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53-623: Bathurst Basin is a small triangular basin adjoining the main harbour of the city of Bristol , England. The basin takes its name from Charles Bathurst , who was a Bristol MP in the early 19th century. The basin was built on an area of an old mill pond, Trin Mills . The pond was supplied by the River Malago , from Bedminster to the South. It lost its water supply as the New Cut was created in 1809, running to

106-513: A 45-foot-wide (13.7 m) 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 Dochfour . Patterson's yard within the harbour

159-399: A body of water is protected and deep enough to allow anchorage. Many such harbors are rias . Natural harbors have long been of great strategic naval and economic importance, and many great cities of the world are located on them. Having a protected harbor reduces or eliminates the need for breakwaters as it will result in calmer waves inside the harbor. Some examples are: For harbors near

212-622: 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

265-690: A variety of small boats by Baltic Wharf Sailing Club and is surrounded by tourist attractions. The old hydraulic pumping station has been converted into a pub and is a Grade II listed building. 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 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

318-643: Is Long Beach Harbor , California , United States, which was an array of salt marshes and tidal flats too shallow for modern merchant ships before it was first dredged in the early 20th century. In contrast, a natural harbor is surrounded on several sides by land. Examples of natural harbors include Sydney Harbour , New South Wales, Australia, Halifax Harbour in Halifax, Nova Scotia , Canada and Trincomalee Harbour in Sri Lanka. Artificial harbors are frequently built for use as ports. The oldest artificial harbor known

371-704: Is a sheltered body of water where ships , boats , and barges can be moored . The term harbor is often used interchangeably with port , which is a man-made facility built for loading and unloading vessels and dropping off and picking up passengers. Harbors usually include one or more ports. Alexandria Port in Egypt, meanwhile, is an example of a port with two harbors. Harbors may be natural or artificial. An artificial harbor can have deliberately constructed breakwaters , sea walls , or jetties or they can be constructed by dredging , which requires maintenance by further periodic dredging. An example of an artificial harbor

424-465: Is now blocked, and the original railway bridge has been replaced with a swing footbridge. This bridge is manually swung by a hydraulic pump action. Bristol General Hospital is located on the Eastern quay of the basin. When constructed in 1859, the hospital was built with basement warehouse space to defray its operating costs. The Southern quay has never had any substantial buildings on it and for many years

477-480: Is powered by water pressure from the Underfall Yard hydraulic engine house at 750 psi (5,200 kPa; 52 bar). The new Plimsoll Bridge, completed in 1965, has a more modern electro-hydraulic system using oil at a pressure of 4,480 psi (30,900 kPa; 309 bar). Since the 1980s, millions of pounds have been spent regenerating the harbourside. In 1999, Pero's Bridge was constructed, linking

530-505: 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

583-561: Is the Ancient Egyptian site at Wadi al-Jarf , on the Red Sea coast, which is at least 4500 years old (ca. 2600–2550 BCE, reign of King Khufu ). The largest artificially created harbor is Jebel Ali in Dubai . Other large and busy artificial harbors include: The Ancient Carthaginians constructed fortified, artificial harbors called cothons . A natural harbor is a landform where a section of

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636-676: The @Bristol exhibition with Bristol tourist attractions. In 2000, the @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 the National Lottery , 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

689-633: 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 SS  Great Britain , which

742-643: 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. 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

795-525: 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. 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

848-515: 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 & Baltic Wharf are used by

901-460: The North and South poles , being ice-free is an important advantage, especially when it is year-round. Examples of these are: The world's southernmost harbor, located at Antarctica 's Winter Quarters Bay (77° 50′ South), is sometimes ice-free, depending on the summertime pack ice conditions. Although the world's busiest port is a contested title, in 2017 the world's busiest harbor by cargo tonnage

954-720: The River Thames , but her 48 ft (14.6 m) beam was too big to pass through the lock. Thus the SS 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. The harbour cost more than anticipated and high rates were levied to repay loans, reducing any benefit

1007-634: The Underfall Yard , serving landing stages in the city centre and close to most of the harbour-side attractions. 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,

1060-429: 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

1113-524: The 1809 Feeder Canal is the upstream limit of the floating 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 natural River Avon. The first 1 mile (1.6 kilometres) of the floating harbour, downstream from Netham Lock to Totterdown Basin , is an artificial canal known as the Feeder Canal , while the tidal River Avon follows its original route. Downstream of Totterdown Basin,

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1166-774: 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. In June 2020, the statue of Bristol slave trader Edward Colston was pushed into the harbour by protestors, after being pulled down from its plinth, jumped upon and daubed in paint. 51°27′N 2°36′W  /  51.45°N 2.60°W  / 51.45; -2.60 Harbour A harbor ( American English ), or harbour ( Australian English , British English , Canadian English , Irish English , New Zealand English ; see spelling differences ),

1219-656: 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

1272-538: The Bristol General Steam Navigation Company from Broad Quay in St Augustine's Reach. By 1867, ships were getting larger and the meanders in the river Avon prevented vessels over 300 ft (91 m) 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

1325-567: 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

1378-522: The Ostrich and Louisiana (originally the Bathurst Hotel) pubs . [REDACTED] Bristol Harbour Bristol Harbour is the harbour in the city of Bristol , England. The harbour covers an area of 70 acres (28 hectares). It is the former natural tidal river Avon through the city but was made into its current form in 1809 when the tide was prevented from going out permanently. A tidal by-pass

1431-457: The Patent slip and quay walls. 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

1484-558: The South of the enlarged Floating Harbour and catching the flow of the Malago. After this it formed a connecting basin, through two sets of locks , between the Floating Harbour and the tidal River Avon in the New Cut. The connection enabled smaller vessels to bypass the main entrance locks in Cumberland Basin. From 1865 a deep water dock with a stone quay front was built. The area used to be an industrial dock with warehouses and numerous shipyards at

1537-414: The adjoining Wapping Shipyard and Docks, including Hilhouse , William Scott & Sons and William Patterson . Now there is a small marina, with residential quayside properties. The Bristol Harbour Railway connected to the main line system at Temple Meads , via a lifting bascule bridge over the northern entrance dock to the basin and a tunnel beneath St Mary Redcliffe . The tunnel still exists, but

1590-519: The blackest description', typical of burning naphtha, hurled one of the crew across the harbour to land with a broken leg. The explosion broke windows around the basin, including all those in the lower floor of the Hospital. Although rescuers boarded the Union , they were unable to rescue the trapped crew owing to the heat of the fire and three of the four crew burned to death. Liquid, burning naphtha floated across

1643-569: 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

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1696-522: 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 47 feet (14 metres) between high and low water. This means that

1749-404: The floating harbour occupies the former natural course of the River Avon, whilst 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 allows boats in the harbour to remain floating at low tide, reduces currents and silting and prevents flooding. Between Bristol Temple Meads railway station and Hotwells ,

1802-525: 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

1855-512: 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

1908-454: The harbour and the River Avon run parallel at a distance of no more than 5 ⁄ 8 mile (1 kilometre) apart. Downstream of Bristol Temple Meads railway station, the floating harbour meanders through Bristol city centre , Canon's Marsh and Hotwells . At Hotwells, the floating harbour rejoins the tidal River Avon, via a series of locks, and flows into the Avon Gorge . Bristol Harbour was

1961-496: 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 45 and 35 ft (13.7 and 10.7 m), and

2014-503: The locks, into Clifton . 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 1 ⁄ 2  mi (800 m) to Wapping Wharf . In 1906, new branches from

2067-522: 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 ft (18.9 m) and is the only entrance lock now in use at the City Docks. From 1893 until 1934 the Clifton Rocks Railway provided a funicular railway link, inside the cliff face, from the western end of the harbour, which is close to

2120-558: 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

2173-499: 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 the middle of the nineteenth century there was a regular steam packet passenger service to Cork, Waterford, Dublin, Tenby, Carmarthen, Haverford West, Milford Haven, Swansea, Cardiff and Newport operated by

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2226-460: 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 7 mi (11 km) downstream at the mouth of the River Avon. [REDACTED] 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

2279-467: The previous day at Welsh Back and the Master, Henry Cartwright, was now waiting for strong winds to drop. Knowing the risk of fire for this flammable cargo, all flames had been banned from around the vessel and it had been kept in the entrance lock, not the main basin, overnight. Just after 11am, a sudden explosion rocked the basin. 'A high wall of flame of appalling fierceness' followed by 'a cloud of smoke of

2332-458: 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

2385-534: The south via the Ashton Avenue 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. The docks maintenance facility was established on the land exposed by the damming of the river to construct

2438-400: The surface of the basin and set fire to the ships there, with flames reaching masthead height. After three hours the fire burned out, aided by the efforts of horse-drawn fire engines and the docks' fire float . The lock to the New Cut was blocked at the beginning of World War II to ensure that in case of damage by bombing, the waters of the Floating Harbour could not drain into the river. It

2491-573: The yard reopened in 1980 when Abels Shipbuilders began operating. It produce 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

2544-572: Was also playing a significant role in the slave trade . 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 in Wales , stone , timber and coal. The limitations of Bristol's docks were causing problems to business, so in 1802 William Jessop proposed installing

2597-512: Was dug for 2 miles through the fields of Bedminster for the river, known as the "River Avon New Cut", "New Cut", or simply "The Cut". It is often called the Floating Harbour as the water level remains constant and it is not affected by the state of the tide on the river in the Avon Gorge, The New Cut or the natural river southeast of Temple Meads to its source. Netham Lock at the east end of

2650-410: Was shut permanently in 1952. The basin is the home for Cabot Cruising Club who own the lightvessel John Sebastian , which was commissioned in 1886. It was acquired by the club in 1954 and opened as its headquarters a few years later in 1959. Facilities at the basin include a toilet and shower block, a water tap and refuse and chemical toilet disposal points. Also in the surroundings of the basin are

2703-444: 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. Bristol Ferry Boats and Number Seven Boat Trips operate ferry services along the harbour from near Temple Meads station to

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2756-496: Was used by Holms Sand & Gravel Co. as a depot for building materials, brought in by boat and offloaded into road vehicles. A travelling crane on an overhead gantry was used to handle these. On 21 November 1888 the Basin was the scene of a serious explosion and fire. The ketch United was laden with 310 barrels of naphtha , distilled from coal tar in Brislington , and ready for departure to London. The cargo had been loaded

2809-475: Was used for the construction of many ships notably Brunel's SS  Great Western in 1838 and the SS ; Great Britain 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

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