Enjoying a glass of sour tonic in the garden along with WEIRD BRISTOL: TRUE CRIME - released today!.One hundred true stories of Bristol’s criminal past. From pirates and fraudsters to thieves and killers, take a tour through Bristol’s darkest corners….

2/2.By 1956 it had taken over most of what is now Finzels Reach and was the largest brewery in the west of England. At its peak, the brewery was capable of manufacturing about 100,000 bottles of beer a day.

Until 1999 there had been a working brewery at this site near Bristol Bridge for almost 300 years.The first brewery was opened in 1702 and the central building (in this photograph) was constructed in 1750. 1/2

RT @SausageOrJobbie: @WeirdBristol if anyone's interested, the hex code for this specific red is #B01C2E.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, Bristol became famed for dying cloth such a distinct shade of red that the hue became known as “nonesuch red” and synonymous with the city. The logo for the University of Bristol uses this red in tribute to its historic significance to Bristol.

This 1822 statue in Bristol Museum and Art Gallery is called “Eve” (sometimes “Eve at the Fountain”) and is by Downend born sculptor Edward Hodges Baily (1788-1867). Baily is best known for creating the statue of Admiral Horatio Nelson atop Nelson’s Column in Trafalgar Square.

Beneath what was once a chapel (now the coffee shop) in Arnos Vale Cemetery is this 1940s cremation furnace. Beside it is the elevated platform which was used to bring down bodies from the chapel above.

Abbots Pool (just outside of Bristol) is so named as during the medieval era monks and abbots from St Augustine’s Abbey, who were staying in a nearby rest-house would use the pond as a source of water and for fishing. It was expanded and ornamental features added in the 1920s.

RT @WeirdBristol: In September, 1764, Frances Ruscombe and her maid, Mary Sweet were found brutally murdered in a house beside College Gree….

Bristol Museum contains the taxidermied remains of Alfred the Gorilla, the world famous Bristol Zoo ape who became a symbol of the city’s resilience during WWII. He died unexpectedly in 1948 and has become a permanent, much visited exhibit in the museum.

This small, uninhabited rock in the Severn Estuary is Denny Island. It marks the boundary of the estuary which is part of Bristol. This has meant that since at least the 14th century, boats and ships in this part of the water have been subject to Bristol tolls, tariffs & byelaws.

In September, 1764, Frances Ruscombe and her maid, Mary Sweet were found brutally murdered in a house beside College Green. Their killer was never caught. Read the full, shocking story in WEIRD BRISTOL: TRUE CRIME - available now. Link in my profile.

One of the many oddities of Bristol is why one of the highest points of the city is called the “Downs”. The name comes from the Celtic word “dūn”, meaning a grassy hill in southern England. The North and South Downs, Dorset Downs and Epsom Downs are also named for this reason.

This 1760 painting (thought to be by Philip Vandyke) shows Bristol in its heyday as a port of international importance - when the city was briefly the second largest in Britain.

RT @everardbone: @WeirdBristol It's also a pun honoring William Vick, whose bequest of money to build a bridge provided the first solid imp….

The Latin inscription on the Leigh Woods tower of the Clifton Suspension Bridge reads “SUSPENSA VIX VIA FIT”. There are several ways of interpreting this phrase and could mean “Road suspended with great difficulty” or a more alarming translation is “Road is barely suspended.”

Around the exterior of the Bristol Megascreen building there are 15 blue plaques which celebrate notable innovators and inventors in the fields of science and technology who have a connection to the city of Bristol.

The tower of Temple Church began tilting during its 1460 construction and now is only two degrees shy of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Until 1820, Newgate Prison (which stood where the Galleries Car Park now stands) was the largest prison in Bristol. Conditions were despairing, even for the age, one cell was underground and known as “The Pit”. It had straw instead of beds and housed up to 17 prisoners at once.

The John Sebastian is a lightship (a floating, moveable lighthouse) built in Bristol in 1885 and now permanently moored in Bathurst Basin. Over her distinguished career she is believed to have saved the lives of hundreds of seafarers. She is now the home of Cabot Cruising Club.

In January of 1802, a grisly discovery was made at the foot of Brandon Hill. The resulting murder investigation revealed a tale of desperation and a horrifying pact between two women. Read the shocking true story in my book WEIRD BRISTOL: TRUE CRIME. Link is in my profile.