Crew's Hole, Bristol

Crew's Hole
Quayside Village now occupies the site of the former tar works at Crew's Hole.
Crew's Hole Location within Bristol
OS grid reference	ST625735
Unitary authority	Bristol
Region	South West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	BRISTOL
Postcode district	BS5
Dialling code	0117

Police	Avon and Somerset
Fire	Avon
Ambulance	South Western

UK Parliament	Bristol East
List of places UK England Bristol 51°27′33″N 2°32′28″W / 51.4592°N 2.5411°W / 51.4592; -2.5411

Crew's Hole is an area in east Bristol near St George. It is next to the River Avon, two miles upstream from Bristol Bridge.^[1]

From the early 18th century it began to be used extensively as an industrial area.^[2] The Bristol Brass Company began copper smelting in 1810 at Crew's Hole, and later expanded with a chimney further uphill which gave a better draught condition for the furnaces.^[1] Anthony Ammatt established a pottery at Crew's Hole in 1812, using clay transported from the Isle of Wight and Poole. Several bargeworks were built here during the 19th century.^[1]

Tar works

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A tar works site was established by Isambard Kingdom Brunel in 1843 at the bottom of Troopers Hill, known for its distinctive chimney.^[1] It provided creosote to be used as a preservative for railway sleepers and by 1863 had passed into the ownership of Brunel's manager, William Butler.^[3] At the turn of the 20th century, the works were used to manufacturer tarmac for roads, which became its main use.^[4] British Steel Corporation (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, among other products. ^[5] 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.^[3]

Because Crew's Hole is adjacent to the River Avon, the area has been prone to flooding. Significant floods were recorded in 1894, 1960 and 1968.^[6]

References

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Citations

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d soci 2002, p. 2.
^ Buchanan, Robert Angus; Cossons, Neil (1969). "The industrial archaeology of the Bristol region". David & Charles: 154. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
^ ^a ^b soci 2002, p. 16.
^ soci 2002, p. 13.
^ soci 2002, p. 14.
^ soci 2002, p. 15.

Sources

Raymond Holland (2002). History of tar distillation at Crew's Hole (Report). Society of Chemical Industry. ISSN 1353-114X. 123/2002.

External links

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History and photos of Crew's Hole Archived 28 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine

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Neighbourhoods	City centre Arnos Vale Ashley Down Ashton Gate Ashton Vale Avonmouth Baptist Mills Barton Hill Bedminster Bedminster Down Bishopston Bishopsworth Blaise Hamlet Bower Ashton Brentry Brislington Broadmead Broom Hill near Brislington Broomhill near Fishponds Canon's Marsh Chester Park Chittening Clifton Cliftonwood Coombe Dingle Cotham Crew's Hole Crofts End Easton Eastville Filwood Park Fishponds Golden Hill Greenbank Hartcliffe Headley Park Henbury Hengrove Henleaze Hillfields Horfield Hotwells Kensington Park Kingsdown Knowle Knowle West Lawrence Hill Lawrence Weston Lockleaze Lodge Hill Mayfield Park Monks Park Montpelier Old City Redcliffe Redfield Redland Sea Mills Shirehampton Sneyd Park Southmead Southville Speedwell Spike Island St Andrew's St Anne's St. George St. Jude's St. Paul's St Philip's Marsh St. Werburgh's Stapleton Stockwood Stoke Bishop Totterdown Tyndall's Park Upper Knowle Westbury-on-Trym Westbury Park Whitehall Windmill Hill Withywood The following suburbs are in the same urban area, but lie in South Gloucestershire or North Somerset: Bradley Stoke Conham Downend Emersons Green Filton Frenchay Hambrook Hanham Kingswood Little Stoke Longwell Green Mangotsfield Oldland Common Patchway Soundwell Staple Hill Stoke Gifford Warmley Whitchurch Willsbridge

v t e Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Railways	Great Western Bristol and Exeter Bristol and Gloucester Bristol and South Wales Union Cheltenham and Great Western Union Cornwall Dartmouth and Torbay East Somerset Great Western and Brentford Llynvi Valley Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton South Devon South Devon and Tavistock South Wales South Wales Mineral Taff Vale Vale of Neath West Cornwall West Somerset Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth
Railway stations	Bath Spa Bradford-on-Avon Bridgend Bridgwater Bristol Temple Meads Charfield Charlbury Chippenham Cirencester Town Crediton Culham Exeter St Davids Exeter St Thomas Liskeard Mortimer Paddington The Railway Station Hilton Hotel, Paddington St Germans Salisbury Stroud Weston Junction Yatton
Bridges and viaducts	Angarrack viaduct Avon Bridge Bath:St James's Bridge; Skew Bridge; St James' Viaduct Bishop's Bridge Chepstow Bridge Chippenham viaduct Clifton Suspension Bridge Cornwall Railway viaducts Carnon St Pinnock Cumberland Basin swing bridges "Devil's Bridge", Uphill Gatehampton Railway Bridge Hungerford Bridge Landore Viaduct Loughor Viaduct Maidenhead Bridge Rain, Steam and Speed – The Great Western Railway Moulsford Railway Bridge Royal Albert Bridge Somerset Bridge Three Bridges, London Usk Bridge Wharncliffe Viaduct Windsor Bridge
Tunnels and earthworks	Box Tunnel Cockett Tunnel Great Western Main Line Llansamlet arches Sapperton Tunnel Sonning Cutting South Devon Banks South Devon Railway sea wall Thames Tunnel Wellington Bank, Somerset
Ships, harbours and waterways	Great Western Steamship Company SS Great Western SS Great Britain Balanced rudder SS Great Eastern Isambard Kingdom Brunel Standing Before the Launching Chains of the Great Eastern (1857 photograph) SS Archimedes borrowed by Brunel, used for propeller tests Brentford Dock Bristol Harbour Cumberland Basin Underfall Yard Millbay Docks Westport Canal
Other engineering and building	Atmospheric railway Balloon flange girder Baulk road Broad gauge Brook House, Steventon Crew's Hole tar works Crystal Palace water towers Great Exhibition (Brunel on committee) Malmaison Hotel, Reading Renkioi Hospital Fellow of the Royal Society Institution of Civil Engineers (VP from 1850) Abraham-Louis Breguet (trained Brunel) Robert Pearson Brereton (Chief assistant)
Personal	Marc Isambard Brunel (father) Sophia Kingdom (mother) Lindsey House (childhood home) University of Caen Normandy Lycée Henri-IV Henry Marc Brunel (second son) Scene from A Midsummer Night's Dream (picture commissioned by Brunel) Brunel Manor (commissioned by Brunel for his retirement) Sarah Guppy, whose portrait was painted by Brunel Kensal Green Cemetery
Legacy and commemoration	Statues of Brunel Victoria Embankment Paddington Station Bristol Temple Meads Station Brunel Museum Being Brunel Broad gauge running line Blue plaque, 98 Cheyne Walk List of Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmarks (SS Great Britain #97) Brunel University London NR Brunel (Network Rail typeface) Brunel Award 100 Greatest Britons (Brunel #2) Two Brunel £2 coins in 2006 2012 London Olympics opening ceremony featured Brunel Brunel (opera project)
• Other works of Brunel