Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and county in South West England. It is England’s sixth and the United Kingdom’s eighth most populous city, and the most populous city in Southern England after London.

The city borders the Unitary Authority areas of North Somerset and South Gloucestershire, with the historic cities of Bath and Gloucester to the south-east and north-east, respectively.
Here below is a rare collection of 28 vintage photos that captured everyday life of this city before 1900.

A Victorian view of Westbury-on-Trym village

Colwill’s Coach office, 1894

A.C. Haskins baker and confectioner, North Street, Bedminster, Bristol, 1888

Blackboy Hill and The Kings Arms pub, 1899

Bristol domestic servants, 1898

Bristol Tramways & Carriage Company, 1875

Bristol Victorian organ grinder on street, ca. 1890s

Bristol’s Cabot Tower nearing com­pletion in 1898

Carriages on the Weston, Clevedon and Portishead Light Railway, ca. 1890s

Castle Green, Bristol, 1888

Christmas Steps, Lewins Mead, Bristol, 1899

Dwarfs wedding in Bristol, 1869

First electric-cables being laid in Bristol’s High Street, 1893

N.Taylor game and poultry dealer with all its fresh birds on display, Nicholas Street, 1899

Orphan boys outside the Muller’s home on Ashley Down, Bristol, ca. 1890s

Peter Street, Bristol, 1899

Pumping Station, Avon Gorge near Clifton, 1874

The Drawbridge, Bristol, 1880

The Dutch House on the corner of Wine Street and High Street, Bristol, 1884

The laying of electric-cables in Baldwin Street, Bristol, 1893

The Pithay, Bristol, 1880

The Rose and Crown at 38 Broadmead, Bristol, ca. 1890s

Victorian Seaside holidays in Bristol

Victorian seaside in Bristol

Victorian steam traction, Redcliffe Hill, Bristol

Victorian view of the charming Dial House, Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol

Wills Tobacco girls, Bedminster, ca. 1890s

A loaded timber carriage pulled by three horses waiting to unload at Toogood’s timber yard, West Street, Bedminster, 1899

(Photos from Paul Townsend)