A breath of fresh air in Bristol? Not necessarily…
Bristol’s Clean Air Zone comes into force on 28 November with the aim of reducing pollution and providing fresher – and healthier – air in and around the city centre.
But will the CAZ really bring a breath of fresh air, or could it see some of the city’s historic scents, which may have been buried beneath engine exhaust emissions, resurface to stimulate the senses?
If you’re not sure about what kind of odours previously prevailed in and round the city centre, you should stick your nose into a good book, namely Manson’s Bristol Miscellany Volume 2, which has a chapter entitled ‘Smelly Old Town – the stink of the city’.
No doubt some people will remember the distinctive hoppy, malty air which hovered over the former Courage brewery in Victoria Street, or the distinctive tang of tobacco from Wills’ multiple manufactories.
Go further back in time, and there were some distinctly foul, rather than fragrant, smells that prevailed, the worst of which came from the Rivers Frome and Avon, which acted as depositories for raw sewage.
Before their tidal flow was interrupted by the building of the Floating Harbour in 1809, these rivers had a twice-daily cleanse but once this natural flushing process was interfered with, a malodorous miasma would hang over the near-stagnant docks, particularly in the warmer months.
Meanwhile a far more appealing aroma hung like a haze over Union Street in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, thanks to the production of Britain’s first eating chocolate bar, Fry’s Chocolate Cream, which left a distinctly sweet scent in the air.
The ‘stink of the city’ is just one of a myriad of intriguing stories about Bristol awaiting rediscovery in Manson’s Bristol Miscellany Volume 2, which has been published by Bristol Books.
The miscellany began as a compilation of things that grabbed author Michael Manson’s own curiosity as he wandered around the streets he has called home for 45 years in a quest to find the ‘soul of the city’.
It has evolved into a treasure trove of hidden histories and fascinating facts from the city’s rich tapestry of the past.
Volume Two reveals many diverse discoveries, from plans for futuristic aerial walkways in the city centre to the infamous Bristol accent; from notable buildings to Banksy; aircraft to almshouses, there’s something to pique the interest of anyone keen to learn something new about Bristol.
Manson’s Bristol Miscellany is available now from the Bristol Books website, www.bristolbooks.org priced £20.
