[1] Formerly an industrial area, with busy quaysides, warehouses, railway transit sheds and one of the city's main gas works, Canon's Marsh was subject to urban regeneration beginning in the 1980s and completing in the 2010s.

[citation needed] Canon's Wharf was developed in the 1890s with open quaysides suited to the larger ships and increasing mechanisation of cargo transit of the age, becoming one of the busiest parts of the docks in the early 20th century.

[8][9] In 1969, Bristol City Council had proposed closing the harbour entirely, and began developing plans to build a system of major roads through harbourside areas including Canon's Marsh.

[11] The first major phase of regeneration began in the late 1980s, with the tobacco warehouses cleared to make way for Canons House, a landmark office building constructed 1988-91 for Lloyds Bank.

[13] With public infrastructure in place, further waves of private investment followed, first of leisure and hospitality destinations on the quays on the eastern side of Canon's Marsh, and then of office and apartment buildings in the centre.