Covering the entire ancient county created in the 11th century, this book includes that southern part incorporated in the short-lived county of Avon between 1974 and 1996. Since the first edition, in 1972, the book has remained in popular demand as the only comprehensive introductory account of the closely-linked history of the shire and the city of Bristol. Its authority and readability, its profusion of carefully selected illustrations, attractive maps and marginal drawings have earned for the book an unrivalled reputation among both local people and visitors.This third edition has been entirely revised to take account of very recent discoveries and new interpretations of the prehistoric and Roman periods, much fresh material on the history of Gloucester and a new assessment of the 20th century. A greatly increased number of photographs has been woven into the text, thus integrating the written account and the visual evidence.Bristol has few rivals among cities for the natural beauty of its immediate environs. Once the second city of England, its long history is fully explored in both narrative and pictures. Gloucestershire has always been divided into Cotswold, Vale and Forest, each with a distinctive landscape and history. The Cotswolds, a rich area in Roman times, reveals in fine stone houses the medieval and later prosperity of its woolmen and clothiers; while the Forest of Dean still bears the marks of the notoriously independent woodland communities who encroached upon Crown lands and worked their customary face mines. But most of the population always lived in the fertile Vale, where for centuries commerce followed the river Sever with the distributive centre of Gloucester at its lowest bridging point and the great maritime port of Bristol at its mouth. Among its flourishing towns, Cheltenham spectacular growth as an elegant spa still marks it out as a place of rare style.The authors have successfully described the characteristics of one of the most varied and delightful counties in England, and revealed the historical links which have bound it together.
About the Author: BRIAN SMITH, FSA, FRHistS, has known Gloucestershire since 1941. After eight years as deputy county archivist from 1968 to 1979. Subsequently he was appointed secretary of the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts and since 1992 has lived in retirement in Herefordshire. During his period working in Gloucestershire he published and lectured widely on its local history, edited the Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society and contributed to the Victoria County History.Elizabeth Ralph, Hon DLitt (Bristol), FSA, was, from 1937 to 1971, city archivist of Bristol, where she still lives. In recognition of her contribution to the study of Bristol's history, particularly as the author or editor of many scholarly works on the city, she was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Bristol in 1993. For 38 years from 1948 to 1986 she was secretary of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society and she remains the assistant editor of the Bristol Record Society.