Saint Peter's Hospital adjacent to the church of Saint Peter, the seat of the poor law admin istration, is a very fine example of . early do mestic architecture. The buildings of various banks and insurance offices in Corn street and Clare street are worthy of notice from a mod ern architectural point of view.
Librsuies.—The most modern public build ing is the Bristol Central Library adjoining the Bristol Cathedral, completed in 1906, from de signs by Mr. Percy Adams, F.R.I.B.A. A public library existed in Bristol early in the 15th century, and as no other record can be found of any such library prior to this in any part of England, the claim of the earliest in the kingdom must belong to Bristol. The library was that of the Kalendars, a brother hood of clergy and laity who were attached to the church of All-Hallows or All-Saints', still standing in Corn street. In 1613 the existing City Library was founded. Dr. Tobias Mathew, archbishop of York at this time, gave a num ber of books, to which he added subsequently a considerable portion of his library efor the free use of merchants and shopkeepers of the city.' In 1740 the building still standing in King street was erected, minus the wing. In 1874 the Public Libraries Act was adopted and two years later the building was opened under the act as the Bristol Central Library. The year 1906 saw the opening of the New Central Libra ries in Cottage Green, a palatial building erected by the munificent bequest of a wealthy citizen, Mr. Vincent Stuckey Lean. The salient features of the historic King Street Library are preserved in this building in the aBristol Library,' an apartment exactly reproducing the original room in King street with the self same old oak presses and wonderfully carved chimney piece of .Grinling Gibbons. Here are shelved books dealing with the history of the city; the books of Archbishop Mathew, and other notable gifts of books by Bristol citizens, amongst them being the Collectanea of Proverbs, Folklore, etc., collected by Mr. Vin cent Stuckey Lean and presented to the city by his executors. This collection is made acces sible by means of an exhaustive catalogue com piled under the direction of the city librarian of Bristol, Mr. E. R Norris Mathews, F.R. Hist.S.F.R.S.L.; the early printed books and illuminated manuscripts being separately cata logued. The public library movement in Bris tol has advanced with rapid strides from small beginnings. The system is extended by means of commodious branches to all parts of the city, nine branches serving respective wards and circulating 750,672 volumes in the course of a year, whilst the various newsrooms and read ing-rooms are visited annually by a number of persons exceeding 2,500,000.
Art Galleries.— The Bristol Art Gallery was presented to the city by Sir William Henry Wills, now Lord Winterstoke. The building adjoins and communicates with the museum and was opened to the public in February 1905. Internally a large and lofty top-lighted central hall is surrounded by rooms on the ground floor devoted to the display of antiqui ties; a spacious marble staircase leads to picture galleries which form a splendid suite of com municating apartments.
The Bristol Museum, originally a private proprietary institution, became the property of the citizens of Bristol in 1893. It is especially rich in objects illustrative of min eralogy, geology and palaeontology ; no less than 200 °types' and figured fossils are preserved here, described by such men as Agassiz, Riley, Stutchbury, Fitton, Huxley, Owen and many others. The zoological collections are likewise of importance.
Electric The Bristol Corpora tion is responsible for the electric lighting of the city. The first instalment of public street lighting in 1893 consisted of 96 lamps, the total number now is 677 arc lamps. For private lighting purposes the demand has reached the total of 185,897 lamps. The use made of elec tricity for power purposes is increasing rapidly. The electric tramways of Bristol are controlled by a private company. The overhead trolley system is in use, and a service of motor cars has recently been instituted to connect the sec tions, and to open up outlying districts.
Industries, Bristol has long been famous for its glassworks, potteries, soap works, tanneries, tobacco factories, chocolate factories, sugar refineries, shoe factories, copper, lead, iron and chemical works, as well as for ship-building and machinery yards. Coal is found and worked eittensively within the limits of the borough. Bristol carries on an export and import trade with all parts of the world. Cereals and flour are the most important im ports, others being oils, tallow, cheese, butter, bacon, cattle, sugar, timber, petroleum, hides, The total value of imports and exports in 1911 was $77,786,530 and $20,084,680, respectively. The total tonnage entered and cleared at Bris tol in 1913 was 2,663,000. The present dock system comprises a dock of 19 acres at Avon mouth on the Gloucestershire bank of the Avon, and of 12 acres (deep water area) at Portishead on the Somerset bank of the river, two miles below Avonmouth; and a floating harbor of 70 acres in the heart of the city. The latest enterprise in dock construction is that of the Royal Edward Dock at Avonmouth which covers an area of 30 acres and provides accommodation for vessels much larger than any afloat. The first sod was cut on 5 March 1902; it was opened in 1908. The depth of water on the inner sill is at mean spring tides 40 feet and at mean neap tides 30 feet. The length of the dock is 1,120 feet and the width 1,000 feet. The entrance lock is 875 feet long and 100 feet wide. On each side are piers at which steamers land mails and passengers, who reach London over an almost straight line in two and a half hours. Bristol traders colonized Newfoundland and established commerce with the West Indies and the American colonies. The city has tong been known for its ship building interests, and the Great Western, the first steamship to cross the Atlantic, was built at Bristol in 1838. A United States consul is stationed here.