Overview

Bristol has been one of England’s largest cities since it became a county in 1373. In the seventeenth century writers described Bristol as ‘a little London for merchants’ and it held its status as a major port from the Middle Ages. Yet despite its mercantile wealth Bristol has been called paradoxical and down the years the quirks have shone through. Not least is why Bristol was ever successful as a port in the first place. Inland on a river with a dangerous bend, it has a tidal rise and fall that is the second greatest of any in the world, which left ships stranded in mud for several hours of the day. In Quirky Bristol author Cynthia Stiles delves into lesser-known but fascinating tales from Bristol’s past. In this book, readers will find stories of ‘diamonds’ and rare plants found in the Avon Gorge, architectural oddities, early medical practices and practitioners in the city, the nineteenth-century craze of pedestrianism, the famous Bristol Milk and Bristol Cream and much, much more. Quirky Bristol celebrates the unusual and often strange history of the city and its characters over the years. This fascinating insight into Bristol will be of interest to all those who want to know more about the city’s quirky history.

Full Product Details

9781398122055

Table of Contents

Reviews

'There’s no end of these little books of local oddities, but they’re always worth dipping into, and the froggy tale is just one in it that your correspondent, who’s supposed to know all this stuff (ahem) didn’t know. We also get the rare plants of the Avon Gorge, “Bristol diamonds”, some agreeable medical horror stories and much more. A nice distracting read, it is.' * The Bristol Post, 3rd March 2026 * 'Every place has its little quirks. But in Bristol's case, it seems our history is more eccentric than most. But many of these peculiarities are at risk of being forgotten to the shadows of tie, which is why local author Cynthia Stiles has brought them to lie in her new book Quirky Bristol.' * The Bristol Magazine, April 2026 *

'There’s no end of these little books of local oddities, but they’re always worth dipping into, and the froggy tale is just one in it that your correspondent, who’s supposed to know all this stuff (ahem) didn’t know. We also get the rare plants of the Avon Gorge, “Bristol diamonds”, some agreeable medical horror stories and much more. A nice distracting read, it is.' * The Bristol Post, 3rd March 2026 *

Author Information

Since 1998, Cynthia has researched, written, photographically illustrated and maintained two websites on Bristol's history: About Bristol (http://www.about-bristol.co.uk) and Bristol Information (http://www.bristolinformation.co.uk).

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