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Bristol's Port
Early efforts to improve the ports facilities in the natural course of the River Avon were first made in the thirteenth century. The River Frame was diverted from its curving course round city boundaries through what is now known as The Centre and St Augustines Reach. creating the present-day confluence with the Avon. A fine harbour was provided where ships could bottom on mud at low tide, rather than stones of the river. Although most of this artificial trench has now been culverted to form the traffic-strewn Centre, St Augustines Reach remains as evidence of this great medieval undertaking.
image above: Unloading Timber Baltic Wharf 1900
In following centuries the difficulties caused by wide tidal fluctuations became more intensified as ships grew larger and pressure in the busy harbour increased. Small-scale efforts at improvement were attempted during the 1700s but by the close of that century the situation was serious enough to force a major decision on the measures needed.
image above: Weighing tobacco 'C' shed Bristol City Docks 1954
Between 1804-9 William Jessop undertook the construction of the Floating Harbour by damming the old course of the Avon and enabling vessels to remain afloat at all stages of the tide. He provided a system of entrance locks from the tidal approaches and excavated the New Cut to bypass the old river course, taking the tidal fluctuations.
image above: Looking down on the City Docks
Some of his original structures were modified by Brunel in the 1830s-40s and further features were added in the 1870s-80s bringing the harbour more up-to-date. Nevertheless, the present-day configuration of the City Docks is basically as Jessop originally planned it for Bristol.
The attractions of the inland port at the heart of the city gradually diminished as the nineteenth century progressed. Navigation of the tidal river approaches created growing problems as vessels increased in size.
After considerable controversy the dock at Avonmouth was completed in 1877, followed by Portishead two years later. Both built by private enterprise, they were later absorbed by the Port Authority who concentrated on development at Avonmouth in subsequent years until the opening of the new container dock at Royal Portbury on the opposite bank of the Avon.
The Tidal River
Avonmouth Docks
Following the opening of the Avonmouth Port and Pier Railway in 1865, amid much controversy private enterprise undertook the construction of Avonmouth Dock which was completed in 1877. It was later incorporated into the Port of Bristol Authority and a much larger extension added in 1908 named the Royal Edward Dock, which was further enlarged in subsequent years.
Much of the intense development which took place in the surrounding area has become redundant with the more recent changing patterns of trade but normally, is inaccessible to public viewing.
Lamplighters Ferry, Shirehampton An ancient crossing of the river here was used until the M5 Avon Bridge was constructed as the only means of local access between Shirehampton and Pill, on the southern bank of the river where Bristols pilot service was based. The causeways can still be seen.
The Powder-house, Shirehampton
Deliberately isolated, this river-side wharf and warehouse was established in the mid eighteenth century to provide safe gun powder storage for vessels entering the city's port.
Sea Mills Dock
Remains of the harbour wall constructed by John Padmore in 1712 still survive on either side of the River Trym near its confluence with the Avon. This was an early attempt to overcome the excessive tidal ranges by providing a dock with a constant level of water. it failed commercially because of its distance from the city.
image above: Albion Dry Dock 1938
Avonmouth Port & Pier Railway
The city terminus for this line was a station built almost under the shadow of Clifton Suspension Bridge, in use from 1865 until superseded in 1921. Tunnelling through the cliffs of the Gorge is still apparent today.
The Floating Harbour
Entrance Locks
Access through the two locks provided by Jessop from the tidal approaches to the harbour soon proved too narrow for the growing size of vessels.
image above: Cumberland Basin 1879
His narrow southern lock was widened from 33ft to 54ft by Brunel In 1848,giving a distinctive U-shaped section and a pair of single-leaf wrought-iron gates. These nested into crescent-shaped indentations in the lock wail which still remain. Brunel also added a newly-designed swing bridge with a tubular girder construction to span his new lock. Jessops remaining north entrance was eventually blocked and used by Howard in 1884 to site the Gridiron, a timber framework, still visible at low tide, on which vessels moored for minor repairs between tides. In 1873, Howard had superseded the old north lock by a new North Entrance Lock on an improved alignment from the river approaches and at increased dimensions of 350ft by 62ft taking the largest vessels capable of navigating the river.
image above: St.Augustine's Parade looking towards Colston Avenue before the River Froom was covered over
Cumberland Basin
The basin remains very much as built by Jessop, still even with troublesome subsidence experienced by him at the north wall during construction. Because of the extra costs this entailed, only one Junction Lock was built from the south side of the basin to the main harbour.
This is now blocked but a row of attractive Dock-workers cottages dated 1831 remains alongside. Howard constructed the large North Junction Lock c.1873, building his hydraulic enginehouse there. This housed the new Armstrong pumping equipment for the system which opened the lock gates. It now houses the Pumphouse Inn.
Underfall Yard
The old course of the Avon was dammed here by Jessop but his weir caused silting problems in 1834. Brunel drove culverts through the dam so that mud xcould be sluiced through them. His underfall system is still in use today.
image above: Welsh Back 1936
Port of Bristol workshops were built here in the 1880s which still contain a fine collection of machine tools installed with the building, including a twin-cylinder horizontal Tangye steam engine. A brick-built hydraulic enginehouse of 1887 replaced the North Junction Lock plant which was proving inadequate for the expanding system.
Its steam pumps were superseded by the electrically-operated ram pumps in 1907 which are still working a limited service round the harbour.
Hotwells Dock
Of late eighteenth- century construction, this small dock was one of the minor efforts to improve port facilities prior to the Floating Harbour. It is still used by the sand trade. Just down-stream, the entrance only survives of the much larger Merchants Dock built by William Champion in 1765, later occupied by G K Stotherts ship-building firm but filled in by 1962 and subsequently built over by a housing scheme.
image above: 1899 Looking towards the Tramway Centre through the gates of 'E'Shed
Albion Dockyard
On the opposite bank of the harbour the Hillhouse family built ships in the yard which later was occupied by Charles Hill & Sons. It is now busy repairing, building and mooring pleasure vessels but the former managers house survives, and workers cottages c.1830 in Sydney Row The yard also encompassed the Great Western Dock, a dry dock built c.1839 to construct the ss Great Britain Launched in 1843, the first large wrought-iron screw-driven vessel, she returned here to her place of origin in 1970 for an inspired re storation project, and was made available to public viewing.
Near the entrance, the Citys Maritime Heritage Museum houses material based mainly on collections assembled by the family of the Charles Hill Company.
Canons Marsh
Descriptions of this area are likely to become outdated quite soon but with one development project following another it is impossible to anticipate the survival of any features. At the time of writing the reinforced-concrete tobacco bond warehouses c.1920s still dominate the scene. Behind them, the large area of the former Canons Marsh Goods Depot awaits redevelopment. its station, completed in 1908 for the Harbour Railway, being another of Bristols early reinforced concrete structures.
The Y and Z Transit Sheds at the waterfront are the earliest-known buildings in this category, believed to have boon built c.1904. The adjoining derelict area of the Canons Marsh Gas Works is all part of the former dockside scene which is soon likely to disappear. From here a good view can be had of the Stothert & Pitt Steam crane. Built to a design with a curved jib patented by Fairburn, it was capable of lifting 35 tons. It was restored to a limited working condition for its 1976 centenary.
image above: Cumberland Basin Complex 1975
St Augustine's Reach
Neptune's statue now stands at the head of the visible remains of the medieval great trench which diverted the Frome to its new confluence with the Avon. The late nineteenth century transit sheds on the west bank have assumed a new lease of life in recent years with conversion to modern uses, the decorated gable frontage of E Shed being restored in a scheme to accommodate the Watershed media centre.
On the opposite bank the buildings are mostly new apart from the former mall-loft at 16 Narrow Quay and the Bush Warehouse below, at in the most prominent position of the whole dockside. Built c.1830 as a tea warehouse and enlarged in 1847, this fine building was threatened with demolition in the early 1970s. The splendid restoration scheme which emerged from the planning controversy now houses an art gallery and business premises and gives an appropriate focal point to the dockside scene.
image above: 16th July 1917 the launch of the 'New York City' from Hill's shipyard
Prince Street Bridge and Princes Wharf
The hydraulically-operated swing bridge can still be activated by means of the piped system from the Underfall Yard pumphouse. it also has its own small electricity-powered hydraulic accumulator tower in the timber Italianate-styled building on the abutments of the bridge. The large post-war Transit Shed on Princes Wharf accommodates Bristol's Industrial museum, with its exhibits mainly concentrating on the transport history of the city.
On the wharf stands Henbury,the Bristol built Peckett locomotive which is manned by a volunteer group to passenger rides to the SS Great Britain on high days and holidays. At the waters edge the ST Mayflower, the Bristol-built tug is undergoing an extensive restoration scheme. Other privately owned vessels of historic interest are moored here from time to time.
The four Stothert and Pitt Bath-bulit cranes were saved from destruction by further voluntary effort. In the section of L Shed adjoining the road, the National Lifeboat Museum is housed. A plaque mounted at high level on the end of this building commemorates the launching of Brunels SS Great Western which took place from this site of Pattersons boatyard in 1837.
Bathurst Basin
An additional entrance lock, basin and junction lock was provided by Jessop for small vessels when high water gave access up the New Cut The Entrance Lock was blocked during World War II to prevent possible drainage of the docks but the basin is still used for mooring pleasure vessels gaining entrance from the Floating Harbour.
Although no longer used, the hydraulic mechanisms for opening the entrance lock gates and swing road bridge are still visible at their original sites. The facades of distinctive Bristol Byzantine warehouses of Robinsons oil mill have been successfully incorporated into new housing development on the north-west side of the basin.
On the eastern flank the General Hospital had commercial buildings at ground-floor level alongside the dock which still have traces remaining. The remains of broad-gauge rail plates, at the site of the former Harbour Railway steam-operated bascule bridge, where it crossed the junction lock, were removed during 1985 when the modem swing bridge was constructed, but the entrance to the tunnel giving access to Temple Meads Station is still visible from the lockside wall.
Welsh Back and Redcliff Back warehouses
The Western Counties Agricultural Association building at is a reinforced concrete warehouse c.1909, built in unusual style which incorporated similar features to the more traditional late-nineteenth century WCA warehouse which it replaced.
There are hopes that this building will eventually be converted to dwelling accommodation. On Redcliff Back nearer Bristol Bridge Buchanan's Warehouse was originally built as a granary and mill for Proctor Baker in 1883 and badly bomb-damaged during World War II, but plans are in hand to incorporate it into modern development At Welsh Back on the opposite bank, Pearce's Granary, built by Ponton and Gough in 1885 using multicoloured brickwork, is regarded as the epitomy of Bristol Byzantine style of architecture.
Bristol Bridge
Designed by James Bridge to replace the medieva! stone bridge and completed in 1768, this triple arch masonry bridge was widened in 1870 by walkways supported on iron columns which obscures much of the original structure. It creates a barrier to navigation by larger vessels upstream of the bridge so that the remaining stretch of the Floating Harbour was served mainly by barge traffic just above the next bridge St Phillips a modern shot tower replaces the first ever built on Redcliffe Hill demolished in 1968.
Totterdown Basin and Lock
The Totterdown Basin marks lie upper limit of the Floating Harbour, from which access was provided for small vessels to the New Cut and to the Feeder Canal. The entrance lock from the cut was blocked during World War II but the entrances can still be identified from both the basin and the cut From Totterdown to Netham the tidal waters of the New Cut occupy the natural bed of the river, while the Floating Harbour is supplied with fresh water through the mile straight of the Feeder Canal.
The five-storey block of the huge Great Western cotton factory was sited about half-way along its length from 1838 to 1968. Now only its single-storey weaving sheds. entrance and yard remain.
Netham Lock Weir
At the far end of the Feeder Canal the Netham Lock gives way to the natural course of the River Avon. Just below the confluence, Netham Weir built by William Jessop mid later raised in height on Brunels advice, keeps a supply of water available to flow through the Feeder Canal and on through the Floating Harbour. Netham Weir is the head of the normal tidal stream but high spring tides reach the next weir upstream at Hanham.
The tidal Avon and New Cut
Downriver of the Netham Weir the Avon passes beneath a small Lysaght's Suspension footbridge joining Arno's Vale with Evans Park. At Totterdown a more substantial Lysaghts girder bridge crosses the river before it Turns north towards Totterdown Basin to join the man-made course of the New Cut The Bath Bridge replaced a cast-iron Structure designed by Jessop which collapsed during building.
It was rebuilt and then later was destroyed when hit by a barge at high tide. A bridge at Bedminster of similar design survived more successfully to be replaced by the present Bedminster Bridge in the 1870s. The entrance to Bathurst Basin is apparent at and just below this the New Cut is spanned by another small suspension footbridge built to replace the Old Gaol Ferry.
Vauxhall Footbridge
Opened in 1900, was a swing bridge operated hydraulically from the Underfall Yard as was the next bridge downstream. Ashton Swing Bridge. This bridge which formerly carded a road on its top deck and the Harbour Railway below was Bristol-built by Lysaghts and opened in 1906. It now only carries a single line of the diminished Harbour Railway, and is said not to have been opened since World War II although this has been disputed.
Three large brick-built tobacco bond warehouses dominate the final section of the New Cut just below, the approaches to Rownham Ferry are revealed at low tide placed here after Howards North Entrance Lock to the Floating Harbour made the old site impractical.
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