,
St Augustine the Less Church and
Bristol Cathedral, published c. 1850. The view shows the historic harbour with ten sailing ships and rowing boats before the channel was filled in 1892–1938. 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. in the Cumberland lock,
Hotwells, during the 2004 Harbour Festival 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. 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. 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. 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 widths , and a junction lock 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 first vessel built in the Floating Harbour was .
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,
19th century improvements The harbour cost more than anticipated and high rates were levied to repay loans, reducing any benefit the new harbour had at drawing companies back from Liverpool. 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 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. One which has survived is the A Bond Tobacco Warehouse, which 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. It is now used by
Bristol City Council and houses
Bristol Archives, the
CREATE Centre and council offices.
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, and 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. However, the city centre docks continued to be used for smaller trading ships until the early 1970s, despite suffering significant damage to its infrastructure during the Bristol Blitz. In 1977 Charles Hill & Sons, the last shipbuilder at the Albion Yard, closed after delivering the 1,541 tonne beer
tanker Miranda Guinness. Part of the yard reopened in 1980 when
Abels Shipbuilders began operating. It produced a steady stream of small ferries, survey vessels, tugs and other craft before going out of business in 2006.
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 . The new Plimsoll Bridge, completed in 1965, has a more modern electro-hydraulic system using oil at a pressure of . Private investors are also constructing
studio apartment buildings. The regeneration of the
Canon's Marsh area is expected to cost £240 million. 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. There are two (since 2016) active boat building companies in the harbour:
Bristol Classic Boat Company and the
Slipway Co-operative at the
Underfall Yard.
The harbour today 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,
Antlers Gallery and the
We The Curious 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; A separate cross-harbour ferry carries pedestrians from the ferry landing at the
Great Britain to the new harbour inlet opposite.
Bristol Packet Boat Trips offer regular harbour tours with commentaries and river cruises on the
Tower Belle 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. There is a bylaw that prohibit swimming in the docks, with a fine of up to £1,000 for infringement. == Events ==