A bit about my home City

Bristol, England people have always taken great pride in their City. It has an old maritime and trading history and was so prosperous by 1373 that it was made a County. Hence I grew up not in Gloucestershire, nor in Somerset, (the adjoining historic Counties) but in the “City and County of Bristol”.

Nonetheless, the Gloucestershire County Cricket Club played its home games on the “County Ground” in Bristol, and the Gloucestershire Regiment (the “Glorious Glosters”)had their chief Barracks in Bristol.

There are at least 10 "Bristols"in the U.S.A, one indeed in Florida!



Bristol was a slaving port, and Massachusetts State Representative Byron Rushing (an expert on the slave trade) tells me that “Bristol Shackles” were highly prized.


Bristol was an entrepot for wines, tobacco and cacao: hence the Bristol of my youth was famous for Wills’ Tobacco, Fry’s Chocolate, and Harvey’s “Bristol Cream” Sherry. (Bristol, believe it or not, still has ancient wine cellars on Denmark Street).

Proud as my family was of Harvey’s, Wills’ and Fry’s, we had a special liking for Bristol ‘buses.

Chassis and engines (Bristol or Gardiner) were made or assembled in Brislington, Bristol and then driven the some 240 miles to Lowestoft, Suffolk to be outfitted at the Eastern Coach Works.

So these good ‘buses were made in Bristol (where we lived), and in Lowestoft, where Mum had been born. They were “our” ‘buses.

These ‘buses had first been made by and for the “Bristol Tramways and Carriage Company”, founded by Sir George White who also created the Bristol Aeroplane Company.

The successor Companies to B.A.C. (as we knew it) included Bristol Siddeley Engines, later part of Rolls Royce Aero Engines. If the jet ‘plane in which you fly has R.R. engines, they were most probably designed and made in Bristol!

B.A.C. also created the wonderful Bristol Cars. These hand-crafted cars are still manufactured by the now independent and very small Bristol Cars Limited.

(see http://www.bristolcars.co.uk/index2.htm )

Later the ‘bus making venture was spun off into Bristol Commercial Vehicles, which was eventually purchased by Leyland Motors, in turn a part of Volvo ‘buses. Many of the Volvo rear engined ’buses now in service were originally designed in Bristol.

If you are in a resort area and see a red, open topped, double decker ‘bus for tourists, you are likely to say “Ah, a London ‘bus”.

But check the engine grill. It is probably a “Bristol”. You will indeed be “Ship shape and Bristol Fashion”.

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