Excavations at Redcliff Quarter, Bristol

Living and Working in a medieval and Later Bristol Suburb. Excavations at Redcliff Quarter, Bristol 2016–18.

Excavations undertaken ahead of redevelopment at Redcliff Quarter, Bristol, between 2016 and 2018 enabled the investigation of medieval and later properties along Redcliff Street and St Thomas Street. Archaeological remains survived from the early 12th century to the modern period, providing information, complemented by documentary research, about the lives, diets and trades of the suburb’s inhabitants. The results indicate that some properties had belonged to Bristol’s prosperous mercantile class, while others were probably inhabited by labourers or people working in trades such as butchery, dyeing and bell-founding. During the Georgian period, the character of both streets changed, as St Thomas Street became primarily residential and Redcliff Street was occupied by industrial concerns. The excavations detailed in this volume provide fascinating and often unexpected insights into the lives of those who lived and worked in the Redcliffe suburb of Bristol between the early 12th and early 20th centuries.