Avon (county)

Bath is the main tourism centre of the area. Its attractions include the Roman baths, the Pump Room, and Assembly Rooms, and its elegant Georgian-style architecture, as exemplified in the superb Royal Crescent. The Avon Gorge and Clifton Suspension Bridge, built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel and completed in 1864, a few years after his death, are considered spectacular.

The Bath Festival, held annually in May and June since 1948, was first conceived as a purely chamber music festival. It now includes a wide range of music from operatic and orchestral works to jazz. Claverton Manor, to the east of Bath, houses the American Museum. Sir Winston Churchill is said to have made his first political speech there in 1897.

Clifton, on the Downs overlooking Bristol, is, like Bath, famous for its Regency crescents and Georgian terraces. Today it is a residential suburb of the city. Bristol suffered extensive bomb damage in World War II, and a modern shopping centre and other examples of post-war architecture exist alongside those historic buildings that survived. Notable buildings include the 13th-century Bristol Cathedral. The Theatre Royal was founded in 1766; it was rebuilt during World War II and reopened as the Bristol Old Vic.

Along the coast, facing the Severn estuary, resorts such as Weston-super-Mare and Clevedon have grown up. Their popularity is due to their good sandy beaches and excellent entertainment facilities. The coast is also becoming an important retirement centre; people are attracted by its mild climate.

Bristol's early prominence as a port was based on the slave trade (see Atlantic Slave Trade) and the import and processing of tobacco; the tall tobacco warehouses are a characteristic site of parts of the old industrial area near the docks. Today, the Portbury and Avonmouth docks handle a huge import and export trade. Portbury is the leading port in Britain for the import and export of cars, and the handling of forest products. It also has bulk handling facilities for grain and other dry goods. Avonmouth is primarily a container port. Engineering, aviation engineering, printing, tobacco, chocolate, and chemicals are among the industries represented in the area, predominantly based in Bristol. Comparatively recent is the fast-growing insurance and financial services industry in Bristol. Tourism flourishes at Bath and in the coastal resorts. Dairy farming has long been, and is still, an important source of revenue.

For the history of the area, see Gloucestershire and Somerset.