Crew's Hole is an area in east

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

near

St George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the R ...

. It is next to the River Avon, two miles upstream from

Bristol Bridge Bristol Bridge is a bridge over the floating harbour in Bristol, England. The floating harbour was constructed on the original course of the River Avon, and there has been a bridge on the site since long before the harbour was created by imp ...

. From the early 18th century it began to be used extensively as an industrial area. The Bristol Brass Company began

copper smelting Smelting is a process of applying heat and a chemical reducing agent to an ore to extract a desired base metal product. It is a form of extractive metallurgy that is used to obtain many metals such as iron, copper, silver, tin, lead and zinc. Sm ...

in 1810 at Crew's Hole, and later expanded with a chimney further uphill which gave a better draught condition for the furnaces. Anthony Ammatt established a pottery at Crew's Hole in 1812, using clay transported from the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...

and

Poole Poole () is a coastal town and seaport on the south coast of England in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area in Dorset, England. The town is east of Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east ...

. Several bargeworks were built here during the 19th century.

Tar works

A tar works site was established by

Isambard Kingdom Brunel Isambard Kingdom Brunel ( ; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was an English civil engineer and mechanical engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history", "one of the 19th-century engi ...

in 1843 at the bottom of

Troopers Hill Troopers Hill is a steep, southwest-facing hillside of pennant sandstone overlooking the River Avon in the St George district of Bristol, England. Managed by Bristol City Council and the volunteer Friends of Troopers Hill group, it was designate ...

, known for its distinctive chimney. It provided

creosote Creosote is a category of carbonaceous chemicals formed by the distillation of various tars and pyrolysis of plant-derived material, such as wood, or fossil fuel. They are typically used as preservatives or antiseptics. Some creosote types w ...

to be used as a preservative for railway sleepers and by 1863 had passed into the ownership of Brunel's manager, William Butler. At the turn of the 20th century, the works were used to manufacturer tarmac for roads, which became its main use.

British Steel Corporation British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and cultur ...

(BSC) took over running of the tar works in 1970. Under their ownership, it expanded to be one of the most modern in Europe, allowing a continuous 24/7 production of creosote, road tar and

smokeless fuel Smokeless fuel is a type of solid fuel which either does not emit visible smoke or emits minimal amounts during combustion. These types of fuel find use where the use of fuels which produce smoke, such as coal and unseasoned or wet wood, is prohi ...

, among other products. It continued to operate until 1981, by which time it had stopped producing road tar and become primarily a distillation unit. After closure, the works lay derelict for some years, until the area was redeveloped as Quayside Village in 1989. Because Crew's Hole is adjacent to the River Avon, the area has been prone to

flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...

ing. Significant floods were recorded in 1894, 1960 and 1968. FastFoto 1467

References

Citations Sources *

External links

History and photos of Crew's Hole
{{Brunel Areas of Bristol