55 Facts About Bristol

Bristol is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England.

Bristol received a royal charter in 1155 and was historically divided between Gloucestershire and Somerset until 1373 when it became a county corporate.

Major port, Bristol was a starting place for early voyages of exploration to the New World.

In 1499, William Weston, a Bristol merchant, was the first Englishman to lead an exploration to North America.

The Port of Bristol has since moved from Bristol Harbour in the city centre to the Severn Estuary at Avonmouth and Royal Portbury Dock.

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Bristol was named the best city in Britain in which to live in 2014 and 2017; it won the European Green Capital Award in 2015.

Bristol was founded by 1000; by about 1020, it was a trading centre with a mint producing silver pennies bearing its name.

Bristol was the place of exile for Diarmait Mac Murchada, the Irish king of Leinster, after being overthrown.

Fishermen from Bristol, who had fished the Grand Banks of Newfoundland since the 16th century, began settling Newfoundland permanently in larger numbers during the 17th century, establishing colonies at Bristol's Hope and Cuper's Cove.

Bristol was a major supplier of slaves to South Carolina before 1750.

Diocese of Bristol had undergone several boundary changes by 1897 when it was "reconstituted" into the configuration which has lasted into the 21st century.

Bristol was bombed twice by the IRA, in 1974 and again in 1978.

On 3 May 2012, Bristol held a referendum on the question of a directly elected mayor replacing one elected by the council.

At the 2017 general election, Labour won all four of the Bristol constituencies, gaining the Bristol North West seat, seven years after losing it to the Conservatives.

Edmund Burke, MP for the Bristol constituency for six years beginning in 1774, insisted that he was a Member of Parliament first and a representative of his constituents' interests second.

Bristol is both a city and a county, since King Edward III granted it a county charter in 1373.

On 1 April 1974, Bristol became a local government district of the county of Avon.

North Fringe of Bristol, a developed area between the Bristol city boundary and the M4, M5 and M32 motorways was so named as part of a 1987 plan prepared by the Northavon District Council of Avon county.

Gorge, which helped protect Bristol Harbour, has been quarried for stone to build the city, and its surrounding land has been protected from development as The Downs and Leigh Woods.

Bristol is sometimes described, by its inhabitants, as being built on seven hills.

Bristol is 106 miles west of London, 77 miles south-southwest of Birmingham and 26 miles east of the Welsh capital Cardiff.

Bristol was ranked as Britain's most sustainable city, topping environmental charity Forum for the Future's 2008 Sustainable Cities Index.

Bristol is unusual among major British towns and cities in its larger black than Asian population.

Bristol has a long history of trade, originally exporting wool cloth and importing fish, wine, grain and dairy products; later imports were tobacco, tropical fruits and plantation goods.

One of the UK's most popular tourist destinations, Bristol was selected in 2009 as one of the world's top-ten cities by international travel publishers Dorling Kindersley in their Eyewitness guides for young adults.

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Bristol is one of the eight-largest regional English cities that make up the Core Cities Group, and is ranked as a Gamma level global city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network, the fourth-highest-ranked English city.

Bristol Aeroplane was known for their World War I Bristol Fighter and World War II Blenheim and Beaufighter planes.

Major aerospace companies in Bristol include BAE Systems, a merger of Marconi Electronic Systems and BAe .

In 2005 Bristol was named by the UK government one of England's six science cities.

Bristol is the only big city whose wealth per capita is higher than that of Britain as a whole.

Theatre Bristol is a partnership between the city council, Arts Council England and local residents to develop the city's theatre industry.

In 2010 PRS for Music called Bristol the UK's most musical city, based on the number of its members born there relative to the city's population.

Since the late 1970s Bristol has been home to bands combining punk, funk, dub and political consciousness.

Bristol is home to the regional headquarters of BBC West and the BBC Natural History Unit.

Locations in and around Bristol have featured in the BBC's natural-history programmes, including Animal Magic .

Bristol is the birthplace of 18th-century poets Robert Southey and Thomas Chatterton.

The 18th-century Kings Weston House, in northern Bristol, was designed by John Vanbrugh and is the only Vanbrugh building in any UK city outside London.

Bristol is represented by professional teams in all the major national sports.

Bristol City, formed in 1894, were Division One runners-up in 1907 and lost the FA Cup final in 1909.

Bristol City were promoted to the second tier of English football in 2007, losing to Hull City in the playoff for promotion to the Premier League that season.

City is home to Bristol Bears, formed in 1888 as Bristol Football Club by the merger of the Carlton club with rival Redland Park.

Bristol Rugby has often competed at the highest level of the sport since its formation in 1888.

Athletic clubs in Bristol include Bristol and West AC, Bitton Road Runners and Westbury Harriers.

Bristol has staged finishes and starts of the Tour of Britain cycle race and facilities in the city were used as training camps for the 2012 London Olympics.

Bristol natives have a rhotic accent, in which the post-vocalic r in car and card is pronounced .

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Bristol has been awarded Purple Flag status on many of its districts, which shows that it meets or surpasses the standards of excellence in managing the evening and night-time economy.

Bristol is home to the pie chain Pieminster started in the Stokes Croft area of the city.

Bristol is home to the regional headquarters of BBC West and the BBC Natural History Unit based at Broadcasting House, which produces television, radio and online content with a natural history or wildlife theme.

Bristol is home to YouTube video developers and stylists The Yogscast, with founders Simon Lane and Lewis Brindley moving their operations from Reading to Bristol in 2012.

Bristol has two further education institutions and two theological colleges: Trinity College, and Bristol Baptist College.

Bristol's principal surviving suburban railway is the Severn Beach Line to Avonmouth and Severn Beach.

The MetroWest scheme, formerly known as The Greater Bristol Metro, proposes to increase the city's rail capacity including the restoration of a further 3 miles of track on the line to Portishead, is due to open in 2023.

Bristol allows motorcycles to use most of the city's bus lanes and provides secure, free parking for them.

Bristol was designated as England's first "cycling city" in 2008 and one of England's 12 "Cycling demonstration" areas.

Bristol was among the first cities to adopt town twinning after World War II.