A Gateway to Bristol's Past Local History Resources for KS1 and

A Gateway to Bristol’s Past Local History Resources for KS1 and KS2 teachers

A Gateway to Bristol’s Past has been produced by Bristol's Museums, Galleries and Archives, The Architecture Centre, Bristol Reference Library,School Library Service and ss Great Britain

Published by Bristol’s Museums, Galleries and Archives

Thanks to: Rebecca, Kerry, James and John

ISBN 0-900199-54-7

Design: HMD

© Bristol’s Museums, Galleries and Archives, 2006

Section 1: Bristol’s History

Welcome 1

Case Study Links to

the National Curriculum 2

Bristol’s History 3

Bristol Timeline 5

Architectural Timeline 9

Biographies of famous

Bristol people 11

Section 2: Investigations

and Case Studies

Maps investigation 23

Maps case study 24

Charters investigation 26

Charters case study 28

Transcript for Baker’s Charter 30

Paintings investigation 31

Paintings case study 1 32

Paintings case study 2 34

Wills & Inventories

investigation 36

Transcript of the will of

Jane Compane 37

Wills and inventories case

study 38

Will of Harry May 40

Accounts investigation 42

Accounts case study 43

Transcript of The Great

Audit Book – The visit of

Queen Elizabeth I 45

The accounts of the

Entertainment for Queen

Elizabeth I 46

Glossary for the accounts

of the entertainment for

Queen Elizabeth I 47

Tombstones investigation 48

Tombstones case study 49

Buildings investigation 51

Buildings case study 52

Diaries investigation 54

Diaries case study 55

Transcript of Thomas

Porter’s diary 57

Letters Investigation 58

Transcript of letter from

Captain Claxton to Brunel 59

Letters case study 60

Transcript of letter from

Edward Towle to Mary 62

Character cards and scenarios

for Edward Towle Letter 63

Photographs investigation 64

Photographs case study 65

Newspapers investigation 67

Newspapers case study 68

Contents

Contents: A Gateway to Bristol’s Past

Census return investigation 70

Transcript of census return for

Bitton, Gloucestershire, 1851 72

Census return case study 73

A Local Study of

Ashton Gate School 75

School Records Investigation 76

A Study of a Bristol School 77

Investigating Medieval Bristol 80

Investigating Medieval Bristol

pre-trail activities 81

Investigating Medieval

Bristol Trail 82

Section 3: Discovery Box

Discovery Box Welcome 84

Artefact information 85

Artefacts investigation 91

Artefacts case study 1:

Celebrating our area 92


Design a Seal for Bristol 94


How did they do that? 96

Artefact Information Cards 98


Important Imports 100


Potty about Pottery 102


Terrible Tobacco 104

Section 4: Contact details

How to contact us 106

Bibliography 109

Contents: A Gateway to Bristol’s Past

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Bristol has a rich and fascinatinghistory that is well documentedthrough a range of primary sources.

A Gateway to Bristol’s Past is anevidence-based local history resourceusing a wide selection of Bristol’sprimary sources including maps,letters, diaries, photographs,paintings and wills.

The primary sources are drawn fromthe collections of Bristol’s Museums,Galleries and Archives, ss GreatBritain, Bristol Reference Library andthe built environment. Each primarysource is supported by a modelinvestigation and a case study whichwill enable you and your class toundertake comprehensive localhistory and cross-curricular studies.

Why use this pack?The resources contained in this pack aredesigned to encourage children to engage withthe history of their city and to develop a rangeof historical skills. The emphasis is onindependent learning, allowing children toenquire and draw their own conclusions.

How to use this packA Gateway to Bristol’s Past is a two-part packcomprising a CD Rom and a printed set ofresources. The CD Rom contains facsimiles ofeach primary source. They can be displayed oninteractive whiteboards or printed, as required.Linked investigations, case studies andsupporting information are included in theprinted pack.

The investigation sheet provides a description ofthe resource, an explanation of how it cansupport a local history study and a range oftechniques for its analysis. The techniques can beapplied to any similar resource. The investigationsheet is primarily intended as a guide to analysisfor teachers but the techniques employed caneasily be adapted to provide short activitieswhich introduce the resource to your class.

The case study is designed as a lesson plan, withan introduction and plenary, and extends theanalysis of the primary source through a rangeof focused activities. Learning outcomes, keyvocabulary, classroom management andpreparation requirements are all included.

The supporting information includes a Bristoltimeline, an architectural timeline, a history ofthe city and biographies of famous Bristol people.

Discovery BoxA Discovery Box containing a selection of localhistory artefacts is also available to accompanythe pack. Supporting information, an artefactinvestigation and a range of case studies areincluded in the resource pack. Photographs ofeach artefact are also available on the CD Rom.The Discovery Box, and additional copies of theresource pack, can be hired from the SchoolsLibrary Service.

A PDF version of the resource pack will be available summer 2006 from www.bristol-city.gov.uk Follow the links toLeisure and Culture – Museums and Galleries –Learning at Bristol’s Museums.

Welcome

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A Brief History of Bristol

When John Cabot sailed down the Avon in May 1497 to embark on his ‘discovery’ ofNewfoundland in his small three masted caravel‘Matthew’ he was leaving behind a thrivingmedieval port with a population second only toLondon and York.

From its early pre-Saxon beginnings as acrossing point on the Avon, close to its confluencewith the Frome, the town had grown. By 1086the ‘Barton in Bristow’ was valued at £73 in theDomesday Book. William II ordered a castle to be built on the north side of the bridge over theAvon. This was refortified during the early partof the 11th century by Robert of Gloucester, theillegitimate son of Henry I.

13th and 14th centuriesThroughout the 13th and 14th centuries thetown grew and flourished from imports of winefrom France and exports of wool, cloth, and aparticularly smelly soap used in cloth production.Coal had begun to be dug to the east and leadexports from the Mendips continued. Themerchants were able to finance churches,monasteries and other fine buildings, and in1239, to pay £5000 for a new channel to re-route the river Frome across the marshes to St Augustine's Reach, creating a deep waterharbour for bigger overseas trading vessels.Edward III granted a charter to Bristol in 1373 to become a county in its own right, appoint asheriff (there had been elected mayors since1216), hold assizes (courts) and build a gaol.

15th and 16th centuriesDuring most of the 15th century Bristol continuedto prosper thanks to income from trade. Theupheavals of the Reformation resulted in religioushouses being closed and their lands sold, as inother parts of the country, but as the wealth andinfluence of the merchants continued it was theywho tended to take over social provision previouslymade by the church. Typical of this was thefounding, in 1532, of a school that would giveboys a nautical and commercial education: todaywe know it as Bristol Grammar School. In 1552the ‘Society of Merchant Venturers’ wasfounded, another organisation still very activetoday in the business and social life of the city.

Queen Elizabeth I visited the city in 1574,during one of her many ‘progresses’. The visit,whilst confirming the importance of Bristol, costthe city dear. Not only was there the usual costsincurred by a royal visit, but also an impressivemock naval battle enacted in the river harbour.This added considerably to the total for the visitof £1050. Trade suffered as a result of Elizabeth'sdisagreements with Spain and Bristol merchantslooked to alternative ways of making money,including attempts to colonise ‘New England’.The trade situation wasn't helped by frequentdisruption of trade by pirates and privateers.

17th centuryDuring the Civil War, 1642-5, Bristol, somewhatreluctantly, found itself on the side of theParliamentarians. Fortifications were enhanced,only to be overcome in a bitter siege by PrinceRupert in 1643. Two years later Cromwellattacked, Prince Rupert capitulated, and the citychanged hands again. During the Commonwealthtrade revived and manufacturing, particularlypottery and glass, increased. Raw sugar wasimported from the newly established plantationsin the West Indies, to be refined in factories setup in Bristol. Initially the plantations wereworked by indentured ‘servants’, but by the endof the 17th century these were replaced by slavesshipped from West Africa.

James Millerd, a local surveyor, produced two‘perspective’ maps in the 1670s that showed that the city had not expanded too far from itsorigins. By then there were houses on the sitesof the castle and the royal fort, demolished byCromwell.

18th centuryQueen Anne visited the city in 1702, to name‘Queen Square’, newly built on land reclaimedfrom the marshes between the Avon and theFrome. The architecture of this period, still visibletoday, confirms Bristol’s prosperity andprominence as Britain’s second city during the18th century. The energy of so many individualsat this time contributed to this, from thenotorious privateer Woodes Rogers to themerchant and MP Edward Colston, all have lefttheir mark. Demands for leisure activities from

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the moneyed classes saw the establishment ofHotwells as a summer spa and two theatreswithin the city.

Bristol had always been a centre forshipbuilding, but it was about this time that theproblems created by the huge tidal flow of theAvon began to make it more difficult to buildand sail the larger ships now required. It wouldtake another hundred years to resolve theproblem, with the opening of the FloatingHarbour in 1809.

19th centuryIn 1831 local riots erupted, sparked by theparliamentary Reform Act and a decline in thelocal economy. Buildings in Queen Square wereset alight, Charles Pinney, the mayor, read theRiot Act and troops were brought in to quell the uprising.

During the 19th century Bristol establisheditself as an industrial city, producing a variety ofmanufactured goods, including footware,chocolate, tobacco, soap, packaging and refinedsugar. Raw materials and the finished goodswere increasingly transported on the new railnetwork, as well as by sea.

Bristol benefited from the genius of IsambardKingdom Brunel: the Clifton Suspension Bridgewas built, the floating harbour improved, theGreat Western and the Great Britain built aspassenger ships for the transatlantic run andBristol was linked to London by the GreatWestern Railway.

The city attracted people seeking work in the factories, who were housed in cramped,often unhygienic conditions around their placesof work, despite efforts to include schools,churches, parks and public buildings in therebuilding. Local benefactors who had mademoney through manufacturing (notably LewisFry and Henry Overton Wills) contributed toUniversity College, founded in 1876, whichbecame the University of Bristol in 1909.

20th centuryWide and varied local industries meant thatBristol suffered less in the depression of the1930s than other comparable cities. Sir GeorgeWhite’s factory at Filton, known as the Bristol

Aeroplane Company after WWI, prospered in thebuild up to WWII but suffered badly in theGerman bombing raids of 1940, along with muchof the city, including its medieval heart. Theeffect of bombing was to change the face ofBristol: the Broadmead area was cleared and anew shopping area was built. The Council House,begun before the war, was completed and newhousing estates that included ‘comprehensive’schools were planned on the outskirts of the city.Post-war employment patterns changed, movingfrom manufacturing to finance and serviceindustries. One victim was the Wills tobaccofactory and the last commercial shipbuildingfirm, Charles Hill & sons, closed in 1969. The aircraft industry at Filton has continued tothrive, through European partnerships,producing Concorde in 1969 and the newlydeveloped Airbus.

Throughout the 1960s and 70s buildingcontinued on seemingly endless office blocks asorganisations relocated from London. The oldharbour, in the heart of the city, could no longercompete with the increasing development ofAvonmouth and the opening of a new deepwater dock at Portbury in 1975 sealed its fate.The old harbour moved first into decline andthen into a phase of regeneration as an area for leisure and housing.

21st centurySo what of the future for Bristol in the 21stcentury? The city is vibrant and has become apopular place to live and work. The citycontinues to attract new trade and industry and, with the regeneration of the harbour, thetraditional heart of the city has a focus oncemore, celebrated each year with a weekendfestival.

A Brief History of Bristol

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Date

Earliest mention of Bristol on a coin of c.1016 Saxon King Ethelred died King Ethelred minted at Briggestowe

Bristol documented in the Anglo-Saxon 1052 Britain under Saxon ruleChronicle

1066 Battle of Hastings. Britain comes under French Norman rule.

Bishop Mowbray begins building the 1086 Domesday Bookcastle. Bristol documented as Barton-in-Bristow in the Domesday Book

Bristol sides with Mathilda against 1135 1st English Civil WarKing Stephen during the 1st English Civil War

Robert Fitzharding founds the Abbey 1142of Augustinian Canons (Canon's Marsh)

King Henry III allows Bristol’s first 1216 The Magna Carta is signed by King John.mayor, Adam le Page

King Henry III orders the diversion of 1239the River Frome to create additional mooring space for ships. A channel approx. 685.8 metres long was dug across Canons Marsh

1348 Black Death (the Plague)

King Edward III grants a charter 1373 100 years war between France and Englandallowing Bristol to become a county

1471 The Battle of Teweksbury (Wars of the Roses)

1492 Columbus sails to Central America

John Cabot sails to Newfoundland 1497

The Augustinian Abbey becomes 1534 King Henry VIII reforms the monasteriesBristol Catherdal

Queen Elizabeth I visits the city of Bristol 1574

1588 Spanish Armada

During the English Civil War Bristol 1642–1645 English Civil War – a power strugglesides with the Parliamentarians, is between Crown and parliament'captured' by Royalist Prince Rupert then re-taken by Oliver Cromwell

Oliver Cromwell orders Bristol Castle to 1656be demolished

1660 The British monarchy is restored to power. Charles II becomes king.

Events in Bristol Events beyond Bristol

Bristol Timeline

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DateEvents in Bristol Events beyond Bristol

King Charles II and Queen Catherine 1663visit Bristol

1665 Great Plague

1666 Fire of London

Samuel Pepys visits Bristol 1668

Merchant and philanthropist Edward 1691Colston builds almshouses (located on St. Michael’s Hill)

Bristol is granted a charter to become 1698involved in the transatlantic slave trade

Queen Anne visits the city to open 1702Queen Square

1707 Act of Union. Scotland joins England, Wales and Ireland

Bristol is the busiest transatlantic 1730’sslave trade port in Britain

John Wesley and George Whitefield 1739build the New Room in Broadmead – the 1st Methodist Chapel

Poet and social reformer 1745Hannah More is born

1750’s Liverpool overtakes Bristol as the busiest transatlantic slave trade port

1770 Australia is discovered during Cook’s 1st voyage in Endeavour

Bristol merchants are against 1775–1783 American war of IndependenceAmerican independence from Britain

1789 French Revolution

1805 Battle of Trafalgar

1806 Isambard Kingdon Brunel is born

1807 Abolition of the transatlantic slave trade in the British Empire

The Floating Harbour and New Cut 1809are built

1815 The Battle of Waterloo ends the war with Napoleon and France

1830 The transatlantic slave trade is ended – slaves get their freedom in the British Empire

The Bristol Riots are sparked by visit of 1831anti-reformist Charles Wetherell

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1832 Parliamentary Reform Act passed allowing more men to have a vote

1833 A Factory Act passed improving conditions of work for women and children. It limits hours of work and minimum ages

1834 The Emancipation Act comes into effect. Slaves in the British Empire will be formally freed after a 4 year ‘apprenticeship’

Brunel builds the Great Western 1837 Victoria becomes queenpaddle Steamer

The Great Western Railway links 1840London to Bristol

1842 Beginnings of restrictions for women and children working in the mines

Brunel’s ss Great Britain is launched 1843

Public cemeteries such as Arnos Vale 1848 First Public Health Actare established

1851 The Great Exhibition at Crystal Palace

1859 Brunel dies

Clifton Suspension Bridge opens 1864

1874 Factory Act – children are not allowed to work until they are 9 years old

Bristol University (University College) is founded 1876

New docks open at Avonmouth 1877

1880 Education Act – schooling becomes compulsory for children up to the age of 10

1901 Queen Victoria dies

George White founds the British and 1910Colonial Aircraft Company at Filton

Bristol Commercial Vehicle Company 1912 The Titanic sinksestablished

1914–1918 First World War

1917 Russian Revolution

1928 Women allowed to vote in general elections in Britain

Heavy bombing of Bristol city centre 1939–1945 Second World Warand Filton November 1940 to May 1941

1947 India gains independence from Britain. The Muslim state of Pakistan is created by partition from India

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1948 Britain gets a National Health ServiceThe ship ‘Windrush’ brings the first Jamaican immigrants to BritainOlympic Games held in London

1951 The Festival of Britain

During the 1950’s Jamaican immigrants 1952 Princess Elizabeth becomes Queenare encouraged to come to Bristol Elizabeth II The first tenants start to move into the Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzingnewly developed Hartcliffe Estate climb Mount Everest

Queen Elizabeth II opens Chew Valley 1956 Suez crisis – Egyptian Colonel Nasser seized Lake Reservoir control of the Suez Canal forcing

shipping to travel via South Africa

Bristol Omnibus Company refuses to 1963 American president John F Kennedy isemploy black workers prompting assassinateda bus boycott

The Beatles play at Colston Hall 1964

1966 England win the World Cup

Work starts on building the 1968M32 motorwayThe great Bristol Flood

Concorde’s first flight 1969 Neil Armstrong becomes the first man to walk on the moon

The ss Great Britain comes back to Bristol 1970

Bristol City Docks closes 1970’s

1971 Decimal currency is introduced in Britain

The St. Pauls Riots – an uprising against 1980heavy handed police tactics triggered by a police raid on the Black and White café

1982 The Falklands war

1989 Berlin Wall demolished

1990 Nelson Mandela released from prison

Galleries shopping centre openes 1992

The Mall, Cribbs Causeway opens 1998

Concorde’s last flight 2003

2004 Iraq war

Wings and undercarriage of the A300 2005 First flight of the A300 Airbus in FranceAirbus are made in BristolThe Harbourside (former City Docks)continues to be re-developed


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Roman – 43 – 409 ADThere was no roman settlement in Bristolalthough some remains of Roman Villas havebeen discovered at Laurence Weston, Brislingtonand Keynsham.

Saxon – 410 – 1065

Modern Bristol was founded in Anglo-Saxontimes, but there are no real architecturalexamples left in the city. Coins minted during1009 –1016 have been discovered and the townwas mentioned in a 1052 Anglo-Saxon chronicle.

Norman – 1066 – 1215

Castle remains, Castle ParkBristol came underNorman control in1068. The remains ofthe Castle Keep inCastle Park are theonly surviving parts,and were built around1120. There are remainsof pennant sandstone

walls, which are 5m thick, a well shaft and a toilet(privy) pit. The Keep is thought to have beenabout 24 m high and covered in a pale limestone.

Middle Ages – 1216 – 1347

St Marks (The Lord Mayors Chapel), College GreenBuilt around 1220, thischapel has examples ofearly English gothicarchitecture, which israre in Bristol. Theoriginal chapel was inthe shape of a crossand had no aisle, but a south aisle was

added in about 1280. The chapel has undergonemany changes through the ages, with theaddition of a large twelve petalled rose windowand a tower of pink sandstone with limestonedetails. It is still the only church in England thatis owned and used for worship by a local council.

Late Medieval – 1348 – 1484

St Peters ChurchThis church lies 30mwest of the oldNorman castles westwall. It used to be inthe heart of theshopping centre of the city, until heavybombing during WW2destroyed many of the

surrounding shops and cafes and caused much ofthe damage to the church building itself. Onlythe exterior walls and spire are left and it is nowa memorial to all the ordinary Bristolians whowere killed during the bombing. The church isbuilt of pennant sandstone, which used toquarried just outside of Bristol. The windows areof an English gothic style called Perpendicular.

Tudors and Stuarts – 1485 – 1713

Llandogger TrowThis building, whichnow houses a pub,used to be made up of five timber framedhouses until bombingduring the 1940’sdestroyed two. Built in 1664, the threeremaining buildings

are three stories high with gabled attics and fivehigh window bays, which lean out over thestreet below. This design was common duringTudor times, when chamber pots were frequentlyemptied out of windows. The protrusion of thewindows meant that passers-by under thebuilding were protected from any unpleasantmaterial being discarded from the windowsabove. Inside the building, two arched chimneypieces can still be found.

Architectural Timeline

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Early 20th Century – 1901 – 1944

Whiteladies Picture House, Whiteladies RoadThis cinema was built in 1921 by LaTrobe andWeston and was originallydesigned to be anentertainment complexwith a cinema, dance hall and restaurant inone building. It is a grade two listed building

and when it opened was the ABC’s flagship cinemain the region. It was the oldest working cinema inBristol until it was sold to a developer several yearsago and its future usage is controversial. Theoutside of the building is virtually unchanged from when it was first constructed.

Post World War Two – 1945 – 2000

Number One Redcliffe StreetThis square fifteen storeytower block was built in1960 – 3 by the architectsof Bristol papermakers E S and A Robinson, andis often called theRobinson Building. It is elegant and simple and avery good example of a

post war office block. It is an important landmarkon the Bristol skyline with its bronze framedwindows and carrara marble finished walls.

Contemporary – 2000 – present@t Bristol-Wildwalk and Imax Cinema

Wildwalk is part of the @t Bristol Sciencecomplex which wasdesigned by MichaelHopkins Architects andcompleted in 2000. TheImax cinema is a blankbrick drum shapedbuilding, which is joined

onto the Wildwalk building. This has a sweepingtent-like canopy of plastic on metal masts whichhouses the greenhouse of plants, insects and birds.Part of the roof is covered with grass and the darktunnel which runs from Wildwalk opens out intothe tall light filled foyer of the Imax cinema.

Georgian – 1714 – 1836

Commercial Rooms, Corn StreetThis single storeybuilding was built in1809 – 11 by ArchitectCharles Busby. It usedto be a club forwealthy merchantsand is now a bar. The building has animpressive porch with

columns either side above which are three stonesculptures representing Bristol, Commerce andNavigation. Inside in the Great Sober Room, thereare black marble chimneypieces of an Egyptianstyle and at the rear of the building is a top litreading room. On the top of the building is awind dial, which helped to show the merchantswhen their shipping was likely to arrive.

Victorian – 1837 – 1900

The Lloyds Building, Corn StreetThis early Victorianbuilding was builtduring 1854-7 byGingell and Lysaghtfor Lloyds Bank. It ismostly made of Bathstone, with Portlandstone used for some of the sculptural parts.

The design was based on St Marks Library inVenice, and originally it was made up of 5 bayswith a central door. The sculpture on the groundfloor represents Newport, Bath, Bristol, Exeterand Cardiff- the main towns where the bankoperated, with images of their rivers, coats ofarms and local products. On the second floorthere are paired, female, sculpted figures whichrepresent Peace, Plenty, Justice and Integrity. The building was designed to be fire proof and is still currently used by Lloyds TSB Bank.

Architectural Timeline

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Ernest Bevin was born in 1881, at Winsford nearMinehead, the seventh child of the family. Henever knew his father and his mother died whenhe was eight. His formal education finishedwhen he was eleven and he became a farmlabourer. In 1894 he moved to Bristol and livedwith his brothers Jack and Albert in Bishopston.During this time he took a series of menial jobsand then became a van driver for a mineralwater firm in St Pauls. He met Florence AnneTownly, the daughter of a wine taster at aBristol wine merchants, with whom he remaineduntil his death. They had one daughter.

Bevin, through his rural Somerset upbringinghad strong non-conformist beliefs which hepursued during his time in Bristol along with a programme of self-improvement common toother working class young men of his generation.His involvement with trade unionism, for whichhe will be remembered, did not begin until hewas 29, although since 1908 he had been theunpaid secretary of the Bristol Right-to-WorkCommittee. In 1910 he became involved with adock strike at Avonmouth, soon after forming a branch of the Dock, Wharf, Riverside andGeneral Workers’ Union (known as the Dockers’Union) and by 1911 had given up van driving tobecome a paid union official. He opposedconscription during WWI and at the TUC in 1915argued forcibly for the creation of a Ministry ofLabour. In 1916 he was elected to the executiveof the National Transport Workers’ Federation(NTWF), an influential body of the burgeoningBritish labour movement, however he failed inthe general election of 1918 to become MP forCentral Bristol. Still working tirelessly for thetrade union movement he left Bristol for good in 1920 and moved to London.

In 1922 14 different unions merged to formthe Transport and General Workers Union(TGWU). Bevin played a leading role in this andwas elected its first general secretary, a post heheld for 19yrs. By 1926 he had been elected tothe general council of the TUC. The unions wereincreasingly aligned with the Labour Party, butBevin continued his pragmatic and sometimesunpopular approach to labour issues. He was amajor figure in the general strike of 1926 (theresult of unfulfilled agreements in 1925 by

Stanley Baldwin’s Conservative government) but recognised that capitalism could only bechanged by modernisation of industrial practisesand approaches to economic issues. Again hestood unsuccessfully in Gateshead, in the generalelection of 1931, but continued to influence the Labour party through the TUC. He arguedpassionately against both communists andfascists and against the party’s near pacifiststance in the mid 1930’s culminating in theleader of the party, George Lansbury’sresignation in 1935.

By now Bevin, in poor health, was consideringretirement but with the outbreak of war andChurchill’s formation of a coalition governmentin 1940, was made minister of labour andnational service. He won a by-election in 1940and remained an MP until his death in 1951.

Bevin played a crucial role in the war cabinet:he realised that it was essential to utilise thetrade unions and set about balancing tradeunion freedoms with directed labour essential forthe war effort. His toughness and determinationmade him a major force in domestic policy whilstChurchill concentrated on war policy. Heencouraged women to join the work force byimproving child care facilities, took 10% of allconscripts to work in coal mines (‘Bevin Boys’)and generally improved working conditions bythe provision of, for example, canteens.

After Labour’s victory in 1945, Clement Attleeappointed Bevin as Foreign Secretary. Britain wasnearly bankrupt from the war effort so he had tobalance this (removing troops from India and,more controversial, from Palestine) against hisown passionate patriotism. He promoted theMarshall Plan (USA aid to reconstruct Europe),was instrumental in the creation of NATO in1949 and supported Britain’s decision to developnuclear weapons. He had a profound mistrust ofcommunism and has been labelled as a keyarchitect of the cold war.

By 1951 Bevin’s health had deteriorated stillfurther and he resigned from Attlee’sgovernment dying of heart failure 4 weeks later.

Ernest Bevin, 1881 – 1951

Biographies of famous Bristol people

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Brunel was born in Portsea, Portsmouth, the first son of Sir Marc Brunel and Sarah Kingdom,French royalists who had fled their country atthe time of the Revolution. Sir Marc was a civilengineer and the young Brunel soon showedsimilar talent. After schools in Chelsea and Hovehe was sent to France to learn from Louis Breguet,the leading clockmaker of his time. In 1822 hereturned to complete his apprenticeship with hisfather and soon both were involved in buildingthe first tunnel under the Thames, fromRotherhithe to Wapping. Despite an ingeniousnew tunnelling mechanism the task was difficultand water frequently broke through. In 1828Brunel was nearly killed by such an incursionand spent some time recovering. During hisperiod of convalescence he was sent to Clifton,then a fashionable, newly developed part of thecity. It is from this point that his long associationwith Bristol began.

In 1753 a Bristol merchant had left £1000 intrust with the Society of Merchant Venturers, tobe invested to provide funds to pay for a bridgeacross the River Avon. A competition waslaunched in 1829 to find the best design for thebridge and Thomas Telford was appointed judge.22 designs were submitted, 4 were short-listed(including Brunel’s). However Telford rejectedthem all and was invited to submit his owndesign. This was refused on the grounds of costand a new competition held. This time Brunel’sdesign for the bridge was successful, with aprojected span of 630 ft. and piers to reflect thefashionable Egyptian style. In fact Brunel neverbuilt the bridge for which he is now famed, themoney ran out and the project was onlycompleted after his death, as a fitting tribute.

Through the bridge project Brunel hadbecome involved with an influential group ofBristol entrepreneurs who recognised his talentand where it could benefit the flagging fortunesof the city. In 1832 he successfully improvedJessop’s Floating Harbour, completed in 1809, by solving the constant problem of silt. He alsodesigned a new south lock to take larger vesselsthat was begun but eventually abandoned.

Meanwhile in 1833, he was appointedengineer to the Great Western Railway (GWR)that planned to create a rail network from

Paddington to Bristol and beyond. Brunel set out to plan the whole system, using a broadgauge of 7 ft., including bridges, tunnels andstations all designed with great detail and builtwith an imaginative range of materials. Theoriginal Temple Meads station survives today as a heritage site.

The railway network prompted Brunel tothink how universal travel could be extended.This was achieved in 1835 when the GreatWestern Steamship Company was set up and hewas appointed to design and build the ss GreatWestern, a wooden hulled, paddle wheeled shippowered by steam, launched in Bristol in 1837 to carry passengers between England and NewYork. The enterprise was so successful that thecompany commissioned a second ship, the ssGreat Britain, for the Atlantic run. Work beganin 1839; this time the ship was to be an ironhulled, screw propelled steamship. She waslaunched in July 1843 but remained in theFloating Harbour until December 1844,prevented by her size from being released intothe R. Avon. The ss Great Britain had a long anddistinguished career, mostly spent on thepassenger run to Australia. In 1886 she wasmarooned in the Falkland Islands. She wasretrieved in 1970 and returned to Bristol tobecome the great attraction she is today. Brunelbuilt one more, even bigger ship, the ss GreatEastern, designed to sail to the Far East andAustralia without refuelling. The hull waswrought iron, largely double skinned and shehad two sets of engines, one to drive paddlewheels and one to drive a screw. After overcominghuge problems the ship was eventually launchedin 1858. She was fitted out ready for her maidenvoyage in September 1859. By this time Brunel,exhausted and suffering from kidney disease,was dangerously ill and died soon after hearingof a devastating explosion on board. The shipsurvived but was never truly successful due inpart to her advanced technical design.

The evidence of Brunel’s creative engineeringgenius remains around us today, especially inBristol.

Isambard Kingdom Brunel, 1806 – 1859


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In Italian Caboto refers to a coasting seamanand was a common name throughout theMediterranean. It is uncertain in which of theAdriatic ports John (Giovanni) Cabot was born, It certainly was not Venice, although his parents,Giulio and Matteo, were active in property andcommerce there and in 1476 he obtained fullcitizenship of the Republic. John was taught the family’s business from an early age. He wasinvolved in the Mediterranean spice trade, madeincreasingly difficult by the fall ofConstantinople in 1453, and even appears tohave visited. For whatever reason, and by nowmarried to Mattea, a fellow Venetian, Cabot leftVenice for the long journey east. In 1492 a JohnCabot Montecalunya was commissioned by KingFerdinand to design improvements for theharbour at Valencia: evidence points to it beingthe same person. With rising costs, the harbourwas abandoned in 1493, the year that Columbuspassed through on his way to report his findingsto the king. It is very likely that the two seamenmet. Cabot came to England with his familykeen to seek the approval of Henry VII, firstTudor king, for a voyage of explorationeastwards. Bristol, with its long tradition ofAtlantic voyaging, was the obvious place to settle.He took an annual lease of £2 on a house in StNicholas Street and was soon involved with citymerchants keen to find new fishing groundsafter their political exclusion from Iceland.

On 5th March 1496 Henry VII issued letterspatent to John Cabot and his three sons,Lodovico, Sebastiano and Sanzio, givingpermission for them to search for new lands tothe east, west and north (Columbus’ voyage hadalready claimed land to the south for Spain).They were to ‘conquer, occupy and possess’ themby raising the royal banner. Five ships werepermitted, with as many men and equipment asnecessary, paid for by Cabot and his Bristolbackers. One fifth of any trading profit was to goto the king. That summer there was anunsuccessful attempt made with one ship.

Cabot’s most renowned voyage began when,with his son Sebastian and a crew that includedabout 16 Bristolians, he set sail from Bristol onMay 20th 1497 in a three masted caravel ofabout 60 tons named Matthew. There is little

reliable information about the voyage: evenwhether the ship was new or renamed. Allevidence comes from letters written soon afterCabot’s return on August 6th. The little shipmade good progress, crossing the Atlantic in 35days. Exact landfall is uncertain but it wasprobably Cape Bonavista, Newfoundland. Theyfound evidence of the local indigenouspopulation but made no contact with them.Cabot explored the local coastal area, convincedhe had landed in NE ‘Cathay’. Vast quantities ofcod were found and the sailors retrieved them inweighted buckets. The days were long, theclimate mild and there was an abundance oftimber and lush vegetation (typical of thesummer weather). One account records theysailed 300 leagues (about 800 miles) beforesetting out on the return trip. First landfall wasthe Isle of Ushant off Brittany.

For his efforts Henry VII granted Cabot £10(worth 100 times more now) and an annualpension of £20. The pension was paid half yearlythrough the Bristol Customs Office, administeredby Richard Ameryke and Arthur Kemeys (givingrise to the incorrect local assertion for the originof the name America).

A further expedition was inevitable. Henry VIIgranted letters patent in February 1498 entitlingCabot to up to six ships (one a ‘king’s ship’, therest paid for by London and Bristol merchants).Cabot spent the winter busily preparing for atrip that was to last a year. Finally five ships setsail in June 1498. One ship returned, damaged bybad weather, in July. The rest disappeared. Thereis no firm evidence of John Cabot’s fate, whetherhe was drowned at sea or killed by Indians. Hispension was paid for a further year, after whichhis widow and children came into the care of thecity authorities.

John Cabot, c.1451 – 1498


14

Mary Carpenter was born in 1807, the eldestchild of Dr Lant Carpenter, who was a leadingUnitarian Minister and founder of a small school in Bristol that educated boys and girls.This is where Mary gained practical teachingexperience

Mary had always been concerned for thepoor. She established a domestic mission inLewins Mead in 1838 and the KingswoodIndustrial School in 1852. In 1854 Mary set up the country’s first girls’ reform school, at the Red Lodge. She promoted the training of womenteachers and campaigned to end prisonsentences for children.

In 1833, Mary had met Rajah Rammohun Roywho inspired her to go and work and campaignin India. She left her home at the Red Lodge inBristol for four long trips to India, were sheworked tirelessly to improve rights and conditionsfor women, children and prisoners. She wrote in her diary in 1864 ‘I here record my solemnresolve to devote my heart and soul and strengthto the elevation of Women in India’. Sheentertained, persuaded and lobbied manyeminent British Raj officials and leading Indiansto build ‘normal native female schools’ whilst in India and on her return to Britain shebombarded the Government and India Office,requesting funds for girls schools in India. Marybecame very well respected and was invited toWindsor by Queen Victoria to be congratulated.She never married, but she did adopt a girl,Rosanna, who travelled with her to India.

Mary died in 1877 and was buried in theArnos Vale cemetery with a very simpleheadstone, but an engraved bust with epitaphwas placed in Bristol Cathedral to celebrate herlife and work.

Mary Carpenter, 1807 – 1877


15

Edward Colston was the first of probably 11children born to William, a well establishedBristol merchant, and his wife Sarah in TempleStreet. Edward was baptised at Temple churchwhen he was six days old. His childhood wasspent with the family in Wine Street and at their estate at Winterbourne. When his father, a staunch royalist, was removed from officialoffice following the city’s surrender to Cromwellin 1645, the family moved to London and itseems likely that he was educated at Christ’sHospital. At the age of 18 he was apprenticed toHumfray Aldington, a member of the Mercers’Company of London. Little is known of himduring this period but in 1673 he was enrolledinto the Mercers’ Company and began to buildup a prosperous business trading mainly textilesand wine between London and Spain, Portugal,Italy and N. Africa. His father had returned toBristol after the restoration of Charles II andseems to have influenced Edward’s success.

During the 1670s Edward joined other closefamily members and became involved in theRoyal Africa Company, the leading provider of English ships for the transportation of slavesfrom W. Africa to the Americas. Speculationcontinues over how much of his wealth was theresult of his involvement with the slave tradebut, as he left no personal papers, it remainsimpossible to separate this from his otherbusiness activities.

Edward’s father died in Bristol in 1681 and hebegan to make frequent visits to his native city.In 1683 he became an elected member of theSociety of Merchant Venturers. His businessventures continued to prosper and his wealthwas increased by inheritances and businessesfrom his father and his brother Thomas. In 1689he went to Mortlake, Surrey, to live as a well-offbachelor until his death.

From this time Colston began to use hiswealth to improve the lives of others in London,Surrey, Devon and Lancashire but it is as one of Bristol’s most famous benefactors that he isremembered. The first direct provision (he hadpreviously lent money and contributed to civicattempts to care for the poor) was in theestablishment of almshouses: in 1695 he had analmshouse for 12 men and 12 women built on St

Michael’s Hill. There were strict rules set downover who should be admitted and how theyshould conduct themselves. In the same year hepaid for six boys to be added to QueenElizabeth’s Hospital, the city’s main school fororphan boys, increasing this to ten in 1710.Colston’s views conflicted with the whigdominated Bristol Corporation who refused hisoffer of further support for the school.Undeterred he went ahead with a new school,called Colston’s Hospital, on St Augustine’s Back(the present site of the Colston Hall) which wasopened in 1710 for 100 boys, in good health andpractising Anglicans, who were to be schooledand prepared for apprenticeships. The schoolwas endowed and the Society of MerchantVenturers became the administrators, althoughColston often criticised the running of theschool. In 1711 he opened Temple School forBoys to educate and clothe 44 boys from theparish of his birth. He gave money to improveand embellish several of the city churches,including All Saints where he was subsequentlyburied, and made provision for sermons to bepreached in St Werburgh’s, St. Peter’s andNewgate Gaol.

Edward Colston was elected MP for Bristol in1710 (the first tory MP for 15yrs) but age andincreasing frailness meant he had little influenceon government and he did not seek re-electionin 1713. When he died in 1721 he left £100,000to his relatives and £71,000 to public charities(worth over £14m today).

Colston’s legacy remains prominent to thisday: whilst his life and generosity is stillcommemorated with annual customs, the depthof his involvement with the slave trade remainsan unanswered factor.

Edward Colston, 1636 – 1721


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Born in 1728 into a Quaker family, Joseph waseducated at a Quaker boarding school and laterapprenticed as an apothecary in Basingstoke. He later married the daughter of his old masterand set up his own business in Bristol in 1753.

Joseph made and sold chocolate in his shop,but he abandoned his profession of apothecaryfor business pursuits. He purchased the chocolatefirm of Walter Churchman, in partnership withJohn Vaughan, in 1761 and in 1777 the chocolateworks moved to Union Street in Bristol. Herethey remained for over a hundred years beforemoving to Keynsham.

Joseph Fry also invested in other businesses,notably Champion’s china works, and Fry, Frippand Co., soap boilers. He also entered intopartnership with William Pine, printer of theBristol Gazette, to form the typefounding firm of Fry and Pine.

Joseph Fry remained an active member of theSociety of Friends and died in 1787 aged 59, hisbusiness was carried on by his wife and remaineda family run firm until 1913, when it was mergedwith that of fellow Quaker chocolatemanufacturers, Cadburys.

Joseph Fry, 1728 – 1787


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W. G. Grace was the most famous member of a cricketing family, and was born at Downend,Bristol in 1848. He studied at Bristol MedicalSchool and St Bartholomews Hospital, London,qualifying in 1879. He worked as a local doctorand as a parish doctor for the Bristol Poor LawUnion between cricketing engagements. He andhis brothers made Gloucestershire CountyCricket Club, of which he was captain, one ofthe strongest sides in the country in the late1800’s.

W.G. Grace retired from his medical practiceand moved to London in 1898. His last game offirst class cricket was in 1908, although ever thesportsman he continued to play both cricket and bowls.

A giant of the cricketing world W. G. saw in the modern, organised game we see today.

William Gilbert Grace, 1848 – 1915


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Pero was born in the West Indies and was aslave, owned by the wealthy sugar planter and merchant John Pinney, who lived in theGeorgian House on Great George Street, Bristol.

John Pinney inherited a West Indian sugarplantation, Mountravers’, on Nevis, from hisDorset cousin. Many of the current slaves wereold and sick and Pinney purchased groups ofnew, younger slaves to tend the plantation. Peroand his sisters Nancy and Sheeba were purchasedby Pinney on 4th July 1765 from Joanna Jonesfor £115. Pero was twelve years old at the timeand a Creole (island-born), who was probablyborn on the island of Nevis.

Pero became Pinney’s man servant and after18 years service, at the age of 30, Pero travelledwith Mr and Mrs Pinney, their son Pretor and Mrs Pinney’s maid, Fanny, back to England.Having travelled for 41 days on the Jonge VrowCharlotte, they arrived off the coast of Dover on15th August 1783. After short stays in London,Dorset, Salisbury and Bath, the Pinney householdfinally settled in Bristol. They rented a house inPark Street before moving to the fine GeorgianHouse on Great George Street. Pero was arespected servant of Pinney and travelled withhim on many business trips abroad.

At this time, many of the black people ofLondon were free people working in a variety ofjobs, but in this so called ‘free country’, Pero wasstill enslaved, and although well treated by hismaster, it is likely that Pero still longed for hisfreedom. As he got older Pero began to drinkmore and became more disgruntled with hissituation. He died in 1798 and there are norecords to suggest he was at any time in his life,a free man.

In March 1999, a new footbridge on BristolHarbourside was opened and commemoratesand pays tribute to all the West Indians andAfricans who were enslaved by Bristol’smerchants and planters.

Pero Jones, c.1753 – 1798


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Born at Fishponds, Bristol in 1745, Hannah was one of five sisters. Her father was aschoolmaster and educated all of his daughtersto such a standard as to enable them to earntheir own livings. They jointly ran a girlsboarding school, firstly in Trinity Street, movingto a purpose built house in Park Street in 1767.The school was popular and the sisters werehighly respected. Hannah was the cleverest inthe family and early on displayed a literarytalent, writings plays, essays, and poetry. Shebecame a member of literary and bluestockingcircles after visits to London, and was quite acelebrity in her time.

Hannah More never married, she eventuallybroke off her engagement to a Mr WilliamTurner after he postponed their wedding threetimes. Resolving never to marry, she didreluctantly agree to accept an annuity from himwhich meant she could live an independent life.Becoming increasingly evangelical in religion asshe grew older, Hannah was involved in thecampaign for the abolition of slavery, andphilanthropic work for the poor in the Mendipparishes around her home. Towards the end ofher life she nursed her sisters and succumbedherself to ill health. She moved from the relativeisolation of her home at Barley Wood, Wrington,to Clifton, where she died at the age of 88.

One of the most prolific women writers of herday, Hannah More’s reputation languished whenher conservative and paternalistic views becameincreasingly unfashionable. Today her position inhistory is only now being re-evaluated.

Hannah More, 1745 – 1833


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Born at Kroppenstaedt, Prussia in 1805, GeorgeMuller studied for the church, although heshowed little interest in it as a career until anevangelical conversion in 1825. He came toLondon in 1829 to study languages preparatoryto taking up a missionary post, but never tookup his offered position and moved to Teignmouthin Devon. There he became pastor of EbenezerChapel and married a local girl. The couplemoved shortly afterwards to Bristol whereGeorge involved himself in local charitable,religious, organisations. Inspired by theorphanages in Halle where he had attendedUniversity, George Muller established his firstorphanage in Bristol for a small number ofchildren. However, the initial project grew tosuch an extent that five large orphan houseswere eventually constructed at Ashley Down,Bristol, capable of caring for 2,000 children. Thefunds needed were raised entirely by voluntarydonations, aided by his popular autobiographywhich ran to several editions.

In later life George and his second wifetravelled around the world on missionary visits.He died at his orphanage in Bristol in 1898 andwas buried at Arnos Vale cemetery.

His lasting legacy was his orphanage.Although the old buildings have been put toother uses, the Muller Homes for Children stillrun modern, small, group homes in the city.

George F. Muller, 1805 – 1898


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Samuel Plimsoll was born in Bristol in 1824.Shortly after his birth the family moved toPenrith and then on to Sheffield. As a youngman Samuel was recruited as secretary for theSheffield Great Exhibition Committee (despiteonly being a clerk) where his energy, enthusiasmand persuasive character helped him to make aname for himself.

Although his initial hopes to make his fortuneas a coal merchant in London were dashed,Samuel eventually found backing and hisbusiness prospered. With a strong interest in the dangers inherent in heavy industry, Samuelbecame Member of Parliament for Derby in1868, holding the seat for the next twelve years.

He is remembered for his long, stressful,often acrimonious, fight to regulate the amountof cargo merchant ships could be allowed tocarry. Thousands of seamen lost their lives everyyear when overloaded, unsafe vessels sank. TheMerchant Shipping Act of 1876 obliged ownersto mark a load line on their ships, although itwasn’t until 1890 that the Board of Trade wasrequired to ensure that the ‘Plimsoll’ line wasmarked and correctly calculated. After losing hisDerby seat Samuel Plimsoll tried to return toParliament, but after defeat in 1885 at Sheffieldand his failing health he never stood for electionagain. He died in Folkstone in 1898, when all theships in the harbour lowered their flags, and acontingent of sailors drew his hearse for thefuneral.

As well as the ‘Plimsoll Line’, he is rememberedin the name of rubber soled canvas shoes.

Samuel Plimsoll, 1824 – 1898


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The Dictionary of NationalBiography lists details of the livesof thousands of people as well aspictures of many of those profiled.

It can be accessed atwww.oxforddnb.com.

A subscription is required but the site can be accessed free at the Central Library. A copy of the book is also available at theReference Library.

Want to find out more about the lives of famous Bristol people?

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Date of resource: 1673Author: Jacob MillerdResource located:Bristol Record OfficeCD Image: Millerd’s map 1673

Description of resource:This medieval map of the city in 1673 has beendescribed as a ‘venture upon what was, for theage, a truly remarkable publication unexampledin the provinces’

Jacob Millerd was a Bristolian mercer andbeneath the coat of arms on the plan in Latin hedescribes his city: ‘This city, sublime, spacious,faithful, lovely, pleasant and glorious, ancient,kind and brilliant, keeps the laws, worships God,loves the King, protects the district, hateswrongdoing, keeps peace’.

Why maps are useful for a localhistory studyMaps are important sources of informationwhich are often overlooked. Our landscape haschanged over time and maps allow us to seewhat an area looked like in the past andcompare it to how it looks now.

There are no maps before the 16th century.From then on mapmakers began to producecounty maps and estate maps for owners oflarge estates. There are also some early maps oflarge cities such as this one for Bristol by Millerdproduced in 1673. Many of the early maps arevery colourful and show pictures of actualbuildings, trees and walls. They were arepresentation of the area and were not drawnto an accurate scale. They were more likesketches than the maps we see today.

Later maps include more detailed estate mapsdrawn up by surveyors to show the landownerthe value of his property. These often numberedindividual plots of land and had survey books togo with them which listed the names of thepeople renting or occupying the land.

Another type of map is the Enclosure map.Enclosure maps date mainly from between 1750– 1850 and relate to the process of eliminatingthe old open field ‘strip’ farming method. There

was a special General Enclosure Act in 1836 toenable the process to happen without individualacts of parliament to gain permission to enclose.

There are also parish plans, called Tithe maps,which were accompanied by survey books. Tithemaps were drawn up to value and collect tithemoney to pay for the upkeep of the church. Theyshow every plot, which is numbered, and thesurvey book lists all the owners and occupiers ofthe land. This is a very useful source for tracingthe history of a rural area. They do not covertowns as they recorded land values.

The first detailed series of Ordnance Surveymaps did not begin until the 1880s and thesehave continued up to the present day. UsingOrdnance Survey maps can help to trace thegrowth and development of an area.

Resource: Millerd’s map of Bristol

Investigation 1: Maps

Techniques and questions foranalysing maps

1. Allow some time to become familiar with themap. Establish the age of the map.

2. Try and find some familiar landmarks. i.e.school.

3. Play a game to locate a place on the map and trace a route.

4. Compare an area on an older map with amodern or series of maps to show thedevelopment of the area.

5. Consider how the area has changed? Havegreen areas gone? Are the streets the same,have they disappeared or been rerouted?

6. Consider how the land use has changed.7. Think about the names of the streets.

Do they tell you a story? 8. Over the centre of the village, town or city

overlay a modern map of the same scale.Note which streets/places remain and if theirnames are the same.

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Description This is a very colourful and stylised early map ofBristol. It shows the layout of the city, the castle,the city walls, Bristol’s coat of arms, and many ofthe buildings in Bristol. It also shows somefigures in Tudor dress. The Hoefnagle map showsthat the city had expanded beyond the medievalwalls but there were still few houses.

Key vocabulary: Coat of arms

Support materials: •Millerd’s map 1673.

• Modern map of Bristol.

Case Study 1: Maps

Lesson plan: Hoefnagle’s map of Bristol, 1581

Resource: Hoefnagle’s map of Bristol, 1581

Location of resource: Bristol Record OfficeCD Image: Hoefnagle’s map of Bristol, 1581

Outcome of lesson: The children will have familiarised themselves with amap from over 400 years ago. They will make comparisons between thisand a modern map and make observations about the detail. They willthink about what was important to map makers of the time.

Class management: Activity one and two: small groups, Activitythree: individual work.

Preparation: You will need: 2 copies of Hoefnagle’s map,Millerd’s map and a modern map per group.

Introduction:• Establish with the children that the map is of

the centre of Bristol 400 years ago. Note thecoat of arms of Bristol and what it shows.Discuss why you think the ship is important onBristol’s coat of arms.

• Explain that the people portrayed on the mapprovide a good example of how people dressedin Hoefnagle’s time.

• Compare Hoefnagle’s map with a modern map.Ask the children if they can recognise any ofthe streets and features which are still there?Are there any streets or buildings which are thesame?

• Discuss what features are not there now e.g.the castle. Does the modern map refer to acastle in any of its street names?

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Case Study 1: Maps

Resource: Hoefnagle’s map of Bristol, 1581

Plenary:Discuss with the children:• How accurate the map is.• If they think the buildings are true and

how they could check this. • If any of these buildings are still around

to check for accuracy.• If the map is a reliable resource. If not,

is it useful?

Activity one:

• Ask the children to compare this map withMillerd’s. How are they presented?

• There is only 100 years difference but therehas been some significant growth. Ask thechildren to make a limited number ofstatements to highlight differences andsimilarities between the two maps.

• Ask the children to highlight features whichare the same i.e. churches.

Activity two:

• Using a modern map and Hoefnagle’s mapask the children to trace and highlight thestreets and churches or major features on tothe modern map.

• Using the Millerd map also ask the childrento try and trace the medieval wall in thestreets of today’s map and decide where thecastle would go.

• The streets, churches, wall and castle couldbe colour coordinated to help.

Activity three:

• Ask the children to imagine they are Tudorchildren sent on an errand in the time whenHoefnagle drew his map.

• Ask the children to describe their route andgive descriptions of what the streets wouldbe like. Encourage the children to imaginethe smells, the people and the noise.

26

Date of resource: 1373Author: Edward IIIResource located: Bristol Record OfficeCD Image: County Charter

Description of resourceThe example shown is a royal charter of 1373by which Edward III has granted certain rightsand privileges to Bristol. In 1373 the burgessespetitioned the King for more independenceasking that the town be raised to the status ofcounty and be completely separate from thecounties of Gloucester and Somerset. On 8thAugust 1373 Edward III granted Bristol thatright and this is the Charter.

The charter granted the following rights:1. The right to form a Common Council which

met in the Guildhall. This was the beginningof the Corporation of Bristol which existeduntil 1835.

2. The right to elect a Sheriff with his owncourts.

3. The creation of mayor’s and other courts.

A second document in 1373 outlined theboundaries of the new county, whichamounted to 755 acres. By this charter Bristolremained a county for 601 years – until 1974when Bristol became a city and boroughwithin the newly formed County of Avon.

In 1996, with the demise of Avon, Bristolbecame a city and county again but this timewith no charter.

Why charters are useful for a localhistory studyCharters were documents recording grants,usually of land, but sometimes of other propertyor rights. They were thus the medievalequivalent of what we now call deeds. Recordsof royal charters – the most famous of whichis, of course, the Magna Carta – are mostly tobe found among the chancery rolls at thePublic Record Office. This particular charterrecords a significant moment in Bristol’s history.

Resource: County Charter

Investigation 2: Charters

Techniques and questions foranalysing charters

1. Read through the charter and decide what itis about. Identify the most importantinformation. Charters present the problems ofhandwriting and language. Of course,handwriting should not be a problem in aprinted edition, although language may still be, as many charters have been printedin their original language, Latin (oroccasionally French). However, charters areeven more formulaic than most medievaldocuments, and a straightforward exampleshould not be too difficult to decipher.

2. What is the date of the charter? Dating mayalso present problems. Where charters aredated, the commonest form is by giving theday of the week, the nearest church feast-dayand the regnal year. Given a little care, thesedates are not too hard to translate intomodern terms. More serious problems arise if,as for many early charters, no date at all isgiven. In these cases, the date has to beestimated from the handwriting (if the charter is original), from thephraseology, and from what is known aboutother people mentioned in the document.These are largely matters for the expert,although in printed editions they will oftenalready have been addressed.

3. If you are studying a private charter, whatcan you find out about the family? What canthe charter tell you about the society andtime in which the family lived? Privatecharters are an excellent source ofcontemporary information about medievalgenealogy. Family relationships are frequentlymentioned, for example, transactions byother members of the grantor’s family maybe recited or confirmed; if the grant is infavour of a religious house, provision mayeven be made for prayers for the souls of thegrantor’s dead relatives, or for the grantor’sburial. In some cases the charter may record a marriage gift to a daughter, orprovision for a younger son.

continued overleaf

27

Resource: County Charter

Investigation 2: Charters

Techniques and questions foranalysing charters continued

4. If the charter contains images, what do theytell you? Is a coat of arms included? Considerdesigning a school or individual coat of arms.

5. Develop your own school charter based on anoriginal formula. Describe the groundsenclosed and their uses. Who is allowed touse which area? Draw up a list of who usesthe school; teachers, children, parents, dinnerladies, secretary and how they use the school,behave and respect each other.

6. If the charter relates to the granting of lands,use maps to see if you can discover how theboundaries have changed over the years. Isyour school within the original boundary andif so has it always been?

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Description: This charter was granted by Edward III and it isan early illuminated charter. The illuminationactually tells you what the charter is all about. Inthe top half of the letter ‘E’ you can just see twomen being driven in to what looks like a dogkennel during the night. In the bottom half ofthe letter ‘E’ a baker is being whipped as he isdragged through the streets of the town. Abovehis head are a pair of scales which do notbalance i.e. he has been selling short-weightbread. The charter therefore grants Bristol theright to imprison nightwalkers and to punishfraudulent bakers.

Key vocabulary: Fraudulent, nightwalkers, curfew, sheriff, hueand cry, night watchmen.

Support materials: • A list of rules and regulations for school or

class.• A contemporary newspaper account of unruly

behaviour in Bristol City Centre.

Case Study 2: Charters


Resource: Bakers’ Charter, 1347

Location of resource: Bristol Record OfficeCD Image: Bakers’ Charter, 1347

Outcome of lesson: Children will have an insight into how rules wereestablished a long time ago and how they were presented. They canconsider the importance of rules within societies such as towns, theirown schools, classes and social groups such as families and friends andwho has the responsibility of administering them.

Class management: Activity one: whole class, Activity two: wholeclass, Activity three: whole class/individual work.

Preparation: You will need:• drawing materials and paper for each child.

Introduction: Discuss the following with the children:• Who administers the law today? Who makes

sure it is being obeyed? How was lawadministered when this charter was written?Was it local responsibility because there was nopolice force?

• What is a curfew and who implements it? Wasit the night watchmen or the sheriff? What isan ‘Hue and Cry?’

• Why do you think the charter is illuminated inthis way? Perhaps because not many peoplecould read, the picture was to show what thecharter was about.

• What were nightwalkers? Why were theylocked up at night? Nightwalkers were peoplewandering the streets at night after curfew.They were locked up because they may beintending to commit crimes.

• How were the bakers being fraudulent?

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Case Study 2: Charters

Resource: Bakers’ Charter, 1347

Plenary:Discuss the following with the children:• Why do we need laws, rules and regulations?• Would it be o.k. for people to do their own

thing?• Do you establish rules within your own

friendship groups?• What happens if you break these rules? How

do you punish each other? Do you not talk toeach other?

Activity one:

• Discuss and make a list of your own class orschool rules.

• Discuss how you will illustrate it.• Show details of the Baker’s Charter to the

class. Ask the children to decide if they willillustrate the rule, the outcome of followingthe rule, or a punishment?

• Create a charter with illustrations. Thehandwriting style could be similar to thecharter’s style.

Activity two:

• Read with the class a contemporarynewspaper account covering the behaviourof young people in the centre of Bristol lateat night.

• As a class discuss implementing a curfew onBristol today. Should we have cages? Howdo we punish people today? Are fines andimprisonment effective?

• Ask the children to create Illustrations ofsuitable punishments e.g.cleaning up thestreets and curfew.

Activity three:

• As a class look at the symbolism used todayfor rules i.e. driving rules, street signs etc.

• Ask the children to illustrate a set of rulese.g.Eating at the table.Playing in the playground.Behaviour in the classroom.

30

Transcript 2: Charters

Resource: Edward III charter, 24th April 1347

(commonly called the ‘Bakers’ charter)

Edward, by the Grace of God, King of Englandand France and Lord of Ireland, to all to whomthe present letters shall come, greeting.

Whereas, as we have heard, very many evil-doers and disturbers of our peace in the town ofBristol wander and run about by day and nightperpetrating in divers ways damages, evil-doingsand excesses to the men of those parts, to the nosmall terror of our people in the same place andto the manifest breach of our said peace. We,desiring our peace in the town aforesaid, as inother places of our realm of England, firmly tobe observed, and willing the disturbers andviolaters of our same peace to be duly punished,as is right, have granted for us and our heirs toour beloved Mayor, Baliffs and worthy men ofthe said town of Bristol that they shall be able tomake anew one cage for prisoners within thetown aforesaid and to have and to hold that forthemselves and their successors for ever, toimprison in the same such evil-doers anddisturbers of our peace, if it shall happen thatany be found in the same place wandering bynight, in the same manner and as is used in ourcity of London. We have granted, also, for us andour heirs to the same Mayor, Baliffs and worthymen that they and their successors aforesaid forthe better keeping of the assize of bread to bemade in the town aforesaid henceforth shall beable to inflict the following punishment onbakers breaking that assize in the same place,namely, to draw such bakers, delinquents againstthat assize, upon hurdles through the streets ofthe town aforesaid and otherwise to chastisethem as in our said city of London is similarlyused for such bakers. In witness whereof wehave caused these our letters to be made patent.

Witness: Lionel, our very dear son, Keeper ofEngland, at Reading on the twenty-fourth day ofApril in the twenty-first year or our reign ofEngland but in the eighth of our reign of France.

By writ of privy seal

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Date of resource: 1824Artist: Samuel ColmanResource located: Bristol CityMuseum and Art GalleryCD Image: St James’ Fair. Grant forSt. James’ Fair

Description of resource:This painting depicts St. James’ Fair held near St.James’ Church, the Horsefair, Bristol, currentlythe site of House of Fraser, Broadmead. The fairwas established by a grant given by William ofGloucester in 1174 (see CD Rom). By the 13thcentury it was already an annual commercialattraction for business, charlatans and gangsknown as ‘les homes pied poudre’.

The fair remained an important annualmarket until the 18th century and a court ofjustice called ‘pied poudre’ (the court of dustyfeet) was held in Bristol to settle disputesbetween the fairgoers of no fixed abode. Evenwhen the court no longer sat, the traditionalceremony to declare the court open continueduntil 1971 outside the Stag and Hounds in OldMarket Street.

Colman’s image was obviously painted afterthe fair had closed and so is an imaginary scene.The location, buildings and church in thebackground, however, are real. People from avariety of social classes are depicted but theimage goes further than merely describing thefair. Colman has used this painting to highlightmany political and social concerns of the day.The painting is divided into two distinct halves; a‘tidy’ good half and an ‘untidy’ bad half.

Why paintings are useful for a localhistory studyLocal history paintings are a valuable resourcefor the study of a location or event from thepast. They can tell us much about a particularsocieties beliefs and attitudes and they enable usto build up a picture of all aspects of lifeincluding social, economic, industrial and rural.Local history pictures can bring to life historicalevents and help us to understand changes whichhave occurred in the area.

Paintings should be understood in the contextin which they were produced. This may have aneffect on the reliability of the resource as afactual piece of historical evidence.

Resource: St. James’ Fair

Investigation 3: Paintings 1

Techniques and questions foranalysing paintings

1. Count or list particular elements of thepainting e.g. animals or children, games,forms of entertainment etc.

2. Write down how many sounds and smells areevident in the painting.

3. Decide what the painting is describing. 4. Decide who is the most important person

in the painting and why. This may bebecause the person is placed in the centre, isdirectly lit, is painted in colours which drawthe eye etc.

5. Using a contemporary photograph of thesame location, compare and contrast thephotograph and painting to find what stillremains and what has been lost.

6. Using contemporary images of a similarevent /situation, compare and contrast thecontemporary image with the scene in thepainting to identify similarities anddifferences. What can the painting tell usabout the event/situation in the past fromthis evidence?

7. What can we tell about the status of thepeople in the painting? What clues are thereto help us decide if they are rich or poor, forexample?

8. How reliable is the painting as a piece ofevidence? Consider if the scene actuallyexists or if it has been altered/manipulatedin some way. Are people standing naturallyin groups? Is the composition of the picturetoo ordered to be real? Is nature too orderedto be real? Why would the artist do this?

9. Who do you think the painting was made forand for what purpose?

10. Is there anything more you want to knowabout the painting that you cannot find outfrom just looking? Where could you find thisinformation?

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Description: See paintings investigation.

Key vocabulary: Contemporary, accurate.

Support materials: Not required.

Case Study 3: Paintings 1



Location of resource: Bristol City Museum & Art GalleryCD Image: St James’ Fair, photographs of Broadmead

Outcome of lesson: Children will discover how a popular city centrelocation appeared and was used in the past. Children will also have theopportunity to increase historical enquiry and evaluation skills.

Class management: Activity one: in pairs, Activity two: small groups,Activity three: individual and small group work.

Preparation: You will need:• 2 copies of the St. James’ Fair painting and the

photographs of Broadmead for each smallgroup.

• Paper and pencils for each child.

Introduction: Ask the children the following questions aboutthe painting:• What do you think this painting is about?• Why do you think the artist painted it?• Who do you think is the most important

person in the painting and why?• Is the painting a view of present day Bristol or

of Bristol in the past? How can you tell?

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Plenary:Discuss with the children:• What features (natural and man-made) in the

painting are likely to remain today.• How the location has changed, what the

location may have looked like in theintervening years and what the children thinkthe area may look like in the future.

• Visits to contemporary fairs and markets. Askthe children how the fair in the painting differsfrom fairs and markets today.

• At the end of the session ask the children toevaluate the usefulness of using this paintingas a local history resource. Which elements ofthe painting did they think were accurate andwhich exaggerated?

Activity one:

• In pairs, ask the children to look very closelyat the painting and make a list of all theactivities taking place.

• Ask the children to produce quiz questionsbased on their findings and then choose themost useful questions from their list.

• Ask children to swap their selected questionswith another pair and undertake the quiz.

Activity two:

• Ask the children to compare the paintingwith a contemporary image of the samelocation. What similarities and whatdifferences can they find?

• Ask the children to organise the informationinto a chart and feedback their findings.

• As a class, create a similarities anddifferences chart.

Activity three:

• Ask the children to create a short piece ofdescriptive writing about either thepaintings or the photographs. Encourage thechildren to include auditory descriptions andsmells, descriptions of clothing, transport,buildings etc.

• Using all the information they have gathered,ask the children to create a ‘soundscape’based on the sounds associated with eitherthe painting or the photographs.

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Description: This image shows the busy Broad Quay (thecentre of Bristol, opposite the Hippodrome). St Mark’s Chapel is on the left, and St Michael’sChurch is on the hill in the distance. Bristol hadbeen an important city and port since themedieval period, and the shipping (possiblyBrigantine’s) on the river reflects the largeamount of trade into and out of the docks. Theimage shows a dockside crane, for loading andunloading the ships. The sled being used forcarrying merchandise was peculiar to Bristol:wheeled vehicles were not allowed in the streets

of the old city in case of damage to the storagecellars just beneath the roads and pavements.The image shows a variety of Bristol people,from wealthy merchants and rich ladies toworking men and servants.

Key vocabulary: Quay, merchant, servant, brigantine (a twomasted, square sailed ship).

Support materials: Not required.



Resource: Broad Quay, attributed to Philip Vandyke,c.1780

Location of resource: Bristol City Museum & Art GalleryCD Image: Broad Quay, c. 1780

Outcome of lesson: Children will produce artwork in response to theirinterpretation of the painting. They will gain an understanding of Bristolsociety and the port of Bristol in the 18th century. Children will learnhistorical interpretation and analysis skills.

Class management: Activity one: small groups, Activity two: smallgroup/individual work, Activity three: smallgroups.

Preparation: You will need:• art materials.• You may wish to take the children to the

location depicted in the painting to look at thechanges that have occurred.

Introduction: Ask the children the following questions aboutthe painting:• What do you think this painting is about?• Why do you think the artist painted it?• Is the painting a view of present day Bristol or

of Bristol in the past? How can you tell?

35


Resource: Broad Quay, attributed to Philip Vandyke,c.1780

Plenary:Ask the children to present their visualisationsand create a display of the artworkDiscuss the following questions with thechildren:• How would Bristol benefit from being a port?• If the children were 18th century shopkeepers

in Bristol what would they sell?• Would the port be a safe place for children to

play?• Which character from the painting would they

like to be and why?• Which elements of the painting do they think

really existed?• What have they found out about Bristol in the

past?• Are paintings a reliable local history resource?

Activity one:

• Ask the children to look carefully at thepainting.

• Ask the children to identify the differentpeople in the image e.g.merchantsservantsrich ladies/menship ownersshop keeperscrane operatorsWorkers

• Discuss with the children if they thinkanyone is missing from the painting.

• Ask the children to choose 3 sets ofcharacters from the painting and discusswhat their characters might be thinking ortalking about.

• Ask the children to provide speech bubblesfor their characters.

• Ask the children to feedback their ideas to the class.

Activity two:

• Discuss with the children what type of shipsare in the harbour and how they werepowered.

• Ask the children to imagine they are goingon a long voyage in a sailing ship. Explainthat sailing ships were often at sea forseveral weeks before putting into port.

• Ask the children to think about and list allthe things they would need on board shipe.g. food, water, ale, plates and drinkingvessels, lighting, clothes, rope, sails, medicalsupplies etc.

• Ask the children to look carefully at theshopfronts in the painting and design awindow display of the goods they wouldtake with them on their voyage.

Activity three:

• Explain to the children that the painting is a ‘moment in time’ and ask them to imaginewhat happened next.

• Ask the children to produce a piece ofcollaborative artwork visualising the nextscene.

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Date of resource: 16th April 1574Author: Jane CompaneResource located: Bristol RecordOfficeCD Image: Will of Jane Compane

Description of resource:The example given is the will of a woman, JaneCompane. Very few women left wills and thosethat did were usually widows. Married womenhad no legal rights over property, all theirproperty became their husbands on theirmarriage and spinsters had very little to leave.

Why wills and inventories are usefulfor a local history studyWills were documents created by a person beforethey died to explain how they wanted theirproperty to be disposed of after their death. Oneor more people would be named as ‘executors’to arrange for the property to be dealt withaccording to the wishes of the deceased person.Executors were usually close family members, butcould also be friends, neighbours or solicitors.The will would be signed by the person, knownas the ‘testator’ and also witnessed by at leasttwo people to prevent forgery. Some wills maybe written in Latin.

Wills are useful because they help us to findout about people who lived during a givenperiod. We can find out about when they died,where they lived, their status or trade, andsometimes about how they lived. They can alsotell us what family they had. Many wills of thisperiod also had inventories with them.

An inventory was a list of all movable goods,clothes, valuables, crops and animals that aperson owned. These would be recorded by theexecutors and are often very detailed and carriedout room by room in the person’s home. Theinventory would also give a value for each itemand a total value for the whole estate. Inventorieswere taken during the 16th – 18th centuries, theearlier ones contain much more detail.

Resource: Will of Jane Compane of St Steven’sparish, Bristol, a widow

Investigation 4: Wills and Inventories

Techniques and questions foranalysing wills and Inventories

1. Read the will carefully (in the classroom itmay be useful to read the will to the class).The language used in wills is different totoday and may need some explanation. Willsfollow a standard format and this haschanged little over the years. Early willswould begin ‘In the name of God Amen’ andthe testator would then commit their soul toGod or Christ and give details of how theirbody was to be buried.

2. Make a list of the bequests. Sometimes thesewould begin with a bequest to a church orcharity, followed by members of the testator’sfamily or household servants. The executorwould also be named and sometimes a list ofdebts to be paid or money owed would beincluded.

3. Highlight words that are spelt differentlytoday. Spelling was not standardised untilvery recently and words were written howthey sounded.

4. Look for clues within the will and highlightphrases which tell you about the person.

5. If there is an inventory room by room try andreconstruct the house. Note how the roomsare named differently and their uses aredifferent to today.

6. Note the different spelling of names andsurnames. Why might this occur? Are thenames of members of the same family speltdifferently?

7. Research the meaning of selected words i.e.cassock, chattels, goodwife, parysse.Cassock – a loose garment, often withoutsides or sleeves but may be tied at the waist. Chattels – belongingsParysse – parish

8. Use a map as near to the time as possible tofind buildings, places etc. recorded in the will.

9. Discuss the monetary terms used. Explain whythe will refers to s=shillings and d=pence.

37

Transcript 4: Wills and Inventories

Resource: Will of Jane Compane of St Steven’sparish, Bristol, a widow

Transcript of the will of Jane CompaneThe 16th day of Aprill anno 1574In the name of God Amen the day & year abovewritten I Jane Compane als Fyanne of the parisheof St Stevene in the Citie of Bristowe wydowemake this my last wyll & testament as followethfirst I bequeath my soule unto the hands myheavenly father in meritte of the most paynfullpassion precious deathe & Bloudshed of my lord& saviour Jesus Christe Amen. And my bodye tobe buryed in Christian buryall in Church orChurchyard at the wyll & discresion of ThomasVyan my sonne.

Item I gyve & bequeath to the reparyrying ofSt Stevens Churche 3s 4d, Item I gyve & bequeathto the relieffe of the poore in St Stevens parysse6s 8d to be distrubrited by the discrescion of thechurch wardens. Item I gyve & bequeath toKateryn my servant 3s 8d Item I gyve & bequeathto Alice my servant my cassocke that I used toweare overmoste on the workyng days Item Igyve & bequeath to Margery Hopkins my cassockthat I used to wear under my said cassock

All the reste of my goodes & chatells notgiven or bequeathed I gyve & bequeath to mysonne Thomas Vyan whome I make my executorto Receyve & pay my detts.

My dettsItem I owe to Thomas 4s

Det owing to meItem the goodwife Reade owes me 4s

Witnesses hereof: John Knyght, Clerk, NicholasWoulffe with others

Vocabulary for Jane Compane’s willCassock – item of clothing, (Dutch cloak, cassack,casaque, ropilla) – many forms of this garmentboth for men and women. Basically a loosegarment, often without sides of sleeves but maybe tied at the waist. Probably worn for comfortand work.Parysse – parishDiscresion – discretion

38

Description of resource: This will describes the home of an ordinary Tudorman, Harry May, who lived in St. Nicholas, Bristoland was a sailor.

Key vocabulary: Testator – a witness and someone who signedthe will, nuncupative – oral or spoken. Usuallyused when describing a will dictated on the

deathbed. Executor, executrix – those who dealwith the will, deceased, testament,administration. Proved – in court before beingdealt with.

Support materials: • Pictures of Tudor town houses.• Pictures inside Tudor houses that could help

identify Tudor furniture.

Case Study 4: Wills and Inventories


Resource: Will and Inventory of Harry May, 1573

Location of resource: Bristol Record OfficeCD Image: Will and inventory of Harry May

Outcome of lesson: Wills and inventories provide an excellent snapshotof life. Through examining this will, children will be able to note thedifferences and similarities between a Tudor home and their own homesand have experience of investigating and discussing primary sourcematerial.

Class management: Activity one: whole class, Activity two: smallgroups, Activity three: individual work.

Preparation: You will need:• Pencils and paper for each child• 2 copies of the will and inventory of Harry May,

per group.

Introduction: Discuss with the children the old style currencyand language.

Explain to the children that this particular will is rather briefer than most, partly because it is a nuncupative will, that is one spoken by the deceased. Such a will is not signed but isvalidated by the witnesses swearing to itsauthenticity before the courts. Although notparticularly informative, this will, in quotingHarry May’s actual words, gives us a rare insightinto how the Elizabethans actually expressedthemselves verbally; something which is all toooften missing from formal documents such astitle deeds.

When looking at the actual will, explain thatthe text following the word Probatum is in Latinand is called the probate; it simply records whattook place at the church court - it does have oneparticular use for genealogists though, since thetestator certainly died between the date ofmaking the will and the date of probate.

39

Case Study 4: Wills and Inventories

Plenary:

Discuss the following issues:• Do you think Harry was rich?• Is £7 a lot for his clothes? Compare this with

the cost of linen and other items.• Why do you think Harry has so many beds? Did

he have enough linen for them?• Why do you think there is so little to do with

Harry being a sailor? The Spanish cushions andsilver cups could have been obtained when hewas a sailor.

Activity one:

With the children, read the will and firstsentence of the inventory describing Harry.Note the spellings and grammar. Ask thechildren to highlight the clues which tell youabout Harry May. Ask the children to find out • When he was alive• When he died and where he lived• What he did• If he was well when he made the will• Who was his wife?

Activity two:

Provide each group with copies of the will andinventory transcript and ask them toinvestigate a selection of given rooms.• Ask the children to draw the rooms with the

objects and count out how much each roomwas worth.

• As a class decide which room is the mostimportant and where Harry ate and slept.

The will and inventory was probably writtenas the assessors walked through the house. • Ask the children to reconstruct Harry’s home.• What is missing from Harry’s home i,e,

books, clocks, items for a sailor?

Activity three:

Ask each child to choose a room from Harry’shome, i.e. kitchen/sittingroom/bedroom.

Discuss how their homes differ to that ofHarry May:• Do the rooms have different uses?• Do you entertain in the same rooms?• Have the names of the rooms changed?


40



St. Nicholas, made 9th June 1573,nuncupative. Proved 25th August1573.In the name of god amen memorandum thatone Tewisday the ixth day of June 1573 HarryMay of the parishe of sainte Nicholas in the cittie& diocese of Bristoll sicke in body but of goodand perfecte memory declared & made histestament conteyninge therein his last will(nuncupatively) as followethe First he said, Iknowe I shall nowe dye and not recover andthere is but one way with me And thereforetouchinge my wordly goodes, So it is that Ibroughte litle or nothinge to my wyffe Katheryn,And therfore I will not take or geve any thingefrom her, but do refere all to her discretion - andmake her my executrix these beinge Witnesseshear unto Edwarde (…) Mariner WilliamRawlinges Thomas Brytaine, William Tyrer andJane Here.

Administration granted to wife Katherineexecutrix.

Inventory of the goodes of Harry Maye(alias Henry Patch), Sailor, City ofBristol. 1573

An Inventory of the goods and cattels andymplements of houshold stuffe of Harry Mayelate of the cittie of Bristol sayler deceased thexxiiiith (24th) day of August 1573 and praysed.

£ s dIn the parloura feather bed with linen 20a table borde with 2 65 coffers in the same place 10a square sideboorde with a chaier 22 andirons in the chiymny and a slice 6a forme in the same place 1the hangings in the same parlour 5the Spanishes quisshins 1Summa (sum) 47 6

In the buttrya bedd of flocke with a bedsteede and all his appurtenances 10a garnishe of pewter vessell 302 coffers 3Summa 2 3

In the hall2 tableboords with 2 formes 12a forme and a chiere 1 4Summa 13 4

In the forechamber4 fether beds & a flock bedd with hangings and bedsteeds for 2 of them 4 10a Tableborde with an old carpet & the stayned clothes 10Summa 5

In the nexte chamber afore streate2 standing bedsteads with 2 flock bedds and their appurtenances 40a tableborde with a carpet & 2 formes 2the stained clothes in the same in the same chamber 2Summa 2 4

In one hier chamber4 flock bedds with thappurtnances 30In one other chamber2 flock bedds with their appurtenances 23 4Summa 2 3 4

In the chamber over the parlour4 flock beds with steeds and other their appurtenances 53 4Summa 2 13 4

In the kitchen7 crocks a posnett & 2 pankins 303 pannes of brasse & 3 cawdrons 302 chafin disshes of brasse & 2 skimers 52 rackss & a paire of dogs a paire of tongs and 5 paire of pott hooks 13 45 broches & 2 dripping panes 6 8A gridiron & a fleshe hooke 1Summa 4 6

41



£ s d

In the paviament3 thousand of cornishe tyle 122 barges 2 rowks & 2 pailes 5Summa 17

In the shoppeA hogshead of vinegar 8Potts & panes of earth & matts 8A greate chest 2Summa 8

Lynnen24 paire of sheets praysed at 512 tableclothes at 404 dozen of napkins 812 towells 75 bread napkins 302 pilloweberes 20Summa 10 5

His apperel 72 cuppes covered with silver 20Summa 8Summa totalis (total sum) 41 10 6

An inventory is a valuation of all the goods ofthe deceased. It was carried out only for movableproperty, land and houses etc would only bementioned in the will itself. It is very useful indiscovering how people lived and what sort ofthings they kept in their houses. It was usuallydone for each room in a house and wouldinclude all the beds, linen, cooking utensils andeven the dead person’s clothes. In the case offarms all the animals, harvested crops, hay, andfarm equipment would also be listed. HarryMay’s will is interesting because it is verydetailed and includes items such as Spanishcushions, and cups covered with silver, perhapsobtained when he was at sea.

Harry May’s will and inventoryNuncupative – oral or spoken – usually used inwhen describing a will dictated on the deathbed.Table board – either board which lies on a trestleto make a table or a complete table.Forme – benches.Chiere – chair.Carpet – more like a heavy tablecloth than acarpet as we know it.

42

Date of resource: 1741– 1748Author: not knownResource located: Bristol ReferenceLibraryCD Image: Jacob’s Wells TheatreAccount book

Description of resource:The example shown is an account for aproduction of ‘As you like it’, by WilliamShakespeare. It shows the costs of the materialsused and the salaries of the theatre staff. It alsohelps us to understand how the theatre was run.

This play was produced at Jacob’s WellsTheatre, of which little is known, except that itwas founded circa, 1736 and was situated nearthe bottom of Jacob’s Wells Road.

Why accounts are useful for a localhistory studyAccounts are the financial records of a business,an individual, or an organisation. They help us tounderstand how that organisation worked andprovide an insight into the lives of individuals.They are also a useful source to find out howpeople spent their money and how much thingscost at the time.

Resource: Jacob’s Wells Theatre Account Book

Investigation 5: Accounts

Techniques and questions foranalysing accounts

1. Try to date the document. Consider whatevidence you would use to help you if thedate was not on the document? Wouldhandwriting provide any clues? Do thearticles listed help in dating the accounts?

2. List the articles and investigate what theyare. Find examples to draw and explain theiruse.

3. Most of the documents will be in old money,which is difficult but not impossible to tally.Various tasks can be set up to investigateamount, profit, comparisons of cost andvalue.

4. Consider why it might be useful to keep a set of accounts.

5. Consider who might keep a set of accounts.6. What skills would an accountant need?7. Consider how accounts are kept today. Are

there any benefits to using a computerisedsystem rather than a handwritten book?

8. Cost a similar contemporary event or list andcompare prices. What would you includetoday that is not evident in the original set ofaccounts? What are the reasons for this?

9. Analyse the information to evaluate whethera profit or a loss was made.

43

Description: Extract relating to the visit of Queen Elizabeth Iin 1574. During 1574 Queen Elizabeth toured thewestern counties of England. On 14th Augustshe arrived in Bristol. This extract from the cityaccount book records some of the expenses thevisit generated. She and her royal party werelavishly entertained by the city. She stayed at thenewly-built ‘Great House’ of John Young,

gentleman, who was knighted for his hospitality.This house stood on St. Augustine’s Back,occupying the grounds of the former Carmelitefriary on the site of the present Colston Hall.

Support materials: • A picture of Queen Elizabeth on tour.• Millerd’s map of Bristol.

Case Study 5: Accounts


Resource: The Great Audit Book for Bristol, 1574

Location of resource: Bristol Record Office CD Image: The Great Audit Book for Bristol, 1574

Outcome of lesson: The royal tours of the kings and queens were verymuch a part of courtly life and can be included within a topic on theTudors. This extract will highlight how costly these events were fortownsfolk or noblemen. The extract also gives some insight into thekinds of entertainment a Tudor Royal would expect.

Class management: Activity one: small groups, Activity two:individual work, Activity three: small groups.

Preparation: You will need:Paper and pencils for all children, one copy ofthe Great Audit Book (you will need more copiesif undertaking this activity in small groups), 5-6copies of Millerd’s map, 5 – 6 copies of thedescription of the entertainment.

Introduction: Discuss with the children the visit of QueenElizabeth I to Bristol, as described above.

44

Case Study 5: Accounts


Plenary:• Either watch an event attended by Queen

Elizabeth II today or look at a newspaperreport.

• Discuss why our royalty still travel, both aroundBritain and abroad. Older children may like toconsider the use of these tours.

• Initiate such questions as the cost, who paysand who does the work.

• Discuss what preparations you would make fora trip from royalty to your school.

Activity one:

• Read and discuss the transcript of the GreatAudit Book with the children together withthe glossary n.b. the transcript could be splitbetween groups and interpreted separately.

• Explain the money £sd (pounds, shillings andpence) to the children.

• Ask the children to work out how much theevent would have cost. Explain that this isan extract. The actual total amount was£1050.00

Activity two:

• Discuss with the children what it would havebeen like to be at the event.

• Provide the children with a description of theentertainment.

• Ask the children to write an account or ajournalist’s report. The journalist would wantto record the event favourably for the Queenand include a picture.

• The accounts could be developed into a frontpage spread with added features i.e.interviews with eyewitnesses, workmenpreparing for the tour, John Young, advertsetc.

Activity three:

• Ask the children to locate the sitesmentioned in the description on Millerd’smap; The Great House, Lawford’s Gate,Newgate, High Cross, Frome Gate, StAugustine’s Back, the Marsh.

• Ask the children to highlight the areas andsuggest the route taken by Queen Elizabeth I.

45

Visit 5: Accounts

Resource: The Great Audit Book – The visit of QueenElizabeth I in 1574

TranscriptOn Saturday the 24th August the Queen was met at Lawford’s Gate by the Mayor and theCommon Council. The Mayor presented the giltmace to her majesty who handed it back. MrJohn Popham esq., Recorder of the city made anoration, while the Mayor knelt. The Mayor thenpresented the Queen with a purse wrought withsilver and gold having a hundred pounds in gold.After which the Mayor and the Queen’s partyrode through the town to the house of JohnYoung. On the following Saturday morning theQueen created 5 knights: Sir John Young, SirRitchard Barkeley, Mr Tracie, Sir Thomas Porterand Sir William Morgan.

During her stay a mock battle was laid onwith 400 men. Two forts were created for theevent, a large one at Trenemill Mead and asmaller on the next hill, which were attackedduring the battle.

Thomas Churchyard, a poet author andformer soldier, was employed to devise andsupervise the entertainments and to writenumerous orations for the Queen.

46

Transcript 5: Accounts

Resource: The Great Audit Book – The account of theentertainment for Queen Elizabeth I in 1574

The Charges of the Queens Maiestiesenterteignement to the citie of Bristollas folowith.

In primis pd. For charges of gilting & payntingthe highe Crosse and making newe benchys bythaccompt

lxvjli.xiijs.vijd

Item pd. for rowgh casting & playsring of laforesgate on both sides, Newgate and bothe thefrowme gates on both sides and for setting up ofscaffolds & taking down the same as bythaccompt ixli.vjs.jd.

Item pd. for paynting and gildying the said gatespd. Jo. Phyppes and Jo. Kirry paynters

xxxviijli.xiijs.iiij.

Item pd. for pitching the streets as apt bythaccompt iijli.xviijs.xd.

Item pd. for setting up the Quenes Armes & thetownes Armes in frestone in the yeld hall wall

xli.xiiijs.id.

Item pd. for setting up a Scaffold at the highecrosse for the Oracion viijs.iijd.

Item pd. for rowghe casting the walles of theyeld hall withowt and washing within the hall

vli.viijs.xyd.

Item pd. for riding to the Court to wyndsor andsending for captaigne Shute iiijli.xvs.

Item pd. for the purse of gold, sylever and silkwherein the 200 angelettes was presented jli.xijs.

Item pd. for sandying the marshe, rerying of thegrowndes and levelying the way viijli.xs.iid

Item pd. for setting up postes and rales &sanding the way at St. Austens Back vijli.js.vijd.

Item for setting up a gallery in the marsh for theQuenes maiestie to se the triumphes

xixili.iiijs.iijd.

Item pd. to the lighter men that browght 53lighters of sand for the streets vjli.xixs.xd

Item pd. to MrJohn Brown for charges ofdrumme players and for capps for souldiors as byhis accomt xxvli.js.

Item pd. to Henry Roberts for cappe, vitayles &drynck for souldors vjli.viiijd.

Item pd. to Robert Robynson for xxvj c 36lbs ofcorne & serpentine powder at 13d per lb

1Cxlijli.xvs.viijd.

Item pd. tp Mr Richard Cole for lockeram andcanvas 230 yardes & 13 ells for souldiorsdublettes xiijli.viijs.vjd.

Item pd. to Mr Kelke for 200 Angelettes that hepresented to the Quenes maiestie jCli

Item pd. to the Raker for haling 35dd fates ofsand owt of the streets after her maiestie wasgone iijli.xs.

Summa totalis of all the charges of the QuenesMaiesties enterteingnement 1mliiijli.xiiijs.xjd.

47

Glossary 5: Accounts


Accompt account

Angelette a gold coin worth 10s

Corn powder type of powder used to fire guns

Doublette a type of sleeveless jacket

Ell measurement of cloth originally the length of Henry I’sarm (45), arm’s length could vary 27 – 54 inches

Fattes tubs or vat-barrels

Freestone any kind of stone that can be sawn or worked freely withoutbreaking, usually limestone or sandstone

Lighter a flat bottomed barge used fortransport in dockyards

Lockeram a coarse type of linen cloth

Oracon oration or speech

Pitch boiled tar

rales rails

rerying ? mistranscribed, could be rel(a)ying

Serpentine form of powder used for powder firing guns

A serpentine was a cannon

Summa totalis Latin for total sum

Thaccompt short for ‘the account’ (2 words run together)

triumphs battles

Vitals food

48

Date of resource: late 1300’sMaker: not knownResource located: Tomb in St Johnthe Baptist church, Broad Street,BristolCD Image: Tomb of WalterFrampton

Description of resource:This tomb is of Water Frampton who wasfounder of St John the Baptist church and threetimes mayor of Bristol. He died in 1388. Thismemorial tomb is located on the north side ofthe chancel, to the left of the altar. The top ofthe tomb has a sculpted figure of Frampton,lying horizontally. He has a small moustache anddivided beard and is wearing a long tunic,buttoned up at the front and a small, narrowcivilian sword. His feet are resting on a hound,which represents courage, and his head is on apillow, supported by two angels. The stone bodyis lying on a stone plinth which is decorated withseveral brightly coloured shields.

School visits to the St John the Baptist churchand the tomb can be arranged through theChurches Conservation Trust. Contact LindaOliver on 0117 9279966 for details.

Why tombstones are useful for a localhistory studyThrough investigating a range of factorsincluding style, materials available, technologicalprocesses, religion and status, tombstones canhelp us to understand how people lived theirlives in the past. Tombstones enable us to buildup a picture of all aspects of life including social,economic and spiritual.

Resource: Tomb of Walter Frampton

Investigation 6: Tombstones

Techniques and questions foranalysing tombstones

1. What do you think it feels like to touch thetombstone?

2. What materials do you think the tombstoneis made from?

3. Is the tombstone damaged or wellpreserved? Why?

4. What type of person do you think wasburied in this tomb?

5. Who is the tombstone important to andwhy? eg. friends and family, Bristol people,members of the church, historians?

6. Was it easy to make this tombstone? Why?7. What craftsmen were used to make the

tombstone?8. Was this an expensive tombstone to make?

Why?9. Was the owner of the tombstone an

important person? Why? 10. Was the person buried here a wealthy

person? Why?11. Consider why it is important to remember

someone when they have died? How wouldyou like people to remember you?

12. Look for carvings on the tomb (WalterFramptons’ tomb is decorated with a houndand two angels). If you were to design yourown tombstone, what would you havecarved on it? How would those thingsrepresent your character/likes/dislikes.

13. If an alien arrived from space, how wouldthey explain what this tombstone was for?

49

Description: This grade two listed ‘chattri’ is an ornatememorial to ‘the founder of modern India’.Made of Bath stone and standing on a largesquare platform, it houses the body of thisimportant Indian ambassador, political andeducational advisor and campaigner, who died ofmeningitis in 1833 on a visit to Bristol. Hecampaigned for women’s rights in India, editedand printed newspapers and fought the Indiangovernment to keep the freedom of the press.He became a wealthy man, but used much of hiswealth to support social or religious causes. Thetomb was designed by William Princep andreplaced the Rajah’s original burial place in thegrounds of Beech House, Stapleton.

Key vocabulary: Chattri – funeral monument and grave.

Support materials: • Information sheets on the Rajah Rammohun

Roy and his tombstone, available from theFriends of Arnos Vale Cemetery.

• Access to the internet/history books/CD-ROMsto research boats/travel in the 1880’s e.g.pictures from the 19th century at the NationalMaritime Museum.www.nmm.ac.uk/collections/explore/index.cfm/ category/art.

• Visit www.rammohunmemorial-india.org orwww.favc.freeserve.co.uk for morebackground information on the Rajah.

Case Study 6: Tombstones


Resource: Tomb of Rajah Rammohun Roy

Location of resource: Arnos Vale cemetery, Brislington, BristolCD Image: Tomb of Rajah Rammohun Roy

Outcome of lesson: Children will produce art work and thoughtfulliteracy and citizenship work inspired by the life and burial of aninspirational character from history who was buried in the local area.

Class management: Organise the class into three groups. Each grouprotates through all three activities. The activitiescan be expanded to create three separatelessons.

Preparation: You will need:• Drawing/art and writing materials for each

child.• You will need to discuss the ideas of burial and

tombstones with the children. Why do we havethem? What purpose do they serve? What dothe children feel about them?

Introduction: Ask the children the following questions aboutthe tomb:• What do you think it feels like to touch?• Is it damaged or well preserved?• What type of person do you think is buried in

this tomb?• What craftsmen do you think were involved in

the making of the tomb? Do you think it wasexpensive to build? Do you think it was easy tobuild? Why?

• Do you like the design of the tomb? Why?

50

Case Study 6: Tombstones

Resource: Tomb of Rajah Rammohun Roy

Plenary:• At the end of the session ask each group to

present their drawings/rules/diary extract andgive them an opportunity to discuss theirresponses to other peoples’ ideas. All threeactivities could be used to form a displaywithin the classroom.

Activity one:

• Explain to the children that the design of thetomb represents temples from Rammohun’shomeland of India.

• Ask the children to identify a hero –someone they admire and who has donesome special things in their lifetime.

• Ask the children to design a tomb for theirhero. The style of it must reflect somethingabout that person e.g.: their character, job ora special achievement.

• This activity could be extended by asking thechildren to make models of their designs.

Activity two:

• Explain to the children that Rajah RammohunRoy was a very good man who campaignedin India, for poor children to be able to go toschool and to make schools better places forchildren to learn.

• Ask the children to imagine that they are aheadteacher opening a new school. Can theycome up with ten ways to make sure it is ahappy place, where children are able to learnsuccessfully?

• The rules could be illustrated and used tocreate a display.

Activity three:

• Explain to the children that RajahRammohum Roy travelled to Britain by boatin 1881, on a journey that took 5 months. Hebrought with him his son, a cook, a gardenerand two cows!

• Ask the children to use a range of historybooks, the internet and CD-ROMs toinvestigate what a journey on a ship fromthis time would be like. Using thisinformation ask them to write a diary entryfor the Rajah or one of his servants, duringtheir time aboard the ship on their longjourney around the cape.

• Ask them to consider what the conditionswould have been like, how they passed thetime on board ship and how they felt abouttheir journey to a new and unfamiliarcountry.

51

Date of resource: Built 1869Architects: Ponton and GoughResource located: Welsh Back,Bristol HarboursideCD Image: The Granary Building,Welsh Back

Description of resource:This beautiful Victorian building was built in1869 by Ponton and Gough. It has elements ofVenetian, Moorish and Byzantine architectureand uses local bricks from the Cattybrookbrickworks in Almondsbury. The bricks are ofthree colours; red, black and yellow, which istypical of the Bristol Byzantine style. It has sevengrain floors, with many patterned ventilationopenings to aid the drying of the grain.Originally hot air from furnaces in the brickinsulated basements was piped upwards to drythe grain. The ground floor has round exit holesfor the chutes to release the grain. The basementand ground floor now form a restaurant and barand the remainder of the building is divided intoapartments, with an internal light column toprovide additional natural lighting.

Why buildings are useful for a localhistory studyThrough investigating a range of factorsincluding style, materials available, technologicalprocesses, local vernacular features and status,the style and design of buildings can help us tounderstand how people lived their lives in thepast. Buildings can help us build up a picture ofall aspects of life including social, economic,industrial and agricultural.

Resource: The Granary Building, Welsh Back

Investigation 7: Buildings

Techniques and questions foranalysing buildings

1. What materials do you think it is made from?2. Is it damaged or well preserved?3. What type of people do you think used the

building in the past?4. Do you like the design of the building? Why?5. Do you think the building was easy to build?

Why?6. What craftsmen were involved in the design

and construction of the building? 7. Was the building expensive to make? Why?8. Imagine what it would be like to live/work in

the building. Would the children like tolive/work there? Why?

9. Look for oddities in the building andconsider why they might have been includedin the design e.g. the holes in the Granary

10. Has the building been inspired by a buildingfrom the past? The Granary design is madeup of lots of arches that are similar to thoseused at the Coliseum.

11. Has the building changed use? If so, whatother uses has the building had? Whatdifferent types of people used the buildingduring its history?

12. Imagine you are an estate agent who istrying to sell the building. How would youdescribe it?

13. The bricks used in this building were madejust outside Bristol. Consider if using localmaterials is useful. Why?

52

Description: Constructed in 1900 – 01 by Henry Williams,Edward Everard and W.J. Neatby, this building isBristol’s best example of the art nouveaux style.It was built by Henry Williams, but the beautifultiled facade was created by W.J.Neatby. The firstfloor shows Guthenburg and William Morris.Morris revived craft printing in the 1880’s andsymbolised the much hoped for partnership ofart and industry - the Arts and Craft movement.Behind each figure is the typeface which eachman designed and above them is a figure with alamp and a mirror, which symbolised Light andTruth. The local printer who commissioned andprovided the inspiration for the building wasEdward Everard. His name can be seen across thecentre of the building, in the typeface which hedesigned.

Key vocabulary: Art nouveaux – a style of decorative art andarchitecture with complex linear designs andflowing curvesArchitecture – the art of designing buildings/thestyle and design of buildingsArchitect – A person who designs buildings

Support materials: • access to a website or printed copies of

wallpaper designs by William Morris• examples of different typefaces or fonts• access to the internet to research examples of

buildings• www.cabe.org.org/library• www.greatbuildings.com• www.morrissociety.org• www.lbwf.gov.uk/wmg/home

Case Study 7: Buildings


Resource: Edward Everard printing works

Location of resource: Broad Street, Bristol City CentreCD Image: Edward Everard printing works

Outcome of lesson: Children will have produced art and design workinspired by a local historic building. They will also have experience ofinvestigating and discussing a specific example of local architecture.

Class management: Organise the class into three groups. Each groupwill rotate through the different activities

Preparation: You will need:• Plain and squared paper for each child,

drawing materials, lino print materials.• Children should have discussed the difference

between older and newer buildings andlooked at examples of different buildingdesigns through time.

Introduction: Ask the children the following questions aboutthe printing works:• What materials is it made from?• Is it damaged or well preserved?• What do they think it looks like on the inside?• Do they like the design of the building? Why? • Why do the children think there are symbols of

Light and Truth on the printing works? Arethese things important when printing booksand newspapers?

• What craftsmen do they think were involved inmaking the building? Do they think it was aneasy building to build? Do they think it was anexpensive building to build? Why?

53

Case Study 7: Buildings

Resource: Edward Everard printing works

Plenary:• At the end of the session ask each group to

present/feedback their ideas. A display couldbe created showing examples of artisticbuildings, the children’s font designs andexamples of their Morris inspired wallpaperprints.

Activity one:

• The printing works show that buildings don’thave to be dull – they can be creative andinteresting.

• Ask the children to list or research on theinternet other examples of interesting andarty buildings (eg. The work of Gaudi inBarcelona).

• Ask the children to compare the printingworks with their school building – what arethe differences?

• Finally ask the children to give their schoolbuilding an arty makeover – like the printingworks it might include famous people,symbols and decorative patterns.

Activity two:

• William Morris thought that people’s jobsshould be creative and enjoyable. Do thechildren agree? Ask the children to list someexamples of jobs that are creative andinteresting.

• Guthenberg was the inventor of printing andhe, Morris, and Everard each designed theirown typeface (font). Using squared paper,ask the children to produce the alphabet intheir own personal font style, that reflectssomething about them as a person.

Activity three:

• William Morris was a very famous designer.Visit www.morrissociety.org/sanderson.htmland view some of his wallpaper designs.

• Print off some of the designs and ask thechildren to use them as inspiration to createtheir own simple designs.

• The designs can be traced on to pieces offloor lino and used for printing.

• Ask the children to create their ownrepeating wallpaper patterns using their linoprint and a range of paints.

54

Date of resource: 1852Author: Allan GilmourResource located: ss Great BritainCD Image: Allan Gilmour’s diary

Description of resource:This diary was written by Allan Gilmour, a 20year old who left Glasgow with his father andbrother to travel to the Australian gold diggingson the ss Great Britain. They were among manyScots who made the voyage in the hope offinding prosperity and new opportunities inAustralia.

Allan shared a cramped, ill-lit berth in thirdclass accommodation. The dissatisfaction of thirdclass passengers is often mentioned in Allan’sdiary, and was a result of a poor diet andviolence amongst drunken passengers.

As the ship neared Australia, Allan and othergold prospectors started preparing equipmentfor the diggings. Sadly, the Gilmours’ hopes offinding their fortune were blighted by the deathfrom dysentery of Allan’s father after the arrivalof the ss Great Britain in Melbourne. Allan andhis brother returned home soon after.

Why diaries are useful for a localhistory studyThis resource helps children to understand whypeople left their local area in the Victorianperiod to start new lives in the British Empire.Diaries help us to understand more aboutpeople, places and events through the privatethoughts of individuals.

Resource: Allan Gilmour’s diary

Investigation 8: Diaries

Techniques and questions foranalysing diaries

1. Consider why people keep diaries (boredom,recording interesting experiences, somethingto remind them of an event, place or person,a place to record thoughts that they don’twant to share with others etc.).

2. Consider what sorts of things people recordin their diaries e.g. passengers on board thess Great Britain might have written aboutfood, entertainment, a description of the shipand its passengers, the places the shippassed by, their hopes and fears.

3. Describe what is being recorded in the diary.What can you tell about a person, place orevent from reading a diary extract?

4. Hot seat the character writing the diary. 5. Consider the handwriting in the diary. Does

this provide any clues as to the period thediary is from or the status of the personwriting the diary?

6. Consider the language used. What does thistell us about the person writing the diary?

7. Construct a visual image of the person, placeor event from the description in the diary.

8. Consider why diaries may or may not be auseful way to find out about the past andhow people lived.

9. Dramatise the people or events mentioned inthe diary. How does this help with theunderstanding of the key issues writtenabout?

10.Consider what you would need to do to findout more about the diary. Suggestresearching the context of the diary and thekey people/events mentioned in historybooks, maps and on the internet.

55

Description: A diary kept by a first class passenger on boardthe ss Great Britain in 1863.

Key vocabulary: See glossary attached to transcript of the diary.

Support materials: • Encyclopaedias, maps and the Internet to find

out more about Porter’s descriptions.

Case Study 8: Diaries


Resource: Thomas Porter’s diary, 1863

Location of resource: ss Great BritainCD Image: Thomas Porter’s diary 1863

Outcome of lesson: Children will create a pictoral time line of a first class passenger’s experience of life on board the ss Great Britain whichwas designed, built and launched by Isambard Kingdom Brunel in Bristolin 1843.

Class management: Activity one: small group work, activity two:whole class, activity three: 9 groups.

Preparation: You will need:• 2 copies of the original diary extract for each

small group. One diary transcript per child.Sugar paper, pens and pencils for each smallgroup.

• As a class, visit the ss Great Britain and makesketches of areas that a first class passengersuch as Porter would have seen on his voyage(the dining saloon, the weather deck, the firstclass cabins).

Introduction: • Discuss with the children what a diary is and

why people keep them. • Explain that the class will be investigating a

diary kept by a Victorian passenger travellingon the ss Great Britain to Australia in the1860s.

• Ask what sorts of things the person might haveincluded in his diary (e.g. food, entertainment,feelings, hopes etc).

56

Case Study 8: Diaries

Resource: Thomas Porter’s diary, 1863

Plenary:• Collect all the drawings in and peg them to the

class line or stick them to the board. • As a class, read the story of Mr Porter’s journey

on the ss Great Britain. • Discuss whether the drawings and story help to

explain the diary. Is anything lost throughcreating the story board?

• How useful do the children think the diary is asa piece of primary evidence?

• What other information sources would beuseful to use alongside the diary?

Activity one:

Hand out photocopies of the Porter diary toeach group. Explain that it starts half waythrough a four month voyage to Australia. Askthe children to comment on the following:• How the diary is laid out.• The handwriting.• The length of each entry.• Any information they gather through

reading the diary.

Activity two:

• Hand out copies of the diary transcripts tothe class.

• Ask each child to take it in turn to read outloud one day of the diary (from Feb 18th toApril 3rd). Use the glossary to help withmeaning.

• Summarise on the board some of the keyevents that happened to Mr Porter.

• Discuss how it compares with what theyexpected to find.

Activity three:

• Provide each group with 3 diary entries fromFeb 18th to April 3rd. Hand out sugar paper,pens and pencils.

• Explain that each group is going to make avisual representation of their diary extracts.They can either choose one main event fromthe three days, or they can try to show allthree.

• Under the drawing ask them to write a shortdescription in the third person to describethe event, e.g. ‘Mr Porter felt very ill on thess Great Britain. He took a blue pill’.

57

Transcript 8: Diaries

Resource: Thomas Porter’s diary, 1863. Pages 4 – 6

February 1863

18th Another sick headache. Very seedy1. Blue pill

19th Still in the Trades2

20th Getting on pretty well with fair wind. Sick headache

21st Subscription ball3 given by the Bachelorsto the ladies. Very nice. Won a picture ofthe ‘Great Britain’ in a raffle. Gave it to Jenny Newton.

22nd Service4 on deck. Wind died away. First screw5 down.

23rd Passed close to the island of Trinidad6

20-25 south lighted7 at 6am. Passed a large rock uninhabited at 9. Formerly a Portuguese convict settlement.

24th Still going south25th Nothing particular26th Out of hot weather27th Calm – steaming28th Steaming8. Afraid shall be short of coals.

March 1863

1st No wind. Steaming. Service in saloon9

cold on deck.2nd Saw several Albatross10. Could not catch.

Going too fast.3rd Saw other sea birds. Molyhawks, Cape

hens, whale birds and Mother Cary’s chickens. Getting cold wind-favourable 263 north.

4th Saw several whales spouting a short distance off should not recognise one if Isaw him again. Changed our course to East.

5th Nothing particular. Got some whales with sword sticks

6th Saw some whales and sea birds7th Favourable wind but light8th Wind failed. Got steam up. More whales

seen. Service in saloon.9th Very unpleasant wind ahead. Blew hard

in the afternoon. Romance between a captain and a lady. Caught an albatross.

10th Very heavy head wind. Quite a gale in our teeth – drifting seaward. No progress.Continuation of romance.

11th Gale continues till noon. Wind drives round to SW. We near ships and get on our due course at 12 to 14 knots.

29th Expectation of getting to Melbourne on Saturday

30th Steaming NE, wind aft. Expect to get in by Friday

31st Approaching close to Melbourne. Great excitement – splendid run – Glorious evening. Moon beautiful. But Gusty. Split a top-sail11 during the night.

April 1863

1st Sighted a vessel early- proved to be the ‘Kent’ 80 days out. Beat her by 26 miles in 12 hours. We passed her in a gale when she split her Royal12. Very fine sight.Gave a testimonial13 to our captain £56.

2nd Grand ball given by Captain Gray. Went off first rate. Drank his health and had first rate dancing.

3rd After passing through the necessary degree of latitude and longitude on Friday morning April 3rd we sighted Cape Otway and shortly afterwards steamed grandly through the heads at 12am dropped anchor off Sandridge Hudsons Bay and was greeted by Ted Watson, who came on board as soon as we were approachable. At 3pm passed Tigris Cliff Sandy Cliffe wooded with lowscrub down to the beach. Mr Newton and self safely conveyed by Ted to his charming residence on South Yarra14.

1Seedy – ill2Trades – trade winds3Subscription ball – a ball on the ship that passengers had topay to go to.4Service – a religious ceremony on board5Screw – the propeller attached to the engine that was usedto drive the ship forward6Trinidad – Island in the West Indies (An island the shippassed on its route to Australia)7Lighted – provided with goods such as food, from smallerboats, to stock up the ss Great Britain8Steaming – under steam power, rather than sail.9Saloon – first class passenger area. The ‘service’ probablyrefers to a religious service.10Albatross – Huge sea bird11Split a topsail – one of the sails on the ship tore open fromthe strong winds.12Split her Royal – the wind tore open one of the sails on themain mast13Testimonial – money given to the captain to show theirthanks for a safe voyage.South 14Yarra – main river running through Melbourne.

58

Date of resource: 1853Author: Captain ClaxtonResource located: ss Great BritainCD Image: Letter from CaptainClaxton to Brunel

Description of resource:This letter is from Captain Claxton, managingdirector of the Great Western Steam ShipCompany to Brunel. It is a report on the firstvoyage of the ss Great Britain as a steamemigrant clipper, taking passengers to Australiain 1853. The letter describes the journey fromLiverpool to St Helena (off the west coast ofAfrica) where she had to stop to refuel.

Claxton writes about the efficiency of theengine and the problem of coal shortages onboard. Although by now the ss Great Britain wasno longer owned by Brunel and the GreatWestern Steam Ship Company (it had passed toGibbs Bright and Co), Brunel was still interestedin how efficient the vessel was, as it was aroundthis time that he was planning the designs forthe Great Eastern.

This resource helps to explain the history ofthe ss Great Britain, the iron steam ship designedby Brunel and built in Bristol. The letter helps toreveal the different uses of the ship andproblems associated with her.

Why letters are useful for a localhistory studyLetters can be both personal and formal. Theycan contain information about many differentsubjects relating to local history. In the pastletters were a popular and effective means ofcommunication. They could be used to issueinstructions, communicate thoughts and ideas,provide clarification or give personal insightsinto a person, place or event. Letters can revealmuch about a society and its attitudes.

Resource: Letter from Captain Claxton to Brunel

Investigation 9: Letters

Techniques and questions foranalysing letters

1. When was the letter written?2. Who is it to?3. Who is it from?4. What is the letter about?5. Why was the letter written?6. What can you notice about the handwriting

used in the letter? How is it different totoday?

7. What writing materials have been used?8. Read through the letter and underline

which pieces of information are the mostimportant.

9. Consider what you would need to do to find out more about the letter. Suggestresearching the context of the letter and thekey people in the letter (e.g Brunel andClaxton) in history books, maps and on theinternet.

10. Consider what the consequences of theletter might be.

11. Consider if any action needs to be taken as aresult of the letter?

12. Hot seat the characters in the letter13. Consider how useful and reliable letters are

as primary evidence. What other sources is ituseful to look at alongside letters?

14. Dramatise the people affected by the letter.How does this help with the understandingof the key issues written about?

15. Visit places mentioned in the letter to helpput the letter in context.

59

Transcript 9: Letters

Resource: Letter from Captain Claxton to Brunel

Priory BatterieJan 13th 53Capt Claxton on Great Britain’s voyage to Cape

My Dear Brunel1. The Great Britain took on board from nine

vessels 1440 tones of coal (each vesselcheating 10 tons perhaps )

2. She bore up on the 29th day out – making 29 days complete

3. The Engineer kept an account of each daysconsumption of Fue – Oil – Tallow and by thereturn the consumption only reached 40 tonsone day – 39 three or four and was under 30tons several days the average being 32 tonsper diem (per day) which with 32 tons (a littleover one ton a day) for the Galley broughtthe calculated consumption up to the hour ofturning round (in consequence of apprehendedshortness of fuel for accomplishing somethingless than 800 miles of the voyage) to 960 tonsand then there should have remained 480tons!!! instead of which the quantityestimated as remaining was less than 200 tonsand after allowing 20 tons per diem whilerunning back five days before a gale or alwayshigh wind proved to be 172 tons only – therehaving been measured 72 tons at St Helenabefore they began to coal – and wood and100 tons expended. How are we to accountfor the deficiency 308 tons?

I always found taking one time with anotherthat the Great Western made away with from 8-10 per cent more coal that the engineersaccounted for – Neither on arriving at New Yorknor at King Road nor Liverpool were the remainsanything like what they ought to have been by50 or 60 tons – when we ought by theexpenditure calculation to have found 100 tonsleft we found 40 – and after a rapid passage wenever found 100 tons even after starting with600 and the estimated expenditure under 400tons 33 – 34 – a 35 tons per diem.

Let us allow ten per cent for1st short delivery2nd dirt3rd dust

4th small stuff carried away by the draft5th clinkers

on say 1300 tons or 130 tons to be taken fromthe quantity of 1440 tons which belonged to thevoyage up to the time of bearing up and we arestill deficient 178 tons – which one must add tothe consumption – rather over 6 tons per diemfor the 29 days or 38 tons per diem instead ofthe average calculated by the engineers – 32 tonsand by no means an extravagant expenditurewith the Great Britain’s boilers and fire surface –both so much beyond the old Great Western’s –while there is no great difference in theconsumption. To be sure there never were thewhole number of boilers at work at the sametime- 5 of her 6 being in use about one fourth of the time and 4 the other 21 days the pressurevarying between 9 and 12 lbs.

I can make no comparison with distances run.I suspect Matthews kept sailing with scant windsand so got farther West than he ought and quiteaway from the coast he ought to have hugged ashe was to touch at the cape so as to have takenadvantage of its shelter against the only wind hehad to dread S East – the prevailing one up to 30S Lat so for comparison let us suppose he hadcovered 6000 miles – half that being the NewYork voyage.

The time occupied and the coals expendedagree as near as may be with the earlierperformances of the Great Western- but are veryfar behind (in the time passed) the GreatBritain’s own performance to and from New York– doing which 6000 miles she was under 23 days– the inference to be derived from which fact isthis – that with anything like luck steamers willmake better passages in high and boisterouslatitudes – than in low or light airs and calmlatitudes – and with luck against them worsen !!!between 23 north and 23 south 46 degrees attimes light airs all ____ 46 degrees!! Not far shortof half the voyage to the Cape is a long distancefor auxiliary screws

Yours trulyC.Claxton

60

Description: A letter that describes a passenger’s voyage toAustralia on the ss Great Britain.

Key vocabulary: Australia, transport, melancholy, engineer, log,

merchant, nautical, Cape of Good Hope, StHelena, steam engine.

Support materials: • a class set of world maps.

Case Study 9: Letters


Resource: Edward Towle’s letter to ‘dear Mary’ 1852

Location of resource: ss Great BritainCD Image: Edward Towle’s letter

Outcome of lesson: Children will understand the value of using letters asa historical resource. They will understand that steamships were aninnovative form of transport in the Victorian period that enabled peopleto travel further and faster than they had before. Children willempathise with characters from history and be able to interprethistorical events through drama. They will understand about life onboard the Bristol-built ss Great Britain.

Class management: Activity one: pairs, Activities two and three:groups of four.

Preparation: You will need:• a copy of the original letter for each child. • A blank map of the world for each child. • A set of character cards (either ‘Dinner with

the captain’ or ‘The coal crisis’) for each group.

Introduction: Hand out copies of the original letter and themaps. Write on the board 5 challenges from thelist below and ask the children to find theanswers by studying the letter. 1.Who is the letter addressed to and who is it

from?2.Where was it sent from? (Ask the children to

locate where the passenger was writing fromon a blank map. Can they work out the routethe ship was taking to Australia?).

3.Which city did the ss Great Britain leave from?4.Can you discover why she didn’t leave from

Bristol, where she was built?5.Find one thing you notice about how the letter

has been written (handwriting, spacing, lengthof sentences, tone, written at sea or on land).Ask the children to feedback their responses.

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Case Study 9: Letters


Plenary:Discuss with the children:• How useful letters are as a historical source? • What other sources would be useful to look at

alongside the letter? (Diaries, maps,information about conditions on boardVictorian steam ships).

• Did dramatising the letter help with theirunderstanding of the letter?

• Would their scenes/hot-seating be a reliablesource of evidence for what happened toEdward Towle?

Activity one:

Hand out the transcripts of the letter. With theclass read through the letter. Stop after eachparagraph and ask the children to underline/highlight the key information. Brainstorm with the class the main points fromthe letter. For example:• The ship ran out of coal and had to turn back

to St Helena to re-fuel.• The passengers were annoyed that their

journey was delayed. • The writer had dinner with the captain.

Ask the class to suggest which parts of theletter could be dramatised.

Activity two:

• Explain to the class that they are going towrite and act out 2 key scenes from theletter: the coal crisis and the dinner with thecaptain.

• Divide the class into groups of four and givehalf ‘coal crisis’ character cards and half‘dinner with the captain’ character cards.

• Ask the groups to write a mini scene basedon the characters and the situation.

• Where groups are more confident, they cancreate their own characters and improvisethe scene.

Activity three:

• Ask the groups to present their scenes backto the class.

• An alternative would be to ‘hot-seat’ someof the characters from the scenes, e.g. achild/teacher goes into character as thecaptain and the class asks him/her questions.

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Transcript 9: Letters

Resource: Edward Towle’s letter ‘dear Mary’ 1852

As this is the first land we have touched uponsince leaving Liverpool I thought it right to senda few lines to you to assure you of our ownsafety more particularly as we ought now tohave been at the Cape instead of St Helena, thereason of which I am about to explain to you. Itappears there has been some strange mistake, adeception in some quarter about the quantity ofcoal put on board this ship, it was stated in theengineers log to have been 14,00 ton, and acareful account was kept of the quantity consumedevery day, we proceeded on our journey towithin 70 000 miles of the Cape where we expectto arrive within 4 days, you must know that wehad opposed to us the south easterly tradewinds…this wind increased to a gale until it wasfound that we could make no head way againstit unless we employed the full steam powerwhich we had not made use of at present, buton examining the stock of coals we found wehad only 200 ton left instead of 500 as appearedby the engineers log. What was to be done?

We had two merchant captains on board, acouncil was called of the officers to whichnautical gentlemen were invited and it wasunanimously decided upon running with thewind and current to St Helena to get a supply ofcoals a distance of 1100 miles back again. Wewere 23.24 south lat 9.47 so you will see by themap exactly where we were, it was Sep 10 whenwe turned back and we arrived at St Helena 11o’clock on Thursday Sep 23, and it will be aboutOct 1 before we reach the Cape. This will cause adelay in our own voyage of actually 10 or 20days and the loss to Gibbs Bright & Co, who Isuppose must have deceived the captain as tothe supply of coal, will at least be £5000. Coal isonly £4 per ton at St Helena and we shall wantabout 800 tons. The passengers are veryindignant with the owners who have filled a partof the vessel with merchandise instead of coal, aslashing article in our journal (for we have aweekly newspaper on board) has been writtenon the subject which has caused the captain tohand over an official statement on the subjectthe facts of which I have just stated, leavinghowever the passengers to decide what partieshave been most to blame. I do not knowwhether this letter written from a place much

nearer home than the Cape and sent perhaps aweek earlier by some sailing vessel than theletters we shall forward from the Cape will reachyou as soon as our Cape despatches.

...We are both pretty well and we havenothing to do but to eat drink and sleep and ascomfortable as persons can be on board ship, asour voyage has been extended I shall be obligedto have a washing day very soon, the shirts willdo very well with an ironing. I shall tell you nomore news as it will be but a recapitulation ofevents already mentioned in my journal. There isa great deal of gambling, drunkenness andwickedness going on on board but we arefortunately placed among parties who are notmuch addicted to it, jolly fellows but who keepwithin bounds, men chiefly from theneighbourhood of Manchester, in fact our tableis called the Manchester table and the ReformClub, there are about 15 of us, the captainjoined us yesterday evening ordered somechampagne for us and we passed a very pleasantevening. He retired after being most heartilycheered and said ‘we were the noisiest set ofbeggars he ever met within his life’. In fact ourtable is getting quite notorious and the envy ofthe whole ship for they say we manage to obtainthe best provisions, we eat more, drink more,sleep more than any party on board the ship. Ithink I am the only exception to this general ruleat this table for I have occasionally fits ofmelancholy which I cannot shake off, I look toomuch into the future, nevertheless there is notscarcely a man at our own table who does notupset me or who does not offer me anything hemay have, to share his grog or his wine of whichI partake very sparingly. Give my love to mymother and all those you think are deserving ofit and if any important event happens atBournemouth be sure to write some word,directing all my letters to the care of Mr ThomasTowle, remember me also to Charles tell him Ishall write to him from the Cape

Yours faithfullyEdward

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Character cards and scenarios 9: Letters


No Coal!

Scenario: The ship is running out of coal! There shouldhave been enough coal on board for the ship totravel all the way to the Cape of Good Hope inSouth Africa, but the ship has had to turn backto refuel in St Helena. The voyage to Australiahas been delayed by up to 20 days.

Characters:Edward Towle: You are upset about the delay to the journey. You believe the captain has beenlied to about the quantity of coal on board.

Mary Hopkins: You are angry that you will belate to see your family in Australia. However youhave been suffering from sea-sickness and arelooking forward to resting on dry land for awhile.

Captain Matthews: It is your job to try to keepthe passengers calm and explain why the ship isshort of coal.

Mr Andrews: You are one of the ship’s officersand believe it would be best to continue sailingto South Africa. You argue that even if the shipruns out of coal, she could sail there.

Dinner with the captain

Scenario: The captain has joined some of the first classpassengers for dinner in the dining saloon.

Characters:Edward Towle: You are proud but nervous to besitting with the captain. You hope to find outfrom him what life in Australia will be like as you have some concerns.

Tom Smithe: You are a rowdy passenger fromManchester. You like to drink and tell jokes andstories about other passengers on board.

Captain Matthews: You are concerned about theamount of drunkenness and gamblinghappening on board, but are soon softened upby sharing a drink with Tom!

Matthew Cloud: You are working your passageto Australia as a steward and have to wait onthe passengers. You are concerned that there is a storm brewing but you can’t get thepassengers and captain to listen.

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Date of resource: 1940 – 1944Photographer: Jim FaceyResource located: Bristol RecordOfficeCD Image: Bomb damage inStafford Street, Bedminster

Description of resource:This photograph shows the destruction done toStafford Street, Bedminster, during one of theWWII bombing raids. There were six major raidsbetween 24th November 1940 and 11th April1941. This period in the city’s history has becomeknown as the Bristol Blitz. Bristol was a target for German bombing for 2reasons:1. Bristol was a port city.2. Factories in the north of the city were

producing aircraft and aero-engines.The Bristol Blitz claimed nearly 1,300 lives. 3,305people were injured and 2,295 homes weredestroyed.

Why photographs are useful for alocal history studyPhotographs can provide useful visual referencesfor charting change in a local area over time(usually a period of about 100 years).Photographs often depict the ‘ordinary’ andprovide a useful glimpse of everyday life, e.g.people, local streets, events, buildings andmethods of transport.

Resource: Photograph of bomb damage in StaffordStreet, Bedminster

Investigation 10: Photographs

Techniques and questions foranalysing photographs

1. What is the photograph describing?2. What sounds and smells could you describe

in the photograph?3. If the photograph is taken in black and

white, what colours would have beenpresent in the real scene?

4. Why was the photograph taken? Does itprovide a record of an event or location?What other reason could there be for takingthe photograph?

5. Find the actual spot where the photographwas taken and take a contemporary image,if possible. How has the area changed?

6. Use a series of photographs of the samelocation (or event) to chart its change overtime. What can this tell us about our localarea?

7. Use a series of photographs of a particularlocation and place them in chronologicalorder. What criteria were employed for thepositioning of the photographs?

8. Compare a photograph to a painting orwritten source of the same location or event.What are the differences and similarities?What can this tell us about the reliability ofusing only one source?

9. Consider the reliability of photographs as anhistorical source.

10. Consider who might have taken thephotograph. Does this have an effect on itsreliability as an historical source?

11. What do things in the photograph tell usabout our area in the past i.e. transport,costume, hairstyles, buildings, objects,shopping etc.

12. Compare and contrast photographs ofdifferent areas during similar historicalperiods. How is/was your local area similaror different to other parts of the city?

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Description: This photograph was taken by Jim Facey, anEvening Post photographer. He recorded manyimages of Bristol’s destruction during World WarTwo. The Granary on Princes Wharf was built inthe 1880’s. It was used for grain storage until itwas bombed on the evening of 3rd January1941. Like several other dockside locations theGranary was on a list of Luftwaffe targets. Afterthe war Princes Wharf was redeveloped as ageneral cargo handling wharf and two transit

sheds (L and M shed) were erected. After thedecline of the docks in the 1970’s the transitsheds were redeveloped. They became BristolIndustrial Museum.

Key vocabulary: Granary, Wharf, Blitz, Luftwaffe, blackout.

Support materials: • www.bristolblitzed.org • Modern maps of Bristol

Case Study 10: Photographs


Resource: Photograph of bomb damage to the Granary,Princes Wharf

Location of resource: Bristol Record Office, courtesy of the Facey CollectionCD Image: Photograph of bomb damage to the Granary, Princes Wharf.Tramways map

Outcome of lesson: Children will present an account of the bombing ofthe Granary using photographic and oral history evidence. They willdevelop a greater understanding of the impact of the Second World Waron their local area. Children will develop historical enquiry, analysis andorganisation and communication skills.

Class management: Activity one: small groups, Activity two: smallgroups, Activity three: small groups.

Preparation: You will need:• A copy of the photograph and Tramways map

for each group. • Copies of personal accounts of the Bristol Blitz

(from the bristolblitzed website) for eachgroup.

• Paper and pencils for each child.

Introduction: Ask the children the following questions aboutthe photograph:• What is the photograph describing?• Can you tell when the photograph was taken?

What evidence do you have for your answer?• What could have caused the damage?• Why was the photograph taken?• Who might have taken the photograph?

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Case Study 10: Photographs

Resource: Photograph of bomb damage to the Granary,Princes Wharf

Plenary:

At the end of the session discuss with thechildren:• How useful the photograph was as a piece of

historical evidence.• What information the photograph did not

provide.• Why the port of Bristol was a target for

German bombers.• What impact this had on other parts of the city• the significance of the River Avon to the

Luftwaffe.• What the children have learnt about Bristol

during WWII.

Activity one:

Provide each group with a copy of thephotograph and a copy of the Tramways map.Ask the children to locate the Granary on themap. You may need to use a modern mapshowing the location of Bristol IndustrialMuseum and transfer the information to theTramways map.

Using the Tramways map ask the children:• to list reasons why this area was a target for

German bombers during WWII.• to identify a physical feature on the map

that German bombers could follow evenduring the blackout.

• why the location of the docks could be adanger for other areas of the city?

Activity two:

• Provide each group with a selection of oralhistory transcripts and a copy of thephotograph.

• Ask the children to read the transcripts tofind out what it was like to experience aBlitz.

• Explain to each group that they are going toprepare a short news bulletin describing thebombing of the Granary.

• Discuss with the class what informationshould be contained in the bulletin i.e.factual information relating to the event,why the Granary was a target, a sensorydescription of the scene (sounds and smells),interviews with those involved, theconsequences of the event.

Activity three:

• Using the photograph and information fromthe transcripts, ask each group to preparetheir bulletin and then present it to the classin the style of a news reporter.

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Date of resource:7th December 1940Author: not knownResource located: Bristol ReferenceLibrary CD Image: Bristol Evening Post:Emergency Bulletin, 7th December1940

Description of resource:This is a typescript covering the report of an airraid on Bristol. The production of the EveningPost was disrupted by the air raid and thenewspaper was unable to produce its normalnewspaper format. The report concentrates onthe heroism of the Bristolians under fire. It isinterested in the rescue attempts and not thehorror of the event. The date and event it coversis particularly momentous and very important forthe study of World War II. It provides an insightinto how Bristol was affected by the war.

Why newspapers are useful for a localhistory studyNewspapers are always a very useful resource forstudying local history. They can provide detailsand descriptions of local people, places andevents in the past. Newspapers also carry advertsfor local shops and businesses no longer inexistence.

Resource: Bristol Evening Post: Emergency Bulletin, 7th December 1940

Investigation 11: Newspapers

Techniques and questions foranalysing newspapers

1. Read the document and examine theinformation it contains.

2. Establish when it was written and what washappening at the time.

3. Examine how the language differs to today.A wartime newspaper will includepropaganda.

4. Does the format differ from a modernnewspaper?

5. Compare how the event is covered withanother newspaper of the time.

6. If the event is well known it is useful toconsider what has been left out. In this articlethe number of casualties and interviews withpeople caught in the raid are not included.

7. Consider how the event would have beenreported today or covered differently. Aninteresting comparison for this report couldbe the terrorist attack in London 7th July2005.

8. Identify the locations referred to in thereport.

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Description: Photograph of crowds on the Centre in the earlyhours of the morning taken from the Victory inJapan edition of the Evening Post.

Key vocabulary: VJ day, reporter.

Support materials: • Information about VJ day.• Pictures of street parties from the end of World

War Two.

Case Study 11: Newspapers


Resource: Bristol Evening Post: Wed August 15th 1945

Location of resource: Bristol Reference LibraryCD Image: Bristol Evening Post Wed August 15th 1945

Outcome of lesson: Children will learn how people in Bristol celebratedthe end of WWII. They will understand how news was communicated toa mass audience in a time before television was commonplace. Childrenwill have the opportunity to develop historical enquiry and analysis skillsusing primary sources.

Class management: Activity one: whole class, Activity two: in pairs,Activity three: individual work.

Preparation: You will need:• Paper and pencils for each child.

Introduction: The children need to be familiar with the historyof World War II and the period at the end of thewar.

Explain to the children the context of thephotographs. Ask the children the followingquestions:• What is the date and location of the

photographs? • How would the news have been announced

i.e. by radio, word of mouth and headlines innewspapers?

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Case Study 11: Newspapers

Resource: Bristol Evening Post: Wed August 15th 1945

Plenary:At the end of the session ask the children to:• Share their reports.• think how the children of this period

celebrated?• Discuss how we might celebrate today at the

end of a major war. Would it be any different?Where would they go to celebrate?

Activity one:

As an analytical exercise ask the children tothink of 6 – 10 questions which would beuseful to examine this resource i.e.• The combination and relative numbers of

men and women. • Why are so many people gathered at 4am?• Why are there no children?• Why is there an American flag?• Do the clothes and hairstyles date this

resource?

Activity two:

• Ask the children to look carefully at thepeople in the photographs and ask thechildren to write down ten words thatdescribe what they think it was like to bethere.

• Ask the children to create speech bubbles forsome of the people in the photographs.

Activity three:

Ask the children to be a news reporter at thescene. They should: • explain the background to the photograph.• describe the atmosphere.• interview some of the people and ask them

how their lives will change.

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Date of resource: 1851Author: Census enumeratorResource located: Bristol RecordOfficeCD Image: Census return forBitton, Gloucestershire

Description of resource:The example shown is the 1851 census for Bitton,Gloucestershire.

Census returns were created as a way ofrecording population levels and distribution,occupations and migration.

The first comprehensive census of thepopulation of the United Kingdom was taken in1801, and a census has been taken every 10 yearssince then, with the exception of 1941. The headof each household or institution was responsiblefor providing information about each personstaying there on census night.

The 1841 census was the first to collectpersonal details (the earlier ones were simplyheadcounts. Details of individuals were notkept), so for the purposes of family historyresearch it is regarded as the first.

They were initially viewed with great suspicionand fear by the public. The Poor Law AmendmentAct of 1834 had created the workhouses and thepoor were often interrogated as to their place ofsettlement. If not in the place where they wereliving or trying to claim relief they could be sentback to the parish where they had theirsettlement. This made them wary of givingdetails re. their place of birth to the censusenumerator, in case it was used against them.For this reason some people were not entirelyaccurate with their places of birth and someeven managed to avoid the census completely.

The information given on a census returnvaries and can include: • full name (middle names were not always

shown.)• age (In 1841, the ages of those over 15 were

rounded down to the nearest five years).• marital status (from I851).• relationship to head of household (from 185I).• gender.

• occupation.• place of birth (in 1841, only whether each

person was living in his or her county of birth).• medical disabilities (from I85I).• whether Welsh or English speaking (in Wales

only, from 1891).• whether Manx or English speaking (in the Isle

of Man only, from 1901).

In order to encourage people to divulge allthis detailed information truthfully, the censusrecords are closed to the public for 100 years.The 1901 census is therefore currently the latestavailable.

Why census returns are useful for alocal history studyThe census provides us with a snapshot of thepopulation on a particular night and is a uniquedocument in family and local history researchsince it shows whole family groupings, whileother documents tend to relate to individuals.

Resource: Census return for Bitton, Gloucestershire

Investigation 12: Census Returns

71

Resource: Census return for Bitton, Gloucestershire


Techniques and questions foranalysing census returns

1. The census returns are arranged by address,rather than by individuals’ names, and youtherefore need to have a good idea of whereyour family was living in order to carry outan effective search, it is not enough just toknow their name.

2. Census returns are hand written and difficultto read. It may help to focus on one categoryat first such as names, ages or number ofhouse.

3. Look at the document in its original form andidentify what can be read. Have a transcriptprepared when working on the census.

4. Go through each category i.e. address, name,marital status, age etc. to become familiarwith the document.

5. Data collection and analysis. Analyse acategory; ages, number of children, popularnames. Are there any trends? Are there anydifferences to today?

6. If possible choose a street/area you have aphotograph of from the time of the censusreturn. Walk down the street/area you havechosen. How has it changed?

7. Compare with a census return from a laterdate and investigate how the area changedover time.

8. Interview local elderly people. Although notold enough to be a part of the census returnsthey can sometimes hold valuable memoriesto enhance a local study.

72

James Hopes Head 42 Coal miner

Rachel Wife 40

Charles Son 16 Coal miner

James Son 12 Coal miner

George Son 5 Scholar

Joseph Son 1

Jane Mother 65 widow Pauper agricultural labour’s wife

Isaac England Head 32 Boot and shoe maker

Eliza Wife 31 Boot and shoe binder

Margaret Daughter 7 Scholar

Elizabeth Daughter 4

Albert Son 1

Abraham Short 81 Pauper hatter

Sarah Jeffries Head 60 Pauper hatter’s wife

Samuel Son 23 Coal miner

Edwin Son 16 Coal miner

Elizabeth Magg Head 40 widow Pauper school mistress

John Son 16 Paper packer

Rachael Daughter 15 Paper porter

Edwin son 11 Paper cutter

Resource: Census return for Hamlet of Bitton,Gloucestershire 1851


73

Description: 1881, 1891 and 1901 census returns.

Key vocabulary: Census, marital status, boarder, widow,occupation, scholar.

Support materials: • Maps and photographs of the local area from

the period 1880 – 1901.• Information about Victorian schooldays and

Victorian childhood.• Photographs of Victorian schoolchildren.

Case Study 12: Census Returns


Resource: Census Returns

Location of resource: Bristol Records Office, Bristol Central LibraryCD Image: Censes return 1881, 1891, 1901, Ashton Gate school log book,Ashton Gate admission register, Extract from Bristol Trade Directory,Lavar’s Map

Outcome of lesson: The children will have worked with and analysed arange of primary sources that provide insight into a late Victorian family.They will have collated evidence, selected and combined facts fromprimary sources and produced a written account.

Class management: Activity one: whole class and individual work,Activity two: Whole class and individual work,Activity three: small group work.

Preparation: You will need:• Drawing and writing materials for each child. • 2 Copies of 1880 and 1901 maps for each small

group.

Introduction: To familiarise the children with the documentsshow them the extracts from the census return,log book, admission register and trade directory.Explain to the children:• What each document is and what it can be

used for. • That sometimes the documents do not contain

all the information required.• That sometimes informed guesswork is needed

when researching family history.

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Case Study 12: Census Returns

Resource: Census Returns

Plenary:

Discuss the following questions with the children • How did the area change for the Curtis family?• How was life different for the Curtis family and

the children of today?• How do you think they played? The streets

would have been full of children, the censusreturns show lots of children. Who do youthink their friends were? Their house was notvery big, where do you think all the differentrooms were? Did the children have a bedroomeach?

Activity one:

• Choose one of the census returns andexplore it with the children. Identify eachcolumn and discuss what information thecensus can provide about people in the past.

• Ask the children questions about theinformation contained on the census toreinforce their understanding of the returni.e. ages, names and occupations.

• Identify the Curtis family in the 3 differentcensus returns.

• Ask the children to compile a chart aboutthe Curtis family from information on thecensus return. This could include:NamesAgesAddressOccupations

• Ask the children to draw a picture of thefamily at different stages of the censusreturns. You may wish to refer the childrento photographs of Victorian children.

Activity two:

• Show the children the entry for the Curtischildren in the admission register.

• Discuss with the children what they knowabout the Curtis family so far.

• As a class, read the extract from the logbook.

• Ask the children to produce a diary extract ofa school day for one of the Curtis children.

• The children will need information about aVictorian school day and the activities theymight do before and after school.

Activity three:

• Identify the Curtis’s school and the roadwhere they lived on Lavar’s map.

• Using a modern map of the area, discusswith the children if it is still a rural area witha farm across the road from the school.

• A series of O.S maps for the area show howAshton Gate develops into a thrivingVictorian suburb over the 20 years thecensus returns cover.

• Compare an 1880’s map of the area with acopy of a 1901 OS map and ask the childrento highlight the new buildings,developments etc.

• Using Bristol Trade Directory point out all theshops. They are not there now. North Streetis now the main shopping area. Make a listof the shops. Could they make a shoppinglist for the period? Is there anything missing?

• Follow up this activity with a walk aroundthe area. Ask the children to identify lateVictorian houses and the earlier buildingsand compare what they have discoveredabout this area in the past with what isthere today.

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Ashton Gate School was first built in 1876 and is lucky enough to haveretained some of its originaldocuments and building features.

This study provides primary evidence relating to Ashton Gate School which you can adapt foryour own use. Alternatively, you can use thescheme of work as it is if you want to look at aVictorian Bristol school.

This study combines information provided byan analysis of buildings, school records, censusreturns, trade directories, photographs andmaps. You may find it useful to use the relatedinvestigation sheets as a starting point for howto interpret this type of evidence.

Additionally, this unit could be used inconjunction with the census case study. It is also advised that the children look at theArchitecture Timeline to acquaint themselveswith the different building styles. A modern mapis not included on the CD rom but the A to Zmaps of Bristol provide sufficient detail.

A Local Study of Ashton Gate School

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Date of resource: 1886 – 1892, 1891Author: not knownResource located: Ashton Gate SchoolCD Image: Ashton Gate SchoolAdmission Register, 1886 – 1892,Ashton Gate School Log Book,1891

Description of resource:The first resource is a page from the Ashton GateSchool Admission Register showing entries for 1892.

The second is the Log Book for Ashton GateSchool, 1891, relating to the events happening at the school at that time.

Why school records are useful for alocal history studySchool records include admission registers, logbooks and punishment books. There may also beadministrative records about the running of theschool, such as minute books, correspondence,plans and photographs.

School records enable us to trace the childrenof a particular area. Combined with censusrecords, school records can be useful for bothlocal and family history. Admission records cangive details about when a child was born, wherethey lived, their brothers and sisters, theoccupation of their fathers, which school theyhad attended previously, when they left andsometimes even their post-school history.

The information provided in admission registerscan often be quite detailed and may include resultsof examinations and grades. Together with censusreturns and directories it is possible to produce avery detailed research project into one family.

School log books are a record of the day today events happening in the school. They providedetails of attendance, accidents and illnesses ofthe staff, record holidays, exams, visits, celebrationsand child illnesses and sometimes include copiesof the school inspectors report. They date fromabout 1840 and continue almost up to thepresent day, although the later books are lessdetailed. Few schools still keep log books now.

Punishment books were kept to record the

punishment, usually caning administered tomaintain school discipline. Punishment booksrecord the offence for which punishment was given,as well as the name of the child. These recordsare usually closed to public access for a definedperiod to protect the privacy of the individualsconcerned. Access to more modern school recordsrelating to pupils would also be restricted. Theaccess restrictions can vary depending on thetype of record and it is best to check with thearchive repository concerned before visiting.

Resource: Ashton Gate School Admission Register 1886 – 1892 and Ashton Gate School Log Book 1891

Investigation: School Records

Techniques and questions foranalysing school records

1. Establish the date of the record. Does thehandwriting provide clues as to its age.

2. Prepare a transcript of the record to ease analysis.3. Identify street names and compare them to a

modern map of the area. Do the streets stillexist? If not, what has taken their place?

4. Identify and list the categories of informationrecorded. Consider what other sources could beused to supplement the information e.g. censusreturns and street directories.

5. Calculate how many children are registeredeach year and the age at which they beginschool. Are there any differences in pastadmission patterns to those of today?

6. Using a modern map record which childrenlived at which address. Using this informationspeculate who their friends might have been.

7. Use the records to construct a day in the life ofone of the children.

8. At what age did the children leave school?What were their reasons for leaving? Create achart to show what happened to the childrenafter they left school. Are there any patterns?

9. Using a combination of records, construct acharacter profile for one of the children.

10. Use the information contained in the records todiscuss what lessons would have been like for aVictorian schoolchild. Compare what was beingtaught with what children learn in school today.

11. Are any illnesses logged? Do children todaysuffer from the same illnesses?

12. Consider what information is missing from therecords. What reasons could there be for theomission of certain information?

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iscu

ss h

ow

th

e ch

ildre

n t

hin

k w

e ca

n d

ate

the

sch

oo

l. •

Esta

blis

h t

hat

we

can

use

evi

den

ce t

o h

elp

us.

•

Ask

th

e ch

ildre

n t

o t

hin

k o

f ev

iden

ce t

hat

mig

ht

hel

p.

•Ex

pla

in t

hat

by

the

end

of

the

pro

ject

th

e ch

ildre

n w

ill h

ave

a ve

ryg

oo

d id

ea o

f w

hat

it w

as li

ke f

or

a ch

ild t

o a

tten

d t

he

sch

oo

l wh

enit

was

bra

nd

new

. Fu

rth

er e

xpla

in t

hat

th

e ch

ildre

n a

re g

oin

g t

oco

nd

uct

th

e in

vest

igat

ion

usi

ng

rea

l in

form

atio

n a

bo

ut

real

peo

ple

wh

o a

ctu

ally

live

d in

th

e ar

ea a

nd

wen

t to

th

e sc

ho

ol.

Sup

port

mat

eria

ls:

•Ph

oto

gra

ph

s o

f sc

ho

ols

fro

m d

iffe

ren

t h

isto

rica

l per

iod

s.

•C

op

ies

of

Bri

sto

l map

s to

sh

ow

th

e d

evel

op

men

t o

f an

are

a (O

.S.

map

s ar

e av

aila

ble

fro

m t

he

libra

ry).

•

Pho

tog

rap

hs

of

Vic

tori

an c

hild

ren

.

A S

tudy

of a

Bri

stol

sch

ool

Reso

urce

: Ash

ton

Gat

e Pr

imar

y S

choo

l

CD

imag

es: P

ho

tog

rap

hs

of

Ash

ton

Gat

e Sc

ho

ol,

Lava

r’s

map

, Cen

sus

retu

rns

for

Gre

enw

ay B

ush

Lan

e18

81, 1

891

and

190

1, A

shto

n G

ate

Log

Bo

ok,

Ash

ton

Gat

e A

dm

issi

on

Reg

iste

r.

Info

rmat

ion

ab

ou

t A

shto

n G

ate

Prim

ary

Sch

oo

l: A

Vic

tori

an b

oar

d s

cho

ol b

uilt

in 1

876

to p

rovi

de

edu

cati

on

fo

r lo

cal c

hild

ren

ag

ed 3

to

14

year

s. A

shto

n G

ate

had

bee

n a

larg

ely

rura

l are

a o

n t

he

ou

tski

rts

of

Bri

sto

l un

til t

his

per

iod

wh

en it

exp

erie

nce

d a

bu

rst

of

gro

wth

. Man

y o

f th

e o

rig

inal

ho

use

san

d s

tree

ts r

emai

n a

nd

th

e sc

ho

ol s

till

reta

ins

man

y o

f it

s V

icto

rian

fea

ture

s.

con

tin

ued

ove

rlea

f

▲

78

A S

tudy

of a

Bri

stol

sch

ool

Reso

urce

: Ash

ton

Gat

e Pr

imar

y S

choo

l

Arc

hit

ectu

re

Map

s

To r

eco

gn

ise

feat

ure

sch

arac

teri

stic

of

a p

erio

d.

To b

e ab

le t

om

ake

com

par

iso

ns

acro

ss t

ime.

• Sh

ow

th

e ch

ildre

n p

ictu

res

of

the

dif

fere

nt

sch

oo

ls s

o t

hat

th

ey c

an e

stab

lish

wh

at f

eatu

res

to lo

ok

for

in t

hei

r o

wn

sch

oo

l in

ord

er t

o d

ate

it.

•D

iscu

ss w

hic

h c

lues

will

hel

p e

.g. w

ind

ow

s, c

him

ney

s, b

rick

wo

rk a

nd

dec

ora

tio

n.

• D

iscu

ss w

hat

is o

ld a

nd

new

in t

he

clas

sro

om

e.g

. win

do

ws,

rad

iato

rs,

wh

iteb

oar

d a

nd

des

ks.

•Se

lect

on

e fe

atu

re in

th

e cl

assr

oo

m a

nd

sh

ow

th

e ch

ildre

n h

ow

to

dra

w a

nd

lab

el it

. In

sm

all g

rou

ps

go

ro

un

d t

he

sch

oo

l an

d id

enti

fy a

nd

dra

w a

ny

feat

ure

s w

hic

h d

ate

the

sch

oo

l.•

Ash

ton

Gat

e h

as t

wo

dat

ed s

ton

es b

uilt

into

th

e w

alls

. 187

6 an

d 1

881.

• B

egin

wit

h t

he

mo

der

n m

ap a

nd

ask

th

e ch

ildre

n t

o t

ry t

o id

enti

fy p

lace

sth

ey k

no

w i.

e. t

he

sch

oo

l an

d m

ayb

e th

eir

ho

mes

. •

Talk

ab

ou

t th

e ch

ildre

n’s

wal

k to

sch

oo

l.•

Ask

ho

w t

hey

th

ink

it h

as c

han

ged

sin

ce t

he

sch

oo

l was

bu

ilt.

• D

iscu

ss h

ow

old

th

e sc

ho

ol i

s an

d w

hat

th

ey t

hin

k w

as t

her

e b

efo

re t

he

sch

oo

l was

bu

ilt?

• O

n a

n O

HP

sho

w a

pro

gre

ssio

n o

f O

.S. m

aps

of

the

area

an

d d

iscu

ss t

he

chan

ges

.•

Wit

h t

hei

r o

wn

map

s, a

sk t

he

child

ren

to

iden

tify

th

eir

rou

te t

o s

cho

ol o

n a

1901

O.S

. map

.•

Ask

th

e ch

ildre

n t

o id

enti

fy 4

-6 d

iffe

ren

ces

on

th

e ro

ute

an

d r

eco

rd t

hem

by

dra

win

g a

vie

w o

r w

riti

ng

a d

escr

ipti

on

. •

Use

th

e 18

97 B

rist

ol T

rad

e D

irec

tory

sh

ow

ing

Gre

enw

ay B

ush

Lan

e. Il

lust

rate

the

road

to

be

a th

rivi

ng

co

mm

erci

al c

om

mu

nit

y.

The

Sch

oo

l bu

ildin

g.

Pho

tog

rap

hs

of

Ash

ton

Gat

e Sc

ho

ol.

A m

od

ern

map

A r

ang

e o

f m

aps

toco

ver

the

deve

lopm

ent

of

the

area

e.g

.Ti

the

map

s an

d

O.S

map

s.

A 1

901

map

of

the

loca

l are

aC

op

ies

of

a m

od

ern

map

of

the

area

.

Bri

sto

l Tra

de

Dir

ecto

ry.

Aim

sEv

iden

ceA

ctiv

ity

Res

ourc

e

79

Cen

sus

retu

rns

Log

bo

oks

,re

gis

ters

an

dp

ho

tog

rap

hs

To in

terp

ret

do

cum

enta

ryev

iden

ce a

nd

mak

eo

bse

rvat

ion

s.

To a

nal

yse

dif

fere

nt

evid

ence

an

dd

raw

con

clu

sio

ns.

• Sh

ow

th

e ch

ildre

n t

he

1881

cen

sus

retu

rn a

nd

exp

lain

wh

at in

form

atio

n it

can

pro

vid

e.•

Rea

d t

he

ori

gin

al t

og

eth

er a

nd

th

en p

rin

t it

ou

t. D

iscu

ss t

he

nam

es, a

ges

,an

d n

um

ber

of

peo

ple

in a

ho

use

.•

Iden

tify

Gre

enw

ay B

ush

Lan

e o

n t

he

map

s an

d e

xpla

in w

her

e th

e ro

ad is

. U

se T

he

Bri

sto

l Tra

de

Dir

ecto

ry t

o d

escr

ibe

wh

at t

he

road

was

like

. Dis

cuss

wit

h t

he

child

ren

th

e o

ccu

pat

ion

of

the

resi

den

ts•

Ask

the

chi

ldre

n to

cho

ose

a fa

mily

and

fill

in t

he d

etai

ls p

rovi

ded

on t

he c

ensu

s.•

Ask

th

e ch

ildre

n t

o f

eed

bac

k th

e in

form

atio

n a

bo

ut

thei

r fa

mily

.

• Sh

ow

ph

oto

gra

ph

s o

f V

icto

rian

ch

ildre

n t

o t

he

clas

s. E

xpla

in t

hat

we

hav

e n

on

ames

fo

r th

ese

child

ren

. Dis

cuss

wh

at t

hey

are

wea

rin

g a

nd

wh

y th

ey a

ren

ot

smili

ng

. •

Exp

lain

th

at w

e ca

n u

se o

ther

fo

rms

of

evid

ence

wit

h t

he

ph

oto

gra

ph

s to

fin

d o

ut

wh

at li

fe w

as li

ke f

or

thes

e ch

ildre

n.

• A

s a

clas

s, r

ead

th

e lo

g b

oo

ks a

nd

reg

iste

r ex

trac

ts a

nd

dis

cuss

wh

atin

form

atio

n t

hey

pro

vid

e.•

Loo

k at

th

e p

ho

tog

rap

hs

agai

n a

nd

dis

cuss

:th

e ch

ildre

n’s

dre

ss, e

mo

tio

ns,

nu

mb

er o

f ch

ildre

n in

th

e cl

ass,

wh

at is

up

on

the

wal

ls, h

ow

th

e ch

ildre

n a

re s

eate

d e

tc.

• A

rran

ge

the

roo

m a

s a

Vic

tori

an c

lass

roo

m a

nd

hav

e a

pre

ten

d le

sso

n i.

e.h

and

wri

tin

g a

nd

su

ms.

•Fi

nis

h b

y ta

kin

g a

mo

der

n a

nd

Vic

tori

an p

ho

tog

rap

h o

f th

e ch

ildre

n.

Cen

sus

retu

rns

for

1881

, 189

1 an

d 1

901

for

sin

gle

str

eet.

Bri

sto

l Tra

de

Dir

ecto

ry.

Pho

tog

rap

hs

of

Vic

tori

an c

hild

ren

.A

shto

n G

ate

Log

Bo

ok.

Ash

ton

Gat

eA

dm

issi

on

Reg

iste

r.

Aim

sEv

iden

ceA

ctiv

ity

Res

ourc

e

80

This unit provides a scheme of work toenable children to search for evidenceof the streets, churches, castle andwalls of medieval Bristol. Includedwithin the unit are pre-visit activities,a Castle Park evidence trail and linksto photographs and maps containedon the accompanying CD rom.

This unit is designed as a local history project.It could be adapted to suit schools in other areas.

In addition to the suggested pre-touractivities this unit could be used in conjunctionwith the building case study, the painting casestudy of Broad Quay and the map investigation.It is also advised that the children look at theArchitecture Timeline to acquaint themselveswith the different styles of architecture that theywill see on the trail. A modern map is notincluded but the A to Z maps of Bristol providesufficient detail.

Investigating Medieval Bristol

81

Med

ieva

l Bri

stol

pre

-tra

il a

ctiv

itie

s

The

aim

of

thes

e ac

tivi

ties

is t

o f

amili

aris

e ch

ildre

n w

ith

dif

fere

nt

typ

es o

f ev

iden

ce a

nd

eq

uip

th

emw

ith

th

e sk

ills

req

uir

ed t

o id

enti

fy m

edie

val c

har

acte

rist

ics

in a

set

tlem

ent.

On

ce t

hey

hav

e es

tab

lish

edB

rist

ol’s

med

ieva

l fo

un

dat

ion

s th

e ch

ildre

n c

an p

hys

ical

ly d

emo

nst

rate

th

eir

fin

din

gs

by

wal

kin

g t

he

pla

n o

f th

e m

edie

val c

ity.

Plac

e n

ames

Map

s

Map

s an

dp

lace

nam

es

Ch

ildre

n w

ill d

evel

op

an u

nd

erst

and

ing

of

• Th

e o

rig

ins

of

pla

cen

ames

.•

The

ori

gin

s o

f st

reet

nam

es.

Ch

ildre

n w

ill d

evel

op

an u

nd

erst

and

ing

of

the

gro

wth

of

Bri

sto

lth

rou

gh

inve

stig

atin

ga

pro

gre

ssio

n o

fm

aps.

Ch

ildre

n w

ill d

evel

op

an u

nd

erst

and

ing

of

ho

w t

o f

ind

th

em

edie

val h

eart

of

Bri

sto

l usi

ng

map

san

d p

lace

nam

es.

Dis

cuss

wit

h t

he

child

ren

th

e va

rio

us

spel

ling

s o

f B

rist

ol.

Ho

w h

as t

he

nam

eev

olv

ed f

rom

th

e ‘m

eeti

ng

pla

ce b

y th

e b

rid

ge’

to

Bri

gg

esto

we?

Dis

cuss

ho

w s

tree

t n

ames

evo

lve

and

if t

her

e is

a p

atte

rn e

.g.

•D

escr

ipti

ve: h

ill, g

reen

, hig

h, b

road

, sm

all o

r lo

cal n

ames

. •

Ref

erri

ng

to

a b

uild

ing

or

a fe

atu

re: c

hu

rch

, cas

tle,

mar

ket,

gat

e, w

all.

•D

irec

tio

n: E

ast

Stre

et, L

on

do

n R

oad

.A

sk t

he

child

ren

to

loo

k at

a m

od

ern

map

of

the

cen

tre

of

Bri

sto

l an

dh

igh

ligh

t th

e ab

ove

nam

es e

.g. h

ill, g

reen

etc

.

Wit

h t

he

child

ren

, co

mp

are

the

2 m

aps

chro

no

log

ical

ly (

alth

ou

gh

Lav

ar’s

view

is n

ot

a m

ap it

do

es s

ho

w t

he

ind

ust

rial

an

d s

ub

urb

an g

row

th o

fB

rist

ol)

. O

n c

op

ies

of

Mill

erd

’s M

ap a

sk t

he

child

ren

to

: •

Hig

hlig

ht

the

chu

rch

es.

•H

igh

ligh

t th

e st

reet

s w

ith

nam

es a

s ab

ove

.

Usi

ng

Mill

erd

’s m

ap a

sk t

he

child

ren

to

:•

Fin

d e

vid

ence

fo

r B

rist

ol’s

cas

tle

by

usi

ng

pla

ce n

ame

evid

ence

. Th

e w

all

usu

ally

ext

end

s fr

om

th

e ca

stle

.•

Fin

d t

he

old

str

eets

i.e.

Hig

h S

tree

t, B

road

Str

eet.

•

Fin

d a

ny

‘gat

e’ n

ames

as

thes

e in

dic

ate

the

entr

ance

to

a c

ity

(Mill

erd

has

dra

wn

in p

arts

of

the

wal

l sti

ll ex

isti

ng

).B

y lin

kin

g a

ll o

f th

e el

emen

ts it

is p

oss

ible

to

tra

ce t

he

wal

l on

to a

mo

der

nm

ap.

A li

st o

f th

e va

rio

us

spel

ling

s o

f B

rist

ol.

A m

od

ern

map

of

Bri

sto

l.

Co

pie

s o

f M

iller

d’s

Map

.La

var’

s vi

ew o

f B

rist

ol.

Co

pie

s o

f M

iller

d’s

Map

.

Out

com

e of

less

onTy

pe o

fEv

iden

ceA

ctiv

ity

Res

ourc

es

82

Info

rmat

ion

abou

t th

e in

vest

igat

ion

• Th

is in

vest

igat

ion

is s

uit

ed t

o t

he

sum

mer

ter

m c

ulm

inat

ing

in a

day

vis

it t

o C

astl

e Pa

rk, w

ith

a f

erry

tri

p in

clu

ded

.•

The

inve

stig

atio

n is

aim

ed a

t ye

ar 5

/6.

• Th

e tr

ail r

elie

s o

n a

pp

rop

riat

e le

vels

of

adu

lt s

up

ervi

sio

n a

s th

ech

ildre

n e

nco

un

ter

city

tra

ffic

an

d p

eop

le. T

o g

et t

he

mo

st o

ut

of

this

act

ivit

y a

rati

o o

f 1

adu

lt: 6

ch

ildre

n is

ad

vise

d. A

ris

k

asse

ssm

ent

has

bee

n le

ft f

or

the

sch

oo

l’s ju

dg

emen

t an

d a

pre

-vis

itto

ur

by

the

clas

s te

ach

er is

ad

vise

d. T

he

trai

l tak

es y

ou

aro

un

dap

pro

xim

atel

y h

alf

of

the

wal

l. •

To u

nd

erst

and

th

e m

edie

val r

ou

te t

he

child

ren

can

use

Mill

erd

’sm

ap t

o d

isco

ver

pla

ces

bu

t ad

ult

s w

ill n

eed

a m

od

ern

map

as

wel

l.•

To e

xten

d t

he

trai

l yo

u c

ou

ld e

xplo

re B

ell L

ane,

Th

e Pi

thay

an

dTo

wer

Hill

, all

mar

ked

on

Mill

erd

’s m

ap.

Inve

stig

atin

g M

edie

val B

rist

ol T

rail

Ou

tco

mes

of

less

on

: Ch

ildre

n w

ill d

isco

ver

the

med

ieva

l his

tory

of

Bri

sto

l usi

ng

, map

s, p

ho

tog

rap

hs

and

do

cum

ents

. Th

e st

ud

y cu

lmin

ates

in a

tra

il w

her

e ch

ildre

n c

an t

race

par

t o

f th

e b

ou

nd

ary

of

Bri

sto

l wit

h t

hei

r o

wn

fee

t, p

rovi

din

g t

hem

wit

h a

rea

l fee

l fo

r th

e si

ze o

f a

med

ieva

l cit

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The Discovery Box contains a range of artefacts connected to Bristol’spast. They demonstrate a range oflocal skills and a variety of localindustries.

The artefacts are a mixture of real and replica. All the artefacts can behandled by the children with theexception of the wax seals. A replica of the reverse of the seal has been included for handling.

Information about the artefacts, anartefact investigation sheet and arange of case studies accompany the box.

Images of the artefacts are alsoavailable on the enclosed CD Rom.

Should you discover that any of theartefacts are missing or damagedplease contact the Bristol SchoolsLibrary Service on 0117 9038534.

Welcome

Discovery Box: A Gateway to Bristol’s Past

Contents

1 Ham Green Ware Jug and foursherds.

2 HMS Monnow ship plaque.

3 The common seal of the Burgessesof Bristol c.1275

4 W.D. & H.O. Wills Ltd ‘The Three Castles’ tobacco tin.

5 Letterpress printing block for Franklyn Morgan & Davey‘Corsair’ tobacco.

6 Tea plate from Blaise MansionCafé, made by Pountney & Co, Bristol.

85

Ham Green Ware was a product of a medievalpottery kiln at Pill (Easton-in-Gordano). In themiddle ages, the term Crockerne (crockers’ orpotters’) Pill was applied to this little harbourshowing that it was well known for its ceramicconnection.

The pottery was exported to South Wales andthe east coast of Ireland during the late 12th and13th centuries. The name Ham Green is takenfrom the kiln excavated in the 1950’s in a fieldadjacent to Ham Green hospital. More finds ofwaste pottery were also found in Pill.

Ham Green jugs are green-glazed and oftenhighly decorated with human, animal and floraldesigns over a grooved or hatched background.Strangely they were always hand built not wheelthrown, which together with the liveliness of thedecoration, says much about the skills of thepotters.

Information: Artefacts

Resource: Ham Green Ware

86

As a port city, Bristol has a rich history ofshipbuilding over the centuries. It has producedvessels for both trade and the protection of trade.

When Britain found herself at war in 1939 the ship yards of Bristol turned to producingships that could protect the merchant fleets.H.M.S. Monnow was one of 21 ships built in thecity for this purpose.

The ships plaque, made from brass andmahogany, commemorates the launch of H.M.S.Monnow on 4th December 1943. The ship wasbuilt by Charles Hill & Sons Ltd. and was launchedfrom the Albion Dockyard by Mrs J.A.L. Peck.

H.M.S. Monnow was a River Class Frigate. She was allocated to the Royal Canadian Navyand was based at Londonderry, Northern Ireland.Her job was to patrol for German submarinesand she served in the Atlantic and the Arcticduring 1944-45 and in the North Sea in 1945.

H.M.S. Monnow’s final role in the war was toescort U boats from Norway to Britain. After thewar the ship was sold to the Danish Navy whereshe was re-named H.D.M.S Holger Danske.Holger Danske is the name of a legendarycharacter who lives in the basement of KronbergCastle and comes to the rescue of Denmarkwhen it is under threat.

Charles Hill & Son Ltd. was established in 1845 when Charles Hill took complete control of the Hillhouse-Hill shipbuilding company.Gradually the business moved from makingwooden vessels to adopting the newshipbuilding material of metal.

The shipyard prospered during the SecondWorld War and by the time peace came it wasemploying 1350 men and 60 women, a newarrangement in a traditionally male-dominatedprofession. The shipyards wartime role made it aprime target for German bombing raids and itwas targeted and hit several times.

The ships badges (or plaques) are now theonly remaining evidence of many of the wartimeships produced at Hills. They are, we believe, aunique feature of the shipyard and contain thedistinctive view down the River Avon, with theClifton Suspension Bridge overhead, as well asthe famous motto ‘Shipshape and BristolFashion’, meaning a well built and tidy vessel.

Resource: Ships plaque for H.M.S. Monnow


87

The burgesses’ seal first came in to use in the13th century during the reign of Edward I (1272– 1307). The seal was used to authenticateofficial documents of the Corporation of Bristol,and also the private documents of individualburgesses whose own seals were not wellknown. It remained in common use until 1569when the city of Bristol was granted a crest andsupporters for the civic arms.

The Bristol seal is a double-sided seal. Eachside has four lugs or ear-like projections so thatboth halves can be exactly lined up.

The obverse (front) shows the great stonekeep of Bristol Castle, which was built between1130 and 1150. The castle has two great and twosmall towers and a closed doorway with wavesbelow. In one of the great towers stands atrumpeter. Around the edge the Latin legendreads ‘SIGILLVM: COMMVNE: BVRGENSIVM:BRISTOLLIE’. This translates as ‘The burgesses’seal of the Corporation of Bristol.’

The reverse shows a merchant shipapproaching the castle watergate along the riverAvon. The river is full of fish including a largeeel, possibly a conger eel. In the ship is asteersman at the stern. On the tower stands aman with an upraised finger. The Latin legendaround the edge reads ‘SECRETI: CLAVIS: SV:PORT’ NAVITA: NAVIS: PORTA’ CVSTODIT: PORT’VIGIL: INDICE: PDIT’. This may be translated as, ‘Iam the key of the hidden port. The sailorwatches the port side of the ship. The watchmanpoints out the port with his finger.’


Resource: The Common Seal of the Burgesses of Bristolc.1275

88

The Wills family set up a tobacco business inBristol in 1786. Their company grew through the 19th century to be one of Bristol’s largeremployers, increasing very dramatically in the1880s when they introduced cheap machine-made cigarettes. In 1901, Wills became one ofthe largest partners in Imperial Tobacco. At theheight of their success over 3000 people wereemployed in three large factories around Bristol.They also controlled most of the supportingindustries that were producing cartons, cartonboard, machinery and boxes, and all of theirown warehousing and distribution, so that afurther 1500 people employed in these roleswere dependent on them.

The Wills family were non-conformist andbelieved in treating their employees very well.The company is known for being among the firstto introduce paid holidays for its workforce, andfor providing healthcare and welfare facilities. At the same time, plantations in the USA andCaribbean from which Wills acquired theirtobacco were largely run by slave labour untilthe 1860s.

Tobacco first appeared in Britain in the 1560s. For some time, it was successfully grownin Gloucestershire, but eventually it becameexclusively an import. At first, the most popularform was as pipe tobacco, creating a market forclay pipes. Bristol became an important centrefor their manufacture. Another form of tobaccowas snuff – ground tobacco powder that isinhaled.

In the 1850s, cigars began to appear, butdidn’t become popular until the 1880s. Aroundthe same time, the cigarette made an appearancefrom the Crimean War. By the 1870s, Wills weremaking them by hand – women could makeabout 1500 per day. The Bonsack machine, whichcould make 100 per minute, was introducedfrom America in 1883 and cheap cigarettes –notably the ‘Wild Woodbine’ at five for 1d (one penny) – began to be produced. ‘The ThreeCastles’ brand was introduced in 1878 as a hand-made cigarette and continued to be made untilthe 1960s. This tin contained 100.

By the 1950s almost 80% of the male and50% of the female population smoked. This totalstarted to fall when links between smoking andhealth risks were made in the 1950s and 60s.About 26% of the population smokes in 2006.The local tobacco industry has shrunk too, sothat there is now only one factory atWinterstoke Road producing cigars.


Resource: W.D. & H.O. Wills Ltd ‘The Three Castles’tobacco tin

89

Bristol’s tobacco industry was a very bigemployer from the mid-19th century. Althoughthe industry was dominated by W.D. & H.O.Wills, there were several smaller companies.Franklyn had started a company in the 1780s onWelsh Back, joining with Morgan and Davey in1860. In 1894 Morgan departed, so this printingblock is for tobacco packets printed during that30 year period.

Franklyn Davey & Co became part of ImperialTobacco in 1901 and moved into part of the newfactory on Raleigh Road in Bedminster in 1908.Their small corner of what was an enormousfactory survives today as the Tobacco Factory arts centre.

The Franklyn Davey brand names like ‘Corsair’were kept by Imperial Tobacco until the 1970s.Calling products by a name (branding) waspioneered by Wills for tobacco and Hornimans(in London) for tea in the 1840s; before that,shoppers just bought tea or tobacco!

Almost all the packets for tobacco productsmade in Bristol were printed here too. This blockwill have been used at Mardon Son & Hall, alocal printers that began to specialise in tobaccopackaging in the 1880s. The successors ofMardons still produce vast quantities of tobaccopackaging in Warmley.

The block is a ‘woodcut’, probably made byhand by a skilled craftsman. The design wastransferred to the wooden block and the partsthat will not be printed were carefully cut away.The remaining raised parts accept ink and, whenpressed against paper, transfer a right-way-roundimage. The design will only print in a singlecolour. The block will have been used to producewrappers for half an ounce (12.5 grammes) oftobacco.


Resource: Letterpress printing block for FranklynMorgan & Davey ‘Corsair’ tobacco

90

Bristol has been famous for ceramics – itemsmade of fired clay – for many centuries. Some ofthe earliest successful attempts to makeporcelain – a very fine type of pottery known as‘China’, because it originated there – werecarried out by Richard Champion in the city.

One of the longest lived companies wasPountneys Bristol Pottery. Their survival waslargely due to moving into the market foreveryday pottery and catering ware. They couldtrace their roots to the 1650s and created abrand new pottery at Fishponds in 1905 whichfinally closed in the 1960s. Today, their wares arequite collectable.

This tea plate is part of a crested set made forBlaise Mansion. Blaise Castle House and Park inHenbury was bought by Bristol City Council in1947 and developed as a museum and leisurepark. Pountneys used a standard design andadded a crest to brand the service.


Resource: Tea plate from Blaise Mansion Café, made byPountney & Co, Bristol

91

Date of resource: MedievalMaker: UnknownResource located: Bristol CityMuseum and Art GalleryCD Image: Ham Green Ware Jug

Description of resource:Ham Green Ware was a product of a medievalpottery kiln at Pill (Easton-in-Gordano). In themiddle ages, the term Crockerne (crockers’ orpotters’) Pill was applied to this little harbourshowing that it was well known for its ceramicconnection.

The pottery was exported to South Wales andthe east coast of Ireland during the late 12th and13th centuries. The name Ham Green is takenfrom the kiln excavated in the 1950’s in a fieldadjacent to Ham Green hospital. More finds ofwaste pottery were also found in Pill.

Ham Green jugs are green-glazed and oftenhighly decorated with human, animal and floraldesigns over a grooved or hatched background.Strangely they were always hand built not wheelthrown, which together with the liveliness of thedecoration, says much about the skills of thepotters.

Why artefacts are useful for a localhistory studyArtefacts form part of our world and are oftenimmediately recognisable, no matter what theirage. They provide a means of communicationwith the past that enable children to connect toways of life both similar and different to theirown. Artefacts have the capacity to stimulatecuriosity about different periods in history. Theyprovide an active learning experience andprovide many opportunities for creativity in theclassroom.

Resource: Ham Green Ware Jug

Investigation: Artefacts

Techniques and questions foranalysing artefacts

1. What is the artefact made from? Is it madefrom a natural or manmade material? Canthis help us to date the artefact?

2. Where do the materials come from? Can thistell us anything about industries in the localarea?

3. Is the artefact complete or is part of theartefact missing?

4. Who made the artefact?5. Is the artefact hand-made or machine made?

Does this affect the value of the artefact?6. What skills were needed to make the

artefact and what can this tell us aboutpeople in the past?

7. What was the artefact used for? What canthis tell us about past societies?

8. Where was the artefact used i.e. in thekitchen, dining room, store room etc.

9. Who used the artefact?10. Do we use the same artefact today for a

similar function or do we use a differentartefact? What can this tell us about ourlives and the lives of people in the past?

11. Is the artefact well designed? Could it beimproved?

12. Why does the artefact still exist? Is itvaluable? Are the materials long-lasting?

13. Is the artefact real or is it a replica? Whatcan this tell us about the status, physicalproperties or value of the artefact?

14. Produce closely observed drawings of theartefact which include textural variations,decorative elements, makers marks etc.

92

Description: See accompanying artefact information sheet.

Key vocabulary: Commemorate.

Support materials: • Photographs and postcards of the local area.• Local history books.• Maps of the local area.• Access to local history sites on the internet.• Commemorative items such as plates, mugs,

coins etc.

Artefacts Case Study 1: Celebrating our area


Resource: HMS Monnow ship’s plaque

Location of resource: Discovery boxCD Image: HMS Monnow ship’s plaque

Outcome of lesson: Children will produce a commemorative designrelating to a local person, place or event. Children will develop enquiryand research skills. Children will learn more about a local person, placeor event.

Class management: Activity one: whole class, Activity two: wholeclass (some individual/small group research),Activity three: individual work.

Preparation: You will need:• Art and design materials for producing a

commemorative item. • If using the local environment for activity two

you will need to undertake a risk assessmentand enlist additional adult supervision.

Introduction: Ask the children the following questions:• Why do we commemorate events, people

or places?• why was the plaque produced?• How can we tell what has been

commemorated?

93

Artefacts Case Study 1: Celebrating our area

Resource: HMS Monnow ship’s plaque

Plenary:At the end of the session ask the children:

• To present their commemorative design.• what they have found out about their

local area?• Why they considered it important to

commemorate that particular person, place or event?

• What they think others will learn from theirdesign about the person, place or event theychose to commemorate?

Activity one:

• Show the ship’s plaque to the children andask them to investigate what information iscontained on the plaque.

• Discuss what the plaque tells them about theship and if they think any information ismissing.

• Ask the children to create a list ofinformation that should be included on acommemorative item.

Activity two:

• Investigate your local area and select aperson, place or event to commemorate.

• Use local history books, the internet, thelocal built environment (look for blueplaques on buildings or commemorativestones on buildings, statues, tombstones,memorials etc.), postcards and photographsto aid research.

• If within living memory, ask the children tointerview family and friends about theperson, place or event and feedback theinformation.

Activity three:

• Ask the children to produce acommemorative design for their chosenperson, place or event using their researchand the checklist created earlier.

94


Key vocabulary: Seal, obverse (the front of the seal), reverse (the back of the seal), contemporary, legend (the wording around the outside of the seal).

Support materials: • Images of Bristol past and present.• Bristol timeline.• Overview of Bristol’s history.

Artefacts Case Study 2: Design a Seal for Bristol


Resource: Bristol Seal

Location of resource: Discovery boxCD Image: Bristol Seal

Outcome of lesson: Children will produce a design for a new Bristol sealbased on their understanding of the city’s past and contemporary history.

Class management: Activity one: whole class, Activity two: smallgroups, Activity three: individual work.

Preparation: You will need:• Drawing paper • Pencils • A variety of materials from which

to make the seal • Printing ink or paint and paper

Introduction: Using either the photograph or the seal ask the children the following questions about theartefact:• What is the artefact made from?• What was the artefact used for?• Is it important to have a seal and why?

95

Artefacts Case Study 2: Design a Seal for Bristol

Resource: Bristol Seal

Plenary:• Arrange the seals as a classroom display. Invite

other staff or classes to choose which seal theythink best reflects Bristol past and present.

• Discuss what the children have learnt aboutthe city’s history.

Activity one:

• Ask the children to look at the seal anddiscuss what it can tell us about the city ofBristol in the past.

• Discuss whether the image and itssignificance can be applied to the city today.

Activity two:

• As a class discuss what the children thinkBristol is famous for both now and in thepast i.e. leisure activities, industries,buildings, geographical features, etc., andmake a list. You could use informationcontained on the Bristol timeline to aidresearch.

• Discuss with the children how their ideas can be translated into symbols of Bristol past and present.

Activity three:

• Ask the children to produce a design for anew seal for Bristol, both obverse andreverse. Ideally, this should reflect both thepast and the present.

• The children can add their own legend to the seal.

• Ask the children to make a seal and thenprint the finished designs.

96


Key vocabulary: Artefact, chronology, classification.

Support materials: • Information about a range of local businesses.• Artefact investigation sheet.

Artefacts Case Study 3: How did they do that?


Resource: All artefacts in the Discovery Box

Location of resource: Discovery boxCD Image: Ham Green Ware jug and sherds, ship’s plaque, tobacco tin,print block, Bristol seal, Bristol pottery plate

Outcome of lesson: Through an investigation of the artefacts childrenwill be able to identify a variety of local occupations and recognise theassociated skills. Children will develop historical enquiry and analysisskills and chronological understanding.

Class management: Organise the class into three groups. Each groupworks through the activities in rotation.

Preparation: You will need:• Two sets of object information cards, these can

be photocopied from the pack.

Introduction: Discuss with the children what questions theycould ask about an artefact and list them.

97

Artefacts Case Study 3: How did they do that?

Resource: All artefacts in the Discovery Box

Plenary:• At the end of the session ask each pair to

present their skills web. What does this tell usabout the people who lived in this area in thepast? Discuss how skills have changed overtime (and reasons for this) and how some skillsare still used today.

• Ask the children to create a list of modernoccupations. What skills are required toundertake the jobs on the list?

• Compare contemporary and past skills. Whatsimilarities and differences can the childrenfind?

Activity one:

• Place the artefacts on a table. Ask thechildren to look at and investigate theartefacts carefully.

• Ask the children to create as manyclassification groups as possible i.e.materials, function, colour, size and historicalperiod.

Activity two:

• Ask the children to arrange the artefacts inchronological order.

• Ask the children to provide reasons for theplacements.

• Provide the children with the artefactinformation cards and ask them to read theinformation. Do they wish to change theplacement of the artefacts?

• Ask the children to explain their finalplacements.

Activity three:

• In pairs, ask the children to choose oneartefact to investigate.

• Ask the children to create an artefact webthat demonstrates all the skills associatedwith the making of the artefact. The childrenshould take into account as many aspects ofthe artefact’s production as possibleincluding design, materials used, and howthe object was made.

Artefacts information cards

Artefact Information Card

Name of artefact: Printing BlockDate: 1890’s (19th century)Material: WoodInformation about the artefact:This wooden printing block was made by askilled craftsman. The design was cut into thewooden block, back to front. The block wascovered in ink. The ink only stuck to the raisedparts of the block. The inked design wasprinted onto paper and the picture appearedthe right way round.

The print block contains the name and addressof a company and the name of the productmade by the company.

This print block was used by a firm calledMardon Son & Hall. Mardon’s printedpackaging for tobacco companies such asFranklyn Davey & Co. In the past, Bristol had alarge Tobacco industry. Franklyn Davey & Cohad a factory in Bedminster. Today the factory isan arts centre called the Tobacco Factory!


Name of artefact: Bristol SealDate: c. 1275 (13th century)Material: WaxInformation about the artefact:This seal was used in the past as the officialsymbol of Bristol.

Seals were used by important people. Theywere stuck onto letters and documents. Thiswas to show that the letter or document wasgenuine. Seals were also used to stick the edgesof a letter or document together (like anenvelope). If the seal was broken the personwho received the letter or document could tellif it had been opened by someone else.

On the front (obverse) of this seal is a picture ofBristol Castle. The castle has two large and twosmall towers. When this seal was used Bristoldid have a castle!

On the back (reverse) of the seal is a merchantship. It is sailing into the old walled city ofBristol along the river Avon. On the tower ofthe castle is a man keeping watch over the city.


Name of artefact: Tobacco tinDate: 1900 – 1950’s (20th century)Material: TinInformation about the artefact:We don’t know exactly when this artefact wasmade but we do know that it was made after1901 and before 1960!

The tin contained 100 cigarettes. They weremade in the factories of W.D & H.O Wills inBedminster, Bristol.

The tin tells us that the tobacco used in thecigarettes came from Virginia in the UnitedStates of America. The tin does not show anywarnings about the dangers of smoking!

Bristol has had a tobacco industry since the1700’s. In the past, slaves were used to producetobacco in the Caribbean and America. Slavesare not used anymore but Bristol still has onefactory that makes cigars.


Name of artefact: Tea plateDate: 1940’s/1950’s/1960’s (20th century)Material: ClayInformation about the artefact:Bristol has been famous for centuries formaking pottery (ceramics).

This tea plate was made by Pountneys BristolPottery in Fishponds. It was part of a set, a teaservice, used at Blaise Mansion Café and tearoom. The café was set up in 1947 and closed inthe 1960’s. The mansion is now Blaise CastleHouse Museum.

The tea plate was made by machine. The cafébought the tea service with the pattern aroundthe edge already on it. They then added the‘Blaise Mansion Café’ crest.

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Artefacts information cards


Name of artefact: Ham Green Ware JugDate: 1200’s (13th century)Material: ClayInformation about the artefact:This type of pottery (ware) is called Ham Greenafter the place where it was found, Ham Green,North Somerset. It was probably not called HamGreen when it was made!

The jug would probably have been used tostore and serve ale. It was not common to drinkwater at this time as it was often unhealthy.

Ham Green pottery was made by hand. It wasoften decorated with pictures of people,flowers and animals.

The jug is a replica (a copy of the real artefact)but the sherds (pieces) are real. They are about800 years old.


Name of artefact: H.M.S. Monnow ships plaqueDate: 1943 (20th century)Material: Mahogany (wood) and brass (metal)Information about the artefact:H.M.S. (His/Her Majesty’s Ship) Monnow wasbuilt in Bristol in 1943, during the SecondWorld War. She was built by the shipyard ofCharles Hill & Son Ltd.

The plaque was made to commemorate thelaunch of the ship. It shows the CliftonSuspension Bridge and the Avon Gorge. H.M.S.Monnow would have had to sail down the RiverAvon to get to the sea. The plaque shows partof the journey she would have taken.

The phrase ‘Shipshape and Bristol Fashion’ isvery famous and means ‘well built and tidy’.Bristol has built ships for centuries and Bristolshipbuilders were well known for doing a goodjob.

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Key vocabulary: Wharf, mooring bollard, crane, transit shed (a dockside shed used for short term storage),warehouse (a secure building used for long term storage), bonded warehouse (a warehousewhere goods liable to import duty, such astobacco, were stored until the duty had been paid).

Support materials: • World maps or globes• A chocolate bar• A bar of soap • A bag of sugar• A jar of marmalade• www.electricpavilion.org

Artefacts Case Study 4: Important imports


Resource: ‘Three Castles’ tobacco tin

Location of resource: Discovery boxCD Image: ‘Three Castles’ tobacco tin

Outcome of lesson: Children will have an understanding of the maritimeheritage of the city and the important role played by the city docks onthe development of Bristol.

Class management: Activity one: small groups, Activity two: wholeclass, Activity three; small groups.

Preparation: You will need:• Access to IT equipment to watch the film

‘Dockside Cranes’. • Paper and pencils. • World maps/globes and maps of Bristol

showing the mouth of the River Avon for eachgroup.

• Children will need space in which to performtheir tableaux or role-play.

Introduction: Show the children the chocolate bar and otherproducts including the tobacco tin.• Discuss with the children what the primary

natural ingredients are in each product,:Chocolate: cocoa beansMarmalade: orangesSugar: sugar caneSoap: palm oilCigarettes: tobacco

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Artefacts Case Study 4: Important imports


Plenary:At the end of the session:• Ask the children to list what they would spend

their money on if they were rich factoryowners. Ask them to include ideas that wouldalso benefit the city.

• Discuss how some imports were a result ofBristol’s participation in the transatlantic slavetrade (cocoa beans, tobacco and palm oil).

• Ask the children to think about whichindustries still exist in Bristol today – tobaccoand chocolate.

• Discuss why the city docks closed –containerisation, difficult navigation of theRiver Avon, increasing size of shipping.

• Discuss where the port is located today –Avonmouth.

Activity one:

• Discuss where the natural ingredients aregrownCocoa beans: West IndiesOranges: SpainSugar cane: West IndiesPalm oil: AfricaTobacco: West Indies

• Ask the children to find the locations on the world map.

• Ask the children how the products wouldcome to Bristol today.

• Ask the children to think about how theproducts would have come to Bristol beforeflight and road haulage, provide a map ofBristol showing the harbour, if necessary.

• Ask the children to work out the quickestshipping routes to import the goods toBristol and to list the oceans/seas crossed.

Activity two:

• Watch and discuss the film ‘Dockside Cranes’on the Electric Pavilion website and look atsome of the associated photographs.

• Ask the children to locate on a map wherethe activity in the film was taking place(Princes Wharf, Canon’s Marsh) and discussthe date (1950’s/1960’s).

• Ask the children to think about what thefollowing dockside equipment is used for:WharfMooring bollardCraneTransit shedRailwayWarehouseBonded warehouse

• Ask the children to practise some of thebanksman’s hand signals for instructing thecrane driver – see the Dockside Cranes film.

Activity three:

• Ask the children to produce and present a tableaux or role-play describing theunloading of ships and thestorage/distribution of cargo.

• Discuss what impact the importation ofgoods would have had upon thedevelopment of the city i.e. the developmentof factories and associated industries such asprinting, individual economic gain formerchants and factory owners.

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Key vocabulary: Artefact, sherd, design brief.

Support materials: • Images of Egyptian, Greek and Roman pottery.

Artefacts Case Study 5: Potty about Pottery


Resource: Ham Green Ware Jug and sherds

Location of resource: Discovery boxCD Image: Ham Green Ware Jug and sherds

Outcome of lesson: Children will produce a design brief and make afunctional clay pot based on a study of pottery from the past. Childrenwill evaluate its effectiveness against the design criteria. Children willgain a greater understanding of the skills possessed by local people inthe past.

Class management: Activity one: small group/individual work,Activity two: pairs, Activity three: individualwork.

Preparation: You will need:• Drawing paper. • Pencils and clay for each child.

Introduction: Show the children the Ham Green Ware Jug andask them the following questions about theartefact:• What is the artefact made from?• How was the artefact made?• Who would have used the artefact?• What was the artefact used for?• What skills are involved in making the

artefact?

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Artefacts Case Study 5: Potty about Pottery

Resource: Ham Green Ware Jug and sherds

Plenary:• At the end of the session ask each pair to

present their pots and explain its design. • Ask the children to evaluate the design of the

pot against its function. • Discuss what lessons have been learned about

producing designs that have a specific function.• Discuss what the children have learned about

local design and technology skills in the past.

Activity one:

• Provide each group with one pottery sherd.Ask the children to handle the sherd, look atit closely and discuss it in the context of theintroductory questions.

• Ask the children to draw the sherd asaccurately as possible.

• Ask the children to imagine and draw thepot that the sherd came from.

Activity two:

• In pairs, ask the children to produce a list ofall the things that clay pots can be used for.

• Show the children the images of Roman,Greek and Egyptian vessels and discuss theirdifferent uses.

• Explain to the children that they are going toproduce a piece of pottery. Provide each pairwith a function description i.e.: Dry goods storage vesselWater storage vesselDrinking vesselHigh status potLow status potCooking potVessel for eating

• Ask the children to prepare a design brief forthe production of their pot which takes intoaccount its function.

• Ask the children to swap their designs briefswith another pair.

Activity three:

• Provide the children with clay and ask themto make the pot as specified in the designbrief.

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Key vocabulary: Substance, addiction.

Support materials: • 5 – 6 Contemporary cigarette packets.• Information about the risks to health from

tobacco and other harmful substances. Thereare a number of resources to support thissubject available on the web.

• Information relating to the Wills tobacco tin.• Examples of symbols i.e. road signs.

Artefacts Case Study 6: Terrible Tobacco


Resource: Corsair print block

Location of resource: Discovery boxCD Image: Corsair print block

Outcome of lesson: Children will learn about past and present dayattitudes to smoking and the dangers it presents to health. Children willalso learn about Bristol’s association with the tobacco trade.

Class management: Activity one: small goups, Activity two: smallgroups/whole class, Activity three: individualwork.

Preparation: You will need:• Printing equipment such as polyblock, printing

inks, printing paper and rollers.• Before the lesson ink the printing block and

pull 5 – 6 prints.

Introduction: Show the children the print block and printedimage. Discuss with the children:• How the print was produced.• Why Bristol is associated with the tobacco

industry.• If they know of any contemporary evidence

of the tobacco industry in Bristol (The TobaccoFactory and the bonded warehouses).

• Why a printing industry grew up in Bristol.

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Artefacts Case Study 6: Terrible Tobacco


Plenary:At the end of the session:

• Ask the children to consider why Bristol no longer has a large tobacco industry.

• Discuss and make a list of other harmfulsubstances and their associated health risks.

Activity one:

• Ask the children to investigate whatinformation is contained on the printingblock.

• Ask the children to compare the informationwith that contained on a contemporarycigarette packet.

• Discuss what information is missing from theprint block and what this can tell us aboutattitudes to smoking in the past.

Activity two:

• Ask the children to list as many reasons aspossible why people should not smoke.

• As a class, discuss the children’s reasons andadd additional ones, if required.

• Ask the children to create symbols for eachof their reasons.

Activity three:

• Ask the children to produce an illustratedposter using the symbols they have createdto warn others about the dangers ofsmoking.

• The posters could be printed using thepolyblock printing method and mounted as a classroom or school display.

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Bristol’s Museums, Galleries and ArchivesBristol’s Museums, Galleries & Archives Servicecares for and displays the city’s vast range ofcollections to provide inspiration, learning andenjoyment for as many people as possible.

It does this by offering a wide range of servicesincluding a comprehensive service to schools, achanging exhibition programme, access to thecollections and substantial outreach work withthe local community.

The Service operates from seven sites: Bristol’sCity Museum & Art Gallery, Bristol’s IndustrialMuseum, Blaise Castle House Museum, RedLodge, Georgian House, Kingsweston RomanVilla and Bristol’s City Record Office

Where to find usBristol City Museum and Art GalleryQueen’s Road BristolBS8 1RL

How to contact usTelephone: 0117 922 3571Fax: 0117 922 2047Minicom: 0117 922 3573Website: www.bristol-city.gov.uk/museumsEmail: [email protected]

Who to contactMuseum Learning Officer for Local HistoryTelephone: 0117 3773622Email: [email protected]

Primary History ConsultantJacqueline FergusonJacqueline Ferguson is the history coordinator atAshton Gate Primary School and teaches historythroughout KS1 and KS2. She has also worked onseveral projects with local museums, the ss GreatBritain, the local education authority and U.W.E.looking at the teaching of history in Bristolprimary schools. Jacqueline has a degree inmedieval history, an M.A. in Medieval Britisharchaeology and literature and an M.A. inlandscape archaeology.

Bristol Record OfficeWe look after the archives of the city of Bristoland make them available to everybody. We aimto collect and preserve records relating to theCity of Bristol and the surrounding area forfuture generations to consult.

We have a searchroom where people can lookat the records and staff are available to provideadvice if needed. Records may be on microficheor film as well as being original documents.

We also have a digital picture library which atpresent makes nearly 6000 pictures of Bristol andBristolians available on pc in our searchroom.High-quality copies of these can be supplied onrequest.

If you want to find out more about therecords we look after visit our Online Catalogue,available on our website.

We can also offer advice to teachers aboutthe records we hold.

Where to find us ‘B’ Bond WarehouseSmeaton RoadBristolBS1 6XN

How to contact usTelephone: 0117-922 4224Fax: 0117 922 [email protected] www.bristol-city.gov.uk/recordoffice

Who to contactRecord Office Enquiries

How to contact us

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Bristol Reference Library.Bristol Reference Library is the largest publicreference library in the South West, with acollection that was originally founded in 1613,the current book stock numbers over a third of a million titles. Most books are not on the openshelves, you will need to fill out request slips andwait while the staff retrieve them.

The large Local History collection includes aselection of books on open shelves near theEnquiry Desk. The local catalogues and indexeswill help you decide which other local historyrecords you would like to see. These includebooks, pamphlets, newspapers, maps,manuscripts, illustrations, photographs, and anoral history archive.

Where to find us Central LibraryCollege GreenBristolBS1 5TL

How to contact usTelephone: 0117 [email protected]

Who to contactLocal history Librarian

Bristol School Library ServiceBristol School Library Service offers support to allschools throughout the area through the loan ofbooks and other resources and by providingadvice and training in all aspects of school librarymanagement, organisation and promotion. Costrecovery is done on a ‘pay as you go’ basis andincludes collection and delivery.

Where to find usUnit 1, Bristol Vale Trading EstateHartcliffe Way, BedminsterBristol BS3 5RJ

How to contact usTelephone: 0117 9038534Fax: 0117 [email protected]

Who to contactSchool Library Service Librarian

How to contact us

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The Architecture CentreThe Architecture Centre was founded in 1996 by the Bristol Centre for the Advancement ofArchitecture (BCAA), a charitable trust. Situatedon the harbourside next to the Arnolfini, theCentre houses a gallery, exhibition space andshop. The centre runs an exciting events,education and outreach programme and itsprincipal aim is to encourage public demand for excellent design by increasing people’sawareness and enjoyment of their builtenvironment.

Where to find usArchitecture Centre, BristolNarrow QuayBristolBS1 4QA

How to contact usTelephone: 0117 9221540Fax: 0117 9221541www.architecturecentre.co.uk

Who to contactEducation [email protected]

ss Great BritainThe ss Great Britain is one of the outstandingachievements of the great Victorian engineer,Isambard Kingdom Brunel: the first ship to havebeen built of iron and driven by a propeller. TheGreat Britain sits in the dock where she was builtin 1939 and where Brunel’s first steam ship, thess Great Western was repaired.

The ship has undergone a massive conservationand interpretation plan since she was boughtback to Bristol in 1970. The most innovativeaspect of our conservation plan is the constructionof a glass plate at the ship’s water line, formingan airtight chamber to stop further corrosion.

The ship and museum provide an inspirationalsetting for learning about life in the Victorianperiod. We run handling object sessions forschools to support the national curriculum, andfun family workshops throughout the holidaysand weekends.

Where to find usGreat Western DockyardBristolBS1 6TY

How to contact usTelephone: 0117 926 0680Fax: 0117 925 5788www.ss-great-britain.com

Who to contactEducation and Access Officer

How to contact us

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All of the following are available in BristolReference Library. Many of the more recent titlesshould be available for loan from the CentralLibrary and branches in Bristol.

AUGHTON, Peter. Bristol: a people’s history.Carnegie. 2000. 185936067x

BARKER, Kathleen. ‘Bristol at Play’. MoonrakerPress. 1976

EVANS, M. J. Crossley. Hannah More. BristolBranch of the Historical Association. 1999.

JONES, Donald. Bristol Past. Phillimore. 2000.1860441386

LATIMER, John. Annals of Bristol. Vols 1-3.Kingsmead Reprints. 1970

LITTLE, Bryan. The story of Bristol. Halsgrove.2003. 1841143014

LOW, R. W.G. Grace. Richard Cohen Books. 1997

MASTERS, D. The Plimsoll Mark. Cassell. 1955

MIDWINTER, E.C. W.G. Grace: his life and times.Allen and Unwin. 1981

MULLER, George. Autobiography. Pickering andInglis. 1929

PETER, G. H. The Plimsoll Line. Rose. 1975

STEER, R. George Muller. Hodder and Stoughton.1990

STOTT, Ann. Hannah More. Oxford UniversityPress. 2003

Bristol Branch of the Historical AssociationPamphlets. Over a hundred pamphlets on aspectsof Bristol’s history.

Bygone Bristol series by Janet and Derek Fisher.Images of Bristol taken from old postcards,several titles available.

Archive Photographs series by TempusPublishing. A large number of titles have beenproduced for the Bristol area.

Reece Winstone books. Collections ofphotographs of Bristol produced by date.

Studies in the business history of Bristol. BristolAcademic Press. 1988

Bibliography

The images displayed here are a small selection of those available on the accompanying CD.

A Gateway to Bristol’s Past Local History Resources for KS1 and KS2 teachers

Documents

A Gateway to Bristol's Past Local History Resources for KS1 and