"The phrase 'builders of Victorian Bristol' can be approached at different levels. It can refer to all those who contributed to the growth of the city in the widest sense, embracing its physical, economic, social, political and cultural development in the period 1837-1901". Peter Malpass investigates some important names and how they made a different to Bristol in the Victorian era.
Tag: Somerset
Marketing the Poor: Gainsborough and the Circulation of Provisions in Bath
'The Georgian painter, Thomas Gainsborough, spent some of the most productive years of his career making portraits and landscapes from a base in the city of Bath'. Inspired by the 2012 exhibition at the Holburne Museum curated by Susan Sloman, Steve Poole looks at this shift in Gainsborough's focus and how this changed the presentation of the poor.
The Upper Assembly Rooms at Bath in the 1770s: Private Property or Public Amenity?
"A major investment opportunity arose at Bath in late 1768 with the announcement of a project to build a fresh suite of assembly rooms among the terraces and crescents of rapidly expanding Lansdown". Fawcett examines the details of their construction, as well as their use by various societies and individuals.
Farming Practices on the Lands of Bath Abbey and Hinton Charterhouse Priory during the Sixteenth Century
"The scramble among the aristocracy, gentry and merchants to obtain and keep some of the stream of former monastic property which became available after the dissolution of 1536-40 led to numerous legal disputes. They have left a rich store of evidence concerning the monastic estates and the purposes for which they were used". Bettey looks at how farming practices shaped local industry in the region, and how it shaped the region.
Palm Oil and Elephant Tusks: The Merchant Kings of Bristol
'Over the years of the slave trade Bristol's merchants learned the best combination of 'sortings' to facilitate their business in the West Indies. It was an eclectic, international collection of trade goods containing, for instance Maldive cowries, Manchester cottons, Birmingham guns, Swedish iron bars, Bristol copper and glassware, West Indian rum, Virginian tobacco and South Gloucestershire felt hats. The goods were used as customs duties and homage for the coastal kings, 'dash' payments for African middlemen, and barter for slaves'.
Magistracy and the Crisis of Paternalism in the 1790s: The case of George Donisthorpe of Somerton
George Donisthorpe was the resident magistrate of the town of Somerton in Somerset. In 1796 he was tried for 'wilful neglect of his duty as a magistrate' in refusing to assist in quelling a riot and 'with having rather encouraged it.' The public prosecution of a Justice of the Peace was a rare occurrence. Traditionally, the local magistrate was represented as a paternal figure 'guiding the conduct' and ensuring the wellbeing of the deferential poor. Their wealth and status placed them beyond reproach. In this article, Rose Wallis illustrates the increasingly precarious position of magistrates in the period, as their discretionary powers and paternal authority were eroded by the centralisation of government control.
The Transition of Taunton from ‘wicked town’ to ‘peaceable borough’
In the years after 1600 Taunton was marked by a heady mixture of radical Puritanism and the volatile wool trade. Together these pitched Taunton into the centre of the Civil War in the area and, on two occasions in the second half of the seventeenth century, into open rebellion against the government. William Gibson follows Taunton’s transition from a centre of rebellion to peaceable borough in the eighteenth century.
‘Rich men had gotten all into their hands’: opposition to corn badgers at Midford, 1630
Market practices could be the cause of many disorders throughout the early modern period, so food riots were a common occurrence. Rural customs and traditional rights were based on the belief that the rural community were entitled to a fair price of grain, even in times of dearth. These core beliefs naturally came with strong rules about which market practices were acceptable, and which were not. In this article, we meet a particular type of market villain: the ‘badger’. Neil Howlett uncovers the story of a Midford food riot in 1630 following the arrival of corn badgers.
Scouting in Weston-Super-Mare and the War: a local study of the 24th Weston-Super-Mare boy scout troop during World War II 1942-45
War time Britain saw the decline of ‘Scouting’ on a national level, but the boy-scout group at Weston-Super-Mare thrived. In this local study, Duncan Biddulph explores the factors that contributed to the success of the Hill Road Scout Troop. A sense of comradeship between the boy-scouts and their leaders, most of whom had close ties with local churches and schools, seems to have been a key aspect. This article offers a window into life in Weston-Super-Mare during the war, highlighting its strong community spirit.
She might have, which is all that matters: History, drama and the case of Mary Hamilton, 1746
Mary Hamilton was perhaps the most notorious cross-dresser or ‘female-husband’ of her day. She lived in Somerset, among other places, and was the subject of scandal across the country for her habitual crime of marrying other women. Her story was preserved in the pages of an anonymous pamphlet by a famous contemporary novelist and dramatist. Through the story of Mary Hamilton, Sheila Hannon considers the rights and responsibilities of modern-day novelists and dramatists in their use of historical evidence. To what extent can writers take liberties with historical record in the name of ‘dramatic license’, when much of the ‘historical evidence’ that remains is itself fiction?