80 acres of tidal river was impounded to allow visiting ships to remain afloat all the time. Over the next two centuries the Harbour grew as a busy commercial port until it closed in 1975. Since then, it has been regenerated for leisure, commerce and residence.
First evidence of Bristol existing as a named place from a 10th century coin showing King Aethelred 2nd, dated the year 978 (close).
The river Frome was diverted to create a new channel and quay that we know as St Augustine's Reach (close).
John Cabot sets sail for the New World, May 1497 in the The Matthew, reaching Newfoundland in June of that year (close).
Queen's Square was planned in 1699 and building finished in 1727. It was named in honour of Queen Anne (close).
From 1690 to 1807 British ships transport about 2.8 million enslaved Africans (close).
John Smeaton proposes a scheme for a Floating Harbour (close).
The original medieval wooden structure is rebuilt in stone between 1763-68. A riot occurred in 1793 in protest at the high tolls (close).
Founded as Wills, Watkins & Co. by Henry Overton Wills I and his partner Watkins, who opened a shop in Castle Street (close).
William Jessop proposes a Floating Harbour scheme (close).
On the 10 March 1801, Britain holds its first census (close).
William Jessop proposes a much enlarged scheme for the Floating Harbour (based on the Rev William Milton's ideas) which is accepted (close).
In January water is let into the New Cut. On 1 May, the Harbour is opened (close).
Latimer says "the greatest flood ever remembered took place in the valleys of the Avon and the Froom, and caused great damage in the city" (close).
Mylne's culvert diverts sewage from the new Harbour into the New Cut (close).
3 days of rioting centred around Queen's Square between 600 rioters and the Dragoons and saw I. K. Brunel sworn in as a special constable (close).
The Emancipation Act. Slaves in the British Empire will be formally freed after an apprenticeship (close).
Published 24 November 1859, it is a seminal work of scientific literature considered to be the foundation of evolutionary biology (close).
First major cargo wharf built at Princes and Bathurst wharthes with railway connections. Shipbuilding yards that were here are closed (close).
The new locks at allow larger ships into the Harbour (close).
Avonmouth Old Dock was opened in 1877. In 1908, a much larger dock, the Royal Edward Dock, was opened (close).
Bristol Harbour Railway extended across Ashton swing bridge to Canons Marsh and Princes Wharf. Major new cargo facilities on Canons Marsh (close).
Signals the start of a major concentration on rivermouth docks and away from the Harbour (close).
It is estimated that anywhere from 50 to 100 million people were killed worldwide (close).
6 Feb - limited number of women are given the right to vote for the first time (close).
International trade plunges by a half to two-thirds (close).
City docks closed to commercial shipping except sand dredgers (close).
Launch of MV Miranda Guinness, the last ship to be built in Bristol (close).
13 July Live Aid takes place - a multi-venue rock music concert raising money for famine relief in Ethiopia (close).
Channel Tunnel opens, linking London and Paris by rail (close).
Millennium celebrations across the UK and the world (close).
The 'Last Tommy' from World War 1 trenches, dies on the 25th July, aged 111 (close).
