Bristol

For other uses, see Bristol (disambiguation).
Bristol
City
City of Bristol transcription(s)
Clockwise from top: Bristol Skyline, Wills Memorial Building, Clifton Suspension Bridge and Cabot Tower
Coat of arms of the City Council
Coat of arms
Motto(s): 
Virtute et industria
(With courage and industry)
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Country England
RegionSouth West
Royal Charter1155
County status1373
StatusCity, county and unitary authority
Government
 • TypeUnitary authority
 • Governing bodyBristol City Council
Area
 • City and county110 km2 (40 sq mi)
Elevation
11 m (36 ft)
Population
 (2017)
 • City and county463,400 (Ranked 10th district and 43rd ceremonial county)
 • Density3,892/km2 (10,080/sq mi)
 • Urban
724,000
 • Metro
1,006,600 (LUZ 2,009)
 • Ethnicity[1]
  • 84.0% white (77.9% white British)
  • 6.0% black
  • 5.5% Asian
  • 3.6% mixed-race
  • 0.3% Arab
  • 0.6% other
DemonymBristolian
Time zoneUTC+1 (GMT (UTC))
 • Summer (DST)BST
Postcode
BS
Area code(s)0117, 01275
ISO 3166 codeGB-BST
Websitewww.bristol.gov.uk

Bristol is a city and ceremonial county in England. It is home to nearly 430,000 people. The River Avon runs through it to the Severn estuary.

Geography

It is between the counties of Gloucestershire and Somerset. In 1373, King Edward III ordered that it should be a county itself forever. However, it lost county status in 1974, the year after its 600-year celebrations. It became the largest district within the new Avon county. Avon was never popular and was abolished in 1996, when county status returned to Bristol, which became a unitary council.

History

The Bristol name means "the place where the bridge is" in Old English. It has been a port for 800 years. Now, ships are too big to reach it. It has a new seaport at Avonmouth.

Historical sites

It has many historic churches and other buildings. The Clifton Suspension Bridge crosses high above the river. The University of Bristol is also in Clifton.

Bristol was a centre for the slave trade.[2][3] During the 2020 George Floyd protests, a crowd pushed down the statue of 17th century slave trader Edward Colston and threw it in the harbour.[4]

Bristol was badly damaged during World War II. It now has many new factories and offices. The Concorde supersonic airliner was made here.

It is also the birthplace of the music genre trip hop,[5] with 3 trip hop bands originating there: Massive Attack, Portishead (named after a North Somerset town) and Tricky.[6]

Notable people

Some of the most notable people who are currently living, or who are from the city include:

References

  1. ↑ "2011 Census: Ethnicgroup, local authorities in England and Wales". Census 2011. Office for National Statistics. Archived from the original on 16 January 2013. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
  2. ↑ "The Growing Effort to Remove Monuments of Europe's Racist Past". Time. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
  3. ↑ [https:bamsh.co.uk "Bristol Business"]. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help) Wednesday, 1 February 2017
  4. ↑ "Toppled statue of English slave trader to be moved to a museum". Reuters. June 10, 2020. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  5. ↑ Maine, Samantha (9 February 2012). "Trip-Hop in Bristol – a brief history - 1994 rises". Archived from the original on 10 August 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  6. ↑ "Bristol: Facts, Discussion Forum, and Encyclopedia Article". absoluteastronomy.com. Retrieved 19 December 2010.
  7. ↑ "Banksy Walking Tour". Visit Bristol. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
  8. ↑ "Banksy". Biography. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
  9. ↑ CNN, By Allen Kim. "A new Banksy mural showed up just in time for Valentine's Day". CNN. Retrieved 2020-06-10. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)

Other websites

  • Media related to Bristol at Wikimedia Commons

51°27′N 2°35′W / 51.450°N 2.583°W / 51.450; -2.583