Snippets of Bristol

FAMOUS & INFAMOUS PERSONALITIES OF THE PAST & PRESENT

Bristol and its surrounding area has created a plethora of famous, infamous, clever, funny and just plain ordinary working people resigned to keeping the wheels turning and the cogs oiled of this fair city. Such characters as the comedian and film star John Cleese, and the disgraced politician Geoffrey Archer (although not the only one by a long chalk). Remembering the lovely Jill Dando, TV presenter and reporter, who was so cruelly gunned down in London - by who knows who, not forgetting Archie Leach who ran away to join the circus as a stilt-walker and later became the world famous film star Cary Grant; yes, we in Bristol have much to offer - not all good mind you!

One of the most controversial and (in)famous artists of Bristol is the so-called Banksy. However, does Banksy really exist or could he be a collection of graffiti artists working under the guise of Banksy?? Maybe the co-operative is just "banking" their works in order to increase the value since an unknown artist's work is far less valuable than a "BANKSY". Could this be the case? Anyway keep up the fantastic work "BANKSY".

A famous resident of Dowry Square, Hotwells Bristol was the renowned "comedian" Sir Humphrey Davy. Well, he wasn't really a comedian but he did discover Laughing Gas which makes him responsible for probably more laughter in the world than any other person, comedian or otherwise! As a passing point, he did also invent the miners' Safety Lamp (The Davy Lamp) and in so doing was responsible for saving innumerable miners lives – probably a very serious person!

Someone not quite so serious was "Princess Caraboo" who arrived in Almondsbury, near Bristol in 1817. She appeared to be disorientated, was wearing exotic clothing and speaking in an unknown language. Given that no-one could understand her the local magistrate declared she was a beggar and should be taken to Bristol
and tried for vagrancy. During her imprisonment in Bristol "amazingly" a Portugese sailor by the name of Manuel, purported to know the strange language she was speaking and that she was in fact Princess Caraboo from the island of Javasu in the Indian Ocean. Her story was that she had been captured by pirates, eventually sold to another sea captain,then finally jumped overboard in the Bristol channel and swam ashore. From this moment on she was treated as exotic royalty and became a favourite of local dignitaries, acquiring all manner of gifts and favours. A portrait was commissioned and printed in the local paper which unfortunately for Princess Caraboo was her downfall. A Mrs Neale recognised her and it transpired that the would-be princess was actually a cobbler's daughter, Mary Baker, a servant girl from Witheridge in Devon. The British Press had a field day at the expense of the duped middle-classes and dignitaries of Bristol. Following a brief stay in Philadelphia, USA, Mary returned to Bristol where she died in 1864 and was buried in an unmarked grave. This story however resulted in the making of a film titled "Princess Caraboo".

Sadly, in September 2009 the world famous chef Keith Floyd died of a heart attack brought on by a sustained bout of illness, not to mention the drinking and smoking. Floyd was educated at Wellington School, Somerset and started his career as a cub reporter with the Bristol Evening Post where his signature bow tie evolved, the glass of wine was to follow. After owning a series of restaurants in Bristol with mixed success, mainly due to financial reasons, Floyd became a flamboyant TV personality watched worldwide. People loved him for his eccentric, often shambolic, wine-slugging presentations. He cooked and drank all around the world from the Far East to the Far West opening restaurants as he went. After four failed marriages he confessed that his only mistress was the Floyd restaurant of the moment. His fun-loving cooking demonstrations from the weirdest locations on the planet have endeared us all and he is very sadly missed.

Bristol also has an infamous past, starting way back in the early Anglo Saxon times when Bristol merchants shipped slaves (mainly women and children) to Ireland in collaboration with the Vikings. This slavery went unchecked until William the Conqueror put a stop to it in 1102. In the 1700s Robert Nugent MP, the richest merchant in Bristol, campaigned vigorously for Bristol to participate in the slave trade with Africa which was controlled at the time in London – unfortunately he won. Many Bristol
merchants traded in slaves, both black and white, including Robert Aldworth, John Pinney and Edward Colston MP who through his vociferous slave trading was able to found Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) and Colston schools in Bristol and endow many other religious institutions in Bristol, presumably in order to quell his conscience. Many merchants were involved in this vile trade in human flesh, some of them MPs. Several became Lord Mayor of Bristol, e.g Sir William Hayman, (who was brought before Judge Jeffries for Child White Slavery). Henry Bright, another mayor together with at least 53 Bristol
Merchants invested in 10 or more slavery voyages each. Bristol grew rapidly as a major city on the back of this human trade and related industries and its citizens must never forget the debt that it owes and the blood on it's hands.