The Historic Towns Trust is producing a map of medieval Bristol in 1480 in collaboration with the University of Bristol, UWE Bristol and a small team of researchers.
The Trust last produced an atlas of Bristol in the 1970s with a detailed commentary on Bristol from its foundation until the early 19th century. Since then, however, considerable new research has taken place, enabling a more detailed map to be produced. This will allow visitors and residents to walk the streets of the city armed with information about the sites and areas they visit.
The date of 1480 was chosen as it was the date when the chronicler William Worcester, a native of Bristol, wrote a detailed account of the town. He described the streets and the buildings that he saw, giving us a unique insight into the contemporary layout and overall feel of the town.
This talk will look at some of the challenges that were faced in putting the map together, as well as some of the main areas where new research has enabled significant refinements to be made to the earlier 1970s’ map.