The following work has been undertaken since 7 February 2026
Avon Local History Association donated copies of their former journal Avon Past, nos. 1-16 (1979-1993) to be added to the BRS Collection. Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16
Following the dissolution of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society library, they gave us some of their books to digitise. Many of the recent items added to the BRS Collection are from BGAS.
Items added to the BRS collection: primary sources
Nine volumes of transcriptions relating to St Andrews Church, Clifton. Edited to a high standard by the local historian Mary V. Campbell (1924-2015), these records had previously only been available at Bristol Archives and a small number of libraries:
Campbell, Mary V. (ed.), The 1851 Census of Clifton, Bristol, Vol. 1 (Bristol, 1992)
Campbell, Mary V. (ed.), The 1851 Census of Clifton, Bristol, Vol. 2 (Bristol, 1992)
Clifton College, Clifton College: Endowed Scholarships and Prizes (1914)
A register of scholarships, donated by Clifton College.
Coates, Richard, Shirehampton Church-Yard Book (Bristol Record Society publications, Vol. 76, 2023)
Added two years after print publication, following our standard policy.
Aimed at teachers, this resource pack was produced by Bristol Museum and reproduced electronically with their support.
A set of biographical sketches published under the pseudonym ‘A B[ristol] Freeman’. Our investigations revealed him to be the lawyer and dog breeder Charles Henry Lane.
A further set of biographical sketches by Lane.
A catalogue of Cathedral records undertaken by the Marc Fitch Fund.
A set of lighthearted reviews by the noted Bristol journalist and newspaper publisher, Joseph Leech.
A further set of reviews by Leech, of country churches around Bristol, including Redland, Horfield and Frenchay.
Moore John S. (ed.), Clifton and Westbury Probate Inventories 1609-1761 (ALHA, Bristol, 1981)
Transcribed household inventories.
Newbolt, F. G., Clifton College Twenty-Five Years Ago: The Diary of a Fag (London, 1904)
Records one year (1879) in the life of a junior pupil at Clifton College.
Newbolt, F. G., Clifton College Forty Years Ago: The Diary of a Praepostor (London, 1927)
Sir Francis Newbolt’s account of his time as a prefect in 1882-3.
Pritchard & Co., Catalogue of the Francis F. Fox Bristol Library (Bristol, 1930)
The auction sales catalogue for the private library of the historian, Francis Fox. Includes the prices realised.
A contemporary account of the Blitz written by the Lord Mayor.
Williams, Mary E., The Civic Treasures of Bristol (City of Bristol, 1984)
A colour catalogue of important objects held by the city, written by the City Archivist.
Wilson, Janet (ed.), Sermons very fruitfull, godly and learned by Roger Edgeworth: Preaching in the Reformation c.1535-c.1553 (D. S. Brewer, 1993)
An edited collection of the sermons of a conservative Church of England priest during the Reformation.
Items added to the BRS collection: Secondary works
The first century of a Quaker-run school. Digitisation sponsored by Roger and Celia Starr.
An official publication, written by the Dean.
Christie, O. F. , A History of Clifton College 1860-1934 (Arrowsmith, Bristol, 1935)
A history of the school, produced by its alumni association.
Fryer, Alfred C., Monumental Effigies made by Bristol Craftsmen (1240-1550) (Oxford, 1925)
An account of medieval funerary monuments in and around the city.
A commissioned history of St Andrews, Clifton, written by the novelist and historian, Amy Green-Armytage.
Hirst, H. C. M., History of the Church of St. John the Baptist Bristol (Bristol, 1921)
A history of one of this well-known medieval church.
Leversage, Peter, A History of Bristol Cathedral : Its Antiquities and Monuments (Clifton, 1853)
One of the earliest histories / guides to the Cathedral.
A history of Bristol’s military reserves up to the Edwardian period.
Morgan, Edwin Thomas, A History of the Bristol Cathedral School (Bristol, 1913)
A history of what is now Bristol Cathedral Choir School.
Sampson, Walter. A., History of the Queen Elizabeth’s Hospital Bristol (Bristol, 1910)
A commissioned history of QEH by a noted local historian.
An official history of Colston’s School, now Collegiate School.
Wikimedia / Wikipedia
About twenty-five images relating to Bristol history were added to Wikimedia. Two new Wikipedia articles were created, on the Royal Hotel and, The Bush. About twenty other Wikipedia articles relating to Bristol history were edited.
Usage of BRS digital resources
From January to June 2026 the Bristol Record Society Collection on the Internet Archive received an average of 5,200 views / downloads per month.This is about 1,900 more per month than the previous period (July-December 2025). It is about three times the number of monthly views we were receiving in 2024. The rapid growth in visits by humans continues to correlate with a great rise in visits by bots.
As discussed previously, some of the increased traffic is probably due to people being directed to our Collection by more efficient AI searches. It seems likely, however, that the enormous growth in page views is partly a result of companies accessing our material to train their AI systems. I confess it is unclear to me why this would require human engagement with our collection. However, it may be that human intervention is required to assess qualitatively the material used.
The BRS website received 803 views in the last 30 days from 463 individual visitors. This is somewhat lower than the previous period. The geographical distribution of our visitors is roughly the same – about sixty percent from the the UK (including a tenth from Bristol) and the rest from abroad – esp. N. America, western Europe and China. Our main recognised source of visitors is the Internet Archive, which suggests that people are finding an item in the BRS Collection and then following the link there back to our website.
Bristol Record Society 