Society of Merchant Venturers - History

History

A Guild of Merchants was founded in Bristol by the 13th century, and swiftly became active in civic life; by the 15th century it had become synonymous with the town's government. It funded John Cabot's voyage of discovery to Newfoundland in 1497. The society in its current form was established by a 1552 Royal Charter from Edward VI granting the society a monopoly on Bristol's sea trade. They remained in effective control of Bristol Docks until 1848. Further charters were granted by Charles I, Charles II and Elizabeth II. The society was active in the English colonization of North America, helping to establish the Bristol's Hope and Cuper's Cove colonies in Newfoundland.

In 1595 the Merchant Venturers' School was founded, which subsequently became the Merchant Venturers' Technical College and was a precursor of the University of Bristol, the University of the West of England and City of Bristol College. In 1676 the society took control of the Manor of Clifton including Clifton Down.

In 1694, the Merchant Venturers Society organised protests against the monopoly held by the Royal African Company in the slave trade, leading to the ending of this monopoly in 1698. By 1700 many Merchant Venturers including the celebrated Edward Colston were active in the slave trade, a connection which still haunts the society. Colston also founded the Merchant Venturers Almshouses and a school which still exists today, situated on Bell Hill.

The first light on the island of Flat Holm was a simple brazier mounted on a wooden frame, which stood on the high eastern part of the island. In 1733 the Society of Merchant Venturers of Bristol found the brazier to be unreliable and petitioned the General Lighthouse Authority, Trinity House, for an actual lighthouse, but the petition failed. In 1735 Mr. William Crispe of Bristol submitted a proposal to build a lighthouse at his own expense. This initial proposal also failed but negotiations resumed in 1736 when 60 soldiers drowned after their vessel crashed on the Wolves rocks near Flat Holm. Following this disaster, the Society of Merchant Venturers finally supported William Crispe's proposal. Crispe agreed to pay £800 (£110,552, $220,241 in 2008) for the construction of the tower as well as the fees permits. The construction of the tower finished in 1737 and it began operating on 25 March 1738.

In the 19th century the Society helped to fund the building of Clifton Suspension Bridge and members of the society helped to establish the Great Western Railway. In the 1860s the Society acted with the Bristol Corporation to put Clifton Down and the adjoining Durdham Down under the control of a single Downs Committee. Alderman Proctor's Drinking Fountain on Clifton Down was built in 1872 by G and H Godwin in a Gothic Revival style to commemorate the 1861 presentation of Clifton Down to the City of Bristol. With the end of its control of the docks, the society moved towards a philanthropic role; in addition to its earlier almshouses, it established St Monica's Home of Rest, a substantial retirement home adjacent to Durdham Down.