U U I S T 1 ,. 



559 



Bristol lias many considerable manufactories which 

 furnish it with several valuable articles of exporta- 

 tion. Glass-making is carried on to a very grout 

 extent, and is greatly increasing ; and more glass is 

 laid to be made here than at any other place in Eng- 

 land. There are 20 sugar-houses, for the manufac- 

 ture and refining of sugars j several large distil- 

 leries, which help to supply the London market, and 

 which have al.io a consider 'Sle foreign exportation] 

 a brass-rolling manufactory ; ext.-iuive iron founder- 

 ies, where cannon are cast and bored ; a manufactory 

 of zinc out of calamiue stone ; large soap-works, 

 where the best hard white soap is made, which is sent 

 to most parts of the kingdom, and of which great 

 quantities arc exported to America ; manufactures of 

 white and red lead, and of lead shot ; turpentine, sul- 

 phur, and vitriol works ; and a manufacture of china 

 ware. In the neighbourhood of Bristol, are found 

 those six-cornered stones called Bristol stones, which 

 were formerly in such great request ; and between 

 this city and Bath, at a place called Warmley, a compa- 

 ny of Bristol merchants have established an extensive 

 manufactory of pins and other brass articles, which is 

 wrought by water raised by two steam engines, and at 

 which several hundred hands are employed, excluding 

 200 children of both sexes, from 7 to 12 or 13 years 

 of age. The woollen manufactures of Bristol, for 

 which it was formerly so famous, are now at an end, 

 and nothing remains of this trade but a few serges and 

 other stuffs. Besides its own manufactures, Bristol 

 exports various commodities of the surrounding 

 country, as cheese, cyder, and beer, herrings taken in 

 the channel, salt from Droitwich, coarse woollens 

 and stockings, hardware from Birmingham and Wol- 

 verhampton, and earthen ware from Staffordshire. It 

 has two fairs in the year, on the first days of March 

 and September, which continue for ten days, and are 

 frequented by shop-keepers, from all parts of the 

 kingdom. 



The hot well, which is much frequented during 

 the summer months, is about a mile west of the city, 

 close to the Avon. It rises at the bottom of the 

 cliff called St Vincent's rocks, between the high and 

 low water marks, and is defended from the tide by a 

 thick wall. The spring, according to Dr Carrick, 

 discharges nearly 40 gallons in a minute. The wa- 

 ter he found to be inodorous, sparkling, and pleasant 

 to the taste ; its temperature, as it issued from the 

 pump, 74| deg. of Fahrenheit, and its specific gravity 

 1.00077. According to the doctor's analysis, a gal- 

 Ion of the water contains of muriate of magnesia 7J 

 grains, of muriate of soda 4 grains, sulphate of soda 

 1 1 J grains, sulphate of lime 1 1 -J grains, and carbonate 

 of lime 12^ grains, making altogether 47-| grains of 

 tolid matter. It contains also 30 cubic inches of 

 1 



carbouie acid pas, and S cubic inches of respirablc ' 

 air. Tli' :ire highly tret'ul >n ;,'-no!is af. ~-~v 



dieted with consumption, di.itntrs, M-nijih'ila, all dis- 

 eases of the liver, especially those brought on by 

 irregular living ; in atony, indigestion, dysentery, 

 diarrhoea, and in many inflammatory complaints, and 

 may be drunk as freely as the thirst requires it. W* 

 may mention a singular phenomenon, which was ob- 

 served here on the 1st Nov. 1 ".>.), during the time 

 of the terrible earthquake at Lisbon. The water of 

 the well became, all on a sudden, as red as blood, and 

 so turbid that it could not be drunk ; and the tide 

 the Avon flowed back, contrary to its natural course. 

 At the same time, a similar phenomenon was obser- 

 ved in the village of King's-wood, where the water 

 of a common well, near St George's clinrch, was 

 turned as black as ink, and continued unfit for use 

 nearly a fortnight. 



Bristol was erected into an independent county by 

 Edward III., in 1372 ; it having been formerly reck- 

 oned in the parliament-roll as belonging to Somer- 

 set. Since that time it has been endowed with vari- 

 ous privileges and immunities. By a charter of 

 Edward IV., in 14-61, it was exempted from the au- 

 thority of the high admiral of England by land and 

 water ; and such rights of judgment as formerly be- 

 longed to the court of admiralty, were referred to the 

 corporation. Its jurisdiction by water was extended, 

 by an act of William, as far up the river as Hanham, 

 and down the channel to the Flat holmes. The go- 

 vernment of the city is vested in a mayor, 12 alder- 

 men including the recorder, who are all justices of 

 the peace, 2 sheriffs, 28 common council men, town- 

 clerk, deputy town-clerk, chamberlain, vice-cham- 

 berlain, under sheriff, &c. The mayor is allowed 

 1000 to support the dignity of his office, and the 

 two sheriffs j6500 each. AH capital offences, and 

 other crimes committed within the jurisdiction of the 

 city, are tried by the mayor and aldermen : and all 

 law suits that are purely civil, are determined by one 

 of the judges on the western circuit, who comes t 

 Bristol in the autumn of every year. 

 " Bristol returns two members to parliament. They 

 are chosen solely by the freemen of the city, who 

 amount at present to nearly 8000. This freedom 

 may be obtained by servitude, by hereditary right, 

 by purchase, or by marrying a freeman's daughter. 

 Bristol, in 1801, contained 1 6,896 houses, and 63,(>1.~ 

 inhabitants, of whom the females exceeded the m.-.' 

 by nearly a third ; and 10,190 persons wen- employ- 

 ed in trade and manufactures. According to the lad- 

 census, the united population of Bristol, Clifton, and 

 Bedminster, amounts to 71,279 persons, exclusive of 

 sailors. West Longitude of the cathedral, 2 J 35' 28', 

 North Lat. 5127'G". (p). 



