bitton,  at  a  cost  of  £46,000,  the  promoters 
being  under  the  belief  that  they  could  supply  coal  by  canal 
boats  to  Bath  and  other  inland  towns  at  rates  which  would 
defy  competition.  This  line  had  been  originally  contemplated 
so  early  as  1803,  but  the  £23,000  then  required  for  its  forma- 
tion could  not  be  obtained.  In  1843,  after  long  negotiations, 
the  first-mentioned  tramway  was  absorbed  in  the  undertaking 
of  the  Bristol  and  Gloucester  Railway  Company,  which  had 
been  formed  to  construct  a  narrow-gauge  line  between  the 
two  cities.  The  new  company,  however,  fell  under  the  control 
of  the  Great  Western  board,  in  consequence  of  which  that 
portion  of  the  tramway  between  Lawrence  Hill  and  Fishponds 
was  converted  into  a  broad-gauge  railway,  and  became  part  of 
the  new  line  to  Gloucester.  The  Avon  and  Gloucestershire 
line  opened  out  a  considerable  coal  traflSc ;  but  its  temporary 
success  was  succeeded  by  complete  failure,  and  the  works 
have  long  lain  in  ruins. 

During  the  session  of  1828  an  Act  was  obtained,  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Corporation,  for  constructing  a  cattle  market 
at  Temple  Meads,  power  being  also  obtained  to  suppress  the 
market  previously  held  in  Thomas  Street,  and  to  build  a  new 
wool  hall.  Compensation  was  to  be  paid  (out  of  the  receipts 
from  tolls)  to  the  feoffees  of  St.  Thomas's  parish  for  the 
relinquishment  of  their  rights.  The  new  market  provided 
accommodation  for  2,000  cattle,  7,000  sheep,  300  horses,  and 
500  pigs.  Thomas  Street  market  was  held  for  the  last  time 
on  the  28th  January,  1830,  and  its  successor  was  opened  a 
week  later.  One  of  the  first  sales,  according  to  a  local  news- 
paper, was  that  of  the  wife  of  a  fellow  named  Gardner,  of 
Felton,  who  "  knocked  her  down"  for  £5  10*.  The  market 
cost  £17,400,  and  the  new  wool  hall  £4,400.  Towards  these 
sums  the  Corporation  advanced  to  the  trustees  on  loan  £10,800, 


124  THl  ANNALS   OV  BRISTOL.  [1828. 

besides  selling  them  four  acres  of  land  at  £600  per  acre. 
The  remainder  of  the  outlay  was  defrayed  by  the  feoffees  of 
St.  Thomas^  the  Act  providing  that  the  interest  on  the  loans 
effected  by  them  should  be  a  first  charge  on  the  tolls.  It 
was  further  enacted  that  the  feoffees  should  be  entitled  to  a 
yearly  sum  of  £300  out  of  the  receipts  before  interest  was 
paid  on  the  Corporation  debt.  In  the  result^  the  profits  of 
the  market  failed  for  many  years  to  meet  the  preferential 
claims,  and  the  Corporation  received  nothing.  The  place  has 
since  undergone  great  alterations.  Part  of  the  site  was 
absorbed  for  the  Bristol  and  Exeter  railway  station,  and  a 
still  larger  portion  was  appropriated  under  the  Act  for  con- 
structing the  Joint  Station,  the  railway  authorities  giving  up 
other  ground  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood.  The.  new 
wool  hall  appears  to  have  been  a  financial  failure^  and  it 
was  closed  in  1834. 

Mr.  Francis  Freeling,  who  had  filled  the  appointment  of 
Secretary  to  the  General  Post  Office  for  more  than  thirty 
years,  was  created  a  baronet  on  the  11th  March,  1828,  in 
recognition  of  his  services  to  the  State.  Sir  Francis,  the  son 
of  a  journeyman  sugar-baker,  is  said  to  have  been  born  on 
Redcliff  Hill  in  1764,  and  was  educated  in  Colston's  School. 
He  held  a  subordinate  position  in  the  Bristol  Post  Office  in 
1784,  when  the  introduction  of  mail  coaches,  at  the  instance 
of  Mr.  John  Palmer,  of  Bath,  caused  a  mutiny  amongst  the 
clerks  in  the  London  establishment,  who  declared  that  the 
daily  despatch  of  mails  at  a  fixed  hour  was  utterly  impracti- 
cable. Freeling,  whose  energy  had  been  remarked,  was  sent 
to  the  capital,  where  he  succeeded,  in  spite  of  the  antagonistic 
attitude  of  all  the  old-fashioned  superior  officers,  in  bringing 
the  new  system  into  successful  operation.  In  reward  for  his 
exertions  he  was  soon  afterwards  placed  at  the  head  of  the 
department,  and  thoroughly  justified  the  appointment  by 
indefatigable  devotion  to  his  duties  for  thirty-eight  years. 
The  Corporation  of  Bristol  presented  him  with  the  freedom 
of  the  city  hi  1822.    Sir  Francis  died  on  the  10th  July,  1836. 

In  April,  1828,  the  Society  of  Merchants  granted  to  Mr. 
Wm.  West,  a  local  artist,  at  a  nominal  rent,  the  ruins  of  an 
old  windmill,  known  as  the  snuff-mill,  on  Clifton  Down,  which 
had  been  destroyed  by  fire,  October  30, 1777.  Mr.  West  built 
a  dwelling  house  on  the  spot,  and  reconstructed  the  tower, 
which  he  fitted  up  in  1829  with  telescopes  and  a  camera- 
obscura,  and  styled  an  observatory.  Some  years  later,  at  con- 
siderable expense,  he  excavated  a  passage  from  the  building 
to  the  well-known  "  Giant's  Cave.''   This  was  opened  in  July, 


1828.]  COBPOBATE   mPBOYIDEl^Cf.  125 

1837.  Photography  appears  to  have  been  introduced  to  the 
people  of  Bristol  at  Mr.  West's  abode.  In  an  advertisement  in 
a  Bristol  newspaper  of  April  27,  1839,  it  was  announced  that 
'*  various  kinds  of  photogenic  drawing ''  might  be  seen,  and 
that  "superior  photogenic  paper"  was  sold  at  the  observatory. 
The  Corporation  about  this  period  appears  to  have  ex- 
perienced alternate  fits  of  economy  and  extravagance. 
Having  undertaken  the  re-erection  of  the  Council  House 
without  possessing  funds  in  hand  adequate  to  meet  a  fourth 
of  the  expense,  there  was  for  a  time  a  tendency  towards 
retrenchment.  In  June,  1824,  the  Common  Council  reduced 
the  salary  of  the  future  mayors  from  £2,500  to  £2,000,  while 
that  of  the  sheriffs  was  curtailed  from  £1,260  to  £800;  but 
in  the  latter  case  the  saving  was  comparatively  small,  the 
Corporation  undertaking  charges  amounting  to  about  £200 
which  had  previously  been  borne  by  the  two  functionaries. 
Here,  moreover,  frugality  ended,  and  two  years  later,  when 
the  works  in  hand  had  drained  the  treasury,  the  civic  income 
was  suddenly  diminished  by  the  serious  sum  of  £2,000  a  year 
through  the  reduction  of  the  town  dues.  The  advance 
made  by  the  bankers  at  length  became  so  large  that  they 
refused  to  increase  it,  and  the  Corporation,  in  extreme  em- 
barrassment, was  obliged  to  borrow  £5,000  from  Mrs.  Harford, 
the  mother  of  the  deputy  chamberlain,  and  nearly  as  much 
more  from  other  persons.  Previous  to  that  time  the  Common 
Council  had  rarely  allowed  its  expenditure  to  exceed  its 
income,  the  bonded  debt  in  1825  (excluding  charity  moneys 
which  it  had  no  power  to  pay  off)  being  only  about  £5,000. 
But  having  once  deviated  from  the  proper  path,  it  lost  little 
time  in  plunging  deeper,  and  a  further  sum  of  £10,000  was 
borrowed  in  1827-8.  Gratified  by  the  ease  with  which 
troubles  were  thus  overcome,  the  Common  Council  adopted 
a  proposal  the  nature  of  which  will  be  best  explained  by 
an  entry  in  the  city  cash-book  :  "May  24  [1828].  Paid  the 
first  cost,  freight,  duty,  bottling,  etc.,  of  four  pipes  of  Madeira 
and  four  pipes  of  port,  placed  under  the  Council  House  for 
the  purpose  of  supplying  the  mayor  for  the  time  being  with 
wine  on  his  entering  into  oflGicc,  the  cost  of  which  is  to  be 
repaid  on  the  same  being  delivered,  £802  0*.  lOd."  In  the 
following  year  six  pipes  of  port  and  two  of  Madeira  were 
added  to  the  stock,  at  a  cost  (excluding  bottling)  of  £554 
78.  5d, ;  in  1830  the  purchases  consisted  of  two  pipes  of  port 
and  two  of  Madeira,  costing  (with  £113  for  bottling)  £393 
4/t.  11^/. ;  and  in  1832  and  1834  two  butts  and  a  hogshead 
of  sherry  were  obtained  for  £302.     On  the  other  hand,  Mr. 


126  THE  ANNALS  OF  BRISTOL.  [1828. 

Cave  paid  £188  19«.  bd,  for  a  pipe  of  port  and  another  of 
Madeira  consumed  during  his  mayoralty  (1828-9),  and  Mr. 
Savage,  who  held  office  for  two  years,  paid  £199  2s.  9d, 
But  the  next  mayor,  Mr.  Stanton,  accounted  for  only  £27 
lis.  6d.,  and  no  repayments  by  later  mayors  have  been 
found.  Though  the  amount  due  for  wine  may  have  been 
deducted  from  the  annual  honorarium  of  each  chief  magis- 
;rate,  it  does  not  seem  that  the  new  system  effected  any 
saving  to  the  city  treasury.  Economy,  however,  was  less 
than  ever  in  fashion  since  the  Common  Council  had  become 
accustomed  to  the  easy  process  of  borrowing.  The  vast 
expenditure  squandered  upon  the  Mayor's  Chapel  has  been 
already  mentioned.  In  September,  1828,  the  sum  of  £286 
168.  Od.  was  paid  for  a  new  gold  chain  for  the  use  of  the 
mayor,  the  ancient  ornament  being  sold  as  old  metal  for  £50. 
The  law  expenses  incurred  from  1826  to  1828  inclusive, 
amounted  to  over  £8,500.  In  1829,  as  will  shortly  be  shown, 
upwards  of  £5,200  were  paid  for  an  intended  new  Mansion 
House,  and  about  the  same  sum  was  soon  afterwards  dis- 
bursed for  building  a  hotel  at  Portishead,  while  the  grants 
made  towards  erecting  new  churches  about  this  time  amounted 
to  nearly  £3,000.  As  the  ordinary  revenue  scarcely  met  the 
customary  expenditure,  further  loans  to  the  extent  of  £13,650 
Vere  made  in  1829-30,  yet  the  balance  due  to  the  Chamber- 
lain's bankers  frequently  exceeded  £10,000.  One  ingenious 
mode  of  raising  money  remains  to  be  noticed.  Under  a 
pretence — wholly  fictitious  as  will  afterwards  be  shown — 
that  Queen  Elizabeth's  hospital  was  largely  indebted  to  the 
city,  the  Corporation,  acting  as  trustees,  made  frequent  raids 
upon  the  income  of  the  charity,  the  appropriations  amounting 
to  £5,500  between  1828  and  1832,  and  £6,700  more  between 
the  latter  date  and  1836.  In  the  same  manner,  an  estate 
called  the  Bartholomew  Lands  was  declared  by  the  Common 
Council  to  belong  to  the  Corporation  and  not,  as  had  been 
previously  held,  to  a  charity,  and  a  sum  of  nearly  £4,000, 
accumulated  income,  was  carried  into  the  civic  treasury.  In 
spite  of  these  '^  conveyances,"  a  financial  equilibrium  could 
not  be  effected,  and  more  than  £16,000  were  borrowed  be- 
tween 1831  and  1833.  Adding  to  the  bonded  debt  the 
amount  derived  by  sales  of  city  property,  it  appears  from  a 
statement  made  before  the  reformed  Council  on  the  22nd 
July,  1837,  that  the  civic  estate  was  impaired  to  the  extent 
of  £74,733  between  the  years  1824  and  1835,  irrespective  of 
over  £16,000  improperly  withdrawn  from  the  charities — an 
aggregate  exceeding  £90,000. 


1828.]  RACES.      SYDNEY   SHITH's   FAMOUS   SEEMON.  127 

A  racecourse  was  improvised  on  Durdham  Down  in  May, 
1828,  and  a  number  of  horses  started  for  the  prizes  offered. 
Though  the  quality  of  the  animals  was  indifferent,  the  affair 
attracted  a  great  attendance.  The  meeting  was  continued 
for  some  years,  the  last  taking  place  on  the  9th  and  10th 
May,  1838,  when  Mr.  Blagden  Hale  and  Mr.  J.  Coulston 
officiated  as  stewards.  An  interesting  reminiscence  of  these 
gatherings  is  preserved  in  a  picture  by  Miss  Sharpies,  con- 
taining portraits  of  several  Bristolians  of  the  time,  to  be  seen 
in  the  permanent  collection  at  the  Fine  Arts  Academy. 

At  a  meeting  in  September,  the  Common  Council  resolved 
to  apply  to  the  Court  of  Chancery  for  a  scheme  for  altering 
the  regulations  of  the  Loan  Money  Fund — investments  de- 
rived from  the  charitable  bequests  of  fourteen  donors  at 
various  dates,  but  which  had  become  almost  inoperative 
owing  to  the  smallness  of  the  sums  which  the  founders  had 
directed  to  be  advanced  to  individuals.  An  order  approving 
of  a  scheme,  by  which  loans  varying  from  £50  to  £300  were 
authorised  to  be  lent  to  persons  carrying  on  business  in  the 
"  ancient  city,"  was  confirmed  by  the  Master  of  the  Rolls  in 
March,  1831. 

In  October,  1828,  the  interesting  crypt  of  St.  John's 
church,  which,  according  to  a  contemporary  newspaper,  had 
been  used  at  intervals  as  an  engine-house,  a  sugar  warehouse, 
and  finally  as  an  auctioneer's  wareroom,  was  cleansed  and 
put  in  decent  order  at  a  cost  of  £60. 

On  the  5th  November,  the  Rev.  Sydney  Smith — termed 
by  Lord  Macaulay  the  greatest  master  of  ridicule  that  has 
appeared  in  England  since  Swift — ^who  had  been  appointed 
a  prebendary  of  Bristol  by  Lord  Chancellor  Lyndhurst  in  the 
previous  January,  delivered  a  sermon  in  the  cathedral  which 
created  a  sensation  not  merely  in  the  city  but  throughout 
the  country.  It  had  long  been  the  custom  for  the  Mayor 
and  Corporation  to  attend  the  cathedral  in  state  on  the  Gun- 
powder Plot  anniversary ;  and  the  occasion  had  usually  been 
seized  by  the  dignitary  in  residence  to  pronounce  a  hearty 
denunciation  of  popery  and  a  denial  of  the  political  rights  of 
its  adherents ;  after  which  the  ecclesiastical  and  civic  func- 
tionaries dined  together  at  the  Mansion  House,  and  toasted 
Protestant  Ascendency  with  mutual  fervour.  Mr.  S.  J.  Reid, 
in  his  memoir  of  Mr.  Smith  observes  :  "  Writing  to  inform 
one  of  his  friends  of  his  approaching  duty  on  Guy  Faux  day, 
the  Canon  states  :  ^  All  sorts  of  bad  theology  are  preached  at 
the  cathedral  on  that  day,  and  all  sorts  of  bad  toasts  drunk 
at  the  Mansion  House.     I  will  do  neither  the  one  nor  the 


128  THK  ANNALS  OF  BRISTOL.  [1829. 

Other,  nor  bow  the  knee  in  the  house  of  Rimmon.'  He  kept 
his  word,  and  preached  what  he  styled  an  '  honest  sermon ' 
on  those  '  rules  of  Christian  charity  by  which  our  opinions  of 
other  sects  should  be  formed.^  He  delivered  a  noble  and 
closely  reasoned  plea  for  toleration  in  reference  to  the  re- 
ligious scruples  of  others.  The  sermon,  as  might  have  been 
expected,  gave  great  oflfence,  for  the  Corporation  of  Bristol 
included  at  that  time  many  rigid  and  uncompromising  Tories, 
and  though  some  of  them  must  have  realised  that  the  cause 
of  bigotry  was  already  lost,  that  fact  increased  rather  than 
lessened  their  animosity  towards  a  preacher  who  had  com- 
pelled them  for  once  to  listen  to  a  clear  and  dispassionate 
statement  of  the  facts  of  the  case.*  .  .  .  Bristol  Cathedral 
was  crowded  during  the  delivery  of  Sydney  Smithes  sermon ; 
and  so  great  was  the  interest  which  it  excited  that  he  seldom 
stood  in  that  pulpit  again  without  looking  down  on  a  sea  of 
upturned  faces.  The  preacher  became  the  talk  of  the  town. 
.  .  .  The  newspapers  took  up  the  controversy,  and  in  leading 
articles  and  letters  the  old  warfare  was  waged.  Sydney 
Smith  was  attacked  at  public  dinners  and  declaimed  against 
from  the  pulpit;  but  when  the  storm  was  past  it  was  appa- 
rent that  the  cause  of  justice  had  been  strengthened.^^  The 
sermon  exists  as  a  local  pamphlet,  four  editions  of  which  were 
issued  in  about  ten  days.  It  also  appeared  in  the  collected 
works  of  the  author.  The  original  manuscript  of  the  preface, 
with  a  letter  to  the  local  printer,  Mr.  Manchee,  is  preserved 
in  the  City  Library. 

The  announcement  at  the  beginning  of  1829  that  the  Prime 
Minister,  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  and  the  leader  of  the  House 
of  Commons,  Sir  Robert  Peel,  had  changed  their  views  on 
the  long  pending  "  Catholic  question,"  and  that  the  Cabinet 
had  prepared  a  Bill  for  enabling  Romanists  to  sit  in  both 
Houses  of  Parliament,  caused  much  excitement  amongst 
Bristolians,  a  great  majority  of  whom  were  opposed  to  the 
scheme.  On  the  12th  February  one  of  the  largest  meetings 
ever  remembered  was  held  in  Queen's  Square,  to  denounce 
the  proposed  concession.  The  petition  against  the  scheme, 
adopted  by  acclamation,  was  forthwith  signed  by  25,000  in- 
habitants. All  the  parochial  vestries  and  the  local  clergy,  with 
only  one  or  two  exceptions,  forwarded  similar  petitions.  Even 
many  Dissenters,  whilst  exulting  that  their  own  rights  of 
conscience  had  just  been  secured  by  the  repeal  of  the  Test 

*  In  a  letter  written  shortly  afterwards  to  a  friend,  Sydney  Smith  remarked 
that  "  they  looked  as  if  they  could  not  keep  turtle  on  their  stomachs.** 


1829.]  POrULAEITY  OP   SIR   C.   WBTHERELL.  129 

and  Corporation  Acts,  showed  an  eagerness  to  maintain  the 
fetters  on  Roman  Catholics.  Mr.  Bright,  the  Whig  and 
Nonconformist  member  for  Bristol,  voted  against  the  Bill, 
and  the  Rev.  W.  Thorp,  minister  of  Castle-green  chapel,  was 
amongst  the  most  active  of  its  local  opponents.  The  friends 
of  religious  liberty  also  addressed  a  petition  to  Parliament, 
but  could  muster  no  more  than  1,700  adherents.  When  it 
was  seen  that  the  measure  was  likely  to  pass  both  Houses, 
the  Corporation  forwarded,  through  Lord  Eldon,  an  address 
to  the  King,  denouncing  his  ministers  for  their  intention  to 
subvert  Protestant  ascendency,  and  this  was  soon  followed 
by  a  second  appeal  to  his  Majesty,  emanating  from  a  public 
meeting,  begging  him  to  dissolve  Parliament,  Lord  Bldo:i 
being  again  the  intermediary.  The  Corporation,  in  the 
meantime,  stamped  the  ex-Chancellor's  efforts  at  Westminster 
with  its  approval  by  forwarding  him  the  freedom  of  the 
city  in  an  oak  box  (which  cost  £11  Qs.),  Almost  the  only 
member  of  the  Ministry  who  refused  to  abandon  his  old 
opinions  at  the  behest  of  his  leaders,  was  Sir  Charles 
Wetherell,  then  Attorney-General  and  Recorder  of  Bristol. 
He  was  consequently  dismissed  from  his  lucrative  post  in 
the  Government;  but  his  firmness  brought  him  great  popu- 
larity amongst  those  who  agreed  with  him  in  politics.  In 
April,  on  his  arrival  in  Bristol  to  hold  the  gaol  delivery,  Sir 
Charles  was  welcomed  by  a  large  crowd  at  Totterdown,  and 
continual  shouts  of  "No  Popery  I  Wetherell  for  ever!" 
greeted  his  progress  to  the  Guildhall.  Similar  scenes  took 
place  every  morning  and  evening  during  the  assizes.  The 
mob,  not  satisfied  with  these  demonstrations,  broke  the 
windows  of  the  mayor  (Mr.  J.  Cave)  and  of  other  prominent 
supporters  of  the  Bill,  and  committed  much  destruction  at  the 
Roman  Catholic  chapel  in  Trenchard  Street,  and  amongst 
the  dwellings  of  the  Irish  "  Papists."  How  fleeting  was  the 
popularity  of  the  Recorder  will  shortly  be  seen. 

Although  the  population  of  the  suburban  districts  had 
greatly  increased  during  the  half  century  previous  to  this 
date,  the  accommodation  for  public  worship  offered  by  the 
Established  Church  had  been  increased  only  by  the  chapel- 
of- ease  of  St.  George,  near  Park  Street.  The  wants  of 
Clifton  were  first  brought  before  the  public,  it  being  pointed 
out  that  while  the  place  contained  nearly  12,000  inhabit- 
ants, the  only  provision  for  public  devotion  consisted  of 
the  parish  church  and  a  small  chapel  in  Dowry  Square. 
A  subscription  having  been  started,  Mr.  T.  Whippie  (who 
had  given  £2,000   towards  the   re-building  of  the   church, 

E 


130  THE   AKNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1829. 

and  subsequently  built  a  Wesleyan  Chapel  in  Hotwell 
Road  at  his  sole  expense,)  contributed  £6,000;  and  £4,000 
more  were  given  by  other  benefactors.  A  site  was  obtained 
in  Hotwell  Road,  upon  which  a  large  church,  dedicated 
to  the  Trinity,  was  rapidly  constructed,  and  the  edifice, 
(the  last  in  the  city  designed  in  a  debased  Italian  style)  was 
consecrated  by  the  Bishop  of  Llandaff  on  the  10th  November, 
1830.  [A  district  was  attached  to  this  church  by  an  Order 
in  Council  in  January,  1864.]  In  the  meantime  the  spiritual 
destitution  of  the  populous  out-parish  of  St.  Philip,  in  which, 
it  was  stated,  15,000  souls  were  living  without  a  single  place 
of  religious  worship,  had  also  excited  attention,  and  assistance 
was  sought  from  the  State  grant  for  building  new  churches, 
already  referred  to  [p.  82] .  The  Commissioners  charged 
with  its  administration  made  a  donation  of  £6,000  for  the 
erection  of  a  church,  afterwards  styled  Holy  Trinity,  St. 
Philip's;  and  the  Corporation,  who  claimed  the  patronage 
of  the  living,  granted  a  site  and  subscribed  £1,000.  The  cost 
of  the  edifice  was  £8,200,  of  which  only  a  trifling  sum  was 
given  by  laymen.  A  similar  application  was  made  on  behalf 
of  Bedminster,  where  the  parish  church,  of  extremely  narrow 
dimensions,  was  absurdly  inadequate  to  meet  the  require- 
ments of  twelve  thousand  parishioners.  In  this  case  it  was 
^resolved  to  form  a  chapelry  of  St.  Paul.  The  State  provided 
^allbut  £2,000  of  the  cost  of  building  (£9,796),  the  offering  of 
the  lay  element  being  again  insignificant.  The  promoters  had 
even  to  purchase  a  site,  at  the  rate  of  £200  per  acre,  from  the 
wealthiest  landlord  of  the  locality.  The  foundation  stones 
»of  both  churches  were  laid  in  September,  1829.  St.  Paul's 
was  consecrated  in  October,  1831  (five  days  before  the  Bristol 
riots),  by  Dr.  Law,  Bishop  of  Bath  and  Wells,  who,  in  conse- 
quence of  his  votes  against  the  Reform  Bill,  was  treated  with 
much  indignity  by  the  rabble  of  the  parish.  Trinity  Church 
was  consecrated  by  Bishop  Gray,  of  Bristol,  in  the  following 
February.  Ecclesiastical  districts  were  soon  afterwards 
allotted  to  each  of  the  new  edifices. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Common  Council  on  the  4th  July, 
1829,  it  was  announced  that  Mr.  William  Weare,  the  senior 
councillor,  and  a  member  of  a  family  long  connected 
with  the  Corporation,  proposed  to  pay  into  the  city  treasury 
the  sum  of  £10,000  as  a  free  gift,  on  condition  that  the  Cor- 
poration should  pay  him  £500  yearly  for  life,  and  the  same 
sum  to  Henry  Weare  for  life  in  the  event  of  his  surviving 
the  donor.  The  gift  having  been  accepted,  its  object  was  de- 
clared in  a  deed  entered  into  between  the  parties^  in  which  Mr. 


1829.]      weare's  gift,    cliftok  buspiksion  bridge.  131 

Weare  expressed  his  wish  that,  the  money  should  be  applied, 
either  immediately  or  after  his  death,  to  the  widening  and 
improving  of  Bedcliff  and  Baldwin  Streets,  the  openmg  of 
a  new  street  from  St.  Augustine's  Place  to  Trenchard  Street, 
and  the  altering  and  improving  of  the  thoroughfares  at  the 
lower  end  of  Park  Street.  The  Corporation  resolved  upon 
investing  the  money,  which,  as  will  afterwards  be  seen,  was 
transferred  to  an  Improvement  Fund.  All  the  schemes 
suggested  by  Mr.  Weare  were  eventually  carried  out  by  the 
new  Corporation. 

The  imposing  design  of  another  liberal-hearted  citizen  came 
prominently  into  notice  during  the  summer.  In  1753,  seventy 
six  years  before  the  time  under  review,  Mr.  William  Vick, 
a  spirit  merchant  of  Bristol,  who  is  often,  but  erroneously, 
styled  an  alderman,  devised  the  sum  of  £1,000  to  the 
Merchant  Venturers'  Society,  directing  that  it  should  be 
invested  and  suffered  to  accumulate  until  it  reached  £10,000, 
when  it  was  to  be  devoted  to  the  building  of  a  bridge  over 
the  gorge  of  the  Avon  at  Clifton,  if  such  a  design  should  be 
adjudged  practicable.  In  1829,  when  the  fund  had  swollen 
to  about  £8,000,  and  when  Telford's  recent  achievement  at 
Menai  Strait  was  one  of  the  topics  of  the  day,  a  proposal  was 
started  for  carrying  out  Mr.  Vick's  project  by  the  construction 
of  a  suspension  bridge.  The  suggestion  having  been  con- 
sidered and  approved  by  many  influential  citizens,  a  committee 
was  formed,  comprising  the  mayor,  the  president  of  the 
Chamber  of  Commerce,  several  members  of  the  Common 
Council  and  of  the  Merchants'  Company,  and  others ;  and  as 
it  was  found  that  a  stone  bridge  could  not  be  constructed  for 
less  than  £60,000,  it  was  resolved  to  apply  to  Parliament 
in  the  session  of  1831,  for  a  Bill  authorising  the  erection 
of  an  iron  structure,  the  funds  required  to  eke  out  Vick's 
bequest  to  be  raised  by  loans  and  donations.  In  the  mean- 
time the  committee  invited  engineers  to  send  in  plans  for  the 
work,  and  one  of  the  first  to  respond  was  Mr.  Telford,  who 
produced  a  beautiful,  but  not  quite  satisfactory,  design.  Be- 
lieving that  the  space  from  cliff  to  cliff  was  too  wide  to  be 
prudently  spanned  at  a  bound,  he  proposed  the  erection  of  two 
enormous  gothic  towers  on  the  river  banks,  so  as  to  narrow 
the  central  opening  to  360  feet.  His  estimate  of  the  cost 
being  £52,000,  the  promoters  solicited  designs  from  other 
leading  engineers ;  and  those  of  Messrs.  Brunei,  jun.,  Bendel, 
Brown,  and  Hawkes,  together  with  that  of  Telford,  were  sub- 
mitted to  Mr.  D.  Gilbert,  M.P.,  a  distinguished  authority  on 
the  subject  of  suspension  bridges.      Mr.  Gilbert  gave  his 


182  THE   ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1829. 

decision  in  favour  of  Brunei's  plan,  the  cost  of  which  was 
estimated  at  £57,000.     The  Bill,  which  was  factiously  but 
fruitlessly  opposed  by  Mr.  James  Acland,  received  the  royal 
assent  in  May,  when  the  trustees  were  chosen,  and  some  pre- 
liminary operations  were  begun  during  the  summer.     Owing 
to  the  hostile  attitude  of  Sir  John  Smyth,  the  under-sheriff 
of  Somerset  summoned  a  court  at  Failand,  to  determine  the 
value  of  four  and  a  quarter  acres  of  land,  required  for  an 
approach  to  the  bridge  from  the  turnpike  road  to  Leigh.    The 
land  in  question  formed  part  of  an  extensive  common  which 
had  been  enclosed  by  Sir  John's  predecessor  in  the  baronetcy, 
who,  when  the  Act  was  obtained,  alleged  that  its  value  was 
ten  shillings  an  acre.     It  was  now  alleged  on  behalf  of  Sir 
John  that  the  new  road  would  deprive  him  of  the  private  use 
of  170  acres,  which  he  could  have  thrown  into  his  park ;  and 
one  of  his  witnesses  estimated  the  compensation  due  to  him 
at  £3,775.     The  trustees  had  offered  £1,200,  which  had  been 
scornfully  rejected.    The  jury  fixed  the  value  at  £1,107.    The 
first  turf  for  the  approach  on  the  Clifton  side,  the  land  for  which 
was  given  by  the  Merchants'  Society,  was  cut  by  Lady  Elton. 
The  gifts  and  loans  promised  on  behalf  of  the  undertaking 
representing  only  £32,000,  or  £20,000  short  of  the  amount 
required,  the  trustees  appointed  under  the  Act  thought  it 
advisable  to  proceed  with  circumspection;  and  the  disastrous 
riots  of  the  following  October  caused  the  complete  suspension 
of  the  project  for  four  years.     In  1835,  when  the  passing  of 
the  Great  Western  Bill  gave  a  stimulus  to  local  spirit,  Mr. 
Brunei  suggested  that  the  outlay  might  be  reduced  to  £35,000 
by  contracting  the  width  of  the  bridge  and  dispensing  with 
some  ornamental  features.     The  trustees  temporarily  adopted 
this  proposal ;  but  in  consequence  of  the  strong  disapproval 
of  the  public  they  reversed  their  decision  in  favour  of  the 
original  plan.    At  a  meeting  held  in  January,  1836,  it  was  re- 
ported that  a  sum  of  £17,000,  in  addition  to  the  £33,000 
already  guaranteed,  would  finish  the  work,  and  as  £9,000  were 
soon  after  forthcoming,  operations  were  recommenced.     On 
the  27th  August,  during  the  visit  of  the  British  Association 
to  the  city,  its  president,  the  Marquis  of  Northampton,  laid  the 
foundation  stone  of  the  south  pier  in  the  presence  of  many 
thousands  of  spectators ;  and  at  a  breakfast  which  followed 
(at  the  Gloucester  Hotel,  on  a  service  of  china  bearing  views 
of  the  bridge,  which  was  eagerly  bought  up  and  divided 
amongst  the  guests)  it  was  believed  that  all  difficulties  were 
surmounted.     For  the  convenience  of  the  workmen,  measures 
were  taken  to  connect  th©  two  sides  of  the  river  by  a  car,  sus- 


1829.]  CLIFTON   SUSPENSION  BBIDQE.  133 

pended  from  an  iron  bar  800  feet  in  length.  The  first  attempt 
to  carry  out  this  plan  was  unsuccessful.  Owing  to  the  break- 
ing of  a  hawser^  one  end  of  the  ponderous  bar  fell  into  the 
river  as  it  was  being  drawn  into  its  place^  blocking  up  the 
navigation;  and  though  on  the  following  day  it  was  raised 
and  secured  in  its  intended  position^  the  iron  was  so  much 
bent  in  the  middle  as  to  be  practically  useless.  In  September 
a  new  bar  was  passed  over^  and  the  communication  was 
opened  by  Mr.  Brunei,  accompanied  by  a  boy  named  Claxton. 
The  novelty  of  the  contrivance  attracted  crowds  of  visitors 
desirous  of  making  the  airy  journey,  and  the  trustees  found 
it  necessary  to  impose  a  toll  of  five  shillings,  subsequently 
reduced  to  half  a  crown,  and  afterwards  to  a  shilling.  The 
income  received  from  this  traffic  was  £142.  On  one  occasion^ 
it  is  reported,  a  bride  and  bridegroom  on  their  wedding  day 
resolved  on  taking  a  trip  over  the  fragile  bridge ;  unfortu- 
nately the  hauling  ropes  got  out  of  order  just  as  they  reached 
the  middle  of  the  bar,  aud  they  were  left  for  some  hours  to 
discuss  the  beauty  of  the  scenery,  with  a  prospect — not  less 
moving,  but  happily  avoided — of  remaining  suspended  for  the 
night.  It  may  be  observed  in  parenthesis,  that  the  bar  re- 
mained in  its  place  until  1853,  and  that  some  political  jokers 
availed  themselves  of  it  during  the  general  election  of  1852 
to  suspend  over  the  Avon  an  effigy  of  one  of  the  candidates. 
The  figure  being  unapproachable,  the  services  of  a  skilful 
rifleman  were  called  in  to  sever  the  rope.  The  construction 
of  the  piers  proceeded  slowly,  but  the  core  of  each — intended 
for  an  ornamental  incrustation  which  was  never  applied — was 
finished  in  1840,  when  a  contract  was  entered  into  for  a  por- 
tion of  the  ironwork.  In  February,  1843,  the  public  were 
informed  that  £40,000,  including  Mr.  Vick's  bequest,  had  been 
spent,  and  that  no  less  than  £30,000  more  would  be  required 
to  carry  out  the  undertaking.  The  statement,  which  caused 
equal  surprise  and  dissatisfaction,  was  regarded  as  the  death- 
warrant  of  the  project;  and  though  the  trustees  made  re- 
peated appeals  to  public  liberality,  it  was  found  impossible  to 
obtain  further  subscriptions.  The  contractors  for  the  chains, 
etc.,  at  length  pressing  for  the  balance  of  their  claim,  it  was 
resolved  in  1851,  when  £47,400  had  been  expended,  to  sell 
the  ironwork  and  plant,  and  in  February,  1853,  the  former 
was  purchased  by  the  West  Cornwall  Bailway  Company, 
nothing  then  remaining  visible  of  the  abortive  scheme  save 
the  two  unsightly  piers  which  deformed  the  landscape.  The 
story  of  the  bridge  for  a  lengthened  period  was  of  the 
dreariest  character^  various  plans  for  completing  the  structure 


ti 


134  THE   ANNALS   OP  BEI8T0L.  [1829. 

being  produced^  apathetically  discussed^  and  incontinently 
dropped.  After  a  lapse  of  seventeen  years  from  the  collapse 
of  1843,  brighter  days  set  in ;  but  for  the  remainder  of  the 
tale  the  reader  must  be  referred  to  1860. 

About  the  time  when  the  suspension  bridge  project  was 
first  mooted,  the  Merchants'  Society  set  about  the  improve- 
ment of  the  path  leading  from  the  bank  of  the  river  near  the 
Hotwell  to  Clifton  Down.  The  path,  which  was  little  more 
than  a  track,  was  approached  at  the  back  of  the  Colonnade 
by  a  long  and  steep  flight  of  steps,  and  was  almost  impracti- 
cable in  wet  weather.  The  new  footway,  termed  the  Zigzag, 
was  deemed  a  great  acquisition.  It  was  much  improved  in 
the  autumn  of  1849. 

In  the  closing   months  of  1829,  a  new  road  was  formed 

from  the  top  of  St.  Michael's  Hill,  through  the  Gallows' 
field,  to  Cotham."  The  road  in  question  was  afterwards 
known  as  Cotham  New  Road.  According  to  a  contemporary 
writer  (MS.  Annals,  City  Library,  vol.  i.,  p.  159),  the  work- 
men found  the  base  of  Bewell's  Cross  in  the  Gallows'  field  (a 
small  portion  of  which  was  sold  by  the  Corporation),  and  the 
stone  was  imbedded  in  the  south  wall  of  the  road  (now 
enclosing  Highbury  Chapel).  But  Roque's  large  map  of  the 
city,  dated  1741,  shows  the  cross  to  have  stood  nearly  one 
hundred  yards  farther  to  the  north-west. 

A  design  of  the  leading  members  of  the  Corporation,  care- 
fully concealed  from  the  citizens  at  large,  was  cautiously 
introduced  into  the  Common  Council  in  December,  1829, 
when  it  was  resolved  that  the  mansion  and  grounds  of  Mr. 
Richard  Bright,  at  the  southern  end  of  Great  George  Street> 
should  be  purchased  at  a  cost  not  exceeding  £5,250.  At  a 
meeting  in  February,  1830,  it  was  announced  that  the  pro- 
perty had  been  acquired  for  the  above-named  sum,  but  no 
hint  of  the  purpose  it  was  intended  to  serve  appeared  upon 
the  minutes.  Three  months  later,  on  the  motion  of  Alder- 
man A.  Hilhouse,  it  was  resolved  that  the  building  should  be 
converted  into  a  Mansion  House,  and  that  the  City  Lands' 
Committee  should  make  the  needful  additions  and  alterations 
to  the  dwelling  and  provide  new  furniture.  In  June  the 
committee  reported  that  the  required  additions  would  alone 
cost  £5,000,  exclusive  of  furniture  and  stabling.  Alderman 
Hilhouse  thereupon  moved  that  his  original  proposal  should 
be  carried  out  in  its  entirety;  but  an  amendment,  proposed 
by  Mr.  E.  Protheroe,  to  the  effect  that  the  committee  should 
look  out  for  a  house  which  could  be  made  serviceable  at  a 
moderate  expense,  was  approved  by  a  majority.     No  further 


1830.]  SNOWSTORM.      DEATH   OP   SIR  T.    LAWRENCE.  135 

mention  of  the  subject  appears  in  the  minutes  until  Septem- 
ber, 1831,  when  the  committee  recommended  that  as  '*the 
site  of  the  present  Mansion  House  "  was  "  most  desirable  for 
the  public  convenience/'  the  building  should  be  retained, 
provided  some  increased  accommodation  could  be  secured. 
The  adjoining  house,  added  the  committee,  was  offered  for 
£2,050,  and  they  advised  that  it  should  be  bought  without 
delay.  The  outbreak  of  the  riots,  a  few  weeks  later,  blew 
the  project  into  the  air. 

The  month  of  January,  1830,  was  remarkable  for  a  pro- 
tracted snowstorm,  which  blocked  up  the  roads  in  all  parts 
of  the  country,  communication  between  many  towns  being 
almost  wholly  suspended  for  several  days.  A  local  news- 
paper, in  recording  the  incidents  of  the  season,  stated  that  on 
the  25th  January  a  party  of  nineteen  labourers  dragged 
into  the  city  a  wagon  containing  upwards  of  two  tons  of  flour, 
which  they  had  succeeded  in  hauling  from  Melksham,  a  dis- 
tance of  twenty-five  miles.  They  had  been  promised  by  a 
baker,  and  received,  28s,  4d.  (being  Is,  8d.  per  sack)  for  per- 
forming this  arduous  task. 

Sir  Thomas  Lawrence,  President  of  the  Royal  Academy, 
expired  on  the  7th  January,  1830,  and  his  remains  were 
honoured  with  a  stately  public  funeral  a  fortnight  later  in 
St.  PauVs  Cathedral.  Various  inaccurate  statements  as  to 
the  place  of  his  nativity  have  appeared  in  print,  but  the 
parochial  records  show  that  he  was  bom  at  No.  6,  Redcross 
Street,  Bristol,  and  was  baptised  at  St.  Philip's  Church  on 
the  6th  May,  1769.  His  father,  a  few  months  later,  became 
landlord  of  the  White  Lion  Hotel,  Broad  Street,  whence 
he  removed  in  1773  to  the  Bear  Hotel,  Devizes,  and  after 
his  failure  there,  in  1780,  to  Bath.  Whilst  almost  an  infant, 
the  son  manifested  extraordinary  indications  of  genius,  and 
some  drawings  executed  in  his  eighth  year,  which  still  exist, 
afford  ample  evidence  to  justify  the  admiration  which  he 
excited  in  cultivated  circles.  Before  he  had  reached  the  age 
of  twelve,  his  studio  at  Bath  was  the  resort  of  many  noble 
and  fashionable  persons  who  then  frequented  the  city,  so 
that  he  may  be  said  to  have  become  famous  before  establish- 
ing himself  in  London,  which  he  did  at  the  age  of  eighteen. 
On  the  death  of  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  in  1792,  Lawrence  was 
appointed  to  succeed  him  as  portrait-painter  in  ordinary  to 
the  king,  and  thenceforth  he  was  never  able  to  keep  abreast 
of  the  work  which  poured  in  upon  him.  There  was  scarcely 
a  single  upper-class  family  in  the  kingdom  which  did  not 
solicit   his  services,  and   engravings  of  his  most  successful 


136  THE   ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL.  [1830. 

portraits  had  an  unexampled  sale.  When  the  presidency  of 
the  Royal  Academy  became  vacant  by  the  death  of  Sir  B. 
West,  the  fashionable  favourite  was  immediately  appointed 
to  the  distinguished  office,  and  received  the  customary 
honour  of  knighthood.  In  1826,  when  Lord  Gifford  resigned 
the  recordership  of  Bristol,  the  Corporation  resolved  upon 
having  his  portrait,  and  aware  of  the  peculiarity  of  Lawrence, 
who  with  a  princely  income  was  always  in  an  inexplicable 
state  of  impecuniosity,*  they  remitted  200  guineas  with  the 
order.  Lord  Gifford,  however,  died  soon  afterwards,  and  the 
painter  eventually  returned  the  money. 

On  the  15th  June,  Zion  Chapel,  Bedminster, — ^to  which  an 
interesting  story  attaches — was  opened  with  a  sermon  by  the 
celebrated  Scotch  divine,  Dr.  Chalmers.  The  chapel,  which 
cost  £4,000,  was  erected  at  the  sole  expense  of  Mr.  John 
Hare,  the  founder  of  an  extensive  floor-cloth  manufactory  in 
the  city,  in  pursuance  of  a  long-cherished  design.  In  an 
address  delivered  by  one  of  his  descendants  at  the  centenary 
of  the  factory  in  August,  1882,  it  was  stated  that  Mr.  Hare 
was  bom  at  Taunton  in  1753.  When  in  his  twentieth  year, 
at  a  time  when  the  Government  were  forcing  men  into  the 
army  in  the  hope  of  reconquering  America,  he  left  home  for 
Bristol  with  a  few  shillings  in  his  pocket.  On  reaching  the 
southern  suburbs  of  the  city  he  got  over  a  dwarf  wall,  resolv- 
ing to  rest  a  few  hours,  and  on  awakening  was  so  struck  with 
the  beauty  of  the  spot  that  he  felt  he  should  like  to  build  a 
house  there.  By  dint  of  patient  perseverance,  prudence  and 
skill,  he  ultimately  became  wealthy,  but  the  impression 
formed  on  that  early  morning  of  his  youth  was  never  effaced, 
and  about  fifty-seven  years  after  his  arrival  he  erected  the 
above-mentioned  edifice  on  the  scene  of  his  slumbers.  The 
chapel  had  not  been  occupied  many  years  before  serious  dis- 
sensions arose  amongst  the  congregation.  During  a  debate 
in  the  Council,  October  17,  1836,  it  was  stated  by  the  mayor 
(Alderman  Fripp),  that  the  trustees  of  the  chapel  had  refused 
Mr.  Hare  a  pew  in  the  edifice  which  they  owed  to  his  liber- 
ality. 

The  death  of  George  IV.  in  June,  1830,  was  followed  a 
few  days  later  by  the  usual  civic  ceremony  of  proclaiming 
his  successor.     The  proceedings   were  marked   with  a  few 

•  **  Cannot  think  what  keeps  him  ro  poor,"  said  George  IV.  to  Croker  in 
1825 ;  **  I  have  paid  him  £24,000,  and  have  not  got  mj  pictures.  The  Duke  of 
Wellington  is  £2,800  in  advance  to  him.  All  the  world  is  ready  to  employ  him 
at  £1.000  a  picture,  yet  he  never  has,  I  am  told,  a  farthing." — Croker't  Corres- 
pondencet  u*  P*  88. 


1830.]  PROCLAMATION   OP  WILLUM    IV.      ELECTION.  137 

deviations  from  precedent.  At  noon  a  ''  large  and  handsome 
car/'  covered  with  a  pall,  was  drawn  by  four  grey  horses  to 
the  site  of  the  High  Cross,  when  the  mayor  and  members 
of  the  Corporation,  in  black  robes,  preceded  by  the  civic 
sword  covered  with  crape,  marched  to  the  spot  uncovered, 
and  solemnly  walked  round  the  car  in  testimony  of  their 
respect  for  the  deceased  monarch.  Their  worships  then 
returned  to  the  Council  House,  donned  their  scarlet  habili- 
ments, and  set  off  in  state  to  make  proclamation  of  the  new 
king  at  the  customary  sites,  the  car  being  now  stripped  of  its 
mournful  panoply  and  adorned  with  a  gorgeous  crown  on  a 
velvet  cushion.  Two  hogsheads  of  porter  and  three  quarter- 
casks  of  sherry  were  distributed  to  the  populace,  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  day  costing  the  city  treasury  £240.  A  cor- 
porate deputation,  sent  to  London  to  congratulate  the  new 
monarch,  spent  £90  additional. 

In  accordance  with  the  law  at  that  time,  there  was  a 
general  election  in  the  following  month.  The  retiring  Tory 
member,  Mr.  Richard  Hart  Davis,  was  again  nominated  by 
his  party.  His  Whig  colleague,  Mr.  Bright,  retired,  being 
unwilling  to  bear  the  expense  of  a  contest,  and  the  Liberals 
— as  they  were  now  beginning  to  be  called — were,  as  usual, 
unable  to  agree  upon  the  choice  of  a  successor,  an  unbridge- 
able gulf  being  still  open  between  the  slavery  and  anti-slavery 
sections  of  the  party.  The  West  India  interest  nominated 
Mr.  James  Evan  Baillie,  the  candidate  of  1820,  Mr.  C.  Pin- 
ney,  who  seconded  that  gentleman,  asserting  on  the  hustings 
that  five-eighths  of  the  trade  of  the  city  depended  upon  the 
islands.  The  progressive  camp  brought  forward  Mr.  Edward 
Protheroe,  junr.,  son  of  a  former  member  for  the  city.  To 
give  a  fillip  to  the  excitement,  or  perhaps  to  his  newspaper, 
Mr.  James  Acland,  of  the  Bristolian,  who  had  just  been  released 
from  gaol  after  suffering  imprisonment  for  libel,  also  made 
lis  appearance  in  the  field.  The  polling  (which  took  place 
for  the  first  time  in  booths  erected  in  Queen  Square), 
continued  for  five  days,  and  was  marked  by  violent  disturb- 
ances. On  one  occasion  the  windows  of  Mr.  John  Hare, 
of  Temple  Gate,  an  earnest  Liberal,  were  smashed  by  a 
pro-slavery  Whig  mob,  who  entered  and  did  much  damage 
to  the  factory.  The  Bush  Hotel,  Mr.  Protheroe's  head 
quarters,  underwent  its  usual  fate  at  elections,  while  on 
another  occasion  the  friends  of  the  same  gentleman  were 
attacked  by  a  party  of  gentlemen  on  horseback,  armed  with 
bludgeons.  After  one  of  many  street  affrays,  twenty-seven 
persons  were  so  much  injured  as  to  require  treatment  at  the 


138  THE  ANNALS  OP  BRISTOL.  [1830. 

Infirmary.  The  poll  closed  on  the  5th  August,  when  Mr. 
Davis  had  received  5,012  votes,  Mr.  Baillie,  3,377;  Mr.  Pro- 
theroe,  junr.,  2,840 ;  and  Mr.  Acland,  25.  It  was  stated  at 
the  time  that  this  election  cost  upwards  of  £34,000,  and  that 
Mr.  Baillie's  share  of  the  outlay  was  £18,000.  (The  Parlia- 
ment lasted  about  eight  months.)  More  than  1,500  persons 
were  placed  on  the  list  of  freemen  by  the  rival  parties,  in 
order  to  enable  them  to  vote.  Mr.  Acland  petitioned  against 
Mr.  Baillie's  return,  alleging  intimidation  and  treating,  but 
the  sureties  he  offered  were  unsatisfactory,  and  the  petition 
was  withdrawn. 

Prince  Leopold  of  Saxe-Coburg  (soon  after  elected  King  of 
the  Belgians)  paid  a  visit  to  the  city  in  September.  He  had 
been  presented,  whilst  at  Bath,  with  the  freedom  of  that 
borough  in  a  gold  box ;  but  for  some  cause  the  civic  mag- 
nates of  Bristol  appear  to  have  ignored  his  presence  amongst 
them. 

During  the  autumn.  Prince  Leopold's  sister,  her  Royal 
Highness  the  Duchess  -of  Kent,  accompanied  by  her 
daughter.  Princess  Victoria,  heiress  presumptive  to  the 
crown,  also  made  a  brief  tour  in  the  West  of  England.  On 
the  20th  October  they  arrived  at  Clifton  from  Malvern,  and 
descended  at  the  Mall  Hotel  amidst  the  cheers  of  a  large 
assemblage.  The  Corporation,  acauainted  with  the  intended 
visit,  proposed  to  present  an  adaress;  but  the  Duchess  of 
Kent,  pleading  the  shortness  of  her  stay,  requested  that  the 
compliment  should  be  withheld.  On  the  21st,  however,  the 
mayor  (Mr.  J.  Savage),  and  several  members  of  the  Common 
Council,  proceeded  in  state  to  Clifton  to  express  their  loyalty 
and  devotion,  and  met  with  a  cordial  reception.  During  the 
morning  their  royal  highnesses  were  driven  round  the  Downs, 
and  expressed  themselves  much  delighted  with  the  scenery. 
In  the  afternoon  they  left  for  London,  being  loudly  cheered 
as  they  passed  through  the  city  on  their  way  to  Bath. 

During  this  and  the  two  following  years,  the  trade  of  the 
country  was  unusually  depressed,  causing  numbers  of  the 
labouring  classes  to  fall  into  pauperism.  As  the  city  work- 
house, St.  Peter's  Hospital,  had  even  before  the  distress  been 
full  to  repletion,  the  increased  demands  for  relief  plunged 
the  Corporation  of  the  Poor  in  extreme  embarrassment. 
Various  expedients  having  been  discussed  and  rejected,  it 
was  at  last  determined  to  apply  to  the  Government  with  a 
view  to  the  purchase  of  the  Armoury  or  "  Ordnance  Bar- 
racks "  in  Stapleton  Road,  to  which  reference  has  been 
already  i^ade  [see  p.  23].     Negotiations  followed,  and  the 


1830.]  PROCLAMATION   OP  WILUAM    IV.      ELECTION.  137 

deviations  from  precedent.  At  noon  a  "  large  and  handsome 
car/'  covered  with  a  pall,  was  drawn  by  four  grey  horses  to 
the  site  of  the  High  Cross,  when  the  mayor  and  members 
of  the  Corporation,  in  black  robes,  preceded  by  the  civic 
sword  covered  with  crape,  marched  to  the  spot  uncovered, 
and  solemnly  walked  round  the  car  in  testimony  of  their 
respect  for  the  deceased  monarch.  Their  worships  then 
returned  to  the  Council  House,  donned  their  scarlet  habili- 
ments, and  set  off  in  state  to  make  proclamation  of  the  new 
king  at  the  customary  sites,  the  car  being  now  stripped  of  its 
mournful  panoply  and  adorned  with  a  gorgeous  crown  on  a 
velvet  cushion.  Two  hogsheads  of  porter  and  three  quarter- 
casks  of  sherry  were  distributed  to  the  populace,  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  day  costing  the  city  treasury  £240.  A  cor- 
porate deputation,  sent  to  London  to  congratulate  the  new 
monarch,  spent  £90  additional. 

In  accordance  with  the  law  at  that  time,  there  was  a 
general  election  in  the  following  month.  The  retiring  Tory 
member,  Mr.  Richard  Hart  Davis,  was  again  nominated  by 
his  party.  His  Whig  colleague,  Mr.  Bright,  retired,  being 
unwilling  to  bear  the  expense  of  a  contest,  and  the  Liberals 
— as  they  were  now  beginning  to  be  called — were,  as  usual^ 
unable  to  agree  upon  the  choice  of  a  successor,  an  unbridge- 
able gulf  being  still  open  between  the  slavery  and  anti-slavery 
sections  of  the  party.  The  West  India  interest  nominated 
Mr.  James  Evan  Baillie,  the  candidate  of  1820,  Mr.  C.  Pin- 
ney,  who  seconded  that  gentleman,  asserting  on  the  hustings 
that  five-eighths  of  the  trade  of  the  city  depended  upon  the 
islands.  The  progressive  camp  brought  forward  Mr.  Edward 
Protheroe,  junr.,  son  of  a  former  member  for  the  city.  To 
give  a  fillip  to  the  excitement,  or  perhaps  to  his  newspaper, 
Mr.  James  Acland,  of  the  Brii^tolian,  who  had  just  been  released 
from  gaol  after  suffering  imprisonment  for  libel,  also  made 
liis  appearance  in  the  field.  The  polling  (which  took  place 
for  the  first  time  in  booths  erected  in  Queen  Square), 
continued  for  five  days,  and  was  marked  by  violent  disturb- 
ances. On  one  occasion  the  windows  of  Mr.  John  Hare, 
of  Temple  Gate,  an  earnest  Liberal,  were  smashed  by  a 
pro-slavery  Whig  mob,  who  entered  and  did  much  damage 
to  the  factory.  The  Bush  Hotel,  Mr.  Protheroe's  head 
quarters,  underwent  its  usual  fate  at  elections,  while  on 
another  occasion  the  friends  of  the  same  gentleman  were 
attacked  by  a  party  of  gentlemen  on  horseback,  armed  with 
bludgeons.  After  one  of  many  street  affrays,  twenty-seven 
persons  were  so  much  injured  as  to  require  treatment  at  the 


140  THE   ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1830. 

a  year,  put  in  repair,  and  fitted  up  for  the  reception  of  a 
considerable  number  of  paupers.  The  experiment  proving 
satisfactory,  the  building,  in  1837,  was  purchased  for  £2,000. 
Further  extensive  alterations  being  found  necessary,  the 
guardians  raised  £6,512  by  the  sale  of  their  estate  at^Shire- 
hampton  (bought  in  1701  for  £1,600  for  the  purpose  of  em- 
ploying paupers  as  farm  labourers).  The  Armoury,  which 
had  been  rented  at  £200  a  year  by  the  Corporation  of  Bristol, 
was  also  disposed  of,  though  there  was  a  loss  on  this  trans- 
action of  £1,100.  Thanks  to  these  windfalls,  the  Stapleton 
workhouse  was  placed  in  satisfactory  working  order  without 
any  sensible  cost  to  the  ratepayers.  As  time  went  on,  the 
propriety  of  removing  the  entire  pauper  establishment  from 
St.  Peter's  became  gradually  recognised,  and  between  1861 
and  1865  nearly  £26,000  were  spent  in  enlarging  and  im- 
proving the  buildings  at  Stapleton.  Some  four  years  later, 
a  fever  hospital  was  constructed  there  at  a  further  outlay  of 
£4,200.  To  meet  a  portion  of  the  expenditure,  the  guar- 
dians, in  1865,  disposed  of  part  of  the  premises  at  St.  Peter's 
for  £5,195,  reserving  only  the  interesting  and  picturesque 
mansion  of  the  Nortons  for  their  board-room  and  financial 
ofBces. 

The  absence  in  Bristol  of  an  institution  capable  of  provid- 
ing a  complete  system  of  higher  education  had  long  been 
deplored  by  the  more  intelligent  citizens.  A  movement  for 
supplying  the  want  was  started  in  1829,  by  the  distingfuished 
physician.  Dr.  J.  C.  Prichard,  Mr.  J.  Naish  Sanders,  the  Rev. 
J.  Eden,  Mr.  J.  C.  Swayne,  Mr.  S.  S.  Wayte,  Dr.  Carrick, 
and  others,  who  suggested  the  erection  of  a  college,  with  an 
efficient  staff  of  masters  and  lecturers,  theological  instruction 
according  to  the  doctrines  of  the  Church  of  England  being 
also  provided  for  such  pupils  as  might  desire  to  avail  them- 
selves of  it.  The  proposed  capital  was  £15,000,  to  be  raised 
by  £50  shares,  the  proprietors  of  which  were  to  nominate  a 
student  for  each  share.  The  required  sum  could  not,  how- 
ever, be  obtained  from  the  public, — owing  in  a  large  mea- 
sure to  the  hostile  attitude  of  the  Bishop  of  Bristol,  Dr.  Gray, 
— and  the  promoters  had  to  content  themselves  with  hiring 
a  large  house  in  Park  Row,  "  formerly  occupied  by  Matthew 
Wright,  Esq.,"  and  since  swept  away  for  modem  improve- 
ments. A  competent  staff  having  been  engaged,  ^'  Bristol 
College  "  was  opened  on  the  17th  January,  1831,  with  about 
thirty  pupils,  the  principal  being  Dr.  J.  H.  Jerrard,  and  the 
vioe-principal  Mr.  Charles  Smith,  both  graduates  of  Cam- 
bridge.     The   Rev.  W.   D.  Conybeare,  F.R.S.,  afterwards 


1831.]  BRISTOL   COLLEGE   AND   BISHOP's   COLLEGE.  141 

Dean  of  Llandaff^  was  visitor^  and  undertook  to  preside  at 
the  examinations.  The  terms  of  admission  were  £18  for 
the  nominees  of  shareholders^  and  £21  for  other  students. 
Though  comparatively  few  in  number,  a  large  proportion  of 
the  youths  educated  at  the  College  attested  in  after  life  the 
value  of  the  institution.  Amongst  them  were  Edward  Fry, 
afterwards  Lord  Justice,  the  Rev.  S.  W.  Wayte,  who  became 
President  of  Trinity  College,  Oxford,  G.  G.  Stokes,  senior 
wrangler  of  his  year,  and  afterwards  Lucasian  Professor  at 
Cambridge,  Walter  Bagehot,  e^minent  as  a  writer  on  financial 
and  constitutional  questions,  and  the  Rev.  G.  Swayne,  a  well- 
known  Greek  scholar.  The  college,  in  fact,  might  have 
afforded  the  city  all  the  advantages  which  were  to  be  offered 
by  Clifton  College,  thirty  years  later.  But  its  promoters 
were  a  generation  before  their  contemporaries,  and  the  insti- 
tution was  of  too  liberal  a  character  for  the  age.  Although 
great  care  had  been  taken  to  avoid  ruffling  theological  pre- 
judices, the  college  had  not  been  long  in  operation  before 
a  section  of  the  clergy,  vehemently  opposed  to  the  admission 
of  Dissenters  to  the  Universities,  began  to  protest  against 
the  sons  of  Nonconformists  being  allowed  to  attend  the 
school  without  participating  in  the  religious  instruction  pro- 
vided for  Churchmen.  The  cry  of  "godless  education''  was 
a  formidable  one  in  that  day ;  and  the  persons  who  raised  it 
at  length  found  a  sufficient  number  of  local  sympathisers  to 
encourage  them  to  set  up  a  rival  institution,  from  which  the 
unorthodox  could  be  debarred.  The  new  Bishop  of  Glou- 
cester and  Bristol  (Dr.  Monk)  having  lent  his  patronage  and 
support  to  this  movement,  a  '^  Bishop's  College  "  was  opened 
in  August,  1840,  in  a  house  in  Belle vue,  Clifton,  from  which 
it  was  removed  in  October,  1841,  to  extensive  premises  at 
the  top  of  Park  Street  (designed  for  the  Red  Maids'  School), 
purchased  by  Bishop  Monk  from  the  Charity  Trustees  for 
£9,750.  The  competition  at  once  proved  fatal  to  Bristol  Col- 
lege, which  closed  its  doors  at  Christmas,  1841.  The  suc- 
cessor of  the  first  principal  had  been  the  Rev.  J.  E.  Bromby, 
D.D.,  who  left  to  establish  a  school  in  Clifton,  but  afterwards 
emigrated  to  Australia,  where  he  became  Warden  of  the 
Senate  of  Melbourne  University.  The  last  head  master, 
holding  the  office  only  a  few  months,  was  Dr.  J.  Booth. 
Bishop's  College  began  its  course  under  the  head  master- 
ship of  the  Rev.  H.  Dale,  the  second  master  being  the  Rev. 
J.  R.  Woodford,  one  of  the  most  eloquent  preachers  of  his 
time,  who,  before  his  death  in  1885,  became  Bishop  of  Ely. 
The  institution  was  not,  however,  successful.    At  a  meeting 


i 


142  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL.  [1831. 

of  the  proprietors  in  1851,  it  was  reported  that  the  school  was 
carried  on  at  a  loss,  and  that  the  interest  due  to  the  Bishop 
on  the  purchase  money  was  unpaid.  His  lordship  having 
requested  the  return  of  his  loan,  it  was  resolved  that  he 
should  be  left  to  exercise  his  power  of  sale.  The  college 
langfuished  on  until  1861,  when  the  premises  were  purchased 
by  the  promoters  of  a  Volunteer  Club.  The  two  last  head 
masters  were  Dr.  Robertson  and  the  Rev.  T.  Bowman. 

The  death,  on  the  21st  February,  1831,  of  the  Rev.  Robert 
Hall,  one  of  the  most  celebrated  pulpit  orators  of  his  time, 
occasioned  widespread  regret  amongst  the  members  of  every 
Christian  denomination.  Mr.  Hall,  who  is  said  to  have  de- 
clined high  preferment  in  the  English  Church  from  Mr.  Pitt 
while  Prime  Minister,  accepted  the  pastorate  of  Broadmead 
Baptist  Chapel  in  1826,  and  officiated  until  within  a  few  days 
of  his  death.  His  remains  were  removed,  on  the  2nd  March, 
from  his  residence  in  Ashley  Place  to  the  burial  ground  ad- 
joining the  chapel,  in  the  presence  of  a  great  concourse  of 
mourners.  Mr.  Hall's  body,  with  others  buried  at  this  place, 
was  removed  to  Arno's  Vale  Cemetery  some  years  after  this 
date. 

On  the  night  of  the  16th  March,  the  steamboat  Frolic, 
plying  between  this  city  and  Haverfordwest,  was  wrecked 
on  the  Nash  Sands,  on  the  coast  of  Glamorganshire,  whilst 
on  a  return  voyage  to  Bristol.  Fifty  persons,  including 
General  Macleod,  Colonel  Gordon,  Major  Boyd,  and  several 
respectable  tradesmen  of  Haverfordwest  lost  their  lives  by 
the  calamity. 

In  consequence  of  the  defeat  of  Lord  Grey's  Ministry  upon 
an  important  detail  of  the  Reform  Bill,  the  Parliament  of  1830 
was  dissolved  in  the  following  April,  after  an  existence  of 
less  than  nine  months.  In  Bristol,  as  in  almost  every  consti- 
tuency uncontrolled  by  what  were  called  borough-mongers, 
the  current  of  opinion  in  favour  of  "  the  Bill "  swept  away 
even  the  appearance  of  opposition.  Mr.  Davis,  who  in  the 
previous  year  had  been  supported  by  five-sixths  of  the  voters, 
and  who  solicited  re-election,  soon  found  that  his  resistance 
to  Reform  had  wrecked  his  chances  of  success,  and  he  speedily 
quitted  the  field.  The  Whigs  and  Liberals,  divided  at  the 
previous  contest,  had  been  welded  together  by  the  popular 
passion  of  the  hour,  and  their  candidates,  Mr.  J.  E.  Baillie 
and  Mr.  E.  Protheroe,  were  unanimously  elected.  The  most 
telling  illustration  of  the  general  enthusiasm  was  furnished 
by  Dr.  Lant  Carpenter  in  the  Monthly  Repository  of  the  fol- 
lowing December.   "The  expenses  of  the  preceding  election,'' 


1831.]  ELECTION.      CENSUS.      DEATH   OF   MR.    SETEB.  143 

he  wrote,  "were  estimated  at  not  short  of  £30,000;  this  time, 
on  the  part  of  Mr.  Protheroe,  up  to  the  day  of  election,  they 
had  not  amounted  to  £200.'*  The  ceremony  of  chairing, 
omitted  in  1830,  was  revived,  and  was  the  occasion  of  an 
unprecedented  demonstration,  almost  the  whole  operative 
class  in  the  city,  accompanied  by  great  numbers  of  trades- 
men, taking  part — at  their  own  expense — in  the  triumphal 
procession  of  the  two  members.  In  the  evening  the  city  was 
illuminated.  This  was  the  first  occasion  on  which  two  Whigs 
had  been  returned  together  for  Bristol  since  1774. 

The  census  of  1831,  taken  in  the  spring  of  that  year,  for 
the  first  time  gave  a  population  exceeding  100,000  to  Bristol 
and  its  suburbs.  The  **  ancient  city  '*  was  found  to  contain 
59,074  souls.  Clifton,  which  had  nearly  trebled  its  numbers 
within  thirty  years,  returned  a  total  of  12,032  ;  St.  George's, 
6,285 ;  the  District,  4,495 ;  St.  Philip's  out,  15,777 ;  Man- 
gotsfield,  3,508 ;  Stapleton,  2,715 ;  making  altogether  44,812, 
and,  with  the  city  proper,  103,886.  Bedminster,  which  through 
some  caprice  was  still  excluded  from  the  reckoning,  had  a 
population  of  13,130,  being  more  than  fourfold  the  numbers 
of  1801.  The  tything  of  Stoke  Bishop,  in  Westbury  parish, 
which  the  enumerator  also  ignored  as  a  suburb,  contained 
2,328  persons. 

Langton  Street  Chapel,  built  by  Lady  Huntingdon's  con- 
nection, was  opened  in  August.  The  building,  which  cost 
about  £4,500,  is  remarkable  only  as  being  the  first  in  Bristol 
in  which  a  mediasval  style  was  adopted  for  a  dissenting 
place  of  worship. 

The  death  of  the  Rev.  Samuel  Seyer  took  place  on  the 
25th  August.  Mr.  Seyer  wa§  a  native  of  Bristol,  being  the 
son  of  a  rector  of  St.  Michael's  parish  who  had  been  also 
head  master  of  the  Grammar  School.  After  being  educated 
at  Oxford,  he  opened  a  school  in  the  Royal  Fort,  at  which 
the  sons  of  many  respectable  citizens  enjoyed  the  benefit  of 
his  classical  attainments.  His  translation  of  the  "  Charters 
and  letters  patent  granted  to  Bristol"  has  been  already 
noticed  [p.  54] .  In  1881,  after  many  years'  laborious  study, 
Mr.  Seyer  commenced  the  publication  of  his  "  Memoirs  of 
Bristol,"  two  quarto  volumes,  comprising  the  history  of  the 
city,  illustrated  with  many  beautiful  engravings,  being  even- 
tually issued  from  the  press.  Towards  the  expense  of  this 
work  the  Corporation  subscribed  £200.  The  second  and 
more  interesting  section  of  the  work,  containing  the  topo- 
graphy of  Bristol,  was  left  in  manuscript,  owing,  it  was  sup- 
posed, to  apprehensions  as  to  the, pecuniary  risks  attendant 


144  THE   ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1831. 

on  its  production.  Mr.  Seyer  was  also  the  author  of  a  Latin 
grammar,  a  few  otlier  school  books,  and  one  or  two  religious 
tracts.  An  original  member  of  the  Bristol  Library  Society, 
Mr.  Seyer  was  its  active  vice-president  for  upwards  of  thirty 
years.  His  useful  life,  however,  passed  away  ignored  by  the 
Corpoi'ation,  one  of  whose  numerous  livings  might  have  been 
gracefully  conferred  on  native  merit  of  no  ordinary  character. 
The  reverend  gentleman,  according  to  a  friend  who  con- 
tributed a  brief  biography  of  him  to  a  local  journal,  was  one 
of  the  few  surviving  members  *'of  a  well  known  club  of 
literary  gentlemen  who  for  many  years,  during  the  winter 
months,  assembled  by  the  sound  of  the  mail  horn  in  the  Bush 
Tavern,"  of  which  reunions  he  is  said  to  have  been  a  dis- 
tingfuished  ornament.  His  remains  were  interred  at  Shire- 
hampton. 

The  coronation  of  William  IV.  was  celebrated  in  Bristol 
on  the  8th  September  with  more  than  usual  enthusiasm,  his 
Majesty  being  at  that  time  very  popular  amongst  the  work- 
ing classes  on  account  of  his  attitude  towards  the  Reform 
Bill.  Shortly  after  midday,  an  imposing  procession  was 
formed  at  the  Council  House,  consisting  of  the  members  and 
officials  of  the  Corporation,  of  the  Society  of  Merchant  Ven- 
turers, and  of  the  Incorporation  of  the  Poor,  the  Dean  and 
clergy  of  the  city,  the  boys  in  the  endowed  schools,  the 
Freemasons  of  the  district,  and  the  workmen  of  the  various 
trades,  bearing  emblems  of  their  respective  crafts.  With 
these  were  mingled  certain  so-called  *'  heralds,"  "  knights  " 
accoutred  in  ancient  armour,  a  *' crown  and  cushion,"  and 
innumerable  flags  and  banners,  the  general  appearance  of 
the  pageant  being  picturesque  and  attractive.  The  pro- 
cession made  its  way,  by  High  Street,  Queen  Square,  and 
the  Quay,  to  the  cathedral,  where  the  civic  aignitaries 
attended  service,  leaving  their  followers  in  College  Green. 
Afterwards  the  procession  was  again  formed,  and  returned 
by  a  circuitous  route  to  the  Council  House,  which  was 
reached  about  half-past  five  o'clock.  Besides  the  enormous 
crowds  of  citizens  who  lined  the  streets,  it  was  calculated 
that  30,000  persons  had  been  attracted  from  the  neighbour- 
ing districts  to  witness  the  civic  parade.  In  the  evening  all 
the  public  buildings  and  a  great  number  of  private  houses 
and  places  of  business  were  gaily  illuminated.  The  civic 
expenses  on  the  occasion  amounted  to  £257  16«.  lOd. 

Some  months  previous  to  this  date  a  proposal  had  been 
started  by  a  few  philanthropic  persons,  chiefly  members  of 
the  Society  of  Friends,  for  the  establishment  of  a  medical 


1831.]  THE    QENERAL   HOSPITAL.  145 

and  surgical  institution  for  the  southern  districts  of  the  city, 
and  at  a  meeting  held  at  the  Guildhall  on  the  21st  Septem- 
ber the  creation  of  the  General  Hospital  was  definitely 
resolved  upon.  The  project  was  deprecated  by  many  friends 
of  the  Infirmary,  who  argued  that  the  receipts  of  the  existing 
charity  were  barely  able  to  cover  the  expenditure,  and  that  a 
fraction  of  the  money  proposed  to  be  spent  on  a  new  building 
and  an  additional  staff  would  enable  the  older  institution  to 
meet  all  the  needs  of  the  inhabitants.  The  promoters  of  the 
Hospital,  who  objected  to  the  interference  of  the  medical 
officers  in  the  administration  of  the  Infirmary,  proceeded 
with  their  work,  and  having  purchased  some  property  in 
Guinea  Street  for  £3,725,  they  had  the  premises  suitably 
fitted  up,  ^nd  opened  them  for  the  reception  of  patients  in 
1832.  In  1850,  in  consequence  of  the  dilapidated  state  of 
the  property,  and  of  the  insufficient  accommodation  available 
for  patients,  it  was  resolved  to  build  a  large  and  appropriate 
hospital  near  the  same  spot.  Mr.  Joseph  Eaton,  one  of  the 
original  promoters,  subscribed  £5,000,  and  upwards  of  £15,000 
were  offered  by  other  friends.  On  the  completion  of  the  new 
hospital,  in  1858,  it  was  found  that  the  outlay,  £28,000,  had 
exceeded  the  funds  in  hand  by  several  thousand  pounds.  At 
a  meeting  held  in  May,  1858,  Mr.  Eaton  increased  his  gift  to 
£6,500 ;  Mr.  George  Thomas,  another  earnest  Quaker  sup- 
porter, augmented  his  donation  to  £6,000;  Messrs.  Finzell 
gave  £300,  and  Mr.  Greville  Smyth  £100.  These  and  other 
contributions  cleared  off  the  debt.  A  few  days  after  the 
meeting,  Mr.  Eaton  suddenly  died.  He  left  by  will  £3,500 
to  the  hospital,  making  with  former  gifts  £10,000.  [His 
almost  equally  munificent  friend,  Mr.  Thomas,  died  on  the 
7th  December,  1869.]  The  patients  were  removed  from  the 
old  to  the  new  hospital  in  August,  1858.  In  1873  a  new 
out-patients'  department  was  added  to  the  building  at  a  cost 
of  £9,000 ;  and  in  1882-3,  at  an  outlay  of  £9,000  additional, 
the  hospital  underwent  extensive  alterations  to  improve  its 
sanitary  condition.  Notwithstanding  the  intentions  of  the 
founders,  however,  the  medical  staff  of  the  institution  have 
succeeded  in  acquiring  much  of  the  power  which  was  origin- 
ally withheld  from  them. 

An  '^  affair  of  honour ''  was  arranged  to  take  place  on  the 
24th  September  at  Wimbledon,  between  Mr.  E.  Protheroe, 
jnnr.,  M.P.  for  the  city,  and  Lieut.  Claxton,  R.N.,  who  after- 
wards held  the  office  of  com  meter  under  the  Corporation. 
The  cause  of  the  intended  duel  was  a  letter  on  the  slavery 
question,  addressed  by  Mr.  Protheroe  to  the  freemen  and 

L 


* 

■ 

'  I  ■  •  ■   •  ■  -s  ^       "^      ^--.-     ^p  i*"-j.      "V"     ■•        "I-         ■■■■■  •*•■—  "■       "  ■     • 


j«i--."^*^  •*  — '•  j^" 


f  •  t  ■  ■  -    • 


•  .    •  •  -  • 

t  .<    •:  X  .  ■  4' ,  *  /  ■ . .  4 .  »    Vi . ".  •/.'A  •     y*  <• ...  .M  -51.*.  .  -  .  •  —    ^•.-..•T.*.-    -- 

•  f  >         .  .  .  . 

T/i':  'J«'.j;*f/;VJ'*rj  of  rji'-fi  of  tijjs  kind  ii  seldom  Taken 
V;  ;■  'y ';  •■  i  y .  i /  'i  •  r  J  r  C ;j  ?» r i '.•  -,  was?  i  l  d :  s/.Tfrei  en  ou  ^a  lo  r  er. -ra:  e 
ii*  ;*  i'/7-"//i-.*j- ijt'-d  r*;jirf'-,«,'nlative  of  Brisiol.  Diring  a 
'J';r/:*»«:  j/j  i/j';  *\»r  u\:  of  JrJ-Jl,  ho  fjtatfrd  that  the  ciiizen-s  were 
jn'j»/!«fr<-;it.  t/^  li'rforrfj,  a:j  a-:K'-rlion  which  evoked  miignant 
'J«-fjiai>,  and  whi'.h  J'-d,  upon  his  enK.-rin^  the  ciiy  for  ihe 
\\tr\\  a-nix",  \*t  'Tfjf/hatj':  d'-'ruonbirations  of  popular  dis- 
apjiroval.  Far  froi/j  takin;/  warninfr  from  this  incident,  how- 
j'V'rr,  th'f  r«r'*ord"r,  on  th«;  27th  Aujfust,  assured  the  Huuse 
of  T'ornrnonn  that  "  th*;  Kcform  fever  had  a  good  deal  abated 
in  Urii-tol."  AJr.  I'roth*;roe,  one  of  the  members  for  the  city, 
forthwith  rone  to  declare  that  this  assertion  was  the  verv 
ff* vcrH"  of  th(;  fact,  inanmuch  as  local  feeling  in  favour  of  the 
rni'umjnf  Jiad  increased  rather  than  diminished;  but  Sir 
Charh'M,  reminding  the  iloune  that  he  was  the  senior  alder- 
niuri  of  ihe  city,  naid  "  he  felt  quite  sure  that  the  Bill  did  not 
Btand  Mu  high  us  it  did  in  the  Bristol  thermometer.''     His 


1831.]       THE  RIOTS:   SIR  c.  wetherell's  speeches.  147 

belief  niay  have  been  founded  on  the  assertions  of  the  local 
organ  of  ultra  Toryism,  or  on  the  communications  of  some 
of  his  brother  aldermen,  who,  living  out  of  the  city,  and 
keeping  aloof  from  all  but  their  own  select  circle,  represented 
facts,  not  as  they  were,  but  as  they  wished  them  to  be.  In 
either  ca^e,  the  truth  was,  that  since  the  recorder's  previous 
misrepresentation,  as  the  election  had  borne  witness,  public 
feeling  in  support  of  the  Bill  had  become  far  more  intensely 
enthusiastic  than  before,  and  the  news  of  this  second  and 
wholly  unjustitiable  ofEence  excited  great  irritation.  It  was 
pointed  out,  that  whilst  Sir  C.  Wetherell  was  using  every 
device  to  obstruct  the  progress  of  a  measure  demanded 
by  the  country  (the  Mirror  of  Farliainent  credits  him  with 
180  addresses  against  the  Bill  during  the  two  sessions  of 
1831),  he  was  in  no  legitimate  sense  of  the  term  a  popular 
representative  at  all.  He  was,  in  fact,  one  of  four  members, 
nominally  elected  by  a  small  rural  parish  in  Yorkshire,  but 
actually  the  nominees  of  the  Duke  of  Newcastle,  who,  if  he 
had  chosen  to  follow  the  example  of  another  noble  borough- 
owner  referred  to  by  Earl  Russell  in  the  introduction  to  his 
collected  speeches,  could  have  dictated  the  election  of  his 
negro  valet.  The  connection  of  Sir  Charles  with  Bristol, 
again,  was  not  one  to  challenge  public  criticism.  His  selec- 
tion for  an  office  which  gave  him  powers  of  life  and  death 
over  the  prisoners  brought  before  him  was  the  work  of  a  self- 
elected  coterie,  entirely  out  of  harmony  with  the  opinions  of 
the  citizens.  The  claim  of  such  an  official  to  interpret  the 
political  views  of  Bristolians  was  therefore  regarded  as  an 
impertinent  challenge,  which  the  advocates  of  Reform  were 
called  upon  to  take  up ;  and  it  speedily  became  known  that 
the  recorder,  on  his  next  visit,  would  be  furnished  with 
unmistakable  proofs  of  the  inaccuracy  of  his  assertions. 
Matters  became  still  more  critical  at  the  beginning  of  October, 
when  the  House  of  Lords,  taking  the  course  which  Sir  Charles 
had  conjured  them  to  follow,  and  perhaps  putting  faith  in 
his  and  other  allegations  about  popular  reaction,  rejected  the 
Reform  Bill  by  a  large  majority.  A  few  days  later,  following 
the  course  adopted  in  all  the  great  towns,  the  local  supporters 
of  the  measure  convened  a  meeting  at  the  Guildhall  (but 
which  was  adjourned  to  Queen  Square  owing  to  the  un- 
exampled attendance),  when  intemperate  speeches  were 
made  by  Mr.  Protheroe,  M.P.,  and  others,  amidst  enthusiastic 
cheering.  The  historians  of  the  time  are  agreed  that  a  large 
majority  of  the  middle  and  working  classes  were  prepared 
for  a  national  convulsion  rather  than  submit  to  a  continuance 


148  THE   ANNALS   OP  BRISTOL.  [1831. 

of  the  so-called  borougli-mongering  system,  and  there  is  no 
evidence  to  show  that  Bristolians  were  less  in  earnest  than 
the  rest  of  their  countrymen.  They  had,  moreover,  special 
reasons  for  discontent,  which  their  political  opponents  in  the 
city,  jubilant  at  the  action  of  the  Peers,  were  ill-advised 
enough  to  throw  into  relief  by  taunts  and  defiance.  The 
members  of  the  Corporation,  becoming  alarmed  at  the  ferment, 
took  steps  which  made  matters  only  worse.  After  the  Queen 
Square  meeting,  and  about  a  fortnight  before  the  day  fixed 
for  the  assizes,  Lieut.  Claxton,  R.N.,  the  gentleman  mentioned 
in  a  former  page,  privately  solicited  signatures  to  a  requisi- 
tion calling  on  the  mayor  to  convene  a  meeting,  at  which  the 
seamen  of  the  port  might  "  express  their  loyalty  to  the  king." 
The  mayor  assented  to  the  request,  and  a  meeting  was  accord- 
ingly held  on  board  a  West  Indiaman  belonging  to  the  mayor, 
Lieut.  Claxton,  and  others.  In  the  course  of  the  proceedings, 
however,  Mr.  Claxton,  who  had  taken  the  chair,  admitted 
that  the  real  object  of  the  gathering  was  to  organise  the 
sailors  as  a  body-guard  for  Sir  Charles  Wetherell  on  his 
approaching  visit.  The  avowal  met  with  a  reception  little 
expected  by  the  agent  of  the  Corporation.  The  sailors  present 
refused  to  be  employed  in  a  manner  which  would  identify 
them  with  the  anti-reformers,  and,  being  forthwith  ordered 
out  of  the  ship  by  the  discomfited  chairman,  they  held  another 
meeting  on  shore,  where  they  passed  a  resolution  expressing 
loyalty  to  the  king,  but  declaring  that  they  "  would  not  allow 
themselves  to  be  made  catspaws  by  the  Corporation  or  its 
paid  agents."  Baffled  in  this  direction,  the  aldermen  thought 
of  postponing  the  assizes,  but  found  that  Sir  Charles 
Wetherell  would  not  consent  to  such  a  course.  Application 
was  then  made  to  the  Home  Secretary  (Lord  Melbourne)  for 
a  military  force  to  support  the  civil  authorities.  The  Sec- 
retary of  State,  before  assenting  to  this  request,  asked  the 
opinion  of  Mr.  Protheroe,  M.P.,  then  in  London,  when  that 
gentleman  replied  that  it  was  not  to  be  supposed  that  the 
reformers  of  the  city  would  fail  to  manifest  their  disapproval 
of  the  recorder's  political  conduct,  since,  if  they  remained 
silent,  the  opponents  of  Reform  would  assert  that  the  alleged 
reaction  was  triumphantly  proved ;  he  would  not  be  answer- 
able for  tranquillity  if  military  force  were  employed,  but, 
if  the  Corporation  would  assent,  he  would  conduct  Sir  C. 
Wetherell  to  the  Guildhall  in  his  own  carriage.  Treating 
this  proposal  with  scorn,  the  corporate  officials  persisted 
in  their  request  for  troops,  and  Lord  Melbourne  assented. 
The  next  step  of  the  civic  body  was  to  direct  the  chief  con- 


1831.]  THE  riots:  arrival  of  the  recorder.  149 

stables  of  the  wards  to  swear  in  300  inhabitants  as  special 
constables.      The  result  afforded   a   striking  illustration  of 
the  feeling  entertained  towards  the  Corporation.     With  rare 
exceptions,  the  gentlemen  and  tradesmen  summoned  refused 
to   attend,  and   almost   the   only  persons  forthcoming  were 
very  young  men,  zealous  anti-reformers,  who,  according  to 
a  contemporary  historian,  ''  viewed  the  lower  classes  with 
contempt,  as  a  troublesome  rabble,  and  rather  relished  an 
occasion  for  defying  and  humbling  them.'*      Even  with  this 
risky  assistance,  only  200  constables  could  be  marshalled,  and 
it  was  necessary  to  have  recourse  to  a  still  more  questionable 
class — the    rough  labourers  who  were  hired  as  "  bludgeon 
men  "  at  elections.     Whilst  the  preparations  were  still  pro- 
ceeding, Mr.  Alderman  Daniel,  who  was  not  only  the  guiding 
spirit  of  the  Common  Council,  but  the  head  of  the  local  Tory 
party,  entered  into  negotiations  with  Mr.  Wm.  Herapath,  the 
president  of  a  numerous  working-class  organisation  known  as 
the  Political  Union,  with  the  object  of  obtaining  the  help  of 
the  latter  body  in  the  preservation  of  order.     Mr.  Herapath, 
who  was  kept  in  ignorance  of  the  approach  of  troops,  con- 
sented  to   lend   his   assistance ;  but   the  arrangement  with 
Lord  Melbourne   becoming  known   a  few  hours   later,  the 
committee  of  the  Union,  expressing  strong  censure  on  the 
conduct  of  the  authorities,  refused  further  cooperation,  re- 
questing  the    Unionists,  however,  to   assist  individually  in 
maintaining  the  public  peace.    The  day  fixed  for  the  opening 
of  the  assize — Saturday  the  29th  October — ^at  length  arrived, 
and  the  state  of  the  streets  from  an  early  hour  manifested 
the  excitement  of  the  populace.     The  aldermen,  in  the  hope 
of  lightening  the  difficulty,  had  arranged  with  the  recorder 
that  his  state  entrance  should  take  place  at  10  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  instead  of  at  the  usual  hour  in  the  afternoon ;  but  the 
change  of  time  had  become  known  to  many  persons  on  the 
previous  evening,  and  the  gathering  of  the  special  constables 
in  the  Exchange  early  in  the  day  put  all  classes  on  the  alert. 
The   promised   cavalry — a   troop  of   the  3rd  Dragoons   and 
another  of  the  14th  Hussars — were  known  to  be  quartered  in 
the  suburbs  ;  and  though   they  were  moved  to  the    cattle 
market  and  the  gaol  with  the  least  possible  display,  their 
presence  tended  to  increase  the  excitement.     At  the  time 
appointed,  between  one  and  two  thousand  persons,  chiefly 
labourers,    had    assembled    at    Totterdown,   where    it  was 
customary  for  the  recorder  to  leave  the  private  carriage  in 
which  he  had  driven  from  Bath,  and  to  take  his  seat  in  the 
state  coach  of  the  sheriffs ;  and  when  Sir  Charles  made  his 


150  THE   AKNALS   OF   BRISTOL.  [1831. 

appearance  he  was  received  with  a  loud  burst  of  hisses  and 
groans.  The  change  of  vehicles  having  been  made,  however, 
the  constables  closed  around  the  civic  coach  in  a  somewhat 
disorderly  manner,  and  the  procession  started  for  the  city, 
accompanied  by  the  mob,  which  vented  its  wrath  in  continuous 
yells.  On  reaching  Temple  Street  the  crowd,  increasing  at 
every  step,  became  so  dense  as  almost  to  choke  up  the  narrow 
thoroughfare,  while  a  number  of  women  of  the  lowest  class, 
flinging  mud  at  the  carriage,  shrieked  invectives  at  the 
recorder,  and  upbraided  the  men  around  them  for  the 
cowardice  of  their  inaction.  At  Bristol  Bridge  another  vast 
crowd  had  assembled,  and  the  groaning  and  hissing  became 
more  furious  than  ever,  occasional  stones  being  flung  towards 
the  carriage,  but  without  doing  any  injury.  Amongst  ever- 
increasing  numbers  and  amidst  whirlwinds  of  yells,  the  pro- 
cession at  length  reached  the  Guildhall,  where  the  constables 
with  great  diflSculty  cleared  a  passage  and  enabled  the 
recorder  to  alight.  Sir  Charles  was  naturally  somewhat 
agitated  by  so  emphatic  an  expression  of  public  feeling,  but 
after  taking  his  seat  in  court  he  recovered  his  equanimity, 
rebuked  the  tumultuous  rabble  that  filled  the  gallery,  and 
threatened  to  commit  any  disturber  of  order.  The  usual  pre- 
liminaries of  an  assize  having  been  achieved,  and  the  court 
adjourned  to  the  following  Monday  amidst  cheering  for  the 
king,  another  critical  task  had  to  be  faced — the  procession 
to  the  Mansion  House  in  Queen  Square.  A  dense  crowd 
occupied  the  entire  route,  and  the  cries  and  groans  were  not 
less  boisterous  than  before ;  but  beyond  the  flinging  of  a  few 
stones  by  the  crowd  gathered  in  the  square  there  was  no 
symptom  of  violence,  and  the  civic  residence  was  reached  in 
safety. 

The  situation  at  this  moment  was  very  similar  to  what  it 
had  been  twenty-one  years  before  on  the  entry  of  another 
unpopular  judge  [see  p.  39].  Unhappily  the  magistrates 
did  not  now  display  similar  vigour  to  that  which  restored 
tranquillity  on  the  previous  occasion.  A  large  portion  of 
the  crowd,  thinking  that  the  protest  against  the  recorder's 
offence  had  been  suflSciently  explicit,  soon  dispersed,  and 
many  more  would  have  left  the  square  if  an  appeal  had  been 
made  to  their  reason.  Even  as  it  was,  the  commotion  so 
much  settled  down  that  the  magistrates  actually  discussed 
the  propriety  of  proceeding  to  church  in  the  accustomed 
pomp  next  morning.  The  advisability  of  confronting  and 
remonstrating  with  the  noisy  assemblage  before  the  house 
was  not  thought  of;  and  the  special  constables  were  left  to 


1831.]     THE  riots:  attack  on  thr  mansion  house.  151 

exercise  their  discretion — or  rather  indiscretion — with  truly 
calamitous  consequences.  Some  of  the  young  guardians  of 
order,  without  leadership,  eager  to  display  their  zeal  for  the 
established  order  of  things,  and  destitute  alike  of  prudence 
and  forbearance,  had  been  hit  by  some  of  the  missiles  which 
greeted  the  recorder's  arrival  at  the  Mansion  House.  No 
sooner  were  the  civic  authorities  in  safety  than  the  constables, 
in  retaliation  for  these  insults,  rushed  into  the  crowd,  which 
for  the  most  part  fled  at  their  approach,  and,  after  belabour- 
ing those  that  could  be  reached  with  their  heavy  staves, 
carried  ofif  a  few  prisoners  in  triumph.  Desultory  incursions, 
of  the  same  character,  and  with  similar  results,  were  made 
at  intervals  by  parties  of  constables  for  two  or  three  hours, 
and,  as  was  to  be  expected,  the  people  who  were  maltreated 
by  the  officers  were  rarely  the  most  mischievous  or  ill-inten- 
tioned of  the  rabble.  It  was  equally  natural  that  the  hap- 
hazard administration  of  bludgeon  law  by  men  crying,  "We'll 
give  you  '  reaction ! ' "  should  excite  a  desire  for  revenge ; 
and  whilst  the  constables  were  exulting  over  the  success  of 
their  raids,  it  was  evident  to  cooler-headed  observers  that  a 
strong  feeling  of  exasperation  was  rising  in  the  crowd.  In- 
telligence of  the  situation  was  moreover  quickly  spread  about 
the  city  by  those  who  fled  bleeding  from  the  scene  of  action, 
while  the  removal  of  wounded  men  to  the  Infirmary,  and 
the  dragging  of  prisoners  to  Bridewell,  were  perilous  adver- 
tisements of  the  strife.  The  captives  in  many  cases  were 
rescued,  whereupon  they  returned  to  the  square,  in  company 
with  enraged  sympathisers  who  added  fresh  elements  of 
danger.  Nevertheless  the  situation  did  not  cause  great 
anxiety  within  the  Mansion  House.  The  town  clerk,  Mr. 
Serjeant  Ludlow,  it  is  true,  expressed  an  opinion  that  some 
of  the  troops  should  be  brought  to  the  spot;  but  Sir  Charles 
Wetherell  disapproved  of  the  suggestion,  and  his  view  of  the 
matter  prevailed.  A  little  later,  when  the  fiercer  spirits 
amongst  the  crowd  were  searching  the  neighbourhood  for 
sticks  and  missiles,  a  large  body  of  the  special  constables, 
having  been  many  hours  without  food,  were  permitted  to 
return  to  their  homes  for  refreshment,  but  with  instructions 
to  collect  again  in  the  evening  at  the  Guildhall.  Observing 
their  departure,  and  unacquainted  with  its  cause,  the  more 
disorderly  section  of  the  populace  attributed  the  retreat  to 
fear,  and  acted  aft  ruffians  are  prone  to  act  at  such  a  moment. 
A  rush  was  made  against  the  constables  remaining  on  duty, 
who  were  quickly  scattered ;  the  railings  in  front  of  the 
Mansion  House  were  then  torn  down ;  and  the  whole  of  the 


152  THE   ANNALS   OP  BRISTOL.  [1831. 

windows  on  the  ground  floor  were  demolished  with  stones 
and  brickbats. 

At  last  thoroughly  alarmed,  some  of  the  magistrates  made 
their  appearance,  and  the  mayor  (Mr.  C.  Pinney),  who,  being 
a  Reformer,  was  not  personally  unpopular,  with  great  diffi- 
culty obtained  a  hearing.  The  earnest  remonstrances  he 
addressed  to  the  people  on  the  folly  and  wickedness  of  their 
conduct,  and  the  warnings  he  added  as  to  the  consequences 
of  further  tumult  were,  however,  of  no  avail,  and  his 
entreaties  to  disperse  were  interrupted  by  a  shower  of 
missiles.  The  reading  of  the  Riot  Act,  which  followed,  was 
received  with  howls  of  derision,  whilst  such  of  the  constables 
as  had  re-assembled  were  attacked,  disarmed,  and  mercilessly 
beaten — one  of  the  luckless  band  being  compelled  by  threats 
to  fling  his  staff  through  the  windows  of  the  Mansion  House, 
whilst  another  was  driven  into  the  Floating  Harbour,  and 
narrowly  escaped  with  his  life.  Every  vestige  of  defence 
being  swept  away,  a  general  assault  was  made  on  the 
Mansion  House,  the  broken  railings  of  which  became  de- 
structive weapons  in  the  hands  of  the  wreckers.  A  neigh- 
bouring wall  was  soon  pulled  down  to  furnish  materials  for 
the  assault,  and  beams  of  timber  were  brought  up  and  used  as 
battering  rams.  The  door  and  window  frames  being  reduced 
to  splinters,  the  rabble  made  their  way  into  the  ground  floor 
of  the  building,  the  furniture,  mirrors,  chandeliers,  and  other 
contents  of  which  were  demolished  in  a  few  minutes.  The 
kitchens,  where  a  great  civic  feast  was  in  preparation,  were 
next  entered,  the  cooks  driven  away,  and  joints,  fowls,  game, 
and  pastry  were  carried  off  and  devoured  by  the  rioters, 
amidst  the  cheers  of  hundreds  of  spectators.  All  that  the 
imprisoned  mayor  and  his  colleagues  could  do  was  to  protect 
themselves  from  missiles  in  the  upper  rooms  by  barricading 
the  broken  casements  with  feather  beds,  the  whole  resources 
of  the  establishment  being  applied  to  this  purpose.  Complete 
ruin  having  been  wrought  in  the  basement  apartments,  straw 
and  faggots  were  collected  by  the  mob  and  carried  into  the 
dining  room  for  the  purpose  of  setting  fire  to  the  house. 
That  end,  it  is  said,  was  temporarily  averted  by  a  singular 
obstacle — the  inability  of  the  rabble  to  procure  a  light, 
(lucifers  being  still  in  the  future).  Their  villanous  inten- 
tions, however,  were  manifested  by  the  attempts  which  were 
begun  to  barricade  the  entrances  to  the  square  with  planks 
and  paving  stones,  with  the  view  of  preventing  the  inter- 
ference of  the  military. 

It  was  about  this  point  that  Sir  Charles  Wethcrell  resolved 


1831.]       THE  RIOTS:  ESCAPE  OF  THE  BECOBDEB.         153 

on  making  his  escape.  The  rioters,  apprehensive  that  he 
would  take  flighty  had  surrounded  the  Mansion  House  as  far 
as  the  adjoining  dwellings  permitted,  and  no  doubt  destined 
him  to  the  fate  they  were  preparing  for  the  building  itself. 
The  recorder,  however,  guided  by  his  friends,  got  upon  the 
flat  roof  of  the  dining  room,  clambered  from  it  by  a  ladder 
to  a  window  of  the  next  house,  and  ultimately  made  his 
way  to  a  stable  at  the  back.  Here  he  changed  clothes  with 
a  postillion,  and  succeeded  so  easily  in  passing  through  the 
crowd,  and  reaching  a  house  at  Kingsdown,  that  he  is  said 
to  have  taken  a  voluntary  stroll  through  the  streets  at  a  later 
hour  in  the  evening,  to  ascertain  the  state  of  the  city.  Find- 
ing the  disturbance  showed  no  signs  of  abatement,  he  ordered 
a  chaise  and  left  for  Newport,  which  he  reached  early  on  the 
following  morning. 

Ignorant  of  the  evasion,  the  rioters  continued  their  pre- 
parations for  a  fire,  when,  about  six  o'clock,  in  response  to 
the  request  of  the  magistrates,  the  two  troops  of  horse 
soldiers  were  brought  into  the  square  by  Lieut. -Colonel 
Brereton,  the  resident  Inspecting  Field  Officer  of  the  Bristol 
recruiting  district,  who,  by  virtue  of  his  rank,  had  assumed 
the  command.  Their  arrival  put  an  end  to  the  attack  on  the 
house,  but  the  rioters,  far  from  showing  fear  of  the  troops, 
received  them  with  cheers,  and  sang  "  God  save  the  king ! '' 
Colonel  Brereton  had  already  had  an  interview  with  the 
besieged  mayor  and  aldermen.  After  perambulating  the 
square,  he  returned  to  the  house,  and  a  lively  discussion 
ensued  as  to  the  steps  that  should  be  taken.  The  aldermen 
and  the  town  clerk  advocated  the  instant  employment  of 
force  to  clear  the  square ;  and  the  mayor  told  the  officer  he 
must  order  his  men  to  fire  if  the  tumult  could  not  otherwise 
be  suppressed.  But  Major  (afterwards  Sir)  Digby  Mack- 
worth  (aide-de-camp  to  Lord  Hill,  commander  in  chief),  who 
had  shortly  before  returned  from  the  Forest  of  Dean  after 
putting  down  some  agrarian  disturbances,  urged  that  no 
firing  should  take  place,  for  the  sake  of  the  innocent  who 
would  certainly  suffer,  and  expressed  his  conviction  that  by 
combining  the  civil  and  military  forces  the  populace  might 
be  dispersed.  Colonel  Brereton  also  strongly  disapproved  of 
bloodshed.  After  again  going  into  the  square,  he  reported 
on  his  return  that  the  mob  were  in  good  humour,  and  that 
he  should  be  able  to  disperse  them  by  simply  walking  his 
troops  about.  This  he  sought  to  do  for  some  hours.  But 
although,  whenever  he  appeared,  the  rabble  received  him 
with  cheers,  many  of  them  seizing  and  shaking  his  hand^  the 


154  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL.  [1831. 

crowd  continued  in  the  square  with  but  little  diminution. 
During  one  of  the  colonel's  numerous  calls  at  the  Mansion 
House,  the  town  clerk,  who  seems  to  have  made  himself  the 
mouthpiece  of  the  authorities,  expressed  much  dissatisfaction 
at  the  delay,  and  told  the  colonel  that  the  magistrates  re- 
quired the  square  to  be  cleared.  To  this  the  officer  more 
than  once  replied  that  if  his  men  were  to  fire  he  must  have 
an  explicit  order  to  that  effect.  In  giving  evidence  after- 
wards, Serjeant  Ludlow  admitted  that  "he  was  not  aware 
that  any  explicit  orders  were  given.''  However,  about  an 
hour  before  midnight,  the  situation  remaining  unchanged. 
Colonel  Brereton  gave  directions  to  Captain  Gage,  of  the 
14th  Hussars,  to  clear  the  streets  by  force,  and  the  troops 
thereupon  made  a  charge  on  the  populace,  striking  only 
with  the  flat  of  their  sabres.  Though  the  rioters  instantly 
scattered,  the  traditional  obstinacy  of  a  Bristol  mob  was 
nevertheless  visible.  Many  ruffians,  taking  refuge  in  narrow 
alleys,  pelted  the  soldiers  with  stones  and  pieces  of  iron,  and 
Captain  Gage,  returning  to  the  Mansion  House,  asked  for 
orders  to  fire.  The  mayor  hesitated ;  Colonel  Brereton  re- 
fused to  give  the  order  on  his  own  responsibility;  and  Captain 
Gage,  resuming  the  command  of  his  troop,  had  to  be  satisfied 
with  clearing  the  interior  of  Queen  Square ;  while  the  special 
constables,  organised  by  Major  Mack  worth,  were  posted 
around  the  house,  which  now  seemed  secure  against  attack. 
Major  Mackworth  subsequently  stated  that  when  he  left  the 
building,  about  two  hours  later,  "  the  crowds  had  nearly  all 
dispersed,  and  I  thought  the  worst  of  the  riot  was  over."  In 
the  meantime,  however,  some  of  the  populace  had  repaired 
to  the  Council  House,  the  doors  and  windows  of  which  were 
assailed,  and  Captain  Gage  was  sent  ofE  to  take  such 
measures  for  its  protection  as  he  deemed  expedient.  A  scene 
of  great  confusion  ensued,  the  troops  making  dashes  at  the 
crowd,  while  the  more  determined  rioters,  ensconcing  them- 
selves in  narrow  lanes  which  the  cavalry  could  not  enter, 
hurled  volleys  of  missiles  on  the  troops.  Exasperated  by 
their  injuries,  some  of  the  soldiers  at  length  fired,  and  one 
man,  a  peaceful  ostler  returning  from  his  stable,  was  killed 
at  the  head  of  the  Pithay.  Sabres  were  also  vigorously 
wielded,  and  several  men  were  wounded,  one  of  them  mor- 
tally. The  effect  of  the  charges  was,  however,  decisive.  The 
rioters  wholly  disappeared,  and  for  some  hours  all  was  quiet. 
During  the  night  carpenters  were  employed  to  board  up 
the  breaches  in  the  Mansion  House,  where  a  few  soldiers 
remained  on  guard,  and  the  work  was   completed  without 


1831.]  THE    KIOTS:    SACK   OF   THE   HAN8I0N   HOUSE.  155 

interruption.  The  mayor  remained  at  his  post,  though  rest 
was  of  course  impossible ;  but  the  aldermen,  the  town  clerk, 
in  fact  the  whole  civic  body  with  the  exception  of  Mr.  Sheriff 
Lax,  quietly  disappeared.  The  special  constables  followed 
the  example,  and  when  Major  Mackworth  returned  early  on 
Sunday  morning,  the  force  of  250  which  he  had  drilled  the 
night  before  had  "  dwindled  to  about  a  dozen,  and  were  even 
then  diminishing  in  number."  Their  defection  sealed  the 
fate  of  the  civic  mansion.  Soon  after  dawn  about  a  score  of 
the  rioters  gathered  in  the  square,  and  by  eight  o'clock  the 
knot  of  men  had  increased  to  a  crowd,  almost  wholly  com- 
posed of  the  most  vicious  class  in  the  city.  Through  another 
of  the  many  blunders  incidental  to  this  deplorable  affair,  the 
handful  of  troops  patrolling  the  square  was  about  this  time 
withdrawn,  and  the  moment  the  stage  was  clear  the  rioting 
recommenced.  The  newly-constructed  defences  of  the  Mansion 
House  having  been  quickly  demolished,  a  number  of  ruffians 
dashed  into  the  premises,  clambered  to  the  upper  rooms,  and 
threw  the  furniture,  bedding,  etc.,  into  the  square,  where 
much  was  carried  off"  and  the  rest  wantonly  destroyed. 
Amongst  the  articles  found  were  Sir  Charles  Wetherell's 
judicial  robe  and  wig,  which  were  forthwith  torn  to  frag- 
ments and  distributed  amongst  the  plunderers  as  souvenirs  of 
their  triumph. 

Just  before  the  capture  of  the  house,  the  mayor,  accom- 
panied by  Major  Mackworth,  effected  his  escape,  by  getting 
out  of  an  attic  window,  crouching  along  between  the  double 
roofs  of  eight  or  nine  houses  for  concealment  from  the  mob, 
kicking  out  a  pane  of  glass  in  the  Custom  House  to  raise  a 
sash,  and  then  quietly  leaving  that  building  for  the  Guildhall. 
Segardless  of  the  fate  of  the  inmates  of  the  Mansion  House, 
and  even  of  Sir  Charles  Wetherell  himself — whose  escape 
was  still  unknown — the  rioters  lost  no  time  in  making  their 
way  to  the  wine  cellars,  which  were  reported  to  be  well  stored. 
Several  hundred  bottles  of  port,  sherry,  and  Madeira  were 
forthwith  stolen  and  carried  into  the  square,  where  an  as- 
tonishing orgie  was  soon  in  full  swing.  A  crowd  of  men, 
women,  and  boys  were  to  be  seen  staggering  about,  madly 
intoxicated,  yelling,  swearing,  singing,  and  vociferating 
threats  against  the  recorder ;  whilst  scores,  too  drunk  to 
stand,  were  rolling  on  the  ground,  where  those  not  already 
insensible  from  their  excesses  were  re-echoing  the  maledictions 
and  menaces  of  their  companions.  Intelligence  of  the  de- 
bauch spread  with  remarkable  quickness  into  all  the  low-class 
quarters  of  the  city,  and  the  concourse  in  the  square  was 


156  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL.  [1831. 

rapidly  reinforced  by  those  eager  to  share  in  the  saturnalia. 
Some  of  the  cavalry  having  been  brought  back  at  the  request 
of  the  mayor,  the  Riot  Act  was  three  times  read  by  one  of 
the  aldermen.  No  order  to  fire  was,  however,  given,  and 
Colonel  Brereton,  in  spite  of  the  scene  beforo  his  eyes,  de- 
clared that  fire-arms  should  not  be  used,  and  that  the  troops 
were  so  exhausted  as  to  absolutely  require  rest.  Having 
remarked,  moreover,  that  the  rabble,  whilst  cheering  the 
dragoons,  were  intensely  exasperated  against  the  hussars, 
in  consequence  of  the  charge  in  Wine  Street  on  the  previous 
night,  Colonel  Brereton  told  Captain  Gage  that  his  troop 
was  the  sole  cause  of  the  renewed  disturbance,  and  directed 
him  to  take  his  men  out  of  the  city,  Keynsham  being  selected 
as  their  future  station.  The  colonel's  order  excited  great 
indignation,  not  merely  in  the  city  but  throughout  the  country. 
It  is  only  fair  to  state  that  Major  Mackworth,  in  his  "  personal 
narrative,"  remarked  that  the  hussars  were  in  absolute  need 
of  rest,  and  that,  though  "  they  might  have  executed  a  few 
charges,  unless  supported  by  some  other  description  of  force 
they  could  have  done  no  permanent  good,  and  would  soon 
have  been  so  exhausted  as  to  leave  the  city  wholly  defence- 
less.'* Their  retreat  was  not  eflFected  without  bloodshed. 
The  unpopular  cavalry,  being  first  directed  to  their  quarters 
in  College  Place,  were  violently  attacked  with  stones  on  St. 
Augustine's  Back,  when  some  of  them,  painfully  injured,  fired 
in  self-defence,  killing  one  rioter  and  wounding  seven  or 
eight  others.  They  soon  after  left  for  Keynsham,  where- 
upon Colonel  Brereton  returned  to  Queen  Square,  and,  in 
response  to  the  cheers  with  which  he  was  greeted,  addressed 
the  mob,  begging  them  to  disperse,  but  adding  that  there 
would  be  no  more  firing,  and  that  the  hussars  had  been  sent 
away. 

Such  language  was  not  calculated  to  discourage  the  rioters, 
and  though  the  dragoons  prevented  further  plundering  in 
the  wine  cellars,  the  mob  went  on  carousing  as  before.  In 
a  short  time  the  bells  be|?an  to  chime  for  Sunday  morning 
service,  and,  incredible  as  it  now  seems,  the  attendance  at 
the  churches  and  chapels  was  so  nearly  of  an  average  cha- 
racter that  a  stranger  could  not  have  suspected  the  actual 
condition  of  the  city.  This  was  doubtless  largely  due  to  the 
singularly  isolated  position  of  Queen  Square,  surrounded  on 
three  sides  by  water,  and  to  the  ignorance  of  the  great  bulk 
of  the  respectable  inhabitants  of  the  events  that  had  trans- 
pired. But  it  was  partly  attributable,  as  will  be  shown,  to 
the  unpopularity  of  the  Corporation.     The  mayor  and  some 


1831.]  THE    RIOTS:    THE    CORPOBATION   DESERTED.  157 

of  the  aldermen  had  assembled  early  at  the  Guildhall^  where 
they  received  offers  of  service  from  some  of  the  army  pen- 
sLODers.  There  were  about  250  of  those  disciplined  veterans 
in  the  city;  and  if^  as  Major  Mack  worth  had  counselled  the 
mayor,  they  had  been  called  out  before  the  recorder's  arrival, 
the  tumult  in  Queen  Square  would  have  been  suppressed  at 
the  outset.  Even  after  the  experience  of  the  previous  night, ' 
however,'  the  magistrates  were  unable  to  appreciate  the 
value  of  these  auxiliaries,  who  met  with  so  cold  a  reception 
that  they  withdrew.  About  eleven  o'clock  the  mayor  issued 
a  placard  stating  that  Sir  Charles  Wetherell  had  left  the 
city,  and  another  announcing  that  the  Riot  Act  had  been 
read.  Handbills  were  also  sent  to  the  churches  and  chapels, 
describing  the  perilous  state  of  affairs,  and  earnestly  calling 
upon  the  citizens  to  support  the  mayor  in  maintaining  order. 
His  worship's  appeal  was  made  known  to  most  of  the  con- 
gregations at  the  close  of  the  service ;  but  although  Dr. 
Carpenter  estimated  that  some  20,000  persons  were  in  at- 
tendance, only  about  200  gentlemen  assembled  at  the  Guild- 
hall. Many  of  the  absentees,  according  to  a  subsequent 
deposition,  excused  themselves  by  asking :  ^'  Why  should  we 
protect  the  Corporation's  property  ?  Let  them  protect  their 
own  property."  The  muncipality,  it  was  argued,  instead  of 
being  a  public  institution  for  the  public  security,  claimed  to 
be  a  private  monopoly,  and  had  shown  itself  contemptuous  of 
public  opinion  [see  p.  104]  ;  it  had  no  right  to  complain  when 
almost  the  entire  community  showed  its  discontent  and  dis- 
trust by  holding  aloof.  The  gathering  of  citizens  was  so 
small  that  after  multitudinous  plans  of  action  had  been  dis- 
cussed— "  every  one  differing  from  his  neighbour,"  according 
to  Major  Mackworth — it  was  finally  determined  that  each 
gentleman  should  go  home,  endeavour  to  obtain  the  co- 
operation of  his  neighbours,  and  return  in  the  afternoon. 

The  three  o'clock  meeting  was  not  more  numerously 
attended  than  its  forerunner,  owing  in  some  degree,  perhaps, 
to  thoughtless  arrangements,  entrance  into  the  hall  being 
obtainable  only  by  a  side-door  unknown  to  the  general 
public.  The  mayor,  who  presided,  stated  that  the  mob  had 
been  in  possession  of  the  city  for  some  time,  and  were  then  in 
the  act  of  burning  down  Bridewell.  Being  asked  if  he  had 
any  plan  to  propose,  his  worship  answered  in  the  negative, 
and  upon  further  questions  being  put,  Mr.  Serjeant  Ludlow, 
with  his  habitual  garrulity  and  self-suflSciency,  undertook  to 
speak  for  the  magistrates.  Having  delivered  himself  of  his 
views  on  political  affiairs,  the  town  clerk^  however^  vouchsafed 


158  THE   ANNALS   OP  BRISTOL.  [1831. 

no  information  or  advice  except  that  '^  every  man  must  act 
on  his  own  discretion  and  responsibility.'^  Some  of  the 
gentlemen  present  offered  to  act  as  constables  if  a  few  soldiers 
were  sent  in  company  with  them  ;  but  Colonel  Brereton,  who 
arrived  at  this  point,  declared  that  his  men  were  then  too 
fatigued  to  go  out.  After  further  desultory  conversation, 
in  which  union  and  energy  were  as  conspicuously  absent  as 
in  the  morning,  Serjeant  Ludlow  declared  that  notRing  more 
could  be  done,  that  it  would  shortly  be  dark,  and  that  it  was 
high  time  to  take  care  of  themselves — a  rule  which  the 
learned  gentleman  faithfully  followed  throughout.  The 
mayor  next  observed  that  being  without  an  efficient  civil 
force,  and  the  military  being  untrustworthy,  the  best  advice 
he  could  give  was  that  each  person  should  go  home  and  take 
care  of  his  own  property.  The  meeting  was  nevertheless 
adjourned  to  the  Council  House,  and  continued  some  hours 
longer  in  a  disorderly  and  unfruitful  fashion.  But  it  is  useless 
to  dwell  further  on  the  melancholy  exhibition  of  feebleness 
and  indecision,  and  the  scene  must  be  shifted  to  the  centre 
of  the  disturbance,  in  Queen  Square. 

After  Colonel  Brereton's  imprudent  remarks  already  re- 
corded, no  change  in  the  aspect  of  affairs  occurred  for  two  or 
three  hours.  The  official  placard  announcing  that  Sir  Charles 
Wetherell  had  left  the  city  was  followed  by  another  to  the 
same  effect,  posted  by  the  Political  Union ;  but  the  mob  put 
no  faith  in  either  document,  and  the  Mansion  House  con- 
tinued to  be  rigorously  watched.  At  length,  about  one 
o'clock,  Mr.  S.  Waring,  a  respected  Quaker  merchant,  ad- 
dressed the  crowd,  assuring  them  that  the  recorder  had 
departed.  After  some  hesitation,  the  men  who  assumed  the 
position  of  ringleaders  said  they  would  "believe  the  Quaker," 
adding :  "  We  will  do  no  more  here ;  we  will  go  to  Bride- 
well, and  release  the  prisoners  taken  last  night ;  and  then  we 
will  go  to  the  gaol,  and  release  those  Sir  Charles  was  to  have 
tried."  Mr.  Waring  at  once  went  to  Alderman  A.  Hilhouse 
to  acquaint  him  with  the  purpose  of  the  rioters,  and  urged 
the  necessity  of  immediately  guarding  the  prisons ;  but  the 
alderman  treated  the  warning  very  lightly,  asserting  that 
the  walls  and  gates  "  were  strong  enough."  Little  time  was 
lost  by  the  rioters  in  carrying  out  their  design,  and  a  gang 
of  desperadoes  was  soon  in  front  of  Bridewell.  The  build- 
ings forming  the  prison  at  that  time  stood  on  both  sides  of 
what  was  called  Bridewell  Lane,  the  gaoler,  Mr.  Evans, 
residing  on  one  side,  while  the  prison  proper,  on  the  other, 
was  connected  with  the  dwelling-house  by  two  strong  arch- 


1831.]  THE    RIOTS:     DESTRUCTION   OF   BRIDEWELL.  159 

ways,  each  of  which  could  be  closed  by  a  heavy  gate.  The 
position  was  so  strong  that  a  dozen  resolute  men  could  have 
kept  an  unlimited  number  of  ragamuffins  at  bay;  but  the 
gaoler  had  only  himself  and  two  under-officers  to  depend 
upon.  On  the  approach  of  the  mob,  Evans  armed  himself 
and  his  subordinates  with  swords,  drove  the  front  rank  of  the 
assailants  from  the  space  between  the  two  buildings,  and 
closed  the  gates.  Tlie  garrison,  however,  was  too  weak  to 
withstand  the  pressure  of  a  multitude,  and  in  a  few  minutes 
the  mob  succeeded  in  lifting  the  gates  from  their  hinges  and 
in  throwing  them  into  the  Froom — then  uncovered  at  Bride- 
well Bridge.  Evans,  in  spite  of  the  threats  and  missiles 
showered  upon  him,  next  appeared  armed  with  a  blunderbuss 
at  one  of  the  windows  of  his  house,  and  for  a  further  time  kept 
the  assailants  at  a  distance.  Sledge  hammers  had  however 
been  obtained  from  a  neighbouring  smithy,  an  entry  into  the 
gaoler's  house  was  effected  through  a  window,  and  as  Evans 
had  his  wife  and  family,  as  well  as  the  wife  and  children  of 
the  turnkey,  in  the  building,  he  found  himself  compelled  to 
order  the  warder  to  surrender  the  keys.  He  managed,  how- 
ever, to  send  a  messenger  to  the  magistrates,  describing  the 
peril  of  the  prison ;  and  the  man  assured  the  aldermen  that 
he  could  still  protect  the  place  with  twenty  constables  and 
ten  soldiers.  .  The  answer  •  which  the  messenger  swore  to 
having  received  was : — '^  You  say  they  have  released  the 
prisoners  :  pooh  pooh  !  there  will  bo  nothing  more  done.'' 
The  issue  was  very  different.  As  soon  as  the  criminals  in 
custody  were  set  free,  the  rioters  set  fire  to  the  chapel  and 
cells,  which  were  speedily  consumed.  The  gaoler's  house 
for  the  time  escaped  destruction. 

Having  carried  out  this  part  of  their  plan,  the  rioters 
proceeded  to  the  gaol,  then  only  a  few  years  old,  and  stand- 
ing on  the  southern  bank  of  the  new  river.  Mr.  Waring, 
who  had  made  another  reconnoitre,  had  already  warned  Alder- 
man A.  Hil house  that  an  attack  was  imminent,  but  met  with 
no  better  success  than  before.  About  half  an  hour  before 
the  mob  reached  the  prison,  Mr.  Humphries,  the  governor, 
made  his  way  to  the  Guildhall,  and  asked  whether  he  was  to 
defend  the  place  or  release  the  prisoners.  No  answer  was 
given,  and  it  was  not  until  the  question  had  been  pressed 
two  or  three  times  that  Alderman  A.  Hilhouse  informed  the 
governor  that  "  he  was  to  use  his  own  discretion ;  the  magis- 
trates gave  him  no  directions."  After  further  consultation, 
however,  the  above  alderman,  accompanied  by  Alderman 
Savage  and  a  few  other  gentlemen^  went  down  to  the  gaol  to 


160  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL.  [1831. 

see  if  anything  could  be  done;  but  the  mob,  which  was 
making  for  the  spot,  refused  to  listen  to  them,  and  drove  the 
party  away  with  stones. 

The  reader  will  find  it  difficult  to  produce  before  his  mind's 
eye  a  glimmering  picture  of  the  state  of  the  city  during  that 
wet  and  murky  October  afternoon.  Let  him  add,  however, 
to  the  following  rapid  sketch  of  the  rioters  by  Dr.  Carpenter 
a  few  pallid  and  anxious  spectators  on  the  dingy  pavements, 
and  he  may  faintly  conceive  the  scene  : — "  They  could  not 
have  been  more  than  from  five  to  six  hundred,  and  the 
number  might  have  been  less.  I  saw  them  about  a  quarter 
after  two,  as  they  were  coming  down  Clare  Street  on  their 
way.  They  were  a  compact  body,  without  stragglers  or 
attendants.  They  moved  with  great  expedition;  and  their 
object  was  well  known.  Most  of  them  had  bludgeons  ;  some 
had  hatchets ;  and  others  were  armed  with  iron  palisades, 
from  the  front  of  the  Mansion  House.  All  .1  noticed  were 
the  dregs  of  the  city ;  and  a  large  part  were  under  twenty 
years  of  age.  .  .  .  The  sledge  hammers  with  which  they 
broke  [the  gaol]  open,  they  procured  at  a  neighbouring  manu- 
factory ;  and  the  proprietor  told  me  they  brought  all  back 
but  two." 

The  outer  gates  of  the  gaol  were  of  great  strength,  and 
the  place  was  even  more  capable  of  defence  than  Bridewell. 
Though  no  defence  was  attempted,  the  assailants  had  to  ply 
their  hammers  and  iron  bars  for  three  quarters  of  an  hour 
before  a  hole  was  made  sufficiently  large  to  admit  of  the 
entrance  of  one  of  the  mob.  But  this  once  achieved,  the 
ringleaders  were  soon  within  the  archway,  whence  they 
attacked  the  inner  iron  gates,  which  were  comparatively 
weak.  Resistance  being  hopeless,  one  of  the  warders  un- 
locked the  gates,  and  in  a  few  minutes  about  300  of  the 
criminal  crew  penetrated  into  every  nook  of  the  building, 
destroyed  the  doors  of  the  cells,  and  liberated  the  prisoners, 
about  170  in  number,  several  of  whom  stripped  themselves  of 
their  gaol  dress,  and  ran  off  to  their  former  haunts  in  a  state 
of  nudity.  As  the  main  object  of  the  rioters  was  being 
achieved,  a  body  of  about  twenty  dragoons  trotted  to  the 
prison,  led  by  a  young  cornet  named  Kelson,  whose  account 
of  what  occurred  was  afterwards  given  on  oath.  He  was, 
he  said,  ordered  by  Lieut.-Colonel  Brereton  to  go  with  a 
party  of  men  to  the  gaol.  He  had  asked  the  colonel  what  he 
was  to  do  when  he  got  there,  and  was  told  that,  as  a  magis- 
trate was  not  to  be  found,  he  must  on  no  account  use 
violence,  but  simply  go  and  return.     The  soldiers  therefore 


1831.]      BUBNINO  Of  THE   PRISONS  AKD   BISHOP's   PALACE.  161 

advanced  to  the  gates^  where  the  officer  could  see  the  mob 
"  knocking  things  to  pieces/^  and  then  the  troops,  who  had 
been  welcomed  with  cheers  by  the  rioters,  and  had  waved 
their  caps  in  return,  were  marched  back  to  College  Green, 
where  Colonel  Brereton,  on  receiving  the  comet^s  report,  told 
him  he  had  acted  ^^  perfectly  right/^  About  the  same  time, 
Mr.  Herapath  and  other  members  of  the  Political  Union 
remonstrated  with  the  mob,  but  were  roughly  told  by  its 
leaders  that  they  knew  their  own  business  and  would  attend 
to  it.  After  the  prisoners  had  been  set  free,  the  governor's 
house  was  sacked,  a  large  portion  of  the  contents,  including 
the  prison  records,  being  thrown  into  the  Avon  amidst  the 
cheers  of  thousandis  of  the  labouring  class  who  lined  the  river 
banks.  The  devastation  was  completed  by  setting  fire  to  the 
buildings — every  part  that  would  bum,  including  the  gover- 
nor's dwelling,  the  chapel,  and  the  treadmill  being  speedily 
destroyed. 

Whilst  the  flames  were  still  raging,  the  ruffians  held  a 
council  in  the  gaol  yard  to  consider  their  next  point  of 
attack.  Several  public  buildings  were  marked  out  for  de- 
struction, but  it  was  eventually  determined  to  bum  the  toll- 
houses near  the  Floating  Harbour,  and  then  to  break  open  the 
Gloucestershire  House  of  Correction  at  Lawf ord's  Gtite,  where 
several  prisoners  were  known  to  be  detained.  The  firing  of 
the  toll-houses  was  the  work  of  only  a  few  minutes,  though 
the  rioters  allowed  the  toll-collectors  a  brief  interval  to 
remove  their  furniture.  About  seven  o'clock  in  the  evening, 
the  rabble  reached  Lawford's  Gate  prison,  the  gates  of  which 
were  quickly  demolished  by  hammers  and  other  weapons; 
and  as  soon  as  the  prisoners  had  been  released  the  building 
was  set  on  fire,  and  speedily  burnt  down.  Simultaneously 
with  this  outrage,  a  small  band  of  ragamuffins,  not  exceeding 
thirty  in  number,  and  chiefly  Irish  boys,  retumed  to  Bride- 
well, and  completed  the  havoc  in  that  quarter  by  burning  the 
gaoler's  house. 

The  gang  which  committed  the  latter  wanton  piece  of 
mischief  next  moved  towards  the  Bishop's  Palace,  situated 
on  the  south  side  of  the  cathedral.  Bishop  Gray,  who  had 
made  himself  unpopular  amongst  the  working  classes  by  his 
speech  and  vote  against  the  Reform  Bill  in  the  House  of 
Lords,  had  preached  in  the  cathedral  at  the  morning  service, 
but  had  left  his  residence  during  the  afternoon  from  appre- 
hensions as  to  its  fate,  and  the  more  valuable  contents  had 
been  removed.  Notice  of  the  intended  attack  was  in  this 
case  also  sent  to  the  magistrates;  and  several  gentlemen,  who 

M 


162  THB  ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1831. 

had  gone  to  tlie  Council  House  to  oflPer  their  services,  ad- 
dressed Alderman  Savage,  requesting  him  to  authorise  them 
to  defend  the  palace.     The  alderman,  however,  replied : — 
'*  We  can  give  no  such  permission :  we  are  advised  to  call 
out  the  posse  comitatus  to-morrow  morning;   and    can   do 
nothing  until  then."     The  first  gang  which  entered  Lower 
College   Green,   according  to   the    evidence   of    Jones,   the 
bishop's  butler,  who  displayed  much  courage,  consisted  of 
about  a  hundred  men  and  boys;  but  other  witnesses  estimated 
the   number  at  not  more  than  thirty.     The  account  in  the 
Bristol  Mirror  describes  them  as   "a   mere   handful."     On 
reaching  the  Green,  about  eight  o'clock,  this  body,  with  the 
hammers  brought  from  Bridewell,  attacked  the  gate  leading 
into  the  cloisters,  which  was  soon  broken  down.     The  door 
into   the   palace,   which  Jones   refused   to  open,  was   next 
demolished,  and  the  rioters  rushed  into  the  apartments  in 
search  of  plunder.     The  arrival  of  a  party  of  troops  in  the 
Green,  however,  caused  a  panic;  and  the  mob,  who  had  flung 
the  red-hot  cinders  in  the  grates  about  the  fine  old  dining 
parlour  and  some  of  the  bedrooms,  took  to  flight,  carrying  off 
such  portable  articles  as  had  attracted  their  cupidity.    Cornet 
Kelson,  in  command  of  the  cavalry,  was  invited  by  Jones  to 
dismount  and  enter ;  but  he  replied  that  Colonel  Brereton's 
orders  did  not  permit  him  to  do  so.     A  few  minutes  after- 
wards he  received  instructions  to  leave  for  Queen  Square; 
and  no  sooner  had  the  troops  departed  than  the  rioters,  re- 
inforced by  many  of  the  gang  from  Lawford's  Gate,  burst 
afresh  into  the  palace,  drove  Jones  from  his  post,  thoroughly 
sacked  the  premises  from  the  attics  to  the  cellars,  and  finally 
kindled  fires  in  several  places  at  once.     The  bishop's  wine, 
cleared  out  from  the  cellars,  is  said  to  have  been  sold  in  the 
Green  at  a  penny  or  twopence  a  bottle.     The  chapter  house 
was  next  broken  into,  and  a  library  of  6,000  volumes,  to- 
gether with  some  valuable  manuscripts,  was  recklessly  tossed 
about,  the  major  portion  of  the  books  being  flung  through 
one  of  the  windows  into  the  burning  palace,  while  a  bonfire 
was  made  with  several  hundred  others  in  the  cloisters.     The 
rest  were  chiefly  stolen,  or  flung  into  the  harbour.    The  rioters 
now  resolved  to  burn  the  chapter  house  and  cathedral,  but 
were  resisted  for  a  time  by  Phillips,  the  sub-sacrist.     The 
exertions  of  that  worthy  official  would,  however,  have  been 
fruitless  but   for   the   courage   of  four   or    five   gentlemen 
(Dissenters)  who  ventured  into  the  crowd.    Mr.  B.  Ralph,  the 
most  energetic  of   the   party,  faced  the   ringleader   of   the 
incendiaries^  and  told  him  that  no  Reformer  would  destroy 


1831.]       THE    BIOTS:    BUBNINQ  OF  THE   1CAN8I0N   HOUSE.  163 

the  people's  property ;  whereupon  the  ruffian,  shouting  for 
Reform,  said  they  would  not  bum  the  college,  and  the  flames 
in  the  chapter  room  were  extinguished.  Before  they  quitted 
the  neighbourhood,  the  rioters  had  the  insolence  to  make  an 
attack  on  Reeves'  hotel  in  College  Place,  the  head-quarters  of 
the  dragoons ;  but  upon  a  few  of  the  cavalry  turning  out,  the 
assailants  decamped,  after  demolishing  some  windows. 

Whilst  those  scenes  were  being  enacted  in  St.  Augustine's, 
more  extensive  devastation  had  begun  in  Queen  Square. 
The  liberation  of  a  horde  of  hardened  criminals  from  the 
prisons  had  doubtless  a  serious  influence  on  subsequent 
events.  Political  feeling  had  brought  about  the  demonstra- 
tion of  Saturday,  but  the  mass  of  those  who  took  part  in  it 
had  withdrawn,  and  the  undisguised  purpose  of  the  vicious 
crew  who  had  succeeded  them,  consisting,  according  to  the 
Mirror,  "  entirely  of  low  Irish,"  was  outrage  with  a  view  to 
plunder.  During  the  attack  on  Lawford's  Gate,  a  crowd  had 
remained  in  front  of  the  Mansion  House,  for  the  protection 
of  which,  strangely  enough,  the  magistrates  had  made  no 
provision  throughout  the  entire  day,  but  had  contented 
themselves  with  removing  the  plate  and  several  valuable 
pictures.  For  some  hours  the  rabble  were  prevented  from 
doing  serious  mischief  by  a  picket  of  seven  soldiers  which 
perambulated  the  thoroughfare;  but  the  intention  of  the 
ringleaders  was  in  no  doubt,  for  they  were  seen  by  Father 
Edge  worth  in  one  of  the  adjoining  by-streets  preparing  balls 
of  pitch  and  flax,  which,  according  to  his  deposition,  "  they 
significantly  held  up  to  the  people  and  the  soldiers.'*  When 
the  handful  of  the  latter  were  despatched  for  the  so-called 
protection  of  the  bishop's  palace,  a  few  desperadoes  again 
burst  into  the  Mansion  House  wine-cellars,  and  ransacked 
the  cupboards  etc.,  on  the  ground  floor.  The  testimony  of 
Father  Edgeworth,  who  had  been  drawn  to  the  spot  by  a 
desire  to  keep  his  Irish  flock  in  order,  affords  a  graphic 
idea  of  the  scene.  The  plunderers,  he  said,  hesitated  before 
mounting  to  the  upper  floors  of  the  house ;  but  a  boy,  of  about 
thirteen  years,  with  a  candle  in  his  hand,  ran  up  a  few  of 
the  stairs  and  cried  out,  "  Why  do  you  not  come  on ;  are  you 
afraid  ?  "  whereupon  about  twenty  or  thirty,  chiefly  lads  of 
about  sixteen  years,  followed  the  boy  with  a  cheer.  Every- 
thing which  could  be  carried  away  was  then  stolen ;  the 
larger  pieces  of  furniture  were  knocked  to  pieces ;  and  the 
raiders  finished  the  work  by  setting  fire  to  most  of  the 
chambers,  a  quantity  of  wine  and  spirits  being  thrown  upon 
the  straw  in  the  cellar  before  it  was  lighted.    A  few  remained 


164  THE  ANNALS  OF  BRISTOL.  [1831. 

upstairs  in  search  of  plunder  until  retreat  was  no  longer 
practicable;  and  the  remains  fou^d  in  the  ruins  showed  how 
dearly  they  had  paid  for  their  villany.  So  rapid  was  the 
progress  of  the  flames^  that  the  dragoons  directed  to  Lower 
College  Green  saw,  on  arriving  there,  the  Mansion  House  in 
a  blaze.  Believing  that  the  palace  was  no  longer  in  danger, 
the  troops  returned  to  Queen  Square — only  to  behold, 
immediately  afterwards,  that  the  episcopal  residence  had 
shared  the  same  fate.  A  little  before  ten  o'clock.  Comet 
Kelson,  who  was  left  without  orders,  and  believed  that 
nothing  more  could  be  done,  ordered  his  slender  force  to 
their  Quarters ;  and  the  rioters  were  left  to  work  havoc  at 
their  aiscretion.  "  Not  a  fire  engine  was  present,"  wrote  Mr. 
Somerton,  proprietor  of  the  Britftol  Mercury,  a  spectator, 
''  nor  do  we  hear  that  any  made  the  attempt.  The  firemen 
of  the  different  companies  alone,  armed  with  their  fire 
hatchets,  would  have  been  more  than  sufficient  to  have  routed 
the  mob  at  this  or  any  subsequent  time  during  the  evening/' 
The  special  constables  had  disappeared  early  in  the  day;  and 
the  oftly  regular  officers  of  police,  the  mayor's  and  sheriffs' 
sergeants,  were  so  panic-stricken  that  they  hid  themselves  in 
their  houses,  taking  the  name-plates  off  their  doors  in  order 
to  escape  attention. 

A  new  illustration  of  the  mental  condition  of  the  authorities 
was  given  about  this  time.  The  magistrates  had  despatched 
expresses  in  various  directions  for  military  assistance. 
Amongst  others,  the  Dodington  troop  of  Gloucestershire 
Yeomanry  was  summoned;  but  no  arrangements  were  made 
for  the  quartering  of  that  or  any  other  body.  The  troop  in 
•question  having  arrived  about  ten  o'clock  in  the  evening,  the 
commander,  Captain  Codrington,  marched  to  the  Council 
House;  but  no  magistrate  was  in  attendance  to  give  him 
instructions.  The  captain  next  proceeded  to  the  recruiting 
office  in  College  Green,  in  search  of  Colonel  Brereton ;  but 
that  officer  declined  to  give  him  orders  to  act  until  he  had 
the  co-operation  of  a  magistrate.  Later  on.  Captain  Codring- 
ton and  his  men  made  their  way  to  Queen  Square  while  the 
Mansion  House  was  in  flames ;  but  they  could  still  obtain  no 
intelligence  of  a  guardian  of  the  law.  In  a  letter,  addressed 
next  day  to  the  Home  Secretary,  the  captain  wrote : — 
'^  Having  paraded  through  the  principal  streets  of  the  city 
for  more  than  two  hours,  without  being  able  to  find  a 
magistrate  ;  hearing  that  they  had  in  fact  left  the  town  after 
withdrawing  both  his  majesty's  troops  and  the  police ;  finding 
ourselves  thus  unsupported,  and  without  a  hope  of  being  in 


1831.]  THE   BIOTS:   THS   FIRES  IN  QUEEN  SQUARE.  165 

any  way  serviceable,  the  city  being  actually  in  the  uncon- 
trolled power  of  the  populace,  I  had  no  alternative  but  that 
of  withdrawing  also  my  men,  and  we  returned  home  about 
five  o^clock  this  morning.*'  Soon  after  his  interview  with 
Captain  Codrington,  Colonel  Brereton  retired  to  bed,  ap- 
parently washing  his  hands  of  all  responsibility.  If  he 
supposed  that  the  rioters  would  be  satisfied  with  the  havoo 
they  had  wrought  on  public  property,  he  was  soon  undeceived. 

The  Mansion  House  was  still  burning  fiercely  when  it  be- 
came apparent  to  the  thousands  of  persons  hitherto  looking 
on  with  indifference,  that  the  ringleaders  were  preparing  to 
fire  the  adjoining  houses.  The  attack  commenced  by  beating 
in  the  ground-floor  windows  and  forcing  the  doors ;  admis- 
sion having  been  gained,  the  rooms  were  ransacked  and  the 
lighter  furniture  and  effects  thrown  into  the  thoroughfare ; 
finally,  the  heavy  furniture  was  broken  to  pieces,  piled  in  a 
heap,  and  set  on  fire.  Most  of  the  apartments  being  lined 
with  wainscot,  and  combustible  articles  being  kindled  on 
6 very  storey,  the  flames  spread  with  astonishing  rapidity. 
Indeed,  before  midnight  the  range  of  dwellings  between  the 
Mansion  House  and  the  Custom  House,  including  several 
houses  at  the  back,  formed  one  immense  conflagration.  The 
occupiers,  having  received  from  the  rioters  a  brief  notice 
to  leave,  had  carried  off  a  portion  of  their  more  valuable 
effects;  but  much  of  the  salvage  was  deposited  in  other 
houses,  then  supposed  to  be  out  of  harm's  way,  and  eventu- 
ally also  destroyed. 

The  sack  and  destruction  of  the  Custom  House  were  the 
next  flagrant  incidents  of  the  night.  After  an  entry  had 
been  effected,  a  band  of  wretches,  including  a  few  women, 
allowing  the  officials  to  pack  up  and  remove  the  documents 
and  books,  rushed  upstairs  to  the  dwelling  rooms,  where, 
finding  a  quantity  of  provisions  and  liquor,  they  deliberately 
sat  down  to  regale  themselves,  whilst  a  more  active  gang 
pursued  the  work  of  destruction  in  the  adjoining  apartments. 
A  dreadful  fate  befell  many  of  the  carousers.  In  the  midst 
of  their  brutal  revelry,  the  fires  lighted  by  their  companions 
reached  the  staircase,  which  soon  became  impassable.  Some 
of  the  revellers  slid  from  the  balcony  outside  and  escaped ; 
others  jumped  from  the  windows  and  fell  crushed  on  the 
pavement ;  one  or  two  leaped  upon  the  portico,  the  leaden 
roof  of  which  was  already  in  a  molten  state,  and,  being  held 
fast  by  the  viscous  metal,  were  literally  roasted  to  death. 
[At  the  Bristol  meeting  of  the  British  Association  in  1836, 
Dr.  Buckland  perpetrated  a  grim  joke  on  the  geological 


166  THE  ANNALS  OF  BBISTOL.  [1831. 

section  by  producing  for  inspection  a  bone,  which  he  said 
had  JHst  been  handed  to  him,  and  which  he  described  as  part 
of  the  rib  of  a  mammal,  found  upon  the  red  sandstone.  The 
reli€  having  greatly  puzzled  the  learned  gathering,  the 
doctor  at  length  explained,  that  it  was  a  bone  of  one  of  the 
rioters  who  perished  at  the  Custom  House.  The  animal 
matter  had  been  decomposed  by  intense  heat,  and  the  cavities 
were  filled  with  melted  lead.]  About  four  or  five  fell  back 
into  the  flames,  and  their  bodies,  half  reduced  to  cinders, 
were  afterwards  found  in  the  ruins.  Their  ghastly  end, 
however,  made  no  impression  on  the  bulk  of  the  rioters.  As 
an  avenue  separated  the  Custom  House  from  the  remaining 
dwellings  on  that  side  of  the  square,  the  spectators,  estimated 
at  from  15,000  to  20,000,  hoped  that  the  inceudiaries  would 
now  be  satisfied  with  their  devastations.  But  this  was  far 
from  their  thoughts.  The  houses  on  the  western  side  of  the 
avenue  met  with  precisely  the  same  fate  as  those  in  the 
eastern  wing.  The  proceedings  of  the  miscreants  were  of 
the  simplest  character.  A  brief  notice  was  given  to  the 
occupants  to  leave.  If  a  house  were  abandoned  and  ^ut  up, 
it  was  entered  by  boys  through  the  windows  in  the  manner 
already  described;  portable  articles  of  value  were  carried 
o£f,  others  were  thrown  into  the  square  to  be  picked  up  by 
confederates;  and  then  fires  were  lighted  in  most  of  the 
rooms.  The  whole  row  was  in  flames  about  an  hour  after 
midnight;  and  from  the  thoroughly  effectual  way  in  which 
the  villains  pursued  their  operations,  the  destruction  was  as 
rapid  as  it  was  complete.  Besides  the  property  in  Queen 
Square,  some  warehouses  were  burning  in  King  Street;  and 
from  a  bonded  store,  containing  about  fifty  puncheons  of 
rum,  the  ignited  spirit  poured  into  the  street,  forming  a 
"hedge  of  fire"  in  front  of  several  dwelling  houses,  the 
inmates  of  which  were  saved  by  the  courage  of  a  party  of 
sailors. 

Most  of  the  older  criminals  were  by  this  time  in  a  brutal 
state  of  drunkenness,  from  the  quantity  of  liquor  which  had 
been  consumed  during  their  raids.  But  the  fury  of  the 
younger  gang  was  insatiable,  and  the  western  side  of  the 
vast  quadrangle,  beginning  with  the  Excise  Office,  was  next 
vowed  to  ruin,  a  number  of  neighbouring  warehouses  fronting 
Prince's  Street  being  destined  to  the  same  fate.  Nearly  all 
the  mischief  in  this  locality  was  committed  by  young  boys, 
whose  number,  according  to  one  witness,  did  not  exceed  fifty, 
while  many  respectable  persons  reduced  the  total  to  about 
thirty.      Mr.  Somerton   wrote  : — "  We   saw  three   urchins. 


1831.]  THE  riots:   bxtbaobdinaby  scenes.  167 

apparently  not  more  than  ten  or  eleven  years  of  age,  who, 
when  their  retreat  from  the  attic  floor  of  one  of  the  houses 
had  been  cut  off,  and  while  the  flames  were  bursting  out 
beneath  them,  coolly  clambered  along  a  coping,  projecting 
not  more  than  three  inches,  and,  entering  an  adjoining  house, 
immediately  set  fire  to  a  bedstead  and  fumiture.^^  Language 
cannot  do  justice  to  the  extraordinary  scene  which  the  city 
presented  at  this  time.  Almost  the  entire  population  was 
afoot,  and  in  spite  of  a  continuous  drizzling  rain,  every 
eminence  dominating  the  burning  square  was  crowded  with 
a  terror-stricken  multitude  of  all  ages.  Charles  Kingsley,  at 
that  time  a  boy  of  thirteen,  residing  in  a  boarding  school  on 
St.  Michael's  Hill,  was  one  of  the  units  of  this  great  mass, 
and  twenty-seven  years  afterwards  narrated  to  a  Bristol 
audience  his  reminiscences  of  the  spectacle.  "  One  seemed,'^ 
he  said,  '^to  look  down  upon  Dante's  Inferno,  and  to  hear 
the  multitudinous  moan  and  wail  of  the  lost  spirits  surging 
to  and  fro  amid  that  sea  of  fire."  After  a  graphic  sketch 
of  Brandon  Hill,  tinged  with  diversified  tints  of  colour,  he 
added : — *'  Higher  and  higher  the  fog  was  scorched  and 
shrivelled  by  the  fierce  heat  below,  glowing  through  and 
through  with  red  reflected  glare  till  it  arched  itself  into  one 
vast  dome  of  red-hot  iron — fit  roof  for  all  the  madness  down 
below ;  and  beneath  it,  miles  away,  I  could  see  the  lovely 
tower  of  Dundry,  shining  red."  How  dazzling  was  the 
refulgence  may  be  imagined  from  the  statement  of  an  in- 
habitant of  Beachley,  near  Chepstow,  who  averred  that  the 
illumination  of  the  sky  enabled  him  to  read  a  book  in  his 
garden.  The  most  bewildering  scenes,  however,  were  in 
Queen  Square  itself.  Scores  of  rioters  in  the  last  stages  of 
drunkenness  were  rolling  about  in  front  of  the  burning 
property,  or  carousing  in  groups,  or  grovelling  on  the  sward ; 
now  and  then  a  barrel  of  wine  or  beer  was  brought  out  of 
one  of  the  houses  to  keep  up  the  brutal  debauch ;  a  few  lads 
were  rushing  with  torches  or  burning  brands  from  one 
doomed  house  to  another ;  and  about  one  hundred  and  fifty 
older  and  more  wily  villains  were  engaged  in  gathering  up 
the  plunder  extracted  from  the  dwellings — many  of  them 
selling  it  openly  in  the  square  and  adjoining  streets,  amidst 
the  ruddy  glare  from  the  blazing  buildings.  Mr.  Somerton 
saw  '^  what  appeared  to  be  a  beautiful  silver  teapot  offered 
for  a  shilling,  and  feather  beds,  mahogany  tables,  and  a 
variety  of  costly  and  valuable  articles  of  furniture  were 
offered  at  the  same  rate."  According  to  the  Mirror,  a 
handsome  pianoforte  taken  out  of  the  Mansion  House  was 


168  THE  ANNALS  OF  BRISTOL.  [1831. 

bought  by  a  gentleman  for  four  shillings.  The  enormous 
quantity  of  stolen  goods  could  not,  however,  be  got  rid  of  in 
this  way,  and  a  number  of  fellows  might  be  seen  busily  piling 
their  spoil  upon  wagons,  cars,  carts,  and  trucks,  a  stream  of 
which  came  and  went  as  deliberately  as  if  they  had  been 
engaged  at  a  gigantic  auction,  whilst  thousands  of  citizens 
of  all  classes,  apparently  paralysed  at  the  spectacle,  looked 
helplessly  on.  How  little  courage  would  have  been  needed 
to  trample  down  the  riot,  may  be  judged  from  a  few  facts 
elicited  during  the  subsequent  trials.  Whilst  the  incendiaries 
were  at  the  height  of  their  triumph,  a  porter  named  Mills, 
employed  by  Messrs.  Bartlett  &  Mogg,  wine  merchants, 
saw  some  or  the  gang  attempting  to  remove  the  padlock 
from  one  of  his  masters^  warehouses,  when  he  wrested  a 
hammer  from  one  of  the  men,  set  his  back  against  the  door, 
and  threatened  to  knock  out  the  brains  of  any  one  who 
should  come  nigh  him.  The  ruffians  at  once  went  off ;  and 
the  warehouse  was  saved  for  the  time.  In  another  case, 
Martha  Davis,  servant  to  a  Mr.  Cross,  living  in  Queen  Square, 
withstood  the  rioters  who  entered  the  house;  and  though  she 
was  knocked  down  insensible  by  a  blow,  she  on  recovering 
seized  one  of  the  crew  by  the  collar,  and  eventually  drove 
out  the  whole  party,  shutting  the  door  in  their  faces. 
Similar  bravery  was  shown  near  Lawford's  Gate  prison  by 
Mrs.  Mack,  wife  of  a  publican,  and  by  her  brother,  William 
Field.  The  mob  which  set  fire  to  the  prison  had  afterwards 
burst  into  Mack^s  house,  and  attempted  to  bum  it;  but  Field 
and  his  sister  resisted  them  so  stoutly  that  Mr.  Justice 
Taunton,  who  tried  three  of  the  criminals  at  Gloucester, 
declared  that  if  twenty  men  had  acted  like  Field,  the  riots 
would  have  been  suppressed. 

It  is  now  time  to  return  to  the  doings  of  the  authorities. 
As  already  stated,  the  troops  had  been  ordered  to  their 
quarters,  and  Colonel  Brereton  had  gone  to  bed.  No  evidence 
is  forthcoming  as  to  what  had  become  of  the  aldermen.  The 
mayor,  though  exhausted  from  want  of  rest,  declined  to  leave 
the  city,  but  had  some  difficulty  in  obtaining  shelter,  being 
refused  admission  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Sheriff  Lax,  in  Park 
Street,  by  the  servants  left  in  charge  (the  family,  like  many 
others,  had  fled  from  the  city),  whilst  he  was  virtually  turned 
out  of  that  of  Mr.  Granger,  a  surgeon.  He  at  last  found 
refuge  at  Mr.  Daniel  Fripp's,  in  Berkeley  Square,  whence  a 
letter  was  sent  to  Colonel  Brereton,  notifying  where  he  was 
to  be  found.  About  two  o'clock  on  Monday  morning,  Mr. 
Samuel  Goldney,  surgeon,  a  relative  of  one  of  the  aldermeuj 


1831  .J        THE  riots:  ths  troops  ordered  to  act.  169 

was  in  Queen  Sqaare,  and  satisfied  himself^  as  lie  afterwards 
deposed^  that  the  actual  number  of  rioters  was  only  between 
fifty  and  a  hundred^  and  that  a  single  vigorous  effort  would 
put  an  end  to  the  havoc.  He  accordingly  went  to  the  cavalry 
stables^  where  he  found  Comet  Kelson  eager  to  act  if  he 
could  obtain  a  proper  order  to  that  effect.  Mr.  Goldney 
then  proceeded  to  Mr.  Fripp's,  where,  after  great  hesitation^ 
that  gentleman  admitted  him^  and  heard  his  report^  which 
he  conveyed  to  the  mayor.  The  latter  thereupon  wrote  a 
note,  bearing  the  vague  address,  "  Bristol,  3  o'clock,  Monday 
morning,"  requiring  the  officer  in  command  of  the  troops  to 
use  the  most  vigorous  measures  to  suppress  the  riot.  Mr. 
Fripp,  in  delivering  this  missive  to  Mr.  Goldney,  remarked, 
"  You  are  particularly  requested  not  to  say  where  the  mayor 
is."  The  letter  was  taken  to  Leigh's  stables,  and  delivered 
to  Captain  Warrington,  who  was  technically  in  command  of 
the  dragoons  during  Colonel  Brereton's  absence.  The  captain 
at  first  declined  to  open  the  letter,  on  the  ground  that  it  was 
not  directed  to  him,  but  ultimately  consented  to  do  so.  He 
then  said  that  Jiis  superior  officer  would  return  in  two  or 
three  hours,  and  that,  although  willing  to  turn  out  the  troops 
on  the  receipt  of  proper  orders,  he  would  not  move  except 
in  company  with  a  magistrate.  Mr.  Goldney  made  no  reply, 
as  he  did  not  know  where  an  alderman  was  to  be  found, 
and  was  unwilling  to  mention  the  whereabouts  of  the  mayor. 
Through  this  unfortunate  error  of  judgment  on  the  part  of 
Captain  Warrington,  which  was  the  ruin  of  his  professional 
career,  the  rioters  remained  unchecked  for  nearly  two  hours 
longer,  during  which  the  devastation  was  greatly  extended. 
About  four  o'clock,  Mr.  Alderman  Camplin  found  his  way 
to  Captain  Warrington,  and  requested  the  troops  to  be 
brought  out ;  but  the  captain,  though  expressing  a  desire  to 
act,  would  not  give  orders  until  he  had  seen  Colonel  Brereton. 
He  and  the  alderman,  however,  roused  up  the  colonel  at  his 
lodgings  in  Unity  Street ;  and  although  the  commanding  officer 
still  protested  that  a  few  jaded  troops  could  do  no  good  against 
such  a  mob,  he  was  at  last  prevailed  upon  to  order  out  the 
dragoons,  who  arrived  at  the  scene  of  ruin  between  five  and 
six  o'clock. 

At  this  time,  a  large  warehouse  in  Prince's  Street  was  in 
flames,  the  whole  of  the  western  side  of  Queen  Square — 
excepting  two  dwellings  which  the  rioters  were  pillaging*— 

*  The  Mirror  Btates  that  these  hoases  escaped  destruction  through  the 
exertions  of  Mr.  B.  Ralph  and  a  yoang  man  named  Thomas.  They  still  stand 
in  the  middle  of  the  western  side,  immediately  below  the  central  ayenne. 


170  THB  ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL.  [1831. 

was  burnt  or  burning;  and  an  attack  had  just  commenced 
against  the  corner  house  on  the  southern  side^  which  had 
been  sentenced  to  the  same  fate  as  the  northern  and  western 
facades.  The  dragoons  had  begun  to  patrol  the  square^  as 
before,  when  Major  Mackworth  arrived.  "It  immediately 
struck  me/'  he  afterwards  wrote,  "  that  if  this  house  were 
fired,  the  shipping  would  soon  be  in  a  blaze,  and  nearly  the 
whole  city  must  inevitably  be  burned.  It  was  no  longer 
time  to  consider  numbers  or  await  magistrates'  orders.  I 
called  out  '  Colonel  Brereton,  we  must  instantly  charge,'  and 
without  waiting  for  his  answer  (he  could  not  but  approve), 
I  called  out,  '  Charge,  men,  and  charge  home.'  The  troops 
obeyed  with  the  utmost  alacrity.  Colonel  Brereton  charging 
with  great  spirit  at  their  head.  .  .  .  Numbers  were  cut 
down  and  ridden  over;  some  were  driven  into  the  burning 
houses,  out  of  which  they  were  never  seen  to  return ;  and 
our  dragoons,  after  sabring  all  they  could  come  at  in  the 
square,  collected  and  formed,  and  then  charged  down  Prince's 
Street,  and  again  returned  to  the  square,  riding  at  the  miser- 
able  mob  in  all  directions;  about  120  or  130 jof  the  incendi- 
aries were  killed  and  wounded  here."  In  the  meantime  a 
party  of  public-spirited  /citizens,  who  had  gradually  collected 
(amongst  whom  Mr.  B.  Kalph  was  again  prominent),  offered 
themselves  to  Colonel  Brereton,  who  readily  accepted  their 
services.  They  first  entered  the  two  unbumed  houses  on 
the  western  side,  from  which  they  dislodged  the  plunderers 
by  main  force,  one  of  the  gang  having  his  neck  dislocated, 
while  others  were  cut  down  by  the  soldiers  outside.  Strength- 
ened by  a  few  volunteers,  the  salvage  party  advanced  to  the 
house  of  ex-Sheriff  Claxton,  at  the  west  end  of  the  south 
side,  which  was  being  stripped  by  the  rioters  in  the  usual 
manner,  prior  to  being  set  on  fire.  As  a  further  evidence  of 
the  astonishing  weakness  of  the  horde  that  had  perpetrated 
so  much  ruin,  it  may  be  stated  that  the  band  found  wrecking 
this  house  numbered  only  sixteen  persons,  of  whom  five  were 
women  and  young  boys.  After  a  smart  conflict,  during  which 
Mr.  Henry  Smith,  solicitor,  received  two  stabs,  while  Mr. 
Claxton's  negro  servant  threw  one  of  the  thieves  clean  out 
of  an  upstairs  window,  the  villanous  crew  were  driven  off, 
and  the  fires  they  had  kindled  in  three  rooms  extinguished. 
With  the  pertinacity  they  had  displayed  throughout,  how- 
ever, the  rioters,  though  repeatedly  charged  by  the  dragoons, 
retreated  into  the  little  courts  railed  off  in  front  of  the  houses; 
and  about  half  past  six  o'clock  about  fifty  ruffians  actually 
attempted  to  renew  their  work  ;  but  the  armed  f orce^  slender 


1831.]  THE    BIOTS:    ATTITUDB   OF  THB  ALDEBMEN.  171 

as  it  was  (21  men),  prevented  further  acts  of  violence.  Major 
Mackworth,  moreover,  had  already  galloped  off  to  Keynsham, 
bearing  Colonel  Brereton's  order  for  the  return  of  the  14th 
Hussars,  and  these  troops  were  joined  in  trotting  back  by 
about  fourteen  of  the  Bedminster  Yeomanry — whose  ''  dis- 
cretion "  throughout  the  crisis  excited  some  uncomplimentary 
criticism.  [It  was  stated  in  a  newspaper,  that  they  had  been 
for  some  time  shut  up  in  the  riding-house  in  Portwall  Lane, 
to  keep  them  out  of  harm's  way.] 

Before  the  hussars  reached  Bristol,  effectual  help  had 
arrived  from  another  quarter.  Major  Beck  with,  commanding 
a  portion  of  the  same  regiment  stationed  at  Gloucester,  had 
hurried  from  that  city  on  receiving  a  demand  for  assistance, 
and  reached  the  Council  House  about  seven  o'clock,  an  hour 
and  a  half  in  advance  of  his  troops.  He  was  received  by 
the  mayor,  three  or  four  aldermen,  and  the  town  clerk;  and 
his  description  of  the  civic  authorities,  afterwards  given  on 
oath,  is  deserving  of  record.  They  appeared,  he  said,  be- 
wildered and  stupified  with  terror,  the  mayor  being  the 
most  collected  of  the  party.  Having  requested  that  one  or 
two  magistrates  would  accompany  him  on  horseback,  they 
individually  and  positively  refused  to  do  so.  "  One  of  them 
stated  it  would  make  him  unpopular ;  another,  that  it  would 
cause  his  shipping  to  be  destroyed ;  another,  his  property. 
They  also  informed  me  that  none  of  them  knew  how  to  ride 
on  horseback,  except  one  gentleman,  and  they  pointed  to 
the  tall  alderman  [A.]  Hilhouse.  Mr.  Hilhouse  said  he  had 
not  been  on  horseback  for  eighteen  years,  and  he  would  hold 
anybody  responsible  who  said  a  second  time  that  he  could 
ride."  [Major  Beckwith  subsequently  stated  that  he  had 
mistaken  the  identity  of  the  alderman  who  used  these  ex- 
pressions. A  contemporary  writer,  in  defending  the  Corpora- 
tion, alleged  that  at  ordinary  times  most  of  the  aldermen 
could  be  seen  riding  into  the  city  every  morning.]  The 
major  having  demanded  written  authority  sanctioning  any 
steps  he  might  take,  the  required  document  was  signed  by 
the  mayor.  He  then  went  to  Queen  Square  to  have  an 
interview  with  Colonel  Brereton,  and,  expressing  his  astonish- 
ment at  the  scene  before  him,  he  asked  what  had  become  of 
the  14th  Hussars.  Colonel  Brereton  said  that  they  had  been 
sent  away,  but  were  about  to  return ;  that  the  magistrates 
would  not  authorise  him  to  use  force ;  that  he  had  too  few 
men  to  put  down  the  tumult ;  and  that  he  should  go  to  his 
lodgings  to  dress,  which  he  incontinently  did.  Major  Beck- 
with had  a  further  conversation  with  him  pending  the  arrival 


172  THE  ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1831. 

of  the  squadron  from  Gloucester;  and  it  may  be  presumed 
from  the  major's  subsequent  acts  that  he  resolved,  in  spite  of 
his  inferior  rank,  to  take  his  own  measures  for  suppressing 
the  riot,  regardless  of  the  opinion  of  his  superior  oflBcer. 
Colonel  Brereton  calmly  submitted  to  this  military  offence, 
contenting  himself  with  declaring  that  Major  Beckwith  must 
take  the  whole  responsibility.  Just  as  the  troops  from 
Oloucester  reached  the  city,  a  report  was  received  that  the 
cellars  of  the  bishop's  palace  were  being  again  pillaged ;  but 
the  charges  of  the  fresh  troops,  which  were  made  wherever 
the  rabble  collected,  and  in  which  Colonel  Brereton  again 
took  part,  brought  the  atrocious  disorders  to  an  end  in  less 
than  two  hours. 

Unhappily  order  was  not  restored  without  much  bloodshed. 
Major  Mackworth  stated  that  he  saw  '^  at  least  250  rioters 
killed  or  wounded  "  in  the  concluding  charges.  And,  as  is 
usual  in  collisions  of  this  kind,  several  innocent  pedestrians, 
unexpectedly  encountering  the  troops,  were  grievously  in- 
jured. The  officers  of  the  public  hospitals  recorded  a  total 
of  twelve  deaths  arising  from  the  riots— four  from  shots  or 
sword  cuts,  six  from  burns,  and  two  from  excessive  drinking. 
The  wounded  under  treatment  numbered  96,  of  whom  59  were 
injured  by  the  troops,  and  87  from  various  other  causes.  It 
was  known,  however,  that  these  figures  far  from  represented 
the  aggregate  casualties,  either  fatal  or  otherwise.  Some  of 
the  mortally  injured  were  not  taken  to  the  hospitals,  and 
some  bodies,  it  was  suspected,  were  secretly  thrown  into  the 
Avon.  Probably  at  least  a  dozen  rioters  were  burnt  to  ashes 
in  the  destroyed  houses.  The  relics  of  five  or  six  others 
were  dug  out  of  the  ruins.  They  were  not  corpses,  said  Mr. 
Kingsley,  but  ''  corpse  fragments,"  and  he  added,  '*  there 
was  one  charred  fragment,  with  a  scrap  of  old  red  petticoat 
adhering  to  it,  which  I  never  forgot.  (One  man  was  dis- 
interred alive,  but  had  an  arm  entirely  burned  off.)  A  great 
number  injured  in  the  charges  of  the  troops,  again,  were 
concealed  by  their  friends,  through  fear  of  recognition  if 
they  were  removed  to  the  infirmary.  There  is  every  reason 
to  believe,  however,  that  Mr.  Eagles'  assertion,  that  five 
hundred  of  the  rioters  paid  for  their  crimes  with  their  lives 
is  a  ridiculous  exaggeration.  In  addition  to  the  hussars 
from  Keynsham,  some  troops  of  the  North  Somerset  Yeo- 
manry from  Frome,  Wincanton,  and  other  places  soon  after 
arrived,  and  the  magistrates,  reassembled  at  the  Council 
House,  resolved  on  calling  out  the  posse  comitatu^,  and 
appointed  a  number  of  deputy  sheriffs,  amongst  them  Mr. 


1831.]  THE  riots:   restoration  of  order.  173 

Herapath^  whose  proffered  assistance  of  the  members  of  the 
Political  Union  was  at  last  welcomed.  By  these  measures 
upwards  of  4^000  citizens  were  soon  embodied^  wearing  a  strip 
of  white  calico  round  the  right  arm  as  a  distinguishing  badge. 
In  a  few  hours  the  streets  were  deserted  except  by  the 
guardians  of  the  peace^  while  the  ringleaders  of  disorder^ 
already  dreading  discovery,  hid  themselves  in  obscure  dens 
— one  of  the  worst  of  the  ruffians,  however,  having  the 
audacity  to  assume  the  badge  of  a  constable,  which  he  was 
wearing  when  arrested. 

The  restoration  of  order  had  not  come  a  moment  too  soon. 
The  news  of  the  devastation  had  spread  far  and  wide,  and 
all  the  evil  characters  of  the  western  counties  were  flocking 
to  the  city  to  share  in  its  plunder.  The  lower  labouring 
class  in  the  suburbs  had  already  become  demoralised.  On 
the  night  of  Sunday,  when  the  city  was  illuminated  by  the 
gigantic  fires  in  Queen  Square  (which  were  seen  for  forty 
miles  around),  gangs  of  low  ruffians  attacked  and  entered  the 
public  houses  in  almost  every  part  of  the  town,  demanding 
unlimited  supplies  of  liquor  with  horrible  menaces,  recklessly 
breaking  open  barrels  and  wasting  more  than  they  consumed. 
To  say  nothing  of  many  such  outrages  in  the  heart  of  the 
city,  Mr.  Somerton  stated  that  there  was  scarcely  a  tavern 
from  Queen  Square  to  Easton  that  was  not  more  or  less 
ravaged.  "  In  Wine  Street,"  he  added,  "  the  houses  of 
respectable  tradesmen  were  visited,  and  money  was  de- 
manded under  threats  of  murdering  the  owners  in  case  of 
refusal ;  and  in  some  instances — such  was  the  terror  in  which 
the  wretches  were  held — handfuls  of  silver  coin  were  thrown 
to  them  from  the  upper  windows.''  After  many  of  the  rioters 
had  fled  into  the  country  in  consequence  of^  the  charges  of 
the  hussars,  news  was  received  that  they  were  plundering 
houses  near  St.  George's,  and  cavalry  had  to  be  sent  there 
before  they  would  disperse.  A  despatch  had  been  previously 
sent  to  Bath  for  military  aid;  but  the  populace  of  that  city 
forthwith  broke  into  disturbance,  and  did  so  much  damage 
at  one  of  the  hotels  *  that  it  was  deemed  prudent  to  retain 
the  troops.  Again,  when  two  or  three  companies  of  infantry 
sent   from  Cardiff  were  about  to   embark  in  a   steamer  at 


*  The  hotel  in  question,  the  White  Hart,  was  threatened  with  the  fate  of  the 
Bristol  Mansion  House.  The  mob  were  rushing  in  after  destroying  the  windows. 
*'  They  however  met  with  a  warm  reoeption,  a  charge  being  made  by  the  in- 
mates with  red  hot  pokers,  previously  prepared*  which  had  an  admirable  effect 
in  causing  the  assailing  party  to  beat  a  precipitate  retreat.** — Mainwarin{f*$ 
•*  AnnaU  of  Bath,"  p.  376. 


174  THE   ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1831. 

Newport,  a  mob  in  sympathy  witli  the  Bristol  rioters 
attempted  to  cut  the  boat  adrift,  and  even  threatened  a 
regular  attack  on  the  troops.  These  soldiers  (for  whom  no 
TLCcommodation  had  been  provided  in  Bristol,*  and  who  took 
shelter  in  the  Guildhall  and  the  White  Lion  dining-room) 
had  to  be  sent  back  to  Wales  two  or  three  days  later,  owing 
to  an  apprehension  of  riots  at  Merthyr  Tydvil,  where  some 
of  the  Bristol  fugitives  were  reported  to  have  fled.  Such 
facts  suffice  to  show  the  widespread  peril  of  the  crisis,  and 
the  urgent  need  of  the  vigour  which  was  so  tardily  displayed. 
Until  the  arrival  of  a  large  body  of  troops,  including  artillery, 
which  were  promptly  despatched  by  the  military  authori- 
ties, watch  and  ward  were  kept  by  the  special  constables,  the 
parish  churches  being  lighted  up  nightly  for  use  as  head- 
quarters for  each  district.  Even  so  late  as  the  5th  November 
it  was  deemed  advisable  to  close  the  markets  at  six  o'clock; 
though,  from  the  co-operation  of  all  supporters  of  order, 
danger  had  then  disappeared. 

With  the  return  of  security  came  arrangements  for  detect- 
ing the  ringleaders,  and  for  recovering  as  much  of  the  stolen 
property  as  could  be  traced;  and  extraordinary  were  the 
results  of  the  investigation  that  followed.  Mr.  John  Mills, 
editor  of  the  Bristol  Oazette,  a  man  thoroughly  acquainted 
with  all  classes  of  the  population,  stated  in  his  journal  that  the 
great  bulk  of  the  rioters  had  sprung  from  the  Irish  colonies 
located  in  the  slums  of  the  city;  and  his  assertion  was  con- 
firmed by  those  engaged  as  searchers.  In  Marsh  Street,  the 
denizens  of  which  were  nearly  all  Irish,  an  almost  incredible 
quantity  of  stolen  property  was  discovered,  many  of  the 
houses  being  crammed  with  goods.  Many  cartloads  were 
collected  in  Lewin's  Mead ;  two  loads  were  taken  out  of  a 
dwelling  in  Host  Street ;  and  still  larger  stores  of  booty  came 
to  light  in  the  low  alleys  in  St.  James's,  the  Pithay,  the 
Dings,  Baptist  Mills,  Bedminster,  and  Kingswood.  The 
aggregate  is  said  to  have  loaded  forty  wagons,  and  occupied 
so  much  space  that  the  parish  churches  were  opened  for  its 
reception,  the  quadrangle  of  the  Exchange  being  also  full  of 
recovered  property  of  every  kind,  piled  up  in  heaps  several 
feet  high.  Many  stratagems  for  secreting  their  prey,  or  for 
getting  rid  of  it  when  discovery  became  threatening,  were 
resorted  to  by  the  freebooters.     Some  property  was  found 

*  A  few  days  later  the  Armoary  in  Stapleton  Boad,  hired  from  the  Corpo- 
ration of  the  Poor,  was  fitted  up  for  the  accommodation  of  the  troops  pent  down 
by  the  Goyernment,  and  additional  barracks  were  temporarily  formed  in  the 
Wool  Hall  and  in  a  warehouse  in  Thomas  Street. 


1831.]         THE  riots:  becovebt  of  the  plundeb.  175 

buried  in  back  jards^  laid  apon  roofs^  and  lodged  in  water 
cisterns  and  pigsties.  In  other  houses^  the  constables  found 
fragments  of  valuable  furniture  burning  in  the  grates^  while 
occasionally  the  thieves  divested  themselves  of  their  ill- 
gotten  booty  by  throwing  it  into  the  Float  or  the  Avon. 

One  recovery  will  long  be  memorable,  the  article  saved — 
a  massive  sixteenth  century  silver  salver — forming  an  inter- 
esting item  in  the  collection  of  civic  plate.  The  salver, 
accidentally  forgotten  when  the  rest  of  the  plate  was  removed 
from  the  Mansion  House,  was  purloined  by  a  rioter  named 
Ives,  who  cut  it  into  no  less  than  169  pieces.  Supposing 
its  identification  would  thus  be  impossible,  Ives  offered  a 
portion  of  it  for  sale  to  Mr.  Williams,  a  silversmith,  who, 
suspecting  a  robbery,  asked  to  see  the  remainder  before 
making  a  purchase.  Next  day,  when  Ives  brought  the  rest 
of  his  spoil,  he  was  captured,  and  was  soon  after  sentenced 
to  fourteen  years'  transportation.  The  whole  of  the  salver 
was  recovered  save  two  minute  fragments,  and  by  Mr. 
Williams's  ingenuity  it  was  so  successfully  riveted  together 
that  its  original  beauty  remains  intact,  while  it  has  acquired 
an  additional  historic  value.*  Of  the  valuable  cathedral 
library  about  eleven  hundred  volumes  were  rescued  from 
marine  stores,  old  clothes  shops,  etc.,  but  only  two  or  three 
works  were  recovered  entire.  The  discoveries  of  stolen 
goods  led  to  the  capture  of  several  more  of  the  leading 
rioters,  some  of  whom  were  caught  whilst  carousing  on  the 
liquors  they  had  carried  off.  One  Irishman,  when  appre- 
hended, was  wearing  three  shirts,  three  jackets,  and  three 
pairs  of  trousers,  while  an  Irishwoman  was  indebted  for  the 
''interesting  condition"  in  which  she  posed,  to  two  silk  waist- 
coats and  a  pair  of  blankets  wrapped  around  her  waist. 
About  forty  of  the  criminals  who  had  been  liberated  from 
prison  were  also  arrested;  and  in  a  few  days  the  gaol,  having 
undergone  hasty  repair,  contained  nearly  240  inmates  com- 
promised in  the  tumults. 

In  the  then  existing  state  of  the  city  political  party  spirit 
might  well  have  been  hushed.  On  the  Ist  December,  how- 
ever, a  meeting  took  place  of  local  anti-Reformers,  Alderman 
Daniel  presiding,  when  an  address  to  the  king  was  adopted, 
in  which,  according  to  the  London  Times,  it  was  argued  that 
anarchists,  atheists,  robbers,  and  incendiaries  were  the  only 
allies  of  Lord  Grey's  Ministry.     Shortly  afterwards,  a  so- 

*  Ives  returned  to  Bristol  after  andergoing  his  sentence,  and  had  the  effron- 
tery to  call  at  the  Coanoil  House  and  ask  permiasion  to  see  the  restored  salver. 


176  THS  ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1831. 

called  history  of  the  riots  was  published,  professedly  from 
the  pen  of  '^  a  citizen/^  but  really  compiled  by  the  Rev.  John 
Eagles^  then  living  in  a  secluded  village  in  Somerset^  who 
reproduced  the  most  extravagant  rumours  and  gossip  of  the 
time.  Ignoring  the  obligations  of  his  sacred  calling,  the 
author  boldly  avowed  that  his  object  was  to  excite  a  belief 
that  'Hhe  perpetrators  of  the  [Reform]  Bill^^ — in  other 
words  the  Ministry — '^were  in  connection  with  the  perpe- 
trators of  the  plot,"  which  "  had  been  long  in  preparation, 
and  had  been  carried  out  by  hirelings  from  Birmingham." 
The  reverend  censor  was  of  course  unable  to  produce  a  vestige 
of  trustworthy  evidence  in  support  of  his  assertions.  So  far 
from  the  mob  being  led  by  hired  desperadoes  prepared  for 
slaughter  and  destruction,  it  does  not  appear  that  a  single 
rioter  was  possessed  of  a  lethal  weapon  until  he  stole  one 
during  his  search  for  plunder ;  and  the  idle  tales  reproduced 
in  the  book  about  incendiary  powders,  cakes,  pastes,  liquids, 
and  so  forth,  found  no  support  in  the  testimony  of  the 
witnesses  at  the  trials,  excepting  that  one  fire-raiser  was 
believed  to  have  had  a  pocket  bottle  of  spirits  of  turpentine. 
[It  is  only  fair  to  add,  that  in  his  later  years,  Mr.  Eagles, 
seemingly  ashamed  of  the  work,  endeavoured  to  escape  from 
the  stigma  which  attached  to  its  authorship.] 

To  the  great  indignation  of  the  citizens,  the  Corporation 
proposed  that  the  rioters  should  be  tried  before  Sir  Charles 
W  etherell ;  but  the  Government  resolved  on  issuing  a  special 
commission  directed  to  Lord  Chief  Justice  Tindal,  Mr.  Justice 
Taunton,  Mr.  Justice  Bosanquet,  and  the  Duke  of  Beaufort 
(lord  high  steward  of  the  city),  ordering  them  to  proceed 
with  their  task  on  the  2nd  January,  1832.  The  recorder  was 
indignant  at  being  excluded  from  the  commission,  and  had 
the  courage  to  demand,  ^^  as  a  matter  of  right,'^  that  his  name 
and  that  of  his  brother  aldermen  should  be  added  to  the  list. 
His  request  was  rejected  by  the  Government,  as  "  simply  a 
claim  by  the  Corporation  to  sit  as  judges  On  their  own  cause," 
and  Sir  Charles  vented  his  rage  at  the  rebuff  by  a  charac- 
teristic outburst  in  the  House  of  Commons.  Due  preparations 
were  made  for  receiving  the  judges  with  a  solemnity  worthy 
of  the  occasion.  The  whole  of  the  ratepayers  were  again 
sworn  in  as  constables,  a  body  of  policemen  was  formed  for 
the  special  protection  of  the  judges,  and  detachments  of 
troops  were  posted  at  various  points  in  case  of  emergency ; 
though,  as  may  be  supposed,  there  was  no  indication  of  dis- 
respect or  ill-feeling.  The  trials  occupied  twelve  days, 
during  which  102  prisoners  were  brought  up.     Of  these  81 


1831.]  CONVICTION  AND  EXECUTION  OF  EI0TER8.  177 

were  convicted  and  21  acquitted.  In  addition  to  these  cases^ 
12  indictments  were  rejected  by  the  grand  jury,  and  on  13 
others  no  evidence  was  offered.  Of  the  criminals  convicted, 
6  were  left  for  execution;  sentence  of  death  was  recorded 
against  26,  but  it  was  commuted  to  transportation  for  life  ; 
one  was  sentenced  to  transportation  for  fourteen  years,  and 
6  for  seven  years ;  while  the  remaining  43  suflTered  various 
terms  of  imprisonment  with  hard  labour.  [Four  of  the 
aldermen  had  the  courage  to  take  their  seats  on  the  judicial 
bench  whilst  the  Lord  Chief  Justice  passed  sentence  on  the 
criminals.  Their  intrusion  appears  to  have  been  looked 
upon  as  a  notable  manifestation  of  bad  taste.]  Richard 
Vines,  one  of  the  five  capitally  convicted,  received  a  reprieve, 
owing  to  his  semi-idiocy.  On  behalf  of  the  others — Chris- 
topher Davis,  for  destroying  the  gaol;  William  Clarke,  for 
destroying  the  gaol  and  Bridewell;  and  Thomas  Gregory 
and  Joseph  Kayes,  for  destroying  private  houses — a  petition 
for  a  commutation  of  the  punishment  was  addressed  to  the 
Crown  by  about  10,000  citizens,  including  many  of  the 
highest  respectability.  Especial  exertions  were  made  on 
behalf  of  Davis,  a  man  who  bad  amassed  a  small  competence 
in  his  former  business  as  a  carrier,  but  was  addicted  to 
violent  language  when  excited  by  liquor.  It  was  pleaded 
that  he  had  been  guilty  of  no  act  of  violence,  his  crime  con- 
sisting in  cheering  on  the  rabble  by  waving  his  hat  on  an 
umbrella,  in  cursing  the  bishops  and  the  Corporation,  and 
in  expressing  hopes  of  their  downfall.  He  had,  however, 
boasted  that  he  had  drunk  some  of  the  wine  stolen  from  the 
Mansion  House.  Owing  to  the  detestable  jurisprudence  of 
the  age,  Davis's  counsel  was  not  allowed  to  address  the 
jury,  and  the  culprit  had  not  the  ability  to  plead  for  himself. 
The  Government  resolved  that  the  law  must  take  its  course, 
and  the  convicts  were  executed  at  midday  on  the  27th 
January,  in  front  of  the  gaol,  in  the  presence  of  a  vast  con- 
course of  spectators.  Besides  the  prisoners  tried  in  Bristol, 
six  men  were  convicted  at  Gloucester,  of  attacking  and 
attempting  to  bum  a  public  house  and  other  premises  near 
Lawford's  Gate  prison.  Sentence  of  death  was  recorded 
against  them,  but  it  was  commuted  to  transportation. 

In  the  meantime  inquiries  had  taken  place  by  order  of  the 
Commander-in-chief  into  the  conduct  of  the  oflBcers  who  had 
held  the  command  oi  the  troops  during  the  tumults.  The 
court-martial  in  the  case  of  Lieut.-Colonel  Brereton  was 
opened  on  the  9th  January,  1832,  when  a  series  of  eleven 
charges  was  formulated  against  him  by  General  Sir  Charles 

N 


178  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL.  [1831. 

Dalbiac^  who  acted  as  prosecutor,  and  who  described  them 
as  "bearing  on  their  face  every  character  of  culpability 
unprecedented  in  the  case  of  a  British  officer.'*  The  pro- 
ceedings were  abruptly  brought  to  a  close,  after  four  sittings, 
by  the  suicide  of  the  unhappy  defendant,  whose  mind  gave 
way  under  the  weight  of  his  misfortunes.  Colonel  Brereton, 
who  had  been  major  of  a  West  India  regiment,  took  up  his 
residence  in  Clifton  some  years  before  the  riots,  on  being 
appointed  Inspecting  Field  Officer  of  this  recruiting  district. 
He  resided  at  the  time  of  his  death  at  Redfield  house,  St. 
George's,  and  is  stated  to  have  been  highly  esteemed  by  his 
fi'iends  and  acquaintances.  The  trial  of  Captain  Warrington, 
who  commanded  the  troop  of  dragoons,  followed  a  few  days 
later.  The  chief  charge  against  him  was  his  refusal  to 
instantly  comply  with  the  order  of  the  mayor,  under  circum- 
stances already  narrated — a  refusal  which  unquestionably 
enabled  the  incendiaries  to  greatly  extend  their  devastations. 
It  was  proved,  however,  that  the  defendant  was  so  ill  at  the 
time  as  to  be  almost  unfit  for  duty.  The  court  adjudged  him 
guilty,  and  ordered  him  to  be  cashiered,  but  accompanied 
the  sentence  with  a  recommendation  to  mercy,  on  the  ground 
that  his  offences  were  mere  errors  of  judgment.  The  Crown 
approved  the  sentence,  but  allowed  Captain  Warrington  to 
dispose  of  his  commission. 

The  last  prosecution  was  that  directed  against  the  mayor 
and  aldermen  for  their  conduct  during  the  riots.  Immediately 
after  the  restoration  of  order,  the  apathetic  action  of  the 
magistrates  was  condemned  by  the  respectable  classes  in  the 
city,  regardless  of  party — a  meeting  of  merchants,  etc.,  at 
the  Commercial  Rooms,  and  a  still  larger  gathering  at  the 
Assembly  Rooms,  being  practically  unanimous  in  their  expres- 
sion of  disapproval.  (Mr.  J.  Mills,  at  the  former  meeting, 
endeavoured  to  apologise  for  the  aldermen,  but  was  stopped 
by  general  cries  of  "  off,  off.")  The  parliamentary  battle  on 
the  Reform  Bill  was,  however,  then  raging  violently,  and 
party  spirit  throughout  the  country — furious  to  a  degree 
unknown  since  the  time  of  the  Stewarts — speedily  laid  hold 
of  the  events  in  Bristol.  As  Liberals  were  vehement  in  their 
accusation  of  the  local  authorities,  Tories  began  to  feel  them- 
selves bound  to  defend  the  cause  of  the  magistrates,  and  to 
throw  the  guilt  of  the  havoc  on  the  Ministry  and  their  scheme 
of  Reform.  It  was  even  alleged  by  enemies  of  "the  Bill'' 
that  the  object  of  the  Government  in  prosecuting  the  justices 
was  to  strike  at  the  independence  of  the  municipalities.  As 
the  trials  were  fixed  to  take  place  before  a  jury  of  Berkshire 


1831.]  TRIAL  OF  THE   MAYOR.  179 

landowners,  a  large  majority  of  whom  were  known  to  be  anti- 
Reformers,  the  result  was  never  in  much  doubt.  The  Cor- 
poration, however,  was  more  than  usually  prodigal  in  making 
preparations  to  defend  its  incriminated  members,  and  upwards 
of  £3,800  were  paid  out  of  the  civic  treasury.  The  trial  of 
Mr.  Pinney  began  in  the  Court  of  Queen's  Bench  on  the  25th 
October,  1832,  and  occupied  seven  days,  the  chief  counsel 
employed  being  the  Attorney  General  (Sir  Thomas  Denman) 
with  the  Solicitor  General  (Sir  W.  Home)  for  the  prosecution, 
and  Sir  James  Scarlett  (afterwards  Lord  Abinger)  for  the 
defence.  The  summing  up  of  the  judge  (Mr.  Justice  Little- 
dale,  in  the  absence  of  Lord  Tenterden,  who  was  seized  with 
fatal  illness  during  the  trial)  was  criticised  by  the  Liberal 
press  as  being  rather  a  speech  for  the  defendant  than  an 
impartial  comment  on  the  facts  ;  but  it  was  highly  lauded  by 
the  organs  of  the  Opposition,  and  was  doubtless  satisfactory 
to  the  jury.  They  not  merely  acquitted  the  defendant,  but 
declared  their  opinion  that  circumstanced  as  he  was,  ''  un- 
supported by  any  adequate  civil  or  military  force,  and 
deserted  by  those  from  whom  he  might  reasonably  have 
expected  assistance,"  the  mayor  "  discharged  his  duty  with 
zeal  and  personal  courage.' '  The  Government  thereupon 
withdrew  the  indictments  against  the  aldermen.  Whatever 
might  be  the  opinion  of  the  Berkshire  gentry,  however,  the 
ratepayers  of  Bristol  seem  to  have  held  strong  views  as  to 
the  conduct  of  the  authorities.  Shortly  after  the  riots,  at 
parochial  meetings  held  for  the  purpose,  it  was  declared  that 
the  Corporation  had  forfeited  the  confidence  of  the  citizens. 
A  later  generation,  exempt  from  the  party  spirit  of  those 
agitated  times,  can  have  little  diflSculty  in  forming  a  sound 
opinion  on  the  subject. 

Immediately  after  the  opening  of  Parliament,  in  December, 
1831,  Mr.  Protheroe  gave  notice  of  his  intention  to  introduce 
a  Bill  for  altering  and  amending  the  charter  of  the  city. 
The  Reform  question,  however,  then  exclusively  absorbed  the 
attention  both  of  the  House  of  Commons  and  the  country, 
and  it  is  not  improbable  that  the  member  for  Bristol  received 
a  hint  that  the  work  of  reforming  the  English  corporations 
was  under  the  consideration  of  the  Government.  His  scheme 
was  at  all  events  dropped.  In  the  meantime  the  Corporation, 
calmly  ignoring  its  unpopularity,  promoted  a  Bill  by  which 
it  was  proposed  to  establish  a  police  force  on  the  system 
introduced  a  year  or  two  previously  in  London.  The  chief 
part  of  the  cost  was  to  be  borne  by  the  ratepayers,  while  the 
Common  Council  was  practically  to  have  the  control  of  the 


180  THB   ANNALS  OF   BRISTOL.  [1831. 

force.     This  project  being  scouted  by  the  public,  the  authori- 
ties proposed  that  commissioners  should  be   elected  by  the 
citizens  for  the  management  of  the  constabulary,  and  that 
a  stipendiary  magistrate  should  be  appointed  for  the  city; 
towards  which  purposes  they  undertook  to  contribute  £1,500 
a  year  providing  the  remainder  were  raised  by  a  county  rate. 
The   matter  was   earnestly  discussed  at  meetings  of   each 
parish,  and  delegates  were  appointed  by  those  gatherings  to 
watch  the  proceedings  of  the  Common  Council  in  the  interest 
of  the  ratepayers,  the  renewed  attempt  to  establish  a  county 
rate — which  by  law  would  have  been  assessed  by  the  aldermen 
— being  unanimously  condemned  as  depriving  the  ratepayers 
of  all  control  over  their  money,  and  as  "  opening  an  illimitable 
field  for  future  taxation.' '     The  relations  of  the  rulers  and 
the  ruled  were  not  improved  by  an  announcement  that  the 
Corporation  had  commenced  an  action  against  the  city  to 
recover  £25,000,  the  alleged  value  of  the  corporate  property 
destroyed  during  the   riots,  and   that   the  imposition  of  a 
county  rate  was  contemplated  for  the  purpose  of  rebuilding 
Bridewell.      The    ratepayers*   delegates   protested    strongly 
against  this  policy,  urging  that  it  ought  first  to  be  shown  that 
the  civic  revenue  was  insuflScient  to  bear  the  proposed  charge ; 
but  the  Corporation  haughtily  denied  the  alleged  liability, 
and  refused  to  permit  the  delegates  to  look  into  the  civic 
accounts.     In  answer  to  the  demand  for  an  abandonment  of 
the  projected  county  rate,  the  authorities  availed  themselves 
of  a  threadbare  subtlety.     The  citizens  knew  that  the  magis- 
terial bench  was  filled  exclusively  by  the  aldermen,  and  that 
these  aldermen  were  supreme  in  the  Council  Chamber.     But 
the  Corporation  argued  that  the  magistrates  had  no  control 
over  civic  affairs,  and  that  if  they  thought  fit  to  establish  a 
county  rate,  the  Council  had  no  power  to  restrain  them.    The 
controversy  was  still  pending  when  an  apparently  self -elected 
committee  of  influential  inhabitants,  nearly  all  of  whom  were 
closely  related  to  members  of  the  Council,  announced  that 
they  had  been  allowed  to  examine  the  civic  account  books, 
and  to  publish  a  summary  of  receipts  and  expenditure.    From 
this  document  it  appeared  that  the  average  ordinary  outlay 
for  the  seven  previous  years  had  been  £18,329,  against  an 
average  income  of  only  £15,474,  leaving  a  deficit  of  nearly 
£3,000  per  annum.    The  publication  of  this  statement  merely 
increased   public   distrust,   the   ratepayers   professing   their 
inability  to  understand  how  the  Corporation  could  guarantee 
a   yearly  contribution  of  £1,500   towards   the   cost   of   the 
proposed  police,  seeing  that  the  civic  income  was  already 


1831.]  COMPENSATION   CLAIMS   FOB  DAMAGES.  181 

unable  to  provide  for  ordinary  expenditure.  After  further 
abortive  negotiations,  the  authorities  were  threatened  with 
"  universal  passive  resistance  "  against  the  collection  of  the 
contemplated  rate,  and  the  opposition  of  the  inhabitants 
became  so  formidable  that  the  Bill  was  abandoned.  Another 
Police  Bill  had  been  framed  to  carry  out  the  views  of  the 
ratepayers.  But  the  King'd  Speech  at  the  opening  of  the 
session,  after  referring  with  regret  to  ''  the  scenes  of  violence 
and  outrage  '^  that  had  occurred  in  this  city,  intimated  the 
wish  of  the  Ministry  to  improve  the  municipal  police  of  the 
kingdom  generally,  with  a  view  to  prevent  the  recurrence  of 
such  commotions,  and  the  local  project  was  therefore  with- 
drawn. 

One  important  legislative  scheme  affecting  the  city  became 
law,  however,  during  that  stormy  session,  namely,  the  Bill  to 
provide  for  the  losses  occasioned  by  the  riots — afterwards 
generally  known  as  the  Compensation  Act.  As  originally 
drawn  under  the  direction  of  the  Common  Council,  it  con- 
tained  several  clauses  that  were  deemed  objectionable  by  the 
ratepayers — a  renewed  attempt  to  insinuate  powers  for  a 
county  rate  being  especially  unpopular.  But  through  the 
exertions  of  the  parochial  delegates  referred  to  in  the  pre- 
ceding paragraph,  the  offensive  proposals  were  removed,  and 
the  scheme,  as  it  eventually  passed,  met  with  general  approval, 
and  worked  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  parties.  Under  its  pro- 
visions a  board  of  twelve  commissioners,  elected  by  the  rate- 
payers, was  empowered  to  make  private  arrangements  with 
persons  entitled  to  damages,  thus  avoiding  a  great  amount 
of  costly  litigation.  When  the  commissioners  began  their 
labours,  no  fewer  than  121  actions  at  law  had  been  instituted 
against  the  city,  the  aggregate  amount  of  compensation  de- 
manded by  the  plaintiffs  being  nearly  £150,000.  Negotiations 
were  forthwith  opened  with  the  claimants,  and  large  re- 
ductions were  soon  effected.  The  Corporation,  which  had 
first  estimated  its  loss  at  £2S,000,  and  afterwards  at  about 
half  the  amount,  consented  to  accept  £5,000.  For  the 
destroyed  Custom-  House  and  Excise  Office  the  Government 
had  put  in  a  claim  for  £10,500,  but  ultimately  relinquished  its 
right  to  compensation.  The  private  suitors,  with  a  single 
exception,  came  to  terms  with  the  commissioners,  the  total 
sum  paid  in  liquidation  of  their  claims  being  £42,783.  The 
exception  was  Dr.  Gray,  the  bishop  of  the  diocese.  His  lord- 
ship accepted  an  offer  of  £2,040  for  the  loss  of  his  furniture, 
but  was  unyielding  in  the  prosecution  of  his  claim  for  the 
destroyed  palace^  the  value  of  which  was  estimated  by  his 


182  THS    ANNALS   OF   BfilSTOL.  [1831. 

agents  at  £10,000.  The  case  came  before  a  jury,  empannelled 
at  Bridgwater,  when  a  verdict  was  given  for  £6,000,  but  the 
city  had  to  bear  the  heavy  costs  attending  the  trial.  The  net 
result  of  the  commissioners'  labours  was  to  reduce  the  original 
total  of  the  compensation  claims  from  £150,000  to  £55,824. 
A  sum  of  £7,424  was,  however,  expended  in  legal  charges, 
and  £4,960  more  in  obtaining  the  Act  and  carrying  it  into 
operation,  so  that  the  aggregate  charge  was  £68,208.  The 
immediate  liquidation  of  even  the  reduced  burden  would, 
nevertheless,  have  been  almost  impracticable,  seeing  that  it 
would  have  necessitated  the  exaction  of  a  tax  equal  to  nearly 
ten  shillings  in  the  pound  on  the  rateable  value  of  the 
**  ancient  city.^'  On  an  appeal  made  by  the  commissioners, 
the  Government  proffered  a  loan  of  about  £58,000,  bearing 
interest  at  the  rate  of  2^  per  cent.,  repayments  being  made 
in  yearly  instalments  of  £10,000.  To  clear  off  this  annual 
amount  the  Corporation  of  the  Poor  levied  an  additional  rate 
of  about  Is.  6iL  in  the  pound.  As  will  be  explained  hereafter, 
the  passing  of  the  Corporations'  Reform  Act  in  1835,  by  which 
Clifton,  St.  Philip's  out-parish,  and  other  populous  suburbs 
were  plaeed  under  the  new  municipality,  caused  a  modifica- 
tion of  the  above  arrangement.  The  commissioners,  whose 
energy  and  skill  effected  so  sensible  a  relief  to  the  city,  had 
before  that  time  concluded  their  labours,  their  final  report 
bearing  date  the  11th  January,  1835.  Their  names  were : 
James  Wood  (for  All  Saints'  Ward) ;  Richard  Jones  (St. 
Stephen's)  ;  Robert  Suple  (Trinity);  William  Herapath  (St. 
James's)  ;  William  Watson  (St.  Ewen's) ;  Thomas  Carlisle 
(St.  Maryleport) ;  William  Evans  (Castle  Precincts) ;  George 
Jones  (St.  Michael's) ;  Benjamin  Ogden  (St.  Nicholas')  ;  John 
Kerle  Haberfield  (RedcHfiQ ;  Edward  Kidd  (Temple) ;  and 
Thomas  Sanders  (St.  Thomas's).  The  committee  of  parochial 
delegates,  who  had  so  largely  contributed  to  the  economy  and 
efficiency  of  the  system  adopted,  dissolved  in  September, 
1835.  Their  expenses,  during  upwards  of  three  years,  had 
been  only  about  £200. 

The  following  were  the  heaviest  claims  made  against  the 
city — those  mentioned  above  excepted.  The  amounts  actually 
paid  are  appended  in  parentheses : — 

P.  H.  Ashworth,  warehouse,  etc.,  King  Street.  £1,000  (£275);  Fulke  T. 
Barnard,  furniture,  etc.,  3,  Queen  Square,  £2,000  (£722) ;  Jesse  Barrett,  house 
and  furniture,  67,  Queen  Square,  £1,490  (£855) ;  Benjamin  Bicklej,  furniture 
and  stock,  54,  Queen  Square  and  Prince's  Street,  £3,500  (£2,042) ;  Cambridge 
&  Williams,  warehouse,  etc..  Avenue,  £1,000  (£400);  J.  B.  &  E.  W.  Clift, 
warehouse,  etc..  King  Street,  £1,200  (£585) ;  Cooke  &  Turner,  stock,  behind 
51,  Qveen   Square,  £1,000   (£327);   Thomas  Crocker,   furniture,   52,  Queen 


[1831.  COMPENSATIOKS.      THE   MANSION    HOUSE.  183 

Square,  £1,100  (£52) ;  Richard  T.  Goombe,  houses,  6  and  7,  Queen  Square,  and 
warehouses  behind,  £2,900  (£2,050) ;  Daniel  <&  Haythome,  house,  51,  Queen 
Square,  lofts,  etc.,  £1,500  (£950);  Fryer,  Gosse  &  Pack,  oil  in  warehouses. 
Princess  Street,  £1,000  (£793) ;  Joseph  S.  Fry  <&  Co.,  cocoa  in  warehouse, 
Prince's  Street,  £6,900  (£2,400) ;  William  Gibbons,  houses,  54,  Queen  Square, 
4,  Prince's  Street,  and  warehouses,  £4,0(X)  (£1,752) ;  Martha  Harford,  house, 
Excise  Avenue,  and  furniture  £1,6()0  (£908) ;  William  Humphries,  furniture  in 
gaol,  £1,300  (£900);  James  Johnson,  warehouses.  King  Street,  etc.,  £1,5(X) 
(£963)  ;  Maria  Jones,  house,  50,  Queen  Square,  £1,600  (£930) ;  Bichard 
Lambert,  two  houses,  45,  Queen  Square,  £1,150  (£1,()()5) ;  Langley  A 
Arding,  share  in  43,  44,  52,  (jueen  Square,  and  9,  Prince's  Street,  £1,700 
(£660) ;  Joseph  Lax,  spirits,  etc.,  in  warehouses,  Eling  Street,  etc.,  £3,000 
(£387) ;  Philip  John  Miles,  house  and  warehouse,  61,  Queen  Square,  wine,  etc., 
£3,500  (£1,312) ;  Mogg  <&  Bartlett,  wine,  etc.,  in  warehouse,  Avenue,  £1,000 
(£493) ;  John  Morgan,  house  and  warehouse,  8,  Queen  Square,  £1,690  (£1,000) ; 
Charles  Pinney,  china,  wine,  etc..  Mansion  House,  £2,000  (£714) ;  James  Koom, 
furniture  and  books,  61,  Queen  Square,  £3,000  (£1,172) ;  Henry  Bumley,  share 
of  house  and  furniture,  46,  Queen  Square,  £1,779  (£605);  Joseph  Richardson, 
furniture,  45,  Queen  Square,  £2,000  (£381) ;  Henry  B.  Smith,  houses  and 
furniture,  59  and  60,  Queen  Square,  £4,649  (£2^988) ;  William  C.  Stephens, 
furniture,  53,  Queen  Square,  £1,600  (£309) ;  Thomas  Sheppard,  furniture,  5, 
Queen  Square,  £1,100  (£712) ;  William  Strong,  furniture,  63,  Queen  Square, 
£2,000  (£336) ;  Robert  Thomas,  shares  in  48,  44,  52,  Queen  Square,  and  9, 
Prince's  Street,  £1,700  (£285);  M.  M.  J.  A  £.  Vigor,  furniture,  6,  Queen 
Square,  £1,000  (£450)  ;  Thomas  Webb  &  Co.,  wines,  spirits,  etc.,  4,  Queen 
Square,  £2,000  (£652);  George  Worrall,  house,  5,  Queen  Square,  £2,000 
(£1,016)  ;  John  Tilladam,  house,  4,  Queen  Square,  £1,000  (abated  by  plaintiff's 
death) ;  Samuel  Webb,  houses,  47  and  48,  Queen  Square  £1,800  (abated  by 
plaintiff's  death).  The  report  to  which  these  statistics  are  appended  states  that 
the  law  prevented  claimants  from  receiving  any  compensation  for  articles 
stolen,  when  they  were  carried  off  and  destroyed  elsewhere,  though  these  reduc- 
tions pressed  with  great  hardship  on  many  sufferers.  In  other  cases,  abatements 
were  caused  by  the  remission  of  excise  duty  on  spirits,  etc.,  and  it  is  added  : 
**  In  justice  to  the  plaintiffs  generally,  the  commissioners  expressly  state  that 
blame  is  not  imputable  to  them  for  the  discrepancy  between  the  sums  claimel 
and  those  accepted." 

To  the  great  indignation  of  many  citizens,  the  Common 
Council  resolved,  soon  after  the  riots,  upon  the  establishment 
of  a  new  Mansion  House,  for  keeping  up  the  convivialities 
and  entertainments  previously  in  vogue.  Notwithstanding 
the  financial  distress  of  the  city,  and  the  recently  avowed  em- 
barrassment of  the  civic  treasury,  the  house  in  Great  George 
Street  already  referred  to  [see  page  134],  was  fitted  up  and 
furnished  at  a  heavy  cost.  [After  the  *  reconstruction  of  the 
corporate  body  under  the  Municipal  Reform  Act  of  1835,  the 
new  Mansion  House  was  closed,  and  the  furniture  and  stock 
of  wine  were  sold  by  auction,  producing  £2,232.]  Some 
attempts  at  retrenchment  were,  however,  made.  At  a  meet- 
ing of  the  Common  Council,  in  December,  1831,  the  customary 
motion  to  present  a  butt  or  pipe  of  wine  to  the  lord  high 
steward,  and  another  to  the  members  for  the  city,  was 
negatived,  but  Sir  Charles  Wetherell  was  voted  his  annual 
hogshead.  In  June,  1833,  the  salary  of  the  mayor  was  re- 
duced from  £2^000  to  £1,604^  his  worship  being  recommended 


184  THE  ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1832. 

to  curtail  the  number  of  his  banquets.  In  1835,  however,  a 
vote  of  £350,  in  addition  to  the  usual  sum  of  £400,  was 
passed  to  Mr.  J.  N.  Franklyn,  who  had  served  the  office  of 
sherifE  a  second  time.  The  extra  allowance  granted  to  Mr. 
T.  Hassall  in  1827,  on  the  same  ground,  was  only  £125. 
Amongst  the  very  numerous  items  of  civic  expenditure  caused 
by  the  riots  may  be  noticed  the  following  :  Sundry  expenses 
to  April  11,  1832,  £1,188,  8s.  lid. ;  Tolzey,  keeper,  for  enter- 
taining magistrates  during  the  disturbances,  £300 ;  providing 
accommodation  for  troops  at  Armoury,  wool  hall,  warehouse 
in  Thomas  Street,  and  premises  [for  an  hospital]  in  Great 
Gardens,  rent,  gas,  etc.,  £2,293.  [The  troops  remained  in 
these  temporary  barracks  until  about  September,  1833.  The 
Government  refunded  £326  8«.  lid.  of  the  above  amount.] 
Special  constables,  £437  158.;  city  solicitor's  expenses,  £734; 
subscriptions  on  behalf  of  sufiferers,  whose  losses  were  £30 
or  under,  £500;  expenses  in  connection  with  the  trial  of  the 
mayor,  £3,871  15«.  lOd. ;  repairing  pictures,  £59  12«. ;  Mr. 
Williams,  for  repairing  the  silver  salver,  £55 ;  law  proceed- 
ings against  inhabitants  for  compensation,  £581. 

On  December  31,  1831,  the  old  mill  on  the  left  bank  of  the 
Avon,  nearly  opposite  to  the  Hotwell  House,  was  destroyed 
by  fire.  The  building  was  used  in  1761  as  a  lead  smelting- 
house,  but  was  converted  at  a  later  date  into  a  cotton  mill, 
and  afterwards  to  other  purposes. 

Upon  the  passing  of  the  Beform  Bill,  in  June,  1832,  its  local 
supporters  resolved  upon  a  *' grand  demonstration"  to  cele- 
brate their  triumph.  Accordingly,  on  the  18th  June,  many 
thousands  of  tradesmen  and  working-men  belonging  to  the 
city,  reinforced  by  large  contingents  from  St.  George's, 
Bitton,  and  other  districts,  assembled  at  Lawford's  Gate,  and 
marched  in  procession  through  the  principal  streets,  the 
artisans  of  each  trade  displaying  models,  emblems,  etc.,  illus- 
trative of  their  respective  crafts,  while  music  and  banners 
lent  further  animation  to  the  display.  The  date  had  pro- 
bably been  fixed  upon  on  account  of  its  being  the  anniversary 
of  the  battle  of  Waterloo — the  yearly  return  of  which  was 
then  always  hailed  with  bell  ringing.  The  clergy  of  the  city, 
however,  had  been  unanimously  hostile  to  the  Reform  Bill; 
and  they  won  a  small  victory  dver  their  political  opponents 
by  locking  up  the  belfries.  On  the  14th  August  the  leading 
Reformers  provided  a  dinner  for  5,500  working-men  on 
Brandon  Hill.  Unfortunately  for  the  success  of  this  affair, 
a  rough  mob  assembled  round  the  tables  and  seized  upon 


1832.]  EXTENSION   OF  THE   BOBOUOH.      ELECTION.  185 

the  viands,  causing  great  tumult  and  confusion.  Some  of 
the  fireworks  prepared  for  the  evening  were  also  stolen  or 
destroyed. 

The  Reform  Act  effected  important  changes  in  the  city  and 
its  constituent  body.  The  boundaries  of  the  borough  were 
largely  extended,  the  parish  of  Clifton,  the  district  of  the 
out-parishes  of  St.  James  and  St.  Paul,  the  out-parish  of 
St.  Philip,  and  parts  of  the  parishes  of  Bedminster  and 
Westbury, — embracing  an  aggregate  population  of  about 
50,000, — being  added  to  the  "ancient  city.'*  Up  to  this 
time  the  franchise  had  been  enjoyed  exclusively  by  free- 
holders and  freemen,  whose  right  to  vote  was  not  impaired 
by  non-residence.  Those  classes  retained  their  privilege,  so 
far  as  concerned  persons  living  in,  or  within  seven  miles 
of,  the  city ;  and  to  them  were  joined  all  men  rated  for  and 
occupying  premises  of  the  yearly  value  of  £10.  The  im- 
mediate effect  of  the  extensions  was  less  than  modern  readers 
might  suppose,  the  population  of  the  suburban  parishes  being 
then  insignificant  as  compared  with  the  central  mass.  Al- 
ready, however,  there  was  a  tendency  on  the  part  of  both 
rich  and  poor  to  remove  to  the  outlying  districts;  and  before 
the  Reform  Act  had  attained  its  jubilee,  the  population  of  the 
added  parishes  was  about  three  times  greater  than  that  of 
the  old  borough.  The  register  of  electors  for  1832  contained 
the  names  of  5,301  freemen,  862  freeholders,  and  4,215  house- 
holders. 

The  passing  of  the  Reform  Act  necessarily  caused  a  fresh 
appeal  to  the  constituencies,  and  a  general  election  took 
place  in  December.  The  victory  of  the  united  Liberal  party 
at  the  previous  contest  had  been  followed  by  a  re-opening  of 
the  old  division  in  reference  to  the  slavery  question.  Mr. 
Baillie  at  first  proposed  to  retire  into  private  life;  but  the 
West  India  Whigs  insisted  on  his  candidature.  The  anti- 
slavery  Liberals  thereupon  nominated,  in  conjunction  with 
Mr.  Edward  Protheroe,  junr.  (the  former  member),  Mr.  John 
Williams,  an  eminent  barrister  who  soon  afterwards  was 
raised  to  the  bench,  both  those  gentlemen  being  ardent  advo- 
cates of  slave  emancipation.  The  Tories  found  a  champion 
in  Sir  Richard  R.  Vyvyan,  a  Cornish  baronet,  who  had 
manifested  his  uncompromising  hostility  to  change  by  moving 
the  rejection  of  the  Reform  Bill.  Ultimately  a  coalition  was 
formed  between  the  supporters  of  Vyvyan  and  Baillie.  The 
poll  at  the  close  stood  as  follows  :  Sir  R.  R.  Vyvyan,  3,695 ; 
Mr.  BailUe,  3,160;  Mr.  Protheroe,  3,028;  Mr.  Williams, 
2,739.  The  result  was  alleged  to  have  been  due  to  unjustifiable 


186  THX  AN2(ALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1832. 

means.  The  Brutal  Mercury  of  the  following  week  published 
a  view  of  a  house  (No.  8,  King  Street)  at  which  bribes  were 
said  to  have  been  distributed  wholesale  to  the  poorer  classes 
of  voters  after  the  poll ;  whereupon  it  was  jubilantly  retorted 
in  the  Bristol  Joui-nal  that^  according  to  a  decision  of  the 
Court  of  King's  Bench,  the  giving  of  money  to  electors  after 
they  had  voted  did  not  constitute  bribery.  A  number  of 
gentlemen  who  petitioned  against  the  return  undertook  to 
prove  that  upwards  of  a  thousand  electors  were  paid  by  the 
committees  of  the  successful  candidates  for  attendance  at  the 
nomination  proceedings,  and  that  more  than  twelve  hundred 
voters  received  tickets  at  the  "  bribery  box  *'  in  King  Street, 
entitling  them  to  23«.  each  aft^r  polling  for  Vyvyan  and 
Baillie.  A  list  was  also  given  of  twenty-six  public  houses  at 
which  liquor  was  distributed  gratis  for  some  weeks  previous 
to  the  contest.  It  was  further  asserted  that  a  so-called 
charity,  called  the  Conservative  Operatives'  Association,  had 
enrolled  1,200  freemen  by  promising  them,  in  return  for  their 
votes,  relief  when  sick  or  out  of  work,  and  71b.  per  head  of 
"  blue  beef "  at  Christmas,  the  funds  being  provided  by 
certain  ^'honorary''  members,  whose  names  remained  a 
secret.  No  proof,  however,  was  forthcoming  that  the  suc- 
cessful candidates  had  been  privy  to  corruption,  and  the 
return  was  upheld  by  a  committee  of  the  House  of  Commons. 
Mr.  Richard  Hart  Davis,  who  had  refused  to  be  nominated  at 
this  election,  was  soon  afterwards  presented  by  his  admirers 
with  a  service  of  plate  valued  at  £750. 

Indian  cholera,  which  made  its  way  to  this  country  for  the 
first  time  in  1831,  by  way  of  the  northern  coal  ports, 
gradually  spread  over  the  island,  to  the  intense  terror  of  the 
people,  and  reached  Bristol  in  the  following  summer.  The 
first  case  was  reported  to  have  occurred  on  the  11th  July,  in 
Greyhound  Court,  near  the  Stone  Bridge,  a  region  then  reek- 
ing with  sewage  and  filth,  and  rarely  free  from  epidemics. 
As  already  stated,  the  malady  worked  deadly  havoc  in  the 
overcrowded  wards  of  St.  Peter's  poor-house  [see  p.  139]. 
The  numerous  burials  in  the  neighbouring  churchyard  of 
St.  Philip's  appear  to  have  driven  many  of  the  poor  of  the 
locality  out  of  their  senses.  A  delusion  became  prevalent 
that  the  authorities  were  burying  paupers  alive ;  and  on  one 
occasion  a  mob  broke  into  the  burial  ground,  and  tore  up 
some  of  the  recently  interred  bodies.  A  similar  frantic 
occurrence  took  place  in  Temple  churchyard,  where  thirty- 
one  victims  of  the  disease  were  buried  in  a  single  day.  Owing 
to  the  crowded  state  of  the  parochial  cemeteries,  a  piece  of 


1832.]  CHOLERA.      ABUSES   OF  THE   OLD   POOB  LAWS.  187 

ground  was  inclosed  near  the  Cattle  Market,  and  those  who 
afterwards  died  at  St.  Peter's  Hospital  were  removed  there 
by  water,  so  that  the  interments  might  escape  public  notice. 
The  disease  disappeared  in  October,  when  there  had  been 
1,521  cases,  and  584  deaths.  Clifton  was  almost  wholly 
deserted  by  the  wealthier  class  of  residents  during  the 
epidemic.  To  prevent  the  influx  of  strangers,  St.  James's 
fair  was  forbidden  to  be  held  this  year  by  an  Order  in 
Council.  The  precaution  did  not  prevent  the  disease  from 
penetrating  into  the  rural  districts,  in  some  of  which  it  was 
comparatively  more  fatal  than  in  Bristol.  At  the  village  of 
Paulton,  for  instance,  there  were  no  less  than  229  cases  in 
sixteen  days,  and  forty  deaths  in  eight  days. 

The  Corporation  resolved  during  the  autumn  upon  estab- 
lishing a  body  of  twelve  day  constables  or  policemen,  after 
the  London  model.  The  wages  of  the  men  were  fixed  at  159. 
weekly  per  head,  so  that  the  total  annual  charge,  irrespective 
of  clothing,  amounted  to  the  modest  sum  of  £468.  The 
night  watching  continued  in  the  hands  of  the  inefficient 
old  "  Charleys." 

Owing  to  the  great  abuses  existing  in  the  administration 
of  the  poor  rates,  the  Government  appointed  a  Commission 
to  inquire  into  the  subject,  and  sub-commissioners  were 
directed  to  make  local  investigations  in  various  districts* 
One  of  those  gentlemen,  the  Rev*  H.  Bishop,  visited  Glou- 
cestershire and  Bristol,  and  a  few  extracts  may  be  given 
from  his  report,  written  on  the  22nd  September  1832.  With 
respect  to  Kingswood,  it  was  stated  that  the  miners  seldom 
earned  12«.  a  week.  Boys  of  ten  or  eleven  years  earned  4d. 
to  6d,  a  day.  ''  During  the  summer  months  women  may  earn 
above  ground  lOrf.  a  day ;  girls  from  6d.  to  8d."  Agricul- 
tural wages  fluctuated  between  Ss,  and  12«.  a  week.  In 
Clifton  the  administration  of  poor  relief  was  described  as  pro- 
fuse and  corrupt.  "  A  man  who  gains  10*.  or  even  20«.  a 
week  will  come,  after  a  few  days'  indisposition,  for  relief,  and 
obtains  it.  .  .  .  The  overseers  and  select  vestrymen  are  very 
frequently  tradesmen  enjoying  the  custom  of  those  who  have 
been  lavishly  assisted.  .  .  .  Those  paupers  who  are  in  the 
employment  of  the  parish  are  paid  at  a  public  house,  and  are 
expected  to  promote  the  '  good  of  the  house  '  by  expending 
in  liquor  a  portion  of  their  parish  earnings.  .  .  .  Above  the 
age  of  fifty  the  paupers  claim  permanent  relief,  which  is 
regarded  as  a  sort  of  pension,  so  certain  that  it  may  be  sold 
or  mortgaged.  It  is  no  uncommon  thing  for  apprentices  to 
be  receiving  relief  for  three  or  four  children.'^     The  writer 


188  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL.  [1833. 

goes  on  to  detail  particular  instances  of  indiscriminate  and 
scandalous  waste  in  the  administration  of  parochial  and 
charitable  funds.  Abuses  also  extensively  prevailed  in  Bed- 
minster.  The  parish  contained  14^000  persons^  but  the  rates 
were  made  to  fall  on  only  831  householders^  and  many  of 
these  escaped;  ^Hhe  whole  weight  of  local  taxation  is  thrown 
upon  about  330  individuals.^^  Mr.  Bishop  mentions  inciden- 
tally that  Bristol  was  then  taxed  £1^200  a  year  for  paying 
the  passage  money  of  Irish  vagrants  sent  back  to  their  own 
country,  and  this  charge,  he  added,  did  not  nearly  represent 
the  whole  expense  which  those  paupers  entailed  upon  the 
citizens. 

One  of  the  earliest  ameliorative  measures  proposed  by 
Lord  Grey's  Ministry  to  the  reformed  House  of  Commons  was 
a  Bill  for  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  the  English  colonies. 
Mr.  Stanley  (afterwards  Earl  of  Derby)  explained  the  scheme 
on  the  14th  May,  1833,  its  chief  features  being  that  the  slaves 
should  undergo  a  period  of  apprenticeship,  and  that  the 
planters  should  be  granted  a  loan  of  £15,000,000  to  provide 
against  the  loss  they  might  sustain  at  the  outset.  To  the 
latter  proposal  the  slave-holding  interest  in  Bristol,  as  else- 
where, refused  to  listen ;  and  as  the  result  of  the  pressure 
brought  to  bear  on  the  Ministry,  the  loan  was  converted  into 
a  gift,  and  was  ultimately  raised  to  £20,000,000.  The  Act 
came  into  force  in  the  colonies  on  the  1st  August,  1834. 
According  to  a  parliamentary  return  issued  in  1838,  the 
principal  firms  and  persons  in  this  district  owning  slaves 
received  compensation  as  follows :  Messrs.  Thos.  &  John 
Daniel,  £55,178;  Messrs.  H.  J.  D.  E.  Baillie  &  6.  H.  Ames, 
£23,024 ;  Sir  C.  Codrington,  Bart.,  £29,867 ;  Mr.  James  E. 
Baillie,  £12,968  ;  Mr.  Philip  John  Miles,  £9,076;  Mr.  James 
Cunningham,  £12,357;  Mr.  Richard  Bright,  £8,092;  Mr. 
Robert  Bright,  £3,820 ;  Messrs.  Charles  Pinney  &  E.  Case, 
£3,572.  The  list  does  not  include  payments  under  £3,000. 
The  Bristol  Times  of  April  8,  1854,  stated  that  Messrs. 
Daniel  &  Sons,  who  had  a  house  in  London  as  well  as  in 
Bristol,  '^obtained  not  much  less  than  a  quarter  of  a  million '' 
in  compensation  for  their  slaves. 

By  this  time  the  country  had  recovered  from  the  effects  of 
the  great  panic  of  1825-6,  while  the  absurd  alarm  created 
amongst  the  moneyed  classes  by  the  concession  of  the  fran- 
chise to  the  trading  community  had  largely  passed  away. 
With  the  return  of  confidence  came  a  revival  of  the  railway 
projects  which  had  come  to  grief  seven  years  before.  About 
the  close  of  1832^  when  the  shares  of  the   Liverpool  and 


1833.]  THE    OREAT   WESTERN   RAILWAY  PROJECTED.  189 

Manchester  railway  were  selling  at  double,  and  those  of  the 
Stockton  and  Darlington  line  at  treble^  their  original  cost^ 
a  few  public-spirited  Bristolians  resolved  upon  making  a 
renewed  effort  for  the  construction  of  a  railway  to  London. 
There  is  a  tradition  that  the  Great  Western  Company  was 
projected  in  a  small  office  in  Temple  Backs.  However  that 
may  be,  it  is  certain  that  Messrs.  George  Jones^  John  Harford, 
T.  R.  Guppy,  and  William  Tothill  were  the  most  energetic 
in  promoting  the  undertaking.  Animated  by  their  appeals, 
in  January,  1833,  the  Corporation,  the  Merchant  Venturers* 
Society,  the  Dock  Company,  and  the  Bristol  and  Gloucester- 
shire railway  company  severally  appointed  three  gentlemen, 
empowering  them  to  inquire  into  the  best  mode  of  procedure, 
and  furnishing  them  with  funds  for  the  purpose.  This  com- 
mittee* directed  Mr.  J.  K.  Brunei  and  Mr.  Townsend  to 
make  a  survey  of  the  country,  and  in  a  few  months  elaborate 
plans  were  produced  by  the  two  engineers,  who  estimated  the 
cost  of  the  undertaking  at  the  modest  sum  of  £2,805,000. 
On  the  30th  July  a  meeting  was  held  in  the  Guildhall  to 
evoke  the  sympathy  of  the  citizens.  The  promoters  urged 
that  if  the  advantages  of  cheapness  and  speed  which  railways 
offered  should  only  double  the  existing  carriage  traffic  the 
line  would  yield  a  clear  yearly  profit  of  about  14  per  cent. 
Though  the  response  of  the  public  does  not  appear  to  have 
been  very  enthusiastic,  the  company  was  soon  after  formed, 
the  title  of  **  Great  Western  '*  being  assumed  in  the  following 
September.  One  half  of  the  directors  were  nominated  by 
London  capitalists  ;  the  other  moiety  were  Bristolians,  whose 
names  and  subscriptions  were  as  follows  :  Robert  Bright, 
£25,900;  John  Cave,  £17,900;  Henry  Bush,  £8,000;  C.  B. 
Fripp,  £15,500 ;  George  Jones,  £20,000 ;  Peter  Maze,  £23,000; 
Fred.  Ricketts,  £10,000;  William  Tothill,  £14,000;  John 
Vining,  £11,500;  Charles  L.  Walker,  £6,000  ;  George  Gibbs, 
£14,000 ;  Thomas  R.  Guppy,  £14,900 ;  John  Harford,  £11,900; 
William  S.  Jacques,  £12,000  ;  James  Lean,  £1,000 ;  Nicholas 
Bush,  £11,900.  A  Bill  authorising  the  construction  of  two 
sections  of  the  line — from  London  (where  the  station  was 
originally  fixed  at  Vauxhall  and  afterwards  at  Brompton) 


*  Some  of  the  members  of  this  committee  possessed  so  remarkable  a  foresight 
into  the  future  of  railways  that  it  deserves  to  be  noted  as  unique  in  that  genera- 
tion. They  recommended  that  a  quadruple  line  of  rails  be  laid  down,  **  two 
lines  for  light  carriages  to  convey  passengers  at  a  rapid  pace,  and  two  for  heavier 
vehicles  carrying  goods  at  a  slower  rate/*  the  advantage  of  which  arrangement, 
**  as  a  means  of  preventing  both  delays  and  accidents,  is  too  obvious  to  be  in- 
sisted  upon." — Commoti  Council  Minutei,  Feb.  1838. 


190  THE   ANNALS   OF   BBI8T0L.  [1833. 

to  Reading,  and  from  Bristol  to  Bath — was  laid  before  Parlia- 
ment in  1834.  Railway  projects,  however,  were  exceedingly 
unpopular  amongst  the  aristocracy  and  landed  gentry.  Lord 
Eldon's  last  speech  and  vote  in  the  Upper  House  were  against 
what  he  called  "  the  dangerous  invention  of  railways,"  and 
the  old  Tory  chief  found  many  of  kindred  views  amongst 
his  hearers.  The  country  squire,  again,  dreaded  danger  to 
his  game,  farmers  were  afraid  that  the  smoke  of  the  loco- 
motives would  injure  the  wool  of  their  sheep,  and  breeders 
of  horses  predicted  that  they  would  be  ruined  if  coaches  and 
posting  carriages  were  superseded.  In  addition  to  the  rural 
clamour  against  railways  generally,  the  Great  Western  Bill 
was  resisted  by  the  canal  companies  and  turnpike  trusts  of 
the  district,  and  encountered  formidable  opposition  from  the 
authorities  of  Eton  College,  who  alleged  that  the  line  would 
excite  revolutionary  ideas  in  the  minds  of  the  schoolboys. 
After  an  obstinate  struggle  of  fifty-seven  days  in  committee, 
the  Bill  passed  the  House  of  Commons  by  a  small  majority, 
but  it  was  rejected  in  the  Lords  by  47  votes  against  30. 
Public  opinion,  however,  became  rapidly  converted  to  the 
arguments  in  favour  of  the  new  mode  of  travelling,  and  the 
company's  second  Bill,  authorising  the  construction  of  the 
trunk  line  and  branches  to  Bradford  and  Trowbridge,  with 
some  modifications  to  soothe  Eton  and  squirearchal  suscepti- 
bilities, received  the  royal  assent  in  August,  1835.  A  com- 
peting scheme,  which  proposed  a  railway  from  Bath  to 
Basing,  was  rejected ;  and  an  attempt  made  in  the  House  of 
Commons  by  Mr.  (afterwards  Sir  William)  Miles  to  prevent 
Great  Western  trains  from  running  on  Sundays  was  defeated 
by  a  large  majority.  The  parliamentary  campaign  during 
the  two  years  cost  the  company  £90,000.  The  line,  as  sanc- 
tioned by  the  legislature,  was  to  join  the  London  and  Bir- 
mingham railway  near  Acton,  whence  the  trains  were  to  run 
to  the  station  of  the  latter  undertaking  in  Euston  Square, 
London  ;  but  the  Great  Western  board  subsequently  resolved 
on  having  an  independent  terminus  at  Paddington,  for  which 
powers  were  obtained  in  the  session  of  1837.  The  land  for 
the  station  at  Bristol  was  purchased  of  the  Corporation  for 
£12,000.  Operations  having  been  vigorously  prosecuted  at 
both  ends  of  the  system,  the  section  from  Loudon  to  Maiden- 
head was  opened  in  May,  1838,  and  that  from  Bristol  to  Bath 
on  the  3rd  July  following.  Intermediate  sections  were  com- 
pleted from  time  to  time,  and  finally,  on  the  30th  January, 
1841,  the  line  was  opened  throughout,  and  the  coaches,  which 
had  formed  so  striking  a  feature  both  of  town  and  country 


1833.]  EARLY   RAILWAY  TRAVELLING.  191 

life,  disappeared.  (In  October,  1837,  there  were  twenty-two 
coaches  running  daily  between  Bristol  and  London,  and 
twenty-seven  others  passed  between  this  city  and  Bath  every 
twenty-four  hours.)  One  coach,  however,  obstinately  held 
its  ground  in  spite  of  the  railway,  continuing  to  carry  pas- 
sengers from  and  to  London  and  Bristol,  at  the  rate  of  a 
penny  per  mile,  until  October,  1843.  Perhaps  the  wretched 
accommodation  afforded  on  the  new  line  to  second  and  third 
class  passengers  may  have  partially  accounted  for  this  sus- 
tained opposition.  For  several  years  the  only  trains  carrying 
third  class  passengers  from  Bristol  started  at  four  o'clock  in 
the  morning  and  nine  o'clock  at  night,  offering  the  travellers 
— who  were  wholly  unprotected  from  the  weather — an  alter- 
native of  miseries.  What  is  more  surprising,  the  second 
class  carriages,  down  to  May,  1845,  were  also  open  to  the 
elements,  both  as  regards  roof  and  sides,  and  according  to 
a  statement  in  a  contemporary  newspaper,  were  "  dangerous 
not  only  to  health  but  to  life."  In  the  year  1844,  to  the 
intense  wrath  of  the  railway  interest.  Parliament  insisted  on 
covered  carriages  being  provided  for  third  class  travellers  at 
the  rate  of  a  penny  per  mile ;  but  the  boards  revenged  them- 
selves by  inventing  a  "  horse-box  "  for  the  obnoxious  caste, 
and  by  reducing  the  speed  of  the  cheap  trains  to  twelve 
miles  an  hour.  The  first  of  these  trains  on  the  Great  Western 
line  started  on  the  1st  November,  1844,  the  journey  from 
Bristol  to  London  being  timed  at  nine  hours  and  a  half.* 
A  history  of  the  Great  Western  Railway  is  not  within  the 
province  of  this  work,  but  a  few  facts  concerning  an  enter- 
prise so  closely  connected  with  the  city  may  not  be  out  of 
place.  The  time  has  long  passed  away  since  there  was  any 
difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  deplorable  error  of  the  original 
board  in  neglecting  the  sober-minded,  practical,  and  economi- 
cal engineers  of  the  North,  already  deservedly  famous,  and 
in  preferring  to  them  an  inexperienced  theorist,  enamoured 
of  novelty,  prone  to  seek  for  difficulties  rather  than  to  evade 
them,  and  utterly  indifferent  as  to  the  outlay  which  his  reck- 
lessness entailed  upon  his  employers.  The  evil  consequences 
of  his  pet  crotchet,  the  *' broad  gauge"  system,  on  the  com- 
merce of  Bristol  will  have  to  be  noticed  hereafter.  For  the 
present  it  will  suffice    to    show    the    fallaciousness  of    Mr. 

*  The  commercial  olasRes  were  so  dissatisfied  with  the  charges  imposed  on 
the  transit  of  goods  that  in  1855  a  steamer,  called  the  Pioneer^  was  bnilt  for  the 
purpose  of  trading  between  London  and  Bristol.  The  vessel  plied  regularly 
nntil  February,  1865,  when  it  was  wrecked  off  Penzance.  The  average  passage 
was  made  in  sixty-eight  hours,  equal  to  ten  miles  an  hour. 


192  THB   ANNALS   OF  BBISTOL.  [1833« 

Brunei's  estimates.  The  original  share  capital  was  fixed  by 
his  advice  at  £2,500,000.  Before  the  line  to  London  was 
completed,  the  directors  had  to  ask  for  votes  bringing  up  the 
expenditure  to  £6,300,000,  which  did  not  include  any  part  of 
the  outlay  for  the  permanent  station  at  Paddington.  In  1844 
this  vast  sum  was  increased  to  £8,160,000,  inclusive  of  loans. 
As  may  be  suspected  from  the  figures,  the  directors  were 
even  more  imprudent  than  was  their  subordinate.  For  several 
successive  years  there  seemed  to  be  no  limit  to  their  aggres- 
sive designs.  In  1845  they  obtained  Acts  for  making  no 
less  than  574  miles  of  new  railways;  and  in  November,  1847, 
their  notices  of  intended  applications  for  Acts  in  the  following 
session  are  said  to  have  numbered  forty-seven.  That  the 
war  against  rival  companies — possibly  quite  as  pugnacious — 
was  carried  on  for  many  years  with  unflagging  pertinacity 
is  sufficiently  proved  by  the  fact  that  between  1851  and  1855 
alone  the  board  spent  an  aggregate  sum  of  £188,421  in  legal 
and  parliamentary  expenses.  Nor  was  this  the  worst.  The 
lines  constructed  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Oxford,  Bir- 
mingham, Dudley,  etc.,  in  rivalry  with  the  North- Western 
Company,  and  consequently  unprofitable,  cost  £6,600,000, 
while  the  unfruitful  Shropshire  lines,  competing  with  the 
same  undertaking,  required  an  additional  capital  of  £3,300,000. 
In  the  meantime,  Bristol  proprietors  complained  that  an  un- 
dertaking intended  to  develop  the  trade  and  industry  of  their 
own  city  and  district  was  recklessly  squandering  its  resources 
in  the  construction  of  vast  works  at  Plymouth,  Milford  Haven, 
and  Birkenhead.  The  consequences  of  this  policy  were  such 
as  might  have  been  expected.  In  its  early  days  the  Great 
Western  board  was  able  to  declare  a  dividend  at  the  rate  of 
10  per  cent,  per  annum,  and  the  shares,  when  only  £80  were 
paid  up,  were  quoted  in  the  market  at  236.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  directors'  report  for  the  first  six  months  of  1858 
recommended  that  no  dividend  should  be  declared.  The 
subsequent  meeting  at  Bristol  (the  last  held  in  the  city,  whose 
moiety  of  directors  had  already  vanished)  was  of  a  stormy 
character,  the  exasperation  of  the  shareholders  being  in- 
creased by  the  fact  that  during  the  previous  half  year,  when 
the  dividend  was  only  5«.  per  share,  the  board  had  carried 
a  grant  of  £5,000  to  the  secretary,  Mr.  Saunders,  who  had 
previously  received  a  similar  present,  though  his  salary  was 
£2,500  a  year.  In  July,  1862,  the  accounts  showed  that  the 
net  profits  of  the  previous  six  months  had  been  only  £992, 
but  a  reserve  brought  forward  produced  a  dividend  of  5«. 
per  cent.    Afiairs  improved  in  the  following  years ;  but  for 


1883.]  fiENUWED   CONFLICT  AGAINST   TOWN-DUES.  193 

the  last  half  of  1866  the  dividend  was  only  10«.  per  cent. 
The  embarrassment^  it  transpired,  arose  from  a  floating  debt 
of  about  £1,250,000,  which  the  board  had  allowed  to  grow 
up,  and  upon  which  the  interest  for  the  first  half  of  the  year 
had  averaged  £8  7«.  per  cent,  per  annum.  The  directors 
appealed  to  the  Government  and  to  the  Bank  of  England 
for  the  loan  of  a  million  to  clear  off  pressing  obligations,  but 
the  relief  was  refused.  An  appeal  was  then  vainly  made  to 
the  shareholders  to  take  up  a  six  per  cent,  stock,  to  prevent 
the  company  from  being  thrown  into  liquidation;  and  as  a 
last  resource,  the  board  issued  six  per  cent,  bonds  for  the 
amount  of  preferential  interest  then  due.  These  were  offered 
in  the  Stock  Exchange  at  the  rate  of  16«.  in  the  pound,  the 
shares  of  the  company  being  quoted  for  a  considerable  period 
at  40,  and  sometimes  lower — a  memorable  example  of  the 
results  of  reckless  management  on  a  substantial  and  once 
prosperous  concern.  Happily  the  lesson  was  not  wasted  on 
the  board,  and  the  company  have  since  enjoyed  a  career  of 
continuous  prosperity.  As  has  been  already  stated,  the 
original  capital  was  under  three  millions ;  it  is  now  [1887] 
upwards  of  seventy-six  millions.  The  line  first  sanctioned 
by  Parliament  was  114  miles  in  length;  the  board  have  now 
upwards  of  2,350  miles  under  their  control,  while  the  em- 
ployes, a  mere  handful  at  the  outset,  now  number  little  short 
of  30,000. 

The  conflict  which  began  in  1823  between  the  mercantile  in- 
terest of  the  city  and  the  Corporation,  in  reference  to  the  heavy 
charges  imposed  by  the  latter  on  the  commerce  of  the  port, 
has  been  recorded  in  a  previous  page.  It  will  be  remembered 
that  after  a  struggle  of  two  years,  the  Common  Council  had 
to  be  content  with  obtaining  an  Act  authorising  it  to  rednce 
the  civic  dues,  the  clause  conferring  a  parliamentary  title  on 
those  imposts  being  struck  out  in  the  House  of  Commons  at 
the  instance  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce.  The  concessions 
made  under  this  statute  proved  insufficient  to  bring  back  the 
trade  which  had  been  blindly  driven  away ;  and  in  the  hope 
of  securing  a  larger  measure  of  relief,  Mr.  Henry  Bush,  one 
of  the  leaders  of  local  Toryism,  supported  by  many  influential 
firms,  refused  to  pay  the  town  dues^  thus  challenging  the 
Corporation  to  prove  their  legality  in  a  court  of  law.  The 
case  was  heard  before  Lord  Chief  Justice  Tenterden,  in  the 
Court  of  King's  Bench,  in  July,  1828.  The  judge,  who  had 
a  superstitious  reverence  for  privilege  and  prerogative,  was 
alleged  by  the  mercantile  party  to  have  acted  throughout 
the  hearing  rather  as  a  counsel  for  the  Corporation  than  as 


194  THE  ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL.  [1833. 

an  impartial  expounder  of  the  law.  He  summed  up,  accord- 
ing to  the  newspaper  reporter,  "  decidedly  in  favour''  of  the 
plaintiffs;  and  the  jury,  submitting  to  his  influence,  gave 
the  verdict  he  desired.  But  although  the  Common  Council 
exulted  over  this  aflirmation  of  a  dubious  title,  its  members 
can  scarcely  have  seen  without  misgivings  the  gradual  and 
continuous  decline  of  the  shipping  trade  of  the  port.  The 
value  of  English  goods  exported  from  Bristol,  which  had 
been  £315,000  in  1822,  sank  in  1833  to  £205,000 ;  the  once 
magnificent  fleet  of  foreign-going  ships  belonging  to  the 
city  was  reduced  in  number  to  about  thirty ;  whilst  the  ware- 
houses, once  filled  with  produce,  offered  accommodation  so 
much  in  excess  of  the  demand  that  their  formerly  prosperous 
owners  could  not  realise  one  per  cent,  on  the  capital  invested 
in  the  buildings.  The  depression  in  fact  became  so  severe 
that  it  provoked  another  agitation  against  the  port  charges, 
the  Chamber  of  Commerce  again  taking  the  lead  by  forward- 
ing memorials  to  the  Corporation  and*  the  Dock  Company, 
pressing  for  a  mitigation  of  the  burdens.  The  dock  directors 
were  the  first  to  acknowledge  the  reasonableness  of  the  com- 
plaints ;  and  in  July,  1834,  reductions  were  announced  in  the 
dock  dues  on  certain  classes  of  goods.  The  concessions, 
however,  were  regarded  by  the  suffering  interests  as  illusory, 
the  commodities  relieved  producing  but  a  small  revenue, 
while,  so  far  as  concerned  the  chief  branches  of  local 
commerce,  the  dock  rates  still  exceeded  those  of  Liverpool 
to  the  extent  of  about  50  per  cent,  on  sugar,  70  per  cent, 
on  tobacco,  157  per  cent,  on  wine,  200  per  cent,  on  foreign 
spirits,  and  1,100  per  cent,  on  wool.  The  dues  were  still 
more  oppressive  as  regarded  foreign  goods  imported  coast- 
wise; for,  whilst  the  Liverpool  authorities  contented  them- 
selves with  half  the  rates  imposed  on  direct  foreign  imports, 
the  Bristol  board  imposed  the  full  rates.  According  to 
another  table  published  by  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  show- 
ing the  comparative  charges  on  all  the  leading  articles  of 
import,  the  duties  at  Bristol  were  20k.  as  compared  with 
11«.  5(/.  at  Liverpool,  Is,  3r/.  at  Hull,  and  6*.  2d.  at  Gloucester. 
The  Dock  Company,  nevertheless,  refused  to  grant  any  further 
relief,  urging  in  excuse  that  the  shareholders  were  receiving 
less  than  2  J  per  cent,  per  annum  in  dividends,  and  held  a  deaf 
ear  to  the  retort  that  the  inadequate  profits  were  the  natural 
fruit  of  unreasonable  exactions.  The  pressure  placed  on  the 
Corporation  had  more  satisfactory  results.  One  of  the  last 
important  acts  of  the  unreformed  Common  Council  was  to 
order  a  large  reduction  in  the  town  dues,  which  were  wholly 


1833.]  BOTAL   COMMISSION   ON   CORPORATIONS.  195 

abolished  as  regarded  exports.  Unhappily  the  latter  con- 
cession was  not  made  until  the  export  trade  of  the  city  had 
almost  disappeared,  the  civic  receipts  from  this  source  in  the 
previous  year  having  been  only  £466.  Concurrently  with 
these  remissions,  the  Common  Council  abolished  the  tolls  on 
fish,  which  were  obnoxious  to  fishermen  yet  practically  un- 
productive. The  mayor  claimed  one  hundred  oysters  from 
each  oyster  boat,  and  six  mackerel,  a  pair  of  soles,  and 
twelve  herrings  from  each  fishing  boat.  The  sheriffs  had 
fifty  oysters  from  each  cargo.  Nearly  the  whole  of  the  fish 
collected  were  distributed  amongst  the  petty  officials  of  the 
corporate  body. 

It  had  been  understood  throughout  the  agitation  of  1831-2 
that  one  of  the  first  efforts  of  a  reorganised  House  of  Commons 
would  be  directed  to  the  reconstitution  of  the  municipal 
corporations  of  the  country, — ^most  of  which,  for  more  than  a 
century,  had  been  the  object  of  widespread  complaint — 
and  the  establishment  of  a  system  of  local  government  based 
on  the  opinions  and  interests  of  the  urban  community.  With 
a  view  to  these  ends,  a  royal  commission  was  issued  in  the 
summer  of  1833,  to  inquire  into  the  constitution  and  working 
of  the  existing  bodies.  Twenty  gentlemen,  for  the  most  part 
experienced  barristers,  were  chosen  for  this  purpose,  and  in 
order  to  hasten  the  proceedings,  the  corporations  in  England 
and  Wales  were  divided  into  nine  territorial  districts,  in 
which  investigations  took  place  simultaneously.  The  forma- 
tion of  this  tribunal  excited  violent  indignation  amongst  the 
class  who  had  monopolised  authority  in  many  towns.  Protests 
were  raised  against  what  was  styled  ''  the  Radical  Inquisi- 
tion," and  the  Corporations  of  Dover,  Lichfield,  and  a  few 
other  notoriously  misgoverned  places,  set  the  commissioners 
at  defiance,  denying  the  legality  of  their  powers,  and  refus- 
ing them  access  to  the  civic  archives.  This  course  was  also 
followed  by  the  Merchant  Venturers'  Society  of  this  city,  and 
by  the  Bristol  Dock  Company.  In  a  great  majority  of  cases, 
however,  the  municipal  bodies,  though  exceeaingly  irritated 
at  being  called  upon  to  render  an  account  of  their  proceed- 
ings, prudently  submitted  to  the  royal  request.  The  com- 
missioners allotted  to  this  district,  Mr.  E.  J.  Gambier  and 
Mr.  J.  E.  Drinkwater,  opened  their  court  at  Bristol  on  the 
7th  October,  and  continued  their  sittings  until  the  2nd 
November.  The  complaints  of  the  inhabitants  against  the 
Corporation  were  laid  before  the  commissioners  by  Messrs. 
Visger,  Manchee,  Thomas,  and  other  prominent  members  of 
the  Liberal  party,  while  the  Common  Council  was  defended 


196  THS   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL.  [1883. 

by  the  town  clerk  (Mr.  Serjeant  Ludlow),  Messrs.  Brice  & 
Surges,  and  other  oflBcials,  who  afforded  every  facility  to 
the  visitors  during  the  progress  of  the  inquiry.  The  pro- 
ceedings were  miserably  reported  in  the  local  newspapers, 
but  it  appears  that  the  chief  grievances  adduced  against  the 
corporate  body  were,  that  it  was  constituted  on  the  closest 
principles  of  self-election,  that  the  members,  bound  together 
by  an  oath  of  secrecy,  claimed  to  be  irresponsible  in  adminis- 
tering the  large  public  revenues  entrusted  to  them  by  the 
city  charters,  that  they  refused  to  produce  accounts,  that,  as 
was  natural  under  such  circumstances,  their  transactions  had 
be^n  frequently  marked  with  mismanagement  and  extrava- 

f^ance,  and  that  the  declining  prosperity  of  the  port  was 
argely  due  to  their  neglectful  and  mischievous  conduct  as 
conservators,  and  to  their  imposition  of  taxes  on  shipping 
and  goods  for  which  they  made  no  beneficial  return.  Offices 
in  the  gift  of  the  Common  Council  were,  it  was  alleged,  often 
filled  by  decayed  members  of  the  body,  or  by  relations  and 
connections.  The  legal  jurisdiction  of  the  aldermen  extended 
to  life  and  death,  but  it  was  shown  that,  although  the 
residence  of  those  functionaries  in  the  city  was  compulsory 
under  the  charters,  only  the  mayor  and  one  alderman  lived 
in  Bristol,  while  the  town  clerk,  with  a  salary  of  £1,000  a 
year,  was  a  practising  barrister  in  London.*  The  result  of 
those  abuses,  it  was  asserted,  had  been  to  excite  and  per- 
petuate a  general  distrust  and  contempt  of  the  magistracy, 
and  to  taint  with  suspicion  the  administration  of  justice. 
With  regard  to  the  great  charity  funds  vested  in  the  Cor- 
poration, it  was  complained  that  large  sums  of  money  were 
distributed  under  the  recommendation  of  the  parish  church- 
wardens, themselves  chosen  by  self-elected  vestries,  and 
acting  at  parliamentary  elections  as  canvassers  and  local 
managers  of  the  party  to  which  most  of  the  members  of  the 
Common  Council  were  attached.  Much  dissatisfaction  was 
expressed  at  the  management  of  the  Grammar  School  and  of 
Queen  Elizabeth's  Hospital.  Finally,  it  was  declared  that  the 
establishment  maintained  by  the  Corporation,  consisting  of 
upwards  of  forty  salaried  officers,  was  not  merely  overgrown 
and  expensive,  but  inefficient;  that  the  civic  pomp  assumed 
amidst  declining  prosperity  was  idle  and  unseemly,  and  that 
the  confession  wrung  from  the  officials  of  a  heavy  debt  offered 
convincing  evidence  of  the  evil  system  that  had  prevailed. 

^  The  commissioners  do  not  seem  to  have  been  aware  that  Serjeant  Ludlow 
alio  held  the  office  of  auditor  to  the  Duke  of  Beaufort. 


1833.]  ROYAL  COMMISSION   ON   CORPORATIONS.  197 

The  net  result  of  that  system  was  alleged  to  be^  that  the 
Corporation  was  generally  distrasted  and  unpopul^r^  the 
desertion  of  the  authorities  by  the  ratepayers  at  the  time  of 
the  riots  being  adduced  as  an  unmistakable  proof  of  the 
feeling  inspiring  all  classes.  From  the  report  drawn  up  by 
the  two  commissioners,  it  may  be  inferred  that  they  regarded 
this  indictment  as  substantiated.  It  had  been  shown^  they 
said,  by  accounts  which  the  Corporation  produced  for  the  first 
time  in  the  previous  year,  that  the  civic  expenditure  had 
been  for  a  long  period  in  excess  of  the  receipts,  the  bonded 
redeemable  debt  having  increased  from  £5,140  in  1825,  to 
£54,949  in  1833.  That  much  of  the  outlay  was  unnecessary 
was  regarded  as  proved  by  the  fact  that  when  the  Corporation 
attempted  to  carry  their  Police  Bill  through  Parliament  in 
1832,  they  promised  to  effect  such  retrenchments  as  would 
permit  them  not  merely  to  establish  a  financial  equilibrium, 
but  to  grant  £1,500  a  year  towards  the  maintenance  of  the 
police.  The  commissioners  commented  severely  upon  the 
transaction  by  which  the  Corporation,  about  half  a  century 
previously,  had  handed  over  the  wharfage  dues — popularly 
supposed  to  produce  some  £2,000  a  year — to  the  Merchant 
Venturers'  Company,  on  a  lease  for  99  years,  for  the  trivial 
consideration  of  £10  per  annum.  The  police  arrangements 
of  the  city  were  stated  to  be  utterly  insufi&cient  even  in  the 
central  districts,  while  no  protection  whatever  existed  in  the 
southern  and  eastern  suburbs.  As  to  paving  and  lighting, 
the  Corporation  denied  that  such  matters  came  within  their 
province.  In  their  concluding  "  general  remarks,"  the  two 
commissioners  observed  that  the  Corporation  of  Bristol  offered 
a  very  unfavourable  specimen  of  the  results  of  self -election 
and  irresponsibility.  Although  there  had  been  no  improper 
appropriation  of  public  funds,  the  Corporation  could  not  be 
acquitted  of  mismanagement  and  profusion.  In  the  face  of 
a  sinking  and  overburdened  trade,  its  large  resources  had 
been  unprofitably  squandered  in  the  maintenance  of  an  over- 
grown establishment  and  in  the  display  of  state  magnificence. 
Its  ruling  principle  had  been  the  desire  of  power,  and  each 
of  its  applications  to  Parliament  to  extend  or  prop  up  its 
privileges  had  become  a  topic  of  general  discontent.  So 
intense  a  spirit  of  opposition  and  distrust  had  been  aroused, 
that  it  seemed  doubtful  whether  an  act  of  real  liberality  on 
the  part  of  the  governing  body  would  not  arouse  suspicion 
and  reproach.  As  owners  and  guardians  of  the  port,  the 
conduct  of  the  Corporation  was  condemned  as  indefensible. 
They  had  suffered  burdensome  charges  of  every  description 


198  THE   ANNALS   OP  BRISTOL.  [1833. 

to  be  accumulated  upon  trade,  of  which  they  were  the  last  to 
see  the  impolicy,  and  had  placed  out  of  their  own  control — 
for  a  nominal  consideration — a  heavy  and  oppressive  tax, 
which  in  its  beginning  was  at  least  applied  to  the  purposes 
of  the  harbour.  They  had  procured  a  parliamentary  title 
for  their  lessees,  from  whom  they  could  demand  no  account, 
and  had  sufiFered  the  tax,  imposed  for  public  services,  to  be 
absorbed  in  paying  the  debts,  incurred  in  other  speculations, 
of  those  who  now  claimed  to  be  a  private  and  irresponsible 
company.  "We  are  informed,"  added  the  commissioners, 
'^that  the  same  political  party  has  not  always  held  the  as- 
cendency in  the  Council  House.  We  should  not  seek  for  a 
stronger  proof  that  the  fault  is  inherent  in  the  system  itself.'* 
[For  further  details  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  Appendix 
to  the  First  Report  of  the  Municipal  Corporations'  Commis- 
sioners.] 

The  Kingsweston  estate,  late  the  property  of  Lord  de 
Clifford,  deceased,  was  purchased  in  Julv,  1833,  by  Mr. 
Philip  John  Miles,  of  Leigh  Court,  for  £210,000.  Sir  R. 
Southwell,  Lord  de  Clifford's  ancestor,  bought  the  estate 
shortly  before  the  Revolution  from  its  former  owners,  the 
Hookes,  a  family  long  connected  with  Bristol.  The  story  to 
be  found  in  some  local  histories,  to  the  effect  that  a  walled- 
up  room  (shut  up  during  the  civil  wars)  was  discovered  in 
the  mansion  during  the  last  century,  containing  records  of 
a  barony  granted  to  the  Southwell  family  by  Henry  III.,  is 
therefore  untrustworthy. 

During  the  summer  of  1833  the  trustees  of  the  Bristol 
turnpikes,  with  a  view  to  improving  the  chief  southern 
entrance  to  the  city,  caused  a  deep  cutting  to  be  made  at 
Totterdown,  near  the  junction  of  the  Wells  road  with  that 
from  Bath.  A  very  steep  hill  there,  much  disliked  by  stage 
coachmen,  was  thus  practically  removed.  A  similar  improve- 
ment was  effected  at  the  same  time  near  Clifton  church,  a 
new  road  being  cut  in  front  of  Goldney  House. 
•  The  death  was  announced,  on  the  7th  September,  of 
Hannah  More,  who  expired  at  her  house  in  Windsor  Terrace, 
aged  88,  having  outlived  not  only  all  the  celebrated  literary 
friends  of  her  youth,  but,  to  a  certain  extent,  her  once  con- 
siderable reputation  as  an  author.  Her  funeral  was  of  a 
private  character,  only  four  mourning  coaches  and  as  many 
private  carriages  following  the  hearse  to  Wrington,  where 
the  sisters  of  the  deceased  had  been  already  interred.  There 
being  no  near  relatives  surviving,  Mr.  J.  S.  Harford  and 
Mr.  J.  Grwatkin  acted  as  chief  mourners.     Miss  More^  after 


1834.]  THB    ROMAN    CATHOLIC    PRO-CATHBDEAL.  199 

making  many  charitable  bequests,  left  the  residue  of  her 
estate  (about  £3,000)  to  the  church  of  Trinity,  St.  Philip's. 
Extensive  parochial  schools  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the 
church  were  erected  by  subscription  in  1838-9,  and  dedicated 
to  her  memory. 

The  Bristol  Medical  School  began  its  first  session  on  the 
14th  October.  The  institution,  first  located  in  King  Square, 
but  removed  to  Old  Park  in  1834,  was  founded  upon  two 
private  schools  which  had  been  in  existence  for  some  years 
— one  of  which  has  been  already  noticed  in  connection  with 
a  ghastly  story  [see  p.  100] . 

In  February,  1834,  the  Common  Council  appointed  the 
sixth  Duke  of  Beaufort  Lord  High  Steward  of  Bristol,  in 
the  place  of  Lord  Grenville,  deceased.  His  grace  held  the 
office  for  only  a  brief  period,  having  died  in  November,  1835. 
His  son,  the  seventh  duke,  was  shortly  afterwards  elected  to 
the  vacant  dignity. 

Amongst  several  sales  of  property  effected  by  the  Corpora- 
tion about  this  time,  the  well-known  island  in  the  Bristol 
Channel — the  Steep  Holmes — was  disposed  of  to  Colonel 
Tynte,  of  Cefn  Mably,  Glamorganshire. 

In  the  early  months  of  1834  the  Rev.  Francis  Edgeworth, 
then  officiating  at  St.  Joseph's  Chapel,  Trenchard  Street,  the 
only  Roman  CathoHc  place  of  worship  in  the  city,  resolved 
upon  the  erection  of  a  gigantic  church  in  the  classical  style, 
to  be  dedicated  to  the  Holy  Apostles.  Having  purchased  a 
field  lying  to  the  east  of  a  large  quarry  called  Honeypen 
Hill  (on  which  Meridian  Place  then  looked) ,  the  foundation 
stone  of  the  intended  edifice  was  laid  in  October,  and  the 
mason-work  slowly  progressed  for  some  years.  In  the  mean- 
while a  small  chapel  was  built  within  the  area,  and  Mass  was 
performed  there  in  1842.  Unfortunately  for  the  reverend 
promoter,  two  or  three  landslips  took  place,  and  his  pecuniary 
difficulties  became  at  last  so  serious  that  operations  were 
suspended.  Father  Edgeworth,  declared  a  bankrupt,  fled  to 
Belgium  (where  he  died  in  1850),  and  the  unfinished  building 
was  in  June,  1844,  advertised  for  sale  by  auction.  Although 
saved  from  this  fate  by  the  exertions  of  the  faithful,  the 
fabric  long  remained  in  a  state  of  semi-ruin.  In  1847, 
Bishop  Ullathome  purchased  the  land  and  building  from  the 
mortgagees  for  £2,500 ;  but  it  was  not  until  1848,  when  all 
hope  of  completing  the  church  according  to  the  original  plan 
was  abandoned,  that  a  portion  was  fitted  up  for  worship. 
The  opening  ceremony,  marked  with  the  customary  pomp  of 
the  Romish  Church,  took  place  on  the  21st  September^  the 


200  THE   AKNALS  OF   BRISTOL.      .  [1834. 

officiating  prelates  being  Bishops  Hendren  and  Ullathome^ 
the  existing  and  previous  vicars-general  of  the  western  dis- 
trict. A  convent  and  chapel  dedicated  to  St.  Catherine  of 
Sienna,  for  the  use  of  nuns  of  the  order  of  St.  Dominic,  were 
added  in  1849.  The  church  was  termed  a  pro-cathedral  after 
the  revival  of  the  English  episcopate  by  Pius  IX.  in  1850, 
and  shortly  afterwards  a  mansion  of  medissval  design  was 
erected  near  it  for  the  '^  Bishop  of  Clifton.''  Several  years 
later  an  eastern  extension  of  the  church  was  made  in  an 
incongruous  Lombardic  style.  One  of  the  most  stately 
cerembnials  that  have  taken  place  in  the  '^  pro-cathedral " 
occurred  in  February,  1855,  on  the  death  of  the  bishop  at 
Plymouth,  when  a  chapter  was  held,  under  the  presidency 
of  Cardinal  Wiseman,  for  the  selection  of  three  ecclesiastics 
worthy  of  the  Pope's  consideration  in  filling  the  vacancy. 

During  the  session  of  1834,  a  measure  for  the  amendment 
of  the  poor  laws  passed  both  Houses  of  Parliament,  and 
received  the  royal  assent.  At  the  instance  of  the  Bristol 
Incorporation  of  the  Poor,  that  body,  and  a  few  others  of 
the  same  character,  were  permitted  to  retain  the  privileges 
granted  them  under  their  special  Acts ;  but  this  exemption, 
as  will  be  recorded  under  the  year  1857,  was  subsequently 
withdrawn.  One  effect  of  the  Poor  Law  Beform  Act  was  to 
constitute  the  "  Clifton  Union,"  including,  besides  several 
rural  parishes,  Clifton  itself,  the  parishes  of  Westbury  and 
Horfield,  the  district  of  St.  James  and  St.  Paul,  and  the  out- 
parish  of  St.  Philip* — all  forming  part  of  the  municipal 
borough  of  Bristol.  The  parish  of  Bedminster,  similarly 
situated,  and  several  other  parishes  in  Somerset,  formed 
another  new  union,  called  after  Bedminster.  The  title  of 
*^ union"  given  to  the   confederations  was  somewhat   of   a 

*  Eftch  parish,  ap  to  this  time,  had  provided  relief  for  the  poor  in  its  own 
way — whioh  was  generally  a  bad  one.  In  1823  the  authorities  of  Winterboume 
offered  the  poor  of  that  parish  *'  to  be  let  by  tender "  for  a  year  to  any 
person  willing  to  **farm**  them  (Bristol  Journal^  Augast  30).  In  Jane,  1835, 
Mr.  C.  Mott,  Assistant  Poor  Law  Commissioner,  visited  St.  Philip*8  workhouse, 
m  Pennywell  Boad,  and  reported  on  it  in  these  terms  : — "  I  was  ill-prepared  to 
find  in  a  parish  with  nearly  17,000  inhabitants,  expending  annually  £6,000  for 
the  support  of  the  poor,  and  immediately  adjoining  one  of  the  most  cleanly  and 
well-ventilated  establishments  in  England  (St.  Peter's  Hospital),  such  a  dis- 
graceful instance  of  neglect  and  mismanagement.  The  state  of  the  workhoune 
was  filthy  in  the  extreme;  the  appearance  of  the  inmates  dirty  and  wretched. 
There  was  no  classification,  men,  women,  and  children  being  indiscriminately 
huddled  together."  A  dismal  filthy  room,  as  dirty  as  a  coal  cellar,  contained, 
he  added,  a  poor  distressed  lunatic  as  dirty  as  the  floor,  clothed  in  rags,  and 
with  feet  protruding  through  his  shoes.  The  poor  creature  had  never  quitted 
the  den  for  years.  Another  room  contained  a  young  lunatic,  almost  in  a  state 
of  nudity,  who  had  been  detained  there  for  four  years. 


1834.]      WEST   OF   ENGLAND   BANE.      EED   IflAIDs'    SCHOOL.  201 

misnomer,  for  each  parish  continued  to  defray  the  cost  of  its 
out-door  poor.  As  a  necessary  consequence  the  local  rates 
varied  considerably^  and  the  anomalies  appeared  the  more 
unjust  inasmuch  as  the  taxation  was  lowest  where  the  in- 
habitants were  wealthy,  and  highest  where  the  ratepayers 
were  least  able  to  endure  the  burden.  For  example,  in 
Bedminster,  in  1849,  the  yearly  charge  was  nearly  5«.  in  the 
pound  on  the  rental,  while  in  Westbury  it  was  7i<i.,  and  in 
Clifton  only  Td.  In  1858  an  agitation  was  started  for  amal- 
gamating all  the  suburban  parishes  with  the  Bristol  union, 
but  the  movement  was  unsuccessful,  and  though  it  has  been 
revived  in  later  years  it  has  hitherto  met  with  no  better 
success.  The  passing  of  the  Union  Chargeability  Act,  how- 
ever, did  much  to  remove  the  previous  inequalities  in  local 
taxation. 

The  prospectus  of  the  West  of  England  and  South  Wales 
District  Banking  Company  was  published  in  August.  The 
shares — 50,000  of  £20  each — having  been  subscribed  for,  the 
bank  opened  its  central  office  on  the  29th  December  in  the 
Exchange,  Bristol,  branches  being  also  established  at  Bath, 
Bridgwater,  Taunton,  Exeter,  Barnstaple,  Newport,  Cardiff, 
and  Swansea.  In  1854  the  directors  purchased  and  demol- 
ished the  once  great  coaching  hostelry,  the  Bush,  opposite 
to  the  Exchange,  together  with  some  adjoining  houses,  and 
built  on  the  site  a  remarkably  ornate  edifice,  in  the  Venetian 
style,  the  cost  of  the  site  and  building  exceeding  £40,000. 
The  new  bank  was  opened  for  business  in  February,  1857. 
A  local  paper  stated  that  the  Corporation  of  the  Poor  assessed 
the  building  at  £2,000  per  annum,  which  was  £50  more  than 
the  assessment  of  all  the  other  bank  premises  in  the  city  put 
together 

For  some  years  previous  to  this  date,  the  Court  of  Alder- 
men, which  had  the  management  of  the  Red  Maids'  School, 
seems  to  have  been  much  exercised  as  to  the  desirability  of 
removing  the  institution  from  the  old  premises  in  Denmark 
Street.  Complaints  had  been  made  as  to  the  inconvenience 
of  the  building,  but  the  governors,  in  November,  1830,  re- 
solved that  it  was  inexpedient  to  alter  the  site,  and  plans 
were  soon  after  approved  for  reconstructing  the  house. 
Three  months  later  the  position  of  the  school  was  con- 
demned; and  in  September,  1831,  it  was  resolved  to  buy  part 
of  the  property  in  Great  George  Street  which  had  been 
acquired  for  a  Mansion  House  [see  p.  134].  The  matter 
then  dropped  out  of  sight  until  March,  1833,  when  the  last 
motion  was  rescinded,  and  it  was  again  determined  to  rebuild 


202  THE   AKNALS   OP  BRISTOL.  [1834. 

on  the  old  site,  if  the  adjoining  premises  could  be  obtained 
for  an  extension.  This  condition  having  turned  out  to  bo 
impracticable,  the  Common  Council  in  the  following  Sep- 
tember sold  1  acre  and  22  poles  of  Tyndall's  Park  (part  of 
"King's  Orchard"),  belonging  to  the  Corporation,  to  Whit- 
son's  trustees  for  the  new  school.*  The  authorities  then 
selected  a  design  of  an  imposing  and  expensive  character, 
and  building  operations  had  proceeded  for  some  time  when 
the  progress  of  the  Municipal  Reform  Bill  suggested  the 
desirability  of  suspending  operations.  Nothing  further  was 
done  until  the  appointment  of  the  Charity  Trustees,  who 
made  an  inquiry  in  January,  1837,  and  discovered  that  the 
cost  of  the  school  buildings  and  site  would  be  nearly  £1 7,000, 
a  sum  which  could  not  be  raised  except  by  disposing  of  part 
of  the  hospital  estates,  and  permanently  reducing  the  income 
of  the  charity.  A  few  months  later  the  trustees  had  under 
consideration  a  project  for  removing  the  City  School  to  the 
spot  in  question,  but  this  scheme  was  also  rejected.  The 
property  was  at  length  sold  to  Bishop  Monk,  for  the  purposes 
of  the  Bishop's  College  [see  p.  141].  The  Charity  Trustees 
rebuilt  the  school  in  Denmark  Street  in  1842. 

The  new  Blind  Asylum,  adjoining  the  intended  Red  Maids' 
School,  was  also  progressing  in  1834,  the  remainder  of  the 
King's  Orchard  having  been  purchased  of  the  Corporation 
for  £1,850.  The  asylum  was  founded  in  1792  by  a  few 
Quaker  philanthropists,  the  manager  and  secretary  being 
Messrs.  Fox  and  Bath.  Until  1803  it  was  located  in  a  dis- 
used Quaker  meeting-house  in  Callowhill  Street;  but  the 
building,  together  with  adjoining  premises  called  the  Dove 
House  [the  columbarium  of  the  ancient  friary?],  was  then 
offered  for  sale  (Felix  Farley^ a  Bristol  Journal,  March  3),  and 
the  asylum  was  removed  to  Lower  Maudlin  Street,  where  it 
remained  until  its  present  habitation  was  finished.  The 
chapel  erected  for  the  use  of  the  inmates,  and  also  designed 
to  serve  as  a  chapel-of-ease  to  St.  Michael's,  was  opened  on 
the  20th  November,  1838.  At  a  meeting  held  after  the 
inaugural  service,  it  was  stated  that  the  new  asylum  had 
cost  £15,000,  and  the  chapel  £5,000.  A  new  wing  was 
added  to  the  asylum  in  January,  1 883. 

With  some  appreciation  of   the  signs  of  the   times,   the 

*  The  price  fixed  was  £1,270.  Some  want  of  forethonght  was  shown  in  the 
transaction.  The  thoroughfare  in  front  of  the  plot  was  too  narrow  for  the 
traffic  ;  and  some  years  later,  when  the  Council  wished  to  bny  a  narrow  slip  of 
the  land  to  widen  Queen's  Road,  the  Bifles'  Headquarters  Company,  who  had 
become  the  owners,  asked  £600  for  a  few  square  yards. 


^ 


1835.]  GENERAL   ELECTION.      IMPORTS   OF  TEA.  203 

Common  Council  gave  an  order  during  the  year  to  Mr. 
Pickersgill,  R.A.,  to  paint  the  portrait  of  Alderman  Daniel, 
10  commemorate  the  long  connection  of  that  gentleman  with 
civic  afifairs.  Excepting  four  individuals,  the  entire  body  of 
aldermen  and  common  councillors  owed  their  position  in  the 
municipality  to  the  influence  or  passive  assent  of  the  autocrat 
of  the  Corporation ;  and  seeing  that  the  balance  due  to  their 
bankers  exceeded  £10,000,  it  would  have  been  creditable  to 
the  authorities  if  their  manifestation  of  gratitude  had  come 
out  of  their  own  pockets.  In  December,  however,  the  artist  re- 
ceived 150  guineas  for  his  picture,  and  the  alderman  was  paid 
his  expenses  in  journeying  to  London  to  sit  for  it — £24  8«.  3r/. 

A  general  election  occurred  unexpectedly  in  January, 
1885,  owing  to  the  summary  dismissal  of  Lord  Melbourne's 
Ministry  by  William  IV.  The  result  in  Bristol,  as  in  many 
other  places,  indicated  a  marked  reaction  in  favour  of  the 
Tory  party — now  first  called  Conservatives.  At  the  formal 
nomination  of  candidates,  that  party,  desirous  of  avoiding  a 
contest,  put  forward  only  Sir  Richard  R.  Vyvyan.  But  in 
consequence  of  the  Liberals  unexpectedly  proposing  two 
gentlemen — Mr.  J.  E.  Baillie  and  Sir  John  Cam  Hobhouse 
(son  of  a  candidate  of  1796,  a  Bristolian  by  birth,  and  a 
member  of  the  two  previous  Ministries),  Mr.  P.  J.  Miles 
was  brought  forward  as  a  second  "blue*'  candidate,  with- 
out being  formally  nominated  before  the  sheriff.  Both  the 
Conservative  nominees  were  triumphantly  returned,  the 
numbers  being  :  Mr.  Miles,  3,709  ;  Sir  R.  R.  Vyvyan,  3,312  ; 
Mr.  Baillie,  2,520 ;  Sir  J.  C.  Hobhouse,  1,808.  Two  Tory 
candidates  had  not  been  elected  simultaneously  since  1 780. 

In  April,  1835,  the  monopoly  of  the  China  trade,  previously 
held  by  the  East  India  Company,  having  been  abolished  by 
Parliament,  a  cargo  of  tea  was  brought  into  Bristol  direct 
from  Canton.  An  attempt  was  afterwards  made  to  establish 
a  Bristol  Tea  Company,  with  a  capital  of  half  a  million,  for 
the  purpose  of  carrying  on  an  extensive  trade  with  the 
Celestial  Empire ;  but  the  project  met  with  slender  encourage- 
ment from  local  tea  merchants,  and  was  dropped.  A  few 
more  cargoes  were  afterwards  imported  by  the  same  firm — 
Messrs.  Acraman,  Bush,  Castle  &  Co. — who  built  extensive 
warehouses  in  Princess  Street  especially  for  this  trade. 
Subsequently  a  London  merchant  named  Robertson  con- 
tinued for  some  time  to  import  tea  by  way  of  Bristol. 
Grocers,  however,  preferred  to  follow  the  old  ruts  of  the 
trade,  and  Mr.  Robertson's  enterprise  proving  unprofitable, 
it  was  discontinued  in  1843. 


204  THI   AKKALS   Of   BRISTOL.  [1835. 

A  charge  of  murder^  which  had  caused  intense  excitement 
in  the  city^  was  opened  at  the  assizes  on  the  10th  Aprils  1835, 
and  occupied  the  court  two  days.  The  case  was  tried  before 
Sir  Charles  Wetherell,  recorder,  who  had  not  held  an  assize 
since  the  riots  in  1831.  It  appeared  that  on  the  23rd  Octo- 
ber,  1833,  an  elderly  woman  named  Clara  Ann  Smith,  who 
had  lodged  for  some  time  with  one  Mary  Ann  Burdock,  the 
occupier  of  a  lodging-house  in  College  Street,  suddenly  died. 
The  relatives  of  the  deceased,  having  had  no  tidings  from 
her  for  upwards  of  a  year,  at  last  made  inquiries,  and  finding 
that  Mrs.  Burdock  would  not  give  a  satisfactory  account  of 
her  death,  or  of  the  considerable  property  which  she  was 
known  to  have  possessed,  application  was  made  to  the  police, 
and  the  body  was  disinterred  fourteen  months  after  the 
burial.  Identification  was  difficult  after  such  a  lapse  of  time, 
but  two  fellow  lodgers  of  the  deceased  swore  to  certain  marks 
on  the  stockings,  and  the  undertaker  proved  that  he  had 
supplied  the  coffin.  The  stomach  was  thereupon  handed  to 
Mr.  Herapath,  who  discovered  that  it  contained  arsenic,  and 
three  medical  witnesses  testified  that  the  quantity  of  poison 
detected  was  sufficient  to  cause  death,  xhe  purchase  of 
arsenic  by  a  person  in  Burdock's  house  also  came  to  light,  as 
well  as  the  fact  that  Mrs.  Burdock  had  alone  administered 
food  to  the  deceased,  and  had  cautioned  a  servant  not  to  eat 
of  what  remained  after  each  meal.  It  further  transpired  that 
the  murdered  woman  had  received  £800  shortly  before  her 
demise,  and  that  Burdock  became  suddenly  rich  after  that 
event.  Other  circumstantial  evidence  pressing  against  the 
woman  was  adduced,  and,  the  jury  having  found  her  guilty, 
she  was  sentenced  to  be  hanged.  Her  sOibsequent  indifier- 
ence  to  her  fate  was  another  strange  feature  in  the  case. 
She  ordered  her  brother  not  to  spend  more  than  £2  upon  her 
coffin,  which  she  desired  to  have  by  her  bedside  on  the  night 
before  her  execution,  and  she  gave  especial  directions  to  be 
provided  with  a  ^'  warm,  comfortable  shroud."  The  wretched 
woman  was  hanged  at  the  gaol  on  the  15th  April,  in  the 
presence,  it  was  computed,  of  50,000  spectators. 

St.  Matthew's  Church,  Kingsdown,  which  had  just  been 
finished  at  a  cost  of  about  £7,900,  including  a  sum  set  apart 
for  the  endowment,  was  consecrated  by  Dr.  Ryder,  Bishop  of 
Lichfield,  on  the  23rd  April.  A  peal  of  eight  bells,  the  gift  of 
Mr.  John  Bangley,  a  liberal  contributor  to  the  church,  was  sub- 
sequently placed  in  the  tower.  In  July,  1882,  Mr.  George  Gray, 
builder,  presented  the  parish  with  a  handsome  villa  and  garden 
in  Cotham  Park,  for  the  use  of  the  vicar  and  his  successors. 


1835.]      BRIDEWELL   REBUILT.      THE   ZOOLOGICAL  GARDENS.  205 

Brunswick  Square  Chapel,  built  at  a  cost  of  £5^000  by  some 
seceders  from  the  congregation  of  Castle  Green  Chapel,  was 
opened  in  May,  when  a  sermon  was  preached  by  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Raffles,  of  Liverpool.  The  first  marriage  celebrated  in  a 
dissenting  place  of  worship  in  Bristol  took  place  in  this  build- 
ing shortly  after  the  passing  of  the  Marriage  Act  of  1837. 

The  Corporation  cash-book  contains  the  following  item 
dated  the  14th  May :  "  Paid  John  Willis  for  various  em- 
bazonments  {sic)  to  embellish  the  Mayors'  Kalendar,  £23  l&s." 
The  payment  can  refer  only  to  the  coats  of  arms  which  have 
been  placed  against  the  names  of  many  of  the  mayors  and 
sheriffs  of  later  times — often,  it  may  be  suspected,  at  the 
fantasy  of  the  illuminator. 

The  new  Bridewell,  entirely  rebuilt  after  the  deplorable 
events  of  1831,  was  finished  in  July,  1835,  at  a  cost  of 
£7,800.  The  new  prison  was  constructed  entirely  on  the 
northern  side  of  Bridewell  Lane.  The  ground  on  the  opposite 
side, — on  which  the  old  Bridewell  chiefly  stood, — was  a  few 
years  later  made  available  for  a  central  police  station.  In 
1842  it  was  reported  that  the  prison  was  deficient  in  accom- 
modation, there  being  100  prisoners  confined  iii  it,  whilst  the 
cells  were  constructed  to  contain  only  56.  The  Council  sub-  • 
sequently  resolved  to  enlarge  the  building,  and  appropriated 
some  adjacent  void  ground  for  the  purpose.  The  alterations 
cost  the  city  upwards  of  £4,000.  The  abolition  of  the  prison 
will  be  recorded  under  a  later  date. 

After  having  been  for  some  time  contemplated  by  a  few 
public-spirited   citizens,  the   Bristol  and   Clifton  Zoological 
Gardens  Society  was  definitely  established  in  July,  1835,  the 
capital  being  in  the  first  instance  fixed  at  £7,500  in  £25 
shares.     It  was  originally  proposed  to  lay  out  a  garden  at 
Pyle  Hill,  Bedminster,  where  a  plot  of  ten  acres  was  actually  ji        ^^     ^ 
purchased,  and  planting  commenced.     A  change  of  plans,  aV^^#^.*" 
however,  took   place,   and  the  present  site — about  twelve J^^T^J-cj   ' 
acres — having  been  purchased  of  Mr.  F.  Adams  for  £3,456,  ipsiT^l^^/' 
about  £5,300  more  were   spent  in  laying  out  the  ground /ync£'^«^^^ 
and   erecting  the   necessary  buildings.     The   gardens  were  ^.jt-^-  ~ 
opened  to  the  public  on  the  11th  July,  1836.     According  to 
the  original  proposal,  annual  subscribers  were  admitted  into 
the  grounds  on  Sundays,  in  common  with  the  proprietors. 
A  section  of  the  latter,  a  few  years  later,  endeavoured  to 
close  the   gardens   entirely  on   that  day,  but  met  with  a 
decisive  defeat.     On  directing  their  attack  against  those  who 
had  no  votes,  however,  they  were  quite  successful,  a  resolu- 
tion depriving  the  subscribers  of  their  former  privilege  being 


206  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL.  [1835. 

adopted  in  April,  1841.  Forty-five  years  later,  in  April, 
188(5,  the  society  returned  to  its  original  policy,  a  vote  to 
admit  subscribers  on  Sundays  being  carried  with  only  one 
dissentient  voice. 

During  this  year  a  monument  to  the  memory  of  Dr.  Gray, 
Bishop  of  Bristol,  who  died  on  the  28th  September,  1834, 
was  erected  in  the  cathedral  at  a  cost  of  £260. 

The  last  of  the  few  public  improvements  effected  by  the 
old  Corporation,  whose  extinction  is  about  to  be  recorded, 
were  made  in  the  autumn  of  1835.  Maudlin  Lane  was 
widened,  by  pulling  down  some  old  houses  and  removing 
the  small  inclosures  which  stood  in  front  of  others.  A  more 
important  work  was  effected  in  Bridewell  Lane,  by  opening 
through  it  a  street  from  Nelson  Street  to  the  Horse  Fair, 
covering  over  part  of  the  Froom,  and  pulling  down  some  old 
dwellings  which  contracted  the  thoroughfare.  The  total  cost 
was  about  £3,000.  The  dean  and  chapter  about  the  same 
time  improved  the  appearance  of  the  cathedral  by  removing 
some  ugly  houses  adjoining  the  west  end  of  the  building,  and 
demolishing  others  built  upon  the  cloisters. 

In  November,  1835,  Lord  John  Russell,  then  Home  Secre- 
tary and  leader  of  the  House  of  Commons,  having  won 
extensive  popularity  from  the  manner  in  which  he  had  con- 
ducted the  Reform  Bill  and  other  important  measures 
through  the  Lower  House,  was  entertained  to  dinner  at  the 
Gloucester  Hotel,  Clifton,  by  his  admirers  in  this  district. 
The  occasion  was  seized  to  present  his  lordship  with  a  hand- 
some piece  of  plate,  purchased  by  a  sixpenny  subscription, 
commemorative  of  his  services  to  the  cause  of  civil  and 
religious  liberty.  An  amusing  illustration  of  the  political 
acrimony  of  the  time  was  furnished  by  a  local  newspaper, 
which  recorded  that  the  parochial  authorities,  "  to  their 
honour,"  refused  to  allow  the  church  bells  to  be  rung  on  the 
Home  Secretary's  visit  to  the  city. 

The  report  of  the  Municipal  Corporations'  Commission, 
occupying  five  bulky  folio  volumes,  was  laid  before  Parlia- 
ment in  the  spring  of  1835.  Even  before  the  production  of 
the  entire  work,  the  irresistible  proofs  of  corruption,  extra- 
vagance, and  inefficiency  that  had  become  public  in  the  course 
of  the  inquiry  had  extorted  an  avowal  from  Sir  Robert  Peel, 
then  Prime  Minister  and  leader  of  the  Tory  party,  that  it 
would  be  impossible  to  resist  a  thorough  reform  of  abuses, 
and  the  concession  of  popular  election  and  control  in  muni- 
cipal affairs.  A  change  of  Ministry  having  taken  place  soon 
afterwards,  the  question  returned  to  its  original  hands,  and 


1835.]  MUNICIPAL   CORPORATIONS    REFORM  ACT.  207 

early  in  June  Lord  John  Russell,  in  producing  a  Bill,  described 
to  the  House  of  Commons  the  plan  of  municipal  government 
which  the  Cabinet  intended  to  provide.  So  great  was  the 
effect  produced  by  the  commissioners'  report,  that  the 
measure  was  read  a  second  time  without  opposition ;  nor  was 
any  resistance  offered  to  the  principle  of  the  Bill  when  it 
underwent  examination  in  committee.  A  few  of  the  old  cor- 
porations, however,  amongst  which  those  of  Bristol  and 
Liverpool  were  especially  conspicuous,  continued  to  maintain 
that  a  scheme  which  would  deprive  them  of  the  enjoyment  of 
property  and  privileges  derived  from  royal  charters  was  both 
oppressive  and  unconstitutional;  and  when  the  Bill  reached 
the  House  of  Lords  they  petitioned  to  be  heard  against  it  by 
counsel.  The  Ministry,  opposed  by  an  overwhelming  majority 
of  peers,  were  forced  to  give  way,  and  in  July  and  August 
Sir  Charles  Wetherell,  recorder  of  Bristol,  supported  by  other 
counsel,*  protested  against  what  he  termed  the  tyrannical 
annihilation  of  ancient  rights,  and  poured  a  flood  of  insult- 
ing invective  on  the  commissioners,  the  Government,  and  the 
House  of  Commons.  The  Opposition  peers  next  moved  that 
Sir  Charles  should  be  permitted  to  call  evidence  on  behalf  of 
his  clients,  it  being  hoped  that  at  so  late  a  period  of  the 
session  (August  3rd)  the  Ministry  would  abandon  the  Bill, 
rather  than  continue  the  sittings.  The  point  having  been 
carried,  Mr.  Daniel  Burges,  one  of  the  solicitors  for  the  Cor- 
poration of  Bristol,  Alderman  Fripp,  an  ex-mayor  of  the  city, 
and  officials  representing  about  thirty  other  close  bodies,  were 
examined,  but  with  little  other  result  than  to  show  that  they 
approved  of  the  existing  system,  and  that  the  proposed 
reforms  were  in  their  opinion  unadvisable.  The  noble  oppo- 
nents of  the  Government  appear  to  have  been  disappointed 
at  the  emptiness  of  this  testimony,  for  only  the  Duke  of  New- 
castle and  one  or  two  other  uncompromising  enemies  of 
change  advised  the  Tory  majority  to  reject  what  they  termed 
an  "  atrocious  and  revolutionary  Bill.*'  But  though  this 
counsel  was  ignored,  many  of  the  clauses  were,  to  use  Lord 
Brougham's  expression,  "  butchered "  by  the  Conservative 
peers,  with  the  avowed  purpose  of  checking  the  control 
intended  to  be  conferred  on  the  ratepayers.  The  most 
unpopular  of  those  "  amendments  "  was  that  reviving  the  body 
of  aldermen,  who  were  to  be  chosen,  as  far  as  practicable, 
from  the  existing  aldermen,  and  to  be  elected  for  life.     Other 

*  The  expenses  were  divided  amongst  the  petitioning  Corporations.     The 
share  paid  by  Bristol  was  £210  ISt.  9d. 


208  THE   ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1835. 

alterations,  strongly  opposed  by  the  Government,  were  the 
introduction  of  property  qualifications  for  councillors,  and 
the  rejection  of  the  clauses  conferring  power  on  councils 
to  nominate  magistrates  and  to  grant  public-house  licences. 
The  Ministry  were  for  a  time  undetermined  whether  to 
proceed  with  or  to  drop  the  Bill  in  what  they  regarded  as 
a  mutilated  form ;  but  the  House  of  Commons  was  ultimately 
invited  to  sanction  most  of  the  changes.  The  aldermanic 
tenure  was  however  reduced  to  six  years,  and  the  provision 
in  favour  of  the  old  dignitaries  was  rejected.  The  House 
of  Lords  having  assented  to  the  modification,  the  Bill  received 
the  royal  assent  in  September. 

The  passing  of  the  Act,  which  excited  great  interest 
amongst  all  classes  in  the  city,  revolutionized  the  existing 
system,  and  involved  a  number  of  initiatory  steps  prior  to 
the  establishment  of  the  new  order  of  things.  In  the  old 
Corporation,  vacancies  in  the  Common  Council  (of  thirty 
members)  were  filled  by  the  aldermen  and  councillors,  while 
on  the  death  of  one  of  the  twelve  aldermen  his  successor  was 
appointed  by  the  mayor  and  aldermen  only,  the  opinions  of 
the  citizens  counting  for  nothing  in  such  affairs.  Under  the 
new  Act  the  municipal  boundaries  of  the  city  were  made  con- 
terminous with  its  parliamentary  limits  by  the  inclusion 
within  the  "  city  and  county  "  of  Clifton,  the  district  of  St. 
James  and  St.  Paul,  St.  Philip's,  and  the  urban  portions  of 
Westbury  and  Bedminster  parishes,  thus  increasing  the  area 
from  755  to  4,879  acres.  The  rated  male  inhabitants,  or 
rather  such  as  had  been  rated  for  three  years,  were  required 
to  elect  a  body  of  forty-eight  councillors.  Those  councillors 
were  then  to  appoint  sixteen  aldermen — chosen  either  from 
amongst  themselves  or  from  qualified  ratepayers — and  the 
aggregate  body  of  sixty-four,  entitled  the  Council,  was 
charged  with  the  responsible  administration  of  municipal 
business  and  of  the  corporate  revenues.  Under  the  old 
system  the  aldermen  and  common  councillors  were  elected  for 
life.  The  new  aldermen  were  to  sit  for  six  years,  and  the 
councillors  for  three  years,  but  were  eligible  for  re-election ; 
and  in  order  that  the  council  might  keep  touch  with  public 
opinion,  it  was  arranged  that  one  third  of  the  councillors 
should  retire  every  year  on  the  1st  November,  and  one 
half  of  the  aldermen  every  three  years  on  the  9th  Novem- 
ber— the  day  fixed  for  the  annual  election  of  the  mayor. 
Under  the  ancient  charters,  the  Corporation  could  spend  its 
revenues  at  the  caprice  of  the  majority,  and  contract  debts 
at  its  discretion.     The  new  Act  contained  stringent  provisions 


1835.] 


CORPORATION    REFORM.      THE    BUROESS    ROLL. 


209 


against  financial  abuses,  and  the  Council  was  unable  to  borrow 
money  except  with  the  consent  of  the  Treasury,  and  for  pur- 
poses manifestly  beneficial  to  the  community.  Finally,  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  old  sheriffs  was  preserved,  but  the  Bristol 
custom  of  appointing  two  such  officers,  in  puerile  imitation 
of  London,  was  abolished.  As  the  reformed  system  did  not 
come  into  operation  until  the  end  of  the  year,  the  old  Cor- 
poration had  in  the  first  place  to  appoint  a  mayor  and  two 
sheriffs  for  the  three  months  which  intervened  between  th9 
retirement  of  the  existing  officials  at  Michaelmas  and  the 
creation  of  the  Council.  This  was  easily  arranged,  however, 
by  the  re-appointment  of  the  gentlemen  then  in  office.* 
Another  indispensable  work  was  the  preparation  of  the 
"  Burgess  Roll " — a  register  of  the  qualified  rated  inhabitants 
— a  task  for  which  there  was  but  scanty  time,  owing  to  the 
late  date  at  which  the  Act  passed.  Equally  urgent  was  the 
division  of  the  borough  into  wards,  which  was  to  be  effected 
by  barristers  nominated  by  the  Government  for  the  purpose. 
These  functionaries  did  not  reach  Bristol  until  the  28th 
October.  The  importance  of  the  work  confided  to  them  does 
not  appear  to  have  been  generally  appreciated,  and  their 
proceedings  were  almost  ignored  by  the  inefficient  newspaper 
reporters  of  the  age.  It  was  not,  indeed,  until  the  wards  had 
been  created  that  the  supporters  of  the  new  system  opened 
their  eyes  to  the  fact  that  the  interests  of  the  ratepayers  had 
been  deeply  compromised  by  the  arrangements  effected.  The 
following  were  the  divisions  as  settled  by  the  legal  visitors. 


BurgesseR. 

Bated  valae. 

Councillors. 

Bristol  (or  Central)    . 

870 

£41,446 

9 

Clifton 

494 

25,348 

9 

Redcliff    .     .     . 

617 

27,608 

6 

St.  Augustine's.     . 

385 

20,167 

6 

Bedminster  .     . 

177 

8,500 

3 

District    .... 

814 

18,285 

3 

St.  Jameses  .     . 

413 

14,976 

8 

St.  Michaers    . 

305 

7,926 

8 

St.  Paul's     .     .     . 

336 

15,614 

8 

St.  Philip's .     .     . 

432 

16,310 

8 

*  The  last  meeting  of  the  old  Common  Council  took  place  on  the  9th  De- 
cember. It  would  have  been  interesting  to  possess  some  description  of  the 
expiring  throes  of  the  old  rSfjime,  but  the  mystery  which  shrouded  its  career  was 
maintained  to  the  last.  Curiously  enough,  even  the  official  minutes  are  defec- 
tive. A  resolution  was  passed  to  grant  the  sherififs  an  extra  allowance  for  their 
additional  period  of  service,  but  the  amount  to  be  paid  them  was  never  filled  in ; 
and  the  mayor,  forgetful  of  invariable  oustom,  neglected  to  sign  the  record. 

P 


210  THE   ANNALS   OF  B&ISTOL.  [1835. 

The  net  result  was  that  the  first  four  of  the  above  wards, 
with  just  over  2,200  burgesses,  had  thirty  representatives, 
whilst  the  rest  of  the  city,  with  nearly  2,000  ratepayers,  was 
allotted  only  eighteen.  The  distribution  was  the  more  extra- 
ordinary inasmuch  as  it  was  a  flagrant  deviation  from  the 
arrangement  proposed  by  the  Royal  Commissioners  on  Cor- 
porations, who  in  their  report  on  Bristol  (page  39)  had 
advised  the  formation  of  sixteen  wards,  with  three  council- 
lors each,  by  which  SL  Philip's,  Bedminster,  and  the  District 
would  each  have  had  six  representatives.  The  Liberal  news- 
papers— when  it  was  too  late — commented  warmly  on  the  dis- 
proportionate number  of  councillors  awarded  to  the  parishes 
where  the  Tory  party  was  known  to  be  most  influential. 
The  critics  admitted  that  the  division  did  not  seem  so  unjust 
when  the  rateable  value  of  the  respective  wards  was  taken 
into  account ;  but  on  the  other  hand,  it  was  pointed  out  that 
while  three  out  of  the  four  favoured  wards  were  practically 
built  over,  the  suburban  districts  were  certain  to  rapidly  in- 
crease, both  in  population  and  rateable  value.  Application 
was  eventually  made  to  the  Government,  which  admitted  the 
unfairness  of  the  distribution,  and  promised  redress  by  legis- 
lation, but  never  carried  out  its  pledge.  It  will  afterwards 
be  seen  how  excessive  the  disproportion  became  before  a 
remedy  was  applied.  The  preparations  for  the  elections 
having  been  completed,  the  field  became  open  for  candidates, 
of  whom  a  great  number  made  their  appearance,  including 
many  members  of  the  old  Corporation,  Eventually  ninety 
went  to  the  poll,  nearly  every  seat  being  contended  for  by 
representatives  of  both  political  parties.  The  elections  took 
place  on  the  26th  December,  and  two  days  afterwards  the 
results  were  declared  by  the  mayor  (Mr.  Charles  Payne), 
whose  functions  thereupon  terminated.  The  following  sum- 
mary gives  the  results  in  each  ward,  the  names  of  members  of 
the  old  Common  Council  being  distinguished  by  an  asterisk. 
Further  evidence  of  the  unequal  distribution  of  representa- 
tives is  afforded  by  the  number  of  voters  which  is  appended 
to  the  name  of  each  ward. 

Bedminster  (177  voters). — Robert  Phippin  (C.)f  93;  John  Drake  (L.),  92; 
Samuel  Brown  (L.)t  79.  Defeated  :  Henry  Glascodine  (C),  58 ;  James  Bartlett 
(C),  60  ;  James  Powell  (L.).  40. 

Central  (870  voters). — James  Wood  (L.),  388 ;  William  Edward  Acraman 
(C),  379  ;  Thomas  Stock  (L.),  877:  Fred.  Ricketts  (L).  366;  Peter  Maze  (C), 
366;  Charles  B.  Fripp  (L.),  344;  Henry  Bush  (C),  335 ;  James  Lean*  (C), 
322  ;  John  Savage*  (C),  315.  Defeated :  Rich.  Bligh  (L.),  314  ;  Thomas  Carlisle 
(L.).  307 ;  William  Terrell  (L.),  302 ;  George  W.  Franklyn  (C).  291 ;  Samuel 
Waring  fL.).  289 ;  Samuel  Morgan  (L.),  272 ;  WilUam  Watson*  (C),  268 
William  Plommer  (C),  246  ;  A.  J.  Drewe  (C),  238. 


1836.]  FIB8T   MUKIOIPAL   ELECTIONS.  211 


J 


Clifton  (494  voters).— Charles  Payne*  (C),  274 ;  Gabriel  Goldney*  (C),  268  ; 
James  N.  Franklyn*  (C),  258 ;  Joseph  Cookson  (C),  238 ;  Abraham  HUhouse* 
(C),  223;  WiUiam  S.  Jaqaes  (L.),  204  ;  Robert  E.  Case  (C),  204;  James  Ford 
C),  204 ;  Michael  H.  Castle*  (L.),  198.  Defeated :  John  Warne  (L  ),  196 ; 
oseph  Lax*  (C),  184;  John  Yining  (C),  184;  James  Johnson  (L.),  177;  L. 
McBayne  (L.),  165. 

District  (314  voters). — James  E.  Lnnell*  (L.),  221 ;  Thomas  B.  Sanders  (L.), 
131;  Richard  Ash  (L.),  127.  Defeated:  Robert  H.  Webb  (C),  124;  George 
Shapland  (C),  119. 

Redcliff  (517  voters). — Christopher  George*  (L.),  236 ;  Henry  Ricketts*  (L.), 
236  ;  Richard  P.  King  (C),  228;  George  Thomas  (L.),  228;  WUliam  O.  Gwyer 
(C),  222  ;  George  E.  Sanders  (L.),  222.  Defeated :  John  Hare,  jun.  (L.),  213  ; 
William  Fripp*  (C),  209;  WUliam  Tothill  (L.),  206;  Robert  Fiske  (L.),  182; 
Nicholas  Roch*  (C),  175 ;  Henry  R.  Llewellyn  (L.),  166. 

St.  Auqustine's  (235  voters). — Thomas  Daniel*  (C),  152;  Charles  Hare  (C), 
149 ;  Richard  Smith  (C),  147  ;  James  E.  Nash  (C),  145 ;  P.  Maze,  jun.,*  (C), 
134;  Thomas  Powell  (C),  124.  Defeated:  Charles  Pioney*  (C),  90;  John 
Manningford  (L.),  72;  James  Reynolds  (L.),  69;  Richard  Ricketts  (L.),  68; 
Joseph  F.  Alexander  (L ),  68 ;  James  Jenkms  (L.),  54. 

St.  James's  (413  voters). — James  Cunningham  (L.)  224 ;  Samael  S.  Wayte 
(L.),  214 ;  John  W.  Hall  (L.),  208.  Defeated :  Thomas  Menlove  (C),  118 ;  James 
Moore  (C),  111 ;  M.  H.  Castle*  (L.),  54. 

St.    Michael's  (305  voters).— John  Howell  (C),  208;  James  George*  (C.) 
156  ;  Charles  L.  Walker*  (C),  136.    Defeated :    John  Mills  (L.),  115 ;    John 
Irving  (L),  87. 

St.  Paul's  (336  voters).— Nehemiah  Moore  (L.),  170  ;  Thomas  R.  Guppy  (L.) 
164 ;  WUliam  Harwood  (L.),  137.  Defeated  :  Robert  T*  LiUy  (C),  129  ;  Thomas 
H.  Riddle  (C),  106 ;  Edward  Harley  (C),  105. 

St.  Philip's  (432  voters).— Thomas  Harris  (L.),  302;  William  Herapath, 
(L.),  242  ;  Edward  B.  Fripp  (L.),  236.  Defeated :  Samael  G.  Fiook  (C;,  107 ; 
John  Winwood  (C),  92. 

The  net  result  of  the  struggle  being  the  return  of  twenty- 
four  Tories  and  the  same  number  of  Liberals^  extreme  interest 
turned  upon  the  election  of  aldermen,  which  was  fixed  for 
the  1st  January,  1836.  On  this  occasion,  Mr.  Thomas  Daniel, 
senior  ex-alderman,  was  voted  into  the  chair,  as  a  compli- 
ment due  to  his  long  connection  with  civic  affairs;  after  which 
Mr.  Stock,  one  of  the  leading  Liberals,  appealed  to  gentle- 
men of  both  political  parties  to  discard  party  feelings,  and 
to  concur  in  the  nomination  of  a  moiety  of  the  aldermanic 
body  from  each  side.  His  proposal,  however,  met  with  no 
response  from  the  Conservative  ranks.  Much  discussion 
followed  as  to  the  best  mode  of  procedure,  the  Tories  being 
desirous  of  proposing  sixteen  candidates  in  a  batch,  while 
their  opponents  urged  that  a  member  should  be  nominated 
alternately  by  each  party.  A  division  took  place  on  this 
point,  but  as  the  numbers  were  equal,  and  the  chairman  had 
no  casting  vote,  the  Council  were  unable  to  make  any  pro- 
gress. It  being  at  length  determined  to  resort  to  alternate 
nominations,  Mr.  Wm.  Fripp  was  proposed  by  the  Tories, 


212  THB   ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL.  [1836. 

Mr.  Charles  Pinney  by  the  Liberals,  Mr.  T.  H.  Riddle  by 
the  Tories,  and  Mr.  Richard  Ricketts  by  the  Liberals ;  and 
in  each  case  the  election  was  unanimous.  The  third  Con- 
servative candidate  was  Mr.  Wm.  Bushell,  who  was  also 
chosen  without  opposition.  But  the  nomination  of  the  third 
Liberal,  Mr.  Wm.  Tothill,  one  of  the  most  respected  members 
of  the  party,  brought  about  a  defection  which  had  been 
partially  anticipated  from  the  outset.  Mr.  Christopher  George, 
a  member  of  the  old  Corporation,  had  won  some  popularity 
three  or  four  years  before  by  his  ardent  advocacy  of  Reform 
principles.  But,  as  frequently  occurred  amongst  old-fashioned 
Whigs  about  that  period,  Mr.  George's  admiration  of  political 
improvements  came  to  an  end  when  they  threatened  to  af- 
fect his  own  interests  and  position.  The  abolition  of  rotten 
boroughs  was  all  well  enough,  but  the  purification  of  effete 
corporations,  of  one  of  which  he  was  a  member,  was  not  to 
his  taste.  His  election  into  the  Council  gave  him  an  oppor- 
tunity of  revenging  himself  upon  the  party  to  which  ho  had 
hitherto  professed  attachment,  and  the  time  had  arrived  for 
the  blow  that  had  been  secretly  concerted  with  his  new 
allies.*  A  division  was  called  for  by  the  Tories,  and  as  Mr. 
George  voted  with  them,  Mr.  Tothill  was  rejected  by  25 
votes  against  23.  Mr.  Wm.  Watson  was  next  nominated  by 
the  Conservatives,  and  elected ;  but  when  the  Liberals  pro- 
posed Mr.  J.  Reynolds,  son  of  the  distinguished  philanthropist, 
he  was  also  rejected  by  the  vote  of  Mr.  George.  Mr.  John 
K.  Haberfield  (Tory)  owed  his  election  to  the  same  gentleman. 
Mr.  J.  Maningford  (Liberal)  and  Mr.  J.  Gibbs  (Tory)  were 
also  successful.  Another  desertion  then  took  place  from  the 
Liberals,  Mr.  Henry  Ricketts,  the  last  gentleman  admitted 
into  the  old  Corporation,  following  Mr.  George's  example  and 
voting  against  Mr.  R.  Castle.  After  this  change  of  sides, 
only  one  gentleman  on  the  Liberal  list  was  elected — Mr. 
Thomas  Stock.  The  remaining  Conservative  nominees  ap- 
pointed were  Messrs.  N.  Roch,  Edward  Harley,  George  W. 
Franklyn,  J.  Winwood,  Wm.  K.  Wait,  and  John  Vining. 
As  Mr.  Pinney,  though  proposed  by  the  Liberals,  immediately 
joined  the  Tory  camp,  the  issue  of  the  election  was  the  return 
of  13  Conservatives  and  3  Liberals,  giving  the  former  an 
overwhelming  preponderance  in  the  Council.t     On  the  fol- 

^^ ■  -  - 

•  Mr.  George  was  a  brother-in-law  of  Alderman  Fripp,  who  had  become  a 
convert  to  Toryism  a  few  years  earlier,  and  had  now  been  selected  by  his  party 
for  the  mayoralty. 

t  One  of  the  Liberal  aldermen  died ;  the  other  two  were  refused  re-election 
in  1838.    According  to  an  interesting  series  of  papers  by  the  Bev.  A.  B.  Beaven, 


1836.]  ELECTION   OF   MAYOR.      SERJEANT   LUDLOW.  213 

lowing  day,  January  2,  the  jubilant  victors  carried  the 
election  of  ex-Alderman  Daniel  as  mayor,  38  votes  being 
recorded  for  him  against  22  given  for  Mr.  Stock.  Immedi- 
ately afterwards,  Mr.  D.  Cave  (Tory)  was  elected  sheriff  by 
35  votes  against  25,  the  latter  representing  the  supporters  of 
Mr.  G.  Bengough  (Liberal).  [Mr.^Daniel  refusing — ^as  was 
anticipated — to  accept  the  chief  magistracy  on  account  of 
his  advanced  age,  Mr.  William  Fripp,  another  alderman  of 
the  old  regime,  was  shortly  afterwards  appointed  in  his  place. 
Mr.  Fripp^s  qualification  being  contested,  an  application  was 
made  to  the  Court  of  King's  Bench  in  the  following  month 
for  a  writ  of  quo  warranto;  but  for  some  reason  the  judges 
did  not  grant  the  document  until  November,  when  the  new 
mayor's  term  had  expired.]  Finally,  Mr.  Serjeant  Ludlow 
was  re-appointed  town-clerk ;  but  upon  being  called  in  and 
informed  of  his  election,  he  stated  that  for  the  present  he 
should  neither  decline  nor  accept  an  oflSce  which,  as  defined 
under  the  Act,  was  entirely  different  from  that  which  he  held 
under  the  old  Corporation,  and  he  must  be  allowed  time  for 
reflection.  The  learned  gentleman  continued  to  maintain 
this  attitude  for  some  weeks.  The  explanation  of  his  conduct 
was  obvious.  For  a  great  number  of  years  Serjeant  Ludlow 
had  converted  his  office  into  a  practical  sinecure,  his  only 
service  consisting  in  his  direction  of  the  aldermanic  justices 
at  the  quarter  sessions.  As  the  recorder  would  thenceforth 
be  required  to  fulfil  the  duties  of  judge,  Mr.  Ludlow's  object 
was  to  induce  the  Council  to  dismiss  him,  when  he  would  bo 
entitled  to  compensation  under  the  Act.  According  to  a 
letter  he  addressed  to  the  Council,  his  average  income  from 
the  town-clerkship  had  been  £913  per  annum,  and  he  claimed 
a  lump  sum  of  £5,336.  In  the  course  of  the  controversy, 
Mr.  Ludlow,  whoso  hastiness  and  impatience  were  as  marked 
as  his  legal  abilities,  took  offence  at  some  strictures  passed 
upon  him  by  the  ex-mayor,  Mr.  C.  Payne,  and  made  the 
customary  preparations  for  an  '^affair  of  honour;"  but  the 
explanations  that  were  tendered  were  accepted  as  satisfactory. 
Eventually  the  town-clerkship  was  declared  vacant,  owing  to 
Mr.  Ludlow's  refusal  to  fulfil  the  duties,  and  the  Council 
consented  to  pay  him  a  life  annuity  of  £533  yearly,  which  he 


pablished  in  the  Timei  and  Mirror  in  1880,  the  three  places  were  filled  by 
Conservatives,  and  of  the  52  gentlemen  elected  to  fill  vacancies  between  1838 
and  1880  there  were  only  4  Liberals — appointed  at  distant  intervals — against  48 
Tories.  Of  the  68  aldermen  appointed  up  to  the  same  date,  Mr.  Beaven*s 
statistics  show  that  27  had  been  rejected  by  the  ratepayers  when  they  offered 
themselves  for  the  office  of  councillor. 


214  THE   ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1886. 

enjoyed  until  his  death  in  March^  1851.  [During  his 
later  career  he  was  one  of  the  commissioners  in  bankruptcy 
for  the  city,  and  chairman  of  quarter  sessions  for  Gloucester- 
shire.] 

The  Council  lost  no  time  in  facing  the  formidable  labours 
which  lay  before  it.  Committees  were  appointed  to  inquire 
into  the  financial  position  of  the  Corporation,  into  the  duties 
and  emoluments  of  the  official  staff,  and  into  the  measures 
to  be  taken  for  the  establishment  of  a  police  force ;  and  those 
subjects  each  underwent  lengthy  discussion  in  the  chamber. 
With  respect  to  salaries,  it  was  resolved  to  reduce  the  amount 
paid  to  the  mayor  from  £1,604  to  £700,*  the  Council  also 
providing  him  with  a  carriage.  The  two  sheriffs  had  pre- 
viously received  £400  a  year  each ;  there  was  now  to  be  only 
one  sheriff,  without  a  salary.  The  recorder  had  received 
£105  for  each  assize,  and  a  hogshead  of  wine;  but  as  he  was 
thenceforth  to  preside  at  quarter  sessions,  the  salary  was  in- 
creased to  £500,  and  £200  more  were  added  on  his  becoming 
judge  of  the  Tolzey  Court.  The  chamberlain  and  deputy 
chamberlain  had  enjoyed  incomes  of  £1,200  and  £500  re- 
spectively ;  these  were  reduced  to  £700  and  £350,  and  the 
title  of  treasurer  was  adopted  for  that  of  chamberlain.  Mr. 
Daniel  Surges  was  appointed  town-clerk  in  the  place  of 
Mr.  Ludlow,t  and  Messrs.  Brice  &  Surges  were  selected  as 
city  solicitors,  the  salaries  for  these  offices  being  fixed  at 
£2,150,  which  was  to  include  the  cost  of  providing  clerks, 
etc.,  while  Messrs.  Srice  &  Surges  surrendered  the  fees 
and  other  emoluments  attached  to  their  functions.  This 
arrangement,  it  was  stated,  would  be  productive  of  a  con- 
siderable saving.  Economies  were  effected  in  other  depart- 
ments. The  Mansion  House  was  given  up,  and  many  of  the 
useless  officials  maintained  for  purposes  of  *'  state,"  including 
four  mayor's  Serjeants,  four  sheriffs'  Serjeants,  four  sheriffs' 


*  The  salary  was  redaced  to  £460  in  the  autumn  of  1837,  when  the  Coancil 
was  in  financial  straits,  bat  it  was  again  raised  to  £700  in  November,  1848. 

+  Mr.  Barges  (the  son  of  a  gentleman  of  the  same  name  who  bad  held  the 
office  of  city  solicitor  for  some  years  when  he  died  in  1791)  held  the  appointment 
of  mayor's  clerk,  and  in  conjunction  with  Mr.  Brice  that  of  city  solicitor,  from 
1819  until  the  end  of  the  old  Corporation.  His  long  experience  in  civic  affairs 
was  of  great  value  to  the  new  body ;  and  it  was  largely  through  his  tact  and 
ability  tbat  the  antagonistic  parties  in  the  Council  were  brought  into  harmonious 
action.  Upon  his  retirement,  in  1842 — when  he  was  succeeded  by  his  son, 
Daniel  Barges,  jun. — he  received  many  marks  of  respect  both  from  members 
of  the  Corporation  and  his  fellow  citizens ;  and  a  costly  and  beautiful  piece  of 
plate  was  presented  to  him  in  recognition  "  of  his  personal  worth  and  public 
service  during  a  long  and  honourable  life."  Mr.  Burges  died  in  April,  1864, 
in  his  S9th  year. 


1836.]  DMT8  AND  PBOPKBTY  OP  THE   COBPOEATION.  215 

yeomen,  two  mayor's  marshals,  the  mayor's  beadle,  two 
sheriffs*  beadles,  four  wait-players,  etc.,  were  suppressed. 
The  aggregate  savings  were  estimated  by  the  mayor  at  about 
£6,600.  With  respect  to  finance  there  was  an  initial  question 
of  considerable  gravity.  Under  the  scheme  for  providing 
compensation  to  sufferers  from  the  riots  of  1831,  the  rate- 
payers within  the  ^'  ancient  city  '*  were  required  to  pay  a 
sum  of  about  £10,000  a  year.  On  the  other  hand,  the  house- 
holders in  the  districts  added  to  the  borough  were  now 
entitled  to  share  in  the  advantages  derived  from  the  city 
estates,  whilst  they  were  exempt  from  taxation  under  the 
Compensation  Act.  This  arrangement  being  obviously  in- 
equitable, the  Finance  Committee  recommended  that  an  Act 
should  be  obtained,  empowering  the  Council  to  sell  corpora- 
tion property  and  apply  the  money  to  discharge  the  amount 
of  compensation  still  outstanding — about  £35,000,  after  the 
current  year's  rate  had  been  collected.  Their  report  was 
adopted,  in  despite  of  the  opposition  of  some  of  the  Clifton 
councillors,  and  the  proposed  Bill  received  the  royal  assent. 
The  debts  of  the  old  Corporation  were  stated  by  the  mayor 
to  amount  to  £110,000,  including  about  £30,000  accepted  on 
condition  of  paying  interest  for  charitable  purposes ;  and 
nearly  the  whole  of  the  total  was  required  at  once,  partly 
to  meet  the  claims  of  the  bankers  and  of  bondholders,  and 
partly  for  the  purpose  of  transferring  the  charity  estates  to  a 
new  body  of  trustees,  of  whom  mention  will  shortly  be  made. 
The  Corporation,  however,  possessed  large  resources.  Accord- 
ing to  an  estimate  presented  to  the  Council,  the  landed  estates 
in  various  parts  of  the  country  (3,816  acres)  were  worth 
£144,400;  ground  in  the  city  and  suburbs,  £14,000 ;  capital 
value  of  chief  rents,  £39,060;  premises  in  Bristol  (gross 
rental  £3,620),  £57,940;  the  city  markets  (producing  £2,155 
yearly)*  £38,772  ;  town  dues  (producing  £1,582  per  annum) 
£31,640 ;  reversions  of  property,  £65,200;  and  the  Mansion 
House,  £4,760;  making  a  total  of  £395,772,  exclusive  of 
public  buildings  in  the  city,  valued  at  £80,000,  and  of  the 
advowsons  belonging  to  the  Corporation,  estimated  at  £27,000 
more.  The  work  of  liquidation  necessarily  occupied  some 
time.  The  advowsons,  which  were  first  offered  for  sale,  pro- 
duced £27,753,  the  separate  amounts  being  as  follows :  Portis- 

*  Four  markets,  the  oyster,  Welch,  and  cheese  markets  and  the  com  market 
on  the  back,  were  stated  to  prodace  little  or  no  income,  and  had  no  yalae  affixed 
to  them.  The  last-named  market,  however,  lingered  on  until  1839.  The  oyster 
market  was  demolished  in  1844.  The  cheese  market,  after  long  costing  more 
than  it  produced,  was  closed  about  1850,  and  entirely  disappeared  in  1886. 


216  THE   ANNALS   OP  BRISTOL.  [1836. 

head,  £8,050 ;  Christ  Church,  £4,555  ;  St.  James's,  £2,555 ; 
St.  Paul's,  £3,210;  St.  Michael's,  £1,710;  Temple,  £1,510; 
St.  George's,  £2,003 ;  St.  Peter's,  £930 ;  St.  John's,  £605 ; 
St.  Philip's,  £510 ;  Trinity,  St.  Philip's,  £1,010;  Stockland, 
£1,105.  Two  estates  at  Aldmondsbury  brought  in '£16,420, 
another  at  Ashton,  £2,200,  and  certain  fee-farm  rents  and 
properties  in  Bristol  nearly  £12,000 ;  by  which  the  compensa- 
tion charge  was  cleared  off  and  some  pressing  bondholders 
satisfied.  Later  on,  with  a  view  to  wiping  ofE  the  old  debt 
and  meeting  the  first  claims  of  the  Charity  Trustees,  the 
estate  of  Stockland  (708  acres)  was  sold  for  £36,368;  the 
rectorial  estate  of  Nether  Stowey  (65  acres)  for  £2,677 ;  the 
farms  at  Gaunt's  Earthcott  (654  acres)  for  £20,866  ;  and  the 
estate  at  North  Weston  (521  acres)  for  £16,443.  These 
alienations,  however,  gravely  reduced  the  income  of  the 
Corporation  at  a  moment  when  new  and  heavy  expenditure 
had  to  be  provided  for.  The  creation  of  an  efiicient  police 
force  was  obligatory  on  the  Council,  and  in  conformity  with 
the  recommendations  of  the  Watch  Committee,  the  con- 
stabulary, numbering  232,  were  duly  enrolled,  and  com- 
menced their  duties  on  the  25th  June,  1836.  [The  first 
superintendent  was  Mr.  Joseph  Bishop,  who  had  been  an 
officer  in  the  Metropolitan  police.  The  central  station  was 
established  at  the  Guardhouse,  in  Wine  Street,  much  to  the 
discontent  of  the  leading  tradesmen  there,  and  in  1842  the 
building  was  condemned  by  the  Council  as  inconvenient  and 
unhealthy.  *  A  more  commodious  station,  erected  opposite  to 
the  new  Bridewell,  and  upon  the  site  of  the  old  one,  was 
completed  in  1844.  The  force,  after  being  slightly  increased 
in  strength  in  1845,  and  again  in  1857,  was  augmented  in 
1872  to  357  officers  and  men,  of  whom  13  were  specially 
charged  with  the  protection  of  the  Floating  Harbour.  The 
pay  of  the  civic  army  has  also  been  raised  at  intervals,  and 
the  annual  expenditure  under  this  head,  estimated  at  £9,000 
in  1836,  has  amounted  of  late  years  to  £32,000.]  It  was 
originally  intended  to  defray  the  cost  of  the  police  establish- 
ment by  means  of  a  watch  rate ;  but  difficulties  arose  out  of 
the  peculiar  circumstances  of  the  districts  added  to  the  city, 
and  the  Council  was  driven  to  resort  to  a  borough  rate,  and 
to  submit  to  restrictions  in  administering  the  corporate 
revenues  which  such  a  rate  imposed  upon  it  under  the  Cor- 
porations Act.  A  new  assessment  of  the  city  was  therefore 
ordered,  the  result  of  which  was  reported  to  the  Council  in 
January,  1837,  as  follows.  [The  town-clerk  having  been 
kind   enough  to    furnish  corresponding   statistics    for  1886 


1836.]       RATEABLE   VALUE   OP   CITY.      NEW  MAGISTRATES.  2l7 

they  are  appended  for  the  purpose  of  showing  the  progress 
effected  during  half  a  century  of  representative  local  govern- 
ment.] 


1836. 

1886. 

Ancient  City  .    .    . 
Bedminster    .    .    . 
Clifton      .... 
St.  Philip's,  out  .     . 
Westbury,  part  of    . 
District      .... 

£198,866 
31,919 
83,646 
34,126 
10,347 
24,414 

£377,603 

101,691 

196,800 

133,472 

92,201 

71,813 

£383,315 

£973,380 

Only  one  other  matter  arising  out  of  the  change  in  local 
government  remains  to  be  noticed — the  appointment  of 
borough  magistrates  in  the  place  of  the  superseded  aldermen 
of  the  old  Corporation.  The  Municipal  Reform  Bill  originally 
contained  a  clause  vesting  the  nomination  of  justices  in  the 
local  councils,  but  the  provision  was  rejected  by  the  House 
of  Lords.  Lord  John  Russell,  Home  Secretary,  in  advising 
the  Commons  to  assent  to  the  alteration,  promised  that  the 
Ministry  would  deceive  the  suggestions  of  the  municipalities 
with  the  utmost  consideration,  and  a  meeting  of  the  Bristol 
Council  took  place  in  February,  1836,  to  select  a  list  of 
persons  deemed  worthy  of  the  local  bench.  At  the  begin- 
ning of  the  discussion  it  was  proposed  that  the  two  political 
parties  should  each  suggest  twelve  names ;  but  some  of  the 
Conservative  members  showed  so  decided  a  determination  to 
claim  a  majority  that  Mr.  Cunningham,  a  leading  Liberal, 
advised  his  friends  to  leave  the  room  and  permit  their  oppo- 
nents to  act  at  their  discretion.  Conciliatory  counsels  there- 
upon prevailed,  and  twelve  gentlemen  were  selected  from 
each  side  of  the  chamber,  in  despite  of  the  opposition  offered 
to  three  Liberal  nominations  by  an  extreme  section  of  their 
opponents.  Shortly  after  the  list  had  been  forwarded  to  the 
Home  Office,  the  mayor  received  a  notification  from  Lord  J. 
Russell  that  only  eighteen  names  had  been  accepted,  six  of 
the  Tory  candidates,  Messrs  T.  Daniel,  C.  L.  Walker,  J. 
George,  A.  Hilhouse,  N.  Roch,  and  J.  N.  Franklyn — com- 
prising four  of  the  old  aldermen  and  two  common  councillors 
— being  rejected.  The  announcement  was  received  with  in- 
tense indignation  by  the  local  Conservatives,  and  gave  rise 
to  a  debate  in  the  House  of  Commons  on  the  29th  March,  in 
the  course  of  which  Sir  R.  R.  Vy  vyan  charged  Lord  J.  Russell 


218  THE   ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1836. 

with  corrupt  practices,  while  his  lordship  stigmatised  his 
assailant  as  a  calumniator.  By  order  of  the  Speaker,  the 
two  gentlemen  pledged  themselves  to  refrain  from  "  an  afEair 
of  honour,"  and  the  matter  dropped. 

The  prospect  of  direct  railway  communication  being  opened 
with  London  at  an  early  date  inspired  an  enterprising 
Bristolian,  Mr.  T.  R.  Guppy,  with  the  happy  thought  of  con- 
necting the  port  with  the  United  States  by  means  of  a 
regular  service  of  steam  vessels,  which  had  not  hitherto  been 
attempted  by  the  most  adventurous  spirits  on  either  side  of 
the  Atlantic.  The  proposal  having  found  many  supporters, 
a  prospectus  appeared,  early  in  January,  1836,  of  the  Great 
Western  Steamship  Company,  with  a  capital  of  £250,000, 
and  the  project  was  received  with  a  cordiality  which  augured 
success.  The  design  of  the  first  transatlantic  steamer,  the 
Great  Western,  was  furnished  by  Mr.  Brunei,  and  the  build- 
ing of  the  vessel,  which  was  to  be  of  1,340  tons  measure- 
ment, having  been  confided  to  Mr.  William  Patterson,  of 
Wapping,  the  stern  frame  of  the  ship  was  raised  on  the 
28th  July  amidst  much  rejoicing.  The  builder  proceeded 
with  so  much  vigour  that  on  the  19th  July,  1837,  the  Oreat 
Western  was  launched;  in  the  following  month  she  left 
for  London,  to  be  fitted  with  engines  of  440  horse  power ; 
and  in  April,  1838,  she  returned  to  Bristol,  having  made  the 
return  journey  (about  670  miles)  in  fifty-six  hours.  The 
vessel  cost  her  owners  £63,000.  On  the  8th  April  the  ship, 
big  with  many  hopes,  left  Kingroad  for  America,  seven 
passengers  risking  their  lives  in  an  enterprise  which  many 
scientific  men  and  ancient  mariners  declared  to  be  imprac- 
ticable. Before  her  departure,  however,  an  adroit  scheme 
was  devised  in  other  quarters  to  deprive  the  city  of  the 
credit  which  was  undoubtedly  due  to  its  undertaking.  A 
large  steamer  called  the  Siritis,  usually  plying  between 
London  and  Cork,  was  despatched  under  Liverpool  orders 
from  the  Thames  to  the  Irish  port,  whence,  after  receiving  a 
fresh  store  of  fuel,  she  left  for  New  York  on  the  4th  April, 
having  a  start  over  the  Great  Western  of  four  days  and  over 
250  miles.  Notwithstanding  those  advantages,  the  race  was 
very  close.  The  Sirius  arrived  at  Sandyhook  at  midnight 
on  the  22nd  April,  but  being  unable  to  proceed  further  until 
she  had  obtained  coal,  she  did  not  reach  New  York  until 
midday  on  the  23rd.  The  Great  Western  arrived  two  hours 
later,  with  eighty  tons  of  coal  on  board.  The  result  of  the 
experiment  had  been  awaited  with  intense  interest  in  America ; 
and  both  vessels  were  greeted  with  characteristic  enthusiasm 


1836.]  TRANSATLANTIC  NAVIGATION.  219 

by  the  New  Yorkers.  The  superiority  of  the  Bristol  ship  was 
manifest,  and  it  was  again  attested  by  the  return  voyage. 
The  Sirius  left  on  the  1st  May  and  reached  England  on  the 
18th.  The  Great  Western,  with  sixty-six  passengers  and 
20,000  letters,  started  on  the  7th  May  in  the  presence  of 
100,000  spectators,  and  arrived  at  Bristol  on  the  22nd,  having 
solved  the  great  problem  in  spite  of  winds,  waves,  and  philo- 
sophers. Instead  of  consuming  1,480  tons  of  coal,  the  mini- 
mum fixed  by  scientific  calculators,  the  engines  had  required 
only  392  tons  on  the  return  journey.  The  second  voyage 
was  still  more  satisfactory,  the  outward  passage  being  made 
in  fourteen  days  sixteen  hours,  and  the  homeward  run  in 
twelve  days  fourteen  hours.*  The  practicability  of  steam 
navigation  across  the  Atlantic  being  triumphantly  established, 
the  policy  which  should  have  been  adopted  by  the  Bristol 
company  seems  now  obvious.  Three  or  four  additional 
vessels  of  the  Great  Western  type,  rapidly  placed  on  the  line, 
would  have  enabled  the  concern  to  establish  a  weekly  service 
between  this  port  and  New  York,  and  the  passenger  traffic 
between  the  two  continents  would  unquestionably  have  flowed 
towards  the  route  which  was  not  only  first  established  but 
which  was  shorter  than  that  of  Liverpool  by  little  less  than  a 
day.  The  merchants  of  the  Mersey  were  not  long  in  per- 
ceiving the  danger;  and  the  construction  of  a  fleet  of  steamers 
fitted  for  a  regular  service  was  ordered  by  Mr.  Cunard  and 
his  friends  during  the  autumn.  It  was  not  until  late  in  the 
following  year  that  anything  was  resolved  upon  at  Bristol 
to  supplement  the  Great  Western.  And  the  step  at  length 
taken  was  as  imprudent  as  it  was  tardy.  In  lieu  of  pushing 
forward  two  or  three  more  Great  Westerns,  it  was  deter- 
mined, to  use  a  homely  proverb,  to  put  all  the  company's 
eggs  into  one  basket — to  build,  in  fact,  a  single  ship  nearly 
three  times  the  capacity  of  the  Great  Western,  and  to  leave 
Mr.  Brunei  full  scope  and  leisure  to  indulge  his  passion  for 
experiments  and  novelties.  The  consequence  was  a  series  of 
disasters.  The  Great  Bntain  was  to  be  constructed  of  iron, 
and  as  no  engineers  could  be  found  willing  to  undertake  the 
task  by  contract,  the  company  were  induced  by  their  scien- 
tific guide  to  establish  works  of  their  own — at  a  cost  of 
£52,000,  and  with  financial  results  that  the  sagacious  antici- 

*  A  keen  rivalry  for  early  intelligence  existed  at  this  time  between  two 
London  journals,  The  Timrs  and  Morning  Herald.  Both  concerns  engaged 
boats  at  Portishead  to  board  the  Great  Western,  and  tlieir  messengers  were 
carried  at  racing  speed  in  posting  carriages  from  Bristol  to  Maidenhead, 
where  special  trains  were  in  waiting  for  the  rest  of  the  journey. 


220  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL.  [1836. 

pated.  The  colossal  ship  was  laid  down  in  July,  1839  ;  at  a 
subsequent  date,  Mr.  Brunei  determined  that  she  should  be 
propelled  by  a  screw  instead  of  by  paddles ;  other  alterations 
followed,  and  it  was  not  until  four  years  later,  July,  19th, 
1843 — when  the  Cunard  company  had  long  had  four  steamers 
on  the  transatlantic  service,  besides  having  two  more  nearly 
ready — that  the  ship  was  launched.  [The  ceremony  will  be 
noticed  hereafter.]  By  putting  the  engines  into  the  vessel 
at  the  works,  it  was  found,  at  the  end  of  March,  1844,  that 
the  hull  was  so  deeply  immersed  as  to  be  unable  to  pass  out 
of  the  Float,  and  seven  months  more  elapsed  before  the 
requisite  alterations  could  be  made  for  its  release.  It  was 
not,  indeed,  until  December  11 — nearly  seventeen  months  after 
launching,  and  five  and  a  half  years  after  her  inception — 
that  the  Great  Britain  left  Cumberland  basin  for  an  experi- 
mental cruise.  That  she  then  proved  an  excellent  sea-boat 
was  nothing  to  the  purpose.  Liverpool  had  recovered  the 
supremacy  which  the  Great  Western  had  temporarily  shaken, 
and  the  competition  of  Bristol  was  at  an  end.  The  Great 
Britain's  career  as  an  Atlantic  steamer  was,  moreover,  pre- 
maturely cut  short.  In  September,  1846,  a  few  hours  after 
leaving  Liverpool  on  her  second  voyage,  the  great  ship 
stranded  on  the  coast  of  Ireland,  and  remained  there  for 
over  eleven  months,  which  certainly  proved  the  wonderful 
strength  of  her  frame — if  that  was  any  consolation  to  her 
luckless  proprietors,  whose  loss  by  the  wreck  exceeded 
£20,000.  Their  works,  as  well  as  the  Great  Western,  had 
been  already  offered  for  sale.  The  Great  Western  was  ulti- 
mately disposed  of  for  £24,750  to  the  West  India  Royal  Mail 
Company,  and'  Messrs  Gibbs,  Bright  &  Co.  bought  the 
Great  Britain  in  1850  for  £18,000,  her  original  cost  to  the 
company  having  been  £97,154.  Both  vessels  were  sent  to 
ply  in  the  trade  of  rival  ports.  In  fact,  they  had  been  driven 
from  Bristol  long  before.  The  dues  charged  by  the  Bristol 
Dock  Company  on  the  Great  Western  amounted  to  £106  on 
each  voyage  (as  much  more  being  levied  on  the  cargo), 
although  the  ship  was  forced  to  remain  in  Kingroad  owing  to 
the  defective  accommodation  in  the  Floating  Harbour,  and 
had  even  to  proceed  to  Milford  for  some  repairs.*    The  Dock 

*  The  local  author  of  '*  Rambling  Rhymes  "   [J.  R.  Dix]  commented  on  the 
subject  as  follows : — 

**  The  Western  an  unnatural  parent  has, 
For  all  her  beauty ; 
Her  mother  never  harboured  her,  and  yet 
She  asks  for  duty. 


1836.]        THE    GREAT   WESTERN    STEAMER  DRIVEN  AWAY.  221 

Board  was  appealed  to  for  somo  reduction  in  its  demands, 
owing  to  the  admitted  inadequacy  of  its  works ;  but  the  cold 
response  was,  that  the  directors  had  no  power  to  make  abate- 
ments. It  was  then  proposed  to  provide  the  required  accom- 
modation at  a  lower  point  in  the  Avon.  A  joint  committee 
was  formed,  representing  the  Corporation,  the  Merchant 
Venturers,  and  the  Steamship  Company,  and  Mr.  Brunei,  who 
was  called  on  to  advise  as  to  what  should  be  done,  suggested 
a  dock  at  Sea  Mills  and  a  pier  at  Portishead.*  This,  how- 
ever, would  have  involved  an  increase  in  the  capital  of  the 
Dock  Company,  who  were  not  disposed  to  spend  money,  and 
who  appear  to  have  thought  that  the  tolls  on  the  Oreat 
WesUm  would  continue  in  any  case  to  flow  into  their  coffers. 
An  attempt  to  secure  a  reduction  of  the  town  dues  imposed 
on  the  cargo  having  been  also  unsuccessful,*  the  proprietors 
of  the  steamship  resolved  in  February,  1842,  that  the  vessel 
should  sail  alternately  from  Bristol  and  Liverpool,  and  as 
the  expenses  at  the  latter  port  were  found  to  be  less  by  £200 
per  voyage,  the  Oreat  Western  was  shortly  afterwards  removed 
entirely  from  Bristol,  as  was  the  Oreat  Bntain  from  the  out- 
set of  her  career.  The  fate  of  the  spirited  company  which 
started  this  local  enterprise  may  be  imagined  from  the  facta 
already  recorded.  The  Bristol  Journal  of  February  14, 
1852,  remarked  :  "The  accounts  of  the  company  show  some 
very  disastrous  results.  The  whole  of  the  original  £100 
shares  are  written  off  as  a  total  loss.  The  loss  on  the  Great 
Bntain  alone  was  £107,896,  and  on  the  works  SAT, 211:'  The 
Oreat  Western  and  the  Severn  (another  Bristol  built  steamer) 
were  sold  by  the  Royal  Mail  Steamship  Company  in  October, 
1856,  to  a  shipbreaker  for  £11,500. 

An  official  statement  was  published  early  in  1836  of  the 
excise  duties  which  had  been  collected  in  Bristol  during  the 
previous  year.  The  figures,  which  illustrate  not  only  the 
fiscal  system  of  the  age,  but  also  the  industries  of  the  city, 
were  as  follows: — spirits,  £175,980;  soap,  £52,304;  glass, 
£47,085;  malt,  £65,662;  bricks,  £2,003 ;  paper,  £5,660; 
licences,  £13,868;  auctions,  £3,452. 

The  popularity  of  the  Great  Western  Railway  scheme, 
then  in  course  of  construction,  naturally  gave  rise  to  a  project 

Hall,  Liverpool,  and  other  ports  aloud 

Cry  » Go  a-head  ! ' 
A  certain  place  that  I  know  seems  to  say 

'  Reverse  I '  instead.*' 

*  "  The  Corporation  of  Bristol  and  its  Trade  and  Commerce/*  By  L.  Bmton, 
pp.  10,  43. 


222  THB   AKKALS   OF  BBISTOL.  1886.] 

for  extending  the  new  system  westwards.  The  Bristol  and 
Exeter  Railway  Company,  with  a  capital  of  £2,000,000,  was 
started  under  influential  patronage  ;  the  shares  were  quickly 
taken  up ;  and  a  Bill  for  the  construction  of  the  undertaking 
passed  both  Houses  of  Parliament  without  difficulty,  receiv- 
ing the  royal  assent  in  May,  1836.  The  line,  like  its  fore- 
runner, was  laid  out  by  Mr.  Brunei,  who  again  adopted  his 
pet  theory  of  the  broad  gauge.  The  work  of  construction 
proceeded  very  slowly,  the  board  having  encountered  much 
difficulty  in  obtaining  the  necessary  loans.  It  was  indeed  at 
one  time  seriously  discussed  "  whether  it  would  not  be  the 
wisest  course  to  wind  up  and  abandon  the  undertaking,  or,  if 
it  should  be  continued,  whether  the  construction  of  a  single 
narrow  gauge  line  to  Bridgwater  was  not  the  extent  to  which 
the  works  could  be  conducted'^  (Directors*  Report,  1850) .  The 
confidence  of  capitalists  was,  however,  restored  by  an  arrange- 
ment made  with  the  Great  Western  Company,  under  which 
the  latter  advanced  £20,000,  and  undertook  to  lease  and 
work  the  line  for  a  term  expiring  in  April,  1849.  The  first 
section,  between  Bristol  and  Bridgwater,  was  opened  on  the 
Ist  June,  1841,  amidst  much  rejoicing  in  the  district.  The 
section  to  Taunton  was  completed  in  July,  1842,  and  the 
entire  undertaking  was  finished  and  opened  on  the  1st  May, 

1844.  As  if  to  give  a  new  illustration  of  the  unpractical 
mind  of  the  engineer,  the  station  erected  in  Bristol  was 
placed  at  a  right  angle  with  the  Great  Western  terminus, 
occasioning  extreme  annoyance  to  through  passengers,  and 
great  delay.  The  blunder  was  partially  remedied  under  an 
Act  passed  in  1845,  a  junction  railway  being  then  formed  to 
connect  the  two  lines.  This,  however,  necessitated  a  third 
set  of  booking  offices  for  the  through  trains — a  monument  of 
Mr.  Brunei's  ingenuity  which  excited  general  derision.     In 

1845,  the  boards  of  the  two  companies  came  to  an  arrange- 
ment for  the  absorption  of  the  Bristol  and  Exeter  line  into 
the  Great  Western  system.  But  the  proprietors  of  the  former, 
who  were  to  receive  a  dividend  of  six  per  cent,  in  perpetuity, 
were  greatly  irritated  by  the  announcement,  and  when  the 
scheme  was  laid  before  them,  in  November,  it  was  rejected 
with  indignation.  The  shareholders  had  reason,  however,  to 
regret  their  decision.  When  the  lease  terminated,  and  the 
line  had  to  be  worked  independently,  the  first  year's  dividend 
was  only  three  per  cent. ;  for  several  years  afterwards  the 
distribution  did  not  exceed  five  per  cent. ;  and,  as  will  be 
seen  hereafter,  the  concerns  were  at  last  amalgamated  in 
1876  on  terms  which  by  no  means  recouped  the  shareholders 


1836.]  THE  ASHLEY  DOWN  ORPHANAGES.  223 

for  the  loss  they  had  brought  on  themselves.  It  must  be 
added^  that  throughout  its  career  as  an  independent  concern^ 
the  company  was  complained  of  for  the  extreme  illiberality 
of  its  system  of  management.  So  late  as  September^  1869^ 
only  one  third-class  train  was  run  from  Exeter  to  Bristol^ 
while  the  second-class  fare  was  higher  than  some  companies 
charged  for  first-class  accommodation  ;  yet  at  the  same  time 
the  board  carried  Bristol  excursionists  to  and  from  Weston  at 
the  rate  of  about  one  farthing  per  mile^  declaring  that  such 
trains  paid  "  as  well  as  any  they  had." 

The  21st  April,  1836,  will  long  be  memorable  as  the  date 
of  the  foundation  of  the  most  remarkable  charity  of  which 
the  city,  and  indeed  the  kingdom,  can  boast — the  great 
orphan  houses  at  Ashley  Down.  The  story  of  its  author,  the 
Rev.  Greorge  Miiller,  has  been  narrated  by  himself,  and  it  is 
unnecessary  to  enter  into  it  in  detail.  Bom  at  Kroppenstaedt, 
Prussia,  in  1805,  and  educated  at  the  university  of  Halle, 
Mr.  Miiller  came  to  this  country  when  in  his  twenty-fourth 
year,  with  a  desire  to  labour  as  a  missionary  of  the  Society 
for  the  Conversion  of  the  Jews.  After  studying  for  some 
time  with  a  view  to  fitting  himself  for  the  position,  he  had  a 
serious  illness,  and  was  ordered  to  Devonshire  for  change  of 
air.  There  he  encountered  Henry  Craik,  an  able  and  earnest 
minister,  with  whom  he  formed  a  life-long  friendship.  Be- 
ginning to  entertain  doubts  as  to  the  course  of  life  he  had 
fixed  upon,  Mr.  Miiller  resigned  his  studentship,  and  accepted 
the  ministry  of  an  Independent  congregation  at  Teignmouth, 
with  the  modest  salary  of  £55  a  year.  In  a  short  time,  how- 
ever, he  felt  conscientious  scruples  about  accepting  a  stipend 
derived  from  pew  rents,  and  he  thereupon  resolved  as  his 
rule  of  life  to  place  his  entire  reliance  upon  Providence,  and 
"  never  to  ask  for  money  from  any  human  being."  In  1832 
he  left  Devonshire  for  Bristol,  where  Mr.  Craik  had  already 
been  favourably  received  as  a  preacher,  and  the  two  friends 
laboured  together  as  ministers  of  Gideon  Independent  chapel, 
in  Newfoundland  Street.  Subsequently,  Bethesda  chapel, 
near  Brandon  Hill,  was  temporarily  hired  as  an  experiment, 
and  the  results  were  so  satisfactory  that  it  was  permanently 
retained.  [In  June,  1857,  Mr.  C.  W.  Finzel  purchased  the 
chapel,  and  presented  it  to  Messrs.  Miiller  and  Craik's  congre- 
gation.] In  1834  Mr.  Miiller  established  a  Scriptural  Know- 
ledge Institution,  the  objects  of  which  were  to  circulate  the 
Scriptures,  to  promote  education  amongst  the  poor,  to  aid  in 
missionary  enterprise,  and — most  remarkable  and  successful 
of  its  ends — to  feed,   clothe,  and  educate   destitute  orphan 


224  THE   ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL.  [1836. 

children.  Mr.  Miiller's  diary  for  October,  1 835,  contained  the 
first  notice  of  the  extraordinary  undertaking  he  had  resolved 
upon,  for  it  was  his  purpose  from  the  outset  to  ask  no  help 
from  the  public  for  the  immense  family  he  was  soon  to  draw 
around  him.  He  next  recorded  that  the  first  donation  he 
received  after  intimating  his  purpose  was  a  shilling,  which 
came  to  hand  in  December.  Soon  afterwards  a  friend  under- 
took to  pay  £50  for  the  rent  of  a  house,  and  nearly  £500 
were  soon  forthcoming  for  fitting  it  up.  The  necessary  pre- 
parations being  completed,  the  orphanage,  furnished  for 
thirty  female  children,  was  opened  on  the  21st  April,  1836, 
in  the  house  No.  6,  Wilson  Street,  St.  Paul's,  near  which  Mr. 
Miiller  resided.  Three  weeks  later  the  founder  resolved 
upon  establishing  another  orphanage  for  infants,  and  this 
was  opened  on  the  15th  December  following,  at  No.  1,  Wilson 
Street.  In  October,  1837,  a  third  house  in  the  same  street 
was  hired  and  fitted  up  as  an  orphanage  for  boys,  and  before 
the  close  of  that  year  Mr.  Miiller  had  seventy-five  young 
children  dependent  on  him.  "  Several  more  are  daily  ex- 
pected. During  the,  last  twelvemonth,  the  expenses  have 
been  about  £240,  and  the  income  about  £840."  Seven  months 
later,  the  fund  in  hand  was  reduced  to  £20,  but  so  far  from 
feeling  apprehension,  "we  have  given  notice  for  five  children 
to  come  in,  and  purpose  to  give  notice  for  five  more."  The 
entry  characterises  the  story  of  the  institution  for  several 
of  its  early  years,  evolving  an  uninterrupted  series  of  trials 
and  deliverances.  Oftentimes  there  were  not  funds  or  stock 
to  provide  for  twenty-four  hours  in  advance,  yet  help  always 
came  in  time  ;  a  debt  was  never  contracted ;  and  Mr.  Miiller 
neither  doubted  nor  desponded.  As  time  went  on,  and  the 
phenomenal  character  of  the  institution  became  more  widely 
known,  subscriptions  from  distant  places — in  fact  from  all 

f)arts  of  the  world — began  to  flow  in.  The  funds  accumu- 
ating,  a  fourth  house  for  girls  was  opened  in  the  same  street 
in  July,  1843.  Ordinary  dwelling  houses  were  necessarily  ill- 
adapted  for  Mr.  Miiller's  requirements ;  and  the  inhabitants 
of  Wilson  Street  remonstrated  against  the  inconveniences  to 
which  the  institutions  exposed  thorn.  In  1845,  accordingly, 
the  philanthropist  resolved  on  building  an  orphanage  large 
enough  to  accommodate  300  children.  The  announcement 
appears  to  have  alarmed  his  usual  supporters,  for  scarcely 
any  donations  were  offered  for  some  time.  At  length,  how- 
ever, two  gifts  of  £1,000  each  came  in,  and  Mr.  Miiller 
entered  into  a  contract  for  the  purchase  of  seven  acres  of 
ground  at  Ashley  Hill,  the  owner  of  which  accepted  £120  an 


1836.]  THI  ASHLIT  I>OWN  ORPHANAGES.  225* 

acre  out  of  sympathy  with  the  object.     No  further  pecuniary 
difficulty  was   encountered;    and  in  June    1849,   when  the- 
building   was   finished   at  a  cost  of  £14,500,  the  whole  of 
which,  with  £500  to  boot,  had  been  provided,  the  children 
were  removed  and  the  houses  in  Wilson  Street  abandoned.. 
The  housekeeping  expenses  of  the  new  institution,  when  it 
became  fully  occupied,  were  £70  per  week;  and  many  people 
condemned  the  founder  for  what  they  termed  his  rashnsess 
and  presumption  in  trusting  upon  casual  gifts  for  the  main- 
tenance of  so  great  an  undertaking.     In  point  of  fact,  the 
enlarged   hospital  was   scarcely  ever  threatened  with   the 
embarrassments  that  hung   so  long  over  the  Wilson  Street 
establishments;  and  within  eighteen  months  from  its  opening 
Mr.  Miiller  determined  on  the  erection  of  a  second  and  much 
more   spacious   building,   capable   of  accommodating  seven 
hundred  additional  orphans.     The  estimated  cost  was  about 
£35,000.     Subsequently  the  plan  was  extended,  and  it  was 
determined  to  erect  two  new  orphanages,  one  for  400  infants 
and  girls,  and  the   other  for  450   girls.     The   former   was 
begun  in  1855,  and  opened  in  1857 ;  the  other  was  finished 
in  1862.     Enormous  as  had  become  the  responsibilities  and 
expenditure  of  the  institution,   Mr.    Miiller  felt  an   inward 
conviction  that  his  work  was  not  accomplished ;  and  he  next 
declared  his  intention  to  construct  two  additional  houses,  to 
accommodate  900  children,  about  equally  divided  between 
the  sexes,  and  raising  the  total  number  of  orphans  to  2,050. 
One  of  these  was  finished  in  1868,  and  the  other  in  1870. 
[Those  who  are  unacquainted  with  the  institution  may  form 
an  idea  of  its  extent  from  the  following  figures,  published  in 
1868,  giving  the  quantity  of  materials  consumed  in  the  con- 
struction of  the  last  two  orphanages  only : — building  stone, 
36,000  tons;  freestone,  15,000  tons;  lime  and  ashes,  14,000 
tons ;  timber,  10,000  tons ;  deal  boarding,  2  acres ;  paving, 
li  acre;  plastering,  10  acres;  slating,  2  acres;  painting,  4^ 
acres;    glazing,   facre;    rainwater   pipes.  If   mile;   drain 
pipes  3   miles.]     The   total   expenditure  for  buildings  had 
then  been  raised  to  about  £115,000.     The  annual  cost  of  the 
establishment  has  since  been  nearly  £25,000.     The  sole  con- 
ditions  of   admittance,  which  have  never  varied   from  the 
outset,  are  that  a  child  be  a  legitimate  orphan,  destitute,  and 
deprived  of  both  parents  by  death.     According  to  the  yearly 
report  published  in  August,  1886,  the  amount  forwarded  to 
Mr.  Miiller  for  the  various  objects  of  his  Scriptural  Know- 
ledge Institution  then  exceeded  £1,086,000,  of  which  about 
£700^000  were    for  the   orphanages.      No   debt  was  ever 


226  THE   ANKALS  OF   BRISTOL.  [1836. 

incurred  on  behalf  of  the  charity,  which  is  still,  as  when 
its  benevolent  head  began  the  work,  entirely  dependent  on 
the  liberality  of  the  Christian  world.  The  number  of  children 
confided  to  Mr.  Miiller  had  reached  7,294  in  May,  1886. 
The  contributors  are  of  all  classes.  Sometimes  a  poor  person 
sends  a  few  pence ;  rich  sympathisers  occasionally  forward 
from  £1,000  to  £5,000,  and  as  much  as  £11,000  have  been 
presented  at  once.  Ostentation,  moreover,  cannot  influence 
the  givers,  for  their  names  never  appear  in  print.  Mr.  Miiller 
relinquished  his  personal  superintendence  of  the  orphanages 
in  1872,  when  he  delegated  his  labours  to  his  son-in-law, 
Mr.  Wright. 

The  population  of  the  city  at  this  date  was  probably  ten 
or  twelve  times  greater  than  it  had  been  during  the  middle 
ages.  Nevertheless  the  extent  of  the  parochial  churchyards 
had  remained  practically  unaltered,  the  only  addition  of  any 
importance  being  the  cemetery  attached  to  Trinity  Church, 
St.  Philip's ;  and  as  only  a  few  Dissenting  bodies  had  made 
provision  for  interments,  the  urgent  need  of  increased  space 
had  long  been  painfully  known  to  all  classes.  In  May,  1836, 
the  Bristol  General  Cemetery  Company,  with  a  capital  of 
£15,000  in  £20  shares,  was  formed  for  supplying  this  want. 
According  to  statistics  published  by  the  promoters,  the  area 
of  the  existing  churchyards,  including  the  sites  of  the 
churches,  was  only  fourteen  acres.  An  Act  of  Parliament 
having  been  obtained  in  1837,  about  twenty-eight  acres  of 
ground  were  purchased  at  Arno's  Vale,  a  moiety  of  which 
was  laid  out  as  a  cemetery,  and  a  portion  was  consecrated  in 
October,  1840.  The  entire  cost  was  £16,387.  Owing  to  a 
clause  inserted  in  the  Company's  Act  through  the  interference 
of  Bishop  Monk,  a  fee  of  ten  shillings  was  reserved  to  the 
clergy  of  the  city  on  each  body  interred  in  the  consecrated 
portion  of  the  ground.  As  this  cost  doubled  the  charge  on 
every  simple  interment,  its  efiect  was  almost  prohibitive. 
The  number  of  burials  in  1842  was  only  twenty-five,  and  the 
average  for  the  first  seven  years  was  under  100.  The  closing 
of  the  city  churchyards  under  the  Health  of  Towns  Act, 
however,  wrought  a  complete  change  in  the  position  of  the 
company.  In  1860  the  remaining  half  of  the  land  was  in- 
eluded  in  the  cemetery,  and  as  this  was  rapidly  appropriated, 
an  Act  for  obtaining  additional  ground  was  obtained  in  1880. 

The  reorganisation  of  the  Established  Church,  with  a 
view  to  the  better  application  of  its  revenues  to  the  altered 
conditions  of  society,  was  another  of  the  great  questions 
which  were  pressed  upon  the  reformed  House  of  Commons 


1836.]  THE   BISHOPRIC  Of  BRISTOL.  227 

by  the  constituencies.  Amongfst  the  defects  most  urgently 
demanding  amendment  were  the  anomalous  incomes  and  posi- 
tion of  the  English  sees.  The  Bishop  of  Durham^  with  the 
supervision  of  two  thinly  populated  counties^  had  an  income 
of  about  £21^000  a  year^  besides  extensive  and  valuable 
patronage.  The  bishopric  of  London  was  worth  £15,000,  and 
the  bishopric  of  Ely  £11,000  a  year,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
opportunities  they  afforded  to  their  occupants  of  enriching 
relatives  and  friends.  On  the  other  hand,  the  sees  of  Bristol, 
Carlisle,  and  Gloucester  were  endowed  with  only  about  £2,200 
apiece,  while  the  Bishop  of  Rochester  had  only  £1,500,  and 
the  Bishop  of  Llandaff  barely  £900.  The  diocese  of  York, 
again,  contained  a  population  of  nearly  a  million  and  a  half, 
and  that  of  Chester  nearly  two  millions ;  while  Ely,  with  its 
excessive  wealth,  embraced  only  126,000  souls,  and  several 
others  had  less  than  200,000.  In  March,  1836,  the  Ecclesias- 
tical Commissioners,  to  whom  those  gigantic  anomalies  had 
been  referred  with  a  view  to  legislation,  recommended, 
amongst  other  matters,  a  rearrangement  of  dioceses  and 
the  creation  of  two  new  bishoprics — Manchester  and  Bipon — 
for  the  supervision  of  the  swarming  population  of  Lancashire 
and  Yorkshire.  It  was,  however,  one  of  the  cherished 
theories  of  the  Churchmen  of  that  age  that  every  bishop  must 
be  a  member  of  the  House  of  Peers ;  and  as  the  feeling  of 
the  popular  chamber  was  known  to  be  decidedly  hostile  to 
the  increase  of  the  ecclesiastical  lords,  the  Commissioners 
proposed  to  avoid  the  diflSculty  by  suppressing  two  of  the  old 
sees.  The  diocese  of  Bristol,  it  was  suggested,  might  be 
conveniently  amalgamated  with  that  of  Llandaff  (or,  as  it  was 
subsequently  proposed,  with  Wells),  while  Bangor  could  be 
united  with  St.  Asaph.  A  few  months  later,  a  further  report 
recommended  the  blending  of  the  sees  of  Bristol  and  Glou- 
cester, and  in  despite  of  several  local  protests  the  plan  was 
forthwith  sanctioned.  A  death  which  unluckily  occurred  in 
the  episcopal  body  allowed  the  Commissioners'  scheme  to  be 
carried  out  without  delay.  Dr.  Allen,  appointed  Bishop  of 
Bristol  in  1834,  on  the  death  of  Dr.  Gray,  was  transferred 
to  the  vacant  see  of  Ely,  whereupon  Dr.  Monk,  Bishop  of 
Gloucester,  added  the  archdeaconry  of  Bristol  to  his  former 
diocese  under  the  direction  of  an  Order  in  Council  of  the 
17th  October,  1836, — the  county  of  Dorset,  the  remaining  part 
of  the  diocese  of  Bristol,  being  added  to  Salisbury.  [About 
the  same  time  the  prebendaries  of  Bristol — thenceforth 
styled  canons — ^were  ordered  to  be  reduced  from  six  to  four, 
but  the  existing  functionaries  retained  their  places  for  life  or 


228  THE  ANNALS   Of  BBI8T0L.  [1836. 

until  they  received  promotion.]  The  episcopal  arrangement 
was  loudly  condemned  by  Churchmen  in  Bristol,  and,  being 
regarded  as  a  slur  on  the  dignity  of  the  city,  it  was  far  from 
approved  by  many  Dissenters.  To  soften  the  blow,  an  im- 
plied promise  was  made  that  Bishop  Monk  and  his  successors 
shoula  reside  in  or  near  Bristol  during  a  part  of  each  year; 
and  the  Ecclesiastical  Commissioners  took  measures  for  pro- 
viding the  bishop  with  a  second  palace  for  that  purpose. 
Stapleton  House,  the  property  of  Isaac  Elton,  Esq.,  with 
about  sixty  acres  of  adjoining  land,  was  eventually  selected 
as  the  most  convenient  and  desirable  site,  and  the  estate 
was  purchased  in  April,  1840,  for  £11,500.  Towards  the 
payment  of  the  purchase  money  the  Commissioners  had 
£6,000  paid  by  the  citizens  in  compensation  for  the  palace 
burned  during  the  riots,  and  £1,450  more  obtained  in  1837 
by  selling  the  site  and  garden  of  the  ruined  edifice.*  The 
charge  incurred  for  the  new  residence  might  therefore  have 
been  inconsiderable.  But  the  Commissioners,  whose  reckless 
profusion  in  reference  to  episcopal  palaces  was  frequently 
criticised  in  the  House  of  Commons,  were  not  content  to  make 
the  modest  alterations  suggested  by  Bishop  Monk,  the  cost 
of  which  need  not  have  exceeded  £3,000  ;  and  in  spite  of  his 
lordship's  remonstrances  they  set  about  a  wholesale  recon- 
struction, designed  by  their  London  architect,  who  rapidly 
raised  the  total  expenditure  on  the  mansion  to  £23,908.t 
To  put  a  climax  to  their  extravagance,  it  was  resolved,  on  the 
death  of  Dr.  Monk,  to  rebuild  the  palace  at  Gloucester,  on 
which  £14,411  were  soon  afterwards  squandered.  The  latter 
transaction  was  sought  to  be  veiled  by  a  so-called  economy, 
— the  abandonment  and  sale  of  the  palace  at  Stapleton,  in 
defiance  of  the  promises  that  had  been  held  out  to  the 
citizens  of  Bristol.  After  standing  for  many  years  unoccu- 
pied, Stapleton  House,  with  the  land,  was  sold  in  October, 
1858,  to  the  trustees  of  Colston's  School  for  £12,000— almost 
exactly  half  its  cost.  The  steps  recently  taken  for  the 
restoration  of  the  bishopric  will  be  recorded  hereafter. 

The  sixth  annual  congress  of  the  British  Association  was 
held  in  Bristol  in  August,  when  upwards  of  1,100  members 
took  part  in  the  proceedings.     The  sections  into  which  the 

*  The  CommissioDers  displayed  cbaraoteristic  shortsightednesB  in  disposing 
of  this  ground.  In  August,  1884,  apprehensive  that  a  noisy  or  ofiFensive  factory 
might  be  built  on  the  portion  abutting  on  the  cathedral,  the  Commissionen 
purchased  of  the  Corporation  (which  had  recently  acquired  the  site)  a  strip  of 
1,580  square  yards  (less  than  a  fourth  of  the  whole)  for  the  sum  of  £1,100. 

t  Parliamentary  return,  1847  ;  Report  of  Commons'  Committee,  1848. 


1836.]  TI8IT  Of  THE   BRITISH  ASSOCIATION.  229 

Association   was    divided  were    accommodated  as  follows: 
Mathematics  (President,  Professor  Whew  ell),  in  the  Merchants* 
Hall.     Chemistry   (Professor   Gumming),  Grammar   School. 
Geography  and  Geology  (Dr.  Buckland),  Institution.    Zoology 
(Professor    Henslow),   and    Botany    (Dr.   Roget),    Colston's 
School.     Statistics   (Sir  Charles  Lemon)  Cathedral  Chapter 
House.     Mechanics    (Mr.  Davies  Gilbert)   Merchants'  Hall. 
Amongst  the  crowd  of  distinguished  men  present  were  the 
Marquis  of  Northampton  (who  presided  in  the  absence  of  the 
Marquis  of  Lansdowne),  Lord  King,  Sir  David  Brewster,  Sir 
John  Rennie,  Sir  W.  Hamilton,  and  Messrs  Faraday,  Sedg- 
wick, Murchison,  Wheatstone,  De  la  Beche,  Hallam,  Cubitt, 
Lubbock,  Fox  Talbot,   Brunei,  and   the    poets  Moore   and 
Bowles.     The  general  committee  met  in  the  Chapter  House, 
and  reunions  took  place  nightly  at  the  theatre.    The  meeting 
was  especially  interesting  to  geologists,  owing  to  the  extensive 
cuttings  made  in  the  district  for  the   construction   of  the 
Great  Western  railway.      Another  prominent  feature  of  the 
proceedings  was  the  laying,  by  the  President,  of  the  founda- 
tion stone  of  the  south  pier  of  the  Suspension  Bridge.     In 
order  that  this  ceremony  might  not  interfere  with  the  work 
of  the  sections,  it  took  place  at  the  unusual  hour  of  seven  in 
the  morning.    The  '^  wise  week"  of  1836  is  now  chiefly  memor- 
able for  an  unlucky  prediction,  uttered  by  Dr.  Lardner  in  the 
course  of  a  lecture  at  the  Institution  on  the  subject  of  steam 
communication  with  America.    The  lecturer  and  his  audience 
were  aware  that  a  few  enterprising  Bristolians  were  build- 
ing a  steam  vessel  in  the  hope  of  establishing  a  more  rapid 
system  of  transit  between  the  two  continents.     The  learned 
doctor,   however,   contended  that    such   an   enterprise   was 
"Quixotic,"  and  produced  voluminous  calculations  to  show 
that   "2,080  miles  was  the   longest  run   a  steamer   could 
encounter;  at  the  end  of  that  distance  she  would  require  a 
relay   of  coal."     At  the   conclusion   of  the   discourse,  Mr. 
Brunei,  the  designer  of  the  new  ship,  briefly  observed  that 
the  lecturer  had  founded  his  conclusions  upon  the  perfor- 
mances of  old  vessels ;  but  the  Doctor  was  not  to  be  shaken 
from   opinions   which    he    had    repeatedly  affirmed   in  his 
"  Encyclopa9dia "    and    elsewhere.      In   December    of    the 
previous  year  he  had  lectured  on  the  subject  at  Liverpool, 
where  he  affirmed  that  the  project  of  direct  steam  intercourse 
between  that  port  and  New  York  was  "  perfectly  chimerical ; 
they  might  as  well  talk  of  making  a  voyage  from  New  York 
or  Liverpool  to  the  moon."     Some  half  dozen  years  after- 
wards, Dr.  Lardner  proceeded  to  the  United  States  by  the 


^30  THE   ANNALS   Of  BBI8T0L.  [1836. 

system  of  navigation  he  had  deemed  practically  impossible. 
He  had  previously  admitted  his  mistake  by  urging  the  estab- 
lishment of  steam  communication  with  India. 

Amongst  the  local  papers  read  during  the  above  congress 
was  one  on  education^  by  Mr.  C.  B.  Fripp,  which  records 
some  noteworthy  statistics.  Mr.  Fripp  showed,  that  while 
the  population  of  the  city  was  over  112,000,  of  whom  20,000 
ought  to  be  attending  school,  the  actual  number  receiving 
instruction  in  Bristol  was  only  about  5,200.  In  1882,  when 
the  population  had  not  quite  doubled,  the  number  of  children 
on  the  school  registers  was  30,000,  and  the  average  attend- 
ance 22,170. 

One  of  the  provisions  of  the  Municipal  Corporations  Act 
having  transferred  the  judgeship  of  the  court  of  quarter 
sessions  and  of  the  local  courts  of  record  to  the  Recorder,  Sir 
Charles  Wetherell  in  his  new  capacity  opened  the  ancient 
Court  of  Piepoudre  according  to  ancient  forms,  in  the  Old 
Market,  at  the  time  of  the  September  fair.  According  to 
immemorial  precedent,  toast,  cheese,  and  metheglin  were 
provided  for  the  entertainment  of  the  official  staff  and  their 
friends,  beer  and  cider  being  also  distributed  to  the  common- 
alty. The  scene  was,  as  usual,  a  disorderly  one,  a  portion  of 
the  victuals  and  liquor  hem^  thrown  about  in  a  roisterous 
way  amongst  the  populace,  bir  Charles  Wetherell,  however, 
maintained  his  gravest  demeanour  on  the  occasion,  having 
previously  ordered  that  all  the  old  customs  of  the  court  should 
be  strictly  maintained.  The  summoning  of  a  long  roll  of 
people  "  to  come  forth  and  do  suit  and  service  " — although 
they  had  been  dead  for  centuries — was  another  farce  of  this 
ancient  tribunal;  but  Sir  Charles  never  relaxed  a  muscle 
when,  in  reply  to  the  clerk,  he  declined  to  fine  the  defaulters 
for  non-attendance,  seeing  that,  as  he  was  informed,  they 
could  not  be  found.  The  yearly  disturbance  arising  from 
the  feast  ultimately  led  to  its  suppression,  and  the  holding  of 
the  court  was  discontinued  after  1870. 

During  the  parliamentary  contest  over  the  Municipal 
Corporations  Bill,  it  was  found  impossible  to  make  arrange- 
ments for  the  future  administration  of  the  charity  estates 
which  the  old  corporations,  in  their  capacity  of  trustees,  were 
alleged  to  have  abused  for  political  purposes.  Towards  the 
end  of  the  conflict  between  the  two  Houses,  it  was  accordingly 
determined  to  insert  a  clause  in  the  Act  leaving  the  charities 
in  the  hands  of  their  former  governors  until  August,  1836, 
after  which  date,  if  Parliament  had  not  otherwise  directed, 
new  trustees  were  to  be  appointed  by  the  Lord  Chancellor 


1836.]  APPOINTMENT  OF  CHASITT  TBU8TEE8.  281 

on  petitions  from  each  locality.  In  the  session  of  1836  a 
Bill  was  brought  in  for  the  administration  of  the  charities  by 
boards  chosen  by  popular  election^  but  this  proposal  was  not 
unjustly  condemned  by  the  Conservatives  as  highly  objection- 
able, and  it  was  rejected  by  the  House  of  Lords.  As  the 
Ministry  refused  to  assent  to  the  request  of  the  Tory  peers 
for  a  further  delay  of  a  year,  the  Lord  Chancellor  became 
entitled  to  exercise  his  jurisdiction.  Some  Liberal  members 
of  the  Bristol  Council  thereupon  petitioned  his  lordship  for 
the  creation  of  a  board  of  trustees,  composed  of  eighteen 
members,  half  of  whom,  it  was  suggested,  should  be  Con* 
servatives.  The  proposal  was  approved  at  a  meeting  of  the 
Council  in  September,  and  the  names  of  nine  Tories  and  nine 
Liberals  were  forwarded  to  the  Chancellor.  At  another 
meeting,  a  week  later,  it  was  reported  that  the  Master  in 
Chancery  to  whom  the  case  had  been  referred  wished  the 
board  to  consist  of  an  uneven  number  of  trustees,  whereupon 
the  promoters  of  the  trust  requested  the  Conservatives  to 
increase  the  names  on  their  list  from  nine  to  ten,  stating  that 
they  should  themselves  select  eleven.  Most  of  the  Tories  who 
had  been  nominated  were  greatly  offended  at  their  party  being 
refused  predominance  in  the  trust,  and  requested  that  their 
names  should  be  withdrawn.  Other  members  of  the  majority, 
still  more  irritated,  flung  aside  the  dictates  of  prudence,  and 
a  resolution  was  angrily  passed,  at  the  instance  of  Mr.  Pinney, 
by  which  the  Council  refused  to  take  any  further  steps  in 
the  formation  of  a  charity  board.  In  consequence  of  this 
unfortunate  resolution  the  matter  was  thrown  entirely  into  the 
hands  of  the  Liberals,  and  the  desire  of  the  latter  party  to 
avenge  their  treatment  at  the  aldermanic  election  prompted 
them  to  a  policy  as  indefensible  as  was  that  of  their  oppo- 
nents. Another  petition  to  the  Chancellor  was  forwarded  by 
Mr.  R.  Ash  and  Mr.  G.  B.  Sanders,  and  in  October,  1836,  his 
lordship  confirmed  the  appointment  of  the  gentlemen  they  had 
nominated,  namely  :  Richard  Ash,  George  Bengough,  Samuel 
Brown,  Thomas  Carlisle,  Michael  H.  Castle,  James  Cunning- 
ham, Thomas  Davies,  Robert  Piske,  Charles  Bowles  Fripp, 
John  Kerle  Haberfield,  William  Harwood,  William  Herapath, 
Thomas  Powell,  George  E.  Sanders,  John  Savage,  Richard 
Smith,  W.  P.  Taunton,  George  Thomas,  William  Tothill,  Har- 
man  Visger,  and  James  Wood.  Only  three  of  those  gentle- 
men— Messrs.  Haberfield,  Smith,  and  Savage — ^were  Conser- 
vatives, against  eighteen  Liberals,  a  disproportion  obviously 
inequitable  in  every  point  of  view.  The  board  lost  no  time 
in  entering  upon  its  work ;  Mr.  James  Cunningham  being 


232  THE   ANNALS   Of   BRISTOL.  [1836. 

appointed  chairman^  and  Mr.  T.  J.  Mancliee  (the  compiler  of 
a  useful  work  on  Bristol  charities)  secretary.  Inquiries  were 
forthwith  set  on  foot  with  reference  to  the  estates  and 
accounts  of  the  various  charities ;  and  the  results  soon  threw 
a  singular  light  on  the  asserted  honest  and  faithful  adminis- 
tration of  the  old  corporate  body.  The  manipulation  of  the 
funds  of  Queen  Elizabeth's  Hospit©.!  by  the  Common  Council 
had  provoked  some  strong  reflections  from  the  Royal  Com- 
missioners. But  those  officials^  it  was  now  discovered^  had 
been  allowed  a  very  imperfect  acquaintance  with  the  true 
facts  of  the  case.  In  the  year  1767  the  boys  of  the  hospital, 
then  located  in  a  stately  house  in  Orchard  Street,  erected  at 
the  expense  of  Colston  and  other  benevolent  citizens,  were 
transferred  to  inconvenient  and  unhealthy  premises  in  Christ- 
mas Street,  previously  appropriated  to  the  Grammar  School. 
The  pretext  for  this  transfer  was,  that  the  Orchard  Street 
school  would  accommodate  ''twice  the  number  of  young 
gentlemen ''  who  attended  in  Christmas  Street ;  but  the  real 
motive  of  the  change — as  has  been  already  shown  at  page  46 
— was  to  give  a  better  and  more  fashionable  domicile  to 
the  head-master  of  the  Grammar  School,  who  had  married 
the  daughter  of  an  influential  alderman.  Not  content  with 
depriving  the  charity  of  its  ''  stately  house,''  the  Corporation 
proceeded  to  acts  still  more  unjustifiable.  For  some  years 
previous  to  the  above  transfer,  the  Common  Council  had 
been  spending  more  than  its  income,  and  money  had  been 
borrowed  from  the  hospital  funds  to  supply  the  deficiency ; 
"  seals ''  (bonds)  to  the  total  amount  of  £4,715  being  out- 
standing in  1771.  The  Corporation  paid  no  interest  on  this 
debt,  as  it  ought  to  have  done.  On  the  contrary,  it  being 
coikvenient  to  make  the  most  of  so  productive  a  milch  cow, 
the  boys  in  the  hospital  were  reduced  from  forty-eight  to 
forty,  in  order  to  liberate  a  larger  portion  of  the  yearly 
income.  Matters  proceeded  in  this  way  until  1781,  when  the 
Corporation  was  in  serious  pecuniary  embarrassment,  and 
owed  the  hospital  £2,400  for  interest  alone.  The  diflSculty 
was  surmounted  by  the  ingenuity  of  Alderman  Harris,  at 
whose  instigation  the  Common  Council  resolved  on  a  financial 
masterstroke.  When  the  hospital  was  established,  the  Cor- 
poration, to  further  the  designs  of  its  benevolent  founder, 
made  certain  gifts,  amounting  to  £3,000,  towards  the  work — 
claiming  the  praise  of  Queen  Elizabeth  for  the  munificent 
spirit  which  had  actuated  them.  Alderman  Harris's  device, 
— cordially  approved  by  his  colleagues — was  to  treat  those 
gifts  as  loans,  and  to  charge  the  hospital  compound  interest 


1836.]  THE   OLD  CORPORATION  AND  THB   CHARITIES.  233 

on  the  so-called  debt,  at  rates  varying  from  ten  to  five  per 
cent,  per  annum.  The  result  of  this  operation  was  to  bring 
the  charity  under  enormous  liabilities;  and  the  corporate 
body  thereupon  quashed  the  "  seals  '*  due  to  the  hospital, 
together  with  the  arrears  of  interest,  and  ordered  the 
scholars  to  be  reduced  to  thirty-six.  As  all  the  proceedings 
of  the  Corporation  were  transacted  in  private  and  under  an 
oath  of  secrecy,  nothing  was  publicly  known  of  this  financial 
legerdemain  until  the  Charity  Commissioners  examined  the 
accounts  in  1821.  The  Corporation  then  unblushingly 
asserted  that  the  hospital  was  indebted  to  their  treasury  in 
the  sum  of  £46,499.  Such  were  the  facts  which  the  Charity 
Trustees  had  to  deal  with.  It  was  impossible  to  restore  the 
ancient  schoolhouse  to  the  charity,  since  an  Act  of  Parliament 
had  been  astutely  obtained  to  legalise  the  transfer ;  but  the 
manipulation  of  the  funds  admitted  of  different  treatment. 
A  skilful  accountant,  Mr.  Joshua  Jones,  made  a  thorough 
examination  of  the  civic  accounts  on  behalf  of  the  trustees, 
and  he  eventually  reported,  in  October,  1837,  that,  so  far 
from  the  hospital  being  hugely  indebted  to  the  city,  as  was 
still  contended  at  the  Council  House,  the  Corporation  owed 
the  charity  a  capital  sum  of  £57,916,  which,  if  simple  interest 
were  added  at  the  rates  charged  by  the  Common  Council  on 
their  fictitious  claim,  would  be  increased  to  £240,569.  The 
Council  had  also  engaged  an  accountant,  Mr.  Fletcher,  and 
that  gentleman  produced  his  version  of  the  facts  in  February, 
1839,  asserting  that  £21,000  were  due  to  his  clients.  This 
calculation,  however,  appears  to  have  been  universally  dis- 
credited. Various  abortive  efforts  were  made  to  effect  a 
compromise,  during  which  the  local  newspaper  which  had  at 
first  ridiculed  as  a  "  mare's  nest''  the  claim  of  the  trustees, 
began  to  violently  assail  them  for  endeavouring  to  '^  ruin  the 
ratepayers."  The  trustees  having  at  length  commenced 
proceedings  in  the  Court  of  Chancery,  some  influential 
members  of  the  Council,  warned  by  legal  advisers  of  the 
hopelessness  of  the  defence,  entered  into  private  negotiations 
with  the  plaintiff's,  who  made  large  concessions,  and  the 
matter  was  finally  arranged  in  January,  1842.  The  basis  of 
the  agreement  was  that — in  this  as  in  other  cases — the 
property  belonging  to  the  charity  should  be  surrendered 
by  the  Corporation,  which  should  also  refund  the  revenue 
received  subsequent  to  the  Municipal  Reform  Act  coming 
into  operation.  As  regarded  this  hospital,  the  Common 
Council  paid  off  the  old  bonds  for  £4,715  already  referred 
to,  with  interest  from  January,  1836,  and  returned  £1,200  re- 


234  THE  ANNALS  Of  BRISTOL.  [1836. 

ceived  from  rents ;  two  crown-rents  amounting  to  £61  3«.  bd. 
per  annum  were  surrendered;  and  '^Alderman  Barker^s 
gift"  of  £103,  with  several  years'  arrears,  was  refunded.  In 
all,  £7,174,  and  crown-rents  of  a  capital  value  of  £1,500  were 
returned  to  the  charity.  During  the  later  days  of  the 
management  of  the  old  Corporation  the  number  of  boys  in 
the  school  was  forty-two.  The  trustees  at  once  increased  the 
number  to  120,  and  afterwards  augmented  it  to  220. — ^Another 
dispute  arose  between  the  Council  and  the  trustees  with 
reference  to  the  Bartholomew  Lands,  which  the  latter  body 
held  to  be  the  property  of  the  Grammar  School.  It  appears 
from  the  minutes  of  the  Common  Council  that  on  the  15th 
September,  1814,  it  was  resolved  that  the  rental  of  an  estate 
at  Brislington,  part  of  the  Bartholomew  Lands,  and  previously 
carried  into  the  city  chest,  should  be  thenceforth  transferred 
to  Foster's  Almshouse,  to  which  the  property  was  held  to 
belong.  In  July,  1827,  however,  an  alderman,  emulous  of 
the  fame  of  Mr.  Harris,  moved  for  a  committee  to  investigate 
the  title  of  the  entire  estate.  This  body,  of  whom  the  alder- 
man in  question  was  the  guiding  spirit,  having  produced  a 
report  ^'  after  careful  investigation,  asserting  in  effect  that 
the  Bartholomew  Lands  vested  absolutely  in  the  Corporation, 
subject  to  a  small  payment  to  the  Grammar  School,  the 
Council,  in  December,  1827,  again  inspired  by  the  alderman 
aforesaid,  declared  the  resolution  of  1814  to  be  rescinded, 
and  decreed  the  funds  in  hand  (about  £4,000)  to  be  the  sole 
property  of  the  Corporation.  It  must  now  be  added  that  the 
prime  mover  in  this  transaction  was  Mr.  Alderman  Fripp 
(jun.),  who  testified  before  the  House  of  Lords  in  1835  that 
the  Corporation  had  piously,  honourably,  and  discreetly 
administered  the  charities  which  had  been  confided  to  its 
control.  The  Charity  Trustees,  in  1837,  commenced  a  legal 
suit  for  the  recovery  of  the  estate;  and  after  lengthy  pro- 
ceedings in  Chancery,  that  court,  in  January,  1842,  with  the 
consent  oi  the  defendants,  gave  judgment  in  favour  of  the 
trustees.  The  Council  accordingly  surrendered  the  property, 
and  returned  about  £1,260,  being  the  mesne  profits  from 
January,  1836,  with  interest. — ^Another  and  more  remarkable 
litigation  arose  out  of  what  was  known  as  "  Codrington's  gift" 
to  Trinity  Hospital.  Previous  to  the  year  1572,  Francis  Cod- 
rington  (sheriff  in  1544)  bequeathed  £50  to  his  friend  and 
fellow  merchant,  William  Carr,  requesting  him  to  invest  the 
money  in  land,  and  to  apply  the  profits  to  maintaining  the 
bedding  in  Barstaple's  (Trinity)  Hospital,  which  then  pro- 
vided entertainment   for  poor  travellers.     In  pursuance  of 


1836.]  THB   OLD  CbBPORATION  AND  THX   CHARITIES.  235 

this  bequest^  Carr  purchased  nearly  210  acres  of  land  at 
Portishead  for  £48^  and  soon  aftor  leased  the  estate  for  1^000 
years  to  the  Corporation  of  Bristol,  upon  trust  that  the 
lessees  would  devote  the  entire  receipts  arising  therefrom  to 
the  maintenance  of  the  hospital.  This  trust  was  fulfilled  for 
some  forty  years.  But  about  1616  the  Corporation  bought  a 
large  estate  at  Portishead  on  its  own  account,  and  thencefor- 
ward appropriated  the  rents  of  the  whole  property,  Codring- 
ton's  gift  included.  The  malfeasance  escaped  the  notice  of 
the  Charity  Commissioners  in  1820;  and  it  was  not  until  the 
misappropriation  had  continued  for  nearly  two  centuries  and 
a  quarter  that  the  Charity  Trustees  discovered  the  facts. 
The  Codrington  estate  then  yielded  over  £200  a  year.  Ap- 
plication for  relief  was  made  to  the  Court  of  Chancery,  which 
— ^by  consent  of  the  litigants — ordered  the  property  to  be 
transferred  to  the  Charity  Trustees,  its  legal  owners ;  £708 
being  refunded  in  the  shape  of  arrears.  In  all  the  above 
cases,  the  vast  misappropriations  of  the  old  •Corporation, 
which  certainly  exceeded  a  quarter  of  a  million  sterling, 
including  interest,  were  condoned  in  the  interest  of  the  rate- 
payers, who  had  possessed  no  control  over  the  Common 
Council,  and  who  reasonably  protested  against  being  victim- 
ised for  its  misdeeds.  Still  another  case  remains  to  be 
noticed.  In  1553  Dr.  George  Owen  granted  certain  lands  in 
RedcliflF  and  other  parts  of  the  city  to  the  Corporation,  in 
order  to  increase  the  number  of  inmates  in  Foster's  Alms- 
house by  ten  poor  men,  the  cost  being  estimated  by  the  donor 
at  £15  Ss,  per  annum.  In  course  of  time  the  property  in 
question  greatly  increased  in  value ;  but  in  order  to  diminish 
the  yearly  proceeds  it  became  the  custom  of  the  Common 
Council  to  grant  leases  upon  lives  at  very  low  annual  rents, 
while  the  fines  on  renewals,  which  were  proportionably  large, 
were  coolly  carried  to  the  corporate  treasury.  This  estate 
was  also  claimed  through  the  Court  of  Chancery  by  the 
Charity  Trustees,  and  after  a  struggle  the  Council  consented 
to  yield  up  the  entire  property  (estimated  to  be  worth  £1,200 
a  year  after  the  leases  had  expired),  and  also  paid  over 
arrears  from  1836,  amounting  to  £1,027.  [By  a  scheme  con- 
firmed by  Lord  Chancellor  Lyndhurst  in  1843,  five-sixths 
of  Owen's  estate  were  applied  to  the  use  of  the  Grammar 
School,  and  the  remainder  to  the  support  of  Foster's  Alms- 
house.] This  brief  summary  of  the  proceedings  of  the 
Charity  Trustees  during  the  early  years  of  their  existence 
will  suffice  to  show  the  true  character  of  that  system  of 
charity  administration  which  was   described  by  Alderman 


1 

1 


286  THE  ANNALS   Of  BRISTOL.  [1836. 

Pripp  in  his  evidence  before  the  House  of  Lords  as  wholly 
irreproachable.  It  is  needless  to  state  that  the  members  of 
the  reformed  body  did  no  more  than  their  duty  in  defending 
the  interests  committed  to  their  charge.  The  proposal  for  a 
compromise  of  the  disputes  on  the  terms  actually  adopted 
was  informally  made  by  the  Charity  Trustees  about  the  close 
of  1841,  when  the  Council  applied  to  Sir  Charles  Wetherell 
for  his  advice  upon  the  subject.  The  recorder  having,  on  the 
5th  January  following,  recommended  the  acceptance  of  the 
proposal,  the  corporate  committee  who  had  charge  of  the 
matter  recommended  the  Council  to  sanction  the  arrangement, 
which  "  would  terminate  a  painful  and  irritating  litigation, 
and  would  in  its  results  relieve  the  inhabitants  not  only  from 
the  expenditure  attending  its  continuance,  but  also  the  risk 
of  a  much  larger  pecuniary  sacrifice/'  A  resolution  adopting 
this  report  was  formally  passed  by  the  Council  on  the  12th 
January,  1842,  and  was  confirmed  by  the  Lord  Chancellor  in 
a  judgment  delivered  on  the  27th  of  the  same  month.  By 
the  decree  of  the  latter,  the  Corporation  retained  the  manage- 
ment of  the  *'  gifts  "  left  by  the  following  persons — chiefly  for 
sermons  or  church*  poor  :  Thomasine  Harrington,  Alderman 
Long,  —  Powell  or  Powl,  —  Silk,  —  Wheatley,  W.  Spencer, 
W.  Carr,  Lady  Rogers,  J.  Bagod,  M.  Brown,  P.  Matthews,  Sir 
J.  Young,  —  Fownes,  J.  Griffin,  W.  Gibbs,  and  E.  Cross  ;  also 
the  Mayor's  gift."  After  all  the  disputes  had  been  settled, 
the  Charity  Trustees  passed  a  vote  of  thanks  to  their  solicitor, 
Mr.  Meshach  Brittan,  to  whose  unwearied  zeal  and  judicious 
counsel  the  recovery  of  the  funds  was  largely  due.  In  1851, 
when  the  number  of  trustees  had  been  much  diminished  by 
death,  the  political  majority  in  the  Council,  who  had  long 
repented  of  their  hasty  action  in  1836,  petitioned  the  Lord 
Chancellor  to  appoint  nine  new  members,  all  the  persons 
suggested  to  him  being  Conservatives.  The  Liberal  majority 
of  the  trustees — to  prove,  perhaps,  that  wrongheadedness 
was  not  peculiar  to  any  political  party — applied  to  be  re- 
cruited by  gentlemen  from  their  own  camp.  In  the  following 
year.  Lord  St.  Leonards,  implying  a  rebuke  to  both  sides, 
selected  four  names  from  the  CounciPs  list,  and  five  from  that 
of  the  trustees.  This  reconstruction  of  the  board  put  an  end 
to  the  charges  of  party  animus  which  had  been  frequently, 
though  groundlessly,  made  against  the  trust  by  exasperated 
party  writers. 

The  last  local  duel  of  which  any  record  has  been  found  in 
the  newspapers  was  fought  on  the  24th  January,  1837,  upon 
Durdham  Down.     The  antagonists  are  described  as  '^  a  gen- 


1837.]  THE    GREAT  WESTERN   COTTON   COM  PANT.  237 

tleman  of  the  Hotwells^  and  a  foreigner  residing  in  this 
neighbourhood."  After  an  exchange  of  shots^  the  seconds 
succeeded  in  effecting  an  arrangement. 

The  manufacture  of  cotton  cloth  was  established  in  Bristol 
in  1793,  when  about  250  hands  were  employed  in  a  factory 
in  Temple  Street.  The  price  of  the  poorly-printed  goods 
intended  for  ladies'  dress  was  at  that  time  about  four  shillings 
a  yard.  In  the  Bristol  Journal  of  July  6,  1805,  "  a  capital 
cotton  manufactory  in  Temple  Street  carried  on  for  several 
years  past "  was  advertised  to  be  let.  There  were  seventy 
looms  on  the  premises,  and  the  advertiser  added  :  '^  There  is 
a  cotton  mill  and  bleaching-field  in  the  neighbourhood,  where 
good  twist  and  weft  may  be  had."  No  further  mention  has 
been  found  of  this  establishment^  and  it  was  probably  dis- 
continued. In  1835  another  attempt  was  made  to  add  cotton- 
spinning  to  the  industries  of  the  city^  a  cotton  twist  and 
cloth  company  being  proposed,  with  a  capital  of  £200,000. 
The  scheme  was  abandoned,  owing  to  insufficient  support;  but 
in  the  spring  of  1837,  a  party  of  ten  influential  gentlemen,  in 
conjunction  with  a  Mr.  Q-.  B.  Clarke^  of  Manchester,  started 
a  private  company  under  the  style  of  Clarke,  Acramans, 
Maze  &  Co.  A  little  later,  this  concern  merged  into  a  joint- 
stock  adventure,  and  assumed  the  name  of  the  Great  Western 
Cotton  Company.  A  piece  of  land  having  been  purchased 
at  Barton  Hill,  the  foundation  stone  of  the  intended  factory 
was  laid  on  the  18th  April,  1837.  A  twelvemonth  later  a 
fete  took  place  on  the  completion  of  the  building.  The  first 
piece  of  cotton  manufactured  by  the  company  was  presented 
to  the  mayor  (Mr.  Haberfield)  in  January,  1839.  The  com- 
pany, which  had  been  already  once  or  twice  reorganised 
owing  to  the  death  of  its  proprietors — always  a  limited 
number — ^was  again  reconstructed  in  the  spring  of  1885, 
when  the  capital  was  fixed  at  £100,000  in  £20  shares.  Mr. 
[Sir]  J.  D.  Weston  became  chairman  of  the  new  company,  in 
which  several  wealthy  citizens  held  an  interest. 

The  new  Custom  House,  Queen  Square,  erected  upon  the 
site  of  the  building  destroyed  during  the  riots,  was  opened 
for  business  purposes  on  the  14th  March,  1837.  During  its 
construction  the  work  of  the  department  had  been  conducted 
in  a  large  house  in  St.  Augustine's  Place,  near  Colston's 
School,  once  the  mansion  of  the  Swymmer  family,  whose 
ultimate  heiress  married  Thomas  Fane,  who  about  the  middle 
of  the  eighteenth  century  was  clerk  to  the  Merchant  Venturers' 
Company,  but  afterwards  succeeded  to  the  earldom  of  West- 
moreland.      [This  fine  old  house,  since  demolished  for  the 


238  THE  ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1837. 

formation  of  Colston  Street,  contained  a  quantity  of  carved 
oak  wainscoting,  etc.,  which  was  purchased  by  Mr.  W.  Came 
for  beautifying  some  of  the  chief  rooms  in  St.  Donates  Castle, 
near  Cowbridge.] 

The  destruction  of  spring  garden  produce  in  1837  by  re- 
peated frosts  gave  rise  to  a  new  trade  between  Cornwall  and 
this  port.  Mr.  Dupen,  master  of  a  steamer  plying  to  and 
from  Hayle,  brought  on  one  occasion  about  fifty  Cornish 
brocoli,  which  Bristolians  eagerly  purchased.  About  fifteen 
dozen  were  brought  in  on  his  next  trip,  and  sixty  dozen  in 
the  following  week,  a  portion  of  the  last  being  sent  to  Bath, 
where  they  were  quickly  sold.  Mr.  Dupen  carried  on  the 
trade  for  some  years,  and  gave  a  great  impetus  to  market- 
gardening  in  Cornwall.  A  local  journal  of  March,  1859,  in 
stating  that  the  quantity  of  brocoli  received  from  that  county 
each  spring  had  swollen  to  from  30,000  to  40,000  dozen, 
added  :  "  This  week  the  Cornubia  brought  880  baskets,  con- 
taining from  fifteen  to  eighteen  dozen  each.'* 

In  April,  1837,  the  churchwardens  of  St.  Stephen's,  exercis- 
ing the  power  vested  in  them  by  the  law,  seized  part  of  the 
furniture  of  a  Mr.  Brown,  of  Queen  Square,  a  respectable 
Dissenter,  on  account  of  his  refusal  to  pay  the  sum  of  9«. 
demanded  for  church-rates.  The  seizure  occasioned  some 
excitement,  and  so  large  a  crowd  assembled  at  the  Albion 
Tavern,  Prince's  Street,  where  the  property  was  to  be  sold, 
that  the  auctioneer  wad  afraid  to  proceed.  The  goods  were 
disposed  of  privately,  however,  and  the  rate,  with  the  costs, 
was  recovered.  Church-rates  were  then  levied  in  nearly  all 
the  parishes  of  the  city,  and  the  defeats  of  dissenting  minorities 
at  the  annual  vestry  meetings  were  invariably  reported  in 
the  Bristol  Journal  as  ^'  victories  of  the  Establishment."  A 
more  sagacious  view  of  the  matter,  however,  gradually  pre- 
vailed. The  above  case  is  the  latest  recorded  of  an  enforced 
payment  by  means  of  bailiffs,  and,  some  years  before  the  law 
was  altered  to  meet  the  wishes  of  Nonconformists,  the  com- 
pulsory system  was  abandoned  in  Bristol,  except  in  the  parish 
of  St.  Augustine's. 

The  death  of  William  IV.  took  place  on  the  20th  June. 
His  successor.  Queen  Victoria,  whose  majority  in  the  pre- 
ceding month  had  caused  general  rejoicing,  was  proclaimed 
in  Bristol  on  the  24th ;  and  the  ceremony  offered  a  great 
contrast  to  the  cold  pageants  which  had  marked  the  acces- 
sion of  the  two  previous  monarchs.  Much  of  the  "  state " 
of  the  old  Corporation— including  the  ''knights  in  armour" 
— had,  indeed,  disappeared;  but,  in   addition   to   the   civic 


1837.]        THE  QUEEN  PROCLAIMED.   ELECTION.  239 

officials^  a  namber  of  the  local  clergy  and  ministers,  the 
magistrates,  the  Charity  Trustees,  and  many  respectable  in- 
habitants joined  in  the  procession,  much  sympathy  being  felt 
for  one  called  to  the  cares  of  sovereignty  at  so  early  an  age. 
It  must  be  added  in  the  interests  of  truths  that  the  attachment 
of  the  people  to  the  monarchy  had  been  rudely  shaken  by 
the  experience  of  the  previous  quarter  of  a  century;  and  the 
opinion  expressed  about  this  time  by  Sir  Robert  Peel,  that  the 
throne  was  visibly  hastening  to  its  fall,  denoted  the  critical 
condition  of  the  public  mind.  Chartism,  which  really  meant 
republicanism,  had  many  supporters  amongst  the  working 
classes  in  Bristol,  but  there  was  little  open  manifestation  of 
hostility  during  the  proceedings  of  the  day.  Proclamation 
was  made  at  the  seven  accustomed  places  from  a  car  drawn 
hy  grey  horses,  the  red  cloth-covered  rostrum  of  Georgian 
days  being  superseded. 

At  the  general  election  in  July,  caused  by  the  demise  of 
the  king,  the  two  Conservative  members  of  the  previous 
Parliament  retired  into  private  life — Mr.  Miles  on  the  ground 
of  his  advanced  age  ;  Sir  Richard  Vyvyan  from  his  disgust 
at  the  attitude  of  the  leaders  of  his  party,  who  in  his  opinion 
were  pusillanimously  truckling  to  new-fangled  principles  and 
ideas.  The  local  heads  of  Conservatism  nominated  in  their 
room  Mr.  Philip  W.  S.  Miles,  a  youthful  son  of  the  late 
senior  member,  and  Mr.  William  Fripp,  an  ex-alderman  of 
the  old  Corporation,  and  first  mayor  under  the  Municipal 
Reform  Act.  The  Liberal  party  selected  the  Hon.  Francis 
Henry  F.  Berkeley.  After  an  exciting  contest,  the  poll  was 
declared  on  the  25th  July,  as  follows :  Mr.  Miles,  3,838 ;  Mr. 
Berkeley,  3,312;  Mr.  Fripp,  3,156.  In  lieu  of  the  old  cere- 
mony of  chairing,  the  Liberals  celebrated  their  victory  by  a 
procession  of  the  trades  of  the  city,  in  which  some  thousands 
of  artisans  took  part.  A  petition  against  the  return  of  Mr. 
Berkeley  was  presented  on  behalf  of  the  defeated  candidate. 
It  alleged  extensive  bribery  and  treating,  and  further  afBrmed 
that  certain  agents  of  Mr.  Berkeley,  being  also  Charity 
Trustees,  had  been  openly  guilty  of  corruption  and  undue 
influence,  by  giving  or  promising  charity  gifts  in  order  to 
secure  votes  against  Mr.  Fripp.  On  the  publication  of  this 
document  a  declaration  was  made  by  nineteen  out  of  the 
twenty-one  trustees,  including  two  who  had  voted  for  Mr. 
Fripp,  asserting  that  the  charge  made  against  them  was 
^^  entirely  unfounded,  calumnious,  and  false.  The  committee 
of  the  House  of  Commons  appointed  to  hear  the  case  as- 
sembled in   February,  1838.     After  a  three  days'  hearing 


240  THE   ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1837. 

the  petition  was  abandoned^  whereupon  the  chairman  of  the 
committee  announced  that  they  were  unanimously  of  opinion 
that  nothing  had  been  proved  against  the  Charity  Trustees. 
Concurrently  with  the  proceedings  in  Parliament,  Mr.  Fripp^s 
supporters*  brought  actions  at  law  against  a  number  of  Mr. 
Berkeley's  friends,  to  recover  penalties  for  bribery,  and  the 
trials  took  place  at  the  ensuing  Gloucester  assizes.  The 
juries  in  three  cases  having  returned  verdicts  for  the  de- 
fendants, the  remaining  actions  were  withdrawn.  Shortly 
afterwards,  a  woman  named  Verrier,  who  had  deposed  before 
the  Commons'  committee  to  an  act  of  bribery  committed  by 
Mr.  Berkeley,  was  tried  for  perjury,  and  convicted  of  the 
offence.  In  commenting  upon  this  case,  the  editor  of  the 
Briistol  Juiii-nal,  who  had  been  for  some  time  noted  for  his 
acrimonious  personal  attacks,  published  gross  charges  against 
three  of  the  Charity  Trustees.  Those  gentlemen  retorted 
by  instituting  actions  for  libel,  and  challenged  their  accuser 
to  prove  his  assertions.  The  trials,  which  took  place  in  July, 
1839,  resulted  in  the  defendant  being  cast  in  damages  in 
each  case — for  £400,  £175,  and  £150  respectively — with 
heavy  costs.  The  oldest  of  the  Bristol  newspapers,  and  once 
the  most  powerful,  never  recovered  from  the  blow.  It 
lingered  on  for  several  years,  but  its  place  was  taken  by 
more  ably  conducted  Conservative  organs,  and  on  March  26, 
1853,  after  a  career  of  one  hundred  and  one  years,  Felix 
Farley's  Bristol  Journal  appeared  for  the  last  time. 

The  Bristol  Teetotal  Society  celebrated  its  first  anniversary 
in  June,  1837.  It  then  boasted  of  about  a  thousand  members. 
A  Temperance  Society,  which  required  a  pledge  from  its 
adherents  to  abstain  from  spirituous  liquors,  was  started  about 
seven  years  earlier ;  but  "  mere  temperance  "  was  bitterly 
denounced  and  caricatured  by  the  total  abstinence  party, 
and  the  moderate  camp  appears  to  have  succumbed  under 
their  attacks. 

At  a  meeting  held  on  the  25th  November,  1837,  it  was 
resolved  to  form  a  company,  with  a  capital  of  £25,000,  for 
the  construction  of  a  bridge  across  the  Avon  from  Temple 
Back  to  Queen  Street,  St.  Philip's.  The  company  paid  the 
Corporation  £2,157  in  compensation  for  the  ferry  which  had 
previously  occupied  the  site,  the  number  of  passengers  over 
which  had  been  ascertained  to  be  115,500  per  annum.  An 
Act  of  Parliament  to  carry  out  the  undertaking  having  been 

*  Who  are  Baid  to  have  spent  £12,000  on  the  petition  and  bubsequent  trials. 
— M^.  AnnaU,  City  Library,  ii.  113. 


1838.]       ST.  Philip's  bridge,    the  victoria  rooms.  241 

obtained  in  the  session  of  1838,  a  temporary  bridge  was 
built  and  opened  during  the  autumn,  and  342,000  persons 
passed  over  it  during  the  first  twelvemonths  of  its  existence. 
The  permanent  bridge  was  opened  by  the  mayor  (Mr.  G.  W. 
Franklyn)  on  the  1st  December,  1841,  It  had  cost  ^511,000. 
The  remainder  of  the  company*s  capital,  and  a  further  sum 
raised  by  loan,  were  expended  in  the  purchase  of  property 
for,  and  in  the  construction  of,  the  approaches.  [One  of  the 
buildings  destroyed  was  a  fine  sixteenth  century  house,  which 
in  its  later  days  had  been  known  as  the  Giant's  Castle  Inn.] 
As  the  new  bridge  was  a  great  improvement  upon  the  old 
ferry,  the  public  spirit  of  the  shareholders,  who  received 
slender  dividends  for  several  years,  was  much  commended 
by  the  residents  of  the  neighbourhood.  In  course  of  time^ 
however,  the  halfpenny  toll  came  to  be  regarded  as  a  griev- 
ance, and  a  movement  was  started  to  secure  its  abolition. 
The  agitation  gradually  acquired  strength,  and  in  con- 
sequence of  memorials  addressed  to  the  Council  on  the  sub- 
ject, that  body,  in  November,  1873,  resolved  to  enter  into 
negotiations  with  the  proprietors  with  a  view  to  the  purchase 
of  the  bridge.  Legal  difficulties  then  arose,  causing  a 
lengthened  delay;  but  in  the  closing  months  of  1874  it  was 
agreed  that  the  Council  should  lease  the  property  in  per- 
petuity, paying  the  shareholders  a  yearly  sum  equivalent  to 
G  per  cent,  on  their  investments.  The  Corporation  was  also 
to  take  over  the  debt  (£5,000)  on  the  bridge,  and  to  pay 
£2,000  to  cover  compensations,  etc.  An  Act  of  Parliament 
having  been  obtained  to  sanction  this  arrangement,  the  toll  on 
foot-passengers  was  abolished  on  the  31st  July,  1875,  The 
bridge  was  shortly  afterwards  widened  at  a  cost  of  £5,000. 

The  first  serious  disaster  in  connection  with  the  steamship 
service  between  Bristol  and  Ireland  occurred  on  the  20th 
January,  1838,  when  a  vessel  named  the  Killamey,  whilst  on 
her  passage  from  Cork  to  this  city,  struck  during  a  heavy 
gale  upon  the  Rennie  rocks,  near  Youghal,  and  became  a 
total  wreck.  Twenty-nine  of  the  passengers  and  crew  were 
drowned.  The  survivors,  thirteen  in  number,  succeeded  in 
clinging  to  the  slippery  rocks,  where  they  remained  for  two 
nights  and  a  day,  enduring  extreme  suffering  from  cold  and 
hunger,  before  means  for  their  rescue  could  be  devised.  One 
of  the  passengers,  styling  himself  Baron  Spolasco,  published 
a  local  pamphlet,  narrating  the  details  of  the  disaster. 

The  foundation-stone  of  the  Victoria  Rooms  was  laid  on 
the  Queen's  birthday.  May  24th,  1838,  by  the  mayor  (Mr. 
Haberfield).     The  building, — ^which  is  the  noblest  classical 

B 


242  THE   ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1838. 

erection  in  the  city,  and  for  the  first  time  provided  the  in- 
habitants with  spacious  and  convenient  apartments  for  public 
entertainments, — ^was  built  at  the  expense  of  a  body  of  Con- 
servative citizens,  and  cost  about  £23,000.  It  was  opened 
on  the  24th  May,  1842,  with  a  dinner,  at  which  the  mayor 
(Mr.  G,  W.  Franklyn)  presided.  A  fine  organ  was  placed 
in  the  large  saloon  about  1873. 

The  coronation  of  the  youthful  Queen,  on  the  28th  June, 
was  celebrated  in  Bristol  with  many  demonstrations  of  joy. 
On  previous  occasions  the  expense  of  the  festivities  had  been 
borne  by  the  Corporation.  Such  an  expenditure  of  public 
funds  was  no  longer  legal,  but  the  voluntary  subscriptions  of 
the  citizens  were  largely  offered  to  meet  the  outlay,  and  the 
rejoicing  was  all  the  more  genuine  inasmuch  as  it  was  entirely 
spontaneous.  At  noon  an  imposing  procession  started  from 
the  Council  House  for  the  cathedral,  headed  by  a  troop  of 
the  North  Somerset  Yeomanry,  a  ^'  champion  ^'  on  horseback 
accoutred  in  full  armour,  and  the  boys  of  Queen  Elizabeth's 
Hospital.  Then  followed  the  officers  of  the  Corporation,  the 
mayor  and  members  of  the  Council,  the  foreign  consuls,  the 
local  clergy  and  Dissenting  ministers,  the  boys  of  Colston's 
School,  the  master  and  members  of  the  Merchants'  Society,  the 
governor  and  members  of  the  Incorporation  of  the  Poor,  the 
parochial  officials,  the  Freemasons,  and  finally  the  workmen 
of  the  various  trades,  with  banners,  devices  and  emblems,  etc., 
of  their  crafts.  Two  more  ^^  knights  in  armour  "  were  strange 
fish  in  these  modern  waters,  but  they  at  least  lent  variety 
to  the  interesting  pageant,  the  concluding  divisions  of  which 
consisted  of  the  members  of  the  principal  benefit  societies, 
the  firemen,  and  a  troop  of  Gloucestershire  Yeomanry.  The 
procession  passed  through  all  the  chief  thoroughfares  of  the 
ancient  city.  So  great  was  its  length  that  its  two  extremities 
encountered  each  other  in  Dolphin  Street,  the  main  body 
then  occupying  Peter  Street,  Castle  Street,  Lower  Castle 
Street,  the  Broadweir,  Merchant  Street,  Broadmead,  *  and 
Union  Street.  Whilst  the  members  of  the  Corporation  at- 
tended service  at  the  cathedral,  the  procession  passed  up 
Park  Street,  Berkeley  Square,  etc.,  and  then  returned  to 
the  Council  House,  where  it  separated.  Various  public 
dinners  were  held  in  the  afternoon,  and  the  festivities  con- 
cluded with  a  general  illumination. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Council  on  the  16th  July,  1838,  the 
fair  annually  held  in  St.  James's  Churchyard  in  the  month 
of  September,  as  well  as  the  March  fair  held  in  Temple 
Street,  was  abolished ;  and  fairs  for  the  sale  of  live  stock 


1838.]  ABOLITION  OF  THE   FAIRS.  243 

exclusively  were  ordered  to  be  held  in  the  cattle  market  on 
the  two  first  days  of  March  and  September.  The  decree  put 
an  end  to  saturnalia  of  which  but  a  faint  conception  can  be 
formed  in  our  times.  That  St.  James's  fair  in  the  seventeenth 
century  had  been  very  extensively  resorted  to  is  proved  by 
a  letter  of  the  Mayor  of  Penzance,  forwarded  to  the  Govern- 
ment in  1636,  stating  that  twelve  Turkish  men  of  war,  bear- 
ing English  colours,  were  lurking  in  St.  George's  Channel  to 
capture  travellers  to  the  fair.  In  the  same  year  the  Corpora- 
tion of  Bristol  wrote  to  the  Privy  Council,  pointing  out  that 
the  manufacture  of  goods  for  the  fair  was  being  carried  on 
in  parts  of  London  then  infected  with  the  plague.  Obtaining 
no  protection  from  this  danger,  the  Corporation  resolved  to 
prohibit  the  entry  of  the  perilous  commodities,  whereupon 
the  wholesale  traders  of  London  also  appealed  to  the  Govern- 
ment, declaring  that  they — ^^  drapers,  skinners,  leather  sellers, 
and  upholsterers" — yearly  turned  over  "many  thousand 
pounds  "  at  the  fair,  and  had  ''  the  chief  part  of  their  estates 
owing  them  by  chapmen  who  meet  nowhere  else  but  at 
Bristol."  The  local  inhibition  was  thereupon  quashed.  Ac- 
cording to  an  official  report  to  the  Admiralty,  a  royal  ship 
had  "  convoyed  all  the  vessels  from  Bristol  fair  to  Tenby  and 
Milford,"  in  1657;  and  ten  years  later  a  Government  official 
at  Bridgwater  reported  that  the  Channel  had  been  in  great 
danger  from  French  pickaroons,  but  two  of  the  king's  frigates 
had  scared  them.  "It  was  feared  they  would  have  done 
mischief  at  Bristol  fair."  Down  even  to  the  close  of  the  first 
quarter  of  the  present  century,  the  influx  of  wares  and 
merchandise  from  all  parts  of  the  kingdom  was  astonishing, 
having  regard  to  the  defective  means  of  communication. 
Blankets  and  woollens  from  Yorkshire,  silks  from  Macclesfield, 
linens  from  Belfast  and  Lancashire,  carpets  from  Kidder- 
minster, cutlery  from  Sheffield,  hardware  from  Walsall  and 
Wolverhampton,  china  and  earthenware  from  Staffordshire 
and  other  counties,  cotton  stockings  from  Tewkesbury,  lace 
from  Buckinghamshire  and  Devon,  trinkets  from  Birmingham 
and  London,  ribbons  from  Coventry,  buck  and  hog  skins  for 
breeches,  hats  and  caps,  millinery, haberdashery,  female  orna- 
ments, sweetmeats,  and  multitudinous  toys  from  various  quartei^s 
arrived  in  heavily-laden  wagons,  and  were  joined  by  equally 
large  contributions  from  the  chief  industries  of  the  district. 
To  these  again  were  added  nearly  all  the  travelling  exhibi- 
tions and  entertainments  then  in  the  country — menageries, 
circuses,  theatres,  puppet  shows,  waxworks,  flying  coaches, 
rope-dancers,    acrobats,    conjurors,  pig-faced   ladies,  living 


244  THE   ANNALS   OP  BRISTOL.  [1838. 

skeletons^  and  mummers  of  all  sorts^  who  attracted  patronage 
by  raising  a  fearful  din.  It  need  scarcely  be  added  that  the 
scene  attracted  a  too-plentiful  supply  of  pickpockets,  thieves, 
thimble-riggers,  and  swindlers  of  every  genus.  To  make 
purchases  or  to  gratify  curiosity,  the  population  of  the  sur- 
rounding district,  from  the  family  of  the  Duke  of  Beaufort 
down  to  the  children  of  the  Kingswood  colliers,  thronged 
into  the  city,  and  from  early  morning  until  late  in  the  even- 
ing the  alleys  between  the  stalls  and  standing-places  (which, 
being  built  and  covered  with  wood,  took  a  month  in  construc- 
tion) presented  a  busy  and  often  an  amusing  scene.  As  time 
went  on,  the  places  of  business  rapidly  diminished,  while  the 
shows,  entertainments,  and  general  disorder  increased;  and  as 
liquor  was  sold  at  a  number  of  "bush'*  [unlicensed]  houses, 
the  fair,  which  by  charter  lasted  nine  days,  but  was  generally 
permitted  to  continue  a  fortnight,  became  a  centre  of  corrup- 
tion and  demoralisation.  Strong  vested  interests  were  long, 
however,  arrayed  in  support  of  the  nuisance.  About  1813 
Mr.  E.  B.  Fripp,  then  a  vestryman  of  the  parish,  made  an 
effort  for  its  suppression,  he  and  his  friends  offering  £3,000 
to  the  vestry  as  a  compensation  for  the  loss  of  tolls ;  but  the 
receipts  were  ao  large  that  the  proposal  was  contemptuously 
rejected.  In  1837,  when  the  "  foreign  ^^  tradesmen  had 
dwindled  to  less  than  a  dozen,  and  the  tolls  scarcely  defrayed 
the  cost  of  erecting  standings,  the  vestry  gladly  listened  to 
terms ;  and  Mr.  George  Thomas,  one  of  the  Quaker  founders 
of  the  General  Hospital,  was  largely  instrumental  in  effecting 
an  arrangement,  having,  with  the  aid  of  a  few  friends,  raised 
a  sum  of  about  £1,000  for  laying  out  the  ground  for  a  hay 
and  coal  market,  and  for  compensating  the  vestry.  The 
Corporation  thereupon  took  a  lease  for  ninety-nine  years, 
at  a  rent  of  £150  per  annum,  of  the  open  plot  to  the  south 
of  the  churchyard.  To  this  place,  in  May,  1841,  the  hay 
market  was  removed  from  Broadmead.  The  attempt  to 
establish  a  coal  market  on  the  spot  seems  to  have  failed  from 
the  outset. 

Up  to  this  time,  owing  to  the  post  office  authorities  measur- 
ing the  distance  between  Bristol  and  London  by  way  of  Bath, 
the  postage  of  what  was  called  a  "  single  '*  letter — that  is, 
a  single  sheet  of  letter  paper  without  envelope  or  enclosure 
— from  or  to  the  capital,  was  tenpence.  In  September,  1838, 
however,  the  officials  discovered  that  the  distance  of  Bristol 
from  London  by  way  of  Marshfield  was  not  over,  but  under, 
120  miles,  and  the  single  letter  postage  was  consequently 
reduced  to  ninepence.     A  letter  enclosing  a  slip  of  paper. 


1838.]  THE   OLD   POSTAL   SYSTEM.      PENANCE.  245 

such  as  a  cheque,  was  charged  Is.  6d.,  one  enclosing  two 
cheques,  28.  Sd. ;  more  numerous  enclosures,  not  exceeding 
an  ounce  in  weight,  3^.     A  system  of  penny  postage  for 
letters  and  small  packets  had  been  established  for  some  years 
between  the  city  and  a  few  of  the  neighbouring  villages,  but 
the  arrangement  was  of  a  very  arbitrary  character.      For 
example,  although  Oakhill  and  Axbridge  were  each  eighteen 
miles  from  Bristol,  the  charge  for  a  four  ounce  packet  to  the 
former  place  was  a  penny,  while  to  the  more  important  town 
the  postage  was  68.  8d.     During  the  session  of  1839,  Lord 
Melbourne's  Ministry  succeeded  in  passing  an  Act  for  carry- 
ing out  the  penny  postal  scheme  of  Mr.  Rowland  Hill ;  and 
in  December  a  uniform  charge  of  fourpence  per  half-ounce 
came  into  force  as  regarded  all  letters  on  which  the  postage 
had   previously    exceeded   threepence.      In    the   following 
January  the  rate  was  reduced  to  a  penny  per  half  ounce. 
The  new  system  was  strongly  condemned  by  the  political 
opponents  of  the  Cabinet.     The  Bristol  Journal  of  December* 
7,  1839,  feared  that  'Hhis  new  plan  of  Whig  Reform  will  be 
a  more  serious  evil  to  the  country  than  even  any  one  of  their 
more  flagrant  jobs.''     On  the  first  adhesive  stamp  (printed 
in  black  ink)  and  the  first  envelope  coming  into  use  in  the 
following  year,  the  same  paper  of  May  16  said:  "Fortun* 
ately  those  who  send  letters  have  still  the  option  of  prepay- 
ment, and  are  not  obliged  to  use  the  contemptible  cover  or 
black  patch  which  the  Government  have  been  asses  enough 
to  sanction.     Both  patch  and  envelope  are  beneath  criticism. 
How  long  is  the  revenue  of  this  once  powerful  country  to  be 
entrusted  to  the  hands  of   the  nincompoops  who  are  now 
wasting  it  ?"     The  actual  results  of  Mr.  Hill's  scheme,  so  far 
as  regards  Bristol,  will  be  shown   later  on.      The  editor's 
shortsightedness  was,  however,  pardonable,  seeing  that  the 
heads  of  the  postal  service  in  London  predicted  the  certain 
failure  of  the  cheap  system.     [In   1844  a  ^^  national  testi- 
monial "  to  Rowland  Hill  was  started,  and  resulted  in  a  sub* 
scription  of  about  £13,000.     The  sum  contributed  in  Bristol 
was  £292.] 

On  the  16th  December,  in  conformity  with  a  decision  of 
the  ecclesiastical  tribunal  of  the  diocese,  two  persons,  living 
in  Pomphrey's  Court,  Christmas  Street,  performed  penance 
in  the  vestry  room  of  St.  John's  Church,  between  the  hours 
of  morning  and  evening  service.  The  punishment  inflicted 
was  the  result  of  a  cross  suit  between  the  parties  in  the 
above  court. 

A  new  survey  of  the  city  took  place  towards  the  close  of 


246  THE  ANNALS  OF  BRISTOL.  [1838. 

the  year,  when  the  rateable  value  of  the  various  districts  was 
assessed  as  follows:  '^Ancient  city,  £213,318;  Clifton,  £69,822; 
St.  Philip's,  out,  £36,364;  District,  £20,310;  part  of  West- 
bury,  £10,457 ;  part  of  Bedminster,  £28,005. 

Much  discontent,  arising  largely  from  the  depressed  state 
of  trade,  prevailed  amongst  the  working  classes  at  this  time, 
and  Chartism  had  many  followers  in  Bristol,  as  in  other  large 
towns.  On  the  26th  December  a  meeting  of  the  party  took 
place  on  Brandon  Hill,  when  Mr.  Fearg^s  O'Connor,  a  noisy 
platform  orator,  made  a  violent  speech.  For  some  months 
afterwards  gatherings  took  place  on  the  hill  almost  nightly, 
and  owing  to  the  tumultuous  character  of  the  proceedings, 
and  the  threats  occasionally  uttered  to  resort  to  physical 
force,  the  agitation  excited  some  anxiety  amongst  the  citizens. 
At  length,  early  in  May,  1839,  the  magistrates  issued  a 
circular  prohibiting  further  nocturnal  assemblies,  and  a  num- 
ber of  the  ratepayers  w^are  sworn  in  as  special  constables. 
This  action  had  the  desired  effect^  and,  in  spite  of  the  un- 
happy outbreak  at  Newport  in  the  following  November,  the 
peace  of  the  city  was  undisturbed. 

A  discovery  of  some  interest  in  connection  with  the  Roman 
occupation  of  this  part  of  the  island  was  made  in  January, 
1839,  at  Ashton  Waters,  near  Long  Ashton,  during  the 
excavation  of  the  ground  for  the  Bristol  and  Exeter  railway. 
The  workmen  came  across  the  remains  of  a  building,  the 
foundations  of  which  extended  for  a  considerable  distance  ; 
and  a  number  of  coins,  including  one  of  Julius  Caesar,  another 
of  Diocletian,  and  several  of  Constantino,  were  disinterred. 
Two  bronze  spoons,  a  portion  of  the  capitals  of  two  columns, 
and  various  broken  articles  were  also  found.  About  the  same 
time  the  remains  of  a  villa,  with  a  large  tesselated  pave- 
ment, were  disinterred  near  Newton  St.  Loe. 

Although  two  short  sections  of  the  Great  Western  railway 
had  been  opened  in  1838,  the  question  of  gauge,  which  from 
the  outset  had  excited  much  controversy,  had  not  been 
definitively  settled.  On  the  9th  January,  1839,  a  great 
meeting  of  the  proprietors  was  held  in  London  to  consider 
the  reports  of  two  eminent  engineers,  Mr.  (afterwards  Sir 
John)  Hawkshaw,  and  Mr.  Nicholas  Wood,  and  to  determine 
the  problem  on  which  those  gentlemen  had  been  consulted. 
Mr.  Wood,  whilst  disapproving  of  Mr.  Brunei's  seven  feet 
gauge,  recommended  that,  in  view  of  the  outlay  already 
incurred,  it  should  be  retained.  Mr.  Hawkshaw,  though 
regretting  the  narrowness  of  the  north  country  gauge, 
decidedly  condemned  the   introduction  of  another,  on  the 


1839.]         THE  BBOAD  GAUGE  ON  RAILWAYS.  247 

ground  that  it  would  be  a  serious  impediment  to  the  working 
and  development  of  the  railway  system  of  the  country.  The 
directors,  in  a  report  commenting  upon  the  objections  of  the 
two  engineers,  declared  them  to  have  '^  little  weight/^  and  the 
shareholders  were  confidently  assured  that  Mr.  Hawkshaw's 
assertions  would  prove  groundless.  A  member  of  the  board 
having*  moved  that  Mr.  Brunei's  system  be  adhered  to,  an 
amendment  was  proposed  condemning  it  as  wasteful  and 
injudicious;  but  the  result  of  the  voting  was  in  favour  of  the 
original  motion  by  a  majority  of  7,792  against  6,145.  The 
only  excuse  that  can  be  offered  for  those  who  adopted  a 
shortsighted  resolution  is,  that  unlimited  confidence  was 
placed  by  many  wealthy  shareholders  in  Mr.  Brunei's  genius. 
When  Mr.  George  Stephenson  was  asked  about  the  same  time 
what  gauge  should  be  adopted  on  two  lines,  one  near  Leicester 
and  another  near  Canterbury,  he  at  once  pronounced  in 
favour  of  the  system  adopted  on  the  Stockton  and  Darlington 
and  the  Manchester  and  Liverpool  railways.  ^'  Though  they 
are,"  he  observed,  '^  a  long  way  apart  from  each  other  now, 
they  will  be  joined  together  some  day."  Brunei,  on  the 
other  hand,  assured  the  Great  Western  board  that  their 
undertaking  "could  never  have  any  connection  with  any 
other  of  the  main  lines,"  three  or  four  of  which,  he  felt 
assured,  would  suffice  for  the  traffic  of  the  country.  This 
opinion  rapidly  proved  to  be  a  delusion,  and  the  natural 
effect  of  the  break  of  gauge  was  to  excite  the  then  existing 
directorates  to  fight  for  the  territory  which  lay  between  them. 
A  fierce  war  thus  broke  out,  which  lasted  for  several  years, 
with  deplorable  consequences  to  the  shareholders.  So  long 
as  the  two  gauges  were  apart,  the  public  of  course  felt  no 
inconvenience.  But  in  1844,  when  the  Bristol  and  Gloucester 
line  (then  broad  gauge)  was  opened,  it  came  in  contact  at 
the  latter  city  with  the  Birmingham  and  Gloucester  narrow 
gauge  railway,  and  whilst  through  passengers  complained  of 
the  trouble  and  loss  of  time  involved  in  a  change  of  carriages 
— often  in  bad  weather  and  in  the  darkness  of  the  night — the 
stoppage  in  the  transit  of  cattle,  minerals,  and  goods  through 
the  necessity  of  unloading  and  reloading  the  trucks  excited 
widespread  discontent.  The  merchants  of  Bristol  speedily 
felt  the  grievance.  Birmingham  manufacturers,  finding  that 
their  wares  forwarded  for  shipment  at  this  port  were  delayed 
or  mislaid  at  Gloucester,  and  that  the  distance  between  their 
factories  and  Bristol  was  as  difficult  of  transit  as  in  the  days 
before  railways,  forwarded  their  goods  to  Liverpool  or  London, 
where  no  such  difficulty  arose.     In  a  lesser  degree  a  similar 


248  THE   a!nNALS   of  BRISTOL.  [1839. 

impediment  to  Bristol  traffic  was  experienced  at  Worcester, 
Warwick,  Rugby,  Salisbury,  and  Dorchester,  at  each  of  which 
places  broad  gauge  wagons  came  in  contact  with  narrow  gauge 
lines,  and  could  travel  no  farther.     In  short,  the  West  of 
England  was  as  completely  isolated  from  other  parts  of  the 
country  as  if  a  river  too  wide  to  be  bridged  lay  between  it 
and  the  rest  of  the  kingdom.     And  this,  according'  to  Mr. 
Brunei  and  the  Great  Western  board,  was  to  go  on  for  ever 
along  a  boundary  line  200  miles  in  length,  running  on  both 
sides  of  the  railway.    The  grievance  became  the  more  crying 
when  Mr.  Brunei  himself  laid  out  plans  for  several  narrow 
gauge  lines,  and  the  matter  at  length  came  to  be  viewed  in 
commercial  circles  as  a  public  calamity.     At  the  instance  of 
Mr.  Cobden,  a  royal  commission  was  appointed  to  consider 
the  subject,  and  a  lengthened  inquiry  commenced  in  August, 
1845.     The   result  was  an  overwhelming  mass  of  scientific 
testimony  in  condemnation  of  Mr.  BruneVs  theory,  which  had 
no  supporters  but  himself  and  two  Great  Western  officials. 
The    Commissioners    consequently   recommended    that    the 
narrow  gauge  should  be  used  on  all  future  railways,  and  that 
some  equitable  means  should  be  devised  for  producing  an 
entire  uniformity  of  gauge  throughout  the  kingdom.     Parlia- 
ment practically  adopted  the  first  of  those  suggestions,  but  it 
was  estimated  that  the  alteration  of  the  Great  Western  lines 
would  involve  an  expense  of  a  million  sterling,  and  the  legis- 
lature, declining  to  lay  any  burden  upon  the  public  for  the 
reparation  of  the  company's  blunder,  left  the  directors  to 
their  own  devices.     The  board  had  in  the  long  run  to  admit 
that    their  favourite    theory   was   deeply   injurious   to   the 
interests  of  the  shareholders.    In  August,  1868,  it  was  deter- 
mined to  convert  all  the  broad  gauge  lines  north  of  Oxford 
into  narrow  gauge.     In  1871  it  was  resolved  to  abandon  the 
broad  gauge  on  the  South  Wales  section  of  the  railway,  and 
to  lay  the  narrow  gauge  from  Didcot  to  Milford  Haven.    This 
was  obviously  but  the  beginning  of  a  general  change  in  the 
western   districts.     In  June,  1874,  a  similar  alteration  took 
place  between  Bristol  and  Bath,  and  towards  the  end  of  the 
same  year  the  narrow  system  was  extended  throughout  the 
trunk  line,  the  old  gauge  being  retained  for  express  trains 
only.     The  Bristol  and  Exeter  board  being  then  forced  to 
take  action,  the  '^  mixed  gauge ''  was  completed  from  Bristol 
to  Exeter  in  May,  1877. 

The  Royal  Western  Hotel,  College  Place,  a  building  of 
some  architectural  pretensions,  but  erected  on  an  ill-chosen 
site  (previously  occupied  by  Reeves's  hotel,  see  p.  30),  was 


1839.]       MONUMENT  TO  CHATTEBTON.      PUOSLEy's   FIELD.  249 

opened  on  the  18th  April.  A  public  dinner  in  celebration  of 
the  event  took  place  soon  after,  the  mayor  (Mr.  Haberfield) 
presiding.  The  house,  built  by  Messrs.  Rogers,  ceased  to  be 
an  hotel  in  April,  1855.  Some  five  years  later,  Turkish  baths 
were  fitted  up  in  the  building  by  Mr.  Bartholomew. 

A  gigantic  tusk  of  a  mammoth  was  discovered  in  June  by 
some  workmen  engaged  in  excavating  in  St.  Philip's  Marsh. 
The  tusk,  which  was  nearly  six  feet  in  length,  was  forwarded 
to  the  museum  of  the  Bristol  Institution. 

The  foundation-stone  of  a  monument  dedicated  to  Chat- 
terton  was  laid  on  the  13th  November,  1839,  in  St.  Mary  Red- 
cliff  churchyard.*  The  site  chosen  was  the  angle  between 
the  tower  and  the  north  porch.  The  statue,  which  was 
universally  condemned  as  mean  in  execution  and  absurdly 
diminutive  as  compared  with  its  pedestal,  was  erected  on  the 
30th  April,  1840.  In  February,  1846,  the  vicar  of  the  parish, 
the  Rev.  M.  R.  Whish,  whose  eccentricities  brought  him 
frequently  before  the  public,  suddenly  gave  orders  for  the 
removal  of  the  monument,  asserting  that  it  had  been  erected 
without  his  sanction.  As  the  reverend  gentleman — ^whose 
action  was  applauded  by  a  few  contemporary  bigots — was 
omnipotent  in  his  churchyard,  the  structure  was  taken  down, 
and  disappeared  from  public  view  for  some  years.  In  July, 
1857,  however,  it  was  re-erected  on  the  (unconsecrated)  spot 
where  it  now  stands,  a  few  members  of  the  parochial  vestry 
having  defrayed  the  cost  of  the  restoration. 

In  the  course  of  this  year  some  negotiations  took  place 
between  the  Corporation  and  the  dock  directors,  with  a  view 
to  the  purchase  of  the  Floating  Harbour  by  the  city,  and  thus 
to  get  rid  of  the  shortsighted  exactions  by  which  the  com- 
merce of  the  port  was  weighed  down.  It  was  intimated 
to  the  dock  board  that  the  Council  were  prepared  to  pay 
interest  at  the  rate  of  2  J  per  cent,  on  the  share  capital  if  the 
transfer  were  effected ;  but  the  offer  was  rejected  as  inade- 
quate, and  the  matter  was  suffered  to  drop. 

About  this  time  the  land  known  to  all  Bristolians  as  Mother 
Pugsley's  Field,  together  with  some  adjoining  plots,  was  dis- 
posed of  in  sites  for  building.  Pedestrians  had  enjoyed  ac- 
cess from  time  immemorial  to  the  spring  in  Pugsle/s  Field ; 
but,  to  use  the  language  of  a  local  journalist.  Sir  Thomas 
Fremantle,  the  owner  of  the  land,  flourished  his  title  deeds 
in  the  face  of  the  public,  and  nobody  had  the  spirit  to  defend 

*  So  early  as  September,  1805,  a  movement  was  started  in  the  city  for  the 
erection  of  a  *'  magnificent  cenotaph  *'  to  the  unfortunate  boy  poet.  The 
scheme,  however,  found  few  supporters,  and  was  soon  dropped. 


250  THE   ANNALS  OF  BRISTOL.  [1840. 

the  rights  of  the  community.  A  builder,  named  Hucker,  who 
purchased  part  of  the  property,  enclosed  the  spring — which 
had  a  reputation  for  healing  virtues  amongst  the  vulgar — for 
private  use  at  his  residence.  Spring  Villa,  Nugent  Hill. 

Bristol  Cathedral  was  reopened  in  February,  1840,  after 
undergoing  partial  "  restoration/'  The  most  important 
alterations  were  the  removal  of  a  large  screen  in  the  Greek 
style  erected  behind  the  communion  table,  and  the  construc- 
tion of  a  richly  decorated  central  recess  corresponding  with 
those  on  each  side.  No  vestige  remained  of  the  original 
decorative  work  at  the  back  of  the  altar,  so  that  the  arrange- 
ment is  merely  the  conception  of  a  modern  architect.  It 
would  appear  from  the  view  of  the  reredos  in  the  frontispiece 
to  Britten's  account  of  the  cathedral,  that  the  renovator  took 
great  liberties  with  the  beautiful  work  of  Abbot  Knowle. 
The  Corinthian  screen  was  purchased  by  the  Irvingites  for 
their  church  on  the  Quay.  Although  the  chapter  showed  an 
improved  taste  in  this  proceeding,  its  ideas  of  seemliness 
were  still  somewhat  chaotic.  A  letter  in  the  Bristol  Journal 
of  the  5th  April,  1845,  stated  that  ^'a  cast-iron  stove,  with 
an  immense  black  vertical  flue,  passing  through  the  beautiful 
groined  roof,'*  had  just  been  placed  in  the  choir  of  the 
cathedral  I 

The  lighthouse  at  the  mouth  of  the  Avon,  erected  by  the 
Corporation  of  the  Trinity  House,  was  completed  in  April, 
1840,  and  was  lighted  up  in  the  following  June. 

In  June,  1840,  the  royal  assent  was  given  to  a  Bill  ''for 
regulating  the  buildings  and  party  walls  within  the  city,  and 
for  widening  and  improving  certain  streets.''  The  Corpora- 
tion by  this  statute  obtained  power  to  open  a  new  street 
[Phippen  Street],  and  to  widen  and  improve  the  thorough- 
fares in  that  neighbourhood.  Power  was  taken  to  borrow 
£15,000  for  those  purposes,  and  a  sum  of  £10,000,  given 
some  years  previously  by  Mr.  William  Weare  (see  page  130) 
to  further  various  improvements,  was  ordered  to  form  part 
of  a  fund,  to  be  called  "  the  Improvement  Fund." 

In  July,  1840,  the  Society  of  Merchants  undertook  to 
remove  one  of  the  greatest  obstructions  to  the  navigation 
of  the  Avon — the  Round  Point,  a  little  below  St.  Vincent's 
rocks — and  obtained  the  consent  of  the  Corporation,  as  con- 
servators of  the  river,  to  carry  out  the  necessary  work.  It 
was  announced  that  the  undertaking  would  involve  the 
removal  of  25,000  cubic  yards  of  rock.  The  operations  of 
the  Society,  however,  must  have  been  of  a  limited  nature, 
for  in  March^  1862,  after  the  Demerara  disaster,  the  removal 


1840.]    THE  BOUND  POINT.   THE  BBOADMEAD  BOOMS.       251 

of  the  Round  Point  was  reported  to  the  Council  to  be  urgently 
necessary,  and  in  the  following  September  a  resolution  was 
passed  authorising  the  docks  committee  to  carry  out  the 
needful  improvement  at  an  expense  not  exceeding  £5,000. 
The  Merchants^  Society  having  been  asked  to  contribute  to 
the  cost,  in  consideration  of  the  large  revenue  they  derived 
from  the  wharfage  dues,  subscribed  £1,000.  Upwards  of 
30,000  tons  of  rock  were  cut  away  on  this  occasion,  and  about 
the  same  quantity  was  removed  from  the  projection  on  the 
Somerset  bank,  a  portion  of  the  hill  on  each  side  being  also 
taken  down  to  open  the  line  of  sight  upon  the  river.  Even 
after  this  was  done  the  place  continued  to  be  very  danger- 
ous; and  under  Mr.  Howard's  improvement  scheme  of  1864 
another  and  much  more  costly  effort  was  made  to  straighten 
the  river.  Bridge  Valley  Boad,  which  overhung  the  Avon  at 
the  "  point,''  being  carried  farther  back,  and  many  thousand 
tons  of  rock  being  blasted  away  under  high-water  mark. 
Nevertheless,  in  1884,  the  obstruction  was  still  complained 
of,  and  once  more  the  Council  ordered  excavations,  which 
were  continued  for  several  months  at  low  tides,  the  electric 
light  being  employed  to  facilitate  operations  during  the  night. 
In  1885  similar  operations  were  begun  on  the  opposite  shore, 
and  are  still  unfinished.  Even  now  the  state  of  the  Round 
Point  leaves  much  to  be  desired. 

Another  disastrous  wreck  of  an  Irish  passenger  steam 
vessel  occurred  on  the  18th  November,  1840.  The  ship  in 
question.  The  City  of  Bristol,  had  left  Waterford  on  the  pre- 
vious night,  and  was  driven  during  a  violent  storm  on  the 
Welsh  coast,  near  Worm's  Head.  Of  the  twenty-seven 
persons  who  were  on  board  only  two  survived  to  tell  the 
lamentable  story. 

Up  to  this  time  the  citizens  were  very  scantily  provided 
with  public  rooms  fitted  for  meetings  or  social  gatherings. 
With  the  exception,  indeed,  of  an  inconveniently  situated 
Assembly-room,  in  Prince's  Street,  and  two  halls  of  the 
ancient  trading  companies,  there  was  no  place  in  the  city 
where  the  inhabitants  could  meet  together  in  large  bodies. 
In  December,  1840,  a  spacious  public  room,  called  the  Hall 
of  Science — built  by  the  admirers  of  the  then  celebrated 
socialist,  Robert  Owen,  and  intended  for  the  dissemination 
of  his  doctrines — ^was  opened  in  Broadmead,  when  a  lecture 
was  delivered  by  Mr.  Oiwen.  Its  founders  being  unable  to 
meet  the  expenditure,  the  building  was  purchased  in  January, 
1843,  by  a  few  members  of  the  Liberal  party,  and  was  subse- 
quently known  as  the  Broadmead  Rooms.     Until  the  erection 


• 


252  THE  ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1841. 

of  Colston  Hall,  this  place,  in  spite  of  its  inconvenient  access, 
was  the  favourite  spot  for  popular  gatherings  in  the  city. 
It  subsequently  reverted  into  the  hands  of  the  Corporation, 
which  in  1875  granted  a  lease  of  it  at  a  rental  of  £100  per 
annum,  the  lessee  undertaking  to  build  a  factory  on  the  site. 

In  December,  1840,  the  newly-appointed  mayor,  Mr.  Robert 
Phippen,  revived  the  custom  of  attending  the  Mayor^s 
Chapel  in  state,  which  had  been  discontinued  for  some  years. 
In  anticipation  of  the  pageant  his  worship  was  presented  by 
his  friends  with  a  state  robe  and  gauntlets,  similar  to  those 
worn  in  the  old  Common  Council,  and  their  use  was  after- 
wards  continued.  The  cost  of  maintaining  divine  service  in 
the  Mayor's  Chapel  had,  from  1836  to  this  time,  been  pro- 
vided by  private  subscriptions,  the  Liberal  section  of  the 
Council  having  protested  against  the  application  of  the  cor- 
porate funds  to  denominational  purposes.  In  1841,  however, 
the  Conservatives  formed  an  overwhelming  majority  of 
the  civic  body*,  and  on  the  22nd  March  it  was  resolved, 
by  forty  votes  against  six,  that  the  chapel  should  be  ^^  sup- 
ported and  maintained  in  the  same  manner,  to  the  same 
extent,  and  for  the  same  purpose  in  all  respects,  as  before  the 
passing  of  the  Municipal  Act."  The  expenditure  originated 
by  this  decision  was  set  down  at  £260  in  the  accounts  for  the 
year.  As  a  complement  to  the  resolution,  the  aldermen  and 
a  large  majority  of  the  councillors  revived,  in  December, 
1850,  the  ancient  custom  of  wearing  scarlet  robes  when 
attending  the  chapel  on  state  occasions. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Council  on  the  3rd  February,  1841, 
a  matter  was  brought  to  light  which  provoked  much  criti- 
cism in  Dissenting  circles.  It  appeared  that  a  few  months 
previously  an  application  had  been  made  on  behalf  of  a 
Wesleyan  congregation  in  the  parish  of  Dyrham,  for  a  lease, 
at  the  full  value,  of  a  plot  of  ground  on  which  it  was  in- 
tended to  erect  a  schoolroom,  to  be  used  occasionally  for 
religious  services.  The  Finance  Committee  had  at  first  ex- 
pressed its  willingness  to  assent,  and  had  directed  the 
surveyor  to  fix  the  rental,  whereupon  the  rector  of  Dyrham 
forwarded  an  earnest  request  that  the  lease  should  be  refused, 
observing  that  great  evils  would  arise  from  the  introduction 
of  schism,  and  that  there  was  ample  accommodation  for  the 
parishioners  in  his  church.  The  reverend  gentleman  omitted 
to  state  that  the  village  of  Hinton,  where  it  was  proposed 

*  In  October,  1843,  the  Coanoil  consisted,  according  to  the  Briitol  Journal, 
of  fifty-three  Conservatives  and  eleven  Liberals. 


1841.]  LOCAL  TIME.  253 

to  build  the  schoolroom,  was  nearly  a  mile  and  a  half  from 
the  church,  and  that  an  existing  small  building  used  by  the 
Wesleyans  was  inconveniently  crowded  every  Sunday.  The 
Finance  Committee  at  once  complied  with  the  rector's  wishes, 
and  several  of  its  members  defended  its  action  in  the  Council, 
Mr.  Powell,  of  St.  Augustine^ s,  asserting  that  only  two  or 
three  itinerant  Wesleyan  preachers,  who  "  sent  the  hat  round 
every  Sunday,  and  made  a  good  thing  of  it,"  were  at  the 
bottom  of  the  scheme.  The  Council  having  referred  the 
matter  to  the  committee  for  further  consideration,  a  report 
was  presented  a  month  later,  recommending  that  the  lease  be 
granted ;  but  the  Council  rejected  the  advice  by  28  votes 
to  12.  The  subject  was  revived  in  1845;  but  the  application 
for  a  lease,  at  a  rental  to  be  fixed  by  the  Corporation,  was 
again  rejected  by  26  votes  against  14.  Yet  in  October,  1847, 
when  a  piece  of  ground  valued  by  the  corporate  surveyor  at 
£500  was  selected  as  the  site  for  St.  Matthias'  Church  on  the 
Weir,  the  Council,  by  24  votes  against  9,  resolved  to  reduce 
the  purchase  money  to  £150.  The  Lords  of  the  Treasury, 
however,  put  a  veto  on  this  transaction,  and  the  price  was 
ultimately  fixed  at  £300. 

The  opening  of  the  Great  Western  Eailway  between  Bristol 
and  London  took  place,  as  has  been  already  recorded,  on  the 
30th  January,  1841.  Amongst  the  incidental  difficulties  con- 
nected with  the  introduction  of  rapid  travelling,  the  question 
of  "  time  "  was  amongst  the  most  perplexing.  Down  to  this 
period  each  provincial  town  kept  its  own  time,  which  was 
generally  determined  with  accuracy  by  some  scientific  resi- 
dent, and  coaches  found  no  trouble  in  accommodating  them- 
selves to  local  arrangements.  But  the  railway  lines  starting 
from  the  capital  naturally  fixed  on  Greenwich  time,  and 
adopted  it  throughout  their  respective  systems.  There  was 
thus  a  difPerence  between  Bristol  time  and  railway  time  of 
about  ten  minutes;  and  a  few  years  later,  when  the  line 
was  extended  to  Plymouth,  the  time  of  that  town  varied 
seventeen  minutes  from  that  of  the  railway  station.  The 
authorities  in  Bristol,  doubtless  with  an  intention  to  accom- 
modate the  public,  had  two  minute  hands  placed  on  the  clock 
at  the  Exchange,  and  a  similar  plan  was  adopted  at  Bath ; 
but  as  local  time  continued  to  be  recorded  by  the  church 
clocks,  the  public  seem  to  have  been  more  puzzled  than  in- 
structed. The  people  of  Exeter,  on  the  other  hand,  obsti- 
nately refused  for  some  years  to  recognise  "  cockney  time." 
As  will  hereafter  be  noted,  the  introduction  of  the  electric 
telegraph  quickly  routed  provincial  prejudices  on  the  subject. 


254  THE  ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1841. 

The  churcli  of  St.  John  the  Evangelist,  near  Redland,  was 
consecrated  on  the  27th  April,  1841,  by  the  bishop  of  the 
diocese.  The  remarkable  change  which  has  since  occnrred 
in  that  district  is  illustrated  by  the  fact  that,  in  the  appeals 
made  to  the  public  on  behalf  of  the  building  fund,  it  was 
stated  that  the  church  was  intended  to  meet  the  spiritual 
destitution  of  a  locality  almost  exclusively  inhabited  by  the 
poorest  class  of  labourers,  and  that  a  large  proportion  of  the 
sittings  would  in  consequence  be  free.  In  course  of  time, 
the  free  seats  in  the  choir  were  calmly  appropriated  by  the 
middle-class  families  which  had  come  into  the  district ;  and 
in  18G4  a  fresh  set  of  free  seats  was  provided  in  less  fashion- 
able parts  of  the  church.  Dr.  Benson,  Archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury, is  said  to  have  preached  his  first  sermon  as  a  deacon 
in  this  building. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Council  on  the  5th  May,  a  committee, 
to  whom  the  subject  had  been  referred,  reported  that  it 
would  not  be  advisable  to  make  alterations  in  the  Guildhall, 
but  that  the  most  advantageous  course  would  be  to  take  down 
the  edifice,  together  with  some  adjoining  houses,  and  to  erect 
a  more  commodious  hall  upon  the  site.  A  hope  was  held  out 
that  the  sale  of  the  surplus  ground  would  sensibly  diminish 
the  cost  of  the  new  structure.  The  Council  gave  power  to 
the  committee  to  carry  out  the  recommendations  of  the  report. 
After  the  subject  had  been  postponed  for  nearly  two  years, 
the  Guildhall  committee,  on  the  12th  April,  1843,  presented 
a  fresh  report,  accompanied  by  plans  prepared  by  Mr.  B.  S. 
Pope.  It  was  proposed  that  the  new  building  should  com- 
prise, in  addition  to  an  assize  court  capable  of  containing 
1,000  persons,  two  bankruptcy  courts,  a  Court  of  Bequests, 
a  mayor^s  parlour,  and  other  apartments.  The  cost  was  esti- 
mated at  £10,000,  but  it  was  supposed  that  an  income  of  £428 
would  be  derived  from  rents.  It  was  objected  in  the  Council 
that  the  principal  hall  shown  in  the  plans  would  be  one-third 
less  than  the  Guildhall  then  in  existence,  which  was  often 
found  too  small  for  election  nominations  and  public  meetings. 
Nevertheless,  Mr.  Pope's  design  was,  with  slight  modifica- 
tions, adopted,  and  in  June  workmen  commenced  demolish- 
ing the  old  building.  [The  large  traceried  window  in  that 
part  of  the  structure  known  as  St.  George's  Chapel  was 
shortly  afterwards  re-erected  in  the  grounds  of  "  The  Grove," 
Stapleton.  On  removing  the  roof  of  the  chapel,  in  the  space 
between  the  modem  ceiling  and  the  rafters,  a  row  of  pointed 
window  arches  was  found  in  the  walls  on  each  side,  show- 
ing that  the  building  had  originally  been  lofty  and  finely 


1841.]  REBUILDU^G  OF  THE    GUILDHALL.  255 

formed.]  On  the  30th  October,  1843,  the  foundation  stone 
of  the  new  Guildhall  was  laid  by  the  mayor  (Mr.  James 
Gibbs).  It  had  been  intended  to  mark  the  event  with  much 
ceremony,  and  the  Freemasons  of  the  district  were  invited 
to  take  part  in  the  proceedings;  but  torrents  of  rain  fell  at 
the  appointed  hour,  and  the  procession,  which  was  to  have 
passed  through  the  principal  streets,  dwindled  to  an  undigni- 
fied "  scuttle  ^'  down  Broad  Street.  During  the  construction 
of  the  building  the  assizes  and  quarter  sessions  were  held 
in  Coopers'  Hall,  King  Street.  The  new  court  was  used  for 
the  first  time  on  the  28th  July,  1846,  when  the  sessions  were 
opened  by  Sir  Charles  Wetherell  (who  died  less  than  three 
weeks  afterwards).  The  interior  of  the  structure  excited  a 
universal  wail  of  disappointment.  The  feeling  of  the  public 
was  embodied  in  homely  but  explicit  doggerel : 

"  They  puird  down  the  old  hall,  becanse  it  was  too  small, 
And  now  theyWe  built  a  new  Guildhall,  with  no  hall  at  all.*' 

Only  one  opinion  was  expressed  as  to  the  arrangements  by 
those  called  upon  to  make  use  of  the  building;  and  Mr. 
Justice  Coleridge's  remark,  that  the  place  was  "the  perfec- 
tion of  inconvenience,''  was  re-echoed  by  jurors,  counsel, 
litigants,  witnesses,  and  reporters.  Defective  as  it  was, 
the  Guildhall  was  in  some  respects  an  improvement  on  its 
predecessor.  The  shortcomings  of  the  latter  were  described 
from  recollection  by  Mr.  Leech  in  the  Bristol  Times  of  July 
17,  1858.  The  writer  remarked  :  '^Justice  was  at  times  ad- 
ministered with  anything  but  gravity  and  decorum.  The 
chief  portion  of  the  great  hall  was  occupied  by  the  sessions, 
and  once  a  year  by  the  assizes,  whilst  at  the  lower  end  was 
a  smaller  court,  where  the  late  Mr.  A.  Palmer  administered 
justice  in  matters  whose  gravity  did  not  exceed  the  weight 
of  forty  shillings.  The  division  between  the  two  courts 
was  an  imaginary  line,  which  led  to  an  occasional  collision 
between  the  two  jurisdictions.  .  .  .  Sometimes  a  message 
would  be  sent  down  to  urge  the  necessity  of  the  actors  in  the 
inferior  tribunal  conducting  their  proceedings  sotto  voce,  .  .  . 
and  it  might  be  that  the  herald  would  receive  an  answer 
couched  not  merely  in  strong  language,  but  actually  in  phrase 
not  to  bo  repeated  to  ears  polite.  Bankruptcy  was  adminis- 
tered in  lofts  upstairs,  and  the  barristers  robed  in  an  old 
garret  magnificently  furnished  by  the  city  with  a  tenpenny 
looking-glass.  Rows  in  the  Guildhall  we  all  remember,  when 
blue  and  yellow  roared  and  fought  around  the  door  for  the 
possession  of  the  premises  on  the  election  nomination  days;  and 


256  THE   ANNALS   OP  BRISTOL.  [1841. 

then,  when  the  point  had  been  carried  by  a  column  headed  by 
the  Game  Chicken,  or  some  other  local  champion,  with  what 
a  rush  and  a  bellowing  up  the  flight  of  stone  steps  burst  the 
stragglers/'  The  additional  assize  court  and  other  buildings 
fronting  Small  Street  will  be  referred  to  under  1865. 

The  fifth  decennial  census  of  the  population  was  taken  on 
the  7th  June,  when  the  city  of  Bristol,  as  extended  by  the 
Municipal  Corporations  Act,  was  found  to  contain  123,188 
souls.  For  the  purpose  of  comparison  with  previous  returns, 
it  may  be  added  that  the  ancient  city  had  a  population  of 
64,266;  Clifton,  14,177;  the  District,  6,139;  St.  Philip's, 
out,  21,590;  St.  George's,  8,318;  Mangotsfield,  3,862; 
Stapleton,  3,944 ;  Bedminster,  1 7,862 ;  and  Stoke  Bishop 
ty thing,  2,651. 

On  the  dissolution  of  Parliament  in  June,  1841,  the  previous 
members,  Mr.  P.  W.  S.  Miles,  and  Mr.  F.  H.  F.  Berkeley, 
offered  themselves  for  re-election.  The  Conservatives  pro- 
posed to  oust  the  latter  by  again  nominating  Mr.  W.  Fripp  ; 
but  at  the  close  of  the  poll,  which  took  place  on  the  29th 
June,  the  numbers  were  found  to  be :  Mr.  Miles,  4,197 ;  Mr. 
Berkeley,  3,743 ;  Mr.  Fripp,  3,689.  Much  irritation  was 
caused  amongst  Mr.  Fripp's  friends  by  Mr.  Miles's  disclaimer 
on  the  hustings  of  a  coalition,  and  an  angry  controversy  took 
place  on  the  subject,  which,  as  will  afterwards  be  seen,  ended 
in  a  temporary  disruption  of  the  Conservative  party  in  the 
city.  The  polling  had  hitherto  taken  place  in  Queen  Square 
only ;  but  on  this  occasion  the  sheriff  resolved  on  erecting 
forty-three  booths  in  various  parts  of  the  borough,  much  to 
the  convenience  of  the  electors. 

As  an  illustration  of  the  manner  in  which  elections  were 
still  conducted,  the  following  extract  from  an  article  published 
in  the  Bristol  Journal  on  the  eve  of  the  contest  is  not  un- 
worthy of  preservation :  '^  Remember  that  a  Conservative 
Government  will  be  the  inevitable  result  of  the  coming  elec- 
tions, and  that  all  the  situations  in  the  Customs  and  Excise 
will  bo  in  their  gift,  on  the  nomination  of  Miles  and  Fripp.* 
Freemen  of  Bristol !     The  following  is  a  list  of  the  gifts  in 


•  **  A  meeting  of  Mr.  Miles's  committee  was  held  on  Monday,  Sir.  J.  K.  Haber- 
field  in  the  chair,  when  the  following  appointments  were  made  to  fill  up 
vacancies  in  our  Custom  House :  Mr.  Baber,  son  to  our  well-known  and  re- 
spected fellow  citizen,  Mr.  Harry  Baber,  was  appointed  to  a  clerkship  in  the 
Long  Room ;  Mr.  William  Ross  Davis  to  a  weigher's  situation,  and  Mr.  George 
Collins  as  tidewaiter." — Bristol  Journal,  May  22,  1852.  In  the  same  newspaper 
for  the  following  week  it  is  stated  that  the  appointment  of  a  postmaster  for 
Clifton  by  Mr.  Hale  (M.P.  for  Gloucestershire)  had  caused  great  dissatisfaction, 
amongst  the  dispensers  of  Government  patronage  in  Bristol. 


1841.]    CHRIST  CHURCH,  CUFTON.      DEAF  AND  DUMB  ASTLUIC.       257 

the  hands  of  the  Conservative  chnrchwardens  and  vestries 
of  this  city:  All  Saints,  19;  St.  Augustine's,  56;  Christ 
Church,  25 ;  St.  Bwen,  5 ;  St.  James's,  66 ;  St.  John's,  26 ; 
St.  Leonard's,  6 ;  St.  Maryleport,  10 ;  St.  Mary  Redcliff,  46 ;  St. 
Michael's,  48  ;  St.  Nicholas'  60 ;  St.  Paul's,  6 ;  St.  Peter's,  45  ; 
St.  Philip's,  45 ;  St.  Stephen's  31 ;  Temple,  62  ;  St.  Thomas's, 
61 ;  St.  Werburgh's,  14—631.  This  is  a  goodly  array  of  gifts 
which  are  in  the  power  of  the  Conservatives  to  bestow,  and 
will  no  doubt  brighten  the  eyes  of  many  a  poor  freeman." 
It  was  true,  continued  the  writer,  that  the  Charity  Trustees, 
who  were  abusing  the  powers  confided  to  them  in  the 
interests  of  Liberalism,  had  129  gifts  at  their  disposal.  But 
a  Conservative  Government  would  "displace  every  one  of 
these  men  in  the  very  next  session"  of  Parliament,  and 
Liberal  electors  ''  having  already  had  such  a  large  picking, 
must  in  conmion  justice  give  way  to  the  claims  of  those  who 
now  vote  for  Miles  and  Fripp."  In  the  meantime  the  "  poor 
freemen "  were  assured  that  '*  our  generous  Conservative 
mayoress,  our  Conservative  Town  Council,  our  Conservative 
churchwardens,  our  Conservative  vestries,  our  Conservative 
Merchant  Venturers  would  not  turn  a  deaf  ear  to  their  sup- 
plications." 

Christ  Church,  Clifton,  the  finest  example  of  the  Early 
English  style  of  architecture  in  the  city,  was  consecrated  by 
Bishop  Monk  on  the  8th  October.  It  had  cost  about  £10,500, 
including  the  purchase  of  the  site.  In  1858,  the  then  incum- 
bent urged  that  the  building  should  be  enlarged  by  the 
addition  of  aisles,  but  the  parishioners  preferred  to  add  the 
tower  and  spire,  according  to  the  original  design.  These 
graceful  ornaments  were  completed  on  the  22nd  November, 
1859,  at  a  cost  of  £2,400  (a  workman  celebrating  the  fixing 
of  the  capstone — which  weighed  a  quarter  of  a  ton — ^by 
standing  upon  it  on  his  head,  at  a  distance  of  212  feet  from 
the  ground).  In  1884  the  aisles  were  again  projected,  and 
the  proposal  caused  fresh  dissension  and  some  litigation, 
several  influential  residents  being  of  opinion  that  the  addi- 
tions, if  carried  out,  would  irreparably  destroy  the  beauty  of 
the  edifice.  Their  opponents,  however,  prevailed,  and  the 
new  aisles,  which  cost  upwards  of  £4,000,  were  opened  by 
Bishop  Ellicott  in  September,  1885. 

The  Bristol  Deaf  and  Dumb  Institution  was  established  in 
the  course  of  this  year.  In  the  case  of  this  charity,  the  city 
did  not  occupy  its  customary  position  amongst  the  great  towns 
of  the  country.  Edinburgh  founded  a  Deaf  and  Dumb 
Institution  in  1760,  and  the  example  had  been  largely  followed 

8 


258  THE   ANKALS  OF  BRISTOL.  [1842. 

before  Bristol  entered  the  field.  The  charity,  which  was  for 
many  years  located  in  Park  Bow,  was  removed  in  August, 
1874,  to  the  entrance  to  Tyndall's  Park,  where  a  building  in 
the  Tudor  style  had  been  erected  for  it  at  an  outlay  of  £7,000. 

Under  the  Cathedral  Acts  passed  in  1841  and  1842,  the 
bishop  of  this  diocese  was  authorised  to  appoint,  at  the  rate 
of  two  per  annum,  twenty-four  honorary  canons  of  Bristol. 
An  equal  number  was  awarded  to  Gloucester. 

In  March,  1842,  workmen  commenced  the  removal  of  the 
old  houses  which  earlier  generations  had  allowed  to  cluster 
against  the  north  side  of  St.  Mary  RedclifE  Church,  some 
encroaching  on  the  west  front  of  the  edifice  being  also 
demolished,  with  the  object  of  laying  out  a  new  street,  which 
was  called  Phippen  Street,  in  honour  of  the  mayor  for  the 
previous  year.  By  the  destruction  of  several  miserable  dwell- 
ings, the  north  front  of  the  parish  church,  the  details  of 
which  had  been  concealed  for  two  or  three  centuries,  were 
thrown  open  to  public  view.  [The  statue  of  Chatterton  (see 
p.  249)  was  re-erected  on  the  site  of  one  of  those  hovels.] 
The  cost  of  the  property  destroyed  (about  eighty-six  tene- 
ments), with  other  expenses,  was  upwards  of  £20,700;  but  by 
the  sale  of  ground  rents  the  expenditure  was  reduced  to 
about  £8,700.  In  May,  1843,  a  further  improvement  was 
effected  near  the  church  by  the  lowering  of  Redcliff  Hill,  a 
commencement  being  also  made  with  the  widening  of  Redcliff 
Street,  by  the  setting  back  of  one  or  two  houses.  These 
works  raised  the  total  amount  spent  in  the  locality  to  £13,500. 

On  the  18th  March,  a  man  styling  himself  Signer  Irving 
walked  across  a  rope  stretched  over  the  Floating  Harbour, 
from  a  warehouse  on  Redcliff  Back  to  the  Welsh  Back.  The 
feat  attracted  a  great  concourse  of  spectators.  Three  days 
later,  the  precursor  of  Blondin  was  repeating  the  performance, 
when  the  rope  broke,  and  he  was  seriously  bruised  by  falling 
upon  a  barge. 

On  the  7th  July,  1842,  an  exhibition  of  machinery,  works 
of  art,  etc.,  promoted  by  the  members  of  the  Mechanics' 
Institute,  was  opened  in  a  building  at  the  top  of  Park  Street, 
and  continued  on  view,  with  a  short  interval,  until  the  end 
of  October.  Amongst  the  visitors  was  H.R.H.  the  Duke 
of  Cambridge,  who  expressed  himself  much  pleased.  The 
exhibition  was  very  popular,  upwards  of  74,000  persons 
paying  for  admission;  and  the  net  profits,  nearly  £800,  sufficed 
to  wipe  off  the  debt  of  the  Institute. 

The  Royal  Agricultural  Society  opened  the  fourth  of  its 
annual  country  meetings  at  Bristol  on  the  12th  July.     The 


1842.]       ROYAL  AGBICaLTURAL  SHOW.      ST.  MART  BEDCLIFF.         259 

site  selected  for  the  exhibition  of  implements  is  now  occupied 
by  the  Triangle^  while  the  show  ground  for  animals  was  in 
the  fields  which  then  lay  immediately  behind  the  Victoria 
Rooms^  about  six  acres  being  enclosed  for  the  purpose. 
Amongst  the  miscellaneous  articles  on  view  was  a  gigantic 
cheese,  weighing  nine  hundredweight,  made  at  West  Pennard, 
Somerset,  and  intended  by  the  dairy  farmers  of  the  district 
as  a  present  to  the  Queen.  [The  cheese  subsequently  got 
into  the  Court  of  Chancery.]  The  showyard  was  visited  by 
33,000  persons.  The  trials  of  implements  took  place  in  a 
field  at  Sneyd  Park.  Amongst  the  crowds  of  distinguished 
personages  who  visited  the  city  on  the  occasion,  were  the 
Duke  of  Cambridge,  the  Prince  of  Saxe  Meiningen,  the  Dukes 
of  Richmond  and  Beaufort,  the  Marquis  of  Downshire,  the 
Earls  of  Ilchester,  Somers,  Ducie,  Spencer,  Essex,  Chichester, 
Fortescue,  and  Zetland,  the  Hon.  E.  Everett,  United  States 
minister,  H.  Handley,  Esq.,  president  of  the  Society,  etc.  The 
annual  dinner  of  the  Society  was  held  on  the  14th  July  in  a 
pavilion  capable  of  accommodating  about  2,500  persons.  On 
the  same  day  a  single  train  from  London  brought  down  2,115 
passengers.  The  receipts  of  the  Great  Western  Railway  for 
the  week  were  £20,627,  which  by  a  generation  accustomed  to 
coach  travelling  was  deemed  a  truly  marvellous  amount. 

About  this  date  a  curious  official  seal  or  die  of  the  reign 
of  Henry  VIII.  was  found  in  a  sewer  near  Castle  Street.  It 
was  of  copper,  gilt,  about  three  inches  in  diameter,  and  bore 
an  c&gy  of  the  king  in  his  robes,  seated  under  a  canopy,  and 
holding  a  sceptre  and  orb.  The  inscription  was  as  follows : 
"  Anno  Regis  Henrici  Octavi  34,  racium  (?)  anno  CTaoia,  1542.*' 

The  local  journals  of  the  30th  July  published  a  long  and 
earnest  appeal  to  the  citizens  on  behalf  of  the  venerable 
parish  church  of  St.  Mary  Redcliff,  then  crumbling  to  decay 
through  the  neglect  and  parsimony  of  previous  generations. 
The  appeal,  which  was  signed  by  the  Rev.  M.  R.  Whish, 
vicar,  and  Thomas  Proctor  and  John  Farler,  churchwardens, 
stated  that  the  objects  to  be  kept  in  view  were  the  solid 
and  substantial  repair  of  the  fabric,  the  restoration  of  its 
ornamental  parts,  and  such  alterations,  chiefly  internal,  as 
might  be  necessary  to  restore  the  church  to  its  ancient  and 
pristine  beauty.  The  services  of  Mr.  Britton,  the  eminent 
antiquary,  had  been  obtained  for  the  restoration,  and  Mr. 
William  Hosking,  professor  of  architecture  at  King's  College, 
had  co-operated  in  the  preparation  of  plans  and  drawings 
illustrative  of  the  work  to  be  accomplished.  The  cost  of  the 
restoration  was  estimated  at  "very  nearly  £40,000."      The 


260  THE   ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1842. 

response  of  the  citizens  to  this  document  was  of  a  frigid 
character;  and  although  the  promoters  of  the  work  neverthe- 
less persevered  in  pressing  it  upon  the  public,  they  long 
failed  to  shake  the  apathy  of  the  wealthier  classes.  At  a 
meeting  in  March,  1845,  it  was  reported,  that  although  the 
ruinous  state  of  the  church  was  daily  becoming  more  alarm- 
ing, the  total  amount  subscribed  (less  a  vote  of  £2,000  made 
by  the  vestry  and  £1,000  contributed  by  the  committee)  was 
only  £2,400.  Urgent  appeals  were  repeatedly  made  through 
the  press ;  and  in  the  following  September,  in  the  hope  that 
if  the  work  were  once  begun  it  would  not  be  suffered  to 
drop,  Mr.  George  Grodwin  was  appointed  architect.  A  con- 
tract was  also  entered  into  for  the  restoration  of  the  east 
window  and  of  one  section  of  the  church.  The  foundation- 
stone  of  the  new  works  was  laid  on  the  ^Ist  April,  1846,  by 
the  mayor  (Mr.  Haberfield),  a  long  masonic  procession  accom- 
panying his  worship  to  the  spot.  In  the  course  of  carrying 
out  this  contract,  which  was  completed  in  September,  1847, 
some  brickwork  blocking  up  an  arch  between  the  chancel 
and  the  Lady  Chapel  was  removed,  when  a  beautiful  but 
much-mutilated  stone  screen  was  exposed  to  view.  [Another 
interesting  discovery  was  made  some  years  later  in  the  south 
aisle  of  the  nave,  namely,'  the  original  tombs  of  William 
Canynges  and  his  wife.  The  face  of  these  beautifully 
canopied  recesses  had  been  ruthlessly  cut  away  and  wain- 
scoted over  in  the  reign  of  Queen  Anne,  when  the  church 
was  repewed.  It  was  supposed  that  the  eflBgies  then  lying 
in  the  south  transept  had  been  removed  from  the  recesses 
by  the  perpetrators  of  the  mutilation,  and  in  1852  the  figures 
were  replaced  in  their  original  position.]  In  January,  1848, 
the  Canynges  Society  was  formed  for  the  purpose  of  help- 
ing forward  the  restoration,  directing  its  efforts  in  the  first 
instance  to  the  chancel.  In  the  summer  of  the  same  year  an 
anonymous  contributor,  signing  himself  '^  Nil  Desperandum," 
began  to  forward  money  for  the  restoration  of  the  north  porch, 
the  cost  of  which  was  nearly  £2,600.  [On  the  death  of 
Alderman  Proctor,  in  May,  1876,  his  executors  discovered — 
as  had  long  been  suspected — that  he  had  effected  this  work 
at  his  sole  expense,  besides  contributing  largely  to  the  sub- 
scriptions for  the  church].  The  assistance  of  the  public 
continued  to  be  rendered  grudgingly  for  several  years;  and 
but  for  the  exertions  of  the  Canynges  Society,  and  its 
auxiliary,  the  Commercial  Association  (which  rebuilt  the 
south  porch) ,  little  progress  could  have  been  effected.  At  the 
close  of  1857,  after  nearly  sixteen  years'  efforts,  less  than 


1842.]  ST.  MARY  ASDCLIF7.      COLSTON's   8CB00L.  261 

£13,000  had  been  obtained  from  every  source.  More  interest, 
however,  began  to  be  shown  by  the  wealthieV  classes  after 
that  date;  and  in  1860  a  stimulDS  was  given  to  the  work  by 
the  offer  of  Mr.  S.  W.  Lucas,  of  Birmingham,  to  give  £1,000 
provided  £4,000  additional  were  collected.  The  result  was  a 
subscription  exceeding  £5,500,  which  enabled  the  committee 
to  make  considerable  progress  during  the  following  five  years. 
In  the  meantime,  the  freemasons  of  the  city  resolved  upon 
restoring  the  Lady  Chapel  at  their  sole  expense.  The  first 
stone  of  this  work  was  laid  on  the  28th  August,  1861,  when 
the  masonic  body  in  full  regalia  assembled  in  the  Exchange, 
and  walked  in  procession  through  the  streets,  the  unusual 
pageant  exciting  much  public  interest.  The  stone  was  laid 
by  Mr.  Henry  Shute,  P.G.M.  At  the  close  of  1865,  when  the 
treasury  was  again  exhausted,  another  subscription  was  set 
on  foot.  Alderman  Proctor,  Mr.  R.  P.  King,  Mr.  J.  Lucas,  and 
the  Rev.  H.  G.  Randall  offering  £500  each,  to  which  the 
public  added  about  £4,000.  In  1870  it  was  announced  that 
this  fund,  which  had  reached  £7,500,  was  absorbed.  The 
restoration  of  the  Lady  Chapel  was  completed  in  the  same 
year.  Only  £5,000  additional  were  now  asked  for  to  complete 
the  restoration,  including  the  spire,  and  as  about  £2,000 
were  soon  forthcoming,  the  committee  began  operations  for 
"  crowning  the  edifice  *'  in  the  summer  of  1871.  No  time  was 
lost  in  prosecuting  the  task,  for  on  the  9th  May,  1872,  the 
capstone  of  the  spire — b,  piece  of  Portland  stone  thirteen  feet 
in  girth,  and  weighing  about  a  ton — ^was  laid  by  the  mayor 
(Alderman  W.  P.  Baker),  who  was  accompanied  to  the  sum- 
mit, 276i  feet  above  the  ground,  by  the  mayoress,  the  vicar, 
and  some  officials  of  the  parish.  The  vane,  which  stands  15^ 
feet  above  the  capstone,  was  fixed  a  few  days  later.  In  the 
closing  months  of  the  year  an  illuminated  dial  was  placed  in 
the  tower,  and  the  peal  of  bells  was  increased  from  ten  to 
twelve.  In  October,  1874,  a  "final  appeal''  was  made  by 
the  Canynges  Society,  who  stated  that  up  to  that  date 
£45,000  had  been  expended  in  the  restoration,  of  which  sum 
£2,000  remained  as  a  debt.  Various  details  were  also  left 
uncompleted,  and  for  these  £4,000  more  were  required.  The 
incumbrance  was  shortly  after  cleared  off,  and  the  additional 
works  were  undertaken  and  finished  at  intervals. 

On  the  1st  August,  1842,  Lord  Langdale,  Master  of  the 
Rolls,  gave  judgment  upon  an  information  filed  by  the 
Attorney-General  against  the  Society  of  Merchant  Venturers 
in  the  matter  of  Colston's  School.  The  question  at  issue  was 
the  disposition  of  the  surplus  of  the  funds  left  by  Colston 


262  THE   ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1842  • 

after  the  expenses  of  the  school  had  been  provided  for,  it 
being  argued  by  the  Society,  that  as  they  were  liable  for 
deficiencies,  they  were  entitled  to  appropriate  the  surpluses 
which  might  remain  in  hand.  A  particular  transaction  ap- 
peared to  have  led  to  the  information.  The  Merchants' 
Society  had  demised  to  one  Edward  Bowyer  and  his  wife  a 
portion  of  the  Colston  property  on  lease,  at  a  yearly  rent  of 
£315 ;  but  subsequently,  in  consideration  of  the  lessees  un- 
dertaking to  pay  down  £2,500,  the  rent  was  reduced  to  £5 
per  annum.  The  lessees  had  actually  paid  only  £500  of  the 
promised  amount ;  for  the  balance  of  £2,000  the  Society  ob- 
tained as  security  the  manor  of  Stogursey,  which  subse- 
quently, saving  certain  rights  of  Eton  College,  passed  wholly 
into  their  possession,  when  the  profits  were  retained  by 
themselves.  Lord  Langdale,  in  giving  judgment,  said  the 
Society  were  not  entitled  to  deal  with  the  funds  of  the  school 
for  their  own  benefit.  There  must  be  an  inquiry,  and  the 
Society  must  be  charged  on  account  of  the  £2,500,  but  the 
inquiry  was  not  to  go  further  back  than  the  date  of  the 
information.  There  was,  his  lordship  added,  much  to  be 
urged  for  the  defendants,  considering  the  difficulties  imposed 
upon  them  by  Colston's  executors.  The  Society  appealed 
against  the  decision,  but  the  Lord  Chancellor,  in  January, 
1848,  confirmed  the  judgment  of  Lord  Langdale.  During 
the  hearing  of  the  case  it  was  stated  by  counsel  that  certain 
estates,  ground-rents,  etc.,  given  by  Colston  to  the  school, 
and  producing  £1,280  at  the  time  of  the  foundation,  had 
become  worth  more  than  £3,000  a  year,  and  that  the  surplus 
had  been  retained  for  many  years  by  the  Merchants'  Society. 

The  conversion,  in  1786,  of  the  Weavers'  Hall,  Temple 
Street,  then  a  Methodist  chapel,  into  a  Jewish  synagogue, 
is  recorded  in  Barrett's  history  of  the  city.  On  the  18th 
August,  1842,  the  Jews  opened  a  new  synagogue  near  the 
same  spot,  having  purchased  and  decorated  a  chapel  built 
for  the  Society  of  Friends,  but  which  had  been  for  some 
years  hired  by  the  Wesleyans,  who  were  thus  twice  succeeded 
by  the  Jews.  The  Weavers'  Hall,  again  vacated  by  the 
removal  of  the  synagogue,  was  bought  soon  after  by  the 
authorities  of  Temple  parish  for  the  purpose  of  being  con- 
verted into  a  school. 

About  the  end  of  September  a  local  case,  marked  by 
astonishing  credulity  on  the  one  hand  and  of  rarely  matched 
baseness  and  treachery  on  the  other,  excited  widespread 
attention.  The  main  features  of  the  storv  were  as  follows  : 
At  No.  5,  Cumberland  Terrace,  Cumberland  Road,  resided 


1842.]  THE   WOOLLET   HOAX.  263 

Mr.  John  Woolley,  a  timber  merchant,  considerably  advanced 
in  years.  After  the  death  of  his  wife,  in  1838,  his  house  had 
been  managed  by  his  sister-in-law,  Mary  Briers,  whom  he 
was  said  to  have  adopted  whilst  a  child,  and  to  have  treated 
with  much  kindness.  Woolley,  however,  was  vain,  weak- 
minded,  and  greedy ;  and  the  housekeeper,  who  was  inordi- 
nately fond  of  finery  and  display,  resolved  upon  gratifying 
her  tastes  by  playing  upon  his  weaknesses.  Her  first  essay, 
made  about  a  year  before  this  date,  was  to  induce  him  to 
believe  that  his  personal  charms  and  amiable  disposition  had 
won  the  heart  of  a  young  lady  with  a  fortune  of  £5,000,  and 
large  '^  expectations  "  from  a  wealthy  aunt,  who  knew  of  and 
sympathised  with  her  niece's  aflTection.  Woolley  thereupon 
began  to  write  amorous  letters  to  his  Dulcinea,  the  missives 
being  placed  in  the  hands  of  Bryers,  who  quickly  concocted 
responses  calculated  to  keep  up  his  delusion.  The  sym- 
pathetic aunt  was  also  made  to  play  a  part  in  the  farce. 
Under  the  pretence  that  her  large  income  came  in  irregularly, 
loans  of  money  were  requested  in  letters  to  Woolley,  who 
advanced  some  £70  on  being  made  the  custodian  of  a  pre- 
tended will,  by  which  the  dupe  was  promised  a  legacy 
of  £5,000.  Feeling  that  further  imposture  in  this  direction 
might  lead  to  exposure,  Bryers  now  devised  a  fresh  and  more 
daring  scheme.  Her  brother-in-law  was  informed  that 
another  young  lady — a  Miss  Poole  King — with  a  fortune  of 
£47,000,  had  conceived  so  ardent  a  passion  for  his  person, 
through  having  seen  him  frequently  passing  her  house  in 
Redclifi"  Parade,  that  she  was  ready  to  throw  herself  and 
fortune  into  his  arms.  Although,  as  in  the  former  case, 
Woolley  was  wholly  unacquainted  with  his  reputed  adorer, 
he  seemed  to  have  accepted  her  advances  as  a  matter  of 
course,  and  the  first  charmer  was  so  completely  neglected 
that  Bryers  was  enabled  to  forge  a  letter  purporting  to  come 
from  that  lady,  upbraiding  him  with  inconstancy,  and  de- 
clining further  correspondence.  Beleased  from  this  difficulty, 
Woolley  fell  eagerly  into  the  new  web  of  fraud  framed  by  his 
impudent  relative,  who  obtained  a  gold  watch  from  a  trades- 
man on  the  credit  of  his  name,  induced  him  to  believe  that 
it  was  a  present  from  Miss  King,  and  secured  his  own  watch 
for  an  imaginary  exchange  of  love  tokens.  A  correspondence 
was  next  started,  Bryers  producing  letters  from  the  lady 
expressing  the  warmest  attachment — accompanied  on  one 
occasion  with  a  request  for  a  loan  of  £20  to  meet  an 
emergency,  which  met,  of  course,  with  a  prompt  response. 
Eventually,    on   being  told   that   Miss   King's  family   were 


264  THE  ANNALS  OF  BRISTOL.  [1842. 

violently  opposed  to  her  marriage,  WooUey  expressed  his 
willingfness  to  assist  in  her  elopement;  and  one  Sunday 
evening  Bryers  informed  him  that  the  lady  had  taken  refuge 
in  his  house^  but  declined  to  see  him.  A  pretended  fugitive 
did,  in  fact,  remain  in  the  house  until  the  following  Wednes- 
day, Bryers  in  the  meanwhile  obtaining  money  from  her 
complacent  employer  under  various  pretexts.  All  prepara- 
tions having  been  made,  Woolley  was  at  length  permitted  to 
see  his  intended  bride  ;  and  though  the  slightest  perspicacity 
would  have  sufficed  to  convince  him  that  the  alleged  lady 
was  of  the  vulgarist  materials,  the  gull  appears  to  have  been 
perfectly  satisfied.  A  post-chaise  having  been  obtained,  the 
party  set  off  for  London,  where  the  '^  fair  one,"  to  Woolley's 
great  satisfaction,  undertook  to  make  over  £27,000  of  her 
fortune.  A  licence  being  next  obtained,  the  couple  were 
married  at  South wark  on  the  12th  September — the  bride 
being  so  *'  overcome  "  when  her  signature  was  required  in  the 
vestry  that  Bryers  had  to  guide  her  hand.  A  week  having 
been  gaily  spent  at  an  hotel,  the  party  returned  to  Bristol, 
where,  on  the  pretence  that  the  lady  was  going  to  Redcliff 
Parade  to  prepare  her  home  for  her  husband's  reception,  the 
two  women  took  to  flight,  with  certain  luggage  belonging  to 
Woolley.  The  wretched  man  soon  after  discovered  that  he 
had  not  only  been  robbed  of  his  valuables,  but  had  been 
united  to  a  girl  of  low  origin,  named  Mary  Ann  Morgan,  who 
had  earned  her  living  as  a  domestic  servant.  About  a  fort- 
night later,  Bryers  and  her  tool  were  captured  in  London, 
and  were  taken  before  a  magistrate;  bui  Woolley,  over- 
whelmed by  the  roar  of  popular  ridicule  excited  by  his  tale, 
ultimately  declined  to  prosecute,  and  was  left  to  ponder  for 
the  rest  of  his  life  over  his  egregious  credulity. 

In  the  autumn  of  this  year  public  attention  was  called  in 
the  local  press  to  the  destruction  of  the  natural  beauties 
of  Leigh  Woods  and  of  the  Somerset  bank  of  the  Avon  by 
the  proprietors  of  the  property.  From  the  statements  made 
in  newspaper  articles  and  correspondence,  it  appeared  that 
a  portion  of  the  ancient  British  camp  had  been  converted 
into  a  potato  garden ;  the  wood  was  let  as  a  rabbit  warren ; 
many  of  the  large  trees  were  cut  or  thrown  down ;  and  sylvan 
spots  of  eminent  beauty,  open  to  the  public  from  time 
immemorial,  were  hedged  off  from  pedestrians,  who  were 
insultingly  driven  away  by  the  man  who  had  taken  possession 
of  the  place.  All  this  was  done,  it  was  added,  in  order  that 
''  the  poor  annual  pittance  of  some  £20  sterling  "  might  fall 
*'  into   coffers  already  overflowing  " ;  and  letters  addressed 


1842.]  DSSTBUCTION   OF   LEIGH    WOODS.  265 

to  the  owner  of  the  estate  were  contemptuously  ignored.  On 
the  river  bank,  the  destruction  worked  on  another  property 
by  pickaxe  and  blasting  powder  was  playing  still  greater 
havoc  with  scenery  of  surpassing  OTandeur  and  beauty.  A 
Conservative  editor  remarked:  "Of  the  unintelligent,  un- 
scrupulous, and  merely  mercenary  and  vulgar  character 
of  the  general  invasion  of  which  this  fine  scenery  has  long 
been  the  victim,  there  can  be  in  every  generous  and  feeling 
mind  but  one  opinion."  The  protests  of  the  public  were, 
however,  of  no  efiFect.  A  toll  was  demanded  of  every  one 
entering  Leigh  Woods,  while  on  the  other  estate  every  large 
tree  was  cut  down  in  the  wood  overhanging  the  river  from 
Stokeleigh  camp  to  opposite  Cook's  Folly.  In  July,  1849, 
the  restrictions  imposed  upon  pedestrians  frequenting  Leigh 
Woods  were  abandoned,  and  the  boorish  potato  grower  dis- 
appeared. In  the  summer  of  1879,  on  the  other  hand,  an 
ancient  foot  and  bridle  path  from  Leigh  road  to  the  wood 
overhanging  the  Abbot's  Pond,  was  closed  by  the  owner 
of  the  land,  and  as  no  one  felt  called  upon  to  resist  his  action, 
the  right  of  the  public  was  surrendered.  In  the  meantime 
the  devastation  of  the  riverside  scenery  had  gone  on,  as  it 
still  goes  on,  without  interruption.  The  Englinh  Illustrated 
Magazine  for  November,  1886,  contains  the  indignant  protest 
of  a  well-known  literary  citizen  against  the  destruction  of 
the  "  waving  forest  that  had  been  the  nursery  of  art  to 
W.  J.  Miiller,  Danby,  Pyne,  and  Turner,  and  the  scenery  that 
has  given  character  to  Clifton,"  which  had  become  "only 
a  record  of  an  utilitarian  age,  whose  sordid  spirit  could  con- 
vert so  choice  a  piece  of  landscape  into  crumbling  stones  for 
the  sake  of  their  value  in  money. 

An  interesting  geological  discovery  was  made  in  November, 
1842,  in  one  of  the  quarries  which  were  then  worked  in  the 
middle  of  Durdham  Down,  the  workmen  having  found  an 
opening  into  a  cavern  containing  a  quantity  of  the  remains 
of  animals  for  ages  extinct  in  this  country.  The  cavity, 
though  narrow,  was  of  some  extent,  being  traceable  to  a  depth 
of  ninety  feet.  The  bones  had  belonged  to  about  twelve 
hyenas,  a  bear,  two  rhinoceros,  several  hippopotami,  numerous 
examples  of  wild  bulls,  about  five  deer,  and  five  or  six 
elephants,  besides  the  relics  of  animals  of  later  date.  The 
bones  were  nearly  all  fractured  into  small  pieces,  and  the 
proportion  of  teeth  and  horns  to  other  parts  of  the  body 
greatly  preponderated.  Taking  this  fact  into  consideration, 
together  with  the  marks  of  gnawing  on  the  bones,  and  the 
certainty  that  the  cave  could  not  have  accommodated  more 


266  THI  AKKAJA  or  BBUtOL.  [1843. 

than  a  small  fraction  of  the  animals  represented  by  the 
vestiges^  scientific  observers  concluded  that  the  den  had  been 
the  retreat  of  hyenas,  which  had  carried  to  it  portions  of 
their  prey.  By  comparison  of  the  teeth  of  the  hyena  and 
bear  with  those  of  the  present  races,  the  larger  size  of  the 
early  animals  became  strikingly  apparent;  those  of  the 
hyena  testified  that  the  beast  had  been  bigger  than  the 
largest  known  species  of  tiger.  The  appearance  of  the 
remains  suggested  the  hypothesis  that  a  considerable  move- 
ment had  taken  place  in  the  sides  of  the  fissure  since  the 
animals  had  lived  there ;  and  this,  it  was  presumed,  had 
produced  the  closure  of  the  orifice,  and  the  consequent  high 
preservation  of  the  bones. 

In  February,  1843,  the  Government  purchased  a  plot  of 
land,  part  of  Horfield  Court  Farm,  the  property  of  Mr.  A.  M. 
Storey,  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  cavalry  and  infantry 
barracks  on  the  site,  and  so  avoiding  the  quartering  of  troops 
on  the  publicans  of  the  city — a  system  which  had  long  been 
condemned  both  by  the  victuallers  and  the  public.  The 
foundation-stone  of  the  new  buildings  was  laid  with  masonic 
ceremony  on  the  3rd  June,  1845,  and  the  completed  pre- 
mises were  handed  over  to  the  Board  of  Ordnance  on  the  26th 
April,  1847.  The  barracks,  which  cost  £57,000,  were  con- 
structed to  accommodate  four  companies  of  infantry  and  two 
troops  of  cavalry.  In  1873  considerable  additions  were  made 
to  the  buildings,  which  became  a  "  local  military  centre  " 
under  the  Army  Re-organization  Act.  A  field  opposite  to  the 
barracks  was  also  purchased,  to  serve  as  a  camping  ground 
for  the  Gloucestershire  militia  during  the  annual  period  of 
training. 

Robert  Southey,  one  of  BristoPs  most  distinguished  sons, 
died  on  the  21  st  March,  1843,  at  Keswick,  Cumberland.  A 
detailed  notice  of  the  literary  labours  of  one  of  the  most 
indefatigable  and  voluminous  of  English  writers  would  be 
inconsistent  with  the  character  of  this  work,  but  it  may  be 
interesting  to  record  a  few  local  facts  connected  with  his 
career.  Born  on  the  12th  August,  1774,  at  No.  9,  Wine 
Street,  where  his  father  carried  on  business  as  a  draper,  at 
the  sign  of  ''  The  Hare,"  Southey  received  the  elements  of 
instruction  from  various  teachers  in  and  near  the  city,  and 
showed  at  an  early  age  such  strong  indications  of  ability  and 
genius  that  an  uncle,  the  Rev.  H.  Hill,  undertook  to  bear  the 
expense  of  his  education  at  a  public  school.  At  Westminster 
the  boy  soon  found  congenial  associates,  amongst  whom  was 
Mr.  Charles  W.  Wynn,  afterwards  for  nearly  half  a  century 


1843.]  ROBEBT  80UTHET.  267 

a  highly  esteemed  member  of  the  House  of  Commons. 
Southey's  career  at  the  school  was  cut  short  by  an  unlucky 
essay  on  corporal  punishment,  published  in  the  school  maga- 
zine which  he  had  contributed  to  establish,  the  lucubration 
being  supposed  by  the  servile  head-master  to  reflect  upon  the 
inhuman  floggings  which  were  then  of  constant  occurrence  in 
the  army  and  navy.  The  punishment  was  expulsion;  and,  as 
the  elder  Southey  failed  in  business  about  the  same  date,  the 
lad'a  prospects  would  have  been  seriously  compromised  but 
for  the  continued  protection  of  his  uncle,  Hill,  who  provided 
means  for  sending  him  to  Oxford.  It  was  during  his  college 
life,  1792-4,  that  he  encountered  Coleridge,  then,  like  him- 
self, a  Unitarian  and  a  republican,  and  the  new  friends  a 
little  later  found  themselves  at  Bristol,  disgusted  with  scho- 
lasticism and  with  the  superannuated  customs  of  old  world 
civilization,  and  eager  to  form  a  Utopian  '^  Pantosocracy  "  in 
America — a  bubble  which  happily  soon  burst.  The  dreamers, 
moreover,  fell  in  love  with  two  young  Bristol  ladies  named 
Fricker,  daughters  of  a  maker  of  sugar-loaf  moulds  at  West- 
bury,  who  had  died  in  embarrassed  circumstances.  Being 
themselves  in  sorry  pecuniary  plight,  the  amorous  youths 
resolved  on  giving  a  course  of  lectures  in  the  city — Southey 
selecting  historical,  and  Coleridge  political  and  moral  subjects. 
For  the  former's  course  of  twelve  lectures,  tickets,  lO.**.  6rf. 
each,  were  "  to  be  had  of  Mr.  Cottle,  bookseller.  High  Street," 
from  whose  published  reminiscences  it  appears  that  the  ex- 
periment met  with  liberal  patronage.*  A  few  months  later, 
Cottle,  who  was  himself  a  poet,  was  so  pleased  with  ^^  Joan 
of  Arc,"  Southey's  first  important  work,  that  he  offered  £50 
for  the  copyright,  promising  also  as  many  gratis  copies  of 
the  book  as  the  author  should  obtain  subscriptions  for.  While 
the  poem  was  passing  through  the  press,  Southey  accepted 
an  invitation  of  his  generous  uncle,  who  lived  at  Lisbon,  to 
spend  six  months  in  the  Peninsula,  Mr.  Hill  being  doubtless 
wishful  to  break  off  his  nephew's  love  affair.  On  the  day  of 
his  departure,  however  (in  November,  1795),  the  enthusiastic 
young  man  effectually  baffled  this  intention  by  marrying  Miss 
Edith  Fricker  at  St.  Mary  Redcliff,  the  parties  separating  at 
the  church  door.  Such  was  the  bridegroom's  poverty  at  the 
moment  that  Cottle  furnished  the  money  to  buy  the  wedding 

*  Southey's  fourth  IcKstore  was  to  be  **  On  the  Rise,  Progress,  and  Decline  of 
the  Roman  Empire/'  a  theme  whioh  so  excited  Coleridge's  imagination  that  he 
asked  permission  to  deal  with  it  himself.  The  room  was  thronged  on  the  occa- 
sion; but  Coleridge,  with  customary  absence  of  mind,  nerer  made  his  appearance, 
and  the  assembled  citizens  were  forced  to  go  lectureless  to  bed« 


268  THE  ANNALS  OF  BRISTOL.  [18434 

ring^  and  paid  tlie  fees  of  tlie  ceremony ;  yet  no  union  was 
ever  more  happy,  and  Southey  wrote  forty  years  later,  that 
his  partner  hsid  always  been  ''  the  life  of  his  life/'  On  his 
return  from  the  Continent,  in  1796,  the  young  couple  estab- 
lished themselves  in  lodgings  in  Bristol,  where  Southey  wrote 
his  "  Letters  from  Spain  and  Portugal,"  Cottle,  who  bought 
the  copyright,  advancing  money  on  account,  and  thus  keep- 
ing the  wolf  from  the  door.  Shortly  afterwards,  Mr.  Wynn, 
though  not  a  rich  man,  eranted  Southey  an  annuity  of  £160 
a  year  (which  was  continued  until  the  generous  giver  was 
able  to  obtain  for  him  a  Government  pension  of  an  equal 
amount);  and  Southey,  who  had  had  brief  flirtations  with 
the  clerical,  the  medical,  and  finally  the  legal  professions, 
definitely  resolved  to  devote  himself  to  literature.  In  1797, 
out  of  sympathy  for  the  sister  and  niece  of  the  unfortunate 
Chatterton,  who  bad  been  shamefully  defrauded  and  left 
destitute  by  a  literary  charlatan — Sir  Herbert  Croft — Southey 
undertook  an  edition  of  the  works  of  the  youthful  genius. 
The  liberal-hearted  Cottle  was  again  the  publisher  (as  he 
had  already  been  of  two  volumes  of  Southey 's  minor  poems), 
and  the  effort  resulted  in  a  clear  profit  of  £300  for  Chatter- 
ton's  relatives.  A  year  later;  Southey,  whose  health  was 
impaired,  took  a  house  at  Westbury-on-Trym,  which  be  styled 
Martin  Hall  from  the  number  of  those  summer  visitors  that 
hovered  around  it,  and  there  he  spent,  as  he  afterwards  said, 
"one  of  the  happiest  years  of  his  life."  "I  never  before  or 
since  produced  so  much  poetry  in  the  same  space  of  time." 
There,  too,  he  formed  the  acquaintance  of  Humphry  Davy, 
who,  when  scarce  twenty  years  old,  had  come  to  Bristol  to 
superintend  Dr.  Beddoes'  Pneumatic  Institution,  and  whose 
brilliant  career  was  predicted  by  his  new  friend.  Another 
visit  to  the  Peninsula  and  a  brief  official  charge  in  Dublin 
followed  the  sojourn  at  Westbury.  In  1802  Southey  was 
again  living  in  Bristol;  but  the  loss  of  a  child  while  in  the 
city  caused  him  profound  grief,  and  in  the  following  year, 
having  gone  with  his  wife  to  see  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Coleridge  at 
Keswick,  he  was  so  charmed  with  the  locality  that  what  was 
intended  to  be  a  temporary  visit  turned  out  to  be  a  perma- 
nent settlement  for  life.  His  labours  from  th^t  date  belong 
to  the  literary  history  of  the  century.  In  1813  he  was  ap- 
pointed poet  laureate,  which  added  £90  a  year  to  his  income 
but  nothing  to  his  fame.  In  later  years  he  was  offered  a  seat 
in  Parliament  and  a  baronetcy,  but  wisely  eschewed  both 
distinctions.  He  accepted,  however,  a  further  pension  of 
£300,  which  was  gracefully  ofEered  by  Sir  Robert  Peel  in 


1843.]  PEN   PAI^   HOLS.      ECCLESIASTICAL   SUIT.  269 

1835.  Soathey's  poems,  deemed  imperishable  by  himself, 
have  been  long  forgotten ;  but  as  a  prose  writer  he  sometimes 
displayed  talent  of  the  highest  order;  and  Thackeray's  eulogy 
on  the  true  nobility  of  his  life,  his  indefatigable  industry,  and 
his  self-sacrificing  devotion  to  his  relatives  and  dependants, 
wUl  remain  a  monument  to  his  memory  so  long  as  the  English 
language  endures. 

The  singular  cavern  known  as  Pen-park  Hole,  which  ex- 
cited much  interest  in  the  previous  century,  was  explored 
in  April,  1843,  by  Mr.  Richard  Rowe,  of  St.  Agnes,  Corn- 
wall, and  a  party  of  working  miners  from  that  county.  After 
descending  about  140  feet,  the  party  reached  a  large  body  of 
water,  and  it  was  found  necessary  to  take  down  a  boat  before 
any  progress  could  be  made.  The  piece  of  water  was  stated 
to  be  eight  fathoms  deep,  twelve  fathotns  long,  and  fifteen 
fathoms  broad;  though  on  the  last  previous  occasion  on 
which  the  cavern  was  visited — ^in  the  autumn  of  1776 — Mr. 
George  Catcott  estimated  the  pool  to  be  "  not  more  than  four 
yards  over,  and  its  greatest  depth  not  above  six  feet.*'  The 
explorers  obtained  some  fine  specimens  of  lead  ore,  which 
were  afterwards  stated  to  have  yielded  more  than  75  per  cent, 
of  metal.  The  results  were  deemed  so  satisfactory  that  it 
was  proposed  to  form  a  company  in  Cornwall  for  the  purpose 
of  regularly  working  the  mine;  but  from  some  reason  the 
project  was  abandoned. 

On  the  19th  May  a  commission  of  preliminary  investigation 
was  opened  in  the  chapter  house  of  the  cathedral  to  inquire 
whether  there  wei:e  sufficient  grounds  for  proceeding  in  the 
Episcopal  court  against  the  Rev.  M.  R.  Whish,  vicar  of  St. 
Mary  RedclifF,  and  the  Rev.  D.  V.  Irvine,  his  curate,  and 
also  chaplain  of  Bridewell,  for  a  breach  of  church  discipline. 
The  alleged  offence  consisted  in  Dr.  Irvine  having  solemnized 
the  marriage  of  two  persons  living  in  the  parish  of  Nailsea, 
the  woman  being  a  sister  of  the  deceased  wife  of  the  man. 
The  proceedings  were  instituted  by  Archdeacon  Thorp,  who 
conducted  the  case.  After  a  hearing  which  extended  over 
two  days,  Dr.  Phillimore,  the  presiding  commissioner,  de- 
clared that  there  were  sufficient  grounds  for  instituting 
further  proceedings  against  Dr.  Irvine,  who  loudly  protested 
that  he  was  the  victim  of  a  High  Church  persecution.  The 
charge  against  Mr.  Whish  fell  to  the  ground.  The  parties 
having  agreed  that  Bishop  Monk  should  pronounce  sentence 
in  Dr.  Irvine's  case,  without  further  proceedings,  his  lordship 
suspended  the  curate  for  a  year,  his  licences  being  also  re- 
voked.    Petitions  in  the  reverend  gentleman's  favour  were 


270  THB   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL.  [1843. 

presented  to  the  bishop  by  the  visiting  justices  of  Bridewell 
and  the  parishioners  of  Redcliff,  but  Dr.  Monk  refused  to 
make  any  remission. 

Some  quaint  old  houses  in  Baldwin  Street  (a  view  of  which 
is  preserved  in  Front's  Sketches)  were  demolished  about  the 
end  of  May  for  the  purpose  of  widening  that  thoroughfare, 
which  was  in  some  places  exceedingly  narrow.  The  net  cost 
of  the  improvement  was  about  £2,700.  The  premises  built 
upon  the  sites  were  tasteless  in  the  extreme.  About  the 
same  time  a  picturesque  old  house  was  pulled  down  in  Broad 
Street,  in  order  to  open  a  communication  into  Small  Street 
through  Albion  Chambers. 

The  first  mention  of  tricycles  found  in  the  newspapers  of 
this  part  of  the  kingdom  occurs  in  the  Bath  Gazette  of  the 
last  week  in  May.  The  paragraph  stated  that  two  descrip- 
tions of  three-wheeled  self-propelling  machines  were  then 
traversing  the  streets  of  Bath.  One  of  them  was  propelled 
by  the  rider  "  rising  up  and  down,  after  the  manner  of  horse 
exercise  '* ;  the  other,  invented  by  a  local  artisan,  was  worked 
by  treadles  which  moved  a  crank  close  to  the  small  guiding 
wheel.  ''  The  inventor  lately  came  on  it  from  Bristol  to  Bath 
in  an  hour  and  a  half.''  Bicycles  came  into  favour  about 
1860,  and  caused  much  astonishment  in  the  rural  districts. 
One  Somerset  peasant,  dumbfoundered  by  their  speed  and 
inexplicable  mode  of  propulsion,  is  recorded  to  have  de- 
scribed a  party  of  excursionists  as  being  "  the  cheeribums  as 
Daniel  seed." 

The  stately  chapel  on  St.  Augustine's  Back,  erected  in  1840 
by  the  Irvingite  denomination  at  a  cost  of  about  £14,000,  was 
purchased  for  £5,000  in  the  summer  of  1843  by  the  Roman 
Catholics  of  the  city,  and  was  consecrated,  under  the  name  of 
St.  Mary,  on  the  5th  July,  by  Bishop  Baines,  vicar  apostolic 
of  the  western  district.  Dr.  Baines  expired  during  the  night 
following  the  ceremonial  at  his  residence.  Prior  Park,  Bath. 
In  1871  the  chapel  was  purchased  by  the  fraternity  of 
Jesuits. 

Highbury  Chapel,  Cotham,  erected  on  the  ground  where 
three  unhappy  Protostants  were  burned  to  death  for  their 
religious  opinions  during  the  reign  of  the  intolerant  Mary, 
was  opened  on  the  6th  July  by  the  Rev.  AVilliam  Jay,  of 
Bath.  It  had  cost  £3,000,  exclusive  of  the  site,  which  was 
given  by  Mr.  Richard  Ash.  The  original  design  appears  to 
have  included  a  western  tower,  which  was  never  carried 
higher  than  the  roof  of  the  chapel.  During  an  enlargement 
which  was  made  in  the  autumn  of  1863,  another  tower,  in  a 


1843.]        LAUNCH  OP  THE  "  ORBAT  BRITAIN."  271 

style  uncommon  in  this  district,  was  erected  on  the  south 
transept  of  the  building.  The  outlay  on  the  additional 
buildings  exceeded  the  cost  of  the  original  edifice. 

On  the  19th  July,  the  day  fixed  for  launching  the  Great 
Britain  [see  p.  219],  his  royal  highness  Prince  Albert  paid  a 
brief  visit  to  the  city,  on  the  invitation  of  the  proprietors  of 
the  Great  Western  Shipbuilding  Company,  and  was  received 
with  many  demonstrations  of  joy.  The  train  which  brought 
the  Prince  down  from  London  performed  the  distance  in 
what  was  then  deemed  the  astonishingly  short  space  of  three 
hours  and  ten  and  a  half  minutes.  On  arriving  at  Bristol 
Terminus,  the  royal  visitor  was  presented  with  an  address  by 
the  mayor  (Mr.  James  Gibbs)  on  behalf  of  the  Corporation, 
to  which  he  made  a  courteous  reply.  The  Merchants'  Society 
also  presented  an  address,  accompanying  it  with  the  freedom 
of  the  Society  in  a  gold  box.  The  Prince  (who  was  accom- 
panied by  the  Marquis  of  Exeter,  Lord  Wharnclifi*e,  and  the 
Earl  of  Lincoln)  was  then  conducted  by  Temple  Street,  High 
Street,  and  Com  Street,  College  Green,  Park  Street,  and 
Clifton  Church  to  the  Downs,  thence  by  Bridge  Valley  Road 
to  Hotwell  House,  and  finally  along  Cumberland  Bead  to  the 
shipbuilding  yard  at  Wapping.  Triumphal  arches  had  been 
erected  at  judiciously  selected  spots;  and  the  visitor  was 
greatly  pleased  with  the  appearance  of  the  city  and  with  the 
adjacent  scenery.  On  nearing  the  rude  towers  of  the  un- 
finished suspension  bridge,  some  men,  by  means  of  a  basket- 
car,  traversed  the  bar  which  united  the  two  banks  of  the 
Avon,  much  to  the  wonder  of  the  Prince  and  his  attendants. 
On  reaching  the  gigantic  vessel,  his  royal  highness  inspected 
the  platform  on  which  the  ship  was  to  descend,  and  expressed 
his  admiration  of  the  "  magnificent  sight."  A  banquet  fol- 
lowed, in  a  saloon  fitted  up  for  the  purpose,  Mr.  Thomas 
Kington  presiding.  At  its  conclusion  the  Prince  named  the 
ship  the  "  Or  eat  Britain  '*  in  the  customary  manner,  and  the 
colossal  vessel  glided  into  the  water  amidst  a  whirlwind  of 
cheers.  The  Prince's  return  journey  was  accomplished  with 
lis  much  celerity  as  his  morning  trip.  It  was  estimated  that, 
in  addition  to  the  crowds  which  lined  the  sides  of  the  Floating 
Harbour,  about  30,000  persons  assembled  on  Brandon  Hill  to 
witness  the  launch.  A  medal  was  struck  to  commemorate 
Prince  Albert's  visit  to  the  city.  Whilst  the  Great  Britain 
remained  in  the  Float,  a  number  of  royal  and  distinguished 
personages  visited  Bristol,  to  inspect  what  was  then  termed 
the  "  monster "  vessel.  Amongst  them  were  the  Duke  of 
Bordeaux  ("  Henry  V.''  of  France),  the  King  of  Saxony,  and 


272  THE   ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1843. 

Prince  William  of  Prussia  (afterwards  Emperor  of  Germany). 
The  Qaeen  visited  the  ship  when  it  was  fitting  out  in  the 
Thames. 

The  steamer  Queen,  whilst  on  her  passage  from  Bristol  to 
Dublin,  was  totally  lost  on  the  Welsh  coast  near  Milford 
Haven,  during  a  dense  fog,  on  the  night  of  the  1st  Septem- 
ber. All  the  passengers,  with  the  exception  of  one  who  was 
drowned  in  his  berth,  were  taken  off  by  a  passing  sloop;  but, 
owing  to  the  fog,  they  had  to  remain  for  twenty-four  hours 
without  food  or  shelter  before  they  could  reach  the  shore. 
The  crew  had  previously  made  off  in  the  steamer's  boats. 
The  Queen  belonged  to  the  Bristol  Steam  Navigation  Com- 
pany, and  was  said  to  be  worth  about  £15,000. 

During  the  autumn  of  1843,  whilst  alterations  were  being 
made  in  the  pews  and  other  internal  arrangements  of 
All  Saints'  Church,  the  authorities  thought  the  opportunity 
a  favourable  one  for  endeavouring  to  ascertain  where  the 
remains  of  Edward  Colston  were  deposited,  the  site  of  his 
gi*ave  having  been  for  many  years  in  doubt.  After  some 
unsuccessful  attempts,  the  matter  was  supposed  to  have  been 
cleared  up  on  the  2nd  September,  in  the  presence  of  the 
vicar  (the  Rev.  H.  Rogers),  the  churchwardens,  and  a  few  of 
the  leading  parishioners.  Prom  a  memorandum  written  by 
Mr.  H.  Penton,  a  churchwarden,  and  published  in  the  local 
journals,  it  appeared  that  at  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Garrard, 
the  city  treasurer,  who  had  discovered  that  Alderman  Colston 
(ob.  1597)  was  buried  in  a  vault  opposite  "the  little  vestry 
door"  [discovered  during  the  alterations],  a  search  was 
made  at  the  place  indicated.  The  vault  in  question  was 
found  packed  with  coffins,  the  uppermost  being  within  a  few 
inches  of  the  surface.  One  of  the  last  bodies  interred  had 
been  that  of  Sir  Stephen  Nash,  LL.D.,  sheriff  in  1785-6. 
"  The  rotten  remains  of  several  wooden  coffins  "  having  been 
removed,  two  others  were  found  at  the  bottom  of  the  vault. 
One  was  supposed  to  be  that  of  Sarah  Colston,  the  philan- 
thropist's niece,  who  was  buried  in  1721,  but  no  name  could 
be  traced  upon  it.  "  The  larger  coffin  of  the  two,'*  wrote 
Mr.  Penton,  "  was  evidently  that  of  a  man  of  good  stature, 
and  was  on  the  left  of  the  vault.  It  appeared  to  be  found 
necessary,  when  the  body  was  interred,  to  excavate  a  portion 
of  the  rock,  to  admit  of  length  sufficient  for  the  foot  of  the 
coffin.  The  falling  away  of  the  wood  from  the  sides  disclosed 
a  leaden  case  of  substantial  thickness,  which  it  was  deter- 
mined to  bring  to  the  surface,  the  vault  being  deep.  The 
treasurer,  vicar,  churchwarden,  and  myself  concluded  to  open 


1843.]  SUPPOSED   BSMAINS   0?  IDWARD   COLSTON.  273 

the  upper  part  of  the  coffin,  when  to  our  great  surprise  and 
gratification,  we  found  it  was  the  immortal  Colston  himself, 
lying  in  all  the  apparent  tranquillity  of  sleep.  The  features 
were  so  perfect  as  to  be  readily  recognised ;  so  much  so  (sic) 
that  it  is  not  improbable  that  a  cast  of  his  head  was  taken  for 
the  celebrated  monument  of  him  in  the  churchy  sculptured 
by  Roubillac  I  The  face  was  covered  with  a  sheet  quite 
strong  and  perfect,  and  a  diaper  cap  or  napkin  on  his  head : 
his  cravat  and  shirt  exactly  of  the  make  and  form  of  those 
shown  on  the  same  admirable  monument  in  front  of  the 
vault.  The  whole  was  sacredly  and  immediately  closed  and 
replaced;  a  leaden  plate  being  soldered  on,  inscribed — 
'Edward  Colston,  1721.'"  If  the  vicar  and  churchwardens 
had,  at  the  beginning  of  their  operations,  a  fitting  sense  of 
the  '^  sacred  ''  character  of  the  remains,  they  appear  to  have 
speedily  lost  it.  A  fortnight  later,  on  the  14th  September, 
the  contents  of  the  vault  were  again  disturbed,  and  Colston's 
coffin  was  opened  a  second  time  to  gratify  the  curiosity  of 
Mr.  F.  E.  Colston,  of  Roundway  Park,  Wilts,  grotesquely 
styled  by  the  Bristol  Journal  a  "lineal  descendant''  of  Colston, 
but  really  the  representative  of  a  collateral  branch  of  the 
family.  The  church,  in  fact,  was  turned  into  a  sort  of  show, 
and  "about  a  hundred  gentlemen  "  were  permitted  to  witness 
the  exhibition.  The  repulsive  extent  to  which  curiosity  was 
pushed  may  be  divined  from  the  account  of  the  journalist 
mentioned  above.  "  The  body,"  he  says,  "  was  clothed  in  a 
shirt,  drawers,  and  stockings  [some  portions  of  which  were 
purloined  and  appropriated  by  persons  who  were  present] ,  all 
of  which  were  yet  strong  and  perfect;  the  enamel  of  the  teeth 
was  scarcely  discoloured.  On  a  portion  of  the  upper  part  of 
the  shirt  being  removed,  the  breast  appeared  almost  of  the 
colour  of  living  flesh,  and  was  firm  to  the  touch.  The  face 
and  arms  were  very  dark;  the  only  portions  of  the  grave 
clothes  that  bore  any  marks  of  decay  were  the  gloves  that 
covered  the  hands.'  The  alleged  discovery  gave  rise  to 
much  controversy,  it  being  maintained  by  several  persons 
that  the  remains  could  not  have  been  those  of  Colston.  One 
argument  adduced  by  the  sceptics  was,  that,  according  to  an 
inscription  formerly  in  the  church,  the  text  of  which  is  pre- 
served in  Barrett's  History,  the  body  was  laid  in  a  vault  "  in 
the  first  cross  alley,  under  the  reading  desk  " — which,  down 
to  1757,  stood  against  the  north  column  of  the  chancel  arch, 
whereas  the  vault  near  "  the  little  vestry  door "  was  in  the 
south  aisle.  It  was  also  shown  that  the  body  of  Ann  Colston, 
Edward's  sister,  was  brought  from  Mortlake,  and  interred 

T 


274  THB   ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1843. 

with  his  own^  according  to  his  express  directions,  but  no  such 
coffin  was  in  the  opened  vault.  Finally^  the  head  of  the 
exhumed  body  contained  a  set  of  teeth  in  excellent  preserva- 
tion^ which  was  not  to  be  expected  in  the  case  of  a  man  who 
had  reached  his  eighty-fifth  year.  The  question  at  issue  was 
never  authoritatively  settled. 

The  "  Old  Castle  "  tavern,  one  of  the  oldest  buildings  in 
Castle  Street,  and  chiefly  constructed  of  wood,  was  destroyed 
by  fire  on  the  night  of  the  6th  September.  The  occupier, 
Mr.  Thomas  Worthington,  who  was  an  invalid,  perished  in 
.  the  flames,  and  one  of  his  relatives  afterwards  died  from  the 
effects  of  her  injuries. 

St.  Barnabas'  Church,  Ashley  Boad,  was  consecrated  by 
Bishop  Monk  on  the  12tli  September.  The  building  cost  the 
modest  sum  of  £2,200,  of  which  only  £175  appear  to  have 
been  contributed  by  the  citizens.  St.  Luke's  Church,  Barton 
Hill,  was  consecrated  on  the  20th  of  the  same  month,  having 
just  been  finished  at  an  outlay  of  £2,700.  The  proprietors  of 
the  adjacent  cotton  factory,  for  whose  workpeople  it  was 
chiefly  intended,  contributed  largely  to  the  building  fund. 

The  last  coach  between  Bristol  and  London  ceased  to  run 
in  October,  1843.  The  Bristol  Journal  of  March  30th,  1844, 
announced :  "  The  Bush  coach  office,  where  an  extensive 
business  has  been  carried  on  for,  we  believe,  more  than  a 
century,  has  this  week  closed."  But  in  April,  1849,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  Great  Western  railway  board  having  reduced 
the  number  of  trains,  and  discontinued  return  tickets,  two 
coaches  ran  daily  to  and  fro  between  Bristol  and  Bath,  and 
were  well  patronised  during  the  summer  months. 

The  Charity  Trustees  having  resolved  to  remove  the  boys 
of  Queen  Elizabeth's  Hospital  from  the  unhealthy  premises  in 
Christmas  Street,  and  to  erect  convenient  school  buildings  in 
a  more  salubrious  locality,  submitted  a  scheme  to  the  Lord 
Chancellor,  praying  for  his  assent.  His  lordship,  in  January, 
1844,  deputed  a  London  architect  to  inquire  into  and  report 
upon  the  eligibility  of  the  plans,  and,  the  result  being  satis- 
factory, the  scheme  was  approved.  The  site  selected  was 
on  the  north-west  side  of  Brandon  Hill,  on  land  once  used  as  a 
cemetery  by  the  Jews.  The  scholars  took  possession  of  the 
new  premises,  which  cost  £14,000,  on  the  27th  September, 
1847.  The  abandoned  hospital  in  Christmas  Street  was 
occupied  for  some  time  by  a  cooper ;  but  in  the  early  months 
of  1856  it  was  taken  by  the  local  branch  of  an  association 
for  improving  the  dwellings  of  the  industrial  classes;  and 
after  being  partially  reconstructed^  was  opened  in  the  follow- 


1844.]         TOMBS  IN  ST.  Stephen's,    suoak  duties.  275 

ing  October  as  an  ''  establishment  of  model  dwellings.''  The 
association  about  the  same  time  constructed  another  range 
of  buildings  in  Limekiln  Boad.  The  scheme,  however,  was 
unprofitable,  and  the  old  "  Bartholomew's  "  was  subsequently 
converted  into  a  shoe  factory. 

In  consequence  of  the  increasing  traffic  through  Baldwin 
Street,  the  Council,  at  a  meeting  in  February,  1844,  ordered 
the  removal  of  the  Fish  Market,  an  ugly  building  standing  on 
St.  Nicholas'  Back,  opposite  to  the  church.  The  fish  dealers 
appear  to  have  removed  to  the  Welsh  Back.   [See  June,  1872.]. 

Miss  Ann  Dimsdale,  of  Frenchay,  who  died  about  this  time, 
bequeathed  by  will  the  sum  of  £26,000  to  local  charities  and 
religious  societies.  Miss  Dimsdale  was  a  member  of  an  old 
Quaker  family. 

During  the  spring  of  1844,  nine  quaint  old  houses  in  Broad 
Street,  between  the  Council  House  and  the  entrance  to  Albion 
Chambers,  had  their  projecting  gabled  fronts  removed,  for 
the  purpose  of  widening  the  thoroughfare.  The  Corporation 
effected  this  improvement  for  £630,  Three  projecting  houses 
on  the  opposite  side,  i^pLjoining  Christ  Church,  had  been 
thrown  back  in  1835.  Tha  last  old  houses  in  the  western  row 
were  purchased,  as  already  stated,  by  the  Bank  of  England, 
whose  banking  house,  erected  on  the  site,  was  opened  in 
November,  1847. 

In  May,  whilst  workmen  were  engaged  in  repewing  St. 
Stephen's  Church,  a  richly  canopied  altar  tomb,  bearing  two 
effigies,  was  discovered  plastered  up  under  one  of  the  win- 
dows of  the  north  aisle.  The  male  effigy  was  habited  in  civil 
costume,  but  bore  a  studded  swordbelt  of  the  peculiar  fashion 
of  the  later  half  of  the  fourteenth  century.  It  was  suggested 
that  the  effigy  was  that  of  John  Shipward,  elected  mayor  in 
1465,  who  built  the  magnificent  tower  of  the  church;  but  the 
dross  of  the  figure,  as  well  as  the  style  of  the  tomb,  clearly 
indicated  an  earlier  date.  A  few  days  later,  another  male 
effigy  was  discovered  in  the  south  wall.  Both  figures  are 
engraved  in  the  Archceological  Journal,  vol.  iii,  pp.  82,  83. 
[The  church  was  repewed,  in  a  more  tasteful  manner,  in  the 
autumn  of  1886.] 

On  the  14th  June,  the  ministry  of  Sir  Robert  Peel  met  with 
a  severe  defeat  in  the  House  of  Commons,  upon  an  amendment 
brought  forward  by  Mr.  P.  W.  Miles,  one  of  the  members  for 
Bristol,  on  the  question  of  the  sugar  duties.  Up  to  this  time, 
the  duty  on  foreign  grown  sugar  was  63«.  per  cwt.,  while  the 
tax  on  our  colonial  product  was  2^8,  The  Ministry  proposed 
to  reduce  the  former  duty  to  34^.,  giving  the  West  India 


276  THB   ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL.  [1844. 

interest  a  protection  of  10«.  per  cwt.  Mr.  Miles  objected  to 
tbis  reduction  as  inexpedient  and  as  wanting  in  finality. 
After  entering  into  lengthy  details  to  show  the  depressed 
condition  of  the  colonies,  and  contrasting  their  former  pros- 
perity with  their  late  decay,  he  said:  "He  wished  the 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  could  pay  a  visit  to  his  (Mr.  M.'s) 
estates  in  Jamaica,  and  view  a  state  of  things  which  was  the 
sad  spectre  of  what  it  once  had  been."  Already  many  estates 
had  been  thrown  up;  and  he  called  on  the  agriculturists  of 
•England,  whose  cause  with  that  of  the  West  Indies  was  a 
common  one,  to  save  the  colonists  f  rom^  the  very  great  distress 
which  the  ministerial  proposal  would  create.  He  concluded 
by  moving  that  the  duty  on  British  sugars  should  be  reduced 
to  20*.  per  cwt.  The  Opposition,  on  the  ground  that  the 
amendment,  if  carried  into  effect,  would  be  more  advantageous 
to  the  consumer  than  the  Government  proposal,  supported 
Mr.  Miles,  and  on  a  division  the  Ministry  were  defeated  by 
241  votes  against  221.  The  result  caused  great  excitement 
in  political  circles.  Three  days  later,  Sir  Robert  Peel  moved 
a  resolution  annulling  the  effect  of  the  previous  vote,  and 
restoring  the  duty  to  24«. — a  proposal  much  condemned  by 
several  speakers,  and  especially  by  Mr.  Disraeli,  who  charged 
the  Premier  with  "  laying  down  a  tariff  of  political  disgrace." 
Mr.  Miles  also  sharply  complained  of  the  conduct  of  the 
Ministry,  and  declared  that  he  should  continue  to  defend  the 
interests  of  the  West  Indies.  Sir  Robert  Peel's  resolution 
was  however  carried  by  255  votes  against  233.  About  forty 
of  the  members  of  Mr.  Miles's  previous  majority  either 
absented  themselves  or  changed  sides. 

The  Bristol  and  Gloucester  railway,  which  had  been  under 
construction  about  two  years  [see  p.  123]  was  opened  to  the 
shareholders  on  the  6th  and  to  the  public  on  the  8th  July. 
The  first  six  days'  traffic  on  the  line  (which  was  closed  on 
Sundays)  amounted  to  £735.  Of  the  seven  coaches  which 
had  been  running  between  the  two  cities,  six  were  im- 
mediately withdrawn  ;  and  on  the  22nd  July  the  time-hon- 
oured *^  north  mail  "  left  Bristol  for  the  last  time — the  horses' 
heads  surmounted  with  funereal  plumes,  and  the  coachman 
and  guard  in  equally  lugubrious  array.  The  portion  of  the 
railway  between  Stonehouse  and  Gloucester  had  been  made 
by  the  Great  Western  Company  ;  the  rest  of  the  line  (which 
had  cost  about  £500,000),  though  originally  intended  to  be  of 
the  narrow  gauge,  had  been  laid  down  on  the  broad  gauge, 
under  the  advice  of  Mr.  Brunei,  the  company's  engineer. 
The  result  of  this  arrangement  was,  that  although  the  opening 


1844.]   RAILWAY  TO  GLOUCESTER.      XONUXINT  TO   SOUTHET.      277 

of  the  railway  completed  the  chain  of  communication  between 
Bristol  and  Newcastle  on  Tyne  and  all  the  leading  towns  on 
the  routOy  every  train  was  stopped  at  Gloacester  as  if  a  wall 
had  been  built  across  the  way.  In  the  course  of  the  year, 
negotiations  were  set  on  foot  for  an  amalgamation  of  the  new 
line  with  that  of  the  Gloucester  and  Birmingham  Company 
(who  had  completed  their  task  in  December,  1840),  and  an 
arrangement  between  the  two  boards  was  soon  after  effected. 
The  united  companies  then  received  offers  of  alliance  from 
the  Great  Western  and  Midland  directorates — each  eager  to 
secure  the  valuable  territory.  The  rivalry  of  the  two  great 
concerns  was  close  and  keen;  but  the  Midland  Company,  then 
under  the  rule  of  Hudson,  "  the  railway  king,'*  were  eventu- 
ally the  successful  bidders,  their  offer  of  a  guaranteed  divi- 
dend of  six  per  cent,  per  annum  in  perpetuity  being  accepted 
in  February,  1845.  In  the  following  year,  to  escape  from 
obligations  to  the  Great  Western  board,  the  Midland  Com- 
pany resolved  to  make  a  new  line  from  Gloucester  to  Stone- 
house,  alongside  that  of  their  competitors,  but  so  obstinate 
was  the  opposition  of  the  latter  that  an  Act  for  the  purpose 
was  not  obtained  until  1848.  Preparations  were  then  made 
to  extend  the  narrow  gauge  system  to  Bristol;  but  further 
obstacles  were  successfully  raised  by  the  Great  Western 
magnates,  and  for  several  years  the  passenger  and  goods 
traffic  between  the  West  of  England  and  the  manufactur- 
ing districts  was  brought  to  a  dead  stop  at  Gloucester.  The 
narrow  gauge  carriages  did  not,  in  fact,  reach  Bristol  until 
the  22nd  May,  1854.* 

A  meeting  of  the  friends  and  admirers  of  Robert  Southey 
was  held  at  the  Institution,  Park  Street,  on  the  13th  July, 
for  the  purpose  of  raising  a  subscription  for  the  erection  in 
his  native  city  of  a  monument  to  the  memory  of  the  dis- 
tinguished writer.  The  mayor  (Mr.  W.  L.  Clarke)  presided 
over  a  scanty  gathering,  which  appointed  a  committee  to 
carry  out  the  project,  with  an  understanding  that  the  artist 
of  the  memorial  should  be  another  distinguished  Bristolian — 
Mr.  E.  H.  Baily,  R.  A.  It  was  found  that  £500  would  suffice 
to  erect  a  monument  which  would  be  worthy  of  the  object 
and  creditable  to  the  city ;  but  the  subscriptions,  excluding 
£20  by  Mr.  Baily  and  £30  by  literary  men  unconnected  with 
Bristol,  amounted  only  to  about  £50.     The  subsequent  dona- 


*  The  Midland  board  subsequently  gained  muoh  popularity  by  its  cheap 
excursion  trains.  On  August  6,  1855,  about  7,000  Bristoliane  were  conveyed 
to  and  from  Birmingham,  a  distance  of  182  miles,  for  If.  6d,  each. 


278  THE   ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1844. 

tions  were  so  trifling  that  the  committee  abandoned  the  idea 
of  a  monument  in  College  Green,  which  Southey  had  hoped 
for  during  his  declining  years,  and  contented  themselves 
with  obtaining  a  bust  of  the  poet,  which  was  placed  in  the 
north  aisle  of  the  cathedral  in  December,  1845. 

About  this  time,  the  condition  of  the  south  lock  at  Cumber- 
land Basin  having  occasioned  some  anxiety,  the  directors  of 
the  Dock  Company  applied  to  Mr.  Brunei  for  his  opinion  as 
to  the  course  to  be  taken.  That  gentleman  reported  that 
repairs  of  a  costly  character  were  indispensable,  and  that, 
considering  the  insufficient  breadth  of  the  lock  (45  feet),  it 
was  advisable  to  entirely  reconstruct  the  entrance,  enlarging 
it  to  52  feet,  which  he  thought  would  adequately  meet  the 
future  requirements  of  the  port.  The  cost  was  estimated  at 
£22,000.  This  report  was  approved  by  the  directors,  who 
communicated  their  intentions  to  the  Council.  The  latter 
body,  at  a  meeting  on  the  15th  July,  passed  a  resolution 
expressive  of  its  gratification  at  the  liberality  of  the  Dock 
Company,  and  cordially  concurring  in  their  plan.  The  lock, 
afterwards  known  as  Brunei's  lock,  was  constructed  of  a 
width  of  54  feet. 

At  the  sale  of  the  Chew  Magna  and  Dundry  estates  of  Mr. 
John  Harford,  which  took  place  in  Bristol  in  July,  the  Charity 
Trustees  purchased  farms  and  land  at  North  Chew  and 
Littleton,  of  the  area  of  207  acres,  for  which  £11,500  were 
paid. 

A  company  was  formed  in  July,  with  a  proposed  capital  of 
£8,000  in  £20  shares,  for  the  construction  of  a  swivel  bridge 
from  Eedcliff  Back  to  the  Grove.  The  shares  wore  taken 
up,  but  in  April,  1845,  a  resolution  disapproving  of  the 
scheme  was  carried  in  the  Council  by  21  votes  against  18. 
The  project  was  consequently  suffered  to  drop. 

By  the  Bank  Charter  Act,  passed  in  the  session  of  1844  at 
the  instance  of  Sir  Bobert  Peel,  the  issue  of  notes  by  pro- 
vincial banks  was  limited  to  the  average  amount  of  their 
circulation  during  the  previous  two  years.  From  an  official 
return  published  in  the  London  Oazette  in  September,  it 
appeared  that  the  average  circulation  of  the  local  banks  had 
been  as  follows :  Bristol  Old  Bank  (Messrs.  Baillie,  Ames  & 
Co.),  £89,540;  Bristol  Bank  (Messrs.  Miles  &  Co.),  £48,277  ; 
West  of  England  and  South  Wales  District  Bank,  £83,535  ; 
Stuckey's  Banking  Company,  £356,970. 

Up  to  this  time  the  guardians  of  the  Clifton  poor-law  union 
had  maintained  three  workhouses  for  the  indoor  paupers  of 
the  district — at  Clifton  for  the  aged  and  infirm,  at  Pennywell 


1844.]    NSW  WORKHOUSE.      WILTS  AND  SOHIRSET   RAILWAY.     279 

Eoad  for  the  able-bodied,  and  at  St.  George^s  for  children. 
A  proposal  was  now  brought  forward  for  the  erection  of  one 
large  establishment,  with  a  view  to  economy  in  management. 
At  a  meeting  of  ratepayers,  at  Clifton,  in  October,  it  was 
stated  that  since  the  union  was  founded  a  new  workhouse 
had  been  built  in  the  parish  at  a  cost  of  £4,000.  It  was 
contended  that  this  building  fulfilled  the  requirements  of  the 
locality;  but  the  Pennywell  Road  workhouse  was  admitted 
to  be  a  disgrace  to  the  union  [see  p.  200] .  A  resolution  was 
passed  to  agitate  for  a  separation  of  Clifton  from  the  other 
parishes  if  the  guardians  persisted  in  the  new  project.  At  a 
meeting  of  the  board,  a  few  days  later,  however,  it  was 
resolved  by  a  large  majority  to  negotiate  for  the  purchase  of 
land  near  Stapleton,  upon  which  to  erect  a  workhouse  capable 
of  accommodating  1,180  inmates.  An  area  of  about  seventeen 
acres  was  obtained  for  £3,500,  and  the  builder's  contract  for 
the  workhouse  amounted  to  £10,916.  The  premises  were 
first  occupied  in  September,  1847,  but  they  were  at  once 
found  inadequate,  and  in  December,  1848,  the  Poor  Law 
Board  authorised  an  expenditure  of  £25,000,  including  the 
cost  of  site.  Additional  buildings  have  been  added  from 
time  to  time,  and  the  total  outlay  has  been  probably  not  less 
than  £40,000.  In  spite  of  these  extensions,  the  workhouse 
now  accommodates  only  1,161  inmates,  recent  regulations 
insisting  on  an  increased  cubic  space  for  each  pauper.  The 
workhouse  at  Clifton,  after  its  abandonment,  was  hired  from 
the  overseers,  and  became  the  Clifton  Wood  Industrial  School. 
A  vestry  hall  and  parochial  offices  were  built  on  part  of  the 
site  in  Penn3rwell  Road,  the  rest  of  which  was  sold,  as  waa 
the  workhouse  at  St.  George's. 

In  November,  1844,  a  prospectus  appeared  of  the  Wilts, 
Somerset,  and  Weymouth  Railway  Company,  with  a  capital 
of  £1,500,000  in  £50  shares,  for  the  construction  of  a  railway 
from  Corsham  to  Trowbridge  and  Westbury,  with  diverging 
lines  from  the  last-named  town  to  Salisbury  and  to  Wey- 
mouth. The  Great  Western  board,  which  promoted  the 
scheme,  undertook  to  work  the  line  on  a  lease,  and  guaranteed 
a  minimum  yearly  dividend  of  4  per  cent.  The  proposal 
excited  strong  disapproval  amongst  Bristol  traders,  on  the 
ground  that  it  threatened  to  obstruct  if  not  destroy  their 
extensive  business  in  the  commercial  districts  of  Wilts  and 
East  Somerset,  and  measures  were  taken  to  oppose  it  in 
Parliament.  The  Great  Western  directors,  however,  under- 
took to  establish  direct  communication  between  Bristol  and 
the  towns  in  question,  and  the  Bill  passed.    Subsequently,  an 


280  THE   ANNALS  0?  BRISTOL.  [1844. 

Act  was  obtained  to  carry  out  the  promise  of  the  boards  but 
the  construction  of  the  additional  line  was  postponed  from 
year  to  year^  and  the  directors  at  last  attempted  to  repudiate 
their  pledges.  The  Court  of  Queen's  Bench  was  eventually 
applied  to  for  redress^  when  the  construction  of  a  railway 
from  Bathampton  to  the  above  line  at  Bradford  was  declared 
to  be  obligatory  on  the  Great  Western  Company.  Another 
Act  was  obtained  in  the  session  of  1854^  and  the  junction  line 
was  opened  in  February,  1857.  The  line  to  Salisbury  had 
been  finished  in  June,  1856,  and  the  Weymouth  section  was 
completed  in  December  of  the  same  year.  The  cost  of  the 
Wilts,  Somerset,  and  Weymouth  system  to  the  concern  which 
absorbed  it  was  over  £3,000,000 — a  sum  exceeding  the  original 
capital  of  the  Great  Western  Company. 

The  urgent  need  of  providing  the  city  with  an  additional 
supply  of  water  had  for  some  years  before  this  time  become 
a  pressing  public  question.  The  state  of  the  poor  in  many 
districts  was  lamentable  in  the  extreme;  and  the  high  rate 
of  mortality  which  generally  prevailed  was  held  to  be  largely 
attributable  to  the  consumption  of  impure  water,  and  to  the 
dirt  and  squalor  that  prevailed  amongst  the  labouring  classes. 
At  length,  in  March,  1840,  a  meeting  was  held,  the  mayor 
(Mr.  J.  N.  Franklyn)  presiding,  when  it  was  proposed  to  form 
a  Bristol  and  Clifton  Waterworks  Company,  with  a  capital 
of  £60,000  in  £50  shares.  The  scheme,  however,  failed  from 
want  of  support.  In  November,  1841,  notice  of  an  intended 
application  for  parliamentary  powers  was  given  on  behalf 
of  the  Merchant  Venturers'  Company,  who  proposed  to  obtain 
a  supply  from  springs  in  various  suburban  parishes,  though 
it  was  understood  that  the  chief  source  depended  upon  was 
the  lower  hot-well  spring,  near  Black  Bock.  The  subject 
was  brought  before  the  Council  by  a  far-sighted  member,  who 
urged  that  the  work  of  supplying  the  city  ought  to  be  under- 
taken by  the  Corporation;  but  the  majority,  sympathising 
with  the  Merchants'  Company,  refused  to  take  any  action. 
The  Bill  was  shortly  afterwards  dropped,  and  nothing  was 
done  for  some  years.  In  the  meantime  Bristol  was  described 
in  an  official  report  as  ^'  worse  supplied  with  water  than  any 
great  city  in  England.''  About  a  hundred  houses  near 
Richmond  Terrace  were  supplied  from  wells  known  as 
Bichmond  and  Buckingham  springs;  some  400  dwellings 
were  connected  with  Sion  spring,  while  a  few  families  in  and 
near  College  Green  were  provided  from  Jacob's  Wells,  the 
pipes  from  which  were  the  property  of  the  dean  and  chapter. 
The  poor,  excepting  those  living  near  the  public  conduits. 


1845.]  I8TABLISHHBNT  01  THE   WATER  COHPANT.  281 

were  generally  without  any  provision.  Water-carrying  was 
therefore  a  common  and  lucrative  trade,  and  as  many  thou- 
sand poor  families  had  to  pay  on  an  average  a  penny  daily  for 
a  scanty  supply,  it  was  not  surprising  that  they  should  be 
stigmatised  as  extremely  dirty  in  their  habits.  Unfortunately, 
too,  much  of  the  water  drawn  from  private  wells  was  affected 
by  neighbouring  cesspools,  and  was  pernicious  to  health. 
Early  in  1845,  the  Merchants'  Society  set  about  the  construc- 
tion of  works  for  tapping  the  springs  near  Black  Rock,  an 
engine-house  *  of  somewhat  fantastic  design  being  erected 
near  what  was  known  during  the  previous  century  as  the 
"New  Hot  Well,*'  while  excavations  for  a  reservoir  were  made 
in  the  ancient  British  camp  on  Clifton  Down.  It  being 
obvious  that  this  supply  would  be  inadequate  to  meet  the 
wants  of  the  city,  a  company  was  started  in  April,  1845,  to 
bring  in  a  copious  provision  from  more  distant  sources.  The 
result  was  an  obstinate  and  expensive  struggle  between  the 
rival  parties  before  a  parliamentary  committee  in  1846,  the 
Merchants'  Society  seeking  to  obtain  exclusive  powers  for 
the  supply  of  Clifton  and  the  adjoining  parishes.  The  com- 
mittee of  the  House  of  Commons  eventually  approved  of  the 
more  comprehensive  scheme,  and  the  company's  Bill  received 
the  royal  assent  on  the  16th  July,  1846,  the  capital  sanc- 
tioned being  £200,000  in  shares,  and  £66,000  in  loans.  [In 
order  to  buy  off  opposition  when  the  Bill  was  before  Parlia- 
ment, negotiations  were  opened  with  the  proprietors  of  the 
chief  springs  in  Clifton,  and  the  following  sums  were  ulti- 
mately paid :  The  Merchants'  Society  for  the  river-side 
springs,  machinery,  and  plant,  £18,000 ;  Mr.  Coates,  for  Sion 
House  spring,  £13,500;  Mr.  W.  Hamley,  for  Buckingham 
spring,  £2,196 ;  Mr.  J.  Coombe,  for  Eichmond  spring, 
£4,950 ;  and  for  Whiteladies'  spring,  £400 ;  total,  £39,046.] 
Various  sources  of  supply  having  been  examined,  it  was 
resolved  to  have  recourse  to  certain  springs  at  Barrow 
Gumey  and  Harptree  Combe,  with  others  forming  the  head 
of  the  river  Chew,  at  Litton  and  Chewton  Mendip,  the  first 
two  being  about  five,  and  the  latter  nearly  sixteen  miles 
distant  from  Bristol.  Operations  having  been  begun  and 
continued  with  great  vigour,  the  water  from  the  Barrow 
springs  was  brought  into  the  city  for  distribution  on  the 
1st  October,  1847.     The  remoter  sources  necessitated  more 

*  This  building,  which  was  a  puzzle  to  strangers  owing  to  its  bizarre  arohi- 
teoture,  was  removed  in  February,  1864,  during  the  construction  of  the  railway 
to  Avonmouth.  It  was  at  one  time  suggested  Uiat  it  should  be  converted  into  a 
church  for  the  use  of  sailors  and  bargemen. 


282  THE   ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1845. 

costly  operations.  The  springs  at  Litton  and  Chewton  were 
conveyed  by  several  branches  to  a  principal  aqueduct,  pro- 
ceeding for  upwards  of  two  miles  towards  East  Harptree, 
where  it  entered  a  tunnel  about  a  mile  and  a  quarter  in 
length.  Emerging  from  the  rock  of  the  hill,  the  aqueduct  was 
carried  over  Harptree  Combe  (where  it  met  with  a  feeder)  by 
means  of  an  iron  tube  supported  at  intervals  by  masonry.  The 
valley  having  been  bridged,  the  water  passed  into  a  line  of 
pipes  of  thirty  inches  diameter  and  upwards  of  four  miles 
in  length.  At  their  termination  was  a  tunnel  of  three- 
quarters  of  a  mile  through  North  Hill,  followed  by  stone 
aqueducts  over  valleys  at  Leigh  Down  and  Winf ord,  and  those 
were  succeeded  by  the  Winford  tunnel,  a  mile  long.  The 
total  length  from  Chewton  Mendip  to  the  Barrow  reservoir 
was  eleven  miles,  and  it  will  be  seen  that  most  of  the  route 
necessitated  costly  operations.  The  springs  brought  to  the 
store  reservoir  were  calculated  to  yield  four  million  gallons 
daily,  and  the  reservoir  being  25  acres  in  extent,  it  was 
estimated  that  the  works  as  a  whole  would  meet  more  than 
double  the  probable  demands  of  the  inhabitants.  Three 
service  reservoirs  were  also  constructed  for  maintaining  a 
constant  supply  throughout  the  city ;  the  first  at  Bedminster 
Down,  for  that  portion  of  the  borough  south  of  the  Float ; 
the  second  near  Whiteladies  Road,  for  the  rest  of  the  lower 
parishes  and  the  suburbs ;  and  the  third  on  Durdham  Down, 
at  an  elevation  of  300  feet  above  hieh  water  mark  in  the 
Avon,  for  the  service  of  the  more  elevated  districts.  The 
first  of  these  was  finished  in  1847,  and  the  others  came  into 
use  in  the  following  summer.  The  water  flowed  from  Barrow 
to  Whiteladies  Road  by  simple  gravitation,  and  was  then 
driven  up  to  Durdham  Down  by  powerful  pumps.  The 
water  rates  fixed  by  the  Act  were  moderate  ;  for  example,  the 
charge  upon  a  house  of  £20  rental  was  £1 ;  on  £50  rental, 
£2,  and  on  £100  rental  £3.  For  shops  and  offices  the  rate 
was  5«.  per  year  for  rentals  under  £20,  and  8«.  if  under  £50. 
To  owners  of  small  tenements  a  reduction  was  ofiered  on  the 
ordinary  raters.  The  terms  of  the  company  were  neverthe- 
less far  from  being  enthusiastically  received,  the  water  rents 
during  the*  second  year  of  its  existence  amounting  to  under 
£3,000.  Up  to  February,  1850,  only  3,152  houses  were 
supplied  throughout  the  city,  of  which  75  per  cent,  were 
rented  at  upwards  of  £20.  The  number,  however,  increased 
steadily  after  that  date.  In  1854  the  company  encountered 
its  first  serious  difficulty.  Early  in  the  year  a  leakage 
occurred  in  the  Barrow  reservoir,  which  had  to  be  emptied 


1845.]  THE   WATER  COMPANY.      GREAT   DROUGHT.  283 

before  the  repairs  could  be  executed.  A  drought,  unexampled 
for  nearly  sixty  years,  then  set  in,  and  from  May  to  October 
the  supply  of  water  to  the  city  was  very  limited,  much  to  the 
wrath  of  the  consumers.  Throughout  this  era  of  the  com- 
pany's existence,  the  proprietors  received  no  dividend  on  their 
capital,  and  it  was  not  until  March,  1856,  that  the  directors 
were  able  to  recommend  a  distribution  at  the  modest  rate 
of  14«.  per  cent.  The  average  return  of  each  of  the  three 
following  years  was  only  2  per  cent.,  and  the  £25  shares 
naturally  sold  much  below  par,  the  quotation  being  for  some 
time  between  £8  and  £9.  Despairing  of  an  adequate  return 
under  the  original  arrangement,  the  company,  in  the  session 
of  1862,  under  a  pretext  of  seeking  for  powers  to  construct 
a  new  reservoir  at  Barrow,  promoted  a  Bill  intended  to 
materially  change  their  relations  with  the  inhabitants.  The 
directors  in  applying  for  their  first  Act  had  undertaken  to 
furnish  a  constant  supply  of  water  to  consumers.  It  was  now 
sought  to  cut  off  the  supply  for  nine  hours  daily.  Under  the 
plea  that  it  was  necessary  to  prevent  waste — ^it  being  alleged 
that  through  the  carelessness  which  prevailed  the  whole 
freshwater  current  of  the  Avon  would  not  suffice  for  the  city 
— the  scheme  proposed  that  every  family  should  be  compelled 
to  use  and  pay  for  a  meter,  to  be  supplied  by  the  company. 
Finally  it  was  proposed  to  levy  an  increased  rate  of  1^  per 
cent,  on  the  rental  of  houses  standing  200  feet  above  the 
level  of  Bristol  Bridge.  To  the  dissatisfaction  of  many 
citizens,  the  parliamentary  committee  of  the  Council  mani- 
fested a  marked  sympathy  towards  the  proposals  of  the 
company,  and  the  Council  itself  was  charged  with  indiffer- 
ence to  the  interests  of  the  inhabitants.  The  clause  abolish- 
ing constant  service  was  approved  with  trifling  modifications, 
and  an  extra  rent  of  1  per  cent,  on  the  high  level  dwellings 
was  also  conceded.  The  directors  could  well  afford,  under 
those  circumstances,  to  abandon  the  clause  enforcing  the  use 
of  meters  ;  and  in  this  form  the  Bill  became  law.  The  new 
system  had  not  been  long  in  force,  however,  before  the  com- 
pany had  to  encounter  a  fresh  embarrassment.  The  spring 
and  summer  months  of  1864  were  accompanied  by  an  unpre- 
cedented drought  in  the  south  and  west  of  England.  During 
the  five  months  ending  August,  the  rainfall  at  Clifton  was 
only  about  6^  inches,  or  less  than  half  the  average  of  the  ten 
previous  years.  The  company's  springs  produced  only  a 
small  fraction  of  their  usual  supply ;  and  as  the  store  in 
the  reservoirs  rapidly  diminished,  the  directors  were  com- 
pelled   to    make    repeated    deductions    in    the    period    of 


284  THE   ANNALS   07  BRISTOL.  [1845. 

service.  This  was  for  some  weeks  limited  to  one  or  two  hours 
a  day^  but  in  various  parts  of  the  city  the  supply  ceased 
altogether.  Fortunately  the  drought  broke  up  at  the  begin- 
ning of  September^  and  the  Bristol  Times  of  the  10th  an- 
nounced that^  on  and  after  the  12th,  the  citizens  would  have 
*'  at  least  two  hours'  supply  daily.'*  Additional  sources  were 
tapped  to  alleviate  the  pressure,  a  well  in  the  coal  measures 
at  Bedminster  being  especially  useful  in  supplying  160,000 
gallons  daily.  Another  source  made  available  was  the  old 
'*  boiling  well  '^  at  Ashton,  which  yielded  no  less  than  200,000 
gallons  daily.  In  spite  of  these  aids,  however,  the  above 
newspaper  of  the  8th  October,  referring  to  the  "water 
famine'*  in  Clifton,  said:  *' Several  housekeepers  have  been 
driven  to  such  straits  that  in  some  cases  we  have  actually  seen 
Paterfamilias  start  in  a  fly  with  an  empty  barrel  by  the  side 
of  the  driver,  and  go  in  seach  of  a  supply  to  the  nearest 
spring,  which  is  in  some  instances  a  mile  off.*'  A  week  later 
the  same  writer  reported  that  the  "  boiling  well  '*  was  the 
only  source  of  supply  for  Clifton  and  the  upper  districts,  the 
Mendip  springs  having  dried  up.  Urged  by  the  Corporation, 
which  bore  the  expense,  the  company  opened  Richmond 
spring,  from  which  a  valuable  contingent  could  have  been 
obtained ;  but  the  residents  in  the  neighbouring  houses,  pro- 
testing against  the  noise  that  would  be  caused  by  a  steam- 
engine,  threatened  to  apply  to  Chancery  for  an  injunction, 
and  the  preparations  were  dropped.  It  was  not  until  De- 
cember that  the  board  were  able  to  extend  the  supply  to  six 
hours  a  day.  They  intimated  about  the  same  time  that  they 
should  insist  upon  payment  of  the  full  rates  for  the  current 
six  months — an  announcement  which  did  not  contribute  to 
their  popularity.  In  the  following  session  application  was 
made  to  Parliament  for  powers  to  appropriate  additional 
springs  at  Chelvey  and  other  places,  and  to  construct  fresh 
reservoirs  at  Barrow  and  Knowle.  It  was  also  sought  to 
largely  increase  the  scale  of  charges  then  in  force.  The  pro- 
posed advance  in  the  rates  varied  from  80  to  66  per  cent.,  but 
on  this  occasion  the  Council  resolved  on  opposing  the  demands 
of  the  company,  and  the  increase  in  the  rates  was  eventually 
limited  to  about  20  per  cent.  An  attempt  to  reduce  the  hours 
of  service  to  ten  per  day  was  also  resisted  and  defeated. 
That  the  directors  were  ungenerous  in  framing  their  Bill 
was  proved  by  the  subsequent  progress  of  the  undertaking, 
the  dividends  of  which  soon  rose  to  ten  per  cent.,  while  the 
shares  attained  a  premium  of  nearly  180  per  cent.  In 
January,  1877,  the  Council,  tardily  repentant  of  its  apathetic 


1845.]  THE    COSPOBATION  AND   THE   WATER   WORKS.  285 

policy  in  1841,  adopted  by  a  large  majority  a  resolution 
brought  forward  by  Alderman  Jones,  affirmiog  the  de- 
sirability of  the  Corporation  acquiring  the  water  works;  and 
a  committee  was  appointed  to  negotiate  with  the  company. 
After  protracted  labours, the  committee  reported  in  November. 
The  directors,  it  appeared,  had  proposed  that  the  entire 
capital  of  the  undertaking,  including  a  large  sum  not  paid  up 
in  respect  of  new  shares,  and  an  additional  £100,000  de- 
manded in  compensation  for  arrears  of  dividend,  should 
be  converted  into  £1,400,000  four  per  cent,  bonds.  On  the 
other  hand  the  committee  had  suggested  that  the  Corporation 
should  pay  10  per  cent,  yearly  on  the  ordinary  stock  of 
£200,000  until  1883,  and  thereafter  12  per  cent,  on  that  stock 
and  10  per  cent,  on  later  issues.  The  directors  subsequently 
offered  concessions,  and  the  differences  were  so  narrowed  as 
to  give  hopes  of  a  compromise,  when  the  committee,  con- 
sidering the  year  too  far  advanced  to  permit  of  legislation 
in  the  ensuing  session,  suspended  their  labours  and  reported 
progress  to  the  Council,  adding  as  an  expression  of  their 
opinion  that  the  transfer  would  be  beneficial  to  the  city. 
From  the  outset  of  the  negotiations  a  section  of  the  citizens 
had  warmly  opposed  the  purchase,  and  resolutions  condemn- 
ing the  scheme  had  been  passed  at  some  thinly  attended  ward 
meetings.  Certain  persons  interested  in  a  project  for  partially 
supplying  the  city  with  water  from  old  mine  workings  at 
Frampton  Cotterell  were  especially  active  in  their  hostility, 
(A  Bill  for  carrying  out  that  speculation  was  rejected  by 
the  House  of  Commons  in  1878.)  The  Council,  moreover,  had 
become  indifferent  about  the  matter.  The  report  of  the  com- 
mittee was  simply  "  received,^'  and,  as  the  committee  was  not 
re-appointed  in  the  following  year,  the  question  dropped.  In 
March,  1882,  at  the  request  of  a  public  meeting,  the  Council 
again  manifested  a  desire  to  acquire  the  works;  but  the 
directors  peremptorily  declined  to  reopen  the  negotiations. 
During  the  same  year  the  company,  which  by  that  time  had 
extended  their  mains  to  many  suburban  districts,  finding  it 
again  advisable  to  increase  their  supplies,  obtained  parlia- 
mentary powers  to  acquire  certain  springs  near  Chewton 
Mendip  and  the  Sherborne  springs  flowing  into  the  Chew, 
and  also  to  take  an  increased  quantity  from  the  Kenn,  near 
Chelvey.  These  works  were  expected  to  give  an  additional 
supply  of  two  and  a  half  millions  of  gallons  daily.  The 
capital  of  the  company ,  by  Acts  of  1850, 1858, 1862, 1865,  and 
1872,  had  been  increased  to  £800,000.  The  new  Bill  asked 
for  power  to  raise  £400,000  more  at  the  rate  of  7  per  cent. 


286  THE   ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1845. 

per  annum,  by  which  the  proprietors,  whose  £25  shares  were 
already  quoted  at  £70,  would  have  been  insured  a  luxuriant 
bonus  on  the  new  stock.  Similar  powers  had  been  obtained 
on  previous  occasions,  and  most  of  the  capital  raised  by  loans 
had  been  converted  into  shares  bearing  a  high  rate  of  in- 
terest. But  the  Corporation,  which  had  hitherto  been 
strangely  apathetic,  now  awoke  to  the  interests  of  the 
citizens,  and  appealed  to  the  House  of  Lords  against  the  pro- 
posed rate  of  profit  as  unreasonable  and  extortionate.  The 
Upper  House  reduced  the  rate  of  interest  to  5  per  cent. 
Amongst  the  works  undertaken  under  this  Act  was  the  laying 
of  a  large  conduit  from  the  Sherborne  springs  for  a  distance 
of  over  thirteen  miles,  including  a  tunnel  about  a  mile  in 
length,  near  Whitchurch.  The  water  from  this  source 
reached  the  city  in  1885. 

The  perennial  discontent  of  the  commercial  classes  at  the 
charges  on  vessels  entering  the  port  was  the  subject  of  a 
discussion  in  the  Council  in  January,  1845,  when  it  was  stated 
on  behalf  of  Messrs  Hilhouse  and  Hill  that  the  dues  on 
Australian  wool  were  seven  times  greater  at  Bristol  docks 
than  they  were  at  London  and  Liverpool.  Mr.  N.  Acraman 
had  also  represented  to  the  Finance  Committee  that  the 
charges  on  guano  were  2«.  4{Z.  per  ton  in  Bristol,  while  they 
were  only  2icJ.  at  Liverpool.  Mr.  F.  Green  said  that  the 
local  dues  on  shipping  were  3«.  a  ton,  against  1«.  6(2.  in  the 
Mersey  docks.  The  Council  forthwith  reduced  the  town  dues 
on  guano  from  8(2.  to  Id.  per  ton,  but  had  no  power  to  deal 
with  the  wharfage  due  of  8(i.  levied  by  the  Merchants'  Com- 
pany, or  with  the  dock  due  of  1«.  imposed  by  the  dock  board. 
At  the  same  meeting  it  was  announced  that  the  Corporation 
had  no  power  to  expend  the  borough  funds  in  enforcing  the 
restoration  to  the  public  of  Mother  Pugsley's  well  [see  p.  249] 
or  in  resisting  similar  encroachments.  It  appeared  that  a 
clause  to  enable  the  Council  to  make  payments  out  of  the 
borough  fund  in  defence  of  public  rights  to  footpaths,  etc., 
would  have  been  inserted  in  the  last  Improvement  Act,  but 
that  the  Dock  Company  threatened  such  strenuous  opposition 
at  every  stage  of  the  Bill  as  to  render  it  prudent  to  withdraw 
the  clause  in  order  to  prevent  the  loss  of  the  entire  measure. 

A  proposed  branch  of  the  Bristol  and  Exeter  railway,  from 
Yatton  to  Clevedon,  received  the  approval  of  the  shareholders 
at  a  meeting  on  the  16th  January.  The  line,  which  cost 
about  £40,000,  was  opened  on  the  4th  August,  1847. 

The  establishment  of  the  Bristol  Academy  for  the  promotion 
of  the  Fine  Arts  was  announced  in  the  local  newspapers  of 


1845.]  THE   FINE   ARTS  ACAOEMT.  287 

the  18tli  January^  1845.  A  lady  named  Sharpies  headed  the 
list  of  donors  with  a  gift  of  £2,000,  the  president,  Mr.  J.  S. 
Harford,  and  the  vice-president,  Mr.  P.  W.  Miles,  M.P.,  sub- 
scribing £100  each.  The  first  exhibition  of  pictures  was 
opened  at  the  Institution,  Park  Street,  in  the  following  April. 
The  Academy  met  with  very  feeble  support  from  the  citizens, 
and  there  seemed  no  probability  that  it  would  be  furnished 
with  funds  for  erecting  a  building  suitable  for  its  intended 
purposes.  In  1848  it  was  suggested  that  the  Institution 
should  give  up  a  portion  of  its  premises  to  the  Fine  Arts 
Society,  in  consideration  of  a  payment  of  £3,000;  but  the 
proposal  was  strongly  opposed  by  Mr.  J.  N.  Nash,  on  account 
of  the  weakness  of  the  new  organisation.  It  had  begun,  he 
pointed  out,  with  sixty-three  subscribers  of  a  guinea  each, 
and  already  they  had  dwindled  to  nineteen.  The  plan  having 
been  abandoned,  the  annual  exhibitions  of  the  society  were 
held  for  some  years  in  St.  Augustine's  Parade,  in  the  large 
house  fronting  the  drawbridge.  Under  the  will  of  Mrs. 
Sharpies,  who  died  in  1849,  the  society  eventually  came  into 
possession  of  the  bulk  of  her  estate,  amounting  to  about 
£3,500;  and  the  construction  of  an  Academy  of  Art  was 
determined  upon  in  1855.  A  building  with  a  fa9ade  in  the 
Italian  style,  but  far  from  convenient  in  its  internal  arrange- 
ments, was  erected  near  the  Victoria  Booms,  and  opened  on 
the  12th  April,  1858.  The  society,  nevertheless,  did  not 
make  much  progress  in  public  favour.  At  the  annual  meeting 
in  1863,  Mr.  P.  W.  Miles  observed:  "It  really  seemed  as  if 
the  people  of  this  neighbourhood  did  not  care  in  the  least 
about  the  fine  arts.  Though  there  was  a  good  collection  of 
pictures  on  the  walls,  he  iSways  found  the  rooms  perfectly 
empty.  No  amount  of  effort  to  bring  pictures  of  the  first 
class  there  seemed  to  be  of  any  avail.''  The  net  proceeds  of 
the  exhibition  of  that  year  were  under  £25.  The  situation 
does  not  appear  to  have  been  much  more  satisfactory  in  1882, 
when  Mr.  B.  Lang  stated  at  the  annual  meeting  that  the  total 
amount  of  donations  for  the  previous  thirty  years  had  not 
averaged  £4  annually.  *'  That  was  Bristol  love  of  art.  They 
had  tried  year  after  year  to  get  up  a  fund  to  buy  some 
pictures,  but  the  results  had  been  pitiful.  More  recently,  he 
had  endeavoured  to  purchase  some  of  the  late  Charles  Bran- 
white's  pictures,  which  it  would  have  been  an  easy  thing  to 
do;  but  the  sum  promised  was  so  ridiculous  that  he  was 
forced  to  give  up  the  project."  It  ought  to  be  added  that 
Mr.  Lang  had  himself  offered  a  noble  example  to  the  wealthier 
class  of  citizens  by  presenting  the  institution  with  a  number 


288  THE   ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1845. 

of  valuable  paintings,  chiefly  by  Bristol  artists.     His  gift, 
however,  remains  unique. 

St.  Andrew's  Church,  Montpelier,  was  consecrated  by 
Bishop  Monk  on  the  31st  January,  1845.  It  had  cost  only 
£2,428  in  erection.  The  building  was  much  enlarged  in  1878, 
owing  to  the  greatly  increased  population  of  the  district. 
The  ecclesiastical  parish  created  for  this  church  was  sub- 
tracted from  those  of  St.  Paul  and  Horfield. 

About  this  time  the  efforts  of  an  Early  Closing  Association 
were  successful  in  releasing  a  number  of  young  men  from 
business  at  an  earlier  hour  than  had  previously  been  the  rule,* 
and  the  necessity  of  an  institution  in  which  such  persons 
could  find  instruction  and  innocent  amusement  soon  became 
apparent.  A  committee  having  been  formed,  a  course  of 
lectures  was  delivered  during  the  winter,  and  this  experiment 
having  proved  successful,  a  meeting  was  held  on  the  24th 
February,  the  mayor  (Mr.  R.  P.  King)  presiding,  when  it  was 
resolved  to  found  a  literary  institution  under  the  title  of  the 
Bristol  AthensBum.  Negotiations  were  soon  afterwards  opened 
with  the  committees  of  the  Mechanics'  Institute  and  of  the 
Clergy  Book  Society,  both  of  which  organisations  were  in  a 
declining  state,  and  the  overtures  resulted  in  their  consolid- 
ation with  the  new  body,  their  libraries,  apparatus,  etc.,  being 
also  taken  over.  The  AthensBum  thus  came  into  active 
operation  in  September,  1845,  the  rooms  of  the  Clergy  Book 
Society,  in  Broad  Street,  being  fitted  up  for  the  accommoda- 
tion of  the  members.  In  the  following  year  the  library  was 
removed  to  a  large  room  in  a  house  in  Corn  Street  (on  the 
site  now  occupied  by  the  bank  of  Messrs.  Stuckey  &  Co.) .  The 
institution  gradually  became  very  popular;  and  in  1850,  when 
the  members  numbered  nearly  1,000,  and  when  the  scantiness 
of  the  accommodation  provided  was  painfully  felt,  the  directors 
recommended  the  acquirement  on  lease  of  the  Queen  Bess 
Tavern  (formerly  the  residence  of  Whitson)  and  certain 
adjoining  property  lying  between  Com  Street  and  Nicholas 
Street,  the  access  from  the  former  being  through  Cypher 
Lane,  and  from  the  latter  through  Queen  Bess  Passage.  [In 
removing  these  old  constructions,  some  beautiful  architectural 
remains  were  exposed  of  an  edifice  apparently  erected  at  the 
beginning  of  the  thirteenth  century.  On  one  side  were  three 
bays  of  semi-circular  arches,  springing  from  triple  shafts,  while 
the  south  wall  was  perforated  by  a  Decorated  two-light  trefoil 

*  According  to  a  statement  in  the  Briitol  Journal,  drapers*  shops  in  1S25,  and 
doahtless  for  many  years  later,  were  usually  kept  open  for  fourteen  hoars  a  day, 
and  the  assistants  were  allowed  only  one  honr  for  meals. 


1845.]  THE   ATHENiBUM.      STOCK  EXCHANGE.  289 

headed  window.  Two  Bomanesque  pilasters  with  sculp- 
tured capitals  were  also  found  in  situ.  The  place  had  been 
traditionally  styled  Alderman  Whitson's  Chapel,  from  having 
adjoined  his  mansion.]  The  new  buildings,  which,  with  the 
furniture,  etc.,  cost  £6,600,  were  "inaugurated*'  by  Lord 
John  Russell,  President  of  the  Council,  on  the  25th  October, 
1854.  His  lordship  spent  two  days  in  the  city,  in  the  course 
of  which  he  was  entertained  to  breakfast  by  the  mayor 
(Mr.  J.  G.  Shaw),  to  a  public  soiree  in  the  Victoria  Rooms,  at 
which  1,500  persons  were  present,  and  to  a  grand  dinner  by 
the  members  of  the  Council,  to  which  the  Duke  of  Beaufort 
and  the  Earl  of  Ducie  were  also  invited.  Party  spirit,  how- 
ever, was  still  so  strong  that  the  bells  of  the  city  churches 
were  all  silent,  and  many  Conservative  members  of  the  Council 
refused  to  contribute  to  the  cost  of  the  dinner,  which  was 
about  £400.  The  Athenasum  became  so  popular  in  its  new 
quarters  that  in  1855  the  members  numbered  1,577;  but  after 
a  brief  period  of  prosperity,  the  roll  rapidly  diminished,  the 
desertions  being  partially  due  to  a  violent  attack  made  on  the 
committee  by  the  Rev.  J.  B.  Clifford,  of  St.  Matthew's,  because 
they  refused  at  his  dictation  to  remove  the  Westminster  Review 
from  the  library  tables.  Unfortunately,  too,  a  debt  of  £2,000 
had  been  left  unprovided  for;  and  in  1861  the  bankers 
threatened  to  take  possession  of  the  property  and  to  recoup 
themselves  by  a  sale.  By  dint  of  strenuous  exertions,  the 
liabilities  were  at  length  wiped  off. 

The  Bristol  Stock  Exchange  was  founded  on  the  17th 
March,  1845,  at  a  meeting  of  brokers,  Mr.  R.  H.  Webb  pre- 
siding. Mr.  J.  K.  Haberfield,  an  honorary  member,  was  the 
first  president  and  treasurer  of  the  Exchange,  which  was 
opened  on  the  16th  April.  The  "  railway  mania,''  destined 
to  end  in  a  disastrous  collapse,  attained  its  highest  develop- 
ment during  this  year;  and  amongst  the  extravagances  to 
which  it  gave  rise  were  two  schemes  for  linking  Bristol  with 
Dover,  two  for  railways  from  London  to  the  Land's  End,  a 
line  from  Bristol  to  Norwich,  etc.  Writing  some  years  after 
the  fever,  a  contributor  to  the  Bin^stol  Times,  who  could  be 
easily  identified,  observed  : — "  Fairy  legends  had  no  wonders 
for  us  like  that  time.  You  saw  a  man  to-day  in  the  streets  of 
Bristol  whom  you  would  not  trust  with  the  loan  of  a  five- 
pound  note ;  to-morrow  he  splashed  you  with  the  wheels  of 
a  new  Long-acre  carriage.  He  was  as  suddenly  transformed 
from  a  twenty  pound  house  to  a  mansion  in  the  country,  and 
though  small  beer  refreshed  him  during  the  greater  part  of 
his  life,  he  now  became  critical  in  the  taste  of  Bordeaux.     A 

u 


290  THE  ANNALS   OF  BBISTOL.  [1845. 

railway,  in  fact,  was  not  a  means  of  transport  but  a  thing 
to  bet  and  gamble  about.  .  .  .  Once  in  the  height  of  the 
sorrowful  farce,  I  had  occasion  to  call  on  a  couple  of  '  bold 
brokers '  in  a  certain  street  not  a  mile  from  the  centre  of 
Bristol.  The  flavour  of  old  Havannahs  and  new  scrip  filled 
the  place ;  the  clerks  were  having  chops  and  tomato  sauce, 
and  a  silver-necked  bottle  proved  they  enjoyed  at  least  a 
reversion  of  the  Saint  Peray  from  the  principals'  apartment, 
into  which  I  was  summoned.  Softly  I  trod  on  a  Turkey 
carpet ;  a  tray  well  furnished  stood  on  a  sideboard ;  and  piles 
of  prospectuses  flanked  the  fine  ponderous  bronze  inkstand 
of  the  man  of  projects,  who  sat  in  a  richly  cushioned  chair. 
Voices  issued  from  the  neighbouring  room,  where  the  second 
principal  saw  others  on  business,  and  the  click  of  plates  and 
occasional  flying  of  corks  proved  how  actively  the  business 
of  allotments  was  progressing.  But  they  came  like  shadows, 
and  so  departed," 

The  commercial  interests  of  Bristol  in  Solith  Wales  being 
seriously  threatened  by  the  construction  of  railways  connect- 
ing the  Principality  with  London  and  the  midland  districts, 
a  prospectus  was  issued  in  April  of  the  Bristol  and  South 
Wales  Junction  Railway  Company.  The  proposed  capital 
was  £200,000,  and  so  popular  was  the  scheme,  and  so  eager 
the  desire  to  invest  during  the  mania  then  prevailing,  that  the 
shares  soon  commanded  a  preposterous  premium.  Accord- 
ing to  the  plan  of  the  promoters,  for  which  an  Act  was 
obtained,  the  line  was  to  proceed  from  the  Great  Western 
terminus  to  the  Old  and  New  Passages  by  way  of  Baptist 
mills,  Horfield  Down,  and  Almondsbury.  In  connection  with 
this  railway,  a  second  scheme  was  propounded  for  a  railway 
from  the  northern  shore  of  the  Severn  to  Chepstow  and 
Monmouth.  Another  prospectus,  issued  about  the  same  time, 
was  that  of  the  Bristol  and  Liverpool  Railway  Company, 
with  a  capital  of  two  millions,  which  proposed  to  construct  a 
bridge  over  the  Severn.  This  project  had  the  support  of 
the  mayor  and  sheriff  of  Bristol,  and  the  subscriptions  for 
shares  far  exceeded  the  number  proposed  to  be  issued.  None 
of  these  designs  were,  however,  carried  out,  the  two  latter 
being  abandoned  before  application  was  made  to  Parliament. 
In  1851,  after  about  a  third  of  the  share  capital  had  been 
spent,  it  was  acknowledged  by  all  concerned  that  the  South 
Wales  Junction  scheme  was  in  a  hopeless  condition  ;  but 
difficulty  was  encountered  in  dissolving  the  company,  owing 
to  the  invariable  absence  of  a  quorum  when  a  statutory 
meeting  was  convened.     In  October,  1853,  the  undertaking 


1845.]  SOUTH  WALZQ   UNION   BAILWAT.  291 

was  formally  relinquished.  Nevertheless,  in  1854  a  new 
scheme  was  started,  having  the  same  end  in  view,  but  pro- 
])osing  to  construct  a  line  to  the  New  Passage  by  way  of 
Qaeen  Square,  the  Hotwells,  Sea-mills,  and  Shirehampton, 
with  a  floating  bridge  over  the  Severn  by  which  entire  trains 
were  to  be  carried  across,  and  unloading  avoided.  The 
capital  was  fixed  at  £600,000.  The  proposal  was  approved 
at  an  influentially  attended  meeting,  and  the  Council  inti- 
mated its  assent,  but  the  paucity  of  subscriptions  and  threat- 
ened opposition  led  to  the  project  being  dropped.  In  July, 
1856,  another  prospectus  was  issued  by  the  party  of  Bristolians 
who  had  all  along  urged  the  necessity  of  action.  The  original 
line  of  country  was,  with  modifications,  adopted ;  the  capital 
was  fixed  at  £300,000;  and  "floating  steam  bridges"  were  to 
be  devised  by  Mr.  Brunei  for  crossing  the  Channel.  An  Act 
authorising  the  project  was  obtained  in  1857,  but  it  was  not 
until  October,  1858,  that  the  contractor  began  operations, 
the  tunnel  of  1,242  yards  at  Patchway  being  first  undertaken. 
The  New  Passage  ferry  was  bought  soon  after  for  £2,700, 
and  the  construction  of  the  immense  wooden  piers  followed. 
The  tunnel  was  completed  in  July,  1860,  and  the  line  was 
formally  opened  on  the  25th  August,  1863.  In  1867  an 
arrangement  was  made  by  the  directors  with  the  Great 
AVestorn  board,  under  which  the  railway  and  works  at  the 
end  of  three  years  became  the  property  of  the  latter  company. 
Originally  constructed  on  the  broad  gauge,  the  line  was 
altered  to  narrow  gauge  in  August,  1873. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Council  on  the  13th  August,  1845, 
the  Improvement  Committee  presented  a  report  strongly 
condemning  the  narrow,  inconvenient,  and  dangerous  streets 
between  Bristol  Bridge  and  the  railway  station,  and  recom- 
mending the  construction  of  a  new  thoroughfare,  to  be  called 
Victoria  Street.  The  expenditure  required  for  this  purpose 
was  estimated  at  £84,510,  but  it  was  anticipated  that  £44,200 
would  be  recovered  by  the  resale  of  building  sites,  etc.  The 
commmittee  also  recommended  an  extensive  alteration  of  the 
road  from  Cumberland  Basin  to  St.  Augustine's  Back,  in- 
cluding improvements  in  the  Jacob's  Wells  road,  the  gross 
expense  of  which  was  estimated  at  £63,900  and  the  net  out- 
lay at  £26,250.  The  widening  of  Bristol  Bridge  at  a  cost  of 
£8,000,  the  improvement  of  the  road  from  Park  Street  to 
the  Victoria  Rooms  at  an  expense  of  £4,200,  and  the  arching 
over  of  a  part  of  the  malodorous  Froom,  set  down  at  £3,400, 
also  formed  features  of  this  report,  the  comprehensiveness 
and  boldness  of  which  were  without  precedent  in  local  annals. 


292  THE   ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1845. 

In  the  following  year  the  Improvement  Committee  suggested 
various  alterations  in  the  scheme,  and  added  to  it  a  project 
for  a  new  street  commencing  in  Nelson  Street  opposite  Bride- 
well Street,  and  having  terminations  in  Wine  Street  and 
Broad  Street.  This  plan,  which  was  intended  to  sweep  away 
a  quantity  of  wretched  habitations,  was  expected  to  cost 
£38,000.  A  Bill  to  authorise  this  and  other  improvements 
was  introduced  into  Parliament  in  1847.  [At  the  sitting  of 
the  inspectors,  sent  down  by  the  Grovemment  to  inquire  into 
the  merits  of  the  scheme,  the  town  clerk  stated  that  Bristol 
then  contained  250  streets,  50  lanes,  and  390  courts  and 
alleys ;  the  number  of  houses  was  about  20,000.  In  regard 
to  the  number  and  area  of  places  for  public  recreation,  he 
said  that  Queen  Square  had  an  area  of  over  6|  acres,  College 
Green  about  4 J  acres,  Brunswick  Square  IJ  acre,  Portland 
Square  2  J  acres,  and  King  Square  nearly  IJ  acre.  Brandon 
Hill  was  19i  acres  in  extent,  and  £800  had  been  recently 
collected  by  private  subscription  for  the  purpose  of  forming 
walks  there.]  The  Bill — which  empowered  the  Council  to 
levy  a  yearly  Improvement  Rate  not  exceeding  twopence  in 
the  pound — received  the  royal  assent;  but  owing  to  the 
financial  charges  attending  the  transfer  of  the  docks  to  the 
city  the  proposed  works  were  not  popular,  and  in  1849  the 
more  costly  schemes  were  indefinitely  deferred.  The  Council 
resolved,  however,  on  widening  portions  of  Hotwell  Road, 
Limekiln  Lane,  and  Bread  Street,  broadening  the  roadway 
at  the  Stone  Bridge,  and  effecting  some  minor  improvements 
in  the  out-parish  of  St.  Philip's.  In  March,  1852,  when  the 
powers  of  the  Act  in  reference  to  Victoria  Street,  Bristol 
Bridge,  etc.,  were  about  to  expire  from  effluxion  of  time, 
the  Council  determined  upon  undertaking  a  portion  of  the  new 
street  at  a  net  cost  of  £11,300 ;  but  the  intention  was  strongly 
condemned  at  ward  meetings  of  the  ratepayers,  and  the  reso- 
lution was  rescinded  a  few  weeks  later. 

Queen  Adelaide,  widow  of  William  IV.,  paid  a  brief  visit 
to  Bristol  on  the  20th  August,  stopping  one  night  at  the 
Royal  Hotel,  Mall,  Clifton,  and  spending  a  few  hours  on  the 
following  day  at  Blaize  Castle  and  Kingsweston. 

William  James  Miiller,  the  greatest  painter  to  which  Bristol 
has  given  birth,  expired  at  the  residence  of  his  brother,  Mr. 
B.  G.  Muller,  on  the  8th  September,  aged  33.  Mr.  Miiller 
was  born  at  No.  13,  Hillsbridge  Parade,  on  the  28th  June, 
1812.  His  father,  a  Prussian  of  good  scientific  abilities,  had 
fled  from  Germany  upon  the  occupation  of  the  country  by 
the  French,  and  found  his  way  to  Bristol,  where  he  married 


1845.]  DEATH  07  W.  J.  HULLEB.  293 

a  Miss  James^  a  member  of  an  old  family  in  the  city,  and 
was  for  some  years  curator  of  the  Bristol  Institution.  The 
son  showed  artistic  talent  whilst  very  young,  and  a  promising 
original  picture,  executed  in  his  fourteenth  year,  was  accepted 
and  shown  at  the  Bristol  annual  exhibition  of  works  of  art. 
Shortly  afterwards  he  was  apprenticed  to  Mr.  J.  B.  Pyne,  a 
meritorious  artist  then  residing  on  St.  Michael's  Hill;  but 
the  connection  was  broken  at  the  end  of  about  three  years, 
and  young  Miiller  thenceforth  became  his  own  master.  His 
first  picture  exhibited  at  the  Royal  Academy,  in  1833,  '^The 
destruction  of  old  London  Bridge,"  was  painted  when  he  was 
little  more  than  twenty  years  old.  Before  that  date  he  had 
})roduced  some  hundreds  of  sketches,  chiefly  of  quaint  old 
buildings  in  Bristol  and  picturesque  spots  in  the  neighbour- 
hood, most  of  which  were  disposed  of  to  local  collectors  at  a 
few  shillings  each.  Eager  for  a  wjder  field,  he  accompanied 
another  local  artist,  Mr.  G.  Pripp,  in  a  tour  through  Germany 
and  Italy.  But  he  seems  to  have  had  an  early  longinff  for 
the  East,  and  as  soon  as  his  circumstances  permitted,  he 
departed  for  Greece,  following  up  this  tour  with  another  in 
Egypt,  and  subsequently  a  third  in  Asia  Minor,  and  producing 
works  on  each  occasion  which  gained  him  high  repute  in  the 
artistic  world.  One  of  these  pictures,  "Chess  Players  in 
Cairo,''  was  sold  at  the  dispersion  of  the  Gillott  gallery  for 
upwards  of  5,000  guineas.  Unhappily  Miiller's  constitution 
was  never  robust,  and  it  is  not  improbable  that  the  effects  of 
an  Eastern  climate  and  the  fatigues  of  travelling  brought 
about  the  malady  which  cut  short  his  career.  He  had  re- 
moved from  Bristol  to  London  in  1839.  He  returned  here  in 
the  summer  of  1845,  in  the  hope  of  recovering  strength  in 
his  native  air;  but  he  came  back  only  to  die.  His  remains 
were  interred  in  the  Unitarian  cemetery  in  Brunswick  Square. 
Shortly  afterwards  his  sketches,  etc.,  were  sold  in  London, 
and  produced  £4,242.  An  interesting  biography  of  Miiller, 
written  by  his  friend,  W.  Neal  Solly,  was  published  in  1872. 
Upon  the  death,  in  September,  of  Dr.  Law,  Bishop  of  Bath 
and  Wells,  the  parish  of  Bedminster  was  detached  from  that 
diocese,  and  came  under  the  episcopal  jurisdiction  of  the 
Bishop  of  Gloucester  and  Bristol.  The  cnange  did  not  take 
place  without  manifold  protests  in  the  press  and  elsewhere 
on  the  part  of  the  rector,  the  Rev.  M.  K.  Whish ;  but  when 
that  eccentric  gentleman,  who  was  noted  for  his  pertinacity, 
followed  them  up  by  reading  a  document  from  the  pulpit  of 
his  church,  denying  the  jurisdiction  of  his  new  diocesan,  a 
suit  was  raised  against  him  in  the  Prerogative  Court  of 


294  THE   AKNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1845. 

Canterbury.     On  his  making  a  formal  apology,  however,  the 
freak  was  condoned. 

Towards  the  close  of  Mr.  King's  mayoralty,  and  chiefly  at 
his  instigation,  another  attempt  was  made  by  the  Council  to 
purchase  the  rights  of  the  Dock  Company  over  the  port  and 
narbour.  At  a  meeting  of  the  civic  body  on  the  19th  Novem- 
ber, it  was  reported  by  the  special  committee  appointed  to 
negotiate  with  the  directors,  that  their  efforts  had  been  fruit- 
less. Although  the  annual  dividends  of  the  company  for  the 
previous  twenty-three  years  had  averaged  only  £2  2s.  3c/. 
per  cent.,  the  committee  had  proposed  that  the  city  should 
guarantee  the  shareholders  £2  lOs.  per  cent. ;  but  the  directors 
demanded  3  per  cent.  The  Council  approved  of  the  steps 
taken  by  the  committee ;  and  in  the  following  February  re- 
newed its  efforts  for  a  solution  by  proposing  to  the  directors 
that  the  amount  of  dividend  to  be  guaranteed  should  be  fixed 
by  arbitration.  The  company  maintaining  its  attitude  of 
stolid  resistance,  the  matter  again  fell  to  the  ground. 

The  details  of  a  dispute  which  threatened  to  culminate  in 
an  "affair  of  honour,''  were  laid  before  the  public  in  the 
Bristol  Oazette  of  the  10th  December.  It  appeared  that  a 
few  days  previously  a  paragraph  appeared  in  the  Briaiol 
TimeHy  stating  that  a  situation  in  the  Custom  House  had  been 
conferred  upon  an  Irishman,  and  that  this  was  the  second  or 
third  instance  in  which — ^probably  through  the  remissness  of 
those  who  were  expected  to  look  after  such  matters — the 
patronage  of  the  Government  oflSces  had  been  snatched  by 
other  localities.  At  a  meeting  of  the  True  Blue  Club  (formed 
in  1844  with  a  view  to  promoting  unity  in  the  Tory  party), 
the  honorary  secretary,  Mr.  Charles  Blisset,  of  Clifton,  cha- 
racterised this  statement  as  '*  a  wilful  and  deliberate  false- 
hood." Mr.  Leech,  the  proprietor  of  the  Times,  forthwith 
requested  an  explanation,  but  Mr.  Blisset  only  replied  that 
the  committee  of  the  club  were  of  the  same  opinion  as  himself. 
Mr.  Henry  Shute,  the  "friend"  of  Mr.  Leech,  thereupon 
requested  Mr.  Blisset  to  appoint  a  "  friend  "  also,  with  a  view- 
to  a  hostile  encounter;  whereupon  Mr.  Blisset  wrote  that  he 
'^  peremptorily  declined  the  challenge ;  first,  because  I  can 
substantiate  the  charge,  and,  secondly,  because  every  member 
of  the  committee  who  adopted  my  opinion  would  be  liable  to 
a  similar  attack,  so  that  Mr.  Leech,  in  addition  to  his  title  as 
a  public  slanderer,  may  have  to  add  that  of  a  murderer  also.** 
The  writer  went  on  to  assail  Mr.  Leech's  character  in  acrimo- 
nious terms,  and  conchided  by  declaring  that  so  lonpc  as  the 
editor  of  the  Britftol  Times  criticised  the  True  Blue  Club,  he 


1846.]  CITY   IMPBOYEMENTS.      THE   CORN  LAWS.  295 

(Mr.  B.)  would  continue  to  expose  his  treachery.  The  cot- 
respondence  having  been  published  for  the  edification  of  the 
public,  Mr.  licech,  in  commenting  upon  the  charges  of 
treachery  and  falsehood,  said  "they  are  comprised  in  the 
offence  of  my  wishing  to  have  an  independent  opinion  of  my 
own,  and  determining  not  to  be  made  the  means  of  gratifying 
the  personal  animosities  of  two  or  three  individuals."  His 
explanation  was  briefly  as  follows.  In  November,  1844,  the 
chief  promoters  of  the  True  Blue  Club  published  a  poll  book 
of  the  municipal  election  for  Clifton  Ward,  with  the  avowed 
object  of  depriving  Liberal  tradesmen  of  Conservative  patron* 
age.  This,  it  appeared,  Mr.  Leech  had  condemned,  where- 
upon, "  the  fiat  went  forth,  that  the  paper  that  would  not 
defend  exclusive  dealing  was  unworthy  of  confidence,  and  must 
be  crushed.*'  This  retort  led  to  an  animated  correspondence 
on  the  part  of  Mr.  Henry  Bush  and  others,  and  had  doubtless 
the  effect  of  exasperating  the  discord  already  prevailing  in 
the  party  since  the  election  of  1841,  and  ending,  as  will 
shortly  be  seen,  in  the  complete  rupture  of  1847. 

The  old  almshouses  in  Barrs'  Lane,  belonging  to  SU  James's 
parish,  having  been  taken  down  for  reconstruction,  the 
Council,  in  February,  1846,  succeeded  in  purchasing  the  site) 
and  were  thus  enabled  to  widen  the  thoroughfare — after- 
wards called  Barrs'  Street.  About  the  same  time  the  Council 
determined  on  buying  some  houses  in  Barton  Alley,  leading 
from  St.  James's  Barton  to  the  churchyard,  in  which,  as  a 
committee  reported,  two  persons  carrying  umbrellas  could  not 
pass.  Property  was  also  acquired  in  Bridewell  Street,  and 
the  widening  of  both  thoroughfares  was  commenced.  The 
Bridewell  Street  improvement  was  soon  finished,  but  owing 
to  the  obstinacy  of  one  or  two  persons.  Barton  Alley  was  not 
opened  for  vehicles  until  some  fifteen  years  later. 

During  the  memorable  debates  in  the  House  of  Commons 
on  Sir  Robert  Peel's  proposal  for  the  abolition  of  the  corn- 
laws  at  the  end  of  three  years,  one  of  the  members  for 
Bristol,  Mr.  P.  W.  Miles,  was  selected  by  the  Protectionists 
to  resist  the  motion  of  the  Ministry  for  going  into  committee 
on  the  subject.  After  an  unusually  protracted  struggle,  Mr. 
Miles's  amendment  was  defeated  on  the  27th  February  by 
337  votes  against  240.  In  the  course  of  the  discussion,  the 
junior  member  for  the  city,  Mr.  Berkeley,  excited  amusement 
by  reading  to  the  House  a  letter  to  a  Bristol  merchant  in 
which  Mr.  Miles  had  declared  that  "  it  would  be  better  for 
all  parties  that  the  repeal  [of  the  com  laws]  should  be  imme- 
diate," and  that  he  should  not  oppose  such  a  motion  if  it 


296  THE   ANNALS   07  BRISTOL.  [1846. 

were  made.  Mr.  Berkeley  presented  a  petition  in  favour  of 
the  ministerial  scheme,  signed  by  18,000  Bristolians,  *'  Con- 
aervatives  equally  with  Liberals/'  There  was  no  petition 
from  the  city  in  a  contrary  sense. 

About  the  month  of  April,  the  large  mansion  in  Dighton 
Street,  commonly  known  as  Harford  House  from  having  been 
formerly  the  residence  of  the  Harford  family,  was  purchased 
by  certain  Roman  Catholics,  who  established  in  it  a  convent 
dedicated  to  "  Our  Lady  of  Mercy.*'  The  nuns  subsequently 
established  an  orphanage  for  sixty  children,  and  added  a 
laige  school-house. 

In  May,  the  mansion  known  as  Gotham  Lodge,  which  had 
been  evacuated  a  short  time  before  by  Mr.  William  Fripp, 
was  razed  to  the  ground,  the  estate  having  been  purchased 
for  conversion  into  building  sites.  The  place  was  afterwards 
called  Gotham  Park.  The  only  relic  of  the  original  buildings 
is  a  lofty  *' observatory ''  or  tower,  erected  in  1779  on  the 
base  of  a  windmill,  and  commanding  a  very  extensive 
prospect. 

Persons  who  have  grown  up  since  the  creation  of  educa- 
tional machinery  embracing  all  classes  of  society  can  with 
difficulty  realize  the  ignorance  prevailing  amongst  the  poor  at 
the  period  now  under  review.  A  vear  or  two  earlier,  a  com- 
mittee had  been  formed  in  the  city  to  promote  unsectarian 
education ;  but,  as  the  Roman  Gatholio  priests  and  the  Unita* 
rian  ministers  were  forthwith  excluded  from  the  work,  the 
chief  effect  of  the  movement  was  to  demonstrate  the  pre- 
judices of  its  leaders.  In  the  summer  of  1846,  Miss  Mary 
Garpenter  and  a  few  kindred  spirits,  taking  compassion  on 
the  "gutter  children''  or  "street  Arabs"  which  prowled 
about  in  great  numbers,  resolved  upon  opening  a  room  in 
Lewin's  Mead,  then  notorious  for  the  degraded  character  of 
its  inhabitants,  and  offering  free  instruction  to  the  waifs  who 
would  attend.  On  the  first  morning  (Sunday,  August  2nd), 
three  boys  presented  themselves,  and  in  the  afternoon  the 
attendance  exceeded  a  dozen.  A  short  extract  from  the 
master's  diary  will  afford  an  idea  of  the  difficulties  of  the 
enterprise  in  which  he  had  engaged :  "  That  afternoon  I 
shall  never  forget.  Only  thirteen  or  fourteen  boys  present ; 
some  swearing,  some  fighting,  some  crying.  One  boy  struck 
another's  head  through  the  window.  I  tried  to  offer  up  a 
short  prayer,  but  found  it  was  impossible.  The  boys,  instead 
of  kneeling,  began  to  tumble  over  one  another,  and  to  sin^ 
'Jim  Grow\''  From  one  of  the  promoters  of  the  school  wo 
further  learn  that  "  none  of  the  lads  had  shoes  or  stockings  • 


1846.]     FIBST  BAGQSD  SCHOOL  AND  BlfOBMATORT.        297 

some  had  no  shirt  and  no  home^  sleeping  in  casks  on  the  quay 
or  on  steps,  and  living  by  petty  depredations.'^  By  untiring 
patience  and  kindliness,  however,  the  teacher  obtained  such 
influence  over  many  of  his  reckless  pupils  as  to  secure  the 
regular  and  orderly  attendance  of  thirty  boys,  several  of 
whom  made  good  progress,  and  some,  after  being  reclaimed 
from  moral  degradation,  were  enabled  to  earn  an  honest 
livelihood.  A  visible  improvement  was  effected  in  Lewin's 
Mead,  which  had  previously  been  the  scene  of  almost  constant 
disorder.  Gratified  with  the  results  of  this  experiment,  the 
promoters  of  the  "  Bagged  School "  hired  the  historic  old 
chapel  in  St.  James's  %ack,  to  which  the  institution  was 
removed  in  December.  A  night  school  was  then  added, 
bringing  in  "  a  swarm  of  young  men  and  women,  whose 
habits  and  character  almost  caused  even  the  stout  heart  of 
Mary  Carpenter  to  quail.  Early  in  1847  the  numbers  one 
Sunday  evening  amounted  to  two  hundred ;  the  attempt  to 
close  the  school  with  prayer  was  baflSed  by  mockery,  and  the 
court  beneath  resounded  with  screams  and  blows."  Never- 
theless, through  the  devotion  of  Miss  Carpenter,  the  institu- 
tion gradually  became  a  centre  of  enlightenment  and  civilisa- 
tion, and  it  is  difficult  to  overrate  its  effects  on  the  miserable 
district  in  which  it  was  situated.  The  experience  gained  in 
it  by  its  foundress  led  her,  a  few  years  later,  to  widen  her 
aims  in  reference  to  the  youthful  semi-criminal  population, 
and  the  result  was  the  establishment  in  1852  of  a  Beforma- 
tory  school  at  Kingswood — in  the  house  once  hired  by  John 
Wesley.  This  was  followed,  two  years  later,  by  the  creation 
of  a  second  institution  of  this  class  for  girls,  in  the  Bed  Lodge, 
Park  Bow,  which  was  purchased  for  the  purpose  by  Lady 
Byron,  and  placed  under  Miss  Carpenter's  sole  control.  For 
an  adequate  account  of  the  indefatigable  efforts  of  this  remark- 
able woman  on  behalf  of  the  juvenile  poor,  the  reader  must 
be  referred  to  the  memoir  written  by  one  of  her  nephews. 
In  October,  1877,  four  months  after  her  death,  a  meeting, 
notable  for  the  total  absence  of  sectarian  spirit  displayed  by 
its  promoters,  was  held  in  the  Guildhall  for  the  purpose  of 
taking  measures  to  found  a  suitable  memorial  of  her  philan- 
thropic exertions.  The  chief  speakers  were  Canon  Girdle- 
stone,  the  Bev.  Dr.  Percival,  the  Be  v.  Dr.  Caldicott,  the  Bev, 
A.  N.  Blatchford  (Unitarian),  the  Bev.  U.  Thomas  (Indepen- 
dent), and  Mr.  L.  Pry  (Friend).  It  was  resolved  to  extend 
the  operation  of  the  Home  for  boys  established  by  Miss 
Carpenter,  to  establish  a  Home  for  girls,  and  to  erect  a 
monument  to  her  memo.ry  in  the  Cathedral.     The  subscrip- 


298  THS   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL.  [1846. 

tions  for  these  objects  amounted  to  about  £2,700.  The 
monument  bears  a  profile  bust  of  Miss  Carpenter  by  Mr.  J. 
H.  Thomas,  a  Bristol  sculptor. 

Sir  Charles  Wetherell,  recorder  of  Bristol,  died  on  the 
17th  August,  1846,  in  consequence  of  injuries  sustained  by 
having  been  thrown  from  a  phaeton.  Sir  Charies  was  76 
years  of  age,  and,  according  to  a  notice  of  him  in  the  Bristol 
Times  of  tfuly  17,  1858,  he  was  in  the  constant  habit,  for 
some  years  previous  to  his  death,  of  going  to  sleep  whilst 
trying  prisoners  at  quarter  sessions.  The  vacant  office  (no 
longer  in  the  gift  or  the  Corporation)  was  conferred  by  the 
Government  on  Mr.  Richard  Budden  Crowder,  Q.C.,  who,  on 
becoming  a  judge  in  March,  1854,  was  succeeded  by  Sir 
Alexander  Cockbum,  then  Attorney  Greneral,  the  salary  being 
reduced  from  £700  to  £600  a  year.  In  November,  1856,  the 
office  again  became  vacant,  its  occupant  having  been  ap- 
pointed Lord  Chief  Justice  of  the  Common  Pleas.  The  salary 
was  then  further  reduced  to  £500.  Mr.  Serjeant  Kinglake, 
the  new  recorder,  held  the  office  until  his  death,  in  July,  1870. 
Sir  Robert  Collier,  Attorney  General,  was  his  successor;  but 
during  his  re-election  as  Member  of  Parliament  for  Plymouth, 
rendered  necessary  by  the  appointment,  he  was  so  severely 
censured  by  his  constituents  for  holding  dual  offices  that  he 
forthwith  resigned  the  post.  The  recordership  was  there- 
upon conferred  upon  Mr.  Montague  Bere,  Q.C.,  who  relin- 
quished it  in  July,  1872,  and  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  Thomas 
Kingdon  Kingdon,  Q.C.,  who  died  in  December,  1879.  Mr. 
Charles  Grevile  Prideaux,  then  recorder  of  Exeter,  and  son  of 
the  late  Mr.  N.  G.  Prideaux,  solicitor,  Bristol,  was  appointed 
to  the  vacancy. 

The  exactions  of  the  Dock  Company,  and  the  consequent 
depression  of  the  commerce  of  the  city,  became  the  more 
insupportable  at  this  time  from  the  rapid  progress  which  was 
taking  place  in  the  neighbouring  ports.  The  Council  having 
shown  an  unwillingness  to  take  action,  notwithstanding 
memorials  from  the  ratepayers,  a  great  meeting  of  merchants, 
traders,  and  others  was  held  on  the  29th  September,  1846, 
Mr.  Robert  Bright  presiding,  when  it  was  resolved  to  form 
a  Free  Port  Association,  with  the  view  of  emancipating  the 
city  from  the  thraldom  under  which  it  groaned.  The  move- 
ment was  enthusiastically  welcomed  by  a  large  majority  of  the 
inhabitants,  meetings  of  whom  were  convened  in  each  ward 
to  consider  the  question.  At  each  of  those  gatherings  a 
demand  for  an  equitable  arrangement  was  loudly  urged,  and 
two  gentlemen  were  delegated  to  co-operate  with  the  pro- 


1846.]  PURCHAfiX   OF  BRISTOL   DOCKS.  299 

moters  of  the  association^  while  at  meetings  of  the  various 
trades  cordial  support  was  offered  to  the  agitation  by  the 
establishment  of  an  Operatives*  Free  Port  Association.  Sub- 
sequently a  committee  of  the  Council  was  nominated  to  act 
in  conjunction  with  Mr.  Bright  and  his  friends^  and  at  a 
meeting  of  the  municipality,  on  the  1st  January,  1847,  this 
body  presented  a  report  which  displayed  the  wrong-headed 
policy  of  the  dock  board  in  striking  colours.  From  a  table 
showing  the  dock  dues  and  charges  on  vessels  entering  inwards 
at  the  leading  ports,  it  appeared  that  the  charges  at  Bristol 
amounted  to  2«.  Id,  per  ton,  as  compared  with  9  Jd.  at  London, 
Is.  7d.  at  Liverpool,  3^d.  at  Southampton,  3d.  at  Cardiff, 
and  nothing  at  Gloucester.  As  regarded  the  import  charges 
on  the  principal  articles  of  commerce,  they  were  found  to  be 
8s.  8d.  at  Bristol,  against  48.  6d.  at  Liverpool,  2s.  lOd.  at 
Gloucester,  1^.  7^^.  at  Hull,  and  Is.  3^d.  at  Cardiff.  After 
prolonged  negotiations  with  the  dock  directors  a  bargain  was 
at  last  struck,  and  the  Council,  on  the  25th  of  October,  1847, 
by  a  majority  of  42  votes  against  4,  approved  of  a  scheme  by 
which  the  dock  estate  was  to  be  transferred  to  the  Corporation, 
on  the  latter  undertaking  to  pay  the  proprietors  a  rent  charge 
of  £2  12s.  6d.  per  cent.  *  on  the  original  shares  of  £147  9s. 
each  (redeemable  at  any  time  at  the  sum  of  £96  15^.  6(2.),  and 
interest  at  the  rate  of  5  per  cent,  per  annum  for  the  first 
twelve  years  on  the  bonds  of  the  company.  In  order  to  secure 
those  conditions  by  an  unquestionable  guarantee,  the  dock 
board  demanded  that  a  rate  should  be  imposed  on  the  entire 
fixed  property  of  the  city,  and  to  this  the  Council  agreed,  but 
fixed  the  maximum  rate  at  fourpence  in  the  pound.  The 
increase  of  2s.  6d.  per  cent,  on  the  terms  offered  to  the  dock 
shareholders  in  1845  was  defended  on  the  ground  that  the 
company  had  in  the  meantime  expended  two  years*  income 
(£30,000)  in  improvements,  and  that  the  net  receipts  of  the 
dock  had  increased  about  £700  a  year.  The  proposed  arrange- 
ment caused  great  excitement  in  the  city.  At  a  public  meet- 
ing on  the  14th  February,  1848,  at  which  the  trading  classes 
were  largely  represented,  an  approval  of  the  transfer  was 
subjected  to  a  condition,  imposed  on  the  motion  of  Mr.  W. 
Herapath,  namely,  that  the  new  dock  board  should  consist  of 
commissioners  chosen  by  the  ratepayers,  and  that  a  fund  of 
£60,000  should  be  previously  formed  by  means  of  subscrip- 
tions to  provide  for  repairs   and  contingencies.     The   con- 

*  The  dock  proprietors  received  no  dividend  down  to  1822.  Between  1828  and 
1844  inclasive  the  average  distribution  was  £2  it.  6d.  per  cent.  In  1846  and 
1846  no  dividend  wis  paid. 


300  THE   ANNALS  OF  BRISTOL.  [1846. 

troversy  almost  wholly  monopolised  local  attention  for  many 
months^  the  working  classes  at  repeated  meetings  expressing 
approval  of  the  movement.  At  length,  in  the  session  of 
1848,  the  Free  Port  Association  (in  which  the  Chamber  of 
Commerce  had  been  merged)  promoted  a  Bill  for  carrying 
the  above  arrangement  into  effect.  A  petition  signed  by 
19,000  Bristolians  was  presented  in  support  of  the  scheme, 
and  others  praying  for  its  adoption  were  forwarded  from 
Bath,  Stroud,  Trowbridge,  and  other  towns.  But  a  formidable 
opposition  had  been  organised  against  the  clause  authorising 
a  rate  upon  household  property ;  and  it  was  also  urged  before 
the  House  of  Conmions  -Committee  that  it  was  inexpedient  to 
vest  the  docks  in  the  Corporation,  whose  antecedents  were 
declared  to  have  caused  discontent  amongst  the  majority  of 
ratepayers.  The  House  nevertheless  followed  the  example 
of  1803  in  reference  to  the  rating  clause;  but  a  provision  was 
inserted  rendering  it  imperative  on  the  Corporation  to  reduce 
the  dues  to  an  extent  equivalent  to  the  sum  charged  upon  the 
ratepayers.  As  the  opposition  did  not  renew  the  struggle 
in  the  Upper  Chamber,  the  Bill  received  the  royal  assent  on 
the  30th  June,  1848.  On  the  23rd  August  following,  the 
deed  transferring  the  docks  from  the  company  to  the  Corpora- 
tion was  formally  executed.  The  capital  of  the  company  at 
that  date  was  found  to  be  £259,954  in  shares,  and  £256,400 
in  "  notes  **  bearing  interest — a  sinking  fund  having  reduced 
the  total  original  capital  by  £77,665.  [In  1860,  the  docks' 
committee  of  the  Council  paid  off  the  "  notes  '^  and  issued 
bonds  at  a  lower  rate  of  interest,  thus  effecting  a  saving  of 
£2,500  a  year.  In  1882  another  great  financial  operation 
was  completed,  the  rent  charge  of  £2  12«.  6d.  per  cent,  being 
redeemed,  and  the  proprietors  paid  off  in  corporation  bonds 
or  in  cash.  On  the  termination  of  this  arrangement  the  old 
Dock  Company  ceased  to  exist.]  Under  the  provisions  of  the 
Act  the  Council  forthwith  elected  a  Docks  Committee  for  the 
management  of  its  new  property.  No  time  was  lost  by  this 
body  in  preparing  a  new  table  of  dues,  showing  an  average 
reduction  of  upwards  of  50  per  cent,  on  vessels  and  of  20  per 
cent,  on  goods  as  compared  with  that  previously  in  force. 
The  dues  on  530  articles  of  merchandise  were  wholly 
abolished.  [Notwithstanding  the  remissions,  the  surplus 
income  in  1851  was  reported  to  be  £3,800,  and  the  dues  on 
some  imports  were  further  reduced.  But  the  aggregate 
reductions  proved  to  be  too  large,  the  receipts  being  in- 
suflScient  to  provide  for  maintenance  and  repairs,  and  in 
January,  1856,  the  Council  slightly  raised   the  charges,   so 


1846.]  TRANSFER  OP   THE   DOCKS  TO   THE   CITY.  801 

as  to  obtain  an  additional  income  of  £3,500.  The  scale  was 
reduced  to  its  former  level  in  1861.]  The  Merchants*  Society, 
soon  after  the  transfer,  abolished  the  wharfage  dues  on  Irish 
importations,  and  on  the  general  exports  of  the  port.  The 
new  tariff  came  into  effect  on  the  15th  November,  1848,  when 
the  event  was  celebrated  by  a  general  holiday,  and  by  a  *'  free 
port  demonstration  ** — one  of  the  most  imposing  displays  ever 
known  in  the  city.  The  mayor  (Mr.  Haberfield),  the  members 
of  the  Corporation,  of  the  Merchants'  Society,  and  of  the  Cor- 
poration of  the  Poor,  the  Free  Port  Association,  and  numbers 
of  merchants  and  traders,  assembled  at  the  Cattle  Market, 
where  they  were  joined  by  the  artisans  of  every  branch  of 
local  industry,  the  members  of  the  chief  benefit  societies,  and 
innumerable  bands  of  music.  The  immense  procession  made 
its  way  towards  Clifton  Down  through  the  principal  streets, 
amidst  the  acclamations  of  many  thousands  gathered  to 
witness  the  parade.  The  day  concluded  with  numerous  public 
dinners.  Notwithstanding  the  natural  elation  which  charac- 
terised the  speeches  of  the  "  free  port  **  leaders,  however,  it 
could  not  be  disguised  that  the  object  which  gave  the  organi- 
sation its  name  had  not  been  achieved.  The  port  was  far 
from  "  free.**  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  harbour  charges  were 
still  higher  than  those  existing  at  some  other  ports;  and  those 
who  had  opposed  the  scheme  called  upon  the  successful  party 
to  carry  out  their  programme.  In  the  course  of  the  struggle 
Mr.  R.  Bright  and  other  free  port  men  had  admitted  that,  in 
the  face  of  the  tax  placed  on  the  citizens,  the  mercantile  and 
shipowning  interests  ought  to  make  a  considerable  sacrifice. 
A  subscription  of  £50,000  was  suggested;  but  although  Mr. 
Bright  offered  to  become  responsible  for  a  considerable  sum, 
the  appeal  generally  fell  on  deaf  ears.  The  association, 
asserting  that  it  had  fulfilled  its  mission,  dissolved  on  the  1st 
October,  1850,  and  nothing  more  was  heard  of  the  mercantile 
donation.  Unfortunately  this  was  not  all.  The  expenses 
of  the  association  having  exceeded  the  subscriptions  by  about 
£650,  an  appeal  was  made  to  the  commercial  classes  to  clear 
off  the  liabilities ;  but  the  response  was  disappointing,  only 
about  £160  being  contributed.  After  some  months*  delay, 
Mr.  Bright  forwarded  a  cheque  for  £500  to  a  member  of 
the  executive,  observing  :  "  Every  effort  which  propriety  and 
self-respect  will  permit  has  now  been  made  to  obtain  the 
assistance  of  our  fellow  citizens  with  but  imperfect  success, 
and  I  cannot  allow  either  myself,  or  a  body  of  gentlemen  from 
whom  I  received  singular  confidence,  to  remain  longer  in  the 
painful  and  unfit  situation  in  which  we  are  placed  by  claims 


802  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL.  [1846. 

on  the  association  remaining  unsatisfied.^'  Snbseqaently  a 
subscription  was  started  for  presenting  a  testimonial  of  public 
gratitude  to  Mr.  Bright  as  the  person  chiefly  instrumental  in 
conducting  the  movement  to  success^  and  a  sum  exceeding 
£700  was  contributed.  Mr.  Bright  expressed  his  desire  that 
the  money  should  be  bestowed  upon  some  local  institution, 
whereupon  an  amusing  rivalry  broke  forth,  a  crowd  of  organi- 
sations severally  making  ea^r  demands  for  the  golden  prize. 
The  competition  eventually  led  Mr.  Bright  to  withdraw  his  re- 
quest, and  the  fund  was  devoted  to  the  purchase  of  a  handsome 
service  of  plate,  the  centre-piece  of  which  bore  an  allegorical 
group  representing  Bristol  accompanied  by  Commerce  and 
Prosperity,  and  under  the  protection  of  Commercial  Liberty. 
The  plate  was  presented  to  Mr.  Bright  by  Mr.  P.  W.  Miles, 
M.P.,  at  a  meeting  held  in  the  Council  Chamber  on  the  21st 
January,  1855.  Mr.  Bright's  portrait  was  also  painted,  and 
presented  to  the  Merchants*  Society.  Mr.  Leonard  Bruton, 
who  had  acted  as  secretary  of  the  association,  was  presented 
in  1865  with  a  handsome  piece  of  plate  and  £500  "  in  recog- 
nition of  his  zealous,  disinterested,  and  valuable  services,"  the 
subscribers  to  the  testimonial  embracing  most  of  the  leading 
citizens.*  It  would  be  interesting  to  discover  the  precise 
effect  of  the  scheme  by  which  the  Corporation  recovered 
control  over  the  port;  but  in  adducing  statistics  on  the  subject 
it  is  necessary  to  bear  in  mind  that  the  abolition  of  the  com 
and  navigation  laws,  and  the  great  gold  discoveries  in  Cali- 
fornia and  Australia  were  contemporaneous  with  the  early 
years  el  the  new  system,  and  that  the  commerce  of  the  city 
would  probably  have  largely  increased  even  if  no  local  change 
had  occurred.  Keeping  these  facts  in  view,  the  following 
summary  of  a  statement  made  by  Mr.  Bruton  before  the 
British  Association  in  1875  will  be  found  of  interest.  In  the 
last  twenty  years  of  the  old  dock  board  the  progressive 
increase  of  the  import  trade  of  Bristol  was  at  the  average 
rate  of  33  per  cent.;  the  first  ten  years  following  the  transfer 
showed  an  increase  of  66  J  per  cent.,  and  in  the  next  ten  years 
there  was  a  further  advance  of  over  62  per  cent.  Comparing 
1848  with  1874,  the  foreign  import  trade  of  the  port  had 

*  Mr.  Bruton  became  secretary  to  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  on  the  reviTal 
of  that  institation  in  September,  1851.  In  September,  1880,  he  was  presented 
with  £1,000  and  an  address.  The  latter,  which  was  signed  by  the  mayor  (BCr. 
H.  Taylor),  the  master  of  the  Merchants'  Society  (Alderman  Edwards),  and  the 
President  of  the  Chamber  (Mr.  C.  Wills),  stated  that  the  testimonial  was  offered 
by  nearly  two  hundred  firms  and  individuals,  as  a  token  of  the  high  admiration 
in  which  they  held  Mr.  Bruton's  **  nearly  forty  years  of  untiring  and  unBelfisb 
devotion  to  Uie  maritime  and  commercial  interests  of  the  port  and  city.'* 


1847.]        COUXTT   COURT   CREATED.      GENERAL   ELECTION.  303 

increased  300  per  cent.  The  net  rateable  value  of  property 
had  remained  almost  stationary  under  the  restrictive  system; 
but  it  had  risen  from  £406,000  in  1841  to  £720,000  in  1871. 
Notwithstanding  the  reduction  in  dock  dues,  the  receipts  from 
that  source  had  increased  50  per  cent.,  while  the  income  from 
town  and  other  port  charges  was  three  times  greater  in  1874 
than  in  1847. 

The  famine  which  afflicted  Ireland  and  the  Scottish  High- 
lands during  the  year  1847  called  forth  liberal  manifestations 
of  public  sympathy  in  Bristol  and  the  neighbourhood.  The 
amount  subscribed  in  this  city  for  the  sufferers  amounted  to 
upwards  of  £9,000. 

During  the  autumn  of  this  year  the  inhabitants  of  Cotham 
and  Bedland  appear  to  have  become  awakened  to  the  defects 
in  the  sanitary  and  police  arrangements  of  the  district.  The 
residents  complained  of  the  utter  absence  of  sewers  and 
lamps;  and  their  remonstrances  on  the  latter  point  led  to  a 
resolution  of  the  Council,  declaring  it  expedient  that  all  parts 
of  the  i^ity  should  be  lighted  with  gas,  and  ordering  negotia- 
tions with  the  gas  companies  with  a  view  to  a  reduction  in 
their  charges.  The  matter,  however,  was  suffered  to  drop, 
and  the  suburbs  remained  as  dark  as  before. 

Under  the  provisions  of  an  Act  passed  in  the  previous 
session,  the  Bristol  County  Court  came  into  existence  in  1847, 
Mr.  Arthur  Palmer,  jun.,  the  first  judge,  opening  the  new 
tribunal  in  the  Guildhall  on  the  15th  March.  The  old  Court 
of  Conscience,  which  had  existed  from  the  time  of  William 
III.,  was  superseded,  but  the  more  ancient  Tolzey  Court 
was  not  interfered  with.  In  1855  Mr.  Palmer  resigned  his 
judgeship  from  ill-health,  and  was  succeeded  by  Sir  Eardley 
Wilmot,  bart.,  who  held  the  office  until  1862,  when  he  was 
promoted  to  a  metropolitan  court.  His  successor  here  was 
Mr.  W.  H.  Willes,  who  died  a  few  days  after  his  appoint- 
ment. The  next  judge  was  Mr.  Edward  J.  Lloyd,  Q.C.,  who 
resigned  in  1874,  and  was  followed  by  Mr.  R.  A.  Fisher.  The 
latter  died  in  1879,  and  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  W.  J.  Metcalfe, 
Q.C.,  recorder  of  Norwich. 

Buckingham  Chapel,  Clifton,  erected  by  the  Baptist  deno- 
mination at  a  cost  of  £6,000,  was  opened  on  the  2nd  June, 
1847.  The  architecture  of  the  building  showed  a  marked 
improvement  upon  most  of  the  so-called  Gothic  erections  of 
the  period;  and  the  richness  of  the  front  excited  much 
admiration. 

At  the  dissolution  of  Parliament,  in  July,  a  local  contest  of 
an   unusually  exciting   character  took  place.     As  has  been 


304  THE  ANIMALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1847. 

already  recorded,  the  defeat  of  Mr.  Fripp  in  1841  caused 
great  irritation  amongst  many  stanch  Conservatives,  who 
contended  that  that  gentleman  had  been  unfairly  treated  by 
some  of  the  friends  of  Mr.  Miles.  The  ill-feeling  between 
the  two  camps  had  been  only  aggravated  by  time,  Mr.  Miles 
remaining  a  firm  protectionist,  whilst  Mr.  Fripp  approved  of 
the  free-trade  policy  of  Sir  Robert  Peel.  As  another  election 
drew  near,  the  rival  sections  seemed  to  forget  their  political 
enemies,  and  prepared  for  a  fierce  contest  for  supremacy 
between  themselves.  There  seems  to  have  been  dissension 
in  the  Liberal  camp  also,  for  a  Mr.  Apsley  Pellatt,  introduced 
by  some  Nonconformists,  met  with  a  very  cold  reception.  Mr. 
Berkeley,  the  former  Liberal  representative,  was  returned 
at  the  head  of  the  poll.  The  numbers  were  :  Mr.  Berkeley, 
4,381 ;  Mr.  Miles,  2,595;  Mr.  Fripp,  2,476;  Mr.  Pellatt,  171. 
Mr.  Miles  had  970  plumpers,  Mr.  Fripp  912,  and  Mr.  Berkeley 
2,247.  The  friends  of  Mr.  Fripp  loudly  complained  of  the 
intimidation  exercised  by  the  leading  supporters  of  Mr.  Miles, 
and  the  wounds  given  in  the  fratricidal  conflict  remained 
unhealed  for  several  years. 

An  appearance  of  the  celebrated  Swedish  vocalist,  Jenny 
Lind,  at  the  Bristol  theatre,  on  September  27th,  caused  such 
excitement  in  the  locality  that  the  event  seems  worthy  of  a 
permanent  record.  Notwithstanding  the  high  prices  fixed 
for  admission — 25^?.  for  the  boxes,  20s,  for  the  pit,  and  10«.  for 
the  gallery — the  demand  for  seats  exceeded  the  supply,  and 
a  portion  of  the  stage  was  railed  ofi*  for  the  accommodation, 
at  58.  each,  of  about  500  persons  condemned  to  stand  through- 
out the  performance.  The  programme  consisted  of  selec- 
tions from  operas,  an  air  from  ''The  Creation,"  and  some 
Swedish  melodies.  Mdlle.  Lind  sang  at  a  miscellaneous 
concert,  given  a  few  evenings  later  at  the  Victoria  Rooms,  at 
which  the  prices  of  admission  ranged  from  5«.  to  21 «. 

Two  new  churches  for  the  populous  eastern  districts  of  the 
city  were  in  course  of  construction,  and  a  third  was  resolved 
upon,  in  the  course  of  this  year.  That  of  St.  Simon's,  Baptist 
Mills,  was  consecrated  on  the  22nd  December;  a  similar 
ceremony  took  place  at  St.  Mark's,  Lower  Easton,  on  the  18th 
May,  1848,  and  St.  Jude's,  Poyntz  Pool,  was  opened  in  June, 
1849.  The  three  buildings  cost  about  £2,500  each.  The 
ecclesiastical  districts  of  St.  Simon  and  of  St.  Jude  were 
taken  out  of  Trinity  parish,  St.  Philip's;  the  other  was 
abstracted  from  St.  George's  and  Stapleton.  The  Rev.  J.  R. 
Woodford,  afterwards  Bishop  of  Ely,  was  the  first  incumbent 
of  St.  Mark's. 


1848.]       suple's  prizes,    the  manor  of  horfield.  305 

By  the  will  of  Mr.  Robert  Suple,  of  the  Mall,  Clifton  (a 
retired  Bristol  linen  draper),  who  died  in  1847,  the  sum  of 
£8,300  was  bequeathed  to  various  local  charities.  Amongst 
the  bequests  was  one  of  £1,000  to  the  Infirmary,  for  providing 
two  annual  prizes  to  medical  students  in  that  institution  for 
the  encouragement  of  medical  and  surgical  science. 

The  parish  church  of  Abbot's  Leigh  was  partially  destroyed 
by  fire  on  Sunday  the  20th  February,  1848.  The  flames 
burst  from  the  building  soon  after  the  conclusion  of  afternoon 
service,  and  were  attributed  to  the  foulness  of  the  heating 
flues.     The  tower  escaped  with  little  injury. 

During  the  spring  an  arrangement  was  effected  by  the 
Improvement  Committee  of  the  Corporation  and  the  Charity 
Trustees,  by  which  the  former  surrendered  certain  property 
in  Portwall  Lane,  formerly  known  as  the  Law  Ditch,  which 
the  trustees  had  claimed  as  part  of  the  estates  devised  for 
charitable  purposes  by  Alderman  Whitson.  The  trustees 
gave  up  part  of  the  frontage  for  the  purpose  of  widening  the 
thoroughfare,  on  receiving  £350  as  compensation. 

In  April,  1848,  Bishop  Monk  informed  the  rural  deans  in 
his  diocese  of  his  intention  to  surrender  a  considerable  sum 
of  money  which  he  expected  to  receive  from  the  Ecclesiastical 
Commissioners,  with  a  view  to  benefiting  the  poorer  class  of 
livings.  The  money  in  question  was  to  be  paid  for  the  sur- 
render of  the  bishop's  interest  in  the  manor  of  Horfield,  and 
the  matter  soon  afterwards  excited  attention  in  Parliament. 
From  Dr.  Monk's  subsequent  statement,  it  appeared  that  the 
manor  of  Horfield  had  been  leased  many  years  previously  for 
three  lives.  Two  of  these  had  fallen  in  about  1831,  in  the 
episcopate  of  Bishop  Gray,  but  neither  that  prelate  nor  his 
successor,  Bishop  Allen,  had  been  able  to  agree  with  the 
lessee  on  terms  for  a  renewal.  The  matter  was  complicated 
by  the  fact  that  some  of  the  land  was  held  under  the  lessee 
by  copyholders,  while  the  double  uncertainty  of  leasehold 
and  copyhold  tenures  had  prevented  the  erection  of  houses 
upon  the  estate,  though  from  its  contiguity  to  Bristol  it  was 
otherwise  attractive  to  builders.  Being  unwilling  to  per- 
petuate the  evil.  Dr.  Monk  declined  renewing  the  lease  un- 
less the  tenures  were  altered,  and  the  negotiations  made 
no  progress  for  several  years.  While  matters  were  in  this 
position,  the  bishop  was  informed,  in  December,  1846,  that 
the  Ecclesiastical  Commissioners  had  resolved  to  take  posses- 
sion of  the  property  upon  the  first  vacancy  of  the  see,  on  the 
ground  that  the  average  revenues  of  the  bishopric  were  in 
excess  of  the  £5,000  a  year  intended  to  be  assigned  to  it — a 

X 


306  THE  ANNALS  Of  BRISTOL.  [1848. 

statement  which  Dr.  Monk  warmly  controverted.  The  deci- 
sion of  the  commissioners,  however,  induced  his  lordship  to 
think  of  renewing  the  Horfield  lease,  which,  as  he  explained, 
would  give  him  the  command  of  a  considerable  sum  of  money, 
and  enable  him  to  carry  out  certain  objects  which  he  had  at 
heart.  As  the  lessee  did  not  offer  acceptable  terms,  the 
bishop  applied  to  the  commissioners,  with  whom  he  concluded 
a  bargain  for  the  surrender  of  his  interests  for  £11,587.  He 
had  originally  intended,  he  said,  to  present  the  whole  of  this 
sum  to  the  diocese.  But  the  Bishop  s  College  had  not  proved 
successful,  and  the  loan  he  had  made  towards  its  establish- 
ment threatened  to  be  lost.  He  therefore  proposed  to  set 
apart  half  of  the  Horfield  money  to  secure  the  interests  of  his 
family,  and  to  devote  the  remainder — which,  with  funds  re- 
maining unexpended  from  his  previous  donations  for  improv- 
ing poor  livings,  would  be  raised  to  £9,238 — to  the  erection  of 
parsonages  in  benefices  worth  under  £200  a  year.  Obstacles, 
nowever,  arose  to  the  completion  of  the  arrangements.  In 
the  course  of  an  inquiry  before  a  committee  of  the  House  of 
Commons,  the  secretary  to  the  Ecclesiastical  Commissioners 
insinuated  that  the  bishop  had  undertaken  never  to  renew 
the  Horfield  lease;  and  it  was  alleged  that  the  sale  of  his 
interest  was  not  consistent  with  his  engagements.  These 
charges  were  indignantly  denied  by  Dr.  Monk,  who  stated 
that  they  had  been  instigated  by  the  Rev.  Henry  Richards, 
perpetual  curate  of  Horfield,  the  advowson  of  which  living 
was  leased  with  the  manor.  Mr.  Richards,  he  added,  was 
the  largest  copyholder  in  the  parish,  and  had  been  solicitous 
to  obtain  for  himself  a  new  lease  of  the  manor,  by  which  he 
would  have  been  able  to  deal  with  the  estate,  in  the  d6uble 
capacity  of  lord  and  copyholder,  in  a  manner  extremely  to  his 
own  advantage.  Disappointed  in  this  desire,  wrote  Dr.  Monk, 
^'  his  indignation  exhibited  itself  in  railing  against  his  bishop.^' 
Ultimately  the  Government  refused  to  ratify  the  bargain 
made  between  the  commissioners  and  the  bishop,  whereupon, 
after  the  dropping  of  the  life  of  the  "  lord  farmer*'  in  1849 — 
who  had  held  that  position  for  seventy-two  years — Dr.  Monk 
granted  a  new  lease  for  three  lives  to  his  secretary.  The 
income  of  the  manor  was  then  £545  a  year.  This  proceeding, 
though  legal,  excited  much  unfavourable  comment  in  Parlia- 
ment, it  being  generally  held  that  his  lordship  ought  to  have 
treated  the  manor  as  a  trust  bequeathed  to  him  by  his  pre- 
decessors for  public  purposes.  Dr.  Monk's  defence  was,  that 
he  wished  to  commute  the  manorial  rights,  to  set  an  example 
of  good  agriculture,  and  to  improve  the  living  of  Horfield, 


1848.]  THS  MANOB  OF  HOBFIELD.  807 

,  "wliicli  was  inadequately  endowed;  and  that  these  objects 
could  be  accomplished  only  by  a  lease  controlled  by  himself. 
In  March^  1852^  he  executed  trust  deeds  conveying  the  whole 
of  his  interest  in  the  estate  to  five  trustees.  A  rent  charge 
of  £192  yearly  was  directed  to  be  divided^  one  half  towards 
increasing  the  income  of  the  living  of  Horfield^  and  the  other 
moiety  towards  the  endowment  of  a  new  church  when  the 
growing  population  required  one.  The  rents  of  the  demesne 
lands,  and  of  820  acres  of  additional  land  just  awarded  to  the 
bishop  by  the  Copyhold  Commissioners  m  lieu  of  manorial 
rights  (together  about  £900  a  year),  were  to  be  devoted  to 
the  building  of  parsonages  in  poor  parishes  in  the  arch- 
deaconry, and  to  the  increase  of  curates^  stipends  in  small 
livings  in  the  diooese.  Dr.  Monk  expressed  a  hope  that  when 
the  lease  lapsed,  the  Ecclesiastical  Commissioners  would  con- 
tinue his  disposition  of  the  funds.  All  apprehension  on  this 
point  was  removed,  however,  in  October,  1868,  when  the 
bishop's  trustees  purchased  the  reversion  of  the  lease  from 
the  commissioners  for  the  sum  of  £5,000.  With  the  eman- 
<cipation  of  the  district  from  the  copyhold  system  dates  its 
rise  and  rapid  growth  as  a  suburb.  The  Bristol  Journal  of 
May  22,  1852,  contained  the  following :  ''  The  National  Free- 
hold Land  Society  has  purchased  thirty  acres  of  excellent 
land  near  Naylor's  cottages  at  Horfield,  which  will  be  divided 
into  about  300  allotments,  and  apportioned  to  the  Bristol 
members  of  the  society.*'  It  was  not,  however,  until  about 
1860  that  building  operations  became  general  in  the  locality. 
Complaint  having  been  made  respecting  the  decayed  state 
of  the  butchers'  shambles  in  the  Exchange  market,  the  Coun- 
cil, on  the  9th  May,  1848,  approved  of  the  design  of  a  new 
market  house  for  meat  and  vegetables,  prepared  by  Mr.  Pope, 
the  city  architect.  The  expense  of  the  reconstruction  was 
estimated  at  £3,000.  The  plan  included  the  widening  of  a 
portion  of  Nicholas  Street.  A  restoration  of  the  front  of  the 
Exchange  took  place  at  the  same  time,  and  the  works  were 
completed,  and  the  market  opened  in  April,  1849.  Only  five 
years  later,  in  May,  1854,  the  Finance  Committee  reported 
to  the  Council  that  the  Exchange  market  was  not  in  a  state 
creditable  to  the  city,  and  a  vote  of  £2,170  was  granted  for 
alterations. 

The  ceremony  of  consecrating  a  Roman  Catholic  bishop  as 
vicar  apostolic  of  the  western  district  took  place  in  the  church 
of  St.  Mary,  on  the  Quay,  on  the  10th  September.  The  pre- 
late was  Dr.  Joseph  William  Hendren,  Bishop  of  Uranopolis. 
The  sermon  was  preached  by  Dr.  Nicholas  Wiseman,  bishop 


308  THE   ANNALS   OF  fiRISTOL.  [1848. 

in partibusy  afterwards  a  cardinal,  and  so-called  "Archbishop 
of  Westminster." 

At  a  meeting  held  on  the  22nd  September,  the  Dean  of 
Bristol  (Dr.  Lamb)  presiding,  it  was  resolved  to  raise  a  sub- 
scription for  the  purpose  of  erecting  in  College  Green  a  copy 
of  the  original  Bristol  High  Cross,  of  which  the  city  was 
scandalously  deprived  by  a  dean  and  chapter  of  the  last 
century.  The  cost  was  estimated  at  about  £630.  The 
foundation  stone  of  the  new  structure  was  laid  on  the  8th 
August,  1850,  by  the  mayor  (Mr.  Haberfield),  attended  by 
the  local  Freemasons.  The  stone  selected  by  the  committee 
was  from  the  Nailsworth  quarries;  but  the  vaunted  durability 
of  the  material  was  not  verified  by  experience.  The  cross, 
which  varied  in  details  from  the  original  construction  [see 
Pooley's  work  on  Gloucestershire  Crosses],  was  finished  in 
November,  1851,  when  the  amount  expended  had  been  £450. 
The  cost  of  the  eight  statues  of  kings  proposed  to  be  intro- 
duced was  estimated  at  £480 ;  but  the  money  could  not  be 
raised.  The  solitary  statue  of  Edward  III.  was  placed  in 
the  cross  in  1855  by  the  Freemasons  of  the  province. 

In  December,  1848,  to  the  great  surprise  of  cathedral- 
goers,  the  dean  and  chapter  intimated  to  the  minor  canons 
that  the  priest's  portion  of  the  daily  services  must  no  longer 
be  intoned,  according  to  the  usage  of  three  centuries,  but  that 
it  must  be  read,  as  in  all  parish  churches  of  that  day.  The 
first  service  under  this  regulation  took  place  on  Sunday, 
December  10th,  when  Canon  Surtees  officiated,  the  Rev.  E. 
C.  Carter,  the  minor  canon  on  duty,  having  refused  to  obey 
the  order  on  the  ground  that  he  should  thereby  violate  the 
oath  taken  on  his  appointment.  Ho  was  thereupon  excluded 
from  the  cathedral  by  direction  of  the  chapter.  Another 
minor  canon,  the  Rev.  Sir  Charles  Macgregor,  who  had  been 
chosen  a  few  weeks  previously,  was,  it  turned  out,  unable  to 
intone,  and  it  was  currently  reported  that  the  ancient  custom 
had  been  abolished  for  the  benefit  of  an  incompetent  person. 
Mr.  Carter,  who  had  the  sympathy  of  the  precentor,  the  Rev. 
R.  L.  Caley,  shortly  afterwards  appealed  to  the  bishop  as 
visitor  of  the  cathedral,  and  a  memorial  in  his  support  was 
forwarded  to  Dr.  Monk  by  the  mayor  and  sheriff.  No 
visitation  having  been  held  for  a  great  number  of  years, 
there  was  some  doubt  as  to  the  power  of  the  diocesan,  who 
hesitated  to  take  action.  In  February,  1849,  a  majority  of 
the  chapter  rescinded  the  order  of  December;  but  Dean 
Lamb,  claiming  to  possess  supreme  power  in  such  matters, 
issued  a  document  requiring  the  officiating  clergyman  to  con- 


1849.]   REDUCTION  OF  PORT  DUES.   BATHS  FOR  THE  POOR.   309 

tinue  to  read  the  service.  The  bishop  consequently  held  a 
court  on  the  27th  February ;  and  a  few  days  later  he  formally 
declared  the  order  of  the  dean  to  be  null  and  void,  enjoining 
the  chapter  to  maintain  the  service  according  to  ancient 
custom.  The  dean  having  set  this  judgment  at  defiance,  a 
memorial  was  presented  to  the  bishop  by  a  number  of  church- 
men, setting  forth  that  Dr.  Lamb  had  set  at  naught  the  bishop's 
order,  and  allowed  the  service  to  be  mutilated  for  six  months 
out  of  twelve.  The  position  becoming  untenable.  Sir  Charles 
Macgregor  resigned  in  November,  and  the  appointment  of  a 
qualified  successor  brought  the  dispute  to  an  end.  Dr.  Lamb, 
who  in  addition  to  the  deanery  held  the  mastership  of  Corpus 
Christi  College,  Cambridge,  and  the  rectory  of  Olveston,  died 
in  April,  1850.  Down  to  the  period  of  cathedral  reform,  the 
minor  canons  had  been  six  in  number,  including  the  pre- 
centor. They  were  gradually  reduced  to  three  by  death  or 
preferment,  and  in  March,  1854,  the  latter  number  was  per- 
manently established  by  an  Order  in  Council. 

In  the  closing  month  of  1848,  in  excavating  for  a  new 
sewer  in  Quay  Street,  the  workmen  came  upon  the  foundation 
of  the  old  city  wall,  which  it  is  probable  was  once  washed 
by  the  tide.  At  a  considerable  depth  from  the  surface,  the 
workmen  discovered  a  canoe,  fourteen  feet  long  and  four 
feet  wide,  shaped  from  a  single  trunk  of  timber.  Unfortu- 
nately this  relic  of  antiquity  had  to  be  sawn  through,  as  it 
was  found  impossible  to  remove  it  entire. 

At  the  usual  New  Year's  day  meeting  of  the  Council  in 
1849,  Mr.  Visger  brought  forward  a  resolution  for  the  abo- 
lition of  the  town  dues  on  325  out  of  the  850  articles  included 
in  the  schedule  then  in  force.  After  stating  that  half  the 
foreign  goods  consumed  in  Bristol  arrived  coastwise  from 
London  and  Liverpool,  he  showed  that  the  commodities  he 
proposed  to  relieve  produced  an  insignificant  revenue  (£227), 
and  predicted  that,  if  the  duty  were  abolished  on  hides  and 
articles  used  in  tanning,  the  trade  of  the  city  would  be  greatly 
promoted.  The  resolution  was  carried  unanimously,  and 
Mr.  Visger's  prophecy  speedily  proved  to  be  well  founded, 
one  or  two  large  tanning  firms  having  removed  soon  after  to 
Bristol  from  other  localities,  and  established  extensive  works 
in  the  city. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Council  on  the  9th  January,  it  was 
resolved  to  establish  cheap  baths  and  washhouses  on  the 
Weir,  at  a  cost  not  exceeding  £7,000,  to  be  paid  off  in  twenty 
annual  instalments.  It  was  believed  that  the  annual  profits 
would  soon  sufiice  to  liquidate  the  debt.      The  baths  were 


310  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL.  [1849. 

opened  on  the  12th  August^  1850,  bat  the  hope  that  the 
undertaking  would  be  self-supporting  was  destined  to  prove 
fallacious,  the  receipts  having  been  always  insufficient  to 
meet  the  working  expenditure.  The  great  benefit  which  the 
establishment  conferred  on  the  poor  being  considered  to  out- 
weigh the  loss  to  the  ratepayers,  the  Council,  in  June,  1871, 
resolved  on  the  construction  of  a  more  complete  building  in 
the  Mayor's  Paddock,  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Avon,  for 
the  accommodation  of  the  working  classes  of  Bedminster  and 
Bedcliff .  These  baths,  the  first  cost  of  which  was  about  £1 5,500, 
were  opened  on  the  1st  May,  1873,  but  they  were  even  less 
successful,  financially  speaking,  than  those  on  the  Weir,  it 
being  stated  in  October,  1882,  that  while  £17,000  had  been 
then  laid  out  upon  them,  and  while  the  working  staff  were 
paid  £10  a  week  in  wages,  the  average  receipts  averaged  only 
£10  1^.  2(2.  per  week.  In  1877  a  swimming  bath  was  added 
to  the  Weir  buildings,  at  an  outlay  of  about  £2,400.  In 
August,  1881,  the  Council  approved  of  a  plan  for  baths  and 
washhouses  at  Jacob's  Wells,  the  expense  being  estimated 
at  about  £22,000.  The  design  met  with  scanty  approval 
amonc^st  the  ratepayers,  and  the  residents  of  the  locality 
ihtenaed  to  be  benefited  held  an  "  indignation  meeting,'^  and 
were  the  loudest  in  condemning  the  extravagance  of  the 
proposal.  With  the  November  elections  in  view,  the  Council 
beat  a  hasty  retreat,  and  the  previous  resolution  was  can- 
celled. In  October,  1885,  however,  a  more  modest  plan  for 
baths  at  the  same  spot,  to  cost  about  £9,000,  received  the 
sanction  of  the  civic  body. 

During  the  summer  of  1849  some  Judicious  improvements 
were  efiected  on  and  near  Clifton  Down  by  a  committee  of 

fentlemen  resident  in  the  neighbourhood.  Upwards  of  a 
undred  seats  were  erected  in  picturesque  spots,  a  few  path- 
ways were  laid  out,  trees  and  shrubs  were  planted,  and  a 
band  of  music  was  engaged  for  the  summer  months.  Although 
only  modest  funds  were  entrusted  to  the  committee,  the 
results  of  their  labours  were  much  appreciated.  The  pro- 
moters of  the  movement  attempted  to  make  further  efforts 
towards  increasing  the  attractions  of  the  place;  but  the 
''  Clifton  Improvement  Association,"  which  they  established, 
met  with  very  limited  support.  Its  designs  for  improvements 
were  moreover  threatened  with  opposition  on  the  part  of  the 
lords  of  the  manor  of  Henbury — ever  jealous  of  their  rights 
and  little  regardful  of  the  rights  of  others.  Under  these 
discouraging  circumstances,  the  association  was  dissolved 
in  January,  1855. 


1849.]  THE    MBBCHANT   TAYLOBS'    COMPANT.  811 

A  prospectus  was  issued  in  August^  1849^  of  the  Clifton 
Victoria  Baths^  for  which  a  piece  of  ground  had  been  secured 
^^  adjoining  Oakfield  House  garden/^  The  baths  were  opened 
in  July,  1850. 

At  the  instance  of  Bishop  Monk,  a  meeting  was  held  in 
the  Victoria  Booms  on  the  7th  November,  1849,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  promoting  the  establishment  of  a  training  institution 
for  schoolmistresses,  as  an  adjunct  to  the  training  school  for 
masters  which  was  about  to  be  founded  in  the  diocese  of 
Oxford,  it  being  intended  that  the  advantages  of  the  two 
schools  should  be  equally  shared  between  the  two  districts. 
The  bishop  announced  that  donations  to  the  amount  of  £4,300 
and  yearly  subscriptions  of  about  £230  had  been  already 
promised.  Resolutions  in  approval  of  his  lordship's  scheme 
were  adopted,  and  the  executive  committee  soon  afterwards 
purchased  a  site  at  Fishponds,  and  proceeded  with  the  build-> 
ings,  the  foundations  of  which  were  laid  in  the  spring  of 
1852.  The  cost  of  the  erections  was  about  £12,000.  The 
college  was  opened  on  the  10th  September,  1853. 

In  the  course  of  this  year,  a  scheme  was  sanctioned  by  the 
Court  of  Chancery  for  the  administration  of  the  estates  of  the 
Merchant  Taylors'  Company  of  Bristol.  The  Company,  which 
in  the  previous  century  embraced  every  tailor  in  the  city, 
had  become  extinct  in  1824  by  the  death  of  Mr.  Isaac  Amos, 
its  only  surviving  member.  Mr.  Amos,  so  long  as  he  lived, 
carried  out  the  ancient  customs  of  the  guild  with  great 
gravity.  He  yearly  elected  himself  master,  and  allowed  him- 
self £10  10*.  for  serving  "  an  extra  time  ;"  summoned  himself 
to  committee  meetings,  and  paid  himself  £12  12«.  for  his 
attendances ;  audited  his  own  accounts,  and  rewarded  himself 
with  £2  28.  therefor ;  and  finally  put  into  his  pocket  various 
trifling  gratuities  authorised  by  established  precedents.  In 
1802  the  property  of  the  Company — producing  about  £100  a 
year — had  been  placed  by  deed  in  the  hands  of  a  body  of 
trustees,  and  the  surplus  income  was  devoted  to  the  main- 
tenance of  the  almshouse  in  Merchant  Street,  erected  by  the 
guild  in  1701.  It  was  feared  on  the  extinction  of  the  Com- 
pany that  most  of  the  estate  had  escheated  to  the  Crown ; 
but  the  surviving  trustees  petitioned  to  be  permitted  to  apply 
the  proceeds  to  charitable  purposes,  and  after  many  years' 
delay  the  rights  of  the  sovereign  were  surrendered.  The 
scheme  above  mentioned  placed  the  trust  on  a  permanent 
basis,  and  some  eighteen  pensioners  are  now  maintained  out 
of  the  estate.  Some  curious  details  respecting  the  Company 
may  be  found  in  Manchee's   Bristol  Charities,  and  in  Mr. 


812  THB   ANNALS  OT  BRISTOL.  [1849. 

Alderman  Fox's  privately  printed  "  Account  of  the  Ancient 
Fraternity  of  Merchant  Taylors  of  Bristol/'  • 

In  the  closing  months  of  1849  some  five  or  six  local  firms 
engaged  in  the  com  trade  resisted  payment  of  the  town  dues 
on  grain  imported  by  them,  alleging  that  the  impost  was 
illegal.  A  gentleman  at  the  same  time  claimed  exemption 
from  dnes  on  a  cargo  of  timber,  on  the  ground  that  he  was  a 
"  Queen's  tenant ;  while  another  demanded  free  entry  for 
a  quantity  of  sugar  in  his  quality  as  a  freeman  of  London. 
The  corn  merchants  submitted  on  being  threatened  with 
actions  at  law.  The  alleged  '^  Queen's  tenant"  turned  out 
to  be  merely  an  occupier  under  the  office  of  Woods  and 
Forests,  and  found  his  claim  to  be  untenable.  The  Corpora- 
tion maintained  that  a  freeman  of  London  could  claim 
exemption  only  when  he  paid  scot  and  lot  in  the  city  of 
London,  and,  precedents  being  produced  in  support  of  this 
position,  the  claimant  eventually  surrendered. 

From  the  time  of  the  great  outbreak  of  cholera  in  England 
in  1831-2,  a  strong  suspicion  had  existed  amongst  observant 
men  that  the  terrible  mortality  caused  by  the  disease  was 
attributable  to  the  evil  sanitary  condition  of  the  people.  It 
was  not,  however,  until  about  1840  that  public  opinion  be- 
came sufficiently  instructed  to  give  force  to  the  theory  that 
bad  drainage,  filthy  dwellings,  and  unwholesome  water  exer- 
cised a  deplorable  efltect,  not  merely  in  fostering  epidemics, 
but  in  sapping  the  human  constitution.  In  1840  a  committee 
of  the  House  of  Commons  was  appointed  to  inquire  into  the 
state  of  the  public  health ;  and  the  investigation  then  made 
being  deemed  inadequate,  a  Boyal  Commission  was  appointed 
in  1844  to  make  local  inquiries  into  the  matter.  Two  of  the 
commissioners.  Sir  H.  de  la  Beohe  and  Dr.  Lyon  Playfair,  con- 
sequently paid  a  visit  to  Bristol  j  and  their  report,  published 
early  in  1845,  drew  a  very  unflattering  picture  of  the  state 
of  the  city.  The  mortality,  it  appeared,  averaged  31  per 
1,000,  which  was  exceeded  by  only  two  towns  in  the  king- 
dom; while  the  deaths  in  places  of  average  salubrity  averaged 
only  20  per  1,000.  The  causes  of  the  evil  were  declared  to 
be  obvious.  Many  parts  of  Bristol  and  fashionable  portions 
of  Clifton  were  totally  without  sewerage ;  others,  which  were 
drained,  daily  discharged  a  mass  of  filth  into  the  stagnant 
harbour — forty-one  sewers  having  no  other  outlet.  House 
drainage  in  poor  dwellings  was  almost  unknown.  With  the 
exception  of  about  400  houses,  inhabited  by  the  affiuent 
class  in  Clifton,  and  a  few  in  the  neighbourhood  of  College 
Green,  there  was  no  water  laid  by  pipes  into  any  dwellings. 


1850.]  THE  CHOLERA.      8ANITABT  8H0BTC0MIN08.  313 

and  those  of  the  poor^  besides  being  crowded,  were  generally 
filthy;  while  the  well  water  on  which  the  inhabitants  de- 
pended was  often  unwholesome.  In  despite  of  the  grave 
nature  of  this  report,  little  was  done  to  remedy  short- 
comings ;  and  in  lo49  another  epidemic  of  cholera  occurred 
in  Bristol.  The  disease  broke  out  in  the  city  on  the  10th 
June,  and  did  not  disappear  until  the  16th  October,  between 
which  dates  there  were  upwards  of  15,000  cases  of  sickness 
and  778  of  actual  cholera,  the  deaths  from  that  disease  being 
444.  The  scourge  effectually  awakened  the  authorities  to 
the  condition  of  the  city.  In  consequence  of  a  resolution 
passed  by  the  Council,  the  Government  appointed  Mr.  G.  T. 
Clark,  of  the  Board  of  Health,  to  hold  another  inquiry  into 
the  state  of  the  borough;  and  that  gentleman  opened  his 
court  in  the  Guildhall  on  the  13th  February,  1850,  and  con- 
tinued to  take  evidence  until  the  2nd  March.  His  report  is 
a  document  which  future  generations  will  read  with  profound 
astonishment.  Many  of  its  statements  may  possibly  seem 
incredible  even  to  youthful  Bristolians  of  the  present  day. 
Not  merely  as  an  astounding  picture  of  dld-fashioned  igno- 
rance, supineness,  and  folly,  but  as  an  eloquent  testimonial 
to  later  energy  and  public  spirit,  a  few  of  its  salient  features 
are  worthy  of  recora.  Mr.  Clark  reported  that  the  manage- 
ment of  the  paving,  cleansing,  and  lighting  of  the  "old  city" 
was  still  in  the  paving  commissioners  constituted  in  1806. 
The  parishes  known  as  ''  the  District "  had  obtained  a  local 
Act  in  1842,  which  created  a  similar  body.  But  as  regarded 
the  60,000  people  dwelling  in  Clifton,  in  the  out-parish  of 
St.  Philip,  and  in  the  urban  parts  of  Westbury  and  Bed- 
minster,  there  were  no  sanitary  authorities  whatever.  It  is 
needless  to  dwell  upon  the  state  of  the  poorer  localities  in 
the  centre  of  the  city,  which,  in  spite  of  the  sanitary  pre- 
cautions adopted  during  the  then  recent  cholera  visitation, 
shocked  every  visitor.  No  conception  of  the  actual  facts 
could  be  given  without  employing  terms  repugnant  to 
modem  habits  and  good  taste.  The  course  of  the  Froom 
through  the  city  was  simply  a  sewer,  into  which  scores  of 
small  sewers  poured  their  contents ;  and  as  a  large  portion 
of  the  stream  was  uncovered,  the  stench  which  spread  from 
it  every  summer  often  sufficed  to  turn  weak  stomachs.  In 
many  other  localities  were  damp,  uncleanly  courts,  unpaved 
and  undrained,  without  any  decent  provision  for  unavoidable 
wants,  and  where  the  only  water  available  was  rank  with 
contamination.  In  a  single  house  in  one  of  the  filthiest  of 
these  courts,  sixty-four  people  were  living  during  the  cholera 


314  THE   ANNAXS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1850. 

epidemic;  and  it  was  of  course  in  sucH  dens  that  the  disease 
was  most  deadly.  The  dwellings  of  the  poor  in  all  the  out- 
lying parishes  of  the  city  were  found  to  be  equally  deplorable^ 
in  addition  to  which,  the  roads  were  unmade  in  many  streets ; 
and  in  some  cases,  in  wet  weather,  water  lodged  in  the  centre 
of  the  thoroughfares  to  the  depth  of  four  feet.  Not  one  of 
the  sixty-eight  streets  in  Bedminster  was  ever  cleansed  by 
a  scavenger.  Still  more  surprising  is  the  account  of  the 
localities  inhabited  by  the  middle  classes.  The  sewage  from 
a  house  in  Montagu  (now  Kingsdown)  Parade  ran  down  an 
open  gutter  in  Montogu  Hill.  The  road  at  the  back  of 
Kingsdown  and  St.  James's  Parades  was  almost  alwavs 
floating  with  water,  which  occasionally  ran  into  the  dwell- 
ings. There  were  no  drains  to  carry  away  the  filth  from 
those  houses,  but  there  were  cesspools,  the  contents  of  some 
of  which  filtered  into  neighbouring  wells.  At  the  back  of 
Highbury  Place  were  two  very  large  pools  of  sewage,  giving 
out  a  pestilential  odour.  The  sewage  of  Clarence  Place 
drained  into  two  great  cesspools  directly  under  the  houses, 
and  required  to  be  emptied  about  once  a  month,  causing  an 
intolerable  stench.  Nearly  all  the  houses  in  Richmond 
Terrace,  Clifton,  drained  into  cesspools;  and  to  this  was 
attributed  a  severe  epidemic  which  had  recently  prevailed 
there.  At  Clifton  Park,  Cambridge  Place,  Burlingfton  Place, 
South  Parade,  and  in  other  high-class  thoroughfares,  there 
was  no  drainage  except  into  cesspools.  In  the  Black-boy 
district,  near  Durdham  Down,  there  was  only  surface  drain- 
age. ''The  Whiteladies  Boad  has  an  open  gutter,  down 
which  the  house  drainage  runs  into  a  side  ditch,  and  is  most 
offensive.  [This  sewer  was  the  subject  of  many  objurga- 
tions in  the  newspaper  correspondence  of  the  time.]  Above 
Whiteladies  Gate,  in  the  bottom  of  the  valley,  several  open 
sewers  meet,  and  their  contents  arej^enerally  complained  of. 
In  a  field  in  front  of  West  Clifton  Terrace,"  now  the  site  of 
Alma  Boad,  ''  the  sewage  [from  the  Black-boy  district  and 
West  Park]  escapes  over  a  large  space.  Hampton  Terrace 
suffers  materially  from  an  old  ditch,  in  which  the  sewage  is 
collected.  From  thence  it  finds  its  way  to  the  Froom.  A 
resident  at  Yittoria  Place  deposed  that,  owing  to  the  defec- 
tive drainage,  it  was  almost  impossible  to  support  the  stench 
during  the  night.  The  road  now  known  as  Oakfield  Boad 
had  only  one  lamp,  and  was  a  "  perfect  quagmire.'*  "At  the 
back  of  Park  Place  is  a  peculiarly  filtny  cross-road  and  a 
market  garden,  the  stench  of  which  is  much  complained  of." 
With  regard  to  lighting,  about  half  the  old  city,  Clifton,  and 


1850.]  FILTHY   CONDITION   OV   THE   SUBURBS.  815 

the  District  were  imperfectly  lighted ;  while  the  very  popu- 
lous parishes  of  St.  Philip  (out)  and  Bedminster^  as  weU  as 
the  Redlandy  Gotham^  and  Kingsdown  districts^  were  not 
lighted  at  all.  Although  numerous  tollgates  were  within 
the  borough^  the  conaition  of  the  turnpike  roads  was 
reported  to  be  discreditable.  They  were  badly  drained^ 
badly  repaired^  and  badly  cleaned ;  and  in  Bedminster  there 
was  a  continuous  bank  of  scrapings  a  quarter  of  a  mile  long 
and  about  five  feet  high.  As  to  the  parish  roads  in  that 
parish  and  in  St.  Philip's,  they  were  "scarcely  worthy  of 
the  name.''  In  all  the  suburbs  were  numerous  private  roads, 
some  of  which  had  been  streets  for  ten  or  twenty  years, 
which  were  ''  mere  troughs  of  mud,  into  which  all  the  ashes, 
soil,  and  house  refuse  were  daily  thrown  and  never  removed." 
Finally,  in  reference  to  cemeteries,  Mr.  Clark  reported  that 
there  were  sixty-one  places  of  burial  in  the  city,  of  which 
thirty-seven  belonged  to  the  Established  Church,  and  five  to 
private  persons  (undertakers).*  The  great  majority,  bein^ 
full  to  repletion,  were  unfit  for  further  interments;  and 
burials  in  the  vaults  under  parish  churches  were  also 
strongly  condemned.  The  Inspector  concluded  by  asserting 
that  the  two  great  evils  of  Bristol,  to  which  its  drunkenness, 
filth,  and  excessive  mortality  were  largely  attributable,  were 
want  of  drainage  and  want  of  water.  No  efficient  reform 
was  declared  to  be  possible  so  long  as  the  various  outlying 
districts  were  separately  and  irresponsibly  governed.  Hap- 
pily a  stronff  conviction  prevailed  in  the  city  of  the  prevailing 
evils,  together  with  an  earnest  disposition  to  support  the 
introduction  of  reforms.  The  Council  lost  no  time  in  taking 
measures  to  follow  out  Mr.  Clark's  recommendations.  A  Bill 
enabling  the  Corporation  to  apply  the  powers  of  the  Health 
of  Towns'  Act,  and  to  abolish  the  paving  commissioners  in 
the  city,  and  the  watching  bodies  in  Clifton  and  the  District, 
received  the  royal  assent  in  August,  1851.  A  committee  of 
the  Council  was  forthwith  appointed  for  sanitary  purposes. 
Under  the  new  statute  the  Council,  as  the  Local  Board  of 
Health,  was  vested  with  sole  jurisdiction  over  the  city 
streets,  roads  (except  turnpikes),  sewers,  lighting,  scaven- 
ging, and  watering,  the  removal  of  nuisances,  the  regu- 
lation of  slaughter-houses,  and  other  analogous  matters. 
There  was  no  longer  any  question  of  want  of  power,  dubious 
boundaries,  or  clashing  administration,  and   the   effects   of 

•  A  oorrespondent  of  the  BrUtol  Time$  stated  (April  80,  1858),  that  from 
*'  two  to  Uiree  dozen  **  bodies  were  buried  every  Sanday  in  each  of  two  private 
burial  grounds,  belonging  to  persons  named  Francis  and  Wins. 


316  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL.  [1850. 

concentrating  authority  in  a  single  responsible  body  rapidly 
became  apparent.  One  of  the  first  and  most  striking  im- 
provements effected,  was  the  efficient  lighting  of  Clifton  and 
the  other  suburban  districts.  A  survey  of  the  municipal 
area  having  been  made,  a  well-considered  plan  of  sewerage, 
embracing  the  whole  of  the  borough,  and  designed  to  inter- 
cept the  drains  discharging  into  the  harbour,  was  laid  out 
and  approved.  In  1855  four  great  arterial  sewers,  each 
averaging  nearly  a  mile  and  a  half  in  length,  were  begun, 
with  a  view  to  diverting  the  sewage  of  the  western  suburbs, 
to  a  point  in  the  Avon  about  a  mile  below  Cumberland  Basin. 
[In  the  carrying  out  of  this  work,  the  contractors  were 
required  to  make  a  footpath  from  Clifton  Down  to  the  river, 
thus  forming  a  second  ^'Zigsag,''  one  of  the  most  pictu- 
resque walks  in  the  neighbourhood,]  Upwards  of  three 
miles  of  main  sewers  were  constructed  in  Bedminster,  and 
a  still  more  extensive  system  was  laid  down  for  St.  Philip's 
and  the  District.  The  operations  necessarily  occupied  many 
years.  In  1872  it  was  officially  stated  that  the  Corporation 
had  spent  during  the  previous  sixteen  years  the  sum  of 
£137,000  on  sewerage  works  alone,  A  further  outlay  of 
about  £18,000  was  mcurred  for  Bedminster  in  1873.  The 
expense  was  amply  compensated  by  the  reduction  effected  in 
sicKuess  and  mortality.  In  1866,  when  cholera  again  visited 
the  city,  the  fatalities  from  the  disease  numbered  only  29 ; 
and,  instead  of  having  one  of  the  highest  death  rates  in  the 
kingdom,  Bristol  has  for  many  years  vied  with  London  for 
the  place  of  honour  on  the  Registrar-General's  returns. 

In  January,  1850,  the.  death  was  announced  of  a  man 
named  James  Ivyleaf,  supposed  to  have  been  a  native  of 
Bristol,*  but  who  resided  in  Southampton  Row,  Bloomsbury, 
Ijondon.  It  soon  after  transpired  that  he  had  left  nearly  the 
whole  of  his  property  to  the  trustees  of  Bristol  Infirmary. 
On  making  inquiries,  however,  the  trustees  were  led  to 
believe  that  the  testator  died  in  embarrassed  circumstances, 
and  they  renounced  probate  of  the  will.  One  Evan  Rees, 
in  whose  house  Ivyleaf  had  expired,  then  took  out  letters 
of  administration,  on  the  plea  that  he  was  a  creditor,  a 
person  named  Lloyd,  a  money-lender,  becoming  one  of  his 
sureties.  After  a  considerable  lapse  of  time,  the  trustees  of 
the  Infirmary,  acting  on  private  information,  made  a  second 
inquiry,  and  satisfied  themselves  that  Rees  and  Lloyd  had 

*  A  Mr.  Ivyleaf,  linendraper,  High  Street,  was  reiidlng  in  King  Square  in 
1770. 


1850.]  PUBCHASS   OF  THE   DOWNS.  817 

appropriated  nearly  £6,000,  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  of 
Government  stock  held  by  Ivyleaf .  Leral  proceedings  were 
thereupon  commenced,  but  Sees  had  emigrated  to  Australia, 
and  Lloyd,  after  becoming  bankrupt,  died.  It  was  neverthe- 
less discovered  that  Lloyd,  with  about  £3,000  of  the  money, 
had  made  advances  to  the  spendthrift  heir  of  the  Earl  of 
Wicklow,  receiving  as  security  a  post-obit  deed  for  £25,000, 
which  he  had  transferred  to  his  wife.  The  Court  of  Chan- 
cery was  therefore  appealed  to,  and  in  February,  1855, 
Mrs.  Lloyd  was  ordered  to  pay  the  Infirmary  £2,800. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Council  on  the  12th  February,  1850,  a 
discussion  took  place  upon  the  extensive  encroachments 
which  had  been  recently  made  upon  the  valuable  common 
land  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Clifton.  Mr.  Visger  observed 
that  measures  were  in  progress  which  would  eventually 
terminate  in  the  inclosure  of  Clifton  Down.  A  considerable 
portion,  indeed,  had  been  already  built  upon.  "  These  en- 
croachments," he  said,  "had  all  been  gradual.  When  he 
was  a  boy  a  great  part  of  Clifton  was  open,  and  consisted 
chiefly  of  sheep  walks.  A  few  rails  were  put  up,  ostensibly 
to  prevent  the  sheep  from  wandering.  These  soon  gave  way 
to  iron  stanchions ;  by-and-by  a  wall  was  built,  and  then 
houses  were  erected.  Opposite  these  houses  small  shrubs 
were  planted,  and  under  pretence  of  protecting  them,  posts 
were  put  up.  Within  a  few  years  the  posts  were  pulled 
down  and  regular  plantations  formed.  He  well  remembered 
having  ridden  up  and  down  places  that  were  now  inclosed." 
Mr.  Visger's  remarks  called  forth  no  contradiction;  but  when 
Aid.  Pinney  advised  the  purchase  of  the  downs,  Mr.  Powell 
(St.  Augustine's)*  protested  against  the  Council  interfering 
with  the  property  of  others.  If  the  Merchants'  Society,  he 
said,  chose  to  build  upon  Clifton  Down,  they  would  be  deal- 
ing with  their  own  property,  and  the  Council  had  no  more 
right  to  intervene  than  to  pull  down  Badminton  House.  It 
was  resolved  to  represent  to  the  Board  of  Health  Inspector, 
then  holding  his  inquiry  in  the  city,  the  great  value  of  these 
open  spaces,  and  the  danger  to  which  they  were  exposed 
from  systematic  encroachments.  In  the  following  August, 
the  lords  of  the  manor  of  Henbury,  "  doing  what  they  liked 
with  their  own,"  disposed  of  a  portion  of  Durdham  Down  to 
the  authorities  of  St.  John's  district  church,  for  the  purpose 

*  This  gentleman,  who  held  many  eocentrio  opinions,  was  accustomed  to 
warn  the  civic  body  at  intervals  that  Brandon  Hill  was  an  old  volcano,  and 
that  it  would  some  fine  morning  give  renewed  proof  of  its  ancient  forces  by  fill- 
ing up  the  Floating  Harbour. 


318  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL.  [1850. 

of  building  a  scHoolhonse.  Other  encroaclimeiits  were  made 
from  time  to  time^  and  in  1856  some  enterprising  individnal, 
as  an  experiment,  built  a  cottage  in  one  of  the  fiv^  quarries 
which  were  then  being  worked  in  various  parts  of  the  downs. 
This  step  excited  so  much  indignation,  however,  that  the 
building  was  forthwith  removed.  In  the  course  of  the  fol- 
lowing year,  the  Corporation  succeeded  in  purchasing,  for 
£450,  a  small  property  at  Westbury,  to  which  commonable 
rights  on  Durdham  Down  were  attached,  whereby  it  was 
hoped  a  title  had  been  obtained  to  resist  further  encroach- 
ments in  that  direction.  Soon  afterwards  Mr.  Baker,  as 
owner  of  the  Sneyd  Park  estate,  claimed,  and  apparently 
made  good  his  claim  to,  a  strip  of  ground  at  Sea  Walls,  which 
had  hitherto  been  a  favourite  promenade  for  pedestrians. 
In  1 859  the  public  were  startled  by  another  unexpected  pro- 
ceeding— ^the  inclosure  by  a  Mr.  Samuel  Worrall,  descendant 
of  a  former  clerk  of  the  Merchants'  Society,  of  two  large 
pieces  of  common  land  which  had  been  popularly  considered 
to  form  part  of  Clifton  Down.  His  action  was  the  subject  of 
indignant  reprobation  in  the  Council ;  but  according  to  legal 
authorities  the  inclosures  could  not  be  prevented,  and  the 
utmost  the  public  could  claim  was  a  footpath  over  the  plots. 
Further  encroachments  being  reported  as  imminent,  a  com- 
mittee was  appointed  to  negotiate  with  the  Merchants' 
Society  and  the  lords  of  Henbury  Manor.  In  the  result,  the 
Society,  while  refusing  to  sell  their  rights  over  either  the 
turf  or  the  minerals  of  Clifton  Down,  expressed  willingness 
to  see  the  public  assured  of  the  free  enjoyment  of  the  open 
space,  whilst  the  lords  consented  to  sell  in  fee  simple  their 
estate  in  Durdham  Down,  including  the  quarries,  for  £15,000. 
A  resolution  empowering  the  committer  to  arrange  with  the 
parties  on  those  terms  was  passed  by  the  Council  on  the  24th 
May,  1860;  and  an  Act  of  Parliament  legalising  the  settle- 
ment received  the  royal  assent  a  year  later.  The  lordship 
of  the  manor  of  Henbury  was  divided  between  two  persons. 
Sir  J.  Greville  Smyth,  who  held  three-fourths,  and  who 
therefore  received  £11,250;  and  the  trustees  of  Mrs.  Colston, 
of  Roundway,  Wilts,  who  obtained  £3,750  in  right  of  the 
remaining  quarter.  The  expense  of  obtaining  the  statute 
raised  the  total  cost  of  the  transaction  to  £16,296.  The  area 
over  which  the  public  acquired  a  right  of  perpetual  enjoy- 
ment was  442  acres — 230  acres  of  which  belong  to  Clirton 
Down,  and  212  to  that  of  Durdham.  In  March,  1862,  an 
excited  controversy  arose  respecting  a  contract  made  by  the 
Downs  Committee — which  under  the  Act  consists  of  seven 


¥ 


1850.]  ABNO'S   COURT.      FATAL  EXPLOSION.  319 

members  of  the  Council  and  seven  of  the  Merchants'  Society 
— for  the  construction  of  a  carriage  road  from  Belgrave  Place 
to  SneydPark.  Mr.  Baker^  the  gentleman  mentioned  abovOj 
received  £550  for  the  work,  but  owing  to  the  disapproval 
expressed  by  the  citizens,  the  turf  was  ordered  to  be  replaced, 
and  Mr.  Baker  not  merely  retained  the  contract  price,  but 
ot  £200  more  for  restoring  the  ground  to  its  former  state, 
he  necessity  of  a  road  to  Sneyd  Park  was  nevertheless 
obvious,  and  the  destruction  of  the  grass  by  carriages,  etc., 
at  length  wrought  a  change  in  public  opinion.  In  1875  over 
£1,000  were  raised  by  private  subscription  for  making  a  road 
from  near  Alderman  Proctor's  fountain  to  Sea  Walls ;  and  a 
few  months  later,  the  drive  was  extended  to  the  road  leading 
to  Combe  Dingle.  At  the  same  time,  by  private  arrange- 
ment, the  carriage  road  from  near  St.  John's  School  to  Down 
House  [formerly  the  famous  summer  resort  known  as  the 
Ostrich  Inn,  see  p.  4],  was  closed  and  turfed.  In  1879 
these  improvements  were  further  extended,  the  Sea  Walls 
road  being  continued  to  the  Westbury  road.  A  footpath  on 
the  site  of  ^'Baker's  road"  was  laid  down  in  1880,  and  in 
January,  1882,  another  was  made  in  the  ravine,  affording 
access  to  the  shore  of  the  Avon. 

An  ecclesiastical  district,  afterwards  styled  St.  Matthias's 
parish,  was  formed  out  of  the  parishes  of  St.  Paul,  St.  Peter, 
and  St.  Philip,  by  an  Order  in  Council  in  May,  1846;  but  for 
some  reason  the  foundation-stone  of  the  new  church  was  not 
laid  until  March,  1850.  Much  difficulty  was  encountered  in 
the  construction  of  the  edifice,  owing  to  the  marshy  nature  of 
the  site.     The  church  was  consecrated  in  November,  1851. 

The  large  mansion  known  as  Amo's  Court,  near  Brisling- 
ton,  came  into  the  market  during  the  spring  of  1850,  and  was 
purchased  for  a  Roman  Catholic  body  called  ''The  Sisterhood 
of  the  Asylum  of  the  Good  Shepherd."  The  nuns  established 
in  it  a  penitentiary,  and  added  a  large  chapel  to  the  building. 
In  1858  the  penitentiary  was  converted  into  a  reformatory 
for  youthful  criminals  of  the  Romish  faith.  The  remarkable 
outbuildings  formerly  attached  to  the  property,  which  have 
obtained  the  local  name  of  Black  Castle,  and  were  styled  by 
Horace  Walpole  "the  Devil's  Cathedral,"  were,  with  the 
gardens,  detached  from  the  mansion  and  sold  in  1821.  They 
are  still  decorated  with  the  statues  depicted  in  Mr.  Seyer's 
"  Memoirs  of  Bristol." 

In  the  summer  of  1849  a  small  steam  vessel  commenced  to 
ply  as  a  passenger  boat  between  the  Drawbridge  and  Cum- 
berland Basin;  when  the  novelty  and  cheapness  of  the  mode 


820  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL.  [1850. 

of  transit  caused  the  enterprise  to  be  very  profitable,  and 
naturally  brought  competitors  into  the  field.  In  the  summer 
of  1850,  seven  additional  steamers  were  provided  for  carry- 
ing on  the  trafiic,  which  had  largely  increased.  On  the 
evening  of  the  22nd  July,  one  of  the  vessels,  the  Bed  Rover, 
which  was  said  to  have  carried  a  thousand  passengers  during 
the  day,  was  starting  on  her  concluding  voyage  from  Cum- 
berland Basin,  with  about  fifty  persons  on  board,  when  the 
boiler  exploded,  scattering  death  and  destruction  around. 
Fifteen  individuals  were  either  instantly  killed  or  died  from 
the  effects  of  their  injuries ;  several  others  were  seriously 
maimed.  The  verdict  given  at  the  first  coroner's  inquest 
was,  "that  the  deceased  had  met  with  his  death  in  con- 
sequence of  the  bursting  of  a  boiler  which  at  the  time  was 
in  an  unfit  state  for  use." 

Upon  the  death,  about  October,  1850,  of  Mr.  Charles 
Vaughan,  the  oflSce  of  master  of  the  ceremonies  at  the  balls 
in  Clifton  became  extinct.  The  want  of  some  recognised 
official  to  organize  the  amusements  of  the  place  was  soon  pro- 
.  ductive  of  difficulties.  Even  in  the  days  of  the  old  Corpora- 
tion, when  Clifton  was  but  a  village,  there  had  been  struggles 
on  the  part  of  some  of  the  inhabitants  to  exclude  others  from 
public  entertainments.  One  lady,  wife  of  a  wealthy  alder- 
man, explained  to  Prebendary  Sydney  Smith  that  she  and 
her  friends  wished  to  establish  a  sort  of  Almacks,  "  with  of 
course  due  consideration  for  the  differing  circumstances  of 
the  locality."  "Yes,"  replied  the  canon,  "the  difference, 
that  is,  between  refined  and  raw  sugar."  Two  or  three 
years  after  Mr.  Vaughan's  death,  rival  coteries  were  formed, 
one  of  which  held  its  balls  in  the  large  room  at  the  Mall, 
while  the  second,  which  did  not  deem  the  other  sufficiently 
"  exclusive,"  set  up  its  camp  at  the  Victoria  Rooms.  The 
offensive  proceedings  of  the  latter  party*  were  productive 
of  so  much  ill-feeling  that  balls  were  discontinued  for  some 
years.  Another  acrimonious  controversy  occurred  in  Decem- 
ber, 1860,  when  Mr.  W.  P.  King,  a  member  of  one  of  the 
leading  mercantile  houses  in  Bristol,  published  a  letter  com- 
plaining that  his  family,  having  applied  for  tickets  for  certain 
proposed  "  private  Clifton  subscription  balls,"  had  been  re- 

*  According  to  the  reminiscences  of  a  correspondent  published  in  the  Bristol 
TimeSt  one  of  the  "  patronesses  "  refnsed  to  forward  tickets  of  admission  to  a 
lady  until  she  had  been  allowed  a  sight  of  the  latter*8  marriage  certificate.  The 
response  was,  that  the  document  would  be  produced  as  soon  as  the  **  patroness  " 
had  exhibited  a  specimen  of  the  weekly  washing  bills  which  she  was  accustomed 
to  forward  to  her  customers  in  her  younger  days. 


1850.]  QUAEEBLS  IN   CLIFTON   "  SOCIETY. "  321 

fused  them  by  one  of  the  promoters — "  the  son  of  a  London 
tradesman^  his  father  having  been  an  undertaker.'^  The 
friends  of  this  aristocratic  youth  rushed  into  print  in  his 
defence ;  and  the  Bristol  Times,  the  organ  of  both  the  exas- 
perated parties,  felt  called  upon  to  rebuke  a  community 
"  composed  entirely  of  traders  or  sons  of  traders/'  who  were 
ashamed  of  the  means  by  which  they  had  acquired  wealth, 
and  were  ridiculously  "  turning  up  their  noses  at  each  other.'' 
A  twelvemonth  later^  at  a  meeting  of  leading  inhabitants,  it 
was  stated  that  the  proceedings  of  the  supercilious  under- 
taker's son  and  of  his  youthful  supporters  had  had  the  effect 
of  breaking  up  society  in  Clifton,  and  had  caused  some  fami- 
lies to  leave  the  place.  The  balls  were  then  arranged  to  be 
held  under  the  supervision  of  a  committee.  In  the  winter  of 
1862,  a  Mr.  Henry  Lucas  Bean  was  appointed  master  of  the 
ceremonies,  but  appears  to  have  held  the  post  for  only  a 
short  period. 

In  October,  1850,  an  unwonted  outburst  of  national  feeling 
occurred  on  the  promulgation  by  Pope  Pius  IX.  of  a  Bull, 
by  which  England  was  carved  into  thirteen  sees — an  arch- 
bishopric and  twelve  bishoprics — the  prelates  appointed  to 
which  were  designated  by  territorial  titles.  By  this  bull  was 
created  the  so-called  "  diocese  of  Clifton,"  which  included 
the  three  adjoining  counties.  The  new  bishop,  Dr.  J.  W. 
Hendren,  was  enthroned  on  the  15th  December,  in  the 
Church  of  the  Apostles,  Clifton,  which  was  thenceforth  styled 
a  pro-cathedral.  In  the  following  July  the  bishop  was  trans- 
ferred to  Nottingham,  and  was  succeeded  by  Dr.  Burgess. 
The  Protestant  excitement  in  Bristol  was  increased  by  the 
fact  that  the  Rev.  J.  H.  Woodward,  incumbent  of  St.  James's, 
and  his  two  curates,  Messrs.  Parry  and  Todd,  "  went  over  " 
to  the  Romish  Church  about  the  same  time.  It  may  be  noted 
that  several  of  the  Oxford  men  who  followed  Dr.  Newman  in 
the  same  direction  came  to  reside  in  Clifton,  and  published 
tracts  there  in  defence  of  their  conduct. 

In  the  course  of  this  year,  during  the  reconstruction  of  the 
house  numbered  41,  High  Street,  the  remains  were  discovered 
of  a  fifteenth  century  roof,  resting  upon  corbels  of  demi- 
angels.  The  place  was  supposed  to  have  been  the  site  of  the 
chapel  of  an  almshouse,  known  to  have  anciently  existed  in 
that  locality. 

In  conformity  with  the  provisions  of  the  Mercantile  Marine 
Act  of  1850,  local  boards  to  provide  for  the  examination  of 
masters  and  mates  were  established  in  the  principal  ports  of 
the  kingdom,  and  commenced  their  duties  on  the  1st  January, 

Y 


322  TH£   AKNALS   OF  BBISTOL.  [1851. 

1851.  The  first  Bristol  board  consisted  of  Mr.  Edward  Drew 
(Chairman),  the  mayor  (Mr.  Haberfield),  and  Messrs.  P.  W. 
Miles,  M.P.,  Richard  Jones,  Richard  P.  King,  William  P. 
King,  William  Brass,  Richard  Rowe,  William  Patterson, 
Frederick  W.  Green,  and  William  Cook. 

In  January,  1851,  Mr.  J.  Cumock,  an  able  local  artist,  who 
had  been  employed  by  the  Corporation  to  clean  some  of  the 
pictures  in  the  Council  House,  discovered  a  work  of  art  the 
disappearance  of  which  had  long  puzzled  the  civic  officials. 
Mr.  Cumock  was  engaged  upon  a  portrait  of  Charles  II.,  the 
head  of  which  was  so  miserably  executed,  compared  with  the 
hands,  that  he  was  led  to  examine  it  attentively.  Indications 
of  another  wig  beneath  the  surface  convinced  him  that  the 
canvas  had  been  tampered  with,  and  after  obtaining  leave  of 
the  authorities,  he  proceeded  to  remove  the  outer  daubing, 
with  the  result  of  bringing  to  light  a  finely  painted  head  of 
James  II.  This  work — attributed  to  Kneller — was  bought 
by  the  Corporation  in  1686,  and  is  supposed  to  have  been 
"  translated "  soon  after  the  dethronement  of  the  would-be 
despot. 

Amongst  the  financial  proposals  in  the  Budget  of  1851  was 
a  scheme,  soon  after  sanctioned  by  Parliament,  for  the  sub- 
stitution of  a  house-tax  for  the  unpopular  duty  imposed  on 
windows.  Owing  to  causes  for  which  it  is  somewhat  difficult 
to  account,  the  window  tax  pressed  grievously  on  Bath  and 
Bristol,  which  bore  a  share  of  the  burden  greatly  in  excess 
of  their  proportional  size  and  population  amongst  the  chief 
cities  in  the  kingdom.  According  to  a  contemporary  Parlia- 
mentary return,  the  following  were  the  ten  towns  which  paid 
the  highest  amount  of  duty  for  the  year  ending  April,  1849  : 
Liverpool,  £28,856;  Bristol,  £22,176;  Bath,  £21,278;  Man- 
chester, £20,575;  Brighton,  £17,572  ;  Birmingham,  £14,986; 
Plymouth,  £11,929;  Newcastle,  £7,822;  Leeds,  £7,596; 
Cheltenham,  £6,767. 

Seven  years  before  this  date,  when  the  population  of  Clifton 
was  rapidly  increasing,  a  demand  sprang  up  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  public  market  in  the  district,  the  sites  proposed 
being  Honeypen  Hill  Quarry,  near  Meridian  Place,  and  the 
ground  now  occupied  by  the  Triangle.  The  Finance  Com- 
mittee of  the  Corporation  reported  in  favour  of  the  project 
in  May,  1844,  but  the  Council  refused  its  sanction.  In  1851 
the  proposal  was  revived,  and  a  strong  efPort  was  made  to 
obtain  the  erection  of  a  suitable  building  on  a  site  near  the 
church,  the  cost  being  estimated  at  £5,000.  The  Council, 
however,  disapproved  of  the  proposal.     In  1875  another  at- 


1851.]        THE   MKRCHANTS'    SOCIETY.      A   LOCAL   KNIQHT.  823 

tempt  was  made^  a  company  being  started  to  erect  a  market- 
house  on  Richmond  Mews,  near  York  Place,  and  a  large 
portion  of  the  capital  (£4,000)  was  at  once  subscribed.  The 
Corporation,  having  requested  the  opinion  of  the  recorder, 
was  advised  that  it  could  not  concede  to  a  public  company 
its  privilege  of  holding  and  regulating  markets  within  the 
borough.     The  scheme  consecniently  fell  to  the  ground. 

A  local  journal  of  the  3rd  March  contained  an  announce- 
ment that  the  Society  of  Merchant  Venturers  had  reduced 
the  fee  payable  upon  admission  into  the  company  from  £200 
to  £50.  This  brief  statement  comprises  the  only  information 
respecting  the  inner  working  of  the  corporation  in  question 
which  has  been  found  in  the  newspapers  of  the  present  cen- 
tury. At  an  earlier  period,  it  is  believed,  the  political  party 
Predominant  in  it,  as  in  the  Common  Council,  was  that  of  the 
iThigs;  but  a  rapid  change  took  place  after  the  French 
Revolution.  About  1860  there  was  said  to  be  only  one 
member  of  the  society — Mr.  Robert  Bruce — who  was  not  a 
Conservative ;  and  the  unanimity  brought  about  by  his  death 
has  since  remained  undisturbed. 

The  honour  of  knighthood  was  conferred  in  March,  1851, 
upon  Mr.  John  Kerle  Haberfield,  who  was  then  filling  the 
office  of  mayor  for  the  sixth  time.  His  worship  had  sub- 
scribed liberally  towards  the  local  fund  for  promoting  the 
Exhibition  of  the  industries  of  all  nations,  which  took  place 
in  London  during  the  summer.  [The  total  amount  raised 
by  subscription  throughout  the  kingdom  in  support  of  the 
undertaking  was  over  £76,000,  to  which  Bristol  contributed 
£788.]  A  few  weeks  after  receiving  his  new  dignity.  Sir 
John  Haberfield  was  presented,  in  recognition  of  his  public 
services,  with  a  beautiful  dessert  service  of  plate,  valued  at 
upwards  of  £800,  being  the  result  of  a  subscription  to  which 
500  citizens  of  all  shades  of  politics  contributed.  On  the 
centre  ornament,  nearly  three  feet  in  height,  were  the  arms 
of  the  city  and  of  the  mayor,  with  the  inscription  :  "  To  Sir 
John  Kerle  Haberfield,  knight,  six  times  Mayor  of  Bristol, 
1851."  Above  this  were  emblematic  figures  of  Justice,  Com- 
merce, and  Generosity.  The  other  portions  of  the  service 
were  also  tastefully  ornamented.  Some  years  after  the  death 
of  Sir  John,  which  occurred  in  1857,  his  widow  presented 
this  handsome  service  to  the  Corporation,  to  be  used  by  each 
mayor  during  his  term  of  office.  A  bust  of  the  knight  was 
also  obtained  about  the  same  time,  at  the  expense  of  a  con- 
siderable number  of  citizens,  and  was  placed  in  the  Mayor's 
Chapel.     A  portrait  of   Sir  John,  painted  during  his  first 


324  THE  ANNALS   OF  BBI8T0L.  [1851. 

mayoralty,  was  bequeathed  to  the  Corporation  by  his  widow 
in  1875. 

The  census  of  1851  was  taken  on  the  31st  March.  The 
population  of  the  city  and  county  of  Bristol  was  found  to  be 
137,328;  the  number  of  persons  in  the  ancient  city  being 
65,716.  The  population  of  Clifton  was  17,634;  the  District, 
7,935 ;  St.  Philip's,  out,  24,961 ;  St.  George's,  8,905 ;  Man- 
gotsfield,  3,967;  Stapleton,  4,840;  Bedminster,  19,424,  and 
Stoke  Bishop  tything,  5,623. 

In  April,  1851,  Messrs.  Stuckey  &  Co.,  bankers,  who  then 
occupied  the  singular  old  house  at  the  corner  of  High  Street 
and  Wine  Street,  purchased  premises  in  Corn  Street,  con- 
sisting of  Mr.  Harril's  sale-room  and  the  apartments  occu- 
pied by  the  members  of  the  AthensBum.  An  old  dwelling 
standing  at  the  comer  of  Nicholas  Street  was  bought  soon 
after,  and  a  large  banking-house  was  constructed  on  the 
sites,  a  portion  being  sold  to  the  Corporation  for  the  purpose 
of  widening  the  adjoining  streets.  In  removing  the  ancient 
buildings,  the  crypt  of  the  demolished  church  of  St.  Leonard 
— the  tower  of  which  stood  over  the  end  of  Corn  Street — 
was  exposed  to  view,  much  of  it  being  in  good  preserva- 
tion. 

Some  ludicrous  incidents  in  connexion  with  a  proposed 
"affair  of  honour"  occurred  in  the  spring  of  1851.  In  a 
debate  on  the  army  estimates  in  the  House  of  Commons  dur- 
ing the  previous  session,  Mr.  Berkeley,  the  senior  member 
for  the  city,  had  condemned  as  wasteful  the  vote  granted  for 
the  yeomanry  cavalry.  As  an  evidence  of  the  inutility  of 
the  force,  he  stated  that  during  the  riots  at  Bristol,  when 
the  North  Somerset  corps  was  summoned  by  the  mayor  to 
support  the  cause  of  law  and  order,  only  about  ten  of  the 
"  heroes  "  appeared,  whereupon  they  were  locked  up  by  the 
authorities  to  keep  them  out  of  danger.  No  comment  was 
made  upon  this  statement  at  the  time,  but  a  twelvemonth 
later,  when  the  vote  was  again  under  discussion,  Mr.  W. 
Miles,  M.P.  for  Somerset,  and  the  colonel  of  the  yeomanry, 
made  a  reply,  observing  that  in  1831  seventeen  members  of 
the  Bedminster  troop  followed  Captain  Shute,  and  that,  al- 
though they  retired  to  the  riding  school  during  the  riots  on 
Sunday,  as  desired  by  the  magistrates,  they  came  in  with  the 
regular  troops  on  the  following  day,  and  did  good  service. 
Mr.  Berkeley,  in  defending  his  previous  remarks,  again  con- 
tended that  the  yeomanry,  in  a  military  point  of  view,  were 
impostors,  and  as  constabulary  were  useless.  He  went  on  to 
show,  on  the  authority  of  the  Bristol  Oazefte,  that  Captain 


1851.]        A  THREATENED   DUEL.      SLECTBIC  TSLSOBAPHS.  825 

Shute's  troop  had  been  sent  for  on  the  first  day  of  the  riots, 
but  that  only  a  handful  made  their  appearance  after  a  delay 
of  twenty-four  hours,  when  they  were  locked  up  with  the 
consent  of  the  captain,  whose  name,  added  the  hon.  gentle- 
man, amidst  much  laughter,  was  not  S-h-o-o-t,  but  S-h-u-t-e. 
The  discussion  then  dropped,  after  mutual  explanations^ 
Upwards  of  a  week  later,  Captain  Shute  wrote  to  Mr. 
Berkeley,  asking  whether  that  gentleman  intended  to  imply 
any  doubt  of  personal  courage  on  the  part  of  the  writer.  To 
this  Mr.  Berkeley  replied  that  he  had  spelt  the  name  in  the 
House  to  avoid  a  mistake  on  the  part  of  the  reporters,  and 
that  he  believed  his  correspondent  to  have  been  "  the  gallant 
leader  of  a  miserably  small  number  of  gallant  men.''  Cap- 
tain Shute,  dissatisfied  with  the  reply,  proceeded  to  London 
in  company  with  Mr.  Joseph  Leech,  and  indited  a  second 
epistle,  repeating  the  inquiry  made  in  his  first.  Mr.  Berkeley 
thereupon  retorted  that,  after  the  explanation  already  given, 
he  did  not  think  himself  called  upon  to  make  further  admis- 
sions respecting  a  personal  courage  which  he  had  never  im- 
peached, and  that,  if  Captain  Shute  still  continued  to  consider 
his  reputation  injured,  he  might  address  himself  to  the 
writer's  "  friend,"  Colonel  Dunne.  Captain  Shute,  however, 
declared  that  he  was  now  satisfied,  and  Mr.  Leech,  approving 
of  the  decision,  forwarded  the  correspondence  to  the  Times 
for  publication  on  the  14th  April. 

During  the  summer  of  1851,  the  Great  Western  and  Bristol 
and  Exeter  railway  boards  entered  into  a  contract  with  the 
Electric  Telegraph  Company  for  the  construction  of  a  tele- 
graphic line  from  London  to'  Exeter.  The  Midland  Company 
had  some  months  previously  established  telegpraphic  communi- 
cations on  their  system ;  but  the  intelligence  received  by  the 
public  by  this  means  was  confined  to  the  results  of  interesting 
races.  In  February,  1852,  when  the  line  to  London  and  the 
West  was  on  the  eve  of  completion,  the  proprietors  of  the 
Commercial  Booms  consented  to  set  apart  a  room  in  their 
building  as  a  telegraph  office.  At  the  meeting  for  sanction- 
ing this  arrangement,  it  was  stated  that  a  telegraphic  line  had 
been  laid  to  Shirehampton,  towards  supporting  which  the 
committee  of  the  Commercial  Rooms  would  give  the  £30  a 
year  they  had  previously  paid  to  the  '^  Pill  wamer."  Up  to 
this  date,  when  the  arrival  of  a  ship  at  Kingroad  was 
"  warned"  up  to  the  rooms,  notice  was  sent  to  the  merchant 
concerned,  who  had  to  pay  a  guinea  to  the  messenger.  The 
intelligence  was  henceforth  furnished  for  half  a  crown.  The 
telegraph  office  was  a  few  months  later  removed  to  the  Broad 


326  THE   ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1851. 

Qaay^  and  subsequently  to  the  Exchange.  The  new  system 
was  for  the  first  time  used  as  a  vehicle  for  conveying  reports 
of  Parliamentary  proceedings  to  the  Bristol  newspapers  on 
the  30th  April,  1852.  The  rapid  development  of  telegraphic 
business  brought  into  increased  prominence  the  troublesome 
question  of  "  local  time/'  still  registered  by  the  parish  clocks, 
messages  from  London  being  received  at  the  Bristol  office 
about  ten  minutes  before  the  time  at  which  they  purported 
to  be  despatched.  At  a  meeting  of  the  Council  on  the  14th 
September,  1852,  it  was  resolved — three  inveterate  admirers 
of  ancient  ways  protesting  against  the  innovation — to  regulate 
the  clocks  by  Greenwich  time.  The  first  electric  apparatus 
fitted  up  in  the  provinces  for  private  business  transactions 
was  ordered  by  Messrs.  Wills  &  Co.,  tobacco  manufacturers, 
in  February,  1859,  in  order  to  communicate  between  their 
premises  in  Maryleport  and  Redcliff  Streets.  In  a  lecture 
delivered  in  Bristol  in  December,  1859,  Mr.  R.  S.  Culley,  local 
superintendent  of  the  Telegraph  Company,  stated  that  the 
first  electric  telegraph  line  in  this  country  was  erected  in 
July,  1837,  between  Euston  Square  and  Camden  Town, 
London,  but  that  as  George  Stephenson  and  other  scientific 
men  did  not  appreciate  its  value,  it  was  soon  after  removed. 
In  1839  Messrs.  Wheatstone  &  Cook  constructed  a  line  from 
Paddington  to  Slough  on  the  Great  Western  railway — the 
first  on  which  the  invention  was  tried.  Mr.  Culley  added  that 
Mr.  Brunei  wished  to  extend  the  line  to  Bristol ;  but  that  at 
one  of  the  meetings  of  the  company  he  was  overruled,  mainly 
through  one  of  the  shareholders  denouncing  electric  tele- 
graphy as  wild,  visionary,  and  worthless. 

A  local  newspaper  of  the  26th  July  announced  that  in 
consequence  of  the  rivalry  of  two  steamboats  plying  between 
Bristol  and  Cardiff,  passengers  were  being  conveyed  gratis 
from  and  to  each  town.  Subsequently  fares  were  imposed — 
Is,  for  cabin  and  6d.  for  steerage  passengers.  The  costly 
competition  continued  until  April,  1855. 

The  annual  congress  of  the  Archaeological  Institute  was 
opened  in  Bristol  on  the  29th  July.  Amongst  the  distin- 
guished visitors  were  Lord  Talbot  de  Malahide  (the  pre- 
sident of  the  Institute),  Dr.  Wilberforce  (Bishop  of  Oxford), 
Chevalier  Bunsen,  and  Mr.  Hallam.  A  large  apartment  in 
the  Council  House  was  fitted  up  as  a  reception  room  for  the 
guests,  to  whom  cordial  hospitality  was  offered  by  the  mayor 
(Sir  John  K.  Haberfield).  The  introductory  meeting  took 
place  in  the  Guildhall,  and  a  brilliant  conversazione  was 
held  at  the  Institution.     A  record  of  the  work  of  the  week 


1851.]  THE  CHAMBER  OF  COMMERCE.   THE  ^^DEMERARA."    327 

will  be  found  in  the  yearly  volume  of  the  society's  Trans- 
actions. * 

Down  to  this  period  the  west  end  of  St.  James's  Church, 
with  its  beautiful  Romanesque  ornamentation,  had  been  con- 
cealed from  public  view  by  a  number  of  hovels,  which  had 
been  permitted  to  accumulate  around  the  edifice  during  the 
seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries.  A  subscription  was 
now  started  by  the  parochial  authorities  for  the  purchase  of 
those  excrescences,  and,  the  required  amount  having  been 
obtained,  the  ground  on  which  they  stood  was  cleared  during 
the  autumn,  to  the  great  satisfaction  of  persons  of  taste.  [An 
incongruous  Corinthian  altar  piece  was  removed  from  the 
church  in  1847.] 

A  meeting  of  merchants,  shipowners,  and  others  was  held 
at  the  Commercial  Rooms  on  the  4th  September,  Mr.  Robert 
Bright  presiding,  for  considering  the  desirability  of  reviv- 
ing the  Chamber  of  Commerce  [see  page  300].  Resolutions 
approving  of  the  institution  were  adopted,  but  through 
the  indifference  of  the  mercantile  classes  no  progress  was 
effected  for  some  time.  In  October,  1852,  the  movement  was 
again  started,  and,  upwards  of  a  hundred  firms  having  offered 
to  become  members,  the  Chamber  was  resuscitated  in  the 
following  year.  In  1874  it  obtained  a  charter  of  incor- 
poration. 

At  a  meeting  of  gentlemen  interested  in  shipping  and 
commerce,  held  at  the  office  of  the  mercantile  marine  board. 
Prince's  Street,  on  the  16th  September,  it  was  resolved  to 
establish  a  local  Sailors'  Home — an  institution  for  raising  the 
character  and  promoting  the  comfort  of  seamen  which  had 
been  already  tested  with  satisfactory  results  in  other  large 
ports.  Mr.  P.  W.  Miles,  M.P.,  was  elected  president.  The 
proposal  having  met  with  a  large  measure  of  support,  the  pur- 
chase of  convenient  premises,  extending  from  Queen  Square 
to  the  Grove,  was  effected  in  March,  1852,  for  £1,300,  and 
over  £1,000  more  were  expended  in  fitting  them  up.  The 
home  was  opened  in  January,  1853.  On  the  1st  tJanuary, 
1880,  a  new  building,  called  the  Sailors'  Institute,  erected  in 
Prince's  Street,  at  a  cost  of  £4,500,  by  Mr.  W.  F.  Lavington, 
was  opened  to  seamen,  and  proved  very  popular. 

An  extraordinary  accident,  which  was  disastrous  to  the 

*  Mr.  Pryce  relates  that,  in  anticipation  of  this  gathering,  one  of  the  church- 
wardens of  St.  Peter^s  ordered  the  beautiful  Renaissance  monument  of  one  of 
the  Newton  family  in  that  church  to  be  bedaubed  with  yellow  wash,  obserying 
that  *'  it  was  a  £rty  beastly  thing,  but  was  now  a  Uttie  decent.** — NoUi  an 
EccUiiaatical,  etc.,  p.  208. 


328  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL.  [1851. 

most  skilfal  and  enterprising  sliipbuilding  firm  in  Bristol, 
and  long  cast  a  cloud  on  the  reputation  of  the  port,  occurred 
in  the  Avon  on  the  10th  November.  Messrs.  W.  Patterson 
&  Co.  had  constructed  for  the  West  India  Mail  Steamship 
Company  a  vessel  called  the  Demerara,  which,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  Oreat  Britain,  was  the  largest  steamship  that 
had  then  been  built,  her  registered  burden  being  about  3,000 
tons.  Having  been  floated  out  of  the  building  dock  on  the 
27th  September,  the  vessel  was  partially  fitted  for  sea,  and  on 
the  day  mentioned  above  she  left  Cumberland  basin  in  tow 
of  a  powerful  Glasgow  steam-tug,  which  was  to  take  her  to 
the  Clyde  for  the  purpose  of  receiving  her  engines.  A  suc- 
cession of  blunders,  however,  occurred.  The  vessel  should 
have  entered  the  Avon  some  time  before  high  water,  so  that 
the  most  dangerous  reaches  might  be  passed  with  a  full  tide  ; 
but  delay  occurred,  and  the  current  had  turned  before  she 
was  fairly  in  the  river.  The  steam-tug,  again,  started  at  the 
rate  of  seven  or  eight  miles  an  hour,  which  was  much  in 
excess  of  the  speed  consonant  with  safety.  Mr.  Patterson, 
on  board  the  new  vessel,  urgently  called  the  pilot's  attention 
to  the  danger  of  this  proceeding,  but  the  rate  of  speed  was 
not  sufficiently  reduced,  and  soon  after  passing  the  Round 
Point  the  bow  of  the  Demerara  struck  violently  on  the 
rocky  bank  of  the  Gloucestershire  side  of  the  river.  The 
tide,  ebbing  strongly,  caused  the  stem  of  the  ship  to  swing 
across  the  stream  to  the  opposite  bank,  and  all  attempts 
to  repair  the  disaster  proved  abortive.  As  the  water  flowed 
away  the  ship  settled  down,  the  bolts  started,  the  deck 
twisted,  and  there  seemed  every  probability  that  the  wreck 
would  become  immovable  and  that  the  navigation  of  the  Avon 
would  be  wholly  blocked  up.  Great  efforts,  however,  were 
made  in  preparation  for  the  next  flood  tide,  and  at  night, 
amidst  the  blaze  of  tar  barrels  and  torches,  presenting  a  re- 
markable spectacle  to  the  thousands  of  persons  who  had 
assembled,  the  exertions  of  a  large  body  of  workmen  were 
successful,  the  vessel  being  floated  and  conveyed  to  the  shore 
of  the  river  in  front  of  Eglestaff's  quarry.  It  was  intended 
that  she  should  be  temporarily  repaired  at  that  spot ;  but 
about  an  hour  later  the  ship  broke  from  her  moorings,  and 
again  swung  across  the  river,  receiving  further  serious 
damage.  It  was  not  until  the  rising  of  the  tide  on  the 
morning  of  the  11th  that  the  vessel  could  again  be  floated  and 
removed  to  the  entrance  of  Cumberland  basin.  It  was  at 
first  believed  that  the  damage  sustained  was  too  great  to  be 
repaired,  and  the  vessel,  which  was  insured  for  £48,000  (her 


1851.]  AMATEUR  THEATRICALS.      QUEEN^S   ROAD.  329 

cost,  including  £12,000  for  stores),  was  abandoned  to  the 
underwriters  as  a  "  total  wreck,"  her  value  being  then  esti- 
mated at  £15,000.  On  the  13th  July,  1854,  the  Demerara 
was  sold  for  £5,600 ;  the  paddle  boxes  were  removed,  and 
she  was  converted  into  a  sailing  ship,  which  bore  the  name 
of  the  British  Empire,  In  September,  1859,  the  vessel  was 
again  sold  for  £5,400. 

On  the  12th  November  a  remarkable  amateur  company  of 
comedians  gave  a  performance  at  the  Victoria  Rooms  for  the 
benefit  of  the  Guild  of  Literature  and  Art — an  institution 
started  under  the  auspices  of  Sir  E.  Bulwer  Lytton,  after- 
wards Lord  Lytton.  The  pieces  represented  were  the  comedy 
of  "Not  so  Bad  as  we  Seem,''  by  Sir  E.  Lytton,  and  the  farce 
of  "  Mr.  Nightingale's  Diary,''  by  Messrs.  Charles  Dickens  and 
Mark  Lemon.  The  chief  performers  were  Charles  Dickens 
(who  was  manager  of  the  troop),  Douglas  Jerrold,  John 
Forster,  Mark  Lemon,  Wilkie  Collins,  Peter  Cunningham, 
R.  H.  Home,  Charles  Knight,  J.  Tenniel,  F.  W.  Topham, 
Frank  Stone,  Dudley  Costello,  and  A.  Egg.  Every  seat  in 
the  building  had  been  secured  several  days  before,  and,  in 
deference  to  earnest  appeals,  the  performance  was  repeated 
two  days  later. 

Repeated  complaints  having  been  addressed  to  the  authori- 
ties by  the  inhabitants  of  Clifton  and  Redland  respecting  the 
road  then  leading  from  the  top  of  Park  Street  to  Whiteladies 
Road  and  Clifton  Church,  which  was  much  too  narrow  to 
accommodate  the  constantly  increasing  traffic,  the  Improve- 
ment Committee  of  the  Council,  in  1844,  entered  into  negotia- 
tions with  Mr.  Tyndall — who  had  announced  his  intention 
to  dispose  of  his  park  for  building  purposes — for  throwing 
back  the  wall  of  his  grounds  from  the  Bishop's  College  to 
the  park  gates,  so  as  to  widen  the  thoroughfare  to  sixty 
feet.  But  after  a  price  had  been  agreed  upon  for  the  ground, 
the  owner  insisted  that  the  Corporation  should  rebuild  his 
wall,  park  gates  and  lodge,  by  which  the  cost  of  the  work 
would  have  exceeded  £3,000.  The  committee,  after  some 
delay,  adopted  an  alternative  scheme,  and  bought  in  1851  a 
triangular  field  opposite  to  the  park,  thus  securing  a  sufficient 
breadth  for  the  thoroughfare  (which  in  1854  received  the 
name  of  Queen's  Road).  This  arrangement  also  facilitated 
the  opening  of  a  new  road  on  an  easy  incline  from  Jacob's 
Wells  to  the  higher  level,  for  which  powers  were  obtained  in 
the  Improvement  Act  of  1847.  The  Council,  in  1852,  agreed 
with  Mr.  Tyndall  for  the  purchase  of  another  strip  of  the 
park,  in  order  to  widen  Whiteladies  Road  from  West  Park 


380  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL.  [1852. 

to  the  Victoria  Booms.  The  line  of  large  elms  then  standing 
within  the  park  wall  was  thrown  into  the  road  when  the 
improvement  was  carried  out ;  and  the  locality  soon  became 
the  favourite  promenade  of  the  youthful  working  classes  of 
both  sexes  on  Sunday  evenings.  [The  last  of  the  noble  trees 
was  removed  in  1885,  having  become  dangerous  from  age." 
Soon  after  the  road  had  been  altered,  the  neighbouring  part 
of  the  park  was  offered  for  sale,  and  a  row  of  villas  was 
commenced.  One  of  the  first  houses  built  was  the  Queen*s 
Hotel,  which  was  opened  in  October,  1854.  A  further  great 
improvement  was  effected  in  the  neighbourhood  in  the 
autumn  of  1857,  when,  by  means  of  a  subscription  amounting 
to  £2,000,  a  number  of  hovels  and  petty  shops  standing  on 
the  now  vacant  ground  between  the  Victoria  Rooms  and 
Richmond  Hill  were  demolished,  the  land  being  transferred 
to  the  Merchants'  Society,  who  undertook  to  maintain  it  as 
an  open  space.  The  upper  portion  of  Whiteladies  Road  con- 
tinued to  be  an  extremely  narrow  thoroughfare  until  1858, 
when  a  strip  of  the  nursery  gardens  extending  from  the  end 
of  Gotham  Road  to  opposite  St.  John's  Church  was  thrown 
into  the  street. 

The  tolls  on  foot-passengers  and  cattle  payable  under  the 
Dock  Acts  at  the  gates  near  Totterdown  and  RedclifE  were 
abolished  by  the  Council  in  April,  1852.  The  charge  had 
always  been  unpopular,  and  the  toll-houses  were  burned 
down  by  the  mob  during  the  riots  of  1831.  The  tolls  at 
the  Totterdown  and  Cumberland  Basin  gates  were  ordered 
to  be  wholly  abolished  at  a  Council  meeting  held  in  June, 
1863. 

The  death  took  place  on  the  7th  April,  1852,  of  the  Rev. 
Martin  Richard  Whish,  M.A.,  Prebendary  of  Bedminster  in 
Salisbury  Cathedral,  and,  in  right  of  that  oflSce,  vicar  of 
Bedminster,  rector  of  St.  Mary  Redcliff,  perpetual  curate  of 
St.  Thomas,  rector  of  Abbot's  Leigh,  and  perpetual  curate  of 
Bishops  worth.  A  separation  of  those  benefices  took  place 
by  an  Order  in  Council  of  the  6th  October  following,  each 
district  becoming  an  independent  parish. 

One  of  the  first  steps  taken  by  the  new  vicar  of  Bed- 
minster, the  Rev.  H.  6.  Eland,  was  to  promote  a  subscription 
for  rebuilding  the  parish  church,  a  mean  edifice  of  the  seven- 
teenth century,  capable  of  seating  only  450  persons.  Ser- 
vice was  performed  in  it  for  the  last  time  on  the  25th  June, 
1854,  and  the  new  church  was  ready  for  consecration  in 
August,  1855.  A  few  weeks  before  the  intended  ceremony, 
a  novel  feature  in  the  edifice  excited  a  violent  outbreak  of 


1852.]  THS   BEDMINSTEB  BBBEDOS.      SLBCTION.  881 

antagonistic  feelings  in  the  two  great  parties  in  tlie  English 
Church.  The  structure  in  question  was  a  richly  sculptured 
reredos,  placed  behind  the  communion  table,  and  represent- 
ing the  Crucifixion,  the  Nativity,  and  the  Ascension  in 
highly  idealised  forms.  This  screen — said  to  have  been  the 
first  of  the  kind  erected  in  a  parish  church  since  the  Refor- 
mation— had  been  executed  at  the  expense  of  Messrs.  W. 
Fripp  and  R.  Phippen  (former  mayors),  and  another  gentle- 
man whose  name  did  not  transpire.  The  '^  Evangelical  '* 
clergy  in  the  city  vehemently  protested  against  the  intro- 
duction of  an  ornament  which  they  termed  of  a  papistical 
character,  while  their  High  Church  colleagues  insisted  on 
the  propriety  and  edifying  tendency  of  the  decoration.  Ex- 
cited meetings  were  held,  and  the  newspapers  abounded  with 
acrimonious  correspondence.  Bishop  Monk  seems  to  have 
been  painfully  embarrassed  by  the  stormy  memorials  ad- 
dressed to  him.  On  the  one  hand,  he  refused  to  believe, 
with  the  Low  Church  protesters,  that  the  carved  figures  were 
likely  to  become  objects  of  idolatrous  worship.  On  the  other, 
he  objected  to  representations  varying  from  the  truth  and 
simplicity  of  the  Gospel  narrative,  ana  occupying  the  space 
on  which,  according  to  law,  the  commandments  ought  to 
have  been  exhibited.  He  would  not  order  the  removal  of 
the  reredos,  but  he  did  ''earnestly  and  affectionately  re- 
quesf  the  vicar  and  churchwardens  to  take  away  the 
ornament.  To  this  appeal,  Mr.  Phippen,  the  senior  church- 
warden, in  an  intemperate  letter,  refused  to  accede,  alleging 
that  the  removal  of  the  work  would  throw  a  slur  upon  those 
who  had  paid  for  its  erection.  The  bishop  reiterated  his 
"  request,' '  with  no  better  success  than  before ;  and  his  lord- 
ship, unwilling  to  debar  the  parishioners  from  their  church, 
consecrated  the  building  on  the  30th  October,  the  occasion 
being  seized  by  the  jubilant  High  Church  clergy  to  make 
a  demonstration  of  their  local  strength. 

At  the  dissolution  of  Parliament  in  the  summer  of  1852, 
the  disunion  which  still  partially  existed  in  the  Tory  party  in 
consequence  of  the  incidents  of  the  previous  contest  induced 
the  Liberals  to  bring  forward  a  candidate  in  conjunction 
with  Mr.  Berkeley.  The  new  aspirant  was  Mr.  William  H. 
Gore  Langton,  who  was  then  serving  the  oflSce  of  mayor. 
As  it  was  impossible  to  nominate  either  Mr.  Miles  or  Mr. 
Fripp  with  any  chance  of  success,  the  Conservatives  found 
considerable  difficulty  in  selecting  a  representative,  the 
question  of  free  trade  throwing  fresh  fuel  on  the  still  glow- 
ing embers  of  the  old  personal  quarrel.     The  Tory  Premier, 


332  THE   ANKALS   OF   BBISTOL.  [1853. 

Lord  Derby,  liad  formally  stated  that  he  would  not  abandon 
his  hope  of  restoring  a  duty  on  com  until  after  the  elections ; 
and  the  result  was  that  nearly  every  Conservative  aspirant 
in  the  counties  declared  himself  a  Protectionist,  while  those 
in  the  boroughs  were  everywhere  Free-traders.  Mr.  Forster 
AUeyne  McGreachy,  the  gentleman  ultimately  selected  for 
Bristol,  had  been  an  opponent  of  the  Com  Laws,  but,  his 
relatives  being  connected  with  the  West  Indies,  he  was  a 
Protectionist  in  reference  to  sugar ;  and  to  this  qualification 
he  joined  the  claim  of  being  a  native  of  Bristol.  At  the 
close  of  the  poll  the  numbers  were : — Mr.  Berkeley,  4,681 ; 
Mr.  Langton,  4,531 ;  Mr.  McGeachy,  3,632. 

A  lamentable  accident  occurred  near  Ealing  on  the  25th 
February,  1853,  to  the  express  train  from  Bristol  to  London, 
in  which  several  of  the  directors  of  the  Great  Western  rail- 
way were  travelling  to  attend  the  weekly  meeting  of  the 
board.  Amongst  those  gentlemen  was  Mr.  James  Gibbs,  of 
Clifton  Park,  who  was  killed  instantaneously.  Mr.  Gibbs, 
who  was  head  of  the  firm  of  Gibbs,  Ferris  &  Co.,  of  Union 
Street,  and  a  chemical  manufacturer  in  St.  Philip's,  was  for 
some  time  a  member  of  the  Bristol  Council,  and  served  the 
oflSce  of  mayor  in  1842-3.  He  was  subsequently  Chairman  of 
the  Bristol  and  Exeter  Railway  Company,  and  of  the  Bristol 
and  South  Wales  Union  Railway  Company,  and  was  highly 
esteemed  by  his  fellow-citizens.  The  public  were  never  made 
acquainted  with  the  cause  of  the  accident. 

The  Bristol  Journal  of  March  5  contained  the  following 
paragraph: — ''Notwithstanding  the  many  failures  of  the 
steam-carriage  on  common  roads,  it  has  again  made  its  ap- 
pearance between  Bath  and  Bristol;  and  this  time,  owing 
to  several  most  ingenious  improvements  in  the  machinery 
employed,  had  thoroughly  realized  the  expectations  of  its 
projectors.  The  rate  of  travelling  is  about  twelve  miles  an 
hour,  and  the  cost  is  most  trifling — say  6d.  for  the  jour- 
ney." As  no  further  reference  to  the  carriage  has  been 
found,  it  may  be  inferred  that  the  "  expectations  of  its 
projectors  "  again  ended  in  disappointment. 

In  the  early  months  of  1853,  the  ruinous  old  buildings 
known  as  ''Spencer's  almshouse,*'  in  Lewin's  Mead,  opposite 
to  the  Unitarian  Chapel,  were  evacuated  by  the  inmates, 
who  were  removed  to  a  new  house,  erected  in  Whitson 
[properly  Whitsun]  Street,  near  the  west  end  of  St.  James's 
Church. 

The  Bristol  Library  came  prominently  before  the  public 
about  this  time.     The  committee  of  the  Fine  Arts  Society^ 


1858.]  BECOVEBT   or  THE    CITT   UBBABT.  333 

then  about  to  erect  their  building  in  Whiteladies  Road^ 
suggested  a  union  of  the  two  institutions,  and  the  subscribers 
to  the  testimonial  to  Mr.  Bright  [see  p.  302] ,  offered  to  give 
£700  to  the  funds  of  the  Library,  on  condition  that  a  few 
deserving  members  of  the  working  classes  were  admitted  to 
the  privileges  of  ordinary  subscribers.  Finally,  a  committee 
of  the  Council  suggested  that  the  Library  should  be  converted 
into  a  free  city  library  under  the  provisions  of  a  then  recent 
Act  for  facilitating  the  establishment  of  such  institutions. 
The  executive  of  the  Library  refused  to  confer  with  the  com- 
mittee of  the  Council,  but  assented  to  the  two  former  pro- 
positions. Difficulties  subsequently  arose,  however,  and 
both  negotiations  fell  through. 

In  the  meantime,  through  the  exertions  of  Mr.  Charles 
Tovey  and  a  few  other  members  of  the  Council,  the  position 
of  the  Library  Society  towards  the  city  was  thoroughly  in- 
vestigated, with  results  somewhat  surprising  to  the  inhabi- 
tants. In  a  clever  little  work  written  by  Mr.  Tovey  it  was 
shown  that,  in  1613,  "a  lodge  adjoining  to  the  town  wall, 
near  the  Marsh  "  was  given  to  the  Corporation  by  Robert 
Redwood,  for  the  purpose  of  being  converted  into  a  library 
for  the  use  of  the  citizens.  About  1628,  Tobias  Matthew, 
Archbishop  of  York  (son  of  a  local  mercer,  and  bom  on 
Bristol  Bridge),  gave  a  number  of  books  "  to  the  merchants 
and  shopkeepers  of  the  city  " — ^his  intention  to  do  so  being 
apparently  known  to  the  donor  of  the  lodge ;  and  the  store 
of  books  received  additions  by  a  legacy  of  Redwood  himself, 
and  by  purchases  of  the  Common  Council.  In  1636,  Richard 
Vickris,  one  of  Redwood's  executors,  gave  a  piece  of  ground 
for  the  enlargement  of  the  building,  and  in  1740  a  handsome 
library  was  erected  by  the  Corporation  at  a  cost  of  over 
£1,300,  exclusive  of  the  money  paid  for  a  further  addition  to 
the  site.  Lastly,  about  1,400  volumes  of  books  were  be- 
queathed, in  1766,  by  Mr.  John  Heylyn,  a  relative  of  the 
well-known  Peter  Heylyn,  for  the  use  of  the  citizens.  The 
foundation  of  a  free  public  library  had  thus  been  laid  when, 
in  1772,  a  few  influential  individuals  resolved  on  starting  a 
''  subscription  library,''  and  shortly  afterwards  petitioned  the 
Common  Council  for  ''  the  use  of  the  Library  House  and  of 
the  books  therein  deposited."  That  such  a  request  should 
be  made  was  perhaps  not  so  remarkable  as  the  fact  that  the 
Corporation,  entirely  ignoring  the  rights  of  the  citizens, 
handed  over  to  the  memorialists  the  building  and  its  contents, 
spent  several  hundred  pounds  in  renovating  the  rooms  and 
removing  some  contiguous  stables,  and  also  undertook  to  pay 


334  THE   ANNALS   OT   BRISTOL.  [1853. 

a  portion  of  the  librarian's  salary  out  of  the  city  purse. 
Such  proceedings  were,  however,  a  natural  outcome  of  the 
old  system  of  local  government ;  and  all  surprise  at  the  civic 
munificence  ceases  when  it  is  discovered  that  several  pro- 
moters of  the  Library  Society  were  also  members  of  the 
Common  Council.*  In  1784  the  rooms  were  found  insufficient 
for  the  convenience  of  the  members,  whereupon  the  Common 
Council  granted  an  adjacent  plot  of  ground  at  a  rent  of 
28.  bd,  per  year,  and  made  a  donation  of  £100  to  the  fund 
opened  for  building  a  western  wing,  which  was  finished  in 
the  following  year.  The  Corporation  further  undertook  to 
pay  the  whole  of  the  national  and  local  taxes  on  the  library, 
which  was  also  insured  from  fire  and  kept  in  repair  at  the 
expense  of  the  city.  Again,  in  1814,  when  the  society  pro- 
posed to  erect  a  gallery  in  the  western  wing  for  the  accom- 
modation of  their  books,  the  Common  Council  subscribed  a 
moiety  of  the  cost,  £200.  So  entirely  did  the  society  consider 
themselves  owners  of  the  property,  that  in  1826  they  requested 
the  Corporation  to  permit  them  "  to  remove  the  city  books 
from  the  city  shelves,  in  order  to  make  room  for  books  be- 
longing to  the  society'';  but  although  the  citizens  had  been 
practically  excluded  for  many  years  from  their  own  property, 
the  Common  Council  was  offended  at  the  impudence  of  the 
demand,  and  the  application  was  '*laid  on  the  table."  In 
1836,  soon  after  the  Council  came  into  existence,  Mr.  C.  B. 
Pripp  moved  for  a  catalogue  of  the  city  books  (which  was 
furnished),  and  followed  this  up  by  obtaining  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  committee  "  to  consider  of  the  best  means  to  be 
pursued  for  rendering  the  library  useful  to  the  public."  The 
committee,  however,  never  presented  a  report.  Matters 
remained  in  this  state  until  1848,  when  a  memorial  was  ad- 
dressed to  the  Council  by  forty  respectable  citizens,  calling 
attention  to  the  usurpation  of  public  rights  by  a  small  body 
of  private  persons,  and  asking  that  the  books  belonging  to 
the  city  should  be  made  accessible.  Nothing  was,  however, 
done,  and  the  subject  again  slumbered  until  the  date  at 
which  this  record  has  arrived.  The  Library  Society  having 
refused,  as  has  been  already  stated,  to  co-operate  with  the 
Council,  Mr.  Tovey  and  his  supporters  urged  the  latter  body 
to  give  the  society  notice  to  quit  the  premises  in  order  that 

*  The  society  appears  to  have  been  worthy  of  its  patrons.  In  a  letter  in  the 
Brittolian  for  June  12,  1827,  undoubtedly  written  by  John  Evans,  the  city 
chronologist,  it  is  stated  that  the  name  of  Dr.  Beddoes,  the  most  distinguished 
local  scientist  of  his  age,  was  **  crossed  out  of  the  list  of  members  "  of  the 
Library  Society  because  he  was  '*  not  Blue  enough." 


1853.]      hooabth's  pictures,    claim  of  tom  pbovis.  835 

they  might  be  converted  to  their  original  purpose.  The 
Council  unanimously  adopted  this  suggestion  in  February, 
1854,  to  the  great  indignation  of  the  society,  which  threatened 
for  a  time  to  hold  possession  of  the  building.  At  the  close 
of  the  year  wiser  counsels  prevailed,  and  the  property  was 
surrendered,  the  Corporation  paying  the  society  £630  for  its 
interest  in  the  western  wing.  The  society,  leaving  behind 
them  the  books  belonging  to  the  city  (about  2,000  volumes), 
removed  in  August,  1855,  to  a  wing  of  the  Bishop's  College, 
at  the  top  of  Park  Street.  The  old  building  was  shortly 
afterwards  fitted  up  for  its  original  purpose,  and  was  opened 
as  a  free  library  on  the  15th  September,  1856,  Mr.  George 
Pryce,  subsequently  author  of  a  "  Popular  History  of  Bristol," 
having  been  appointed  librarian.  By  the  gifts  of  various 
citizens,  and  the  energy  of  Mr.  Pyrce,  about  4,000  volumes 
were  soon  after  added  to  the  shelves,  and  Mr.  Robert  Lang 
presented  a  painting  by  Syer,  in  the  hope  that  others  would 
follow  his  example.  The  development  of  free  libraries  in  the 
city  will  be  recorded  under  1873. 

A  faculty  was  granted  in  August,  1853,  for  extensive 
alterations  in  All  Saints'  Church.  Under  the  powers  granted 
by  this  document,  the  west  front  was  rebuilt,  a  new  western 
entrance  formed,  the  doorway  in  Corn  Street  converted  into 
a  window,  and  tracery  placed  in  other  windows.  Further 
alterations  were  made  a  few  years  later,  when  the  roof  and 
the  capitals  of  the  columns  were  decorated  with  colour. 

On  the  20th  August,  the  vestry  of  St.  Mary  Redcliff 
announced  by  advertisement  in  the  local  journals  that  they 
were  desirous  of  receiving  tenders  for  the  purchase  of  the 
three  pictures  by  Hogarth  which  then  hung  in  the  church. 
The  result  appears  to  have  been  unsatisfactory,  as  the  paint- 
ings remained  in  their  accustomed  places  until  the  spring  of 
1858,  when  the  vestry,  at  the  suggestion  of  Alderman  Proctor, 
offered  them  to  the  trustees  of  the  Fine  Arts  Academy,  on 
the  latter  undertaking  to  preserve  them  carefully.  The 
pictures  were  shortly  afterwards  removed  from  the  church. 

A  singular  case  of  fraud  and  deception,  bearing  resemblance 
in  many  points  to  the  more  notorious  imposture  connected 
with  the  Tichborne  baronetcy,  was  tried  at  Gloucester  assizes 
on  the  8th,  9th,  and  10th  August,  and  excited  great  interest. 
The  cause  was  in  the  nature  of  an  action  of  ejectment,  the 
plaintiff,  styling  himself  Sir  Richard  Hugh  Smyth,  baronet, 
seeking  to  establish  his  claim  to  the  title  and  estates  of  the 
Smyth  family  of  Long  Ashton.  His  story  was  that,  although 
brought  up  as  the  child  of  one  Provis,  a  carpenter,  at  War- 


886  THE   AKNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1858. 

minster,  he  was  really  the  son  of  Sir  Hagh  Smyth  by  a  lady 
to  whom  the  baronet  was  secretly  married  in  Ireland  in  1796. 
He  further  alleged  that  soon  after  discovering  this  fact  he 
communicated  it  to  Sir  John  Smyth,  who  had  succeeded  his 
brother  Hugh  through  supposed  default  of  male  issue,  and 
that  Sir  John  had  immediately  acknowledged  the  justice  of 
his  claim,  but  was  so  much  prostrated  by  the  prospect  of 
being  deprived  of  title  and  wealth  that  he  died  suddenly 
during  the  following  night.  Various  documents  were  pro- 
duced in  support  of  the  case,  amongst  them  being  a  declara- 
tion alleged  to  have  been  written  by  Sir  Hugh,  witnessed  by 
his  brother  John,  and  sealed  with  the  family  seal,  in  which 
the  plaintiff  was  acknowledged  as  legitimate  heir  to  the 
baronetcy  and  estates.  To  account  for  the  long  delay  in 
prosecuting  his  case,  the  claimant  alleged  that  he  had  been 
taken  to  the  Continent  by  one  of  Sir  Hugh's  servants ;  that 
he  had  long  believed  that  Sir  John  was  his  elder  brother ; 
and  that  subsequently  he  had  no  funds  to  carry  on  a  costly 
litigation.  While  under  cross-examination,  in  which  a  huge 
web  of  falsehood  was  being  gradually  torn  to  pieces,  a 
dramatic  incident  occurred.  A  telegraphic  message  was 
brought  into  court  addressed  to  the  defendants'  leading 
counsel.  Sir  F.  Thesiger,  who,  after  perusing  the  missive, 
asked  the  plaintiff  whether  he  had  not,  in  the  preceding 
January,  ordered  a  London  tradesman  to  engrave  a  crest 
upon  certain  rings,  and  a  name  upon  a  broach — the  rings 
and  broach  in  question  being  alleged  family  relics  on  which 
much  of  the  case  rested.  The  rogue,  whose  face  became 
livid,  stammered  out  an  affirmative  answer,  whereupon  his 
counsel,  Mr.  Bovil],  threw  up  his  brief,  and  apologised  to  the 
court  for  having  believed  in  the  imposture.  The  impudent 
trickster  was  forthwith  committed  on  charges  of  forgery  and 
perjury.  He  had  been,  in  early  life,  under  his  true  name 
of  Thomas  Provis,  sentenced  to  death  at  Somerset  assizes 
for  horse  stealing ;  subsequently  he  had  picked  up  a  mean 
livelihood  as  an  itinerant  lecturer,  and  by  other  less  reput- 
able avocations.  He  was  tried  and  convicted  of  forgery  at 
Gloucestershire  spring  assizes  in  1854,  and  was  sentenced 
to  twenty  years'  transportation,  but  died  in  a  convict  prison 
in  the  following  year.  The  defence  against  the  action  of 
ejectment  is  said  to  have  cost  the  Smyth  trustees  upwards 
of  £6,000. 

A  meeting  was  held  on  the  7th  November,  the  bishop  of 
the  diocese  presiding,  for  the  purpose  of  considering  the 
propriety  of  converting  the  Diocesan  School  in  Nelson  Street 


1854.]  TRADE   SCHOOL.      BURIAL   GROUNDS   CLOSED.  387 

into  a  Trade  School.  It  was  stated  that  the  Diocesan  School 
was  established  in  1812  for  the  purpose  of  educating  poor 
children  in  the  principles  of  the  Established  Church,  but  that 
owing  to  the  springing  up  in  subsequent  years  of  schools  in 
the  various  parishes,  the  object  of  its  promoters  had  been 
attained  in  other  ways,  and  it  had  ceased  to  be  successful. 
The  Eev.  Canon  Moseley,  soon  after  his  appointment  to  the 
cathedral,  suggested  the  desirability  of  converting  the  build- 
ing into  a  Trade  School,  similar  to  those  which  had  been 
largely  successful  in  Germany  and  other  countries ;  and  his 
proposal  was  sanctioned  by  the  committee,  subject  to  the 
approval  of  the  subscribers.  Dr.  Lyon  Play  fair,  who  attended 
the  meeting,  congratulated  the  people  of  Bristol  on  being 
the  first  in  England  to  contemplate  the  establishment  of  a 
valuable  institution.  Resolutions  authorising  the  remodelling 
of  the  school  were  adopted  unanimously.  The  new  institu- 
tion was  opened  by  Earl  Granville,  Lord  President  of  the 
Council,  on  the  28th  March,  1856.  His  lordship,  after  being 
entertained  to  breakfast  at  the  Council  House,  presided  at 
a  meeting  held  in  the  Merchants*  Hall,  where  he  expressed 
the  deep  interest  felt  by  the  Government  in  the  new  enter- 
prise. The  development  of  this  school  into  the  Merchant 
Venturers'  School  will  be  recorded  hereafter. 

A  new  church  in  Clifton,  dedicated  to  St.  Paul,  was  con- 
secrated on  the  8th  November.  The  edifice,  which  was  a 
tasteless  specimen  of  gothic  architecture,  and  cost  only 
£4,000,  had  an  ecclesiastical  district  assigned  to  it  in  October, 
1859,  by  Order  in  Council.  On  the  night  of  Sunday,  the 
15th  December,  1867,  the  building,  with  the  exception  of 
the  tower,  vestry,  and  porch,  was  destroyed  by  fire— probably 
from  the  overheating  of  the  flues.  The  church,  considerably 
enlarged  and  improved,  was  rapidly  rebuilt  at  a  cost  of  about 
£7,000,  and  was  reconsecrated  on  the  29th  September,  1868. 

A  letter  from  the  Home  Secretary's  office  was  on  the  18th 
January,  1854,  addressed  to  the  churchwardens  of  each  of 
the  ancient  parishes  of  Bristol,  announcing  that  Lord  Palmer- 
ston,  under  the  powers  of  an  Act  passed  in  the  previous 
session,  had  resolved  on  recommending  the  Privy  Council  to 
forbid  interments  in  the  crypts  or  burial  grounds  of  their 
respective  churches.  In  addition  to  the  parochial  cemeteries, 
the  following  were  also  closed :  Francis's  burial  ground. 
West  Street ;  Williams's  burial  ground.  West  Street ; 
Thomas's  burial  ground,  Clarence  Place,  Castle  Street ; 
Dolman's  burial  ground,  Pennywell  Street ;  Howland's  burial 
ground,    Newfoundland    Street;    Infirmary  burial  ground. 


338  THE   ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1854. 

Johnny  Ball  Lane ;  Broadmead  Chapel-yard,  St.  James's 
parish.  Burials  were  also  prohibited  in  St.  Joseph's  (Roman 
Catholic)  chapel,  Trenchard  Street,  and  in  Counterslip  Baptist 
chapel.  In  the  following  places  one  body  only  was  to  be 
buried  in  each  grave :  Quakers'  burial  ground,  Friars ; 
Quakers'  burial  ground,  Redcliff  Pit ;  Quakers'  burial  ground, 
near  the  workhouse  ;  eTews' burial  ground,  St.  Philip's  Marsh; 
Jews'  burial  ground.  Temple  parish.  No  burial  was  to  take 
place  within  five  yards  of  the  adjoining  buildings  in  the 
cemeteries  of  the  cathedral,  St.  George's,  Brandon  Hill,  Zion 
Independent  chapel,  Portland  Street  Wesleyan  chapel,  and 
St.  Paul's,  and  in  the  three  burial  grounds  in  or  near  Red- 
cross  Street. 

Some  interest  was  excited  about  this  time  by  an  effort 
made  by  the  Society  of  Friends  to  avert  the  threatened  war 
between  England  and  Russia  by  means  of  an  appeal  addressed 
directly  to  the  Czar.  The  persons  selected  to  undertake 
this  novel  mission  were  Mr.  Robert  Charleton,  of  Bristol, 
Mr.  Joseph  Sturge,  of  Birmingham,  and  Mr.  Henry  Pease, 
of  Darlington,  On  being  introduced  to  the  Emperor,  at  St. 
Petersburg,  on  the  10th  February,  the  deputies  presented 
r.him  with  an  address  from  their  society,  urging  the  universal 
application  of  Christ's  commands  on  all  who  called  them- 
selves His  followers.  The  address  added  that  the  signatories 
had  been  induced  to  take  this  course  *'  by  the  many  proofs 
of  condescension  and  Christian  kindness  manifested  by  thy 
late  illustrious  brother,  Alexander,  as  well  as  by  thy  honoured 
mother,  to  some  of  our  brethren  in  religious  profession." 
The  deputation  was  treated  with  great  distinction  by  the 
Emperor,  and  was  introduced  to  the  Empress  and  the  Grand 
Duchess  Olga.  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  add  that  the 
mission  was  a  failure. 

On  the  16th  March,  Henry  Charles,  eighth  Duke  of 
Beaufort,  paid  a  visit  to  the  city  in  order  to  take  the  oath 
on  accepting  the  oflSce  of  Lord  High  Steward  of  Bristol,  in 
succession  to  his  father,  who  had  died  a  few  months  before. 
The  ceremony  took  place  in  the  Council  chamber.  After 
his  grace  had  been  sworn  in,  and  some  complimentary 
speeches  had  been  delivered,  the  company  adjourned  to 
another  apartment,  where  a  collation  had  been  prepared. 
The  tables  were  brilliantly  decorated,  and  "  a  gigantic  ship, 
in  sugar,  playing  in  a  sea  of  whipped  cream,"  represented 
one  of  the  chief  elements  of  local  commerce.  In  October, 
the  members  of  the  Corporation  were  invited  to  dine  at 
Badminton,  where  a  party  of  seventy  was  served  entirely 


1854.]    THE   COUNCIL  AT   BADMINTON.      STAPLBTON   CHURCH.        339 

upon  silver.  According  to  the  Bristol  Times,  however,  the 
guests  were  much  irritated  by  their  frigid  reception,  and  one 
of  them,  in  a  published  letter,  complained  of  the  huge  dish 
of  "  cold'shoulder  "  with  which  they  had  been  regaled.  The 
duke  was  presented  with  the  freedom  of  the  Merchants' 
Company,  in  a  gold  box,  in  the  following  November. 

During  the  month  of  March,  an  old  building  standing  upon 
the  Welsh  Back,  nearly  opposite  the  entrance  to  King  btreet, 
and  known  to  all  Bristolians  by  the  name  of  the  Goose  Market, 
was  demolished  by  order  of  the  Council,  being  an  impediment 
to  traffic.  It  had  been  used  in  former  times  for  the  sale  of 
Welsh  products  arriving  by  sailing  vessels,  but  the  introduc- 
tion of  steamers  had  diverted  trade  into  other  directions. 

An  advertisement  in  the  Bristol  newspapers  of  the  1st 
April  announced  that  Pile  Hill,  consisting  of  nearly  thirty 
acres  of  freehold  land,  had  been  laid  out  for  building  pur- 
poses. The  offer  did  not  meet  with  much  attention  until  six 
or  eight  years  after  this  date,  but  several  hundred  dwellings 
were  eventually  erected  in  the  locality. 

On  the  26th  April,  the  Bishop  of  Gloucester  and  Bristol, 
then  residing  at  Stapleton  Palace,  addressed  a  letter  to  the 
incumbent  and  churchwardens  af  that  parish,  undertaking  to 
rebuild  at  his  own  cost  the  parish  church,  then  "mean  in 
structure  and  of  inadequate  capacity."  Dr.  Monk  explained 
that  his  motive  in  making  the  offer  was  to  put  an  end  to 
chronic  quarrels  respecting  pews^  and  to  provide  accommo- 
dation for  the  poor.  In  order  to  insure  the  latter  condition, 
his  lordship  forbore  from  reserving  a  seat  for  his  own  family. 
The  representatives  of  the  lay  impropriator,  Mr.  J.  H.  Greville 
Smyth,  a  minor,  gave  notice  of  their  intention  to  oppose  the 
grant  of  a  faculty  for  demolishing  the  old  church,  unless  Mr. 
Smyth's  rights  in  the  chancel,  including  the  power  of  selling  or 
letting  pews,  were  acknowledged.  The  difficulty  was  avoided 
by  allowing  the  old  chancel  to  remain,  but  it  was  afterwards 
rebuilt  by  Mr.  Smyth's  trustees.  Amongst  the  last  acts  of 
Bishop  Monk  (who  died  in  June,  1856,  before  the  consecration 
of  the  church)  was  the  gift  of  an  organ  and  a  clock  to  the 
edifice,  which  cost  him  upwards  of  £5,000,  and  is  probably 
the  most  beautiful  modem  village  church  in  the  county.  In 
1870  Sir  J.  Greville  Smyth,  bart.,  restored  to  the  parish  the 
great  tithes,  which  had  belonged  to  his  family  for  many 
generations,  and  which  amounted  to  £250  a  year.  Half  the 
sum  was  reserved  for  the  ecclesiastical  district  of  Fishponds, 
part  of  the  ancient  parish  of  Stapleton. 

The    once   celebrated  coaching-house,   the  Bush   Hotel, 


340  THE   ANNALS   OP  BRISTOL.  [1854. 

Com  Street,  was  ordered  to  be  demolished  in  May,  to  make 
way  for  the  new  West  of  England  Bank.  Whilst  the  work- 
men were  removing  the  flooring  of  one  of  the  large  rooms, 
they  discovered  a  canvassing  card  of  Henry  Cruger,  printed 
during  the  contest  of  1781,  in  which  that  gentleman  appealed 
for  support  as  "a  zealous  Promoter  of  Trade,  Peace,  and 
Harmony  between  Great  Britain  and  America.*' 

About  the  end  of  August,  the  Rev.  Robert  H.  Miles,  rector 
of  Bingham,  Nottingham,  and  fourth  son  of  the  late  Mr. 
P.  J.  Miles,  of  Leigh  Court,  purchased  a  piece  of  ground 
fronting  the  new  course  of  the  Avon,  for  the  purpose  of  erect- 
ing a  church — which  the  founder  intended  for  the  use  of 
seamen  frequenting  the  port — and  also  an  almshouse  for 
sailors'  widows.  The  buildings  were  completed  and  the 
church  opened  in  May,  1859.  From  the  outset  the  religious 
services  were  characterised  by  an  ornateness  and  ceremonial 
previously  unknown  in  the  city ;  and  in  the  course  of  a  few 
months  the  church  became  the  recognised  centre  of  fashion- 
able "ritualists,''  the  seamen  for  whom  the  building  was 
designed  being  conspicuous  from  their  absence.  In  1865  it 
was  announced  that  a  series  of  pictures,  representing  the 
Roman  Catholic  legend  of  the  ''  Stations  of  the  Cross,  had 
been  placed  in  the  building,  and  at  a  later  period  a  wax- 
work representation  of  the  Holy  Family  in  the  stable  at 
Bethlehem  was  set  up  during  the  Christmas  festival.  In 
1877  Bishop  EUicott  repeatedly  urged  the  chaplain,  the  Rev. 
A.  H.  Ward,  to  abandon  the  illegal  practices  which  he  had 
adopted  in  the  celebration  of  the  Communion ;  but  the 
reverend  gentleman  replied  that  he  could  not  conscientiously 
make  any  alteration  in  the  services.  In  March,  1878,  the 
bishop  conseqiiently  revoked  Mr.  Ward's  licence,  and  the 
church,  which  had  never  been  consecrated,  was  thenceforth 
closed. 
^  Another  visitation  of  cholera  occurred  during  the  month  of 
October,  1854,  but  the  ravages  of  the  disease  were,  as  com- 
pared with  former  occasions,  limited.  Amongst  the  victims 
was  Robert  Evans,  LL.D.,  D.C.L.,  the  first  headmaster  of  the 
reorganised  Grammar  School,  which,  through  his  learning 
and  ability,  had  been  already  raised  to  great  estimation.  He 
was  succeeded  by  Mr.  C.  T.  Hudson,  who  had  held  the  post 
of  second  master. 

"  In  October,  1854,  the  first  mission  to  that  most  hopeless 
of  all  hopeless  countries,  Patagonia  and  the  Tierra  del  Fuego, 
sailed  from  the  port  of  Bristol,  in  the  schooner  called  the 
Allen   Oardinery   commanded    by  the    gallant    and    zealous 


1854.]    THE    WAR.      PARISH   CLERKS  AND    ^' THREE    DECKERS.''    341 

captain  of  that  name,  whose  melancholy  fate,  and  that  of  his 
crew,  ofE  that  inhospitable  coast,  in  the  following  year,  filled 
the  minds  of  many  Christians  with  the  greatest  grief.  Yet, 
notwithstanding  the  sad  casualty  which  befell  the  captain  and 
crew,  entitling  them  to  a  place  on  the  list  of  martyrs  for  the 
cause  of  religion,  the  little  vessel,  having  been  rescued  and 
brought  home  to  England,  and  lengthened  and  refitted  at 
Bristol,  has  found  another  captain  and  crew  ready  to  under- 
take the  responsibilities  of  this  dangerous  but  glorious  enter- 
prise, and  is  again  (1862)  about  to  sail  for  her  destination."  * 

Consequent  upon  the  outbreak  of  war  with  Russia,  a  meet- 
ing of  citizens  was  held  in  the  Guildhall  on  the  20th  Novem- 
ber, in  support  of  the  Patriotic  Fund,  established  under  a 
Royal  Commission,  for  the  relief  of  the  families  of  soldiers  and 
sailors  who  should  fall  during  the  conflict.  The  total  amount 
collected  in  the  city  was  £9,996.  At  a  later  period  of  the 
war,  when  the  deficiency  of  the  transport  ser^dce  in  the 
Crimea  had  caused  deplorable  results,  steps  were  taken  for 
the  creation  of  a  Land  Transport  corps,  of  which  Bristol 
became  the  headquarters.  The  barracks  at  Horfield  being 
inadequate  for  their  accommodation,  many  hundreds  of  the 
recruits,  drawn  from  the  lowest  classes,  were  billeted  upon 
the  innkeepers ;  and  great  complaints  were  made  as  to  their 
disorderly  conduct.  The  corps  was  reorganised  and  removed 
from  Bristol  on  the  return  of  peace. 

In  December,  the  Rev.  George  Madan,  vicar  of  St.  Mary 
Redclifi*,  a  member  of  what  was  called  the  Puseyite  party 
amongst  the  clergy,  made  several  alterations  in  the  service 
of  his  church.  Amongst  other  innovations,  he  practically 
suppressed  the  parish  clerk,  and  appealed  to  his  parishioners 
to  personally  perform  the  part  of  the  service  that  was  set 
down  for  them  in  the  Common  Prayer  Book.  It  may  be  now 
necessary  to  explain  that,  until  about  the  middle  of  the 
century,  in  Bristol  as  elsewhere,  the  morning  and  evening 
services  were  simply  dualistic  performances  reserved  to  the 
minister  and  his  clerk,  the  congregations  being  practically 
silent,  and  that  in  most  churches  there  was  a  monstrous 
edifice,  known  as  a  "  three  decker,"  the  lowest  stage  of  which 
was  occupied  by  the  clerk,  whilst  the  second  was  used  by 
the  clergyman  during  prayers,  and  the  sermon  was  preached 
from  the  summit.  Mr.  Madan's  innovation  gave  much  offence 
to  old-fashioned  people.  But  in  July,  1856,  when  the  parish 
clerkship  of  St.  Nicholas  became  vacant,  the  vicar.  Canon 


•  (I 


Glouoestersbire  Achievements,"  by  the  Bev.  S.  Lysons,  p.  13. 


342  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL.  [1855. 

Girdlestone,  an  ardent  Low  Churchman,  followed  the  example 
of  his  colleague  in  Redcliff ;  and  as  it  was  no  longer  possible 
to  brand  the  system  as  *' Tractarian,"  it  eventually  came  into 
favour  amongst  churchgoers  generally,  and  the  parish  clerks, 
with  the  "three  deckers,''  gradually  disappeared.  Whilst 
Canon  Girdlestone's  action  was  still  the  subject  of  criticism, 
the  Bristol  Timea  stated  (August  30,  1856)  that  when  the 
Rev.  J.  H.  Woodward  [see  page  321]  was  appointed  to  St. 
James's,  he  nominated  his  brother-in-law  to  the  clerkship  of 
the  parish,  and  that  the  emoluments  of  the  office,  about  £100 
a  year,  after  paying  a  small  salary  to  a  deputy,  were  received 
by  Mr.  Woodward.  This  arrangement,  it  was  added,  still 
continued,  although  Mr.  Woodward  had  resigned  the  living 
on  joining  the  Romish  Church. 

At  the  usual  New  Year's  Day  meeting  of  the  Council  in 
1855,  great  complaint  was  made  by  some  of  the  Liberal 
members  at  the  strong  political  colour  given  to  the  various 
committees  by  those  who  privately  framed  the  lists  for  the 
Conservative  majority.  It  was  pointed  out  that  on  the 
Finance  Committee  there  were  fifteen  of  one  party  and  only 
four  of  the  other ;  on  the  Improvement  Committee  the  pro- 
portion was  fourteen  to  four ;  on  the  Docks  Committee,  eight 
to  four ;  on  the  Watch  Committee  thirteen  to  seven,  and  on 
the  Parliamentary  Committee  seven  to  two.  ''  It  was  now,^' 
said  Mr.  Cole,  "  only  for  a  Liberal  to  displace  a  Conservative 
councillor,  and  the  latter  was  immediately  made  an  alderman, 
or  placed  in  some  other  post  of  honour."  It  was  alleged  that 
one  gentleman,  whose  high  character  and  business  habits  were 
unquestioned,  was  a  councillor  for  six  or  seven  years  before  he 
was  admitted  upon  any  committee;  whilst  some  aldermen, 
who  did  not  enter  the  Council  House  for  a  year  together, 
were  placed  on  three  or  four  important  committees.  In  reply 
it  was  contended  that  the  object  of  the  majority  was  not  to 
select  political  partisans,  but  men  who  were  considered  to  be 
best  qualified  for  the  duties.  The  elections  were  then  pro- 
ceeded with,  when  the  old  arrangement  was  maintained. 
Owing  to  renewed  complaints  on  the  subject,  however,  the 
ruling  party  promised  that  two  or  three  gentlemen  from  each 
side  of  the  chamber  should  thenceforth  meet  previous  to  the 
annual  election  of  committees,  with  a  view  to  efiecting 
arrangements  satisfactory  to  both  parties. 

On  the  morning  of  the  20th  March,  the  iron  bridge 
spanning  the  new  course  of  the  Avon  near  the  railway 
terminus  was  totally  destroyed  by  a  Cardiff  steam  barge. 
The   vessel   had  conveyed  a  cargo  of  coke  to  the  railway 


1855.]  SNEYD    PARK.      A   GLIMPSE   OP  OLD  CLIFTON.  348 

works,  and  was  returning  down  the  river,  in  which  there  was 
a  strong  current,  when  through  unskilful  management  it 
struck  the  ribs  of  the  bridge  with  great  violence.  The  effect 
was  instantaneous,  the  structure  collapsing,  according  to  the 
expression  of  an  eyewitness,  like  a  child's  house  or  cards. 
Not  a  vestige  was  left  standing,  and  the  carts  and  passengers 
crossing  at  the  time  were  flung  into  the  river.  Two  persons 
lost  their  lives,  one  being  a  wagoner  whose  cart  was  found 
next  day  below  Rownham.  A  ferry  was  established  during 
the  rebuilding  of  the  bridge,  which  was  suflBciently  advanced 
on  the  5th  June  to  admit  of  the  transit  of  foot  passengers* 
The  new  structure  cost  about  £5,700.     [See  page  27.] 

During  the  month  of  April,  Mr.  William  Baker,  a  Bristol 
builder,  purchased  an  estate  at  Sneyd  Park  for  the  purpose 
of  erecting  a  superior  class  of  villas  on  the  picturesque  site. 
The  editor  of  the  Bristol  Times,  in  commenting  on  the  in- 
tended new  suburb  on  the  28th  April,  indulged  in  some  re- 
miniscences of  which  lapse  of  time  has  increased  the  interest. 
"  Many  living,"  he  remarked,  ^'  have  made  hay  in  Caledonia 
Place  and  the  Mall.  Most  of  my  readers  could  have  done 
the  same  not  long  since  in  Clifton  Park.  The  little  farm- 
house where  they  sell  fresh  butter,  near  Litfield  Place,  will  be 
soon  shut  out  of  sight  by  a  cordon  of  domestic  palaces.  It 
seems  but  as  yesterday  that  the  Victoria  Rooms  and  another 
building  were  the  only  edifices  in  that  direction  north  of 
Berkeley  Square;  and  the  fanciful  will,  in  a  few  years,  amuse 
themselves  with  wondering  how  things  looked  when  a  boy 
was  brought  before  the  magistrates  for  ingeniously  milking 
a  cow  in  Tyndall's  Park  into  a  pair  of  new  boots  which  he 
was  taking  home  to  his  master,  as  we  now  smile  over  the 
entries  in  the  vestry  books  of  Clifton  of  sums  paid  for  killing 
hedgehogs  that  infested  the  market  gardens  of  Victoria 
Square.  But  we  need  not  travel  so  far  out  of  town  for 
examples  of  the  march  of  masons.  On  the  left-hand  side  as 
you  enter  Tyndall's  Park  from  St.  Michael's  Hill,  there  is 
a  garden  tower  [still  standing].  That  which  now  barely 
shows  its  head  above  the  adjacent  houses  was  the  country 
seat  of  a  Bristol  merchant  of  hospitable  memory — Alderman 
Muggleworth,  who,  within  the  recollection  of  one  not  long 
dead,  left  his  city  residence  in  Lewin's  Mead  when  ^  the  dog 
star  burned,'  and  travelled  to  his  villa  by  the  pleasant  park, 
there  to  abide  until  the  late  autumn  made  his  mansion  by  the 
Froom  more  tolerable  and  temperate."  The  population  of 
the  new  suburb  having  soon  become  considerable,  arrange- 
ments were  made  for  forming  the  locality  into  an  ecclesiastical 


344  THE  ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1855. 

district ;  and  the  church  of  St.  Mary's,  the  site  of  which  was 
given  by  Mr.  Baker,  was  consecrated  on  the  12th  March, 
1860.  The  building,  which  cost  about  £2,300,  was  consider- 
ably enlarged  about  the  end  of  1871,  at  a  further  expendi- 
ture of  £3,000. 

St.  Clement's  Church,  Newfoundland  Road,  was  consecrated 
on  the  24th  April,  and  an  ecclesiastical  district  was  allotted 
to  it  in  the  following  June,  by  an  Order  in  Council.  The 
church,  which  originally  cost  £2,000,  underwent  extensive 
alterations  in  1871. 

Arley  Chapel,  Cheltenham  Road,  built  by  the  Congrega- 
tional body  at  a  cost  of  upwards  of  £4,000,  was  opened  in 
June,  when  the  inaugural  sermon  was  preached  by  the  Rev. 
J.  Angell  James.  This  was  the  last  dissenting  chapel  of  any 
importance  erected  in  the  city  in  the  Italian  style,  the  later 
constructions  being  of  a  mediaeval  type. 

The  tower  known  as  Cook's  Folly,  with  the  neighbouring 
woods,  and  a  small  public  house  which  had  been  for  many 
years  a  popular  resort,  were  purchased  about  the  beginning 
of  July  by  Captain  H.  Goodeve,  who  subsequently  erected  a 
private  mansion  adjoining  the  "  Folly."  The  tavern,  known 
as  the  Folly' Cottage,  was  closed  about  1859.  [On  August 
18,  1855,  a  little  girl  named  Melinda  Payne,  living  in  one  of 
the  cottages  which  then  stood  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Avon, 
near  the  ravine,  was  sent  by  her  father  to  this  house  for  some 
beer,  and  was  murdered  whilst  returning  homewards.  The 
perpetrator  of  the  deed  was  never  discovered.] 

On  the  24th  July,  the  body  of  Field-Marshal  Lord  Raglan, 
who  had  died  in  the  Crimea  whilst  in  command  of  the  British 
forces  before  Sebastopol,  arrived  in  Cumberland  Basin  in  the 
naval  steamer  Caradoc.  Two  of  his  lordship's  brothers  hav- 
ing been  interred  in  the  cathedral,  it  was  expected  that  the 
remains  would  be  deposited  in  the  same  building ;  but  the 
Duke  of  Beaufort  gave  directions  that  the  burial  should  take 
place  in  the  family  vault  at  Badminton.  Great  preparations 
had  been  made  in  the  city  to  render  fitting  honour  to  the 
memory  of  the  distinguished  soldier.  On  the  morning  of  the 
25th,  the  coflBn  was  transferred  from  the  Caradoc  to  a  small 
steamboat,  on  which  a  platform  covered  with  black  velvet, 
surmounted  by  a  canopy  of  the  same  material,  had  been 
raised  for  its  reception.  On  the  coffin  were  placed  the 
coronet,  sword,  and  hat  of  the  deceased,  while  his  lordship's 
aides-de-camp  and  a  number  of  artillerymen  were  ranged  on 
each  side.  Upon  the  vessel  entering  the  harbour,  forty-two 
boats,   chiefly  contributed  by  the   merchant  vessels  in   the 


1855.]  FUNERAL   OF   LORD   RAGLAN.  345 

port,  each  bearing  a  mourning  flag,  and  with  crews  appro- 
priately attired,  were  divided  into  two  lines,  and  formed  a 
guard  on  each  side  of  the  steamer.  In  this  order  the  pro- 
cession made  its  way  to  the  Quay  head,  where  the  goods 
sheds  were  draped  with  black  cloth  and  feathers  for  the 
reception  of  the  body.  At  this  point  were  assembled  the 
mayor  (Mr.  J.  G.  Shaw),  the  sheriff^  and  many  members  of 
the  Corporation,  together  with  great  numbers  of  the  leading 
citizens,  and  the  children  of  the  public  schools.  The  coflBn 
having  been  placed  in  a  hearse,  amidst  the  firing  of  minute 
guns  by  a  battery  of  artillery  and  the  tolling  of  the  city  bells, 
a  procession  was  formed,  headed  by  the  Gloucestershire 
Yeomanry  and  the  band  of  the  15th  Hussars,  and  attended 
by  a  guard  of  honour  of  the  Royal  Horse  Guards.  The 
mourning  coaches  containing  members  of  the  deceased's 
family  were  followed  by  the  pensioners  of  the  district,  a 
detachment  of  the  Land  Transport  corps,  a  troop  of  artillery, 
the  officers  of  the  Corporation,  the  carriages  of  the  mayor 
and  of  many  members  of  the  Council,  and  those  of  the 
members  of  the  Merchants'  Society,  and  finally  a  lengthy 
procession  of  pedestrians,  including  the  clergy,  ministers, 
citizens,  and  members  of  friendly  societies.  Many  of  the 
houses  along  the  line  of  march  were  hung  with  crape,  black 
cloth,  or  wreaths  of  laurel,  some  bearing  flags  or  mourning 
tablets  with  appropriate  inscriptions.  Altogether  the  spec- 
tacle was  one  of  an  unexampled  character  in  the  city,  and 
the  good  taste  and  public  spirit  which  marked  the  proceedings 
evoked  sympathetic  admiration  in  all  parts  of  the  country. 

St.  Peter's  Church,  Clifton  Wood,  was  consecrated  on  the 
10th  August.  The  edifice  had  been  originally  built  by  the 
Wesleyans,  who  opened  it  for  Divine  worship  in  November, 
1833.  In  consequence  of  the  largely  increased  population  of 
the  district,  the  accommodation  of  this  church  became  in- 
sufficient, and  a  large,  lofty,  and  ornate  Gothic  edifice  was 
constructed  on  an  adjoining  site  at  a  cost  of  £6,000,  and  was 
consecrated  in  September,  1882.  In  the  following  year  the 
old  building  was  bought  by  the  Corporation  for  conversion 
into  a  free  library. 

In  September,  1855,  while  repairs  were  being  made  in  the 
house  No.  10,  College  Green,  then  standing  between  the 
abbey  gateway  and  the  cathedral,  and  occupied  by  Canon 
Bankes,  the  workmen  discovered  portions  of  a  Decorated 
shaft,  some  arch  moulding,  and  a  portion  of  a  turret  staircase. 
These  relics  were  supposed  to  have  formed  part  of  the  north- 
western tower  of  the  nave  which  Abbot  Newland  intended  to 


346  THE   ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1855. 

construct  in  the  same  style   as  his  choir.     The  house  has 
since  been  demolished. 

Down  to  this  period  the  pauper  lunatics  of  the  city  had 
been  maintained  in  St.  Peter's  Hospital^  although  the  suita- 
bility of  that  locality  for  such  a  purpose  had  long  been 
questioned.  In  the  course  of  this  year,  after  receiving  re- 
ports from  official  inspectors,  the  Government  insisted  upon 
the  construction  of  a  lunatic  asylum  in  the  suburbs.  As  the 
cost  of  the  building  threatened  to  make  a  heavy  addition 
to  the  rates,  opposition  to  the  ministerial  order  was  very 
generally  manifested.  But  unfortunately  the  local  authori- 
ties were  unable  to  agree  upon  a  plan  which  would  avert  the 
necessity  of  a  new  building.  The  guardians  proposed  that 
the  paupers  at  Stapleton  should  be  brought  back  to  St. 
Peter's,  and  the  lunatics  sent  to  the  vacated  workhouse. 
The  Council — which,  under  a  new  Lunacy  Act,  had  in  Janu- 
ary, 1854,  taken  upon  itself  the  duty  of  managing  the  lunatic 
asylum,  previously  imposed  on  the  magistrates — contended 
that  the  paupers  remaining  in  the  establishment  in  Peter 
Street  should  be  removed  to  Stapleton,  so  that  additional 
room  might  be  at  disposal  for  the  lunatics.  But  the  Poor 
Law  authorities  set  their  faces  against  both  suggestions. 
In  the  closing  months  of  the  year,  the  Council,  the  Board  of 
Guardians,  and  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  severally  passed 
resolutions  deprecating  a  large  expenditure  for  a  new  asylum, 
and  meetings  were  held  in  the  wards  at  which  motions  to  a 
similar  effect  were  carried  almost  unanimously.  Deputations 
representing  the  Corporation  and  the  citizens  shortly  after- 
wards, had  an  interview  with  the  Poor  Law  Board,  and  asked 
that  permission  should  be  granted  to  alienate  part  of  the 
workhouse  premises  at  Stapleton,  so  as  to  build  an  asylum 
thereon.  To  this  the  Board  refused  its  assent,  nor  would  it 
sanction  the  conversion  of  a  portion  of  the  workhouse  into  an 
asylum.  A  committee  of  the  Council  was  therefore  appointed 
to  obtain  offers  of  sites  and  estimates;  and  in  March,  1857, 
a  report  was  adopted  recommending  the  purchase  o£  24 
acres  of  ground  at  Stapleton,  and  the  erection  of  an  asylum 
there  at  a  total  estimated  expenditure  of  £30,000.  The 
building,  which  actually  cost  upwards  of  £40,000,  but  was 
said  to  be  the  model  asylum  of  the  country,  was  finished  in 
February,  1861,  when  it  received  113  lunatics  from  St. 
Peter's  Hospital.  In  1875-7,  owing  to  the  increased  number 
of  lunatics,  the  asylum  was  enlarged  at  a  cost  of  £22,000.  A 
chapel  was  built  a  few  years  later,  at  an  outlay  of  £3,000. 
In  1885   it  was  reported  to  the  Council  that  the  asylum, 


1855.]        LUNATIC   ASYLUM.      GIFT  TO   MB.    BERKELEY,    M.P.         347 

though  capable  of  accommodating  430  patients,  had  become 
seriously  insufficient  for  its  purpose,  and  that  it  was  advisable 
to  make  additions  so  as  to  provide  for  a  total  number  of  679 
lunatics.  The  expense  was  estimated  at  £6,140  for  land, 
and  no  less  a  sum  than  £59,535  for  buildings.  The  Council 
deferred  the  consideration  of  the  subject,  in  order  to  enable 
the  committee  to  submit  an  approximate  estimate  of  the  cost 
of  a  new  site  that  would  permit  the  erection  of  an  asylum 
capable  of  meeting  all  demands  for  fifty  years.  On  the  1st 
June,  1886,  the  committee  reported  that  in  their  opinion  the 
most  economical  course  would  be  to  carry  out  their  previous 
proposal,  and  the  Council  accordingly  authorised  the  Finance 
Committee  to  raise  the  sum  of  £65,675  by  mortgage,  for  the 
execution  of  the  works. 

In  the  session  of  1854,  the  advocates  of  a  strict  observance 
of  the  Lord's  Day,  supported  by  the  teetotalers,  succeeded  in 
obtaining  the  consent  of  Parliament  to  a  measure  by  which 
public  houses  were  almost  entirely  closed  on  Sundays.  The 
operation  of  the  new  law  having  caused  disturbances  in 
London,  and  much  discontent  amongst  the  working  classes 
generally,  Mr.  Berkeley,  M.P.,  in  the  session  of  1855, 
obtained  a  select  committee  to  inquire  into  the  working  of 
the  statute.  The  committee  almost  unanimously  reported 
that  its  provisions  were  too  rigorous,  having  regard  to  the 
wants  and  feelings  of  the  labouring  community;  and  Mr. 
Berkeley  thereupon  introduced  and  secured  the  enactment  of 
a  Bill  by  which  the  restrictions  were  relaxed.  His  action 
excited  much  irritation  amongst  the  advocates  of  total 
abstinence ;  and  their  organ,  the  Alliance,  then  noted  for  its 
intemperance  of  language,  published  a  series  of  articles  in 
which  the  senior  member  for  Bristol  was  charged  with  gross 
corruption,  collusive  conduct,  and  perjury.  Mr.  Berkeley 
thereupon  raised  an  action  for  libel ;  but  when  the  case  came 
on  for  trial,  in  February,  1856,  the  defendants  made  an 
apology  for  statements  they  admitted  to  be  false,  consented 
to  a  verdict  against  them  of  five  guineas,  and  undertook  to 
pay  the  costs,  estimated  at  nearly  £1,000.  In  the  meantime 
a  movement  had  been  started  for  raising  a  national  sub- 
scription to  recognise  Mr.  Berkeley's  legislative  exertions  on 
the  subject;  and  on  the  24th  September,  1856,  he  was  pre- 
sented at  the  Athenaeum  with  a  silver  salver,  a  carved  and- 
ornamented  casket,  and  a  purse,  the  whole  representing  an 
ofi'ering  of  £1,012,  contributed  by  about  14,000  persons 
throughout  the  country.  The  casket  was  made  from  an  oak 
beam  taken  from  the  old  north  porch  of  St.  Mary  RedclifF, 


348  THE   ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1856. 

and  was  enriclied  with  some  large  and  lustrous  specimens  of 
Bristol  diamonds. 

During  the  autumn  of  1855  the  upper  part  of  Queen  Street 
(Christmas  Steps)  was  widened  by  the  removal  of  some  old 
buildings  on  the  eastern  side,  and  the  stairs  were  made  much 
more  convenient  to  passengers. 

Aftet  an  existence  of  twenty-two  years,  the  Bristol  Agri- 
cultural Society,  having  lost  many  of  its  early  and  more 
liberal  supporters,  and  failing  to  meet  with  adequate  assist- 
ance from  a  new  generation,  was  dissolved  on  the  12th 
December. 

In  the  spring  of  1856  the  gunboats  Earnest,  Escort,  Hardy, 
Havoc,  and  Highlander  were  constructed  at  Bristol  for  the 
Royal  Navy  by  the  shipbuilding  firms  of  Patterson  &  Son, 
and  Hill  &  Sons.  These  vessels  formed  part  of  a  large  fleet 
of  gunboats  hurriedly  ordered  by  the  Government  during 
the  Russian  war,  and  built  in  all  the  leading  ports  of  the 
kingdom.  A  few  years  afterwards  the  condition  of  the 
vessels  was  the  subject  of  a  discussion  in  the  House  of  Com- 
mons ;  and  on  inquiry  it  appeared  that,  with  the  exception  of 
the  Bristol  boats  and  a  few  others,  the  builders  had  com- 
mitted gross  frauds  in  construction,  and  that  a  number  of  the 
vessels  were  utterly  rotten  and  worthless. 

According  to  a  local  newspaper  of  the  8th  March,  1856,  a 
joint-stock  company,  under  the  new  Limited  Liability  Act, 
was  then  in  contemplation  "  for  raising  passengers  and  goods 
from  the  low  levels  of  some  parts  of  Bristol  to  the  more  ele- 
vated portions  of  Clifton  by  machinery."  Suggestions  of  a 
fixed  engine  at  the  top  of  Park  Street,  for  drawing  up  wagons 
and  heavily  laden  carts,  were  frequently  started  before  the 
construction  of  Colston  Street  and  Perry  Road. 

The  Bristol  Gazette  of  the  12th  March  announced,  to  the 
great  surprise  of  the  city,  that  a  defalcation  of  upwards  of 
£4,000  had  been  discovered  in  the  accounts  of  the  treasurer 
of  the  Corporation,  Mr.  Thomas  Garrard,  who  had  been  for 
fifty-four  years  in  the  civic  service.  The  deficiency  was  acci- 
dentally brought  to  light  whilst  Mr.  Garrard  was  temporarily 
disabled  by  illness  from  attending  to  his  duties.  The  sum 
was  more  than  covered  by  the  guarantees  of  the  treasurer's 
sureties,  who  were  themselves  secured  by  life  assurances. 
The  defalcation  was  stated  to  have  arisen  from  advances 
made  by  Mr.  Garrard  to  retrieve  a  relative  from  commercial 
diflBculties.  It  was  understood  that  his  successor,  Mr.  John 
Harford,  allowed  him  a  handsome  yearly  sum  during  the 
remainder  of  his  life. 


1856.]       PEACE   WITH   RUSSIA.      THE    QUEEN   IN   BRISTOL.  349 

On  the  30tli  April  the  ceremony  of  proclaiming  peace  with 
Bussia  took  place  amidst  formal  demonstrations  of  joy.  The 
mayor  (Mr.  J.  Vining),  the  sherifiF,  and  other  corporate  offi- 
cials, with  the  boys  of  Colston's  and  the  City  schools,  assem- 
bled at  the  Council  House,  from  the  steps  of  which  the 
proclamation  was  first  made  at  noon,  after  a  blast  from  the 
city  trumpets  and  a  peal  from  the  neighbouring  church  bells. 
Proclamation  was  afterwards  made  in  the  quadrangle  of  the 
Exchange,  the  centre  of  Queen  Square,  Bristol  Bridge,  St. 
Peter's  Pump,  and  the  Old  Market.  As  the  terms  wrested 
from  Russia  were  by  many  people  deemed  inadequate,  the  pro- 
ceedings did  not  evoke  any  marked  enthusiasm.  The  same 
may  be  said  of  the  day  fixed  for  a  national  celebration  of  the 
peace — the  28th  May.  No  preparations  were  made  to  do  hon- 
our to  the  occasion,  which  had  little  other  character  than  that 
of  a  listless  holiday.  A  writer  in  the  local  press  remarked  : 
"Some  guns  were  fired  from  ships,  and  pistols  popped  off 
in  obscure  corners,  and  men  stood  at  the  doors  of  jthe  Commer- 
cial Rooms,  as  usual,  abusing  Bristol  for  want  of  spirit,  and, 
as  usual,  they  themselves,  though  items  of  this  much  abused 
Bristol,  doing  nothing."  In  the  evening,  a  few  gas-lit  crowns, 
royal  cyphers,  etc.,  were  exhibited  on  the  public  buildings, 
but  the  private  illuminations  were  few  and  insignificant. 

Upon  the  death,  on  the  6th  June,  of  Dr.  Monk,  the  first 
bishop  of  the  united  sees  of  Gloucester  and  Bristol,  efforts 
were  made  in  various  parts  of  the  two  dioceses  to  obtain  their 
separation.  Lord  Palmerston's  Ministry,  however,  declined 
to  propose  any  legislative  measure  for  that  purpose;  and 
Dr.  Baring,  Rector  of  Limpsfield,  Surrey,  was  soon  after 
named  Dr.  Monk's  successor.  The  alienation  of  the  palace  at 
Stapleton  at  this  juncture  has  been  already  recorded  [p.  228] . 

The  Queen,  accompanied  by  the  Prince  Consort,  the  Prince 
of  Wales,  and  her  younger  children,  passed  through  Bristol 
on  August  15th  on  her  way  from  Plymouth  to  Osborne.  The 
royal  party  remained  twenty  minutes  in  the  refreshment 
room  of  the  railway  station,  which  had  been  hurriedly  de- 
corated, tidings  of  the  visit  having  been  received  on  the 
previous  evening.  In  the  autumn  the  Prince  of  Wales  made 
an  incognito  tour  in  the  West  of  England,  in  the  course  of 
which,  on  the  5th  October,  he  attended  service  at  Bristol 
cathedral.  Presumably  from  no  fee  having  been  forthcom- 
ing,* the  sub-sacrist  conducted  the  stranger  to  a  bench  in  one 

*  The  greediness  of  cathedral  underlings  has  always  been  notorious.     A 
Bristol  sub-sacrist,  who  died  whilst  Sydney  Smith  was  one  of  the  prebendaries, 


350  THIE   ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL.  [1856. 

of  the  aisles,  where  the  heir  apparent  remained  thronghont 
the  service.  In  April,  1858,  the  Prince  again  paid  a  brief 
visit  to  the  city.  Having  left  his  yacht  at  Kingroad,  he  was 
rowed  up  the  river,  and  landed  at  Rownham,  whence  he 
proceeded  in  a  public  cab  to  the  railway  station,  but  stopped 
at  the  cathedral  on  his  way,  for  the  purpose  of  inspecting  the 
Chapter  House. 

The  first  annual  Conference  of  the  National  Reformatory 
Union  was  held  in  Bristol — one  of  the  earliest  centres  of  the 
reformatory  movement — on  the  20th  August  and  two  follow- 
ing days.  Amongst  the  many  distinguished  persons  present 
were  Lord  Robert  Cecil  (now  Marquis  of  Salisbury),  Lord 
Stanley  (now  Earl  of  Derby),  Sir  Stafford  Northcote  (Earl 
of  Iddesleigh),  Sir  John  Pakington  (Lord  Hampton),  Mr. 
Adderley  (Lord  Norton),  etc.  Visits  were  paid  to  the  local 
reformatories  at  Amo's  Court,  Kingswood,  St.  James's  Back, 
Pennywell  Lane,  and  Hardwicke. 

The  primary  schools  existing  in  the  city  at  this  time  being 
greatly  below  the  needs  of  the  population,  many  thousands 
of  poor  children  grew  up  uninstructed,  and  frequently  re- 
venged themselves  on  society  for  its  shortsighted  indifference. 
At  the  Michaelmas  quarter  sessions  of  1856,  Mr.  J.  Naish 
Sanders,  one  of  the  magistrates,  made  some  remarks  before 
the  recorder  Which  afford  a  glimpse  of  the  habits  of  the  class 
in  question.  "  Bristol,''  he  said,  '^  has  the  unenviable  repu- 
tation of  having  within  her  walls  one  of  the  most  disorderly 
set  of  youths  in  England.  Stones  are  continually  thrown  by 
boys  in  our  public  thoroughfares,  owing  to  which  many  lives 
have  been  lost — five  at  least  in  Clifton  parish  only.  Orna- 
mental plantations,  so  placed  as  to  benefit  the  public,  are 
constantly  injured,  and  even  the  branches  carried  away  for 
firewood.  Young  thieves  assemble  in  gangs  at  each  end  of 
Park  Street,  professedly  to  drag  wheels,  but  really  for  worse 
purposes,  as  proved  in  many  cases.  If  the  police  or  private 
individuals  complain,  they  are  assailed  in  gross  and  indecent 
language,  revolting  to  all,  and  especially  to  females."  Some 
regret  was  expressed  by  the  bench  at  the  uncultivated  con- 
dition of  the  youth  of  the  lower  classes,  but  the  authorities 
felt  themselves  impotent,  and  the  matter  was  suffered  to  drop. 

was  said  to  have  hoarded  £20,000,  causing  the  witty  olerio  to  observe  that  he 
at  length  understood  the  fall  force  of  the  text :  "  I  had  rather  be  a  doorkeeper  in 
the  house,"  etc.  [The  text  is  inscribed  upon  the  tomb  of  a  verger  in  Salisbury 
cathedral.]  At  a  quite  recent  date,  it  was  publicly  stated  that  one  of  the  Eng- 
lish bishops  had  been  treated  with  indignity  in  Bristol  cathedral  for  having 
presumed  to  look  at  some  of  the  monuments  without  being  "  guided  "  by  the 
officials. 


1857.]      BRISTOL   GUARDIANS  AND  THE   POOR   LAW   BOARD.  351 

It  has  been  already  stated  that  the  Bristol  Incorporation 
of  the  Poor  was,  with  a  few  others,  exempted  from  the  super- 
vision of  the  Poor  Law  Board  constituted  by  the  great  Act 
of   1834.      In  1844   an  amending  statute  was   passed,  em- 
powering the  central  authorities  to  combine  unions  into  dis- 
tricts for  the  audit  of  accounts,  thus  striking  a  mortal  blow 
at    the   financial   independence   of    the    privileged    bodies. 
Armed  with  this  Act,  the  Board  soon  after  issued  an  order 
for  forming  an  audit  district  embracing  Bristol  and  several 
Somerset  unions.      The    Bristol   guardians    for   some  time 
offered  a  passive  resistance  to  this  measure,  and  nothing  was 
done  for  two  years.     But  in  September,  1846,  the  Poor  Law 
Commissioners   gave   peremptory   directions   that  the   local 
accounts  should  be  revised  by  the  oflBcial  auditor  of  the  dis- 
trict ;  and  as  the  guardians  refused  to  submit  their  books  to 
his  inspection,  the  Government  oflScials  in  February,  1849, 
applied  for  and  obtained  a  mandamus  from  the  Court  of 
Queen's  Bench.     The  defendants,  in  no  wise  subdued,  ap- 
pealed to  the  Court  of  Error,  by  which  in  February,  1850, 
the  action  of  the  court  below  was  aflSrmed.     Although  beaten 
on  the  point  of  law,  the  guardians  continued  to  maintain  that 
they  had  a  right  to  administer  relief  in  accordance  with  the 
bye-laws  made  under  their  private  Act;  and  though  their 
allowances  were  greatly  at  variance  with  the  scale  fixed  by 
the  central  authorities,  the  contest  on  this  subject  was  con- 
tinued for  several  years.     At  length,  in  the  closing  months 
of  1856,  the  members  of  the  recalcitrant  corporation  were 
threatened  with  legal  proceedings  for  the  recovery  of  £23,157, 
illegally  distributed  in  relief  in  defiance  of  the  regulations, 
and  were  warned  that  the  ^'  surcharge  "  would  be  recovered 
by  levies  upon  them  individually.     It  was  now  felt  that  no 
other  course  remained  but  to  accept  defeat.   On  the  8th  Janu- 
ary, 1857,  the  local  bye-laws  were  repealed,  and  the  "con- 
solidated order "  of  the  central  board  was  adopted  in  their 
place.     The  effect  of  this  resolution  was  to  terminate,  for  all 
practical  purposes,  the  existence  of  the  ancient  "  Incorpora- 
tion of  the  Poor,"  which  now  became  an  ordinary  board  of 
guardians.      The  ancient   mode   of   election   was,  however, 
maintained.     The  last  governor  under  the  old  system  was 
Dr.   George   Eogers.     The   first    chairman   under  the   new 
regime — Mr.   Blisha   Smith    Robinson — was   elected   on  the 
16th  January,    1857.      The   latter  gentleman,   in   a   speech 
delivered  March  2nd,  1860,  asserted  that  the  saving  to  the 
ratepayers  brought  about  by  the  reorganisation  of  the  union 
was  not  less  than  £4,000  a  year — a  fact  which  the  public 


352  THE   ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1857. 

apparently  regarded  as  outweighing  the  old-fashioned  guar- 
dians' anathemas  against  centralisation^  oppression^  and  red 
tape.  It  may  be  worth  while  to  add  that,  in  spite  of  the 
increase  of  population  in  the  city,  and  the  tendency  of  the 
poorest  class  to  flow  into  the  central  parishes,  the  expenditure 
of  the  board,  in  respect  both  to  management  and  relief,  has 
remained  stationary.  In  the  year  ending  March,  1858,  the 
total  charge  was  within  a  few  pounds  of  £31,000.  In  the 
twelvemonth  ending  March,  1886,  the  outlay  was  £30,480. 
As  the  rateable  value  of  the  ancient  city  had  in  the  mean- 
time increased  considerably  more  than  50  per  cent.,  the  rates 
had  of  course  diminished  in  a  corresponding  proportion. 

After  having  remained  vacant  upwards  of  two  years,  the 
Eoman  Catholic  bishopric  of  Clifton  was  conferred,  in  the 
spring  of  1857,  on  the  Hon.  and  Rev.  William  Clifford,  in 
whose  hands  it  still  remains. 

At  the  general  election  in  March,  the  members  for  the  city 
in  the  previous  Parliament,  Messrs.  Berkeley  and  Langton, 
were  returned  without  opposition — an  incident  which  had 
not  occurred  in  Bristol  for  iifty  years,  with  the  exception  of 
the  abnormal  election  of  1831.  The  dissolution  had  been 
caused  by  a  defeat  of  Lord  Palmerston's  Ministry,  through  a 
coalition  of  Conservatives  with  what  was  called  the  Man- 
chester school.  The  conduct  of  their  leaders  gave  so  much 
umbrage  to  many  local  Tories  of  influence  that  a  contest  was 
found  to  be  impracticable. 

Owing  to  the  confusion  arising  from  the  diversified  names  of 
'^places,"  "terraces,''  etc.,  in  the  chief  suburban  thorough- 
fares, the  Council,  in  April,  resolved  upon  the  following  no- 
menclature :  Queen's  Road  (from  the  top  of  Park  Street 
to  Victoria  Square)  ;  Clifton  Road  (from  Victoria  Square  to 
Clifton  turnpike-gate — now  the  site  of  Alderman  Proctor's 
fountain) ;  Whiteladies  Road  (from  the  Queen's  Hotel  to  the 
Pound,  Durdham  Down)  ;  Redland  Road  (from  the  Pound 
just  mentioned  to  Cutler's  Mills)  ;  Stokes  Croft  Road  (from 
North  Street  to  Cutler's  Mills) ;  Cotham  Road  (from  White- 
ladies-gato,  junction  of  roads,  to  Cutler's  Mills) ;  Hotwell  Road 
(from  the  White  Hart,  Limekiln  Lane,  to  Clifton  Gate). 
Limekiln  Lane  had  its  name  changed  to  St.  George's  Road 
in  June,  1862. 

On  the  18th  June,  at  a  meeting  held  in  the  Commercial 
Rooms,  Mr.  Jose,  master  of  the  Merchants'  Society,  in  the 
chair,  resolutions  were  passed  approving  of  the  scheme  laid 
before  those  present  by  M.  de  Lesseps  for  the  construction 
of  the  Suez  canal,  "  being  of  opinion  that  it  is  of  the  greatest 


1857.]  CLIFTON   CLUB.      THE    RUSSIAN   GUNS.  353 

importance  to  the  commerce  of  the  whole  world."  A  few 
days  later,  in  the  House  of  Commons,  Mr.  Berkeley  asked  the 
Ministry  if  it  would  support  the  undertaking,  to  which  Lord 
Palmerston  answered  emphatically  in  the  negative,  declaring 
that  the  project  was  hostile  to  English  interests. 

On  the  24th  of  June  a  portion  of  the  premises  in  the  Mall, 
Clifton,  which  at  a  previous  period  had  been  known  as  the 
Royal  Hotel  (closed  early  in  1854),  was  opened  as  a  club- 
house, under  the  name  of  the  Clifton  Subscription  Sooms. 
The  remainder  of  the  hotel  premises  was  converted  into 
shops  and  dwelling  houses.  The  cost  of  the  conversion  was 
upwards  of  £4,000.  In  March,  1882,  the  association  was 
reorganised,  and  the  property  transferred  to  a  new  company, 
with  a  capital  of  £12,000  in  £75  shares,  each  holder  of  a  £60 
share  in  the  original  concern  receiving  a  fully  paid-up  share. 

The  Council  resolved,  in  July,  to  arch  over  the  Froom  from 
St.  John's  Bridge  to  the  Stone  Bridge,  and  to  devote  the 
space  so  obtained  to  the  construction  of  a  public  street.  The 
new  thoroughfare,  which  was  subsequently  named  Rupert 
Street,  was  recommended  to  the  Council  as  the  first  instalment 
of  a  new  line  of  road  from  the  centre  of  the  city  to  Stokes 
Croft.  In  July,  1859,  the  Council  voted  £2,000  for  covering 
the  Froom  between  Union  Street  and  Merchant  Street,  the 
roadway  constructed  upon  the  site  being  styled  Fairfax  Street. 
In  1867  the  sum  of  £2,650  was  granted  for  covering  the  last 
open  part  of  the  Froom  in  the  central  districts — from  St. 
John's  Bridge  to  Bridewell.  Finally,  in  1880,  almost  the 
only  remaining  uncovered  portion  of  this  river  within  the 
city  boundaries,  near  Haberfield  Street,  was  also  ordered  to 
be  arched  over. 

Soon  after  the  arrival  in  this  country  of  the  Russian  war 
material  captured  at  Sebastopol  and  other  places,  some  pro- 
vincial corporation  with  decorative  tastes  applied  to  the 
Government  for  one  or  two  of  the  cannons,  proposing  to 
mount  them  in  a  conspicuous  position  as  lasting  trophies  of 
English  valour.  The  application  having  been  successful,  a 
great  number  of  municipalities  followed  the  example — some 
of  the  local  bodies  being  not  a  little  puzzled  how  to  dispose 
of  the  prize  when  it  came  into  their  possession.  Amongst 
the  rest,  a  request  was  addressed  to  the  war  minister  by  the 
Corporation  of  Bristol,  and  at  once  met  with  a  favourable 
response,  two  cannons,  thirty-six  pounders,  nine  feet  in 
length,  and  each  weighing  three  tons,  being  despatched  from 
Woolwich,  together  with  carriages — ^the  latter  being  paid  for 
by  the  city.     On  the  19th  August  the  guns  were  conveyed 

A  A 


354  THE   AKNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1857. 

from  the  railway  station  by  a  party  of  the  Military  Train 
(originally  the  Land  Transport  corps)  through  the  principal 
streets  to  Brandon  Hill.  Great  crowds  lined  the  route,  and 
the  spectacle  was  of  an  animated  character.  In  the  rear  of 
Berkeley  Square  a  portion  of  the  wall  had  to  be  broken  down 
to  allow  the  cavalcade  to  pass ;  and  as  the  eight  horses 
attached  to  each  gun  were  unable  to  drag  it  to  the  summit  of 
the  hill,  the  populace  lent  enthusiastic  assistance,  the  task 
being  soon  accomplished  by  main  force.  The  proceedings 
terminated  with  patriotic  and  congratulatory  speeches. 

A  murder  which  created  unusual  sensation  in  the  city  was 
perpetrated  in  Leigh  Woods,  on  the  10th  September,  by  a 
man  named  John  William  Beale,  who  had  served  as  butler 
to   some   respectable   families   in   the   neighbourhood.     His 
victim   was   a   woman   named   Charlotte  Pugsley,  who  had 
occasionally  been  one  of  his  fellow-servants.      On  the  day 
before  the  murder,  Beale,  who  had  left  the  district  to  serve 
with  a  gentleman  residing  near  Daventry,  went,  apparently 
by  appointment,  to  a  country  seat  at  Freshf  ord,  where  Pugsley 
was   living  as   cook.     She   had  previously  given   notice  to 
leave,  and  she  and  her  companion  departed  soon  after  for 
Bristol,  informing  the  other  servants  that  they  were  about 
to  marry  and  emigrate.     (The  woman  was  aware  that  Beale 
had  a  wife  living.)     On   the  following  morning  they  were 
seen  at  Bristol  railway  terminus,  where  Beale  had  his  com- 
panion's   boxes    removed    to    the   Midland   luggage   room, 
stating  that  he  was  going  to  Liverpool.     What  became  of  the 
parties  during  the  day  was  not  discovered,  but  in  the  evening 
they  were  observed  walking  together  in  the  rabbit  warren 
near  the  top  of  Nightingale  Valley.    Next  day  Beale  returned 
to  his  employer's  at  Daventry,  with  the  woman's  luggage, 
stating  that  it  contained  the  clothing  of  his  sister,  whose 
funeral   he  had  just  attended.     The  body  of  Pugsley  was 
found  on  the  same  day  by  one  of  Mr.  Miles's  gamekeepers. 
The  woman  had  been  shot  in  the  head,  which  was  nearly 
severed  from  the  body  by  a  gash  in  the  throat,   and  her 
remains  had  then  been  thrown  over  the  precipice  overhanging 
Nightingale  Valley,  but  had  rested  on  a  ledge  about  twelve  feet 
from  the  summit.     It  was  not  until  nearly  a  fortnight  after 
the  murder  that  the  friends  of  Charlotte  Pugsley  suspected 
that  she  was  the  victim,  and  by  that  time  the  features  of  the 
body  were  no  longer  recognisable.     Identity  was  however 
established   by  means   of  the   clothing,  and  by  a   peculiar 
decayed  tooth.     No  adequate  motive  for  the  deed  was  dis- 
covered.      Beale's    wife    lived    in    the    neighbourhood    of 


1857.]         MB.   OBEYILLS   8MTTH  AND  THE   SHBIEyALTT.  855 

Daventry,  and  the  money  possessed  by  Pugsley  did  not 
exceed  a  iew  pounds.  The  murderer  was  tried  and  convicted 
at  Taunton  assizes  in  the  following  December^  and  was 
executed  in  January^  1858,  refusing  to  admit  his  guilt  even 
on  the  scafFold. 

At  the  annual  election  of  corporate  dignitaries  on  the  9th 
November,  Mr.  John  Henry  Greville  Smyth,  of  Long  Ashton, 
who  had  attained  his  majority  in  the  previous  January,  was 
elected  sheriff  of  Bristol  for  the  ensuing  civic  year.  The 
appointment  had  been,  as  usual,  determined  upon  by  the 
secret  committee  to  whom  the  selection  of  oflScers  was  dele- 
gated by  the  Conservative  majority  in  the  Council,  and  it  was 
persisted  in  after  Mr.  Smyth,  who  had  been  made  acquainted 
with  the  intention  to  nominate  him,  had  intimated  that  he 
should  refuse  to  serve.  This  he  formally  did  after  the 
election  had  taken  place,  whereupon  the  Council  applied  to 
the  law  courts  to  compel  his  obedience.  A  mandamus  was 
issued  in  January,  1858,  and  the  Court  of  Error  consented 
to  pronounce  a  formal  decision  in  order  that  final  judgment 
might  be  obtained  in  the  House  of  Lords  before  the  close  of 
the  session.  The  law  peers,  however,  refused  to  give  pre- 
cedence to  the  case.  The  Council  did  not  re-elect  Mr.  Smyth 
in  the  following  November,  and  as  that  gentleman,  by  consent, 
withdrew  his  appeal,  a  definitive  decision  on  the  matter  was 
never  delivered. 

About  this  time  the  authorities  of  the  united  parishes  of 
St.  Nicholas  and  St.  Leonard  found  themselves  seriously 
embarrassed  by  the  increasing  revenue  of  the  estates  confided 
to  them  by  ancient  benefactors  for  charitable  purposes.  A 
property  bearing  the  strange  name  of  the  Forlorn  Hope, 
near  Baptist  Mills,  being  likely  to  fall  in  through  the  death 
of  the  surviving  lessees,  the  churchwardens  had  the  prospect 
of  the  existing  charity  income  being  raised  from  £450  to 
£650  a  year.  Even  as  it  was,  a  large  portion  of  the  funds 
being  bequeathed  for  distribution  in  doles  about  the  Christ- 
mas season,  a  crowd  of  worthless  people  were  accustomed  to 
flock  into  the  parishes  towards  the  close  of  each  year,  and  to 
hire  some  miserable  lodging  to  entitle  them  to  share  in  the 
gifts,  much  of  the  money  being  at  once  squandered  in  dis- 
sipation. The  competition  for  garrets  and  dirty  back  rooms 
was  so  great  that  inordinate  rents  were  freely  paid,  and  the 
result  was  simply  to  transfer  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
doles  into  the  pockets  of  a  greedy  and  sordid  class  of  land- 
lords. In  November,  1857,  the  churchwardens  and  vestry, 
urged  thereto  by  the  vicar.  Canon  Girdlestone,  and  having 


356  THE   ANKALS   OF  BBISTOL.  [1858. 

the  sanction  of  the  Charity  Commissioners^  resolved  to  abolish 
the  doles^  to  set  apart  £200  yearly  for  the  maintenance  of 
fifteen  aged  women  in  the  parish  almshouse^  and  to  apply 
the  surplus  to  the  support  of  schools.  An  Act  to  authorise 
this  arrangement  was  passed  in  1858.  A  new  schoolhouse 
was  built  by  subscription  in  Back  Street,*  on  a  site  pre- 
viously occupied  by  ruinous  dwellings,  one  of  which  was  the 
ancient  parsonage  of  St.  Nicholas.  The  adjoining  Rackhay 
burial  ground,  belonging  to  St.  Nicholas'  parish,  was  con- 
verted into  a  playground  for  the  scholars.  The  new  schools 
were  opened  in  July,  1858. 

In  November,  1857,  the  Rev.  J.  B.  Clifford,  incumbent  of 
St.  Matthew's,  somewhat  astonished  the  public  by  denouncing 
from  the  pulpit  an  "institution  in  the  city"  for  teaching 
infidelity  and  atheism.  It  ultimately  turned  out  that  Mr. 
Clifford  had  alluded  to  the  Athenaeum ;"  and  he  subsequently 
admitted  that  he  intended  to  condemn,  not  the  institution 
itself,  but  a  discussion  class  connected  with  it,  in  which  an 
essay  had  been  delivered — on  the  religions  of  India — which 
several  clergymen  declared  to  contain  nothing  worthy  of 
reprobation.  The  class  was  warmly  defended  by  Mr.  Edlin, 
barrister,  its  chairman,  while  Canon  Girdlestone  rebuked  the 
intemperance  of  the  assailant,  who  was  charged  with  intole- 
rance in  some  of  the  local  newspapers,  and  was  significantly 
left  unsupported  by  his  clerical  brethren.  In  the  following 
January,  Charles  Dickens  evinced  his  opinion  on  the  subject 
by  coming  down  from  London  to  read  his  "Christmas  Carol " 
for  the  benefit  of  the  institution. 

In  January,  1858,  in  consequence  of  the  loud  complaints 
raised  by  the  innkeepers  of  the  city  against  the  army  billet- 
ing system,  the  War  OflSce  obtained  a  lease  of  the  extensive 
premises  formerly  known  as  the  Royal  Gloucester  Hotel,  and 
converted  the  building  into  barracks.  The  step  aroused 
opposition  amongst  some  inhabitants  of  Clifton;  but  the 
Secretary  for  War  refused  to  assent  to  their  appeals,  and 
the  building  was  opened  for  its  new  purpose  in  April. 
Owing  to  improvements  effected  in  the  recruiting  system, 
and  other  causes,  the  Government,  in  April,  1870,  removed 
the  military  staff  established  at  this  dep6t. 

In  the  spring  of  1858  the  Franciscan  monks  who  had 
conducted  the  services  at  the  Roman  Catholic  chapels  in 
Trenchard  Street  and  on  the  Quay  were  succeeded  by  secular 

*  This  ancient  street,  which  like  its  namesake,  the  Bae  da  Bao  in  Paris, 
owed  its  title  to  an  adjacent  ferry,  was  in  1885  inconsiderately,  if  not  foolishly, 
dabbed  Queen  Charlotte  Street. 


1858.]  DAILT   NSWSPAPSB8.      MABDTKE   WHABF.  357 

priests.  Whilst  the  old  books  and  manuscripts  lying  in  the 
monks'  apartments  in  Trenchard  Street  were  being  examined 
prior  to  removal,  a  perfect  copy  was  discovered  of  the 
Hereford  Missal.  The  book,  which  was  stated  to  contain 
the  only  complete  ritual  of  the  Hereford  ^^  use  "  extant,  was 
purchased  by  the  trustees  of  the  British  Museum  for  £300. 

On  the  night  of  the  30th  April,  the  Brigand  trading 
steamer,  whilst  on  her  way  from  Bristol  to  Glasgow,  with 
eleven  passengers  and  a  crew  of  twenty  men,  got  into  col- 
lision off  the  Irish  coast  with  a  barque  called  the  William 
Ca7npbell.  Both  vessels  sank  within  a  few  minutes  of  the 
disaster.  Only  two  of  the  passengers  in  the  Brigand,  with 
the  captain  and  six  of  the  crew,  were  saved. 

An  abortive  attempt  to  establish  a  daily  newspaper  in 
Bristol  will  be  found  recorded  at  page  118.  The  subsequent 
abolition  of  the  tax  on  public  journals  enabled  a  similar 
enterprise  to  be  undertaken  with  success.  On  the  1st  June, 
1858,  the  first  number  of  the  Western  Daily  Press,  price  one 
penny,  was  issued  by  Mr.  P.  S.  Macliver,  at  No  1,  Broad 
Street.  The  popular  taste  becoming  rapidly  educated  to  the 
new  and  cheaper  system  of  publication,  Messrs.  C.  &  G-. 
Somerton,  proprietors  of  the  Bristol  Mercury,  started,  in 
January,  1860,  the  Bristol  Daily  Post,  published  daily  from 
Monday  to  Friday,  the  Mercury  supplying  the  sixth  day's 
news.  (In  January,  1878,  the  two  journals  were  incorporated, 
and  the  title  of  Daily  Post  was  subsequently  dropped.)  In 
January,  1865,  a  combination  was  formed  between  the  two 
Conservative  journals  in  the  city,  the  Mirror,  belonging 
to  Mr.  T.  D.  Taylor,  and  the  Times,  the  property  of  Mr» 
J.  Leech,  the  result  bein^  the  appearance  of  the  Bristol 
Times  and  Mirror,  issued  daily  from  Monday  to  Friday  at  a 
penny,  and  on  Saturdays  at  twopence.  A  still  further  de- 
velopment of  daily  journalism  was  made  by  Mr.  Macliver  in 
May,  1877,  by  the  publication  of  the  Bristol  Evening  News, 
price  one  halfpenny. 

A  local  newspaper  of  the  12th  June  announced  that  the 
Docks  Committee  contemplated  the  widening  of  HotweU 
Road  between  Limekiln  dock  and  Mardyke  ferry,  and  the 
construction  of  a  wharf  at  that  spot.  It  subsequently 
transpired  that  the  works,  which  were  to  extend  forty  feet 
into  the  Floating  Harbour,  had  been  resolved  upon  without 
the  consent  or  knowledge  of  the  Council.  Operations  had 
scarcely  commenced  when  Messrs.  Hill  &  Co.,  whose  ship- 
building yard  stood  opposite  to  the  proposed  wharf,  applied 
to  the  law  courts  for  an  injunction  to  restrain  the  Corporation 


858  THX  AKNALS  OF  BRISTOL.  [1858. 

from  erecting  works  calculated  to  injure  their  property. 
Eventually  the  Docks  Committee  were  obliged  to  make 
terms,  Messrs.  Hill  &  Co.  accepting  £1,000  and  withdraw- 
ing their  opposition.  The  wharf,  which  the  committee  had 
expected  to  complete  for  £1,500,  actually  involved  an  outlay 
of  about  £5,700. 

A  small  church,  dedicated  to  St.  Michael  and  All  Angels, 
was  opened  at  Bishopston,  Horfield,  on  the  20th  June.  The 
quarrel  of  its  founder,  the  Bev.  Henry  Richards,  with  Bishop 
Monk  has  been  already  I'eforred  to.  The  prelate's  successor. 
Bishop  Baring,  had  also  to  publicly  protest  against  the  con- 
duct of  the  incumbent.  In  a  letter  dated  February  2,  1858, 
Dr,  Baring  stated  that  Mr.  Richards  had  consented  to  the 
formation  of  a  new  district  in  Horfield,  of  which  the  bishop 
was  to  be  the  patron,  but  that  after  Dr.  Monk's  death  he 
had  repudiated  this  agreement,  declaring  that  he  would 
never  allow  a  Low  churchman  to  nominate  a  clergyman  in 
his  parish.  Subsequently,  added  his  lordship,  Mr.  Richards 
built  a  church,  and  offered  to  endow  it  to  the  extent  of  £40 
a  year,  provided  the  patronage  was  vested  in  him  and  his 
heirs.  But  as  the  Horfield  manor  trustees  intended  to  endow 
the  incumbency  to  a  much  larger  extent,  the  bishop  refused 
his  assent,  to  the  great  wrath  of  the  vicar,  who  must  have 
foreseen  that  through  the  increasing  population  the  value 
of  the  living  would  soon  be  largely  augmented.  In  conse- 
quence of  the  disagreement,  St.  Michael's  was  not  consecrated 
until  February,  1862.  It  was  afterwards  considerably  en- 
larged. By  an  Order  in  Council  of  July,  1862,  a  new  parish, 
cut  out  of  Horfield,  Stapleton,  and  St.  Andrew's,  Montpelier, 
was  attached  to  this  church. 

In  despite  of  the  benefits  secured  by  the  transfer  of  the 
docks  to  the  city,  Bristolians  could  not  but  be  sensible  that 
the  port  lay  under  peculiar  natural  disadvantages,  which 
"handicapped"  it  heavily  in  the  competition  with  other 
harbours.  The  course  of  the  Avon  from  Hungroad  to  Cum- 
berland Basin  being  exceedingly  tortuous,  accidents  to  vessels 
were  of  such  frequent  occurrence  as  to  give  the  river  an  evil 
reputation  amongst  shipowners;  and  after  the  lamentable 
disaster  to  the  Demerara,  many  firms  refused  to  accept 
charters  which  would  render  their  vessels  liable  to  similar 
mishaps.  An  equally  serious  drawback  had  been  created  by 
the  designer  of  Cumberland  Basin.  At  the  beginning  of  the 
century  the  commerce  of  the  world  was  carried  on  by  vessels 
which,  while  rarely  exceeding  800  tons  burden,  were  on  the 
average  of  less  than  half  that  tonnage ;   and  the  depth  of 


1858.]  PROPOSED  DOCKS  AND  DOCKISATION*  359 

the  locks  had  naturally  been  determined  bj  those  conditions. 
But  the  application  of  steam  power  to  ships  had  revolution- 
ised former  ideas  on  the  subject,  for  not  only  were  ovor-sea 
steamers  necessarily  larger  in  consequence  of  the  stock  of 
fuel  they  had  to  carry,  but  builders  of  sailing  ships,  to  meet 
the  competition  for  freights,  studied  economy  by  constructing 
vessels  of  double  or  treble  the  former  size.     The  results  had 
been  early  felt  in  Bristol.     The  citizens  had  built  the  Oreat 
Western  only  to  find  that,  while  they  had  solved  the  problem 
of  transatlantic  navigation,  they  were  deprived  of  its  profits 
by  the  natural  defects  of  the  port.     By  and  by,  the  effects 
which   the  vessel   had   produced   on  shipowners   and   ship- 
builders also  began  to  be  felt.     The  local  public  were  ever 
and  anon  informed  that  a  large  vessel  bound  for  Bristol  had 
arrived  at  Kingroad,  but  that  owing  to  insufficient  depth  of 
water  she  must  remain  at  anchor  until  spring  tides,  perhaps 
eight  or  ten  days  distant.     The  evil  was  constantly  growing 
more  serious.     The  Great  Western  was  of  J  ,340  tons  register ; 
but  the  Cunard  company  had,  in  1848,  four  ships  of  about 
2,000  tons ;  and  at  the  time  under  review  Mr.  Brunei  had 
under  construction  the  Oreat  Eastern,  of  22,000  tons  burden, 
which  he  confidently  predicted  would  be  the  model  ship  of 
the  future.     The  prospect  naturally  caused  anxiety ;  and  on 
the  24th  June,  1858,  a  joint  committee,  comprising  deputa- 
tions  nominated   by  the   Docks   Committee,    the   Merchant 
Venturers'  Society,  and  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  held  a 
meeting  at  the  dock  office,  the  mayor  (Mr.  I.  A.  Cooke)  in 
the  chair,  with  the  view  of  considering  the  question  of  im- 
proved dock  accommodation.     After  a  long  discussion  on  the 
advisability  of  constructing  a  large  dock  at  the  mouth  of  the 
river,  it  was  resolved,  by  a  majority  of  12  votes  to  4,  that 
the  interests  of  the  port  would  be  best  promoted  by  convert- 
ing  the   Avon,   throughout   its   tidal    area,   into   a   floating 
harbour.      On   the  14th    September,  in   compliance  with    a 
requisition  signed  by  upwards  of  500  of  the  principal  citizens, 
the  mayor  convened  a  public  meeting  in  the  Guildhall,  which 
was  densely  crowded   on  the  occasion.      Mr.  P.  W.  Miles 
having  moved,  and  Mr.  C.  W.  Finzel  seconded,  a  resolution 
declaring  that  further  accommodation  was  essential  to  the 
interests   of  the   port ;   Mr.  J.  G.  Shaw,    representing  the 
non-progressive   party,  brought   forward  a  "rider''  to  the 
motion,  declaring  that  it  would  be  unjust  and  injurious  to 
the  owners  of  fixed  property  to  raise  additional  funds  by 
local  taxation.     The  resolution  having  been  adopted,  Mr.  E. 
S.  Bobinson  moved  that  the  rider  should  not  be  put,  and. 


360  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL.  [1858. 

this,  after  an  excited  discussion,  was  also  carried.  An  in- 
fluential committee  was  then  appointed  to  co-operate  with 
the  Chamber  of  Commerce  in  devising  means  for  carrying 
the  resolution  into  effect.  A  special  meeting  of  the  Council 
was  held  on  the  7th  November  to  consider  the  course  recom- 
mended by  the  citizens,  when  it  was  proposed  to  appoint  a 
committee  to  further  the  object  in  view.  Mr.  J.  G.  Shaw, 
however,  returned  to  the  attack,*  and  by  a  majority  of  25 
against  24,  an  amendment  was  carried  by  the  fixed  property 
party,  refusing  to  appoint  a  committee  to  meet  any  repre- 
sentatives of  public  bodies  for  promoting  increased  dock 
accommodation.  The  committee  of  citizens,  bereft  of  the 
expected  support,  found  it  necessary  to  surrender  all  thoughts 
of  an  extensive  scheme,  and  the  construction  of  a  pier  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Avon  was  suggested  as  an  advisable  temporary 
expedient.  It  was  soon  afterwards  intimated,  however,  that 
the  Board  of  Admiralty,  by  the  advice  of  its  engineer,  Mr. 
Walker,  would  not  allow  the  erection  of  a  pier  encroaching 
upon  the  anchorage  ground  at  Kingroad.  The  subject  thus 
fell  into  abeyance  for  a  time,  but  its  urgency  soon  brought 
it  again  into  prominent  notice.  At  a  meeting  of  the  Council, 
on  the  2nd  August,  1859,  two  voluminous  reports  were  laid 
on  the  table.  One  of  these,  by  Mr.  William  Parkes,  an 
eminent  engineer,  disapproved  of  the  project  for  "dockising  *' 
the  Avon,  and  also  condemned  the  proposal  for  docks  near 
Kingroad,  but  recommended  the  deepening  and  widening 
of  the  Avon,  the  cutting  of  a  new  channel  to  avoid  the 
Horseshoe  Point,  and  the  closing  of  the  old  course  of  the 
river  at  Dunball.  The  other  report,  by  Mr.  Howard,  engi- 
neer to  the  Docks  Committee,  proposed  the  damming  up  of 
the  tidal  river  near  its  mouth,  and  the  construction  of  an 
outer  tidal  harbour  off  the  Somerset  shore  at  Kingroad,  to 
be  enclosed  by  two  piers,  the  entrance  to  be  sufficiently 
deepened  to  permit  steamers  to  enter  at  low  water.  The 
cost  of  the  works  was  estimated  at  £800,000.  At  another 
meeting  of  the  Council,  in  October,  Mr.  Shaw  moved  that 
it  was  inexpedient  to  expend  money  either  for  docks  or 
dockisation ;  but  an  amendment  was  carried  by  27  votes 
against  15,  directing  the  whole  question  to  be  submitted  to 
Sir  William  Cubitt  (or,  as  it  was  afterwards  determined, 
to  Mr.  John  Hawkshaw)  and  Mr.  Thomas  Page.     The  only 

*  Mr.  Shaw  was  an  Irishman,  and  is  said  to  have  been  not  a  little  vain  of  hia 
exuberance  of  speech.  He  was  naturally  unpopular  amongst  the  advocates 
of  improvement,  and  it  appears  from  one  of  his  own  speeches  that  he  earned 
for  himself  the  nickname  of  **  Jaw  Jaw  Jaw  *' — John  (Horge  Shaw. 


1858.]  DOCKS  AND   DOCKISATION.  361 

actual  work  undertaken  by  the  Corporation  at  this  time  was 
the  erection  of  a  small  stage,  called  a  landing  slip,  near  the 
Lighthouse,  for  the  accommodation  of  passengers  arriving  by 
the  Irish  steamers.  With  an  increasing  foresight,  however, 
the  Docks  Committee  purchased,  in  January,  1860,  the  island 
of  Dunball  for  £850.  It  had  been  bought  two  or  three  years 
previously,  at  the  sale  of  Mr.  J.  A.  Gordon's  estates,  for  £100, 
by  an  eccentric  publican  named  Hooper.  The  reports  of 
Messrs.  Hawkshaw  and  Page  were  laid  before  the  Council 
in  October,  I860.*  Mr.  Hawkshaw,  whilst  strongly  condemn- 
ing the  dockisation  of  the  Avon  (the  cost  of  which  he 
estimated  at  £1,200,000),  and  recommending  that  the  bed 
should  be  deepened  and  improved,  pointed  out  that,  what- 
ever was  done  to  the  river,  there  was  no  likelihood  that  ocean 
steamers,  increasing  as  they  were  in  size,  would  ever  come 
up  to  Bristol.  The  construction  of  docks  near  Kingroad  was 
deemed  practicable,  but  as  they  would  lead  to  a  divided  and 
competitive  trade,  Mr.  Hawkshaw  recommended  that,  after 
the  river  had  been  improved,  the  Corporation  should  be  con- 
tent with  constructing  a  dock  for  steamers,  connected  by  a 
railway  with  the  city.  The  expense  of  his  proposals  was 
estimated  at  £1,213,000.  Mr.  Page,  who  also  disapproved 
of  dockisation,  on  the  ground  of  its  costliness  and  probable 
ill  effects  on  Kingroad,  considered  that  it  was  unnecessary 
that  ships  should  come  up  to  the  city  if  their  cargoes  were 
brought  to  it,  and  advised  the  construction  of  a  pier  near  the 
river  mouth,  with  a  railway  to  Bristol  quays  and  to  the 
through  lines  of  communication.  He  further  suggested  that 
when  trade  had  developed,  a  dock  should  be  constructed  in 
the  channel  of  the  Avon,  between  Dunball  and  the  mainland, 
of  which  the  pier  would  form  one  side,  the  estimated  cost 
being  £260,000.  Finally  he  proposed  extensive  alterations 
at  Cumberland  Basin,  and  the  "floating"  of  the  new  course 
of  the  Avon.  The  reports,  of  which  that  of  Mr.  Page  found 
most  supporters,  gave  rise  to  a  debate  in  the  Council  extend- 
ing over  two  days,  Mr.  E.  S.  Robinson  having  moved  that 
steps  should  be  taken  for  obtaining  an  Act  to  effect  improve- 
ments on  Mr.  Page's  plan,  at  a  cost  not  exceeding  £400,000. 
The  party  which  obstinately  resisted  improvements,  on  the 
ground  that  no  guarantee  for  the  interest  on  the  amount 
expended  ought  to  be  required  from  the  ratepayers,  were 
ultimately  defeated  by  33  votes  against  22.  The  influence 
of  the  fixed  property  party  was,  however,  so  powerful  that 
the  discussion  ended  in  the  passing  of  an  empty  resolution 
approving  of  docks,  and  appointing  a  committee  to  frame 


362  THE   ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1858. 

a  scheme  wHich  could  be  accomplisHed  without  imposing  any 
charge  on  the  ratepayers.  Even  this  modest  advance  was 
succeeded  by  a  retreat  in  February,  1861,  when  a  resolution 
was  proposed  by  Mr.  R.  P.  King,  another  champion  of  vested 
interests,  declaring  that  it  was  '*  not  expedient  to  incur  any 
further  liability  on  the  fixed  property  of  the  city  for  the 
purpose  of  making  dock  accommodation  at  the  mouth  of  the 
river,'*  and  that  the  surplus  revenue  of  the  dock — on  which 
the  '^progress  party''  relied  for  effecting  improvements — 
would  be  best  disposed  of  by  improving  the  river  and  exist- 
ing works,  or  by  reducing  the  dues.  An  amendment  to  this 
motion  was  proposed  by  Aid.  Abbott,  to  the  effect  that  the 
cost  of  a  well-considered  scheme  of  dock  extension,  the 
interest  upon  which  could  be  provided  out  of  the  surplus 
revenues  of  the  harbour,  might  be  beneficially  raised  upon 
the  guarantee  of  the  borough  rate;  but  this  was  rejected 
by  31  votes  against  24 ;  and  Mr.  King's  resolution  was 
adopted.  In  pursuance  of  its  instructions,  the  Docks  Com- 
mittee shortly  afterwards  presented  a  report,  recommending 
a  reduction  of  the  dues  to  the  extent  of  about  £6,000  a  year. 
The  report,  clearly  devised  to  tie  the  hands  of  the  Council 
as  regarded  the  improvement  of  the  port,  was  adopted,  and 
the  dock  dues  were  reduced  in  May,  1861.  How  an  indis- 
pensable work  was  at  length  accomplished  by  private  citizens, 
and  how  the  Council  had  in  the  long  run  to  retrace  a  selfish 
and  reactionary  policy,  and  to  buy  off  the  competition  its 
own  shortsightedness  had  created,  will  have  to  be  related  in 
future  pages. 

St.  James's  Market,  Union  Street,  was  reopened  on  the 
26th  June,  1858,  after  undergoing  a  complete  restoration. 
The  front  elevation  of  the  new  structure  was  deemed  even  be- 
low the  usual  poor  taste  of  civic  erections  in  Bristol,  and  was 
for  some  weeks  the  object  of  mingled  ridicule  and  censure. 

About  the  end  of  June,  Messrs.  Baillie,  Cave  &  Co.,  of  the 
Old  Bank,  in  extending  their  subterranean  strong-rooms, 
discovered  a  large  vaulted  cellar  of  good  mediaeval  archi- 
tecture. The  place  was  supposed  by  some  who  visited  it  to 
be  the  old  crypt  of  St.  Leonard's  Church  ;  but  that  building, 
as  has  been  already  recorded,  was  found  under  Stuck ey's 
banking  premises  in  1851  [see  p.  324], 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Merchant  Venturers'  Society  on  the 
18th  September,  it  was  determined — subject  to  the  approval 
of  the  Charity  Commissioners — to  purchase  the  vacated 
bishop's  palace  at  Stapleton,  and  to  convert  the  building  into 
a  school-house  for  the  boys  of  Colston's  School.    The  removal 


1858.]    Colston's  school  behoved,    the  volunteers.        368 

of  the  institution  from  the  city  was  opposed  by  many  persons 
as  a  flagrant  repudiation  of  the  intentions  of  its  founder,  who 
distinctly  prescribed  that  the  school  should  be  maintained 
'^forever''  in  the  mansion  which  he  had  purchased  for  it; 
and  suspicions  were  expressed  that  the  ulterior  object  of 
those  promoting  the  removal  was  to  divert  the  benefits  of 
the  charity  to  individuals  in  a  rank  of  life  far  above  those 
for  whom  it  was  designed.  Especial  attention  was  excited 
by  the  remarks  of  one  of  the  prime  movers  in  the  matter,  Mr. 
A.  Hilhouse,  who  declared  that  the  sons  of  working  men  were 
sufficiently  provided  for  in  national  schools,  and  that  the 
great  want  of  the  day  were  "  schools  for  the  poor  sons  of 
decayed  good  livers,  such  as  bankrupt  merchants,  bankers, 
traders,  deceased  clergy,  and  other  professional  men."  Mr. 
Edward  Colston,  the  representative  of  the  family,  together 
with  six  past  masters  of  the  Merchants'  Society,  took  the 
lead  in  protesting  against  the  projected  removal,  declaring 
it  to  be  ^'  an  entire  breach  of  trust ;  "  the  mayor  (Mr.  I.  A. 
Cooke),  Mr.  Langton,  M.P.,  and  many  of  the  magistrates, 
aldermen,  and  councillors  also  presented  a  memorial  against 
the  design.  The  Charity  Commissioners  were,  however, 
favourable  to  the  views  of  the  majority  of  the  Merchants' 
Society,  and  an  application  to  the  Master  of  the  Rolls  (Sir  J. 
Romilly)  to  prevent  the  removal  was  unsuccessful.  Stapleton 
house  and  grounds  were  then  acquired  for  £12,000.  The 
Merchants'  Society  paid  half  of  this  amount,  taking  the  land 
not  required  for  the  school.  A  large  dining  room  and 
master's  house  were  added  to  the  premises,  which  underwent 
the  needful  modifications  to  fit  them  for  the  reception  of  140 
boys  (an  addition  of  twenty  to  the  previous  number)  at  a 
cost  of  £3,000.  The  scholars  were  removed  to  their  new 
abode  on  the  21st  October,  1861.  The  net  income  of  the 
charity  at  that  time  was  £3,433,  and  the  expenditure  (before 
increasing  the  number  of  boys)  £2,421.  Mr.  Hilhouse's 
suggestion  for  the  misappropriation  of  the  charity  was  subse- 
quently defeated  by  the  action  of  the  Endowed  School  Com- 
missioners, to  be  noticed  under  a  later  date. 

At  the  annual  dinner  of  the  Anchor  Society,  on  Colston's 
day,  Mr.  Berkeley,  M.P.,  at  a  time  when  a  number  of  French 
military  oflBcers  and  some  Paris  journals  were  using  menacing 
language  towards  this  country,  drew  the  attention  of  his 
hearers  to  the  neglected  state  of  the  national  defences.  He 
contended  that  England  ought  to  be  always  free  from  the 
danger  of  foreign  invasion,  and  strongly  urged  the  economy 
and  general  desirability  of  training  the  youth  of  the  country 


364  THE   ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1859. 

to  arms,  as  had  been  the  custom  amongst  their  forefathers. 
Mr,  Berkeley  subsequently  ventilated  his  proposal  through 
the  press ;  and  in  January,  1859,  a  movement  was  started  in 
Bristol  which  speedily  spread  to  other  towns,  and  assumed  a 
national  character.  On  the  2nd  February  a  preliminary 
meeting  took  place  in  the  city  with  the  view  to  establishing  a 
rifle  corps,  and  at  another  gathering,  18th  May,  the  mayor 
(Mr.  J.  Poole)  presiding,  the  project  assumed  a  definite  form, 
a  series  of  resolutions  being  drawn  up  and  forwarded  to  the 
Lord  Lieutenant,  the  Earl  of  Ducie,  who  was  asked,  but 
declined,  to  accept  the  office  of  colonel.  It  was  then  resolved 
that  the  mayor  for  the  time  being  should  be  honorary  colonel ; 
Major  Robert  Bush,  a  retired  army  officer,  was  recommended 
as  lieutenant-colonel,  and  Major  Savile,  of  the  local  militia, 
as  major.  The  corps  was  the  first  embodied  in  the  kingdom. 
The  Ministry  of  Lord  Derby — in  deference,  probably,  to  the 
authorities  of  the  Horse  Guards — refused  a  grant  for  ex- 
penses, and  declined  to  supply  the  volunteers  with  arms  and 
clothing,  although,  as  Mr.  Berkeley  observed  in  the  House  of 
Commons,  this  policy  necessarily  deprived  the  country  of  its 
strongest  defence — the  working  classes.  An  application  of 
the  volunteers  to  be  allowed  to  choose  their  own  officers  was 
declared  to  be  inadmissible,  and  an  attempt  was  made  to 
prevent  the  various  corps  from  being  formed  into  regiments, 
the  Horse  Guards  wishing  to  restrict  the  organisation  to 
unconnected  companies.  The  cost  of  the  equipment  was  £10 
a  head.  Nevertheless,  by  the  beginning  of  July,  275  Bristo- 
lians  had  commenced  drill ;  dresses  and  rifles  were  ordered 
from  private  firms ;  and  the  motto  of  the  old  Bristol  volunteers 
— "  In  Danger  Ready '' — was  again  adopted.  A  pleasing 
incident  of  the  movement  was  the  concession  by  the  majority 
of  merchants,  professional  men,  and  respectable  tradesmen, 
of  a  weekly  half-holiday  on  Saturdays  to  their  employes,  many 
of  whom  joined  the  corps.  The  first  parade  took  place  in 
Queen  Square  on  the  24th  September,  1859,  when  over  600 
men  had  entered  the  corps.  The  officers,  who  had  by  that 
time  received  their  commissions,  were  as  follows : — 

Honorary  Colonel,  The  Mayor  of  Bristol  for  the  time  being. 

Lieutenant-Colonel,  Major  Bobert  Bush. 

Major,  Captain  Henry  B.  O.  Savile  (who  resigned  in  December  and  was 

succeeded  by  John  Selwyn  Pajrne). 
No.  1  Company.    Captain,  Samuel  Edward  Taylor ;  Lieutenant,  Edward 

Poole ;  Ensign,  Kichard  W.  B.  Hassall. 
No.  2  Company.     Captain,  John  Bates ;  Lieutenant,  William  Britton  ; 

Ensign,  James  Gibbs. 
No.  3  Company.    Captain,  William  Wright ;  Lieutenant,  Frederick  F.  Fox ; 

Ensign,  Frederick  Pinney. 


1859.]       THE    RIFLE   VOLUNTEERS.      DRINEINQ   FOUKTAIKS.  365 

No.  4  Company.    Captain,  Colston  Lucas ;  Lieutenant,  William  Fuidge ; 

Ensign,  Ghsorge  Ley  King. 
No.  5  Company.    Captain,  Andrew  Leighton  ;  Lieutenant,  Perigrine  Ham- 
monds ;  Ensign,  Edward  M.  Harwood. 
No.  6  Company.    Captain,  Charles  Binger ;  Lieutenant,  Alfred  R.  Miller ; 

Ensign,  Mark  Whitwill. 
No.  7  Company.      Captain,    Henry  Goodeve;    Lieutenant,    Charles   H. 

Prichard ;  Ensign,  John  C.  Aiken. 
No.  8  Company.     Captain,  John  E.  Pattenson;  Lieutenant,  Philip  D. 

Alexander ;  Ensign,  Charles  Bevan. 
Staff.    Adjutant,  A.M.Jones;  Surgeon,  Henry  A.  Hore ;  Quarter-master, 

Daniel  Burges,  jun. 
Two  additional  companies  were  added  in  the  early  months  of  1860. 
No.  9  Company.    Captain,  James  Ford  ;  Lieutenant  Alfred  Elton,  Ensign, 

Charles  F.  lyens. 
No.  10  Company.    Captain,  Boddam  Castle ;  Lieutenant,  John  P.  Oilbert ; 

Ensign,  Thomas  Barnes. 

Tlie  first  building  used  for  drill  and  dep6t  purposes  was  a 
portion  of  the  vacant  Royal  Western  Hotel,  College  Street. 
The  erection  of  the  Drill  Hall  in  Queen's  Road  will  be  re- 
corded under  1861.  The  first  volunteer  review  before  the 
Queen  took  place  in  Hyde  Park  on  the  23rd  June,  1860, 
when,  of  the  20,000  citizen  soldiers  present,  Bristol  con- 
tributed nearly  a  thousand,  A  review  of  local  corps  was 
held  for  the  first  time  on  Durdham  Down  on  the  19th  June, 
1861.  The  original  shooting  range  of  the  Bristol  rifles  was 
temporarily  formed  in  Sneyd  Park.  The  more  extended 
range  at  Avonmouth  was  opened  in  April,  1865,  in  which 
year  Lieutenant  Colonel  Bush,  who  had  displayed  much 
energy  in  the  command  of  the  regiment,  resigned.  He  had, 
in  September,  1862,  been  presented  by  the  volunteers  with  a 
handsome  service  of  plate  in  recognition  of  his  services,  and 
a  second  testimonial  was  ofiered  to  him  on  his  retirement. 
Colonel  Bush  was  succeeded  by  Colonel  P.  W.  Taylor,  who 
died  in  March,  1881.  The  next  commandant  was  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  S.  E.  Taylor,  who  resigned  in  a  few  months,  when 
Lieutenant- Colonel  A.  M.  Jones,  who  had  been  adjutant  for 
several  years,  received  the  appointment. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Council  in  January,  1859,  Mr.  Robert 
Lang  suggested  the  establishment  of  drinking  fountains  in 
the  chief  thoroughfares  of  the  city,  for  the  accommodation  of 
pedestrians,  offering  a  donation  for  that  purpose  of  £100. 
The  suggestion  met  with  cordial  approval,  and  the  first  two 
fountains  were  erected  about  the  end  of  June,  one  at  the 
south  end  of  Prince's  Street,  and  the  other  on  the  Welsh 
Back.  A  few  days  later  Mr.  T.  P.  Jose  erected  a  chastely 
designed  fountain  in  the  wall  of  St.  Augustine's  churchyard, 
and  Mr.  R.  Lang  was  the  donor  of  another,  opposite  the 
Bishop's  College.     About  twenty  more  were  given  by  various 


366  THE   ANNALS   OF   BBI8T0L.  [1859. 

citizens  in  the  conrse  of  the  year.  In  1876  a  large  fountain 
was  erected  on  the  Downs  at  a  cost  of  100  guineas^  contributed 
by  the  local  committee  in  connection  with  the  local  meeting 
of  the  Bath  and  West  of  England  Agricultural  Society.  The 
most  artistic  fountain,  however,  was  that  constructed  by 
Alderman  Proctor,  in  the  spring  of  1872,  at  the  top  of  Bridge 
Valley  Eoad,  to  commemorate  the  liberality  of  the  Merchant 
Venturers'  Society  in  connection  with  the  transfer  of  the 
Downs  to  the  Corporation. 

On  the  4th  January,  1859,  a  fire  occurred  in  a  tavern  in 
Cider-house  Passage  (anciently  Beer  Lane),  Broad  Street, 
which  caused  the  destruction  of  a  mediaeval  hall,  standing 
over  the  passage,  and  then  used  as  a  concert  room.  An 
etching  of  this  building  is  to  be  found  in  Sk  el  ton's  "  Anti- 
quities of  Bristol,''  where  it  is  erroneously  designated  "  part 
of  a  monastery."  The  roof  was  of  wood,  supported  by  hand- 
some groined  ribs  in  the  style  of  the  latter  part  of  the 
fifteenth  century.  The  square-headed  windows  were  of 
about  the  same  date. 

In  March,  1859,  a  number  of  the  inhabitants  of  Clifton 
resolved  upon  the  erection  of  a  chapel  of  ease  to  Clifton 
Church,  in  commemoration  of  the  Rev.  J.  Hensman's  fifty 
years'  labours  amongst  them.  The  chapel,  which  was  dedi- 
cated to  St.  James,  but  is  more  commonly  known  as  the 
Hensman  Memorial  Church,  was  consecrated  by  Bishop 
Thomson,  during  his  brief  episcopate,  in  December,  1862, 
when  Mr.  Hensman  was  still  incumbent  of  the  parish.  The 
cost  of  the  building  was  about  £3,000. 

During  the  spring  of  1859  the  local  Charity  Trustees 
entered  into  correspondence  with  the  Charity  Commissioners 
in  reference  to  certain  proposed  alterations  in  the  scheme 
under  which  the  Grammar  School  was  governed.  Although 
the  success  of  the  school  since  its  re-organisation  exceeded 
all  hopes,  yet  through  the  slenderness  of  the  endowment  the 
head-master  and  teaching  staff  had  been  inadequately  re- 
munerated for  their  labours.  It  was  consequently  suggested 
that  the  fees  paid  by  the  elder  class  of  boys  should  be 
slightly  raised,  that  admission  should  not  be  restricted  to 
youths  residing  in  the  city  and  suburbs,  and  that  the  head 
and  second  masters  should  be  allowed  to  take  boarders.  The 
last-mentioned  proposal  was  strongly  condemned  by  a  min- 
ority of  the  trustees ;  and,  though  approved  by  the  Charity 
Commissioners,  the  Master  of  the  Rolls,  on  an  appeal  for 
his  interference,  refused  to  give  it  his  sanction.  Mr.  C.  T. 
Hudson,  the  head-master,  in  consequence  resigned  his  post 


1859.]  ITAUAN    PATRIOTS.      BRISTOL   WORKHOUSE.  367 

in  May,  1860.  He  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  J.  W.  Caldi- 
cott,  M.A.,  tutor  and  mathematical  lecturer  at  Oxford  Univer- 
sity, under  whom  the  school  attained  an  unexampled  reputa- 
tion, the  successes  of  its  pupils  in  competitive  examinations 
being  in  some  years  proportionably  greater  than  in  any  other 
public  school.  Dr.  Caldicott  resigned  his  post  in  1883,  on 
being  appointed  to  the  valuable  college  living  of  Shipston, 
Worcester.  He  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  R.  Leighton  Leighton, 
M.A.,  who  had  taken  high  classical  honours  at  Oxford. 

In  the  month  of  March  an  American  merchant  ship  put 
into  Cork  harbour,  having  on  board  Baron  Poerio  and  sixty- 
six  other  Neapolitan  patriots,  most  of  whom  had  suffered  ten 
years'  imprisonment,  without  trial,  in  dungeons  the  character 
of  which  had  been  exposed  by  Mr.  Gladstone  to  the  horror 
of  Europe.  The  exiles  had  been  liberated  by  ''  King  Bomba  " 
by  virtue  of  what  he  called  an  act  of  grace,  on  condition  that 
they  would  transport  themselves  to  America  for  the  rest  of 
their  lives.  Whilst  on  the  voyage  they  compelled  the  captain 
to  alter  his  course  to  a  British  port.  After  a  short  stay  at 
Cork,  the  patriots  made  their  way  to  this  country  in  detach- 
ments, the  first  of  which  landed  at  Bristol  on  the  19th  March, 
and  was  greeted  with  extraordinary  marks  of  sympathy  by 
all  ranks  and  parties  in  the  city.  Mr.  Langton,  M.P.,  and 
the  mayor  (Mr.  J.  Hare)  personally  welcomed  the  party,  who 
were  entertained  at  the  Angel  Inn.  Two  further  contingents, 
which  arrived  during  the  following  week,  received  a  like 
hospitable  reception.  During  their  brief  sojourn,  the  fugi- 
tives expressed  their  fervent  thanks  for  the  generous  treat- 
ment they  had  received.  The  incident  excited  great  interest 
in  all  parts  of  the  island,  and  a  subscription  started  for  the 
relief  of  the  patriots  produced  a  sum  of  over  £10,700, 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Bristol  Board  of  Guardians  on  the  8th 
April,  a  controversy  which  had  been  long  carried  on  in 
reference  to  the  desirability  of  building  a  new  workhouse  was 
concluded  by  a  vote  in  the  aflBrmative,  the  site  selected  being 
Stapleton.  The  plans  of  a  Gloucester  firm,  who  estimated 
the  cost  at  £12,000,  were  adopted.  On  obtaining  tenders, 
however,  it  was  found  that  the  lowest  was  several  thousand 
pounds  above  the  expected  sum,  and  the  opposition  to  the 
scheme  was  renewed.  Eventually,  in  March,  1860,  it  was 
resolved  to  let  the  contract  for  £15,895,  and  the  foundation 
stone  of  the  workhouse  was  laid  in  the  following  July  by  Mr. 
J.  Perry,  governor.  Large  additions  were  made  to  the  plans^ 
and  the  outlay  on  the  building  up  to  August  1864  was  stated 
to  have  exceeded  £22,500. 


368  THK   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL.  [1859. 

The  London  Gazette  of  the  12th  April  announced  that  a 
baronetcy  had  been  conferred  on  Mr.  William  Miles,  of  Leigh 
Court,  many  years  M.P.  for  West  Somerset,  and  chairman  of 
the  Somerset  quarter  sessions.  Mr.  Miles,  who  was  highly 
respected  by  all  parties  for  the  sterling  honesty  of  his  char- 
acter and  the  conscientious  performance  of  his  public  duties, 
was  by  birth  a  native  of  Bristol,  where  he  was  the  chief 
partner  of  a  large  private  banking  company.  The  most 
striking  incident  in  his  parliamentary  career  was  his  un- 
successful attempt  to  impose  a  duty  on  foreign  cattle  and 
meat,  for  the  "  protection  "  of  English  farmers.  An  anecdote 
illustrative  of  his  candour  and  sincerity  was  narrated  in  the 
House  of  Commons  on  the  4th  July,  1879,  by  the  Right  Hon. 
John  Bright,  who  stated  that,  some  years  after  retiring  from 
Parliament,  Sir  William  Miles,  who  had  been  an  indefatigable 
opponent  of  the  repeal  of  the  Corn  Laws,  came  up  to  him  in 
the  lobby  and  said :  "  Well,  now,  I  may  as  well  make  a  con- 
fession. Your  friend  Cobden  and  you  are  the  best  friends 
that  the  landowners  ever  had.*'  Mr.  Bright  replied  that  he 
could  tell  the  baronet  another  thing  just  as  good  was  the 
great  measure  of  1846  (meaning  the  reform  of  the  land  laws) ; 
but  Sir  William,  looking  serious  for  a  moment,  said,  '*  No  :  I 
have  no  faith,' '  and  walked  away. 

The  Parliament  of  1857  having  been  dissolved  on  the 
advice  of  Lord  Derby's  Cabinet,  the  nominations  for  Bristol 
took  place  on  the  28th  April.  The  Liberal  members,  Messrs. 
Berkeley  and  Langton,  were  again  proposed ;  while  the  Con- 
servatives, who  had  again  become  united,  brought  forward 
Mr.  (afterwards  Sir)  Frederick  Wm.  Slade.*  The  contest, 
which  was  of  an  exciting  character,  resulted  as  follows :  Mr. 
Berkeley,  4,432  ;  Mr.  Langton,  4,285  ;  Mr.  Slade,  4,205.  In 
pursuance  of  a  new  Act,  the  expenses  of  the  candidates  were 
published  shortly  afterwards.  Those  of  the  two  successful 
candidates  were  returned  at  £1,488,  and  those  of  Mr.  Slade 
at  £2,276. 

On  the  30th  April,  whilst  the  ceremony  of  declaring  the 
poll  was  proceeding  at  the  Exchange,  one  of  the  most  de- 
structive fires  recorded  in  the  history  of  the  city  broke  out 
in  the  extensive  sugar  refinery  of  Messrs.  Fuidge  &  Fripp, 
near  the  Stone  Bridge.     The  flames  rapidly  spread  over  the 

*  Mr.  Slade,  though  an  able  lawyer,  does  not  appear  to  have  sacrificed  to  the 
Muses.  In  a  libel  case  tried  at  Bristol,  he  cast  much  ridicule  on  one  of  the 
parties  in  the  action,  for  baring  made  "  one  Boston,  a  weaver,  talk  about  roaring 
like  a  sucking  dove.'*  It  was  clear,  said  the  matter-of-fact  counsel,  that  a  dove 
could  not  have  roared. 


1859.]  GREAT   WINE    SALE.      THE    CATHEDRAL.  369 

building,  and  damage  to  the  extent  of  £80,000  was  done 
before  they  could  be  subdued.  The  refinery  was  not  rebuilt, 
and  250  workmen  were  thrown  out  of  employment.  A  local 
paper,  in  recording  the  disaster,  said,  "  All  the  sugar  refineries 
in  Bristol  have  now  been  burnt  down  once." 

A  remarkable  sale  of  wine  took  place  at  the  Grove,  Bris- 
lington,  in  June,  consequent  upon  the  death  of  Alderman 
Henry  Ricketts,  a  member  of  an  old  Bristol  family,  and  the 
last  survivor  of  a  firm  once  extensively  engaged  in  the  manu- 
facture of  flint  glass.  The  chief  competition  was  for  the  port 
wine,  which  included  samples  of  all  the  celebrated  vintages 
between  1793  and  1836.  ''Magnums"  of  1820  brought  the 
unprecedented  price  of  £3  8«.  each.  One  lot  of  the  vintage 
of  1812  fetched  £18  10«.  per  dozen  ordinary  bottles.  The 
entire  stock  of  180  dozen  of  port  averaged  £8  a  dozen,  the 
purchasers  being  chiefly  Lancashire  manufacturers.  The 
other  wines  also  sold  at  high  prices. 

The  foundations  of  the  first  houses  in  what  was  subse- 
quently called  the  Royal  Promenade,  Queen's  Road,  were  laid 
about  the  end  of  June. 

Up  to  this  time  the  internal  arrangements  of  Bristol 
cathedral,  adopted  in  the  reign  of  Charles  II.,  were  such  as 
to  prevent  more  than  a  handful  of  persons  from  attending 
divine  service.  There  being  no  nave,  the  appearance  of  one 
was  produced  by  cutting  off  a  -large  portion  of  the  space 
originally  included  within  the  choir.  The  transepts  and  aisles 
were  also  shut  off,  and  formed  mere  ambulatories  for  strollers. 
The  area  actually  available  was  thus  reduced  to  the  propor- 
tions of  a  small  college  chapel,  and  was  chiefly  occupied  by 
stalls  and  pews ;  the  only  accommodation  offered  to  persons 
who  did  not  purchase  the  favour  of  the  beadles  consisted  of 
narrow,  unfurnished,  unbacked  benches — to  one  of  which,  as 
has  been  noticed,  the  Prince  of  Wales  was  relegated  on  his 
visit  to  the  building.  Dissatisfied  with  this  arrangement,  the 
dean  and  chapter  applied  to  Mr.  (afterwards  Sir)  G.  G.  Scott, 
the  celebrated  architect,  for  his  advice.  Mr.  Scott  recom- 
mended the  removal  of  the  organ  gallery,  which  blocked  up 
the  centre  of  the  church,  the  erection  of  the  organ  in  the 
north  aisle,  the  construction  of  a  light  screen  at  the  end  of 
the  choir,  the  throwing  open  of  the  entire  space  east  of  the 
transepts,  and  the  introduction  of  chairs,  by  which  the  number 
of  persons  taking  part  in  the  services  might  be  increased 
from  300  to  1,000.  A  considerable  sum  having  been  raised 
by  subscription,  the  work  of  reconstruction,  which  involved 
a  complete  clearance  of  the  stalls,  screens,  etc.,  was  begun  in 

B   B 


870  THE   ANNALS   OF  BBISTOL.  [1859. 

April,  1860.  On  the  walls  being  stripped  of  the  woodwork 
and  partially  freed  from  whitewash,  so  beautiful  a  structure 
was  disclosed  that  the  work  of  thoroughly  cleansing  and  re- 
pairing the  edifice  seemed  a  necessary  consequence,  though 
it  involved  further  appeals  to  the  citizens  for  assistance.  The 
expense  of  the  restoration  was  £4,600,  towards  which  the  chap- 
ter subscribed  £1,550.  [Such  at  least  were  the  amounts  stated 
ii;L  an  ofiBicial  report  read  to  a  meeting  of  citizens  in  March, 
1861.  In  a  letter  to  the  Cathedral  Commissioners,  dated 
January,  1885,  the  Dean  of  Bristol  alleged  that  the  restora- 
tion cost  the  chapter  £7,393,  and  the  public  £5,474,  "  giving 
a  total  of  £12,867."]  The  sedilia,  destroyed  about  1603  to 
make  room  for  a  monument  to  Sir  John  Young  and  his  wife, 
was  successfully  restored,  enough  of  the  original  design 
remaining  to  guide  the  carvers  in  reproducing  the  work. 
The  only  early  relic  destroyed  was  the  heraldic  pavement  in 
the  Berkeley  Chapel — an  inexcusable  vandalism  which  cast 
discredit  on  those  concerned.  It  must  be  added  that  the 
monument  of  Sir  J.  Young,  which  was  of  enormous  size,  was 
removed  in  fragments,  and  that  nothing  has  since  been  done 
for  its  preservation.  The  cathedral  was  reopened,  June  27, 
1861,  when  the  Corporation  attended  in  state.  Bishop 
Baring  had  been  expected  to  occupy  the  pulpit  on  the  occa- 
sion; but  his  relations  with  the  chapter  were  not  cordial, 
and  he  declined  to  be  present.  His  lordship,  who  was  trans- 
lated to  Durham  a  few  weeks  later,*  preached  only  once  in 
the  cathedral  during  his  episcopate — probably  through  un- 
willingness to  admit  the  contention  that  his  use  of  the  pulpit 
was  conditional  upon  the  good  pleasure  of  the  chapter.  Soon 
after  the  completion  of  the  works,  the  condition  of  the  central 
tower  began  to  excite  apprehension ;  and  the  chapter  having 
set  apart  a  sum  of  £6,000  for  its  restoration,  operations  began 
in  1865  with  the  massive  piers  supporting  the  tower,  which 
were  completely  renovated.  The  later  history  of  the  building 
will  be  found  recorded  under  1866. 

A  chapel  was  built  this  year  in  St.  James's  Parade  by  the 
Scotch  Presbyterians  of  tlxe  city,  who  had  not  previously 
possessed  a  special  place  of  worship.  It  was  opened  on  the 
7th  September,  1859,  by  the  Eev.  Dr.  Macfarlane,  of  Glasgow. 

*  Dr.  Baring,  who  had  a  large  private  fortune,  displayed  an  amount  of 
hospitality  towards  his  clergy  which  is  said  to  have  been  unprecedented  in  the 
history  of  the  see.  He  resigned  the  bishopric  of  Durham,  one  of  the  great 
prizes  of  the  Church,  in  1S78,  owing  to  impaired  health,  refusing  to  accept  the 
large  retiring  allowance  to  which  he  was  entitled.  His  successor  in  GlouceRter 
and  Bristol  was  the  Bey.  William  Thomson,  rector  of  Mnrylebone,  London,  who 
was  soon  afterwards  translated  to  the  Archbishopric  of  York. 


1859.]  THB   ARTILLERY   VOLUNTEERS.  371 

The  cost  of  the  buildings  including  the  site,  was  upwards  of 
£5,300. 

The  great  popularity  of  the  rifle  volunteers  led  to  various 
suggestions  for  an  extension  of  the  movement.  At  length, 
on  the  Palmerston  Ministry  having  informed  the  Earl  of 
Ducie,  Lord  Lieutenant,  that  "  an  artillery  corps  for  the  city 
would  not  only  receive  oflBicial  sanction,  but  would  be  con- 
sidered a  valuable  adjunct  to  the  volunteer  force  already 
established,"  a  meeting  was  held  in  the  Guildhall,  on  the 
8th  November,  the  mayor  (Mr.  J.  Poole)  presiding,  to  take 
the  matter  into  consideration.  Resolutions  approving  of  the 
creation  of  a  corps,  and  appointing  a  committee  for  that 
purpose,  were  unanimously  adopted.  The  formal  approval 
of  the  Government  having  been  obtained,  about  200  men 
were  forthwith  enrolled,  and  the  first  parade  took  place  on 
the  31st  December,  The  motto  adopted  by  the  corps  was 
"  Fidus  et  Audax."  Captain  H.  B.  0.  Savile,  then  major  in 
the  rifle  regiment,  transferred  his  services  to  the  artillery, 
of  which  he  was  appointed  major  commandant.  The  cap- 
tains originallv  appointed  were  J.  B.  Harford,  W.  M.  Baillie, 
H.  Grant,  and  Capt.  F.P.Egerton,  R.N.;  a  fifth,  W.  H.  Barlow, 
was  nominated  afterwards.  The  lieutenants  were  F.  Tothill, 
S.  V.  Hare,  H.  L.  Bean,  G.  Garrard, F.  W.  Savage,  H.  S.  Ames, 
E.  G.  Langton,  and  C.  D.  Cave.  In  despite  of  the  professions 
of  the  authorities  in  London,  their  real  feelings  towards  the 
citizen  soldiers  were  strikingly  exemplified  by  the  material 
which  was  forwarded  for  training  purposes — four  enormous 
siege  guns  of  the  obsolete  type  of  the  reign  of  George  III., 
and  utterly  unfit  for  field  practice,  being  sent  down  from  Wool- 
wich in  April,  1860,  Notwithstanding  the  disrespect  evidently 
implied  in  the  gift,  the  cannon  were  cordially  received,  and 
their  removal  from  the  railway  station  to  the  enclosure  in 
front  of  the  Victoria  Rooms  was  made  the  occasion  of  an 
imposing  volunteer  demonstration.  In  the  following  month, 
the  Secretary  for  War  informed  the  town-clerk  that  it  was 
the  intention  of  the  Ministry  to  restore  the  old  battery  at 
Portishead  Point,  for  the  protection  of  Bristol.  Some  trifling 
repairs  having  been  effected  soon  after,  the  battery  was  used 
for  ball  practice  by  the  artillery  corps,  which  had  previously 
resorted  to  some  earthworks  thrown  up  near  Avonmouth. 
Buildings  were  constructed  for  stores,  etc.,  in  Whiteladies 
road,  at  a  cost  of  about  £1,100,  and  a  drill  hall  was  added  in 
1865  at  a  further  outlay  of  £1,200.  In  the  meantime.  Major 
Savile  had  applied  to  the  ordnance  authorities  for  lighter 
and  more  serviceable  guns,  but  his  appeal  was  peremptorily 


872  THE   ANNALS   OP  BRISTOL.  [1859. 

refused.  But  in  April,  1864,  Mr.  Berkeley  indignantly  com- 
mented in  the  House  of  Commons  on  the  stupid  perversity 
which  had  dictated  the  armament  of  the  artillery  corps,  and 
the  Government  thereupon  undertook  that  the  shortcoming 
should  be  remedied.  Some  field  guns  of  modern  construction 
were  subsequently  forwarded  to  Bristol. 

A  large  tract  of  ground  lying  between  Stokes  Croft  and 
Grosvenor  Place,  which  up  to  this  time  had  been  let  in 
garden  allotments,  was  laid  out  during  the  autumn  of  1859 
for  building  sites.  The  principal  street,  City  Road,  was 
commenced  soon  afterwards.  A  chapel  at  the  western  end 
of  this  thoroughfare  was  built  by  the  Baptist  congregation 

freviously  worshipping  in  the  Pithay,  at  an  outlay  of  £4,800. 
t  was  opened  in  September,  1861,  by  the  Rev.  C.  H. 
Spurgeon,  of  London,  then  the  most  popular  of  dissenting 
ministers.  Whilst  the  city  was  rapidly  extending  in  this 
eastern  suburb,  building  operations  were  proceeding  on  an 
extensive  scale  in  Clifton  Wood,  on  an  estate  .previously 
belonging  to  Mrs.  Randall,  the  last  tenant  in  tail  under  the 
will  of  a  member  of  the  Goldney  family. 

The  Prince  of  Orange,  heir  apparent  to  the  throne  of 
Holland,  and  reputed  at  the  time  to  be  a  suitor  for  the 
hand  of  the  Princess  Alice,  paid  a  brief  visit  to  the  city  in 
February,  1860,  on  his  way  to  Badminton.  The  prince  was 
received  at  the  railway  station  by  the  mayor  (Mr.  J.  Bates), 
and  by  the  newly  organised  volunteer  rifle  and  artillery 
corps.  Prince  Jerome  Bonaparte,  cousin  of  the  French  em- 
peror, paid  a  visit  to  the  city  in  the  following  September. 

The  death  was  announced,  on  the  27th  February,  of  Mr. 
James  Palmer,  who  had  held  from  youth  until  nearly  the 
close  of  a  long  life  a  confidential  position  in  the  Old  Bank, 
where,  being  of  penurious  habits,  he  accumulated  a  fortune 
of  about  £180,000.  By  his  will  he  bequeathed  £20,000 
to  ten  charitable  institutions  in  the  city,  the  residue  being 
divided  between  a  relative,  who  had  kept  house  for  him, 
and  two  private  friends,  both  wealthy  men.  .  His  other 
kindred,  including  the  needy  children  of  an  uncle  who  had 
been  his  surety  upon  entering  the  bank,  were  passed  over 
unnoticed. 

Although  the  construction  of  high  level  reservoirs  by  the 
Water  Company  had  rendered  fire  engines  practically  un- 
necessary in  the  lower  portion  of  the  city,  the  principal 
insurance  companies  continued  to  maintain  the  old  apparatus. 
In  March,  1860,  however,  the  Norwich  Union  office  availed 
itself  of   a  simple  but  efficient  '^hose  reel,"  devised  some 


I860.]         ST.  Stephen's  towbe.     clifton  colleqb.  373 

years  before  by  a  working  fireman  at  Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 
and  the  economical  arrangement  was  soon  generally  adopted. 

A  movement  was  started  about  this  time  for  increasing 
the  income  of  the  vicarage  of  St.  John,  Broad  Street,  the 
value  of  the  living  being  only  about  £50  a  year.  About 
£1,500  having  been  contributed,  an  arrangement  was  made 
with  the  Ecclesiastical  Commissioners,  by  which  a  further 
payment  of  £79  yearly  was  assured  to  the  incumbent. 

In  March,  the  authorities  of  St.  Stephen's  parish  set  about 
the  renovation  of  the  beautiful  tower  of  the  church.  The 
structure  had  suffered  much  from  natural  decay,  but  more 
from  the  hands  of  ignorant  churchwardens,  all  the  delicate 
lattice-work  attached  to  the  pinnacles,  and  resting  upon 
gurgoyles  at  the  corners  of  the  tower,  having  been  deliber- 
ately cut  away  with  a  mason's  saw  in  1822,  with  disastrous 
results  to  the  effect  of  the  building.  Plans  of  the  original 
work  having  been  preserved,  its  faithful  reproduction  was 
resolved  on,  and  appeals  were  made  to  the  public  for  funds 
to  restore  the  lower  storeys  of  the  tower.  The  response  was 
not  sufficiently  liberal  to  carry  out  the  design  in  its  entirety, 
but  the  restoration  of  the  pinnacles  and  of  the  upper  storey 
was  effected  in  a  creditable  manner,  the  work  being  com- 
pleted in  September,  1862.  About  fourteen  years  later  the 
interior  of  the  church  was  restored ;  the  walls  of  the  aisles — 
barbarous  constructions  of  1704 — were  rebuilt,  and  an  un- 
sightly altar  screen  in  a  debased  Greek  style,  which  blocked 
up  the  east  window,  gave  place  to  an  appropriate  reredos. 

At  a  meeting  held  in  Clifton  on  the  16th  May,  the  mayor 
(Mr.  J.  Bates)  presiding,  it  was  resolved  to  establish,  by 
means  of  a  company,  a  first  class  public  school  for  the  educa- 
tion of  the  sons  of  gentlemen,  members  of  the  Established 
Church,  and  a  provisional  committee  was  appointed  to  carry 
out  the  object  in  view.  The  result  of  this  gathering  was  the 
establishment  of  Clifton  College.  The  capital  was  fixed  at 
£10,000,  in  £25  shares;  and  a  large  piece  of  ground  (includ- 
ing a  public  house  called  the  Gardeners'  Arms)  having  been 
purchased  for  £14,000,  the  erection  of  the  "big  school," 
designed  by  Mr.  C.  Hansom,  soon  after  commenced.  The 
cost  of  the  building  was  £5,038.  In  January,  1861,  the 
Council  elected  as  head  master  the  Rev.  C.  Evans,  M.A.,  one 
of  the  masters  at  Rugby.  After  appointing  several  under- 
masters,  however,  Mr.  Evans  sought  for  and  obtained  the 
head-mastership  of  a  school  at  Birmingham.  The  Clifton 
authorities  thereupon  appointed  the  Rev.  John  Percival, 
M.A.,  Fellow  of  Queen's  College,  Oxford,  whose  university 


374  THE  ANNALS  OF  BRISTOL.  [1860. 

career  had  been  of  almost  unsurpassed  brilliancy ;  and  the 
college  was  opened  on  the  30th  September,  1862,  with  about 
sixty  boys.  In  1866  a  chapel  was  added  to  the  buildings  by 
Mrs,  Guthrie,  at  an  outlay  of  £5,000,  as  a  memorial  of  her 
husband.  Canon  Guthrie,  a  zealous  promoter  of  the  college. 
[The  chapel  was  in  1881-2  considerably  enlarged.]  In  1866 
a  new  wing  was  added  to  the  buildings,  and  in  the  following 
year  a  physical  science  school  and  gymnasium  were  erected. 
In  1869  Mr.  Percival  undertook  to  provide  a  library  for 
the  institution  at  his  own  cost ;  swimming  baths  were  also 
built,  and  a  sanatorium  provided.  In  1874  the  assistant 
masters,  the  boys,  and  their  friends  added  a  museum  to  the 
library,  and  a  preparatory  school  was  erected.  Many  other 
additions  were  made  from  time  to  time.  It  was  originally 
intended  to  have  a  ^^ modem'*  school  equal  in  size  to  the 
^^big"  school,  but  this  was  afterwards  found  to  be  un- 
necessary. The  quadrangle,  which  formed  part  of  the 
architect's  design,  was  also  given  up.  In  1886  a  further 
extensive  addition  was  made  by  the  completion  of  the  east 
wing,  and  the  erection  of  a  drawing  school,  laboratories,  etc. 
The  progress  of  the  college  exceeded  the  utmost  expectations 
of  its  promoters ;  and  in  December,  1877,  with  a  view  to  its 
establishment  on  a  more  permanent  and  unsectarian  basis, 
and  to  place  it  on  a  level  with  the  other  great  public  schools, 
it  was  resolved  to  wind  up  the  company  and  to  petition  the 
Crown  for  a  charter  of  incorporation.  This  document  was 
obtained  in  March,  1878.  In  the  following  October,  Dr. 
Percival,  on  being  appointed  President  of  Trinity  College, 
Oxford,  vacant  by  the  resignation  of  the  Rev.  S.  W.  Wayte, 
relinquished  the  head-mastership  of  Clifton,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  the  Rev.  J.  M.  Wilson,  M.A.  (senior  wrangler  in 
1860),  then  first  mathematical  master  at  Rugby.  In  October, 
1879,  Dr.  Percival  was  presented  with  a  costly  and  beautiful 
service  of  plate  in  recognition  of  his  eminent  services  to  the 
college,  and  of  his  successful  efforts  for  the  advancement  of 
education  in  Bristol.  The  presentation  was  made  by  the 
Earl  of  Ducie.  Dr.  Percival  was  nominated  to  a  canonry  in 
Bristol  Cathedral  in  1882,  but  relinquished  it  early  in  1887, 
having  been  appointed  head-master  of  Rugby. 

At  the  midsummer  quarter  sessions  for  the  city,  in  1800, 
leave  was  granted  for  the  diversion  of  an  ancient  footpath 
in  Tyndall's  Park  leading  into  Cotham  Road,  near  Hillside. 
The  application  was  made  with  a  view  to  the  formation  of 
what  is  now  known  as  Woodfield  Road.  From  the  legal  notice 
given  of  the  intended  deviation,  it  appeared  that  the  portions 


I860.]  COMPLXTIOK   OF  THE   SUSPENSION  BRIDGE.  375 

of  the  park  over  which  the  footpath  ran  were  formerly  known 
as  "  Cantock's  Closes,  Long-leaze,  Claypitts,  High-meadow, 
and   Traitor* 8-well/'     In  June,  1861,  a  new  street  through 
Tyndall's  Park,  connecting  Whiteladies  Road  with  Cotham 
Road,  near  Highbury  Chapel,  was  opened  for  foot  passengers. 
Although  occasional  attempts  had  been  made  from  time  to 
time  to  revive  public  interest  in  the  proposed  Suspension 
Bridge  at  Clifton,  nothing  had  really  been  effected  since  the 
abandonment  of  operations  in  184>^3,  caused  by  lack  of  funds, 
down  to  the  period  now  under  review,  and  it  would  be  tedious 
to  record  the  various  schemes  which  were  ventilated  only  to 
be  thrown  aside.     In  the  spring  of  1860,  when  it  became 
known  that  the  Hungerford  Suspension  Bridge,  in  London, 
another  of  Brunei's  works,  and  of  nearly  the  same  span  as 
that  proposed   at  Clifton,  was  about  to  be  replaced  by  a 
railway  bridge,  two  well-known  engineers,  Mr.   [Sir  John] 
Hawkshaw  and  Mr.  Barlow,  believing  that  the  material  set 
at  liberty  might  be  successfully  applied  to  the  completion  of 
the  unfinished  structure,  arranged  for  the  purchase  both  of 
the  chaiQS,  etc.,  in  London,  and  of  the  piers  at  Clifton,  and 
then  laid  their  project  before  the  public.     The  opportunity  of 
constructing  the  bridge  at  a  cheap  rate  proved  attractive,  not 
merely  to  many  Bristolians  but  to  distant  capitalists,  and  the 
shares  of  the  proposed  new  company,  with  a  capital  of  £'35,0()0, 
exclusive  of  borrowing  powers,  were  soon  absorbed.      [The 
sum  of  £2,000,  in  paid-up  £10  shares,  was  accepted  by  the 
old    company   for   the    piers    and    approaches,    which   cost 
£25,000.]      Sir  J.  Greville  Smyth  soon  afterwards  offered  to 
give  £2,500  towards  the  undertaking,  provided  that  the  bridge 
were  increased  in  width  from  twentv-four  to  thirtv  feet,  and 
this  condition  was  assented  to.     A  Bill  to  authorise  the  con- 
struction of  the  bridge  was  brought  into  Parliament  in  1861, 
and  passed  without  opposition.     The  object  which  Mr.  Vick 
had  in  view  when  he  made  his  celebrated  bequest  [see  p.  131] 
was  not,  however,  forgotten  by  Lord  Redesdale,  the  chairman 
of  committees  in  the  House  of  Lords.     Vick  contemplated  a 
bridge  free  from  toll,  and  a  largo  part  of  the  funds  subscribed 
in  1830  was  given  on  the  same  understanding.     Lord  Kedes- 
dale  therefore  insisted  on  the  insertion  of  a  clause  providing 
a  sinking  fund  of  £50  a  year  ;  and  the  promoters,  much  aiTj-ainst 
their  will,    were   compelled   to   acquiesce.      The    design   of 
Messrs.  Hawkshaw  and  Barlow  for  the  structure  was  some- 
what different  from  that  of   Brunei.      The  main  chains  on 
each  side  were  increased  from   two  to  three;    the   girders 
were  all  of  iron,  instead  of  a  combination  of  iron  and  wood ; 


376  THE    ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL.  [1860. 

and  the  anchorage  was  brought  nearer  to  the  piers,  thereby 
shortening  the  land  chains.  Against  these  improvements, 
however,  was  to  be  set  the  bald,  unfinished  aspect  of  the 
piers,  which  Brunei  intended  to  have  finished  in  the  Egyptian 
style  of  architecture,  in  the  spirit  of  the  great  remains  at 
Thebes.  The  towers  werfe  to  have  been  cased  with  iron, 
decorated  with  figures  illustrating  the  whole  work  of  con- 
structing the  bridge  and  the  manufacture  of  the  material. 
The  execution  of  this  design  would  have  involved  an  outlay 
of  several  thousand  pounds.  The  works  were  commenced  in 
November,  1862,  as  soon  as  the  chains  at  Hungerford  were 
set  at  liberty.  During  the  following  summer  wire  ropes  were 
carried  across  the  river  and  over  the  east  side  of  the  piers  on 
each  side,  and  upon  these  a  platform  of  planks  was  laid, 
forming  an  airy  bridge  for  the  use  of  the  workmen.  This 
was  finished  on  the  4th  July,  1863.  Another  rope,  slung 
above  this  fabric,  had  attached  to  it  a  '^  traveller  "  capable  of 
moving  a  body  of  considerable  weight  to  any  part  of  the 
chasm.  The  eastern  main  chains  were  thus  gradually  put 
together,  link  by  link,  upon  the  platform,  and  as  soon  as  this 
was  completed  the  framework  was  shifted  to  the  western 
side  of  the  piers,  where  the  remaining  chains  were  laid  in  a 
similar  manner.  The  next  operation  was  to  suspend  to  the 
chains  the  girders  for  the  permanent  roadway,  and  as  this 
task  could  be  prosecuted  from  both  sides,  it  was  soon  success- 
fully accomplished.  On  the  2nd  July,  1864,  when  the  last 
of  the  cross  girders  was  fixed  in  the  centre  of  the  bridge,  a 
small  party  was  allowed  to  pass  over  by  Mr.  Airey,  the 
'  resident  engineer.  In  the  following  September  a  number  of 
members  of  the  British  Association  (including  the  celebrated 
traveller.  Dr.  Livingstone),  then  holding  their  annual  congress 
at  Bath,  also  visited  and  passed  over  the  bridge.  The  per- 
manent roadway  was  then  being  laid  down,  and  towards  the 
close  of  November  the  bridge  was  tested,  preparatory  to  the 
visit  of  the  Board  of  Trade  inspector,  by  placing  about  500 
tons  of  stone  on  the  centre  of  the  roadway.  The  deflection 
caused  by  this  weight  was  only  seven  inches,  and  it  at  once 
disappeared  when  the  burden  was  removed.  The  formal 
opening  of  the  bridge  took  place  on  the  8th  December,  and 
was  celebrated  with  much  rejoicing.  A  procession  of  trades 
and  friendly  societies — more  than  a  mile  in  length — marched 
through  the  principal  streets  of  the  city,  and  then  directed 
its  course  to  Clifton  Down,  where  an  immense  crowd  of 
spectators,  thousands  of  whom  had  thronged  in  from  the 
surrounding  rural  districts,  occupied  every  spot  commanding 


I860.]  CEICKETINQ  BY   THE    GRACE    FAMILT.  377 

the  new  structure.  The  procession  which  first  passed  over 
was  headed  by  the  contractors,  the  resident  engineer,  and 
the  artisans  by  whom  the  work  had  been  accomplished. 
These  were  followed  by  the  volunteer  corps  of  the  city,  the 
Lords  Lieutenant  of  Somerset  and  Bristol,  the  bishop  and 
clergy,  several  members  of  Parliament,  the  chairman,  directors 
and  engineers  of  the  company,  the  mayor,  Council,  and  magis- 
tracy, the  members  of  the  Merchants'  Society  and  boards 
of  guardians,  the  local  fraternity  of  Freemasons,  and  lastly 
the  procession  of  trades,  etc.  On  the  return  of  the  vast  party 
to  Clifton  Down,  prayer  was  ofiered  up  by  the  bishop  of  the 
diocese  ;  and  the  two  lords  lieutenant,  each  for  his  own  county, 
then  declared  the  bridge  open  for  traffic.  A  grand  banquet 
at  the  Victoria  Rooms  brought  the  proceedings  of  a  memor- 
able day  to  a  close.  [The  bridge  seems  to  possess  an  irre- 
sistible attraction  to  persons  afflicted  with  suicidal  derange- 
ment. The  first  suicide  from  it  took  place  in  May,  1866; 
since  that  date  the  roll  of  fatalities  has  increased  to  up- 
wards of  twenty.  The  most  surprising  incident  connected 
with  this  mania  occurred  on  the  8th  May,  1885,  when  a 
young  woman  threw  herself  ofE  the  bridge,  but  was  picked 
up  uninjured  on  the  right  bank  of  the  river.] 

During  the  cricket  season  of  1860,  the  attention  of  lovers 
of  the  game  was  drawn  to  the  unusually  large  scores  made 
by  Mr.  E.  M.  Grace,  a  native  of  Bristol,  who  in  the  course  of 
a  year  or  two  acquired  a  national  reputation  for  his  skill.  In 
1800  he  played  in  thirty-two  matches,  and  scored  1,372 
runs.  In  1861,  in  thirty-seven  matches,*he  made  1,747  runs. 
In  1862  he  played  in  thirty-six  matches  and  scored  2,190. 
And  in  1863  he  was  engaged  in  fifty  matches  and  made  3,074 
runs.  One  of  his  scores  in  those  years  reached  241,  and 
twenty-four  others  ranged  between  100  and  208.  In  addition 
to  his  batting  exploits,  moreover,  he  took  1,347  wickets,  an 
average  of  more  than  four  per  innings.  Subsequently  his 
younger  brother,  Mr.  W.  G.  Grace,  achieved  still  greater 
triumphs  in  the  game.  In  1865,  when  only  seventeen  years 
of  age,  his  skill  was  already  so  widely  known  that  he  was 
selected  to  play  in  the  premier  match  of  the  year — that  of 
the  gentlemen  against  the  players  of  England.  Passing 
over  many  remarkable  seasons,  in  1871  he  made  3,696  runs 
for  sixty- three  innings ;  and  in  1876  he  made  in  three  innings, 
400,  344,  and  318  runs,  though  in  two  of  those  matches  he 
was  playing  against  the  Kent  and  the  York  county  clubs, 
two  of  the  strongest  in  the  kingdom.  Down  to  1879,  counting 
only  first  class  games,  his  scores  reached  a  total  of  20,832. 


378  THE   ANNALS   OP  BRISTOL.  [1860. 

His  bowling,  moreover,  was  equally  formidable,  he  having 
between  1863  and  1879  taten  1,349  wickets  in  first  class 
matches  alone,  while  in  secondary  games  the  results  were  still 
more  extraordinary.  In  July,  1879,  upon  his  partial  retire- 
ment from  the  cricket  field  in  order  to  apply  himself  to  his 
profession  as  a  surgeon,  Mr.  W.  G.  Grace  was  presented  by 
Lord  Fitzhardinge,  on  behalf  of  the  cricketers  of  England, 
headed  by  the  Prince  of  Wales,  with  a  purse  of  £1,400  (to 
which  this  district  had  contributed  £770)  and  a  handsome 
clock,  in  testimony  of  their  admiration  of  his  achievements — 
which,  so  far  as  batting  was  concerned,  had  never  been  ap- 
proached. The  youngest  brother  of  the  family,  Mr.  G.  F. 
Grace,  was  also  invited  to  take  part  in  first  class  matches 
before  he  had  attained  his  sixteenth  year.  In  subsequent 
seasons  he  became  almost  as  famous  as  his  brothers,  and 
assisted  in  raising  the  fame  of  Gloucestershire  cricketers  to 
an  unexampled  height.  A  leading  London  journal,  recording 
his  premature  death  in  his  30th  year,  spoke  of  him  as  "  hardly 
second  as  an  all  round  cricketer  to  any  man  in  England.^' 

In  October,  1860,  the  Vcedalus,  an  old  twenty-gun  frigate, 
was  ordered  by  the  Government  to  be  fitted  up  and  sent  to 
Bristol,  for  use  as  a  training  ship  by  the  recently  established 
Koyal  Naval  Reserve.  The  ship  arrived  in  the  Floating 
Harbour  in  June,  1861. 

At  the  annual  Colston  festival,  in  November,  a  proposal 
was  started  by  Mr.  G.  W.  Franklyn,  M.P.  (mayor  in  1841-2) 
for  the  erection  in  the  city  of  a  statue  of  the  great  philan- 
thropist whose  birth'was  then  being  celebrated.  The  expense 
was  estimated  at  £500,  towards  which  Mr.  Franklyn  and 
another  citizen  offered  £50  each.  The  proposition  fell  still- 
born. In  1870,  during  the  restoration  of  St.  Mary  Redcliff, 
it  was  suggested  that  the  great  window  in  the  north  transept 
might  be  appropriately  filled  with  stained  glass  in  memory 
of  Colston.  The  proposal  was  received  with  coldness,  but  a 
suflBicient  sum  was  eventually  obtained  to  carry  it  into  effect. 

A  singular  distribution  of  property  took  place  in  the  city 
in  December.  In  explanation  of  the  affair,  it  is  necessary  to 
state  that  five  of  the  large  family  mansions  standing  on  the 
east  side  of  Brunswick  Square  were  built  by  what  was  called 
a  tontine,  established  in  1786.  The  sum  expended  was  5,000 
guineas,  divided  into  100  shares  of  50  guineas  each,  held 
by  as  many  lives.  Although  the  speculation  was  substan- 
tially a  lottery,  the  subscribers  embraced  many  prominent 
Quakers,  as  will  be  seen  by  the  following  names  :  John  J. 
Harford,  John  P.  Fry,  George  Eaton,  Thomas  Mills,  Edward 


I860.]    HORFIELD  GARDENS.   THE  CATHEDRAL  EAGLE.      379 

Ash,  John  Cave,  John  Godwin,  Edward  Harwood,  Abraham 
Ludlow,  Joseph  Were,  and  Matthew  Wright.  The  number  of 
surviving  lives  having  been  reduced  to  five  in  1860,  it  was 
determined  that  a  ballot  should  take  place,  when  Mrs.  S.  P. 
Anderson,  of  Henlade,  became  the  owner  of  the  largest 
house.  No.  7  ;  Mr.  R.  Ash  got  No.  8 ;  Miss  F.  Wright  had  No. 
9 ;  and  Alderman  R.  H.  Webb,  representing  two  lives  in  one 
family,  was  allotted  Nos.  10  and  11.  Brunswick  Square  was 
originally  planted  with  elms,  in  which  a  colony  of  rooks  soon 
established  themselves.  The  trees,  becoming  old  and  danger- 
ous, were  cut  down  in  December,  1858,  when  the  birds  took 
flight  to  the  woods  near  Redland  Court.  Many  of  the  trees 
in  which  they  took  refuge  were  destroyed  in  the  spring  of 
1886,  when  the  grounds  formerly  belonging  to  that  mansion 
were  laid  out  for  building  purposes. 

About  the  close  of  1860,  the  ancient  Deanery,  in  College 
Green,  was  abandoned  as  a  residence  by  the  Dean  of  Bristol, 
on  the  ground  of  its  alleged  insalubrity.  The  house  was 
afterwards  occupied  by  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tion ;  subsequently  a  large  portion  was  removed  during  the 
construction  of  Deanery  Road. 

The  Bristol  Pleasure  Gardens  Company,  with  a  capital  of 
£10,000  in  £1  shares,  came  into  existence  towards  the  close 
of  this  year.  About  a  twelvemonth  later,  the  directors 
bought  from  the  Rev.  H.  Richards  eight  acres  of  agricultural 
land  at  Horfield  for  £2,000,  and  converted  the  fields  into  a 
garden  for  public  recreation.  The  place  was  opened  with  a 
fete  given  by  the  Order  of  Foresters  on  the  2oth  August, 
1862,  when  14,000  persons  were  present.  The  enterprise, 
however,  proved  unprofitable,  and  in  February,  1871,  the  site 
of  the  garden  was  sold  for  £2,950.  In  September,  1873,  the 
estate  was  purchased  by  the  Corporation  for  £3,875,  with  the 
intention  of  erecting  upon  it  a  new  prison  for  the  city.  The 
gaol,  as  will  afterwards  be  noticed,  was  eventually  erected 
by  the  Goverument. 

In  January,  1861,  an  attempt  was  made  by  the  Rev. 
Precentor  Caley,  and  a  few  other  gentlemen  interested  in  the 
restoration  of  the  cathedral,  to  recover  for  that  edifice  the 
brazen  eagle  which  Dean  Layard  and  his  colleagues  thought 
proper  to  sell  in  1802  [see  p.  18].  It  appeared  that  the 
lectern  had  never  been  used  since  its  removal  to  St.  Mary- 
le-port,  and  that  the  Rev.  S.  A.  Walker,  the  incumbent,  had 
emphatically  declared  he  should  never  read  from  it.  The 
reverend  gentleman,  however,  changed  his  mind  on  the 
subject;  and  as  the  inscription  placed  on  the  eagle  by  Mr. 


380  THE   ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL.  [1861. 

Adey  stated  that  it  was  to  remain  "  for  ever  '*  in  the  church, 
the  vestry  refused  to  part  with  the  ornament.  Mr.  Caley 
then  appealed  for  subscriptions  to  obtain  a  new  lectern  for 
the  cathedral,  but  died  in  November,  1861,  before  the  need- 
ful amount  had  been  promised.  An  eagle  was,  however, 
erected  in  the  cathedral  in  August,  1862,  as  a  memorial  of 
his  services  as  precentor  for  nearly  twenty-five  years. 

The  first  general  collection  in  churches  and  chapels  for  the 
benefit  of  the  Infirmary  and  Hospital  took  place  on  the  20th 
January,  1861.  In  a  great  number  of  cases  the  clergy  and 
ministers  at  first  declined  to  respond  to  the  movement  for  a 
"  hospital  Sunday,'^  and  the  total  amount  acknowledged  in 
the  newspapers  at  the  close  of  the  week  was  only  £637,  a 
large  portion  of  which  was  contributed  by  the  rural  parishes. 
The  institution  has  since  been  generally  recognised.  In 
1847  only  one  congregational  collection  was  made  in  the  city 
on  behalf  of  the  Infirmary. 

St.  Bartholomews  Church,  Union  Street,  was  consecrated 
on  the  22nd  January.  The  building,  which  accommodates 
about  450  persons,  cost,  including  the  site,  £3,600.  By  an 
Order  in  Council  of  the  following  April,  an  ecclesiastical 
parish,  consisting  of  the  southern  portion  of  St.  James's  to  the 
Horsefair,  was  connected  with  the  new  church.  St.  Luke's 
Church,  Bedminster,  was  consecrated  on  the  23rd  January. 
It  had  cost  about  £7,000. 

At  a  meeting  held  in  the  city  in  February,  to  support  a 
Bill  then  before  the  House  of  Commons  for  the  abolition  of 
church  rates,  Mr.  H.  J.  Mills  produced  some  statistics  from 
a  Parliamentary  return  to  show,  as  he  contended,  that  the 
enforced  contribution  to  the  Church  dried  up  the  sources 
upon  which  the  Establishment  might  safely  rely  if  they  were 
left  uncontrolled.  There  were,  he  said,  only  three  parishes 
in  Bristol  where  church  rates  were  levied.  In  St.  Augus- 
tine's £1,160  had  been  obtained  by  compulsion  in  seven  years, 
while  the  voluntary  offerings  were  only  £150.  In  St. 
George's,  Brandon  Hill,  force  had  secured  £1,007  in  the  same 
period,  while  nothing  had  been  contributed  voluntarily.  In 
Clifton,  £1,942  had  been  levied  by  the  tax,  and  nothing  had 
been  given.  On  the  other  hand,  taking  the  comparatively 
poor  parishes,  St.  Andrew's  had  obtained  voluntarily,  £277  ; 
St.  Barnabas',  £280;  St.  Clement's,  £280;  St.  Matthias' 
£196 ;  St.  Paul's,  £454,  St.  Philip's,  £479,  and  Trinity  £474  : 
"  making  a  total  of  £2,500  given  in  the  poor  parishes,  against 
the  solitary  sum  of  £150  offered  in  the  rich  parishes  where 
there  were  church  rates." 


1861.]  THE   WHABPAQE    DUES.      CENSUS.  381 

In  the  spring  of  1861  the  Charity  Trustees  purchased 
some  quaint  old  houses  on  the  east  side  of  Steep  Street  for 
the  purpose  of  enlarging  the  adjoining  almshouse,  founded 
by  John  Foster.  Plans  for  the  complete  rebuilding  of  the 
institution  were  obtained ;  but  as  the  funds  in  hand  were 
insufficient  to  carry  them  out,  the  trustees  contented  them- 
selves with  removing  the  -houses  in  Steep  Street,  and  with 
erecting  the  western  wing  of  the  hospital  on  an  enlarged 
scale.  Some  years  later  a  piece  of  ground  at  the  back  of 
the  almshouse  was  purchased,  and  laid  out  as  a  recreation 
ground  for  the  inmates.  It  was  not  until  the  summer  of 
1883  that  the  trustees  were  in  a  position  to  commence  the 
reconstruction  of  the  south  and  east  wings,  and  the  renova- 
tion of  the  interesting  little  chapel  of  the  Three  Kings  of 
Cologne,  which  works  were  effected  at  a  cost  of  £5,000. 
The  design,  which  was  praiseworthy,  in  spite  of  some  mere- 
tricious details  of  a  continental  character,  included  the  con- 
struction, under  the  almshouses,  of  four  shops  fronting 
Christmas  Steps. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Council  on  the  26th  March,  the  Dock 
Committee  reported  that  they  had  negotiated  with  the 
Society  of  Merchant  Venturers  for  the  surrender  by  the 
latter  of  their  interest  in  the  lease  of  1764,  under  which  the 
wharfage  dues  were  held  of  the  city  for  99  years,  at  a  rent 
of  £10  a  year.  The  Society  having  offered  to  give  up  the 
lease  on  the  payment  of  a  sum  equal  to  one  third  of  the  net 
receipts  during  the  three  previous  years,  the  committee 
recommended  that  those  terms  be  accepted,  and  their  pro- 
posal was  approved.  The  Merchants'  Company  at  the  same 
time  made  a  donation  of  £2,000  towards  the  erection  of  goods 
sheds  upon  the  quays.  These  buildings,  much  ridiculed  for 
their  tastelessness,  were  commenced  on  the  Broad  Quay;  a 
column  bearing  a  sundial,  which  had  stood  there  for  at  least 
two  centuries,  being  removed  in  March,  1862,  to  make  way 
for  them. 

The  seventh  national  census  was  taken  on  the  8th  April, 
when  the  population  of  the  "  ancient  city  "  was  found  to  be 
66,027 — the  highest  number  it  ever  attained,  later  returns 
denoting  a  tendency  to  migrate  from  the  central  districts. 
The  population  of  the  extended  city  was  154,093.  For  pur- 
poses of  comparison  it  may  be  stated  that  Clifton  was  credited 
with  21,735;  the  district  of  St.  James  and  St.  Paul,  9,944; 
St.  Philip's,  out,  31,753 ;  St.  George's,  10,276;  Bedminster, 
22,346;  Mangotsfield,  4,222;  Stapleton,  5,355;  and  Stoke 
Bishop  tything,  5^623.      In  this  census  Horfield   began  to 


882  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL.  [1861. 

assume  the  importance  of  a  suburb:  containing  only  119 
persons  in  1801,  and  only  328  thirty  years  later,  its  inhabi- 
tants had  now  sprung  to  1,746. 

The  London  Gazette  of  April  16,  1861,  contained  an  oflScial 
announcement  of  the  creation  of  the  2nd  Gloucestershire 
Engineer  Volunteer  corps.  Mr.  W.  Harwood  was  appointed 
commandant ;  Mr.  J.  Pierson,  captain ;  Messrs.  B.  S.  Cooper 
and  G.  P.  Marten,  first  lieutenants;  Messrs.  P.  S.  Prothe- 
roe  and  W.  P.  Wall,  second  lieutenants.  The  privates 
were  at  that  time  almost  exclusively  workmen  in  the 
employment  of  the  Bristol  and  Exeter  railway;  but  from 
1870  the  corps  has  been  recruited  from  the  artisan  class 
generally.  The  first  parade  took  place  on  the  6th  July, 
1861.  [About  the  same  date  Mr.  Berkeley  commented 
strongly  in  the  House  of  Commons  on  the  perversity  of  the 
military  authorities,  who  asked  for  a  vote  of  £90,000  for  the 
yeomanry  cavalry,  which  Mr.  Berkeley  termed  worse  than 
useless,  while  only  £42,000  were  granted  in  aid  of  the 
volunteer  movement  throughout  the  kingdom.]  Drills  at 
first  took  place  in  the  Exchange,  and  subsequently  in  a  large 
house  in  Avon  Street,  Temple.  Later  on,  preinises  were 
rented  in  Trinity  Street,  where,  in  1883,  a  large  drill  hall 
was  erected,  together  with  an  armoury  and  other  buildings 
required  for  engineering  practice,  the  outlay  being  about 
£2,500.  The  corps,  which  from  its  importance  has  been 
granted  the  title  of  the  Bristol  Engineer  corps,  then  consisted 
of  671  oflicers  and  men,  exclusive  of  the  Clifton  College 
Cadet  corps,  attached  to  the  regiment,  and  numbering  81. 

Up  to  this  time,  no  attempt  having  been  made  by  the  civic 
authorities  to  water  the  streets  of  the  borough,  the  nuisance 
created  by  dust  during  the  summer  months  was  a  source  of 
loss  to  many  tradesmen,  and  of  much  discomfort  to  all  classes. 
In  Clifton  some  of  the  roads  had  been  watered  by  private 
subscription  ;  but  the  refusal  of  mean-spirited  people  to  con- 
tribute to  a  work  of  which  they  enjoyed  the  benefit  caused 
discontent  and  failure.  At  length,  upwards  of  thirty  me- 
morials were  presented  to  the  Council,  praying  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  general  system  of  watering;  and  in  April,  1861, 
the  Board  of  Health  Committee  proposed  that  the  main 
thoroughfares  of  the  city,  comprising  a  length  of  nearly 
twenty-four  miles,  should  be  dealt  with,  the  yearly  expendi- 
ture being  estimated  at  £2,500.  This  proposal,  which  re- 
ceived the  approval  of  the  Council,  caused  dissatisfaction 
amongst  the  ratepayers  dwelling  in  the  non-watered  thorough- 
fares, who  contended  that  it  was  unfair  to  tax  all  the  city 


1861.]  STREET   WATERING.      ^' GENERAL "    HATHIA8.  383 

for  the  benefit  of  only  a  part.  At  the  next  meeting  of  the 
Council,  petitions  signed  by  several  thousand  citizens  were 
presented  against  the  scheme,  the  people  of  St.  Philip's  out- 
parish  especially  protesting  against  an  arrangement  by  which 
only  three  miles  of  road  in  their  extensive  district  were  to  be 
watered,  against  eight  miles  of  road  in  Clifton.  The  Council, 
submitting  to  popular  feeling,  determined  to  relinquish  the 
project.  The  dust  nuisance  remaining  unabated,  in  February, 
1867,  the  Health  Committee  presented  another  report,  re- 
commending that  £2,500  a  year,  equivalent  to  a  rate  of  little 
more  than  a  penny  in  the  pound,  should  be  voted  for  water- 
ing thirty- two  mUes  of  streets,  including  all  the  leading 
thoroughfares.  The  report  was  adopted,  and  the  plan  came 
into  operation  during  the  summer.  No  concerted  opposition 
was  offered  on  this  occasion  by  the  residents  in  the  unwatered 
streets,  but  they  speedily  began  to  press .  the  authorities  to 
be  included  in  the  favoured  area,  and  it  was  at  last  found 
necessary  to  make  the  system  practically  universal. 

In  the  course  of  the  parliamentary  session  of  1861,  an  Act 
was  passed  by  which  CardiflF,  Newport,  and  Gloucester  were 
exempted  from  the  provisions  of  the  Bristol  Pilotage  Act  of 
1807,  and  the  pilotage  service  in  those  ports,  hitherto  com- 
pulsory, became  voluntary.  The  Corporation  of  Bristol 
stoutly  fought  for  the  retention  of  the  compulsory  system, 
but  without  success.  The  management  of  the  Bristol  pilotage 
service,  which  had  been  in  the  hands  of  the  Merchants* 
Society  for  about  250  years,  was  transferred  during  the 
summer  to  the  Docks  Committee. 

An  exhibition  of  industrial  and  ornamental  art  was  opened 
on  the  7th  August  in  the  Fine  Arts'  Academy.  Although 
the  value  of  the  articles  exhibited  was  estimated  at  £150,000, 
while  the  admission  was  fixed  at  sixpence,  the  public  mani- 
fested great  apathy  towards  the  collection,  which,  though 
open  nearly  three  months,  was  visited  by  only  24,000  persons. 

An  amusing  action  for  what  was  legally  called  an  assault 
took  place  at  Bristol  assizes  on  the  19th  August.  For  a 
quarter  of  a  century  previously  a  contest  had  been  waged 
between  certain  persons  at  Clifton  and  Mr.  William  Mathias, 
an  eccentric  parishioner,  in  reference  to  an  alleged  right  of 
way  between  Rodney  Place  and  Ferney  Close  (now  Victoria 
Square).  Mr.  Mathias,  the  owner  of  the  adjacent  houses  in 
Boyce's  Buildings,  admitted  that  there  was  a  footpath,  but 
denied  the  right  of  carriages  to  pass ;  and  a  wall  which  he 
erected  to  prevent  the  alleged  invasion  on  his  property, 
was  thrown  down,  rebuilt,  and  re-demolished   on  numberless 


384  THE    ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL.  [1861. 

occasions.  Eventually  he  erected  an  arch  over  the  path,  and 
set  up  an  iron  gate,  when  the  old  struggle  recommenced  over 
the  latter  construction,  which  was  frequently  removed  and 
replaced.  Although  Mr.  Mathias  was  a  singularly  impracti- 
cable man,  his  complaints  of  persecution  against  the  Corpora- 
tion and  the  Merchants^  Society  met  with  considerable  public 
sympathy,  the  repeated  injuries  to  his  property  being  in- 
variably committed  during  the  night-time,  in  order  to  prevent 
him  from  tracing  out  and  prosecuting  the  perpetrators,  who 
were  undoubtedly  hired  by  persons  in  the  background.  The 
charge  on  which  the  action  was  brought  against  him  was  of 
an  insignificant  character.  A  lady  had,  it  appeared,  gone 
down  the  disputed  path  with  a  perambulator,  which  she  had 
lifted    over    the   iron   barrier,    when   Mr.  Mathias   slightly 

?ushed  her  on  the  shoulder,  and  ordered  her  to  go  back, 
he  action,  nominally  prosecuted  in  her  name,  was  really 
brought  by  the  Corporation.  The  chief  witness  for  the 
prosecution,  Mr.  George  Ashmead,  surveyor,  admitted  that 
when  he  made  a  survey  of  the  city,  thirty-seven  years  pre- 
viously, there  was  a  gate  across  the  roadway  in  question,  and 
that  no  carriage  could  have  passed  there  without  being  lifted 
over.  The  vehicle  stopped  by  Mr.  Mathias  being  a  peram- 
bulator— then  a  novel  invention — no  precedents  could  be 
adduced,  and  there  was  much  legal  contention  as  to  the 
right  of  such  a  carriage  to  pass  along  footpaths.  The  absurd 
female  fashion  of  wearing  crinoline,  an  article  which  had 
just  swollen  to  extreme  monstrosity,  was  also  amusingly  in- 
troduced. Mr.  Mathias's  counsel  asked  if  a  lady  whose 
dress  spread  the  entire  width  of  the  path  was  to  be  turned 
back  by  a  perambulator,  upon  which  Mr.  Justice  Byles 
thought  that  a  baby's  carriage  would  not  be  half  so  formid- 
able an  obstruction  as  the  meeting  of  one  lady  with  another. 
Eventually  the  jury  disagreed,  and  were  discharged.  The 
Council  next  resolved  upon  raising  another  action,  though 
a  memorial  signed  by  several  thousand  persons  protested 
strongly  against  what  was  termed  the  vindictive  oppression 
of  Mr.  Mathias,  and  alleged — not  without  reason — that  far 
more  serious  encroachments  on  public  roads  and  footpaths 
had  been  winked  at  by  the  civic  authorities.  The  case  was 
set  down  for  trial  at  Bristol  assizes  in  August,  1862 ;  but  a 
compromise  was  previously  arranged,  by  which  the  defendant 
retained  his  right  to  set  up  a  gate,  and  the  record  was 
withdrawn.  For  several  years  afterwards,  Mr.  Mathias's 
name  came  frequently  before  the  public  in  connection  with 
his   conflicts   with   the   authorities,  and   he   became  locally 


1861.]        BRISTOL  BRIDOS   WIDINID.      POST  OFFICE   BANKS.         385 

known  as  'Hhe  general/'  from  his  astute  and  obstinate 
tactics  in  conducting  '^  the  battle  of  Boyce's  Buildings/'  and 
other  wars  of  a  similar  character.  At  length,  in  1873>  he 
was  committed  to  prison  for  contempt  of  the  Court  of  Chan- 
cery^ having  disobeyed  an  order  to  restore  a  roadway  near 
Manor  House^  with  which  he  had  interfered.  Mr.  Mathias, 
who  was  then  in  his  92nd  year,  and  had  been  reduced  from 
affluence  to  poverty,  was  not  released  until  he  had  undergone 
six  months'  imprisonment.  As  he  disposed  of  the  wrecks 
of  his  property  about  the  same  time,  ^^the  battle  of  Boyce's 
Buildings '   came  to  an  end. 

Reviving  a  suspended  scheme  [see  p.  291],  the  Council, 
during  the  autumn  of  1861,  resolved  upon  widening  Bristol 
Bridge  to  the  extent  of  about  twelve  feet  on  the  eastern 
side,  by  removing  the  heavy  stone  battlement,  and  laying 
a  new  footpath  upon  iron  cantilevers  outside  the  additional 
space  thus  obtained.  Two  of  the  stone  edifices  erected  for 
toll-houses  were  removed  during  the  alterations,  the  plan 
of  which  provoked  much  public  dissatisfaction,  and  even  a 
suit  in  Chancery  against  the  Corporation,  instituted  by  some 
of  the  neighbouring  tradesmen.  Instead  of  following  the 
convex  lines  of  the  bridge,  the  new  footway  was  constructed 
horizontally,  on  the  level  of  the  highest  portion  of  the  curve, 
so  that  each  end  was  some  feet  above  the  carriage  road,  and 
could  be  reached  only  by  steps.  The  arrangement  was  so 
universally  condemned  that  the  Corporation  were  forced  to 
remedy  the  unsightly  blunder.  Although  the  cost  of  the 
improvement  was  £5,000,  it  was  complained  that  the  altera- 
tions had  been  carried  out  with  a  striking  disregard  of 
architectural  proprieties,  and  with  a  reckless  indifference  to 
picturesqueness  of  effect.  The  work  of  widening  the  west 
side  of  the  bridge  was  commenced  in  March,  1878,  when  the 
two  remaining  toll-houses  were  demolished.  As  the  stone 
balustrade  was  also  taken  down,  and  replaced  by  cast  metal 
railing  in  harmony  with  the  eastern  side,  the  "  lopsidedness  " 
of  the  structure  disappeared,  though  many  citizens  continued 
to  complain  that  the  bridge,  in  an  artistic  point  of  view,  had 
been  ruined.     The  structure  was  completed  in  June,  1874. 

A  new  Congregational  chapel,  erected  in  Bedland  Park, 
was  opened  on  the  4th  September,  with  sermons  by  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Raleigh  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Vaughan.  The  edifice  cost 
£4,700,  and  was  described  as  unusually  ornate  in  the  interior, 
but  its  slate-covered  spire  was  characterised  by  some  critics 
as  more  prominent  than  beautiful. 

The  first  local  Post-office  Savings  Bank  was  opened  at  the 

c  c 


386  THE   AKKALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1861. 

Clifton  office  on  the  16th  September.  Some  delay  occurred 
in  providing  a  similar  institution  in  the  city,  but  on  the  10th 
March,  1862,  an  office  was  opened  at  the  money-order  office, 
then  located  in  a  shop  in  Albion  Chambers,  Small  Street. 

The  Council  having  definitively  refused  to  undertake  works 
near  the  mouth  of  the  Avon  for  the  accommodation  of  large 
vessels  [see  p.  362] ,  a  scheme  was  proposed  in  the  autumn 
of  1861  for  initiating  so  urgent  an  improvement  by  means 
of  private  enterprise.  The  project — the  chief  promoters  of 
which  were  Messrs.  P.  W.  S.  Miles,  Robert  Bright,  and  C.  J. 
Thomas — took  the  form  of  a  Bristol  Port  Railway  and  Pier, 
the  line  to  commence  near  the  Hotwell,  and  to  terminate  at 
a  pier,  to  be  erected  at  the  mputh  of  the  river,  opposite  to 
Dunball  island.  An  Act  to  authorise  the  undertaking  having 
been  obtained  in  1862,  a  company  was  formed,  with  a  capitsil 
of  £125,000  in  £10  shares,  very  few  of  which,  however,  were 
subscribed  for  by  the  public.  The  construction  of  the  line 
was  begun  by  the  turning  of  the  "first  sod^'  on  the  19th 
February,  1863,  and  the  railway  was  opened  for  traffic  on 
the  6th  March,  1864.  The  pier  at  "  Avonmouth" — ^the  new 
name  given  to  the  place — ^was  completed  about  three  months 
later.*  The  development  of  this  undertaking  into  an  ex- 
tensive dock  will  be  recorded  later  on ;  but  it  may  be  stated 
here  that  the  railway  has  never  returned  a  dividend  to  its 
proprietors.  In  1869  a  holder  of  a  debenture  bond  for  £10,000 
demanded  payment  of  his  loan,  which  the  company  were 
unable  to  meet,  whereupon  the  line  was  placed  by  the  Court 
of  Chancery  in  the  hands  of  a  receiver,  and  the  proprietors 
have  never  recovered  possession. 

The  record  of  the  above  pier  afibrds  a  convenient  oppor- 
tunity for  noticing  a  geographical  phenomenon  which  has 
taken  place  within  the  memory  of  many  persons  still  young, 
namely,  the  removal,  so  to  speak,  of  a  portion  of  the  county 
of  Somerset  from  the  south  side  of  the  Avon,  and  its  junction 
with  the  county  of  Gloucester  on  the  opposite  bank  of  the 
stream.  In  the  chart  of  the  Severn  and  Avon  published  by 
G.  Collins  in  1693,  a  large  promontory  on  the  Somerset  shore 
of  the  latter  river,  nearly  opposite  to  where  the  Lighthouse 
now  stands,  forced  the  stream  before  joining  the  Severn  to 
make  a  sharp  bend  towards  the  north.  In  Donnas  beautiful 
map  of  the  environs  of  Bristol,  issued  in  1770,  the  course  of 
the  Avon  is  depicted  as  by  Collins,  but  a  thin  line  is  figured 

*  Avonmouth  hotel  and  pleasure  gardens  were  opened  on  the  10th  April, 
1865.  but  the  attempt  to  make  the  place  a  popular  summer  resort  resulted  in 
heavy  loss  to  the  original  projectors. 


1861.]  A  OSOaBAPHICAL  PHXNOMXVOV.  387 

as  cutting  across  the  promontory,  and  marked  ''  the  Swash/' 
by  which  line,  as  we  learn  from  tradition,  light  boats  at  high 
water  could  make  a  straight  course  from  the  Severn  to  PilL 
No  further  change  took  place  for  nearly  a  century.  In  1862, 
when  Mr.  Howard,  the  Bristol  docks  engineer,  made  a  survey^ 
'Hhe  only  available  channel  for  shipping  was  the  'North 
Channel,'  '*  though  "  the  Swashway  was  gradually  becoming 
more  used  by  small  craft."  The  Swash  had  indeed  become 
so  deep  that  the  northern  end  of  the  promontory  had  practi^* 
cally  become  an  island,  and  had  obtained  the  name  of  the 
Dunball.  The  construction  of  the  pier  mentioned  in  the 
preceding  paragraph  shows  that  its  promoters  felt  no  fear  of 
the  permanence  of  the  North  Channel.  In  fact,  Mr.  Howard 
stated  (British  Association  reports  for  1875),  "  the  depth  of 
water  was  good  up  to  1865,  when  the  Irish  and  other 
steamers  used  to  land  their  passengers  there.  Even  in 
October,  1867,  Captain  Bedford,  R.N.,  who  was  surveying  this 
channel,  found  forty-two  feet  of  water  in  it."  An  extra- 
ordinary change  was,  however,  then  taking  place.  The  Swash 
rapidly  deepened,  and  large  ships  were  able  to  pass  over  it 
safely.  On  the  other  hand,  the  North  Channel  silted  up  with 
marvellous  celerity,  and  when  Captain  Bedford  saw  it  again 
in  1871,  ''he  found  only  eight  feet  of  water,  showing  an  ac- 
cumulation of  thirty-four  feet "  since  his  survey  four  years 
before.  In  1875  the  silting  had  risen  to  forty-one  feet,*  and 
soon  afterwards  the  North  Channel  disappeared  altogether, 
while  "  Dunball  Island," — the  end  of  the  old  promontoir-— 
had  become  indissolubly  joined  to  Gloucestershire.  The 
piece  of  ground  in  question,  about  twenty-five  acres  in  extent, 
was,  and  indeed  is,  part  of  the  parish  of  St.  George,  or 
Easton-in-Gt)rdano.  In  March,  1886,  a  Local  Government 
Board  inquiry  took  place  at  Bourton,  under  the  Divided 
Parishes  Act,  the  result  of  which  will  probably  be  the  separa- 
tion of  the  spot  from  its  former  county  and  parochial  con- 
nections. 

The  prospectus  of  the  Bristol  and  Clifton  Railway  Company 
was  issued  in  the  closing  months  of  1861,  and  was  received 
by  the  citizens  with  a  wide  measure  of  approval.  The  object 
of  the  promoters  was  the  extension  oi  the  trunk  lines  of 
railway  from  Temple  Meads  into  the  city  and  to  Clifton,  and 
the  connection  of  the  railway  system  with  the  quays  and 
Floating  Harbour  by  means  of  tramways.  The  passenger  line 
was  to  have  crossed  over  Temple  and  Redcliff  Streets  and  the 

*  Mr.  Howard  estimated  that  a  million  onbio  yards  of  silt  had  acomxmlated 
within  ten  jears. 


388  THS  ANNALS  OT  BRISTOL.  [1861. 

Float  to  Queen  Square,  which  was  to  have  been  converted 
into  a  central  terminus,  and  from  which  a  new  branch  line 
was  proposed  to  be  carried  to  the  lower  slopes  of  Brandon 
Hill,  near  Clifton.  The  capital  of  the  company  was  fixed  at 
£250,000,  and  the  Great  Western  board  undertook  to  sub- 
scribe a  moiety  of  the  amount,  and  to  guarantee  a  minimum 
dividend  of  4  per  cent,  yearly  on  the  remainder.  At  a  meet- 
ing of  merchants  and  leading  citizens,  the  project  was  cordi- 
ally welcomed  by  the  mayor  (Mr.  J.  Hare),  the  master  of  the 
Merchants*  Society  (Mr.  P.  W.  Green),  and  the  president  of 
the  Chamber  of  Commerce  (Mr.  P.  W.  Miles) ;  an  influential 
committee  was  appointed  to  further  its  success ;  and  a  petition 
in  its  favour,  signed  by  upwards  of  5,000  ratepayers,  was 
presented  to  the  Council.  Its  reception  by  the  "fixed 
property  party  "  in  that  body  was  nevertheless  of  the  most 
nostile  character.  It  was  alleged  that  the  scheme,  in  con- 
junction with  that  for  the  port  railway  and  pier,  was  an 
insidious  device  to  divert  the  commerce  of  Bristol  from  the 
city;  and  a  resolution  approving  of  the  line  was  defeated 
by  the  customary  manoeuvre  of  a  reference  to  a  special 
committee — 26  members  voting  for  the  amendment,  and 
25  for  the  original  motion.  (The  obstructive  nature  of  the 
opposition  was  indicated  by  the  fact  that  the  appointed  com- 
mittee never  even  pretended  to  undertake  the  duties  con- 
ferred upon  it.)  Subsequently,  the  anti-progressive  party 
found  that  those  tactics  would  not  serve  their  end,  as  the 
promoters  were  enabled  to  proceed  unopposed  with  their  Bill 
in  Parliament.  The  measure  itself  was  then  referred  to  the 
Parliamentary  Committee  of  the  Council,  which  body,  after 
suggesting  certain  modifications  in  details,  recommended 
that  the  Bill  should  be  allowed  to  pass.  Their  report  ex- 
cited the  intense  wrath  of  the  opposition.  Alderman  Ford — 
an  extensive  owner  of  warehouse  property — designating  the 
supporters  of  the  scheme  as  "  traitors  to  their  native  city." 
Nevertheless,  the  report  was  confirmed  by  34  votes  against 
23,  some  of  the  absentees  at  the  previous  meeting  being 
now  present  and  turning  the  scale.  The  opponents  of  im- 
provement next  began  an  agitation  out  of  doors,  excited 
appeals  being  made  to  the  citizens  to  resist  the  appropriation 
of  Brandon  Hill  and  Queen  Square,  and  the  "destruction*'  of 
the  Float.  Alarming  pictures  were  also  drawn  of  the  danger 
of  fire  to  which  shipping  and  house  property  would  be  exposed 
if  locomotives  were  allowed  to  pass  through  the  city,  and 
various  other  arguments  of  a  similar  character— equally 
remote,  it  was  alleged,  from  the  true  grounds  of  resistance — 


1861.]  BIYAL   SAILWAT   8CHXMS8.      COLSTON^S   HALL.  889 

were  incessantly  urged  upon  the  ratepayers.  A  large  major- 
ity of  the  intelligent  classes  remained  uninfluenced  by  the 
clamour,  but  the  opposition,  changing  the  field  of  battle  to 
Westminster,  paraded  before  the  committee  of  the  House  of 
Commons  as  the  defenders  of  local  interests,  and  a  crowd  of 
witnesses,  including  *'  three  respectable  washerwomen  "  from 
Jacob's  Wells,  were  brought  forward  to  testify  against  the 
scheme.  After  a  prolonged  inquiry,  the  committee  refused 
to  approve  of  the  preamble  of  the  Bill,  and  the  triumph  of 
the  anti-improvement  party,  though  costly,  was  complete^ 
The  Great  Western  board,  which  had  offered  the  city  a  great 
boon,  relinquished  the  idea  of  a  central  station,  and  a  project 
which  man>  persons  regarded  a.  the  most'  advan^geous 
for  its  purpose  ever  devised  was  irrecoverably  lost.  The 
parliamentary  expenses  incurred  by  the  promoters  of  the 
scheme  were  stated  to  have  amounted  to  £12,000. 

Another  railway  project  of  this  date  was  promoted  by  the 
London  and  South  Western  Railway  Company,  who  proposed 
to  connect  their  system  with  the  city  by  the  construction  of 
a  new  line  from  Gillingham,  Dorset,  through  Frome  to  Temple 
Meads,  thus  opening  out  a  large  district  in  Somerset.  The 
threatened  invasion  of  its  domain  by  a  narrow  gauge  under* 
taking  was  stoutly  resisted  by  the  Great  Western  Company) 
which  carried  the  war  into  the  enemy's  country  by  proposing 
to  construct  a  broad  gauge  line  to  Southampton.  The  board 
also  revived  a  plan  for  a  railway  from  Radstock  to  Keyn- 
sham,  for  which  an  Act  had  been  obtained  several  years 
before,  but  the  powers  of  which  had  expired  through  effluxion 
of  time.  After  a  lengthy  and  expensive  struggle  in  Parlia- 
ment,  the  Bills  of  both  companies  were  rejected. 

The  want  of  a  commodious  hall  for  public  meetings,  enter- 
tainments, etc.,  had  long  been  painfully  felt,  the  only  building 
suitable  for  such  purposes  in  the  commercial  part  of  the 
city — the  Broadmead  Kooms — ^being  too  small  in  regard  to 
the  population,  besides  being  inconvenient  in  its  arrange- 
ments and  difficult  of  access.  Upon  the  removal  of  Colston's 
School  from  St.  Augustine's  Place,  the  vacated  "  great  house  " 
was  purchased  by  a  few  public-spirited  gentlemen  for  £8,000 ; 
and  the  Colston's  Hall  Company,  with  a  capital  of  £12,000  in 
£10  shares,  was  formed  in  November,  1861,  for  the  purpose 
of  constructing  an  edifice  worthy  of  the  city.  The  demolition 
of  the  great  house  took  place  in  May,  1863^  and  shortly  after- 
wards the  directors  of  the  new  company  entered  into  a  con- 
tract for  the  erection  of  the  large  hall  for  the  sum  of  £17,000, 
The  hall  was  opened  on  the  20th  September^  1867.    The  cost 


890  THS  ANNALS  OT  BRISTOL.  [1861. 

greatly  exceeded  the  estimates,  and  so  completely  exhausted 
the  resources  of  the  company  that  the  directors  were  unable 
to  proceed  with  the  other  portions  of  the  building.  In  1869 
a  further  sum  of  £15,000  was  raised  through  the  zeal  and 
liberality  of  some  ten  or  twelve  of  the  original  promoters, 
and  the  structure,  in  the  complete  form  designed  by  the  archi- 
tect, was  completed  in  February,  1873,  the  aggregate  outlay 
having  been  £40,000. 

The  Bishop's  College  at  the  top  of  Park  Street  [see  p.  141] 
was  purchased  in  December,  1861,  for  £5,400,  by  Mr.  Wm. 
Wright  and  Mr.  James  Ford,  officers  in  the  volunteer  rifle 
corps,  with  a  view  to  converting  it  into  a  head-quarters  and 
club  house  for  the  use  of  volunteers.  The  project  was  cordi- 
ally approved  by  the  riflemen  and  their  friends,  and  further 
expenditure  being  necessary  to  provide  a  drill-hall,  class 
rooms,  racquet  courts,  etc.,  it  was  determined  to  form  a 
company,  and  to  raise  £10,000  by  means  of  shares.  The  con- 
cern was  soon  after  registered  as  the  Bristol  Rifles'  Head- 
quarters Company.  The  apartments  for  the  club  were 
"inaugurated  on  the  27th  September,  1862,  and  within 
a  few  months  440  members  were  enrolled.  The  drill-hall, 
which  cost  about  £2,500,  and  was  then  the  largest  hall  in 
the  kingdom  having  no  intermediate  support,  was  opened  in 
October,  1862.  In  aid  of  the  fund  for  its  erection,  the  ladies 
of  the  city  contributed  handsomely  to  a  bazaar  in  the  follow- 
ing month,  and  succeeded  in  raising  £1,300,  which  were 
handed  over  to  the  company,  "in  consideration  of  which," 
said  the  first  report  of  the  directors,  "  the  corps  had  the  use 
of  the  drill-hall  for  five  days  in  the  week,  an  armoury,  orderly 
room,  sergeants'  room,  store  room,  etc.,  at  a  very  low  rent." 
The  rent  fixed  for  the  drill-hall  and  appurtenances  was  in 
fact  £150,  including  gas,  taxes,  etc.  At  the  outset  the  Head- 
quarters Company  was  prosperous ;  but  from  various  causes 
the  club  lost  many  subscribers,  and  at  last  ceased  to  pay 
its  way.  The  board,  in  the  meantime,  raised  the  rent  for 
the  drill-hall,  etc.,  first  to  £200,  and  then  to  £250.  At  a 
meeting  of  the  company  in  March,  1872,  the  directors  re- 
ported that  as  the  expenditure  was  £400  in  excess  of  the 
income,  it  was  advisable  to  let  the  club  premises  to  private 
persons  for  £280  a  year,  and  to  further  increase  the  rent 
paid  by  the  volunteers.  The  sum  mentioned  by  the  chair- 
man, ifajor  Bush,  as  fairly  chargeable  to  the  corps  was 
£295,  exclusive  of  repairs,  gas,  and  taxes,  or,  in  plain  terms, 
over  £400  a  year.  It  transpired  during  the  subsequent  dis- 
cussion that  the  chief  officers  of  the  corps.  Colonel  Taylor 


1862.]        RIFLE   DRILL  HALL.      CHANNEL  rORTiriCATIONS.  891 

and  Adjutant  Jones,  had  resigned  their  seats  at  the  board 
in  consequence  of  the  decision  of  the  majority,  and  that  they 
maintained  that  the  £1,300  produced  by  the  bazaar  was  stiu 
the  property  of  the  volunteers — ^a  contention  which,  though 
denied  by  the  directors,  was  apparently  held  by  nearly  all 
who  had  taken  part  in  the  movement.  Mr.  Josiah  Thomas, 
city  surveyor,  advised  the  regimental  committee  that  their 
claim  to  the  £1,300  had-  been  practically  admitted  in  a 
previous  report  of  the  directors,  and  that,  taking  this  fund 
into  consideration,  the  fair  rent  of  the  hall  and  appurten- 
ances was  £210,  or,  if  the  hall  were  given  up  to  the  company 
for  four  months  in  each  year,  £115.  A  lengthy  controversy 
ensued,  in  the  course  of  which  the  company  gave  the  corps 
notice  to  quit  the  premises,  while  the  latter  threatened 
legal  proceedings  for  the  recovery  of  the  amount  they  held 
to  be  due  to  them.  Eventually  an  arrangement  was  made 
in  1873,  by  which  the  officers  of  the  regiment  undertook  to 
pay  £195  for  the  use  of  the  hall  for  six  months  yearly,  and 
for  the  occupation  of  the  offices,  etc.,  for  the  entire  year,  the 
company  to  be  responsible  for  repairs  and  taxes.  It  was 
mutually  understood  that  the  question  at  issue  respecting 
the  bazaar  money  should  be  left  to  arbitration;  but  the 
matter  dropped,  and  was  not  revived.  The  club  has  been 
twice  reorganised  since  it  fell  under  private  management. 

The  unprotected  state  of  the  Bristol  Channel  had  been  for 
some  time  previous  to  this  date  under  the  serious  considera- 
tion of  the  Grovernment.  There  was  not  a  single  effective 
fort  between  Gloucester  and  the  Land's  End,  nor  was  there 
any  harbour,  accessible  at  all  times  of  the  tide,  into  which  a 
vessel  pursued  by  an  enemy  could  run  for  shelter.  It  was 
announced,  however,  in  January,  1862,  that  the  Government 
had  selected,  as  the  base  for  the  construction  of  a  line  of 
fortifications  protecting  the  ports  in  the  upper  part  of  the 
Channel,  the  hill  known  as  Brean  Down,  projecting  into  the 
sea  near  Weston-super-Mare,  which  was  to  be  connected 
with  the  promontory  called  Lavemock  Point,  on  the  opposite 
coast,  near  Penarth,  by  means  of  double  batteries  on  the  two 
well-known  islands,  the  Steep  and  Flat  Holmes,  thus  securing 
a  cross  fire  of  a  formidable  character,  and  virtually  closing 
the  gates  of  the  Severn  and  its  tributaries.  The  works,  for 
which  votes  were  granted  by  the  House  of  Commons  from 
time  to  time,  were  not  finished  until  1872.  In  the  spring  of 
the  following  year  a  garrison  of  about  sixty  artillerymen 
occupied  the  fort  upon  Brean  Down,  which,  like  the  others, 
was  armed  with  seven-ton  guns.     In  1874  the  Bristol  Artil- 


392  THE  ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1862, 

lery  Volunteers  were  attached  to  the  service  of  the  forts, 
and  annual  encampments  for  training  have  since  taken  place 
on  Brean  Down. 

A  new  electric  telegraph  enterprise — ^the  British  and  Irish 
Magnetic  Telegraph  Company — ^was  started  about  this  time 
in  competition  with  the  Electric  and  International  Company, 
which  had  a  monopoly  of  the  railway  lines.  The  telegraph 
wires  of  the  new  concern  were  -carried  along  the  turnpike 
roads,  the  first  line  in  this  district  being  commenced  in  March, 
1862,  between  Bristol  and  Birmingham.  Another  under- 
taking, the  United  Kingdom  Telegraph  Company,  also  made 
its  way  to  the  city,  and  opened  a  station  in  Com  Street. 

A  public  meeting  was  held  in  the  Guildhall  on  the  20th 
March,  to  consider  the  propriety  of  erecting  a  suitable  me- 
morial to  the  late  Prince  Consort.  The  mayor  (Mr.  J.  Hare) 
presided,  and,  after  several  influential  citizens  had  advocated 
the  movement,  a  committee  of  fifty  representative  inhabitants 
was  constituted  to  secure  the  erection  of  a  statue  in  front  of 
the  Victoria  Rooms,  at  an  estimated  outlay  of  £3,000.  The 
subscriptions  ofiered,  however,  were  so  small  that  they  were 
ultimately  returned,  the  committee  at  the  same  time  express- 
ing regret  that  while  Dublin,  Edinburgh,  Liverpool,  Man- 
chester, Birmingham,  and  other  towns  had  succeeded  in 
similar  projects,  Bristol  should  be  wanting  in  a  monument 
to  adorn  her  streets,  and  to  testify  her  admiration  of  an 
illustrious  prince. 

The  passenger  steamer  Mars,  plying  between  Bristol  and 
Waterford,  was  wrecked  on  the  1st  April,  whilst  returning 
to  this  city,  by  striking  upon  Linney  Head,  near  Milford, 
during  a  heavy  gale.  Thirty  of  the  passengers  and  twenty 
of  the  crew  lost  their  lives  by  this  disaster. 

An  arrangement  was  concluded  in  June,  between  the  dean 
and  chapter  of  Bristol,  and  the  Ecclesiastical  Commissioners, 
by  which  the  former  body  transferred  to  the  latter  (with  a  few 
reservations)  the  whole  of  its  estates,  in  consideration  of  the 
receipt  of  a  yearly  sum  of  £6,796.  The  commissioners  further 
agreed  to  provide  £6,000  for  urgent  repairs  and  alterations 
in  the  cathedral  [see  p.  370] .  The  property  retained  by  the 
chapter  consisted  of  the  deanery  ana  other  dwellings  adjoin- 
ing the  cathedral,  four  houses  in  Lower  College  Green,  the 
Upper  Green  and  one  house  therein,  the  spring  at  Jacob's 
Wells,  with  its  pipes,  etc.,  and  a  small  piece  of  land  at  Wapley. 
The  chapter  has  had  reason  for  congratulation  that  the 
transfer  was  negotiated  before  the  setting  in  of  the  agri- 
cultural depression  of  later  years.     From  some  cause,  the 


1862.]        YOLUNTEEB  BBYISW.      CLIFTOK   DOWN   HOTEL.  898 

lands  of  the  Grloucester  chapter  were  not  taken  over  by  the 
Commissioners,  and  a  Bristol  journal  of  November  6,  1886, 
stated  that,  owing  to  the  reduced  value  of  the  estates,  the 
income  of  the  deanery  of  Gloucester  did  not  exceed  £200, 
and  that  of  each  canon  had  sunk  to  £100  per  annum. 

On  the  17th  June  a  very  brilliant  military  spectacle  took 
place  on  Durdham  Down.  The  day  had  been  chosen  for  a 
review  of  the  volunteer  corps  of  Bristol  and  the  neighbouring 
counties,  and  6,746  men  partook  in  the  manoeuvres.  Amongst 
the  regiments  which  had  agreed  to  be  present  were  the 
Gloucestershire  and  North  Somerset  Yeomanry,  the  Bristol, 
Gloucester,  Newnham,  Clevedon,  Weston,  and  Cardiff  Artillery, 
the  Bristol  and  Gloucester  Engineers,  and  the  Bristol,  Glou- 
cester, Stroud,  Tewkesbury,  Cirencester,  Forest  of  Dean, 
Stow,  Moreton,  Cheltenham,  Pershore,  Malvern,  Evesham, 
Ombersley,  Droitwich,  Upton,  Bromsgrove,  Birmingham, 
Saltley,  Bath,  Keynsham,  Temple  Cloud,  Taunton,  Bridg- 
water, Wellington,  Williton,  Stogursey,  Wiveliscombe,  Yeovil, 
Crewkerne,  Langport,  Wells,  Bumham,  Weston,  Frome, 
Shepton  Mallet,  Glastonbury,  Wincanton,  Somerton,  Bal- 
tonsborough,  Wrington,  Salisbury,  Swindon,  Trowbridge, 
Chippenham,  Bradford,  Warminster,  Melksham,  Wootton 
Basset,  Old  Swindon,  Highworth,  Hereford,  Ledbury,  Brom- 
yard, Archinfield,  Leominster,  Kington,  Monmouth,  Chep- 
stow, Cadoxton,  Dorchester,  Wareham,  Poole,  Weymouth, 
Wimbome,  and  Sherborne  rifles.  Owing  to  the  well-ordered 
preparations,  the  volunteers  reached  the  ground  at  the  ap- 
pointed time  and  in  good  order ;  and  the  review,  which  was 
held  before  Major-General  Hutchinson,  passed  off  satisfac- 
torily. A  stand  which  had  been  constructed,  capable  of 
seating  5,000  spectators,  was  well  filled,  and  it  was  computed 
that  at  least  100,000  persons  witnessed  the  manoeuvres. 

The  prospectus  of  the  Clifton  Hotel  Company  was  issued 
in  August.  The  capital  was  fixed  at  £40,000,  in  £10  shares. 
The  intention  of  the  promoters  was  to  build  the  hotel  on  a 
site  opposite  to  the  post-office;  but  in  the  autumn  of  the 
following  year  the  Bath  Hotel  came  into  the  market,  and 
having  been  bought  by  the  company,  together  with  several 
adjoining  houses,  the  existing  building  was  constructed  on 
the  site.     The  new  hotel  was  opened  on  the  24th  July,  1865. 

At  a  meeting  held  in  the  Guildhall  on  the  21st  August, 
1862,  the  mayor  (Mr.  J.  Hare)  presiding,  a  resolution  was 
passed,  earnestly  inviting  the  railway  companies  to  recon- 
sider the  determination  they  were  understood  to  have  arrived 
at  in  reference  to  an  expensive  enlargement  of  the  Temple 


394  THS  ANNALS   OT  BRISTOL.  [1862. 

Meads  terminus^  and  to  co-operate  in  the  construction  of  a 
joint  station  in  some  central  situation  in  the  city.  A  com- 
mittee of  citizens  was  also  appointed  to  select  an  appropriate 
site^  and  numerous  designs  were  subsequently  prepared  and 
submitted  for  approval.  Of  these  the  committee  selected 
two — one  of  which,  favoured  by  the  '^  fixed  property  "  party, 
was  for  a  station  at  the  Stone  Bridge,  while  the  other  sug- 
gested a  terminus  in  Frogmore  Street.  At  another  public 
meeting,  on  the  25th  September,  the  Stone  Bridge  scheme 
was  approved,  and  a  prospectus  forthwith  appeared  of  the 
Bristol  Central  Railway  and  Terminus  Company,  with  a  pro- 
posed capital  of  £300,000  in  £10  shares.  A  Bill  to  authorise 
the  project  was  laid  before  the  House  of  Commons  in  the 
following  session,  and  it  was  stated  that  notices  had  been 
delivered  to  no  less  than  6,000  owners  and  occupiers  of 
property  aflTected  by  the  scheme.  A  competing  proposal, 
promoted,  like  the  Bristol  and  Clifton  plan  of  the  previous 
year,  with  the  object  of  uniting  the  trunk  railways  with  the 
intended  line  to  the  mouth  of  the  Avon,  by  means  of  a  tunnel 
at  Clifton,  and  a  bridge  near  Cumberland  Basin,  was  opposed 
in  Parliament  by  the  Corporation,  at  the  instance  of  the  fixed 
property  party.  The  Stone  Bridge  scheme  was  withdrawn, 
it  being  found  that  none  of  the  railway  boards  would  give  it 
either  support  or  countenance.  The  other  proposal  was  also 
abandoned.  In  the  session  of  1864  rival  Bills  were  again 
introduced  into  the  House  of  Commons.  The  promoters  of 
port  extension  proposed  to  cover  over  the  Avon  to  Bristol 
Bridge,  to  lay  a  railway  over  the  stream,  and  to  carry  the 
line  by  Castle  Street,  Union  Street,  and  the  Pithay  to 
Christmas  Street  (where  there  was  to  be  a  station  for  the 
city),  thence  under  Brandon  Hill  to  near  Trinity  Church 
(where  the  Clifton  station  was  fixed),  and  finally  by  a  tunnel 
to  a  junction  with  the  port  railway.  The  rival  projectors 
proposed  to  cover  the  Float  from  the  Drawbridge  to  the 
Stone  Bridge,  and  to  build  a  grand  terminus  on  the  site. 
The  Bill  for  the  latter  plan  was  rejected  by  the  House  of 
Commons.  The  other  scheme  received  the  royal  assent, 
but  in  consequence  of  the  great  outlay  required  for  its 
execution  (estimated  at  £700,000),  no  steps  were  ever  taken 
to  carry  it  into  effect. 

The  civil  war  in  the  United  States  of  America  having 
entirely  cut  oflf  the  supply  of  raw  cotton  from  that  country, 
the  manufacturing  towns  of  the  North  of  England  were  at 
this  time  plunged  in  deep  distress.  This  district  was  also 
affected  by  the  "  famine,''  the  Great  Western  Cotton  Factory 


1862.]  IMPR0VSM1BNT   OT  THS  AYOK.  895 

having  been  forced  to  close  in  October  through  lack  of  raw 
material,  when  600  operatives  were  thrown  out  of  work. 
Energetic  efforts  were  made  by  the  public  on  behalf  of  the 
sufferers,  and  upwards  of  £12,000  were  subscribed  in  a  few 
weeks,  all  classes  contributing  liberally  to  the  fund.  The 
factory  was  not  reopened  until  the  spring  of  1865. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Council  in  October,  the  Docks  Com- 
mittee presented  an  important  report,  recommending  exten- 
sive and  costly  improvements  in  the  Avon  and  the  Floating 
Harbour.  The  document  was  based  on  plans  furnished  by 
Mr.  Howard,  the  engineer  to  the  docks,  whose  chief  recom- 
mendations were  the  deepening  of  the  bed  of  the  river  to  the 
extent  of  seven  and  a  half  feet  for  four  and  a  half  miles 
below  Cumberland  Basin,  and  the  construction  of  a  new  basin 
for  steamers  at  Rownham,  the  cost  of  the  proposed  works 
being  £557,000.  The  committee  estimated  that  the  annual 
interest  on  this  sum,  which  would  become  a  charge  on  the 
dock  estate,  would  be  £22,300,  being  £16,300  in  excess  of  the 
actual  receipts.  This  deficiency  they  proposed  to  meet  by  im- 
posing dock  dues  on  com  and  provisions,  hitherto  exempt,  by 
reimposing  half  the  dues  taken  off  in  1861,  and  by  charging 
a  rent  on  vessels  lying  in  the  harbour,  the  three  items  being 
expected  to  yield  £9,000.  The  wharfage  dues  about  to  fall 
in  were  estimated  to  produce  £3,000,  and  £2,000  more  were 
expected  from  increase  of  trade.  The  balance  of  £2,300  was 
to  be  provided  by  an  increased  tax  on  the  ratepayers.  The 
report  caused  a  great  sensation,  for  it  was  the  production  of 
a  party  which  had  hitherto  opposed  every  scheme  of  port 
improvement  on  the  ground  that  the  dock  dues  should  be 
kept  down,  and  that  the  ratepayers  should  not  be  further 
taxed  for  the  maintenance  of  the  harbour.  The  Council, 
however,  by  a  majority  of  32  votes  against  15,  adopted 
the  report,  and  resolved  on  applying  to  Parliament  for  the 
necessary  powers.  The  excitement  of  the  public,  already 
considerable,  was  increased  upon  the  discovery  that  in  the 
Bill  laid  before  the  House  of  Commons  the  amount  proposed 
to  be  spent  had  been  increased  by  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  mil- 
lion sterling,  or  to  £800,000,  on  the  plea  that  considerable 
improvements  were  needed  in  the  Floating  Harbour.  Meet- 
ings of  the  ratepayers  were  held  in  each  ward,  at  which  the 
scheme  was  condemned  by  large  majorities.  The  Chamber 
of  Commerce  also  vigorously  opposed  the  measure,  and  the 
minority  in  the  Council  renewed  their  protests.  In  the 
result,  the  promoters  reduced  the  intended  expenditure  to 
£400,000,  of  which,  £125,000  were  to  be  spent  in  deepening 


396  THS  ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1863. 

the  river.  A  motion  to  withdraw  the  Bill  altogether  was 
defeated  in  the  Council  by  36  votes  against  24 ;  another^  to 
proceed  with  it,  was  carried  by  33  votes  against  26.  The 
opponents  of  the  scheme  renewed  their  efforts  before  a  com- 
mittee of  the  House  of  Commons,  where  it  was  affirmed  on 
their  behalf  that  the  project  had  been  proposed  simply  to 
thwart  the  construction  of  docks  at  Kingroad.  After  a  pro- 
tracted inquiry,  the  committee  rejected  the  Bill. 

The  church  of  Emmanuel,  St.  Philip's,  was  consecrated  on 
the  9th  December.  It  had  cost  about  £3,000  in  construction, 
exclusive  of  the  site. 

A  Bill  for  authorising  the  construction  of  a  dock  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Avon  was  laid  before  Parliament  in  the  session 
of  1863..  The  chief  promoters  of  the  intended  "  Bristol  Port 
and  Channel  Dock  Company  *'  were  Messrs.  Robert  Bright, 
Robert  Bush,  Philip  W.  S.  Miles,  Charles  Nash,  Henry  A. 
Palmer,  Christopher  J.  Thomas,  and  Thomas  T.  Taylor — all 
or  nearly  all  of  whom  were  promoters  of  the  previous  Port 
Railway  and  Pier  scheme.  The  share  capital  was  fixed  at 
£295,000  in  £20  shares,  with  power  to  borrow  £98,000.  When 
the  advocates  of  port  improvement  had  proposed  that  a 
Channel  dock  should  be  constructed  by  the  Corporation,  the 
fixed  property  party  had  constantly  declared  that  their 
resistance  was  based  on  an  unwillingness  to  impose  fresh 
burdens  on  the  ratepayers,  and  that  if  a  private  company 
would  undertake  the  work  it  would  meet  with  no  opposition. 
But  these  assertions  were  now  repudiated,  and  at  a  meeting 
of  the  Council  on  the  7th  January  a  resolution  to  strenuously 
oppose  the  Bill,  as  an  attempt  "  to  deprive  the  citizens  of 
their  rights  and  privileges,"  was  carried  by  the  advocates  of 
a  stand-still  policy,  an  amendment  in  a  contrary  sense  being 
rejected  by  28  votes  against  25.  After  a  lengthy  struggle 
before  a  committee  of  the  House  of  Commons,  the  Bill  was 
rejected. 

before  continuing  the  history  of  the  Avonmouth  project,  it 
will  be  convenient  to  notice  the  early  schemes  in  connexion 
with  Portishead,  and  the  incidents  which  led  to  the  creation 
of  a  rival  harbour  at  that  place.  Many  years  before  Channel 
docks  were  thought  of,  engineers  had  suggested  the  construc- 
tion of  a  pier  at  Portishead  for  the  accommodation  of  ship- 
ping, Mr.  Milne's  plan  of  1832  being  followed  in  1839  by 
that  of  Mr.  (afterwards  Sir)  John  Macneil,  for  which  an  Act 
of  Parliament  was  obtained,  at  the  instance  of  Mr.  James  A. 
Gordon,  in  July,  1841.  The  project  having  proved  abortive 
through  defects  in  the  design,  Mr.  Brunei,  in  May,  1845, 


1863.]       AVONMOUTH  AND  P0BT18HIAD  DOCKS.  397 

propounded  another  scheme,  for  a  floating  pier  near  Portbury, 
with  a  railway  (on  the  atmospheric  principle)  to  Bristol.  The 
Portbury  Pier  and  Railway  Company,  with  a  capital  of 
£200,000  in  £50  shares,  was  formed  to  carry  out  this  pro- 
posal, for  which  an  Act  was  obtained  in  1846 ;  but  after  the 
promoters  had  striven  earnestly  to  obtain  the  necessary  funds, 
they  announced  it,  February,  1852,  that  they  had  abandoned 
the  enterprise,  and  the  company  was  wound  up  during  the 
following  summer.  In  1853  a  Mr.  Groome  produced  a  scheme 
for  two  gigantic  docks  of  fifty  acres  each,  with  a  canal  to  the 
Avon,  at  Fill ;  a  rival  plan,  for  a  dock  in  Portishead  pill, 
was  produced  in  the  same  year  by  a  Mr.  W.  B.  Neale. 
Although  all  these  propositions  were  severally  commended  to 
the  attention  of  Bristolians  on  the  ground  that  the  Portishead 
estate  of  the  Corporation  would  be  vastly  increased  in  value 
by  the  creation  of  a  new  harbour,  none  of  them  met  with 
much  countenance  from  the  advocates  of  port  improvement, 
and  the  failure  of  each  in  succession  appears  to  have  excited 
no  regret.  When  it  was  found,  however,  that  the  promoters 
of  the  Port  Railway  and  Pier  were  preparing  to  develop  their 
project  into  a  dock,  their  leading  opponents,  including  Alder- 
men Ford  and  Bobinson,  Mr.  Mich.  Castle  and  Mr.  Bich.  Fry, 
most  of  whom  had  contended  that  the  creation  of  shipping 
accommodation  at  Kingroad  would  be  absolutely  destructive 
to  the  commerce  of  the  city,  set  about  the  formation  of  the 
Bristol  and  Portishead  Pier  and  Bailway  Company,  with  the 
view,  as  their  critics  mockingly  maintained,  of  averting  the 
doom  of  Bristol  by  duplicating  the  machinery  which  was  to 
ruin  her.  The  pier  was  proposed  to  be  of  about  the  same 
dimensions  as  that  projected  by  Mr.  Brunei  in  1845.  The 
Bill  authorising  the  works  met  with  little  serious  opposition, 
and  received  the  royal  assent  in  June  1863.  The  construc- 
tion of  the  works  began  in  the  following  year.  Amongst  the 
buildings  removed  during  the  laying  out  of  the  railway  were 
two  or  three  dwellings  (called  in  the  old  directories  "  chocolate 
houses '')  on  the  shore  of  the  Avon,  nearly  opposite  to  the 
Hotwell,  which  were  amongst  the  most  favourite  summer 
resorts  of  working  men  and  their  families.  Much  apprehen- 
sion was  expressed  by  lovers  of  the  picturesque  that  the 
construction  of  the  railway  would  destroy  the  beauty  of  the 
Leigh  Woods  scenery;  but  Alderman  Ford  declared,  at  a 
meeting  of  the  company,  that  those  fears  were  wholly  un- 
founded. "He  believed  that  no  better  security  could  be 
taken  for  the  preservation  of  the  beauty  of  the  woods  than 
the  construction  of  the  railway,  as  it  would  put  a  stop  to  the 


398  THl  ANNALS  OF  BRISTOL. 

quarrying  and  blasting  whicli  had  so  mucli  damaged  them  " 
— an  assertion  which  can  be  read  only  with  a  sigh  by  those 
who  witness  the  wholesale  havoc  now  being  committed  by 
the  Corporation  of  Bristol  and  other  tenants  of  the  landowner. 
The  Portishead  railway  was  opened  on  the  18th  April,  1867. 
The  tidal  section  of  the  pier  was  opened  in  June,  1868,  and 
the  low-water  extension — for  which  another  Act  had  been 
obtained — in  April,  1870.  The  total  cost  of  the  works  up  to 
that  time  had  been  about  £290,000. 

Although  somewhat  interfering  with  the  chronological 
character  of  this  volume,  it  may  save  the  reader  trouble  to 
continue  the  narrative  of  the  "  battle  of  the  docks  "  until  the 
close  of  the  struggle.  In  the  session  of  1864  the  promoters 
of  the  Port  and  Channel  Dock  again  applied  for  parliamentary 
authority  to  proceed  with  the  undertaking.  Since  the  conflict 
of  the  previous  year,  the  annual  municipal  elections  had 
significantly  tested  the  feeling  of  the  ratepayers,  six  or  seven 
of  the  opponents  of  the  Avonmouth  Bill  having  been  rejected 
on  soliciting  re-election  as  councillors.  Conciliatory  negotia- 
tions, moreover,  had  taken  place  between  the  cooler  heads 
of  the  two  parties  in  the  civic  body.  The  promoters  of  the 
Channel  dock  offered  to  surrender  to  the  city  a  portion  of  the 
dues  to  be  levied  on  goods  and  shipping,  while  the  inability 
of  the  Floating  Harbour  to  meet  the  growing  requirements 
of  commerce  was  acknowledged  by  some  who  had  hitherto 
resisted  improvement.  The  Parliamentary  Bills  Committee 
of  the  Council  consequently  changed  its  attitude,  and  now 
suggested  that  *'  dearly-bought  experience  ought  to  satisfy 
all  parties  of  the  folly  of  prolonging  a  fruitless  contest." 
The  advice  was  disregarded  by  the  uncompromising  section 
of  the  "fixed  property"  party,  an  amendment  with  dilatory 
objects  being  proposed  in  the  Council,  but  the  committee's 
report  was  approved  by  33  votes  against  18.  The  Bill  was 
nevertheless  obstinately  resisted  before  a  select  committee  of 
the  House  of  Commons,  the  opponents  professing  to  repre- 
sent fixed  property  worth  £20,000  a  year  (out  of  an  aggre- 
gate annual  rental  of  £600,000).  After  a  long  hearing,  the 
preamble  of  the  Bill  was  approved  by  the  committee,  and 
the  measure  soon  after  passed  the  Lower  House.  A  closing 
effort  in  the  Council  was  then  made  by  the  anti-progress 
minority,  but  they  were  again  unsuccessful,  and  with  a  final 
protest  by  Alderman  Ford,  who  declared  that  the  proposed 
docks  were  "  fraught  with  the  greatest  peril  to  the  trade  and 
prosperity  of  the  city,"  the  opposition  sulkily  quitted  the 
field,  and  the  Bill  became  law.     The  local  controversy  on  the 


AVOKMOUTH  AND   POBTISHEAD   DOGES.  399 

Suestion  had  been  raging  witli  little  intermission  since  the 
erce  debates  of  1859  [see  p.  360]^  and  it  is  now  difficult  to 
realise  the  amount  of  ill-feeling  excited  during  the  contest. 
The  Bristol  Times  of  May  7, 1864,  remarked  that  the  question 
had  been  ''  like  a  sort  of  nightmare  on  the  society  of  the  city. 
Worse  than  politics,  because  more  bitterly  fought,  more 
personally  fought^  it  has  cooled  if  it  has  not  quite  destroyed 
many  friendships,  and  certainly  broken  up  many  associations. 
.  .  .  [The  struggle  had  been]  of  a  character  to  break  up 
old  acquaintances,  to  chill  conviviality,  to  make  men  look 
pale  and  spiteful  at  one  another  when  it  was  introduced  at 
table,  and  to  feel  a  personal  irritation  in  discussing  it  which 
perilled  the  preservation  of  good  manners  amongst  a  com- 
pany/' Owing  to  the  financial  collapse  of  1866,  the  pro- 
moters of  the  dock  were  for  a  long  time  prevented  from  pro- 
ceeding with  the  undertaking.  In  1868,  however,  the  Bristol 
Port  and  Channel  Company  was  definitely  constituted,  Mr. 
P.  W.  Miles  becoming  chairman,  and  Mr.  Charles  Nash  vice- 
chair  of  the  board  of  directors^  which  embraced,  in  addition 
to  the  gentlemen  mentioned  in  a  previous  page,  Messrs.  H. 
H.  Groodeve,  Wm.  H.  Wills,  and  Mark  Whitwill.  It  was  an- 
nounced that  the  dock,  with  the  surrounding  quays  and  ware- 
houses, would  be  seventy  acres  in  extent,  and  that  the  land 
had  been  purchased  at  a  reasonable  price  from  the  Corpo- 
ration, Mr.  P.  W.  Miles,  Mr.  G.  Cox,  and  others.  The  first 
sod  of  the  undertaking  was  cut  on  the  26th  August,  1868, 
by  the  chairman  of  the  company^  and  earnest  appeals  were 
addressed  to  the  citizens  to  assist  by  their  subscriptions  in 
furthering  the  progress  of  the  works.  The  attitude  of  the 
promoters  of  the  Portishead  scheme,  however,  was  well 
calculated  to  deter  cautious  capitalists  from  taking  such  a 
course.  After  promulgating  many  warnings  through  a 
sympathetic  newspaper,  the  directors  of  the  Portishead  Pier 
and  Railway  Company  announced  in  November,  1870,  that 
the  time  had  arrived  for  providing  a  dock  at  Portishead  for 
the  accommodation  of  the  largest  class  of  ocean  steamers.  It 
was  alleged  in  support  of  this  decision  that  the  advantages 
of  the  site  were  unequalled,  and  that  as  the  pier  works  had 
been  constructed  with  a  view  to  their  forming  part  of  a  com- 
plete scheme,  the  cost  of  the  intended  dock  and  its  accessories 
would  not  exceed  £160,000.  The  announcement  of  the  board 
did  not  surprise  those  who  had  carefully  watched  its  move- 
ments, for  in  despite  of  the  vehement  assertions  of  its  leaders 
that  Channel  docks  were  unnecessary^  and  that  Bristol  would 
be  ruined  by  their  construction^  it  was  plain  that  the  pier  was 


400  THE  ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL. 

intended  only  as  a  stepping-stone  to  greater  things.  In  the 
Bill  laid  before  the  House  of  Commons  the  promoters  sought 
to  confer  power  upon  the  Council  to  contribute  £100,000 
towards  the  construction  of  the  dock,  undertaking  to  give  the 
Corporation  as  many  directors  on  the  board  as  were  appointed 
by  the  shareholders.  By  this  time  it  had  become  clear  that 
the  Avonmouth  Dock,  through  lack  of  fiuancial  suppoi*t,  could 
not  be  finished  within  the  period  allowed  by  statute,  and, 
concurrently  with  the  Portishead  measure,  a  Bill  was  pre- 
pared by  the  rival  board,  to  obtain  an  extension  of  time  for 
the  completion  of  the  work,  and  to  empower  the  Council,  if  it 
thought  fit,  to  contribute  to  the  undertaking  (the  Docks  Com- 
mittee having  already  recommended  a  vote  of  £100,000).  It 
appeared  that  the  total  amount  subscribed  up  to  that  date 
was  about  £120,000,  the  chief  subscribers  being  Mr.  P.  W.  S. 
Miles,  £10,000;  Mr.  Morley,  M.P.,  £5,000;  the  Merchant 
Veuturers'  Society,  £2,500,  and  Messrs.  J.  W.  Miles,  W.  H. 
Wills,  Francis  Tagart,  C.  Norris,  and  Robert  Bright,  £1,000 
each.  Amongst  the  subscribers  to  the  Portishead  scheme 
were  Sir  J.  Greville  Smyth,  bart.,  £15,000;  Messrs.  J.  Ford, 
R.  Fuidge,  and  G.  R.  Woodward,  £6,000  each ;  Mr.  Lewis  Fry, 
£5,000 ;  Mr.  J.  D.  Weston,  £2,500 ;  Mr.  T.  Canning,  £2,000 ; 
Mr.  R.  Fry,  £1,500 ;  and  Messrs.  J.  C.  Wall,  S.  Wills,  Finzel 
&  Sons,  W.  Fuidge,  and  James  &  Pierce,  £1,000  each.  "  The 
battle  of  the  docks  "  was  waged  vigorously  before  commit- 
tees of  both  Houses,  but  neither  party  was  successful  in  pre- 
venting the  other  from  obtaining  its  Act.  The  conflict  was 
next  transferred  to  the  Bristol  Council  Chamber,  to  which 
each  company  appealed  for  a  subscription  in  aid  of  its  funds. 
The  remnants  of  the  old  fixed  property  party  were  soon  de- 
feated, their  resolution  declaring  that  any  grant  to  either  dock 
was  inexpedient  being  rejected  by  38  votes  against  18.  There- 
upon, throwing  aside  their  former  arguments,  the  party  went 
over  to  the  Portishead  camp,  and  secured  it  an  easy  victory. 
On  the  1st  July,  1872,  Mr.  E.  S.  Robinson  moved  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  committee  with  a  view  to  the  Corporation  becoming 
interested,  by  purchase  or  otherwise,  in  the  completion  of  the 
Avonmouth  undertaking,  affirming — with  only  too  accurate 
foresight — that  a  divided  jurisdiction  would  revive  the  evils 
created  by  the  old  Dock  Company,  and  would  be  strongly 
disapproved  by  the  citizens.  His  motion  was  rejected  by 
83  votes  against  22.  Alderman  Hath  way  then  proposed  that 
£100,000  should  be  subscribed  by  the  Council  to  the  funds 
of  the  Portishead  Company,  and  this  was  carried  by  36  votes 
against  19.   In  order  to  soothe  the  susceptibilities  of  the  rate- 


AYONMOUTH   AND   POBTISH£AD  DOCKS.  401 

payers^  the  subscription  was  made  a  charge  on  the  dock 
estate^  which  at  that  time  showed  a  large  yearly  surplus ; 
though,  as  will  be  shown  hereafter^  the  burden  (from  which 
no  profit  was  ever  derived)  was  laid  upon  the  backs  of  the 
inhabitants  in  1880.  In  consequence  of  this  decision,  which 
caused  much  surprise  and  dissatisfaction  amongst  the  citizens, 
the  directors  of  the  Avonmouth  scheme  were  plunged  in 
extreme  embarrassment  through  lack  of  funds,  and  to  the 
delight  of  their  opponents  the  work  of  construction  was 
practically  suspended.  In  August,  1873,  however,  the 
directors  announced  that  they  had  made  arrangements  with 
a  contractor  for  completing  the  dock,  and  operations  soon 
after  vigorously  recommenced.  In  August,  1876,  when  on 
the  eve  of  completion,  the  dock  was  the  scene  of  a  disastrous 
landslip,  caused  by  the  treacherous  bed  of  an  old  ''pill*' 
running  under  the  east  wall,  about  400  feet  of  which  collapsed, 
together  with  two  large  warehouses.  The  reparation  of  this 
disaster  was  not  effected  for  some  months.  The  progress  of 
the  Portishead  project  had  been  also  arrested  by  an  accident. 
After  having  been  furnished  with  funds  by  the  Corporation, 
the  directors — promising  the  rapid  completion  of  the  dock — 
set  about  the  preliminary  works,  the  most  important  of  which 
was  a  huge  dam  for  excluding  the  waters  of  the  Channel. 
On  the  15th  February,  1874,  the  dyke,  then  nearly  finished, 
gave  way  under  the  pressure  of  a  high  tide,  causing  extensive 
havoc ;  and  the  task  of  damming  back  the  Severn  was  not 
achieved  until  June,  1875.  Through  the  delay  thus  occasioned, 
the  Avonmouth  scheme  recovered  its  original  lead  in  the 
competition  ;  and  the  dock  was  formally  opened  on  the  24th 
February,  1877.  The  directors  obtained  the  use  of  a  large 
steamer,  the  Juno,  to  convey  the  mayor  (Mr.  G.  W.  Edwards) 
the  members  of  the  Council  and  of  other  public  bodies,  and 
many  of  the  leading  citizens,  to  the  mouth  of  the  river,  the 
party  numbering  about  six  hundred.  A  great  concourse  of 
spectators  lined  the  banks  of  the  Avon  for  nearly  two  miles, 
while  about  15,000  persons  assembled  near  the  dock  and 
greeted  the  Juno  upon  her  arrival  with  repeated  cheers. 
Having  steamed  around  the  basin,  the  vessel  was  brought  up 
in  front  of  one  of  the  warehouses,  when  a  short  prayer  was 
offered  by  the  Archdeacon  of  Bristol  (the  Rev.  Canon  Norris). 
The  mayor  then  declared  the  dock  open,  and  complimented 
the  directors  on  the  successful  termination  of  their  arduous 
and  public-spirited  exertions.  Owing  to  the  proverbial  exi- 
gencies of  the  tide,  the  ceremony  was  very  brief,  and  the 
visitors  returned  immediately  to  Bristol.    In  the  evening  the 

D   D 


402  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL.  [1863. 

mayor  gave  a  grand  banquet  in  the  Merchants'  Hall  in 
honour  of  the  occasion.  Much  rejoicing  took  place  at  Shire- 
hampton  and  Pill  in  the  course  of  the  day.  The  first  com- 
mercial vessel  which  entered  the  dock  was  the  steamer 
EoelyUy  which  arrived  on  the  8th  April,  with  1,500  tons  of 
barley.  It  was  hoped  by  the  Portishead  board  that  their 
undertaking  would  be  opened  in  the  summer  of  1878.  On 
the  18th  March  of  that  year,  however,  another  serious  disaster 
took  place,  a  lar&fe  portion  of  the  nearly  completed  dock  wall 
falling  over,  while  a  further  portion  showed  so  many  rents  as 
to  require  reconstruction.  This  entailed  great  delay,  and  an 
additional  outlay  of  about  £30,000.  By  dint  of  energetic 
efforts,  the  undertaking  was  completed  in  the  following  year, 
and  the  passenger  steamer  Lyn  entered  the  basin,  amidst 
much  local  rejoicing,  on  the  28th  June,  1879.  The  first 
foreign  arrival,  about  a  week  later,  was  a  steamship  named 
the  Magdeburg y  with  a  cargo  of  1,100  tons  of  barley.  Both 
the  Avonmouth  and  the  Portishead  companies  undertook  to 
pay  to  the  Bristol  Dock  authorities  50  per  cent,  of  their  dues 
on  all  sailing  vessels  under  1,200  tons  and  on  all  steamers 
under  800  tons  entering  their  docks.  It  will  be  seen  under  a 
later  date  that  this  attempt  to  safeguard  the  interests  of  the 
Floating  Harbour  proved  ineffectual. 

Another  of  the  numerous  schemes  which  absorbed  local 
attention  during  the  session  of  1863  was  the  Bristol  and 
I^orth  Somerset  Railway,  a  project  for  opening  out  a  large 
district  of  Somerset  by  means  of  a  line  from  Badstock  to 
Bristol,  and  also  for  facilitating  commerce  in  the  city  by 
means  of  a  tramway  from  the  quays  to  the  terminus.  The 
Bill  received  the  royal  assent,  and  a  company  to  carry  its 
powers  into  execution  was  soon  afterwards  formed,  with  a 
capital  of  £275,000  in  £20  shares.  Only  about  £16,000  of 
this  amount,  however,  was  actually  subscribed.  The  first 
rail  of  the  tramway  was  laid  by  the  mayoress  (Mrs.  S.  V. 
Hare)  on  the  8th  October,  1863.  Pecuniary  difficulties  soon 
after  arose,  and  flung  the  company  into  extreme  embarrass- 
ment, The  first  contractors  for  the  works  quarrelled  with 
the  directors  and  withdrew;  their  successors  became  insolvent; 
and  the  financial  crisis  of  1866  for  a  third  time  caused  a 
lengthy  suspension  of  operations.  The  company  made  re- 
peated but  fruitless  attempts  in  Parliament  to  connect  their 
railway  with  the  narrow  gauge  systems  on  the  south  coast. 
In  1866  the  directors,  abandoning  hope  in  this  direction, 
concluded  an  agreement  with  the  Great  Western  board,  by 
which  the  latter  undertook  to  work  the  line  when  completed. 


1863.]  NORTH   SOMERSET   RAILWAY.  403 

At  an  early  period  of  the  company's  financial  difficulties^ 
some  of  the  directors^  in  their  zeal  to  farther  the  undertakings 
made  themselves  individually  responsible  for  a  sum  of  about 
£180,000 — part  of  the  liabilities  of  the  concern — with  the 
effect  of  completely  ruining  themselves.  A  report  presented 
by  a  committee  of  investigation  in  May,  1867,  was  an  astound- 
ing revelation  of  mismanagement,  the  conduct  of  the  secretary, 
a  parliamentary  agent,  named  John  Bingham,  being  especially 
censured.  Amongst  the  items  of  the  company's  expenditure^ 
a  charge  was  discovered  of  £28,634  for  legal  and  parlia- 
mentary expenses,  and  another  very  heavy  bill  of  the  same 
character  remained  unpaid.  [Bingham,  who  sought  to  gain 
popularity  by  making  "  Church  and  Queen "  orations  at 
political  dinners,  and  by  delivering  unctuous  addresses  at 
religious  gatherings,  pleaded  guilty  in  June,  1870,  to  a 
charge  of  having  forged  an  endorsement  on  a  draft  for 
£536,  with  intent  to  defraud  Mr.  Wm.  M.  Baillie,  a  Bristol 
banker,  and  was  sentenced,  to  twelve  months'  imprisonment 
with  hard  labour.]  In  1869  an  Act  was  obtained  for  reliev- 
ing the  company  from  its  liabilities  by  paying  o£E  the 
creditors  in  shares,  power  being  also  obtained  to  complete 
the  undertaking  by  the  issue  of  debentures.  The  creditors 
assented  to  this  arrangement,  which  enabled  the  directors 
to  make  a  new  contract  for  the  completion  of  the  railway. 
The  tramway  to  Wapping  was  defiiiitively  abandoned  in 
May,  1871,  by  an  agreement  with  the  Corporation.  The 
railway  was  opened  on  the  3rd  September,  1873,  when  it 
was  worked  by  the  Great  Western  staff.  The  receipts, 
however,  were  disappointing  to  the  promoters,  and  fresh 
financial  embarrassments  arose.  In  1881  a  new  board  of 
directors  was  appointed,  the  chairman  of  which  stated  soon 
afterwards  that  the  former  board,  which  had  refused  to  meet 
the  shareholders,  and  finally  deserted  them,  had  left  the 
concern  in  a  '^  state  of  chaos,  the  books  having  disappeared. 
A  creditor  had  brought  an  action  against  the  company,  and, 
as  there  were  no  efiects,  the  Court  of  Chancery  had  appointed 
three  of  the  new  directors  receivers  and  managers.  There 
was  not  a  sixpence  in  hand,  the  Great  Western  authorities 
retaining  all  the  receipts.  The  old  board  had  divided  £900 
a  year  amongst  themselves.  Shortly  after  those  disclosures, 
attempts  were  made  to  sell  the  line  to  the  Great  Western 
Company,  when  the  latter  offered  the  ordinary  shareholders 
a  permanent  dividend  of  12«.  per  cent,  per  annum.  The 
proposal  was  not  accepted.  At  length,  by  an  agreement 
arrived  at  in   1884,  the  line  was  purchased  by  the  Great 


404  THE  ANNALS  OF  BRISTOL.  [1863. 

Western  board,  the  proprietors  accepting  17  per  cent,  on  the 
nominal  value  of  their  shares. 

Dr.  Wm.  Thomson,  Bishop  of  Gloucester  and  Bristol,  having 
been  translated  to  the  archbishopric  of  York,  Dr.  Charles 
John  Ellicott,  Dean  of  Exeter,  was  in  February,  1863,  nomi- 
nated as  his  successor. 

A  prospectus  appeared  in  March  of  the  Bristol  City  Hotel 
Company,  with  a  capital  of  £30,000  in  £10  shares,  the  in- 
tention of  the  promoters  being  to  purchase  the  well-known 
White  Lion  establishment  in  Broad  Street,  and  to  build  a 
new  hotel  on  the  site.  In  the  following  July  the  directors, 
being  unable  to  obtain  immediate  possession  of  the  property, 
purchased  the  adjoining  White  Hart  Hotel,  in  which  they 
commenced  business.  An  ancient  inn,  known  as  the  Plume 
of  Feathers,  near  the  White  Hart,  was  also  acquired  about 
the  same  time.  Two  years  later  the  lease  of  the  White  Lion 
fell  in,  and  the  house  was  demolished.  The  purchase  of  the 
three  properties,  and  the  cost  of  the  cellars  and  foundations, 
however,  had  exhausted  the  original  capital,  and  it  was  found 
that  the  completion  of  the  extended  design  would  require 
a  further  expenditure  of  £35,000.  The  directors  in  the  first 
place  proposed  to  create  new  shares  to  the  value  of  £45,000, 
but  as  the  public  declined  to  subscribe,  the  board  decided 
to  issue  debentures  for  £35,000.  This  form  of  investment 
meeting  with  little  more  favour  than  its  forerunner,  the  com- 
pany were  compelled,  in  June,  1867,  to  fall  back  upon  a  less 
costly  scheme,  by  which  a  row  of  shops  was  placed  upon  the 
ground  floor,  the  cost  of  the  structure  in  this  form  being 
estimated  at  £25,000.  The  hotel  was  opened  in  January, 
1869,  but  the  expense  of  the  building  had  exceeded  the 
estimates  by  several  thousand  pounds,  and  the  concern  nar- 
rowly escaped  a  compulsory  liquidation.  In  1874,  when  the 
business  of  the  hotel  had  become  prosperous,  the  Plume  of 
Feathers  inn  was  ordered  to  bo  rebuilt  at  a  cost  of  £2,500. 
The  name  of  the  hotel  was  at  the  same  time  altered  from  the 
White  Lion  to  the  Grand  Hotel. 

The  marriage  of  the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Wales  on  the 
10th  March  was  celebrated  in  Bristol  with  universal  mani- 
festations of  joy.  A  committee  had  been  previously  ap- 
pointed, and  liberally  furnished  with  funds  to  provide  recrea- 
tion and  amusement  for  all  classes ;  a  general  holiday  had 
been  determined  upon  with  one  consent;  and  the  entire 
community  seemed  to  give  itself  up  to  merry-making.  In 
the  morning  a  parade  of  the  volunteer  riflemen,  artillery, 
and  engineers   took  place  on   Durdham   Down,  where  the 


1863.]  BOIAL  MABBIAOE.      CLIFTON   CHURCH   PEWS.  405 

members  of  the  Oddfellows  and  Foresters  benefit  societies 
also  repaired  in  procession  with  numerous  bands  of  music. 
It  was  computed  that  upwards  of  30^000  persons  were  present. 
Rustic  sports  followed  the  military  pageant.  The  children 
of  nearly  all  the  schools  in  the  city  were  gathered  in  various 
suitable  localities,  and>  after  singing  the  national  anthem, 
each  scholar  received  some  memento  of  the  day.  Dinners 
were  given  or  provisions  distributed  to  upwards  of  10,000 
poor  persons,  and  the  inmates  of  the  almshouses  were  suitably 
entertained.  The  most  attractive  features  of  the  rejoicings, 
however,  were  the  firework  displays  and  the  illuminations 
in  the  evening.  All  the  public  buildings  and  most  of  the 
large  places  of  business,  as  well  as  numbers  of  private  houses, 
were  brilliantly  lighted  up  with  designs  and  transparencies 
in  almost  infinite  variety ;  and  the  central  streete  were  one 
continuous  blaze.  Those  thoroughfares  were  densely  thronged 
until  midnight,  and  the  scene  was  one  of  extreme  animation 
and  gaiety.  The  displays  of  fireworks  were  numerous  and 
effective,  and  the  electric  light — then  in  its  infancy — added 
a  new  feature  to  such  exhibitions.  The  evening  concluded 
with  a  ball  at  the  Assembly  Booms.  The  ladies  of  Bristol 
made  a  magnificent  present  on  the  occasion  to  the  Princess 
of  Wales.  It  consisted  of  a  large  sapphire  pendant,  set  in 
diamonds,  and  valued  at  800  guineas ;  and  was  placed  in  an 
elegantly  carved  casket  of  oak,  taken  from  St.  Mary  Redcliff 
Church,  ornamented  with  ivory  and  gold.  Speaking  of  this 
casket,  the  Times  observed  that  '^  as  a  work  of  art  it  was  as 
noteworthy,  and  quite  as  beautiful,  an  offering  as  the  jewel 
itself.''  The  gift,  accompanied  by  an  appropriate  address, 
was  presented  to  the  princess  by  the  mayoress  (Mrs.  S.  V. 
Hare),  who  was  introduced  by  the  Duchess  of  Beaufort. 
Her  Royal  Highness  expressed  great  admiration  of  the 
present,  for  which  she  gracefully  returned  thanks. 

At  the  annual  Easter  vestry  of  the  parish  of  Clifton,  a 
document  produced  by  one  of  the  churchwardens  gave  a 
noteworthy  account  of  the  financial  difficulties  of  the  authori- 
ties. Great  objections,  it  was  stated,  were  made  to  the  pay- 
ment of  church  rates,  on  the  ground  that  the  church  was  for 
the  most  part  a  proprietary  building,  and  that  many  owners 
of  the  pews  declined  to  contribute  towards  the  maintenance 
of  divine  worship.  An  appeal  had  been  made  to  them  on 
the  subject,  but  about  eighty  proprietors  had  either  positively 
refused  to  subscribe,  or  had  returned  no  reply.  The  largest 
pew  owner,  holding  thirteen  seats,  declined  to  render  any 
assistance,  because  his  family  had  invested  a  large  sum  in 


r 


406  THE   ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1863. 

building  vaults  in  the  crypt,  which,  under  the  recent  Burials 
Act,  could  not  be  used.  Another  had  become  a  Dissenter, 
and  felt  '^ conscientious  scruples"  against  contributing  towards 
the  services  of  the  church,  though  his  conscience  did  not 
prevent  him  from  collecting  his  pew  rents.  The  majority  of 
the  pew  owners  lived  beyond  the  parish  boundary;  some 
resided  permanently  abroad ;  others  in  various  distant  parts 
of  the  kingdom ;  and  several  had  angrily  rejected  the  appeal 
for  help,  practically  contending  that  the  residents  in  the 
parish — although  unable  for  the  most  part  to  find  accom- 
modation in  the  church — were  bound  to  keep  it  in  repair 
for  the  benefit  of  those  who  farmed  out  pews.  The  vestry 
eventually  resolved  to  fall  back  upon  a  voluntary  church  rate. 
In  some  comments  on  the  subject,  the  Bristol  Times  stated 
that  one  of  the  pews  had  sold  by  auction  for  £190.  In  spite 
of  the  scandal  excited  by  such  traffic,  no  attempt  at  reform 
was  made  during  the  long  incumbency  of  Bishop  Anderson. 
At  length,  in  1884,  in  consequence  of  the  efforts  of  a  new 
vicar,  the  Rev.  Talbot  Greaves,  several  of  the  pews  were 
given  up  to  the  parochial  authorities;  and  the  churchwardens 
were  authorised  by  a  vestry  meeting  to  apply  for  a  faculty 
to  reseat  the  church.  But  the  opposition  of  many  of  the 
pew  owners  could  not  be  overcome  except  by  purchasing 
their  property,  for  which  purpose  upwards  of  £3,000  were 
raised  by  subscription,  and  quickly  expended  in  buying  up 
seats.  About  £2,000  more  were  spent  in  the  reconstruction 
of  the  sittings,  which  was  soon  after  accomplished,  and  the 
church  was  reopened  in  December,  1884.  It  is  intended  to 
purchase  the  remaining  proprietary  sittings  as  funds  are 
provided,  though  some  of  the  present  owners  demand  prices 
which  will  not  be  given.  Already,  through  Mr.  Greaves' 
exertions,  there  are,  he  states,  "about  700  good  free  seats 
out  of  the  2,000  sittings  in  the  church.'^ 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Council  in  May,  1863,  a  resolution 
was  passed  empowering  the  Improvement  Committee  to 
carry  into  effect  a  plan  suggested  by  them  for  the  widening 
of  Nicholas  Street,  by  removing  the  Gazette  office  and  some 
old  houses  standing  near  St.  Nicholas'  Church.  The  esti- 
mated net  cost  of  the  alterations  was  £7,160,  exclusive  of 
Corporation  property  valued  at  £1,174.  The  improvement 
involved  the  removal,  early  in  1864,  of  a  remarkably  pictur- 
esque ancient  house — the  Angel  Inn — which  stood  in  High 
Street,  near  the  comer  of  Nicholas  Street.  A  portion  of  the 
site  of  this  hostelry,  having  only  14  feet  frontage  in  High 
Street,  and  35  feet  in  Nicholas  Street,  was  sold  at  a  ground 


1863.]  PROPOSED   DESTRUCTION   OF   LEIGH  WOODS.  407 

rent  of  £151  per  annum.  Owing  to  the  removal  of  the 
Angel  Inn^  the  house  in  High  Street  adjoining  it  on  the 
north — a  building  of  about  the  same  age — ^became  insecure, 
and  finally  collapsed  in  July,  1865. 

In  May,  1863,  whilst  workmen  were  preparing  the  foun- 
dations of  the  Royal  Insurance  Company's  new  building,  at 
the  end  of  Bank  Court,  Com  Street,  they  laid  bare  portions 
of  an  apparently  extensive  mediaeval  structure.  The  window 
and  door  quoins  of  the  cellar  walls  showed  remains  of  moulded 
and  traceried  window-heads  and  iambs,  but  the  worked  faces 
had  been  turned  inwards  and  built  into  the  walls.  The  new 
building  was  completed  in  June,  1864. 

During  the  autumn  of  1862  an  advertisement  appeared 
in  the  local  press  offering  prizes  for  the  best  designs  for 
laying  out  about  170  acres  of  Leigh  Woods,  including  Night- 
ingale Valley,  for  building  sites.  It  was  subsequently  an- 
nounced that  prizes  had  been  awarded  to  two  firms  which 
had  responded  to  the  invitation,  and  in  the  spring  of  1863 
it  was  understood  that  approval  had  been  given  to  a  design 
which  mapped  out  the  locality  for  350  houses,  with  an  ex- 
tensive hotel,  and  a  bridge  over  the  valley.  The  prospect 
of  the  destruction  of  the  sylvan  scenery  occasioned  deep 
regret  amongst  the  public,  and  evoked  bitter  comments  in 
the  newspapers.  After  an  interval,  however,  the  mayor  (Mr» 
S.  V.  Hare)  was  informed  that  Sir  John  Greville  Smyth,  the 
owner  of  the  estate,  would  spare  the  woods,  provided  the 
Corporation  undertook  to  lease  them  for  fourteen  years  at 
a  rental  of  £500  per  annum,  and  a  ready-money  payment  of 
£300.  The  mayor,  in  reply,  suggested  an  extension  of  the 
proposed  term,  or  a  sale  of  the  freehold  to  the  Corporation, 
but  was  informed  that  no  alteration  could  be  made  in  the 
terms.  The  Finance  Committee  having  declined  to  approve 
of  a  short  lease  of  unproductive  land  at  a  rental  of  £3  per 
acre,  the  matter  came  to  an  end.  In  September,  1864,  it 
was  stated  that  Sir  Greville  Smyth  had  sold  the  woods  to  a 
London  speculator  for  £50,000,  and  that  the  purchaser  had 
sent  down  a  plan  of  his  intended  operations.  ^'The  plan 
showed,' '  said  the  Bristol  Times,  ''some  800  tenements — many 
of  them  of  a  poor  character,  several  of  them  small  shops — 
to  be  erected  on  the  romantic  site,  thereby  of  course  making 
it  an  eyesore  to  Clifton.  ...  As  might  be  expected,  the 
mayor  and  other  gentlemen  who  saw  it  were  appalled  at  the 
threatened  desecration,  and  a  private  meeting  was  called  to 
consider  the  offer  of  the  speculator,  who  required  £10,000 
for  his  bargain — that  is,  that  the  citizens  should  pay  him 


408  THE   ANNALS  OP  BRISTOL.  [1863. 

£60,000."  Suspicions  as  to  the  bond  fide  character  of  the 
speculator's  threats  were,  however,  excited  in  many  minds ; 
in  spite  of  the  menaced  devastation,  it  was  soon  clear  that 
the  city  would  not  subscribe  the  exorbitant  amount  de- 
manded ;  and  the  next  tidings  of  the  projector  were,  that  he 
had  failed  to  pay  the  first  instalment  of  the  purchase  money, 
and  had  departed  to  speculate  in  parts  unknown.  It  being 
apparent  that  the  permanent  preservation  of  the  scenery 
depended  solely  upon  the  public  spirit  of  the  citizens,  the 
Leigh  Woods  Land  Company  was  formed  by  a  few  generous- 
minded  persons,  Mr.  George  Thomas  being  appointed  chair- 
man. The  capital  was  fixed  at  £60,000  in  £25  shares,  and 
after  some  negotiation  the  purchase  of  the  property  was 
eflfeoted  for  £40,000.  The  extent  of  ground  acquired  was 
about  160  acres,  of  which  sixty  were  set  apart  for  orna- 
mental purposes,  and  about  twenty  more  for  roads.  This 
arrangement  left  an  area  of  about  eighty  acres  applicable  to 
building,  and  it  was  anticipated  that  the  ground  rents  would 
ultimately  produce  upwards  of  £3,000  per  annum.  It  ought 
to  be  stated  that  Mr.  H.  A.  Palmer  suggested  a  subscription 
for  purchasing  the  ground  for  the  free  use  of  the  public, 
offering  to  head  the  list  with  a  donation  of  £1,000;  but  his 
proposal  met  with  insignificant  support.  Subsequently,  when 
complaints  were  raised  as  to  the  appropriation  of  so  large 
a  portion  of  the  woods  for  building  purposes,  Mr.  George 
Thomas  offered  to  give  up  his  £500  worth  of  shares,  and  Mr. 
Slaughter  made  a  similar  proposal  as  to  half  that  amount, 
on  condition  that  the  citizens  would  raise  £10,000  for  securing 
a  further  reservation  of  the  land;  but  the  liberal-hearted 
overtures  met  with  no  response.  The  last  instalment  of  the 
purchase  money  due  to  Sir  J.  6.  Smyth  was  paid  in  1875. 
Previous  to  that  date  the  company  had  been  brought  to  the 
brink  of  collapse  through  an  unfortunate  building  speculation, 
by  which  it  lost  nearly  £3,600 ;  but  the  amount  was  paid  off 
by  three  or  four  of  the  leading  proprietors,  who  were  granted 
in  return  147  unissued  shares. 

Victoria  Chapel,  Whiteladies  Road,  the  most  beautiful  local 
structure  hitherto  erected  by  the  Wesleyan  Methodists,  was 
opened  in  June,  1863,  by  the  Rev.  F.  A.  West.  The  building 
and  site  had  cost  nearly  £6,000. 

The  prospectus  of  the  College  Green  Hotel  Company,  with 
a  capital  of  £40,000  in  £10  shares,  appeared  in  October.  A 
block  of  property  extending  from  College  Green  to  Trinity 
Street  was  soon  afterwards  purchased,  and  the  houses  were 
demolished.     One  of  the  dwellings  removed.  No.  2,  College 


1864.]  UFSBOATS.      AGRICULTURAL   SHOWS.  409 

Green^  containing  a  finely  carved  hall  and  staircase,  was  tbe 
residence  in  1741  of  Mr.  Jarret  Smith  (afterwards  Sir  J. 
Smyth,  bart.),  who  was  visited  there  by  Sir  John  Dinely 
Goodere,  a  few  hours  before  the  seizure  and  murder  of  the 
latter  by  his  brother,  Captain  Goodere.  The  new  hotel,  styled 
the  Royal,  was  opened  in  March,  1868. 

About  this  time,  a  number  of  stables  and  coach-houses 
fronting  Queen's  Boad,  appertaining  to  the  houses  on  the 
north  side  of  Berkeley  Square,  began  to  be  converted  into 
shops.  At  a  later  period,  some  of  these  little  places  of 
business  were  let  at  a  higher  rent  than  was  paid  for  the 
mansions  to  which  the  old  outbuildings  were  attached. 

The  Bed  Lion  Inn,  Bedcliff  Street,  an  ancient  hostelry, 
with  a  courtyard  and  galleries  in  the  style  of  the  fourteenth 
or  fifteenth  century,  was  removed  in  1864,  and  warehouses 
were  erected  on  the  site.. 

In  June,  1864,  a  lifeboat,  named  the  Albert  Edward,  the 
cost  of  which  had  been  raised  by  a  local  subscription,  arrived 
in  the  city,  and  was  taken  through  the  streets  in  procession, 
escorted  by  the  volunteer  corps.  At  a  gathering  on  Durdham 
Down,  the  mayor  (Mr.  Jose)  handed  over  the  boat  to  the 
oflBcers  of  the  National  Lifeboat  Institution.  It  was  after- 
wards transported  to  Padstow,  Cornwall,  for  service  on  that 
stormy  coast.  In  October,  1866,  another  lifeboat,  styled  the 
Bristol  and  Clifton,  the  cost  of  which  had  been  raised  by  the 
exertions  of  the  Bristol  Histrionic  Club,  was  welcomed  into 
the  city  with  similar  ceremony.  The  boat  was  conveyed  to 
the  Zoological  Gardens,  where  it  was  presented  to  the  Lifeboat 
Institution  by  Mr.  Commissioner  Hill.  The  boat  was  after- 
wards stationed  at  Lossiemouth,  Scotland.  In  March,  1871,  a 
third  boat,  named  the  Jack^a-jack,  paid  for  by  Bristol  merchants 
and  ship-captains  trading  to  the  West  Coast  of  Africa,  passed 
through  the  city  with  similar  honours,  on  its  way  to  Morte, 
North  Devon.  By  the  will  of  Lady  Haberfield,  another 
Bristol  lifeboat  was  presented  to  the  institution  in  1875,  and 
two  others  have  been  given  by  local  philanthropists. 

The  first  agricultural  show  held  in  Bristol  by  the  Bath  and 
West  of  England  Association  was  opened  on  the  13th  June, 
1864,  under  the  presidency  of  Earl  Portescue.  The  exhi- 
bition took  place  on  Durdham  Down,  25  acres  of  which, 
lying  to  the  south-west  of  the  Stoke  Bishop  road,  had  been 
enclosed,  and  proved  the  most  successful  ever  organised  by 
the  society.  The  entries  of  stock  on  the  ground  reached 
545.  The  number  of  visitors  was  88,138,  and  the  receipts 
from  admissions  amounted  to  £5,966.     During  the  week,  the 


410  THE  ANNAXS  OF   BRISTOL.  [1864. 

mayor  and  tbe  local  committee  gave  a  dinner  to  the  council 
of  the  association  at  the  Victoria  Rooms.  The  society  held 
another  exhibition  on  the  same  site  in  1874^  when  the  de- 
velopment of  the  institution  was  indicated  by  the  increased 
area  of  the  show-ground,  the  inclosure  measuring  38  acres. 
The  entries  of  stock  numbered  732,  and  those  of  machinery 
and  implements  marked  a  still  greater  advance  over  the 
previous  meeting.  The-  president  for  the  year  was  Sir 
L.  Massey  Lopes,  bart.  The  attendance  of  visitors  exceeded 
anything  recorded  in  the  history  of  the  association,  the  num- 
ber of  admissions  being  110,105,  and  the  amount  received 
£8,378.  The  mayoress  (Mrs.  Barnes)  was  presented  by  the 
society  with  a  beautiful  screen  in  Honiton  lace,  in  recognition 
of  the  courtesy  and  hospitality  with  which  the  executive  had 
been  received  by  the  mayor  and  herself.  The  third  visit  of 
the  society  took  place  in  June,  1886,  under  the  presidency 
of  Lord  Carlingford.  The  show  of  animals  showed  a  further 
advance  in  numbers,  the  aggregate  reaching  969,  and  there 
was  a  still  more  notable  increase  in  the  exhibits  in  some  other 
departments.  Much  interest  was  excited  by  specimens  of 
ensilage  from  a  store  made  at  Long  Ashton,  under  the  super- 
vision of  a  special  committee.  Although  the  number  of 
persons  entering  the  showyard — 100,579 — was  less  than  in 
1874,  owing  to  the  unfavourable  weather,  it  was  still  greatly 
in  excess  of  the  attendances  recorded  at  any  other  meeting 
held  by  the  society.  The  total  receipts  amounted  to  £7,226. 
The  leading  members  of  the  association  were  again  sumptu- 
ously entertained  by  the  mayor  (Mr.  Wathen)  and  the  Society 
of  Merchant  Venturers. 

A  vessel  named  the  Royal  Sovereign,  the  largest  iron  sailing 
ship  ever  built  at  this  port,  was  launched  by  Messrs.  W.  Patter- 
son &  Son  during  the  summer.  From  this  time  the  shipbuilding 
industry  in  Bristol,  formerly  very  extensive,  appears  to  have 
rapidly  declined. 

A  reference  to  the  extreme  drought  of  the  summer  of  1864 
has  been  made  in  narrating  the  progress  of  the  Bristol  Water 
Company  [p.  283] .  The  Council  took  active  measures  to  alle- 
viate the  suflTering  of  the  poor,  many  of  whom  depended  upon 
private  wells.  Several  of  these  becoming  exhausted,  200 
old  wells  were  reopened  and  pumps  erected  in  populous  dis- 
tricts. An  arrangement  was  also  made  by  which  the  vestry 
of  St.  John's  gave  up  to  the  city  the  parish  conduit,  upon 
the  Corporation  undertaking  to  maintain  it  for  the  future. 
A  suggestion  was  started  that  the  Council  should  purchase 
Mother  Pugsley's  well  [see  p.  249] ;  but  it  was  ascertained 


1864.]  A  NATAL   INCIDEKT.      PORT   IMPBOVSMENT.  411 

that  the  expense  would  be  great,  and  the  supply  very 
limited. 

Representations  were  made  to  the  Government  about  this 
time  by  Mr.  Berkeley,  M.P.,  of  the  claims  of  Bristol  and  the 
neighbouring  ports  to  a  visit  of  the  Channel  fleet — a  com- 
pliment which  had  been  already  paid  to  other  maritime 
towns.  Although  the  suggestion  could  not  be  complied  with, 
the  Admiralty  directed  that  the  armour-clad  frigate  Defence 
should  make  a  cruise  in  the  Bristol  Channel.  Accordingly, 
in  September,  the  Defence  dropped  anchor  off  Clevedon,  and 
her  commander,  Captain  Phillimore,  forthwith  received  an 
invitation  from  the  mayor  (Mr.  T.  P.  Jose)  offering  him  the 
hospitalities  of  Bristol.  Captain  Phillimore  thereupon  paid 
a  visit  to  the  city,  and  invited  the  mayor  and  other  leading 
residents  to  inspect  his  vessel.  A  small  steamer  having  been 
engaged,  a  numerous  party  embarked  for  the  excursion ;  but 
unfavourable  weather  greatly  marred  the  anticipated  pleasure 
of  the  trip,  and  on  nearing  the  Defence  the  pitching  of  the 
two  vessels  rendered  a  transit  from  one  to  the  other  more 
amusing  to  the  blue-jackets  than  to  the  guests.  The  visitors 
were  provided  with  a  luxurious  repast  on  board  the  frigate, 
and  were  honoured  with  a  salute  of  seven  guns  on  their 
departure.  The  return  journey  was  made  under  as  unpleasant 
circumstances  as  was  the  trip  down  channel.  One  unlucky 
member  of  the  Council  fell  into  the  Avon  while  attempting  to 
land  at  Shirehampton,  but  fortunately  sustained  no  injury. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Council  in  September,  the  Docks 
Committee  reported  iha^  Mr.  Howard,  their  engineer,  had 
prepared  new  plans  for  the  improvement  of  the  port,  which 
they  believed  could  be  executed  without  adding  to  the  exist- 
ing charges.  The  principal  features  of  the  revised  designs 
were :  a  new  and  more  commodious  entrance  lock  from  the 
Avon  into  Cumberland  Basin,  the  cost  of  which  was  estimated 
at  £127,580;  a  new  junction  lock  from  the  basin  into  the 
Floating  Harbour,  estimated  at  £72,450 ;  and  the  removal  of 
projecting  obstructions  on  both  sides  of  the  Avon,  including 
the  Hotwell  House,  Suspension  Bridge,  Bound,  Tea  and 
Cofiee  House,  and  Pheasant  Quarry  "  Points,"  the  outlay 
for  which  was  set  down  at  £95,470.  To  meet  the  interest 
on  the  expenditure — ^£300,000  in  round  numbers — ^the  com- 
mittee estimated  that  the  annual  surplus  income  of  the  dock 
estate  would  be  £13,000,  irrespective  of  prospective  increases; 
while  an  accumulated  surplus  of  £32,000  would  be  in  hand 
before  the  works  were  commenced.  The  plan  was  approved 
by  a  unanimous  vote  of  the  Council.    In  November,  1866,  a 


412  THE   ANNALS    OF   BRISTOL.  [1864. 

contract  was  entered  into  with  Mr.  Tredwell,  of  Birmingham, 
for  the  entrance  lock  at  Cumberland  Basin,  the  removal  of 
the  Sound  Point,  and  some  minor  improvements,  for  the  sum 
of  £184,023.  The  removal  of  the  rock  at  Tea  and  Coffee 
House  Point  was  then  in  progress.*  According  to  Mr. 
Howard's  design,  the  earth  removed  in  forming  the  lock 
and  in  cutting  off  the  "  points  "  was  to  have  been  employed 
in  filling  up  the  "bight"  in  front  of  the  Port  Railway 
station  and  the  opposite  bay  below  Nightingale  Valley,  by 
which  the  course  of  the  Avon  would  have  assumed  a  more 
symmetrical  form.  But  it  was  subsequently  resolved  to  make 
use  of  the  material  to  fill  up  three  of  the  great  quarries  which 
disfigured  the  Downs.  This  necessitated  the  construction  of 
a  tramway  along  the  river  side,  the  cutting  of  an  inclined 
plane  to  the  Down,  and  the  erection  of  an  engine-house  on 
the  summit  of  the  cliff.  The  improvement  works  were  in 
full  operation  by  the  summer  of  1867.  In  February,  1868, 
the  Council  resolved  to  proceed  with  the  inner  lock  and 
remaining  works,  at  an  estimated  cost  of  £157,000.  It  was 
stated  during  the  discussion,  that  although  the  dues  had 
been  reduced  by  one  half,  the  dock  receipts  had  increased 
from  £28,784  in  1847  to  over  £30,000  in  1867.  The  inner 
lock,  seventeen  feet  wider  than  the  old  one,  was  completed 
and  opened  on  the  16th  October,  1871 ;  the  works  at  Round 
Point  (which  had  involved  the  removal  of  a  shoulder  of  St. 
Vincent's  Rocks)  were  finished  soon  afterwards.  The  new 
entrance  lock  into  Cumberland  Basin,  a  noble  work,  was 
opened  on  the  19th  July,  1873.  In  the  following  Septem- 
ber, the  tramway  on  the  Down  was  removed,  after  having 
effected  great  improvements.  The  quarry  near  Upper  Bel- 
grave  Road  was  not,  however,  completely  filled  up  until  1880. 

On  the  11th  October,  1864,  the  fourth  annual  Church 
Congress  was  opened  in  Bristol  under  the  presidency  of  the 
bishop  of  the  diocese.  The  city  was  filled  with  distinguished 
clergymen  and  lay-supporters  of  the  Establishment,  and  the 
proceedings,  which  occupied  three  days,  excited  general 
interest.  The  visitors  were  the  objects  of  much  hospitable 
attention  on  the  part  of  leading  citizens. 

Amongst  the  mcidents  of  the  above  gathering  was  the 
somewhat  startling  appearance  of  a  Mr.  Lyne,  a  person  in 
deacon's  orders  styling  himself  Brother  Ignatius,  who  had 

*  A  pleasant  and  innocent  place  of  resort  wa^  destroyed  by  these  operations, 
wiihont  much  advantage  to  navigation,  the  rocky  bank  of  the  river  below  high- 
water  mark  being  left  practical]^  undisturbed  for  nearly  twenty  years.  The 
work  of  removing  the  rook  was  at  length  begun  in  1885,  and  is  still  unfinished. 


1864.]  MOCK   B£NEDICTINE8.  413 

assumed  the  costume  of  a  monk,  and  professed  to  have  re- 
founded  in  the  Church  of  England  the  monastic  system  of 
St.  Benedict.  Some  of  his  admirers  in  Bristol  had  already 
set  up  an  "  Order  of  St.  Benedict,"  composed  chiefly,  if  not 
wholly,  of  youthful  laymen,  who  hired  a  room  in  a  house  in 
Trinity  Street ;  and  three  or  four  clergymen — ^visitors  during 
the  Congress — assisted  at ''  Benedictine  services  "  held  there 
during  the  week.  At  a  later  date,  the  local  brethren  of  the 
"  order  "  removed  to  an  unoccupied  workshop  in  Trenchard 
Street,  where  their  eccentric  proceedings  caused  crowds  to 
assemble,  and  led  to  several  disturbances.  On  one  occasion 
two  of  the  brethren  attempted  to  take  part  in  the  service 
when  intoxicated,  and  as  they  declined  to  obey  the  ''prior/' 
a  youth  named  Dundas,  they  were  removed  by  the  police. 
On  being  informed  of  the  escapade.  Brother  Ignatius  sent 
an  order  to  the  prior  requiring  the  delinauents  to  perform 
penance  in  white  sheets  in  the  *'  oratory,  but  they  proved 
refractory,  and  were  "  excommunicated,"  amidst  great  uproar. 
At  the  Romanist  "  feast  of  the  Assumption,"  the  brethren, 
bearing  candles  and  banners,  and  chanting  hymns,  walked  in 
procession  through  several  streets,,  about  two  o'clock  in  the 
morning.  Exhibitions  of  this  kind  were  frequently  repeated, 
and  the  police  had  much  diflBculty  in  maintaining  order. 
After  several  unseemly  incidents.  Brother  Ignatius  fulminated 
a  decree  deposing  the  prior  (who  called  himself  Brother 
Cyprian) ;  but  the  latter  repudiated  the  authority  of  the  in- 
ventor of  the  order,  and  excommunicated  some  of  the  refrac- 
tory brothers  and  sisters  on  his  own  account.  Subsequently 
the  "  order  "  removed  to  Montpelier,  where  Brother  Cyprian, 
who  had  come  into  possession  of  a  valuable  estate,  built  a 
chapel,  established  a  "  home,"  and  started  a  newspaper.  The 
services  at  the  chapel  soon  attracted  a  great  number  of  pro- 
fligate young  people  of  both  sexes,  and,  after  many  unedifying 
scenes,  the  building — an  iron  one — was  presented  by  Mr. 
Dundas  to  the  Vicar  of  Bedminster,  who  placed  it  at  Ashton 
Gate,  and  opened  it  in  March,  1873,  as  a  chapel  of  ease.  [In 
June,  1883,  it  was  removed  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  on  the 
site  the  permanent  church  of  St.  Francis.]  In  1872,  through 
pecuniary  diflBculties,  Mr.  Dundas's  establishment  at  Mont- 
pelier was  altogether  broken  up. 

The  foundation  stone  of  a  new  church  in  Pembroke  lload, 
Clifton,  intended  to  be  dedicated  to  All  Saints,  was  laid  on 
the  3rd  November,  1864.  The  first  portion  erected  was  the 
chancel,  to  which  was  attached  a  large  temporary  nave,  and 
in  this  form  the  building  was  consecrated  in  June,   1868. 


414  THK   ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1864. 

Owing  to  the  large  proportions  and  costly  details  of  the 
edifice,  the  permanent  nave  was  not  ready  for  consecration 
until  August,  1872,  when  £27,000  had  been  expended. 
Upwards  of  £10,000  more  have  been  since  spent  on  the 
building.  Sufficient  funds  are  still  lacking  for  the  erection 
of  the  tower  and  spire,  although,  from  the  absence  of  those 
adornments,  the  church,  yiewed  from  a  distance,  presents  the 
appearance  of  a  gigantic  bam. 

To  increase  the  accommodation  for  Worshippers  in  St. 
James's  Church,  a  new  north  aisle  was  added  to  the  building 
during  the  autumn  of  1864,  at  a  cost  of  £4,000.  The  in- 
congruity of  its  style  of  architecture  with  that  of  the  original 
fabric  provoked  much  criticism. 

The  foundation  stone  of  a  proposed  harbour  of  refuge  for 
the  Bristol  Channel  was  laid,  or  rather  supposed  to  have  been 
laid,  ofi*  Brean  Down,  near  Weston-super-Mare,  on  the  5th 
November,  by  the  wife  of  Sir  John  Eardley  Wilmot,  bart., 
the  originator  of  the  company  formed  for  the  purpose.  The 
stone  was  lowered  into  the  sea  from  a  steamer  lying  off  the 
promontory,  a  buoy  being  attached  to  mark  its  whereabouts. 
Unfortunately  the  rope  was  of  insufficient  length,  and  as  the 
buoy  was  capable  of  sustaining  more  than  twice  the  weight 
of  the  stone,  the  latter  never  reached  the  bottom ;  and  at  the 
rise  of  the  next  tide  both  buoy  and  stone  drifted  away,  and 
were  lost.  The  incident  appears  to  have  had  a  depressing 
effect  on  the  undertaking,  which  was  eventually  abandoned. 
The  Bristol  and  Exeter  Railway  board  obtained  powers,  in 
1866,  to  connect  their  main  line  with  the  proposed  works,  but 
no  steps  in  that  direction  were  ever  taken. 

Oakfield  Road  Chapel,  erected  by  the  Unitarians  of  Clifton 
and  the  neighbourhood  at  a  cost  of  £6,000,  was  opened  in 
November  by  the  Rev.  James  Martineau,  of  London. 

Although  the  opening  of  the  Bristol  and  South  Wales 
Union  Railway  had  much  facilitated  intercourse  between 
Bristol  and  the  other  side  of  the  Channel,  it  was  confessed 
by  its  promoters  that  their  hopes  of  its  availability  for  heavy 
traffic  had  been  disappointed.  The  double  shifting  of  goods 
at  the  two  piers  was,  in  fact,  an  insuperable  obstacle  to  the 
transit  of  coal  and  iron;  and  as  the  enormous  mineral  re- 
sources of  South  Wales  were  more  largely  developed  every 
year,  the  urgent  need  of  placing  Bristol  in  closer  connection 
with  the  Principality  was  ever  more  widely  acknowledged. 
In  November,  1864,  notice  was  given  of  the  intended  prose- 
cation  of  a  Bill  in  the  following  session  for  diverting  the 
traffic  of   South  Wales  into   a   new   course.     Mr.  Fowler, 


1864.]  Bni&roL  channel  tunnel.  415 

engineer  to  tlie  Great  Western  Company,  designed  a  railway 
from  Wootton  Bassett  to  the  Old  Passage,  with  a  bridge  over 
the  Severn — an  immense  stmcture  two  miles  in  length, 
estimated  to  cost  £1,800,000.  This  project  being  obviously 
prejudicial  to  Bristol,  notice  was  given  of  another  Bill,  for  a 
tunnel  under  the  Severn  near  the  New  Passage,  the  construc- 
tion of  which,  according  to  the  estimates  of  Mr.  Bichardson, 
C.E.,  might  be  efEected  for  £750,000.  A  meeting  of  merchants 
and  traders  was  held  on  the  6th  January,  1865,  to  consider 
the  question,  when  it  was  stated  that  the  promoters  of  the 
tunnel  scheme  were  Messrs.  C.  J.  Thomas,  George  Wills, 
T.  T.  Taylor,  E.  S.  Eobinson,  and  M.  Whitwill.  Resolutions 
in  its  favour  were  adopted  unanimously;  but  the  construction 
of  a  tunnel  four  miles  in  length  unaer  an  arm  of  the  sea 
was  not  an  enterprise  likely  to  commend  itself  to  any  but 
robust-hearted  investors.  The  parliamentary  deposit  was 
not  forthcoming,  and  the  Bill  was  dropped.  The  Bill  author- 
ising the  bridge  obtained  the  royal  assent,  but  no  steps  were 
taken  to  carry  out  its  powers.  The  whole  subject,  in  fact, 
was  expelled  from  the  minds  of  capitalists  by  the  disastrous 

fanic  of  1866,  and  nothing  was  heard  of  it  tor  some  years, 
n  the  session  of  1872,  a  Bill  reviving  the  tunnel  project  was 
introduced  into  Parliament  by  private  persons ;  and  it  was 
soon  afterwards  announced  that  the  Great  Western  Railway 
board — moved  by  the  aggressive  designs  of  the  Midland 
Company  in  reference  to  South  Wales — had  resolved  to 
adopt  the  measure,  which  received  the  royal  assent.  Another 
Severn  bridge  scheme — on  this  occasion  at  Sharpness — ^was 
promoted  by  an  independent  company  under  the  patronage 
of  the  Midland  board,  and  also  received  legislative  sanction. 
The  first  sod  of  the  tunnel  works  was  cut  on  the  18th  March, 
1873,  near  Portskewet,  the  directors  having  resolved  to  make 
a  preliminary  investigation  into  the  nature  of  the  strata  by 
cutting  a  six-feet  driftway  under  the  Channel.  The  sinking 
of  a  shaft  for  this  purpose  was  greatly  impeded  by  land 
springs,  which  poured  into  the  works  to  such  an  extent  that 
powerful  pumping  machinery  was  required  to  overcome  the 
difficulty,  and  it  was  not  until  October,  1874,  that  tenders 
were  invited  for  the  first  section  of  the  "heading."  The 
proposals  received  being  much  in  excess  of  the  estimates,  the 
directors  resolved  to  carry  out  the  experiment  by  their  own 
officers.  Only  120  yards  of  the  driftway  remained  to  be 
excavated  to  unite  the  two  ends  when,  in  October,  1879, 
another  prodigious  flood  of  water,  proceeding  from  land 
springs  near  Portskewet,  burst  into  the  southern  headway, 


41G  THE   ANNALS  OF  BRISTOL.  [1864. 

and  welled  up  into  the  shaft.  A  contract  was  now  entered 
into  for  the  completion  of  the  undertaking,  and  Sir  John 
Hawkshaw  was  engaged  as  engineer  in  chief.  Under  his 
advice  the  line  of  the  tunnel  was  lowered  15  feet,  in  order 
to  maintain  more  "  cover  "  under  the  Channel,  and  in  con- 
sequence of  this  alteration  it  was  subsequently  found  ad- 
visable to  make  a  second  driftway  beneath  the  original  one. 
Further  additions  were  made  as  rapidly  as  possible  to  the 
already  numerous  steam  pumps,  but  more  than  a  twelvemonth 
passed  away  before  the  invading  waters  could  be  effectually 
walled  out.  In  February,  1881,  the  directors,  in  announcing 
that  the  difficulty  had  been  surmounted,  stated  that  the 
nature  of  the  strata  (principally  hard  rock)  had  proved  satis- 
factory, and  that  the  construction  of  the  permanent  tunnel 
had  been  begun.  The  two  ends  of  the  driftway  were  united 
in  the  following  September,  when  the  centres  were  found  to 
join  within  three  inches.  In  April,  1881,  an  irruption  of 
water  took  place  on  the  Gloucestershire  side  of  the  Severn, 
which  for  a  time  exceeded  the  power  of  the  pumping  ma- 
chinery. A  more  serious  disaster  occurred  in  October,  1883, 
when  a  third  outburst  of  Monmouthshire  land  water,  the 
volume  of  which  was  estimated  at  25,000  gallons  per  minute, 
occurred  near  the  site  of  the  disaster  of  1879.  Although  the 
effects  of  the  irruption  were  circumscribed  by  the  walls  built 
for  the  purpose,  the  tunnel  was  flooded  to  the  extent  of  a  mile 
and  a  half,  and  a  lengthy  delay  occurred  before  the  water 
could  be  overcome  by  the  help  of  four  additional  pumping 
engines.  This  was  the  last  serious  difficulty  encountered,  the 
flooding  of  a  section  by  a  huge  tidal  wave  in  October,  1883, 
being  only  a  transient  embarrassment.  The  works,  on  which 
5,000  men  were  for  some  time  employed,  were  so  far  com- 
pleted that  a  passenger  train  containing  Sir  Daniel  Gooch, 
chairman  of  the  Great  Western  board,  and  several  of  his 
brother  directors,  passed  through  the  tunnel — which  is  7,664 
yards  in  length — on  the  5th  September,  1885.  It  was  stated 
that  75  millions  of  vitrified  bricks  had  been  used  in  the  con- 
struction. Much,  however,  remained  to  be  done  before  the 
undertaking  could  be  made  available  for  traffic.  The  doub- 
ling of  the  Bristol  and  South  Wales  Union  line,  involving  the 
widening  of  the  tunnel  at  Patchway  was  found  indispensable^ 
and  this  and  other  alterations  required  considerable  time. 
An  experimental  train,  laden  with  Welsh  coal  for  Southamp- 
ton,  passed  through  the  tunnel,  however,  on  the  9th  January, 
1886.  For  the  purpose  of  ventilation,  a  fan  was  afterwards 
erected  on  the  Sudbrook  side  capable  of  discharging  240,000 


1865.]  THE   8SVEBN   BRIDGE.      JOHN   HAMPDEN.  417 

feet  of  air  per  minute.  The  tunnel  was  opened  for  regular 
passenger  traffic,  without  any  ceremony,  on  the  1st  December. 
The  total  cost  of  the  undertaking  was  then  estimated  at  about 
two  millions  sterling. 

As  the  Severn  Bridge  scheme  has  been  casually  mentioned 
in  the  above  narrative,  it  may  be  added  that  its  promoters 
succeeded  in  erecting,  near  Purton  Passage,  the  longest  and 
perhaps  the  most  remarkable  structure  of  the  kind  in  the 
kingdom,  consisting  of  twenty-two  large  arches  extending 
over  a  space  of  1,887  yards.  The  cost  of  the  bridge,  includ- 
ing the  railways  connecting  it  with  the  Great  Western  system 
in  the  Forest  of  Dean  and  with  the  Midland  line  near 
Berkeley,  was  about  £400,000.  It  was  opened  amidst  much 
local  rejoicing  on  the  17th  October,  1879. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Council  in  January,  1865,  it  was 
determined  to  appoint  a  committee,  to  be  called  the  Sanitary 
Committee,  for  the  purpose  of  exercising  the  powers  of  the 
Local  Government  Act,  under  which  increased  facilities  were 
offered  for  effectiug  public  improvements.  The  new  body, 
which  took  the  place  of  the  Board  of  Health  Committee,  was 
itself  superseded,  under  the  provisions  of  the  Public  Health 
Act  of  1872,  by  the  '^  Sanitary  Authority,'^  consisting  of  all 
the  members  of  the  Council.  Mr.  Josiah  Thomas,  about  the 
same  date,  became  sole  city  surveyor. 

Some  amusement  was  created  about  this  time  by  the  lucu- 
brations of  a  gentleman  named  John  Hampden,  who,  having 
convinced  himself  of  the  impending  destruction  of  the  world, 
published  a  local  periodical  styled  The  Armourei*,  with  a  view 
of  awakening  a  thoughtless  and  unconverted  community  to 
its  approaching  doom.  Mr.  Hampden  proclaimed  in  Janu- 
ary, 1865,  that  England  had  seen  its  last  '^  merry  Christmas ;" 
and  for  several  successive  months  his  predictions  of  an  im- 
minent cataclysm  became  more  positive  and  more  gloomy. 
Eventually  he  admitted  that  the  final  catastrophe  might  pos- 
sibly be  reserved  for  1866,  but  this  was  the  extreme  limit 
conceded  to  papacy  and  infidelity.  Even  in  December  of 
the  latter  year  he  stoutly  repeated  his  prognostications ;  but 
as  events  were  not  precisely  in  accord  with  his  fears — or 
rather,  apparently,  with  his  hopes — The  Armourer  ceased  to 
appear,  and  its  author  removed  to  London.  Mr.  Hampden 
afterwards  gained  notoriety  by  first  making  a  bet  of  £1,000 
that  an  impartially  conducted  engineering  experiment  would 
prove  the  world  to  be  a  plane,  and  then — when  the  said 
experiment  had  proved  the  contrary — appealing  to  the  law 
courts  to  debar  the  gentleman  who  had  won  the  wager  from 

£   E 


418  THE   AKKALS   Of   BRISTOL.  [1865. 

recovering  his  money.  In  the  course  of  the  controversy  he 
was  amerced  in  £600  damages  for  libelling  his  antagonist^ 
and  was  afterwards  sentenced  to  two  lengthy  terms  of  im- 
prisonment for  repeating  his  annoyances. 

In  February,  1865,  the  Council  entered  into  negotiations 
with  the  Ecclesiastical  Commissioners  for  the  purchase  of 
Rownham  Ferry,  part  of  the  ancient  estate  of  the  Abbey  of 
St.  Augustine's,  and .  subsequently  of  the  Dean  and  Chapter 
of  Bristol.  The  ferry  was  transferred  to  the  Corporation  in 
August,  1866,  for  the  sum  of  £10,000. 

During  the  later  years  of  the  reign  of  George  IV.,  Sir  C. 
Wetherell,  recorder  of  Bristol,  held  two  criminal  assizes 
annually  for  the  city  under  the  charter  of  Edward  III. 
After  the  events  of  1831,  Sir  Charles  discontinued  this  cus- 
tom ;  and  in  1835  the  Corporations  Reform  Act  abolished  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  recorder  in  weighty  criminal  cases,  prisoners 
charged  with  grave  crimes  being  thenceforth  remitted  for 
trial  to  the  Gloucestershire  assizes,  to  the  great  inconvenience 
of  prosecutors  and  witnesses.  The  Council,  shortly  after  its 
institution,  and  several  times  afterwards,  addressed  urgent, 
but  fruitless,  appeals  to  the  Government  for  the  restoration  of 
the  criminal  assizes.  Eariy  in  1865,  it  was  intimated  to  the 
mayor  that  the  desire  of  the  city  would  at  length  be  complied 
with ;  and  the  first  commission  was  opened  on  the  31st  March. 
Contrary  to  the  custom  of  centuries,  the  name  of  the  mayor 
was  not  on  this  occasion  associated  with  that  of  the  judges  in 
the  commission  of  oyer  and  terminer;  but  the  Council  pro- 
tested against  the  withdrawal  of  an  ancient  privilege,  and 
the  Home  Secretary  promised  that  the  omission  should  not 
be  repeated.  It  now  became  necessary  to  provide  a  second 
assize  court,  the  Guildhall  furnishing  only  a  court  for  civil 
cases,  and  the  Finance  Committee,  to  whom  the  matter  was 
referred,  were  forthwith  besieged  by  rival  projectors.  In 
addition  to  plans  for  the  erection  of  additional  buildings  at 
the  rear  of  the  Guildhall,  designs  were  sent  in  for  entirely 
new  law  courts  in  Queen  Square,  upon  the  Float  near  the 
Stone  Bridge,  on  the  site  of  Colston  Hall,  on  the  site  of  the 
Upper  Arcade,  and  other  places.  "  The  battle  of  the  sites  ** 
was  fought  for  a  time  with  as  much  obstinacy  as  'Hhe  battle 
of  the  docks,"  and  was  marked  by  similar  vicissitudes.  The 
Council  in  the  first  instance  approved  of  a  costly  proposal  to 
build  upon  the  Float ;  but  the  Dock  Committee  having  pro- 
tested vigorously  against  any  diminution  of  the  harbour,  the 
vote  was  practically  annulled.  The  Queen's  Square  site  was 
next  recommended  for  adoption  by  the  Finance  Committee, 


1865.]        NSW  ASSIZE   COURT.      JOINT    BAILWAT   STATION.  419 

bat  an  influentially  attended  meeting  in  tlie  Guildhall  adopted 
a  memorial  emphatically  condemning  the  project.  On  the  Ist 
January^  1866,  when  the  report  of  the  committee  was  dis- 
cussed by  the  Council,  an  amendment  in  favour  of  the  Guild- 
hall  site  was  negatived  by  29  votes  against  25.  Another 
amendment,  approving  of  the  Stone  Bridge  site,  was  also 
rejected  by  31  votes  against  21.  Proposals  in  favour  of 
College  Green,  the  Haymarket,  and  the  Exchange  were  suc- 
cessively negatived  without  a  division.  Finally,  the  report 
recommending  the  Queen  Square  site  was  rejected  by  87 
votes  against  13.  Still  another  motion,  affirming  the  expe- 
diency of  petitioning  the  Government  to  revoke  the  grant  of 
an  assize,  was  defeated  by  a  overwhelming  majority.  The 
Council  is  reported  to  have  made  merry  over  the  negative 
results  of  the  debate,  but  the  comments  of  the  ratepayers  on 
the  proceedings  were  the  reverse  of  complimentary.  It  soon 
became  impossible  to  ignore  the  preponderating  opinion  of 
the  citizens,  and  at  another  Council  meeting,  in  March,  it 
was  resolved  to  build  the  new  court  on  property  belonging 
to  the  Corporation,  at  the  back  of  the  existing  hall,  plans 
being  asked  for  to  carry  out  that  determination.  When  the 
proffered  designs  were  considered,  however,  it  was  f oijnd  that 
a  satisfactory  result  would  be  impracticable  unless  the  site  of 
a  house  belonging  to  Christ  Church  parish  were  made  avail- 
able. Much  dissatisfaction  was  created  by  the  bungling  of 
the  authorities,  while  the  judges,  who  found  most  incon- 
venient provision  made  for  the  assizes,  did  not  conceal  their 
indignation  at  the  discomfort  of  the  arrangements  and  at  the 
lethargy  of  the  Corporation.  In  August,  1867,  the  Council  at 
length  adopted  the  plan  which  was  eventually  carried  into 
effect.  The  architect  succeeded  in  preserving  two  Roman- 
esque chambers  in  the  mansion  in  Small  Street  erroneously 
styled  ''Colston's.'*  The  new  building  cost  £16,000.  A  por- 
tion of  it  was  used  by  the  judges  for  the  first  time  at  the 
August  assizes  in  1870,  and  the  second  court  was  opened  at 
the  spring  assizes  of  the  following  year.  The  interesting 
ancient  apartments  were  granted  to  the  Incorporated  Law 
Society,  who  fitted  them  up  for  their  library. 

The  Council,  at  a  meeting  in  February,  1865,  resolved  to 
enforce  the  provisions  of  a  permissive  Act  by  which  public 
houses  and  refreshment  rooms  were  required  to  be  closed 
between  the  hours  of  one  and  four  o'clock  in  the  morning. 
The  new  regulation  materially  added  to  the  tranquillity  of 
the  streets. 

During  the  parliamentary  session  of  1865,  a  Bill  was  intro- 


420  THE  ANNALS   OF  BBI8T0L.  [1865. 

dnced  on  behalf  of  the  Great  Western,  Midland,  and  Bristol 
and  Exeter  Railway  Companies,  empowering  them  to  co-ope- 
rate in  the  erection  of  a  new  joint  station  at  Temple  Meads. 
After  the  measure  bad  become  law,  the  companies  disagreed 
amongst  themselves  as  to  the  proportionate  amounts  which 
they  should  contribute  towards  the  outlay,  and  nothing  was 
done  for  several  years.  In  August,  1870,  it  was  asserted  at 
a  meeting  of  the  Bristol  and  Exeter  Company  that  their 
Bristol  station — designed  by  Mr.  Brunei — ^was  ^^  the  most  dis- 
graceful, dangerous,  difficult,  and  impracticable  in  Europe.*' 
At  length,  in  February,  1871,  the  companies  came  to  an 
understanding,  and  the  construction  of  the  new  building 
commenced.  The  work  was  one  of  much  difficulty,  since  the 
structure  had  to  be  reared  without  interfering  with  the  traffic 
on  the  three  lines.  The  "  down  '*  platform  was  opened  for  pas- 
sengers on  the  6th  July,  1874,  and  the  entire  station — ^which 
cost  nearly  £300,000 — was  completed  shortly  afterwards. 

The  local  newspapers  of  the  3rd  June,  1865,  contained  an 
appeal  for  subscriptions  on  behalf  of  a  proposed  Hospital  for 
Sick  Children.     [An  institution  for  youthful  sufferers,  under  a 
somewhat  different  name,  had  existed  in  St.  James's  Square 
since  1357,  but  treated  only  out-patients.]     The  promoters 
intended  at  the  outset  to  fit  up  a  suitable  house   for   the 
reception  of  a  few  patients,  and  asked  for  only  £300  a  year 
to  set  the  establishment  on  foot,     The  appeal  was  signed  by 
Messrs.  Mark  Whitwill,  W.  K.  Wait,  W.  Turner,  A.  Phillips, 
A.  N.  Herapath,  T.  Fry,  and  Dr.  Carter.     A  dwelling  in  the 
Royal  Fort  was  soon  afterwards  purchased  for  £750,  and  was 
opened  on  the  20th  October,  1866.     A  bazaar  held  a  few 
weeks  later  yielded  a  profit  of  over  £1,600.     The  building 
having  been  found  too  contracted  for  the  requirements  of  the 
charity,  a  meeting  was  held  in  April,  1882,  to  promote  the 
erection  of  a  large  and  commodious  hospital,  near  the  same 
spot,  in  a  style  worthy  of  the  city.   A  design  in  the  Tudor  style 
having  been  selected,  the  foundation  stone  of  the  structure 
was  laid  on  the  5th  April,  1883,  by  the  Duchess  of  Beaufort, 
who  also  opened  the  new  hospital  on  the  Ist  August,  1885. 
The  outlay  for  the  new  building  was  nearly  £20,000. 

In  the  course  of  the  summer  the  directors  of  the  Liverpool 
and  London  and  Globe  Insurance  Company  purchased  exten- 
sive premises  in  Corn  Street,  for  the  purpose  of  buildings 
offices  upon  the  site.  One  of  the  houses,  some  of  the  upper 
apartments  of  which  had  been  occupied  by  the  Law  Library 
from  its  establishment  in  1818,  was  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
and  contained  a  stately  Elizabethan  chimneypiece,  with  an 


1865.]       ELECTION.      IMPORTANT   STREET   IMPROVEMENTS.  421 

elaborately  ornamented  ceiling  and  panelling.  (These  relics 
were  purchased  by  Alderman  Baker^  who  had  them  recon- 
structed in  the  dining-room  of  Broomfield  House^  near  Bris- 
lington.)  The  new  building — which  surpasses  all  others  in 
the  city  as  regards  the  richness  of  its  front — cost  £11,500. 
The  Law  Library  Society,  as  has  been  already  recorded,  found 
accommodation  in  the  new  Law  Courts,  Small  Street. 

On  the  dissolution  of  Parliament,  in  July,  Mr.  Berkeley 
again  offered  his  services  to  the  citizens.  Mr.  Langton  retired 
into  private  life,  and  the  candidate  adopted  as  his  successor 
by  the  Liberal  party  was  Sir  Samuel  Morton  Peto,  bart.,  a 
member  of  a  great  firm  of  railway  contractors.  The  Conserva- 
tive aspirant  was  Mr.  Thomas  Francis  Fremantle,  son  of  Sir 
T.  F.  Fremantle  (afterwards  Lord  Cottesloe),  the  former  owner 
— through  a  Bristol  ancestor — of  Pugsley's  field.  The  result 
of  the  poll  on  the  12th  July  was  as  follows:  Mr.  Berkeley, 
5,296 ;  Sir  S.  M.  Peto,  5,228 ;  Mr.  Fremantle,  4,269.  The 
Conservative  press  insinuated  that  the  defeat  of  their  party 
was  due  to  bribery;  and,  although  no  proof  was  offered  in  sup- 
port of  the  charge,  it  was  undeniable  that  the  expenditure 
of  Sir  Morton  Peto  was  extremely  profuse.  According  to  the 
official  return,  the  outlay  on  behalf  of  Berkeley  and  Peto  was 
£4,500,  against  £1,614  spent  by  the  Tory  candidate. 

An  Industrial  Exhibition  was  opened  on  the  19th  Septem- 
ber, the  event  being  celebrated  by  a  general  holiday.  The 
Prime  Minister,  Lord  Palmerston,  had  undertaken  to  be 
present,  but  owing  to  severe  illness,  which  proved  fatal  in  the 
following  month,  he  was  unable  to  fulfil  his  promise.  In  the 
morning  a  procession  of  trades  marched  through  the  principal 
streets  to  the  Council  House,  where  it  was  joined  by  the  mayor, 
sheriff,  and  corporate  officials,  and  the  gathering  then  pro- 
ceeded to  the  Drill  Hall,  at  which  the  bishop,  Mr.  Berkeley, 
M.P.,  the  committee,  and  many  leading  citizens  had  already 
assembled.  The  inaugural  ceremony  passed  off  amidst  general 
applause.  The  exhibition  was  highly  successful,  the  number 
of  visitors  having  been  nearly  117,000,  and  the  gross  receipts 
£3,254.  Out  of  the  profits,  £431  were  awarded  to  exhibitors 
in  the  shape  of  prizes,  which  were  presented  by  Mr.  Berkeley, 
and  £575  were  distributed  amongst  the  principal  local  charities. 
The  chairman  of  the  committee,  Mr.  J.  M.  Kempster,  was 
presented  with  an  elegant  silver  salver  in  recognition  of  his 
energetic  services.  In  1871  Mr.  Kempster  presented  the 
salver  to  the  Corporation,  and  it  now  forms  part  of  the  civic 
plate  at  the  Mansion  House. 

The  revival  of  local  trade,  which  became  marked  during 


422  THE  ANNALS   Of  BRISTOL.  [1865. 

the  autumn  of  this  year,  induced  the  authorities  to  recognise 
the  urgency  of  various  street  improvements  which  had  been 
from  time  to  time  deferred.     The  first  work  undertaken  was 
the  opening  of  a  new  thoroughfare  from  College  Green  to 
Hotwell  Road^  the  then  existing  route  by  Cow  Street  (now 
buried  under  Park  Street  viaduct)  and  Frog  Lane  being  not 
merely  inconvenient  but  dangerous.     The  dean  and  chapter 
co-operated  in  this  undertaking,  which  included  the  lowering 
of  the  road  in  front  of  the  cathedral — leaving  the  threshold 
of  the  original  north  doorway  three  feet  above  the  new  level 
— and  the  removal  of  a  large  portion  of  the  deanery.*     More 
important  operations  were  ordered  by  the  Council  in  Septem- 
ber.    A  sub-committee  recommended  the  adoption  of  a  plan 
by  Mr.  R.  S.  Pope  for  improving  the  gradient  of  Park  Street 
from  the  Mayor's  Chapel  to  Great  George  Street.    The  design 
contemplated  bridging  over  Unity  Street  as  well  as  Progmore 
Street,  and  the  purchasing  of  about  forty  houses,  at  an  esti- 
mated cost  of  £31,000.     The  Council  limited  the  line  of  im- 
provement to  the  space  between  the  top  of  Unity  Street  and 
the  (then)  Philosophical  Institute,  the  net  outlay  being  esti- 
mated at  £11,400.     [The  actual  cost  of  the  new  street,  opened 
on  the  4th  April,  1871,  was  £27,000.]     The  second  scheme — 
for  the  construction  of  a  new  street  from  the  northern  end  of 
Thomas   Street  to  the  railway  terminus — was  practically  a 
revival  of  the  design  of  1845.     Mr.  S.  C.  Fripp,  who  laid  out 
the  later  plan,  estimated  the  net  cost  at  £53,000.     [It  actually 
cost  about  £46,000.]    Two  proposals  were  made  by  Mr.  Josiah 
Thomas,  the  first  being  for  widening  the  roadways  leading 
from  Redcross  Street  and  Old  Market  Street,  while  the  second 
was  for  opening  a  thoroughfare  from  Old  Market  Street  to 
Stoke's  Croft,  the  net  estimated  expenditure  being  £8,700. 
Finally  Mr.  Pope  proposed  a  new  road  from  the  western  end 
of  Maudlin  Street  to  Upper  Park  Row,  the  expense  being  es- 
timated at  £9,200.     [The  outlay  was  actually  £13,000.]      All 
the  schemes  were  approved.     In  November,  1867,  another 
series  of  improvements,  completing  plans  already  partially 
executed,  was  ordered  to  be  carried  out.     It  included  further 
alterations  in  and  near  Deanery  Road,  Park  Row,  Redcliff 
Street,  Temple  Street,  Narrow  Wine  Street,  Redcross  Street, 
Baldwin  Street,  Com  Street,  and  Bedminster.     In  addition 
to  these  works  it  was  resolved  to  make  a  new  street  (Colston 
Street)    from    Colston   Hall   to   Maudlin    Street,    to    extend 

•  In  carryinf?  out  this  improvement,  the  corporate  officials  wantonly  destroyed 
a  trefoiled  Gothic  parapet  on  each  pidc  of  the  steps  leading  into  College  Green 
in  front  of  the  High  Cross,  and  replaced  it  by  an  ugly  iron  handrail. 


1865.]  ROMAN   SSUCS.      LOYIRS'   WALK.  423 

Jamaica  Street,  and  to  construct  a  road  from  Victoria  Square 
to  Carlton  Place,  another  from  Victoria  Square  to  Clifton 
Park,  and  a  third  from  Clifton  Park  into  Pembroke  Road. 
The  net  cost  was  estimated  at  £126,000.  Parliamentary 
sanction  having  been  obtained  in  due  course,  the  whole  of  the 
improvements  were  completed  in  a  few  years. 

During  the  autumn  of  1865,  two  pigs  of  lead,  each  bearing 
a  Roman  inscription,  were  disinterred  near  Wade  Street,  on 
what  anciently  had  been  the  bank  of  the  Froom  before  the 
river  was  narrowed  at  that  point.  Both  the  pigs  had  been 
cast  in  a  mould  in  which  the  name  of  the  reigning  emperor 
had  been  mutilated,  but  competent  antiquaries  believed  the 
inscription  to  refer  to  Antoninus  Pius.  Being  the  only  im- 
portant Roman  relics  ever  discovered  in  Bristol,  the  discovery 
excited  some  interest,  and  a  paper  on  the  subject  appeared 
in  the  ArcluBological  Journal  for  1866. 

In  October,  1865,  a  large  portion  of  the  beautiful  grove 
known  as  Lovers'  Walk,  Redland,  was  sold  by  auction  by 
order  of  the  executors  of  the  late  owner,  Mr.  James  Evan 
Baillie.     One  lot,  consisting  of  two  closes  of  land  and  part  of 
the  avenue,  altogether  about  10  acres,  sold  for  £4,620.     An- 
other lot,  known  as  the  Long-acre,  and  including  the  lower 
part  of  the  grove,  with  an  area  of  about  4^  acres,  was  sold 
for  £2,740  to  Mr.  G.  0.  Edwards,  who  had  privately  bought 
from  the   executors  the  mansion  and   grounds  of  Redland 
Court.    The  first-mentioned  lot  was  forthwith  mapped  out  for 
sale  in  building  sites;  but  Mr.  George  Thomas  and  a  few  other 
public-spirited  citizens,  in  order  to  prevent  the  entire  destruc- 
tion of  an  agreeable  resort,  made  an  agreement  with  the  new 
owners  by  which  one  of  the  best  parts  of  the  avenue  was  pre- 
served.    In  February,  1879,  it  was  reported  to  the  Council 
that  Mr.  Francis  Fry  and  his  brother,  owners  of  that  portion 
of  the  property  extending  from  South  Road  to  the  end  of 
Cotham  Grove,  had  offered  to  convey  an  area  of  four  acres  to 
the   Corporation  for  the  use  of  the  public.     The  offer  was 
gratefully  accepted.     The  land  adjoining  the  walk  was  subse- 
quently enclosed  and  laid  out  as  a  pleasure  ground,  at  a  cost 
of  about  £850.     Finally,  in  September,  1884,  it  was  reported 
to  the  Council  that  Mr.  W.  H.  Edwards,  son  of  Mr.  G.  0. 
Edwards,  had  executed  a  conveyance  to  the  Corporation  of 
that  part  of  the  avenue  which  extended  from  Redland  Road 
to  near  the  railway  bridge,  for  the  perpetual  enjoyment  of 
the  public.     A  cordial  vote  of  thanks  was  accorded  to  the 
donor.     About  the  same  date,  Mr.  Edwards  disposed  of  Red- 
land  Court  and  its  surrounding  grounds  for  £12,250.     The 


424  THS   ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1865. 

mansion  was  soon  afterwards  acquired  for  the  Bedland  High 
School  for  girls. 

The  rinderpest,  or  cattle  plague,  reached  this  country  during 
the  autumn,  and  spread  rapidly  over  the  island,  more  than 
200,000  animals  being  attacked  within  a  few  months.  Of 
these  over  120,000  died  from  the  malady,  while  40,000  more 
were  killed.  In  some  localities  the  recoveries  did  not  exceed 
two  or  three  per  cent,  of  the  animals  affected.  The  parish  of 
Bitton  especially  suffered  in  this  district.  It  was  literally 
swept  by  the  pestilence,  upwards  of  two  hundred  head  of 
cattle  falling  victims  in  a  few  days.  Stringent  measures  were 
taken  by  the  local  authorities  to  check  the  spread  of  the 
pest.  The  movement  of  stock,  at  first  limited  to  fat  animals 
ready  for  slaughtering,  was  eventually  wholly  prohibited. 
Butchers  were  consequently  obliged  to  kill  their  purchases  at 
the  farms  where  they  were  fed.  The  Bristol  cattle  market 
was  not  re-opened  for  store  cattle  until  June,  1867. 

An  iron  church,  erected  in  Tyndall's  Park  for  the  accom- 
modation of  the  rapidly  increasing  residents  in  that  locality, 
was  opened  on  the  13th  December.  Funds  having  gradually 
accumulated  for  the  construction  of  a  permanent  churchy 
dedicated  to  St.  Mary,  building  operations  commenced  about 
the  close  of  1870,  and  part  of  the  choir  was  consecrated  by 
Bishop  Ellicottin  June,  1874.  [The  iron  building,  become 
unnecessary,  was  removed  to  Woolcott  Park  in  1875,  where 
it  was  again  the  forerunner  of  a  permanent  edifice,  St. 
Saviour's.]  The  western  portion  of  St.  Mary's  was  finished 
about  seven  years  later,  when  nearly  £10,000  had  been  spent 
upon  the  building. 

On  the  15th  December  a  disturbance  occurred  in  Clare 
Street,  the  record  of  which  will  probably  be  regarded  by 
later  generations  as  denoting  a  curious  survival  of  lower- 
class  intolerance.  A  French  merchant  captain,  whose  vessel 
was  lying  at  the  Grove,  was  walking  down  the  street  in  com- 
pany with  his  wife,  when  the  peculiar  head-dress  of  the  latter 
— ^who  was  probably  a  Breton  woman — attracted  the  atten- 
tion of  a  number  of  boys,  and  a  crowd  rapidly  gathered 
around.  A  rumour  then  spread  that  the  lady  was  a  Mrs. 
Law,  who  had  been  lecturing  during  the  week  against 
Christianity,  and  the  report  so  excited  the  rabble  that  they 
made  a  violent  attack  on  the  unfortunate  foreigners,  who 
had  at  last  to  beg  for  refuge  in  a  neighbouring  shop.  After 
keeping  out  of  sight  for  some  time,  the  refugees  made  an 
attempt  to  return  to  their  ship ;  but  the  populace  arain  sur- 
rounded them,  and  the  captain  was  so  brutally  ill-treated 


1866.]  BRISTOL   LIBBAB7.      BRISTOL   INSTITUTION.  425 

that  he  and  his  wife^  whose  life  was  also  seriously  menaced^ 
were  again  driven  to  appeal  for  protection.  A  body  of 
policemen^  which  at  length  arrived^  had  great  difficulty  in 
reaching  the  luckless  couple^  the  mob  surging  around  the 
place  and  refusing  to  disperse.  After  considerable  delay^ 
the  pair  were  removed  to  their  vessel  in  a  cab,  followed  by 
a  howling  multitude. 

At  the  close  of  this  year,  on  the  retirement  of  Mr.  C.  T. 
Bales,  Stamp  Distributor  for  the  city,  the  office,  which  from 
its  lucrativeness  was  one  of  the  great  prizes  of  party  patron- 
age in  ante-Reform  days,  was  abolished,  the  duties  being 
arterwards  performed  by  the  Inland  Revenue  authorities. 

The  financial  condition  of  the  kindred  societies  at  the 
two  extremities  of  Park  Street — the  Bristol  Library  and 
the  Institution — had  for  some  time  previous  to  1866  caused 
much  anxiety  to  their  supporters.  The  Library  Society  had 
somewhat  increased  its  roll  of  subscribers  since  its  removal 
from  King  Street,  but  its  funds  were  inadeauate  to  maintain 
it  in  a  state  of  efficiency.  It  now  received  notice  from  the 
Headquarters  Company  that  it  must  pay  a  greatly  increased 
rent,  or  remove  elsewhere.  The  subscribers  to  the  Park 
Street  Institution  had  been  diminishing  for  many  years, 
and  an  energetic  effort  was  evidently  required  to  save  it 
from  dissolution.  In  the  meantime  the  apartments  devoted 
to  the  museum  had  become  too  contracted  for  the  proper 
display  of  the  contents,  and  no  funds  existed  for  their  ex- 
tension. In  the  face  of  these  embarrassments,  a  proposal  to 
unite  the  two  institutions,  and  to  place  their  treasures  of 
literature,  science,  and  art  under  a  single  roof,  was  received 
with  much  approval.  A  joint  committee  having  been  ap- 
pointed, steps  were  taken  for  the  purchase  of  a  piece  of 
ground  adjoining  the  Drill  Hall,  and  the  plot  was  acquired 
for  £2,500.  Plans  for  the  proposed  building  having  been 
obtained  in  June,  a  design  in  the  Venetian  style  was  selected. 
Meetings  for  giving  legal  effect  to  the  union  were  held  early 
in  1867,  and  were  practically  unanimous.  Financial  re- 
sources, however,  continuing  to  be  painfully  deficient,  a 
meeting  was  held  in  January,  1868,  the  mayor  (Mr.  P. 
Adams)  presiding,  when  the  committee  reported  that  the 
new  building,  even  though  certain  portions  would  be  post- 
poned, could  not  be  erected  under  a  cost  of  £17,000,  and  an 
urgent  appeal  was  made  to  the  citizens  to  contribute  £5,000 
towards  that  sum.  The  report  went  on  to  promise  that,  if 
the  amount  in  question  were  forthcoming,  the  museum  should 
be  opened  free  on  certain  days  of  the  week,  and  students 


426  THS  ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1866. 

of  limited  means  should  be  admitted  to  the  library  either  gra- 
tuitously or  at  a  reduced  payment.  The  response  of  the  city 
was,  however,  disappointing,  only  a  few  liberal  contributions 
being  received,  and  the  committee  were  compelled  to  open 
the  building  in  an  unfinished  condition.  Early  in  1871,  when 
about  £14,000  had  been  expended,  the  two  institutions  took 
possession,  and  started  on  their  joint  career  under  the  style 
of  the  Bristol  Museum  and  Library.  About  the  same  time^ 
the  old  Institution  at  the  bottom  of  Park  Street  became  the 
property  of  the  Freemasons  of  the  district  for  £5,960.  [After 
undergoing  internal  re-construction  and  decoration,  the  build- 
ing was  "dedicated"  to  the  purposes  of  the  craft  by  the  Earl 
of  Limerick,  P.G.M.,  on  the  2nd  February,  1872.]  In  1873-4 
the  committee  made  another  appeal  to  the  public  to  enable 
them  to  proceed  further  with  the  original  design,  by  erecting 
a  lecture  room,  a  museum  of  antiquities  and  industrial  pro- 
ducts, and  certain  much-needed  offices,  but  the  subscriptions 
were  far  from  adequate  to  meet  the  expenditure  (£7,000) ;  and 
the  institution  was  saddled  with  a  heavy  debt,  the  interest  on 
which  has  since  crippled  its  executive  and  grievously  impaired 
its  efficiency  and  usefulness. 

A  Bill  passed  through  Parliament  in  the  session  of  1866^ 
authorising  the  construction  of  the  Bristol  Harbour  Junction 
Railway  and  Wharf  Depdt,  a  scheme  promoted  with  the 
view  of  lessening  the  traffic  in  over-crowded  thoroughfares 
by  forwarding  goods  directly  from  fihe  quays  to  the  railway 
station.  The  cost  was  estimated  at  £165,000,  which  outlay 
was  to  be  divided  between  the  Great  Western  Company,  the 
Bristol  and  Exeter  Company,  and  the  Corporation — the  latter 
being  required  to  lay  out  £50,000,  for  which  it  was  gua- 
ranteed £2,000  per  annum  as  interest.  The  construction  of 
the  railway  necessitated  the  removal  of  the  old  vicarage  of 
St.  Mary  Redcliff  and  nearly  all  one  side  of  Guinea  Street. 
As  the  line  passed  under  the  burial  ground  of  the  parish^ 
the  vestry  received  £2,500  in  compensation,  with  which  sum 
land  was  purchased  and  laid  out  for  a  parochial  cemetery 
near  Amo  s  Vale.  The  railway  opened  out  a  district  little 
known  to  the  citizens  in  general;  and  the  Bristol  Times 
of  February  9,  1867,  stated  that  in  laying  out  the  line  the 
surveyors  had  lighted  on  a  considerable  withy  bed,  lying 
between  RedclifiE  Church  and  the  station.  A  few  weeks 
later  the  local  journals  reported  the  (supposed)  discovery  of 
an  extensive  network  of  subterranean  caves  under  Redcliff 
Hill.  The  largest  of  the  caverns  was  octagonal  in  form, 
about  forty-five  feet  in  diameter  and  about  seven  feet  high. 


1866.]  HARBOUB   BAILWAT.      TUBNPIKXS  ABOLISHED.  427 

*'  The  vaulted  roof  was  supported  on  eiffht  columns  at  equal 
distances^  and  a  ninth  in  the  centre  of  the  place.  A  well, 
bored  from  above,  had  passed  through  the  central  column. 
A  wide,  lofty,  and  well-finished  corridor  led  to  the  cavern 
on  the  other  side,  but  this  being  walled  at  the  end,  the 
party  could  not  explore  further."  Upon  reading  those  state* 
ments,  the  owner  of  RedclifE  Wharf,  Mr.  Henry  Charles 
Harford,  of  Frenchay,  addressed  a  letter  to  a  Bristol  news- 
paper, stating  that  the  caverns  were  well  known  to  him. 
They  had,  he  said,  formed  part  of  the  RedcliS  Wharf 
property,  and  he  had  when  a  boy  explored  them  to  an 
immense  distance,  Redcliff  Church  standing  on  one  of  them. 
Mr.  Harford  hinted  that  they  had,  at  an  earlier  period, 
been  used  for  smuggling  and  even  for  worse  purposes  (kid- 
napping and  slave  dealing).  He  believed  they  had  been 
originally  dug  for  sandpits,  and  they  had  certainly  proved 
valuable  to  the  owners  of  Redcliff  Wharf.  In  1812,  a  gen- 
tleman (indicated  as  Mr.  Thos.  King,  merchant,)  had  claimed 
that  portion  of  the  caverns  which  existed  under  his  property, 
and  this  claim  being  substantiated,  the  wall  found  by  the 
workmen  was  built  to  separate  the  estates. —  In  1869,  the 
railway  companies,  finding  it  desirable  to  increase  their 
waterside  accommodation,  applied  to  Parliament  for  further 
powers,  and  obtained  the  assent  of  the  Corporation  to  the 
extension  of  the  wharf  by  the  addition  of  400  feet  water 
frontage  west  of  Prince's  Street  Bridge.  The  railway  was 
opened  in  March,  1872.  In  a  few  months  it  was  found  that 
the  wharves  were  insufficient  to  accommodate  the  trade,  a 
largely  increased  number  of  steamers  frequenting  the  port, 
and  in  1873  parliamentary  sanction  was  obtained  for  the 
further  development  of  the  works.  The  new  Act  provided 
that  the  two  wharves  on  either  side  of  Prince's  Street  Bridge 
road,  already  constructed,  and  a  third  towards  Wapping — 
•  1,483  feet  in  length — were  to  be  exclusively  city  property, 
while  two  contiguous  wharves  lower  down,  1,208  feet  long, 
with  power  of  extension  over  398  feet  more,  were  to  belong 
in  fee  simple  to  the  companies.  The  rent-charge  of  £2,000 
payable  to  the  city  was  to  be  suspended  until  the  completion 
of  the  new  works.  The  wharves  devolving  on  the  Corpora- 
tion by  this  Act  were  estimated  to  have  cost  £60,000. 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Bristol  Turnpike  trustees, 
in  March,  1866,  it  was  reported  that  the  mortgage  debt  upon 
the  entire  trust — which  embraced  163  miles  of  road,  and  was, 
with  one  exception,  the  most  extensive  in  England — had  been 
nearly  paid  off.   The  only  charge  remaining  was  one  of  £5,500 


428  THE  ANNALS   Of  BRISTOL.  [1866. 

on  two  of  the  northern  sections.  As  the  sarplas  receipts 
for  a  further  period  of  eighteen  months  would  clear  off  this 
burden^  it  was  resolved  that  the  tolls  should  be  abolished 
on  the  1st  November,  1867.  The  resolution  was  carried  hj 
the  narrow  majority  of  26  votes  against  22,  many  of  the 
rural  trustees  being  opposed  to  a  step  which  threw  the  main- 
tenance of  the  roads  on  the  local  ratepayers,  whilst  some  of 
the  Bristol  trustees  objected  that  the  abolition  of  tolls  would 
entail  a  burden  of  £2,000  a  year  npon  the  citizens  for  repair- 
ing the  eighteen  miles  of  turnpike  within  the  borough.  In 
accordance  with  the  resolution,  the  district  was  included  in 
the  Turnpike  Act  of  1866,  under  the  provisions  of  which  the 
powers  of  the  trustees  expired  on  the  Ist  November,  1867, 
when  all  the  turnpike  gates  were  removed.  Within  the 
borough  there  were  no  less  than  fifteen  of  those  obstacles 
to  locomotion,  namely :  Whiteladies,  St.  Michael's,  Clifton 
Down  and  Gallows  Acre  gates  in  the  Aust  district ;  Cutler's 
Mills  and  Redland  Road  gates  in  the  Horfield  district ;  St. 
John's  Lane  gate  in  the  Whitchurch  district ;  Lawf ord's  and 
Baptist  Mills  gates  in  the  Stapleton  district;  West  Street 
gate,  and  bars  at  Packhorse  and  Barrow  Lanes  in  the  Toghill 
and  Bitton  district ;  Parson  Street  and  Luckwell  Lane  gates 
in  the  Dundry  district;  and  Coronation  Road  gate  in  the 
Ashton  trust.  The  sites  of  the  toll-houses  were  in  most  cases 
claimed  by  the  owners  of  the  adjoining  property,  and  the 
buildings  were  demolished.*  The  surplus  funds  of  the  trust 
(£6,760)  were  divided  amongst  the  local  highway  authorities. 
In  the  spring  of  1866,  Mr.  Thomas  W.  Hill,  of  Clifton  Park, 
acquired  from  the  Merchants'  Society  a  piece  of  ground  near 
Jacob's  Wells.  After  clearing  it  of  a  number  of  cottages, 
he  built  upon  the  site  an  almshouse  for  the  residence  of 
twelve  aged  persons,  for  whom  he  provided  a  small  weekly 
income.  A  few  months  later  Mr.  Hill  presented  the  In- 
firmary with  £3,000  for  the  erection  of  two  additional  wards, 
and  subsequently,  by  gift  and  bequest,  he  distributed  upwards 
of  £10,000  amongst  charitable  and  religious  institutions.  The 
residue  of  his  estate,  which  was  very  large,  was  devoted  to 
his  almshouses,  to  the  church  and  schools  of  St.  Silas,  Baptist 
Mills,  to  the  schools  of  St.  Luke,  Bedminster,  and  to  the 
Infirmary.     In  consequence  of  this  bequest,  the  trustees  of 

*  The  Clifton  toll-house  at  the  top  of  Bridge  Valley  Road  had  a  large  rastio 
portico,  under  whioh  the  public  were  accustomed  to  take  shelter  during  sudden 
showers  of  rain.  A  member  of  the  Council  proposed  that  the  oonstmction 
should  be  preserved  for  the  sake  of  its  utility  ;  but  his  suggestion  met  with  no 
support,  and  promenaders  are  worse  off  now  than  they  were  twenty  years  ago. 


1866.]        XBSCTION  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  NAVE.  429 

the  almshouses  added  forty  non-resident  almswomen  to  the 
number  receiving  weekly  pensions,  and  built  a  large  room, 
intended  for  a  chapel  and  library  to  the  almshouse. 

The  local  journals  of  July  21st  contained  an  address  to  the 
public,  signed  by  J.  P.  Norris,  canon  and  sub-dean  of  Bristol 
cathedral,  appealing  for  aid  in  the  great  work  of  reconstruc- 
ting the  nave  of  that  edifice.  The  tower,  it  was  stated,  was 
undergoing  restoration  at  the  expense  of  the  chapter  [see 
p.  370] ,  but  it  could  not  be  effectually  buttressed  except  by 
the  completion  of  the  cathedral  in  its  original  form.  (During 
the  previous  year,  whilst  the  road  in  front  of  the  cathedral 
was  being  lowered  by  the  Corporation,  the  workmen  laid  bare 
the  foundations  of  a  nave  and  north  porch  which  had  been 
commenced — ^probably  by  Abbot  Knowle — but  never  com- 
pleted, thus  disposing  of  the  foolish  legend  that  they  were 
destroyed  during  the  civil  war.  Traces  of  the  original  Roman- 
esque nave,  which  had  been  of  small  dimensions,  were  also 
found  during  the  reconstruction.)  In  October,  a  committee  of 
influential  citizens  was  formed  with  a  view  to  pressing  the  sub- 
ject upon  public  attention;  but  it  soon  afterwards  transpired 
that  a  majority  of  the  chapter,  consisting  of  the  dean  and 
canons  Bankes  and  Girdlestone,  believing  that  funds  would 
not  be  forthcoming  for  a  perfect  reconstruction,  were  in  favour 
of  building  a  truncated  nave  of  three  bays.  This  proposal 
being  universally  condemned,  the  committee  requested  Mr. 
Street,  the  Gothic  architect,  to  advise  them  on  the  subject. 
His  report  stated  that  Abbot  Knowle's  nave  was  intended  to 
be  of  six  bays,  and  that  only  such  a  structure  would  properly 
bring  out  the  beauties  of  the  choir.  He  also  thought  that 
the  addition  of  western  towers  would  greatly  improve  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  building.  The  entire  reconstruction  accord- 
ing to  his  designs  was  estimated  to  cost  £52,800,  but  the 
completion  of  the  nave  and  towers  up  to  the  level  of  the  roof 
was  set  down  at  about  £43,000.  Subscriptions  amounting 
to  £13,000*  having  been  already  promised — some  leading 
Dissenters  offering  handsome  donations — ^it  was  resolved  to 
undertake  two  bays,  as  suggested  by  Mr.  Street,  and  a  con- 
tract was  signed  in  August,  1867,  for  £14,270.  The  founda- 
tion stone  of  the  new  work  was  laid  on  the  17th  April,  1868, 
with  masonic  honours,  by  the  Earl  of  Limerick,  P.G.M.  Early 
in  1870,  when  the  two  bays  were  completed,  Mr.  W.  K. 
Wait,  then  mayor,  oflTered  to  build  the  new  north  porch  (esti- 

*  The  first  subscriptions — afterwards  largely  increased— of  the  five  originators 
of  the  movement,  Canon  Norris,  Sir  Wm.  Miles,  and  Messrs.  Francis  Adams, 
J.  J.  Mogg,  and  W.  K.  Wait,  were  £500  each. 


430 


THE   ANNALS   Of   BRISTOL. 


[186(5. 


mated  to  cost  £1^200)^  provided  a  like  sum  was  subscribed  to 
raise  the  north  wall  of  the  nave  for  its  reception.  The  re- 
quired sum  was  soon  forthcoming,  and  by  a  further  effort,  in 
1872,  subscriptions  to  a  large  amount  were  contributed  for 
the  purpose  of  completing  the  nave  and  the  lower  portion  of 
the  western  towers.  In  the  autumn  of  1875  the  state  of  the 
central  tower  was  reported  to  be  so  critical  that  it  was  deemed 
advisable  to  remove  the  battlements, — greatly  impairing  the 
former  stately  appearance  of  the  building, — ^in  which  denuded 
condition  it  still  remains,  the  fund  appropriated  to  its  restora- 
tion by  the  chapter  having  proved  inadequate.  The  sin^lar 
incidents  of  the  following  year,  and  the  completion  oi  the 
nave,  will  be  noticed  hereafter. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Council,  in  September,  1866,  Mr. 
Christopher  J.  Thomas  drew  attention  to  the  urgency  of  a 
redistribution  of  the  seats  allotted  to  the  several  municipal 
wards  of  the  borough,  the  movement  of  population  since  the 
ill-advised  arrangement  of  1835  having  rendered  the  existing 
system  a  mockery  of  the  representative  principle.  Mr.  Thomas 
succeeded  in  obtaining  the  appointment  of  a  committee  to 
consider  th^  subject,  but  its  deliberations  led  to  no  result. 
In  December,  1869,  Mr.  Thomas  reintroduced  the  subject, 
the  anomalies  of  which  had  been  in  the  meantime  greatly 
increased  by  an  Act  conferring  the  municipal  franchise  on 
householders  whose  rates  were  paid  by  their  landlords.  Mr. 
Thomas  moved  that  a  petition  should  be  addressed  to  the 
Crown  praying  for  an  equitable  reform,  reminding  his  oppo- 
nents that  the  unfairness  of  the  arrangement  would  become 
every  year  more  glaring.  The  following  was  then  the  position 
of  the  seven  principal  wards.  The  figures  are  well  worth 
contrasting  with  those  given  at  page  209. 


Ratepayers. 

Yearly  Value. 

Members. 

St.  AagnBtine    

987 

£40,956 

6 

St.  Michael       

1594 

64,090 

3 

Clifton        

2548 

131,706 

9 

St.  PhiUp 

4818 

86,687 

3 

Bristol        

1751 

93,925 

9 

Bedniinster        

2267 

44.629 

8 

Redoliflf      

1781 

61,856 

6 

The  Conservatives,  who  predominated  in  the  four  favoured 
wards,  met  Mr.  Thomas  with  an  amendment,  asserting  that, 
as  it  was  not  established  that  public  good  would  result  from 
a  change,  it  was  inexpedient  to  make  any  alteration.     The 


1866.] 


BSDISTBIBUTION  Of   COUNCILLORS. 


431 


amendment  was  adopted  by  31  votes  (including  12  aldermen) 
against  22.  The  question  was  again  brought  before  the  Coun- 
cil in  June^  1875,  by  Mr.  H.  J.  Mills,  when  the  relative  state 
in  the  wards  had  become  more  anomalous  than  ever.  The 
four  favoured  wards,  shown  in  the  above  table  as  returning 
thirty  councillors,  had  in  1875  only  7,565  burgesses,  while  the 
remaining  wards  in  the  city,  returning  only  eighteen  coun- 
cillors put  together,  had  an  aggregate  of  15,844  burgesses. 
The  predominant  party  in  the  Council  continued  to  defend 
the  arrangement,  on  the  ground  that  it  worked  well  and  that 
the  grievance  was  a  sentimental  one.  It  was  admitted,  how- 
ever, that  the  matter  was  deserving  of  further  consideration, 
and  a  committee  was  appointed  to  report  as  to  what  should 
be  done.  The  committee  had  the  subject  under  discussion 
for  nearly  four  years,  the  majority  being  very  unwilling  to 
disturb  the  existing  arrangement.  At  length,  in  March,  1879, 
a  report  was  presented  recommending  certain  reforms.  The 
large  wards  of  Bedminster  and  St.  Philip  were  each  divided 
into  two  wards,  having  three  members  each,  the  additional 
representatives  being  obtained  by  taking  three  from  Bristol 
ward  and  three  from  St.  Augustine's.  A  third  new  ward 
was  created  out  of  the  northern  portions  of  Clifton  and  St. 
Michael's  wards,  and  called  Westbury  ward,  the  three  mem- 
bers for  which  were  obtained  by  reducing  the  representatives 
for  Clifton  from  nine  to  six.  Finally,  the  portion  of  St.  Philip's 
Marsh  south  of  the  Feeder  was  transferred  to  RedclifE  ward, 
which  was  to  retain  its  six  members.  Under  this  rearrange- 
ment, the  wards  stood  as  follows : — 


Gonncillors. 

BurgeMes. 

Bated  Value. 

Bedminster,  East    ... 

8 

2076 

£30,044 

Bedminster,  West    ... 

3 

1826 

80,662 

Central      

6 

1873 

110,678 

Clifton       

6 

8222 

136,288 

Westbury 

8 

1807 

62,016 

District      

8 

2014 

49,408 

Redcliflf      

6 

2289 

67,903 

St.  Augustine   

8 

1080 

48,619 

St.  James 

8 

1011 

30,816 

St.  Michael       

8 

1210 

48,670 

St.  Paul     

8 

1554 

86,698 

St.  PhUip,  North     ... 

8 

2902 

43,108 

St.  Philip,  South      ... 

8 

2950 

68,880 

This  plan  was  so  distasteful  to  some  of  the  Conservatives 
that  the  leader  of  the  party ^  Alderman  Ford^  moved  its  post- 
ponement^ to  enable  his  friends  to  get  '^  educated  **  on  the 


432  THE  AKKALS   OF  BEI8T0L«  [1866. 

Question.  A  delay  of  a  fortnight  was  carried  after  a  warm 
aiscassion.  At  the  adjourned  meeting  the  report  was  adopted 
by  a  majority  of  46  against  6— the  latter  number  represent- 
ing the  "  uneducated  Conservatives.  A  Bill  to  cany  out  the 
reform  having  been  approved  at  a  statutory  meeting  of  the 
ratepayers,  the  measure  was  laid  before  Parliament  in  the 
session  of  1880.  It  was  opposed  in  the  House  of  Commons 
by  Mr.  W.  K.  Wait  (mayor  1869-70),  a  member  of  the  Coun- 
cil then  representing  the  city  of  Gloucester,  who  obtained  the 
assistance  of  a  number  of  Conservative  members.  His  motion 
for  the  rejection  of  the  Bill  was,  however,  defeated  by  163 
votes  against  98  ;  and  the  measure  received  the  royal  assent 
on  the  14th  June.  Shortly  afterwards,  three  members  from 
each  of  the  reduced  wards  were  transferred  to  St.  Philip's, 
Bedminster,  and  Westbury — much  against  the  wishes  of  some 
of  the  gentlemen  thus  "  transparished,''  amongst  whom  there 
was  much  heart-burning. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Bristol  Board  of  Guardians,  in  October, 
statistics  were  produced  showing  the  annual  local  taxation  of 
the  ancient  city  during  the  previous  26  years.  During  that 
period  the  average  had  been  nearly  6«.  Id.  in  the  pound. 
The  rates  had  been  about  Is.  in  the  pound  more  during  the 
later  half  of  the  term  than  they  were  in  the  previous  moiety, 
owing  to  the  large  expenditure  for  sewers  incurred  by  the 
Board  of  Health.  The  highest  year  was  1856,  in  which  the 
total  rates  amounted  to  7«.  6d.  in  the  pound,  divided  as 
follows :  poor  rate,  Ss.  4d. ;  borough  rate.  Is.  7d. ;  harbour 
rate,  3d. ;  dock  rate,  4d. ;  board  of  health  rate,  2s.  From  a 
table  kindly  furnished  by  Mr.  Alderman  Naish,  it  appears 
that  in  1886  the  local  burdens  in  the  ''ancient  city  had 
fallen  to  bs.  9d.  in  the  pound ;  namely,  poor  rates.  Is.  6d. ; 
borough  rates,  lid.;  dock  rate,  4d. ;  harbour  rate,  2d.; 
sanitary  rates,  2s.  lOd.  In  the  city  portion  of  Bedminster 
the  local  charges  in  1886  amounted  to  6s.  6d. ;  in  Clifton  and 
St.  Philip's  (out),  6s.  2d. ;  in  Westbury  (within  the  city),  6s., 
and  in  the  District,  4>s.  lOd.  in  the  pound.  The  rateable 
value  of  the  entire  city  in  October,  1886,  was  £932,496. 

In  October,  Mr.  J.  H.  Chute,  the  manager  of  the  Theatre 
Royal,  purchased  of  Mr.  Rich.  Fuidge  a  large  house  in  Park 
Row,  formerly  the  residence  of  Colonel  Baillie  [see  p.  78]. 
Mr.  Chute  soon  afterwards  constructed  a  handsome  theatre  on 
the  site,  at  a  cost,  including  fittings,  of  nearly  £18,000.  The 
building  was  intended  to  accommodate  340  persons  in  the 
dress  boxes,  100  in  the  orchestra  stalls,  800  in  the  pit,  360  in 
the  upper  circle  and  amphitheatre,  and  800  in  the  gallery. 


1866.]  SUSPECTED   MUBDIB.  439 

It  was  opened  on  the  14th  October,  1867,  as  the  New  Theatre 
Royal,  but  was  afterwards  styled  the  Prince's  Theatre. 

Pembroke  Chapel,  Oakfield  Road,  erected  by  the  Congre- 
gationalists,  was  opened  on  the  31st  October.  It  took  the 
place  of  an  iron  chapel,  which  had  been  in  use  there  for  some 
years.  On  the  following  day.  Trinity  Chapel,  the  second 
place  of  worship  built  by  the  Wesleyan  Methodists  in  White- 
ladies  Road,  was  opened  by  the  Rev.  W.  Shaw  and  the  Rev. 
W.  M.  Punshon. 

Emmanuel  Church,  Clifton,  was  opened  on  the  18th 
December,  its  erection  having  occupied  less  than  thirteen 
months.  In  1868  the  building  was  considerably  enlarged; 
it  was  consecrated  by  the  bishop  of  the  diocese  on  the  7th 
January,  1869.  A  lofty  tower  was  added  subsequently — in 
which  a  peal  of  eight  bells  was  placed  in  September,  1884, 
but  funds  have  not  yet  been  forthcoming  for  the  construction 
of  an  intended  spire. 

A  mysterious  affair,  under  which  no  doubt  lurked  a 
villanous  murder,  caused  great  excitement  towards  the  close 
of  the  year.  On  the  afternoon  of  the  6th  of  December,  a 
man  named  Charles  Jones,  about  eighty  years  of  age,  who 
pursued  the  business  of  a  money  lender,  was  seen  to  enter 
the  yard  of  a  beerhouse  called  the  North  Somerset  Railway 
Arms,  in  St.  Philip's  Marsh,  kept  by  one  Nathaniel  Ramsden. 
Jones  was  never  seen  or  heard  of  again.  In  the  yard  of 
Ramsden's  house  was  a  lime-kiln  and  furnaces,  used  by  the 
occupier  in  his  business  of  a  lime  dealer  and  tar  distiller. 
Ramsden  owed  the  deceased  about  £330,  of  which  Jones  had 
been  endeavouring  to  obtain  repayment  for  some  time,  and 
Ramsden  was  in  difficulties  and  had  just  been  made  a  bank- 
rupt. On  the  8th  December  Ramsden  called  on  Jones's 
agent  and  man  of  business  in  the  city,  and  produced  a  paper, 
purporting  to  be  a  receipt  signed  by  the  deceased  for  £340, 
alleging  that  he  had  paid  £10  too  much  and  was  to  receive 
it  back  again.  Jones's  agent,  however,  intimated  his  belief 
that  the  signature  was  not  genuine,  whereupon  Ramsden 
went  off,  carrying  the  paper  away  with  him.  When  ques- 
tioned by  the  police,  Ramsden  asserted  that  ho  had  paid  the 
money  to  his  creditor,  but  two  of  the  persons  said  by  him  to 
have  been  present  at  the  transaction  deposed  that  they  saw 
no  money  pass.  A  careful  search  was  made  of  the  premises, 
but  no  trace  of  the  body  could  be  discovered;  and  it  was 
generally  believed  that  it  had  been  burnt  in  the  lime-kiln. 
Ramsden  left  the  country  a  few  months  later,  and  the  affair 
has  ever  since  been  wrapped  in  impenetrable  mystery. 

F   F 


434  THE   ANNALS   OF  BEI8T0L.  [1867. 

The  Duke  of  Buckingham,  President  of  the  Council,  having 
paid  a  visit  to  Bristol  in  January,  1867,  to  distribute  the 
prizes  to  the  successful  pupils  in  the  Trade  School,  the 
opportunity  was  seized  by  the  Merchant  Venturers'  Society 
to  present  him  with  the  freedom  of  the  incorporation.  The 
Duke  was  a  lineal  descendant  of  Robert  Nugent,  Lord  Clare, 
many  years  M.P.  for  Bristol,  his  grace's  great-grandfather 
having  married  the  only  daughter  and  heiress  of  that  noble- 
man. 

A  distinguished  native  of  Bristol,  and  one  of  the  most 
accomplished  British  sculptors  of  the  present  century,  Edward 
Hodges  Baily,  R.A.,  F.R.S.,  died  on  the  22nd  May,  in  hia 
eightieth  year.     The  artist  was  the  eldest  son  of  Mr.  William 
Hillier  Baily,  of  this  city,  and  was  born  on  the  10th  March, 
1788.     He  was  for  about  two  years  a  pupil  at  the  Grammar 
School,   where  he   is   said  to   have    been    deft  in   carving 
portraits  of  his  companions,  but  to  have  shown  no  capacity 
for  ordinary  work.     Mr.  Hillier  Baily  was  a  ship  carver,  in 
which  avocation  he  displayed  much  ability,  and  his  figures 
doubtless  awakened  a  love  of  art  in  his  son,  who  at  the  age 
of  16  abandoned  the  mercantile  desk  over  which  he  had 
bent  for  a  couple  of  years,  and  soon  after  gained  admission 
to  the  studio  of  Flaxman,  where  he  made  rapid  progress. 
At  19  he  gained  one  of  the  prizes  of  the  Society  of  Arts ; 
at  21  he  was  awarded  the  first  silver  medal  of  the  Royal 
Academy ;  and  at  23  he  carried  off  the  gold  medal  and  50 
guineas  which  were  then  the  "blue  ribbon''  of  the  latter 
institution.     In   the   year  following  this   last   success,    he 
produced    his    grandest    imaginative   work — "Eve    at    the 
Fountain  " — which  won  for  its  creator  the  prize  of  100  guineas 
from  the  British  Institution  as  the  best  specimen  of  British 
sculpture.    The  loveliness  of  the  work  at  once  established  his 
reputation,  and  casts  were  eagerly  purchased  for  the  chief 
schools  of  art  in  France  and  Germany.     In  1819  Baily  was 
elected  an  Associate  of  the  Royal  Academy,  and  was  raised 
to  the  rank  of  Academician  in  1821,  being  the  only  sculptor 
who  attained  that  honour  during  the  presidency  of  his  fellow 
Bristolian,  Sir  Thomas  Lawrence.     The  mythological  group 
sculptured  in  the  frieze  of  the  portico  of  the  Institution  (now 
the  Freemasons'  Hall),  in   Park  Street,  was  presented  by 
Baily  as  a  token  of  affection  for  his  native  city.     Amongst 
the  best  of  the  artist's  very  numerous  works  were :    "  Eve 
Listening,"  "The  Graces,"  " Motherly  Love,"  "The  Sleeping 
Nymph,"  a  statue  of  Fox  at  Westminster,  and  colossal  statues 
of  Sir  Robert  Peel  at  Manchester,  and  of  Earl  Grey  at  New- 


1867.]  SUGAR  BIFININQ  IN  BRISTOL.  435 

castle.  The  statue  of  Nelson,  on  the  column  in  Trafalgar 
Square,  London,  was  also  from  his  chisel.  "Eve  at  the 
Fountain ''  was  purchased  by  a  local  subscription  for  £600, 
and  was  placed  in  the  Bristol  Institution — ^now  the  Museum 
and  Library.  Though  much  profitable  work  was  placed  in 
his  hands,  Baily  was,  like  Lawrence,  unthrifty ;  and  the  later 
years  of  his  long  life  were  passed  in  painful  embarrassment. 

On  the  17th  June,  during  the  progress  of  the  Reform 
measure  of  1867  through  the  House  of  Commons,  a  Liberal 
member  moved  that  the  six  English  provincial  boroughs 
having  a  population  of  upwards  of  100,000  (Bristol  being  one 
of  the  number),  should  return  three  representatives  instead 
of  two.  The  proposal  was  resisted  by  Mr.  Disraeli  on  behalf 
of  the  Ministry,  and  on  a  division  it  was  rejected  by  247 
votes  against  239.  Subsequently,  the  Cabinet  conceded  the 
claim  for  another  member  made  on  behalf  of  Liverpool,  Man- 
chester, Birmingham,  and  Leeds,  whereupon  Mr.  Berkeley  put 
in  a  similar  demand  for  Bristol.  He  was,  however,  defeated 
by  235  votes  against  136.  In  July,  1870,  the  Council  unanim- 
ously resolved  to  petition  Parliament  for  an  additional  member 
but  the  efibrt  was  without  result. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Docks  Committee  in  June,  it  was 
determined  to  erect  a  new  and  improved  Drawbridge  at  the 
end  of  Clare  Street — the  roadway  of  the  bridge  to  be  more 
on  a  line  with  that  street  than  was  the  old  structure.  The 
improvement  cost  about  £2,500. 

A  local  newspaper  of  the  20th  July  stated  that  in  conse- 
quence of  the  Governments  of  France  and  Belgium  having 
granted  a  '^  drawback  *'  on  exportations  to  the  sugar  refiners 
of  those  countries,  the  loaf  sugar  trade  in  England  had  been 
80  largely  monopolised  by  the  foreign  manufacturers  that 
some  of  the  chief  British  refiners  had  been  obliged  to  con- 
tract their  operations  and  reduce  the  number  of  their  hands. 
The  making  of  loaf  sugar  appears  to  have  been  practically 
discontinued  in  Bristol  before  this  date,  the  manufacturers 
having  devoted  themselves  to  the  production  of  crystallised 
sugar,  in  which  they  excelled.  The  Bristol  Times  of  Sep- 
tember 28,  1872,  stated  that  ^^last  week,  sales  by  Messrs. 
Finzel  &  Sons  reached  1,800  tons,  the  value  of  which  would 
probably  be  £70,000/'  In  1876  the  same  firm,  whose 
premises  were  already  amongst  the  largest  in  the  country, 
purchased  Counterslip  Chapel  and  the  adjacent  schools  for 
about  £10,000,  and  converted  them  into  warehouses.  The 
step  was  not  justified  by  the  financial  condition  of  the  firm — 
which  had  sustained  an  irreparable  loss  by  the  death  (21st 


436  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL.  [1867. 

October,  1859)  of  Mr.  Finzel,  its  founder  and  manager* — and 
the  house  went  into  liquidation  in  the  spring  of  the  follow- 
ing year.     It  was  stated  at  an  attempted  sale  of  the  premises 
and  plant,  that  the  outlay  upon  them  had  exceeded  J^00,000. 
The  agitation  in  reference  to  the  foreign  sugar  duties  con- 
tinued for  several  years,  and  was  made  an  instrument  for  the 
?romotion  of  the  doctrines  of  a  party  calling  themselves  Fair 
raders.     In  1878  the  Bristol  Chamber  of  Commerce   for- 
warded  a   memorial  to   the   Government    praying    for  the 
imposition  of  a  duty  on  foreign  refined  sugar  equal  to  the 
amount  of  the  bounty  on  exports  alleged  to  be  paid  by  the 
French   and   other  Governments.     But  Lord  Beaconsfield^s 
Ministry  refused  to  take  any  legislative  action  which  savoured 
of  protection,  and  an  attempt  of  certain  professional  agita- 
tors, styling  themselves  working  men,  to  secure  the  support 
of  the  Trades  Union  Congress,  during  its  gathering  in  Bristol 
in  August,  1878,  was  emphatically  defeated.     In  the  autumn 
of  1878  a  few  public-spirited  citizens  formed   a   company, 
with  a  capital  of  £150,000,  with  the  view  of  taking  over 
Messrs.  Finzel's  works — offered  at  £71,500 — and  of  reviving 
the   business.      The   experiment   unfortunately   resulted   in 
heavy  loss  to  the  promoters,  and  the  manufactory  was  finally 
closed  in  April,  1881. 

During  the  summer  of  1867,  building  operations  were 
carried  on  with  unusual  vigour  in  the  suburban  districts.  In 
July  a  number  of  fields  and  nursery  gardens  near  Bedland 
and  Hampton  Roads  were  laid  out  for  new  streets.  On  one 
somewhat  extensive  estate,  styled  Woolcott  Park,  a  great 
number  of  houses  was  subsequently  built.  For  several  years 
after  this  date,  the  only  outlet  westward  from  the  estate  was 
an  old  footpath,  known  as  Nettle  Lane ;  but  the  Corporation 
refused  to  lay  out  a  street  unless  the  landlords  interested 
would  contribute  £500.  This  they  refused  to  do,  and  the 
ground  required  for  the  street  was  allowed  to  be  built  over. 
In  1877  the  Council — amidst  much  ridicule — admitted  the 
necessity  of  a  thoroughfare,  and  was  compelled,  at  consider- 
able cost,  to  buy  and  demolish  the  houses  which  stood  in  the 
way  of  the  improvement.  The  "Goodhind  estate,"  near 
Stapleton  Road,  was  also  sold  in  building  lots  during  tbe 
autumn  of  1867. 

*  ^^r.  Finzel,  who  was  a  German  by  birth,  and  began  his  career  in  England 
as  a  working  sugar  refiner,  invented  improvements  in  the  apparatus  for  refining, 
the  patent  rights  of  which  arc  said  to  have  brought  him  in  £10,000  a  year.  He 
vfAH  exceedingly  generous,  and  for  many  years  is  said  to  have  given  between 
£5,000  and  £10,000  per  annum  to  Mr.  MiiUer's  Orphanages. 


1868.]       THE  queen's  pbize  to  riflemen,    banquet.        487 

At  the  Wimbledon  rifle  competitions,  in  July,  the  great 
prize  of  the  gathering — the  Queen's  gift  of  £250,  with  the 
gold  medal  of  the  Association — was  won  by  Sergeant  Henry 
Lane,  of  the  Bristol  volanteer  rifle  corps.  His  success  was 
hailed  with  much  satisfaction,  and  he  met  with  an  enthusiastic 
reception  on  his  return.  Mr.  Lane  was  afterwards  presented 
with  a  handsome  testimonial,  "  in  recognition  of  the  honour 
he  had  gained  for  Bristol."  At  the  meeting  in  the  following 
year.  Drum-major  Hutchinson,  of  the  same  corps,  won  the 
silver  medal,  the  silver  badge,  and  £60,  as  the  most  success- 
ful shot  in  the  first  stage  of  the  Queen's  prize. 

The  church  of  St.  Silas,  St.  Philip's  Marsh,  was  conse- 
crated on  the  2nd  October.  .Owing  to  the  spongy  nature  of 
the  subsoil,  the  church  speedily  began  to  show  signs  of  sub- 
sidence, and  its  condition  at  length  became  so  perilous  that  it 
was  closed  in  March,  1872.  The  building  was  soon  after- 
wards taken  down,  and  the  foundation  stone  of  another 
edifice  was  laid  on  the  9th  October.  The  new  church,  which 
cost  about  £2,100,  was  opened  in  August,  1873. 

A  small  church  in  Maudlin  Street,  intended  to  serve  as  a 
chapel  of  ease  to  St.  James's,  and  dedicated  to  St.  James  the 
Less,  was  consecrated  on  the  30th  November. 

On  the  22nd  January,  1868,  several  members  of  the  Ministry 
of  the  Earl  of  Derby  were  entertained  to  a  magnificent  ban- 
quet by  about  1,300  of  the  leading  Conservatives  of  the  dis- 
trict. The  dinner  took  place  in  the  Drill  Hall,  the  standing 
order  forbidding  the  use  of  that  building  for  political  pur- 
poses having  been  rescinded  for  the  occasion.  The  Duke  of 
Beaufort  presided,  and  the  chief  speakers  amongst  the  guests 
were  Lord  Stanley  (now  Earl  of  Derby),  Mr.  G.  Hardy  (Lord 
Cranbrook),  and  Sir  John  Pakington  (afterwards  Lord  Hamp- 
ton) .     The  proceedings  were  marked  with  much  enthusiasm. 

The  Royal  Commission  appointed  for  the  purpose  of  re- 
adjusting the  limits  of  counties  and  boroughs  after  the  passing 
of  the  Reform  Act  of  1867,  presented  its  report  early  in  the 
following  year.  In  dealing  with  Bristol,  the  commissioners 
recommended  that  Bishopston  and  St.  George's  parishes  in 
Gloucestershire,  and  a  further  portion  of  the  parish  of  Bed- 
minster,  in  Somerset,  should  be  included  within  the  limits  of 
the  borough.  The  suggestion  was  condemned  as  unreasonable 
in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  city  had  been  refused  the  third 
member  to  which  it  was  entitled  by  its  population.  A  Com- 
mittee of  the  House  of  Cpmmons  recommended  the  rejection 
of  the  report  so  far  as  Bristol  and  some  other  boroughs  were 
concerned,  and  their  advice  was  adopted. 


438  THE   ANNALS  OF  BRISTOL.  [1868. 

In  recording  the  removal,  on  the  25th  March,  1868,  of  the 
Bristol  Post  OflSce  from  Com  Street  to  Small  Street,  an 
opportunity  is  afforded  for  a  brief  sketch  of  the  progress  of 
the  institution  during  the  present  century.  The  onerous 
postal  charges  exacted  down  to  1839  have  been  already  re- 
corded [p.  244] .  Their  effect  was  to  deter  the  entire  com- 
munity from  making  use  of  the  oflSce  except  for  matters  of 
urgency;  and  the  postal  revenue,  in  spite  of  the  constant 
growth  of  population,  made  scarcely  any  advance  for  many 
years.  The  local  oflSce,  when  removed  from  Small  Street  to 
Corn  Street,  about  1748,  required  only  the  basement  floor  of 
the  house  on  the  west  siae  of  the  Exchange.  With  the 
addition  of  a  small  apartment  at  the  back,  the  accommodation 
remained  suflScient  until  the  days  of  penny  postage.  The 
staff,  in  1820,  consisted  of  17  persons;  it  had  risen  only  to 
19  (6  clerks  and  13  postmen)  in  1837.  The  number  of  letters 
delivered  at  the  latter  date  is  unknown,  but  did  not  probably 
exceed  16,000  weekly,  while,  owing  to  the  charge  imposed  on 
money  orders  (eightpence  in  the  pound  on  small  sums,  and  a 
higher  rate  on  remittances  above  £2)  the  entire  amount  of 
the  transactions  in  Bristol  averaged  only  about  £500  a  year. 
A  rapid  development  followed  the  reduction  in  charges,  and 
besides  an  absorption  of  rooms  on  the  upper  floors,  large 
extensions  of  the  premises  were  made  in  the  rear,  a  comer  of 
the  vegetable  market  being  appropriated.  But  the  work  of 
the  oflSce  expanded  more  rapidly  than  the  space  allotted  to 
the  staff,  the  number  of  which  in  1855  had  risen  to  93  (42 
clerks,  51  carriers).  More  elbow-room  being  then  indispen- 
sable, a  separate  oflSce  for  money  orders  was  opened  in  Sep- 
tember in  a  shop  in  Small  Street.  In  February,  1856,  the 
introduction  of  pillar  letter-boxes  led  to  a  further  growth  of 
correspondence.  Until  nearly  the  close  of  the  eighteenth 
century  three  mails  a  week  from  London  were  considered 
adequate.  Thanks  to  the  railways,  the  public  were  accom- 
modated with  three  mails  daily,  and  increased  facilities  were 
offered  in  various  other  directions,  with  satisfactory  results. 
The  time  at  length  arrived  when  it  was  no  longer  practicable  to 
conduct  the  work  of  the  oflSce  in  the  old  premises.  In  1865 
a  site  was  purchased  in  Small  Street,  then  occupied  by  Messrs. 
Freeman  and  the  Brass  and  Copper  Company ;  and  a  large 
building  was  erected  at  a  cost  of  £10,000.  [While  the 
ground  was  being  cleared,  says  the  Bristol  Times  of  November 
18,  1865,  the  workmen  came  upon  an  old  safe,  falling  to 
pieces,  which,  from  some  papers  found  in  it,  had  belonged  to 
the  long  extinct  banking  firm  of  Vaughan,  Maxse  &  Co.     An 


1868.]  NEW  POST   OFFICE.      AN  ELECTION.  489 

ancient  mulberry  tree,  the  last  of  several  that  once  grew  in 
the  city,  was  destroyed  about  the  same  time.]  When  the 
new  office  was  opened  for  business,  the  staff  had  augmented 
to  141 ;  the  weekly  average  of  letters,  etc.,  delivered  in  Bristol 
exceeded  157,000,  and  the  transactions  of  the  money  order 
department  represented  upwards  of  £400,000  a  year.  The 
marvellous  development  effected  under  the  new  system,  how- 
ever, did  not  warn  the  authorities  to  make  reasonable  pro- 
vision for  future  growth.  Only  the  ground  floor  of  the 
building  was  reserved  for  the  postal  officials, — ^the  first  and 
second  flats  being  appropriated  to  the  Inland  Revenue  staff, 
who  removed  there  from  Queen  Square.  The  transfer  of  the 
telegraphs  to  the  Government  (see  January,  1870,)  hastened 
the  breaking  up  of  an  arrangement  which  was  from  the  out- 
set injudicious.  Before  the  close  of  1871  the  Inland  Revenue 
officers  returned  to  their  old  quarters,  and  the  evacuated 
apartments  were  soon  after  occupied  by  the  telegraphists. 
A  few  years  later  the  money-order  and  savings-bank  branch 
was  again  removed  to  a  separate  building,  to  make  room  for 
the  growing  needs  of  the  postal  service.  Yet  in  spite  of  the 
relief  afforded  by  successive  migrations,  the  new  office,  before 
it  was  fifteen  years  old,  was  condemned  as  inadequate.  The 
question  of  removing  the  institution  to  another  site  was 
brought  before  the  Council  in  1885,  at  the  instance  of  the 
authorities  in  London,  but  the  suggestion  was  not  approved. 
In  the  autumn  of  1886  the  Government  purchased  a  block  of 
offices  in  Small  Street,  known  as  New  Buildings,  and  some 
warehouses  in  the  rear,  with  a  view  to  an  extensive  enlarge- 
ment, the  cost  of  which  was  estimated  at  £15,000.  The  postal 
staff  had  then  swollen  to  356  persons  (127  clerks  and  229 
carriers),  to  which  were  added  214  telegraphists  and  mes- 
sengers. The  average  number  of  letters,  etc.,  delivered 
weekly  was  438,040 ;  the  yearly  number  of  telegraphs  trans- 
mitted and  delivered  was  nearly  620,000 ;  the  transactions  in 
postal  orders  and  notes  marked  a  total  of  nearly  300,000 
annually,  while  the  sum  turned  over  in  the  savings  bank 
reached  nearly  £100,000  a  year. 

In  consequence  of  the  failure  of  Messrs.  Peto,  Betts  &  Co., 
the  great  contractors,  through  the  financial  panic  of  1866, 
Sir  Morton  Peto,  M.P.,  in  April,  1868,  made  use  of  the  usual 
procedure  for  resigning  his  seat.  His  action  having  been  fore- 
seen, both  political  parties  wore  prepared,  and  a  smart  contest 
ensued.  The  Conservative  candidate  was  Mr.  John  William 
Miles,  of  Kingsweston,  brother  of  a  former  member  for  the 
city.     The  Liberals  were  at  first  threatened  with  a  division  in 


440  THE  ANNALS   OF   BEISTOL.  [1868. 

their  ranks,  Mr.  E.  S.  Robinson  offering  himself  against  the 
wishes  of  the  leaders  of  the  party,  who  brought  forward  a 
Mr.  Bowring ;  but  eventually  both  of  the  gentlemen  withdrew, 
and  a  new  selection  was  made  in  the  person  of  Mr.  Samuel 
Morley,  a  Nottingham  manufacturer  distinguished  for  munifi- 
cent philanthropy.    The  polling  took  place  on  the  29th  April, 
and  the   figures  at  the  close  were   as  follows :   Mr.  Miles, 
5,173;  Mr.  Morley,  4,977.     At  the  declaration  of  the  poll  on 
the  30th  April,  Mr.  Morley  aflSrmed  that  his  defeat  was  due 
"to  an  undue  use  of  money,  beer,  and  intimidation,''  and  a 
petition  against  the  return  was  forthwith  presented  to  the 
House  of  Commons.     In  the  course  of  the  subsequent  investi- 
gation, evidence  was  given  charging  the  Conservative  com- 
mittee with  hiring  a  number  of  "roughs,''  with  wholesale 
treating,  with  paying  non-voters  to  personate  electors,  and 
with  several  cases  of  bribery.     The  petitioner's  counsel  also 
pointed  out  that  the  secretary  to  Mr.  Miles's  central  committee 
and  two   other  prominent  agents  had  absented  themselves 
from  Bristol  to  avoid  being  summoned  as  witnesses.     In  the 
result,  the  committee,  of  whom  a  majority  were  Conservatives, 
declared  that  the  election  was  void,  and  that  Mr.  Miles  was, 
by  his  agents,  guilty  of  bribery.    Mr.  P.  W.  S.  Miles,  brother 
of  the  unseated  member,  having  immediately  offered  himself 
for  the  vacancy,  repeated  motions  were  made  in  the  Commons 
for  the  issue  of  a  new  writ;  but,  as  a  general  election  was 
imminent,  the  House  refused  its  assent.    The  election  and  its 
consequences  excited  considerable  irritation  in  both  political 
camps. 

The  death  was  announced,  on  the  14th  June,  of  the  Rev. 
Robert  Vaughan,  D.D.,  one  of  the  most  eminent  Nonconfor- 
mists of  his  time.     Dr.  Vaughan  was  born  in  Bristol  in  1795, 
of  poor  parentage,  and  in  early  life  worked  as  a  carpenter. 
By  dint  of  energy  and  ability  he  overcame  the  difficulties 
of  his  position,  and  ultimately  became  Professor  of  History 
in  University  College,  London,  and  afterwards  Principal  of 
the  Lancashire  Independent  College.     His  best  known  works 
are  a  biography  of  Wycliffe,  a  history  of  England  under  the 
Stewarts,  ''  Revolutions  of  English  History,"  and  ''  The  Age 
of  Great  Cities."     He  was  also  the  founder  and  many  years 
editor  of  the  British  Quarterly  Review.     In  May,  1866,   Dr. 
Vaughan  was  presented  by  Mr.  S.  Morley,  as  chairman  of  a 
meeting  of  prominent  Dissenters,  with  a  cheque  for  £3,000, 
in  recognition  of  his  distinguished  services  as  a  minister,  a 
teacher,  and  a  man  of  letters. 
The  new  thoroughfare  connecting  Park  Row  with  Maudlin 


1868.]  STREET   IMPBOYEMENTS.  441 

Street  was  formally  opened  by  the  mayor  (Mr.  F.  Adams) 
on  the  20th  August,  with  some  state,  a  civic  procession  wend- 
ing its  way  from  the  Council  House  to  the  place  fixed  for 
the  ceremony.  The  mayor,  in  a  brief  address,  stated  that  the 
street  would  thenceforth  be  called  ^^  Perry  Road,'*  in  honour 
of  the  chairman  of  the  Streets  Improvement  Committee.  In 
the  construction  of  the  new  thoroughfare,  which  cost  upwards 
of  £13,300,  or  nearly  50  per  cent,  in  excess  of  the  estimates, 
a  great  number  of  crowded  and  ill-constructed  dwellings  were 
cleared  away,  one  side  of  Lower  St.  Michael's  Hill  being  en- 
tirely demolished.  Amongst  the  old  structures  removed  was 
an  octangular  tower,  which  was  embedded  in  an  old  house 
nearly  opposite  to  the  southern  front  of  the  King  David  Inn. 
This  tower  was  the  only  relic  of  the  White  Lodge,  built  in  the 
sixteenth  century  upon  the  northern  extremity  of  the  garden 
of  St.  Bartholomew's  Hospital,  Christmas  Street.  Subse- 
quently, at  an  expenditure  of  £37,600,  Upper  Park  Row  and 
Maudlin  Street  were  widened,  nearly  the  whole  of  the  south 
side  of  the  latter  thoroughfare  being  rebuilt.  Lower  Maudlin 
Street  was  also  improved,  and  the  result  was  a  spacious  road 
from  Clifton  to  St.  James's  Churchyard,  and  also  to  Stokes 
Croft.  In  September,  1872,  the  new  street  named  after  Col- 
ston, extending  from  St.  Augustine's  Place  to  Lower  Maudlin 
Street,  where  it  forms  a  junction  with  Perry  Road,  was  com- 
pleted, and  offered  an  easy  communication  from  the  fashion- 
able suburbs  to  the  centre  of  the  city. 

The  Baptist  denomination  erected  this  year  a  handsome 
place  of  worship  in  Whiteladies  Road,  which  was  opened  by 
the  Hon.  and  Rev.  Baptist  Noel  on  the  30th  September,  under 
the  name  of  Tyndale  Chapel.  The  original  outlay,  £7,500, 
was  increased  by  upwards  of  £5,000  in  1880,  through  the 
addition  of  lecture  rooms  and  schools. 

A  French  Roman  Catholic  Sisterhood,  styled  the  Little 
Sisters  of  the  Poor,  which  about  1861  took  up  their  residence 
in  Bedminster,  and  subsequently  removed  to  Trinity  Street, 
and  then  to  Park  Row,  having  been  compelled  to  leave  their 
last-named  dwelling  by  the  improvements  in  progress  there, 
purchased  a  house  on  Cotham  Hill,  to  which  they  now  re- 
moved. They  afterwards  built,  in  connexion  with  their  con- 
vent, an  asylum  for  the  reception  of  about  one  hundred  sick 
and  aged  poor,  means  for  the  maintenance  of  whom  they 
obtained  by  soliciting  alms  from  door  to  door.  A  chapel  was 
added  to  the  asylum  in  1876,  when  about  £7,000  had  been 
expended  on  the  institution. 

A  large  boarding-house  in  Sion  Row,  once  the  pump-room 


442  THE   ANNALS   OF  BEI8T0L.  [1868. 

of'  the  Sion  spring,  was  purchased  during  the  year  by  a  joint 
stock  company,  and  was  opened  in  October  under  the  name 
of  the  St.  Vincent^s  Rocks  Hotel. 

At  the  general  election  in  November,  the  political  events 
which  had  occurred  in  the  city  a  few  months  before  added 
greatly  to  the  excitement  customary  on  such  occasions.     Mr. 
John  William  Miles  was  again  nominated  by  the  Conservatives, 
who  expressed  confidence  in  his  triumph,  owing  to  the  gain 
of  579  votes  on  the  new  register  claimed  by  their  Association. 
The  Liberal  candidates  were  Mr.  Berkeley  and  Mr.  Samuel 
Morley.     The  poll,  which  took  place  on  the  17th  November, 
resulted  as  follows : — Mr.  Berkeley,  8,759 ;  Mr.  Morley,  8,714 ; 
Mr.  Miles,  6,694.     The  figures  show  a  great  increase  over 
those  recorded  at  the  contest  seven  months  before  ;  and  it  is 
necessary  to  explain  that  the  household  suffrage  conferred  by 
the  Reform  Act  of  1867  had  added  about  7,000  electors  to  the 
constituency,  which  was  thus  enlarged  nearly  50  per  cent. 
The  election  was  marked  by  disorder  to  an  extent  unknown 
for  many  years.     During  the  proceedings  Mr.  Morley  was 
twice  attacked  in  the  streets  with  stones,  and  was  painfully 
wounded  in  the  face.     Much   destruction  of  property  was 
committed  on  the  ^nomination  and  polling  days  by  "red^^  and 
*^blue^^  mobs,  which  rivalled  each   other  in  brutality  and 
violence.     It  was  asserted  in  the  Conservative  organ  that  the 
city  was  ''sacked  and  wrecked ''  by  a  rabble  organised  for 
the  purpose  by  the  Liberal  committee.     Major  Bush  further 
declared  before  a  committee  of  the  Commons,  in  1869,  that 
intimidation  prevailed  to  a  great  extent,  and  that  organised 
mobs,  hired   as  he   believed  by  the   Reform   League,  were 
turned  loose  to  prevent  Conservatives  from  voting.     He  esti- 
mated that  about  900  voters  were  deterred  from  going  to  the 
poll.     Mr.  Herbert  Thomas,  a  leading  Liberal,  gave  evidence 
of  a  flatly  contradictory  character.   The  Liberals,  he  deposed, 
hired  no  ''  roughs,'^  though  to  his  knowledge  as  many  as  1,200 
were  paid  in  April,  1868,  by  the  Conservatives,  who  opened 
200  public-houses,  and  obtained  a  three  days'  holiday  for 
the  labourers  employed  on  the  river  improvement  works,  in 
order  that  they  might  act  against  the  Liberals  at  the  nomin- 
ation.    With  regard  to  the  disturbances  in  November,  Mr. 
Thomas  added  that  out  of  the  17  ruffians  punished  for  rioting 
by  the  magistrates,  15  were  wearing  blue  colours  when  arrested. 
In  consequence  of  the  outrages,  the  Council  petitioned  Par- 
liament, by  a  unanimous  vote,  to  abolish  the  system  of  public 
nominations,  which  had  everywhere  degenerated  into  a  dis- 
orderly and  useless  farce. 


1868.]  CLIFTON  COLLEOE   MISSION.  443 

Clifton  Down  Chapel,  erected  by  the  Congregationalists 
who  had  long  worshipped  in  Bridge  Street  Chapel,  was 
opened  on  the  11th  November  by  the  Rev.  S.  Martin,  of 
London.  The  new  building,  which  is  in  the  fourteenth  cen- 
tury style,  cost  nearly  £10,000.  Funds  were  not  available 
for  raising  a  highly  ornamental  spire.  The  congregation 
traces  its  existence  to  1682,  when  a  licence  from  Charles  II. 
(still  exhibited  in  the  vestry)  was  granted  to  John  Weeks  to 
preach  in  a  room  in  St.  James's  Back.  Subsequently  the 
congregation  removed  to  a  building  erected  for  a  theatre  in 
Tucker  Street ;  and  upon  that  place  being  demolished  for  the 
construction  of  Bath  Street,  a  migration  took  place  to  Bridge 
Street,  where  the  basement  of  the  chapel  was  leased  to  a  wine 
merchant  for  cellarage.  The  arrangement,  of  which  there 
have  been  other  local  examples— one  in  fact  still  exists — 
gave  rise  to  the  following  lines : — 

*'  There's  a  spirit  above  and  a  spirit  below, 
A  spirit  of  weal  and  a  spirit  of  woe ; 
The  spirit  above  is  the  Spirit  Divine, 
The  spirit  below  is  the  spirit  of  wine.'* 

During  the  year  1868  the  two  bells  of  Clifton  Church  were 
increased  to  a  peal  of  eight,  at  the  expense  of  Miss  Clay,  a 
resident  in  the  parish. 

During  this  year  a  novel  and  interesting  movement  was 
started  by  Dr.  Percival,  in  co-operation  with  the  teaching 
staff  and  the  elder  students  of  Clifton  College.  A  ragged 
school  was  established  in  one  of  the  poorest  eastern  districts 
of  the  city — on  the  borders  of  the  parishes  of  St.  Emmanuel 
and  St.  Silas — and  in  a  short  time  about  one  hundred  and 
twenty  children  were  receiving  instruction.  After  the  pass- 
ing of  the  Education  Act  of  1870,  it  was  felt  that  the  School 
Board  might  be  safely  left  to  provide  secular  teaching  in  the 
locality,  and  Dr.  Percival  addressed  a  communication  to  the 
commissioners  for  church  extension  purposes,  appointed  by 
Bishop  Ellicott,  offering  to  maintain  a  mission  in  any  district 
they  should  select.  The  result  was  the  establishment  in 
1875  of  a  mission  in  Newfoundland  Boad  (St.  Barnabas* 
parish),  and  an  invitation  to  the  boys  of  the  College  to 
co-operate  in  the  movement  met  with  a  cordial  response. 
A  large  workshop  was  converted  into  a  mission  room,  and 
two  adjoining  houses  were  afterwards  taken  for  the  purposes 
of  the  work.  The  accommodation  being  found  insuflScient, 
about  £2,000  were  subscribed,  and  a  new  mission  room,  with 
class  rooms,  soup  kitchen,  etc.,  was  opened  in  May,  1882. 
An  additional  building,  used  as  a  workmen's  club  and  library, 


444  THE   AN17ALS   OF   BRISTOL.  [1869. 

was  added  shortly  afterwards.  The  institution  proved  of 
great  service  to  the  sufferers  from  the  disastrous  inundation 
of  1882,  when  the  College,  assisted  by  friends,  raised  an 
extra  subscription  of  £618.  In  the  following  year  the  dis- 
trict undertaken  by  the  mission  was  separated  from  St.  Bar- 
nabas' parish,  and  constituted  the  ecclesiastical  district  of 
St.  Agnes,  and  a  new  church  was  built  at  a  cost  of  upwards 
of  £5,000,  of  which  the  College  and  its  friends  provided  one 
half.  The  building  was  consecrated  on  the  2nd  March, 
1886.  It  ought  to  be  added  that  the  example  of  the  College 
stirred  up  some  of  the  Clifton  parishes  to  establish  similar 
missions  in  the  eastern  districts. 

Under  the  will  of  Miss  Hannah  Ludlow,  a  Quaker  lady, 
who  died  in  February,  1869,  aged  about  ninety  years,  the 
Charity  Trustees  came  into  possession  of  about  £20,000,  the 
interest  upon  which  was  ordered  by  the  testatrix  to  be  di- 
vided into  annuities  of  £30  each,  for  the  benefit  of  women 
of  respectable  character  and  position,  but  impoverished  by 
unavoidable  circumstances.  The  wealth  of  Miss  Ludlow, 
who  was  a  native  of  the  city,  came  to  her  from  a  brother, 
who  was  for  many  years  an  ironmonger  in  Old  Market  Street. 

An  influentially  attended  meeting  was  held  on  the  8th 
April,  the  mayor  (Mr.  F.  Adams)  presiding,  for  the  purpose 
of  promoting  the  establishment  of  a  training  ship  for  the 
reception  of  homeless  and  destitute  boys.  The  subscriptions 
announced  at  the  close  of  the  proceedings  amounted  to  nearly 
£1,500.  In  the  following  August,  the  Lords  of  the  Admiralty 
granted  the  loan  of  an  old  man-of-war,  the  Formidable, 
pierced  for  eighty-four  guns,  which  arrived  at  Kingroad  in 
September,  when  Commander  E.  Poulden,  R.N.,  was  ap- 
pointed captain-superintendent.  About  1,200  homeless  boys 
have  since  been  rescued  from  misery,  trained  as  sailors,  and 
passed  into  active  life,  where  the  vast  majority  have  con- 
ducted themselves  worthily.  In  1874  a  tender,  the  Polly, 
intended  to  take  about  thirty  of  the  elder  lads  on  cruises  for 
practical  training,  was  purchased  at  a  cost  of  about  £1,000. 

The  merchants  attending  the  corn  market  in  the  Exchange 
having  presented  a  memorial  praying  for  protection  from  the 
weather,  the  Council,  at  a  meeting  in  June,  resolved  to  ex- 
pend £2,800  in  covering  the  open  quadrangle  with  glass. 
The  proposal  was  opposed  by  many  members,  the  most  amu- 
sing objection  being  that  of  Alderman  Webb,  who  contended 
that  if  the  market  were  made  "  too  comfortable,  the  farmers, 
a  dilatory  set  of  men,  would  keep  the  corn  merchants  there 
much  longer.^'     The  resolution  was  carried  by  a  majority  of 


1869.]    THE  EXCHANOE  QUADBANOLE.   LORD  BROUOHTON.   445 

20  votes  against  18.  Subsequently,  the  Council  requested  a 
committee  to  consult  with  an  architect  as  to  the  propriety  of 
the  proposed  design.  As  shrewd  observers  anticipated,  the 
selected  architect  lost  no  time  in  producing  a  plan  of  his 
own,  and  although  the  estimated  cost  was  increased  to  £4,000, 
his  proposal  was  adopted.  The  new  design  entailed  consider- 
able alteration  in  the  details  of  the  interior,  a  number  of 
oflSces  being  built  upon  the  top  of  the  colonnade,  and  much 
allegorical  enrichment  introduced.  The  actual  cost  of  the 
improvement,  which  was  completed  in  August,  1872,  was 
little  short  of  £7,000. 

The  Right  Honourable  Sir  John  Cam  Hobhouse,  Lord 
Broughton,  G.C.B.,  F.R.S.,  died  at  his  residence  in  London 
on  the  3rd  June,  1869.  The  son  of  a  Bristolian — Sir  Ben- 
jamin Hobhouse,  bart. — he  was  born  at  Redland  on  the  27th 
June,  1 786,  and  received  his  early  education  on  St.  Michael's 
Hill,  at  a  school  of  great  repute  kept  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Estlin, 
minister  of  Lewin's  Mead  Chapel.  Having  formed  a  friend- 
ship with  Lord  Byron  at  Cambridge,  he  accompanied  the 
poet  in  his  travels  in  1809,  and  on  his  return  published  an 
interesting  narrative  entitled  "  A  Journey  through  Albania.'* 
He  had  previously  produced  a  volume  of  poems  and  trans- 
lations ;  and  the  fourth  canto  of  "  Childe  Harold ''  was  dedi- 
cated to  him  by  the  author.  Mr.  Hobhouse,  who  took 
advanced  views  as  a  politician,  was  one  of  the  few  who  then 
advocated  a  reform  of  the  House  of  Commons,  and  having 
published  in  1819  a  biting  pamphlet,  entitled  ^'A  Trifling 
Mistake,''  he  was  committed  to  Newgate  for  a  breach  of 
parliamentary  privilege,  but  recovered  his  liberty  a  few 
weeks  later,  on  the  death  of  George  III.  He  was  immedi- 
ately afterwards  elected  one  of  the  members  for  Westminster, 
which  he  represented  for  several  years.  In  1832  he  entered 
Lord  Grey's  Ministry  as  Secretary  of  War,  which  oflSce  he 
exchanged  in  1833  for  that  of  Irish  Secretary;  a  twelve- 
month later  he  became  Chief  Commissioner  of  Woods  and 
Forests.  His  candidature  and  rejection  for  Bristol  in  1835 
have  been  already  recorded  [p.  203] .  On  the  return  of  his 
party  to  power  in  the  same  year,  he  became  President  of  the 
Board  of  Control,  and  filled  the  post  for  more  than  six  years. 
In  1846  he  was  again  nominated  to  that  oflSce,  in  which  he 
continued  until  1852.  For  his  distinguished  public  services 
he  was  raised  to  the  peerage  in  February,  1851.  After  re- 
tiring from  public  afiairs,  he  occupied  his  leisure  in  composing 
"  Recollections  of  a  Long  Life,"  privately  printed  in  five 
octavo  volumes,  and  stated  by  the  Edinburgh  Review  (vol. 


446  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL.  [1869. 

133)    to   be   replete   with   interesting  anecdotes  relating  to 
political,  literary,  and  social  life. 

During  the  summer  of  1869  a  memorial  was  addressed  to 
the  Poor  Lav^  Board  by  a  number  of  local  magistrates,  mem- 
bers of  the  Council,  and  guardians  of  the  poor,  pointing  out 
the  anomalies  that  had  arisen  in  the  constitution  of  the  Bris- 
tol board  in  consequence  of  the  changes  effected  by  time  in 
the  ancient  wards.  Each  of  those  districts  was  represented 
at  the  board  by  four  members,  but  while  All  Saints',  St. 
Bwen's,  and  St.  Mary-le-port  each  contained  less  than  200 
ratepayers,  the  assessments  in  St.  MichaeFs  numbered  2,586, 
and  those  in  St.  James's  4,152.  The  memorialists  further 
complained  that  the  guardians  representing  the  ratepayers 
were  generally  outvoted  on  important  questions  by  the  nine- 
teen churchwardens  who  were  guardians  ex-ofl5cio,  and  non- 
representative.*  The  memorial  having  been  sent  to  the  Board 
of  Guardians,  a  motion  was  brought  forward  in  November, 
recommending  a  reconstruction  of  the  body.  To  this  an 
amendment  was  moved,  asserting  that  the  ratepayers  had  a 
sufficient  control  over  the  board,  and  were  generally  satisfied 
with  the  old  system.  On  a  division  the  ratepayers'  guardians 
were  outvoted,  and  the  amendment  was  adopted. 

The  branch  railway  from  Tatton  to  Axbridge,  Cheddar^ 
and  the  neighbouring  district  was  opened  for  traffic  on  the 
3rd  August.  The  new  line,  which  was  originally  projected 
by  the  Somerset  and  Dorset  Company,  was  extended  to  Wells 
in  the  following  April. 

On  the  4th  August,  the  Midland  Railway  Company  offered 
the  public  an  alternative  route  between  Bristol  and  Bath,  by 
opening  a  branch  from  Mangotsfield  to  the  latter  city.  The 
line  had  been  originally  proposed  by  Hudson,  *'  the  Railway 
King,"  in  January,  1846.  For  the  accommodation  of  the 
passengers  on  this  railway,  the  Company  soon  afterwards 
constructed  an  independent  station  near  their  goods  dep6t  at 
Whipping-cat  Hill,  St.  Philip's  (erected  in  1866),  and  it  was 
opened  early  in  1870. 

The  National  Association  for  the  Promotion  of  Social 
Science  opened  its  thirteenth  annual  congress  in  Bristol  on 
the  29th  September,  under  the  presidency  of  Sir  Stafford 
Northcote,  bart.  (Earl  of  Iddesleigh).   The  congress  was  very 

*  SpeakiDg  of  theie  churchwarden  gaardlans  at  a  meeting  of  the  Council, 
January  2,  1878,  Mr.  H.  J.  Mills  said :  "  He  remembered  one  ward  where  the 
churchwarden  would  call  a  vestry  meeting — it  was  a  close  vestry — would  be  the 
only  person  present,  would  vote  himself  into  the  chair,  elect  himself  guardian, 
pass  the  usuaI  vote  of  thanks  to  the  chairman,  and  vote  himself  out  again." 


1869.]      MB.  QEOBQE  THOMAS.      ACCIDENT  AT  THE  THEATRE.         447 

'numerously  attended  by  social  reformers  and  philanthropists 
from  all  parts  of  the  kingdom.  In  addition  to  an  inaugural 
address,  the  president  delivered  a  speech  at  a  crowded  meet- 
ing of  working  men  in  Colston  Hall. 

Under  the  provisions  of  an  Act  recently  passed,  conferring 
the  municipal  franchise  upon  women,  the  burgess  roll  for  this 
year  was  considerably  enlarged,  the  names  of  2,465  female 
ratepayers  appearing  upon  it.  The  addition  was  strikingly 
conspicuous  in  the  Clifton  list,  in  which  were  the  names  of 
641  female  and  1,907  male  burgesses.  A  large  majority  of 
the  new  electors  evincing  Conservative  sympathies,  the  three 
Liberal  councillors  for  Clifton  successively  lost  their  seats. 

During  the  autumn,  to  the  regret  of  many  residents  in  the 
neighbourhood,  a  number  of  the  fine  old  elms  which  decorated 
Queen's  Square  were  cut  down,  their  partial  decay  awaken- 
ing a  dread  of  accidents  in  heavy  gales.  As  in  the  case  of 
Brunswick  Square,  whose  deprivation  of  sylvan  ornaments 
has  been  already  noticed,  a  colony  of  rooks,  an  interesting 
feature  of  city  life,  was  left  homeless.  Many  of  the  Queen 
Square  birds  appear  to  have  quitted  the  city,  but  a  few  be- 
took themselves  to  the  neighbourhood  of  TyndalFs  Park  and 
Cotham. 

The  Deanery  Road,  affording  a  new  route  from  College 
Green  to  the  Hotwells  and  Clifton,  was  opened  on  the  29th 
November  by  the  mayor  (Mr.  W.  K.  Wait),  accompanied  by 
a  large  civic  procession.  The  road  had  cost  the  Corporation 
about  £20,000. 

The  death  of  Mr.  George  Thomas,  which  took  place  at  his 
residence  at  Brislington,  in  December,  excited  general  re- 
gret, and  his  funeral  was  the  occasion  of  almost  unexampled 
manifestations  of  respect.  Upon  the  hearse  entering  the 
city  on  its  way  to  the  Friends  burial  ground  in  Rosemary 
Street,  the  carriages  of  the  mayor,  sheriff,  and  other  mem- 
bers of  the  Corporation  joined  the  procession;  and  at  the 
cemetery  about  five  thousand  citizens,  including  the  Dean  of 
Bristol,  several  clergymen  and  ministers,  and  members  of 
every  public  body,  were  present  to  testify  their  sympathy. 
Mr.  Thomas  had  during  his  life  made  many  munificent  gifts 
to  public  institutions.  By  his  will  about  £13,000  were  be- 
queathed to  various  charities  and  religious  societies. 

The  most  tragical  accident  recorded  in  the  modem  history 
of  the  city  occurred  at  the  New  Theatre,  Park  Row,  on  the 
26th  December.  Being  "boxing  day,''  a  great  crowd  had 
assembled  previous  to  the  opening  of  the  doors,  to  witness 
the  Christmas  pantomime.     Unfortunately  the  avenue  lead- 


448  THE    ANNALS   OP  BBISTOL.  [1870. 

ing  to  the  low-priced  departments  of  the  house  sloped  from 
the  level  of  the  street  for  about  50  feet,  and  the  roadway 
outside  being  densely  packed  with  people,  there  was  a  heavy 
pressure  upon  those  below.  After  the  doors  were  opened, 
the  pressure  became  greater,  and  eventually  it  became  so 
excessive  that  some  of  the  weaker  persons  in  the  crowd,  be- 
coming exhausted,  fell,  and  were  trodden  under  foot.  Their 
cries  were  drowned  by  the  shouts  of  the  stronger  portion  of 
the  multitude ;  and  it  was  a  remarkable  fact  that  their  bodies 
were  walked  over  by  many  persons  who,  forced  on  from  be- 
hind, entered  the  house  and  enjoyed  the  performance  in 
ignorance  of  what  had  occurred.  Reports  of  the  disaster, 
however,  reached  the  ears  of  the  police,  who  by  great  exer- 
tion forced  back  the  crowd^  and  partially  cleared  the  avenue. 
A  fearful  sight  then  presented  itself.  Upwards  of  forty 
victims  were  found  upon  the  ground,  some  dead,  others 
insensible  from  injuries.  Fourteen  dead  bodies,  mostly  of 
women  and  youths,  were  soon  after  laid  in  the  lower  refresh- 
ment room  of  the  theatre,  where  the  performance  was  still 
going  on,  it  being  deemed  perilous  to  make  an  announcement 
of  the  facts  to  the  audience,  which  might  have  brought  about 
a  panic,  and  perhaps  a  still  greater  catastrophe.  Four  more 
of  the  sufferers  expired  after  being  rescued.  The  coroner's 
jury  which  inquired  into  the  case  returned  a  verdict  of 
'^  accidental  death,''  but  recommended  that  separate  en- 
trances should  be  constructed  for  the  pit  and  gallery,  so  as 
to  divide  the  pressure  in  the  avenues.  The  calamity  had  long 
a  disastrous  effect  upon  the  fortunes  of  the  New  Theatre. 

On  the  1st  January,  1870,  the  telegraphic  business  of  the 
country  was  transferred  from  the  private  companies  by  whom 
it  had  been  previously  conducted  to  the  Post  Office.  Some 
alterations  were  made  in  the  new  building  in  Small  Street 
in  order  to  accommodate  a  portion  of  the  telegraph  officials  ; 
but  it  was  not  until  January,  1872,  that  room  was  found  there 
for  the  entire  staff,  which  then  consisted  of  90  clerks  and  50 
messengers.  Soon  after  the  new  system  came  into  force,  the 
telegraphic  system  in  the  district  was  extended  to  all  the 
small  towns  and  rural  villages. 

On  the  1st  January,  in  accordance  with  a  Bankruptcy  Act 
passed  in  the  previous  year,  imprisonment  for  debt  ceased 
throughout  England.  The  bankruptcy  statute  of  1861  had 
already  reduced  the  number  of  debtors  in  prison  to  an  in- 
significant number,  and  there  was  only  one  to  be  liberated 
from  Bristol  gaol  when  the  later  Act  came  into  operation.  A 
local  journal,  commenting  upon  the  fact^  stated  that  at  a  time 


1870.]  DEATH   OV  KB.  BSBKSLB7.      SLSCTION.  449 

within  the  experience  of  the  then  governor  of  the  prison,  the 
total  liabilities  of  those  detained  had  amounted  to  over 
£200,000.  Various  small  bequests  had  been  made  from  time 
to  time  for  the  benefit  of  destitute  debtors.  They  were  trans- 
ferred, in  1875,  to  the  endowments  of  the  Grammar  School. 

The  Court  of  Bankruptcy  also  ceased  at  the  above  date, 
the  business  being  transferred  to  the  County  Court.  Mr.  JUL 
D.  Hill,  who  had  been  appointed  commissioner  on  the  death 
of  Serjeant  Ludlow  in  1851,  and  who  had  gained  a  wide-spread 
reputation  for  his  exertions  on  behalf  of  reformatory  institu- 
tions and  prison  reform,  retired  into  private  life  amidst  many 
tokens  of  respect. 

A  vacancy  in  the  representation  of  the  city  was  caused  on 
the  10th  March  by  the  death  of  Mr.  Henry  Berkeley,  who  had 
held  his  seat  in  no  less  than  eight  Parliaments.  His  friends 
expressed  much  regret  that  he  was  not  spared  to  witness  the 
success  of  a  measure  with  which  his  name  will  be  associated 
in  history.  The  Ballot  Bill  received  the  royal  assent  during 
the  session  of  1872,  and  those  who  had  poured  ridicule  upon 
Mr.  Berkeley's  advocacy  of  its  principle  were  soon  found 
practically  admitting  that  they  had  miscalculated  its  effects. 
Mr.  Berkeley's  demise  caused  a  division  in  the  Liberal  party, 
Mr.  Earkman  D.  Hodgson,  a  London  merchant,  being  selected 
by  the  Liberal  Association,  while  Mr.  Elisha  S.  Robinson  put 
forward  his  claims  as  a  'Mocalman,"  and  a  section  of  the 
working  classes  supported  the  pretensions  of  Mr.  George 
Odger,  of  London,  who  had  been  a  journeyman  shoemaker. 
As  none  of  the  fractions  showed  a  disposition  to  give  way,  it 
was  suggested,  and  finally  determined,  that  a  ^^  test  ballot  '^ 
of  the  constituency — excluding  those  known  to  be  Conserva- 
tives— should  be  taken,  and  that  the  successful  aspirant  at 
that  stage  should  have  the  united  support  of  the  party.  This 
novel  procedure  accordingly  took  place  on  the  22nd  and  23rd 
March,  when  8,698  electors  took  part  in  the  voting ;  the  result 
showing  that  Mr.  Robinson  had  4,502  supporters,  Mr.  Hodg- 
son 2,861,  and  Mr.  Odger  1,335.  Reckoning  upon  a  certain 
amount  of  irritation  amongst  the  friends  of  the  defeatied  can- 
didates, the  Conservatives  now  entered  the  field,  their  cham- 
pion being  Alderman  Sholto  Vere  Hare  (mayor  in  1862-3). 
The  election  took  place  on  the  28th  March,  and  the  sheriff 
declared  the  poll  as  follows :  Mr.  Robinson,  7,832 ;  Mr. 
Hare,  7,062.  About  a  thousand  Liberals  declined  to  support 
Mr.  Robinson.  Shortly  afterwards  the  Conservatives  peti- 
tioned against  the  return ;  and  on  the  23rd  May  Mr.  Baron 
Bramwell  opened  a  court  of  inquiry  at  the  Guildhall.     The 

o  a 


450  THE  ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1870. 

case  turned  out  to  be  of  an  unprecedented  character.  Some 
cases  of  alleged  corrupt  practices  at  the  election  were  adduced 
against  Mr.  Robinson^  but  the  judge  held  them  to  be  un- 
founded. It  was  proved,  however,  that  before  and  during  the 
test  ballot  a  sum  of  between  £8  and  £10  had  been  spent  in 
treating  electors  by  two  agents  employed  by  Mr.  Robinson, 
with  the  object  of  inducing  voters  to  select  him  in  preference  to 
his  competitors.  The  learned  judge  refused  to  decide  whether 
those  acts  voided  the  election,  and  the  case  was  remitted  to 
the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  which  was  unanimously  of  opinion 
that  the  test  ballot  was  one  of  the  steps  in  the  election,  and 
that  the  treating  was  within  the  provisions  of  the  Corrupt 
Practices  Act.  Mr.  Baron  Bramwell  thereupon  unseated  Mr. 
Robinson,  but  refused  to  grant  costs  to  the  petitioners. 
Another  writ  having  been  issued,  Mr.  K.  D.  Hodgson  was 
brought  forward  by  the  Liberals — Mr.  Odger  withdrawing  in 
his  favour — and  Alderman  S.  V.  Hare  was  again  nominated 
by  the  opposite  party.  The  nomination — ^the  last  of  the  many 
tumultuous  scenes  enacted  in  the  Exchange  previous  to  the 
passing  of  the  Ballot  Act — took  place  on  the  24th  June,  and 
the  polling  followed  on  the  25th.  The  number  of  votes  re- 
corded was :  for  Mr.  Hodgson,  7,816 ;  for  Mr.  Hare,  7,238. 
This  was  the  fourth  parliamentary  contest  in  the  city  within 
a  period  of  twenty-six  months. 

The  church  of  St.  Gabriel,  Upper  Easton,  erected  at  a  cost 
of  £4,400,  was  consecrated  on  the  14th  March.  An  ecclesiasti- 
cal parish,  subtracted  from  Trinity,  St.  Philip's,  was  created 
for  this  church  by  an  Order  in  Council. 

An  Act  for  reforming  and  reorganising  the  endowed  schools 
of  the  kingdom  having  passed  in  1869,  the  commissioners 
appointed  under  the  statute  sent  Mr.  Pitch,  a  sub-com- 
missioner, to  Bristol,  to  inquire  into  and  report  upon  the 
schools  of  the  city.  Whilst  the  measure  was  passing  through 
Parliament,  the  local  authorities  had  appealed  to  the  Govern- 
ment to  exempt  Bristol  from  its  provisions,  whereupon  Mr. 
Porster,  the  minister  who  had  charge  of  the  scheme,  in 
declining  to  comply  with  the  request,  assured  the  applicants 
that,  as  the  Bristol  endowments  were  admirably  managed,  the 
Bill  was  not  intended  to  interfere  with  them.  In  spite  of  this 
assurance,  Mr.  Pitch  speedily  published  suggestions  the 
character  of  which  excited  much  local  indignation.  Colston's 
School,  Queen  Elizabeth's  Hospital,  and  the  Red  Maids* 
School,  which  had  an  aggregate  income  of  about  £16,300  a 
year,  were  practically  to  be  swept  away,  in  order  to  found, 
Dy  means  of  their  property^  a  series  of  firsts  second^  and  third 


1870.]         BE0BGANI8ATI0N  OV  THE   ENDOWED   SCHOOLS.  451 

class  schools^  in  which  education  was  to  be  offered  to  both 
sexcs^  though  at  rates  which  the  working  classes  could  not 
afford  to  pay.     The  intention  of  the  founders  of  the  three 
charities  to  assist  poor  and  deserving  parents  was  condemned 
by  the  sub-commissioner  as  the  root  of  an  immense  mass  of 
mischief  and  abuse  that  should  be  wholly  cut  away.      To  the 
objection,  that  the  proposed  changes  would  deprive  the  poor 
of  institutions  expressly  founded  for  their  benefit,  and  divert 
the  funds  to  classes  able  to  provide  for  themselves,  Mr.  Pitch 
retorted,  that  while  the  benefit  of  the  charities  was  mono- 
polised by  about  400  families,  and  those  perhaps  not  the  most 
deserving,  the  entire  population  would  reap  the  advantage  of 
a  system  better  fitted  for  the  age;  that  in  the  primary  schools 
"for  twopence  or  threepence  a  week,  every  working  man 
would  have  within  his  reach  the  most  appropriate  education 
he  could  desire  for  his  children '';  and  that  the  endowments 
would  be  more  beneficially  spent  in  '^  creating  a  ladder  to  the 
universities, ''  the  approach  to  which  would  be  an  object  of 
general  emulation.      The  details  of  the  draft  scheme  of  the 
commissioners,  issued  in  December,  were  in  accordance  with 
the  principles  formulated  by  Mr.  Fitch,  and  evoked  a  general 
expression  of  disapproval,  the  only  voice  raised  in  favour  of 
the  plan  being  that  of  the  Rev.  J.  Percival,  the  headmaster 
of  Clifton  College.     The  exception  was  not  calculated  to  allay 
local  dissatisfaction,  for  it  further  appeared  that  the  com- 
missioners had  not  merely  adopted  the  sweeping  proposals 
of  their  subordinate  in  reference  to  Colston's,  Carr's,  and 
Whitson's  endowments  for  the  poor,  but  had  also  sanctioned 
his   scheme   for  crippling  if  not   degrading  the   Grammar 
School,  in   order,  as  Mr.  Pitch  avowed,  that  it  might  not 
interfere  with  the  development  of  Clifton  College — at  that 
time   a    denominational    class   school  belonging  to  a  joint 
stock  company.      The  features  of  the   commissioners'  plan 
underwent  great  modifications.      It  will  therefore  suffice  to 
say  that  Queen  Elizabeth's  School  was  to  retain  200  boarders, 
whose  parents  were  to  pay  from  twenty-five  to  thirty  guineas 
per  head  yearly;  the  Red  Maids'  School  was  to  have  250 
boarders,  the  annual  fee  for  each  being  from  eighteen  to 
twenty-five  guineas ;  whilst  Colston's  School,  degraded  to  the 
third  class,  was  to  contain  300  boys,  the  charge  for  whom 
was  also  to  range  from  eighteen  to  twenty-five  guineas  a 
head.      Other  children  might  attend  the  schools,  but  they 
were  to  be  simply  day  pupils.      Out  of  the  endowments  set 
free  by   this   arrangement,  the  commissioners   proposed  to 
create  an  institution  styled  the  Queen's  School^  for  girls  of 


452  THE   AITNALS  Of  3BI8TOL.  [1870. 

the  upper  classes,  together  with  some  inferior  schools.  A 
few  free  scholarships  were  provided  in  each  of  the  boarding 
schools  as  prizes  for  meritorious  children  drawn  from  the 
primary  schools ;  but  those  gifts  were  to  be  open  to  competi- 
tors from  all  parts  of  the  kingdom.  In  May,  1871,  the 
Charity  Trustees,  on  behalf  of  the  two  great  schools  under 
their  charge,  proposed  alternative  schemes,  introducing  im- 
portant changes  in  the  existing  regulations,  but  maintain- 
ing the  local  and  charitable  objects  of  the  endowments.  In 
August  the  commissioners  abandoned  the  features  of  Mr. 
Fitch's  plan  which  had  excited  wide-spread  objection,  and 
made  various  other  concessions  to  local  opinion,  the  attack  on 
the  Grammar  School  being  entirely  defeated.  They  insisted, 
however,  that  forty  free  scholarships  in  Queen  Elizabeth's 
Hospital  and  twenty  in  Whitson's  School  should  be  reserved 
for  children  selected  by  competition  from  the  elementary 
schools  of  Gloucestershire  and  Somerset,  and  that  two 
members  of  the  governing  body  should  be  appointed  by  the 
members  of  Parliament  for  those  counties.  In  March,  1872, 
the  Merchants'  Society  proposed  an  alternative  scheme  on 
behalf  of  Colston's  School,  rejecting  the  commissioners'  sug- 
gestion of  day  schools,  and  proposing  to  render  liberal 
assistance  to  the  Trades  School.  Under  this  arrangement 
the  boys  in  Colston's  School  were  to  be  reduced  from  120  to 
100 ;  and  the  patronage  as  to  nominations — which  it  was 
admitted  had  been  sometimes  exercised  without  reference  to 
fitness  or  merit — was  to  be  surrendered ;  on  the  other  hand, 
the  right  of  preferring  a  certain  number  of  orphans  was 
reserved.  The  Society  added,  that  if  its  proposals  were  ac- 
cepted it  would  endow  the  reorganised  institutions  with  the 
sum  of  £10,000  (including  certain  debts  due  to  it  by  Colston's 
Hospital).  This  scheme,  with  some  modifications  as  to  details, 
was  agreed  to  in  1874  by  the  commissioners,  who  at  the  same 
time  relinquished  their  attempt  to  open  the  City  and  Red 
Maids'  Schools  to  children  from  the  country  districts.  It  was 
determined  that  the  foundation  boarders  in  the  City  School 
should  not  exceed  160,  and  that  the  surplus  income  should  be 
applied  to  the  endowment  of  day  schools.  The  boarders  were 
to  be  preferentially  elected  as  follows :  sixty  poor  orphans 
or  children  of  incapacitated  parents,  residents  of  Bristol  and 
Congresbury ;  fifty  boys  chosen  by  examination  from  the 
Bristol  elementary  schools,  and  fifty  selected  from  the  new 
day  schools  to  be  created  under  the  scheme.  The  boarders 
in  the  Eed  Maids'  School  were  fixed  at  eighty,  as  before,  of 
whom  fifty  were  to  be  orphans  or  children  of  incapacitated 


1870.]       THE  ENDOWED   SCHOOLS.      EAILWAY   TO  CLIPTON.  453 

parents ;  fifteen  to  be  chosen  from  the  elementary  schools  in 
the  city ;  and  fifteen  to  be  drawn  from  new  day  schools  to  be 
established  and  supported  out  of  Whitson's  endowment^  aided 
by  a  sum  of  £5,000  drawn  from  Peloquin's  charity.     The 
boarding  school  in  Denmark   Street  was   to  be   eventually 
removed  to  a  more  appropriate  site,  and  the  old  building 
converted  into  one  of  the  day  schools  just  referred  to.    As 
regarded  the  Grammar  School,  the  scheme  provided  that  the 
existing  endowment,  which  was  very  limited,  should  be  sup- 
plemented  by  £5,000,   a  further  part   of   Mrs.   Peloquin's 
bequest  for  doles  to  the  poor,  by  £4,250  of  the  local  Loan 
Money  charity,  and  also  by  £355  left  for  the  redemption  or 
relief  of  poor  debtors  in  prison.     A  new  school  was  also  to 
be  erected  in  a  suitable  locality.    Finally,  the  governing  body 
of  the  three  foundations  was  to  comprise  the  existing  Charity 
Trustees  and  six  gentlemen  elected  by  certain  local  constituent 
bodies,  with  an  addition,  in  the  case  of  the  Bed  Maids'  school, 
of  four  ladies,  to  be  appointed  by  the  other  governors.     The 
scheme   received  the  approval   of  the  Crown  on   May  13, 
1875.     By  the  scheme  dealing  with  Colston's  endowment  the 
Merchants'  Society  and  the  Colston  nominees  lost  their  pa- 
tronage as  regarded  the  admission  of  boys,  who  were  there- 
after to  be  selected  by  order  of  merit,  80  from  the  elementary 
schools  in  Bristol,  and  20  from  those  of  Gloucestershire,  Wilts, 
and  Somerset.    In  addition  to  the  foundation  boys,  the  gover- 
nors were  to  admit  others,  on  payment  of  about  £30  a  year, 
to  all  the  advantages  of  the  school.     Exhibitions  to  the  value 
of  £100  a  year  were  to  be  created,  to  enable  meritorious  boys 
to  finish  their  education  at  a  grammar  school.     In  accordance 
with  the  founder's  injunctions^  all  the  pupils  were  to  be  in- 
structed in  the  doctrines  of  the  English  Church.     The  gover- 
nors were  to  consist  of  the  bishop  of  the  diocese,  the  rector  of 
Stapleton,  eleven  persons  nominated  by  the  Merchants'  Society, 
two  by  the  magistrates  of  Somerset  and  Gloucestershire,  three 
by  the  Bristol  School  Board,  and  three  by  co-optation.     The 
management  of  the  Trades  School  was  transferred  to  the 
governors  of  the  school,  who  were   also  charged  with  the 
establishment  of  a  school  for  girls  when  funds  were  available. 
The  scheme  received  the  Queen's  approval  on  the  4th  Feb- 
ruary, 1875. 

In  the  Parliamentary  session  of  1870,  a  Bill  was  promoted 
for  an  extension  of  the  Port  and  Pier  railway  from  Sea-mills 
to  the  South  Wales  Union  line,  near  Ashley  Hill,  by  which 
the  dock  at  Avonmouth  woold,  when  finished,  be  brought 
into  communication  with  the  great  trunk  railways.    The  Port 


4>4  THE   AXSALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1870. 

and  Pier  Company  had  no  funds  to  carry  oat  the  work,  and 
upon  the  Great  Western  board  discovering  that  a  refusal  to 
support  the  scheme  would  throw  it  exclusively  into  the  hands 
of  the  Midland  Company,  the  two  directorates  entered  into 
negotiations.     The  result  was  an  arrangement  under  which 
another  Bill,  for  the  construction  of  the  extension  line  bv  the 
two  companies  jointly,  was   presented   to   Parliament,  and 
received  the  royal  assent  in  1871.     The  works  were  com- 
menced in  the  following  August.     The  Clifton  station  was 
built   upon   a  portion   of  the   nursery  grounds   of   Messrs. 
Garraway  &  Co.,  and  the  line  from  the  Joint  Station  to  that 
point  was  opened  on  the  1st  October,  1874-.    The  driving  of  the 
tunnel  under  the  Downs,  almost  exactly  a  mile  in  length,  was 
an  arduous  operation,  but  was  completed  in  February,  1875. 
The  cost  of  the  line  had  been  estimated  at  £225,000,  but  the 
actual  outlay  was  £450,000.     Its  joint  proprietors  were  at 
that  time  anxious  to  open  the  line  for  passenger  traffic,  but 
the  Government  inspector  withheld   the  needful  certificate, 
contending  that  a  station  should  be  constructed  at  the  junc- 
tion near  Sneyd  Park,  and  his  objection  was  upheld  by  the 
Court  of  Appeal  in  January,  1877.     Subsequently  the  com- 
panies became  unwilling  to  carry  passengers  beyond  Clifton 
station,  and  in  spite  of  repeated  remonstrances,  the  western 
section  of  the  line  remained  closed  to  passengers  for  upwards 
of  ten  years,  although  the  additional  works  required  by  the 
Board  of  Trade  would  not  have  cost  more  than  about  £600. 
It  must  be  added  that  the  debenture  holders  of  the  Port  and 
Pier  line,  who  had  thrown  it  into  the  hands  of  a  receiver 
[see  p.  386],  were  equally  obstinate  in  refusing  to  supply  the 
deficiency.     In  1884  the  Midland  board  obtained  parliamen- 
tary powers  to  provide  the  required  signal  station,  etc.,  and 
to  charge  the  expense  on  the  receipts  of  the  Port  and  Pier 
Company.     The  necessary  works  were  soon  after  completed, 
but  the  receiver  of  the  Port  line  then  refused  to  provide  one 
or  two  servants  to  work  the  signals.     At  last,  in  August, 
1885,  his  resistance  was  overcome  by  a  judgment  of  the  High 
Court  of  Justice,  and  the  railway  was  opened  throughout  on 
the  1st  September  following. 

A  meeting  of  the  Council  was  convened  in  December,  for 
the  purpose  of  considering  what  steps  should  be  taken  in 
reference  to  the  Elementary  Education  Act  of  the  previous 
session.  According  to  statistics  prepared  under  the  super- 
vision of  the  town  clerk,  the  number  of  elementary  schools 
in  the  city  was  236,  but  38  of  them  had  not  sent  in  a  return 
of  thoir  pupils.     With  regard  to  the  remaining  198  schools. 


1870.]  ESTABLISHMENT  OF  A  SCHOOL  BOABD.  455 

70  were  Church  of  England  schools,  with  10,628  scholars ;  36 
belonged  to  Nonconformists,  and  had  6,326  pupils;  7  were 
Roman  Catholic,  with  1,057  children;  and  5  were  endowed 
schools,  having  421  inmates.  There  were  also  nine  ragged 
schools,  six  industrial  schools,  and  two  orphanages,  in  which 
were  altogether  3,265  children.  The  total  number  of  scholars 
in  attendance  was  nominally  23,286.  Finally,  11  schools 
were  being  built,  with  accommodation  for  3,252  children. 
This  left  a  deficiency  in  the  accommodation  required  by  the 
Act  of  6,591 ;  but  the  insufficiency  was  in  fact  much  greater, 
the  central  and  Clifton  districts  being  over-supplied  with 
buildings,  while  there  was  a  general  lack  of  accommodation 
in  the  poorer  parishes.  The  Council  unanimously  resolved  to 
apply  to  the  Government  for  the  formation  of  a  School  Board. 
The  request  having  been  complied  with  immediately,  the 
election  of  a  board  of  fifteen  members  took  place  in  January, 
1871,  and  the  proceedings,  through  their  novelty,  excited 
much  interest.  The  Conservatives  nominated  seven  church- 
men, hoping,  with  the  assistance  of  the  Roman  Catholic3>  who 
accumulated  their  fifteen  votes  upon  a  single  candidate,  to 
secure  a  majority  in  favour  of  denominational  education. 
The  Liberals  nominated  only  five  gentlemen,  but  counted 
upon  the  aid  of  candidates  representing  the  chief  dissenting 
bodies  to  maintain  their  principle  of  unsectarian  t^achii^g. 
Four  additional  Conservative  candidates  were  brought  for- 
ward by  the  Orangemen,  the  High  Church  party,  and  the 
Conservative  Working  Men^s  -Association.  The  school- 
masters, the  secularists,  and  some  other  interests  also  brought 
nominees  into  the  field.  The  election,  which  was  by  ballot, 
occupied  two  days,  and  resulted  in  the  return  of  three  of  the 
Conservative  and  of  all  the  Liberal  list.  The  entire  board 
consisted  of  nine  unsectarian  and  of  six  denominational  mem- 
bers. The  chairman,  elected  at  the  first  meeting,  was  Mr. 
Lewis  Fry.  An  educational  census  was  next  taken,  from 
which  it  appeared  that  5,300  children  between  5  and  12  years 
of  age — being  nearly  a  fifth  of  that  class  in  the  city — were 
not  attending  any  school.  On  further  inquiry,  it  turned  out 
that  the  estimate  was  too  favourable,  upwards  of  4,000 
children  alleged  by  their  parents  to  be  at  school  being  un- 
known at  the  respective  institutions.  The  actual  number  not 
in  attendance  was  thus  9,392,  or  one-third  of  the  children  of 
school  age.  A  newspaper  critic  nevertheless  continued  to 
speak  of  the  School  Board  as  a  '^  white  elephant,"  and  to 
censure  the  Council  for  having  needlessly  added  to  the  tax- 
ation of  the  ratepayers.     The  compulsory  clauses  of  the  Act 


456  THE  ANNALS  OF  BRISTOL.  [1870* 

were  put  in  force ;  but,  in  spite  of  numerous  prosecutions  of 
careless  parents,  the  daily  absentees  from  school  were  for 
some  time  rarely  under  7,000.  The  first  building  operations 
of  the  board  were  in  the  St.  Philip's  district,  schools  in  Free- 
stone Road  for  650  children  being  opened  in  August,  1874, 
and  at  Barton  Hill,  for  750  children,  in  September,  1875. 
Six  schools  were  transferred  to  the  board  about  the  same 
time.  Subsequently,  large  school  buildings  were  erected  to 
accommodate  the  districts  of  Ashton  Gate,  the  Hotwells, 
Redland,  Baptist  Mills,  etc.;  and  within  a  few  years  the 
authorities  were  enabled  to  boast  that  the  names  of  practically 
all  the  children  of  school  age  were  upon  the  registers  of 
efiicient  schools ;  though  in  point  of  regular  attendance  there 
was  still  much  to  be  desired.  A  considerable  addition  to  the 
educational  machinery  of  the  city  has  been  made  since  1870 
through  the  efforts  of  voluntary  bodies.  Elections  for  the 
School  Board  have  been  held  triennially,  but  the  principle  of 
unsectarian  teaching  which  predominated  at  the  first  election, 
though  often  attacked,  has  not  been  overthrown. 

During  the  year  1870  efforts  were  made  by  various  philan- 
thropic persons  to  enable  working  men  to  enjoy  social  inter- 
course during  their  hours  of  leisure  in  places  where  they  might 
have  the  conveniences  of  the  public  house  without  its  disad- 
vantages. One  of  the  first  of  those  institutions  in  Bristol  was 
the  "  British  Workman,'^  established  in  College  Street ;  and 
although  the  class  for  which  it  was  designed  were  somewhat 
slow  in  conferring  their  patronage,  the  new  system  steadily 
made  way.  The  necessity  of  a  reform  in  the  licensing  laws 
was  at  this  period  generally  acknowledged.  Beer  licences 
being  obtainable  by  almost  any  one  at  a  trifling  cost,  beer 
shops  sprang  up  in  excessive  numbers.  As  an  illustration  of 
the  evil,  it  was  stated  at  a  Council  meeting  in  February, 
1871,  that  in  Hotwell  Road  between  Trinity  and  St.  Peter's 
churches — a  distance  of  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile — there 
were  thirty  drinking  establishments.  (The  number  of  inns, 
taverns,  and  beer-shops  in  the  whole  borough  had  increased 
from  400  in  1820,  and  650  in  1840,  to  about  1,250.)  The 
operation  of  the  Licensing  Act  of  1872  gradually  effected  a 
reduction  of  the  public  houses  in  over  supplied  localities. 
Under  this  measure  the  time  of  closing  on  Sundays  was  fixed 
at  ten  o'clock,  and  one  hour  later  on  week  days.  In  1876, 
another  temperance  organization,  called  the  Bristol  Tavern 
and  Club  Company,  was  formed  for  carrying  out  the  system 
of  '^public  houses  without  the  drink,''  and  several  such 
taverns  were  opened.     The  increasing  enlightenment  of  the 


1871.]  CENSUS.      SALES   OF  BRISTOL   CHINA.  ^57 

working  classes  has  also  greatly  promoted  temperance  and 
thrift,  the  growth  of  which,  to  those  who  remember  the 
social  habits  of  the  labourer  half  a  century  ago,  is  one  of  the 
most  gratifying  features  of  the  age. 

The  decennial  census  of  the  kingdom  was  taken  on  the  3rd 
April,  1871.  Owing  to  the  demolition  of  dwellings  for  street 
improvements  in  the  ancient  city,  there  was  a  considerable 
decrease  of  population  in  some  of  the  parishes,  especially  in 
St.  James's,  St.  Nicholas',  Rcdclifif,  and  Temple.  The  aggre- 
gate was  62,662.  The  population  of  the  entire  borough  was 
182,552.  St.  Philip's  out-parish  (42,287),  Clifton  (26,364), 
St.  George's  (16,209),  and  the  District  (13,841),  showed  a 
great  advance.  The  other  parishes  stood  as  follows :  Stoke 
Bishop  tything  (within  the  borough),  9,211  ;  Bedminster, 
82,488  (of  which  23,522  were  within  the  borough) ;  Horfield, 
2,985  ;  Stapleton,  6,960  ;  Mangotsfield,  4,533. 

Greenbank  Cemetery,  an  extensive  burial  place  for  the 
out-parish  of  St.  Philip,  laid  out  by  the  Burial  Board  of  the 
district  at  a  cost  of  about  £11,500,  was  consecrated  on  the 
14th  April,  1871.  Owing  to  the  rapid  growth  of  population, 
it  was  deemed  advisable  to  extend  the  limits  of  the  cemetery 
in  1880. 

The  story  of  the  famous  Bristol  porcelain  factory  of  Richard 
Champion  does  not  come  within  the  chronological  limits  of 
this  work.  Those  desirous  of  information  on  the  subject  may 
be  referred  to  Mr.  Owen's  beautiful  and  trustworthy  "  Two 
Centuries  of  Ceramic  Art  in  Bristol."  It  may  be  stated, 
however,  that  at  an  auction  in  London,  in  April,  1871,  some 
pieces  of  the  magnificent  service  presented  by  Champion  to 
Burke,  soon  after  that  statesman's  election  for  the  city,  sold  as 
follows  :  the  teapot  (the  beautiful  Jiecorations  of  which  were 
attributed  to  Henry  Bone,  R.A.,  onfe  of  Champion's  appren- 
tices), 190  guineas;  cream-jug  and  cover,  115  guineas;  a 
chocolate  cup  and  saucer,  90  guineas;  two  teacups  and 
saucers,  70  and  40  guineas ;  the  cover  of  the  sugar  basin,  60 
guineas.  A  fine  Bristol  vase  was  bought  in  at  over  £200. 
At  another  sale,  in  February,  1875,  a  cup  and  saucer  of  the 
Burke  set  brought  £83,  and  a  set  of  three  jugs  £120.  In 
July,  1876,  at  the  sale  of  Mr.  W.  R.  Callendars  collection, 
the  Burke  teapot  sold  for  £215  5«.,  and  a  chocolate  cup  and 
saucer  of  the  same  set  brought  £91.  Another  famous  Bristol 
service  was  that  ordered  by  Burke  for  presentation  to  his 
friend  Mr.  Joseph  Smith,  of  Queen  Square.  The  teapot  of 
this  set  sold,  in  1876^  for  £74  10^.,  and  a  teacup  and  saucer 
have  brought  £55.     On  the  dispersion  of  the  Edkins'  collec- 


458  THE   ANNALS  OF   BRISTOL.  [1871. 

tion,  in  1874,  a  Bristol  vase,  with  landscape,  sold  for  £300; 
four  figures  emblematic  of  the  quarters  of  the  world  brought 
£610;  and  a  pair  of  compotiers  £270. 

In  consequence  of  the  complaints  of  some  of  the  inhabitants^ 
a  Government  order  was  issued  in  July  for  the  closing  of  the 
three  burial  grounds  connected  with  Clifton  parish  church, 
and  of  the  cemetery  attached  to  Dowry  Chapel,  subject  to 
certain  reservations  as  regarded  surviving  relatives  of  those 
already  interred  there. 

The  Odd-Fellows'  Hall,  Rupert  Street,  was  commenced 
during  the  summer,  and  opened  in  the  following  January. 
The  building  cost  about  £2,000.  In  February,  1873,  the 
local  Foresters,  with  a  similar  purpose  in  view,  purchased  a 
house  in  Broadmead  known  as  the  Alhambra  Music  Hall.  A 
portion  of  the  building  continued  to  be  used  for  public  enter- 
tainments, and  in  June,  1874,  after  an  evening  concert,  it  was 
destroyed  by  fire.  The  Foresters  appear  to  have  relinquished 
the  property  in  1880. 

The  foundation  stone  of  Cotham  Grove  (Baptist)  Chapel 
was  laid  on  the  22nd  June,  and  the  building  was  opened  for 
public  worship  in  the  following  year. 

After  many  years  interruption,  regular  steam  communica- 
tion between  Bristol  and  New  York  was  revived  this  summer 
by  Messrs.  Mark  Whitwill  &  Son.  The  first  vessel  of  the 
new  line,  the  iron  screw-steamer  Arragon,  1,500  tons  register, 
sailed  from  Bristol  on  the  1st  July,  with  forty-four  passengers 
and  a  general  cargo.  The  vessel  returned  to  the  Avon  on  the 
11th  August.  In  March,  1872,  another  steamship,  the  Great 
Western,  was  placed  on  the  service,  which  took  the  name  of 
the  Great  Western  Steamship  Line.  Other  vessels  were 
added  at  intervals.  The  Great  Western  was  wrecked  near 
New  York,  through  a  collision,  in  March,  1876.  In  May, 
1878,  the  first  cargo  of  live  American  cattle  arrived  in  this 
port,  and  an  active  trade  in  meat  subsequently  sprang  up.  In 
1881  the  Great  Western  Steamship  Company  was  formed, 
with  a  capital  of  about  £300,000,  for  purchasing  the  above 
line  and  extending  the  business.  The  development,  how- 
ever, was  followed  by  a  reaction  ;  and  the  transatlantic  trade 
became  so  unprofitable,  except  as  regarded  vessels  of  great 
burden,  that  several  of  the  ships  ceased  to  run.  In  February, 
1886,  it  was  announced  that  four  vessels,  the  Cornwall,  the 
Som-erset,  the  Devon,  and  the  Gloucester,  which  were  too  small 
for  the  American  trade,  had  been  sold  to  the  Turkish  Govern- 
ment for  £39,000.  The  Warwick  and  the  Dorset,  each  of  about 
4,000  tons,  were  then  trading  regularly  between  Avonmouth 


1871.]      AMERICAN   STEAMEBS.      ST.    WEBBUROH's   BBHOYED.        459 

and  New  York ;  and  the  Bristol,  the  only  remaining  small 
boat^  was  laid  up.  At  the  annual  meetings  a  few  weeks 
later^  it  was  stated  that  a  large  part  of  the  capital  was  lost ; 
but  the  directors  expressed  confidence  that  if  additional  large 
vessels  were  purchased,  and  weekly  sailings  re-established, 
the  concern  would  work  through  its  difficulties.  In  1879 
another  line  of  steamers,  called,  after  the  first  vessel,  the 
Bristol  City  Line,  was  started  by  Messrs.  Charles  Hill  & 
Sons,  and  is  still  continued.  The  Bristol  City,  after  leaving 
New  York  on  the  28th  December,  1880,  with  a  crew  of 
twenty-six  men,  was  never  heard  of  again.  The  Bath  City 
was  lost  ofi*  the  coast  of  Newfoundland  in  November,  1881. 
The  crew  suffered  dreadfully  from  the  frost,  and  the  captain 
and  several  men  perished.  The  Oloucester  City  foundered  at 
sea  on  the  23rd  February,  1883.  The  Wells  City,  of  the  same 
line,  was  sunk  in  New  York  harbour  on  the  10th  February, 
1 887,  through  an  accidental  collision  with  another  steamer. 
There  was  no  loss  of  life  in  the  lasrt  two  disasters. 

During  the  summer  the  ancient  thoroughfare  bearing  the 
appropriate  name  of  Steep  Street,  up  and  down  which  the 
Welsh  mail  once  crawled  on  its  to-and-fro  journey,  was  en- 
tirely swept  away  by  the  Streets  Improvement  Committee. 
A  fierce  hand-to-hand  struggle  between  the  Royalists  and 
the  Parliamentarians  is  recorded  to  have  taken  place  in  this 
thoroughfare  after  the  surrender  by  Fiennes  to  Prince  Rupert. 
The  street  contained  a  notable  seventeenth  century  house, 
long  known  as  the  Ship  Inn. 

A  small  wooden  chapel  of  ease  to  Bedminster  was  erected 
at  Knowle  early  in  1865.  The  attendance  increasing,  the 
chancel  of  a  permanent  church,  in  brick,  dedicated  to  the 
Nativity,  was  erected,  and  the  building  was  consecrated  on 
14th  September,  1871.  A  large  portion  of  the  pei;pianent  nave 
was  added  in  1883 ;  but  Bishop  EUicott,  before  its  consecra- 
tion in  June  of  that  year,  required  the  removal  of  a  structure 
called  a  baldacchino,  surmounting  the  Communion-table,  and 
the  incumbent,  with  much  lamentation,  complied  with  the 
demand.  The  church,  which  was  soon  after  reported  to  be 
fitted  up  with  "  confessional  boxes,"  had  cost  £6,000  up  to 
that  date. 

The  Jewish  synagogue  in  Park  Row,  constructed  upon  a 
portion  of  the  site  evacuated  by  the  Little  Sisters  of  the  Poor 
[see  p.  441],  was  consecrated  with  much  ceremony  on  the  7th 
September,  1871.     The  building  cost  about  £4,000. 

Upon  the  death,  in  1871,  of  the  Rev.  John  Hall,  for  many 
years  rector  of  St.  Werburgh's,  the  Council  represented  to  the 


460  THE  ANXALS  OF  BRISTOL.  [1871. 

Lord  Chancellor,  the  patron  of  the  living,  the  desirability  of 
removing  the  church  to  one  of  the  necessitous  districts  in  the 
suburbs,  by  which  a  great  public  improvement  would  be 
effected  in  the  city.  It  was  shown  that  the  number  of  par- 
ishioners was  only  eighteen — not  one  pf  whom  was  a  rate- 
payer— and  that  the  congregation  attending  divine  service 
was  extremely  limited.  The  carriage  way  in  front  of  part  of 
the  church — one  of  the  most  crowded  thoroughfares  in  Bristol 
— was  only  18  feet  wide.  Lord  Hatherley  consented  to  sus- 
pend his  presentation,  provided  that  a  new  church  were  built 
in  a  suitable  position ;  and  the  Council  thereupon  resolved  to 
apply  for  powers  to  remove  the  edifice,  and  to  widen  Corn 
and  Small  streets.  Advantage  was  taken  of  the  opportunity 
to  apply  for  powers  to  make  a  new  street  from  Lower  Maudlin 
Street  to  Broadmead,  to  effect  some  improvements  at  Mont- 
pelier,  and  to  improve  a  road  from  Regent  Street  to  Victoria 
Square  opened  by  the  Merchants'  Society,  the  total  expendi- 
ture being  estimated  at  £^30,000.  No  measures,  however, 
were  taken  for  a  considerable  time  to  carry  out  the  removal 
of  St.  Werburgh's,  which  in  the  meanwhile  had  been  sup- 
plied with  a  new  rector;  and  in  the  session  of  1875  a  Bill 
was  privately  promoted  in  Parliament  for  transferring  the 
church  and  its  revenues  to  another  district.  The  lovers 
of  ancient  monuments  warmly  disapproved  of  the  scheme, 
but  finding  that  resistance  to  the  improvement  of  Com 
and  Small  streets  had  no  prospect  of  success,  they  con- 
tented themselves  by  agitating  for  the  preservation  of 
the  tower  of  the  church,  as  a  graceful  ornament  as  well 
as  an  historical  feature  of  the  city.  They  were  defeated 
in  the  Council,  however,  by  a  largo  majority.  The  Cor- 
poration subsequently  resolved  to  acquire  the  site  of  the 
church  and  churchyard ;  but  the  promoters  of  the  Bill,  plead- 
ing the  cost  of  carrying  it  to  success,  withdrew  it  from 
Parliament.  In  1876,  when  a  second  Bill  received  the  royal 
assent,  the  Council  approved  of  an  agreement  with  the 
parish  authorities  for  the  purchase  of  the  site  for  the  sum  of 
£11,900,  being  £2,400  in  excess  of  the  price  asked  by  the 
parish  in  1872.  Another  agitation  now  sprang  up  for  the 
maintenance  of  the  tower,  which  the  Council  at  one  meeting 
resolved  to  preserve ;  afterwards  reversed  its  decision ;  and 
again  rescinded  the  latter  vote  on  the  antiquaries  offering  to 
contribute  upwards  of  £1,000,  the  estimated  value  of  the  site. 
In  consequence  of  these  changes  of  policy,  and  of  the  neces- 
sity of  ascertaining  whether  the  ecclesiastical  authorities 
would  allow  the  tower  to  be  separated  from  the  churchy  the 


I 

■    t 

1871.]      BSKOYAL  OF  8T.  WERBUBOH's  CHURCH,         461  | 

signature  of  a  positive  contract  for  the  purchase  of  the  ground 
was  deferred  from  time  to  time.  At  length,  in  March,  1877, 
it  was  ascertained  that  the  bishop  and  archdeacon  would 
permit  the  tower  to  remain,  provided  the  Corporation  would 
hold  itself  responsible  for  accidents  which  might  occur  if  the 
fabric  fell  when  deprived  of  support.  To  this  condition  the 
Council  demurred,  and  the  matter  threatened  to  be  again 
indefinitely  postponed,  when  the  London  and  South  Western 
Banking  Company  offered  to  buy  of  the  Corporation  as  much 
of  the  site  of  the  church  as  was  not  required  for  widening  the 
streets,  undertaking  to  retain  the  tower,  to  make  a  thoroughfare 
through  its  base  for  foot  passengers,  to  keep  the  structure  in 
repair,  and  to  be  responsible  for  accidents.  As  the  Council 
had  not  completed  the  purchase,  it  could  not  have  dealt 
immediately  with  the  bank's  proposal,  even  if  it  had  felt  a 
wish  to  do  so.  What  it  really  did,  was  to  again  reverse  its 
decision  with  respect  to  the  tower,  which  was  finally  con- 
demned by  a  great  majority.  It  was  further  resolved  to 
complete  the  long  suspended  contract.  In  the  meantime,  the 
churchwardens  of  the  parish  had  received  a  direct  application 
from  the  Southwestern  Bank,  and  at  a  meeting  of  the  vestry 
it  was  resolved  that,  as  the  Corporation  had  allowed  more  than 
a  year  to  elapse  without  definitively  accepting  the  proposal 
made  by  the  parish,  the  negotiation  should  be  considered  at 
an  end.  The  bank  then  purchased  the  site  for  £15,130,  and 
gave  £3,120  additional  for  the  old  parsonage  on  the  north 
side  of  the  passage  leading  from  Small  Street  to  the  Com- 
mercial Rooms.  The  church,  in  which  divine  service  was  per- 
formed for  the  last  time  on  the  12th  August,  1877,  was  taken 
down  in  the  spring  of  1878,*  when  forty  large  chests  of  human 
remains,  and  about  a  hundred  leaden  coffins,  were  removed 
to  Greenbank  Cemetery  at  an  outlay  of  about  £700.  The 
monuments  in  the  church  were  placed  in  the  new  St.  Wer- 
burgh's  (erected  in  Mina  fioad.  Baptist  Mills),  which  was,  or 
rather  professed  to  be,  a  reproduction  of  the  ancient  edifice, 
and  which  was  consecrated  on  the  30th  September,  1879. 
The  foundations  of  the  new  bank  were  carried  down  to  an 
unusual  depth,  and  bones  were  found  at  such  a  distance  from 
the  surface  as  to  lead  to  a  belief  that  the  cemetery  of  the 
original  church  was  fully  twelve  feet  below  the  level  of  the 
fifteenth  century  edifice.  The  purchasers  of  the  site  adopted 
a  design  for  a  lofty  building,  occupying  the  whole  of  the 

*  With  the  removal  of  the  tower  the  citizens  also  lost  the  notes  of  the  oarfew 
bell,  which  rang  nightly  at  eight  o'clock.  The  nine  o'clock  cnrfew  of  St. 
Kicholas  is  now  the  only  one  remaining  in  the  city. 


462  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL.  [1871. 

ground  purchased,  excepting  that  reserved  for  widening  the 
streets,  and  extending  over  the  -passage  leading  to  the 
Commercial  Rooms.  But  the  committee  of  the  latter  insti- 
tution obtained  injunctions  restraining  the  company  not 
only  from  covering  the  passage  but  from  raising  their  new 
premises  to  a  height  which  would  obscure  the  lights  of  the 
reading  room.  After  three  years  of  costly  litigation,  the 
proprietors  of  the  Commercial  Booms  succeeded  in  maintain- 
ing their  rights,  and  the  great  structure  contemplated  by 
the  bank  was  left  unfinished.  The  closing  incident  in  this 
protracted  affair  occurred  in  the  Council  in  August,  1881, 
when,  as  the  result  of  an  arbitration,  the  sum  of  £9,639  was 
ordered  to  be  paid  to  the  banking  company  for  the  value  of 
two  small  slices  of  ground  given  up  for  the  improvement  of 
Com  and  Small  Streets,  a  further  sum  of  £1,200  being  paid 
in  the  shape  of  costs.  As  the  Corporation  had  thus  to  give 
considerably  more  for  an  insignificant  fraction  of  the  site 
than  was  asked  for  the  entire  plot  nine  years  before,  its 
vacillating  and  dilatory  conduct  provoked  much  angry  and 
derisive  criticism. 

During  a  heavy  gale  on  the  20th  December,  1871,  the  spire 
of  the  Church  of  St.  Mary,  Stoke  Bishop,  was  entirely  de- 
molished by  the  wind.  It  was  a  wooden  structure,  90  feet 
in  height,  and  had  iust  been  completed.  The  spire  was  soon 
afterwards  rebuilt  ik  a  more  substantial  manuer 

A  private  company,  unconnected  with  the  city,  having 
brought  forward  a  scheme  for  furnishing  Bristol  with  a  series 
of  street  tramways  for  the  accommodation  of  passengers,  the 
subject  engaged  the  attention  of  the  Council  for  some  time, 
there  being  much  difference  of  opinion  as  to  whether  the  new 
system  of  commmunication  should  be  allowed  to  pass  into 
the  hands  of  private  persons,  or  should  be  dealt  with  by  the 
Corporation.  A  committee  recommended  the  former  coarse, 
but  at  a  meeting  in  October,  1871,  a  resolution  was  carried 
desiring  the  Local  Board  of  Health  to  obtain  plans  for  a 
tramway  from  St.  Augustine's  Place  to  Redland,  and  also  for 
another  from  Castle  Street  to  Lawrence  Hill.  The  necessary 
powers  wore  obtained  in  due  course,  but  owing  to  the  inflated 
price  to  which  iron  soon  after  advanced,  the  lowest  tender 
for  constructing  the  lines  amounted  to  £25,356,  being  more 
than  double  the  estimate  made  by  the  civic  surveyor.  The 
Council  at  first  resolved  on  a  postponement  of  the  undertak- 
ing, but  subsequently  determined  to  lay  down  the  Redland 
line,  reserving  the  other  for  a  later  period.  In  the  meantime, 
preparations  were  made  for  the  eastern  route  by  the  widening 


1871.]  CONSTRUCTION   OP   CITY  TEAMWAYS.  463 

of  West  Street,  which  was  effected  at  a  cost  of  upwards  of 
£7,500.  Nothing  was  done  towards  the  construction  of  the 
Redland  line  until  July,  1873,  when  the  term  granted  by  law 
for  the  execution  of  the  works  was  drawing  to  a  close.  Ex- 
cavations were  then  made  in  Whiteladies  Boad,  but  the  first 
rail  was  not  laid  until  the  19th  November,  and  as  the  needful 
supplies  of  iron  were  unobtainable,  the  road  continued  in  a 
half  blocked  condition  for  upwards  of  six  months,  to  the  great 
wrath  of  those  using  the  carriage  way.  When  at  length  the 
work  was  finished,  in  the  spring  of  1874,  at  an  outlay  of 
£14,200,  a  new  difficulty  was  encountered  by  the  Corporation — 
the  Tramways  Committee  could  not  obtain  a  reasonable  ofi^er 
for  working  the  line.  In  July,  a  few  responsible  citizens 
suggested  the  formation  of  a  company  for  the  purpose,  but 
they  required  in  the  first  place  certain  concessions  from  the 
Corporation,  amongst  them  being  a  claim  for  the  use  of 
the  tramway  free  of  charge  for  seven  years.  No  better  ofier 
was  forthcoming,  but  at  a  Council  meeting  in  August  a  great 
majority  refused  to  entertain  the  proposition.  The  promoters 
of  the  intended  company  thereupon  abated  their  demands, 
and  in  October  an  arrangement  was  entered  into,  by  which 
the  Council  granted  a  lease  of  the  tramway  for  twenty-one 
years,  the  first  three  [afterwards  extended  to  five]  years  free 
of  charge,  and  the  rent  for  the  remainder  of  the  term  rising 
at  intervals  from  £360  to  a  maximum  of  £600  per  annum. 
The  Council  also  sanctioned  the  construction  by  the  company 
of  a  line  from  Old  Market  Street  to  St.  George's,  with  a 
branch  to  Bastville,  and  of  another  line  from  Castle  Street 
to  Perry  Road.  Those  schemes  were  resisted  in  Parliament 
by  certain  tradesmen  in  the  suburbs,  and  also  by  the  advo- 
cates of  '^Sabbath"  observances,  who  strongly  objected  to 
Sunday  travelling,  while  a  few  persons  avowedly  opposed 
the  lines  from  a  dread  of  the  influx  into  the  fashionable 
suburbs  of  working  men  and  their  families  on  holidays.  The 
tramways  were,  however,  sanctioned.  The  line  from  Perry 
Road  to  Redland  was  opened  on  the  9th  August,  1875.  The 
first  three  cars  used  on  the  occasion  contained  the  mayor  (Mr. 
C.  J.  Thomas),  several  members  of  the  Council,  the  directors 
of  the  company,  and  a  number  of  friends,  the  party  subse- 
quently dining  together  to  celebrate  the  event.  So  great 
was  the  popularity  of  the  line  that  upwards  of  115,000  persons 
were  carried  during  the  first  month,  although  only  three  cars 
were  at  work  during  part  of  the  time.  The  dividend  for  the 
first  half  year  was  at  the  rate  of  15  per  cent,  per  annum.  In 
September  a  prospectus  was  issued  of  the  Bristol  Tramways 


464  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL.  [1871. 

Company,  with  a  capital  of  £50,000  in  £10  shares,  with  a 
view  to  the  further  development  of  the  system.  The  tramway 
from  St.  Augustine's  Place  to  Perry  Road  was  opened  on  the 
4th  December,  and  a  few  weeks  later  the  Council  was  asked 
to  sanction  the  extension  of  the  rails  from  the  Victoria  Rooms 
to  Victoria  Square,  and  from  the  Drawbridge  to  Bristol  Bridge 
and  Totterdown.  The  former  of  those  projects  was  warmly 
opposed  by  influential  residents  in  Clifton,  and  was  rejected 
by  a  large  majority  of  the  Council.  The  other  scheme  having 
being  referred  to  a  committee,  it  was  resolved,  by  30  votes 
against  17,  that  no  additional  tramway  should  be  sanctioned 
unless  the  company  undertook  to  suspend  traffic  during  the 
hours  of  worship  on  Sunday  mornings  and  evenings.  In 
February,  1876,  a  tramway  from  Bristol  Bridge  to  Totterdown 
was  sanctioned,  subject  to  the  condition  just  mentioned,  to 
which  the  company  objected.  The  line  to  Eastville  was 
opened  in  June,  that  from  Old  Market  Street  to  Perry  Road 
in  September,  and  a  section  of  that  to  St.  George's  in  October, 
1876.  The  completion  of  the  last-named  line  was  prevented 
by  the  opposition  of  Messrs.  Garton  &  Co.,  of  Lawrence  Hill, 
who  contended  that  the  thoroughfare  was  not  wide  enough 
to  admit  of  the  construction  of  a  tramway  in  accordance  with 
legal  requirements.  The  obstruction  was  ultimately  overcome 
by  the  Corporation  giving  Messrs.  Garton  £8,500  for  setting 
back  their  premises,  by  which  the  width  of  the  street  was 
increased  to  forty  feet.  The  Tramway  Company  (which 
during  the  year  increased  its  capital  to  £150,000)  subscribed 
£2,000  towards  the  improvement.  In  November,  1876,  the 
Council  approved  of  two  new  schemes — for  a  line  from  the 
Talbot  Hotel  to  Totterdown,  and  from  the  Old  Market  to 
Victoria  Street.  A  revulsion  of  opinion  was  observable  on 
the  Sunday  question,  for  an  attempt  to  prevent  the  cars  run- 
ning on  these  lines  during  the  hours  of  service  in  the  evening 
was  defeated  by  31  votes  against  12.  In  October,  1878,  the 
company  applied  for  permission  to  make  five  new  lines^ 
namely,  from  the  Victoria  Rooms  to  Clifton  Suspension  Bridge; 
from  the  Drawbridge  to  the  Port  Railway  station;  from  the 
Drawbridge,  by  way  of  New  Baldwin  Street,  to  the  joint  rail- 
way station ;  from  Old  Market  Street  to  Victoria  Street,  and 
thence  to  Bedminster;  and  from  St.  James's  Churchyard  to 
a  spot  near  Bishopston  church.  The  directors  subsequently 
proposed  a  sixth  line — from  St.  Augustine's  Place,  by  way  of 
Park  Street,  to  a  junction  with  the  existing  tramway  in 
Queen's  Road;  but  this,  as  well  as  the  Suspension  Bridge 
line,  was  withdrawn.     As  the  extensions  were  calculated  to 


1872.]  TRAMWATS.      THIRD   CLASS   BAILWAT   FARES.  465 

throw  much  additional  traffic  on  the  corporation  tramway, 
and  thus  enhance  the  cost  of  its  maintenance,  borne  by  the 
ratepayers,  it  was  agreed  that  the  rental  should  be  increased 
£100  a  year.  The  Council  thereupon  sanctioned  all  the  plan8> 
save  those  withdrawn ;  and  again  rejected  a  motion  requiring 
the  suspension  of  traffic  on  Sunday  evenings.  Early  in  1880 
the  Corporation  assented  to  the  construction  of  b,  line  from 
St.  James's  Churchyard  to  the  Drawbridge,  bringing  all  the 
routes  into  communication  with  each  other ;  but  though  it  was 
soon  after  laid  down,  one  or  two  punctilious  persons  in  the 
neighbourhood  raised  legal  objections  against  its  being  worked. 
The  company  also  applied  for  powers  to  construct  tramways 
on  the  quays  in  connection  with  the  Harbour  Railway;  but  the 
Council,  after  approving  of  the  plan,  subsequently  reversed 
its  decision.  The  tramway  to  the  Hotwell  was  opened  in 
June,  1880;  and  the  Bedminster  and  Horfield  lines  came  into 
operation  in  the  following  November.  The  last  named  was 
worked  by  steam ;  but  the  engines  were  neither-  economical 
to  the  company  nor  agreeable  to  passengers,  and  were  re- 
moved after  a  year's  trial.  The  Baldwin  Street  extension 
was  opened  in  April,  1881,  in  which  year  powers  were  ob- 
tained, but  never  exercised,  for  extensions  to  Fishponds,  Kings- 
wood,  and  Horfield  barracks.  In  January,  1882,  the-  Council 
sold  to  the  company,  for  £8,000,  the  original  tramway  of  1873, 
the  construction  and  maintenance  of  which  bad  cost  the  rate- 
payers at  least  double  the  money.  In  1887  the  company 
applied  for  parliamentary  powers  to  make  various  improve- 
ments in  their  system,  including  the  substitution  of  steam  or 
other  mechanical  power  instead  of  horses.  The  introduction 
of  tramways  has  in  no  wise  prejudiced  previous  modes  of 
conveyance — omnibuses  excepted.  The  report*  of  the  local 
inspector  of  public  carriages  for  1886  stated  that  the  number 
of  licensed  vehicles  was  as  follows :  tram-cars,  60,  four- 
wheel  cabs,  214;  hansom  cabs,  99;  breaks,  56;  omnibuses, 
9;  wagonettes,  38;  wheel-chairs,  50.  The  total,  526,  was 
129  in  excess  of  the  licences  of  the  previous  year. 

On  the  1st  April,  1872,  the  second  class  railway  carriages 
on  all  the  Midland  lines,  except  a  few  "  through "  vehicles 
running  in  connection  with  the  trains  of  other  companies, 
were  withdrawn,  and  third  class  carriages  were  added  to  all 
the  trains  upon  the  system.  The  maximum  fare  for  the 
latter  class  was  fixed  at  a  penny  per  mile.  This  bold 
measure,  which  gave  deep  offence  to  other  great  railway 
boards,  was  received  with  applause  by  the  public,  and  proved 
profitable  to  the  company,  who,  in  the  first  three  months, 

H   H 


'466  THE  AKNALS  Or  BRISTOL.  [1872. 

affected  by  the  change^  hsd,  as  compared  with  the  same 
period  in  1871^  an  increase  of  38^000  first  class  and  of 
1^185^000  third  class  passengers^  against  a  decrease  of 
266^000  in  the  second  class.  The  augmented  first  class  re- 
ceipts were  stated  to  have  covered  tjie  loss  on  the  second 
class,  whilst  there  was  an  enhanced  receipt  of  £70,000  from 
'the  third  class.  The  action  of  the  company  forced  the  Great 
Western  board  to  add  third  class  carriages  to  some  Bristol 
trains  from  which  they  had  been  excluded,  with  the  effect 
'of  greatly  increasing  the  number  of  travellers.  At  a 
meeting  in  February,  1873,  the  chairman,  Sir  Daniel  Gooch, 
stated  that  during  the  previous  half  year  they  had  carried 
106,000  more  first  class  and  3,594,000  more  third  class 
passengers,  against  a  decrease  of  1,109,000  in  the  second 
class — results  which  did  not  deter  him  from  lamenting  over 
the  revolutionary  policy  of  the  Midland  board.  The  latter 
company,  on  the  1st  January,  1875,  discontinued  running 
second  class  carriages  on  all  their  trains.  A  sensible 
abatement  was  also  announced  in  first  class  fares;  but  the 
Great  Western  board,  under  the  provisions  of  an  old  agree- 
ment, placed  an  interdict  upon  any  reduction  in  the  districts 
in  which  the  two  companies  had  competitive  lines.  One  of 
the  consequences  of  this  intervention  was,  that  the  Midland 
Company's  first  class  fare  from  Bristol  to  Birmingham  was 
maintained  at  16«.  6d.,  whilst  a  similar  ticket  issued  at 
Clifton  Down  station  (opened  after  the  agreement  was  signed) 
cost  only  12^.  6d.  The  matter  having  been  remitted  to  the 
Railway  Commissioners,  the  agreement  was  abrogated  as 
regarded  most  of  the  lines  in  this  district.  The  liberal  policy 
of  the  Midland  directorate  necessarily  had  an  influence  upon 
the  directors  of  the  Great  Western,  who  made  concessions 
from  time  to  time.  In  June,  1878,  third  class  carriages  were 
added  to  the  first  morning  express  train  from  Bristol  to 
London,  thereby  enabling  Bristolians  to  transact  business  in 
the  capital  and  return  home  on  the  same  day.  The  citizens, 
however,  still  complained  of  the  treatment  they  received 
from  a  company  expressly  formed  to  promote  their  interests. 
Before  a  committee  of  the  House  of  Commons,  in  1882,  Mr. 
C.  Wills,  President  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  stated  that 
the  company  carried  third  class  passengers  from  London  to 
towns  westward  of  Bristol  by  certain  trains,  but  refused  to 
extend  this  privilege  to  Bristolians.  As  to  the  first  and 
second  class  fares,  he  added,  they  were  from  43  to  50  per 
cent,  higher  between  London  and  Bristol  than  they  were  be- 
tween London  and  equally  distant  northern  towns.    A  year  or 


1872.]  Cromwell's  batteries,    coal  famine.  467 

two  later,  the  board,  bending  to  public  opinion,  remitted  the 
excess  fares  imposed  on  travellers  by  express  trains,  and 
added  third  class  carriages  to  all  the  trains  passing  through 
Bristol,  save  one  or  two  of  unusual  speed. 

The  foundation  stone  of  St.  Nathanael's  Church,  Bedland 
Road,  was  laid  on  the  8th  April,  1872.  The  edifice  was  con- 
secrated by  Bishop  Ellicott  in  the  following  year. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Council  in  June,  it  was  resolved  to 
convert  the  carcase  market  in  Nicholas  Street  into  a  fish 
market,  in  order  to  remove  the  latter  from  its  exposed 
situation  on  the  Welsh  Back.  The  alterations  entailed  an  out- 
lay of  about  £2,300.  The  market,  which  was  opened  on  the  1st 
May,  1874,  proved  too  large  for  its  requirements,  and  became 
the  resort  of  a  worthless  class  who  deterred  respectable 
persons  from  entering  the  building.  The  Council  at  length 
gave  orders  for  its  reconstruction ;  and  a  smaller  but  more 
convenient  market  was  opened  on  the  1st  July,  1884. 

Several  pieces  of  land  near  Montpelier,  on  which  were  the 
field  works  thrown  up  by  the  Parliamentary  army  at  the 
second  siege  of  Bristol,  and  the  farm  house  in  which  Cromwell 
is  said  to  have  slept  on  the  eve  of  the  assault,  were  purchased 
at  this  time  for  building  purposes.  The  field  works  were 
subsequently  levelled.  A  neighbouring  mansion,  Ashley 
Court,  was  demolished  about  1876,  and  the  site  and  adjoining 
land  were  converted  into  building  plots,  the  demand  for 
which  was  then  very  active. 

The  Midland  Railway  Company's  branch  line  to  Thombury 
was  opened  on  the  2nd  September. 

The  latter  half  of  the  year  1872  was  remarkable  for  an 
unusual  activity  of  trade  and  industry,  especially  in  connec- 
tion with  coal  and  iron  works.  The  price  of  coal  advanced 
with  "  leaps  and  bounds,"  owing  in  part  to  the  unexampled 
demand,  but  still  more  to  the  conduct  of  the  colliers,  who  not 
only  insisted  on  repeated  advances  in  wages,  but  refused  to 
work  more  than  a  few  hours  a  day  for  three  or  four  days  a 
week.  Under  the  operation  of  this  *^  stint," — on  which  the 
masters,  who  were  reaping  unparalleled  profits,  were  said  to 
look  with  secret  satisfaction, — a  certain  description  of  coal 
required  for  making  gas,  previously  sold  at  about  5«.  per  ton, 
advanced  to  25«.  The  Bristol  Gas  Company,  in  order  to 
maintain  their  10  per  cent,  dividend,  twice  advanced  their 
prices  to  consumers.  As  an  example  of  the  speculative  spirit 
excited  by  the  inflation,  the  Bristol  Times  of  May  3rd,  1873, 
stated  that  a  suspended  colliery  within  fifteen  miles  of  the 
city,  which  had  been  offered  before  the  ^^  fever  "  for  £1,000, 


468  THE   AKNALS   OF   BRISTOL.  [1872. 

had  been  bought  by  two  mining  agents,  who  forthwith  started 
a  company  with  £30,000  capital,  to  which  they  disposed  of 
their  purchase  for  £6,000  in  debentures  and  £15,500  in  paid- 
up  shares.  In  October,  1874,  some  collieries  at  Nailsea, 
which  had  not  been  worked  for  sixty  years,  were  re-opened ; 
but  the  tide  of  prosperity  was  then  fast  ebbing,  and  the 
speculation  was  unsuccessful.  In  consequence  of  the  in- 
ordinate prices  of  coal,  the  demand  for  iron  at  length  fell  off, 
while  the  opening  of  many  new  collieries  brought  fresh  sup- 
plies into  an  already  glutted  market,  thereby  greatly  de- 
pressing values  and  wages.  For  two  winters,  however,  the 
dearth  of  fuel  caused  much  suffering  amongst  the  poor. 

For  several  years  previous  to  1872  communications  had 
been  addressed  from  time  to  time  to  the  Corporation  by  the 
Home  Secretary,  complaining  that  the  condition  of  the  gaol 
and  of  the  house  of  correction  was  not  in  accordance  with 
the  requirements  of  the  Prisons  Act ;  to  which  the  city 
authorities  had  repeatedly  responded  that  the  subject  should 
receive  earnest  attention.  In  September,  a  more  peremptory 
missive  was  received  from  the  Home  Office,  declaring  that 
the  buildings  in  question  were  unfit  for  their  purposes,  and 
that  immediate  steps  must  be  taken  to  comply  with  the  law. 
A  deputation  was  appointed  to  wait  upon  the  Minister,  to 
acquaint  him  with  the  heavy  pecuniary  burdens  of  the  rate- 
payers, and  to  point  out  that  the  gaol,  notwithstanding  ad- 
mitted shortcomings,  was  in  a  healthy  condition  and  fairly 
adequate  for  its  object.  The  mission  proving  fruitless,  the 
Council,  in  June,  1873,  determined  to  build  a  gaol  upon  a 
new  site,  it  being  anticipated  that  the  sale  of  the  ground 
occupied  by  the  two  prisons  would  go  far  to  cover  the  expense 
of  another  building.  In  the  following  September,  the  Cor- 
poration gave  £3,875  for  Horfield  Gardens  [see  p.  379],  and 
in  1874  the  Home  Secretary  approved  of  the  Council's  plans 
for  the  intended  erection,  the  estimated  cost  of  which  was 
£65,000.  A  contract  was  entered  into  for  the  boundary  walls, 
which  were  to  cost  about  £4,000.  But  when  tenders  were 
invited  for  building  the  gaol,  the  lowest  offer,  owing  to  the 
abnormal  rise  in  prices  and  wages,  was  £32,000  in  excess  of 
the  estimate.  It  appearing  probable  that  the  engineering 
works,  furnishing,  etc.,  would  raise  the  total  cost  to  nearly 
£120,000,  strong  protests  were  made  against  such  an  outlay 
for  the  retention  of  criminals  whose  average  number  did  not 
exceed  150.  Whilst  the  subject  was  still  under  consideration, 
it  transpired  that  the  Ministry  of  Mr.  Disraeli  contemplated 
legislation  for  transferring  the  gaols  of  the  kingdom  from 


1872.]         ANOTHER  NKW   QAOL.      THE   NEPTUNE   STATUE.  469 

the  local  authoritiea  to  the  Governmeiit ;  and  the  Corporation 
prudently  kept  the  question  in  suspense  until  1877^  when  an 
Act  was  passed  to  carry  out  the  Ministerial  policy.  The  last 
gaol  delivery  under  the  old  system  took  place  in  April,  1878, 
in  which  month  the  Government  entered  upon  the  ownership 
and  management  of  the  prisons.  Bridewell  was  closed  in  the 
following  May,  and  the  Home  Secretary  at  that  time  intended 
to  abolish  the  gaol  also,  and  to  remove  Bristol  prisoners  to 
another  district.  This  design  was  afterwards  dropped.  In 
the  meantime,  the  Council  was  called  upon  to  pay  £17,161, 
as  compensation  for  the  certified  cell  accommodation  which 
it  had  neglected  to  provide  in  the  gaol,  and  a  further  sum  of 
£4,320  on  account  of  similar  deficiencies  in  Bridewell.  The 
latter  building  was  thereupon  reconveyed  to  the  Corporation, 
which  saved  about  £4,500  a  year  by  being  relieved  of  the 
management  of  the  prisons.  At  a  later  date,  the  Government 
entered  into  an  exchange  of  property  with  the  Council,  by 
which  the  latter  again  became  possessed  of  the  condemned 
gaol,  upon  surrendering  the  ground  purchased  at  Horfield. 
The  site  of  Bridewell,  saving  a  portion  required  for  the  ex- 
tension of  Rupert  Street,  was  granted  on  lease,  at  £600  a  year, 
to  Messrs.  Budgett  &  Co.,  who  built  warehouses  on  part  of  the 
site.  The  prison  at  Horfield  was  sufficiently  completed  in  April, 
1883,  to  receive  the  prisoners  detained  in  the  old  gaol,  which 
was  thenceforth  deserted. 

The  curious  statue  of  Neptune,  said  by  some  local  writers 
to  have  been  cast  in  1588,  and  presented  to  the  city  by  a 
resident  in  Temple  parish  to  commemorate  the  defeat  of  the 
Spanish  Armada,  but  which  Sarah  Farley's  Journal  of  Decem- 
ber 22,  1787,  alleges  to  have  been  cast  by  one  Bandall  and 
erected  in  1723,  was  bronzed  and  burnished  during  the 
autumn,  and  ^^ inaugurated^'  as  a  drinking  fountain  on  the 
26th  November,  by  the  chairman  of  the  Sanitary  Authority, 
Mr.  F.  Terrell.  The  site  now  occupied  by  the  figure  is  the 
fourth  which  it  has  occupied  in  the  locality ;  it  having  origi- 
nally stood  near  the  bottom  of  Temple  Street,  next  near  the 
site  of  Dr.  White's  almshouse,  and  thirdly  near  the  parish 
church. 

The  rainfall  of  the  year  1872  in  this  city  was  believed  to 
have  been  the  greatest  that  had  occurred  for  upwards  of  half 
a  century.  The  quantity  collected  at  Clifton  reached  a  total 
of  42'36  inches.  The  statistics  of  1870  recorded  a  fall  of  less 
than  234  inches.  During  the  second  half  of  the  year  rain  fell 
in  Bristol  on  twenty-fire  Saturdays  in  succession.  Amongst 
many  newspaper  notices  of  the  farming  adversities  of  the 


470  THE   AKNAL8  OV  BRISTOL.  [1873. 

Beason^  was  one  stating  that  a  field  of  clover  grass^  mown  at 
Doynton  in  September,  was  not  stacked  until  the  following 
March. 

From  about  the  close  of  1870  many  citizens  had  been 
annoyed  by  the  adoption,  at  a  factory  in  St.  Philip's,  of  an 
American  invention  called  a  "hooter,^'  devised  for  the  purpose 
of  arousing  operatives  from  their  morning  slumbers.  The 
instrument  created  so  violent  a  vibration  of  the  atmosphere 
that  the  sound  was  sometimes  heard  at  a  distance  of  twelve 
miles,  and  its  effect  within  the  limits  of  the  borough  proved 
extremely  distressing  to  invalids  and  nervous  persons.  The 
invention  being  popular  amongst  labourers,  however,  it  was 
rapidly  adopted  in  various  parts  of  the  kingdom,  several  being 
frequently  set  up  in  a  single  town.  The  nuisance  at  last  be- 
came so  intolerable  that  an  Act  of  Parliament  was  passed  in 
1872,  forbidding  the  use  of  the  instrument  except  with  the 
consent  of  the  local  authorities.  In  Bristol  the  Health  Com- 
mittee refused  to  sanction  it ;  but  upon  the  question  being 
brought  before  the  Council,  in  January,  1873,  the  decision  was 
overruled  by  21  votes  to  18.  The  vote  was  significant  of  the 
increasing  influence  of  the  labouring  classes  on  corporate 
affairs,  for  the  majority  made  no  attempt  to  answer  the  argu- 
ments advanced  against  the  nuisance,  but  contented  themselves 
with  assorting  that  the  comfort  and  convenience  of  a  minority 
of  the  inliabitants  should  not  be  allowed  to  override  the  desire 
of  the  masses.  In  compliance  with  an  order  of  the  corporation, 
the  noise  made  by  the  instrument  was  afterwards  greatly 
diminished. 

On  the  18th  January,  1873,  a  meeting  was  held  in  the 
(j'uildhall  to  consider  the  desirability  of  establishing  a  period- 
ical series  of  musical  festivals  in  Bristol.  The  mayor  (Mr. 
IJjithway)  presided,  and  resolutions  approving  of  the  move- 
ment were  carried  unanimously.  About  250  gentlemen,  who 
had  offered  to  guarantee  £50  each  in  the  event  of  a  deficiency 
in  the  receipts  of  the  first  festival,  were  appointed  a  provisional 
committee.  An  executive  committee  was  afterwards  formed, 
of  which  Mr.  Alderman  Baker  was  elected  chairman  and  Mr. 
William  Smith  vice-chairman.  Mr.  Alfred  Stone  was  appointed 
chorus  master,  and  a  choir  of  200  voices  was  soon  in  training. 
Mr.  Charles  Halle  was  chosen  to  conduct  the  public  perform- 
ances. The  first  festival  opened  on  the  2l8t  October  in  Colston 
Hall,  to  which  galleries  had  been  added  by  the  festival  commit- 
tee, and  the  building  was  filled  with  one  of  the  most  brilliant 
audiences  ever  assembled  in  the  city.  The  first  oratorio  given 
was  "The  Creation,"  the  leading  parts  being  sustained  by 


1873.]  MUSICAL   FESTIVALS.  471 

Messrs.  Sims  Beeves  and  Santley^  and  Mesdames  Sherrington, 
Alvsleben,  etc.  ''Elijah"  was  performed  on  the  22nd,  Ros- 
sini's "  Stabat  Mater'^  and  Macfarren's  ''John  the  Baptist" 
were  given  on  the  23rd,  and  "  The  Messiah,"  on  the  24th, 
completed  the  series.  Evening  miscellaneous  concerts  also 
formed  part  of  the  programme.  The  total  receipts  amounted 
to  £5784.  The  surplus  after  paying  expenses  was  made  up  by 
the  committee  to  £250,  which  sum  was  divided  between  the 
two  great  medical  charities.  The  second  festival  was  held  in 
October,  1876,  for  which  the  oratorios  selected  were  "Elijah," 
"Israel  in  Egypt,"  the  "Fall  of  Babylon,"  "Engedi,"and  **The 
Messiah ;"  evening  concerts  being  given  as  before.  The  chief 
vocalists  were  Messrs.  E.  Lloyd,  W.  H.  Cummings,  Kearton, 
Pope,  Maybrick,  and  Behrens,  Mdlles.  Titiens  and  Albani,  and 
Mesdames  Wynne,  Patey,  and  Trebelli.  Though  the  receipts 
(£6473)  showed  an  increase,  the  guarantors  were  called  upon 
to  pay  a  guinea  each  to  cover  the  expenditure.  Collections, 
amounting  to  £210,  were  divided  as  before.  The  third  festival 
commenced  on  the  14th  October,  1879,  and  extended  over  the 
three  following  days.  The  chief  works  given  were  "  Samson," 
"Elijah,"  Mozart's  "Requiem,"  Rossini's  "Stabat  Mater,"  and 
"The  Messiah."  The  leading  vocalists  were  Mesdames  Albani, 
Trebelli,  and  Patey,  Miss  Emma  Thursby,and  Messrs.  Santley, 
Lloyd,  and  McGuckin.  The  chorus  had  at  this  festival  increased 
to  340.  The  receipts  amounted  to  £6136,  and  the  accounts 
showed  a  surplus  of  £402,  exclusive  of  £208  collected  at  the 
doors.  The  Infirmary  and  Hospital  received  £250  each,  the 
balance  being  reserved.  The  fourth  festival  was  opened  on 
the  17th  October,  1882,  and,  being  under  the  presidency  of 
H.R.H.  the  Duke  of  Edinburgh,  the  proceedings  excited  more 
than  usual  public  interest,  though,  singularly  enough,  the 
aggregate  attendances  showed  a  falling  off.  The  oratorios 
performed  were  "Elijah,"  Gounod's  "Redemption,"  Macken- 
zie's "Jason"  (written  for  the  festival),  and  "The  Messiah." 
The  leading  vocalists  at  the  morning  and  evening  performances 
were  Messrs.  Lloyd,  Santley,  Maas,  Kearton,  and  Warlock, 
Miss  Williams,  and  Mesdames  Albani,  Patey,  and  Trebelli. 
The  performance  on  the  19th  was  attended  by  the  royal  duke 
and  duchess,  who  were  welcomed  into  the  city  with  great  cordi- 
ality. Their  Royal  Highnesses  were  met  at  the  railway  station 
by  the  mayor  (Mr.  Weston)  and  members  of  the  corporation; 
and  the  prince  was  presented  with  an  address,  for  which  he 
gracefully  returned  thanks.  The  streets  were  gaily  decorated, 
and  the  volunteers  supplied  an  efficient  guard  of  honour.  [A 
local  reporter  records  that  on  the  arrival  of  the  distinguished 


472  THK   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL.  [1873. 

visitors  at  Colston  Hall,  a  prominent  member  of  the  Council^ 
nvho  was  also  a  very  active  member  of  the  festival  committee, 
observing  that  the  path  from  the  carriage  to  the  vestibule  was 
somewhat  dirty,  pulled  off  his  overcoat  and  placed  it  on  the 
ground  for  the  duchess  to  walk  over,  which  she  did.]  The 
duke,  before  leaving,  thanked  the  committee  for  their  intention 
to  devote  the  surplus  of  the  receipts  to  a  fund  for  establishing 
a  Bristol  scholarship  in  the  new  College  of  Music;  and  he  also 
accepted  the  oflSce  of  president  of  the  Festival  Society.  The 
receipts  of  the  week  (£6,263)  left  a  balance  over  expenditure 
of  £148,  which  were  forwarded  to  the  College.  The  collections 
(£215)  were  divided  in  the  usual  manner.  The  festival  of  1886 
opened  on  the  20th  October  with  Handel's  "  Belshazzar," 
the  other  oratorios  of  the  week  being  "Elijah,''  Berlioz's 
''  Faust,"  and  *'  The  Messiah."  The  chief  singers  were  Mes- 
dames  Albani,  Trebelli,  and  Patey,Miss  Williams  and  Messrs. 
Santley,  Lloyd,  Hilton,  and  Maas.  The  chorus,  numbering  360 
voices,  excelled  all  its  previous  performances.  The  attend- 
ances, liowever,  were  below  the  average,  and  the  guarantors 
were  called  on  for  a  guinea  and  a  half  each  to  supply  the 
deficiency  in  the  receipts.  The  collections  for  the  hospitals 
produced  £146. 

The  new  church  of  St.  Matthew's,  Moorfields,  was  conse- 
crated on  the  28th  January,  1873,  by  the  Bishop  of  the 
diocese. 

A  report  on  the  charities  of  Bristol  was  published  in 
February  by  the  Charity  Commissioners.  The  following  is  a 
summary  of  the  yearly  value  of  the  endowments  then  belong- 
ing to  the  city: — For  education,  £19,986  12«.  6d,  Ap- 
prenticing and  advancing  the  young,  £803  lOif  lOd.  Clergy, 
lectures,  and  sermons,  £702  17^.  lid.  Church  purposes, 
$4,727  14<.  lOd,  Dissenting  chapels  and  ministers,  £983 
19k.  3//.  Education  of  Dissenters,  £308  4>*.  Sd.  Public  uses, 
£143  8*.  Almshouses  and  pensioners,  £12,176  12aj.  Id.  Doles 
in  money  and  goods,  £3,336  lis.  General  uses  of  the  poor, 
£4,998  6s.  6d.  Total,  £48,167  17>».  2d.  In  January,  1875,  the 
Kev.  J.  Percival,  head  master  of  Clifton  College,  observed 
that  many  of  the  gifts  to  the  poor,  instead  of  alleviating 
])overty,  perpetuated  a  spirit  of  dependence  and  improvi- 
dence, and  suggested  that  £1,000  yearly  of  the  doles  should 
T^e  employed  to  encourage  the  regular  attendance  of  children 
:at  school,  by  the  payment  of  the  fees  of  orphans,  providing 
clothes  for  the  offspring  of  distressed  parents,  and  establish- 
ing prizes.  Mr.  Percival  offered,  if  his  proposal  were  ac- 
'cepted,  to  guarantee  £100  a  year  for  similar  purposes  from 


1873.]  TH£   PRINCE   OF   WALES   AT  BRISTOL    RACES.  473 

the   offertory  of  Clifton  College.     There  was,  however,  no 
response. 

A  local  journal  of  the  1st  March  stated  that,  in  excavating 
for  a  Roman  Catholic  School  adjoining  Victoria  Street,  a 
discovery  had  been  made  of  the  foundations  of  an  old 
religious  house.  Some  old  coins  and  a  monastic  token  were 
said  to  have  been  found  in  the  rubbish. 

On  the  19th  March  the  opening  of  a  new  Bristol  racecourse, 
at  Knowle,  took  place  under  the  patronage  of  the  Prince  of 
Wales.  The  ground  had  been  laid  out,  and  a  grand  stand, 
accommodating  3,000  persons,  built  by  the  Bristol  and  Western 
Counties  Racecourse  Company,  which  had  been  established  in 
the  previous  year,  with  a  capital  of  £8,000  in  £100  shares. 
The  first  meeting  was  chiefly  devoted  to  steeple-chasing,  but 
there  was  some  flat  racing  on  a  course  of  a  mile  and  three 
quarters.  The  attractiveness  of  the  gathering,  which  extended 
over  three  days,  was  much  increased  by  the  fact  that  the 
National  Hunt  Steeplechase  Association  had  determined  that 
its  annual  prize  should  be  competed  for  on  the  ground.  The 
Prince  of  Wales,  who  was  a  guest  at  Berkeley  Castle,  pro- 
ceeded to  the  course  each  morning  with  a  numerous  party  of 
friends.  The  attendance  of  the  public  on  each  of  the  first 
two  days  was  estimated  at  100,000.  The  money  given  in 
prizes  during  the  meeting  exceeded  £2,000,  the  most  notable 
gifts  being  the  Bristol  Grand  Steeplechase  prize  of  £500; 
the  Association  prize  of  £350 ;  the  City  Hurdle  Race  of  £200 ; 
the  Ashton  Court  Steeplechase  of  £200 ;  and  the  Clifton  cup 
of  £200.  At  the  close  of  the  last  day's  sport,  the  Prince  of 
Wales  was  driven  to  the  offices  of  Messrs.  Miles  Brothers  & 
Co.,  Queen  Square,  where  tea  was  provided.  At  the  railway 
station,  a  great  crowd  assembled  to  cheer  the  departing 
visitor.  In  1874,  besides  the  spring  steeplechase  meeting  of 
three  days,  there  was  a  September  meeting  of  the  same 
duration  for  ordinary  races,  the  prizes  for  which  were  also 
on  a  munificent  scale.  The  company  sustained  a  heavy  loss 
on  the  two  gatherings,  and  the  autumn  meeting  was  after- 
wards relinquished.  The  last  spring  races  under  the 
management  of  the  company  took  place  in  1878,  in  Novem- 
ber of  which  year,  owing  to  repeated  heavy  losses,  it  was 
resolved  to  wind  up  the  concern.  The  races  were  continued 
"by  private  enterprise  in  the  spring  and  winteY*  of  1879,  and 
again  in  the  spring  of  1880 ;  but  the  results  were  so  un- 
satisfactory that  the  ground  was  given  up.  Subsequently  the 
grand  stand  and  other  buildings  were  demolished,  and  the 
materials  sold  by  auction. 


474  THE  ANNALS   OP  BRISTOL.  [1873. 

In  the  spring  of  1873  the  faculty  of  the  Medical  School  in 
Old  Park  were  taking  steps  to  remove  to  more  convenient 
premises,  when  a  proposal  was  started  for  founding  a  Tech- 
nical College  of  Science,  of  which  the  school  might  form  a 
department.  An  appeal  was  soon  afterwards  made  to  the 
public  for  pecuniary  assistance  towards  carrying  out  the  de- 
sign. At  this  stage  of  the  movement,  a  communication  was 
received  from  the  master  of  Balliol  College,  Oxford,  stating 
that  his  College,  and  probably  at  least  one  other,  would  be 
disposed  to  co-operate  in  the  work.  This  led  to  further 
negotiations,  resulting  in  a  definite  offer  from  Balliol  and 
New  Colleges  to  contribute  £300  a  year  each  for  three  years 
under  certain  conditions,  the  chief  of  which  were  that  the 
instruction  given  should  be  literary  as  well  as  scientific,  that 
the  requirements  of  adult  education  should  be  specially  con- 
sidered, and  that  the  College  (the  medical  classes  excepted) 
should  be  open  to  women.  This  proposal  having  been 
assented  to,  the  promoters  of  the  movement  again  addressed 
themselves  to  the  public,  dwelling  upon  the  importance  of 
such  an  institution  to  the  West  of  England,  and  the  urgency 
of  establishing  it  upon  a  creditable  basis.  On  the  11th  June, 
1874,  a  meeting  in  aid  of  the  project  was  held  in  the  Victoria 
Rooms,  the  mayor  (Aid.  Barnes)  presiding,  when  addresses 
in  approval  of  the  scheme  were  made  by  Professor  William- 
son, then  president  of  the  British  Association,  Professor 
Jowett,  master  of  Balliol,  the  Bishop  of  Exeter  (Dr.  Temple), 
Mr.  E.  A.  Freeman,  the  Rev.  J.  E.  Sewell,  warden  of  New 
College,  the  members  of  Parliament  for  the  city,  and  others. 
It  was  estimated  that  £40,000  would  be  required  to  establish 
the  College,  and  that  £3,000  a  year  would  be  needed  for  its 
maintenance.  In  July,  1875,  a  meeting  of  peers  and  mem- 
bers of  the  House  of  Commons  connected  with  the  West  of 
England  and  Ronth  Wales  was  held  at  Westminster,  the 
Earl  of  Cork,  Lord  Lieutenant  of  Somerset,  presiding,  for  the 
promotion  of  the  Institution.  A  similar  meeting  was  held  in 
Bristol  a  few  weeks  later,  during  the  sittings  of  the  British 
Association,  when  the  value  of  the  proposed  College  was 
strongly  urged  by  Sir  John  Hawkshaw,  president  of  the 
Association,  Sir  William  Thompson,  Professor  Jowett,  and 
other  eminent  visitors.  In  December  it  was  announced  that 
£22,000  of  the  required  capital  had  been  promised  (£19,000 
by  Bristolians)  ;  and  steps  were  then  taken  for  the  incorpora- 
tion of  the  College.  Soon  afterwards  the  Clothworkers'  Com- 
pany, of  London,  offered  a  subscription  of  £500  a  year  for 
five  years  to  assist  in  the  establishment  of  a  department  of 


1873.]  UNIVERSITY   COLLEGE.  475 

textile  industries.    A  staff  of  two  professors  and  four  lecturers 
having  been  selected  (Professor  Marshall*  being  subsequently 
appointed  Principal),  the  work  of  the  College  commenced  on 
the  10th  October,  1876,  a  large  house  in  Park  Row,  vacated 
by  the  Deaf  and  Dumb  Institution,  having  been  temporarily 
engaged.     In  1880   the  council,   though   inadequately  sup- 
ported  by  wealthy   Bristolians,   ventured  upon   building   a 
portion  of  the  north  wing   of  the  proposed  quadrangle  in 
Tyndall's  Park,  at  a  cost  of  £5,000.     This  was  opened  for 
certain  classes  at  the  beginning  of  the  winter  term  of  that 
year.     About  the  same  time,  £800,  the  fruit  of  a  subscription 
for  a  memorial  to  Miss  Catherine  Winkworth,  of  Clifton,  an 
earnest  advocate  of  female  education,  were  invested  as  a  fund 
for   providing   scholarships  for  women;    while   the   Anchor 
Society  offered  £800  per  annum  for  three  years  to  found  an 
additional  professorship.    The  College  continuing  to  progress, 
another  wing  of  the  building  was  erected,  at  a  cost  of  about 
£6,000  ;  and  on  its  completion,  in  January,  1883,  the  house  in 
Park  Row   was  given   up.     The   annual   subscriptions  then 
amounted  to  about  £1,200,  and  the  receipts  from  students  to 
£2,200,  while  the  yearly  expenses  were  £4,600.    The  two  Ox- 
ford colleges  still  continued  to  support  the  institution.    A  few 
words  miKst  be  added  with  reference  to  the  Medical  School, 
whose  needs  originated  the  College  movement.     The  opening 
of  the  winter  session  of  1879-80  took  place  in  a  plain  but 
serviceable  building  situated  near  the  College.     The  removal 
from  Old  Park  was  accompanied  by  an  extension  of  the  curri- 
culum.    The  management  of  the  school  had  shortly  before 
been  placed  by  the  faculty  in  the  hands  of  an  independent 
governing  body,  elected  by  the  council  of  University  College, 
the  leading  officials  of  the  Infirmary  and  Hospital,  and  the 
faculty  of  the  school.     The  effect  of  those  changes  was  to 
nearly  treble  the  number  of  students. 

On  the  31st  March,  1873,  while  some  excavations  were 
being  made  in  an  orchard  at  Little  Sneyd,  overlooking  Sea 
Mills,  the  workmen  found,  a  few  inches  below  the  surface,  a 
gravestone  of  pentagonal  form.  It  bore  a  rude  representation 
of  a  head  with  rays,  on  one  side  of  which  was  the  figure  of  a 
dog,  and  on  the  other  of  a  cock,  while  below  was  a  deeply 
cut  inscription  in  Roman  letters,  SPSS  C.  SBNTI.  The  dis- 
covery excited  much  interest,  some  antiquaries  believing  that 
the  stone  marked  the  resting-place  of  a  Roman  Christian ;  but 
the  weight  of  authority  was  against  this  supposition. 

*  ProfeHBor  Marshall  resigned  in  the  aatomn  of  1881,  and  was  succeeded  by 
Professor  William  KamBay,  Ph.D. 


476  THE   ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1873. 

The  success  of  wood  pavements  for  carriage  roads  in  Lon- 
don induced  the  Council^  at  a  meeting  in  March,  to  order  a 
trial  of  the  system  in  some  of  the  central  thoroughfares  in  the 
city.  A  contract  was  soon  afterwards  entered  into  with  the 
Improved  Woodpaving  Company  for  laying  down  the  roadway 
in  Wine  Street,  at  a  cost  of  £960.  The  experiment  was 
deemed  so  satisfactory  that  the  pavement  was  extended  to 
Corn  Street  and  part  of  Broad  Street  before  the  close  of  the 
year. 

The  old  building  known  as  Dowry  Chapel  having  been 
removed  in  1872,  a  new  church,  dedicated  to  St.  Andrew  the 
Less,  was  erected  on  the  site,  at  a  cost  of  about  £2,700,  and 
was  consecrated  on  the  24th  September,  1873. 

During  the  autumn  Narrow  Wine  Street,  until  then  appro- 
priately named,  was  widened  by  the  demolition  of  several 
projecting  houses  at  the  western  entrance. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Council  in  November,  it  was  announced 
that  Alderman  Proctor  had  expressed  his  willingness  to  plant 
trees  along  the  riverside  footpath  in  Coronation  Road,  from 
near  Bath  Bridge  to  Vauxhall  Ferry.  The  expense  was  esti- 
mated at  £500.  A  vote  of  thanks  was  passed  to  the  alderman 
for  his  liberal  gift.  A  foolish  attempt  has  been  made  to  style 
this  parade  a  "  boulevard,"  but  the  public  have  declined  to 
adopt  the  misnomer. 

The  recovery  by  the  city  of  its  ancient  library  has  been 
recorded  under  a  previous  year  [see  p.  333] .  At  a  meeting 
of  the  Council  on  the  28th  November,  Mr.  J.  D.  Weston 
moved  that  the  corporation  should  take  measures  for  the 
proper  maintenance  of  the  institution  under  the  provisions  of 
the  Public  Libraries  Act.  Only  one  councillor  disapproved 
of  the  resolution.  The  question  was  laid  before  the  rate- 
payers at  a  public  meeting  held  in  May,  1874,  the  mayor 
(Alderman  Barnes)  presiding,  when  Mr.  Weston  moved  that 
the  powers  of  the  Act  should  be  brought  into  operation ;  and 
he  was  as  successful  with  the  citizens  as  he  had  been  with 
the  Council,  only  three  dissentient  hands  being  raised  against 
the  proposal.  Mr.  Weston  offered  to  give  £1,000,  provided 
£10,000  were  raised  by  subscription,  towards  building  a 
structure  worthy  of  the  end  in  view;  and  other  donations, 
amounting  altogether  to  £1,100,  were  promised  at  the  meet- 
ing. Nothing  further,  however,  was  done  in  this  direction. 
In  May,  1875,  the  Council  resolved  on  the  purchase,  for  £400, 
of  the  building  known  as  the  St.  Philip's  Literary  Institute, 
which  had  been  founded  by  a  few  philanthropic  inhabitants, 
but  had  proved  unsuccessful.     The  place  was  opened  as  a 


1874.]  TREE   LIBBABIES.      XLECTION.  477 

branch  library  by  the  mayor  (Aid.  J.  A.  Jones)  in  July,  1876. 
A  house  in  King  Square,  bought  for  £1,070,  and  fitted  up 
as  a'  branch  for  the  northern  parts  of  the  city,  was  opened 
in  March,  1877,  by  the  mayor  (Alderman  Edwards).  The 
Library  Committee  also  purchased,  for  £1,550,  the  premises 
of  a  defunct  Conservative  Institute  in  Bedminster,  and  a  well 
appointed  branch  library  was  opened  there  in  the  following 
September.  In  Mfey,  1883,  the  Council  sanctioned  the  crea- 
tion of  a  new  branch,  in  Whiteladies  Road,  for  Bedland  and 
West  Clifton.  A  plot  of  666  square  yards  was  bought  for 
£650,  and  a  building  having  been  erected  thereon  at  a  cost  of 
£2,400,  and  10,000  volumes  placed  on  the  shelves,  the  building 
was  opened  by  the  mayor  (Mr.  Weston)  in  June,  1885.  Two 
months  later,  the  Council  resolved  on  purchasing  the  aban- 
doned Church  of  St.  Peter,  Jacobus  Wells  [see  p.  345] ^  and 
on  converting  it  into  a  branch  library  for  Hotwells  and  St. 
Augustine^s.    The  building,  with  alterations,  cost  about  £3,000. 

In  the  course  of  the  year  1873,  the  committee  of  the 
Children's  Hospital  appointed  a  female  physician.  Dr.  Eliza 
Walker,  to  the  oflSce  of  house  surgeon;  but  the  lady  was 
compelled  to  relinquish  the  post  a  few  weeks  later,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  hostile  action  of  the  rest  of  the  medical  staff, 
who  succeeded  in  their  object  by  resigning  in  a  body.  In 
referring  to  the  subject  in  a  letter  read  at  a  public  meeting 
in  Gloucester,  Mr.  Wait,  M.P.  (mayor  1869-70),  said,  he  had 
become  a  convert  to  the  agitation  for  female  suffrage,  "  its 
necessity  having  been  driven  home  by  a  trades'  union  com- 
bination among  a  section  of  the  medical  men  at  Bristol  to 
prevent  a  woman  earning  her  bread  in  their  profession.^' 

At  the  general  election,  which  took  place  in  February, 
1874,  the  candidates  nominated  were  Messrs.  Morley  and 
Hodgson,  the  Liberal  Members  in  the  previous  Parliament, 
and  Messrs.  S.  V.  Hare  and  George  Henry  Chambers,  who 
were  brought  forward  by  the  Conservatives.  The  latter  were 
sanguine  of  success,  as  Mr.  Hare  had  been  defeated  by  a 
small  majority  in  1870,  and  in  the  four  registration  courts 
which  had  subsequently  been  held  the  Conservative  Associa- 
tion claimed  an  aggregate  gain  of  1,614  votes.  This  was  the 
first  Bristol  election  held  under  the  Ballot  Act ;  and  the  good 
order  which  reigned  during  the  struggle  offered  a  marked 
contrast  to  the  disturbances  which  were  almost  chronic  under 
the  old  system.  The  counting  of  the  votes  on  the  evening  of 
the  poll  (February  2)  occupied  many  hours,  and  the  result 
could  not  be  announced  until  nearly  three  hours  after  mid- 
night ;  yet,  though  many  thousand  persons  remained  in  the 


478  THE   AKNALS  OF   BRISTOL.  [1874. 

Streets,  there  was  no  svmptom  of  tumult.  The  return  was  as 
follows  :— Mr.  K.  D.  fiodgson,  8,888  ;  Mr.  S.  Morley,  8,732  ; 
Mr.  S.  V.  Uare,  8,552 ;  Mr.  G.  H.  Chambers,  7,626.  The  last 
mentioned  gentleman,  in  the  course  of  one  of  his  electioneer- 
ing addresses,  made  a  singular  avowal  of  his  regret  at  the 
abolition  of  slavery  in  the  West  India  colonies. 

A  fourth  volunteer  organisation  was  started  in  February, 
under  the  name  of  the  Royal  Navy  Artillery  Volunteers. 
The  22  persons  first  enrolled  paid  all  the  expenses  attending 
the  launching  of  the  Corps.  In  August,  Mr.  Ward  Hant, 
first  Lord  of  the  Admiralty,  visited  Bristol  with  a  view  to 
promoting  the  movement,  in  which,  Mr.  Hunt  stated,  the 
Admiralty  felt  much  interest.  At  a  public  meeting,  held  a 
few  weeks  later,  the  Corps  was  definitely  constituted,  Captain 
Dunn,  R.N.,  being  recommended  to  the  Admiralty  as  the 
commanding  officer. 

During  the  spring  the  Cattle  Market  was  reconstructed  by 
the  local  railway  companies  [see  p.  123],  at  a  cost  of  nearly 
£10,000.  The  new  market  afforded  accommodation  for  9,700 
animals. 

The  most  serious  disaster  which  had  happened  in  the 
Avon  since  the  'stranding  of  the  Dtmerara  occurred  on  the 
1st  April  to  the  Kron  Prhiz,  a  steamer  which  had  arrived 
from  the  Danube  with  a  cargo  of  7,000  quarters  of  barley. 
In  proceeding  up  the  river  at  high  water,  the  vessel  struck 
on  the  right  bank,  near  the  Horseshoe  Point,  and  became 
practically  a  wreck.  Her  removal  was  not  effected  until  the 
20th  April,  when  the  damage  was  estimated  at  £34,000.  A 
somewhat  similar  disaster  occurred  in  the  beginniug  of  May, 
1878,  to  the  Gipi<y  steamer,  said  to  bo  worth  £15,0<)0,  which 
struck  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Avon,  near  Black-rock  quarry, 
as  she  was  proceeding  to  Waterford,  and  became  a  total  wreck. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Council  on  the  28th  April,  1874,  the 
town  clerk  stated  that  he  was  instructed  by  Alderman  Proctor 
to  offer  as  a  free  gift  to  the  city  the  mansion  in  which  he 
lived — Elmdale  House,  Clifton  Down,  to  be  dedicated  to  the 
use  of  the  mayor  for  the  time  being.  The  house  was  charged 
with  a  ground  rent  of  £50  per  annum,  but  the  donor  had 
taken  measures  to  redeem  this  burden.  The  value  of  the 
property  was  estimated  at  £10,000.  It  transpired  that  Mr. 
Proctor  had  had  the  object  in  view  for  several  years,  and  had 
in  fact  constructed  the  house  for  this  especial  purpose.  At 
the  request  of  Mrs.  Proctor  the  transfer  of  the  property  took 
place  on  the  1st  May — the  anniversary  of  the  wedding  of  the 
estimable  couple.     The  deed  of  gift  was  executed  on  the  20tlL 


1874.]  aiFT   OV  A   MANSION   HOUSS.      NEW   8TBBBT8.  479 

June,  when  Alderman  Proctor  presented  the  city  with  the 
fittings  of  the  house,  and  a  cheque  for  £500  for  effecting 
decorations  and  repairs.  Mr.  Robert  Lang  presented  the 
Corporation  with  a  cabinet  of  Bristol  china,  valued  at  £750, 
for  the  drawing-room  of  the  house.  The  mayor  (Mr.  Thomas) 
presented  a  picture  by  C.  Branwhite,  a  local  artist;  and 
similar  gifts  have  been  made  by  many  of  his  successors.  Mr. 
T.  Canning  (mayor  1870-1)  gave  a  portrait  of  the  late  Mr.  R. 
H.  Davis,  M.P.;  Mr.  Cruger  Miles  forwarded  two  pictures 
by  Danby,  R.A.,  another  Bristol  artist ;  and  other  handsome 
presents  were  made  by  Alderman  Edwards  (mayor  1876-9) 
and  Mr.  Mundy.  The  furnishing  of  the  Mansion  House  cost 
the  Corporation  £8,263,  and  the  permanent  charge  for  its 
maintenance  was  estimated  at  about  £1,000  a  year.  It  was 
hoped  that  the  establishment  would  effect  a  saving  in  the 
yearly  charge  incurred  for  the  entertainment  of  the  judges 
of  assize,  for  whom  private  lodgings  had  been  provided  since 
1831.  Their  lordships,  however,  would  not  take  up  their 
quarters  in  the  civic  building.  In  June,  1875,  Alderman 
Proctor  added  another  to  his  various  gifts  to  the  city,  in  the 
shape  of  a  recreation  ground  at  Fishponds,  which  he  fitted 
up  for  the  entertainment  of  school  children,  some  thousands 
of  whom  are  taken  there  yearly  on  summer  excursions. 

The  Council,  in  July,  resolved  upon  another  extensive 
series  of  street  improvements.  For  many  years  the  ever  in- 
creasing flow  of  trafiic  through  Com  and  Clare  Streets  had 
been  strengthening  the  arguments  of  those  who  urged  the 
necessity  of  a  new  thoroughfare  between  the  central  districts 
and  Clifton.  Various  plans  had  been  proposed  to  supply  the 
want,  but  the  great  expense  involved  in  all  of  them  had  de- 
terred the  Council  from  taking  action.  The  city  surveyor, 
Mr.  Josiah  Thomas,  now  proposed  a  scheme  for  obtaining  the 
desired  relief  at  a  comparatively  limited  outlay,  namely  the 
widening  of  Baldwin  Street  from  Back  Street  to  Baldwin 
Street  Hall,  and  the  continuance  of  the  thoroughfare  from 
the  latter  spot  to  the  west  end  of  Clare  Street.  The  esti- 
mated net  cost  was  £62,000.  The  plan  was  adopted  by  a 
large  majority.  The  Streets  Improvement  Committee  further 
recommended  alterations  in  the  following  localities,  at  the 
estimated  expenditure  aflixed  to  each : — Black-boy  Hill,  Red- 
land,  £16,000;  Narrow  Plain  and  Unity  Street  to  the  Old 
Market,  £20,000 ;  the  widening  of  Redcliff  Street,  £45,000 ; 
two  new  thoroughfares  near  Kingsland  Road,  £6,500 ;  Lower 
Ashley  Road,  Brigstock  Road,  and  Montpelier,  £8,550 ; 
Stratton   Street  to   Lawson   Street,  £5,000;    Back   Street, 


480  THE   ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL.  [1874u 

£13,500;  West  Street,  Bed  minster,  £4,500 ;  Granby  Hill  to 
Hotwell  Boad,  £3,000.  The  wtole  of  these  schemes  were 
approved  with  little  or  no  opposition.  The  total  expenditure 
voted  during  the  sitting  was  £184,050.  Mr.  Spark,  the  chair- 
man of  the  Committee,  stated  that  between  1854  and  1864, 
before  extensive  improvements  were  effected,  the  rateable 
value  of  the  city  increased  only  from  £455,000  to  £503,000, 
while  the  advance  in  the  ten  subsequent  years  marked  by 
improvements  had  been  from  £503,000  to  £727,000.  He 
added  that  the  estimated  cost  of  the  properties  taken  under 
previous  improvement  schemes  had  been  £280,300,  but  that 
the  actual  outlay  had  been  only  £226,000.  The  Baldwin 
Street  scheme  was  afterwards  warmly  opposed  by  influential 
citizens  possessing  property  in  the  locality ;  and  the  subject 
remained  in  suspense  for  some  time.  Early  in  1877,  how- 
over,  the  Council  obtained  power  from  Parliament  to  borrow 
£194,000  (afterwards  increased  to  £214,000)  for  carrying  out 
the  schemes,  and  orders  were  given  to  proceed  with  the  plans 
relating  to  Baldwin  Street,  Back  Street,  and  Redcliff  Street, 
the  last-named  thoroughfare  being  described  by  Mr.  Spark 
as  "  a  disgrace  to  the  city."  New  Baldwin  Street  was  opened 
with  some  ceremony  on  the  1st  March,  1881,  by  the  mayor 
(Mr.  Weston).  The  gross  cost  of  the  improvement  was 
£120,000.  The  surplus  lands  not  having  been  disposed  of, 
the  net  cost  has  not  been  ascertained. ' 

The  members  of  the  British  Archaeological  Association 
assembled  in  Bristol  in  August,  to  hold  their  thirty-first 
annual  congress.  Mr.  K.  D.  Hodgson,  M.P.,  was  the  presi- 
dent for  the  year.  The  proceedings  extended  over  a  week, 
visits  being  paid  to  all  the  important  historical  monuments  of 
the  district.  A  local  committee,  of  which  the  mayor  (Aid. 
Barnes)  was  chairman,  was  indefatigable  in  its  attentions  to 
the  visitors,  who  were  also  hospitably  entertained  by  the 
mayor,  the  Society  of  Merchants,  the  vestry  of  Redcliff,  and 
other  bodies.  The  Association's  "Transactions"  for  1874 
contain  a  full  record  of  the  proceedings. 

A  scheme  of  the  Endowed  School  Commissioners  for  re- 
organizing the  Cathedral  School  received  the  assent  of  the 
dean  and  chapter  in  August.  The  school  formed  part  of  the 
cathedral  corporation  as  established  by  Henry  VIII. ;  but  the 
chapter  for  many  generations  manifested  indifFerence  to  the 
original  purposes  of  the  foundation.  In  the  statutes  of  Henry 
the  salary  of  the  head-master  was  fixed  at  £8  8«.  8d. ;  of  each 
prebend,  £7  17«.  8d. ;  of  each  minor  canon,  £5  2/f. ;  and  of  the 
dean,  £27.    In  our  own  time,  the  dean  has  an  income  of  £1,500, 


1874.]       BUBOES   MBMOBIAL.       HABBBVIELD'S   ALMSHOUSE.  481 

while  the  canons  receive  about  £700  each.  But  the  head- 
master's yearly  share  of  the  cathedral  revenues  in  1874 
amounted  to  only  £120.  Under  the  scheme^  the  dividends 
on  a  sum  of  £12^000,  furnished  by  the  Ecclesiastical  Com- 
missioners^ were  devoted  to  the  establishment  of  a  training 
college  and  a  grammar  school.  In  the  latter^  eighteen  chori- 
sters were  to  be  instructed  free  of  charge.  The  new  system 
came  into  operation  in  January,  1876,  but  the  college  proved 
a  complete  failure.  In  May,  1882,  the  institution  was  again 
reorganised,  the  college  being  suppressed. 

The  first  Cabmen's  Rest  in  Bristol,  constructed  at  the  ex- 
pense of  Mr.  Henry  Taylor  (mayor,  1879-80),  was  opened 
near  the  Drawbridge  stand  on  the  7th  November.  Mr.  Tay- 
lor's example  was  soon  afterwards  followed  by  Mr.  Hodgson, 
M.P.,  and  several  citizens,  and  altogether  fifteen  Bests  have 
been  provided.  Some  "  Chairmen's  Rests"  were  set  up  in  1876. 

A  special  meeting  of  the  Council  was  convened  on  the  20th 
November,  in  consequence  of  the  sudden  death,  ten  days  pre- 
viously, of  the  town-clerk,  Mr.  Daniel  Surges.  Mr.  William 
Brice  was  unanimously  elected  to  the  vacant  office.  The 
friends  of  Mr.  Surges  subsequently  resolved  on  establishing 
a  lasting  memorial  of  that  gentleman's  services,  and  subscrip- 
tions amounting  to  upwards  of  £1,200  having  been  received, 
a  scholarship  called  the  Daniel  Burges  Scholarship,  tenable 
at  Oxford  or  Cambridge,  was  founded  in  connection  with  the 
Grammar  School.  The  first  holder  of  the  scholarship  was 
Mr.  Cyril  Travers  Burges,  then  a  student  at  St.  John's 
College,  Oxford.  The  Charity  Trustees  grant  the  income 
(about  £53)  for  four  years  to  a  pupil  educated  at  the  Grammar 
School. — Mr.  Brice  having  relinquished  the  town-clerkship 
after  holding  it  nearly  six  years,  the  Council,  on  the  28th 
September,  1880,  elected  Mr.  Daniel  Travers  Burges  to  the 
post,  which  had  been  successively  held  by  his  grandfather 
and  father. 

Upon  the  death,  on  the  5th  December,  of  Lady  Haberfield, 
widow  of  Sir  John  Kerle  Haberfield,  it  became  known  that  her 
ladyship,  some  time  before  her  demise,  had  executed  a  deed 
by  which  she  transferred  a  considerable  real  estate  to  trustees, 
who  were  charged  with  the  erection  and  endowment  of  alms- 
houses for  twenty-four  poor  persons.  The  building  was  to  be 
erected  on  ground  at  Jacob  s  Wells,  which  Lady  Haberfield 
had  bought  for  that  purpose.  The  deceased  also  bequeathed 
£5,000  to  the  Infirmary,  £500  to  the  Charity  Trustees  for 
establishing  doles  to  poor  women,  and  handsome  sums  to 
various  charities.     The  trustees  for  the  almshouse  resolved 

1 1 


482  THE   ANNALS   OP   BEI8T0L.  [1874. 

to  delay  the  erection  of  the  building  until  the  expiration  of 
certain  life  interests  in  the  estate,  which  exceeds  £40,000. 
In  the  meanwhile,  the  piece  of  ground  bought  by  Lady 
Haberfield  has  been  acquired  by  the  Corporation  for  street 
improvement  purposes. 

An  extraordinary  ecclesiastical  case,  said  to  be  the  first  of 
the  kind  which  had  arisen  since  the  Reformation,  came  on 
the  8th  December  before  commissioners  appointed  by  Bishop 
EUicott,  sitting  in  the  Chapter  House.     It  appeared  that^  a 
considerable  time  before  this  date,  a  gentleman  named  Henry 
Jenkins,  of  Vyvyan  Terrace,  Clifton,  entertaining  doubts  as 
to  the  existence  of  demoniacal  spirits,  and  deeming  certain 
passages  in  the  Bible  concerning  them  unfit  to  be  read  in  the 
presence  of  children,  published  a  selection  of  passages  from  the 
Old  and  New  Testaments  for  use  in  family  devotion.     Copies 
of  the  book  were  sent  to  various  persons,  amongst  others  to 
the  incumbent  of  the  parish,  the  Rev.  Flavel  S.  Cook,  Vicar 
of  Christ  Church,  who  took  no  notice  of  it.    During  the  month 
of  July,  1874,  however,  Mr.  Cook  preached  a  course  of  sermons 
against  Ritualism,  which  Mr.  Jenkins  sharply  criticised  in  a 
private  letter ;  whereupon  the  irritated  vicar,  calling  to  mind 
that  his  correspondent  had  written  a  book,  proceeded  to  ita 
examination — probably  with  a  view  to  returning  his  parish- 
ioner's compliment.     To  use  the  expression  of  his  counsel,  he 
then  "  discovered  to  his  extreme  sorrow  that  the  volume  was 
a  systematic  and  wicked  mutilation  of  the   Bible.'*      The 
reverend  gentleman  forthwith  called  upon  Mr.  Jenkins  to 
expostulate  upon  his  conduct.     And  as  Mr.  Jenkins  declined 
to  hold  any  communication  with  him,  and  even  claimed  the 
right  of  using  his  book  in  the  devotions  of  his  own  family, 
Mr.  Cook,  professing  profound  grief,  informed  him  by  lettei 
that  so  long  as  he  refused  to  disavow  his  mutilation  of   the 
Scriptures  he  could  not  "  be  received  at  the  Lord's  Table  in 
my  church."     Mr.  Jenkins  retorted  that  if  the  church  was 
the  minister's  it  was  also  the  parishioners',  and  gave  notice 
that  on  a  certain  day  he  should  present  himself  at  the  Com- 
munion Table.     He  did  accordingly  attend,  but  Mr.  Cook  re 
fused  to  let  him  communicate.     An  appeal  was  then  made  U 
the  bishop,  who  issued  the  above  commission  of  inquiry.    Mr 
Cook's    counsel   contended  that  the  promoter,   having    beei 
guilty  of  slandering  the  Word  of  God,  was  properly  rejectee 
from  the  Table.     The  commissioners  were  of  opinion  that  thi 
matter  ought  to  be  decided  in  the  ecclesiastical  courts    an< 
the  case  thereupon  proceeded.     In  the  course  of  the  subse 
quent  arguments  before  Sir  R.  Phillimore,  Dean  of  Arche! 


1874.]  JENKINS  F.  COOK,    biekin's  chaeity.  483 

it  transpired  that  the  vicar,  before  repelling  Mr.  Jenkins  from 
the  Communion,  had  consulted  the  bishop  of  the  diocese.  Dr. 
Ellicott,  who  had  dictated  the  letter  addressed  to  the  promoter 
of  the  suit.  His  Honour,  in  giving  judgment,  held  that  Mr. 
Cook  was  justified  in  practically  excommunicating  a  person 
who  held  sceptical  views  as  to  the  personality  of  the  devil. 
An  appeal  having  been  lodged,  the  parties  were  heard  before 
the  Judicial  Committee  of  the  Privy  Council,  and  Lord 
Chancellor  Cairns  gave  definitive  judgment  in  February, 
1876,  reversing  the  previous  decision,  admonishing  Mr.  Cook 
for  his  illegal  act,  and  warning  him  against  its  repetition. 
The  vicar  then  intimated  that  if  Mr.  Jenkins  insisted  on 
communicating  at  Christ  Church  he  should  resign  the  living, 
and  as  Mr.  Jenkins  replied  that  he  should  exercise  a  right 
which  it  had  cost  him  a  large  sum  to  vindicate,  Mr.  Cook 
carried  out  his  intention,  and  quitted  the  parish.  The  heavy 
law  costs  incurred  by  the  reverend  gentleman  were  defrayed 
by  his  admirers,  who  also  presented  him  with  testimonials  to 
the  value  of  upwards  of  £4,500. 

Another  remarkable  instance  of  growth  in  the  value  of 
ancient  charitable  bequests  was  brought  before  the  Charity 
Commissioners  during  1874.  One  Abraham  Birkin,  by  a  will 
dated  in  1668,  bequeathed  six  acres  of  land  in  the  hundred  of 
Barton  Regis,  then  worth  £10  a  year,  to  the  feoffees  of  St. 
Mary-le-Port  church  lands,  upon  trust  to  distribute  40«. 
yearly  amongst  four  poor  people  of  that  parish,  and  a  similar 
amount  amongst  poor  in  St.  Nicholas',  St.  James',  and  Temple 
parishes  respectively.  £1  was  to  be  paid  for  a  yearly  ser- 
mon, 10^.  for  bread  given  to  the  poor  after  the  sermon  was 
preached,  9«.  6d.  to  the  collector  of  the  rents,  and  6d.  to  the 
lord  of  the  manor  for  chief  rent.  For  upwards  of  a  century 
and  a  half  the  estate  brought  in  only  suj£cient  to  provide  for 
the  bequests ;  but  about  1820  the  ground  was  let  on  building 
leases,  and,  when  the  leases  began  to  fall  in,  the  yearly  pro- 
ceeds rose  to  £400,  with  the  prospect  of  advancing  to  £600, 
or  sixty  times  the  original  value.  The  testator  having  left 
no  directions  as  to  the  appropriation  of  a  surplus,  an  appli- 
cation was  made  to  the  Charity  Commissioners,  which  re- 
sulted in  the  settlement  of  a  scheme.  After  providing  for 
the  40«.  gifts,  it  was  ordered  that  seven-twelfths  of  the  sur- 
plus should  be  employed  in  promoting  education  amongst 
the  children  residing  in  the  parishes  of  St.  Mary-le-Porfc,  St. 
Nicholas,  St.  James,  Temple,  St.  Philip,  and  St.  Paul,  in  the 
elementary  schools  of  those  parishes,  and  in  granting  bur- 
saries at  the  same  schools,  or  in  assisting  children  of  both 


484  THB   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL.  [1875. 

sexes  to  obtain  instraction  in  technical  subjects.     Out  of  tbe 
i  remaining  five-twelfths^  £50  were  to  be  paid  in  augmentation 

]  of  the  living  of  St.  Mary-le-Port,  half  of  the  residue  to  be 

'  applied  to  repairing  the  churchy  and  the  remainder  to  the 

i  purposes  to  which  the  seven-twelfths  had  been  devoted,  the 

I  poor  of  St.  Mary^s  having  a  preferential  claim  to  this  portion. 

I  The  scheme  was  ordered  to  come  into  operation  on  the  25th 

March,  1875.     Some  fifty  bursaries  have  since   been  esta- 
'  blished  for  the  benefit  of  meritorious  poor  children. 

Early  in  the  year  1875,  the  Right  Honourable  Stephen  Cave, 
M.P.,  a  member  of  an  old  Bristol  family,  purchased  of  a  lady 
living  at  Cheltenham  a  curious  goblet,  called  the  Colston 
Cup,  the  history  of  which  is  unknown.  It  was  elaborately 
carved,  and  bore  figures  of  members  of  the  Colston  family, 
with  representations  of  the  arms  of  Bristol  and  of  a  ship 
entering  the  port. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Council  in  March,  the  inconvenience 
and  unwholesomeness  of  the  police  court  [see  p.  109]  were 
strongly  represented  by  the  mayor  (Mr.  Thomas)  on  behalf 
of  the  magistrates.  The  Finance  Committee  shortly  after- 
wards recommended  the  construction  of  a  new  court  in 
Bridewell  Street,  extending  into  St.  James's  Back.  Three 
houses  in  the  former  street  were  bought  for  £2,540 ;  most  of 
the  tenements  in  the  latter,  inhabited  by  a  dissolute  class, 
belonged  to  the  Corporation.  The  design  was  subsequently 
extended,  accommodation  being  provided  for  the  city  fire 
brigade ;  and  the  total  outlay  amounted  to  £17,000.  Through 
one  of  those  unlucky  freaks  by  which  the  Council  is  some- 
times tempted  to  deal  with  ancient  names  [see  p.  356,  note], 
St.  James's  Back  was  ordered  to  be  called  Silver  Street — the 
name  of  an  old  thoroughfare  swept  away  by  recent  improve- 
ments. The  new  court  was  opened  for  magisterial  business 
in  March,  1880. 

The  tendency  of  a  centralising  system  of  government  to  be 
made  ridiculous  by  routine  and  "  red  tape  "  was  illustrated 
about  this  time  by  a  dispute  between  the  Local  Government 
Board  and  the  Bristol  Board  of  Guardians.  In  1701,  Alder- 
man Samuel  Wallis  bequeathed  a  sum  of  money  to  the  In- 
corporation of  the  Poor,  on  condition  that  they  should  pay 
20^.  yearly  to  the  incumbent  of  St.  Peter's,  for  a  sermon  to 
be  preached  on  the  election  of  each  governor.  A  year  or  two 
earlier  than  this  bequest,  the  Incorporation  had  begun  to  pay 
208.  to  the  incumbent  and  clerk  of  St.  Stephen's  (or  of  St. 
Nicholas)  for  an  annual  service,  Dr.  Edward  Tyson  having 
made  the  guardians  a  gift  under  that  condition.      The  two 


1875.]  RED-TAPI8M.      ARCH^OLOOICAL  SOCIETY.  485 

payments  were  made  for  upwards  of  a  hundred  and  seventy 
years  as  a  simple  matter  of  course.  At  the  revision  of  the 
accounts  in  1875,  however,  a  punctilious  auditor  refused  to 
allow  the  items;  and  the  chairman,  who  had  signed  the 
cheques,  was  ordered  to  refund  the  amount.  An  appeal  was 
made  to  the  Local  Grovemment  authorities,  but  they  affirmed 
the  decision  of  the  auditor.  After  submitting  to  two  years' 
surcharges,  the  guardians  discontinued  the  payments  in  1877, 
whereupon  one  of  the  clergymen  interested  in  the  gifts  sued 
for  his  money,  and  obtained  a  verdict.  The  auditor,  never- 
theless, still  refused  to  pass  the  items,  and  after  the  fees  had 
been  defrayed  on  two  or  three  occasions  by  the  chairman,  the 
board  again  ordered  the  payments  to  be  stopped.  In  Febru- 
ary, 1882,  as  the  result  of  another  action,  the  bailiffs  entered 
St.  Peter's  Hospital,  and  seized  four  antique  chairs,  which 
were  put  up  by  auction  (they  were  purchased  by  the  chair- 
man), and  produced  sufficient  to  satisiy  the  clergyman's  claim, 
with  costs.  Notwithstanding  the  scandal,  the  auditor  again 
made  a  surcharge  on  his  next  visit.  The  guardians  were  by 
this  time  resolved  on  obtaining  relief  from  petty  official  per- 
secution, and  being  about  to  apply  to  Parliament  for  the 
abolition  of  the  Harbour  rate,  they  introduced  clauses  into 
their  Bill  to  legalise  the  disputed  payments.  The  clauses 
having  become  law  in  1883,  the  unseemly  controversy  might 
have  been  expected  to  terminate  ;  but  the  pedantic  auditor, 
on  discovering  that  a  yearly  payment  had  been  made  before 
the  Act  came  into  force,  made  another  surcharge.  His 
superiors  at  the  Local  Government  Board  were,  nowever, 
tired  of  the  controversy,  and  the  item  received  their  sanction 
in  the  following  September. 

Soon  after  the  reorganisation  of  Colston's  School,  the  new 
governing  body  resolved  upon  the  abolition  of  the  uncomely 
and  irksome  garb  in  which  the  boys  had  been  hitherto 
arrayed.  In  lieu  of  a  long  gown,  short  breeches,  and  flat 
cap,  each  lad  received  a  uniform  of  modem  cut,  the  badge  of 
the  dolphin  being  placed  on  a  peaked  cap.  The  action  of 
the  governors  was  not  lost  upon  the  authorities  of  the  City 
School,  who  also,  for  a  time,  clothed  their  boys  in  a  costume 
consistent  with  modem  ideas  and  with  the  requirements  of 
youth.  Finding,  however,  that  jackets  and  trousers  were 
slightly  more  expensive  than  gowns  and  breeches,  the 
governors  ordered  the  revival  of  the  grotesque  old  habili- 
ments. 

At  a  meeting  held  in  July,  Dr.  Beddoe,  F.R.S.,  presiding, 
it  was   resolved  to  establish   an  association  for  promoting 


486  THE   ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL.  [1875. 

antiquarian  pursuits,  under  the  title  of  the  Bristol  and  Glou- 
cestershire Archaeological  Society.  Many  of  the  local  nobility 
and  gentry  and  other  influential  inhabitants  had  previously 
promised  their  support  to  the  movement.  The  society  was 
'^inaugurated''  at  another  gathering,  in  February,  1876,  at 
which  the  Eari  of  Ducie,  Lord  Lieutenant,  took  the  chair. 
The  first  general  meeting  was  held  at  Gloucester,  the  presi- 
dent being  Sir  William  V.  Guise,  bart.  The  third  annual 
gathering  took  place  at  Bristol  in  July,  1878,  Mr.  C.  J. 
Thomas  being  the  president  of  that  year.  A  winter  meeting 
was  also  held  here  in  January,  1880,  under  the  presidency 
of  Mr.  T.  G.  Parry.  The  society  has  published  an  annual 
volume  of  "  Transactions." 

The  forty-fifth  annual  congress  of  the  British  Association 
was  opened  in  this  city  on  the  25th  August,  when  the  presi- 
dent for  the  year.  Sir  John  Hawkshaw,  delivered  his  in- 
augural address  in  the  Victoria  Bxjoms.  The  vice-presidents 
were  the  Earl  of  Ducie,  Sir  S.  Northcote  (late  Earl  of  Iddes- 
leigh),  the  mayor  (Mr.  C.'J.  Thomas),  Sir  Henry  Rawlinson, 
Dr.  W.  B.  Carpenter,  and  Mr.  W.  Sanders,  F.R.S.  Although 
the  gathering  did  not  kindle  the  enthusiasm  which  greeted 
the  association  on  its  former  visit,  the  proceedings  excited 
much  interest,  and  a  hospitable  reception  was  offered  to  the 
guests.  The  work  of  the  week  was  divided  amongst  seven 
sections.  Mathematical  and  Physical  Science  (presided  over 
by  Professor  Balfour  Stewart)  had  its  quarters  in  the  Fine 
Arts  Academy;  Chemistry  (Mr.  A.  G.  V.  Harcourt,  F.R.S.) 
at  the  Freemasons'  Hall;  Geology  (Dr.  T.  Wright)  at  the 
lecture  room  of  the  Museum;  Biology,  three  departments 
(Dr.  P.  L.  Sclater),  at  the  Royal  Hotel,  the  Grammar  School, 
and  rooms  in  Park  Street;  Geography  (General  Strachey, 
C.S.I.)  at  the  Blind  Asylum ;  Economic  Science  (Mr.  J.  Hey- 
wood,  F.R.S.)  at  Victoria  Chapel  schoolroom ;  Mechanical 
Science  (Mr.  W.  Froude,  F.R.S.)  at  the  Fine  Arts  Academy. 
Lectures  and  conversaziones  took  place  in  the  evenings  at 
Colston  Hall.  With  one  exception,  the  meeting  places  of  the 
previous  congress  were  abandoned,  and  the  list  of  new  build- 
ings made  available  illustrated  the  local  progress  that  had  been 
made  in  forty  years.  At  the  close  of  the  proceedings,  the 
courtesy  and  hospitality  of  the  inhabitants,  and  the  energetic 
services  of  the  local  secretaries,  Mr.  W.  L.  Carpenter  and 
Mr.  J.  H.  Clarke,  were  the  themes  of  much  eulogistic  comment. 

Owing  to  complaints  as  to  the  unhealthy  condition  of  the 
Infirmary,  the  committee  resolved,  in  September,  upon  closing 
the  building  with  a  view  to  extensive  alterations.      A  range 


1875.]  workmen's  dwellings,     railway  amaloakation.      487 

of  warehouses  in  Colston  Street  was  hired  and  fitted  np  for 
the  accommodation  of  about  seventy  patients  whose  cases 
might  be  considered  of  an  urgent  nature.  The  alterations, 
which  entailed  a  cost  of  nearly  £15,000,  were  completed  in 
about  a  twelvemonth,  and  the  institution  was  reopened  in 
October,  1876. 

In  October,  1 875,  a  meeting  was  held  under  the  presidency 
of  the  mayor  (Mr.  Thomas),  with  the  object  of  promoting  a 
movement,  originated  by  Canon  Norris,  for  the  erection  of  a 
memorial  in  the  city  to  Bishop  Butler.  It  was  suggested 
that  the  north-west  tower  of  the  cathedral  should  be  raised 
in  honour  of  the  bishop,  and  a  donation  of  £50  was  an- 
nounced from  a  gentleman  at  New  York.  The  subscriptions 
promised  at  the  meeting  did  not  amount  to  £400,  and  the 
proposal  met  with  a  cheerless  reception  out  of  doors.  A 
suggestion,  made  about  the  same  time,  that  the  companion 
tower  of  the  cathedral  should  be  erected  as  a  memorial  of 
Colston,  fell  still- bom.  In  October,  1886,  however,  Mr.  J. 
W.  Dod,  of  Clifton,  offered  a  donation  of  £5,000  towards  the 
construction  of  the  towers,  under  conditions  which,  it  may  be 
hoped,  will  be  realised. 

During  the  autumn  a  company  was  formed,  under  the  title 
of  the  Bristol  Industrial  Dwellings  Company,  with  a  capital 
of  £20,000  in  £50  shares.  A  lease  was  obtained  from  the 
Merchant  Venturers'  Society  of  a  plot  of  ground  at  Jacob's 
Wells,  and,  as  a  preliminary  effort,  the  company  erected, 
at  a  cost  of  £8,000,  three  blocks  of  buildings,  containing 
altogether  eighty  tenements,  provided  with  all  appropriate 
sanitary  arrangements.  The  experiment  provftg  popular 
amongst  the  working  classes,  another  large  block,  containing 
fifty-one  tenements,  was  erected,  and  the  company  secured 
additional  land  adjoining,  with  a  view  to  future  extensions. 
The  movement  was  started  by  Miss  Susannah  Winkworth, 
who  for  many  years  had  taken  a  deep  interest  in  solving  the 
problem  as  to  the  better  housing  of  the  poor,  and  had  begun 
the  work  by  a  practical  experiment  in  Dowry  Square,  where 
she  hired  two  or  three  large  houses,  and  let  them  to  poor 
families  at  low  rentals.  The  results  there  were  so  satisfac- 
tory that  Mr.  George  Wills,  Mr.  W.  K.  Wait,  Mr.  W.  H. 
Budgett,  Mr.  L.  Fry,  and  a  few  other  philanthropic  citizens 
assisted  in  the  promotion  of  the  more  extensive  project 
described  above. 

It  was  announced  in  October  that  an  agreement  had  been 
entered  into  for  the  purchase  of  the  Bristol  and  Exeter  Rail- 
way by  the  Great  Western  Company.     The  terms   agreed 


488  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL.  [1875. 

upon  provided  for  a  yearly  dividend  on  the  ordinary  stock  of 
tne  Bristol  and  Exeter  Company  at  the  rate  of  6  per  cent, 
for  seven  years,  and  thereafter  at  the  rate  of  6J  per  cent. 
The  amalgamation  took  effect  on  the  1st  August,  1876.  Four 
days  before  that  date,  an  accident  happened  near  Long  Ajsh- 
ton  to  the  express  train  known  as  "  the  Flying  Dutchman," 
which  left  the  rails  whilst  on  its  journey  towards  Bristol,  the 
two  men  on  the  engine  being  killed  and  several  of  the  pas- 
sengers seriously  injured.  At  the  coroner's  inquest,  the 
jury  declared  that  the  fatality  was  attributable  to  the  defec- 
tive condition  of  the  permanent  way,  as  represented  to  them 
by  the  Government  inspector,  and  ^' great  blame"  was  passed 
on  those  officials  who  were  responsible  for  the  default.  On 
winding  up  the  accounts  of  the  Bristol  and  Exeter  under- 
taking, upwards  of  £14,000  were  distributed  amongst  the  old 
officers  and  servants  of  the  company. 

During  the  autumn  and  winter  of  1875,  which  were  marked 
by  excessive  rains,  the  eastern  parishes  of  Bristol  bordering 
on  the  Froom  suffered  severely  from  inundations.  For  some 
years  the  population  had  rapidly  increased  in  that  neighbour- 
hood, and  a  number  of  houses  were  built  on  low-lying  ground 
which  had  been  at  all  times  liable  to  be  flooded.  In  many  of 
these  dwellings  the  floors  of  the  lower  rooms  were  occasionally 
from  three  to  four  feet  under  water;  and  the  poor  tenants 
were  reduced  to  extreme  misery.  In  February,  1876,  the 
Council  voted  £10,500  for  repairing  the  banks  of  the  river 
from  Ashley  Boad  bridge  to  Wade  Street,  and  for  clearing 
the  bed  of  the  stream.  A  still  more  disastrous  inundation 
occurred  in  October,  1882  [see  p.  520] . 

An  attempt  to  form  a  social  centre  for  the  mercantile 
classes  in  the  city  was  started  about  the  close  of  1875,  when 
a  large  new  house  in  Quay  Street  was  fitted  up  at  a  cost  of 
£3,500,  and  opened  as  the  Bristol  and  County  Club.  About 
250  members,  paying  a  yearly  subscription  of  three  guineas, 
were  enrolled;  but  the  expenditure  largely  exceeded  the 
receipts,  and  repeated  additional  demands  on  the  subscribers 
led  to  withdrawals,  and,  after  a  four  years'  trial,  to  the 
closing  of  the  premises. 

The  excitement  caused  by  the  theological  lawsuit  of  Jen- 
kins V,  Cook  [see  p.  482]  had  not  wholly  subsided  when  a 
new  and  more  acrimonious  controversy  arose  with  respect  to 
certain  decorations  erected  in  front  of  the  cathedral.  Accord- 
ing to  the  architect's  designs  for  the  new  north  porch,  statues 
of  the  four  great  doctors  of  the  Western  Church — Gregory, 
Jerome,  Ambrose,  and  Augustine — ^were  to  adorn  the  portal. 


1876.]  THE   CATHEDRAL  POECH   CONTROVERSY.  48? 

The  figares  were  in  consequence  executed,  at  a  cost  of  about 
£450,  and  they  were  elevated  to  the  niches  constructed  for 
them  about  the  middle  of  February,  1876.  For  some  days 
they  occasioned  as  little  remark  as  had  similar  statues  of  the 
same  personages  when  erected,  shortly  before  this  date,  at 
Gloucester  and  Salisbury  cathedrals.  At  length,  however,  a 
vigilant  Protestant,  signing  himself  '^No  Pope  and  No 
Popery,*'  published  a  letter  in  the  newspapers,  and  his  pro- 
test was  forthwith  re-echoed  by  still  more  vehement  dispu- 
tants of  the  same  school.  A  few  days  later,  the  local  journals 
were  authorised  by  Canon  Girdlestone  to  assert  that  the 
statues  had  been  erected  without  the  consent  of  the  dean 
(who  was  in  Italy)  or  of  the  chapter,  whereupon  Mr.  Wait, 
M.P.,  at  whose  expense  the  porch  had  been  built,  retorted 
that  the  plans,  including  the  figures,  were  submitted  to,  and 
approved  by,  the  capitular  body  in  1867.  [Mr.  Wait  subse- 
quently admitted  that  this  statement  was  '^  stronger  than 
was  warranted  by  the  facts  of  the  case.'']  At  an  excited 
meeting — "one  of  the  absurd  est  meetings,"  said  an  influen- 
tial London  journal,  '^  that  British  citizens  ever  attended  " — 
after  violent  speeches  by  some  Low  Church  clergymen,  it  was 
resolved  that  the  images  were  insulting  to  English  Protestant- 
ism and  ought  to  be  immediately  removed.  Dr.  Percival 
and  Mr.  J.  H.  Mills,  almost  the  only  cool-headed  persons 
present,  being  interrupted  and  insulted  whilst  deprecating 
the  passionate  proceedings.  On  the  return  of  the  dean, 
early  in  April,  a  chapter  was  held,  at  which  it  was  resolved 
— Canons  Norris  and  Wade  protesting — that  the  dean  should 
take  measures  for  the  removal  of  the  figures.  The  dean 
having  been  informed  that  the  restoration  committee  would 
resist  this  step  until  the  figures  had  been  pronounced  illegal 
by  a  judicial  tribunal,  a  band  of  workmen  was  secretly  en- 
gaged, who  carried  out  their  orders  at  an  early  hour.  After 
the  large  statues  had  been  torn  from  the  niches,  "  a  couple 
of  masons,"  according  to  the  Bristol  Times,  "  went  on  with 
the  work  of  demolition,  splintering  off  the  lesser  saints  that 
enriched  the  moulding  of  the  doorway ;  so  that  the  passer-by 
was  for  a  moment  beguiled  by  the  fancy  that  he  was  back  in 
old  commonwealth  times."  The  Daily  Press  stated  that  the 
figure  of  St.  Gregory  was  injured,  and  that  "  the  day's  work 
concluded  with  the  excision  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  who  was 
one  of  the  two  top  figures  on  the  outside  of  the  arch."  This 
figure  was  broken  to  pieces  by  the  workmen.  In  defence  of 
his  action,  the  dean  informed  Mr.  Wait  that  the  chapter  had 
not  sanctioned  the  subjects  of  the  figures,  and  had  taken  the 


490  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL.  [1876. 

sketches  in  the  design  to  represent  the  Evangelists.  It  ap- 
peared that  the  restoration  committee  were  not  responsible 
for  the  artistic  treatment  of  the  statues,  and  did  not  approve 
of  the  papal  tiara,  cardinal's  hat,  and  other  insignia  intro- 
duced by  the  sculptor  (Mr.  Redfern),  which  gave  so  much 
offence.  It  was  also  admitted  that  those  decorations  were  as 
much  in  contradiction  to  historical  truth  as  they  were  op- 
posed to  Protestant  sentiments.  The  anachronisms  might 
easily  have  been  removed ;  but  the  dean,  who  became  more 
unconciliatory  and  peremptory  as  the  matter  proceeded,  at 
length  objected  to  the  erection  of  any  figures  save  those  of 
scriptural  personages.  For  excluding  the  Virgin  from  this 
category  he  pleaded  an  iconoclastic  Act  of  Edward  VI.  On 
the  18th  April  the  restoration  committee  resolved  that^  as  Dr. 
Elliott  had  ''  expressed  no  regret  for  the  outrage,  or  for  the 
discourtesy  offered  to  the  donor  and  architect  of  the  porch," 
they  felt  that  their  only  course  was  to  discontinue  their  work. 
The  committee  also  addressed  a  letter  to  the  dean,  in  which 
they  contrasted  the  indifference  he  had  all  along  exhibited 
in  reference  to  the  restoration  with  the  vigour  he  had  shown 
in  defacing  '^  a  very  beautiful  work  of  art."  As  they  had  no 
security,  they  added,  that  this  conduct  might  not  be  followed 
by  other  mutilations,  they  repudiated  further  responsibility. 
The  dean,  rendered  uneasy  by  this  issue,  appealed  to  Canon 
Norris,  asking  for  his  endeavours  to  influence  the  committee 
to  acquiesce  in  the  removal  of  the  figures,  and  to  accept  scrip- 
tural subjects  in  their  place ;  but  the  canon  replied,  that  after 
the  affronting  resolution  of  the  chapter,  and  the  indecorous 
way  in  which  effect  had  been  given  to  it,  the  committee 
naturally  expected  some  expression  of  regret  for  the  steps 
which  had  been  taken.  Dr.  Elliott,  retorting  that  the  only 
persons  in  the  wrong  were  the  committee,  thereupon  appealed 
to  the  public,  stating  that  the  chapter  would  accept  the  re- 
sponsibility of  completing  the  building,  and  asking  for 
pecuniary  help  on  behalf  of  a  new  committee,  which  would 
finish  the  works  ^^  under  the  presidency  of  the  dean."  If 
that  dignitary  anticipated  that  the  response  would  be  such 
as  to  prove  that  public  opinion  applauded  his  proceedings, 
the  result  must  have  been  mortifying.  The  original  com- 
mittee had  obtained  about  £43,000  from  the  public ;  but  the 
appeal  of  the  chapter  for  £1,500  to  enable  them  to  open  the 
nave  was  somewhat  coldly  received,  although  the  dean  and 
his  supporters  in  the  capitular  body  (Canon  Girdlestone  and 
Canon  Reeve)  subscribed  £200  of  the  amount.  What  was 
still  more  edifying,  the  entire  sum  contributed  by  those  who 


1876.]  COMPLETION   OF  THE    CATHEDRAL.      FIRE.  491 

had  excited  the  "  No  Popery  "  agitation  did  not  exceed  £300. 
After  considerable  delay,  and  some  further  expenditure,  the 
new  nave  was  opened  on  the  23rd  October,  1877,  when  the 
mayor  (Aid.  Edwards)  and  the  members  of  the  Council 
attended  in  state.  The  bishop  of  the  diocese,  the  Bishop  of 
Bath  and  Wells,  and  the  Deans  of  Canterbury  and  Westmin- 
ster took  part  in  the  opening  services,  which  extended  over 
two  days.  About  £48,000  had  been  expended  on  the  recon- 
struction at  that  date.  In  January,  1885,  the  dean,  in  a 
report  addressed  to  the  Cathedral  Commissioners,  stated  that 
the  sum  disbursed  in  the  renovation  of  the  cathedral,  between 
1860  and  1884  inclusive,  was  £77,447,  of  which  £14,508  had 
been  contributed  by  the  chapter.  Figures  of  the  four  Evan- 
gelists, said  to  have  cost  fifty  guineas  each,  but  of  slender 
artistic  merit,  were  placed  in  the  vacant  niches  during  the 
summer  of  1878.  The  rejected  statues  are  now  in  the  tower 
of  East  Heslerton  Church,  Yorkshire. 

The  most  extensive  fire  which  had  occurred  in  the  city  for 
nearly  half  a  century  broke  out  during  the  night  of  the  24th 
May,  in  the  premises  of  Messrs.  Clutterbuck  &  Griffin,  dry- 
salters,  Christmas  Street.  The  flames  rapidly  spread  to  the 
warehouses  of  Messrs.  Couzens  &  Co.,  clothiers;  Messrs. 
Leonard  &  Co.,  drysalters ;  Messrs.  Gardner  &  Thomas,  whole- 
sale grocers ;  and  Mr.  S.  Hunt,  provision  merchant ;  as  well  as 
to  an  old-established  inn,  the  Old  Globe.  The  destruction  in 
those  buildings  was  in  most  cases  complete,  and  the  entire  loss 
was  estimated  at  upwards  of  £80,000. 

A  friendly  suit  in  Chancery,  between  the  governors  of  Col- 
ston's School  and  the  trustees  of  Colston's  Free  Schools  in  the 
parish  of  Temple,  was  occasioned  during  the  summer  through 
a  bequest  of  £5,000  having  been  made  by  a  Mr.  McGhie  to 
"  Colston's  School,  Bristol."  A  suggestion  of  the  Master  of 
the  Rolls,  that  the  money  should  be  divided  between  the  two 
institutions,  being  accepted  by  the  parties,  a  formal  judgment 
was  given  to  that  effect. 

In  consequence  of  the  Government  having  introduced  a  Bill 
into  Parliament  for  preventing  the  pollution  of  rivers — a 
measure  which,  when  passed,  turned  out  to  be  utterly  value- 
less— the  Council,  at  a  meeting  in  August,  determined  upon 
the  purchase,  for  £6,000,  of  Clift  House,  Coronation  Road, 
with  about  seven  acres  of  land  adjoining,  for  the  purpose  of 
establishing  works  on  the  spot  for  deodorising  part  of  the 
sewage  of  the  city.  The  latter  project  excited  so  much  oppo- 
sition in  Clifton  that  it  was  never  carried  into  execution. 

The  passenger  toll  at  Prince's  Street  Bridge  having  been 


492  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL.  [1877. 

long  regarded  as  a  gri^vance^  negotiations  were  opened  dar- 
ing the  autumn  by  the  Corporation  with  the  Great  Western 
Railwajr  Company,  which  had  purchased  the  bridge  when  the 
Harbour  Railway  was  constructed ;  and  at  a  meeting  of  the 
Council,  in  November,  it  was  agreed  to  give  £15,000  for  the 
property,  to  abolish  the  tolls,  and  to  build  a  more  convenient 
bridge.  The  tolls  had  previously  been  let  for  £1,100  a  year. 
Parliamentary  powers  were  obtained  in  the  following  session, 
and  the  new  bridge,  made  to  open  and  close  by  hydraulic  ma- 
chinery, came  into  use  on  the  27th  January,  1879. 

A  scheme  for  the  improvement  of  Jacob  Street,  Tower  Hill, 
Ashley  Road,  Castle  Mill  Street,  and  Newfoundland  Road, 
and  for  making  a  new  street  on  the  north  side  of  the  Froom, 
was  recommended  by  the  Streets  Improvement* Committee  and 
sanctioned  by  the  Council  on  the  9th  November.  The  esti- 
mated outlay  for  carrying  out  the  design  was  only  £6,000. 

Upon  an  announcement  being  made  that  the  Ministry  of 
Lord  Beaconsfield  were  resolved  upon  recommending  Parlia- 
ment to  create  four  additional  English  bishoprics,  a  movement 
was  started  in  Bristol  for  obtaining  a  restoration  of  the  privi- 
leges withdrawn  some  forty  years  before.  At  a  meeting  held 
in  January,  1877,  the  mayor  (Alderman  Edwards)  presiding, 
a  memorial  to  the  Home  Secretary  was  adopted,  pointing  out 
that  £1,500 — half  of  the  income  proposed  to  be  conferred  on 
each  of  the  new  prelates — could  be  secured  by  uniting  the 
office  of  dean  with  that  of  bishop.  It  was  added  that  Dr. 
Ellicott  was  prepared  to  surrender  £500  a  year  of  his  income 
if  the  united  dioceses  were  separated,  and  that  the  remainder 
of  the  endowment  would  be  speedily  furnished  by  the  public, 
provided  the  Government  would  aid  in  restoring  the  see. 
Several  large  subscriptions  were  promised  at  the  meeting, 
and  the  contributions  soon  exceeded  £8,000.  The  Ministry, 
however,  refused  to  countenance  the  movement.  During  the 
autumn  of  1883  some  influential  citizens,  then  promoting  a 
scheme  of  church  extension  which  will  be  noticed  in  a  later 
page,  placed  themselves  in  communication  with  the  Prime 
Minister,  Mr.  Gladstone,  in  reference  to  the  question  of  the 
bishopric.  It  was  soon  after  intimated  that  the  Ministry 
would  render  assistance  in  carrying  out  the  wishes  of  local 
Churchmen.  The  chief  conditions  imposed  were  that  the  old 
see  of  Gloucester  should  be  left  in  its  integrity,  and  that  £1,500 
a  year  should  be  provided  by  the  public  towards  the  income  of 
the  new  bishop,  in  addition  to  the  £500  offered  by  Dr.  Ellicott. 
At  a  meeting  in  January,  1884,  the  mayor  (Mr.  Weston)  in  the 
chair,  thanks  were  voted  to  Mr.  Gladstone,  and  a  subscription 


1877.]  RSYIVAL  OF  THE  BI8H0PBIC.      FIBB   BBIOADB.  493 

was  started,  Canon  Norris,  the  Merchants'  Society,  Miles  & 
Co.,  Sir  J.  G.  Smyth,  Mr.  H.  C,  Miles,  Mr.  A.  Gibbs,  Alder- 
man  Edwards,  Messrs.  Daniel  &  Sons,  and  two  anonymous 
donors  contributing  £1,000  each.  In  July,  the  £20,000  required 
by  the  Government  preliminary  to  taking  action  having  been 
subscribed,  a  Bill  for  the  creation  of  a  new  diocese  of  Bristol 
(to  consist  of  the  deaneries  of  Bristol — with  slight  modifica- 
tions to  include  the  docks  at  the  mouth  of  the  Avon — and  the 
three  deaneries  of  North  Wilts)  was  brought  into  the  House 
of  Lords  by  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury.  Special  facilities 
were  granted  by  the  Ministry  for  the  progress  of  the  measure 
in  the  Commons ;  and  Mr.  Gladstone,  on  the  9th  August,  upon 
the  motion  that  the  House  should  go  into  committee  on  the 
Bill,  delivered  a  brilliant  address  in  its  favour,  declaring  that 
it  would  be  "  hardly  compatible  with  the  dignity  of  Parlia- 
ment ''  to  refuse  the  city  what  it  was  seeking  to  obtain.  The 
Prime  Minister's  intervention  practically  put  an  end  to  oppo- 
sition, and  the  Bill  received  the  royal  assent  on  the  14th  August. 
Mr.  Gladstone,  on  the  day  on  which  he  addressed  the  Com- 
mons, forwarded  to  the  Archdeacon  of  Bristol  a  donation  of 
£50  in  aid  of  the  bishopric  fund,  being  desirous,  he  said,  "  to 
render  a  tribute,  however  small,  of  gratitude  as  well  as  ad- 
miration to  the  illustrious  memory  of  Bishop  Butler,  whose 
episcopal  career  was  chiefly  passed  at  Bristol.'^  An  anony- 
mous friend  has  promised  £10,000  towards  the  endowment 
fund,  provided  an  equal  sum  (in  addition  to  the  subscriptions 
previously  offered)  be  raised  before  June,  1888.  The  amount 
subscribed  in  March,  1887,  was  about  £24,000. 

The  insurance  offices,  which  up  to  this  time  had  maintained 
fire  engines  in  the  city  (the  Imperial  office  excepted),  having 
given  notice  of  their  intention  to  discontinue  their  establish- 
ments, the  Council,  in  March,  1877,  unanimously  affirmed  the 
desirability  of  founding  a  city  fire  brigade.  The  Watch  Com- 
mittee soon  afterwards  recommended  that  the  brigade  should 
form  part  of  the  police  force,  that  the  stafiT  should  consist  of  a 
superintendent  and  twelve  additional  policemen,  and  that  a 
powerful  fire-engine  should  be  purchased,  and  stationed  at 
the  central  police  station.  The  report  was  adopted,  and,  as 
already  recorded,  offices  for  the  brigade  were  built  in  St. 
James's  Back. 

For  some  years  previous  to  this  date,  the  reputation  of 
Clifton  as  a  watering-place  had  been  injured  by  the  quar- 
terly returns  of  mortality  issued  by  the  Registrar-General, 
whose  statistics  were  founded  on  the  deaths  reported  in  the 
entire  Union  of  Clifton — a  district  embracing  a  large  popu- 


494  THE   ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1877. 

lation  residing  in  the  poorest  parishes  of  eastern  Bristol. 
Repeated  remonstrances  having  been  made  on  the  injustice 
of  the  arrangement,  the  Local  Government  Board  at  length 
ordered  that,  from  the  14th  March,  1877,  the  name  of  the 
Union  should  be  changed  to  Barton  Regis.  The  mortality  in 
Clifton  alone  is  now  included  in  the  Registrar's  returns  of 
watering-places,  with  the  effect  of  proving  the  parish  to  be 
amongst  the  most  salubrious  in  the  kingdom. 

The  steam  vessels  and  business  of  the  Bristol  Steam  Navi- 
gation Company  were  sold  during  the  spring  to  certain 
capitalists  in  Cork.  The  price  given  for  the  concern  was 
£120,000,  half  of  which  amount  was  accepted  in  shares  of  a 
new  company  bearing  the  same  name,  which  started  in  July 
with  a  capital  of  £150,000. 

Arrangements  were  made  during  the  spring  for  the  amal- 
gamation of  the  banking  firms  of  Messrs.  Baillie,  Cave  & 
Uo.  (the  Old  Bank)  and  of  Sir  William  Miles,  bart.,  &  Co. 
The  union  took  effect  on  the  1st  May,  the  business  of  the  new 
firm  being  carried  on  in  the  premises  of  the  Old  Bank.  The 
partners  were  Messrs.  Charles  D.  Cave,  George  0.  Edwards, 
Hon.  H.  Baillie,  and  George  Bright  from  the  Old  Bank,  and 
Sir  Wm.  Miles  and  Messrs.  John  Miles,  W.  H.  Harford, 
W.  H.  Miles,  and  Fenton  Miles  from  the  other  concern.  The 
latter  thereupon  ceased  to  issue  bank  notes,  a  step  which  had 
been  adopted  by  the  Old  Bank  some  years  before. 

At  a  Council  meeting  in  June,  the  desirability  of  obtaining 
a  park  for  the  eastern  districts  of  the  city  was  affirmed,  and 
a  committee  was  appointed  to  choose  a  site  and  to  consider 
the  best  means  of  meeting  the  expense.  The  site  suggested 
by  Mr.  L.  Fry,  the  mover  of  the  resolution,  was  certain  fields, 
about  sixty-five  acres  in  extent,  situated  between  Fishponds 
and  Stapleton  roads,  and  bounded  by  the  Froom  on  the 
north.  It  was  ascertained  that  the  owner.  Sir  J.  Greville 
Smyth,  bart.,  required,  as  a  condition  of  sale,  that  the  land 
should  be  settled  for  all  future  time  as  a  park,  and  that  the 
Corporation  should,  under  no  contingency,  sell  any  portion, 
for  building  sites.  As  the  price  demanded  for  the  ground 
(£25,000)  was  nearly  double  its  value  as  agricultural  land, 
the  Council  declined  to  pursue  the  negotiation. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Council  in  September,  it  was  resolved 
that  the  Black-rock  quarry,  which  had  been  worked  since 
1868  for  road  material,  should  be  closed,  as  the  excavations 
were  attended  with  danger  to  the  surface  of  Durdham  Down, 
and  tended  to  destroy  the  beauty  of  the  scenery.  The  Sani- 
tary Committee,  encountering  difficulty  in  obtaining  supplies 


1877.]  THB   COMPETITION   OF  THI  DOCKS.  495 

of  stone  elsewhere,  entered  into  negotiations  with  Sir  Philip 
Miles,  bart.,  for  opening  a  quarry  on  the  Somerset  shore  of 
the  Avon;  and  in  February,  1879,  a  lease  was  concluded,  for 
twenty-one  years,  at  a  rent  of  £250  per  annum,  with  a  royalty 
of  6d.  per  ton  on  all  rock  quarried  beyond  10,000  tons  a  year. 
Another  hideous  gash  was  consequently  made  in  the  sylvan 
prospect ;  and  the  destruction  necessarily  became  more  ex- 
tensive from  year  to  year.  Towards  the  close  of  1883,  the 
Council  passed  a  resolution  for  closing  the  great  quarry  at 
the  top  of  Pembroke  Road — the  only  one  remaining  open  on 
Clifton  Down.  But  in  the  February  following  the  vote  was 
rescinded,  the  Sanitary  Committee  having  reported  that  if  the 
7,300  tons  of  stone  obtained  annually  had  to  be  purchased 
elsewhere,  the  additional  cost  would  be  £714  per  annum. 

Towards  the  close  of  the  year  considerable  uneasiness  be- 
gan to  be  felt  by  many  citizens  respecting  the  future  pros- 
pects of  the  port.  The  results  predicted  by  Sir  John 
Hawkshaw,  and  foreseen  by  thoughtful  persons  in  the  city, 
had,  in  fact,  arrived ;  for  the  business  of  the  city  docks  was 
seriously  afFected  by  the  competition  for  trade  arising  from 
the  opening  of  accommodation  at  the  mouth  of  the  river. 
The  diminished  arrivals  in  the  Float  led  to  various  sugges- 
tions. The  Chamber  of  Commerce  expressed  itself  strongly 
in  favour  of  the  ^'  dockisation  "  of  the  Avon ;  but  while  the 
vast  estimated  cost  of  the  undertaking  deterred  most  of  the 
ratepayers  from  lending  it  their  support,  it  was  pointed  out 
that,  even  if  it  were  executed,  the  competition  of  the  Channel 
docks  would  continue  unabated.  Another  section  of  the 
citizens  was  of  opinion  that  the  Corporation  should  purchase 
the  works  at  Avonmouth  and  Portishead,  thus  fulfilling  the 
warnings  of  those  who  had  prophesied  that  the  Corporation's 
refusal  to  provide  for  indispensable  wants  would  have  a  simi- 
lar costly  result  to  that  which  followed  its  supineness  seventy 
years  before.  Eventually,  at  a  meeting  of  the  Council  in 
January,  1878,  a  committee  was  appointed  to  consider  as  to 
the  measures  which  should  be  adopted.  In  November  of  the 
same  year,  at  the  instance  of  Alderman  Baker,  the  Council 
resolved  that  directors  of  the  two  Channel  docks  should  be 
ineligible  to  sit  on  the  Docks  Committee,  a  motion  which 
had  the  effect  of  expelling  from  the  board  four  eminent 
members  of  the  civic  body — Messrs.  C.  J.  Thomas,  C.  Nash, 
T.  T.  Taylor,  and  M.  Whitwill — who  were  shareholders  in  the 
Avonmouth  Company.  In  the  summer  of  1879,  the  Docks 
Committee  reported  to  the  Council  that,  with  a  view  to 
obviate  competition,  it  was  expedient  to  purchase  the  Avon- 


496  THE   ANNALS  OF  BRISTOL. 

mouth  undertaking  on  equitable  terms.     At  a  meeting  on  the 
Ist  July^  however^  the  Council  unanimously  resolved  that  the 
matter  should  be  deferred  until  the  Avonmouth  Company 
made  an  offer  to  negotiate.     The  river  dockisation  scheme 
was  discussed  at  the  same  meetings  Mr.  Howard,  the  docks 
engineer,  having  produced  two  plans  for  carrying  it  out — 
one  proposing  locks  at  the  mouth  of  the  Avon,  at  an  esti- 
mated  cost   of  £850,000;   the  other  for  a  dam  below  the 
Horseshoe  Point,  the  outlay  for  which  was  set  down  at  about 
£700,000.     The  expense  of  constructing  quays  and  of  divert- 
ing the  sewage  of  the  city  was  not  included  in  either  sum ; 
but  Mr.  Ashmead  reported  in  favour  of  carrying  the  sewage 
to  Charlcombe  Bay,  near  Clevedon,  a  distance  of  nearly  ten 
miles,  at  an  approximative  cost  of  £280,000.     The  Council, 
dismayed  by  the   costliness   of   the   project,   resolved   that 
dockisation  was,  under  existing  circumstances,  inexpedient. 
The  competition  of  the  rival  docks,  in  the  meantime,  con- 
tinued unabated,  and  the  diminished  receipts  of  the  Floating 
Harbour  caused  much  dissatisfaction  in  the  Council.     At  a 
meeting  in  August,  1880,  a  resolution  was  passed,  condemn- 
ing the  rivalry  of  the  three  concerns,  and  urging  the  direct- 
ors representing  the  Corporation  on  the  Portishead  board  to 
effect  an  arrangement  by  means  of  a  sub-committee  emanat- 
ing from  the  three  undertakings.     The  Avonmouth  board, 
it  appeared,  had  agreed  to  act  in   concert  with   the   civic 
authorities ;  but  the  arrangement  had  broken  down  through 
the  action  taken  at  Portishead,  which  was  spoken  of  as  *'  a 
daughter  seeking  to  cut  the  throat  of  her  mother,'*     At  a 
subsequent  meeting,    the   Docks  Committee   recommended, 
with  the  view  of  meeting  the  competition,  that  the  town  dues 
levied  on  grain  in  the  Float  should  be  reduced  to  a  nominal 
sum,  that  the  wharfage  dues  should  be  suspended,  and  that 
the  expense  of  discharging  grain  cargoes  should  be  defrayed 
out  of  the  dock  estate,  so  as  to  encourage  com  merchants 
to  bring  vessels  to  Bristol.     Alderman  Baker,  in  moving  the 
adoption  of  those  recommendations,  asserted  that  the  grain 
trade  had  been  diverted  to  the  new  docks  by  means  of  bribes, 
and  that  vigorous  retaliatory  measures  could  alone  restore 
matters  to  a  right  footing.     The  resolution  was  condemned 
by  other  speakers  as  a  further  outcome  of  the  huckstering 
and  senile  system  which  it  was  alleged  had  long  characterised 
the  management  of  the  docks.     The  opposition  pointed  out 
that  the  timber  and  sugar  arrivals  had  fallen  off  still  more 
largely  than   those  of  grain,  although  there  had  been  no 
competition  in  those  trades;  and  they  strongly  censured  a 


CONDUCT  OF  THE  POBTISHBAD  POCK  BOARD.       497 

scheme  by  which  poor  ratepayers  would  be  saddled  with  in- 
creased burdens  in  order  that  a  few  corn  merchants  might  put 
£5,000  a  year  into  their  own  pockets.     The  motion,  however, 
was  carried  by  an  overwhelming  majority,  and  similar  boun- 
ties  were   afterwards   conferred    upon    other    importations. 
The  dockisation  party  had  by  this  time  recovered  courage. 
At  a  meeting  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  in  September, 
a    motion    recommending    that  the   three   dock   properties 
should  be  vested  in  a  single  governing  body  was  met  by  an 
amendment  in  favour  of  dockising  the  river,  and  the  latter 
was  carried  by  a  large  majority.     Similar  resolutions  having 
been  passed  at  various  ward  meetings,  the  Council  appointed 
a  committee  to  make  an  inquiry  into  the  practicability  of  the 
project.      In   October  the   Docks  Committee   reported  that 
although  the  Avonmouth  board  were  willing  to  agree  to  a 
non-competitive  tariff,  the  Portishead  authorities  had  again 
positively  refused  to  enter  into  an  arrangement.     Much  in- 
dignation was   expressed   at  the   policy  of  an   undertaking 
which  was  deeply  indebted  to  the  liberality  of  the  Corpora- 
tion ;  but  the  representatives  of  the  Council  on  the  Portishead 
board   contended  that  it  was  their  duty  to  maintain  the  in- 
terests of  the  dock.     The  Council  next  proposed  to  apply  the 
principle  of  arbitration  to  the  purchase  of  the  rival  concerns ; 
but  the  Portishead   board,  asserting   that  the   interests  of 
their  railway  were  inseparably  identified  with  the  dock,  ad- 
vanced  conditions   which    rendered  negotiations  impossible. 
This  attitude— not  a  little  irritating  to  many  who  had  voted 
for  the  grant  of  £100,000  in  1872 — strengthened  the  predomi- 
nant party  in  the  Council,  which  determined  upon  applying 
for  parliamentary  powers  to  reduce  the  charges  on  shipping 
and  goods  entering  Bristol  dock  as  the  Corporation  might  see 
fit,  to  levy  dues  upon  ships  and  goods  entering  within  the 
port  of  Bristol  (thus  including  the  Channel  docks),  to  impose 
dues  and  wharfage  rates  on  goods  conveyed  from  the  rival 
docks  to  Bristol,  to  spend  £48,000  in  erecting  free  warehouses 
to  be  maintained  out  of  the  rates,  and  to  provide  free  steam- 
tugs  for  vessels  coming  up  the  Avon.     The  injustice  of  levy- 
ing taxes  for  the  benefit  of  the  city  on  shipping  entering 
the  Channel  docks,  thereby  ruining  the  two  companies,  and 
enabling  the  Corporation  to  buy  up  the  concerns  at  an  insig- 
nificant JFraction  of  their  cost,  which  was  the  supposed  object 
of   the  scheme,  was  denounced  by  Alderman  Ford  in  the 
Council  as  "  worse  than  the  worst  description  of  communism''; 
and  the  same  argument  was  strongly  urged  before  the  select 
committee  of  the  House  of  Commons  by  whom  the  Bill  was 

E    E 


498  THE   AKNAL8   OP   BRISTOL. 

considered.  In  the  resalt,  tbe  latter  body  struck  out  the 
clause  for  levying  dues  in  the  Channel  docks^  as  well  as  those 
permitting  a  system  of  rebates  at  Bristol  and  the  establish- 
ment of  free  steam-tugs.  Soon  after  the  Bill,  in  its  re- 
stricted form,  had  become  law,  the  Council,  with  the  view  of 
crippling  the  competing  docks,  and  in  despite  of  the  decision 
of  the  House  of  Commons,  made  further  reductions  in  the 
town  and  wharfage  dues  on  timber,  sugar,  and  other  imports, 
the  increased  charge  thereby  imposed  on  the  ratepayers  being 
estimated  at  £5,000  a  year.  This  policy,  by  which,  according 
to  Alderman  Ford's  statement  in  the  Council,  over  £20,000 
per  annum  were  taken  out  of  the  purses  of  the  citizens  for 
the  benefit  of  particular  trades,  was  disapproved  in  many 
quarters ;  and  the  position  of  its  author  and  most  vigorous 
advocate.  Alderman  Baker,  the  head  of  a  firm  which  reaped 
large  profits  from  the  system,  occasionally  gave  rise  to  in- 
sinuations which  he  indignantly  repudiated.  At  length  a 
citizen,  Mr.  Henry  White,  disputing  the  legality  of  the 
Council's  proceedings,  laid  the  facts  before  the  Attorney 
General,  who  applied  for  an  injunction  against  the  Corpora- 
tion in  the  High  Court  of  Justice.  The  case  was  not  heard 
till  May,  1884,  before  Mr.  Justice  Field,  who  delivered  judg- 
ment against  the  civic  authorities.  His  lordship  held  that  the 
Council,  as  trustees  of  the  ancient  town  and  wharfage  dues, 
had  acted  illegally  in  practically  abolishing  those  charges,  the 
revenues  of  which  ought  to  have  been  applied  to  the  benefit 
of  the  ratepayers.  The  act  complained  of  was,  he  added, 
as  illegal  as  if  the  Corporation  had  given  up  the  rents  of  the 
city  property,  or  relieved  certain  inhabitants  from  the  pay- 
ment of  rates ;  and  the  fact  that  an  attempt  had  been  made 
—unsuccessfully — to  obtain  parliamentary  approval  of  the 
system,  showed  that  the  Council  was  aware  that  its  action 
was  unwarrantable.  He  did  not  doubt,  however,  that  the 
members  had  intended  to  protect  the  interests  of  the  city. 
Whilst  these  legal  proceedings  were  in  their  infancy,  eighty 
influential  merchants  and  tradesmen  proposed  the  formation 
of  a  Harbour  Trust  Association,  with  the  object  of  uniting 
the  docks  into  one  property,  under  the  supervision  of  a 
board.  A  Bill  for  effecting  that  object  was  introduced  into 
Parliament  in  1882 ;  but  although  the  Council  was  memorial- 
ised by  upwards  of  six  thousand  ratepayers  to  co-operate  in 
settling  the  details  of  a  satisfactory  scheme,  the  Chamber 
resolved,  in  February,  1882,  to  strenuously  oppose  the  Bill. 
A  motion  declaring  that  the  docks  ought  to  be  under  one 
management  was  defeated  by  23  votes  against  19.     The  advo- 


AX  ARRANGEMENT   EFFECTED.  499 

cates  of  an  uncompromising  policy  of  '^beggar  my  neigh- 
boar ''  began^  however,  to  yield  to  the  influence  of  public 
opinion,  and,  at  a  subsequent  meeting,  Alderman  Fox,  de- 
scribing the  competition  between  the  three  docks  and  the 
squandering  of  £25,000  a  year  as  a  scandal  and  reproach  to 
all,  moved  that  the  mayor   (Mr.  Weston)   be   requested   to 
communicate  with  the  belligerents  with  a  view  to  an  equit- 
able arrangement.     The  mayor  having  expressed  his  willing- 
ness to  attempt  a  reconciliation,  Alderman  Fox's  resolution 
was  adopted  unanimously.     When  the  Harbour  Bill  was  re- 
mitted to  a  committee  of  the  House  of  Lords,  it  encountered 
a  rival  scheme  of  a  similar  character,  ostensibly  promoted 
by  obscure  persons  in  London  ;  but  their  lordships  summarily 
rejected  both  measures.     The  mayor's  intervention  put  an 
end  to  a  conflict  which  had  never  been   creditable   to   the 
practical  sagacity  of  those  concerned  in  it,  and  which  had 
become  almost  universally  unpopular  owing  to  the  certainty 
that   the  reckless  waste  of    money  would  have  in  the  end 
to  be  borne  by  the  public.      At  a  Council  meeting  on  the 
9th  May,  1882,  the  mayor  was  enabled  to  report  a  provisional 
arrangement  for  a  year,  which  he  had  successfully  effected. 
Its  chief  points  were,  that  the  dues  on  foreign  arrivals  were 
to  be  2 1 (7.  per  ton  less  at  Bristol  than  at  the  Channel  docks ; 
that  the  town  and  wharfage  dues,  equal  to  l^fK  per  quarter 
on  grain,  should  be  reimposed  in  the  Float  upon  a  due  of  a 
similar  amount  being  levied  at  the  other  docks ;  and  that  the 
reductions  in  dues  made  to  old  lines  of  steamers  should  not 
exceed  25  per  cent,  until  the  same  concession  was  made  to 
new  lines.     His  worship  added  that  the  Sharpness  dock  board 
— which  had  been  compelled  to  reduce  its  rates  through  the 
competition — had  promised  that  the  dues  of  that  undertaking 
should  again  be  raised.     The  action  of  the  mayor  was  unani- 
mously confirmed.     Shortly  afterwards  the  Docks  Committee 
reported  that  arrangements  had  been  made  with  the  Avon- 
mouth  and  Portishead  companies,  under  which  a   uniform 
tarifi*  of  charges  would  be  established   at  the  three  docks. 
This  was  expected  to  increase  the  income  of  the  Corporation 
by  about  £4,000  a  year.     The  opportunity  was  taken  to  con- 
solidate the  Bristol  charges,  so  that  a  single  payment  super- 
seded the  three  imposts  known  as  dock,  town,  and  wharfage 
dues,  whilst  ships  were  in  future  to  pay  one  due  instead  of 
five.     The  working  of   the  new  arrangement  gave  general 
satisfaction,  but  its  temporary  character  caused  uneasiness 
as  to  the  future,  <ind  the  desirability  of  consolidating  the  un- 
dertakings began  to  be  acknowledged  on  all  hands.     As  Mr. 


f. 

■ 

j 
i    , 

I, 

r 

500  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL. 

Weston  had  been  so  successful  in  the  last  negotiation,  it  was 
suggested  in  November,  1883  (when  he  was  again  re-elected 
■  mayor),  that  he  should  undertake  another,  with  a  view  to 

arriving  at  a  definitive  settlement.  His  worship  accordingly 
addressed  himself  to  the  two  boards,  and  after  making  a 
thorough  investigation  into  the  pecuniary  position  of  the 
companies,  he  advised  the  Council  to  promote  a  Bill  for 
powers  to  purchase  the  two  undertakings.  His  suggestion 
was  adopted  by  47  votes  against  3.  The  main  difficulty 
encountered  at  this  stage  arose  out  of  the  attitude  of  the 
Portishead  board,  which  refused  to  sell  the  dock  without  also 
disposing  of  the  pier  and  railway.  The  mayor  appealed  to 
the  Great  Western  Railway  Company  to  assist  the  city  in  the 
emergency,  and  his  application  was  successful,  an  arrange- 
ment being  soon  after  made  for  the  absorption  of  the  railway 
and  pier  into  the  Great  Western  system.  The  issue  of  the 
whole  negotiations  was  communicated  by  the  mayor  to  the 
'  Council   at  a  meeting  on  the   19th   February,  1884.     The 

I  amount  of  capital    expended   at  Avonmouth  on  the   dock, 

;  warehouses,  and   land   was    (nominally)    £718,000,   but   the 

;  directors  expressed  their  willingness  to  transfer  the  property 

;  for  £550,000,  of  which  £450,000  were  to  be  paid  on  the  Ist 

September,  1884,  in  Corporation  bonds,  bearing  3^  per  cent. 
'  interest ;  £75,000  more  were  to  be  taken  in  deferred  bonds, 

bearing  no  interest  for  five  years,  and  the  remaining  £25,000 
in  bonds   to   bear    interest  in   seven   years.     The   nominal 


I 


i  amount  expended  in  constructing  the  dock  and  warehouses 

!  at  Portishead  was  stated  to  have  been  £375,000,  but   the 

undertaking  was  offered  for  £250,000,  of  which  £25,000  were 
to  be  accepted  in  deferred  bonds,  bearing  no  interest  for  the 
first  five  years.  The  mayor  stated  that  the  charge  on  the 
city  incurred  by  the  purchases  would  be  £23,550  a  year, 
while  the  income  of  the  two  companies  was  only  about 
£18,000.  But  by  raising  certain  small  dues  and  rates  to  the 
amount  charged  previous  to  the  competition,  £4,710  yearly 
would  be  realised,  so  that  the  direct  annual  loss  to  the  city 
would  be  only  about  £900 ;  and  as  the  citizens  had  been  los- 
ing £16,000  a  year  during  the  rivalry,  he  thought  there  were 
good  grounds  for  making  the  existing  conditions  permanent. 
[Some  alterations  having  been  subsequently  made  in  the  ar- 
rangements, Mr.  Weston  produced  a  revised  estimate  in  July, 
showing  that  the  loss  to  the  city  at  the  outset  would  be  about 
£5,000  a  year,  exclusive  of  a  sinking  fund  of  £2,800  per 
annum,  also  to  be  provided  for.]  After  a  brief  discussion, 
in  which  the  mayor's  exertions  received  unqualified  eulogy. 


PURCHASE   OF  THE    RIVAL   DOCKS.  501 

a  resolution  approving  of  the  purchase  was  passed  by  a 
unanimous  vote.  Outside  the  Council  the  feeling  in  favour 
of  the  compact  was  equally  cordial^  and  the  statutory  meet- 
ing of  ratepayers  convened  to  consider  the  Bill  manifested 
enthusiasm  in  expressing  its  approval.  The  measure  re- 
ceived the  royal  assent  in  due  course,  and  the  formal  trans- 
fer of  the  two  docks  to  the  Corporation  took  place  on  the 
1st  September,  1884,  when  the  sums  above  mentioned  were 
paid  over  to  the  companies.  A  few  weeks  later  a  banquet 
was  given  to  Mr.  Weston  by  the  leading  citizens,  when  he 
was  presented  with  a  massive  and  elegant  piece  of  plate,  in 
recognition  of  his  valuable  public  services  in  connection  with 
the  purchase  of  the  docks.  In  the  division  of  the  sum  paid 
for  the  Avonmouth  property,  certain  classes  of  debenture 
holders  received  bonds  for  the  full  amount  of  their  claims, 
while  other  categories  received  60  and  80  per  cent,  of  their 
respective  (nominal)  advances;  and  the  shareholders  in  the 
warehouse  company  were  paid  £14  for  each  £20  share.  The 
balance,  about  £35,000,  remained  for  distribution  amongst  the 
ordinary  shareholders.  In  respect  to  Portishead,  the  deben- 
tures were  paid  in  full ;  the  preference  shareholders  re- 
ceived about  62  per  cent.,  and  the  ordinary  shareholders, 
both  in  the  dock  and  in  the  railway,  obtained  about  25  per 
cent,  on  their  investments.  The  £100,000  advanced  by  the 
Corporation  ranked  in  the  last  category,  so  that  three-fourths 
of  the  money  were  lost.  The  Docks  Act  of  1884  abolished 
the  fourpenny  rate  imposed  in  1848.  No  real  relief.  However, 
was  afforded  by  the  abolition;  on  the  contrary,  the  annual 
deficiency  of  the  dock  revenue  to  meet  the  expenditure  was 
made  a  charge  on  the  borough  rate,  and  the  burden  on  the 
inhabitants  was  increased.  But  against  this  was  to  be  set 
the  marked  improvement  which  soon  became  visible  in  the 
trade  of  the  port.  In  1885  the  tonnage  of  vessels  entering 
the  three  docks  from  foreign  and  colonial  ports  was  653,594 
tons  against  566,100  in  the  previous  year ;  while  the  coasting 
tonnage  also  increased  from  642,198  to  684,494;  and  this  in 
despite  of  a  marked  depression  in  the  trade  of  the  kingdom. 
The  report  of  the  Docks  Committee  for  the  year  ending 
April  30th,  1886,  stated  that  the  revenue  from  all  sources, 
including  a  borough  rate  of  £14,500,  amounted  to  £148,637, 
while  the  expenditure,  inclusive  of  £5,559  devoted  to  a  sink- 
ing fund  for  discharging  the  debt,  had  been  £148,547. 
There  had  been  a  profit  of  £4,063  on  the  Floating  Harbour, 
and  a  loss  of  £1,322  at  Avonmouth,  and  of  £2,651  at  Portis- 
head.    For  the  year  1886-7,  the  committee  anticipated  that, 


502  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL.  [1878. 

owing  to  further .  outlay  on  the  works,  the  receipts  would  be 
insufficient  to  meet  the  expenditure  by  dt*18,339,  and,  to  avoid 
increased  taxation  on  the  citizens,  they  proposed  that  a  small 
due  should  be  levied  on  goods  landed  coastwise,  which  up 
to  that  time  were  exempt  from  dock  charges,  and  a  trifling 
addition  made  to  the  charge  on  certain  foreign  imports.  The 
tax  on  the  coasting  trade  excited  so  much  opposition  out  of 
doors  that  the  matter  was  deferred ;  but  at  a  meeting  in 
October  the  Council  resolved  that  the  dues  on  foreign  goods, 
reduced  in  1881  during  the  competition  between  the  docks, 
should  be  raised  to  their  former  amount. 

Although  the  scheme  for  dockising  the  Avon  ceased  to 
interest  the  public  after  the  amalgamation  of  the  docks,  it  is 
necessary  to  complete  the  story  of  the  committee  appointed 
in  1880.  In  June,  1882,  that  body  presented  a  preliminary 
report,  stating  that,  in  order  to  prevent  disasters  from  floods, 
it  would  be  needful,  before  carrying  out  dockisation,  to  con- 
struct a  culvert  from  the  Froom  at  Stapleton  to  the  Avon 
near  Cook's  Folly,  at  an  estimated  cost  of  £200,000.  The 
outlay  for  the  proposed  dam  at  Avonmouth  was  put  down  at 
£790,000  ;  and  these  sums,  added  to  the  expenses  involved  in 
Mr.  Ashmead's  sewer  scheme,  raised  the  estimated  charge 
for  dockisation  to  £1,270,000.  The  committee,  which  had 
spent  £900  on  the  inquiry,  asked  for  a  further  grant,  and  the 
Council  voted  £1,500  more.  In  May,  1883,  the  committee 
reported  that  the  cost  of  the  scheme  would  be  about 
£1,750,000,  the  payment  of  interest  on  which  would  entail 
an  additional  borough  rate  of  2>f.  in  the  pound,  unless  the 
trade  of  the  port  should  increase.  A  further  grant  of  £3,000 
was  asked  for,  to  make  a  new  survey  and  further  investi- 
gations. The  Council,  however,  was  almost  unanimous  in 
regarding  dockisation  as  beyond  the  range  of  practical 
projects,  and,  by  a  majority  of  34  votes  against  8,  it  was 
declared  to  be  inexpedient  to  pursue  the  inquiry  further. 

A  prospectus  was  issued  in  June,  1878,  of  the  North  Clifton 
Hotel  Company,  with  a  capital  of  £20,000  in  £10  shares. 
The  directors  purchased  a  portion  of  the  nursery  garden 
fronting  Whiteladies  Eoad,  and  erected  an  hotel,  at  a  cost, 
including  furniture,  of  about  £18,000.  The  "Imperial  Hotel*' 
was  opened  in  the  following  year. 

The  Royal  Agricultural  Society  having  undertaken  to  hold 
its  annual  exhibition  in  Bristol  in  1878,  and  the  Prince  of 
Wales  having  intimated  his  intention  to  visit  the  city  on 
the  occasion,  great  preparations  were  made  for  the  fitting 
reception  of  the  expected  guests.     A  subscription  amounting 


1878.]         GRAND   RECEPTION    OP   THE   PRINCE    OP   WALES.  503 

to  upwards  of  £4,000  was  placed  at  the  disposal  of  a  local 
committee,  to  make  additions  to  the  prize  list  and  meet  the 
incidental  expenses  of  the  show.  A  further  sum  of  £1,000 
was  contributed  for  the  decoration  of  the  streets  through 
which  the  royal  visitor  was  to  be  conducted.  The  show-yard 
on  Durdham  Down  occupied  nearly  the  entire  space  between 
the  Stoke  Bishop  and  the  Westbury  and  Combe  Dingle  roads, 
the  hoarding  being  nearly  a  mile  and  a  half  in  length.  The 
exhibition  was  one  of  the  largest  ever  held  by  the  society. 
The  progress  of  scientific  agriculture  since  the  show  held  in 
1842  was  strikingly  manifested  by  a  comparison  of  the  entries 
made  on  each  occasion.  In  1878  the  number  of  horses 
entered  was  350  against  60  in  1842;  of  cattle  the  figures 
were  443  against  213 ;  of  sheep,  397  against  134 ;  and  of  pigs, 
164  against  95.  The  development  was  still  more  remarkable 
in  the  mechanical  department.  In  1842  the  number  of  imple- 
ments shown  was  455,  whereas  in  1878  the  collection  exceeded 
6,000.  In  point  of  value  the  advance  was  still  more  con- 
siderable. The  exhibits  in  1878  of  a  single  manufacturer — 
Mr.  Fowler,  of  Leeds — were  stated  to  be  worth  £60,000,  and 
the  whole  of  them  were  sold  in  the  show-yard.  Ample 
accommodation  was  afforded  in  1842  by  an  enclosure  of  six 
acres,  while  the  area  required  thirty-five  years  later  was  67 
acres.  The  president  on  the  latter  occasion  was  Colonel 
Kingscote,  M.P.  (one  of  whose  short-horned  calves  was  sold 
during  the  exhibition  for  a  thousand  guineas).  The  attend- 
ance was  very  large,  the  aggregate  admissions  to  the  yard 
numbering  121,851,  and  £10,825  were  received  at  the  gates. 

The  visit  of  the  Prince  of  Wales  took  place  on  the  13th 
July,  the  fourth  day  of  the  meeting,  his  Royal  Highness 
reaching  the  city  by- special  train  from  London,  accompanied 
by  his  suite  and  the  chairman  and  vice-chairman  of  the  Great 
Western  railway.  On  his  arrival  he  was  received  in  state 
by  the  mayor  (Aid.  Edwards)  and  the  members  of  the 
Council,  in  the  presence  of  a  large  gathering  of  leading 
citizens.  About  a  thousand  of  the  local  volunteers  formed 
an  imposing  guard  of  honour.  An  address  having  been 
presented  by  the  mayor,  the  Prince  briefly  returned  thanks, 
expressing  his  regret  that  he  could  devote  only  a  very  brief 
period  to  the  inspection  of  the  objects  of  interest  for  which 
the  city  was  so  deservedly  renowned.  He  was  well  aware, 
he  added,  of  the  highly  favourable  impression  produced  on 
other  members  of  his  family  by  the  noble  town,  the  splendour 
of  its  public  and  private  buildings,  and  the  good  disposition 
of  its  inhabitants ;  and  it  would  be  his  privilege  to  report  to 


504  THB   ANNALS   OP  BRISTOL.  [1878. 

the  Queen  the  loyal  terms  which  had  been  used  towards  her 
Majesty  in  the  address.  The  Prince  was  then  conducted  to 
an  open  carriage,  in  which  he  was  accompanied  by  the  mayor. 
Lord  Skelmersdale,  and  Colonel  Kingscote.  Other  carriages 
followed,  containing  the  Prince's  attendants,  the  sheriff  (Mr. 
W.  H.  Wills),  Mr.  Morley,  M.P.,  and  others,  two  squadrons 
of  Lancers  forming  the  guard  of  the  cortege.  The  streets 
through  which  the  heir  apparent  passed  had  been  decorated 
in  a  manner  unprecedented  in  local  annals.  Victoria  Street 
was  lined  throughout  with  Venetian  masts,  flags,  trophies, 
and  floral  devices,  the  general  effect  of  which  was  highly 
picturesque.  At  Bristol  Bridge,  an  arch  in  the  Tudor  Gothic 
style  had  been  erected,  representing  an  old  city  gate,  with 
side  arches,  battlements,  towers,  and  portcullis,  the  centre 
being  emblazoned  with  heraldic  devices.  About  a  hundred 
persons  were  accommodated  in  galleries  over  the  fabric,  which 
was  one  of  the  most  efi'ective  designed  for  the  occasion. 
High  Street  was  plentifully  decorated  with  cordons  of  flags 
stretched  across  the  roadway.  At  the  entrance  into  Corn 
Street  was  another  triumphal  arch,  the  effect  of  which  was 
heightened  by  the  decorations  of  the  adjoining  Council  House. 
Corn  Street  and  Clare  Street  were  one  long  blaze  of  brilliant 
drapery ;  and  at  the  approach  to  the  Drawbridge  ranges  of 
Venetian  masts,  trophies,  etc.,  imparted  additional  animation 
to  the  scene.  The  decorations  reached  their  climax  in  College 
Green,  which  was  *' transfigured  into  a  garden  worthy  of 
Aladdin's  palace."  Two  Gothic  arches  were  raised  to  the 
right  and  left  of  the  restored  High  Cross,  and  through  the 
co-operation  of  the  principal  tradesmen  the  roadway  was 
densely  hung  with  festoons  of  flowers,  banners,  and  streamers, 
interspersed  with  richly  coloured  trophies.  Park  Street  was 
also  elaborately  beautified  by  the  concerted  action  of  the 
inhabitants.  The  Prince's  colours — red,  white,  and  blue — 
artistically  clothed  the  fronts  of  the  houses,  and  at  the  top 
of  the  street  was  an  arch  of  SaraCenic  type,  with  a  dome  and 
minarets,  the  colours  of  which  harmonised  with  the  surround- 
ing objects.  The  general  effect  was  much  admired  by  the 
Prince  as  he  ascended  the  hill.  The  Royal  Promenade  and 
the  Triangle  had  also  received  artistic  attention,  and  White- 
ladies  Road,  though  less  copiously  decorated,  was  sot  ofi"  by 
the  brilliant  dresses  of  the  ladies  assembled  in  balconies 
before  nearly  every  house.  Another  triumphal  arch,  situated 
on  Black-boy  Hill  (just  cleared  of  its  old  hovels  by  the  Council 
at  an  outlay  of  £11,000),  was  of  large  dimensions,  the  central 
span  being  30  feet,  and  the  two  side  arches  20  feet  each  in 


1878.]  DISASTAOUS   BANE    FAILURE.  505 

width.  The  spandrils  were  adorned  with  heraldic  shields, 
and  from  the  summit  waved  a  gigantic  royal  standard.  Red- 
land  was  nchly  caparisoned,  no  less  than  3,700  pennons 
and  streamers  being  counted  in  that  locality  alone.  The 
Prince  of  Wales,  who  was  enthusiastically  greeted  along  the 
route  by  an  enormous  crowd  of  spectators,  expressed  himself 
as  equally  surprised  and  gratified  by  the  splendour  of  the 
display  which  his  visit  had  evoked.  His  Royal  Highness, 
who  reached  the  show-yard  in  somewhat  less  than  an  hour, 
on  his  arrival  was  entertained  to  luncheon  in  a  beautiful 
pavilion.  He  afterwards  made  a  rapid  survey  of  the  chief 
features  of  the  exhibition,  accompanied  by  the  Earl  of  Ducie, 
Lord  Fitzhardinge,  Colonel  Kingscote,  and  the  sheriff  of 
Bristol.  He  then  left  the  ground,  and  was  driven  slowly 
along  the  Downs  to  the  Suspension  Bridge,  and  thence  to 
Clifton-bridge  station.  A  special  train  being  in  readiness 
there,  the  Prince  cordially  bade  farewell  to  the  mayor  and 
other  officials. 

A  new  iron  bridge  over  the  Froom,  connecting  Monk 
Street  with  Paul  Street,  Pennywell  Road,  was  opened  for 
traffic  in  September. 

On  the  9th  September,  great  consternation  was  excited  in 
the  city  and  the  adjoining  counties  by  an  announcement  that 
the  West  of  England  and  South  Wales  District  Bank  had 
suspended  payments.  This  financial  catastrophe  was  stated 
to  be  due  to  adverse  rumours  circulated  for  some  weeks  pre- 
viously, causing  so  rapid  a  drain  that  the  directors  had  not 
time  to  realise  the  assets ;  but  it  was  added  that  the  bank 
was  still  solvent  as  a  going  concern.  On  the  books  being 
handed  over  to  official  liquidators,  however,  it  was  discovered 
that  the  paid-up  capital  (£750,000),  and  the  reserve  fund 
(£156,000)  had  entirely  disappeared,  and  that  against  the  lia- 
bilities, about  £3,500,000,  there  was  a  further  estimated  defi- 
ciency of  assets  exceeding  £300,000.  These  calamitous  results 
were  found  to  be  attributable  to  the  imprudent  advances  made 
to  two  iron  firms  in  South  Wales,  begun  upwards  of  thirty  years 
previously,  and  afterwards  enormously  increased  from  time 
to  time  in  the  vain  hope  of  ultimately  extricating  the  bank 
from  the  difficulty.  The  collapse  of  the  concern  was  ruinous 
to  the  bulk  of  the  shareholders,  several  of  whom  had  invested 
their  entire  capital  in  the  establishment.  As  these  sufferers 
were  unable  to  provide  their  share  of  the  deficiency,  the 
wealthier  proprietors  had  to  sustain  a  double  burden,  under 
which  some  of  them  succumbed.  The  calls  of  the  liquidators 
amounted  to  £12  per  share.     A  resolute  effort  was  made  to 


606  THE   ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL.  [1878. 

resuscitate  the  bank,  with  the  view  of  preserving  the  profit- 
able business  which  it  possessed  in  Bristol  and  Somerset;  and 
a  new  company,  entitled  the  Bristol  and  West  of  England 
Bank,  was  formed  on  the  limited  liability  principle,  with  a 
capital  of  £300,000  in  £20  shares,  of  which  £7  10*.  were  paid 
up.  In  August,  1879,  the  Home  Secretary  (Sir  Richard  Cross) 
ordered  a  prosecution  to  be  instituted  against  the  chairman 
(Mr.  Jerom  Murch)  and  five  directors  of  the  original  company 
(Messrs.  G.  H.  Leonard,  J.  Coates,  A.  Allen,  C.  Lucas,  and 
the  Rev.  H.  B.  George),  and  also  against  the  general  manager 
(Mr.  J.  P.  Gilbert),  the  defendants  being  charged  with  pub- 
lishing fraudulent  balance  sheets  with  intent  to  deceive. 
The  trial  began  in  London  in  April,  1880,  and  resulted,  after 
an  eight  days'  hearing,  in  the  acquittal  of  all  the  accused. 
The  liquidation  of  the  bank  was  not  concluded  until  1887, 
although  repeated  complaints  as  to  its  tardiness  were  made 
in  the  House  of  Commons.  Dividends  amounting  to  lC}s.  6iL 
in  the  pound  on  the  debts  were,  however,  paid  within  eleven 
months  of  the  failure.  The  creditors  who  consented  to  re- 
linquish interest  on  their  claims  were  satisfied  in  April,  1880 ; 
and  the  remaining  liabilities  were  discharged  in  March,  1881. 
The  sum  of  £2  lO^f.  per  share  was  afterwards  returned  to  the 
proprietors  who  had  paid  the  calls,  and  it  was  announced  in 
January,  1887,  that  a  final  sum  of  bs,  or  Gs,  per  share  would 
shortly  be  distributed. 

An  election  for  the  city  was  rendered  necessary  in  Decem- 
ber, 1878,  by  the  retirement  of  Mr.  K.  D.  Hodgson,  owing 
to  a  severe  illness  (which  soon  after  proved  fatal).  The  can- 
didates were  Mr.  Lewis  Fry,  a  member  of  an  old  Liberal 
Bristol  family,  and  Sir  Ivor  B.  Guest,  bart.,  a  Conservative 
connected  with  the  South  Wales  iron  trade.  On  this  occasion, 
for  the  first  time,  the  Liberals  made  choice  of  their  candidate 
by  means  of  an  organisation  called  the  Four  Hundred — or, 
as  their  opponents  styled  it,  the  Caucus — chosen  by  the  voters 
at  district  meetings.  Mr.  Fry  had  a  majority  of  nearly  two- 
thirds  in  this  body,  and  his  competitor,  Mr.  E.  S.  Robinson, 
withdrew.  The  contest  excited  interest  throughout  the  king- 
dom from  its  being  the  first  of  any  moment  after  the  signature 
of  the  peace  of  Berlin.  Sir  Ivor  Guest  strove,  indeed,  for  local 
sympathies  by  recalling  the  fact  that  his  maternal  grandmother 
[a  daughter  of  Dean  Layard]  lived  in  Bristol  in  her  younger 
days.  The  polling  took  place  on  the  14th  December;  and  the 
declaration,  made  by  the  sherifi*  shortly  before  midnight,  was 
as  follows :  Mr.  Fry,  9,342 ;  Sir  I.  B.  Guest,  7,795. 

The  parish  church  of  St.  George  was  totally  destroyed  by 


1879.]  CHQRCHYABP   GARDENS.      CIVIC    DEBT.  507 

fire  on  the  morning  of  Sunday,  the  22nd  December.  The 
disaster  was  attributed  to  the  overheating  of-  the  stoves. 
The  church  was  insured  for  £3,000,  and  no  time  was  lost  in 
setting  about  its  reconstruction,  which  was  completed  at  a 
cost  of  about  £6,000.  The  new  edifice,  the  tower  of  which  is 
finished  in  a  bizarre  foreign  style,  was  reopened  in  May,  1880. 

Towards  the  close  of  1878  a  movement  started  in  London  for 
converting  disused  churchyards  in  to  ornamental  gardens  spread 
to  this  city.  The  authorities  of  Temple  parish  spent  £800  in 
ramoving  the  unsightly  walls  of  the  extensive  churchyard,  and 
converting  the  dilapidated  enclosure  into  a  pleasant  place  of 
recreation,  which  was  opened  in  July,  1880,  by  the  mayor 
(Mr.  H.  Taylor).  The  burial  ground  of  St.  Nicholas'  parish, 
on  the  Welsh  Back,  and  also  that  adjacent  to  the  church, 
were  repaired  and  planted  with  shrubs.  A  most  successful 
improvement  of  the  same  character  was  effected  in  1881-2  by 
the  authorities  of  St.  James's,  who  laid  out  upwards  of  £600 
in  converting  the  parochial  cemetery  into  an  agreeable  pro- 
menade and  garden  for  the  use  of  the  crowded  population  of 
the  locality.  The  ground  was  opened  by  the  mayor  (Mr. 
Weston)  on  the  30th  June,  1882.  In  1884  the  churchyard 
of  St.  Philip — in  a  closely  packed  district  still  more  destitute 
of  open  spaces — was  similarly  transformed  at  an  outlay  of 
£1,150,  chiefly  borne  by  a  few  philanthropic  citizens  con- 
nected with  the  parish.  It  was  opened  on  the  5th  of 
November  by  the  mayor  (Mr.  Weston),  who  warmly  congratu- 
lated the  authorities  on  the  results. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Council  in  February,  1879,  the  town 
clerk  produced  a  return  of  the  indebtedness  of  the  Corporation 
up  to  the  31st  of  December  of  the  previous  year.  The  bonds 
outstanding  amounted  to  £123,263.  The  unredeemed  debt  of 
the  Bristol  Docks  wa«  £690,113.  The  sums  owing  by  the  Sani- 
tary Authority,  expended  on  public  improvements,  amounted 
in  the  aggregate  to  £461,481  (the  gross  cost  of  these  works  had 
been  about  £700,000).  The  total  indebtedness  of  the  civic 
body  was  upwards  of  a  million  and  a  quarter.  The  amount 
was  increased  to  upwards  of  two  millions  by  the  subsequent 
purchase  of  the  Channel  Docks. 

The  Corporation,  at  a  meeting  in  March,  determined  upon 
opening  out  a  street  at  the  back  of  the  abandoned  Bridewell, 
over  the  covered  course  of  the  Froom,  with  the  view  of 
facilitating  traffic  from  the  quays  to  the  northern  parts  of  the 
city.  The  improvement  was  completed  soon  afterwards. 
The  Docks  Committee,  about  the  same  time,  ordered  the 
construction  of  a  shed  on  the  quay  at  the  bottom  of  Clare 


508  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL.  [1879. 

Street — an  erection  whicli  was  strongly  condemned  as  taste- 
less and  unsightly,  and  as  destroying  the  picturesque  view 
previously  obtainable  from  St.  Augustine's.  An  extensive 
range  of  cattle  sheds,  erected  at  Cumberland  Basin  for  the 
accommodation  of  foreign  stock,  was  opened  in  May.  The 
buildings  entailed  an  outlay  of  £5,000.  The  Council  in 
August,.  1882,  voted  a  further  sum  of  £7,000  for  the  erection 
of  sheds  on  the  quays. 

In  accordance  with  the  scheme  of  the  Endowed  School 
Commissioners  for  the  future  management  of  the  Grammar 
School  [see  p.  453],  the  new  governors  took  measures  for  the 
removal  of  the  institution  to  a  more  convenient  site.  A  piece 
of  ground  was  purchased  in  Tyndall's  Park,  and  an  imposing 
building  in  the  late  Perpendicular  style  was  erected  for  the 
school,  adjoining  which  was  placed  a  residence  for  the  head- 
master. The  outlay  for  the  land  and  buildings  was  about 
£20,000.  Mr.  W.  H.  Wills  gave  an  organ,  which  cost  about 
£1,000,  and  the  same  gentleman,  with  other  members  of  his 
family,  contributed  a  clock  and  chimes ;  while  generous  gifts 
were  made  by  Mr.  Herbert  Thomas  (chairman),  and  other 
governors  for  launching  the  school  in  a  manner  worthy  of 
its  high  reputation.  The  new  school  buildings  were  first 
occupied  by  the  boys  on  the  15th  February;  but  the  formal 
opening  ceremony  was  deferred  until  the  17th  May,  when  an 
address  was  delivered  to  an  influential  gathering  of  citizens 
by  the  Eight  Honourable  W.  B.  Forster,  who  expressed  him- 
self as  much  struck  by  the  magnificence  of  the  schoolroom.* 

At  the  Wimbledon  Rifle  competitions  in  July,  Captain  Sam 
Lang,  of  the  local  Engineer  corps,  won  the  prize  for  the 
highest  aggregate  score  at  the  meeting,  thereby  enabling  his 
corps  to  hold  for  the  ensuing  year  the  Dominion  of  Canada 
trophy — a  splendid  shield  given  by  Canadian  riflemen  in  1877. 
Captain  Lan^s  score  was  then  the  highest  ever  made  at 
Wimbledon.    The  shield  was  deposited  at  the  Mansion  House. 

During  the  summer,  a  well,  which  had  once  been  in  or 
adjacent  to  the  keep  of  Bristol  Castle,  was  discovered  in  Castle 

*  By  a  vexatious  inadvertenoe,  a  paragraph  recordiug  the  reorganisation  of 
this  school  by  the  Charity  Trustees  was  omitted  under  its  proper  date.  It  must 
now  suffice  to  say  that  the  trustees  were  for  some  years  held  at  defiance  by 
Dr.  Goodeuough  [see  p.  47],  who  persisted  in  regarding  his  post  as  a  sinecure, 
and  that  he  was  not  ejected  until  September,  1844.  His  claim  for  a  pension 
was  defeated,  but  his  obstinate  litigation  cost  the  trustees  £3,220  in  law  costs. 
A  new  scheme  for  the  management  of  the  school,  sanctioned  by  the  Lord  Chan- 
cellor in  1847,  gave  the  right  of  admission  to  boys  resident  within  two  miles  of 
the  Exchange,  the  maximum  yearly  fee  being  fixed  at  £6.  Dr.  Bobert  Evans 
having  been  appointed  headmaster,  the  school  was  re-opened,  January,  24,  184b, 
with  about  200  boys. 


T880.]      lawpord's  gate  prison,    general  election.  509 

Green.  It  had  probably  been  closed  when  the  castle  was 
demolished,  and  contained  several  cannon  balls  of  stone,  in- 
cluding some  cut  for  "  cannon  royal,"  the  largest  siege  guns 
of  the  seventeenth  century. 

A  Telephone  Exchange  was  opened  in  the  city  in  Novem- 
ber. The  value  of  the  new  invention  was  so  little  appreciated 
at  the  outset  that  only  twenty  subscribers  to  the  Exchange 
were  obtained  during  the  first  three  months  of  its  existence. 

Although  the  Gloucestershire  house  of  correction  at 
Lawford's  Gate  had  been  disused  as  a  prison  some  twenty 
years  previous  to  this  time,  the  justices  had  taken  no  steps 
for  disposing  of  the  site.  Early  in  1880  the  subject  was 
considered  at  quarter  sessions,  when  it  was  resolved  to  sell 
the  garden  ground  at  the  back  of  the  building.  But  the 
Corporation  of  Bristol  at  once  claimed  to  be  the  owners  of 
the  land,  the  rents  of  which,  in  fact,  had  been  paid  to  the  city 
treasurer.  At  the  Michaelmas  sessions  at  Gloucester,  it  was 
reported  that  the  right  of  the  county  to  the  ground  could  not 
be  established,  there  having  been  an  adverse  possession  of 
more  than  twenty  years.  It  was  determined  to  confer  with 
Mr.  Fry,  M.P.,  with  the  view  of  getting  the  land  appropriated 
to  the  purposes  of  public  recreation.  No  further  reference  to 
the  subject  has  been  found.  It  would  appear  that  the  city 
authorities  denied  the  claim  of  the  county  to  dictate  con- 
ditions as  to  the  future  disposition  of  the  property;  but  its 
ultimate  appropriation  to  recreative  purposes  is  highly 
probable. 

Mr.  Charles  Branwhite,  an  eminent  painter  in  water 
colours,  died  on  the  15th  February,  1880,  aged  62  years. 
Mr.  Branwhite,  who  was  bom  in  Bristol,  and  was  the  son  of  a 
portrait  painter  of  some  standing,  gained  wide  repute  for  his 
pictures  of  winter  scenery. 

An  exciting  struggle  took  place  at  the  general  election  in 
April.  Owing  to  the  defeat  sustained  by  the  Conservatives 
in  1878,  they  were  unprepared  with  a  candidate ;  and  possibly, 
if  the  Liberal  party  had  continued  united,  no  opposition 
would  have  been  offered  to  Messrs.  Morley  and  Fry,  who 
solicited  re-election.  But  Mr.  Elisha  S.  Eobinson,  who  had 
taken  umbrage  at  what  he  deemed  the  neglect  of  his 
pretensions,  entered  the  field  as  an  *'  independent "  candi- 
date, avowing  himself  a  partisan  of  what  was  called  the 
'^Imperialist''  policy  of  Lord  Beaconsfield;  and  the  Conser- 
vatives, inspirited  by  the  incident,  induced  Sir  Ivor  B.  Guest 
to  re-enter  the  field.  The  polling,  which  took  place  on  the 
2nd  April,  resulted  as  follows  :  Mr.  Morley,  10,704 ;  Mr.  Fry, 


510  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL.  [1880. 

10,070 ;  Sir  I.  Guest,  9,395 ;  Mr.  Robinson,  4,100.  Nearly 
nine-tenths  of  Mr.  Robinson's  poll  consisted  of  split  votes 
given  to  him  by  Conservatives.  This  was  Sir  Ivor  Guest's 
fourth  unsuccessful  attempt  to  win  a  seat.  Lord  Beacons- 
field,  a  few  months  later,  rewarded  the  baronet's  zeal  by 
conferring  upon  him  the  title  of  Baron  Wimborne.  The 
Bristol  Conservatives  subsequently  presented  his  lordship 
with  his  portrait,  which  cost  about  £2,000. 

The  Council,  at  a  meeting  in  April,  gave  its  consent  to  the 
closing  of  the  Guard  House  Passage,  Wine  Street,  the  owner  of 
the  adjoining  property  having  offered  to  open  a  more  convenient 
thoroughfare,  and  to  set  back  his  houses  without  demanding 
compensation.  A  beautiful  Perpendicular  archway  at  the 
entrance  of  the  passage,  of  which  a  representation  is  given  in 
Seyer's  Bristol,  was  consequently  removed.  The  arch  was 
re-erected  by  Mr.  Henry  Stevens,  at  Cheltenham  House^ 
Bishopston.  The  guard  house  had  disappeared  several  years 
previously. 

Immediately  after  the  election  for  the  city  of  Gloucester, 
which  resulted  in  the  return  of  two  Liberals,  Alderman 
Thomas  Robinson  (brother  of  Mr.  E.  S.  Robinson,  of  Bristol) 
and  Mr.  Monk,  son  of  the  late  Bishop  Monk,  a  petition  to 
the  House  of  Commons,  asserting  that  the  issue  was  due 
to  bribery,  was  forwarded  by  a  supporter  of  the  defeated 
Conservative  candidates,  Mr.  W.  K.  Wait  (mayor  of  Bristol, 
1869-70)  and  Mr.  Ackers.  The  petition  caused  as  much 
dismay  in  the  political  camp  from  which  it  proceeded  as  in 
the  other ;  but  the  step  taken  was  irrevocable,  and  a  judicial 
inquiry  was  opened  on  the  9th  June.  The  proceedings  were 
significantly  brief.  The  petitioner's  counsel  withdrew  the 
charges  against  Mr.  Monk ;  on  the  other  hand,  Mr.  Robinson 
declined  to  defend  his  seat ;  and  evidence  having  been 
adduced  that  a  servant  of  the  latter  had  bribed  two  or  three 
voters,  the  election  as  regarded  Mr.  Robinson  was  forthwith 
declared  void.  It  subsequently  transpired  that  the  proceed- 
ings before  the  judges  were  the  outcome  of  an  arrangement 
between  the  local  leaders  of  the  two  parties,  who  had  further 
agreed  that  Mr.  Wait  should  fill  the  vacant  seat  without 
opposition.  But  the  report  of  the  judges  stated  that  exten- 
sive corruption  had  prevailed,  and  a  second  investigation  was 
ordered  to  be  made  by  special  commissioners.  Before  this 
tribunal,  Mr.  John  Bernard,  a  magistrate  of  Gloucester,  and 
a  partner  of  Mr.  Wait,  deposed  that,  on  learning  that  money 
would  be  required  to  secure  the  success  of  his  friend,  he 
wrote — unknown   to  Mr.  Wait — to  another  partner  in   the 


1880.]  8ALVATI0N   ARMY.      BEDMINSTER   BRIDGE.  511 

firm,  Mr.  J.  W.  Dod,  of  Clifton,  who  forwarded  him  £1,500 
in  small  notes,  and  that  the  money  was  handed  over  to  the 
secret  agents  of  corruption.  A  further  sum  of  £500  was 
obtained  from  Mr.  Wait,  who,  while  admitting  that  Bernard 
had  told  him  that  the  £1,500  would  be  wanted  before  it  was 
sent  for,  declared  that  he  did  not  know  in  what  manner  the 
two  sums  were  expended.  But  he  confessed  to  having  paid 
between  £600  and  £700  after  the  election  of  1874,  knowing 
that  the  money  had  been  spent  in  bribery.  At  the  election 
under  review,  it  was  discovered  that  bribes  to  the  amount  of 
£1,300  had  been  distributed  by  the  Liberals,  that  2,756 
burgesses  out  of  the  4,904  who  polled  were  paid  for  their 
votes  (some  of  them  by  both  parties),  and  that  upwards  of 
200  citizens,  including  twenty  men  holding  the  oflSces  of 
magistrate,  alderman,  or  councillor,  had  acted  as  bribers.  In 
the  result  the  writ  for  the  vacant  seat  was  never  issued,  and 
the  ratepayers  were  compelled  to  pay  £4,400  for  the  expenses 
of  the  commission. 

The-  centenary  of  the  establishment  of  Sunday  schools  was 
celebrated  in  many  of  the  parish  churches  on  the  27th  June, 
1880,  and  a  meeting  of  clergy,  laity,  teachers,  and  scholars 
took  place  on  the  following  day  in  Colston  Hall.  On  the  8th 
July  about  16,000  children  attending  schools  maintained  by 
dissenting  congregations  walked  in  procession,  accompanied 
by  their  2,000  teachers,  to  the  Zoological  Gardens,  where 
they  spent  an  agreeable  holiday. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Council  on  the  20th  July  the  Dock 
Committee  reported  that,  in  the  existing  state  of  the  revenues 
under  their  control,  they  could  no  longer  undertake  to  pay 
the  interest  on  the  sum  of  £100,000,  borrowed  for  the  pur- 
pose of  subscribing  towards  the  construction  of  Portishead 
Dock  [see  p.  400] .  They  therefore  requested  the  Council  to 
provide  for  the  charge.  The.  interest — £4,000 — thereupon 
became  a  charge  upon  the  borough  rate. 

A  new  religious  denomination  styled  the  Salvation  Army, 
founded  by  a  person  styling  himself  "  General "  Booth,  rose 
into  notoriety  during  the  summer,  and  gained  many  ad- 
herents amongst  the  poorer  classes.  An  old  circus  near 
North  Street  was  hired  by  the  local  leaders,  and  opened  as  a 
chapel  on  the  21st  of  August.  The  noisy  parades  of  the 
"Army'*  in  the  streets  provoked  for  some  time  antagonistic 
displays  amongst  the  lower  orders. 

The  Council,  at  a  meeting  in  September,  resolved  to  remove 
Bedminster  Bridge,  which  had  become  insufficient  for  the 
traffic  of  that  district,  and  to  erect  a  more  commodious  struc- 


512  THE    ANNALS   OF   BKISTOL.  [1881. 

ture.  After  a  tedious  delav,  contracts  were  obtained  in  the 
spring  of  1882,  and  about  £16,000  were  borrowed  to  carry 
out  the  works.  The  new  bridge  was  opened  by  the  mayor 
(Mr.  Weston)  on  the  1st  February,  1884,  though  it  had  been 
partially  available  for  traffic  from  the  previous  November. 
A  temporary  foot-bridge,  used  during  the  reconstruction, 
was  permanently  erected  in  May,  1884,  opposite  St.  Luke's 
Church,  and  was  found  very  serviceable. 

A  large  steamship  called  the  Aihea,  trading  between 
Bristol  and  Glasgow,  was  totally  wrecked  on  the  16th 
November,  1880,  near  Milford  Haven,  while  on  her  way  to 
Scotland.  The  crew,  twenty  in  number,  and  seven  passen- 
gers, perished  with  the  vessel. 

Owing  to  the  activity  of  speculative  builders,  the  erection 
of  new  houses  in  the  suburbs  for  some  years  previous  to  this 
date  had  been  largely  in  excess  of  the  demand.  A  collapse 
at  length  occurred,  and  during  the  winter  of  1880  there  was 
great  distress  amongst  the  families  of  workmen  connected 
with  the  building  trades.  The  extent  to  which  speculation 
had  been  carried  was  shown  by  the  fact  that,  in  the  spring  of 
1881,  the  unoccupied  houses  within  the  limits  of  the  borouprh 
were  officially  reported  to  number  3,567,  exclusive  of  308 
then  in  course  of  construction.  If  the  uninhabited  houses  in 
the  suburbs  had  been  added,  the  aggregate  would  have 
exceeded  5,000. 

An  unusually  intense  frost,  accompanied  by  a  great  fall  of 
snow,  commenced  on  the  13th  January,  1881,  and  the  low 
temperature  continued  for  about  a  fortnight.  During  the 
snowstorm,  a  fast  train,  which  left  Bristol  for  London  at  half- 
past  five  in  the  evening,  did  not  reach  its  destination  until 
seven  o'clock  on  the  following  evening,  having  been  snowed 
up  near  Didcot.  The  chairman  of  the  Great  Western  Rail- 
way Company,  at  the  half-yearly  meeting  held  soon  after- 
wards, stated  that  111  miles  of  their  lines  had  been  drifted 
up,  and  that  64  of  their  trains  were  buried  in  the  drifts, 
exclusive  of  141  temporary  blocks  sustained  by  others.  The 
clearing  away  of  the  snow  added  many  thousand  pounds  to 
the  working  expenses  of  the  company.  Postal  communication 
in  some  parts  of  the  country  was  suspended  for  three  days. 

Early  in  January,  when  proposals  for  substituting  the 
electric  light  for  gas  were  exciting  national  interest,  the 
Council  ordered  an  experiment  on  the  subject  to  be  made  in 
the  city ;  and  seven  lamps,  constructed  on  the  "  Brush  *' 
system,  were  placed  on  the  17th  January  in  the  four  great 
business   thoroughfares   converging   at   the  Council  House. 


1881.]  SLECTRrC    LIGHTIKQ.      GENERAL   ROBERTS.  518 

Owing  to  the  defective  apparatus  by  which  electricity  was 
generated,  the  experiment  was  not  deemed  satisfactory,  and 
the  lamps  were  withdrawn  in  a  few  weeks.*  The  chief  objec- 
tion to  the  new  illuminant  was  the  enhanced  cost  of  electric 
motors  as  compared  with  gas.  In  November  a  novel  proposal 
for  surmounting  the  difficulty  was  laid  before  the  Council  by 
Mr.  William  Smith,  who  suggested  that  the  ebb  and  flow  of 
the  tide  might  be  made  available  for  generating  electricity, 
and  expressed  his  belief  that  the  adoption  of  the  course  pro- 
posed would  effect  a  saving  to  the  city  of  about  £6,000  a 
year.  According  to  calculations  made  for  Mr.  Smith  by 
Professor  Sylvanus  Thompson,  upon  data  supplied  by  Mr. 
Howard,  the  engineer  of  the  docks,  the  available  tidal  power 
at  Totterdown  was  over  6 J  billions  of  foot  pounds  per  annum; 
equal  to  279,389  horse  power  per  tide.  At  Rownham  the 
power  was  estimated  to  be  more  than  threefold  greater; 
while  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  it  was  50  billions  of  foot 
pounds  per  annum,  or  considerably  more  than  2  million 
horse  power  per  tide.  The  power  required  to  light  by  elec- 
tricity the  4,274  existing  street  lamps  was,  by  Swan's  system 
4i  billions,  by  Edison's  system  3J  billions,  and  by  the  arc 
light  on  the  Brush  system  2  billions  of  foot  pounds  yearly. 
A  committee  of  inquiry  was  appointed,  but  the  investigation 
led  to  no  practical  results. 

On  the  25th  January,  1881,  a  dinner  was  given  in  the 
Victoria  Rooms  to  Major-General  Sir  Frederick  Roberts, 
G.C.B.  (who  passed  his  early  boyhood  and  received  part  of 
his  education  in  Bristol),  in  honour  of  his  distinguished 
military  services.  The  mayor  (Mr.  Weston)  presided  over  a 
large  party,  and  the  health  of  the  gallant  guest  was  drunk 
with  enthusiasm.  On  the  following  day  Sir  Frederick  was 
presented  by  the  mayor,  on  behalf  of  a  number  of  leading 
citizens,  with  a  service  of  plate,  valued  at  £350.  In  the 
evening  the  Merchant  Venturers'  Society  gave  a  grand  ball 
in  honour  of  the  general,  at  which  upwards  of  five  hundred 
persons  were  present. 

On  the  30th  March  opening  services  were  held  in  a  new 
Congregational  place  of  worship  at  Bishopston,  styled  the 
David  Thomas  Memorial  Church,  in  memory  of  a  distinguished 
minister  of  Highbury  Chapel,  Cotham.  The  cost  of  the 
building  was  about  £6,300,  and  nearly  the  entire  amount  was 
contributed  at  or  before  the  opening  services. 

*-  — 

•  More  than  two  years  before  this  date — on  the  28th  November,  1878— the 
electric  light  had  been  tried  in  Bristol  cathedral,  the  first  ecclesiastical  edifice 
in  which  its  power  was  tested.    The  effect  was  exceedingly  fine. 

L   L 


514  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL.       ^  [1881. 

The  census  of  1881,  taken  on  the  4th  April,  showed  a 
further  large  decrease  in  the  population  of  the  ^^  ancient  city/' 
whose  numbers  were  returned  at  56,964.  The  extended  city, 
on  the  other  hand,  had  largely  increased,  the  aggregate  for 
the  borough  being  206,874.  The  population  of  the  suburban 
parishes  was:  Clifton,  28,695;  the  District,  19,114;  St. 
Philip's  out,  50,108;  St.  George's,  26,423;  Bedminster, 
44,759;  Mangotsfield,  5,707;  Stapleton,  10,833;  Stoke  Bis- 
hop tything,  13,347 ;  and  Horfield,  5,739. 

The  remains  of  the  mansion  of  the  Canynges'  family,  in 
Red  cliff  Street,  occupied  by  Messrs.  Jefferies  &  Sons,  book- 
sellers, were  seriously  damaged  by  a  fire  which  occurred  in 
the  premises  on  the  9th  October.  The  woodwork  of  the 
^^ oratory"  was  almost  entirely  destroyed,  but  the  fine  roof 
was  preserved. 

A  religious  census  of  the  city  was  taken  by  the  Western 
Daily  Press  on  the  30th  October.  According  to  the  published 
statistics,  it  appeared  that  out  of  a  population  of  about 
210,000,  there  were  48,596  persons  present  at  the  morning, 
and  60,856  at  the  evening  services  on  the  day  in  question. 

The  Council,  in  October,  resolved  upon  redeeming  the  rent 
charge  of  £6,734  15«.  6rf.  payable  under  the  provisions  of  the 
Docks  Transfer  Act  of  1848.  The  sum  required  for  this  pur- 
pose was  £168,381  bs.  The  Corporation  had  also  borrowed 
£636,400  for  dock  purposes,  including  the  subscription  to 
Portishead  Dock,  and  it  was  resolved  to  issue  3  J  per  cent, 
bonds  in  lieu  of  the  old  securities,  whereby  a  saving  of  £4,000 
per  annum  would  be  effected.  In  August,  1882,  Alderman 
Baker  informed  the  Council  that  bonds  to  the  amount  of 
£283,660  had  been  taken  up,  at  an  average  price  of  £98  8s Ad. 
per  cent.,  which  was  considered  satisfactory.  Further  con- 
versions took  place  as  the  old  bonds  expired. 

The  Corporation  gave  notice  in  November  of  its  intention 
to  introduce  a  Bill  into  Parliament  to  strengthen  the  hands 
of  the  police  in  dealing  with  disorderly  houses,  gambling, 
street  nuisances,  and  other  matters.  The  more  important 
clauses  of  the  Bill  were  copied  from  the  Police  Acts  of 
Manchester  and  other  cities ;  but  they  were  obnoxious  to  cer- 
tain classes  of  tradesmen,  and  an  agitation  was  excited  on  the 
pretext  that  the  measure  would  be  injurious  to  the  liberty  of 
the  subject.  At  the  statutory  meeting  of  citizens  convened 
to  consider  the  proposal,  it  was  almost  unanimously  con- 
demned. After  two  years'  delay,  the  Council  resolved,  in 
November,  1883,  to  make  another  effort  of  the  same  character. 
With  the  view  of  disarming  the  leading  opponents  of  the 


1881.]  POLICE   BILLS  DBFBATBD.      SAD    FATALITT.  515 

previous  Bill,  the  clause  prohibiting  overhanging  signboards 
was  omitted,  and  tramcars  were  exempted  from  the  regula- 
tions for  street  traffic.  Nevertheless,  at  the  public  meeting 
convoked  to  give  assent  to  the  scheme,  an  excited  crowd 
refused  to  listen  to  the  explanations  of  the  mayor  (Mr. 
Weston),  and  the  Bill  was  condemned  by  a  large  majority.  A 
poll  was  then  demanded,  the  result  being  a  definitive  disap- 
proval of  the  project  by  15,409  votes  against  6,798. 

The  Dolphin  Society,  which  for  about  a  century  had  at- 
tended morning  service  at  the  cathedral  on  the  Colston 
anniversaries,  suspended  that  custom  in  1881,  owing  to  the 
action  of  the  dean.  It  appeared  that  Dr.  Elliott,  on  receipt 
of  the  usual  application,  had  consented  to  a  sermon  being 
preached  on  Colston's  Day,  and  that  the  preacher  should  be 
the  Rev.  R.  W.  Randall,  of  All  Saints',  Clifton.  But  Canon 
Girdlestone,  who  was  in  residence,  having  protested  against 
the  admission  into  the  cathedral  pulpit  of  Mr.  Randall,  on 
account  of  his  obstinate  defiance  of  the  orders  of  the  bishop 
in  reference  to  ritualistic  practices  at  All  Saints',  the  dean 
thereupon  withdrew  his  permission.  The  society  attended 
service  at  St.  Mary  Redcliff,  where  Mr.  Randall  preached. 

Whilst  some  alterations  were  being  made,  during  the 
autumn,  in  the  premises  No.  19,  Maryleport  Street,  a  hand- 
some mantelpiece  was  exhumed  from  a  thick  covering  of 
mortar.  The  mantelpiece  was  elaborately  sculptured,  and 
bore  a  shield  of  arms — on  a  chevron,  between  three  pairs  of 
garbs  saltierwise,  three  barrels.  These  arms,  which  occur  on 
the  fronts  of  two  houses  in  the  same  street  and  of  a  house  in 
the  Pithay,  were  borne  by  George  Harrington,  mayor  in  1617. 
They  were  at  all  events  placed  on  his  monument.  Being 
really  the  coat  of  the  Brewers'  Company  of  London,  it  is  pro- 
bable that  the  local  brewers  adopted  the  bearings,  and  that 
Harrington,  who  was  a  brewer,  used  them  with  some  trifling 
"difference,"  just  as  his  contemporary,  Robert  Aldworth, 
adopted  the  arms  of  the  Merchants'  Society.  Curiously 
enough,  the  monuments  of  the  two  men — ^both  too  proud  to 
claim  heraldic  devices  to  which  they  were  not  entitled — are 
to  be  found  almost  close  together,  in  St.  Peter's  Church. 

The  Duke  of  Edinburgh  visited  Bristol  in  November,  for 
the  purpose  of  inspecting  the  Royal  Naval  Reserve  and  the 
local  brigade  of  Naval  Volunteers.  The  visit  was  purely  of 
an  official  character,  and  at  the  duke's  request  there  was  no 
public  reception. 

An  appalling  catastrophe  occurred  on  the  15th  November 
in  the  steamship  Solway^  trading  between  Bristol,  Belfast,  and 


516  THE   ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1882. 

Glasgow.  During  a  storm  in  tte  Irish  Channel,  a  barrel  of 
naphtha  broke  loose  and  was  burst  by  concussion,  when  by 
some  means  the  contents  became  ignited.  The  result  was  the 
partial  destruction  of  the  ship,  and  the  death  of  eighteen 
persons,  most  of  whom  perished  in  the  flames. 

About  the  close  of  1881,  when  the  carving  of  the  west  front 
of  Bristol  cathedral  had  just  been  completed,  the  dean  and 
chapter  ordered  the  removal  of  the  chapter-office,  a  mean 
structure  which  had  partially  concealed  that  portion  of  the 
cathedral.  An  older  and  more  interesting  building  near  the 
abbey  gateway — the  minSter-house — the  roof  and  walls  of 
which  anciently  formed  part  of  the  Prior's  lodgfings,  was 
removed  shortly  afterwards.  Its  demolition  evoked  some 
protests,  but  certainly  improved  the  appearance  of  the 
western  front.  Nothing  now  remained  of  the  unsightly 
modern  constructions  between  the  cathedral  and  the  grand 
gateway  except  the  house  partially  incorporated  with  the 
latter,  and  occupied  by  the  precentor.  Fears  were  enter- 
tained that  this  excrescence  could  not  be  removed  without 
endangering  the  gateway,  some  of  the  upper  portions  of 
which  were  in  the  last  stage  of  decay.  At  a  meeting  in 
October,  1883,  a  committee  was  appointed  to  consider  what 
steps  should  be  taken ;  and  after  careful  consideration  of  the 
remains,  it  was  determined  to  restore  the  archway  and  the 
fifteenth-century  building  above  it,  to  remove  the  precentor^s 
house,  and  to  rebuild  the  tower  which  had  previously  abutted 
upon  the  south-east  comer  of  the  gate ;  the  estimated  outlay 
being  £3,100.  The  precentor's  house  was  demolished  in  May, 
1885,  when  some  interesting  relics  of  the  old  tower  were 
brought  to  light. 

About  the  beginning  of  1882  Mr.  [Sir]  J.  D.  Weston,  who 
had  purchased  Manilla  Hall,  Clifton  (the  mansion  built  by 
Sir  William  Draper  and  subsequently  possessed  by  the  Gordon 
and  Miles  families),  detached  from  it  a  portion  of  the  grounds 
for  the  purpose  of  converting  them  into  building  sites.  In 
the  following  September  the  hall  was  bought  by  a  French 
Roman  Catholic  sisterhood  styled  the  "  Dames  de  la  Mere  de 
Dieu,"  who  established  a  school  there.  The  nuns  ordered  the 
removal  of  the  cenotaph  erected  by  Sir  Wm.  Draper ;  but  it 
was  rescued  from  destruction  by  the  exertions  of  Dr.  Beddoe, 
P.R.S.,  and  was,  together  with  the  obelisk  to  the  elder  Pitt, 
re-erected  upon  Clifton  Down,  not  far  distant  from  the  original 
site,  by  means  of  a  private  subscription. 

The  dearth  of  religious  agencies  amongst  the  rapidly  in- 
creasing suburban  population  having  impressed  itself  upoii 


1882.]  SIX  NSW  PARISHES   CREATED.  517 

the  bishop  of  the  diocese,  his  lordship  entered  into  con- 
ferences with  several  prominent  citizens,  and  eventually 
issued  a  commission  to  consider  what  remedies  should  be 
attempted.  An  investigation  having  been  made,  a  public 
meeting  was  convened  at  the  Guildhall  in  February,  1882,  at 
which  Bishop  Eilicott  stated  the  results  of  the  inquiry.  It 
was  proposed  to  build  and  endow  six  new  churches  in  the 
following  parishes  :  St.  Andrew's  (which  had  a  population 
of  8,340);  St.  Barnabas  (10,232);  Trinity,  St.  Philip's 
(13,450) ;  St.  Luke's,  Barton  Hill  (9,851) ;  St.  Silas  (6,700), 
and  in  Bedminster  (20,847).  The  church  of  St.  Matthew, 
Moorfields  (6,989),  was  proposed  to  be  enlarged,  and  it  was 
recommended  that  sites  should  be  secured  in  the  districts 
of  St.  Mark's,  Easton,  Downside,  and  Windmill  Hill,  Bed- 
minster, where  the  growth  of  population  was  considerable. 
The  commissioners  further  advised  the  building  of  three 
mission  chapels,  and  the  provision  of  nine  curates  or  mis- 
sionaries. At  a  meeting  in  the  Merchants'  Hall,  in  March, 
resolutions  approving  of  the  scheme  were  adopted,  and 
subscriptions  amounting  to  over  £19,000  were  announced, 
the  bishop  contributing  £1,000,  Mr.  A.  Gibbs,  £3,000,  the 
Merchants'  Society,  £2,500,  Messrs.  Baker  &  Son,  £1,000, 
and  the  Old  Bank,  £1,000.  The  foundation  of  Christ  Church, 
Barton  Hill,  the  first  undertaken,  was  laid  by  the  mayor  (Mr. 
Weston)  in  July,  1883.  During  the  course  of  that  year  four 
new  parishes  were  constituted  by  Orders  in  Council,  namely, 
St.  Francis,  Ashton  Gate ;  Holy  Nativity,  Knowle ;  St.  Agnes, 
Newfoundland  Road;  and  St.  Lawrence,  Lawrence  Hill. 
Within  about  two  years,  the  commission  received  nearly 
£27,000  from  the  public,  and  building  operations  were  pro- 
secuted with  great  vigour.  Christ  Church,  Barton  Hill,  was 
consecrated  on  the  12th  November,  1885.  On  the  16th 
November,  1886,  Bishop  Eilicott  consecrated  a  church  dedi- 
cated to  St.  Michael,  near  Bedminster  railway  station.  The 
only  portion  then  finished  was  the  chancel,  but  a  temporary 
nave  had  been  constructed  of  timber.  Two  mission  chapels 
had  been  built  in  the  same  district,  where  the  total  outlay 
had  been  £3,645.  Towards  the  church  of  St.  Agnes  [see  p. 
444]  the  commission  contributed  £2,500  and  the  site,  besides 
giving  £3,000  to  the  endowment  fund. 

During  the  early  weeks  of  1882  a  temperance  movement 
was  started  in  Bristol  by  Mr.  R.  T.  Booth,  by  whom  great 
crowds  were  attracted  to  Colston  Hall.  The  public  were 
invited  to  assume  ^^  the  blue  ribbon,"  which  Mr.  Booth  had 
selected  as  the  badge  of  total  abstinence,  and  36,000  persons 


518  THE   ANNALS   OP  BRISTOL.  [1882. 

followed  the  example  of  Mr.  Morley,  M.P.,  in  accepting  this 
decoration,  21,000  of  the  recipients  being,  it  was  said,  con- 
verts to  teetotalism.  The  agitation  materially  affected  the 
consumption  of  liquor  in  the  city,  and  some  publicans  and 
beershop-keepers  withdrew  from  the  business. 

In  the  parliamentary  session  of  1882  the  Incorporation  of 
the  Poor  promoted  a  Bill,  the  chief  object  of  which  was  to 
secure  the  abolition  of  the  Harbour  rate  imposed  on  the 
''  ancient  city ''  by  the  Dock  Act  of  1803  [see  p.  14] .  The 
charge  of  £2,400  per  annum  had  at  the  outset  involved  the 
imposition  of  a  rate  of  sixpence  in  the  pound.  Through  the 
increased  rateable  value  of  the  city,  the  burden  had  fallen  to 
one-third  of  its  original  amount,  but  the  guardians  had  long 
regarded  as  a  grievance  the  immunity  enjoyed  by  the  sub- 
urban parishes,  and  now  sought  to  include  them  within  the 
rateable  area.  The  Bill  was  opposed  by  the  Corporation  on 
the  ground  that  property  in  the  ancient  parishes  was  largely 
enhanced  in  value  by  the  construction  of  the  Float.  Jt  was 
also  contended  that  the  rate  was  the  result  of  what  was  con- 
sidered, in  1803,  a  fair  agreement  between  the  city  parishes 
and  the  dock  promoters,  and  that  it  would  be  unjust  to  alter  its 
incidence  in  the  interest  of  one  party  only.  The  House  of  Lords 
approved  of  these  arguments  by  rejecting  that  portion  of  the 
Bill.     The  remaining  clauses  received  the  royal  assent. 

St.  Saviour's  Church,  Woolcott  Park  (which  had  been 
preceded  by  an  iron  construction  removed  from  TyndalFs 
Park  in  1875),  was  consecrated  on  the  80th  May.  The  build- 
ing cost  upwards  of  £4,000. 

For  some  time  previous  to  this  date,  the  members  of  the 
Bedminster  board  of  guardians  who  represented  rural 
parishes  had  repeatedly  urged  that  the  urban  district  of  the 
union,  where  pauperism  was  always  prevalent,  should  be 
separated  from  the  country  districts.  Arguments  of  a  like 
character  had  occasionally  been  advanced  at  the  Bristol 
board,  some  members  contending  that  the  city  ought  to  form 
a  single  union  instead  of  being  divided  into  three ;  but  as 
the  change  would  have  involved  the  abolition  of  the  Incor- 
poration of  the  Poor  and  of  the  system  of  churchwarden 
guardians,  it  had  been  always  deprecated  by  a  majority.  In 
consequence  of  the  complaints  of  the  Somerset  guardians,  the 
Local  Government  Board  sent  down  an  official  inspector,  who 
opened  an  inquiry  at  St.  Peter's  Hospital  on  the  19th  June. 
The  Barton  Regis  guardians  being,  most  of  them,  opposed  to 
an  amalgamated  board,  refused  to  take  part  in  the  proceed- 
ings,  which    extended    over  two   days,   and   elicited  wide 


1882.]  GIFT   OF  A   PARK.      NEW   PLEASURE    GROUNDS.  519 

diflFerences  of  opinion.  In  tlio  following  January  another 
inquiry  took  place  in  the  same  building,  the  Board  in  London 
having  in  the  meantime  approved  of  the  principle  of  a  union 
conterminous  with  the  municipal  borough.  The  Council  had 
discussed  the  subject  previous  to  the  inquiry,  and  had  deter- 
mined, though  only  by  25  votes  against  23,  that  the  proposal 
was  inopportune.  A  similar  diversity  of  views  was  manifested 
amongst  those  who  attended  the  renewed  investigation.  In 
April  a  committee  of  the  Bristol  guardians,  believing  a  con- 
solidated union  to  be  inevitable,  drew  up  a  scheme  to  carry 
it  into  effect,  under  which  the  churchwarden  guardians  were 
to  be  abolished.  The  plan  was  rejected  by  their  colleagues. 
After  lengthy  deliberation,  the  Local  Government  Board  an- 
nounced in  September,  1883,  that  ^'  it  was  not  prepared  at 
the  present  time  to  proceed  further  in  the  matter." 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Council  on  the  15th  June,  the  Sanitary 
Committee  reported  that,  with  a  view  to  providing  open  spaces 
for  public  recreation,  they  had  inspected  a  piece  of  land  near 
Clift  House,  Bedminster,  the  property  of  Sir  J.  Greville 
Smyth,  having  an  area  of  rather  more  than  twenty-one  acres; 
and  they  recommended  that  it  should  be  purchased  for  a  pub- 
lic park.  The  report  having  been  adopted,  the  chairman  of 
the  committee,  Mr.  Low,  read  a  letter  from  Sir  J.  G.  Smyth's 
agent,  stating  that  the  owner  of  the  land,  having  read  the 
committee's  report  in  the  newspapers,  would  have  great  plea- 
sure in  presentmg  the  ground  to  the  city  for  the  purpose  of 
forming  a  pleasure  ground,  but  expressed  a  hope  that  a  por- 
tion would  be  reserved  for  the  Bedminster  Cricket  Club.  A 
vote  of  thanks  to  Sir  Greville  for  his  gift  was  passed  by 
acclamation.  In  September,  1884,  after  the  ground  had 
become  legally  vested  in  the  Corporation,  a  sum  of  £3,000 
was  voted  by  the  Council  for  works  to  protect  the  park  from 
inundations,  to  which  it  was  liable  in  winter,  and  for  en- 
trance gates,  etc.  At  the  same  meeting  £1,500  were  granted 
for  laying  out  two  pieces  of  ground  near  Newfoundland  Road 
— for  which  the  Corporation  had  given  £2,358  to  the  feoffees 
of  St.  James's  parish — one  piece  to  be  asphalted  as  a  play- 
ground for  children,  and  the  other  planted  as  a  pleasure 
ground.  A  plot  of  land  near  Baptist  Mills,  adjoining  Mina 
Road  and  Cowmead  Walk,  bavins'  been  oflFered  as  a  recreation 
ground  by  Mr.  William  Hunt,  the  Council  voted  £1,480  for 
laying  it  out.  Another  plot,  left  after  making  a  new  street 
from  the  Broadweir  to  Redcross  Street,  and  valued  at  £2,700, 
was  devoted  to  a  similar  purpose.  For  these  improvements, 
and  for  alterations  at  Lovers'  Walk  and  the  Tabernacle  bury- 


520  THE   ANNALS   OF   BBISTOL.  [1882. 

ing  ground,  referred  to  elsewhere,  the  Council  proposed  to 
borrow  £12,100  on  mortgage  of  the  rates;  but  the  Local 
Government  Board,  being  aware  that  the  Redcross  Street 
ground  already  belonged  to  the  Streets  Improvement  Com- 
mittee, reduced  the  amount  to  £9,400.  In  April,  1886,  the 
Council  resolved  to  purchase,  for  £1,800,  two  acres  of  ground 
belonging  to  the  vestry  of  St.  Mary  Redcliff,  for  the  purpose 
of  adding  the  land  to  the  Bedminster  park.  The  price  de- 
manded was  deemed  extravagant  by  many  ratepayers,  and  the 
Council  soon  afterwards  rescinded  the  resolution.  The  Mina 
Boad  and  Broadweir  recreation  grounds  were  opened  by  the 
mayor  (Mr.  Wathen)  on  the  30th  June,  1886.  In  January, 
1887,  the  Council  resolved  to  purchase,  for  £450,  a  quarter 
of  an  acre  of  ground  in  St.  Philip's  Marsh,  to  be  converted 
into  a  playground,  and  it  was  reported  that  negotiations  were 
pending  for  the  acquisition  of  plots  of  land,  for  a  similar  pur- 
pose, in  the  eastern  district  of  Bedminster  and  at  Barton  Hill. 

On  the  10th  July  a  meeting  was  held  in  the  Council  House 
to  receive  a  deputation  from  the  Royal  College  of  Music,  who 
attended  to  urge  the  claims  of  the  institution  on  the  cultivated 
classes.  The  mayor  (Mr.  Weston)  presided.  The  deputation 
having  advocated  the  interests  of  the  college,  it  was  resolved 
to  raise  £3,000,  the  amount  required  to  found  a  Bristol  scholar- 
ship. About  £350  were  subscribed  in  the  room,  but  the  move- 
ment met  with  slender  support  out  of  doors. 

The  sheriff  of  the  city  (Mr.  W.  E.  George)  having  had  an 
addition  to  his  family  during  his  term  of  office,  was  presented 
in  August  by  the  committee  of  the  Grateful  Society,  of  which 
he  was  then  president,  with  an  elegant  piece  of  plate  in  the 
form  of  a  silver  cradle,  as  a  memorial  of  the  double  functions 
which  he  had  fulfilled  during  the  year.  The  presentation 
was  made  by  the  mayor  (Mr.  Weston) . 

Owing  to  unusually  heavy  rains  during  the  month  of  Octo- 
ber, which  attained  their  maximum  on  the  22nd  and  23rd, 
when  upwards  of  three  inches  of  rainfall  were  measured 
within  forty-eight  hours,  a  large  area  of  country  around 
Bristol  was  deeply  flooded,  and  much  property  was  de- 
stroyed. The  damage  in  the  city  was  still  more  serious, 
thousands  of  houses  being  flooded  at  and  near  Baptist  Mills, 
Stapleton  Road,  and  Bedminster,  On  the  evening  of  the 
23rd  a  portion  of  Stapleton  Road  was  about  four  feet  under 
water,  and  as  the  Froom  continued  to  rise  during  the  night, 
the  district  near  its  banks  presented  an  extraordinary  aspect 
on  the  following  morning,  when  traffic  was  entirely  stopped. 
At  the  Black  Swan  Inn,  Stapleton  Road,  the  water  mounted 


1882.]  DISASTB0U8   FLOODS.  521 

nearly  to  the  signboard  over  the  door  of  the  premises;  The 
only  means  of  communicating  with  a  great  number  of  houses 
in  the  locality  was  by  means  of  rafts  and  boats,  by  which  pro- 
visions and  necessaries  were  supplied  to  many  of  the  impri- 
soned inhabitants.  In  the  afternoon,  the  accumulated  waters 
spread  in  an  immense  lake  along  Newfoundland  Boad  and 
Newfoundland  Street  to  Paul  Street,  Portland  Square.  All 
the  low-lying  streets  in  that  district  were  submerged  several 
feet.  When  the  flood  receded  on  the  following  day,  a  de- 
plorable sight  was  presented  in  the  neighbouring  dwellings, 
the  basement  floors  of  which  were  thickly  covered  with  mud. 
The  disaster  was  attended  with  fatal  results  to  a  young  baker, 
named  Foot,  who,  while  delivering  bread  in  a  cart  in  Mina 
Boad,  was  swept  away  by  the  torrent,  both  man  and  horse 
being  drowned.  A  brewer's  dray  was  carried  off  near  the 
same  place,  but  the  driver  escaped.  Two  houses  in  that  road 
were  undermined  by  the  water,  and  fell  into  ruins ;  but  the 
inhabitants,  about  twenty  in  number,  warned  by  some  pre- 
monitory crumblings,  had  escaped  on  rafts.  Some  idea  of 
the  extent  of  the  calamity  may  be  formed  from  the  fact  that 
in  the  single  district  of  St.  Agnes  372  houses,  inhabited  by 
twice  that  number  of  families,  suffered  from  the  inundation, 
the  furniture  of  many  of  the  inmates  being  irreparably  dam- 
aged. The  low-lying  districts  of  Bedminster  were  devastated 
in  a  similar  manner.  In  Hereford  Street,  the  flood  was  nearly 
eight  feet  in  depth,  and  the  dwellings  in  many  other  thorough- 
fares were  submerged  fully  three  feet.  Altogether  upwards 
of  a  thousand  houses  suffered  in  that  locality,  the  effects 
being  quite  as  deplorable  as  those  recorded  in  the  eastern 
suburbs.  The  clergy  and  other  citizens  made  devoted  efforts 
on  behalf  of  the  poor  who  were  practically  ruined  by  the 
disaster,  and  a  large  fund  was  raised;  but  many  of  the 
families  nevertheless  suffered  from  sickness  during  the  win- 
ter owing  to  the  soaked  condition  of  their  dwellings.  Several 
houses  became  totally  unfit  for  habitation,  and  their  ruins 
still  remain  as  memorials  of  the  flood.  At  a  meeting  of  the 
Council,  in  May,  1883,  the  town  clerk  stated  that  he  had 
been  served  with  194  notices  of  claims  for  compensation  for 
damages,  by  persons  owning  property  in  the  Proom  district, 
who  alleged  that  the  disaster  was  mainly  due  to  the  negli- 
gence of  the  authorities.  The  claims  amounted  to  £44,890, 
but  no  attempt  was  made  to  prosecute  them.  It  was  notorious, 
indeed,  that  many  of  the  houses  ravaged  by  the  flood  had 
been  erected  by  unscrupulous  speculators  on  land  which  was 
more  or  less  under  water  every  winter.     The  Council,  on  the 


522  THB   ANNALS   OP  BRISTOL.  [1883. 

28th  September,  1886,  with  a  view  to  mitigating  the  eflFects  of 
future  inundations,  resolved  to  apply  for  parliamentary  powers 
to  construct  a  culvert  from  the  Froom,  near  the  Broadweir,  to 
the  Floating  Harbour,  near  St.  Philip's  Bridge.  The  outlay 
was  estimated  at  £13,000,  but  the  Bill,  as  finally  approved, 
sought  for  power  to  expend  £52,500.  The  scheme  was  sanc- 
tioned by  a  practically  unanimous  vote  of  the  ratepayers. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Council  on  the  28th  October,  1882,  a 
report  was  read  from  the  Sanitary  Committee,  explaining  the 
provisions  of  the  new  Electric  Lighting  Act,  and  stating  that 
ten  companies  had  given  notice  of  their  intention  to  apply  for 
powers  to  supply  the  new  illuminating  agent  in  the  city.  The 
Council  was  recommended  to  defeat  attempts  to  create  a  pri- 
vate monopoly  by  claiming  its  right  to  put  in  operation  the 
provisions  of  the  Act.  Application  was  accordingly  made  for 
a  legislative  order  authorising  the  Council  to  supply  elec- 
tricity within  the  borough.  The  order,  which  was  granted  in 
the  session  of  1883,  required  the  Council  to  light  the  main 
thoroughfares  within  two  years.  Motives  of  economy  de- 
terred the  authorities  from  exercising  the  powers. 

Much  local  interest  was  created  in  1883  by  the  introduc- 
tion into  Parliament  of  a  Bill  for  authorising  the  construction 
of  a  railway  to  connect  the  London  and  South  Western  line, 
near  Andover,  with  the  North  Somerset  line  at  Badstock, 
and  thus  to  open  out  a  new  communication  between  Bristol 
and  London.  The  capital  of  the  proposed  company  was 
£1,866,000.  The  contemplated  works  in  Bristol  were  of  a 
gigantic  character,  the  projected  line  being  intended  to  run 
through  a  dense  mass  of  property  between  St.  Philip's  Marsh 
and  the  Stone  Bridge,  while  a  site  for  the  city  terminus  was 
to  be  obtained  by  covering  over  the  Float  from  the  Stone 
Bridge  to  the  Drawbridge.  The  scheme  met  an  amount  of 
approval  rarely  accorded  to  local  plans  of  improvement,  the 
provisional  committee  formed  for  promoting  the  Bill  com- 
prising a  majority  of  the  Council  and  of  the  leading  mer- 
cantile firms,  while  the  Merchants'  Society  made  a  liberal 
grant  towards  the  expenses  ;  the  Chamber  of  Commerce 
forwarded  petitions  in  favour  of  the  scheme,  and  meetings  in 
its  support  were  held  in  every  ward.  In  fact,  as  was  observed 
at  the  time,  Bristolians  presented  the  rare  spectacle  of  being 
unanimous.  The  public  satisfaction  was  visibly  diminished 
by  an  announcement  that  the  proposed  station  was  to  be 
indefinitely  postponed.  The  junction  with  the  North  Somer- 
set line  was  also  abandoned  through  the  opposition  of  the 
Midland  Company,  and  the  promoters  had  to  fall  back  upon 


1883.]  TABERNACLE  BURIAL  GROUND.  523 

a  proposed  railway  to  join  the  Midland  system  at  Bath^  thus 
diverting  Bristol  traflSc  by  way  of  Mangotsfield.  After  a  long 
struggle  with  the  Great  Western  Company  before  a  com- 
mittee of  the  House  of  Commons,  the  Bill  was  rejected. 
Shortly  afterwards  the  Great  Western  and  South  Western 
boards  entered  into  a  compact,  by  which  they  mutually 
undertook  to  refrain  for  ten  years  from  an  aggressive  policy 
towards  each  other.  The  agreement  raised  an  insuperable 
bar  against  the  revival  of  the  above  scheme. 

Some  years  before  this  date,  the  Corporation,  in  obtaining 
powers  for  the  construction  of  new  streets,  had  "  scheduled  ^' 
a  portion  of  the  Redcross  Street  burial  ground  belonging  to 
the  Tabernacle  congregation,  with  the  intention  of  opening  a 
thoroughfare  from  Redcross  Street  to  the  Weir.  Negotia- 
tions for  the  purchase  of  the  ground  had  subsequently  taken 
place ;  but  as  the  trustees  insisted  that  the  human  remains 
should  be  removed  to  another  cemetery,  while  the  civic 
authorities  believed  that  they  could  not  legally  spend  money 
for  that  purpose,  the  matter  remained  in  abeyance.  About 
four  o'clock  one  morning  in  June,  1883,  however,  a  number 
of  labourers,  employed  by  no  one  knew  whom,  broke  down 
the  wall  of  the  cemetery,  fenced  off  a  portion  for  the  proposed 
road,  and  began  to  dig  and  cart  away  the  mould,  which  was 
largely  mingled  with  the  relics  of  the  dead,  the  tombstones 
being,  it  was  said,  buried.  As  soon  as  these  proceedings 
became  known,  the  trustees  lost  no  time  in  applying  for,  and 
obtaining,  an  injunction  from  the  High  Court,  restraining  the 
Corporation  from  further  proceedings  until  the  case  had  been 
judicially  heard.  At  a  special  meeting  of  the  Council,  a  few 
days  later,  some  members  of  the  Streets  Improvement  Com- 
mittee defended  the  measures  that  had  been  taken;  but  a 
resolution  was  adopted  regretting  the  course  pursued,  and 
directing  operations  to  be  suspended  until  an  arrangement 
was  effected.  The  Corporation  eventually  purchased  the 
cemetery  for  £300,  and  paid  £187  for  removing  the  remains. 
The  portion  not  required  for  the  street  was  laid  out  as  an 
ornamental  garden  at  a  further  cost  of  £600.  The  Council 
had  also  to  defray  the  legal  expenses  arising  out  of  the  affair, 
which  had  excited  great  disapproval. 

Much  discussion  arose  during  the  spring  in  reference  to  the 
announced  intention  of  the  Docks  Committee,  which  had  pur- 
chased a  property  known  as  Green's  dock,  St.  Augustine's, 
to  close  that  place,  in  consequence  of  the  expense  incurred 
in  maintaining  a  bridge  which  crossed  the  entrance.  The 
Council,  at  a  meeting  in  June,  approved  of  the  committee's 


i 


524  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL.  [1883. 

decision,  and  resolved  on  purchasing,  for  £10,000,  another 
property  known  as  the  Albert  dock,  which  it  was  stated 
could  be  converted  into  a  graving  dock  capable  of  accommo- 
dating the  largest  class  of  vessels  entering  the  Float. 

In  response  to  an  appeal  made  to  the  Government  by  the 
civic  authorities,  an  Order  in  Council  was  issued  in  July,  by 
which  the  practice  in  the  Bristol  Tolzey  and  Piepoudre  courts 
was  reorganised  and  amended,  portions  of  1  and  2  William 
IV.,  c.  58,  and  of  the  Common  Law  Procedure  Act,  1860, 
relating  to  interpleader  summonses,  being  applied  to  the 
ancient  institutions. 

The  dilapidated  old  building  known  as  Dr.  White's  alms- 
house, in  Temple  Street,  was  removed  during  the  summer  by 
order  of  the  trustees,  and  a  block  of  dwellings  was  constructed 
on  the  site  for  the  accommodation  of  32  inmates.  The  cost 
of  the  new  buildings,  which  were  opened  by  the  mayor  (Mr. 
Weston),  on  the  22nd  December,  was  £3,250. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Council  in  October,  a  number  of  minor 
improvement  schemes,  recommended  by  the  Streets  Improve- 
ment Committee,  and  estimated  to  cost  about  £50,000,  were 
approved.  They  included  alterations  in  Hotwell  Road,  near 
Dowry  Square  ;  at  Blackboy  Hill  and  EUenborough  Buildings, 
Redland;  Highbury  Place,  Cotham;  St.  Michael's  Park; 
Rupert  Street ;  Lewin's  Mead ;  Lower  Maudlin  Street ;  Rich- 
mond Road,  Montpelier ;  East  Street  to  Church  Lane,  Bed- 
minster  ;  Redcliff  Mead  Lane  ;  RedclifE  Street ;  Thunderbolt 
Street ;  and  Leek  Lane.  Two  schemes  affecting  Clifton  were 
rejected,  but  a  strong  feeling  was  excited  out  of  doors  in 
reference  to  one  of  them — for  opening  a  thoroughfare  from 
Pembroke  Road  to  Worcester  Terrace — which  was  obnoxious 
to  some  members  of  the  Council  living  in  the  vicinity.  Public 
opinion  was  so  strongly  manifested  that  the  original  vote  was 
reversed.  The  schemes  received  legislative  sanction  in  the 
following  year,  but  some  of  them  still  remain  unexecuted. 

About  this  time  an  interesting  panel-fronted  house  in  King 
Street,  built  by  John  Romsey,  town  clerk,  in  1664,  was  de- 
molished without  any  apparent  reason.  The  site  still  remains 
unoccupied.  It  was  in  this  house  that  Judge  Jeffreys  was 
entertained  by  Romsey,  who  furnished  him  with  the  facts  on 
which  he  founded  his  famous  invective  against  the  mayor 
and  aldermen  for  ''  kidnapping.'' 

The  Prince  of  Wales  arrived  in  Bristol  on  the  28th  January, 
1884,  on  a  visit  to  Sir  Philip  and  Lady  Miles,  at  Leigh  Court. 
In  accordance  with  his  desire  there  was  no  public  reception. 
On  the  evening  of  the  following  day,  the  Prince  attended  a 


1884.]  HORSE    PARADE.      THE    PRICE   OF   GAS.  525 

concert  in  Colston  Hall,  given  by  his  hosts  in  aid  of  the  funds 
of  the  Infirmary  and  Hospital.  The  attendance  was  much 
below  expectations,  but  £110  were  handed  over  to  the  charities. 
The  Prince  left  for  London  on  the  31st. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Council  in  February,  the  Docks  Com- 
mittee presented  a  report  disapproving  of  a  proposal  for  the 
construction  of  graving  docks,  which  it  was  stated  would 
involve  an  outlay  of  £60,000 ;  while  the  construction  of  a  grid- 
iron, at  a  small  fraction  of  that  expense,  would  adequately 
supply  the  wants  of  the  shipping  interest.  It  was  accord- 
ingly determined  to  construct  a  gridiron  near  Cumberland 
Basin,  at  an  estimated  cost  of  £6,000.  A  floating  fire-engine 
was  also  ordered  at  an  outlay  of  £2,500.  The  gridiron  was 
completed  in  April,  1885. 

The  Whitsuntide  of  1884  was  fixed  for  the  first  parade  of 
draught  horses  employed  in  the  city,  an  experiment  pro- 
moted by  several  influential  residents.  About  600  animals 
were  brought  together  at  the  cattle  market,  and  passed  in 
procession  through  the  principal  streets  to  Clifton  Down, 
where  prizes  were  awarded.  The  exhibition  met  with  so  much 
approval  that  it  was  repeated  a  twelvemonth  later,  when 
nearly  750  horses  (valued  at  over  £40,000)  entered  into  the 
competition,  and  a  dinner  was  subsequently  given  to  about 
600  carters.  In  1886  the  number  of  horses  exhibited  was 
775.     The  show  has  now  become  a  local  institution. 

At  the  quarter  sessions  in  July,  the  Corporation,  acting  as 
the  local  Sanitary  Authority,  and  Mr.  T.  D.  Sibly,  a  rate- 
payer, applied  to  the  recorder  to  put  in  force  the  provisions 
of  a  clause  in  the  Gasworks  Act  of  1847,  by  which  the 
court  was  enabled,  on  the  petition  of  two  ratepayers,  to 
appoint  an  accountant  to  examine  into  the  accounts  of  the 
Gas  Company,  with  a  view  to  discover  whether  their  financial 
condition  did  not  admit  of  a  reduction  in  the  price  of  gas. 
The  directors  of  the  Gas  Company  contended  that  the  Sani- 
tary Authority,  although  immeasurably  their  largest  cus- 
tomer, was  not  a  ratepayer  within  the  meaning  of  the  Act ; 
but  the  recorder  at  once  made  the  order,  and  Mr.  E.  H. 
Carter,  of  Birmingham,  was  appointed  as  accountant.  Mr. 
Carter  presented  his  report  early  in  the  following  year.  He 
stated  that  in  1880  the  company  had  applied  upwards  of 
£6,000  out  of  their  reserve  to  erecting  works,  instead  of 
charging  the  amount  to  capital.  A  somewhat  similar  error, 
and  for  about  the  same  amount,  was  committed  in  1875.  The 
company  had  further  maintained  a  contingency  as  well  as  a 
reserve  fund,  which  they  were  not  entitled  to  do,  and  tha 


526  THX   ANNALS  OF  BBI8T0L.  [188  !•. 

aggregate  of  these  funds  was  about  £9,200  above  the  legal 
maximum.  Mr.  Carter  thought  that  the  working  expenses 
might  be  considerably  reduced.  He  was  also  of  opinion  that 
the  meter  rents  were  excessive.  The  company  had  made  a 
reduction  in  the  price  of  gas  since  his  appointment,  and  the 
state  of  the  accounts  did  not  warrant  another.  The  capital 
account  stood  after  his  correction  at  £721,000.  The  company 
were  ordered  to  pay  the  cost  of  the  inquiry. 

A  new  hall,  attached  to  the  premises  of  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  in  St.  James's  Square,  was  opened  at  the 
end  of  June.  The  building  had  cost  about  £4,000,  the  whole 
of  which  was  provided  by  the  friends  of  the  institution. 

A  prospectus  was  issued  in  August  of  the  Bristol  Joint  Stock 
Bank.  The  company  commenced  business  in  Corn  Street  in 
the  following  December. 

An  Industrial  and  Fine  Arts  Exhibition  for  Bristol  and  the 
adjoining  counties — on  a  scale  never  before  attempted  in  the 
city — ^was  opened  on  the  2nd  September  in  the  Rifle  Drill 
Hall.  On  the  platform  were  the  mayor  (Mr.  Weston),  the 
Bishop  of  Bath  and  Wells,  several  members  of  Parliament, 
and  the  mayors  of  Gloucester,  Bath,  Wells,  Taunton,  Yeovil, 
Chard,  Tewkesbury,  and  Glastonbury.  In  addition  to  the  ac- 
commodation afforded  by  the  Drill  Hall  and  its  appurtenances, 
the  committee  had  erected  extensive  temporary  buildings  for 
the  exhibition  of  machinery,  working  models,  and  manufac- 
tured products,  the  result  being  a  satisfactory  representation 
of  the  industries  of  the  district.  A  valuable  collection  of 
works  of  art  was  an  attractive  feature  of  the  affair,  which  was 
admirably  organised  throughout.  Shortly  after  the  close  of 
the  exhibition,  at  the  end  of  November,  it  was  announced  that 
the  admissions  had  reached  210,000,  and  that  although  the 
expenses  had  amounted  to  £7,889,  there  was  a  surplus  of 
£1,520.  The  money  was  handed  over  to  Bristol  University 
College,  for  whose  benefit  the  exhibition  had  been  promoted. 

In  anticipation  of  the  Redistribution  of  Seats  Bill,  intro- 
duced into  Parliament  in  1 885,  Mr.  Gladstone's  Ministry  pre- 
pared plans  for  the  extension  of  the  parliamentary  boundaries 
of  the  city  by  the  abstraction  from  Gloucestershire  of  the  local 
government  district  of  Horfield  and  of  the  parishes  of  Staple- 
ton  and  St.  George,  and  by  the  appropriation  from  Somerset 
of  the  Knowle  and  Totterdown  districts  of  the  old  parish  of 
Bedminster.  The  representatives  of  the  city  were  increased 
by  the  Bill  from  two  to  four,  but  the  electors,  instead  of  voting 
for  the  whole  number  according  to  ancient  custom,  were 
divided  into   four  constituencies,  named  after  the  cardinal 


1885.]  NEW   PARLIAMENTARY    DIVISIONS.  527 

points,  and  having  one  member  each.  At  a  court  of  inquiry 
held  at  the  Guildhall,  on  the  15th  January,  1885,  before  Mr. 
J.  J.  Henley  and  General  P.  Carey,  R.E.,  boundary  commis- 
sioners, an  application  was  made  on  behalf  of  the  Council  for 
the  inclusion  within  the  borough  of  the  Sneyd  Park  district 
of  Westbury  parish;  but  this  was  energetically  opposed  by 
the  inhabitants  and  disapproved  by  the  commissioners.  The 
following  arrangement — which  had  the  assent  of  the  local 
leaders  of  both  political  parties — was  approved. 

Western  Division.  Population,  60,874 ;  comprising  the 
municipal  wards  of  Clifton  (22,915),  Westbury  (13,324),  St. 
Michael  (10^712),  and  St.  Augustine  (9,147),  and  the  local 
district  of  Horfield  (4,766). 

Northern  Division.  Population,  64,713 ;  comprising  the  mu- 
nicipal wards  of  the  District  (19,114),  St.  Paul  (15,083),  and 
St.  James  (8,420),  so  much  of  the  ward  of  St.  Philip  North  as 
is  bounded  by  Wade  Street  on  the  west  and  Stapleton  Road 
on  the  south  (11,263),  and  the  parish  of  Stapleton  (10,833). 

Eastern  Division.  Population,  61,986;  comprising  so  much 
of  the  ward  of  St.  Philip  North  as  is  bounded  by  Wade  Street 
on  the  east  and  Stapleton  Road  on  the  north  (13,202),  the 
municipal  ward  of  St.  Philip  South  (22,351),  and  the  parish 
of  St.  George  (26,433) . 

Southern  Division.  Population,  65,633 ;  including  the 
municipal  wards  of  Bristol  (10,022),  Redcliff  (17,274),  Bed- 
minster  East  (13,014),  and  Bedminster  West  (20,737),  and  so 
much  of  the  Somerset  portion  of  Bedminster  parish  as  extends 
from  the  municipal  boundary  to  Redcatch  and  Knowle  lanes 
(4,306). 

These  divisions  were  subsequently  embodied  in  the  Redis- 
tribution Bill,  which  was  passed  in  the  following  session. 

A  steam  vessel,  called  the  Bulldog,  designed  for  river  im- 
provement purposes  by  Mr.  J.  W.  Girdlestone,  recently  ap- 
pointed engineer  to  the  Docks  Committee,  was  brought  into 
use  in  March,  1885.  Amongst  the  apparatus  belonging  to  the 
boat  was  a  centrifugal  pumping  engine,  capable  of  raising 
6,000  gallons  per  minute  from  a  depth  of  30  feet,  or  10,000 
gallons  per  minute  from  a  depth  of  10  feet;  a  crane  lifting  5 
tons;  a  large  dredger  bucket,  and  an  electric  dynamo  machine, 
generating  a  light  of  6,000  candle  power. 

A  public  room,  styled  St.  James's  Hall,  erected  in  Cumber- 
land Street  by  the  Bristol  Public  Hall  Company,  and  capable 
of  seating  an  audience  of  1,200,  was  opened  in  April. 

A  meeting  was  held  in  the  Council  House  on  the  1st  June, 
the  mayor  (Mr.  Wathen)  presiding,  to  consider  the  desira- 


528  THE   ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1885. 

bility  of  raising  a  memorial  to  Mr.  Frederick  John  Fargus, 
a  Bristolian  whose  premature  death,  on  the  7th  May,  at  the 
outset  of  what  promised  to  be  a  brilliant  literary  career,  had 
caused  wide-spread  regret.  It  was  determined  to  erect  a 
tablet  and  bust  in  the  cathedral,  and  to  found  a  literary 
scholarship  at  University  College.  Upwards  of  £750  were 
subscribed  on  behalf  of  those  objects.  The  monument  in  the 
cathedral,  executed  by  Mr.  J.  Havard  Thomas^  was  erected 
in  March,  1886. 

On  the  evening  of  the  first  Sunday  in  June,  a  band  of  forty 
musicians,  engaged  by  ^^  a  number  of  gentlemen  interested  in 
the  welfare  of  the  working  classes,"  assembled  on  Durdham 
Down,  and  played  a  selection  of  pieces  from  the  works  of 
Handel  and  other  eminent  masters.  There  was  a  large  at- 
tendance, and  the  newspapers  estimated  the  numbers  present 
on  subsequent  fine  evenings  at  upwards  of  twenty  thousand. 
The  concerts  excited  great  indignation  in  certain  circles ;  and 
upon  the  supporters  of  the  movement  announcing  that  they 
would  be  continued  throughout  the  summer^  the  Council 
passed  a  resolution  declaring  Sunday  bands  inexpedient,  and 
instructing  the  town  clerk  to  request  their  patrons  to  discon- 
tinue them.  The  promoters  having  declined  to  acquiesce,  a 
special  meeting  of  the  Council  was  convened  by  their  oppo- 
nents, who  intended  to  have  a  bye-law  enacted,  expressly 
prohibiting  Sunday  bands.  On  second  thoughts,  however, 
the  leader  of  the  anti-band  party  contented  himself  with 
moving  an  instruction  to  the  Downs  Conmiittee  to  draft  bye- 
laws  for  the  regulation  of  the  public  property.  By  this  time 
the  action  of  the  promoters  of  the  concerts  had  been  defended 
by  Canon  Percival  and  other  clergymen ;  and,  as  the  Downs 
Committee  took  no  action,  the  programme  of  the  band  com- 
mittee was  successfully  carried  out.  The  performances  were 
revived  in  the  summer  of  1886,  when  the  attendances  of  the 
public  were  greater  than  ever.  But  the  expectation  of  the 
promoters  that  the  sale  of  programmes  would  go  far  to  meet 
the  expenses  was  disappointed,  the  public  purchasing  a  very 
limited  number.  After  the  experiment  had  been  continued 
for  about  two  months,  the  committee  found  their  funds  ex- 
hausted, and  discontinued  their  efforts. 

The  advisability  of  giving  a  more  permanent  character  to 
the  composition  of  the  Barton  Regis  board  of  guardians  hav- 
ing commended  itself  to  many  of  the  members,  it  was  resolved 
to  take  a  vote  of  the  ratepayers *in  June,  upon  the  question 
whether  future  elections  should  be  annual  or  triennial.  A 
majority  declared  in  favour  of  the  triennial  system,  and  the 


1885.]         Phillips's  charity,    dock  ihpbovxhxnts.  529 

alteration  was  approved  by  the  Local  Government  Board. 
The  first  election  nnder  the  new  regulation  took  place  in 
April,  1886. 

Shortly  after  the  death,  on  the  29th  April,  1885,  of  Mr. 
Edward  Phillips,  who,  previous  to  his  retirement  from  busi- 
ness, had  been  a  wine  merchant  in  Broad  Street,  the  Charity 
Trustees  were  informed  that  they  had  a  large  reversionary 
interest  in  his  will.  Mr.  Phillips  devised  his  personal  estate, 
subject  to  the  payment  of  certain  legacies,  and  of  a  life 
annuity  to  his  wife,  to  the  trustees,  '^  for  the  relief  of  deserv- 
ing needy  persons,  either  by  gifts,  apprenticing  boys  and  girls 
to  learn  trades,  or  by  granting  annuities  to  widows,  or  for 
such  other  charitable  purposes  as  may  be  consistent  with  the 
above  directions.*'  A  sum  of  about  £4,600  was  received  from 
the  testator's  solicitors,  with  an  intimation  that  about  £24,000 
more  would  be  available  upon  the  death  of  Mrs.  Phillips.  The 
interest  of  the  sum  in  hand  is  dispensed  by  the  trustees  in 
pensions  to  aged  gentlewomen  of  good  education,  bom  in 
Bristol,  or  resident  m  the  city  for  at  least  ten  years. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Council  in  July,  a  report  was  presented 
by  the  Docks  Committee,  urging  the  necessity  of  taking  fur- 
ther measures  for  improving  the  accommodation  of  the  port. 
One  of  the  most  pressing  requirements,  it  was  alleged,  was 
the  provision  of  facilities  for  the  shipment  of  steam  coal.  The 
committee  were  of  opinion  that  existing  wants  might  be  sup- 
plied by  the  erection  of  coal  "  tips  *'  at  Avonmouth,  at  an 
outlay  of  £60,000.  They  further  recommended  the  construc- 
tion of  a  new  entrance  lock  to  Avonmouth  dock  (estimated  at 
£20,000),  and  of  a  new  graving  dock  there  (£45,000),  the  con- 
struction of  a  deep-water  wha^  at  Canon's  Marsh,  on  the  site 
of  Liverpool  wharf,  with  storage  accommodation  on  the  city 
quays  (£85,000),  the  reconstruction  of  buildings  at  Avon- 
mouth to  the  extent  of  £100,000,  and  the  purchase  of  a  power- 
ful dredger  at  an  outlay  of  about  £30,000;  the  total  estimated 
expenditure  being  £340,000.  The  chairman,  Mr.  Low,  in 
moving  the  adoption  of  this  report,  which  would  have  taken 
away  the  breath  of  any  previous  generation  of  civic  senators, 
congratulated  his  hearers  upon  the  results  of  their  recent  dock 
policy.  Future  prospects,  he  added,  had  been  improved  by 
the  starting  of  a  fortnightly  service  of  large  steamers  from 
the  Avon  to  Montreal.  There  was  practically  no  opposition 
to  the  motion.  The  meeting  of  the  ratepayers  to  consider  the 
Bill  for  obtaining  the  necessary  powers  sanctioned  the  scheme 
by  a  unanimous  vote,  and  the  measure  received  the  royal 
assent  on  the  25th  June,  1886. 

X   X 


530  THB  ANNALS   OF  BBISTOL.  [1885. 

The  inclusion  of  the  Trades  School  in  the  scheme  for  the 
future  management  of  Colston's  School  has  been  already  re- 
corded [see  p.  453] .  On  the  25th  July,  the  former  institu- 
tion, under  the  name  of  the  Merchant  Venturers'  School,  was 
installed  in  a  vast  pile  of  buildings  in  Unity  Street  (on  the 
site  of  the  old  Grammar  School),  erected  and  fitted  up  by 
the  Merchants'  Society  at  a  cost  of  upwards  of  £40,000.* 
Amongst  those  who  took  part  in  the  ceremony  were  the  bishop 
of  the  diocese,  Sir  Frederick  Bramwell,  C.E.,  and  Mr.  S. 
Morley,  M.P.  The  visitors,  after  inspecting  the  great  hall^ 
the  engineering  workshops,  library,  laboratories,  lecture  rooms, 
class  rooms,  etc.,  were  entertained  to  a  luncheon,  provided  by 
the  master  of  the  Company  (Alderman  Butterworth) . 

The  death  was  announced  on  the  29th  August  of  Mr.  Elisha 
Smith  Robinson,  for  many  years  an  active  member  of  the 
Council  and  of  the  Corporation  of  the  Poor.  Entering  the 
city  in  humble  circumstances,  he  succeeded  by  energy  and 
skUl  in  founding  a  highly  prosperous  business,  whilst  by  his 
public  spirit  he  won  the  approval  of  his  fellow  citizens,  and 
filled  the  highest  offices  they  could  bestow  with  general  satis- 
faction. His  funeral  was  attended  by  the  mayor,  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Council,  and  representatives  of  many  religious  and 
charitable  institutions,  the  procession  comprising  upwards  of 
fifty  private  carriages.  A  bust  of  Mr.  Bobinson  was  shortly 
afterwards  placed  in  Colston  Hall. 

The  dissolution  of  Parliament,  consequent  upon  the  conces- 
sion of  household  suffrage  to  counties  and  a  redistribution 
of  seats,  took  place  in  November.  The  event  having  been 
long  foreseen,  both  political  parties  were  prepared  for  the 
struggle,  and  much  curiosity  was  felt  as  to  the  result.  Owing 
to  the  extension  of  the  parliamentary  borough,  and  to  the  in- 
creased facilities  given  to  persons  claiming  the  lodger  fran- 
chise, the  constituency  had  largely  increased,  the  total  number 
of  electors  being  36,549,  of  whom  33,233  were  householders, 
1,930  freeholders,  939  lodgers,  and  447  freemen.    The  nomin- 

*  The  profuse  liberality  of  the  Society  was  regarded  with  mingled  feelings  by 
many  friends  of  education.  Dr.  Beddoe,  F.B.S.,  in  a  letter  published  in  the  local 
journals  in  July,  1884,  wrote :  *'  It  is  the  curse  of  Bristol  and  of  Bristolians 
that,  instead  of  helping  on  and  developing  whatever  they  possess  that  is  good 
and  capable  of  improvement,  they  think  progress  consists  in  the  starting  of 
several  institutions.  Thus,  while  we  have  a  Grammar  School  and  a  University 
College,  both  admirably  officered,  and  doing  great  good,  bat  sadly  hindered  and 
hampered  by  want  of  funds,  we  see  a  gigantic  Trade  School  arisins  to  be  a  rival 
to  them  both.  The  result  will  be  that  all  the  three  will  be  crippled  in  their  use- 
fulness for  years ;  whereas  half  the  money  that  is  being  expended  on  the  new 
Trade  School  would  have  placed  the  success  of  the  Univenity  CSoUege  beyond 
question." 


1886.]  GENERAL   ELECTION.      SSWERAOB   SCHEME.  531 

ations  took  place  on  the  23rd  and  the  polling  on  the  25th 
November.  It  will  be  convenient  to  record  the  issue  under 
separate  heads : — 

in  Bristol  West  (with  7,657  electors)  the  Conservatives 
nominated  Sir  Michael  Hicks-Beach,  bart.,  then  Chancellor 
of  the  Exchequer.  The  Liberal  nominee  was  Mr.  Brinsley  de 
Coucy  Nixon,  of  Westward  Ho,  Devon,  banker.  The  poll  was 
declared  as  follows:  Sir  M.  H.  Beach,  3,876;  Mr.  Nixon,  2,463. 

In  Bristol  North  (9,002  electors)  the  Liberals  brought  for- 
ward Mr.  Lewis  Fry,  one  of  the  former  members  for  the 
city  (his  colleague,  Mr.  Morley,  retired  into  private  life). 
The  Conservative  candidate  was  Mr.  Charles  Edward  H.  A. 
Colston,  of  Boundway,  Wilts.  The  numbers  polled  in  this 
division  were :  Mr.  Fry,  4,110  ;  Mr.  Colston,  3,046. 

Bristol  East  (9,506  electors).  Mr.  James  Broad  Bissell,  of 
Diptford,  Devon,  was  the  Conservative  aspirant,  and  was 
opposed  in  the  Liberal  interest  by  Mr.  Handel  Cossham,  of 
St.  George's  and  Bath,  an  extensive  colliery  owner  in  the 
district.  The  deputy  sheriflPs  declaration  was  as  follows  : 
Mr.  Cossham,  4,647  ;  Mr.  Bissell,  2,383. 

Bristol  South  (10,384  electors).  This  was  the  most  exciting 
conflict  of  the  day.  The  Liberals  brought  forward  Mr.  Joseph 
Dodge  Weston,  of  Clifton,  who  had  served  the  office  of  mayor 
for  four  successive  years,  and  had  gained  universal  applause 
for  his  solution  of  the  docks  difficulty.  The  Conservatives 
nominated  Lieut.-Colonel  Hill,  C.B.,  of  Cardiff  and  Bristol, 
shipowner.  The  polling  resulted  as  follows :  Mr.  Weston, 
4,217;  Lieut.-Col.  Hill,  4,121. 

The  total  poll  for  the  city  credited  the  Liberals  with 
15,437,  and  the  Conservatives  with  13,426  votes.  The  poll- 
ing booths,  under  the  new  law,  remained  open  until  eight 
o'clock  in  the  evening.  Although  immense  crowds  thronged 
the  streets  until  after  midnight,  awaiting  the  declarations,  the 
proceedings  passed  off  with  perfect  tranquillity. 

The  Council  applied  for  parliamentary  powers  during  the 
session  of  1886  for  the  erection  of  a  bridge  from  St.  Philip's 
Marsh  to  Totterdown.  The  estimated  cost  of  the  structure 
was  originally  stated  at  £12,870,  but  it  was  subsequently 
deemed  advisable  to  acquire  additional  ground  at  a  further 
cost  of  £8,000,  an  expectation  being  held  out  that  a  re-sale 
of  the  surplus  plots  for  building  purposes  would  more  than 
cover  the  extra  outlay.  The  Act  received  the  royal  assent  in 
April ;  and  the  Council,  on  the  1st  June,  authorised  the  Streets 
Improvement  Committee  to  carry  its  provisions  into  eflFect. 

It  has  been  already  recorded  [see  p.  496]  that  Mr.  Ash- 


532  THX  ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL.  [1886. 

mead,  the  city  engineer,  prepared  a  plan  in  1879  for  carrying 
the  sewage  of  Bristol  to  the  Channel,  at  a  cost  of  £280,000. 
His  proposal  was  referred  to  Sir  Joseph  Bazalgette,  who,  in 
January,  1886,  reported  favourably  upon  the  project,  but 
estimated  the  expenditure  at  £300,000.  Sir  Joseph  was  of 
opinion  that  the  works  might  be  deferred  for  several  years, 
provided  the  sewer  outlets  were  removed  beyond  the  city 
boundaries,  the  locality  indicated  being  Sea  Mills,  and  the 
cost  £85,000.  At  a  meeting  of  the  Council  in  May,  it  was 
resolved,  by  a  majority  of  24  to  20,  that  it  was  inexpedient 
at  that  time  to  proceed  further  in  the  matter. 

In  March,  the  Princess  Beatrice  was  presented  with  an 
elaborately  carved  marriage  chest  and  an  embroidered  cover- 
let by  "  the  women  of  Bristol,"  in  testimony  of  their  affec- 
tionate interest  in  her  recent  marriage.  The  chest,  which 
was  chiefly  made  from  ancient  oak  taken  from  BedclifiP  Church, 
was  richly  carved  by  Mr.  C.  Trapnell,  the  lid  having  a  repre- 
sentation of  Queen  Elizabeth's  visit  to  Bristol,  while  the  front 
displayed  Henry  VII.  presenting  his  sword  to  the  mayor  on 
confirming  the  city  charters.  The  Princess  expressed  much 
admiration  of  the  gift  in  acknowledging  its  reception. 

An  elaborately  decorated  suite  of  offices  in  Queen  Square, 
erected  for  the  use  of  the  stafE  of  the  Bristol  Docks,  was 
opened  on  the  10th  May.  The  cost  of  the  site  and  buildings 
was  £9,200,  but,  as  portions  of  the  premises  were  let  to  private 
persons,  it  was  stated  that  the  rent  fairly  chargeable  to  the 
dock  estate  would  not  exceed  £150  per  annum. 

Another  dissolution  of  Parliament  took  place  in  June,  1886, 
in  consequence  of  the  defeat  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  Ministry  on 
the  question  of  Irish  Home  Rule.  The  Bill  introduced  by 
the  Premier  had  caused  a  disruption  of  the  Liberal  party  in 
the  House  of  Commons,  Mr.  Fry  being  one  of  several  mem- 
bers who  withdrew  their  support  from  the  Cabinet.  Much 
difference  of  opinion  also  prevailed  amongst  the  Liberal  elec- 
tors in  all  parts  of  the  kingdom.  The  nominations  in  Bristol 
were  made  on  the  1st  July,  and  the  polling  took  place  on  the 
following  day. 

In  Bristol  West  the  Conservatives  again  nominated  Sir  M. 
Hicks-Beach,  while  the  Liberals  brought  forward  Mr.  James 
Judd,  of  Upper  Norwood,  London,  printer.  The  contest  re- 
sulted as  follows  :  Sir  M.  H.  Beach,  3,819;  Mr.  Judd,  1,801. 
[Another  election  for  this  district  took  place  in  August,  con- 
sequent upon  the  appointment  of  Sir  M.  Hicks-Beach  as 
Secretary  for  Ireland.  The  right  hon.  gentleman  was  returned 
without  opposition.] 


1886.]         GENERAL   ELECTION.      DEATH    OF   M£.    MORLET.  533 

In  Bristol  North,  Mr.  Lewis  Fry  again  oflTered  himself ;  and 
the  Conservatives,  instead  of  opposing  his  re-election,  lent 
him  their  support.  The  Liberal  Association  nominated  Dr. 
Alfred  Carpenter,  of  Croydon,  London.  Mr.  J.  D.  Marshall, 
a  labour  candidate,  entered  the  field,  but  withdrew  on  the 
eve  of  the  nomination.  The  polling  was  as  follows:  Mr. 
Fry,  3,587 ;  Dr.  Carpenter,  2,737. 

In  Bristol  East,  the  re-election  of  Mr.  Handel  Cossham 
was  opposed  by  Mr.  James  Inskip,  a  solicitor  in  the  city,  but 
without  success,  the  voting  being :  Mr.  Cossham,  3,672 ;  Mr. 
Inskip,  1,936. 

Bristol  South.  Mr.  Weston,  who  had  supported  the  Govern- 
ment Bill  for  Ireland,  lost  the  support  of  several  influential 
Liberals  in  this  district,  with  the  effect  of  reversing  the 
decision  of  the  previous  November  in  favour  of  Lieut.-Col. 
Hill,  the  Conservative  candidate.  The  declaration  of  the 
poll  was  as  follows:  Lieut.-Col.  Hill,  4,447;  Mr.  Weston, 
3,423.  [The  latter  gentleman,  on  the  26th  November  follow- 
ing, received  the  honour  of  knighthood.] 

The  total  poll  for  the  city  was  25,422,  or  3,441  less  than  on 
the  previous  occasion  upon  the  same  register. 

During  the  great  Indian  and  Colonial  Exhibition  in  London 
in  the  summer  of  this  year,  a  local  movement  was  started  for 
inviting  representatives  of  the  various  dependencies  to  pay 
a  visit  to  Bristol.  The  invitation  was  accepted  with  much 
cordiality  by  the  colonists,  about  150  of  whom  arrived  in  the 
city  on  the  6th  September,  and  were  welcomed  at  the  railway 
station  by  the  mayor  (Mr.  Wathen),  the  members  of  the  Cor- 
poration, and  many  leading  citizens.  The  visitors  inspected 
the  chief  local  objects  of  interest,  and  various  entertainments 
were  provided  in  their  honour,  including  a  dinner  at  the 
Mansion  House,  luncheons  by  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  and 
Society  of  Merchants  respectively,  a  concert  by  the  Madrigal 
Society,  and  a  grand  ball  and  supper.  The  colonists  departed 
on  the  8th  September,  expressing  themselves  highly  gratified 
with  their  hospitable  reception. 

Mr.  Samuel  Morley,  who  had  represented  the  city  in  three 
Parliaments,  expired  on  the  5th  September,  aged  77,  to  the 
general  regret  of  charitable  and  religious  circles,  as  well  as 
of  the  political  party  of  which  he  was  an  earnest  supporter. 
In  some  of  the  notices  of  his  career  which  appeared  in  the 
newspapers,  it  was  stated  that  Mr.  Morley  had  for  many  years 
dispensed  between  £20,000  and  £30,000  of  his  large  income 
annually  in  the  support  of  pious  and  philanthropic  objects. 
Some   months   before   his   decease,  a  movement  had  been 


584  THE  ANNALS   OF  BBISTOL.  [1886. 

started  amongst  the  Liberals  of  Bristol  with  a  view  to  erect- 
ing some  permanent  memorial  of  his  connection  with  the  city. 
Upon  his  demise,  a  feeling  was  evinced  by  many  citizens  of 
both  political  parties  that  the  work  of  commemorating  his 
memory  was  worthy  of  being  assumed  by  the  inhabitants 
generally;  and  a  meeting  held  at  the  Guildhall  on  the  1st 
October,  the  mayor  presiding,  was  attended  by  representatives 
of  every  school  of  religious  and  political  opinion.  Addresses 
were  delivered  by  the  bishop  of  the  diocese,  Mr.  Fry,  M.P., 
Mr.  Cossham,  M.P.,  the  vicar  of  Temple,  and  several  other 
gentlemen,  and  it  was  resolved  to  start  a  subscription  for  the 
purpose  of  securing  the  erection  of  a  statue  of  the  deceased, 
in  testimony  of  his  distinguished  charity  and  public  services. 
The  commission  was  confided  to  Mr.  J.  Havard  Thomas. 
The  subscriptions  in  a  few  weeks  exceeded  £1,100. 

At  the  triennial  election  of  aldermen  in  November,  Mr. 
Charles  Nash,  who  had  represented  St.  Augustine's  ward  for 
thirty-five  years,  was  raised  to  the  aldermanic  dignity.  Mr. 
Nash  was  the  first  councillor  on  whom  this  honour  had  been 
conferred  during  the  existence  of  the  reformed  Corporation — 
a  period  of  more  than  half  a  century. 

A  scheme  for  supplying  the  city  with  water  from  certain 
mines  near  Frampton  Cotterell  was  noticed  at  page  285.  Sub- 
sequently, a  company  styled  the  West  Gloucestershire  Water 
Company,  with  a  capital  of  £100,000,  obtained  an  Act  ena- 
bling them  to  supply  a  district  extending  from  Wotton-under- 
Edge  to  the  suburbs  of  Bristol  and  Bath.  The  mains  to 
Frenchay  were  completed  in  September. 

A  meeting  was  held  in  the  Guildhall  on  the  29th  Septem- 
ber, the  mayor  (Aid.  Edwards)  presiding,  for  the  purpose  of 
considering  the  desirability  of  improving  the  water  supply  of 
the  city.  Many  influential  citizens  took  part  in  the  proceed- 
ings. It  was  resolved  that  an  increased  supply  of  pure  water 
was  urgently  required,  and  that  such  a  supply  could  be  best 
obtained  by  utilising  the  Severn  tunnel  springs  [p.  416],  which 
were  stated  to  produce  14,000,000  gallons  daily.  It  was 
further  determined  to  support  a  Bill  for  this  purpose  pro- 
moted by  a  new  undertaking  styled  the  Bristol  Consumers' 
Water  Company,  which  had  bound  itself  to  transfer  the 
works  to  the  Corporation  if  required  so  to  do ;  and  the 
Council  was  requested  to  avail  itself  of  this  provision,  and 
also  to  reopen  negotiations  with  the  existing  company  for  the 
purchase  of  its  property  on  equitable  terms.  At  a  meeting 
of  the  Council  on  the  7th  January,  1887,  a  resolution  approv- 
ing of  the  Bill,  and  appointing  a  conmiittee  to  consider  the 


1886.]  THE   QUXSK^S  JUBILXK.  535 

whole  question  in  the  interests  of  the  Corporation,  was  adopted 
by  a  large  majority.  At  another  meeting,  on  the  1st  March, 
a  report  was  presented  by  the  committee,  stating  that  the 
existing  company  had  declined  to  negotiate  for  a  transfer  of 
their  property  whilst  the  Bill  for  the  new  project  was  pending 
in  Parliament.  With  respect  to  the  Sudbrook  springs,  the 
committee  had  obtained  a  report  from  an  eminent  analyst,  who 
stated  that  he  had  never  met  with  a  purer  water,  but  that  for 
household  purposes  it  was  of  an  undesirable  ^'  hardness.^'  The 
above  estimate  as  to  the  supply  was  deemed  correct.  The 
Council,  on  the  motion  of  Mr.  Charles  Townsend,  adopted  the 
report,  and  resolved  to  petition  the  House  of  Lords  in  favour 
of  the  Bill  promoted  by  the  Consumers'  Water  Company;  an 
amendment  deprecating  that  step  being  defeated  by  29  votes 
against  19. 

On  the  invitation  of  the  mayor  (Aid.  Edwards),  a  meeting 
of  influential  citizens  took  place  in  the  Guildhall  on  the  20th 
December,  to  consider  what  steps  should  be  taken  to  com- 
memorate the  approaching  jubilee  of  the  reign  of  Queen 
Victoria.  A  proposal  for  the  erection  of  a  statue  of  Her 
Majesty  had  been  previously  started  by  the  mayor,  who  sub- 
scribed £100;  and  his  suggestion  to  the  meeting  that  this 
project  should  be  carried  out  was  generally  approved.  A 
proposition  had  also  been  made  for  the  founding  of  a  Mater- 
nity Hospital,  but  considerable  diversity  of  opinion  was  evinced 
on  this  subject ;  and  eventually  a  committee  was  appointed 
to  consider  the  whole  question.  The  committee,  at  a  meeting 
on  February  24th,  1887,  adopted  a  resolution  recommending 
that  subscriptions  should  be  invited  for  three  purposes :  the 
erection  of  a  statue  at  a  cost  not  exceeding  £2,000,  the  contri- 
bution of  not  less  than  £2,000  towards  the  establishment  of  an 
Imperial  Institute  in  London,  and  the  celebration  of  the  jubilee 
in  the  city  by  public  rejoicings  and  entertainments  to  the  poor. 
These  suggestions  were  unanimously  approved  at  a  public 
meeting  held  in  the  following  week. 


536  THE   ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL. 

CATHEDRAL  AND  CIVIC  DIGNITARIES.      1801-1887. 


BISHOPS. 
1797  Apnl,  Folliot  Herbert  Walker  ComwaU,  translated  to  Hereford,  1802. 
1803  February,  Hon.  George  Pelham,  translated  to  Exeter,  1807. 

1807  August,  John  Luxmore,  translated  to  Hereford,  1808. 

1808  September,  William  Lort  Mansel,  died  June  27, 1820. 
1820  July,  John  Kaye,  translated  to  Lincoln,  1827. 

1827  February,  Robert  Gray,  died  September  28,  1834. 
1834  October,  Joseph  Allen,  translated  to  Ely,  1836. 

1836  October,  James  Henry  Monk,  Bishop  of  Gloucester,  died  June  6, 1856. 
1856  July,  Charles  Baring,  translated  to  Durham,  1861. 

1861  December,  William  Thomson,  translated  to  York,  1863. 
1863  March,  Charles  John  Ellioott. 

DEANS. 
1800  February,  Charles  Peter  Layard,  died  April  11, 1803. 
1803  May,  Bowyer  Edward  Sparke,  appointed  Bishop  of  Chester,  1809. 
1810  February,  John  Parsons,  appointed  Bishop  of  Peterborough,  1813. 
1814  January,  Henry  Beeke,  died  March  9, 1837. 

1837  May,  Thomas  Musgrave,  appointed  Bishop  of  Hereford,  1837. 
1837  October,  John  Lamb,  died  April  19,  1850. 

1850  May,  Gilbert  EUiott. 

MAYOBS  AND  SBEBIFFS. 

The  civic  year,  under  the  old  charters,  begin  and  ended  on  the  29th  Septem- 
ber. The  first  election  of  mayors  under  the  Municipal  Reform  Act  took  place 
in  January,  1836,  and  all  since  that  date  on  the  9th  November. 

Matobs.  SexBirra. 

1800  William  Gibbons  .  .  Robert  Castle,  Samuel  Birch. 

1801  Joseph  Edye         .        .  .  Samuel  Span,  Richard  Yaughan,  jun. 

1802  Robert  Castle,*  David  Evans  John  Foy  Edgnr,  Henry  Protheroe. 

1803  David  Evans  Samnel  Henderson,  jun.,  John  Haythome. 

1804  Edward  Protheroe  .  Levi  Ames,  jun.,  Philip  Protheroe. 

1805  Daniel  Wait ....  William  Inman,  John  Hilhouse  Wilcox. 

1806  Richard  Yaughan,  jun.  .  Henry  Brooke,  Edward  Brice,  jun. 

1807  Henry  Bright,*  Samuel  Birch  Sir  Henry  Protheroe,  John  Haythome. 

1808  John  Haythome  .  .  Benjamin  Bickley,  Philip  George. 

1809  John  Hilhouse  Wilcox  .  .  Michael  Castle,  George  King. 

1810  Philip  Protheroe  .  .  William  Inman,  James  Fowler. 

1811  John  Hilbouse  Wilcox  .  .  Edward  Brice,  Benjamin  Bickley. 

1812  Michael  Castle  .  .  George  Hilhouse,  Abraham  Hilhouse. 

1813  James  Fowler       .  .  Benjamin  Bickley,  Philip  George. 

1814  William  John  Strath    .  .  William  Fripp,  jun.,  James  George,  jun. 

1815  Sir  William  John  Stratli  .  Benjamin  Bickley,  Philip  George. 

1816  John  Haythome  .  .  Edward  Daniel,  John  Barrow. 

1817  John  Haythome  .  .  George  Hilhouse,  Abraham  Hilhouse. 

1818  Henry  Brooke       .  .  Thomas  Hassell,  Nicholas  Roch. 

1819  William  Fripp,  jun.  .  James  George,  jun.,  John  Gardiner. 

1820  George  Hilhouse  .  .  Thomas  Hassell,  Robert  Jenkins. 

1821  Abraham  Hilhouse  .  Nicholas  Roch,  Thomas  Camplin. 

1822  James  George       .  .  Gabriel  Goldney,  John  Cave. 

1823  John  Barrow  .  John  Savage,  Charles  Pinney. 

1824  Thomas  Hassell   .  .  John  Gardiner,  Charles  Ludlow  Walker. 

1825  John  Haythome  .  .  Gabriel  Goldney,  John  Savage. 

1826  Thomas  Camplin  .  .  Thomas  Hassell,  Daniel  Stanton. 

1827  Gabriel  Goldney  .  .  Charles  Payne,  Henry  Wenman  Newman. 

1828  John  Cave    ....  Charles  L.  Walker,  Thomas  Hooper  Riddle. 

*  See  page  23. 


MAYOfiS   AND   8HVBIFFS. 


537 


Matobs. 

1829  John  Savage 

1830  John  Savage 

1831  Charles  Pinney     . 

1832  Daniel  Stanton     . 

1833  Charles  Ludlow  Walker 

1834  Charles  Payne 


Shsbifti. 
Hugh  William  Danson,  John  Evans  Limell. 
George  Protheroe,  William  Claxton. 
George  Bengough,  Joseph  Lax. 
Jas.NorrowayFranklyn.Mich.Hinton  Castle. 
James  Lean,  Peter  Maze,  jun. 
James  N.  FranUyn,  William  Eilligrew  Wait. 


1836 

183G 

1837 

1838 

1839 

1840 

1841 

1842 

1843 

1844 

1845 

1846 

1847 

1848 

1849 

1850 

1851 

1852 

1853 

1854 

1855 

1856 

1857 

1858 

1859 

1860 

1861 

1862 

1863 

1864 

1865 

1866 

1867 

1868 

1869 

1870 

1871 

1872 

1873 

1874 

1875 

1876 

1877 

1878 

1879 

1880 

188  L 

1882 

1883 

1884 

1885 

1886 


January,  William  Fripp 
November,  James  George 
John  Eerie  Haberfield  . 
John  Kerle  Haberfield . 
James  Norroway  Franklyn  . 
Robert  Phippen    . 
George  Woodro£fe  Franklyn. 
James  Gibbs. 
William  Lewton  Clarke 
Richard  Poole  King 
John  Eerie  Haberfield . 
William  Goldney  . 
John  Decimus  Poontney 
John  Eerie  Haberfield  . 
John  Kerle  Haberfield  . 
John  Eerie  Haberfield  . 
William  Henry  Gore  Langton 
Robert  Gay  Barrow 
John  George  Shaw 
John  George  Shaw 
John  Vining .... 
John  Vining. 
Isaac  Allan  Cooke 
James  Poole 

John  Bates  .... 
Odiame  Coates  Lane    . 
John  Hare    .... 
Bholto  Vere  Hare. 
Thomas  Porter  Jof  e      . 
William  Naish 
Joseph  Abraham  . 
Elisha  Smith  Robinson 
Francis  Adams 
Francis  Adams 
William  Eilligrew  Wait 
Thomas  Canning  . 
William  Proctor  Baker. 
William  Hathway 
Thomas  Barnes    . 
Christopher  James  Thomas . 
John  Averay  Jones 
George  William  Edwards      . 
George  William  Edwards 
George  William  Edwards 
Henry  Taylor 
Joseph  Dodge  Weston 
Joseph  Dodge  Weston 
Joseph  Dodge  Weston 
Joseph  Dodge  Weston 
Charles  Wathen   . 
Charles  Wathen    . 
George  William  Edwards 


Daniel  Cave. 

Thomas  Kington. 

Thomas  Kington  Baily. 

Francis  Savage. 

Richard  Vaughan. 

Hugh  Vaughan. 

Thomas  Jones. 

Jeremiah  Hill. 

Thomas  Wadham. 

John  Harding. 

Thomas  Hill. 

Abraham  Gray  Harford  Battersby. 

Edward  Sampson,  jun. 

Peter  Maze,  jun. 

John  Jasper  Leigh  Baily. 

Joseph  Walters  Danbeny. 

John  Battersby  Harford. 

Robert  Bright. 

Philip  John  William  MHes. 

Robert  Phippen. 

Albany  Bourchier  Savile. 

George  Oldham  Edwards. 

J.  H.  G.  Smyth  (see  p.  355). 

William  Henry  Harford. 

William  Montague  Baillie. 

Joshua  Saunders. 

George  Rocke  Woodward. 

Charles  Daniel  Cave. 

William  Wright. 

Henry  Cruger  William  Miles. 

Joseph  Cooke  Hnrle. 

William  Henry  Miles. 

William  Gale  Coles. 

Robert  Phippen  (died  July,  1869). 

Thomas  Proctor. 

John  Fisher. 

William  Thomas  Poole  King. 

Thomas  Todd  Walton. 

Thomas  Todd  Walton. 

Charles  Hill. 

George  Bright. 

William  Smith. 

William  Henry  Wills. 

Charles  Bowles  Hare. 

Robert  Low  Grant  Vassal!. 

Francis  Frederick  Fox. 

William  Edwards  George. 

John  Lysaght. 

Henry  Bourchier  Osborne  Savile. 

John  Harvey. 

Reginald  Wyndham  Butterworth. 

Francis  James  Fry. 


ERRATA. 

Page    61,  line   4th,  for  "  boiso  "  read  "  aUo,** 

109.    „    mhfrombottom.  for"  BaUey'*  read"  BaUy." 
223,    „      5th,  add  *•  daily  *'  after  "  train." 

228,    ,,     4th  from  bottom,  for  **  Ck>mmissioner8 "  read  "Dean  and 
Chapter/* 

287.  „    12th,  for  "  Nash  "  read  "  Sanders/' 

288,  „    17th  from  bottom,  for  "  Stncky  "  read  "  Stuckey." 
421,   „     3rd,  for  "  Broomfield"  read  "  Broomwell." 


»» 

»» 


INDEX. 


Aooidents :  Fall  of  Hill's  bridge,  27, 
342;  the  William  Miles,  55;  ex- 
plosion, Red  Rover,  819 ;  the  Deme- 
rara,  327 ;  Mr.  J.  Oibbs  killed,  332 ; 
at  New  Theatre,  447;  the  Kron 
Prtnx,  478 ;  the  Gipty,  478 ;  to 
"  Flying  Dutchman,"  4*88  ;  Solway 
bQrnt,515 ;  death  through  floods,  521. 

Aoland,  James,  118, 137. 

Act,  first  Improvement,  250. 

Adams,  Francis,  429  note. 

Advowsons,  corporate,  sold,  215. 

Ady,  William,  18. 

African  trade  lifeboat,  409. 

Agricultural  shows.  Royal,  258,  502 ; 
Bath  and  West  of  England,  409. 

Agricultural  Society,  348. 

Albert  dock,  524. 

Albion  Chambers,  270. 

Alhambra  music-hall,  458. 

Allen,  Bishop,  227.  [216. 

Almondsbury,  rectory,  56 ;  estate  at, 

Almshouses :  Bengough's,  79 ;  Foster's, 
235,  381 ;  Haberfield's,  481 ;  Hills*, 
428  ;  St.  James's,  295 ;  Miles's,  340 ; 
Spencer's,  332 ;  Tailors',  311 ;  Trin- 
ity, 234;  Dr.  White's,  106,524.  [329. 

Amateur  theatricals  (C. Dickens <&  Co.), 

America,  peace,  62 ;  steam  to,  218, 458. 

Ames,  Aid.  Levi,  charity,  88. 

Amos,  Isaac,  311. 

Amusements,  lack  of,  8 ;  brutal,  68 ; 
Easter,  97. 

Antiquities:  Bewell's Cross,  134;  Castle 
well,  508  ;  vaulted  cellars,  362  ;  city 
wall,  309 ;  coins,  73 ;  chapel,  High 
Street,  821 ;  chapel,  Nicholas  Street, 
288;  Canyoges'  tomb,  260;  St. 
George's  chapel,  254 ;  seal  of  Henry 
YIU.,  259 ;  tomb,  St.  James's,  81 ; 
St.  Lawrence's  church,  24  ;  St. 
Leonard's  crypt,  324 ;  medisBval 
buildings,  366,  407,  473;  Mayor's 
Chapel  oratory,  110;  mantelpiece, 
515 ;  minster  house,  516  ;  Boman 
gravestone,  475  ;  Boman  lead,  423 ; 
Boman  yillas,  246 ;  tombs,  St. 
Stephen's,  275 ;  White  Lodge,  441. 

Aroades,  the,  110. 

Archaeological  Congresses,  326,  480. 

ArohsBological  Society,  Bristol,  485. 

ArmoureTt  The,  417. 


Armoury,  the,  23,  60, 138,  140,  174. 

Amo's  Court,  319 ;  Vale,  226,  426. 

Art,  indifference  towards,  287,  383. 

Ash,  Bichard,  281,  270. 

Ashley  Hill,  orphanages,  223  ;  boiling 
well,  284  ;  Court,  467. 

Ashmead,  George,  384,  496,  531. 

Ashton,  Long,  common,  45;  ghastly 
story,  100  ;  Boman  villa,  246. 

Ashton  Gate,  413,  456. 

Assembly  Booms,  Mall,  33 ;  old  City, 
89  ;  Prince's  Street,  48. 

Assizes,  criminal,  granted,  418 ;  new 
court,  418.  [441. 

Asylum,  Lunatic,  346;  Boman  Catholic, 

Athenseum,  288,  356. 

Avon :  unimproved  state,  1, 13 ;  New 
Cut,  15;  perils  of,  358;  proposed 
dockisation,  359,496-7,  502;  altera- 
tion of  mouth,  386 ;  proposed  deepen- 
ing, 395 ;  removal  of  points,  250, 
411;  old  tea  gardens,  397,  412; 
power  for  electric  purposes,  513 ; 
destruction  of  scenery,  265,  397*  495. 

Avonmouth  pier,  386 ;  rifle  range,  365 ; 
and  see  Docks. 

Back  Street,  356,  479. 

Badminton,  the  Council  at,  338. 

Baillie,  Evan,  18,  21,  80,  51 ;  Hugh, 
82  ;  James  Evan,  88,  137,  142,  IH5, 
188,  203.  423.  [434. 

Baily,  Edward  Hodges.  B. A.,  109,  277, 

Baker,  William.  318,  319,  343. 

Baker,  WUliam  Proctor,  261,421,  470. 

Baker's  Boad,  319.  [495-8. 

Baldwin  Street,  270,  275  ;  New,  479. 

Balloon,  perilous  voyage,  40.         [477. 

Ballot,  a  test,  449;  first  election  by, 

Bankes,  Edward.  94,  429. 

Bankruptcy  Court,  449. 

Banks :  Tolzey.  84 ;  Bullion,  112 ;  old 
firms,  113,  438;  Miles  &  Co.  and 
Old  Bank,  494 ;  Stuckey's,  324 ;  West 
of  England,  201,  278, 340,  505 ;  Bank 
of  England,  120, 275  ;  circulation  of 
local,  278 ;  South  Western,  461 ; 
Bristol,  526. 

Baptist  Mills,  floods,  488,  520. 

Baring,  Bishop,  349,  858,  370. 

Barracks,  proposed,  10 ;  Horfield,  266  ; 
Hotwells,  356. 

Barrow,  John,  109. 


639 


510 


INDEX. 


Barrs  Street,  295. 

Bartholomew  lands,  the,  126,  234. 

Barton  Alley,  295. 

Barton  Hill,  456 ;  playground,  520. 

Barton  Regis  Union,  493,  528. 

Bath,  11,  53  note,  75,  77,  173,  190, 
270,  446. 

Baths,  Turkish,  249  ;  public,  809  ; 
Victoria,  311.  [50,  55. 

Bathurst,  Charles  Bragge,  8,  18,  30, 

Bathurst  Basin,  16.  [532. 

Beach,  Sir  Michael  Edward  Hioks,  531, 

Beacons,  war,  22. 

Beale,  John  William,  executed,  855. 

Beatrice,  Princess,  present  to,  532. 

Beaufort,  Duchess  of,  405,  420. 

Beaufort,  Dukes  of,  199,  388,  487. 

Beaven,  Bev.  Alfred  Beaven,  212  note. 

Beokwith,  Major,  171. 

Beddoe,  Dr.  John,  F.B.  S. ,  485, 516, 530. 

Beddoes,  Dr.  Thomas,  8, 268,  384  note. 

Bedminster :  included  in  borough,  185, 
526;  in  city,  208;  and  in  diocese, 
293  ;  union,  200  ;  volunteers,  21 ; 
yeomanry,  171,  324  ;  revels,  97 ; 
body  -  snatching,  99  ;  poor  relief 
abuses,  188 ;  springs  at,  284 ;  sani- 
tary defects,  313  ;  sewage,  816  ; 
parish  church,  330 ;  reredos  dispute, 
881 ;  tramway,  463  ;  trees  planted, 
476 ;  branch  library,  477  ;  parks, 
519,  520;  floods,  520;  local  taxa- 
tion, 201. 

Beeke,  Dean,  95. 

Belcher,  Thomas,  57. 

Bellevae,  10. 

Benedictines,  mock,  418. 

Bengough,  Henry,  37  ;  almshouse,  79. 

Bere,  Montague,  298. 

Berkeley,  Francis  Henry  Fitzhardinge, 
239,  256,  295,  304,  824,  831,  847, 
852,  863,  368,  372,  882,  411,  421, 
435,  442,  449. 

Berkeley  Square,  409. 

Bewell's  Cross,  134. 

Bicycles  invented,  270. 

Bingham,  John,  403. 

Bird,  Edward,  B.A.,  86. 

Birkin,  Abraham,  charity,  483. 

Bishopric,  income  of,  55,  227  ;  united 
to  Gloucester,  227,  349 ;  restoration 
of  see,  349,  492. 

Bishops,  list  of,  536  ;  rapid  succession 
of,  56. 

Bishop's  palace  burnt,  161,  181 ;  site 
sold,  228  note ;  new,  at  Stapleton, 
228 ;  sold,  362.  [821,  352. 

Bishops,  Boman  Catholic,  199,  307, 

Bishopston  church,  307,  358. 

Bissell,  James  Broad,  531. 


Bitton,  48  note,  424. 

Blaokboy  Hill,  314,  479,  504. 

Black  Castle,  819. 

Black-rock  quarry,  494. 

Blind  Asylum,  202. 

Blisset,  Charles,  294. 

Blomberg,  Bev.  Frederick  William,  92 ; 
ghost  story,  93. 

Blue  Bibbon  movement,  517. 

Bodies,  stealing  dead,  99. 

Boiling  weU,  284. 

Bonaparte,  fall  of,  60. 

Bonville,  Thomas,  charity,  78. 

Borough,  parliamentary,  185, 526 ;  di- 
vided, 526. 

Borough  rate  imposed,  216. 

Bowling  greens,  4 ;  in  Pithay,  40. 

Bowring,  Edgar,  440. 

Boyce's  Buildings,  battle  of,  888. 

Bragge,  Charles,  see  Bathurst. 

Brandon  Hill,  292,  354. 

Branwhite,  Charles,  287,  509. 

Bread,  high  prices,  6,  42  ;  Bread  Con- 
cern, 8. 

Brean  Down  forts,  891 ;  harbour,  414. 

Brereton,  Lieut.-Col.  Thomas,  158  ti 
seq,  177. 

Bribery,  actions  for,  240. 

"  Bribery  Box,"  186. 

Brioe,  William,  481. 

Brickdale,  Matthew,  110. 

Bridewell,  state  of  66 ;  burnt,  158 ; 
rebuilt,  205  ;  sold,  469. 

Bridewell  Lane,  206,  295. 

Bridges  :Bedminster,  511;  Drawbridge, 
78,  121,  435;  Bristol,  291,  885; 
Hiirs,  27,  842 ;  St.  PhiUp*s,  240 ; 
St.  Philip's  Marsh,  531;  Prince's 
Street,491 ;  Stone,  892  ;  Froom,505  ; 
proposed,  at  Beddiff,  278;  suspen- 
sion, 131,  229,  875. 

Bridge-valley  Boad,  84. 

Briellat,  John,  42. 

Bright,  Henry,  23 ;  Henry,  88,  116 ; 
Bichard,134.188;  Bobert,188,  189, 
298,  801-2,  886,  896. 

Brigstock  estate,  872. 

British  Association,  228,  486. 

Brittan,  Meshach,  236. 

Broad  gauge  railways,  191,  246. 

Broadmead,  Booms,  251 ;  trees  in,  90. 

Broad  Street,  9, 109, 270, 275  ;  barriers 
in.  108. 

Brosd  Weir  playground,  519. 

Broughton,  Lord,  203,  445. 

Browne,  Cavanagh  &  Co.,  failure,  112. 

Brunei,  Isambard  Kingdom,  131, 189, 
192,  218,  222,  246,  27j5,  278,  291, 
326,  859,  897,  420. 

Brunswick  Square,  878. 


INDEX. 


541 


Braton,  Leonard,  802. 

Bnokingham  spring,  281. 

Boilding  mania,  effects  of,  512. 

Ball-baiting,  68. 

Bulldog  steamer,  527. 

Barges,  Daniel,  214;  Daniel,  Jan., 
214  note,  481 ;  Daniel  TraTers,  481. 

Borgess,  Bishop,  821.  [447. 

Burgesses.nuniber  of,  185,530 ;  female, 

Barial  grounds,  226,  315,  426  ;  closed, 
837,  356,  458;  Tabernacle,  523. 

Barke,  Edmund,  29,  457.      [396,  442. 

Bash,  Henry,  193,  295 ;  Robert,  364, 

Batler,  Bishop,  memorial,  487. 

Baxton,  [Sir]  T.  F.,  on  the  gaol,  67. 

Byron,  Lady,  297. 

Cabmen's  Bests,  481. 

Caldicott,  Bev.  John  Wm.,  D.D.,  367. 

Galey,  Bev.  Robert  Llewellyn,  308, 379. 

Canadian  trophy,  508. 

Canals,  Kennet  and  Avon,  41 ;  pro- 
posed, 42,  45. 

Canning,  Thomas,  400,  479. 

Canons,  nnmber  of,  227 ;  honorary, 
258 ;  minor,  309 ;  marsh,  529. 

Canynges'  Society,  260 ;  mansion,  514 ; 
tomb,  260. 

Cardiff,  rival  steamers  to,  326.        [92. 

Caroline,  Qneen,  sympathy  with,  89, 

Carpenter,  Dr.  Lant,  160 ;  Mary, 
296-8 ;  Dr.  Alfred,  533. 

Carriages,  tee  Coaches. 

Carrick,  Andrew,  M.D.,  71,  84, 140. 

Carter,  Rev.  Eocles  C,  308. 

CasUe  Mill,  110 ;  weU  in,  508. 

Castle,  Robert,  23 ;  Michael,  397. 

Cathedral :  lectern  sold,  18  ;  new,  379 ; 
altars  found,  91 ;  remarkable  ser- 
mons, 92,  127 ;  neglected  senrices, 
95  ;  intoning  suspended,  308  ;  par- 
tial restorations,  206,  250,  369  ; 
relics  of  old  naves,  345,  429 ;  Prince 
of  Wales  at,  349  ;  central  tower, 
370,  430 ;  restoration  of  nave,  429, 
490;  north  porch,488;  Minster  house, 
516 ;  Abbey  gate,  516 ;  towers,  487. 

Cathedral  Grammar  School,  480. 

Cathedral,  Romanist  Pro-,  199,  321. 

"  Catholic  Question,"  the,  127,  128. 

Cattle,  American,  trade  in,  458. 

Cattle  Market,  123,  478;  suspended 
during  plague,  424. 

••  Caucus,"  the,  506. 

Cave,  Right  Hon.  Stephen,  484. 

Caverns  at  Redcliff,  426. 

Cemeteries,  Arno*8  Vale,  226,  42G; 
Oreenbank,  457.  [457,  514. 

Census,  9,  42,  91, 143,  256,  324,  881, 

Census,  religious,  514. 

Chain,  mayor's,  126. 


Chairing  members,  52,  69,  143. 

Chamber  of  Commerce,  103, 115,  800, 
327,  436,  495-7. 

Chambers,  George  Henry,  477. 

Champion,  Richard,  457. 

Channel  (Bristol)  forts,  391 ;  tunnel, 
415. 

Chapels  :  Arley,  3U  ;  Bethesda,  228  ; 
Bridge  Street,  443  :  Brunswick,  205 ; 
Buckingham,  303  ;  City  Road,  872  ; 
Clifton  Down,  443  ;  Cofcham  Grove, 
458 ;  Counterslip,  435  ;  French,  113; 
Grenville,  130;  Highbury,  270; 
Irvingite  (St.  Maury's,  R.C.),  250, 270, 
356;  St.  Joseph's,  R.C.,  356;  Lang- 
ton  Street,  143 ;  Lewin's  Mead,  27, 
43  ;  Oakfield  Road,  414 ;  Pembroke, 
438;  Presbyterian,  370;  Quakers', 
202,  262 ;  Redland  Park,  885 ;  D. 
Thomas  Memorial,  513;  Trinity,  488 ; 
Tyndale,  441 ;  Victoria,  408,  Zion, 
136. 

Charities,  tee  Almshouses.  Ames's, 
88 ;  Bartholomew  lands,  126,  234 ; 
Birkin's,  483 :  Bonville's,  78  ;  Cod- 
rington's,  234  ;  Dimsdale's,  275 ; 
Gist's,  61 ;  Loan  Money,  127,  453 ; 
Ludlow's,  444 ;  minor,  236 ;  Owen's, 
235  ;  parochial,  misapplied,  256 ; 
St.  Nicholas',  355  ;  Peloquin's,  453  ; 
Phillips'.  529 ;  Sir  T.  White's,  81 ; 
value  of  local,  472. 

Charity  Commission,  90,  283,  472. 

Charity  Trustees,  231,  236,  239,  257, 
278,  452. 

Charleton,  Robert,  338. 

Charlotte,  Queen,  77  ;  Princess,  68. 

Charters,  city,  38,  54. 

Chartism,  239,  246. 

Chatterton  monument,  249,  258 ; 
poems,  268. 

Children's  Hospital,  420,  477. 

China,  Bristol,  457. 

Cholera  visitations,  186, 313, 316,840. 

Christmas  Steps,  348,  381. 

Church  Congress,  412. 

Church  Rates,  288,  380,  405. 

Churches,  old:  All  Saints',  81,  273, 
335;  Christ  Church,  8,  216;  St. 
George's  chapel,  28, 254  ;  St.  James*, 
81,  216,  827,  414 ;  St.  John's,  24, 
127,  216,  378,  410 ;  St.  Lawrence, 
24 ;  St.  Leonard's,  324 ;  St.  Mark's 
(Mayor's)  chapel,  101 ;  St.  Mary-le- 
port,  59, 484  ;  St.  Mary  Redcliff,  258, 
259,  385,  378,  426 ;  St.  Michael's, 
216;  St.  Paul's,  216;  St.  Peter's, 
216;  St.  Philip's,  216;  St.  Stephen's, 
275,  873;  Temple,  216;  St.  Wer- 
borgh's,  459. 


542 


INDEX. 


Chnrches,  new  :  St.  Agnes,  414,  517 ; 
AU  Saints',  CUfton,  413;  St.  An- 
drew*B,Montpelier,288;  St.Andrew- 
the-Less,  476;  St.  Barnabas,  274; 
St.  Bartholomew,  380 ;  Blind  Asy- 
lum, 202;  Christ  Ghnroh,  Clifton, 
257,  482;  Christ  Charch,  Barton 
Hill,  517  ;  St.  Clement's,  344 ;  Em- 
manael,  Clifton,  433;  Emmanuel, 
S.  Philip's,  396 ;  S.  Francis,  413, 517; 
St.  Oabriers,  450;  St.  George's,  83, 
216;  Hensman  memorial,  366 ;  Holy 
Nativity,  459.517;  S.James-the-Less, 
437 ;  St.  John's,  254 ;  St.  Jade's, 
804  ;  St.  Lawrence,  517  ;  8t.  Luke's, 
Barton  HUl,  274;  St.  Luke's,  Bed- 
minster,  380,  408 ;  St.  Mark's  304 ; 
St.  Mary's,  424 ;  St.  Mary's,  Stoke 
Bishop,  344,  462 ;  St.  Matthew's, 
204;  St.  Matthew's,  Moorfields, 
472,  517;  St.  Matthias,  253,  319  ; 
St  Michael's,  Bedminster,  517 ; 
St.  Michael's,  Bishopston,  858; 
St.  Nathanael's,  467;  St.  Paul's, 
Clifton,  337;  St.  Paul's,  Bedmin- 
ster, 130;  St.  Peter's,  Clifton,  345; 
St.  Baphael's,  340 ;  St.  Saviour,  424, 
518;  St.  Silas,  428.  487;  St.  Simon's, 
804  ;  Trinity,  Hotwells,  180 ;  Trin- 
ity, St.  Philip's,  130,  216 ;  St.  Wer- 
burgh's,  Mina  Boad,  461. 
Churchyards,    226,    815,    837,    458; 

gardens,  507. 
Chute,  John  Henry,  482. 
City;  boundaries,  185,208,  526;  extent 
of,  292;   chiims  three  M.P.s,  485, 
437 ;  divided,  526. 
City  Boad,  872. 

Cliire  Street,  strange  scene  in,  424. 
Claxton,  Christopher,  145,  148. 
Clergy,  old-fashioned,  93, 184, 206, 289. 
Clevedon,  40  note,  411 ;  railway,  286. 
Clifford,    Bishop,    852;    Bev.    John 

Bryant,  289,  356. 
Clift  House,  491. 

Clifton :  included  in  the  borough,  185 ; 
included  in  the  city,  208 ;  poor  law 
union,  200, 278,  493 ;  its  village  con- 
dition, 2, 10,  58,  71,  72,  83,  84,  343 ; 
enclosurea  of  common  land  45,  817 ; 
assembly  rooms,  83,  320 ;  squabbles 
in  "  society,"  320 ;  churchyards,  47, 
458;  church  rebuilt,  pew  system, 
98,  405;  bells,  448;  first  fly,  116 
note ;  hajrmaking  in,  348 ;  Improve- 
ment Association,  310;  local  taxa- 
tion, 201,  432;  libraries,  477;  pro- 
posed markets,  322;  observatory, 
124 ;  poor  law  abuses,  187 ;  roads, 
84,  198;    sanitaiy  defects,  812-5; 


Subscription    Booms,    353;    street 
watering,  382 ;  female  voters,  447 
volunteers,  21 ;    water  supply,  45 
281, 284  ;  watching  and  lighting,  84 
315 ;  workhouse,  278. 

Clifton  CoUege,  873, 451 ;  cadets,  382 
mission,  443. 

CUfton  Down,  97.  124.  281,  810,  817 
purchased  by  the  city,  318 ;  roads 
319;  quarries,  412,  495;  tunnel, 
454. 

Clifton  Wood,  372,  477;  road,  852 
park.  423. 

Clock,  Exchange,  89. 

Clubs,  volunteer,  390 ;    literaxy,  144 
Bristol,  488. 

Coaches,  slow  speed,  3,  12  note,  84 
steam,  121,  332;    kite,    122;    last 
stage,  191,  276,  Bush  office,  274. 

Coal,  excessive  price  of,  467. 

Cockbum,  Sir  Alexander,  298.       [164. 

CodrinRton,  [Sir]  Christopher  William, 

Coffee  House,  Forster's,  109. 

Coinage,  debased  state  of,  73 ;  new,  74. 

Coleridge,  Samuel  Taylor,  267. 

Colleges:  Bristol,  140;  Bishop's,  141, 
202,  390;  CUfton,  378,  882,  448, 
451 ;  University,  474. 

Collier,  Sir  Bobert,  298. 

Colston,  Edward,  his  remains  (?),  272 ; 
**  house,"  419 ;  cup,  484 ;  proposed 
monument,  378,  487 ;  Charles  Ed- 
ward H.  A.,  531. 

Colston  Hall,  889. 

Colston's  School,  86, 491 ;  estates,  261 ; 
removed,  862;  reorganised,  450; 
boys'  dress,  485. 

Colston  Street,  422,  441. 

Combinations,  trade,  63. 

Commercial  Booms,  82,  44,  87,  462. 

Commons,  inolosure  of,  45. 

Companies,  trading,  91  note ;  811. 

Compensation  (Biots)  Act,  181,  215. 

Conservative  banquet,  437. 

Convents,  200,  296,  819,  441,  516. 

Conviviality,  old  habits  of,  4,  80,  78, 
87,92. 

Cook,  Bev.  Flavel  Smith,  482. 

Cook's  Folly,  25,  344. 

Copley,  Sir  John  Singleton,  118. 

Com,  enormous  price  of,  6;  tax  on, 
62,  295. 

Com  Market,  56,444;  Street,  462. 

Cornwall,  new  trade  with,  288. 

Comwallis  Crescent,  10. 

Coronation  Boad,  98. 

Corporation,  old :  lethargy  of,  2,  11 ; 
pension  system,  11,  85,  110,  196; 
gifts  of  wine,  27  ;  end  of  Whig  rale 
in,  86;  costly  feasts,  81,  SS,  69; 


INDEX. 


543 


inordinate  salaries,  86,  87,  90;  re- 
fosals  to  serve  in,  18,  86,  88;  ex- 
pensive deputations,  25,  61,  62,  68 ; 
persecution  of  MoAdam,  64 ;  non- 
resident justices,  68, 196 ;  excessive 
port  charges,  103, 115,193;  insolence 
of  its  claims,  104;  town  dues  re- 
duced, 105,  194;  quo  warranto 
against,  114 ;  prosecutes  Aoland, 
119 ;  robes,  120 ;  heavy  debts,  125  ; 
extravagent  gifts,  126 ;  dealings  with 
charity  funds,  126, 232 ;  new  mansion 
house,  134,  183;  its  claims  after 
riots,  180 ;  accounts  published,  180 ; 
expenditure  after  riots,  184;  day 
police,  187;  condemned  by  Boyal 
Commissioners,  195-7 ;  opposes  Cor- 
porations Reform  Bill,  207 ;  its  last 
meeting,  209  note ;  its  treatment  of 
City  Library,  333. 

Corporation,  reformed :  extended 
boundaries,  208 ;  new  and  old 
systems,  208;  representation  of 
wards,  209, 430 ;  first  elections,  210 ; 
selection  of  aldermen,  211, 342, 534 ; 
and  of  mayor,  213 ;  retrenchment, 
214 ;  sales  of  property,  215 ;  borough 
rate,  216 ;  new  magistrates,  217 ; 
Charity  Trustees,  231 ;  litigation  re- 
specting charities,  287  et  ««9. ;  treat- 
ment of  dissent,  252 ;  water  supply 
of  city,  280 ;  port  charges,  286, 309 ; 
purchase  of  dock,  249,  294,  299; 
Health  Acts  applied,  315,  417 ;  pur- 
chase of  Downs,  318 ;  complaints  of 
party  spirit,  342;  lunatic  asylum, 
846 ;  case  of  Mr.  Greville  Smyth  ,355 ; 
opposes  Channel  docks,  362,  396; 
vote  to  Portishead,  400,511 ;  Harbour 
Railway,  426 ;  local  taxation,  432 ; 
School  Board,  454  ;  the  story  of  St. 
Werburgh*s,  460;  tramways,  462; 
free  library,  333, 476 ;  sewerage,  316, 
531 ;  the  battle  of  the  docks,  495 ; 
bounties  to  merchants,  496 ;  re- 
action against  corporate  policy,  499 ; 
an  arrangement,  499;  purchase  of 
rival  docks,  500 ;  corporate  debt,507; 
Police  BillB,514 ;  new  parks,  etc., 519 ; 
Tabernacle  cemetery,523 ;  dry  docks, 
524-5 ;  action  against  Ghui  Co.,  525 ; 
dock  improvements,  529. 

Cossham,  Handel,  581,  533. 

Cotham,  unlighted,  303,  813;  Road, 
134,  352  ;  Park,  296 ;  Tower,  296. 

Cottle,  Joseph,  26,  267. 

Cotton  factories,  237 ;  famine,  394. 

Council  House  rebuilt,  108 ;  attacked, 
154. 

County  Court  Judges,  803. 


Court  of  Conscience,  255,  303;  Pie- 
poudre, 230,  524. 

Cow  Street,  422. 

Cradles,  silver,  108,  520. 

Cricketers,  local,  877. 

Crime,  excessive,  7. 

Crinoline,  384. 

Cross,  High,  308 ;  Bewell*s,  134. 

Crowder,  Richard  Budden,  298. 

Cruger,  Henry,  110, 340. 

Cumberland  Basin,  15,  22,  55,  278, 
411,  508 ;  Road,  77. 

Cuifningham,  James,  188,  231. 

Curiew,  the,  461  note. 

Cumock,  James,  322. 

Custom  House  burnt,  165, 181 ;  rebuilt, 
237. 

Customs,  strange  law,  118;  political 
patronage,  256,  294. 

Cut,  New,  15. 

Cyprian,  Brother,  413. 

Dadaltu  training  ship,  878. 

Daniel,  Thomas,  87,  149,  175,  188, 
203,  211,  213. 

Davis,  Richard  Hart,  50,  51,  82,  87, 
116, 137, 142, 186. 

Davy,  [Sir]  Humphry,  268. 

Dead  bodies  stolen,  99. 

Deaf  and  Dumb  Asylum,  257. 

Dean  and  Chapter  estates,  392,  480. 

Deanery,  379  ;  Road,  422,  447. 

Deans,  list  of,  536;  Dr.  Layard,  19; 
Dr.  Beeke,  95.  [303. 

Dearth,  national,  6, 42, 73  note ;  Irish, 

Debt,  prisoners  for,  66,  448 ;  charity, 
453 ;  of  the  city,  507. 

Defence t  ironclad,  visit,  411. 

Demerara,  stranded,  327. 

Deodands,  law  of,  107. 

Dickens,  Charles,  329,  856. 

Dimsdale,  Ann,  charity,  275. 

Dinner  bills,  old,  30,  78. 

Diocese,  ue  Bishopric. 

Dix,  John  Ross,  220  note. 

Dock  office,  new,  532. 

Dockisation  of  Avon,  359, 495-6,  502. 

Docks,  Bristol,  projects  for,  18 ;  oppo- 
sition to,  14 ;  tax  on  city,  14 ;  cost 
of  works,  15 ;  comjSletion  of,  16 ; 
heavy  taxation,  17,  103,  194,  286, 
299;  mandamut  against  Co.,  117; 
Oreat  Wettem  steamer,  220;  pro- 
posals to  purchase,  249,  294,  299 ; 
transferred  to  city,  800 ;  reduction 
of  dues,  300;  effects,  802;  insuf- 
ficiency of,  358;  agitation  for  ex- 
tensions, 359 ;  dues  reduced  to  pre- 
vent improvements,  362;  reversal 
of  this  policy,  395 ;  new  locks,  411 ; 
consequences  of  rival  docks,  495 1 


bonQties on  goods  landed  incit7.49S ; 
tfaia  policy  forbidden  bj  law  oourtB, 
US  ;  arrangemeiit  effected,  199  ;  the 
dock  estates  united.  500  ;  effects  on 
trade,  601;  improrementa,e29,  633. 

Docks,  AvontDOUth  :  piei  and  railway, 
866;  dock  projected,  396-6;  chiet 
promoters.  100 ;  completed  and 
opened,  101 ;  rivalry  with  city  docks. 
496  ;  treatment  of  directors,  19S ; 
hitter  straggle,  196 ;  arraDgement 
and  purchase  by  Couucil,  199;  dis- 
tribution of  asset!,  GDI;  improve- 
ments, 629. 

Dooks,  Portishead  :  early  projeeti,a21, 
396;  pier  and  railway,  39B ;  dock 
wojected,  399;  promoters,  100; 
Council  grants  a  subsidy,  100;  works 
completed,  102 ;  rivalry  with  city 
docks,  496 ;  conduct  of  corporate 
directors,  497  ;  bitter  struggle,  196 ; 
arrangement  and  purchase  by 
CaDnoil,499;  distdbution  of  assets, 

Docks,  Qreen'e  and  iJbert,  S23.   [  629 

Dod,  John  Woodwell,  187,  611. 

Dolphin  Society,  616.  [616. 

Draper,  Sir  William,  his  monumenti. 

Dredger,  powerlnl,  629. 

DriU  Boll,  Bifles',  990,  437. 

DriukiDg  oastoma,  1,  SO,  TS,  85,  87, 
99 ;  decline  of,  466. 

Drinking  fotmtains,  866,  169. 

Droughts,  great,  383,  ib..  110. 

DnsU,  81,  32,  31,  236;  intended,  116. 
318.  294,  334.  [386. 

Dtmball  island.  361 ;  disappearance  of, 

Dnndas,  Charles  A.  Whitley,  113. 

Dnrdham  Down:  pogili 
raoes,  127:  cavern,  2( 
382 ;    encroachmenta,  .     , 

ohaeed  by  city,  318;  roads,  819; 
quarries.  413. 

Eagles,  Iter.  John,  78,  37.  176. 

Bales,  Charles  Thomas.  126. 

Barly  Closing  Association,  288. 

Earthciott,  QauDt'a,  estate,  216.  ■ 

Eait  India  trade,  opening  of,  60. 

Eaton,  Joseph,  146.  [483. 

Eodesiastical   Court,  local,  346,  269, 

Eden,  Sir  Fred.  U.,  IB;  Bev.  John,  110. 

Edgar,  John  Foy,  36. 

Rdgeworth,  Bev.  Francis,  163,  199. 

Bdnoation,  low  state  of,  1,  230,  360, 
166. 

BdwardB,  George  Oldham,  423 ;  George 
William,  479,  493  ;  W.  U.,  133. 

Eleotion,  Munioipal.  first,  210. 

Eleotions,  cost  of,  62,  138,  113 ;  litera- 
tnre  of,  366  ;  aotion  of  vestries  at, 
196,  3fi6. 


Elections,  Parliamentary  (1801),  8; 
(1803),  18;  (1806|,  30;  {1812],  60 ; 
iib.).  61;  (18181,  82;  (1820),  87; 
(1836),  116;  (1830),  137;  (1831), 
142;  (1S33),  185;  (1835),  303; 
(1837),  239;  (1S41),  266;  (1817), 
603;  (1852),  331;  (1857),  363; 
(1959),  368;  (18S6),  421;  (1868), 
110;  (do,),  112;  (1870),  449;  (do.), 
450;  (18741,1477:  (1878).  506  ;  (1880), 
609;  (1BB6),  580  ;  (1886),  683. 

Elections,  petitions  against,  (1813).  63; 
(1818),  82;  (1830),  136;  (1832),  186; 
(1637),  339  ;  (1868),  110;  (1870),  119. 

Electric  light,  tbe,  105,  513,  633. 

Eleotno  telegraphs,  325.  393,  UB. 

EUicott.  Bishop.  310.101. 169,183, 616. 

EUiott.  Dean.  429,  189. 616. 

Endowed  Schools  CommiEsioa.  460. 

Fair,  6t.  James's,  167,  213. 

Fairfax  Street,  363. 

Famine,  6, 12, 73  note ;  Triah,  SOS. 

Fargus,  Frederick  John,  638. 

Feruey  Close.  363. 

Fine  Arts  Academy,  266. 

Finzel.  Conrad  William,  333, 186 ;  r*- 
fineiy,  136. 

Fire  offices,  local,  81;  fire  reels,  373 ; 
brigade,484,493;  floatiog  eiigine,e36. 

Fire*:  Old  HUl,  Hotwells,  181:  Old 
Castle  Inn,  274 ;  Cider  House  Pas- 
sage, 366;  Canyugea'  house,  511; 
Christntas  Street,  491  ;  Fuidge'a 
sugar  house,  368;  St.  Oeorge's 
church,  606;  Leigh  church,  806; 
mnsio  hall,  168  ;  BL  Paul's  oluuah, 
887. 

Fish,  bounty  tor.  6  ;  tolls  on,  195. 

Fisher,  Robert  Alexander,  BOS. 

Fishponds,  reoreation  groond  at,  170 : 
Boilege.  811. 

Fitch,  Joshua  Girling,  450. 

Floating  Harbour,  ite  Doeka ;  frosen 
0Ter.l3,  59  ;  sewage  in,  78, 117, 818  ; 
tight  rope  feat,266;  explosion in,S  19. 

Floods,  great,  S3, 1S8, 530. 

Flour  and  Broad  Consem,  8, 

Flys  established,  116. 

Ford,  James,  688.  890,  897, 100,  ISl. 

Foresters'  Hall,  153. 

Forlorn  Hope  estate,  S66. 

Formidable  training  ship.  111. 

Fortifications  of  Severn,  391. 

"  Four  Hundred,"  the,  606. 

Fi>wler,  James,  61. 

Fox,  Francis  Frederick,  S13, 199. 

Freemasons'  halls,  TO,  136. 

Freemen :  fioH  on  sdmiHion,  SS ; 
number  of,  166,  630. 

Freemen,  honoraiy :  Oeorge.Frinea  of 


INDEX. 


545 


Wales,  Dake  of  Saffolk,  and  Dake  of 
GlouceBter,  31 ;  Duke  of  Camber- 
land,  22;  George  Canning.  Ill; 
Earl  of  Eldon,  129;  Sir  Francis 
Freellng,  124  ;  Lord  Grenville,  35  ; 
Earl  of  Liverpool,  111 ;  Duke  of 
WellinKton,  69. 

Free  Port  Association,  298,  301 ;  holi- 
day, 801. 

Fremantle,  Sir  Thos.  F.,  249 ;  Thos. 
F.,  421. 

French  chapel,  113.  [139. 

French  prisoners,  22,  31 ;  prison  sold, 

Fripp,  William,  82,  119,  207,  213,  234, 
239,  256,  304,  331 ;  Edward  Bowles, 
244;  Charles  Bowles,  230,  334; 
Samuel  Charles,  422.  [522. 

Froom,  river,  291,  313,  353,  488,  620, 

Frosts,  great,  42,  59. 

Fry,  Sir  Edward  (Lord  Justice),  141 ; 
Lewis,  400, 455,  494,  506, 509, 531-3; 
Francis,  423  ;  Richd.,  397,  400,  423. 

Fuidge,  Bichard,  400,  432. 

Gallows  Acre  Lane,  84,  428. 

Gallows  Field,  134. 

Gaol,  horrors  of  old,  G5-7 ;  new,  67, 468. 

Gardens,  public,  423. 

Gardiner,  Allen,  341. 

Garrard,  Thomas,  80,  102,  348. 

Gas  introduced,  42 ;  history  of  com- 
pany, 43,  467;  Oil  Gas  Co.,  44; 
price  of,  525. 

Gateways,  St.  John's,  24  ;  Temple,  32  ; 
Abbey,  516. 

Gauge  of  railways,  191,  246. 

Gay,  George,  204. 

Geographical  phenomenon,  386. 

Geological  discoveries,  249,  265. 

George  IIL,  25,  and  Bristol  elections, 
29 ;  Jubilee,  34  ;  statue  of,  85. 

George  IV.  proclaimed,  87;  corona- 
tion, 91. 

George,  James,  108  ;  Christopher,  212; 
William  Edwards,  520. 

George's,  St.,  chapel,  254 ;  church,  506 ; 
road,  352 ;  tramway,  464  ;  included 
in  borough,  526. 

Ghost,  Blomberg's,  93  ;  at  Long  Ash- 
ton,  100. 

Gibbs,  Antony,  493,  517 ;  James,  832 ; 
Sir  Vioary,  39,  54,  80. 

Gififord,  Lord,  81,  118,  136. 

Gipsy  steamer  stranded,  478. 

Girdlestone,  Canon,  342,  355, 429, 515. 

Gist,  Samuel,  his  charity,  61. 

Gladstone,  Wm.  Ewart,  493. 

Gloucester,  393,  510. 

Gloucestershire,  land  added  to,  886. 

Goldney,  Samuel,  168. 

Goodenough,  Dr.  John  Joseph,  47, 508. 


Goodere  murder,  the,  409. 
Goodeve,  Henry  Hurry,  344,  399. 
Goodhind  estate,  436. 
Gore,  Lieut.-Col.  William,  21,  60,  61. 
Government  offices,  patronage  of,  256, 

294.  [378. 

Grace,  E.  M.  and  W.  G.,  377 ;  G.  F. 
Grammar  School,  perversion  of,  46; 

funds  of,  106, 235, 453 ;  headmasters, 

340, 367, 508;  reorganised,  451 ;  new 

school.  508. 
Graving  docks,  524,  525,  529. 
Gray,  Bishop,  95,  140, 161,  181,  206. 
Great  Britain  steamship,  219,  271. 
Great  Western  Cotton  Works,  237,274, 

394. 
Great  Western  Steamship  Co.,   218, 

271 ;  (second),  458.  [458. 

Great  Western,  the,  218,  221 ;  (second), 
Greaves,  Bev.  Talbot  A.  L.  G.,  406. 
Greenbank  cemetery,  457. 
Green's  dock,  523. 
Grenville,  Lord,  35. 
Gridiron,  525. 
Griffith,  Edward.  90. 
Grove,  trees  on  the,  90.  [510. 

Guard-house,  the,  23,  216;  Passage, 
Guest,  Sir  Ivor  Bertie,  506,  509. 
Guild  of  Literature,  329.  [255. 

Guildhall  rebuilt,  254;  scenes  in  old, 
Guinea  Street,  426. 
Gully,  John,  57.  [348. 

Gun-boat!4,  proposed  local,  22  ;  built, 
Gnppy,  Thomas  Bichard,  189,  218. 
Gumey's  steam  coach,  121. 
Guthrie,  John,  memorial  chapel,  374. 
Haberfield,  Sir  John  Eerie,  323 ;  Lady, 

323,  409,  481. 
Hall.  Bev.  Bobert,  142. 
Hampden,  John,  417. 
Harbour  of  Befuge,  proposed,  414. 
Harbour  Bailway  and  wharves,  426. 
Harbour  rate,  14,  518. 
Harbour  Trust  Association,  498. 
Hare,  John,  136;   Sholto  Vere,  449, 

450,  477. 
Harford,    John,    189,    278;    Henry 

Charles,  427. 
Harris,  Wintour,  80. 
Harwood,  William.  382. 
Hathway,  William,  400.  [495. 

Hawkshaw,  Sir  John,  361. 375, 416, 486, 
Health,  inquiries  on,  312,  313 ;  Acts 

applied,  315,  417. 
Henbury,  Lords  of,  310,  317,    318; 

common.  45. 
Hendren,  Bishop,  312. 
Henry  VUI.,  seal  of,  259. 
Hensman,  Bev.  John,  366.  [299. 

Herapath,  William,  149, 161, 173, 204, 

N  N 


546 


INDEX. 


High  Street  Improvement,  406. 
Hilhouse,   Abraham,  37,  134,   158-9, 

171,  363. 
Hill,  Charles,  &  Sous,  459 ;  Matthew 

Devonport,    449 ;    Bowland,    245 ; 

Edward  Stock,  531,  533;  Thomas' 

William,  428. 
HintoD,  proposed  ohapel  at,  252. 
Histrionic  Club  lifeboat,  409. 
••  Hoax,  the  Bristol,"  262. 
Hobhouse,    Sir     John     Cam    (Lord 

Broughton),  203,  445. 
Hodgson,  Eirkman  David,  449,  450, 

477,  480, 506. 
Hogarth,  pictures  by,  335. 
HoUday   customs,   97 ;   weekly  half • 

holiday,  364. 
Holmes,  Steep,  199 ;  forts,  391. 
Homes  for  destitute  children,  297. 
Honeypen  Hill,  199,  322. 
Hooter,  the,  470. 
Horfield,  Manor    of,  305;    barracks, 

266 ;  growth  of   suburb,  307,  381 ; 

pleasure  gardens,  379, 468  ;  included 

m  borough,  526 ;  gaol,  469. 
Horn  Fair,  98. 
Horse  parades,  525. 
Hospital,    Generfd,    144;   children's, 

420,  477. 
Hospital  Sunday,  380. 
Hotels,  Beeves*,  30,  163;    Bush,  12, 

201,    340;    Boyal    Western,    248; 

Queen's,  330  ;  Bath,  893 ;  Imperial, 

502;   Boyal    (Clifton),  353;  Boyal 

Gloucester,  356 ;  Clifton  Down,  893  ; 

White  Lion,  404 ;  White  Hart,  404 ; 

Grand,  404  ;  Boyal  (College  Green), 

408 ;  St.  Vincent's  Bocks,  442. 
Hotwell,  new,  280.  [357. 

Hotweli  Point,  101,  411 ;  Road,  352, 
Hotwells,  rank  and  fashion  at,  71 ; 

decline,  ^72 ;  pump  room  removed, 

100,  101  ;  loss  of  spring,  101. 
Houses,  ancient,  removed,  237,  241, 

270,  275, 288, 406, 409, 420, 459,  524. 
Houses  unoccupied,  1881,  512.  [496. 
Howard,  Thomas,  360,  887,  395,  411, 
Hudson,  Dr.  Charles  Thomas,  340, 366. 
Hunt,  Henry,  30,  35,  50,  51,  53  note, 
niuminations,  public,  12,  tb.,  60,  89, 

92,  143,  144,  242,  349,  405. 
Imprisonment  for  debt,  65,  448. 
Improvement    Act,    first,    250;  rate 

created,  2U2  ;  schemes,  tee  named  of 

streets. 
Indian  and  Colonial  visitors,  533. 
Industrial  exbibitionn,  258,  383,  421, 

526;  8chool,279;  Dwelliugs Co.,487. 
Infirmary    enlarged,   28 ;    renovated, 

486 ;  bequest,  316. 


Inland  Bevenne  offioen,  439. 

Inns,  4  ;    Sunday  regulstiona,    847 ; 
restricted  hours,  419,   456 ;  Angel, 
406 ;  Giant's  CasUe,  241 ;  Mulbeny 
Tree,  52,  109  ;  Old  Castle,  274 ;  Old 
Globe,  491 ;  Plume  of  Feathers,  404 
Queen  Bess,  288 ;  Bed  laon,  409 
Bose  and  Crown,  19;    Slup,  469 
Three  Blackbirds,  54. 

Inskip,  James,  533. 

Institution,  Literary,  107,  425. 

Intolerance,  outbreak  of,  424. 

Irish  packets,  75  ;  a  long  vojage,  76 ; 
vagrants,  188 ;  and  Bee  vrreoks. 

Irvine,  Bev.  G.  M.  D*Aroj,  269. 

Italian  exiles,  367. 

Ivyleaf,  James,  316.  [487. 

Jacob's  Wells,  280,  291,  810,  829,  392. 

Jamaica  Street,  423. 

James  11. ,  picture  of,  822. 

Jameses,  St.,  Fair,  187,   242;    Baek, 
297,  484 ;  Hall,  527. 

Jenkins,  Henry,  482. 

JerviH,  Sir  John  White,  22. 

Jessop,  William,  18. 

John's,  St.,  gateway,  24 ;  conduit,  410. 

John's,  St.,  Hole,  25. 

Jones,  Charles,  supposed  murder,  433 ; 
George,  189  ;  Joshua,  233. 

Jose,  Thomas  Porter,  365. 

Judd,  James,  532. 

Juvenile  ruffianism,  296,  850. 

Eaye,  Bishop,  95. 

Kempster,  John  MUIs,  421.  [862. 

King,  Wm.  Poole,  320 ;  Bioh&rd  Poole, 

Eingdon,  Thomas  Eingdon,  298. 

Kinglake,  John  Alexander.  298. 

Eingsley,  Charles,  on  riots,  167,  172. 

King's  birthday  revels,  87. 

King's  Orchard,  202,  ib. 

Kind's  Square  library,  477. 

Kingsweston  estate,  198. 

Kingswood,  lawlessness,  48;    wages, 
187 ;  reformatory,  297. 

Kites,  travelling  by,  121.  [526. 

Knowle,  459, 473 ;  included  in  borough, 

Kion  Priiiz  stranded,  478. 
I   Lamb,  Dean,  308,  309. 
I   Lamplighters'  Hotel,  40. 
'   Land  Transport  corps,  341. 

Lane,  Henry,  437. 

Lang,  Bohert,  287.  835,    365,    479; 
Sam,  508. 

Lanuley,  John,  80. 

Laiigton,  Wm.  Heniy  Gore,  331,  352, 
3r)8,  421. 

Lardner,  Dr.  Dionysins,  229. 

Lavington,  William  Frederick,  327. 

Law,  Bishop,  130,  293. 

Law  Ditch,  305. 


INDEX. 


547 


Law  Library,  419,  421. 
Lawford*8-gate  prison,  161,  509. 
Lawrance,  Theodore,  76. 
Lawrence,  Sir  Thomas,  135. 
Lawrence  Hill  improvement,  464. 
Layard,  Dean,  19. 
Lee,  Bev.  Charles,  46. 
Leech,  Joseph,  110,  255, 289,  294, 357. 
Leigh,  Abbot's,  church  burnt,  305. 
Leigh  Court,  Prince  of  Wales  at,  524. 
Leigh  Down,  73,  132. 
Leigh  Woods,  desecration  of,  264,  397, 

407 ;  murder  in.  354 ;  Land  Co., 408. 
Leighton,  Bobert  Leighton,  367. 
Lewin's  Mead,  296,  343. 
Library  Society,  332-6, 425  ;  City,  his- 

tory  of,  333,  476  ;  branches,  476. 
Licensing  Act,  456. 
Lifeboats,  Bristol,  409. 
Lighthouse  erected,  250. 
Lighting  of  city,  defective,  2,  11,  313, 

315  ;  of  shops.  4  ;  Acto,  28,  84. 
Lind, Jenny, 304. 

Lippincott,  Sir  Henry,  39.  [420. 

Liverpool  &  London  A  Globe  offices, 
Lloyd,  Edward  John,  303. 
Loan  Money  Fund,  127,  453. 
Local  Government  Act  applied,  417. 
London  freeman,  claim  of  a,  812. 
Long  Ashton,  tee  Ashton. 
Lover's  Walk,  423. 
Ludlow,  Ebenczer,  85, 104, 108, 153-8, 

196,  213 ;  Hannah,  4i4. 
Lunatic  Asylum,  346. 
Lunell,  Samuel,  107. 
McAdam,  James  Loudon,  63,  111. 
Macadamisation,  64. 
McGeadiy,  Forster  Allcyne,  133,  332. 
MeGhie.  — ,  491. 

Mncgregor,  Bev.  Sir  Charles,  308. 
Mackworth,  [Sir]  Digby,  153, 166, 170, 
Macliver,  Peter  Stewart,  357.        [172. 
Madan,  Bev.  George,  341. 
Magistrates,  appointment  of,  217. 
Manchee,  Thomas  John,  90,  195,232. 
Manias,  sppcnlative,  111,  112,  289,467. 
Manilla  Hall,  516. 
Mansion    House,  61,  135;    proposed 

new,  134,  201;   destroyed,   152-5; 

revived,  183 ;  suppressed,  214  ;  gif i 

of  new,  478. 
Man- trap,  thief  in  a,  10. 
Mardyke  Wharf,  357. 
Marine  Board,  local,  321. 
Markets :  riots,  7 ;  leather,  11 ;  butcher, 

32,  307 ;  corn,  56,  414 ;  cattle,  123, 

424,  478 ;  hay,  244  ;  fish,  275,  467  ; 

goose,  339  ;  St.  James's,  362.  [205. 
Marriages,  Boyal,  68,  404 ;  Dissenters', 
Marshall,  Alfred,  475  ;  J.  D.,  688. 


Mary-le-Port,  St.,  charities,  483. 

Mathias,  William,  383. 

Matthew,  Archbishop  Tobias,  333. 

Maudlin  Street,  206,  441. 

Mayday  amusements,  97. 

Mayor's  Chapel,  mutilated,  101 ; 
oratory,  110 ;  252. 

Mayors'  Ealendar,  205 ;  paddock,  310  ; 
tolls  on  fish,  196  ;  robes,  252 ;  dues, 
tee  Port  charges. 

Mayors,  list  of,  536 ;  deaths  of,  23 ; 
salaries  of,  27,  125,  183,  214;  re- 
fusals to  serve  as,  13,  27,  213;  a 
parsimonious,  61 ;  on  commissions 
of  assize,  418. 

Meat,  foreign  imports  of,  458. 

Mechanics'  Institute,  113,  258,  288. 

Medical  Library,  114. 

Medical  School,  199,  474-5. 

Mercantile  Marine  Board,  321. 

Merchant  Taylors'  Company,  811. 

Merchant  Venturers*  Scliool,  630. 

Merchant  Venturers'  Society,  115, 132, 
134, 195, 197, 250, 261, 280,  286, 301, 
318,  823, 362, 381, 383, 400. 434, 452. 

Metcalf,  William  James,  3(i8. 

Miles.  Henry  Cruger  William,  479, 
493 ;  John  William,  439, 442  ;  PhiUp 
John,  88,  188,  198,  203,  239,  265 ; 
Philip  William  Skynner,  239,  256, 
275,  287,  295,  304,  386,  396.  399, 
400,  440  ;  Sir  Philip  John  William, 
265,  495,  524  ;  Bobert  Henry  Wm., 
840;  Sir  William,  190,  324,  368, 
429  note. 

Mill,  at  St.  James'H  Back,  16  note; 
proposed,  on  FJoat,  17  note ;  oppo- 
site Hotwells,  184. 

Mills,  John,  d74;  Henry  John,  380, 
431,  446  note,  489. 

^fina  Boad,  519,  520,  521. 

Missal,  curious,  857. 

Mission,  Clifton  College,  443. 

Mission  to  Patagonia,  340. 

Model  dwellings,  274-5. 

Mogg,  John  Jenner,  429  note. 

Monk,  Bishop,  56,  95,  141,  202,  226, 
227,  269, 305,  309,  311,  331, 339, 349. 

Montpelier,  413,  460,  467,  479. 

Monuments :  George  III.,  85  ;  Colonel 
Gore,  61;  Bishop  Gray,  206;  Chatter- 
ton,  249, 258 ;  Mary  Carpenter,  297 ; 
Fred.  John  Fargun,  52b ;  Sir  J.  K. 
Haberfield,  323;  Samuel  Morley, 
534 ;  Bobert  Southey,  277 ;  Queen 
Victoria,  635. 

More,  Hannah,  198.  [533. 

Morley,  Samuel, 400, 440,442,477,509, 

Mortality,  rate  of  (1844),  312  ;  recent, 
316. 


548 


INDEX. 


Mulberry  trees  in  city,  489. 
Miiller,  Bev.  George,  223. 
Miiller,  WiUiam  James,  292. 
Murders :  Clara  A.  Smith,  204 ;  Me- 

linda  Payne,  344 ;  Charlotte  Pugsley, 
354  ;  Charles  Jones,  433. 
Museum  and  Library,  426. 
Music,  Boyal  College  of,  472,  520. 
Musical  Festivals,  21,  59,  95,  470. 
Mylues'  Culvert,  117. 
Naish,  William,  432. 
Napoleon,  fall  of,  60. 
Narrow  Wine  Street,  476. 
Nash,  Charles,  396,  399,  534. 
Naval  Reserve,  378. 
Neat,  William,  57. 
Neptune  statue,  469. 
New  Passage  pier,  291. 
New  York,  steamers  to,  218,  458. 
Newfoundland  Road  playground,  519. 
Newgate,  horrors  of,  65. 
Newspapers,  price  of,  5,63 ;  first  daily, 

118 ;  Bristol  Journal,  240 ;  existing 

papers,  357. 
Nicholas,  St.,  abuse  of  charities,  355. 
Nicholas  Street,  improved,  307,  406. 
Nixon,  Brinsley  de  Coucy,  531. 
Noble,  John,  27,  30. 
Norfolk,  Duke  of,  19,  35.       [490,  493. 
Norris,  John  Pilkington,  D.D.,  429,487, 
Oakfield  Road,  314. 
Oddfellows'  Hall,  458. 
Odger,  George,  449. 
Old  Market,  improvements,  422,  479. 
Onslow,  Serjeant,  63. 
Orphanages:  Hook's  Mills,  120;  Ashley 

Down,  223 ;  Dighton  Street,  296. 
Ostrich  Inn,  Durdham  Down,  4,  319. 
Page,  Thomas,  361. 
Palmer,  Henry  Andrews,  28,  396, 408  ; 

James,  372 ;  Arthur,  255,  303. 
Parish  clerks  suppressed,  341. 
Park  for  east  end,  494. 
Park  Row  widened,  441. 
Park  Street,  improvement  of,  131, 422 ; 

proposed  engine  at,  348.  [527.   | 

Parliamentary  boundaries  of  city,  185, 
Parochial  charities,  256. 
Patagonian  mission,  340. 
Patchway  tunnel,  29l,  416. 
Patriotic  Funds,  27,  341. 
Patterson,  William,  218,  328,  410. 
Pauperism,  excessive,  138. 
Paving  and  Lighting  Acts,  28,  313. 315. 
Payne,  Charles,   210,  213;    Melinda, 
Peace  rejoicings,  11,  60,  349.         [344. 
Pellatt,  Apsley,  304.  I 

Penance,  punishment  of,  245.  I 

Pen  Park  Hole  explored,  269.  ! 

Penton,  Henry,  272.  | 


Perambulators,  383. 

Percival.  Rev.  John,  D.D.,  373,  443, 
451,  472,  489,  528. 

Perry  Road,  422,  441. 

Peter's,  St.,  Hospital :  bad  state  of, 
139 ;  portion  sold,  140 ;  lunatics  at, 
346. 

Peto,  Sir  Samuel  Morton,  421,  439. 

Philip's,  St.  (out),  included  in  borough, 
185 ;  and  in  city,  208 ;  in  Clifton 
union,  200;  bridges,  240,  531; 
railway  station,  446;  library,  476; 
playground,  520. 

Phillips',  Edward,  charity,  529. 

Phippen,  Robert,  252,  331. 

Phippen  Street,  250,  258. 

Piepoudre  Court,  230,  524. 

Piers,  tee  Docks. 

Pile  HiU,  339. 

Pill  Warner,  the,  325. 

PiUory,  punishment  of  the,  39. 

Pilotage,  compulsoiy,  383.  [212. 

Pinney,  Charles,  152  it  seq.,  179,  188, 

Pithay,  fashion  in  the,  39. 

Pleasure  grounds,  423,  519. 

Pocock,  George,  his  kites,  121. 

Poerio,  Baron,  367. 

Police,  defective,  2, 89 ;  Bills,  179, 181 ; 
first  day,  187 ;  regular  force,  216. 

Police  Bills  disapproved,  514. 

Police  courts,  new,  109,  484. 

Police  station,  central,  216. 

Polling-booths,  district,  256. 

Poor,  Corporation  of  the:  woollen 
factory,  8 ;  lavish  relief,  138 ;  pur- 
chases French  prison,  139;  new 
workhouse,  140,  367 ;  lunatics,  346  ; 
struggle  with  Poor  Law  Board,  351 ; 
end  of  old  system,  351 ;  expenditure, 
352 ;  unequal  wards,  446 ;  sermons 
dispute,  484 ;  Harbour  Rate  Bill, 
518 ;  proposed  amalgamation  of 
unions,  518. 

Poor  Laws,  abuses  of  old,  187  ;  unions, 
200,  493. 

Poor  rates,  inequality  of,  201 ;  present 
charge,  432. 

Pope,  Richard  Shackelton,  422. 

Population,  tee  Census. 

Port  charges,  17,  103,  105,  114,  193, 
286,  300,  309,  362,  499,  502. 

Portishead :  hotel,  126 ;  advowson, 
215 ;  battery,  371 ;  proposed  piers, 
221,  396;  railway  and  pier,  397; 
dock,  aee  Docks. 

Portland,  Duke  of,  85. 

Post  office,  438,  448. 
Postage,  old  rates  of,  244 ;  stamps,  245. 
Powell,  Thomas  ("Volcano"),  253.317. 
Prebendaries,  92,  227. 


INDEX. 


549 


Press  gangs,  5,  20,  55. 

Prichard,  James  Coles,  M.D.,  140. 

Prideaux,  Charles  Grevile,  298. 

Priest,  Bichard,  shot,  34. 

Prince  Consort,  proposed  monument 
to,  392. 

Prisoners,  old  treatment  of,  65,  81. 

Proctor,  Thomas,  259,  260,  335,  366, 
476,  478. 

Promenade,  Boyal,  369. 

Protheroe,  Edward,  51,  82,  116 ;  Ed- 
ward, jun.,  134,  137,  142,  145.  148, 
179,  185 ;  Sir  Henry,  27,  52. 

Provis,  Thomas,  trial  of,  335. 

Prudent  Man's  Friend  Society,  53. 

Pryce,  George,  335. 

Public  houses,  number  of,  456. 

Pugilism,  popularity  of,  5,  56,  97. 

Pugilists,  famous,  57. 

Pugsley's  field,  249,  286,  410. 

Quarries  on  Downs,  265,  318,  412. 

Quay,  sheds  on,  381. 

Queen,  the :  in  Bristol,  138, 349 ;  jubi- 
lee,  535 ;  rifle  prize,  437. 

Queen  Elizabeth's  Hospital,  85,  306; 
estates  misappropriated,  126,  232, 
234 ;  new  school,  274 ;  reorganised, 
450.  [369. 409. 

Queen's  Boad,  202  note,  291,  329, 352, 

Queen's  Square,  109,  150  et  teq.,  418 ; 
rooks,  447. 

Queen's  tenant,  claim  of  a,  312. 

Baoes,  Durdham  Down,  127  ;  Knowle, 
473. 

Baokhay,  the,  356. 

Bagged  school,  first,  296. 

Baglan,  Lord,  funeral  of,  344. 

Bail  way  manias.  111,  289 ;  gauges, 
246,  276. 

Bailway  station,  proposed  central,  387, 
393  ;  joint,  420. 

Bailways :  first  projects,  34,  110 ;  to 
Coalpit  Heath,  123  ;  Great  Western, 
189.  191,  246,  276,  279,  291,  326, 
388,  415,  420,  426, 454,  466 ;  Bristol 
and  Exeter,  222,  248,  286,  420,  426, 
446,  487  ;  Bristol  A  Gloucester  (Mid- 
land), 276,  420,  446,  454,  465,  467 ; 
Wilts  and  Somerset,  279;  South 
Wales  Junction,  290,  414  ;  Port  and 
Pier.  386,  453  ;  Bristol  and  Clifton 
(proposed),  387  ;  South  Western  Co. 
schemes,  389,  522;  Harbour,  426; 
Portishead,  398  ;  North  Somerset, 
402;  Wells,  446;  Bath  (Midland), 
446;  CUfton  and  Sea  MiUs,  453; 
Thombury,  467. 

Bailways  snowed  up,  512;  3rd  class 
trains,  465. 

Bainfall,  excessive,  469,  488,  520. 


Balph,  Benjamin,  162,  169,  170. 

Bamsay,  William,  Ph.D.,  475  note. 

Bandolph,  Francis,  D.D.,  92,  94. 

Bateable  value  of  city,  lOd,  209,  216, 
246,  432. 

Bavine,  footpath  in,  319. 

Becorders  :  Sir  V.  Gibbs,  80 ;  Sir  B. 
Gififord,  81,  118,  136;  Sir  J.  S. 
Copley,  118;  Sir  C.  Wetherell,  118, 
129,  146-153,  176,  207,  214,  230, 
236,  255,  298  ;  subsequent,  298. 

Becreation,  places  of,  292, 423, 479, 519. 

Bed  Lodge  Reformatory,  297. 

Bed  Maids'  School,  86,  450. 

Red  Rover,  explosion  of  boiler,  319. 

Bedcliff  Hill,  73  note,  258;  caverns, 
426.  [426. 

Bedcliff  Street,   258,   479;    vicarage, 

Bedcross  Street  burial  ground,  523; 
pleasure  ground,  520. 

Bedland,  unlighted,  303 ;  undrained, 
314. 

Bedland  Boad,  352  ;  Court,  379,  423 ; 
High  School,  424. 

Bedwood,  Bobert,  333. 

Beform  Bill  (1832),  142, 146, 175,  184  ; 
effect  of,  185  ;  effect  of  Act  of  1867, 
437,  442;  (1885),  526. 

Beformatory  Congress,  350. 

Begister,  Parliamentary,  185,  442. 

Beligious  destitution,  516 ;  census,  514. 

"  Besurrection  men,"  99.  [103. 

Beynolds,  Bichard,  53,  69  ;  Joseph,  38, 

Bichards,  Bev.  Henry,  306,  858. 

Bichmond  Hill,  53,  330 ;  Terrace,  10, 
314  ;  Spring,  281,  284. 

Bicketts,  Henrv,  212,  369. 

Bidley,  Henry  John,  94.  [425. 

liifles'  Headquarters  Co., 202  note,  390, 

Biots,  the  great :  causes  of,  146-8 ; 
special  constables,  149-151 ;  arrival 
of  recorder,  149 ;  disturbance  in 
Queen's  Square,  150 ;  Mansion 
House  attacked,  152 ;  flight  of  re- 
corder, 153  ;  Colonel  Brereton,  153 
et  teq. ;  second  day's  riot,  155 ; 
escape  of  mayor,  155 ;  Mansion 
House  plundered,  155 ;  conflict  in 
St.  Augnstine's,  156 ;  the  churches 
on  Sunday,  156 ;  apathy  of  public. 
157;  burning  of  Bridewell,  158,  of 
tbe  gaol,  159-161,  of  Lawfurd's 
Gate  prison,  161,  of  tbe  bishop's 
palace,  161,  and  of  the  Mansion 
House,  163  ;  conduct  of  magistrates, 
164,  168,  171;  destruction  of  half 
of  Queen's  Square,  165  ;  appearance 
of  city,  167 ;  scenes  in  Queen's 
Square,  167 ;  the  ma^'or  orders 
action  of  troops,  169 ;  their  decisive 


550 


INDEX. 


charge,  170;  volunteer  constables, 
170 ;  the  riot  suppressed,  172 ;  the 
loss  of  life,  172;  recovery  of  plunder, 
174 ;  the  silver  salver,  175 ;  cathe- 
dral library,  162,  175 ;  trial  of  ri- 
oters, 176 ;  executions,  177  ;  courts 
martial,  177 ;  prosecution  of  the 
mayor,  178  ;  Compensation  Act, 
181 ;  tax  on  city,  182  ;  debt  paid 
off,  215. 

Biots :  market,  7,  42 ;  of  dock  work- 
men, 16 ;  serious,  .^9 ;  election,  51, 
137, 442 ;  no  popery,  129 ;  of  paupers, 
139;  "religious.*'  424. 

Boad  money  charity,  105. 

Boads,  bad  state  of,  64,  315. 

Boberts,  Sir  Fred.,  dinner  to,  513. 

Bobes,  civic,  120 ;  revived,  252. 

Bobinson,  Elisha  Smith,  351, 400, 415, 
440,  449,  450,  506,  509,  530 ;  Bobt., 

Boman  relicfl,  423.  [397. 

Bomilly,  Sir  Samuel,  51. 

Books,  city,  379,  447. 

Bonnd  Poiut  improved,  250,  412. 

Bowiiham  Ferry,  418. 

Royal  Sovereiifn  launched,  410. 

Boyal  York  Crescent,  9. 

Bnpcrt  Street,  353,  507. 

Bussell,  Lord  John,  206,  289. 

Bussian  war,  338,  341,  348;  peace, 
849 ;  guns,  353. 

Sailors*  Home  and  Institute,  327. 

Salt,  high  price  of,  25. 

Salvation  Army,  511. 

Salver,  singular  recovery  of  a,  175, 184. 

Sanders,  John  Naish,  140,  350 ;  George 
Eddie,  231. 

Sanitary  Authority,  417. 

Sanitary  Htate  of  city,  312,  313,  316. 

Saturday  half  holiday,  364. 

Savile,  Henry  Bourchier  Osborne,  871. 

Saville  Place,  10. 

Savings  Bank,  53 ;  Post-office,  385. 

School  Board  established,  455. 

Schools :  City  (Queen  Eliz),  85,  106, 
126,  282,  234,  274,  450 ;  Colston's, 
86,  261,  302,  450.  485 ;  Diocesan, 
336;  Grammar,  46,  47,  106,  235, 
340,  366,  451,  508 ;  St.  Nicholas*, 
855;  lied  Maids*,  201,450;  Trade, 
836,  434,  452;  Board,  456;  Mer- 
chant Venturers*,530;  Cathedral,  480. 

Sea  Mills,  lioman  gravestone  at,  475. 

Sea  Walls,  318. 

Severn  Bridge  schemes,  290,  415,  417. 

Severn  Tunnel,  415. 

Sewerage  works,  316 ;  Clift  house,  491 ; 
proxK)sed  sea  outlet,  496,  531. 

Seyer,  Bev.  Samuel,  54,  143. 

Sharpies,  Miss,  127;  Mrs.,  287. 


Shaw,  Jobn  George,  859,  860. 

Sheffield,  Lord,  18. 

Sheriffs,  list  of,  536 ;  salaries  of,  36, 
37,  90,  125,  184 ;  refusal  to  serve. 

Shipbuilding,  decline  of,  410.        [355. 

Shipwrecks,  9ee  Wrecks. 

Shirehampton,  telegraph  to,  325. 

Shops,  open,  4  note ;  long  hours  in, 
288  note. 

Shute,  Captain  Henry,  324. 

Silver  Street,  484. 

Simpson,  Bev.  Francis,  94. 

Sion  Spring,  45,  281,  441. 

Slade,  [Sir]  Fred.  William,  368. 

Slaughter,  Edward,  408. 

Slave  Trade,  abolition  of,  29. 

Slaveowners,  local,  188. 

Slaves  in  Bristol,  29. 

Sledges  in  the  streets,  2. 

Small  Street,  improvement  of,  460. 

Small-pox,  fatality  of,  5. 

Smith,  Henry.  34,  59,  170;  Bichard, 
17,  18,  59;  Bev.  Sydney,  95,  127, 
820;  William,  518. 

Smyth,  Lady,  92,  98;  Sir  John,  180, 
132.  264 ;  trustees,  310,  817,  885, 
839  ;  [Sir]  John  Grcville.  145,  818, 
839, 855,  375, 400, 407, 493, 494,619. 

Sneyd  Park,  343,  462. 

Snowstorm,  great,  59,  135,  512. 

Social  Science  Congress,  446. 

"  Society,**  Squabbles  in.  820.         [93. 

Somerset,  Bev.  Lord  Wm.  Geo.  Henry, 

Somerton,  Wm.  Henry,  164,  166 ; 
Charles  and  George,  357. 

Southcott.  Joanna,  followers  of,  25. 

Southey,  Bobert,  266 ;  monument,  277 ; 
family,  90. 

Spolasco,  Baron,  241. 

Stamp  distributor,  office  of,  425. 

Stapleton :  bishop's  palace,  228 ;  Col- 
ston's school,  362  ;  workhouses,  140, 
279,  367;  church,  839;  becomes 
part  of  borough,  526. 

Stapleton  Boad,  floods,  488,  520. 

Steadfast  Club,  52,  88. 

Steam  Navigation  Company,  494. 

Steamboat,  first,  75 ;  Irish  trade,  75 ; 
to  London,  190  note  ;  to  America, 
218,  229,  458  ;  explosion,  319  ;  oom- 
petition,  326. 

Steam-tug,  first,  77. 

Steep  Street,  38l,  459. 

Stewards,  Lord  High,  35,  199,  838. 

Stock  Exchange,  289. 

Stocks,  the,  83, 117. 

Stokes,  George  Gabriel,  141. 

Stokes  Croft  Boad,  352. 

Stone  Kitchen,  the,  19. 

Stone,  tax  on,  67. 


INDEX. 


551 


StreetR,  state  of,  2 ;  watering,  382 ; 
great  improvement  schemes,  291, 
422,  479.  492,  624. 

Strath,  Sir  WiUiam  John,  62. 

Suez  Caual,  352. 

Sugar  duties,  protective,  106,  275. 

Sugar  refining,  decline  of,  435. 

Sunday,  observance  of,  24,  317,  463  ; 
band,  528. 

Sunday-school  centenary,  511. 

Sun-dial,  old,  381. 

Suple,  Robert,  305. 

Surtees,  Prebendary  John,  94. 

Suspension  Bridge,  131,  229;  com- 
pleted, 375 ;  suicides,  377. 

Swash,  the,  387. 

Swayne,  John  Champeny,  140. 

Synagogues,  Jews',  262,  459. 

Tabernacle  burial  ground,  523. 

Tanniug  a  convict's  skin,  18. 

Tanninpf  trade,  increase  of,  309. 

Tavern  bills,  30,  78. 

Taverns,  temperance,  456. 

Taxation,  local,  432. 

Taylor,  John,  265  ;  Thomas  Terrett, 
396, 415 ;  Thomas  David,  357 ;  Henry, 

Taylors'  Company,  311.  [481. 

Tea,  imports  of.  203. 

Teetotal  Society,  240 ;  Alliance,  347  ; 
temperance  taverns,  456 ;  blue 
ribbon  movement,  617.  [448. 

Telegraphs,     electric,   325,  392,  439, 

Telephone  Exchange,  609. 

Temple  Gate,  32.  [447. 

Theatres,  Regency,  48  ;  Prince's,  432, 

Thomas,  Christopher  James,  386, 396; 
416,  430,  479,  486;  George,  146, 
244,  408,  423,  447;  Herbert,  442, 
608 ;  Josiah,  417,  422,  479. 

Thomsou,  Bishop,  370  note,  404. 

**  Three  deckers  *'  in  churches,  341. 

Time,  regulation,  253,  326. 

Tokens,  local,  74. 

Toll  houRes  burnt,  161;  abolished, 
330,  427. 

Tolzey  Bnnk,  failure  of,  84. 

Tolzey  Court,  90,  524. 

Tontine  property  distributed,  378. 

Tothill,  WilUam,  189. 

Totterdown,  198,  330, 463  ;  included  in 
borouch,  526. 

Tovey,  Charles,  333. 

Town  dues,  fee  Port  charges ;  refusals 
to  pay,  312. 

Trade,  export,  194,  802,  601. 

Trade  Unionf*,  63  ;  Congress,  436. 

Trades  School,  336,  434,  452,  530. 

Training  nhip  for  boys,  444. 

Tramway,  projected,  402 ;  on  Downs, 
412 ;  history  of  street,  462. 


Transatlantic  steamers,  218,  458. 

Travelling,  discomforts  of,  3,  76,  84, 

Tricycles  invented,  270.  [191. 

True  Blue  Club,  294. 

Turnpike  tolls  abolished,  427. 

Tyburn  tickets,  55. 

Tyndall's  Park,  202,  329,  343,  374. 

Ullathome,  Bishop,  199. 

Union  Street,  extension  of,  460. 

Unions,  poor  law,  200,  493,  518. 

University  College;  474,  628. 

Vaughau.  Sir  Richard,  62, 119 ;  Charles, 
320 ;  Dr.  Robert,  440. 

Vegetables,  Cornish  trade,  238. 

Vehicles,  public,  number  of,  465. 

Vestries,  action  at  elections,  196,  256  ; 
close,  446. 

Vick,  Wm..  gift  for  a  bridge,  131,  376. 

Victoria,  Princess,  138 ;  Queen,  pro- 
clamation, 238;  coronation,  242; 
in  Bristol,  349 ;  Jubilee.  636. 

Victoria  Rooms,  241,330 ;  Square,  383, 
423,  460 ;  Street,  291,  422. 

Vincent's,  St.,  Rocks,  72  ;  flying  leap, 

Visgar,  Harman,  196,  309,  317.     [116. 

Visitors  :  the  Queen,  138,  349 ;  Queen 
Adelaide,  292;  Prince  Albert,  271; 
Duke  of  Beaufort,  338;  Prince 
Jerome  Bonaparte,  872  ;  Duke  of 
Buckingham,  434;  Duke  of  Cam- 
bridge, 268;  George  Canning.  Ill; 
Queen  Charlotte,  77  ;  Duke  of  Cla- 
rence [William  IV.] ,  77 ;  Duke  of 
Cumberland,  22;  Prince  of  Den- 
mark, 98  ;  Duke  of  Edinburgh,  471, 
616;  WiUiam  E.  Forster,  608; 
Prince  WilliHm  of  Prussia  [Emperor 
of  Germany] ,  272 ;  Earl  Granville, 
337  ;  Lord  Grenvillc,  36  ;  "  Henry 
v.,"  271 ;  Ward  Hunt,  478  ;  Indians 
and  Colonials,  63H ;  Italian  exiles, 
367  ;  Duchess  of  Kent,  138 ;  Prince 
Leopold,  138 ;  M.  de  Lesseps,  862 ; 
Earl  of  Liverpool,  111 ;  Dr.  Living- 
stone, 376  ;  Prince  Puckler  Muskau, 
28 ;  Duke  of  Norfolk,  19,  36 ;  Mar- 
quis of  Northampton,  228  ;  Sir  Staf- 
ford Northcote,  446;  Prince  of 
Orange,  372;  Lord  John  Russell, 
206,  289;  King  of  Saxony,  271; 
Lord  Stanley  [Earl  of  Derby] ,  437  ; 
George,  Prince  of  Wales,  and  Duke 
of  Sussex,  31;  Albert  Edward,  Prince 
of  Wales,  349,  473,  603,  524  ;  Duke 
of  Wellington,  68;  Cardinal  Wise- 
man, 200,  307. 

Volunteers,  Bristol,  21,  60;  Rifle 
corps,  364,  390  ;  Artillery.  371 ;  En- 
gineers, 382 ;  Naval  Artillery,  478  ; 
reviews,  217,  239. 


55& 


Wade  Street  fair,  98. 

Wa^es,  rate  of,  6,  7,  63,  187.         [610. 

Wait,  Wm.  K ,  420,  429,  432,  477,  489, 

Wales,  Albert  Edward,  Prince  of,  349, 
473,  503,  524 :  marriage  of,  404. 

Wales,  George,  Prince  of,  31. 

Wales,  Princess  of,  present  to,  405. 

Walker,  Dr.  Eliza,  477. 

Ward,  Rev.  Artlmr  Hawkins,  340. 

Wards,  municipal,  209,  430. 

Warrington,  Captain,  169, 178. 

Watchmen,  the  old,  2,  100. 

Watering  the  streets,  382. 

Waterworks,  old,  46,  96;  new  pro- 
posed, 45,  280;  company  formed, 
280 ;  progress  of,  281 ;  Frampton 
Cotterell  springs,  285,  534;  Sud- 
brook  springs,  5«34. 

Wayte,  Samuel  Simon,  140;  Rev. 
Samuel  William.  141,  374. 

Weare,  William,  his  gift,  130,  250. 

Weavers'  Hall,  262. 

Weddings,  Boyal,  festivities,  68,  404. 

Weeks,  John,  8,  12,  69. 

Wellington,  Duke  of,  visit,  68. 

Wellington  Gardens,  54.  [232. 

West  India  interest,  96,  106,  137,  275, 

West  Street :  fair,  98 ;  improved,  463. 

West,  William,  124.  [313. 

Westbury-on-Trym,  21,  45,  185,  208, 

Weston  [Sir] ,  Joseph  Dodge,  237,  400, 
476,  499,  501,  516,  531.  533. 

Weston,  North,  estate  at,  216. 

Weston-super-Mare,  3,  40,  223. 

Wetherell.  Sir  Charies,  118,  129, 146- 
153, 176,  207. 214, 230, 236,  255,298. 

Wharfage  dues,  115, 197,  301.  381. 

Wherries,  passenger,  116. 

Whipple,  Thomas,  129. 

Whipping,  punishment  by,  5,  80,  83. 

Whish,  Bev.  Martin  Bichard,  249, 259, 
269,  293,  330. 

Whisky,  restrictions  on  import,  118. 

White  Lodge,  441. 

White,  Sir  T.,  his  charitv,  81 ;  Dr., 
charity,  106,  524 ;  Henry,  498. 


INDEX.  ^ 

Whiteladies  Boad,  314,  329,  362,  463 ; 
spring,  281 ;  library,  477. 

Whitson's  mansion,  288 ;  estate,  305. 

Whitwill,  Mark,  399,  415,  420,  468. 

Wife,  sale  of  a,  123. 

Willes,  William  Henry,  303. 

William IV., proclaimed.  136 ;  crowned, 

Williams,  John,  186.  [144. 

WiUs,  William  Henry,  399.  508; 
George,  415,  487  ;  Charles,  466. 

Wilmot,  Sir  John  Eardley,  303,  414. 

Wilson,  Bev.  James  Maurice,  374. 

Window  tax  abolished,  322. 

Wine.  Corporate  gifts  of,  27,  183; 
purchases  of,  125 ;  Aid.  Bicketts* 
sale,  369.     . 

Winkworth.  Catherine,  476 ;  Susan- 
nah, 487. 

Withy-bed  in  the  city,  426. 

Women,  municipal  voters,  447. 

Wood  pavements,  476. 

Woodford,  John  Bussell,  141,  304. 

Woodward.  Bev.  Jonathan  Henry,  321. 
342 ;  George  Bocke,  400. 

Wool-hall,  123,  174  note. 

Wool,  Spanish,  high  price  of.  34. 

Woolcott  Park,  436. 

Woollev,  John,  love  adventures  of.  262. 

Workhouses,  139,  140,  200,  278,  367. 

Working-class  dwellings,  274. 275. 487. 

Worrall,  Samuel,  86 ;  Samuel,  318. 

Wraxall,  Sir  Nathaniel  William.  57. 

Wrecks :  William  and  Maru^  77 ; 
Frolic,  142  ;  KillarMXf,  241 ;  City  of 
iJrt«toZ,  251 ;  Queen,  272;  BHgand, 
357 ;  Mars,  392 ;  AiUea,  512 ;  Sol- 
way  (burnt),  515  ;  Oreat  Western, 
468;  Bristol  City,  Bath  City,  Glou- 
cester City,  and  Wells  City,  469. 

Wright,  William,  390. 

Yeamans.Bobert.  supposed  body  of,  69. 

Young  Men's  Christian  Association, 
379,  526. 

Zigzag  constructed,  134  ;  second,  316. 

Zoological  Gardens,  205. 


Dialer  k  Tanntr.  Th*  Sclwood  I*rfutiu(  Wurtu,  Fraoat.  aad  Lendoa.