The purpose of this article "is to chronicle the impact of reform on Bristol public life. An earlier piece dealt with the Tory opponents of the Reform Bill. The present essay covers the Whigs, radicals and others who, with varying degrees of enthusiasm, supported it". Stevenson provides information about who was involved in a vital period of change for the City of Bristol.
Tag: Boroughbridge
‘So much loss and misery’: taking the long view of the West Country flooding
"‘Those who have not been within six miles of Bridgwater within the last fortnight have missed one of the most remarkable sights ever witnessed in this country’, remarked the Western Gazette in November 1875. ‘Floods are no new thing in Somersetshire... but never,since the moors were artificially drained, never since railways were introduced, have the floods attained such a height, covered so enormous an area and caused so much loss and misery, as during the last few days". Steve Poole looks at the history of flooding in the West Country and how it has been presented, whilst taking into consideration how it has shaped the physical development of the region.
A Rearguard Action: Bristol Toryism and the Reform Bill, 1830-32
"During the 1810s and 1820s, the Tory merchant and banker Richard Hart Davis rode high in Bristol electoral politics. Elected as one of the city's two MPs at a bye-election in 1812, he retained his seat at the general election of that year and at subsequent elections in 1818, 1820, 1826 and 1830". John Stevens looks at how Toryism was in the ascendancy, restricting the influence of Whiggism in Bristol.