BRISTOL. 



5.57 



hill on the south, are covered with puM 

 vate buildings, the whole extending o 

 nearly 1500 acres of ground. '1'lu 1 city contains (i(K) 

 streets, lanes squares, courts, &c. with 17 churches 

 and about 30 chapels or meeting-houses. It is above 

 seven miles in circumference, two-thirds of it being on 

 the Gloucestershire side of the river; and including 

 the suburbs from Lawrence hill on the cast, to the hot 

 wells on the west, it is more than three miles in length. 

 The streets in the old town are crowded and irregular, 

 and most of the houses are built of wood and plan- 

 ter. Great improvements, lunvcTer, have lately been 

 made. Many of the streets have been widened, parti- 

 cularly the avenues leading to the river, which, from 

 being formerly very steep, are now rendered easy and 

 convenient. But the suburbs, and the external parts 

 of the city, contain the most elegant and spacious 

 buildings, which are composed entirely of brick and 

 stone ; all other materials being now prohibited in 

 Bristol by act of parliament. These are chiefly in- 

 habited by gentry, merchants, and retired tradesmen, 

 or let as lodging houses. The principal public build- 

 ings are, the cathedial, the church of St Mary Rad- 

 cliffe, and the exchange. The cathedral is only a 

 part of the original church of the abbey of St Au- 

 gustine, which was partly demolished at the dissolu 

 tion of the monastery; and when Bristol was erected 

 into a bishop's see by Henry VII% what remained 

 was converted into the present cathedral. It is 173 

 feet long, and 128 broad, and, at the west end, has a 

 large square tower 130 feet high, ornamented with 

 battlements and 4 pinnacles. The establishment of 

 the cathedral consists of a bishop, a dean, six preben- 

 daries, and other inferior officers. The arch-deacon 

 of Dorset has also a stall in the cathedral. The 

 church of St Mary Radcliffe is one of the finest 

 in the kingdom. It stands on Radcliffe hill, and is 

 said to have been founded by Simon de Burton in 

 1292, and finished in 1376, and was then celebrated 

 for the beauty and elegance of its architecture OTer 

 all England. It was built in the form of a cross, 

 with a tower and spire 250 feet high, and richly or- 

 namented with carved work ; but in 1445, part of 

 the spire was destroyed by lightning, and the church 

 much damaged. The spire has never since been re- 

 built, but the church was repaired by the munificence 

 of William Cannings', a mayor of Bristol, of whom 

 it contains two beautiful monumental statues, one ha- 

 bited as a magistrate, and the other as a priest, he 

 having, in his latter days, taken holy orders. Though 

 a massy and lofty building, yet, from the peculiar 

 beauty of the mason work, this church has a light 

 and airy appearance. The exchange, in Corn-street, 

 is a handsome structure in the Grecian style, built 

 by Wood the architect of Bath, at the expence of 

 jS50,000. It is 110 feet in front, and 14-8 deep ; 

 and the place intended for the merchants is a peri- 

 style of the Corinthian order, 90 feet by 80, capable 

 of containing 1440 persons. The merchants, feel- 

 ing the want of an accommodation similar to Lloyd's 

 in London, determined upon building a commercial 

 coffee room to supply the deficiency. A subscrip- 

 tion was accordingly opened, and L. 17,000 was 

 raised in two days, L. 25 being the amount of each 

 share. The entrance to the building is from Corn- 

 street, under an Ionic portico of four columns, sup- 

 porting a grand pediment, on which are placed three 



li uutiful colossal statues, representing the city of 

 Bristol supported by navigation and commerce. The 

 grand room is <)0 feet lon, 40 wide, and '-'> in height. 

 The other public bu,. -icioyal in 



KingVstrect, pronounced by Mr Garrick to be the 

 completest in Europe of ita dimension! | the assem- 

 bly rooms in Prince's-street ; the guildhall, mansion 

 house, and custom-house. There are several bene- 

 volent institutions in Bristol ; among which, are the 

 general hospital for the reception of patients of every 

 description, and of every nation ; (Jueen Elizabeth's 

 hospital, in which 100 boys arc maintained and edu- 

 cated, six of whom are allowed 10 each, and the 

 others 8 guineas, to bind them apprentice, ; Colston's 

 hospital, where the same number of boys are main- 

 tained for seven years, and taught and apprenticed in 

 the same way. This benevolent gentleman founded 

 another hospital in 1691, f ir 12 men and 12 women, 

 with an allowance of 3s. per week, ami -I- sacks ot 

 coals in the year, for which he appropriated 25,000; 

 and in conjunction with the merchants of the city, he 

 instituted a third, in which are maintained 18 men on 

 account of the merchants, and 12 men and women on 

 account of Mr Colston. Bristol claims the honour 

 of having shewn to the rest of England the first ex- 

 ample of a regular provincial infirmary. It wa 

 founded in the year 1735, through the exertions and 

 munificence of John Elbordye, Esq. and Dr Bony- 

 thorn, its first physician and treasurer, seconded with 

 the assistance of the corporation and citizens at large. 

 The gross receipts for the year 1810 amounted to 

 L. 8968; in which year were admitted 1225 in-pa- 

 tients, and 2607 were relieved as out-patients. A 

 new wing has lately been added, which cost about 

 L. 10,000. 



The quay of Bristol is one uninterrupted wharf of 

 hewn stone, extending nearly a mile along the inner 

 shores of the Frome and Avon, from St Giles to 

 Bristol bridge. At flood tides, there is sufficient 

 depth of water for the largest vessels to ride close to 

 the walls, and discharge their cargoes ; but before 

 the improvement of the harbour, they lay a-ground in 

 the mud, at low water, from which they often recei- 

 ved considerable damage. This circumstance, toge- 

 ther with the difficult navigation to and from the 

 Severn, through a narrow river, induced the in.- 

 habitants of Bristol to apply to Parliament for an 

 act to improve their port, and to amend the na- 

 vigation of the Avon. This improvement has been 

 of the greatest advantage to the city, and is a won- 

 derful saving of time and expence to all who frequent 

 the port. The bed of the Avon and Frome has been 

 dammed up as far as the hot wells, and a new channel 

 cut for the river through Rndcliffe meads $ and the 

 navigation of the Avon in one level has been opened 

 up as high as Keynsham. The harbour is now 

 capable of accommodating 1000 vessels, which are 

 not only kept afloat at the quays, but are enabled 

 to enter the locks, and go to sea at neap tides. Upon 

 changing the course of the Avon, two cast iron 

 bridges were erected by Mr Jcssop over the. new 

 channel. The span of the iron work of each arch 

 is 100 feet, and the rise 12 feet 6 inches, or J- of the 

 span : (Sec- BRIDGE, p. 541. ) The wet docks here 

 are very extensive, and the merchant floating dock 

 is said to exceed in dimensions even those at P >rts- 

 mouth or Plymouth. This improvement of the har- 



Briitol. 



