Editing Bristol (section)

=== 19th century ===
The city was associated with Victorian engineer [[Isambard Kingdom Brunel]], who designed the [[Great Western Railway]] between Bristol and [[London Paddington]], two pioneering Bristol-built oceangoing [[Steamboat|steamships]] ({{SS|Great Britain}} and {{SS|Great Western}}), and the [[Clifton Suspension Bridge]]. The new railway replaced the [[Kennet and Avon Canal]], which had fully opened in 1810 as the main route for the transport of goods between Bristol and London.{{sfn| Clew |1970 |pp=79–80}} Competition from Liverpool (beginning around 1760), disruptions of maritime commerce due to war with France (1793) and the abolition of the slave trade (1807) contributed to Bristol's failure to keep pace with the newer manufacturing centres of [[Northern England]] and the [[West Midlands (region)|West Midlands]]. The tidal Avon Gorge, which had secured the port during the Middle Ages, had become a liability. An 1804–09 plan to improve the city's port with a [[Bristol Harbour|floating harbour]] designed by [[William Jessop]] was a costly error, requiring high harbour fees.{{sfn|Buchanan|Cossons|1969|pp=32–33}}
[[File:Bristol Harbour (St Stephen's Church, St Augustine the Less Church, Bristol Cathedral), BRO Picbox-7-PBA-22, 1250x1250.jpg|thumb|left|Black-and-white etching showing the towers of [[St Stephen's Church, Bristol|St Stephen's Church]], [[St Augustine the Less Church, Bristol|St Augustine the Less Church]] and [[Bristol Cathedral]], published {{Circa|1850}}]]

During the 19th century, [[Samuel Plimsoll]], known as "the sailor's friend", campaigned to make the seas safer; shocked by overloaded vessels, he successfully fought for a compulsory [[Load line (vessel)|load line]] on ships.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Samuel Plimsoll&nbsp;– the seaman's friend |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/bristol/content/articles/2008/05/14/plimsoll_feature.shtml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110825071302/http://www.bbc.co.uk/bristol/content/articles/2008/05/14/plimsoll_feature.shtml |archive-date=25 August 2011 |access-date=16 March 2009 |publisher=BBC&nbsp;– Bristol&nbsp;– History}}</ref>

By 1867, ships were getting larger and the meanders in the river Avon prevented boats over {{cvt|300|ft|-1}} from reaching the harbour, resulting in falling trade.{{sfn|Coules|2006|pp=194–195}} The port facilities were migrating downstream to [[Avonmouth]] and new industrial complexes were founded there.{{sfn|Buchanan|Cossons|1969|pp=224–225}} Some of the traditional industries including copper and brass manufacture went into decline,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Day |first=Joan M. |date=1988 |title=The Bristol brass industry: Furnace structures and their associated remains |url=http://www.brassmill.com/linked/1988_-_bristol_brass_furnaces_-_day.pdf |url-status=live |journal=Journal of the Historical Metallurgy Society |volume=22 |issue=1 |pages=24– |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151122225918/http://www.brassmill.com/linked/1988_-_bristol_brass_furnaces_-_day.pdf |archive-date=22 November 2015}}</ref> but the import and processing of [[tobacco]] flourished with the expansion of the [[W.D. & H.O. Wills]] business.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bristol's early nineteenth century staple industries. |url=http://humanities.uwe.ac.uk/bhr/Main/industry/2_industry.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141009201834/http://humanities.uwe.ac.uk/bhr/Main/industry/2_industry.htm |archive-date=9 October 2014 |access-date=18 October 2015 |publisher=University of the West of England}}</ref>

Supported by new industry and growing commerce, Bristol's population (66,000 in 1801), quintupled during the 19th century,<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Harvey |first1=Charles |last2=Press |first2=Jon |title=Industrial Change in Bristol Since 1800. Introduction |url=http://humanities.uwe.ac.uk/bhr/Main/industry/intro_industry.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140504223425/http://humanities.uwe.ac.uk/bhr/Main/industry/intro_industry.htm |archive-date=4 May 2014 |access-date=29 March 2014 |website=Bristol Historical Resource |publisher=University of the West of England}}</ref> resulting in the creation of new suburbs such as [[Clifton, Bristol|Clifton]] and [[Cotham, Bristol|Cotham]]. These provide architectural examples from the Georgian to the Regency style, with many fine terraces and villas facing the road, and at right angles to it. In the early 19th century, the romantic [[medieval]] [[Gothic revival|gothic]] style appeared, partially as a reaction against the [[symmetry]] of [[Palladianism]], and can be seen in buildings such as the [[Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery]],<ref>{{NHLE|desc=City Museum and Art Gallery and attached front walls |num=1202478 |access-date=10 March 2007 |fewer-links=yes }}</ref> the [[Royal West of England Academy]],<ref>{{NHLE|desc=Royal West of England Academy |num=1282156 |access-date=9 May 2006 |fewer-links=yes }}</ref> and [[The Victoria Rooms]].<ref name="Victoria_Rooms">{{NHLE|desc=Victoria Rooms and attached railings and gates |num=1202480 |access-date=23 March 2007 |fewer-links=yes }}</ref> [[Bristol riots|Riots]] broke out in 1793{{sfn|Hunt|1818}} and 1831; the first over the renewal of [[toll road|tolls]] on Bristol Bridge, and the second against the rejection of the second [[Reform Act 1832|Reform Bill]] by the [[House of Lords]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=BBC&nbsp;– Made in Bristol&nbsp;– 1831 Riot facts |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/bristol/content/madeinbristol/2004/04/riot/riot.shtml |url-status=live |access-date=15 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090422105101/http://www.bbc.co.uk/bristol/content/madeinbristol/2004/04/riot/riot.shtml |archive-date=22 April 2009}}</ref> The population by 1841 had reached 140,158.<ref>The National Cyclopaedia of Useful Knowledge, Vol III, (1847), London, Charles Knight, p.815</ref>

The Diocese of Bristol had undergone several boundary changes by 1897 when it was "reconstituted"<!--the exact word used by the Order in Council--> into the configuration which has lasted into the 21st century.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=26871 |date=9 July 1897 |page=3787 |city=London }}</ref>