1,000 years of a growing city, a talk by Peter Malpass
Bristol was founded at least 1,000 years ago and rapidly grew to be one of the wealthiest towns in England. Its impregnable castle and safe harbour, said to be able to accommodate 1,000 ships, were famous, but for several hundred years the physical extent of the town remained tiny by comparison with the sprawling city we know today. The questions to be addressed in this talk are, how, why and when did the transformation from settlement to big city occur?
Peter Malpass has lived in Bristol for nearly 40 years and until retirement in 2011 he was Professor of Housing and Urban Studies at the University of the West of England and a member of its Regional History Centre. For the last eight years he has been devoting more time to thinking about the urban history of Bristol, and he is currently writing a book about the growth of the city in the Victorian period. With Andy King he co-authored Bristol’s Floating Harbour – the First 200 years published by Redcliffe Press.
7.30pm Upper Meeting Room, Friends Meeting House, Hampton Road , BS6 6JE Members £2 (voluntary), Non-members £6.50. Booking not required.