Clifton and Hotwells
Improvement Society (CHIS)

Welcome to CHIS History Sources

Maggie Shapland and Mike Pascoe

Bibliography

The rich history of Clifton has attracted many authors. Although some of these books may be out of print, they will be available in local libraries. Some suggested reading:

• 
  Walks from Bristol's Severn Beach Line. Andrew Swift. Akeman Press. August 2014. Softback 276 pages. £15.

  This book covers 16 walks differing in length between 4 miles to 13 miles covering Lawrence Hill, St Annes, Floating Harbour, Frenchay, Kingsdown, Clifton, Leigh Woods, Ashton Court, Sea Mills, Patchway and even one walk from Severn Beach over the Severn Bridge to the Wales Coast Path. This book is more than just a walks book with maps and pubs, it is a veritable mine of information. It is profusely illustrated with colour plates and historic photos, a huge amount of historical detail on points passed, including quotes from the Bristol Mercury, a good bibliography and a history of the Severn Beach Line.

  Several walks cover BS8: the walk from Cotham to Clifton Down station goes via the Royal Fort gardens, Vic Rooms, Richmond Lane, St Andrews churchyard, Meridian Vale, Dowry Square, Hope Square and the Polygon; another from Victoria Square, Royal York Crescent; another includes Canynge Square and the Observatory before it takes you to Leigh Woods; and another from Sea Mills along the Gorge past Clifton Rocks Railway, Polygon Lane to White Hart steps and beyond.

  The diversity of Bristol is amazing. A wonderful book which puts each route into context with its industrial and social history and economic past. More details http://www.akemanpress.com/books/walks-from-bristols-severn-beach-line

• 
  Brunels Bridges: John Christopher.
  Published to coincide with the 150th year of the Suspension Bridge, this is another paperback published by Amberley July 2014. 146 illustrations, 96 pages, £14.99 from Amberley Publishing, The Hill, Merrywalks, Stroud GL5 4EP 01453 847823.
  This book covers all his bridges whether they were suspended, brick and stone, iron or timber. I again really wish there was a contents page. Many of the same photos and the same amount of content are used in "Brunel in Bristol" (more railway orientated) Oct 2013, but there is more information than in "Brunel through Time" 2010.
  The swivel bridge is now referred to as Brunel's other bridge and now confirms it needs restoration, there is also slightly more information about the Avon bridge. John has written numerous books about Brunel: Railways, London stations, Cornwall, Gloucestershire, London, SS Great Britain, lost works, many overlapping.
  This is a comprehensive, well illustrated book on the bridges but could have contained more detail in view of all his other books.
• 
  Brunel in Bristol. John Christopher.
  Published by Amberley Publishing October 2013. £14.99 96 pages www.amberley-books.com. Tel 01453 847800 email sales@ amberley-books.com. What a surprise for such a slim volume.
  It is absolutely packed with an amazing amount of facts and figures covering the regular famous structures as the GWR, Temple Meads, the Clifton suspension Bridge, SS Great Britain, Bristol Docks. The book covers some of Brunel's early history in Bristol and many of his other accomplishments and little known work such as the Swivel Bridge, now recognised as an important feature of the docks though ignored and forgotten for 40 years. We were really pleased to see a photograph of it on the front cover in view of all our current activity with it.
  This book contains 180 illustrations and photographs and 96 pages of interesting information some of which has escaped other authors' attention. It is right up to date as new research always makes an acknowledged subject more interesting. I highly recommend this concise volume as it will not take up much space on already crowded book shelves but reward the reader with a book that will be read many times.

  John Christopher is an acknowledged expert on Brunel, and has had several books on Brunel published by Amberley Publishing. He uses this book to examine the relationship between Bristol and the engineer. He lives in Gloucestershire. In between writing books, he is a balloon pilot.

• Explore Clifton on Foot
  • 1 Clifton (A Circular Walk around the heart of historic Clifton). Published October 2013.
  • 2 Victorian Clifton (A Circular Walk around Victorian Clifton). Published October 2013.
  • 3 Cliftonwood (A Circular Walk around Clifton Hill, Cliftonwood Road, the docks and back up leafy lanes)
  • 4 Hotwells (A Circular Walk along Royal York Crescent, The Paragon, The Polygon, Dowry Square, the locks, Hotwell Road and the zigzag)

  	More detailed images of the covers of the books can be seen: Clifton cover Victorian Clifton cover

  Discover something about Clifton's fascinating past with using these clear and lively 44 page walking guides by Julia Killingback and Mike Pascoe. Cost £7.99 each. Explorewalks UK
• The Victorian Doctors of Victoria Square by Dr Michael Whitfield. Whitfield Publishing 2011. 213 pages with many photographs of the men themselves as well as their houses. £9.95 ISBN 9780957116702.
  A wonderfully researched, very readable book about no less than twenty six doctors who lived in Victoria Square between 1849 and 1910 including Bristol's most famous physician William Budd and Bristol's most famous cricketer W.G.Grace. To put this into perspective, in 1871 there were only 121 qualified doctors. It is fascinating to read their career paths, and how eminent many became. Obtainable from 24 Hanbury Road, Bristol BS8 2EP.
• Clifton through time by Will Musgrave. Published November 2012 by Amberley Books. 96 pages. £14.99 ISBN 978 1 4456 1141 9. Available from local bookshops and from Amberley Publishing, The Hill, Merrywalks, Stroud GL5 4EP www.amberley-books.com
  This is the latest title from Amberley's Though Time series.
  This is a lot better than their Central Bristol book which covered a huge area, much of which was not in the Centre. This book starts off at the bottom of Park Street, travels up Queens Road and Blackboy Hill, along the Downs, up the Promenade to the Observatory and the Suspension Bridge, down Sion Hill, down to Hotwells Road and back up to Clifton village, Victoria Square and Pembroke Road. The pictures are good quality and it was interesting to see the photographs from the Roy Vaughan (a late CHIS committee member) collection in the Records Office. The accompanying text was good and put the pictures into perspective. This is an ideal guide to Clifton, written by Will who has lived in Clifton all his life.
  I still wish there was a list of contents to help navigate through the book, but the books in this series do not seem to have them.
• CLIFTON SUSPENSION BRIDGE by Adrian Andrews and Michael Pascoe. Published 2008 by Broadcast Books on behalf of the Clifton Suspension Bridge Trust. £4.95, 52 pages 133 colour illustrations, images and diagrams. ISBN: 978 1 874092 49 0 This beautiful little book encapsulates the long, fascinating history of the many plans to span the Avon Gorge with a new bridge. It includes well over a hundred images, many of them rarely seen or previously unpublished, as well as fine contemporary watercolour paintings of the gorge by Samuel Jackson and Samuel Coleman.
  Copies are on sale now at the bridge Visitor Centre and at other local outlets.
• Bristol Before the Camera: the city in 1820-30 by Shena Stoddard. Redcliffe Press 2001.
  Watercolurs and drawings from the Braikenridge Collection.
• Sculpture in Bristol by Douglas Merritt. Redcliffe Press 2002.
  A highly readable and well illustrated guide.
• The Paty family: Makers of 18th Century Bristol by Gordon Priest. Redcliffe Press 2003.
  The famous family responsible for much of Clifton's architecture.
• From Bristol to the Sea: Artists, the Avon Gorge and Bristol Harbour by Francis Greenacre. Redcliffe Press 2OO5.
  A beautifully written and illustrated description
• Life in Victorian Bristol by Helen Reid. Redcliffe Press 2005.
  Many excerpts from the Clifton Chronicle
• Brunel's Bristol by Angus Buchananan and Michael Williams. Redcliffe Press 2005.
• Hotwells and Cliftonwood (Images of England Series) by Sue Stops and Pauline Barnes. Tempus Publishing 2005
• The Clifton Guide by Michael Pascoe. Redcliffe Press 1985
  A good introductory guide to Clifton.
• A Chronicle of Clifton and Hotwells by Helen Reid. Redcliffe Press 1992
  An entertaining account of Clifton's history.
• On the Waterfront: the Hotwells Story by Helen Reid and Sue Stops. Redcliffe Press 2002
  The changing face of Hotwells with appealing illustrations.
• History of Clifton by Donald Jones. Phillimore 1992
  Fascinating in-depth study by a professional historian.
• Clifton Suspension Bridge by Pitkin Unichrome 1996
  The story of a bridge 110 years in the making.
• Clifton Suspension Bridge by Geoffrey Body 1976. Published by Moonraker Press
• Clifton and Durdham Down by Elizabeth Ralph. 1965
• Bristol as it Was by Reece Winstone
  A series of volumes showing photos of Clifton and Bristol from the 1840s onwards.
• The Floating Harbour. A Landscape History of Bristol City Docks by John Lord and Jem Southam. Redcliffe Press 1983. History of the Docks with superb photos
• Clifton; a Place for All Seasons Video by Michael Pascoe.
  Obtainable from local shops or email from sales@1st-take.com
• Go Home and Do the Washing! By Lorna Brierley and Helen Reid. Broadcast Books. Describes the hidden, yet enormous contribution to education, social service, medicine, the arts and politics that the pioneering women of Bristol have made over the last 300 years, including Eliza Walker Dunbar (pioneer of health provision) who lived in Clifton.
• The Fight for Bristol (Planning and the growth of public protest) by Priest and Cobb. Bristol Civic Society and Redcliffe Press 1980. Gives a good description of the Grand Spa Hotel scheme which started CHIS off.

Useful websites:

• Know your place Explore historic maps of Bristol (1840s tithe maps, 19th, 20th century ordnance survey maps, Ashmead's plans of the central area from 1828, 1855, 1874
• Bristol Books and Publishers - an organisation of publishers in and around Bristol, specialising not only in local books but in a wide variety of subjects.
• The history of Clifton and other related articles are on www.cliftononline.net
• BBC
• University of Bristol library catalogue
• LibrariesWest is a partnership between Bath & North East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset, Somerset and South Gloucestershire public library services. Search the catalogue and reserve online.
• Bristol City Council Record Officein a former bonded warehouse in Cumberland Basin, has searchable computerised archives (open Monday to Thursday)
• The Central Reference Library in College Green (open every day) has all its archives in card trays still. It has a complete set of Matthews Guides to Bristol, electoral rolls, as well as newspapers on microfilm.
• National Archives of the United Kingdom
• New website to promote cultural delights of English heritage cities. Click on Bristol
• History of Clifton Rocks Railway" includes pictures of the tunnel in 2001
• Clifton Rocks Railway website
• Clifton Suspension Bridge website. They give guided tours and illustrated talks.
• Who are the Merchant Venturers? A critical study by Venue.
  The badge of the Merchants
  The Merchants' Hall
• Pigot's Directory for 1830 With Clifton, Bedminster, Ashton, Brislington, Pill, Stapleton, etc. This transcription contains 6,501 names, occupations and addresses of the residents of Bristol England that have been extracted from the micro-fiche of Pigot's Directory of Gloucestershire for 1830. It is divided into four sections. Useful for genealogists.
• On-line resource, research and consultancy service for anyone requiring information or historical background. Based in Bristol
• Redcliffe Press is the leading book publisher about Bristol. In 30 years, it has published almost 200 Bristol books, covering just about every topic
• Abebooks Second hand book finder

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