NINETEENTH CENTURA DUKE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY THE ANNALS OF BRISTOL IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY ( concluded ) 1 887 — 1 900 JOHN LATIMER AUTHOR OF ANNALS OF BRISTOL IN THE SEVENTEENTH AND EIGHTEENTH CENTURIES ” BRISTOL WILLIAM GEORGE’S SONS 19 02 BY THE SAME AUTHOR. Demy Svo, Price 13 Cxi.; Large Paper, 23-. 6 d. net. THE ANNALS OF BRISTOL IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. Same Prices. THE ANNALS OF BRISTOL IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. Demy Svo, 13s. li d. (large jniper exhausted). THE ANNALS OF BRISTOL IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 1801—1887. 97 3.393 /U35 7 /?&/ at the Merchants’ College; Geography (Col. Church), in the Concert Boom, Blind Asylum; Mathematics (Prof. Ayrton, F.R.S.), in the Lecture Boom, Museum; Zoology (Prof. Weldon, F.B.S.), in Victoria Chapel Schoolroom; Anthropology (E. W. Bra- brook, C.B.), in Park Place School; Chemistry (Prof. Japp), at University College; and Botany (Prof. Bower), at the Fine Arts Academy. In connection with the Congress, a Biological Exhibition was opened on September 8th in the Zoological Gardens by Sir John Lubbock (now Lord Avebury), the local chairman being Dr. J. Harrison, and proved highly interesting. The Gardens were thrown open to members of the Association. An International Conference on Terrestrial Magnetism was also held under the presidency of Prof. Bucker, Sec. R. S. A conversazione was given by the Council of Clifton College and the head master, Canon Glazebrook, and this gathering was Temarkable for an exhibition by Signor Marconi of his new system of wireless telegraphy. A second conversazione, given by the local committee, was also held at the College. Garden parties were given by Mr. and Mrs. Boscoe, Westbury; Mr. E. P. Wills, Sneyd Park; Mr. Jolly, Henbury; Mr. Fry, M.P., Goldney House; Mr. J. C. Godwin, Stoke Bishop; the Masters of Clifton College (at which there was a scientific balloon ascent); Mr. E. Robinson, Sneyd Park; Mr. G. A. Wills, Leigh Woods; and Mr. H. Ashman, Cook’s Folly. A “symposium” in honour of the President took place in the Merchants’ College; a grand dinner, to which the officers of the royal squadron were also invited, was given in the Grammar School by the Chamber of Commerce; and another banquet to the leading members of the Association was given by the Merchants’ Society in their Hall. Excursions to every place of interest in the neighbouring districts and to the warships off Clevedou were also arranged by the local committee. The number of ladies and gentlemen who attended the opening meeting was 2,260, and subsequent arrivals raised the aggregate to 2,446. The Congress closed on September 14th. At the final gathering Sir Norman Lockyer moved a vote of thanks to the citizens for the “ magnificent general hospitality and the admirable arrangements,” which had eclipsed all previous efforts during his thirty years’ experience. Alderman Howell Davies, chairman; Mr. J. W. Arrowsmith, treasurer; and Mr. A. Lee and Dr. Bertram Rogers, secretaries of the local committee, briefly returned thanks. Apart from liberal private hospitality to the visitors, the city raised £3,836 for the entertainment of its guests. After the payment of IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. 75 18'J8] all expenses, a surplus balance of over £200 was handed over to the Cabot Tower fund. On January 26th, 1899, a compli¬ mentary dinner was given at Clifton Spa to Mr. Arrowsmith, Mr. Lee, and Dr. Rogers, through whose exertions the Congress had proved so remarkable a success; when each of those gentlemen was presented with a silver salver, bearing a suitable memento of their services. The chancel of All Saints’ Church, which had been rebuilt at a cost of £1,800, was re-dedicated on September 14th by the Bishop. (A few days previously, a private letter of his lordship to a local clergyman on the anti-Ritualistic agitation then in progress was published without permission, and an unfortunate reference in it to “Nonconformists of the baser sort ” provoked much comment in the press.) The Cabot Industrial Exhibition, started for the purpose of clearing off a deficiency in the Cabot Tower fund, was opened in the Drill Hall by the Sheriff on Sept. 26th, in the presence of a numerous gathering. The exhibition, which continued open for several weeks, was of an interesting character, but its chief attraction was a series of concerts, performed by several first-class military bands, successively engaged, which proved highly popular. [At a final meeting of the Tower Committee on February loth, 1899, it was announced that every liability had been liquidated, and that the monument had been handed -over to the Corporation.] On October 6th, at a meeting of the subscribers to the Fine Arts Academy, the Dean presiding, Mr. Wilson Barrett, the eminent tragedian, deputed by a number of local artists, presented to the institution upwards of twenty paintings in oil and water colours, executed by the donors, to be added to the permanent collection of the Academy. At the commence¬ ment of the proceedings, a letter was read from the Duchess of Beaufort, offering a fine picture by A. Weigall for the -same purpose. Mr. Barrett, in offering the artists’ gifts, com¬ mented on the absence in Bristol of a municipal Art Gallery, and trusted that the deficiency would be speedily supplied. The Dean, Bishop Brownlow, and others, returned cordial thanks for the presents, and expressed their admiration of the generosity of the donors. The artists who took part in this interesting gift were—Mrs. Rosa Muller, Miss J. Russell, and Messrs. A. W. Parsons, C. B. Branwhite, F. A. Armstrong, S. P. Jackson, H. Whatley, W. M. Hale, H. E. Stacy, E. Gould- smith, R. Smith, A. O. Townsend, H. M. Park, E. H. Ehlers, C. C. Grundy, J. Skelton, G. H. Edwards, R. Mayes, J. Wyard, G. Hastings. Pictures were afterwards given by Reginald THE ANNALS OF BRISTOL 76 [1898 Smith, J. Doubting, S. M. Fisher, Haywood Hardy and James Hardy. The Tramway Company came into possession during October of extensive buildings at Counterslip, including a portion of the old sugar refinery of Messrs. Finzell and Co., and workmen were forthwith employed to clear the site for an electrical power station. About the same time the Company acquired six acres of land near Arno’s Yale, on which to construct sheds for the storing of 100 cars, and the depots at Horfield and Whitsun Street, St. James’s, were considerably enlarged. At a meeting of the Council on October 18th the purchase was resolved upon of Messrs. Garton’s Brewery, in St. Philip’s, for £11,250, with a view to street improvements. A motion to apply to Parliament for power to maintain a band of musicians for performances in the public parks, and another, to acquire the Colston Hall premises as a site for a municipal hall for public purposes, were negatived by large majorities. A temporary church, dedicated to St. Catherine, in Salisbury Road, Redland, was dedicated by the Bishop on October 22nd. It adjoined the site offered by Mr. Greville Edwards for the permanent church, and was intended, after the latter was built, to be converted into a parochial hall. The edifice cost about £1,600. A new and extensive Board School in Fairfield Road was opened by Sir G. W. Kekewich, of the Education Department, on November 3rd. The buildings, which with their equipment cost £24 ; 000, were designed for a higher grade school, included scientific laboratories, workshops, drawing-rooms, &c., and accommodated 1,054 pupils The place was filled with scholars immediately after the opening. The Board had been encouraged by the Education Department to establish the school, and, as stated above, the building was opened by a Government official. But in 1900 the Department, suddenly reversing its previous policy, practically forbade School Boards to deal with education in science and art, and would not permit the above school to be carried on for the purposes for which it was provided. A similar paralysis would have befallen the evening classes in science and art, which had been established by the School Board in several of its schools. Happily, by an arrangement made in 1899 with the Bristol School of Art, that institution took over the art classes, and by a similar agreement effected with the Merchants’ Society, the science classes were placed under the superintendence of the staff of the Merchants’ Technical College. At a meeting of the Council on November 28th a report of 1898] IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. 77 the Municipal Buildings Committee was submitted, recommend¬ ing the appropriation of the block of property bounded by St. Augustine’s Place, Orchard Street, Denmark ‘Street, and Pipe Lane. The purchase of this extensive site was estimated to cost £145,000, which would, it was thought, be reduced to £107,000 by the sale of salvages. Mr. Pearson moved that the report be confirmed, and that the committee be instructed to report on the cost of suitable buildings. On a division the motion was defeated by 34 votes against 31, an amendment being carried instructing the committee to report on other sites. Nothing more was heard of the subject for nearly a year and a half. But at a meeting of the Council on April 10th, 1900, the committee produced another report, recommending that a site should be secured by the purchase of all the property on St. Augustine’s Back from the end of Colston Street to the west end of Pupert Street, which it was believed could be acquired for £85,000, and which would provide an area for the proposed buildings of 6,347 square yards. It was further estimated that the site of the Council House and other existing offices could be sold for £98,200. The proposal was condemned as untimely, having regard to the heavy pressure of the rates (then 7s. 8d. in the pound), and the report was rejected without a division. At a public meeting on November 29th, convened by the National Union of Conservative Associations—then holding a Conference in the city under the presidency of the Duke of Beaufort,—Mr. J. W. Balfour, First Lord of the Treasury, and Sir M. Hicks-Beach, Chancellor of the Exchequer, delivered lengthy addresses on the political questions of the day. At a largely-attended meeting at the Council House on December 1st, the Mayor presiding, Sir R. H. Symes presented Mr. Richardson Cross, ex-Sheriff, with a beautiful silver cradle and other plate, to commemorate the birth of a daughter during his tenure of the shrievalty, and in recognition of the grace and ability which he had displayed whilst holding that office. The Council on December 13th adopted a report of the Libraries’ Committee recommending the erection of a branch library in Cheltenham Road, in substitution of the inconvenient premises situated in King’s Square. The outlay was estimated at £8,000. [The total outlay, however, was nearly £11,400. The library was opened by the Lord Mayor on February 13th, 1901.] The Council also sanctioned the purchase, for £1,675, of land at Barton Hill, for the purpose of erecting public baths for that district. On July 25th, 1899, the Council approved of plans for these baths, the cost being estimated at £12,100. 78 THE ANNALS OF BRISTOL [1898-9£ During the year 1898 the Corporation purchased, under the powers of the Docks Act of 1897, a plot of land, between 11 and 12 acres in area, near the Floating Harbour, for £69,350,. for the further accommodation of commerce. On January 2nd, 1899, at a meeting of the Council, a report of the Libraries’ Committee, recommending the purchase, on a fee-farm rent of £45, of abandoned school buildings at Eidgway, Fishponds, for the purpose of converting them into a library and reading-room for the district, was approved. Owing to the greatly increased number of members of the- reorganised Board of Guardians, the beautiful ancient room at St. Peter’s Hospital, in which the Corporation of the Poor had assembled for 200 years, was found to be too contracted for modern requirements. A committee of the new board, whose desire for comfort outran other considerations, recommended on February 3rd that four large holes for the reception of ventilators should be driven through the beautiful Jacobean ceiling. Strong, protests were, however, raised by antiquaries and others, and at the next meeting of the board steps were ordered to be taken for the construction of a suitable board-room in another part of the building. Owing to continuous heavy rain, the Avon was flooded on February 12th to a height said to have been unprecedented for forty years. Exceptionally high spring tides occurring simulta¬ neously, the district of St. Philip’s Marsh was extensively inundated, many low-lying streets becoming streams. Some parts of Bedminster and the Ashton Gate district also suffered severely, and the Eownham railway station was submerged several feet. At a meeting of the Colston Hall Company on February 13th a proposal of the directors to acquire additional ground at the east end of the building, in order to increase the capacity of the new hall, was adopted, as was also their recommendation to raise about £15,000 by means of loans. A Bill, promoted by the Gas Company for enabling them to increase their capital from about £1,439,000 to £1,839,000, to supply the public with motors and dynamos for generating electricity, and to sell gas for engines at a lower cost than that charged for lighting, came before Parliamentary committees in March. The House of Lords, on the application of the Corpora¬ tion, struck out the powers relating to electric lighting, and compelled the company to adhere to their former agreement to supply gas for strett lamps at the minimum rate charged to private consumers. Soon after the death, on March 24th, of Mr. Vincent Stuckeys 1899] IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. 79 - Lean, son of one of the founders of the bank of Messrs. Stuckey and Co., it was announced that the deceased gentleman had bequeathed £50,000 to the British Museum, £50,000 to the Corporation of Bristol for the development of free libraries and the establishment of a general Reference Library (indicating a desire that the latter institution should be opened for some hours on Sundays), and £5,000 to Bristol University College. Other large bequests were made to local charities. His representatives subsequently intimated that his valuable collec¬ tion of 3,000 volumes of books would be presented to the intended Reference Library. A new institution—the Pupil Teachers’ Centre School, created in Castle Green by the School Board at a cost of £6,500—was opened on April 13th by the Bishop of Bristol, who was accompanied by Bishop Percival, of Hereford. The building accommodates 440 pupils. Henry Charles, eighth Duke of Beaufort, K.G., died at Stoke Park, Stapleton, on April 30th, aged 75. The Lord High Stewardship of Bristol becoming vacant by his lamented demise, the Council on September 26th conferred the honorary office on his son, Henry Adelbert, the ninth holder of the dukedom. The extension of the city boundaries having greatly increased the already onerous expenditure incidental to the office of chief magistrate, the Council on May 9th augmented the salary of the Mayor from £750 to £1,050. The Council on May 30th sanctioned the purchase, for £13,000, of 16 acres of land adjoining Greenbank Cemetery for an extension of the burial ground, thereby nearly doubling its area. Judgment was given in the High Court on May 31st in an action brought by Mr. George White against the proprietors of the Commercial Rooms. In November, 1897, the proprietors formally resolved that no person should in future be permitted to acquire more than five shares in the undertaking, or to hold more if he already held five. Mr. White, who was said to have bought up over 30 shares, having purchased another, which the officials refused to register in his name, he raised an action to compel them. But the Court held that the plaintiff had no case, and dismissed the suit with costs. The London Gazette of June 2nd announced, on the occasion of the celebration of Queen Victoria’s birthday, that her Majesty had been pleased to confer the style and title of Lord Mayor upon the chief magistrate of Bristol and his successors. A similar honour had been previously conferred upon Birmingham and three or four northern towns, and the raising of Bristol to equal dignity gave general satisfaction. 80 THE ANNALS OF BRISTOL [1899 The Council on June 13th voted a sum of £2,000 towards the support of an Inebriates’ Home at Brentry, recently established. The Council also adopted a report recommending the construction of a mortuary and Coroner’s Court at Quakers’ Friars, at a cost of about £2,300; also another, recommending the erection of a bridge over the Feeder near Pinney Terrace, in the place of an existing inadequate structure, at a cost of £5,000. A motion instructing the Baths Committee to open the swimming baths on Sunday mornings was adopted by a majority of 22 against 21. Judgment was delivered on June 20th in the High Court in an action brought by the Tramways Company against the National Telephone Company, to restrain the latter from breaking up the streets over which tramways were laid unless the plaintiffs had given their consent to such operations. It was admitted that the defendants had obtained the consent of the Corporation. The learned judge ruled that the claim of the plaintiffs was untenable, and dismissed the action with costs. The first underground street lavatory in Bristol was opened in Nicholas Street on June 24th. A meeting was held at Merchants’ Hall on June 29th to further the completion of the restoration of the exterior of the Cathedral, which had been going on for some time. Including an adverse balance on account of the work already done, a sum of £3,000 was required. The amount was raised soon afterwards. On July 25th, 1900, at a final meeting of the Bestoration Committee, whose labours had been completed, it was stated that the sum contributed since June, 1892, had amounted to £19,332. Of this, £4,896 had been expended in restoring the central tower, £1,866 on the elder Lady Chapel, £4,490 on the reparation of the exterior, £3,901 on the recon¬ struction of the choir, and £712 on the cloisters. Three additional sections of the Tramway Company’s lines— from St. Augustine’s Bridge to the Bailway Station, from Old Market Street to Totterdown, and from Bristol Bridge to Amo’s Yale—were first worked by electric power on July 11th, and met with a large measure of public support. Owing to the inability of the company to obtain an adequate supply of plant, the lines in other directions were mnch delayed; but on December 22nd, 1900, the entire electric system was brought into operation, including a “light railway” which had been constructed from Ivingswood to Hunliam. The tramway from Zetland Boad to Durdham Down was entirely new; the Whiteladies’ Boad line was extended to the Down, 1899] IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. 81 the Horfield Road line to the Barracks, and the Bedminster line to Ashton Gate. The aggregate length of the system was about 30 miles. The improved accommodation of the new cars increased the popularity of the mode of traction, and nearly 843,000 passengers were conveyed during the first week’s running. Memorial-stones of a new building about to be erected at the corner of the Wells Road and Bushy Park for the Totterdown Christian Young Men’s Association were laid on July 13th, in the presence of the Dowager Duchess of Beaufort and a numerous gathering, by Mr. J. S. Fry, Sir Edward Hill, Lady Smyth, the Lord Mayor, and others. The cost of the building was estimated at £6,200. The Council on July 18th sanctioned the purchase, for £2,050, of a site at the junction of the Wells and Ivnowle Roads for the erection of a Free Library for Somerset Ward. At a meeting of the Council on July 25th the Finance Committee reported that, in pursuance of previous instructions, they had employed Mr. F. B. Bickley, of the British Museum, to make a descriptive catalogue of the ancient manuscript books of the Corporation, and translations of such documents therein as might be desirable. Mr. Bickley had consequently dealt with the Little Red Book, of which he had prepared transcripts for the press, and the committee recommended that this work should be printed and illustrated at an estimated cost of £500 for 500 copies. The report was approved. [The work, in two beautiful volumes, was published in November, 1900.] The committee also reported that an offer had been made by the liquidator of the Bristol Rifles Headquarters Company to sell, for £10,000, the premises in Queen’s Road formerly occupied as a club-house. The Museum and Library being greatly in want of increased accommodation, without which justice could not be done to their valuable collections, the committee recommended that this purchase should be effected, and that a further sum of £800 should be laid out to remove the entrance of the Drill Hall to the end adjoining the Blind Asylum, and to acquire for the Corporation the site of the existing entrance and the adjoining gymnasium. During the debate on this report it transpired that Sir W. H. Wills, Bart., had expressed his willingness to give £10,000 towards the erection of an Art Gallery, if that offer would assist in the acquisition of the club-house site, and that it was intended, with the approval of the Council, to devote the ground floor of the premises to the extension of the Museum, 7 82 THE ANNALS OF BRISTOL [1899 while the upper floor would be divided into seven large rooms for the Art Gallery. The report of the committee was adopted, the final disposition of the building being left for further consideration; and a vote of thanks to Sir W. H. Wills was carried by acclamation. In consequence of arrangements made with the Chamber of Commerce, the Merchants’ Society, in July, constituted the commercial department of their Technical College the Bristol School of Commerce, with a staff of 14 teachers. Evening classes in connection with this school were also established, and some members of the Chamber of Commerce undertook to give lectures. A few weeks later, owing to the rapid increase of students in the Technical College, the Merchants’ Society con¬ verted a large house, extending from Unity to Frogmore Streets, into workshops for teaching bricklaying, masonry, plasterwork, plumbing, metal working, shoemaking, &c. The Navigation department of the College was also placed in this building. A steam vessel called the Bristol City, the largest ship hitherto built in the port, was launched on August 24th from the Albion dockyard by Messrs. C Hill & Co., the owners of the vessel, in the presence of many thousand spectators. The Bristol City, the sixteenth steamer built for Messrs. Hill’s line plying to New York, was 310 feet in length, and carried 4,000 tons dead weight. At a meeting of the Council on September 11th the Docks Committee presented a report recommending the construction of a new wharf on the site of the East Mud Dock, 260 feet in length, together with a large shed fitted with hydraulic cranes, at a cost of ,£ ; 25,000. An agreement for a lease of the place at a rent of £700 had been conditionally made with a local firm. A recommendation was also made for the construction of additional sidings at Avonmouth owing to the increased traffic. The report was approved. [It was subsequently found that the above wharf could not be carried out unless a purchase was made of the Guinea Street ferry, and the Corporation accordingly acquired it for £2,000.] The Health Committee recommended that a Municipal common lodging-house, with 102 beds, should be erected in Wade Street. The cost of the site was estimated at £1,560, and of the building £5,150, exclusive of furniture. Their proposal was approved. On September the 11th a meeting was held in the Guildhall for the purpose of making suitable arrangements in view of the visit which Queen Victoria had promised to make for the purpose of opening the Convalescent Home. The Lord Mayor, 1899] IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. 83 who presided, gave a brief sketch of the history of the Horae (see page 57), adding that but little was now wanting to complete the sum of £100,000 ; and then went on to describe the route proposed for the forthcoming royal procession, and the manner in which the streets would be guarded by the various volunteer corps and regular troops. A resolution nominating 90 gentlemen as an executive committee to make further arrangements was adopted, and it was further determined to open a subscription for the decoration of the city, preparing demonstrations of rejoicing, entertaining the poor, and other appropriate purposes. How heartily the citizens concurred in tbis movement will presently be shown. Sewage schemes for the districts of Upper Knowle, Brislington, Bath Road, and Malago Yale, estimated to cost £45,000, were approved by the Council on September 26th. The project seems to have been introduced as a shoeing-horn to a gigantic proposal. At a meeting on October 11th, the Sanitary Com¬ mittee produced a plan for the construction of works for discharging the sewage of the city into the Channel at Avon- mouth. The design included a pumping station near Clift House, a new sewer extending from St. George’s to Sea Mills, and an enormous tank at Avonmouth from which the accumulated sewage of twelve hours was to be discharged in a body at every high tide. The estimated outlay, including the sum voted on September 26th, was fixed at £650,000 supposing that Bath and other Avonside towns would co-operate, or at £490,000 for Bristol alone. The scheme met with no opposition, and on October 31st a resolution for promoting a Bill in Parliament was also adopted. But on the statutory appeal being made to the ratepayers a demand was raised for a poll, and the result, declared on January 30th, 1900, was as follows : for the Bill, 8,678 ; against it, 19,205. On October 19th an elaborately carved reredos, about 18 feet in width and 27 feet in extreme height, filled with figures of saints and of a few local celebrities, and designed to be a memorial of Bishop Ellicott’s episcopate, was “dedicated” in the Cathedral by the Archbishop of York, in the presence of the Bishops of Bristol and Gloucester, about 120 clergymen, and a crowded congregation. The work, which cost £2,500, was designed by the late Mr. J. S. Pearson, R.A. At a meeting of the Council on October 31st it was resolved to have galleries erected in the Barton Hill Baths, and other measures taken in order to make the building applicable as a public hall. At another meeting, nine days later, the Streets Committee 84 THE ANNALS OF BRISTOL [1899 reported that before various improvement schemes already sanctioned could be carried out, the Government required that provision should be made for the housing of the working-class families whose dwellings would have to be demolished. They therefore recommended the construction of 70 suitable houses in Chapel Street, Braggs Lane, Millpond Street, and Mina Road at a cost of £15,400. The report ws approved. An Arbitrator sat in London on November 10th to determine the value of 26 acres of land belonging to Sir J. Greville Smyth, situated on the Avon, near Long Ashton, about 7 acres being required by the Corporation for the erection of a refuse destructor, &c., and the remainder being wanted for Great Western railway extensions in connection with the new branch to the Portishead line. A valuer employed by Sir Greville Smyth asserted that the land was worth £64,239. It was stated that the locality was subject to land floods. The Corporation had offered £25,000. The Arbitrator shortly afterwards assessed the value at £26,983. The morning of November 15th, the day appointed for the visit of Queen Victoria to open the Convalescent Home, found the city in a state of considerable excitement. It has been already stated that a subscription had been opened with a view to demonstrate the affection of the citizens towards their venerable guest ; and the contributions, exceeding £6,300, provided the Reception Committee with even more than was required. A sum of £1,000 was set apart for decorating the route of the intended procession, it being well known that much more would be spent by private individuals in the ornamentation of their premises; £1,200 were allotted for the entertainment of the poor; £1,500 for providing medals for upwards of 60,000 school children and refreshments for the 26,000 who were to be located on stands upon the Downs; £850 for entertaining the troops stationed along the route; and £300 for fireworks to end the day. Through the combined efforts of the committee and the inhabitants, every thoroughfare through which the Queen had to pass presented a continuous line of chaste ornamentation. To mention merely examples, from each side of High Street were suspended golden eagles carrying laurel wreaths and supporting garlands of flowers ; whilst in Corn and Clare Streets crimson Venetian masts bore Imperial crowns, and supported trophies of flowers, flags, and monograms. The decorations of the Council House and the Exchange were especially elaborate and beautiful; but every important building offered something worthy of admiration to the vast crowds of sightseers. Large bodies of yeomanry and volunteers, moreover, 1899] IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. 85 kept streaming into the city from the adjacent counties to assist the local forces in guarding the streets, and the military display itself was as unprecedented as it was animating. Another striking circumstance was the influx of country visitors, the railways alone having brought in about 80,000, whilst enormous numbers arrived by other means. About two o’clock the Royal train from Windsor reached the Midland section of the railway station, which, like every other public building, was handsomely decorated, when a Royal salute was fired on Durdham Down by the Artillery Volunteers. The Queen was received on the platform by the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress; the Earl of Ducie, Lord-Lieutenant; the Duke of Beaufort, Lord High Steward; the Earl of Cork, Lord-Lieutenant of Somerset; Lord Fitz- hardinge; the Recorder, the Sheriff, the four members of Parliament for the city, the Master of the Merchants’ Company ; the Earl of Cawdor, Chairman of the G-reat Western Board ; Judge Austin, and various officials, all of whom had the honour of being presented, and her Majesty graciously accepted a bouquet from the Lady Mayoress. The Queen then entered her carriage, accompanied by their Royal Highnesses the Princess Christian, the Princess Henry of Battenberg, and the Duke of Connaught, and an imposing procession was soon in motion. It was headed by the Chief Constable and a body of police, an escort of Life Guards, and numerous officers. Five carriages were occupied by the noblemen and gentlemen mentioned above ; three Royal carriages contained the members of her Majesty’s suite in¬ waiting, and the file of vehicles was completed by the semi-State carriage of the Queen, the procession being closed by another escort of Life Guards and the military staff. The public enthusiasm, which burst forth from an immense con¬ course when the procession began to move, continued along every step of the route. Passing under some beautiful arches in Victoria Street, the cortege soon arrived at the Council House, where an address from the Corporation was read by the Recorder, and the document, beautifully illuminated, was presented to her Majesty in a gilt casket, and evoked a few gracious words of acknowledgment. In a more formal reply, handed to the Lord Mayor, her Majesty expressed her thanks for the hearty welcome offered, her pleasure, on revisiting the city, after seventy years’ absence, to remark its growth in size and wealth, and in its provision of charitable, educational, and recreative institutions, and her pride that many of its citizens were then displaying their valour and devotion in the South 86 THE ANNALS OF BRISTOL [1899 African War. The Lord Mayor was then permitted to present four ex-mayors (Alderman Proctor Baker, Sir Eobert Symes, Mr. W. B. Barker, and Alderman Howell Davies), the ex-sheriff (Mr. C. Wills), the senior magistrate of the city (Mr. H. Thomas), the President of the Chamber of Commerce (Mr. Lindrea), and, in block, the aldermen and councillors. A striking incident then occurred. The Queen commanded the Lord Mayor to kneel, and, the Duke of Connaught providing her with a sword, she touched the chief magistrate on the shoulder, and bade him rise as Sir Herbert Ashman. The ceremony, so unusual in its publicity, was hailed with enthusiastic cheers. The procession then resumed its course along the densely crowded streets, passing through an enormous concourse at St. Augustine’s Bridge (near which the Antelope gunboat was stationed), another in College Green, where the Queen’s statue, elaborately adorned, was surrounded by upwards of a hundred Crimean and India Mutiny veterans, and a third extending from the top of Park Street to the Victoria Booms. More rapidly, Queen’s Eoad, Pembroke Eoad, Clifton Park, and the Promenade were traversed, and the plateau of the Downs was reached at the summit of Belgrave Eoad. At this point was the most touching demonstration of the day. A series of stands about 300 yards in length was filled with upwards of 26,000 children from the elementary and endowed schools and the Ashley Down orphanages. Her Majesty’s carriage paused a few minutes to allow her to hear this remark¬ able choir sing the National Anthem, during which the Queen manifested feelings of deep emotion. The Home was reached at a few minutes past three o’clock. Within the grounds stands had been erected for 3,000 spectators, who had purchased seats at prices varying from three guineas to half a guinea each, and on the arrival of her Majesty the National Anthem was again sung. The Lord Mayor having presented Mr. E. P. Wills, the President of the Home, and tbe Bishop of Bristol, the latter proceeded to read a short form of prayer, which was followed by the singing of Dr. How’s Jubilee hymn, “The King of Kings.” The Eev. Dr. Glover, Honorary Secretary, next read an address of the President and Governors of the institution, briefly narrating the circumstances under which the Home, which bore her Majesty’s name, had been designed and brought to completion. In reply, the Queen said that it gave her very great pleasure to be present to open the admirable institution, and then handed to the President a more extended response, in which she expressed her satisfaction at the generosity displayed by the citizens, her hopes that the Home would contribute to 1899] IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. 87 the alleviation of human suffering, and her thanks for the attachment to her throne and person manifested in the address. Having been driven to the north front of the building, the Queen was presented by Mr. Wills with a gold and jewelled letter weight, enamelled with the royal arms, her Majesty’s monogram, the arms of Bristol, a view of the Council House, and a suitable inscription. In the centre was a diamond button surrounded by rubies, to which an electric wire was attached, and on the Queen pressing the button the great door of the Home flew open amidst a flourish of trumpets from the band of the Life Guards. Her Majesty thereupon declared the Home open, observing that the building was a very noble one. The procession was then re-formed, and made its way, amidst continuous demonstrations of joy, by Blackboy Hill, Bedland Road, Cheltenham Road, Stokes Croft, St. James’s Barton, the Broad Weir, the west end of Old Market Street, St. Philip’s Bridge, Temple Street and Victoria Street, reaching: the railway station at 4.15. On the platform, the Queen briefly congratu¬ lated the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress, observing that the proceedings had passed off very nicely, and she had been greatly pleased with everything. Bidding them farewell, she gave each of them her hand to kiss, and stepped into her carriage amidst deafening plaudits, which she acknowledged by repeated bows. The train arrived at Windsor at 6.29. In the evening the Queen’s private secretary telegraphed to the Lord Mayor that her Majesty had been deeply touched by her enthusiastic reception through her entire progress along the beautifully decorated route, and fully appreciated the part which his lordship had personally taken in contributing to the success. About the same time, the fact that the whole of the £100,600 required for the Home had been made up was telegraphed to Windsor Castle, and her Majesty’s secretary, in acknowledging the message to the honorary secretaries, stated that the Queen was delighted by the announcement, and thanked all concerned for the perfection of the day’s arrange¬ ments. Before these communications had been exchanged the city was ablaze with illuminations, any detailed description of which is here impracticable. Every thoroughfare had its display, and many buildings were magnificent in brilliancy and colour. The Suspension Bridge attracted especial attention from the splendour of its appearance, upwards of 3,000 lights marking out the lines of the graceful structure. Fireworks had also been prepared in great profusion on Brandon Hill, where a monster device, “ Bristol welcomes its beloved Queen,” and a colossal firework portrait of her Majesty, wearing her Crown 88 THE ANNALS OF BRISTOL [1899 and the badge of the Garter, excited great admiration. Other displays of the same character took place in some of the suburban parks. During the evening Mr. E. P. Wills, who bad received an intimation that he would forthwith become a Knight Commander of the Bath, held a reception in the Victoria Eooms, assisted by his daughter. Nearly a thousand guests had been invited, including the nobility and gentry of the neigh¬ bouring counties, the Bishops of Bristol, Bath and Wells, Hereford and Clifton, the Mayors and Mayoresses of many neighbouring towns, and the officers of the army, navy, and volunteers, whose forces so largely contributed to the success of the pageant. On the following day the Queen sent a characteristic message to the Lord Mayor, hoping that no accident had marred the proceedings, and that the children got home in safety, to which his lordship was able to send a satisfactory reply. The illumi¬ nation of the city was resumed in the evening, when about 11,300 poor persons who were alive when the Queen ascended the throne were entertained in the eighteen wards. It may be added that 63,240 school children received medals in com¬ memoration of the royal visit, and that 6 tons 2 cwt. of buns were distributed amongst the elder children who witnessed the procession. In addition to the expenditure defrayed by subscriptions, the visit cost the Corporation £1,989. The Home, which contains 80 beds, received some of its earliest inmates before the close of the month. On April 4th, 1900, the Rev. Dr. Glover and Mr. J. N. C. Pope, the honorary secretaries, were presented with handsome pieces of plate, bearing inscriptions commemorating their indefatigable exertions on behalf of the institution; and a sum of £500 was raised by subscription and presented to the Home, to qualify Dr. Glover for a seat in the governing body. At a meeting of the Council on December 5th, attention was drawn by Mr. Curie to the great anomalies that existed in the arrangement of the city wards. As examples, he pointed out that St. Augustine’s had 1,093 burgesses, whilst St. George’s had 5,013 ; St. James’s had 1,040 and the District 4,189; St. Michael’s had 1,829 and Easton 3,869. Bristol Ward, having six representatives, had only 1,904 burgesses, whilst Bedminster, with no more councillors, had 7,924 electors. Redcliffe again had six members for 2,521 burgesses, whilst St. Philip’s, also with six, had a constituency of 7,273. He moved that a peti¬ tion should be presented to the Crown praying for a revision of the system. Another member observed that 23,597 burgesses in favoured wards elected 42 councillors, while 28,268 rate¬ payers in the remaining wards had only 21 representatives. 1899] IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. 89 The motion was opposed on the ground that the proportionate rateable value of the wards was a vital element in the question, and it was rejected by 44 votes against 25. A portfolio of sketches by the artist members and associates of the Fine Arts Academy was presented to the Queen on December 2nd, by Sir W. H. Wills, president, in commemora¬ tion of her visit to Bristol. Her Majesty cordially accepted the gift, and expressed much admiration of the works. The first annual dinner of a newly-founded association, styled the University College Colston Society, was held on December 7th at Clifton Spa, Bishop Percival, of Hereford, president of the College, taking the chair. The attendance was large and influential. His lordship stated, in the course of the evening, that the object of the society was to promote the cause of higher education in the city by the endowment of Colston chairs in the College, or in some other desirable manner. He hoped to see the city the home of a Bristol and West of England University. His observations were warmly approved by the Lord Mayor and other speakers. The contributions of the guests amounted to nearly £400, and Mr. Albert Fry was appointed president for the following year. At a meeting of the Council on December 12th, it was resolved to borrow £15,000 for the purpose of substituting granite paving for macadamising in several roads subject to heavy traffic, and £7,735 for a further extension of wood pavements. The Second Gloucestershire Kegiment having been, at its own earnest request, summoned to embark for South Africa to take part in the war, a deputation of the officers arrived in Bristol on December 18th to deposit with the Corporation the regi¬ mental colours whilst the troops were on active service. The deputation, which was escorted to the Council House by the militia battalion of the regiment, was met at the door by the Lord Mayor, the Bishop, and many leading citizens; and the colours having been brought up, the Lord Mayor said the city felt honoured by the trust reposed in it, and was satisfied that the regiment would uphold the credit of Bristol and of the county in the same distinguished manner that had marked its whole history. The colours would be faithfully preserved until the war was at an end; in the meantime the city would do its duty in taking care of the wives and children who were left behind. The Bishop having added a few appropriate remarks, the colours were deposited in the Council Chamber. There was an immense assemblage in the streets to witness the proceedings, and great enthusiasm was manifested. The officers were subsequently •90 THE ANNALS OF BRISTOL [1899-1900 entertained by the Lord Mayor. About the same time a number of members of the Rifle Volunteers and of the local Yeomanry Corps offered their services for the campaign, and these contingents, as well as the troops stationed at Horfield and a large number of army reservists ordered to the war, were the objects of much popular favour on their departure. A subscription for the relief of the families deprived of their breadwinners, of the widows and orphans of those who fell, and of men wounded or invalided in the service, was opened by the Lord Mayor, and his appeal was liberally responded to by all classes, upwards of £20,000 being contributed. At a final meeting of the Queen’s Reception Committee on December 21st it was announced that, after defraying all expenses, a surplus remained in hand of £817. The money was ordered to be handed over to the governors of the Convalescent Home. During the month of December a discovery was made of the remains of a Roman villa near Brislington, on an estate which was being laid out for building purposes. The foundations of what had been a spacious mansion, a few coins, and large portions of fine tessellated pavements were disinterred, and were presented by the owners—a local land company—to the Bristol Museum. During the year the governers of the Infirmary erected a large home for the nurses employed in the institution, at a cost of nearly £8,000. At a meeting of the Council on January 1st, 1900, Mr. Tryon, on behalf of the members and other citizens, presented Sir Herbert AshmaD, Lord Mayor, with an elegant silver casket, in recognition of the distinguished manner in which he had sustained the office of chief magistrate during the previous year. The casket, a fine work of art, and bearing an appro¬ priate inscription, contained a copy of the royal Letters Patent conferring the title of Lord Mayor on the chief magistrate of Bristol, and of a congratulatory vote to the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress passed by the Couucil in the preceding June. A letter was read at the same meeting from Sir W. H. Wills in reference to his previous offer of £10,000 towards the cost of erecting an Art Gallery, stating that as the expense of a suitable building would be about £30,000, he was prepared, provided the Council were willing to expend £10,000 for extending the Museum on the ground-floor of the newly-purchased premises, to complete the building. The generosity of his offer elicited warm expressions of thanks. The confectionery works of Messrs. Sanders and Co., Redcliff Street, were destroyed by fire on January 13th. 1900] IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. 91 Sir Chih-chen Lo-fen-gluh, Chinese Minister in England, whilst on a provincial tour, arrived in Bristol on January 22nd, and was officially welcomed at the Council House by the Lord Mayor. After being entertained to luncheon, he visited the cocoa manufactory of Messrs. Fry and Sons and the city electrical works. A reception was given in the evening at the Victoria Booms by the Lord Mayor and Sheriff. On the fol¬ lowing day his Excellency visited Avonmouth Dock, one of the great tobacco factories of Messrs. Wills, where luncheon was provided, and the Merchants’ Technical College; and was enter¬ tained to dinner in the evening by the Chamber of Commerce. On the 24th he inspected Muller’s Orphanages and Messrs. Derham’s boot factory. In the course of his visit his Excellency made many felicitous little speeches, touching upon the com¬ merce, manufactures, and history of Bristol, with which he seemed familiar, and on departure he cordially thanked the citizens for their kindness and hospitality. At a meeting of the Clifton Suspension Bridge Company on January 25th an official statement was made respecting the sinking fund established by the Company’s Act, with a view to ultimately freeing the bridge from toll. The trustees of the fund, it appeared, were then in possession of 370 of the £10 shares of the company, of which there were originally 3,250 (besides a borrowed capital of £11,50(J). The dividend on the bought-up shares, at the rate of 5 per cent, declared that day, together with the £50 per annum set aside by the Act, would be devoted to the purchase of more shares; and if a sufficient number could not be obtained voluntarily, the trustees were empowered to make compulsory purchases at the rate of £1 for every shilling of dividend. It was further stated that the maximum dividend was fixed by law at 7g- per cent., any surplus profits being appropriated to the sinking fund. The Mina Road School, belonging to the School Board, was accidentally destroyed by fire on January 25th. It was rebuilt soon afterwards, and re-opened in September. At a meeting of the Bishop’s Church Extension Commission, on January 29th. his lordship stated that upwards of £30,000 had been contributed, and £8,000 obtained in grants from eccle¬ siastical bodies. Sites had been purchased for three new churches—St. Martin’s, Upper Knowle ; St. Aldhelm’s, Bed- minster ; and St. Aidan’s, Crew’s Hole; and several mission chapels. [A portion of St. Martin’s was consecrated on April 23rd, 1901.] Two parties of Bristol Volunteers, who had offered them¬ selves for active service in the South African war, comprising 92 THE ANNALS OF BRISTOL [1900 56 Biflemen and 26 Engineers, were sworn in at the Council House, before the Lord Mayor, on January 30th. The pro¬ ceedings excited much popular sympathy, which was still more strongly displayed on the departure of the men. A battalion of Gloucestershire Imperial Yeomanry left soon afterwards, amidst renewed displays of public approval. The Great Western branch railway, from the Severn Tunnel to Avonmouth, seven miles in length, was opened for traffic on February 5th. In consequence of the construction of this line, the shooting-range of the Bristol Volunteers, on the shore of the Severn, had to be abandoned in October, 1898. The Butli City steamship, of Messrs. Hill and Son’s American line of steamers, was wrecked on Lundy Island on February 23rd. At a meeting of the Council on February 27th it was resolved to widen the Fishponds Boad, near Barton Begis Workhouse, at a cost of £12,300. The Council, on March 13th, adopted a report of the Finance Committee recommending that a number of houses situated between Alderskey Lane and Thunderbolt Street should be sold to the Co-operative Wholesale Society at a fee-farm rent of £430, on the Society convenanting to erect buildings on the site of the minimum value of £20,000. A recommendation of the Docks Committee that, in order to reorganise the property near the Underfall Yard, twenty houses in Avon Crescent should be purchased, with a view to their demolition, at a cost of £9,900, was approved. The erection was ordered of a shed on the Welsh Back, at an estimated cost of £1,725. The foundation-stone of a new church at Eastville, dedicated to All Hallows, intended to supersede a temporary iron church erected a few years earlier, was laid on March 18th by Mr. Averay Jones, Master of the Merchants’ Society. A portion only of the church was erected in the first instance, at an outlay of £6,000. A large contribution to the funds was made by the vestry of All Saints’, Bristol, a parish which had practically lost its resident population. On April 19th a destructive fire occurred at Messrs. Love and Waite’s joinery factory in St. Paul’s parish. The premises had been built on the site of the old Circus, burnt down some years previously (see page 46). At a meeting of the Council on May 8th it was resolved ta raise £16,000 by way of loan for laying down additional wood¬ paving—that sum being, it was stated, the first instalment of a charge of £58,600, arising out of an agreement with the Tramways Company. 1900] IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. 93 Intelligence of the relief of the little garrison of Mafeking, South Africa, after a seven months’ siege, reached Bristol about two hours before midnight on May 18th, and forthwith excited demonstrations of rejoicing. In spite of the lateness of the hour, the news spread with wonderful rapidity, and the central streets were soon filled with thousands eager to display their enthusiasm. Countless flags seemed to appear by some magical process, the church bells burst into merry peals, patriotic songs were sung by multitudinous choruses, musical instruments were brought out to swell the din; and the somewhat hysterical proceedings were prolonged for many hours. On the following day the display of flags in the principal streets was almost as great as on the occasion of Queen Victoria’s visit; pedestrians decorated themselves with cockades and flowers of the national colours; and a vast concourse gathered in Queen Square in the neighbourhood of the Docks Office, the front of which was covered with trophies and drapery, where the Lord Mayor and a number of leading citizens had assembled. The chief magistrate eventually came forward to move the thanks of the city to Colonel Baden Powell and his troops, for their noble defence of Mafeking, which was carried by immense acclamation. A procession was then formed, headed by mounted police and several hundred volunteers, the civic carriages being followed by a multitude of pedestrians. The pageant made its way over Bristol and St. Philip’s Bridges to Old Market Street, and thence by way of Wine Street, St. Augustine’s Bridge, Park Street, and Pembroke Eoad to Durdham Down, most of the route being thickly lined with spectators, who rivalled the moving mass in rending the air with jubilant sounds. On the Down the Lord Mayor made another brief address, the volunteers fired three volleys, and the demonstration came to an end. In the evening a display of fireworks took place on Brandon Hill, at the expense of the Lord Mayor, many citizens illuminated their dwellings, and the scenes in the streets were even more boisterous than on the preceding night. The Ivingswood and Parkfield collieries, having a workable area of 1,600 acres, and which in 1899 raised 210,000 tons of coal, were sold by auction on May 24th, and realised £61,000. The sale was ordered by the trustees of the principal proprietor, the late Mr. Handel Cossham, in order to carry out the instruc¬ tions of that gentleman’s will (see page 16). On June 8th the Council, in order to pay off many loans liable to be demanded at short notice, resolved to create a Stock bearing 3 per cent, interest, to be issued at 95^ per cent. The nominal amount of the Stock was £500,000, actually yielding 94 THE ANNALS OF BRISTOL [1900 about £475,000; and was to be repayable at par at the expira¬ tion of twenty years. On being effered to the public, the loan was subscribed for twice over. The Council on June 12th adopted a report of the Finance Committee, recommending that on the proprietors of the Theatre Royal surrendering their lease, the premises should be granted to them in fee, on a reserved fee-farm rent of £37 10s., they covenanting to rebuild the front part of the premises at a cost of £1,800. An institution styled the Shaftesbury Workmen’s Institute was established on a humble scale some years before this date in Kingsland Road, St. Philip’s, by a few philanthropists, for the purpose of affording the working-classes an agreeable place of meeting for instruction and recreation. The place having become a popular resort, its promoters resolved on largely extending the premises by adding two large clubrooms for young men, another for women, a gymnasium, and classrooms, Sir W. H. Wills contributing £2,000 to the building fund. These additions, which had cost £6,000, were opened on June 19th, when the Lord Mayor presented Sir W. H. Wills with a silver key with which to perform the ceremony. At a meeting of the Council on July 10th the Docks Com¬ mittee reported that, in order to carry out the construction of the proposed timber wharf in the Floating Harbour, they had purchased from various owners 12^- acres of land for £70,750, and had also negotiated for the acquisition of thirteen houses called Hanover Terrace, required for the same purpose, for £11,400. Their proceedings were confirmed. A new wing of the Lunatic Asylum, enabling that institution to accommodate 1,000 patients, was opened on July 17th. The extension had cost nearly £50,000. At a meeting of the Council on July 30th, the Streets Com¬ mittee reported that they had purchased the curious wooden house at the corner of Wine and High Streets for £7,700. A sum of £2,500 was voted for the erection of a footbridge over the Feeder. At an adjourned meeting on the following day a Committee announced that they had settled with the Gloucester¬ shire County Council to pay £17,500 to the latter body for St. George’s and Stapleton Police Stations, and other works. On the other hand the County Council would pay, on revenue account, £19,300 accrued since the passing of the Boundaries Act, and about £7,000 would be received annually for the future. The arrangement was approved. It was announced through the War Office, on July 24th, that Queen Victoria was pleased to accept the services of a new 1900 ] IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. 95 battalion of Bristol Volunteer Riflemen, to be designated the Third Volunteer Battalion of the Gloucestershire Regiment, with an establishment of eight companies. The honorary colonelship of the battalion, which had been formed mainly through the exertions of Mr. Ernest Mardon, was accepted by Earl Roberts whilst commanding in South Africa, and a uniform of khaki was adopted. The headquarters of the corps were shortly afterwards established in St. Michael’s Hill House, and nearly 900 men had joined the corps before the end of the year. A perambulation of the city boundaries, considered to be essential through the extension of the civic jurisdiction, was commenced on September 10th, when about 100 gentlemen, chiefly members and officers of the Corporation, met near the bottom of St. Vincent’s Rocks, where 300 policemen, with trumpeters and banner bearers, were already assembled. Pro¬ ceeding along the river bank to the entrance to the Ravine, the hilarious proceedings of the day were inaugurated by the “ bumping ” of a few of the company against the first boundary stone. After climbing the rugged footpath, the party emerged on the plateau of Durdham Down, which was traversed to the end of Parry’s Lane, and thence to the Westbury road. So far the path had followed the old boundary, but soon afterwards, after passing through a house, the old line was abandoned for a new one, along which guiding stones had been erected at intervals. The procession thus made its way to near Horfield Church, and in that neighbourhood various houses standing across the line had to be passed through, or surmounted by means of ladders. On reaching Purdown after a five miles march, the party halted for luncheon. Progress was next made to Stoke House, where the boundary passed through two rooms, entrance and egress being made through windows. The Dowager Duchess of Beaufort and the Duke (her son) personally received a deputation of the company, and the Lord High Steward and the Lord Mayor underwent the process of bumping, which had been already undergone by most of the pedestrians, several ladies, and a baby. The day’s perambulation finished at the Frenchay road, where tea was provided and conveyances were in readiness. The proceedings were resumed on the 12th at the point where- they had been dropped, the conductors proceeding to the valley of the Froom, and following that river for some distance, thence past Downend road and Staple Hill railway station to Kingswood Chase and Kingswood, where luncheon was in readiness. Again proceeding, in some cases through houses and factories, the walls of the Reformatory were clambered over, and a halt was called at Magpie Bottom, were tea and carriages were in waiting. On 96 THE ANNALS OF BRISTOL [1900 the 13th the perambulation was resumed at the same spot, much of the day’s journey being over a somewhat difficult country, interspersed with water-cress beds, marshes, orchards and gardens. The Avon was reached near Conham, whence two steam vessels conveyed the visitors to Hanham weir, the eastern extremity of the river jurisdiction. Luncheon was provided at Hanham Court, and after a brief rest the company returned to Conham by water, climbed the steep bank on the Somerset shore, and made for St. Anne’s Park and Brislington, where they were enter¬ tained by Mr. Henry Williams before returning to town. The land perambulation concluded on the 14th, commencing at Brislington, passing the outskirts of Bedminster almost to Bishopsworth, thence over Bedminster Down, and finishing on the shore of the Avon at Rownham. Bumping had by that time become so popular a ceremony that a party of young women had formed themselves into a volunteer bumping corps, and dealt vigorously with many of the perambulators. On the 15th and final day, a party of about 250 embarked on the steamer Britannia for a survey of the water boundaries, and picked up numerous companions at Avonmouth and Portishead. The active officials landed at Shirehampton and fixed the boundary between Gloucestershire and Avonmouth, and they disembarked again for a similar purpose at Portishead, where the dock had been severed from Somerset. At the Steep Holm a landing was effected in a somewhat rough sea, and an iron stake driven into a rock as a memorial of the visit. The Flat Holm was more easy of access, and a numerous party inspected the island, another boundary mark being also placed there. Dinner was served in the steamer during the return voyage to Bristol. The cost of the week’s perambulations was £712. On September 11th, at a meeting of the Council, the Finance Committee reported that the inadequate accommodation pro¬ vided in the magisterial courts had been strongly represented by the justices. An extension of the building being absolutely necessary, the purchase was recommended of some adjoining property at a cost of £5,000. The report was approved. [A vote of £15,000 for new buildings was passed in May, 1901.] Mr. Daniel Travers Burges, Town Clerk, died on September 15th, after a protracted illness, aged 61. His great-grandfather, Daniel Burges, after having been long in the service of the Corporation, was appointed Clerk of the Arraigns in 1788. His grandfather and father, also named Daniel, successively filled the office of City Solicitor, and subsequently of Town Clerk, their eminent services in those capacities extending over fifty- two years, and their descendant occupied the Town Clerkship 1900 ] IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. 97 with equal ability for upwards of twenty years. Mr. Edmund Judkin Taylor was elected to the vacant office on October 23rd. The third side of the quadrangle of the University College buildings, comprising a large hall for lectures and examinations, an art and science library (affording accommodation for a remarkable collection of scientific works numbering 6,000 volumes bequeathed by the late Mr. Thomas Exley), a labora¬ tory, and class-rooms for the biological department, was com¬ pleted in September. The cost of this wing, including furniture, was £7,000/ A dissolution of Parliament having taken place in September, the nomination of candidates for Bristol took place on October 1st. In West Bristol, Sir Michael Hicks-Beach was returned without opposition. In the three other divisions, where all the previous members retired into private life, polling took place on October 4th, with the following results :—North Bristol: Sir Frederick Wills, Bart. (Liberal Unionist), 4,936; Sir Clarence Smith (L.), 4,182. Voters on the register, 12,157. South Bristol: Right Plon. Walter H. Long (C.), 5,470 ; William Howell Davies (L.), 4,859. Number on register, 13,206. East Bristol: Charles Edward Henry Hobhouse (L.), 4,979; Robert Arthur Sanders (C.), 3,848. Number on register, 13,181. The expenditure of the three ministerial candidates amounted to £2,522, and that of their Liberal opponents to £1,877. At a meeting of the Council on October 9th the Docks Committee reported that they had let 21 acres of land at Avon- mouth, for a term of eighteen years, to a Petroleum Company, at a rent of £135 per acre, the lessees covenanting to expend £7,500 in the erection of tanks aud buildings. The report was approved. A report of the Streets Committee, recommending that powers should be applied for to carry out various minor street improvements at an outlay of £15,000, was also adopted. On October 11th the Chamber of Commerce gave a compli¬ mentary dinner, at the Royal Hotel, to the Governor of Jamaica, Sir Augustus Hemming, then on a visit to England. One of the objects of the gathering was to celebrate the establishment by Messrs. Elder, Dempster, aud Co. (who had been effectively supported by the Docks Committee) of a direct line of mail steamers between Bristol and Jamaica, in support of which they had obtained the promise of a yearly subsidy of £40,000 from the Government. Almost simultaneously with the banquet, an exhibition of Bristol products was opened at Kingston, Jamaica, under the auspices of delegates sent out by the Chamber of Commerce. The Bristolians were cordially wel¬ comed aud entertained by the colonists, and the exhibition 8 98 THE ANNALS OF BRISTOL [1900 proved a great success. [The first steamship of Messrs. Elder and Co.’s line, the Port Morant, built specially for the service, left Avonmouth on her first voyage on February 16th, 1901.] The Council, on July 11th, 1899, appointed a committee to receive subscriptions for the purpose of obtaining a portrait of Queen Victoria, as an addition to the numerous regal pictures in the possession of the Corporation. Intimation of the desire of the civic body having been conveyed to the Queen, her Majesty suggested that a copy should be taken of a portrait painted for her in 1885 by Henry de Angeli, of which she had a highly favourable opinion. The work, which, with its frame, cost £186, was exhibited to the subscribers on October 18th, and was generally admired. A balance of nearly £300 remain¬ ing on hand, it was resolved that the money should form the nucleus of a fund for obtaining an historical painting, repre¬ senting the knighting of the Lord Mayor at the door of the Council House, and also a portrait of the Lord Mayor himself. Soon afterwards, Mr. Caton Woodville was commissioned to produce the former work, which was completed in 1901, and for which he received 1,000 guineas. Colston Hall, reconstructed after the disastrous fire of September, 1898, was opened on November 27th by a reception offered by the directors to about a thousand guests, including a number of the gentry of the neighbouring counties, and nearly all the leading inhabitants of Bristol. The appearance of the new hall excited a universal feeling of satisfaction. Its size had been considerably enlarged, the massive columns of the original building had disappeared, two elegant tiers of galleries surrounded three sides of the area, the accommodation for an orchestra had been greatly extended, a perfect system of venti¬ lation had been introduced, and means of entrance and egress had been abundantly provided. Under the new arrangement 4,000 persons could be comfortably seated, or 1,500 in excess of the original accommodation. Mr. Lewis Fry, who presided in the absence of Mr. Herbert Thomas through illness, briefly sketched the history of the building since it was destroyed by the fire, which he observed had proved a benefit in disguise, inasmuch as they possessed a hall immensely superior to its forerunner. The Lord Mayor and Sheriff, who followed, complimented the directors on the happy results of their labours. After brief addresses by Mr. J. S. Fry and Sir W. H. Wills, Mr. Willis, one of the builders of the new organ, which was only partially erected, gave an example of its tone and power, after which the chairman seized the opportunity to thank Sir W. H. Wills for this munificent gift, which had cost the donor £5,000. 1900 ] IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. 99 Subsequently three well-known local choirs, the Madrigal Society, the Eoyal Orpheus Glee Society, and the Society of Bristol Gleemen, rendered a fine selection of vocal music. A grand ball concluded the evening’s entertainment. On the morning of the 29th the oratorio of Elijah was performed by seven leading vocalists, supported by 600 choristers and 80 instrumentalists ; and in the evening the Golden Legend of Sir A. Sullivan was followed by the same composer’s In Memoriam and some other pieces, in commemoration of the English soldiers who had fallen in the South African war. [Sir A. Sullivan was to have conducted on this occasion, but unhappily died a few days previously.] On the 30th the oratorio of the Redemption was rendered in the morning, and the Flying Dutchman and a selection in the evening. Finally on December 1st there was a magnificent performance of the Messiah in the morning, and a popular concert in the evening. The party of Bristol Engineer Volunteers who left in February, under the command of Lieut. E. S. Sinnott, to take part in the South African campaign, returned to this city on November 28th, after completing their period of service, and received a hearty popular welcome. They were met at the railway station by the Lord Mayor, and were escorted through the crowded streets by a large number of the city volunteers to the Cathedral, where a brief thanksgiving service was held, followed by a sermon delivered by the Bishop. The Lord Mayor subsequently enter¬ tained the men and a numerous party to luncheon. With the exception of one man suffering from fever, all the party returned uninjured. An appeal was published on December 3rd for the assistance of the public on behalf of the Engineer Volunteer Corps, who were about to be deprived of their headquarters in Trinity Street in order to carry out a street improvement scheme. The Cor¬ poration had offered a site for a new building in the same neighbourhood, provided a sum of £6,000 was laid out on its erection. A considerable sum was contributed soon afterwards. In the first year of the century the staff of the Bristol Post Office consisted of a postmaster, two or three clerks, and two postmen, the total salaries of whom did not amount to £500 a year. The Civil Service estimates voted by the House of Commons for the year ending March, 1901, included the following items for Bristol:—Postal establishment, £59,585; telegraphic service, £27,165; total £86,750. The chief items were :—Postmaster, £800; sub-postmasters (165), £6,817; clerks (827) and telegraphists (78), £41,512; and 666 postmen and messengers, £36,994. 100 THE ANNALS OF BRISTOL [1900 These remarkable figures may be regarded as typifying the general progress made by the city during the century whose annals are now brought to a close. In 1801 the population of Bristol, including the suburbs since incorporated in the borough, was only 64,000. At the beginning of 1901 the number had increased to 328,800. Still more striking was the advance in wealth indicated by the value of fixed property. In 1803 the rateable value of the ancient city parishes was £96,000, and that of the suburban districts would not have raised the aggre¬ gate to so much as £120,000. In 1900 the rated value had risen to nearly £1,520,000, In other words, whilst population had multiplied five-fold, rentals had increased more than twelve¬ fold. The recoids of the shipping trade of the port also show a notable improvement, though progress in this direction was long seriously retarded by the inadequacy of accommodation. In 1806, the earliest return obtainable, the tonnage of vessels entering the Avon was under 209,000. In the year ending April, 1900, the tonnage was 1,611,730. Could information be had in reference to traffic by land, which was quite insignificant in 1801, the development would unquestionably prove gigantic. In a brilliant passage known to everyone, Macaulay once foreshadowed a New Zealander of a future age contemplating the ruins of London. Could an aged Bristolian of a century ago revisit the earth to view the city of our own time, the contrast betwixt the past and the present would be infinitely more cheering and little less astounding. And the growth of population, wealth and commerce would not be its greatest marvels. The ghostly visitor, like nearly all his contemporaries, had lived in a chaos of dingy, narrow, and ill-kempt streets, of many of which he would hardly be able to trace the locality. The stately villas of the prosperous classes would have to be sought for in regions which in his day were solitary fields; and thousands of ordinary workmen would be found occupying dwellings superior in comfort to those of many tradesmen in George the Third’s reign. Unless he had been a wealthy man, he could have had no experience of those decent sanitary arrangements which are now universal. The majority of his neighbours of every rank bore marks of having suffered from a hideous disease that on the average swept away 500 or 600 inhabitants annually. He would find a vast city in which small-pox is practically unknown. The water supply of his family had probably been drawn from a polluted well, or bought daily by pailfuls. By an expenditure almost equalling the capital value of city property in 1801, an unlimited service is now available at every door. The only charitable institution 1900 ] IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. 101 for the relief of human disease and suffering mentioned in the Bristol Directory for 1800 was the Eoyal Infirmary. Hospitals, Asylums and Homes are now dotted about in every district. The tiny weekly newspaper of 1801 cost sixpence, and the average workman was too illiterate to read it. The halfpenny daily paper of 1901 is twice the size of the sixpenny sheet; over 60,000 children are in free public schools ; and free libraries are open to all. The artificial light of 1801 was limited to smoky lamps and dismal tallow candles. Our imaginary visitor would behold the streets illuminated with lamps of 1,000 candle-power. He had left the world when travelling was not merely tedious but perilous. He would now see luxurious carriages speeding along at the rate of fifty miles an hour, at one-third the former charge, and conveying more passengers every day than an old mail coach could convey in a year; sedan chairs displaced by trarucars, motor carriages and bicycles; postboys superseded by electric messengers ; and, most astonish¬ ing of all, merchants transacting business with London and other great centres by telephonic conversations. It would be tiresome to expatiate further on improvements effected within the lifetime of many still amongst us ; but one important point deserves a moment’s attention, The foreign trade of Bristol was carried on in 1801 by sailing vessels rarely exceeding 250 tons burden. The port then possessed only one ship of 500 tons, and, owing to the tortuous course of the Avon, such a vessel could not be brought up to the quays except at perilous risk. At the close of the century, in view of the rapid develop¬ ment of commerce, and the construction of steam vessels of 20,000 tons register, the citizens, with a thorough determination to recover the ancient prestige of the port, resolved on the adoption of a scheme for the accommodation of vessels consider¬ ably more than twice the length of Bristol Cathedral; and it may be safely asserted that this magnificent project will in due time be carried out, with every prospect of securing its well- merited reward. That the city has a great future before it seems happily beyond dispute; and the annalist of the nineteenth century may be permitted to envy the task which promises to devolve upon his successor. [The follovnng information did not come to hand in time to be inserted in its proper placc.~\ On December 21st, 1898, the executive of the Bristol Constitutional Club, exercising an option contained in the 102 THE ANNALS OF BRISTOL. lease of the premises occupied by them, purchased the property in fee for £6,636 9s. The house was specially built for the use of the club by the late Mr. John Lysaght, and was first occupied by the members on July 20th, 1885. The president is the Duke of Beaufort, who succeeded his father in that position. CATHEDRAL AND CIVIC DIGNITARIES. 1S63 1S97 1850 1891 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 BISHOP OF GLOUCESTER AND BRISTOL. March, Charles John Ellicott, D.D.; resigned Bristol, June, 1897. BISHOP OF BRISTOL. October 28th, George Forrest Browne, D.D. DEANS. May, Gilbert Elliot, D.D. ; died August 11th, 1891. December, Francis Pigou, D.D. MAYORS AND SHERIFFS. Mayors. Charles Wathen. Charles Wathen. Sir t harles Wathen. Sir Charles Wathen. Charles Highett, M.D. William Robert Barker. Robert Henry Symes. Robert Henry Symes. William Howell Davies. Robert Henry Symes. Do. (Knighted 1898) Lord Mayors. Herbert Ashman. Sir Herbert Ashman. James Colthurst Godwin. Sheriffs. Robert Henry Symes. George Henry Pope. James Henry Lockley. James Henry Lockley. Arthur Baker. Alfred Deedes. Col. C. Coates. William Pethick. William Ansell Todd. James Colthurst Godwin. F. Richardson Cross. Charles Wills. George Alfred Wills. Edward Burnet James. INDEX. Adam and Eve inn, 33. Agnes, St., Institute, 24. Alderskey (Aldworth’s Quay) Lane, 92. Almshouses, All Saints’, 7; Lady Haberfielcl’s, IS. Anne’s, St., footpath dispute, 21; railway station, 70. Antiquities :—Ancient cellars, 4 ; Roman coffin, 13; Franciscan priory, 2.5; ancient chapel, 41 ; old statues, 09 ; Roman villa, 90. Arno’s Vale cemetery, 21. Arrowsmith, J. W., 32, 47, 74; presentation to, 75. Art, School of, grant to, 23 ; evening classes, 76 Art gallery, Municipal, projected, 81, 90. Artist’s, Bristol, present to the Queen, 89. Ashman, (Sir) Herbert, knighted, 86 ; presentation to, 9U ; portrait of, 98. Ashton, Long, land at, purchased, 84. Athenamm closed, 9. Augustine’s, St., churchyard removed, 24, 40; bridge, 23-4, 40; new wharves, &c., 23, 29, 40. Avon, vessel stranded, 15; extensive river improvements, 48 ; high tides, 54, 78 ; see Dockisation. Avon Crescent demolished, 92. Avonmouth, proposed dock exten¬ sions, 28, 33, 48, 61 ; new dock approved, 65 ; included in borough, 39 ; pier, 52; granaries, 61 ; oil stores, 97; graving docks, 21 ; caisson, 56; hospital ship, 53; library, 54 ; new railway to, 92. Baker, Sir Benjamin, docks reports, 64-5. Baker, Aid. W. P., 33, 46, 52, 62, 63, 64, 86. Baldwin Street, 43, 57, 66. Balfour, Rt. Hon. J W., 77. Band Concerts at Clifton, &c., 3; proposed city, 76. Bankruptcy offices, new, 43. Banks, Bristol Joint-Stock, 16; Old Bank, 20 ; West of England, 25. Barker, W. R., 11, 58,'86. Barrett, Wilson, 75. Barry, Sir J W., 48, 62, 64-5. Barton Hill baths and hall, 77, 83. Bath City steamer lost, 92. Bathing place on Froom, 8. Baths, Public :—Jacob’s Wells, 9, 13; Rennison’s, 25 ; Victoria, 58 ; Cotham, 58 ; Barton Hill, 77, 83; Sunday bathing, 80. Bathurst basin, explosion at, 10. Beach, Sir M Hicks, M.P., 7, 13, 28, 45(2), 60 77,97. Beaufort, Eighth Duke of, 13, 24, 37, 44, 47, 50, 55, 77 ; death, 79; Ninth Duke, 79, 85, 95. Beaufort, Duchess of, 45, 75, 81, 95. Bedminster, Ford Memorial Hall, 22 ; see Floods Biological exhibition, 74. Bishopric of Bristol, revival of, 39, 59 ; palace, 14, 39, 68. Black Castle estate, 69. Boundaries, city, extension of, 15; first Bill, 37 ; second Bill, 49; arrangements under, 61, 66, 94 ; perambulation of, 95. Brandon Hill, new road to, 9. Brewery, Georges & Co.'s. 6 ; Garton & Co.’s, 76. Bridges :—Drawbridge, 5—removed, 24; St. Augustine’s, 23, 24, 40; Rownham, 28, 29, 33, 46, 52; Vaux- liall, 46 ; over Feeder, 80, 94. Brislington, Roman villa at, 90. Bristol, rateable value, 38, 100 ; city debt, 38, 93; trade of port, 65, 101; constituted a parish, 52, 66; sketches of, 48 ; progress during the century, 99, 100; population, 100 Bristol Channel defences, 49. Bristol City steamship, 82. British Association (Congress, 73; entertainments, 74. 104 INDEX. Browne, Rt. Rev. G. F., appointed Bishop, 40 ; 68, 75, 79, 86, 89, 91, 99. Brownlow, Bishop \Y. R , of Clifton, 34. Burges, Daniel T., death of, 96. Burial Board, Bristol, 52. Burke, Edmund, statue of, 27. Cabot John, memorial tower, 60, 71, 75 (2). Canada, trade with, 61 ; civic depu¬ tation to, 58. Canon’s Marsh, see Floating Harbour; land at, 57. Canterbury, Archbishop of, visit, 26. Castle, Ed. J., Recorder, 58. Cathedral, completion of nave, 8; electric lighting, 8 ; Colston win¬ dow, 19; cross and candlesticks in, 23; further “ restorations,” 26, 27, 49, 80; destruction of ancient work, 26 : choir re-opened, 26 ; dispute with organist , 44 ; reredos, 83. Cathedral and civic dignitaries, 102. Cave, (Sir) Charles I)., 13; created a baronet, 51. Cemeteries:—Arno’s Vale, 21; Green- bank, 52, 79; Avon View, 52; Stoke Bishop, 21. Chamber of Commerce, 57, 74, 82, 91, 97. Chapels :—Tyndale, 42 ; Cotham, 54. Chatterton, MS. sold, 48; Square, 18. Chimney, tall, demolished, 28. Chinese Ambassador’s visit, 91. Church extension schemes, 1. 5, 20, 68, 91. Churches :—St. Agnes, 5 ; St. Alban, 41; St. Anselm, 60; All Saints, 75, 92 ; All Hallows, 92 ; St. Aldhelm, 91; St. Aidan, 91; St Bartholomew removed, 27; St. Catherine, 76; St. Francis, 1 ; St. James, 53 ; St. Mark’s (Mayor’s Chapel) restored, 4; St. Martin, 21; St. Martin, Knowle, 91 ; St. Mary, Leigh Woods, 22; St. Nicholas, 34; St. Raphael’s, 32; St. Saviour, 13; St. Stephen, 43 ; St. Thomas, 53. Church schools, bazaar, 55. Churchyard ornamented, 42. Churchyards removed, St. Augustine, 24, 40; St. Michael, 45. Clifford, Bishop W. J., death of, 34. Clifton, bishopric of, 34. Clifton College, Wilson Tower, 13; playground extended, 20; head¬ masters, 18; gifts to St. Agnes Church. 5 ; conversazione, 74. Clifton parish incumbency, 60. Clifton Spa and Hydro, ‘20. Clifton Rocks railway, 19. Clifton Down hotel, 27. Clubs :—Salisbury, 7, 13, 81; Liberal, 9; Literary, 19 ; Constitutional, 101 . Coal under New Cut, 9. Coasting trade, dues on, 9, 37 ; sta¬ tistics of, 65. College Green, lease of, 41; statue in, 7 ; Cross, 10. Collieries, local, 55, 93. Colston, Edward, monument to, 47 (2) memorial window, 19. Colston Avenue, 40, 47. Colston Hall destroyed by fire, 70, 76; new hall, 78 ; re-opened, 98. Colston Society, new, 89. Commercial Rooms, 12; action against, 79. Conservative Congress, 77. Constitutional Club, 101. Convalescent Home, Jubilee, 57, 90 ; opened by Queen Victoria, 84. Cookery, School of, 35. Cork, Earl of, 24, 85. Coroner’s Court erected, 80. Corporation, gifts of plate to, 1, 7, 21, 37 ; frauds on, 60; increase of wards and members, 50, 61, 66; deputation to Canada, 58; new council chamber, 69; municipal offices, 70 ; ward anomalies, 88 ;. Little Red Book, 81 ; issue of cor¬ porate stock, 93 ; debt, 38 ; local rates, 70, 77. Cossham, Handel, M.P., death, 16; his bequest to Kingswood, 16, 93. Cotton factory, strike at, 14. Council House, adjoining property purchased, 11, 70 ; new Chamber, 69 ; see Municipal Buildings. County Cricket Ground, 6. Crookes, Sir William, 73. Cross, High, model of, 10. Cross, F. Richardson, 69; presen¬ tation to, 77. Cumberland Road towing-path, 52. Cruger, Henry, M.P., 37. Daniel, Rev. H., his gift to bishopric, 14, 19, 39, 68. Davies, (Aid.) W. Howell, 58, 61. 71, 74, 86^ 97. Davies, John E., gift to city, 21. Distress of poor, 43. Doc-kisation of the Avon, 48, 63, 64. INDEX. 105 Docks (see Avonmouth and Floating Harbour), dues on coasting trade, (I, 37 ; strike, 14 ; dues increased, 37 ; passenger toll, 37 ; harbour works, 1, 28, 33; pontoons, 4 7 ; Barry’s iirst report, 48,- -his plan for docks, 62 ; McCurrichs, 62 ; Portisliead schemes, 63, 64 ; Barry’s joint reports, 64-5. Dolphin Society, gift to Cathedral, 19. Downs, proposed road on the, 16; lavatories, 25. Drawbridge, see Bridges. Drill Hall, 13, 81 ; entertainments in, 73. Ducie, Earl of, 37, 71, 85. Dufferin, Marquis of, visits, 60, 71. Dunball included in borough, 39 ; site of dock, 65. Edinburgh, H.R. H. Duke of, visits of, 22, 24. Education, grants to promote, 22. Edwards, Geo. W., knighted, 2, 71 ; his proposed road to Clifton, 3; sale of Ham Green estate, 35 ; gift of plate, 37 ; gift to bishopric, 39; gift to Mayor’s Chapel, 5. Edwards, Mr. Greville, 68, 76. Elections, Parliamentary, 7, 16, 28, 44, 45 (2), 97. Electric lighting introduced, 16. Ellicott, Bishop, 32, 37, 47 ; presen¬ tations to, 24; resigns bishopric, 59 ; memorial to, 83. Ellicott, Chancellor, 44. Elliot, Dean, death of, 23; monu¬ ment, 23. Empire Music Hall, 36. Execution, first at Horfield, 12. Exhibitions, Industrial, 32, 35, 46, 75. Ex Icy, Thos., bequest of library, 97* Explosions, of petroleum, 10 ; at Malago Pit, 23. Fairfield Road School, 76. Fine Arts Academy, gifts to, 48, 75. Fire brigade increased, 70. Fires : — Petroleum stores, 25 ; Perry & Co.’s, 44; Old Circus, 46; Cotliam Chapel, 54; Todd & Co. ’s, 57 ; Greenslade’s, 64 ; ship Xema, 66 ; Clarke & Co. ’s and Colston Hall, 70; RedclifFStreet, 90; Mina Road, 91 ; York Street, 92. Fishponds, library, 78 ; road, 92 ; see Parks. Floating Harbour, portion covered in, 5, 23, 35, 40 ; new wharves, 1, 23, 28, 33, 4(5, 52 65, 78, 82, 94 ; shed, 92. Floods, great, II, 43, 54, 78; pro¬ visions against, 12, 50 ; Prevention Act, 51 Footpaths Association, 21. Ford Memorial Hall, 22. Fox, Alderman F. F., 4, 62. Freemen, Honorary : — Prince Victor, 8; Duke of Edinburgh, 24 ; Earl of Rosebery, 27 ; Lord Roberts, ;-,6 ; Marquis of Dufferin, 60. Froom, see Floods. Fry, Lewis, M.P., 28, 45, 71, 98. Fry & Sons’ cocoa factories, 7. 27, 57. Fry, J. S., 81 ; large gifts, 57, 91. Gaol, Old, sale of, 45. Garton’s Brewery removed, 76. Gas Company, strike at works, 14 ; new Act, 78. George’s, St., absorbed in city, 49 ; park, 41 ; cemetery, 52 ; library, 54. Gibbs, Antony, 39. Gladstone, Mr., visic to, 16. Glazebrook, Rev. M. G., 18, 74. Gloucestershire Regiment, 2nd, and the War, 89; Yeomanry, 92 ; County Council, 94. Glover, Rev. I)r., memorial, 42 ; 58, 86 , 88 . Gore, H. H., 44. Grace, W. G., testimonials to, 47. Grammar School, grants to, 22-3; extensions, 29. Granary, Corporation, 10. Great Western Steamship Co., 45. Greaves, Rev. Talbot, 60. Greenbank cemetery, 52, 79. Guinea Street ferry, 82. Habertield, Lady, almshouse, 18. Ham Green estate bought, 35 ; Hos¬ pital, 53. Hanham, light railway to, 80. Hanover Terrace demolished, 94. Harbour railway, extension of, 15, 28, 29, 33, 46, 52, 84. Hare, C. B., 68. Harrison, Dr. J., 74. Harvey, John, 24. Haymarket, see St. James’s. Hemming, Sir Aug., entertained, 97 Hill, Sir E. S., M.P., 28, 45, 81. ' Hill, C., & Co., 15, 46, 82, 92. Hobhouse, Charles E. H., M.P., 97 Hobson, S. G., 45. | Holms, Corporate visit to, 96. 106 INDEX. Horfield prison, 12. Hospital, General, 1, 10, 24. Hospitals for infectious diseases, 53. Hospitals, abuse of medical, 67. Hotels :—Grand, 7 ; Clifton Down, 27 ; Montague, 66 ; Royal Glou¬ cester, Clifton, 19. Industrial exhibitions, 32, 35, 46, 75. Inebriates’ home, Brentry, 80. Infirmary, improvements at, 69, 90. Inland Revenue Office, new, 43. Inns :—Adam and Eve, 33 ; White Lion, 41 ; King's Head, 66. Inskip, Aid. J., 16. 56, 61, 62, 63. Ireland, J. C. C., gifts by, 69. Jamaica, visit of Governor of, 97 ; Bristolians at, 97 ; mail service, 97. James’s, St., churchyard, dispute as to, 41. James’s, St., church tower, 53. James’s, St., Hall, 58. Jubilees, Queen Victoria’s, 2, 59. Kingswood Reformatoi-y, 69 ; col- j lieries, 93. Lavatory, underground, 80. Lawless, H. H., 45. Lean, Vincent S., munificent bequests, | 79. Lee, Arthur, 74 ; presentation to, 75. j Leigh Court, jewel robbery at, 31. Liberal Club, 9. Library and Museum transferred to I city, 30; extension of buildings, ! 81 ; lending library, 31. Libraries. Free :—Hotwells, 6 ; St. Philip’s, 54 ; Avonmouth, 54 ; Kingswood, 54 ; Cheltenham Road, 77 ; Fishponds, 78 ; Somerset ward, ! 81 ; Mr. Lean’s bequest, 79. Lifeboat Saturday, 42. Lindrea, T. T., 86. Literary Club, 19. Little Red Book printed, 8!. Llandaff City steamer stranded, 15. Lodging-house, Municipal, 82. Long, Rt. Hon. W. H , 97. Lord High Stewards, 79. Lord Mayor of Bristol created, 79. Lunatic Asylum enlarged, 18, 94. Lysaght, John, 102. McCurrieh, Mr., plan for dock, 62. Mafeking demonstration, 93. Magistrates, working-men, 42. Magistrates’ Courts, 96. Magnetism, Conference on, 74. Malago brook, see Floods. Malago colliery, explosion, 23 ; closed, 55. Mansion House, cost of, 25. Mardon, Ernest, 95. Mayor (sec Lord Mayor), salary, 79 ; list of mayors and sheriffs, 102. Mayor’s Chapel restored, 4. Medical School, new, 31. Medical charities, abuse of, 67. Merchants’ Society, 39. Merchant Venturers’ Technical Col¬ lege, 57. 76, 82. Metford, W. E., his rifle, 9. Michael’s, St., Hill, widened, 45. Miles, W. H., 39. Mortuary erected, 80. Muller, Rev. G., death of, 67. Muller, William, bust of, 28. Municipal Buildings, proposed, 29, 77. Museum, see Library. Musical Festivals, 10, 19, 36, 54. Music Halls — People’s Palace, 32 ; Empire Theatre, 36. Naval squadron, visit of a, 73. “New Buildings” removed, 4. Newnes, (Sir George, 19. Norris, Archdeacon J. P., death of, 23 ; benefactions, 39 ; tablet to, 23. Novers Hill Hospital, 53. Ordnance Survey, 15. Orphanages, Muller’s, 67. Orpheus Glee Society, 47. Parks, Public • Windmill Hill (Vic¬ toria), 7, 22 ; EastviUe, 7, 44 ; St. Andrew’s, 15, 22, 44 ; St. George’s, 41 ; improvements, 44; see Recrea¬ tion Grounds. Pass, A. Capper, 48. Pauperism, local, 67. Paving, granite, 89 ; see Wood. Pearson, Aid. Geo., 18, 49, 55, 77. People’s Palace, 32. Perambulation of city bounds, 95. Perceval, Bishop, of Hereford, 79, 89. Peter’s, St , Hospital, 78. Pigou, Dean, 23. Pithay demolished, 58. Play Grounds, see Recreation. Police station, Redland, 16. Pontoons, passenger, 47. Poole, A. R., Recorder, 28, 58. Poor-Law Board reorganised, 42, 66 ; new board-room, 78. Pope, J. N. C., 58, 88. Population of city, 100. INDEX. 107 Port improvements, see Avon, Avon- mouth Docks, Floating Harbour ; increase of trade, 65, 100. Portishead estate, 21, 63; fort at, 49 ; proposed port improvements, 48, 63, 64. Post Office, old, 9 ; enlargements of new, 4, 43 ; takes over Bristol Savings Bank, 8 ; progress during the century, 99. Powell, W. A. F., 7. Power, J. O’Connor, 45. Prideaux, C. G., death of, 28. Property, value of city, 100. Pumps, Wine street and St. Peter’s removed, 4. Queen, see Victoria. Railways: Great Western, tunnel removed, 1 ; broad gauge abolished, 25 ; corridor trains, 32 ; third-class fares, 34 ; purchase of gaol, 45; trains accelerated, 45 ; Harbour Railway extensions, 15, 28, 29, 33, 46, 52, 84 ; line to Avonmouth, 92 ; Midland and Avonmouth, 18 ; Port and Pier, 18 ; Clifton Rocks, 19 ; names of local stations, 22. Rateable value of the city, 38, 100. Rates, local, increase of, 70, 77. Rates office, 70. Recorders: C. G. Prideaux, 28; A. R. Poole, 23, 58 ; E. J. Castle, 58. Recreation Grounds: Barton Hill, 3, 22 ; Lawford’s Gate, 9 ; Chatter- ton Square, 18 ; Mina Road, 20 ; Haymarket, 42. Redcliff parish room, 45. Redland, public hall, 10 ; railway station, 58 ; Lodge estate sold, 66 ; police station, 16. Refuse destructors, 23, 84. Riotous demonstration, 31. Riseley, George, 44, 54. Roberts, Lord, visit of, 36 ; 95. Rogers, Dr. B.. presentation to, 74-5 Roman villa, Brislington, 90. Saint, Mrs., gift to city, 7. Salisbury Club, 7, 13. Salvation Army hall, 46. Sanders, R. A., 97. Savings bank closed, 8. Scavenging plant, city, 44. Science classes, evening, 76. Severn Tunnel springs, 1. Scholarships established, 22. School Board reorganised, 67 ; officers, 70 ; Fairfield Road school, 76 ; pupil teachers’ school, 79 ; school burnt down, 91. School of Art, grant to, 23. School of Commerce, 82 ; Navigation, 82. School of cookery, 35. Sewerage works, proposed, 83. Shaftesbury Institute, 94. Sheriffs, list of, 102. Ships of war, visit of, 73. Shipping trade statistics, 65, 100. Shoemakers’ strike, 14. Silver cradle presentation, 77. Sinnott, James, 21 ; Lieut. E. S., 99. Smith, J. Greig, memorials of, 69. Smith, Sir Clarence, 97. Smyth, Sir J. Greville, 7, 58, 84 ; Lady, 22, 81. Snowstorm, cost of a, 43. Somerset Ward library, 81. Statues, ancient, returned, 69. Steamers, pleasure, toll on passengers, 37 ; pontoons, 47. Stephen’s, St., Ringers, 43. Stewards, Lord High, 79. Street improvements, 36, 42, 76, 97 ; working-class dwellings, 83. Strikes, 14 (2), 31, 44. Suspension Bridge, children thrown over, 53 ; suicides at, 54 ; sinking fund, 91. Symes, Robert H., knighted, 66, 77, 86 . Taylor, Edmund J., town clerk, 97. Technical Education grants, 22. Telegraph service, local, 99. Telegraphy, wireless, 74. Telephones opened, 3 ; Exchange, 70 ; action against Company, 80. Theatre Royal, 94. Thomas, Chris. J., memorial of, 45. ; Thomas, Rev. U., 67. Thomas, Herbert, 86. Thomas’, St., church tower, 53. Thunderbolt Street rebuilt, 92. Totterdown Y. M.C.A. hall, 81. Townsend, Charles, M.F., 28, 45, 63. Trades’ Union Congress, 71. Tramways : Rupert Street, 6 ; Com¬ pany reorganised, fi ; electric line to Kingswood 47, and to Eastville 48 ; proposed waiting - room, 51 ; proposal for great extensions, 55 ; line to Staple Hill, 48 ; Ashley Road, 70 ; new electrical works, 76; action against Telephone Co., 80; electrical system completed, 80. INDEX. • if 108 Tryon, S., 00. Tuckett, R. C., 21. University College, Government grant to, 14; Corporation grants, 22-3, 50 ; appeal for public support, 50 ; Mr. Lean’s bequest, 70 ; extension of buildings, 07 ; Colston Society, SO ; Mr. Exley’s bequest, 07. Vaughan, Richard, bequest, 68. Victoria, Queen, Jubilee, 2 ; statue of, 3, 7 ; Diamond Jubilee, 57, 50 ; portrait of, 08 ; preparations for her visit, 82, 00 : her reception, 85 ; historical picture of the event, 08 ; art present to, 80. Visitors, distinguished (see Queen Victoria): Prince Victor, 8 ; Duke of Edinburgh, 22, 24 : Duke of Connaught, 85; Duchess of Teek, 55 ; Empress Eugenie, 13 ; Arch¬ bishop of Canterbury, 26; Arch¬ bishop of York, 83 ; Lord Chancellor Halsbury, 22: Lord Salisbury, 13 ; Lord Rosebery, '-7 ; Lord Roberts, 36; Lord Cros 22 ; Marquis of Dufferin, 60, 71 .' Lord Strathcona, 71 ; Lord Avebury, 74 ; Signor Marconi, 74 ; Mr. Balfour, 77 ; the United States Minister, 57 ; the Chinese Ambassador, 91 : the Governor of Jamaica, 97 ; M. de Rougemont, 72 ; ships of war, 73. Volunteers: Reviews, 2, 45, 59; Naval, 8, 25 ; volunteers for the war, 91, 99 ; Rifle headquarters sold, 7,81 ; Engineers’headquarters, 99 ; shooting range destroyed, 92 ; new regiment formed, 95. Wait, Wm. K., 39, 68. War (South African) demonstrations, 89, 93 ; patriotic fund, 90. Wards, new city, 61, 66; anomalies, 88. Water Company, Consumers, 1. Water Company, new reservoir, 14. Watlien, (Sir) Charles, 25; gift of plate, 1 ; gift to Mayor’s Chapel, 5 ; knighted, 10 ; secures Museum and Library for the city, 30 ; death at Council House, 32. Waynflete House (Convalescent Home), 58. Welsh Back, shed on, 92. Werburgh’s, St., rectory removed, 12. Weston, Sir J. 1)., M.P., 16, 21, 28 ; death, 43 ; bequest, 48. White, George. 79. White Lion inn removed, 41. Willing family, 57. Wills, (Sir) William Henry, 28; created a baronet, 33; M.P., 44, 4-"', 89 ; presents statue of Burke, 27 ; presents library to St. George’s, 54 ; presents picture to city, 70 ; offers an Art Gallery, 81, 90 ; other gifts, 57, 94, 98. Wills, Sir Fred., created a baronet, 57 ; elected M.P., 97. Wills, (Sir) E. P., 74,86, 88 ; munifi¬ cent gifts, 57, 58, 68 ; created a K.C.B., 88. Wills, H. ()., 57. Wills and Co., 33. Wilson, Rev. J. M , 13, 18. Wine Street, pump, 4 ; widening of, 36, 42, 58 ; sale of sites, 69 ; old timber house, 94. Wood paving, 48, 89, 92. Woodville, R. Caton, his great picture, 98. Working-class dwellings, 83. York, Duke of (Prince of Wales), marriage festivities, 34. Young Men’s Christian Association, 81. J. W. Arrowsmitli, Printer, Quay Street, Bristol.