BRISTOL ICON THE MATTHEW PUBLISHES BOOK TO CELEBRATE 20 YEARS
Bristol icon The Matthew is celebrating 20 years of sailing this year, and is marking the occasion with the publication of a book, documenting her construction, the re-enactment of John Cabot’s voyage of discovery, and her travels since then.
Bristol icon The Matthew is celebrating 20 years of sailing this year, and is marking the occasion with the publication of a book, documenting her construction, the re-enactment of John Cabot’s voyage of discovery, and her travels since then.
On the 2nd of May 1997, The Matthew began her intrepid voyage in the wake of John Cabot some 500 years earlier. The faithful representation of the Tudor caravel was constructed between 1994 and 1996 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of John Cabot’s historic trip across the Atlantic from Bristol to Newfoundland.
“We marked the 20th anniversary of the ship starting her voyage to Newfoundland back in May, with some of the people that helped make it happen, as well as our current volunteer crew.” Says Hazel Hatton, Office & Marketing Manager at The Matthew of Bristol
“On the 24th of June 1997, she landed on the other side of the Atlantic in Newfoundland, and we’d love to invite the people of Bristol to help us celebrate the 20th anniversary of this landmark, as well as the launch of this new book.”
To mark the event Gig rowing clubs from across Bristol will tow The Matthew through Bristol’s Floating Harbour. This is the traditional method that large sailing ships would have used to get out of the harbour to open sea, where the sails could be used. The modern Matthew has an engine for this, but this will be how she would have started her voyage in 1497 and ended it back in Bristol in 1498.
You can watch the spectacle, and cheer on the rowers, from 3pm on Saturday the 24th of June. Books will be available to purchase at £14.00 from The Matthew’s mooring just outside M Shed on Prince’s Wharf, Wapping Rd, Bristol, BS1 4RN. The book will also be available to purchase from our online store and other retail outlets across the city.
Many Bristolians will remember the construction and launching of the modern Matthew at Redcliffe Wharf in the mid-90’s. First launched in September 1995, it took nearly two years of fitting out and sea trials to prepare her for the journey across the Atlantic to Newfoundland.
Returning to Bristol in 1998, the Matthew has since become an iconic Bristol landmark – with a woollen representation, part of Briswool, joining other famous depictions of the Matthew such as the stained glass window in St Mary Redcliffe Church, the grand painting that hangs in Bristol Museum commemorating the original voyage, and many murals across the city.
MORE INFO ABOUT THE BOOK
As part of the celebrations The Matthew of Bristol Trust have also commissioned a new book documenting the last 20 years of The Matthew.
“Although young in historical terms she’s developed a fascinating story all of her own,” says author and social historian Clive Burlton from Bristol Books. “I have loved delving into the archives, leafing through documents and photographs, and speaking to so many people who hold the ship dear to their hearts.”
“There’s tremendous affection for the Matthew not only here in Bristol, but in Canada where she also has iconic status. From the germ of an idea in the 1980s, to one of Bristol’s greatest present-day treasures, the story of the Matthew of Bristol has been a joy to research and write. With 150 photographs, maps and sketches I hope people will enjoy reading the book as much as I have enjoyed writing it.”
For Further information about The Matthew of Bristol, public trips, and private hire visit www.thematthew.co.uk.
WESTON-SUPER-MARE: MY HOME TOWN
Weston-super-Mare: My Home Town is a collection of striking black and white photographs by award-winning photographer Alex Wolfe-Warman. Having spent years photographing his favourite places – those many of us walk past and take for granted – Alex reveals a Weston beyond the obvious and pays homage to its beauty.
Weston-super-Mare: My Home Town is a collection of striking black and white photographs by award-winning photographer Alex Wolfe-Warman. Having spent years photographing his favourite places – those many of us walk past and take for granted – Alex reveals a Weston beyond the obvious and pays homage to its beauty.
Published by Bristol Books this beautiful hard-back book comprises 57 stunning images across 128 pages.
Alex was born in Weston in 1965 where he lived until he was seventeen. In 2007 he returned after 25 years.
Some of the photographs were made while he was walking his dogs. Others were made by regularly returning to the location and waiting for the right conditions.
Uphill, Brean Down, Sand Point, Marine Lake and the beaches offer great walks and superb views, the light is often very beautiful.
Alex prefers to do as much as possible in-camera whilst keeping post production to minimum. He rarely crops his photographs and he does not make composite images.
Signed copies of the book are available to purchase direct from the photographer. Click here for more details.
LOCAL PUBLISHERS JOIN FORCES
Two Bristol-based independent publishers have joined forces to offer retailers a source of local West Country books for their shelves.
Two Bristol-based independent publishers have joined forces to offer retailers a source of local West Country books for their shelves.
Tangent Books, based in Paintworks, the city’s leading independent publisher with a huge range of witty fiction, factual, poetry and art books has linked with Bristol Books, which publishes local history and biographies to support independent shops, stall holders and retail outlets.
The new service enables those who want to sell quirky, interesting and local West Country books on subjects ranging from Banksy, through cider, Adge Cutler and wartime Bristol stories to stock them from one source.
Richard Jones of Tangent Books said: “The region is blessed with some fantastic independent retailers that want West Country made products on their shelves. We have two small local businesses that produce quality local books for a huge range of tastes.
“Sadly bookshops are in decline with many of the bigger chains now having centralised buying systems that make it more difficult for their local outlets to do business locally. We are now looking to sell our products through gift shops, market stall holders, farm shops, cider outlets, Cafes and anyone who wants to make a good margin and believe their customers would like to browse and buy books.
“Because we are two small businesses we can bespoke the range for each outlet. So, if you only want books of interest to women; or you only want poetry; or only food and drink related; or just about graffiti art and Banksy we can supply the display.”
Martin Powell from Bristol Books said: “We have joined forces now as many retailers tell us that books sell well in the run-up for Christmas when people are looking for that different present for their mum or dad or a cousin. “Joining our resources enables us to just supply for the Christmas period and take back any that don’t sell so it is no risk for retailers, who want to test whether it is successful for them.”
Anyone wishing to stock a selection of local books can view them at www.tangentbooks.co.uk and can contact Richard Jones on Richard@tangentbooks.co.uk or call 0117 9720645.
HISTORY’S LOST HOSPITAL
A new book reveals the remarkable story of a Bristol mansion that was converted by its owner into a 100-bed hospital for the duration of the First World War.
The Bishop’s Knoll war hospital in Stoke Bishop was established in the home of a Bristol multi-millionaire for the treatment and recuperation of Australian soldiers wounded on the front line, and more than 2,000 servicemen recovered there.
A new book reveals the remarkable story of a Bristol mansion that was converted by its owner into a 100-bed hospital for the duration of the First World War.
The Bishop’s Knoll war hospital in Stoke Bishop was established in the home of a Bristol multi-millionaire for the treatment and recuperation of Australian soldiers wounded on the front line, and more than 2,000 servicemen recovered there.
The doctors and nurses who worked at Bishop’s Knoll had to be prepared to deal with soldiers who were still seriously injured, as well as those who were convalescing.
Bristol’s Australian Pioneer, written by Chris Stephens and published by Bristol Books, tells the story of the hospital and its founder Robert Edwin Bush. Chris’s interest in uncovering the secret histories of places was sparked in early childhood, when his own father worked at the notoriously mysterious Bletchley Park during World War Two.
Chris is an Emeritus Professor of Dentistry, and the founder of the SW England branch of the Dry Stone Walling Association of Great Britain. It was while helping to rebuild the dry stone walls of Dolebury Warren Wood, a Woodland Trust property in Somerset, that he was inspired to write his first book on local history. This was The Reverend Dr Thomas Sedgwick Whalley and the Queen of Bath: A True Story of Georgian England at the Time of Jane Austen.
The Woodland Trust is currently restoring the grounds previously attached to Bishop’s Knoll mansion to their former glory and Chris’s interest in researching and writing the book began with his involvement in the restoration work.
Chris said: “In 1877 Bush travelled to Australia to seek his fortune, became a successful sheep farmer and an influential politician. He also became a founding vice-president of the Western Australia Cricket Association in Perth. Bush was a keen cricketer: head of the school cricket team for his last two years at Clifton College, he went on to play right-handed batsman and occasional wicket-keeper for Gloucestershire County Cricket Club. He played alongside his brother James Arthur Bush and the legendary W. G. Grace from August 1874 to June 1877.
“Bush eventually left Australia and moved back to Bristol in 1905, but he continued to regard Australia as his adopted country, and wished to do something to repay the place where he had made his fortune. When the war broke out, turning his mansion home into a hospital for Australian soldiers seemed like a fitting return. Initially the hospital had to take wounded soldiers from any commonwealth country, but by 1916, Bush had his way and only Australian patients were treated there.”
Bristol’s Australian Pioneer makes its debut during a recent resurgence of interest in the Bishop’s Knoll war hospital, with the BBC devoting a page to it in the World War One at Home section of its website.
On Wednesday 24 August 2016, a replica of a commemorative plaque that once adorned the hallway of the mansion was unveiled at the Bishop’s Knoll Woodland Trust site by Bristol High Sheriff, Helen Wilde – a fitting tribute to the extra-ordinary work carried out there during the First World War.