Bust of Samuel Plimsoll
BUST OF SAMUEL PLIMSOLL, CAPRICORN PLACE
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1237279
- Date first listed:
- 04-Mar-1977
- List Entry Name:
- Bust of Samuel Plimsoll
- Statutory Address:
- BUST OF SAMUEL PLIMSOLL, CAPRICORN PLACE
Location
Location of this list entry and nearby places that are also listed. Use our map search to find more listed places.
Use of this mapping is subject to terms and conditions .
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale.
What is the National Heritage List for England?
The National Heritage List for England is a unique register of our country's most significant historic buildings and sites. The places on the list are protected by law and most are not open to the public.
The list includes:
 |
Buildings |
 |
Scheduled monuments |
 |
Parks and gardens |
 |
Battlefields |
 |
Shipwrecks |
Images of England Project
- Date:
- 1999-08-01
- Reference:
- IOE01/01414/04
- Rights:
- © Mrs Joy Roddy. Source: Historic England Archive
Local Heritage Hub
Unlock and explore hidden histories, aerial photography, and listed buildings and places for every county, district, city and major town across England.
Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1237279
- Date first listed:
- 04-Mar-1977
- Date of most recent amendment:
- 14-Jun-2010
- List Entry Name:
- Bust of Samuel Plimsoll
- Statutory Address 1:
- BUST OF SAMUEL PLIMSOLL, CAPRICORN PLACE
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
Location
- Statutory Address:
- BUST OF SAMUEL PLIMSOLL, CAPRICORN PLACE
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- District:
- City of Bristol (Unitary Authority)
- Parish:
- Non Civil Parish
- National Grid Reference:
- ST 57823 72535
Details
BRISTOL
901-1/13/1460 CAPRICORN PLACE 04-MAR-77 HOTWELLS BUST OF SAMUEL PLIMSOLL (Formerly listed as: HOTWELL ROAD HOTWELLS BUST OF SAMUEL PLIMSOLL)
II Commemorative monument to Samuel Plimsoll (1824-1898), first erected in 1962.
MATERIAL The white marble bust of Samuel Plimsoll stands on a granite base.
DESCRIPTION The front face of the base pedestal bears the inscription 'SAMUEL PLIMSOLL MP 1824-1898'. Centred below this is an example of the Plimsoll Mark. This mark can also be found on the left side face of the pedestal, at the bottom of a mounted bronze plaque, which reads, in raised Roman capitals: 'SAMUEL PLIMSOLL, M.P./BORN IN THIS /CITY AND PORT OF BRISTOL/1824/DIED IN/1898/HIS UNTIRING EFFORTS LED TO THE/MERCHANT SHIPPING ACTS OF 1875/AND 1876 WHICH FIRST MADE LOAD/LINES COMPULSORY FOR THE SAFETY/OF SHIPS/'.
HISTORY Samuel Plimsoll was born in Colston's Parade, Bristol on 10 February 1824. Plimsoll was a merchant, as well as a pioneering reformer, known as 'the sailor's friend'. He worked to improve what he saw as dangerous practices in merchant shipping. One of his greatest achievements was the creation of the 'Plimsoll Line', in response to his dismay at the large numbers of deaths due to the overloading of cargo ships. This line, also known as the 'Plimsoll Mark', was drawn on the hull of cargo ships to denote the maximum depth to which the ship could be safely loaded. In 1867, the Liverpool Rubber Company bestowed Plimsoll's name on their rubber-soled canvas shoe, because the line between the sole and the upper resembled the Plimsoll Line on ships.
The bust was originally placed on Hotwell Road, next to the River Avon. It was unveiled by the Lord Mayor of Bristol on 24 July 1962. The marble bust was provided by the Bristol City Museum, in whose collection it was held, for the purpose of creating the Plimsoll commemorative statue. In 2009 the bust was moved within Bristol to Capricorn Place, also on the banks of the River Avon.
REASONS FOR DESIGNATION The Bust of Samuel Plimsoll is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons: * HISTORIC INTEREST: Samuel Plimsoll, born in Bristol, was a social reformer, whose introduction of the 'Plimsoll Mark' significantly improved the safety of shipping by protecting against the overloading of ships. * HISTORIC ASSOCIATION: it sits in a prominent position on Bristol's harbour side, contributing to a significant location in nautical history as a commemoration of maritime reform.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
- Legacy System number:
- 379825
- Legacy System:
- LBS
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 11-Jun-2026 at 16:35:44.
Download a full scale map (PDF)End of official list entry
All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.