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History of Bristol Bristol has a long interesting history going back to the Anglo-saxon times dating some time before the 10th century. A settlement first grew between the Rivers Avon and Frome. Then known as Brig-stow (Brig-stow means the meeting place at the bridge in the old saxon language)
Bristol was a town by the 10th century and by the 11th century had its own mint.
Bristol was in a good geographic position to trade with Dublin, south Wales and the rest of England. Wool and leather were its chief exports at the time.
After the norman conquest of 1066, a castle was built on what is now known as Castle park. At this time the population was thought to be around 3 - 4 thousand. In 1171 the people of Bristol were given Dublin by the king and many Bristolians settled there.
By the 14th century Bristol was trading with several countries including Spain and Iceland. Ships also left from Bristol to other colonies in the new world.
By the 18th century Bristol became England's second biggest city. This was mainly due to imported goods, including sugarcane tobacco and slaves from Africa. In the 19th Century after the slave trade was stopped, the success of bristol port was beginning to decline.
New industries were needed. It was particularly associated with the Victorian engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, who designed the Great Western Railway between Bristol and London, two pioneering Bristol-built steamships, and the Clifton Suspension Bridge.
Bristol's city centre suffered severe damage from bombing during World War II. The original central shopping area, near the bridge and castle, is now a park containing two bombed out churches and some tiny fragments of the castle. A third bombed church nearby, St Nicholas, has been restored and currently houses private city council offices.
