Floating Harbour

St Augustine's Reach and Pero's Bridge, during the 2004 Harbour Festival

The Floating Harbour or Bristol Harbour is the harbour in the city of Bristol. It is formed from the natural course of the River Avon in the city and marks the division of the city between Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south.

The harbour covers an area of 70 acres. It has existed since the 13th century but was developed into its current form in the early 19th century by installing lock gates on a tidal stretch of the River Avon in the centre of the city and providing a tidal by-pass for the river. It is called a floating harbour as the water level remains constant and it is not affected by the state of the tide on the river, allowing ships to float at all times. This development was put into effect when Bristol, which had once been the greatest port on the western seas, found itself far outmatched by newly developed port facilities at Liverpool and elsewhere, which were not dependent on the tide. Ultimately Avonmouth took over as the main port however.

Netham Lock in eastern Bristol is the upstream limit of the harbour. Beyond the lock is a junction: on one arm the navigable River Avon continues upstream to Bath, and on the other arm is the tidal River Avon. The first mile of the floating harbour, downstream from Netham Lock, is an artificial channel known as the Feeder Canal, while the tidal River Avon follows its original route. Between Bristol Temple Meads railway station and Hotwells, the harbour and the River Avon run parallel at a distance of no more than 0.7 mile (1.0 km) apart. At Bristol Temple Meads railway station, the floating harbour occupies the original bed of the River Avon and meanders through Bristol city centre, Canon's Marsh and Hotwells. To the south, the tidal River Avon flows through an artificial channel known as the New Cut. This separation of the floating harbour and the tidal River Avon reduces currents and silting in the harbour and prevents flooding. At Hotwells, the floating harbour rejoins the tidal River Avon, by way of a series of locks, and flows into the Avon Gorge.

The harbour today

the former Bristol Industrial Museum now M Shed.

Bristol Harbour was the original Port of Bristol, but as ships and their cargo have increased in size, it has now largely been replaced by docks at Avonmouth and Portbury. These are located 3 miles downstream at the mouth of the River Avon.

The harbour is now a tourist attraction with museums, galleries, exhibitions, bars and nightclubs. Former workshops and warehouses have now largely been converted or replaced by cultural venues, such as the Arnolfini art gallery, Watershed media and arts centre, M Shed museum and the At-Bristol science exhibition centre, as well as a number of fashionable apartment buildings. The Bristol Harbour Railway, operated by M Shed, runs between the museum and the Create Centre on some weekends and bank holidays. Historic boats are permanently berthed in the harbour. These include Isambard Kingdom Brunel's , which was the first iron-hulled and propeller-driven ocean liner. and a replica of the Matthew in which John Cabot sailed to North America in 1497. The historic vessels of M Shed museum, which include the steam tug Mayflower, firefloat Pyronaut and motor tug John King, are periodically operated.

The Bristol Ferry Boat Company operate ferry services in the harbour, serving landing stages close to most of the harbour-side attractions. The latter company also operates a Bristol City Council supported commuter service. and Number Seven Boat Trips

The Bristol Packet boats offer regular harbour tours with commentaries and river cruises up the River Avon to Conham, Hanham and Bath and downstream to Avonmouth. In late July each year, the Bristol Harbour Festival is held, resulting in an influx of boats, including tall ships, Royal Navy vessels and lifeboats.

Sections, quays & harbourside features

1. Prince's Wharf, including M Shed (formerly Bristol Industrial Museum), Pyronaut and Mayflower
2. Dry docks: SS Great Britain, the Matthew
3. St Augustine's Reach, Pero's Bridge
4. Bathurst Basin
5. Queen Square
6. Bristol Temple Meads railway station
7. Castle Park
8. Redcliffe Quay and Redcliffe Caves
9. Baltic Wharf marina
10. Cumberland Basin & Brunel Locks
11. The New Cut
12. Netham Lock, entrance to the Feeder Canal
13. Totterdown Basin
14. Temple Quay
15. The Centre
16. Canons Marsh, including Millennium Square and At-Bristol
17. Underfall Yard
18. Bristol Bridge

History of Bristol docks

A tall ship in the Cumberland lock, Hotwells

Bristol grew up on the banks of the Rivers Avon and Frome. Since the 13th century, the rivers have been modified for use as docks including the diversion of the River Frome in the 1240s into an artificial deep channel known as "Saint Augustine's Reach", which flowed into the River Avon. Saint Augustine's Reach became the heart of Bristol's docks with its quays and wharfs. The River Avon within the gorge, and the River Severn into which it flows, has tides which fluctuate about 30 feet between high and low water. This means that the river is easily navigable at high-tide but reduced to a muddy channel at low tide in which ships would often run aground. Ships had no option but to be stranded in the harbour for unloading, giving rise to the phrase "shipshape and Bristol fashion" to describe how ships and their secured cargo were capable of taking the strain of repeated strandings on the mud.

As early as 1420, vessels from Bristol were regularly travelling to Iceland and it is speculated that sailors from Bristol had made landfall in the Americas before Christopher Columbus or John Cabot. After Cabot arrived in Bristol, he proposed a scheme to the king, Henry VII, in which he proposed to reach Asia by sailing west across the north Atlantic. He estimated that this would be shorter and quicker than Columbus' southerly route. The merchants of Bristol, operating under the name of the Society of Merchant Venturers, agreed to support his scheme. They had sponsored probes into the north Atlantic from the early 1480s, looking for possible trading opportunities. In 1552 Edward VI granted a Royal Charter to the Merchant Venturers to manage the port.

By 1670, the city had 6,000 tons of shipping, of which half was used for importing tobacco. By the late 17th century and early 18th century, this shipping was also playing a significant role in the slave trade; a return to an ancient grim trade, as Bristol gained notoriety in the eleventh century for selling English peasants abroad.

Construction of the floating harbour

The Cumberland Basin

In the 18th century, the docks in Liverpool grew larger and so increased competition with Bristol for the tobacco trade. Coastal trade was also important, with the area called "Welsh Back" concentrating on trows with cargoes from the slate industry, stone, timber and coal. The limitations of Bristol's docks were causing problems to business, so in 1802 William Jessop proposed installing a dam and lock at Hotwells to create the harbour. The £530,000 scheme was approved by Parliament, and construction began in May 1804. The scheme included the construction of the Cumberland Basin, a large wide stretch of the harbour in Hotwells where the Quay walls and bollards have listed building status.

Launch of the SS Great Britain at Bristol in 1843

The tidal new cut was constructed from Netham to Hotwells, with another dam installed at this end of the harbour. The Feeder Canal between Temple Meads and Netham provided a link to the tidal river so that boats could continue upstream to Bath. However, the new scheme required a way to equalise the levels inside and outside the Dock for the passage of vessels to and from the Avon, and bridges to cross the water. Jessop built Cumberland Basin with two entrance locks from the tidal Avon, of width 45 feet and 35 feet, and a junction lock 45 feet wide between the Basin and what became known as the Floating Harbour. This arrangement provided flexibility of operation with the Basin being used as a lock when there were large numbers of arrivals and sailings. The harbour was officially opened on 1 May 1809.

The Great Britain

Patterson's yard within the harbour was used for the construction of many ships notably Brunel's in 1838 and the in 1843. They were some of the largest ships to have been built at the time, and ironically hastened the decline of the city docks by proving the feasibility of large ships. The SS Great Britain was to be towed away from her builders, to have her 1,000 hp engines and interior fitted out on the River Thames, but her 48-foot beam was too big to pass through the lock. Thus the Great Britain was moored in the Floating Harbour until December 1844, before proceeding into Cumberland Basin after coping stones and lock gate platforms were removed from the Junction Lock. At one time there were dozens of Bristol shipyards, the largest in the harbour being Hilhouse, who became Charles Hill & Sons in 1845.

19th century improvements

The harbour cost more than anticipated and high rates were levied to repay borrowing, reducing any benefit the new harbour had at drawing companies back from Liverpool. In 1848 the city council bought the docks company to force down the rates. They employed Isambard Kingdom Brunel to make improvements, including new lock gates, a dredger and sluice gates designed to reduce siltation.

By 1867, ships were getting larger and the meanders in the river Avon prevented boats over 300 feet from reaching the harbour. A scheme to install a much larger lock at Avonmouth to make the entire river a floating harbour, and to straighten the sharper bends, was dropped after work began on the much cheaper docks at Avonmouth and Portishead. The present entrance lock was designed by Thomas Howard and opened in July 1873. This has a width of 62 feet and is the only entrance lock now in use at the City Docks.

From 1893 until 1934 the Clifton Rocks Railway provided an underground funicular railway link from the western end of the harbour, which is close to the locks, into Clifton.

Railways

The original Bristol Harbour Railway was a joint venture by the GWR and the Bristol and Exeter Railway, opened in 1872 between Temple Meads and the Floating Harbour. Its route included a tunnel under St Mary Redcliffe church and a steam-powered bascule bridge over the entrance locks at Bathurst Basin. In 1876 the railway was extended by half a mile to Wapping Wharf. In 1906, new branches from the south via Ashton swing bridge were built to Canons Marsh on the north side of the Floating Harbour and to Wapping via a line alongside the New Cut. A Coal Concentration Depot owned by Western Fuels was established at Wapping Wharf just behind the Industrial Museum but this closed in 1987.

Shunting coal trucks at the Coal Concentration Depot, 1981

Underfall Yard

Underfall Yard

The docks maintenance facility was established on the land exposed by the damming of the river to construct the harbour and remains sited at this location to the present day. William Jessop had created a weir in the dam at Underfall to allow surplus water to flow back into the New Cut, this was known as the 'Overfall'. By the 1830s, the Floating Harbour was suffering from severe silting. Isambard Kingdom Brunel was, however, able to devise a solution to this problem. In place of the Overfall he advised better use of three shallow sluices and one deep scouring sluice between the harbour and the New Cut, together with a dredging vessel. This drag boat would scrape the silt away from the quay walls. When the deep sluice opened at low tide, a powerful undertow sucked the silt into the river to be carried away on the next tide. The shallow sluices enabled adjustment of the dock water level according to weather conditions.

Several old buildings, which date from the 1880s, remain at Underfall Yard and have listed building status. The octagonal brick and terracotta chimney of the hydraulic engine house]] dates from 1888, and is grade II* listed, as is the hydraulic engine house itself. It is built of red brick with a slate roof and contains pumping machinery, installed in 1907 by Fullerton, Hodgart and Barclay of Paisley, which powers the dock's hydraulic system of cranes, bridges and locks. The former pattern-maker's shop and stores date from the same period and are grade II listed, as are the Patent slip and quay walls.

Warehouses

The Arnolfini

A large number of warehouses were built around the harbour for storage and trade. Many survive today and some are being converted into apartment blocks but many have been demolished as part of the regeneration of the area.

The "A Bond Tobacco Warehouse" is one which has survived. It was built in 1905 and was the first of the three brick built bonded warehouses in the Cumberland Basin, and is a Grade II listed building.

B Bond Warehouse dates from 1908 and was the first in Britain to use Edmond Coignet's reinforced concrete system.

Robinson's Warehouse built in 1874 by William Bruce Gingell, and the Granary on Welsh Back are examples of the Bristol Byzantine style with coloured brick and Moorish arches.

The Arnolfini art gallery occupies Bush House, a 19th-century Grade II* listed tea warehouse.

The Watershed Media Centre occupies another disused warehouse.

20th century improvements

In 1908, the Royal Edward Dock was built in Avonmouth and in 1972 the large deep water Royal Portbury Dock was constructed on the opposite side of the mouth of the Avon, making the Bristol City Docks in the floating harbour redundant as a freight dock. In 1977 Charles Hill & Sons, the last shipbuilder at the Albion Yard, closed after delivering the 1541 ton beer tanker Miranda Guinness. Part of the yard reopened in 1980 when Abels Shipbuilders began operating, who still produce a steady stream of small ferries, survey vessels, tugs and other craft.

City Docks looking West from near Bristol Bridge in 1971

Amey Roadstone (formerly T R Brown and Holms Sand & Gravel) sand dredgers worked from Poole's Wharf in Hotwells until 1991. Occasionally coastal trading vessels enter the Cumberland Basin to be loaded with large steel silos manufactured by Braby Ltd at their nearby Ashton Gate works.

The old Junction Lock swing bridge is powered by water pressure from the Underfall Yard hydraulic engine house at 750 psi. The new Plimsoll Bridge, completed in 1965, has a more modern electro-hydraulic system using oil at a pressure of 4480 psi.

Regeneration of the harbourside

The Watershed and Pero's Bridge

Since the 1980s, millions of pounds have been spent regenerating the harbourside. In 1999, Pero's footbridge was constructed, linking the At-Bristol exhibition with Bristol tourist attractions. In 2000, the At-Bristol centre opened on semi-derelict land at Canon's Marsh and some of the existing Grade II listed buildings were refurbished and reused. It was funded with £44.3 million from lottery funding, the Millennium Commission, South West of England Regional Development Agency, and a further £43.4 million from Bristol city council and commercial partners, including Nestlé. Private investors are also constructing studio apartment buildings.

The regeneration of the Canon's Marsh area is expected to cost £240 million. Crest Nicholson were the lead developers, constructing 450 new flats, homes and waterside offices. It is being carried out under the guidance of The Harbourside Sponsors' Group, which is a partnership between the City Council, key stakeholders, developers, businesses, operators and funders. The Cumberland basin is used by a variety of small boats from sailing clubs and is surrounded by tourist attractions. The old hydraulic pumping station has been converted into a public house and is a Grade II listed building.

There are three active boat building companies in the harbour: Abels Shipbuilders, Bristol Classic Boat Company and the Slipway Co-operative at the Underfall Yard.

Bristol harbour festival

Events

Bristol Harbour hosts the Bristol Harbour Festival in July of each year, attended by tall ships and hundreds of ships and boats of all kinds. About 200,000 visitors view the boats, and watch live music, street performances and other entertainments.

In 1996, the harbour was the setting for the first International Festival of the Sea. A larger version of the annual harbour festivals, this was attended by many tall ships, including the Eye of the Wind, Pride of Baltimore, Rose, Kaskelot and Earl of Pembroke. The key theme was John Cabot's pioneering voyage of discovery to the Americas and a replica of Cabot's ship, the Matthew, was dedicated prior to its reenactment of Cabot's voyage the following year. In 2009, the 200th anniversary of the Floating Harbour was commemorated with a series of celebratory events.

Outside links

("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Floating Harbour)

• Bristol City Council: Harbour events and attractions
• Bristol City Council: Marine and waterway services
• Maps of Bristol Harbour c1900 – West, East
• Bristol Floating Harbour Primary sources from Bristol Museums and Libraries