About

The Bristol Record Society is a registered charity devoted to the study and publication of the historic records of the City and County of Bristol. Since its foundation in 1929 it has published over seventy major volumes. These are an essential source for the investigation of Bristol’s history. All the volumes, together with their introductions, are products of the freely given work of scholars, each of whom is an expert in the chosen topic. The production of each volume is overseen by a managing editor, drawn from the Council of the Bristol Record Society. The Council is made up of academics, archivists, librarians and other experts involved in the study of the city’s history. All volumes are typeset, copy edited and produced to professional standards. Our current publisher is 4word Ltd.

In addition to our main volumes, we also produce Occasional Publications of records or secondary works that we feel to be worth making publicly available, but which have not been edited, polished or formatted to the same standards as the volumes in our regular series.

Since 2015 the BRS has been engaged in an extensive programme of digitisation and electronic publication of works relating to Bristol history. All our volumes are freely available online on the Publications page, five years after their publication in print. Over a hundred other primary sources and secondary works, including records volumes, pamphlets, research monographs and topographical prints of Bristol, have been digitised and e-published since 2019.

Those who wish to support our digitisation activities can make a direct donation to the associated fund. Donors can also choose to sponsor individual projects, which will be recorded on the website.

For more information about the Society’s formal aims and organisation, please see our constitution.