The list below provides links to digitised primary sources which can be used for studying Bristol’s history. Many have been digitised and epublished by the BRS and can be found on The Internet Archive (archive.org) Bristol Record Society Collection. The primary sources includes both records volumes derived from manuscript sources which are largely or entirely textual in nature. It also includes printed books (such as guidebooks) that were not created as historical works in their time, but which now have value for those studying Bristol’s history.
Ashworth, Lilias & Thomas, Urijah, Report of the Bristol & West of England Society for Women’s Suffrage, 1875 (Bristol, 1876)
Atchley, E. G. Cuthbert F. , ‘Medieval Parish clerks in Bristol’, Transactions of the St. Paul’s Ecclesiological Society, vol. 5 (1904), pp. 107-16
Atchley, E. G. Cuthbert F., ‘On the medieval parish records of the church of St. Nicholas, Bristol’, Transactions of the St. Paul’s Ecclesiological Society, Vol. VI (1906)
Atchley, E. G. Cuthbert F., ‘Some inventories of the parish church of St. Stephen, Bristol’, Transactions of the St Paul’s Ecclesiological Society, Vol. VI, part III (1908)
Atchley, E. G. Cuthbert F., ‘Some more Bristol inventories’, Transactions of the St. Paul’s Ecclesiological Society, Vol. IX, Part II (1922), pp. 1-50
Barrett, William, The History and Antiquities of the City of Bristol: compiled from Original Records and Authentic Manuscripts (Bristol, 1789)
Beaven, Alfred B., Bristol Lists: Municipal and Miscellaneous (Bristol, 1899)
Bettey, Joseph H., Bristol Observed: visitors’ impressions of the City from Domesday to The Blitz (Redcliffe, Bristol, 1986)
Bickley, Francis B. (ed.), A Calendar of Bristol Deeds (Chiefly relating to Bristol) collected by George Weare Braikenridge (T. and A. Constable, Edinburgh, 1899)
Bickley, Francis B. (ed.), The Little Red Book of Bristol (Bristol, 1900) Vol. 1
Bickley, Francis B. (ed.), The Little Red Book of Bristol (Bristol, 1900) Vol. 2
Bristol Chamber of Commerce, Bristol Chamber of Commerce Reports, 1823-1833 (Bristol, 1823-33)
Bristol City Council, Visit of Canadian and American Journalists to Bristol, September, 1910 (Bristol, 1910)
Bristol City Council, Bristol: The Western Gateway to the Old Country (J. W. Arrowsmith Ltd., Bristol, 1911)
Bristol City Council, Council House Bristol (Bristol City Council, 1956)
Bristol City Council,Visit of their Most Gracious Majesties…Opening of the Royal Edward Dock, on Thursday, July 9th. 1908. Official Programme (Bristol, 1908)
Bristol Corporation, Official Guide to the City of Bristol (Arrowsmith, 1925)
Bristol Mercury Special Commissioner, The Homes of the Bristol Poor (Bristol, 1884)
Bristol Public Libraries, Early Bristol Newspapers…in the Bristol Reference Library (Bristol, 1956)
Bristol Social Services Committee, Facts of Bristol’s Social Life 1914 (Bristol, 1914)
Bristol. The City Charters. Containing the Original Institution of Mayors, Sheriffs, Recorders, Town-Clerks and all other Officers whatsoever. (Bristol, 1736)
Bush, Henry, Extracts of Key Primary Sources Illustrative of the Local Taxation of the Town of Bristol, from the Thirteenth Century Onwards (Bristol, 1824) [British History Online edition, sponsored by the BRS]
Chillcott, J., Chilcott’s Descriptive History of Bristol, Ancient and Modern; or, a Guide to Bristol, Clifton, & the Hotwells (1846, 7th. ed.)
Clifton College, The Memorial to Old Cliftonians who fell in the South African War (J. W. Arrowsmith, Bristol, 1904)
Clifton College, The Cliftonian Memorial of the Great War, 1914-1919 (J. W. Arrowsmith, Bristol, 1922)
Cole, R. Thorold, The Church Plate of the City of Bristol. Part 1 (Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society, 1932)
Council for the Preservation of Ancient Bristol, Ancient Bristol: List of Prehistoric and Roman Remains and of Structures of Archaeological and Architectural Interest in the City of Bristol (Bristol, 1938)
Evans, John, The Picture of Bristol; or a Guide to Objects of Curiosity and Interest in Bristol, Clifton, the Hotwells and their Vicinity (Bristol, 1818)
Lesser Columbus (alias Laurence Cowen), Greater Bristol by Lesser Columbus (Bristol, 1893)
Dallaway, James, William Wyrcestre Redivivus (Bristol, 1823)
Dallaway, James, Antiquities of Bristow in the Middle Centuries; including the Topography by William Wyrcestre, and the Life of William Canynges (Bristol, 1834)
Damer Powell, J[ohn] W[illiams], Bristol Privateers and Ships of War (Arrowsmith, Bristol, 1930)
Dawson, James W., Commerce and Customs: a history of the ports of Newport and Caerleon (R. H. Johns Ltd. Newport, 1932)
Flavin, Susan & Jones, Evan T. (eds.), Sixteenth-century Bristol customs accounts transcribed in EXCEL workbooks (2008)
Fox, Francis F., Some Account of the Ancient Fraternity of Merchant Taylors of Bristol: with transcripts of ordinances and other documents (Bristol, 1880)
Fox, Francis F. and Taylor, John (eds.), Some Account of the Guild of Bristol Weavers in Bristol: chiefly from MSS. (Bristol, 1889)
Fox, Francis F. (ed.), Adams’s Chronicle of Bristol (Bristol, 1910)
Fry, Edward Alexander (ed.), A Calender of wills : proved in the Consistory Court (City and Deanery of Bristol division) of the Bishop of Bristol, 1572-1792 : and also a calender of will in the great orphan books, preserved in the Council House, 1379-1674 (British Record Society publications, Vol. 17, 1897) [Hathi Trust version]
George, E. & George, S. (eds.), Guide to the Probate Inventories of the Bristol Deanery of the Diocese of Bristol (1542-1804) (Brist. Rec. Soc. & Brist. & Glouc. Arch. Soc. publications, 1988)
Gray, Irvine & Ralph, Elizabeth (eds.), Guide to the Parish Records of the City of Bristol and the County of Gloucester (Records Section of Bristol & Glouc. Arch. Soc., Vol. 5, 1963)
Gray, Irvine, Antiquaries of Gloucestershire and Bristol (Records Section of Bristol & Glouc. Arch. Soc., Vol. 12, 1981)
Green, Kenneth H., Bristol an appreciation (Garland Press, Bristol, 1947)
Hamilton Whyte, W., Decasualization of Dock Labour with Special Reference to the Port of Bristol (University of Bristol Studies, No. 2, 1934)
Herapath,W[illiam], Etheridge, R[obert] et. al., The Hand Book for Visitors to the Bristol & Clifton Hotwells (Chilcott, Bristol, c.1853)
Jevons, Rosamond and Madge, John, Housing Estates: a Study of Bristol Corporation Policy and Practice Between the Wars (University of Bristol, 1946)
Johnson, James, Transactions of the Corporation of the Poor, in the City of Bristol, During a Period of 126 Years (Bristol, 1826). Googlebooks.
Jones, Evan T. (ed.), Bristol Annal: Bristol Archives 09594/1 (version 30 Sept 2019) [This is a draft annotated transcription . Photographs of the manuscript (137 MB) have also been made available with the permission of Bristol Archives.]
Lart, Charles Edmund (ed.), Registers of the French Churches of Bristol, Stonehouse and Plymouth (Publications of the Huguenot Society of London, vol. 20, 1912)
Latimer, John (ed.), Calendar of the Charters &c. of the City and County of Bristol (Bristol, 1909)
Lee, Thomas, White-Lion Club, Late Riot and Dock Tax (Bristol, 1807)
Leech, Joseph, The Church Goer: being a series of Sunday visits to the various churches of Bristol (2nd ed., Bristol, 1845)
Leech, Joseph, Brief Romances from Bristol History (Bristol, 1884)
Major S. D., New Illustrated Handbook to Bristol, Clifton and Neighbourhood (Bristol, 1872)
Manby, G. W., Fugitive Sketches of the History and Natural Beauties of Clifton, Hot-Wells and Vicinity (Bristol, 1802)
Manchee, Thomas John (ed.),The Bristol Charities, being the report of the commissioners for inquiring concerning charities in England and Wales, so far as relates to the charitable institutions in Bristol. Vol. I (T. J. Manchee, Bristol, 1831)
Manchee, Thomas John (ed.), The Bristol Charities, being the report of the commissioners for inquiring concerning charities in England and Wales, so far as relates to the charitable institutions in Bristol. Vol. II (T. J. Manchee, Bristol, 1832)
Masters, Betty R. & Ralph, Elizabeth, The Church Book of St Ewen’s, Bristol 1454-1584 (Records Section of Bristol & Glouc. Arch. Soc., Vol. 6, 1967)
Mathews, E. R. Norris, Early Printed Books and Manuscripts in the City Reference Library Bristol (Bristol, 1899)
Matthews, William, Matthews’s New History of Bristol or Complete Guide and Bristol Directory for the Year 1793-4 (Bristol, 1793, ed. 1898)
McGrath, Patrick (ed.), The Marchants Avizo by I[ohn] B[rowne,] Marchant, 1589 (Harvard, 1957)
McGrath, Patrick and Williams, Mary E. (eds.), Bristol Inns and Alehouses in the Mid-Eighteenth Century (Bristol, 1979)
Micklem, Nathaniel, Arnold Thomas of Bristol: collected papers and addresses (London, 1925)
Moore, John S., Avon Local History Handbook (ALHA, 1979) [Internet Archive, borrow only]
Morgan, William, ‘William Morgan’s Annals of Bristol, 1246-1687‘ [BRS archive.org] in William Tyson, The Bristol Memorialist (Bristol, 1823), pp. 38-44, 115-122, 189-201, 287-293.
Müller, George, compiled by G. Fred. Bergin, Autobiography of George Müller (Bristol, The Bible and Tract Warehouse, Centenary Memorial edition, 1905)
Neale, W. G., At the Port of Bristol: volume one, members and problems, 1848-1899 (Port of Bristol Authority, Bristol, 1968)
Neale, W. G., At the Port of Bristol: volume two, the turn of the tide, 1900-1914 (Port of Bristol Authority, Bristol, 1970)
Neale, W. G., The Tides of War and the Port of Bristol, 1914-1918 (Port of Bristol Authority, Bristol, 1976)
Newcomb, George, Annals of Bristol, containing a List of the Mayors, Prepositors, Bailiffs, and Sheriffs, from the commencement to the Present Time; together with Chronological Notices of such Remarkable Events as have Transpired in the City during a period of Six Hundred Years (Bristol, 1834)
Nicholls, J. F., How to see Bristol: A guide for the excursionist, the naturalist and the archaeologist (Bristol: Arrowsmith. First published 1874, 6th edition, 1893)
Overton, Harold (ed.), War-Time Walks: Thirty-Five Rambles near Bristol (Ramblers’ Association, Bristol, 1942)
Pike, William Thomas (ed.), Bristol in 1898: Contemporary Biographies, 2 vols. (Brighton, 1898). Vol 1
Pike, William Thomas (ed.), Bristol in 1898: Contemporary Biographies, 2 vols. (Brighton, 1898). Vol 2
Pilkinton, Mark C. (ed.), Records of Early English Drama: Bristol (University of Toronto Press, 1997)
Pocock, Rose R[achel], Sketches of Bristol in the Olden Time (G. Davey, Broad St, Bristol, 1846)
Port of Bristol Authority, The Port of Bristol Official Handbook 1955 (Bristol, 1955)
Port of Bristol Authority, The Port of Bristol Official Handbook 1962 (Bristol, 1962)
Port of Bristol Authority, Port of Bristol Handbook 80 (Bristol, 1980)
Quick, Richard, Bristol Art Gallery and Museum of Antiquities: Guide to the Museum Collections (Bristol, 1909)
Ralph, Elizabeth (ed.), Marriage Bonds for the Diocese of Bristol, 1637-1700 (Records Section of Bristol & Glouc. Arch. Soc., Vol. 1, 1952)
Ralph, Elizabeth, Guide to the Bristol Archives Office (Bristol City Corporation, 1971)
Ralph, Elizabeth, Guide to the Archives of the Society of Merchant Venturers of Bristol (Society of Merchant Venturers, 1988)
Rimbron, T., The Domestic Monitor: or, a Director and Guide to Parents and Children, to Masters and Servants, in Religion and the Way of Salvation (Bristol, 1790)
Robinson, W. J., West Country Manors (Bristol, St Stephen’s Press, 1930)
Sabin, Arthur (ed.), Registers of St Augustine the Less, Bristol, 1577-1700, together with an abstract of the earliest surviving Churchwardens’ Book, 1669-1739 (Records Section of Bristol & Glouc. Arch. Soc., Vol. 3, 1956)
St Mary Redcliffe, In Chancery. Attorney General v. Brickdale: copy of scheme (Bristol, 1845)
Scott, Edward and Alfred E. Hudd (eds.), “The Cabot Roll”. The Customs Roll of the Port of Bristol, AD. 1496 to 1499 (William George’s Sons, Bristol, 1897)
Seyer, Samuel, The Charters and Letters Patent, granted by the Kings and Queens of England to the Town and City of Bristol (Bristol, 1812)
Seyer, Samuel, Memoirs Historical And Topographical of Bristol And Its Neighbourhood, 2 vols. (Bristol, 1821-25) Vol. 1 and Vol, II
Smyth, John, Men & armour for Gloucestershire in 1608 (1980 ed., Alan Sutton). Internet Archive lending copy.
Stone, G. F., Bristol Chronology 1915. The City in War Time (Bristol, 1916)
Stratford, Joseph, Handel Cossham, M.P.: brief outlines of a full life (Bath, 1890)
Sturge, Elizabeth, Reminiscences of my Life and some account of the children of William and Charlotte Sturge and of the Sturge Family of Bristol (privately printed by J. W. Arrowsmith, Bristol, 1928
Sturge, William, Some Recollections of a Long Life (Bristol, privately printed, 1893) [archive.org]
Tanner, S. J., How the Women’s Suffrage Movement began in Bristol Fifty Years ago (Bristol, 1918)
The Bristol Brewery Georges & Co. Ltd, One Hundred and Fifty Years of Brewing 1788-1938 (Bristol, 1938)
The Bristol Sportsman, Vol. 2, 1922 (Bristol, 1922)
Themaninthemoon, Felix Farley, Rhymes, Latin and English (J. M. Gutch, Bristol, 1826)
Thomas, H. Arnold, Memorials of the Rev. David Thomas, B.A., of Bristol (London, 1876)
Toulmin Smith, Lucy (ed.), The Maire of Bristowe is Kalendar by Robert Ricart, Town Clerk of Bristol 18 Edward IV (Camden Society publications, 1872)
Tout, Herbert, The Standard of Living in Bristol (Arrowsmith, 1938)
Tyson, William, The Bristol Memorialist (Bristol, 1823)
‘Victorian Professions: Bristol’ (University of Oxford, 2022)
[An online database including c.2,300 professionals living in Bristol]
Wadley, Thomas Procter, Notes or Abstracts of the Wills contained in the Volume entitled the Great Orphan Book and Book of Wills in the Council House at Bristol (Bristol, 1886)
Walker, David, The Cartulary of St Augustine’s Abbey, Bristol (Gloucestershire Record Series, Vol. 10, 1988)
Warner, George (ed.), The Libelle of Englyshe Polycye: a poem on the use of sea power (Oxford University Press, 1926) [Sponsored by the BRS in honour of Prof. Peter Fleming]
Way, J. P., A Short History of Old Bristol Pottery & Porcelain, Marks, &c. (Bristol, c.1900)
White, James Walter, The Flora of Bristol: being an account of all the flowering plants, ferns, and their allies that have at any time been found in the district of the Bristol coal-fields (John Wright and Sons Ltd. Bristol, 1912)
Wilkins, H. J. (ed.), The Letters Patent of King Henry VIII Granting Westbury-on-Trym Collegiate Church and College, etc. together with all their Endowments to Sir Ralph Sadler (J. W. Arrowsmith, Bristol, 1909), 42 pp.
Wilkins, H. J. (ed.), The Church Register (A.D. 1559-1713) of the Ancient Parish of Westbury-on-Trym (Westbury and Bristol Records, Vol. III, Arrowsmith, Bristol, 1912)
Williams, Edith E., The Chantries of William Canynges in St Mary Redcliffe, Bristol (Bristol, 1950)
Directories
A number of directories have been digitised and electronically published since 2001 which relate in whole or part to the city and county of Bristol. The quality of the digital copies vary and some are in obscure e-repositories and are hard to find. For this reason the BRS have created a separate ‘Directories’ section to this webpage. This is organised chronologically, with links to relevant sources – including those electronically published as part of the University of Leicester digitisation project: Historical Directories of England and Wales (2001-04). The Bristol Record Society plan to undertake our own digitisation of other directories not covered by previous projects.
If you come across further directories that you feel should be included in the list below, please contact the General Editor: Digitisation, Dr Evan Jones.
Sketchley’s Bristol Directory (1755)
Bristol Directory, 1783
Pigot & Co.’s Directory of Berks, Bucks … , 1844. [Part 1: Berks to Glos] Bristol section, pp. 4-83
Hunt & Co.’s Directory of Gloucester and Bristol, 1849 Bristol Section 144 pp.
Mathews’s annual Bristol and Clifton Directory and almanack, 1851
Post Office Directory of Gloucestershire, Bath & Bristol, 1856 Bristol section, pp. 73-208
Bristol Post Office, 1859 Bristol & Clifton section, pp. 1-263
Slater’s Directory of N & S Wales etc., 1880. [Part 2: Shrops, Mon, Bristol & Chester] (Bristol section, 246 pp.)
Kelly’s Directory of Bristol, 1902, pp. 1-472
Kelly’s Directory of Bristol, 1914, pp. i-xxxviii, 1-1000
Bristol Record Society 