TST: Historical Geography information for Bristol and places above it in the hierarchy

Historical Geography information for Bristol and places above it in the hierarchy

Edward III made Bristol a "City and County" in 1373, although today, and in recent times past, it is not generally considered to be both. For genealogical purposes, and specifically in the International Genealogical Index (IGI) the City of Bristol is considered as part of the County of Gloucestershire. In contrast, the postal address prior to 1974, and the creation of the county of Avon was "Bristol, Somerset".

"It has always been a proud place. In 1485 Henry VII visited and the citizens appeared in their best apparel; but the king, thinking their wives too richly dressed for their station, imposed a fine of twenty shillings upon every citizen who was worth £20."
(From the item on Bristol in Lewis's Topographical Dictionary, 1835, very kindly supplied by David Hawgood)
The area today known as "Bristol" is larger than the historic City and County. The City Boundaries now extend as far north as Stoke Gifford and Winterbourne, and to Shirehampton and Henbury in the west.

Transcribed text of the Gloucestershire section of Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of England (1831).
English Heritage Viewfinder - site with historic photographs, searchable by county. Has some unusual ones of the Industrial Age which won't be found amongst the more usual postcard collections!.
The Francis Frith Collection - a collection of over 700,000 photographs of the UK, Europe and the Middle East taken by the Victorian photographer Francis Frith.
A Vision of Britain Through Time - information about your home area from the 2001 census, and from each British census back to 1801. Presented both as maps of the whole country and as graphs showing change over time.
River Severn Tales - an account of life on the River Severn, and in particular Notable Dates in The History of The River Severn, illustrating how the Severn's presence has shaped events in the county. Almost all of the parishes bordering on the Severn are mentioned.

Jimella's (Internet Archived page) British Counties, Parishes, etc. for Genealogists will be of particular value to overseas researchers who are unfamiliar with our geographic divisions and naming conventions.
The ENG-DESERTED-VILLAGES Mailing List. It has been estimated that there are over 50,000 villages and hamlets that no longer exist for a variety of reasons, ie the 14th C plagues to the English Clearances in the eastern Counties, from mass migrations for economical reasons to villages just falling into the sea! The purpose of the Mailing List is to try to find out exactly where these now-deserted places were located, which parish they were in and where any extant records are kept.
A Topographical Dictionary of England of 1831 (Google books)

The Great Britain Historical Geography Information Service (GBHGIS) provides a mass of information about Britain's localities as they have changed over time. Information comes from census reports, historical gazetteers, travellers' tales and historic maps.
A Vision of Britain Through Time, in the GBHGIS, provides maps and statistical information derived from census reports covering the period 1801-2001, searchable by place name or post code.
The Association of British Counties (A.B.C.) "is a society dedicated to promoting awareness of the continuing existence of the 86 traditional Counties of Britain".
British Counties, Parishes, etc. for Genealogists (archived copy).