(JESSOP, William) Explanation of the plan proposed for the improvement of the harbour of Bristol; and also a scheme and proposals for raising the sum necessary to carry the plan into effect. Published by order of the Corporation of the City and the Society of Merchant Venturers. Bristol, 1802
4to. (ii) + 18pp, folding engraved plan. Corner of half-title repaired, partially obscuring contemporary ownership inscription. Skempton No. 167, 775 (plan listed separately.) Seemly modern boards. “The position enjoyed by Bristol as a major port in the nineteenth century was due in large part to the very remarkable improvements in dock facilities achieved under Jessop’s direction”, writes A.W.Skempton in his biography of Jessop. Jessop had been involved with Bristol Harbour since 1788 and evolved the scheme that was eventually built. By 1802, when this work was issued, he proposed damming the Avon at Redcliff and Canon’s Marsh, thus turning the river into a floating harbour. The present rare work gives an outline of the previous schemes, as well as Jessop’s, together with an explanation of the financial arrangements. Shortly after the “Explanation” appeared, a suggestion for a tidal bypass, made in the 1790s by the Revd. William Milton, was revived. It was strongly supported by Jessop and thus the new works as built combined Jessop’s design, described in the present item, with the new cut intended to maintain the regime of the Avon downstream of the harbour. The fine plan, issued with the “Explanation”, thus shows the floating harbour, though not the tidal cut.
£450
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