On Wednesday 14 January 2026, a blue plaque was unveiled by the Right Honourable the Lord Mayor of Bristol, Councillor Henry Michallat at Harvey’s Lane, off Summerhill Road, St George, BS5 8HP. It commemorates a vicar’s daughter, Elizabeth Emra, who chronicled life in the parish and published her impressions in two volumes.
St George’s church and the vicarage no longer stand, but a gable end of a building overlooks Harvey’s Lane and the site of her home. The façade would have been familiar to Elizabeth and was thus the ideal location for our plaque.
Her first collections of short stories, Scenes in Our Parish, appeared in 1830 and 1832. The publications made an immediate impact and were printed in America the following year. With her works, Elizabeth Emra has bequeathed us an intimate picture of the lives of the parishioners and the poverty and hardship they endured. Her compassionate engagement with them is evident both in her writing and her charitable actions, such as making clothing for the poor and even forgoing a cake at her wedding, preferring others to benefit from the money saved. Her work is distinguished by empathy and there is no trace of condescension towards those she described.
After the unveiling we progressed to Orchard Bakery and Coffee Shop nearby in Clouds Hill Road, for refreshments and convivial discussion with the Lord Mayor, local councillors and Friends of Troopers Hill.
Much research on the history of the Emra family has been undertaken by Rob and Susan Acton-Campbell, Dave Stephenson and the Friends of Troopers Hill history group. Between them, they have brought Elizabeth Emra’s writings to public attention, and our plaque will add to this well-deserved exposure.
Scenes in Our Parish, by a Country Parson’s Daughter can be downloaded:
First Series published 1830 – tinyurl.com/EmraScenes1
Second Series published 1832 – tinyurl.com/EmraScenes2
1833 American version of Scenes in Our Parish – tinyurl.com/emra1833
Read more about the Emra Family at – www.troopers-hill.org.uk/emra/
Gordon Young