![]() ![]() In 1552 the Society of Merchant Venturers was incorporated in the city its hall, along with a number of other historic buildings, was destroyed by German bombing during World War II. The city also played a notable part in maritime history: from its port John Cabot sailed in 1497 on his voyage to North America. By the 16th century Bristol had become a major port, a manufacturing town, and a distribution centre for both overseas and inland trade. During the reign of Edward III (1327–77) Bristol imported raw wool from Ireland and manufactured woolen cloth, which it sold to Spain and Portugal in return for sherry and port wine. The harbour was improved in 1247 by diverting the Frome to the west and building a stone bridge at the point of its former confluence with the Avon. The medieval town of Bristol was incorporated in 1155. Bristol is a historic seaport and commercial centre. Just west of the city, the Avon flows into the estuary of the River Severn, which itself empties into Bristol Channel of the Atlantic Ocean, about 8 miles to the northwest. When the county of Avon was abolished, Bristol became a unitary authority.īristol is located about 120 miles (190 km) west of London at the confluence of the Rivers Avon and Frome. The historic centre of Bristol and the sections of the city north of the River Avon (Lower, or Bristol, Avon) were part of the historic county of Gloucestershire, while the areas south of the Avon lay within the historic county of Somerset until the creation of the county of Bristol (1373–1974) and then of the county of Avon (1974–96).
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