The Port of Bristol

The Port of Bristol looks at a slice of the Port’s long history and industrial heritage (1908 - 1977), a period in which it was thriving and growing dramatically. During the 1870s a number of granaries and mills were constructed in the City Docks, and more throughout the twentieth century at Avonmouth which, a decade later, became a major miling centre, with a million tons of grain arriving each year. Oil importing became the Port’s biggest trade during the 1940s, while by the end of the 1960s there were major plants in the area producing zinc, carbon black, bricks and fertiliser. In the same decade Avonmouth was important as quarter of the UK’s tea, as well as raw materials for two of Bristol’s other traditional industries; cocoa and tobacco. The period covered by this book begins with the opening of the Royal Edward Dock at Avonmouth in 1908 and ends with the opening of the Royal Portbury Dock in 1977, which has since become the modern centre of the Port of Bristol, dealing with bulk cargoes, forest products and more cars than any other port in Europe. Illustrated with over 200 photographs from the Port of Bristol Authority Collection held at the Bristol Museums Service - many of which have not been seen in print before - Port of Bristol presents the reader not only with a unique insight into the everyday life of the Docks and the people who worked there, but also with a flavour of the life of the Port during a golden age.