England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Bristol St Leonard

The Parish

The city of Bristol lies in the extreme south of Gloucestershire forming part of the border with neighbouring Somerset. Bristol is located roughly 120 miles west of London and sits on the River Avon at the point where it ceases to be navigable and is served by numerous major roads of which the A4 leads to London and the A38 to Birmingham. Bristol has a long and distinguished history, the pre-Roman Britons named it Caer Briton and the Romans adopted it as Abona. It is as one of England's most significant ports that Bristol rose to become the major city of southwestern England, trade growing the port into a city of well over 100,000 population. Sadly much of that growth was fueled by Bristol's involvement in the slave trade, a trade now subject to revaluation by today's society. Besides the trade and commerce occasioned by the port, Bristol is also a major manufacturing centre and home for numerous service industries; it remains the major place of employment in its area and a major market for produce from a broad hinterland. St George parish became necessary as a result of development of coal mining to the east of the city and the influx of workers needed for that business. Bristol has also benefited from modern developments, the Kennet & Avon canal being followed by Brunel's railway line to London and others to both north and south. In more recent times the modern M4 & M5 motorways pass by the city with its own dedicated motorway, the M32 connecting it to the former. St George parish sat outside the walls of the inner city to its east at is centred upon the junction of A420 (Bristol to Chippenham) and A431 (Bristol to Bath north of the Avon) it is now an integral part of the metropolis that is Greater Bristol. Bristol is drained the short distance to the nearby Bristol Channel by the Avon through its famous gorge. St Leonard parish is sited at around 10 metres above the sea with most of the city at that height or indeed lower, land rises to the height of 80 metres in the suburb of Cotham.St Leonard parish sat towards the west of the city's centre, a long thin strip running north to south and parallel to one of the main cuts into the centre from the Avon, stretching from St Leonard's Gate to the Floating Dock; it was a lightly populated area with a population of around 300 parishioners. Bristol, being already a substantial settlement, is not specifically detailed as to its assets in Domesday Book.

The Church

St Leonard's church is no more, not a victim of enemy action in World War II but an early casualty of traffic improvement schemes. The church certainly had one of the most unusual locations being built integral to and above the city's western gate, a similar church may be found in Winchester. In the mid-18th century it was alleged that the church was "a nuisance because it blocked the main thoroughfare" and a bill through Parliament authorised its demolition, which was completed in 1771 the parish being united into St Nicholas. Today there is no trace of the church merely the presence of Leonard Lane, reputed to be one of the narrowest lanes in the city and certainly one of the most colourful with art murals decorating its narrow walls.