Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 03.djvu/584

* BRISTOL. 510 BRISTOL. the Pithay and :Maryleport Street. Clifton, the best known of Bristol's suburbs, is a favorite place of its wealthy residents. The suspen- sion bridge over the Avon was, at the date of construction (begun in 1836), one of the largest in the world, having a centre span of 676 feet. The lioating harbor and quays are very exten- sive and are formed by embanking and locking the old courses of the" Avon, which now flows through a new channel. In addition, the city owns extensive docks at Avonmouth and Portis- head. „ ,. Bristol returns four members to Parliament. The city's affairs are administered by a lord mayor, a municipal council, and a board of al- denuen. (See Great Britain, Local Govern- ment.) The streets, which are mostly paved with wood or asphalt, are kept in excellent con- dition bv the city's public-works department and Parliamentarians. The castle and fortifica- tions were destroyed in 1655 by Cromwell's or- ders. A notable rising of the populace occurred in 1793 over the imposition of a bridge toll beyond the time fixed for its discontinuance, and the 'Bristol Revolution' in 1831, during the Reform Bill agitation, resulted in the destruc- tion of the Bishop's palace, custom-house, and other public and private buildings, and in the loss of several lives. Among other celebrities born or connected with Bristol are William of Worcester, the poets Chatterton and Southey, the artist Laurence, Svdnev Smith, Coleridge, and Hannah More. Population, in 1891, 289,280; in 1901, 328.842.. BiBLiOGR.i>iiY. Xicholls, Hoiv to See Bristol (Bristol, 1874) ; Raffalovich, Condition du paucre a Bristol (Paris, 1885) ; "An American's Impressions of Bristol," in Glourestershire Xotes Bristol oms and operates an electric-light plant, and Queries, Part XLIII. (London. 1889) ; Hunt, at an annual profit of about $10,000. The city " •--"t~-j~- ^°°"- ^ --■ .,..._._, -t,_:^.., maintains public baths and wash-houses, charg- ing a nominal price for their use, placing them within reach of the poorer classes of the people. Its markets net it annually about .$13,000. There are numerous parks and pleasure grounds. Among its educational institutions are, in addi- tion to its public schools. University College, Clifton College, the ancient grammar school (es- tablished in 15.32), the Redland High School for Girls, a school of art, a municipal school of cookery, a municipal library (with seven branch establishments), several museums, a zoological and a botanical garden, and an observatoiT. It has numerous benevolent and charitable institutions, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, the Muller Orphanage, a sailors' home, a blind asy- lum, and several hospitals, including two munici- pal isolation hospitals. The citv is one of the most important ports in Great Britain, and its trade is of long stand- ing. In the records of the Fourteenth Century it "is mentioned as having a large trade in cloths, leather, wine, and salt, and was one of the 'staple towns.' It was prominent in the early commercial ventures and in discovery. It is the port from which Jolm Cabot sailed in 1497 upon the vovage which resulted in the discovery of the mainland of America. Bristol traders colonized Newfoundland and engaged largely in the com- merce with the West Indies and the American colonies. Shipbuilding has been a prominent in- dustry there for many years. The GreatWestern, the pioneer of steani communication across the Atlantic (1838), was built at Bristol. The prin- cipal imports are cattle, oils, hides, petroleum, grain, tallow, and sugar; the exports are iron, copper, tin plates, coal, salt, cotton goods, earthenware, chemicals, and other manufactured products. The total tonnage entered and cleared at the port in the year 1899 was over 2,900.000. The total value of imports and exports in 1900 exceeded £12,700,000 ($63,500,000). Bristol is the seat of a United States consulate. The city existed before the Roman invasion, but dws "not come into prominent notice until 1069. when Harold's three sons, in an attempt to regain their patrimony from William the Con- queror, sailed up the 'Avon, but were defeated under the walls of Bristol. Henry II. gave the city its charter in 1171, and it received the rights of a county from Edward III. During the Civil War, Bristol was alternately held by Royalists Bnsfo;( London, 1889) ; Latimer. Wn'sfoH Bristol, 1S98) : Taylor, fiome of the Public Institutions of Bristol '(London, 1900) : "Bristol: A Glimpse of the Old and Xew Munieipalitv," in Municipal Journal, IX. (London, 1900) ; Masse. The Cathe- dral Church of Bristol (London, 1901) ; Xicholls and Taylor, Bristol, Past and Present, an Illus- trated History of Bristol and its Xeirihhorhood (Bristol, 1881-82); Latimer, Annals of Bristol in the Nineteenth Century (Bristol, 1887). BRISTOL. A borough in Hartford County, Conn., IS miles west-southwest of Hartford, on the Xew England Railroad (Map: Connecticut, D 3). It has a public library. The manu- factures include clocks, brass goods, tableware, knit goods, tools, etc. Originally a part of Farmington, Bristol was incorporated as a town in 1785, and as a borough in 1893. Population, in 1900, 6268. Consult Trumbull, Memorial His- tory of Hartford County (Boston, 1886). BRISTOL. A borough in Bucks County, Pa., 23 miles northeast of Philadelphia, opposite Bur- lington, X'. J., on the Delaware River, the Dela- ware and Lehigh Canal, and the Pennsylvania Railroad (Map: Pennsylvania, G 3). It has a foundry and rolling-mills, carpet-factory, hosiery, worsted, and yarn mills, planing-mill, wall-paper factory, and patent-leather works. The borough is noted for its mineral spring. Bristol, origi- nally called Buckingham, was settled in 1681. A detachment of the American Army was sta- tioned here during part of the Revolution. Bristol was first incorporated in 1720, and the charter of that year, as revised in 1851, is now in operation. The executive holds office for three years, and the power of appointments is vested with the borough council. Poi)ulation, in 1890, 6553; in 1900, 7104. BRISTOL. A town, port of entry, and county- seat of Bristol (bounty, R. I., 15 miles south by east of Providence, on Xarragansett Bay, and on the Xew York, Xew Haven and Hartford Rail- road (Map: Rhode Island, C 3). Thfc public library building is one of the features of the town." Bristol has an excellent harbor, and the principal industries are boat-building, and the manufacture of rubber, woolen, and cotton goods. Population, in 1890, 5478; in 1900, 6901. Many antiquarians believe th.nt it was at or near the present Bristol that the Xorthmen, in 1000 and subsequently, built the dwellings men- tioned in the Icelandic Sagas. Within the