Montpelier occupies a hillside which rises from south to north, overlooking the city centre, with narrow streets that follow the contours.

Thomas Rennison built a fashionable lido here in the middle of the 18th century,[6] and in 1786 Ashley Road was improved as a turnpike, with housing soon following alongside.

[7][8][9] Many of Montpelier's streets are named after famous generals or have military connotations, such as Wellington, York and Banner Roads, reflecting the popular patriotism of the age when they were laid out, in the wake of the Battle of Waterloo.

As governor of Trinidad, Picton profited from slavery and oversaw a regime which used torture and capital punishment, and there is some local discontent with his continued commemoration.

[1] Media related to Montpelier, Bristol at Wikimedia Commons The following suburbs are in the same urban area, but lie in South Gloucestershire or North Somerset: