The tournament was played on grass courts in the weeks preceding the Wimbledon Championships usually June.
The West of England Championships were originally held in Bath[3] from 1881 until 1895; the tournament then transferred to Bristol in 1896.
At the start of the Open Era the tournament was part of the independent tour circuit.
In 1971 the event was renamed the Bristol Open; the men's event became part of the World Championship Tennis tour and the women's was part of the International Grand Prix.
Although the men's tournament also stopped in 1973, it was reinstated in 1980 and became part of the Grand Prix tennis circuit until 1989.