1955 Ordnance Survey map of Durdham Down & Clifton Down

Clifton Down is an area of public open space in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, England, north of the village of Clifton. With its neighbour

Durdham Down Durdham Down is an area of public open space in Bristol, England. With its neighbour Clifton Down to the southwest, it constitutes a area known as The Downs, much used for leisure including walking, jogging and team sports. Its exposed positio ...

to the northeast, it constitutes the large area known as The Downs, much used for leisure including walking and team sports. Clifton Down is the part of the Downs south of Stoke Road.

History

There is an Iron Age

hill fort A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roma ...

at Clifton Camp on Observatory Hill on the down, and there are remnants of an Iron Age or Roman field system between Ladies Mile and

Bristol Zoo Bristol Zoo was a zoo in the city of Bristol in South West England. The zoo's stated mission was to "maintain and defend” biodiversity through breeding endangered species, conserving threatened species and habitats and promoting a wider unders ...

. The Roman road from Bath to Sea Mills crossed the Downs near Stoke Road, and a short length is visible as a slightly raised grassy bank.

William Worcester William Worcester, also called William of Worcester, William Worcestre or William Botoner (1415) was an English topographer, antiquary and chronicler. Life He was a son of another William of Worcester, a Bristol whittawer (worker in white leather ...

described a presumably turf-cut figure of the giant Ghyst on Clifton Down in 1480. In the Middle Ages Clifton Down was the commons of pasture for the manor of Clifton. It was also valuable

farmland Agricultural land is typically land ''devoted to'' agriculture, the systematic and controlled use of other forms of lifeparticularly the rearing of livestock and production of cropsto produce food for humans. It is generally synonymous with bo ...

used by many farms in the area. In 1676 and 1686 the manor of Clifton was purchased by the Society of Merchant Venturers. During the 18th century Clifton became a fashionable summer spa, and Clifton Down was increasingly used for recreation. There were also

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

mines in the 18th century, which account for the bumpy surface in the area by Upper Belgrave Road known as the Dumps. A

gibbet A gibbet is any instrument of public execution (including guillotine, executioner's block, impalement stake, hanging gallows, or related scaffold). Gibbeting is the use of a gallows-type structure from which the dead or dying bodies of cri ...

was erected opposite the top end of Gallows Acre Lane (now known as Pembroke Road). By the mid-19th century Clifton Down ceased to be used for grazing. Clifton became a desirable place to live, and large houses were built close to Clifton Down. Bristol Corporation became concerned at the threat to this public amenity, and in 1861 promoted an Act of Parliament, under which the Society of Merchant Venturers undertook to secure Clifton Down for public enjoyment free of charge. Since 1861 Clifton Down has been managed, with Durdham Down, by the Downs Committee, a joint committee of the Society of Merchant Venturers and

Bristol City Council Bristol City Council is the local authority of Bristol, England. The council is a unitary authority, and is unusual in the United Kingdom in that its executive function is controlled by a directly elected mayor of Bristol. Bristol has 34 ward ...

, which owns Durdham Down. The committee appoints a Downs Ranger to oversee the Downs.

Suffragette meeting

On 20 September 1908 there was a meeting across the road near the water tower to support the Suffragette movement: some 10,000 people were there.Friends of the Downs and Avon Gorge "Welcome Issue" pamphlet 2016.

World War II

Stone cairns were placed on all open spaces to deter landings of enemy aircraft: the cairns were removed in 1944. In May 1941, 32 acres were requisitioned on the east side of Ladies Mile to store military vehicles in six canvas

hangar A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...

s. There was a tank repair area near the Sea Walls. An area of 42 acres to the west of Ladies Mile was used from February 1944 to store heavy army equipment.

Features

The downs, Clifton and Durdham, are separated by the busy commuter road of Stoke Road, passing the prominent 'concrete elephant' water tower and adjoining tea room. At right angles to Stoke Road runs the dead straight '', to the South West corner of the Downs and Bridge Valley Road. In Victorian and Edwardian times this was a promenading and horse-riding spot for the affluent, similar to Rotten Row in London. After the Great War, it remained a promenading spot, but now on a more commercial basis. From the southwest corner of Clifton Down, in an area known as the Sea Wall, there are panoramic views of the

Avon Gorge The Avon Gorge () is a 1.5-mile (2.5-kilometre) long gorge on the River Avon in Bristol, England. The gorge runs south to north through a limestone ridge west of Bristol city centre, and about 3 miles (5 km) from the mouth of the ...

and the

Clifton Suspension Bridge The Clifton Suspension Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Avon Gorge and the River Avon, linking Clifton in Bristol to Leigh Woods in North Somerset. Since opening in 1864, it has been a toll bridge, the income from which provides f ...

. Near Clifton village is the site of the Observatory, a small tower with a

camera obscura A camera obscura (; ) is a darkened room with a small hole or lens at one side through which an image is projected onto a wall or table opposite the hole. ''Camera obscura'' can also refer to analogous constructions such as a box or tent in w ...

at the top. Located close to the observatory is an open face of rock that has been used as a slide by generations of Bristolians and students. This "rock slide" has become polished and is now an attraction to visitors. A railway

tunnel A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...

, Clifton Down Tunnel, passes underneath Clifton on the line from

Temple Meads Bristol Temple Meads is the oldest and largest railway station in Bristol, England. It is located away from London Paddington. It is an important transport hub for public transport in the city; there are bus services to many parts of the city ...

to Severn Beach. One portal is in Clifton near Clifton Down railway station; the other in the

far below Clifton Down. There are three air shafts for the tunnel: two in vertical tower form (near the zoo, and in Walcombe Slade gulley) with the third being a horizontal tunnel on the Portway. Part of Clifton Down was used by

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

men as a cruising ground. In 2008, there were concerns by some gay men at the removal of vegetation as part of the Avon Gorge Management Plan, on the grounds that this was discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation.

References

External links