Bristol : a Worshipful Town and Famous City

Bristol is a major city and port in the south-west of England. In medieval times, it became the third largest city in the kingdom, behind London and York. Bristol was founded in the late Saxon period and grew rapidly in the 12th and 13th centuries. Initially, seaborne trading links with Ireland and France were particularly significant; later, from the 16th century onwards, the city became a focus for trade with Iberia, Africa and the New World. This led to the growth of new industries such as brass manufacture, glass production and sugar refining, producing items for export and processing imported raw materials. Bristol also derived wealth from the slave trade between Africa and the New World. The city has a long history of antiquarian and archaeological investigation. This volume provides, for the first time, a comprehensive overview of the historical development of Bristol, based on archaeological and architectural evidence. 0Part 1 describes the geological and topographical context of Bristol and discusses evidence for the environment prior to the foundation of the city. The history of archaeological work in Bristol is discussed in detail, as is the pictorial record and the cart