Member of Parliament. He was a member of the British Parliament along with being a merchant and philanthropist. The eldest of eleven children in the family of a merchant and sheriff, he traded successfully in the West Indies, which at the time was the richest part of the growing English Empire. In 1680, he became a member of the Royal African Company, which had held the monopoly in Britain on gold, ivory and slave trading. He became a benefactor of Bristol, building almshouses in King Street and on St. Michaels Hill, endowing Queen Elizabeth's Hospital School and founding Colston's School for Boys. He gave money to schools in Temple and other parts of Bristol, and to several churches and the cathedral. He was a strong Tory and high-churchman, and was returned as a Member of Parliament for Bristol in 1710 for just one parliament. When he died at his home in Mortlake, London, his body was carried back to Bristol to be buried at All Saints Church. His tomb was designed by James Gibbs, one of Britain's most influential architects. Bristol's largest concert hall is called Colston Hall and a bronze statue of Colston stands in Colston Avenue, one of a number of streets in Bristol named after him.
Member of Parliament. He was a member of the British Parliament along with being a merchant and philanthropist. The eldest of eleven children in the family of a merchant and sheriff, he traded successfully in the West Indies, which at the time was the richest part of the growing English Empire. In 1680, he became a member of the Royal African Company, which had held the monopoly in Britain on gold, ivory and slave trading. He became a benefactor of Bristol, building almshouses in King Street and on St. Michaels Hill, endowing Queen Elizabeth's Hospital School and founding Colston's School for Boys. He gave money to schools in Temple and other parts of Bristol, and to several churches and the cathedral. He was a strong Tory and high-churchman, and was returned as a Member of Parliament for Bristol in 1710 for just one parliament. When he died at his home in Mortlake, London, his body was carried back to Bristol to be buried at All Saints Church. His tomb was designed by James Gibbs, one of Britain's most influential architects. Bristol's largest concert hall is called Colston Hall and a bronze statue of Colston stands in Colston Avenue, one of a number of streets in Bristol named after him.
Bio by: julia&keld
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