ABSTRACT
The social reformers’ attempts to fill the leisure time of the urban masses must be seen against the background of the major changes taking place in the development of leisure pursuits. Details of the counter-attractions of the largely secular, dominant, urban culture give a perspective to the leisure facilities provided by the religious sub-culture. An analysis of these changes, however, can only be given on a superficial level. Much day-to-day activity went unrecorded. Much popular entertainment was self-entertainment, made domestically and privately, leaving no traces for the historian. The complex relationship between urban growth, social change and leisure generates questions more easily than answers. How far did the changing use of land in the city affect the space available for leisure pursuits? What contribution did advancing technology make to entertainment? In what ways did Bristol’s citizens respond to new opportunities? What indications do new leisure pursuits give of the kinds of social changes taking place? How did the leisure provisions of the socio-religious workers relate to changing trends in the use of leisure? The rest of this chapter will be devoted, not to answering these questions entirely, but to doing what can be done from sources such as newspapers, periodicals and the miscellaneous information to be found in the Bristol local collection, to outline the development of leisure facilities in the city.
