THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT

Sir Greville Smyth and his son-in-law, Gilbert Irby, butterfly collecting: Ceylon 1894

18th and 19th cenrury crop failures in India and Ireland led to famine and the death of millions under British rule. Within yards of Ashton Court, coal mines, coking plants, brick & iron works all brought high income to the Smyths who owned the mineral rights. In the '90s alone, 11 men lost their lives in the mines with many more injured.

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Image: Sir Greville Smyth and his son-in-law, Gilbert Irby. Photo digitised by Jamie Carstairs from the University of Bristol for The People's Mansion.