Underfall Yard

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Underfall Yard's former pump room - redeveloped in the 2015 project to become the visitor centre Underfall Yard Pump Room.jpg
Underfall Yard's former pump room - redeveloped in the 2015 project to become the visitor centre
General view of Underfall Yard Underfall Yard , Bristol, England arp.jpg
General view of Underfall Yard

The Underfall Yard is a historic boatyard on Spike Island serving Bristol Harbour in England.

Contents

Underfall Yard was commonly referred to as "The Underfalls" and takes its name from the underfall sluices. The construction was completed in 1809 under the direction of William Jessop and substantially improved by Isambard Kingdom Brunel in the 1830s.

Restored in the 1990s, Underfall Yard has been designated as a scheduled monument and from the 1970s onward many of the buildings at Underfall Yard have been given Grade II Listed Building status. The harbour and its equipment are still maintained, and house a number of maritime related companies. [1]

History

In the early nineteenth century the engineer, William Jessop was engaged by the Bristol Dock Company to create a Floating Harbour to eliminate the problem of ships being grounded at low tide. Jessop built a lock to retain the water in the harbour; this was completed in 1809, and allowed ships to remain floating at all times, unaffected by the state of the tide on the river. Part of the project included building a dam at the Underfall Yard with a weir, known as the Overfall, to allow surplus river water to flow into the New Cut, an excavation which by-passed the Floating Harbour and joined the River Avon near Temple Meads. [2]

The docks' maintenance facility was established on the land exposed by the damming of the river to construct the harbour, and remains sited at this location to the present day. By the 1830s the Floating Harbour was suffering from severe silting and Isambard Kingdom Brunel devised the underfall sluices based on William Jessop's original plans and recommended the use of dredgers as a solution . [3] [4]

The Bristol Docks Company never achieved commercial success and was taken over by Bristol City Council in 1848. In 1880 the Council bought the Slipway and yard to enlarge the docks' maintenance facilities.

The 'Underfall' system was re-built in the 1880s, with longer sluices, and the yard above was enlarged. Brunel's method of silt disposal is still in operation today, but the silt is carried in mud barges or pumped to the sluices through a quayside pipe system from the more efficient modern 'Cutter-Suction' dredgers. [5]

During the 20th century the western parts of the yard were leased to P & A Campbell Ltd, operators of the White Funnel Line of paddle steamers as a maintenance base. The yards have been little altered recently except for the replacement of the three-storey 'A' block over the sluice paddle room resulting from bomb damage in World War II.

Underfall Yard has been refurbished under the management of the Underfall Yard Trust (previously Underfall Restoration Trust).

Based at the yard are maritime academies, a scout sailing section, a blacksmith, rigging company, Omni, and three boat building businesses. [6]

In 2015 a major restoration project was announced with the work including the development of a cafe and visitor centre. [7] An oral history project is being conducted and school education programmes have been introduced as part of the restoration and redevelopment.

In the early morning of 6 May 2023, the yard caught fire destroying several boats and a maintenance shed after a arson attack. [8] [9]

Underfall sluices

The sluices Underfallsluices.JPG
The sluices

Jessop's original designs for the harbour included a dam with an 'overfall', with the level of the water determined by the height of the dam's crest. As a result of the accumulation of mud and silt in the harbour, ships entering the narrow harbour were frequently being grounded. In 1832 Brunel was called upon to provide the solution to this problem and designed the sluice system, still in use today, to remove excesses of silt and mud. [10]

In place of the Overfall he constructed three shallow sluices and one deep scouring sluice, between the harbour and the New Cut, together with a dredging vessel, known as a drag boat, to scrape the silt away from the quay walls. Sluices 1, 2 and 4 ('shallow') are used to control the water level, while sluice 3 ('deep') removes the silt. When the deep sluice is opened at low tide, a powerful undertow is created which sucks the silt out of the harbour and into the river. Since the original introduction of the sluices, they have been changed and renewed several times but today's sluice system was installed in the 1880s. [11] In March 1988, the sluice control was computerised and automated. [5]

Buildings

Most of the buildings and engineering installations at the yard were constructed between 1880 and 1890 under the direction of John Ward Girdlestone. [2] Many of them have been designated by English Heritage as listed buildings.

The octagonal brick and terracotta chimney of the engine house dates from 1888, and is grade II* listed, [12] as is the hydraulic engine house itself. It replaced the original pumping house which is now The Pump House visitor centre. It is built of red brick with a slate roof and originally contained two steam engine powered pumps. These were replaced in 1907 by the current electrically powered machines from Fullerton, Hodgart and Barclay of Paisley (the currently installed electric motors were manufactured by JH Holmes & Co, Hebburn-upon-Tyne and date from 1938-9). It powered the docks hydraulic system of cranes, bridges and locks. [13]

External Hydraulic accumulator Underfallyardexternalaccumulator.JPG
External Hydraulic accumulator

The tower houses a raised weight hydraulic accumulator which stores the hydraulic energy ensuring a smooth delivery of pressure and meaning that the pumps do not need to be running the whole time in order to satisfy peak demand. The external accumulator was added in 1954. The water is pumped from the harbour into a header tank and then fed by gravity to the pumps. The working pressure is 750 lbf/in² (5.2 MPa). [14]

Dock maintenance workshops

The Patent Slip, built in the 1890s Underfall Yard Slipway.jpg
The Patent Slip, built in the 1890s

The dock maintenance workshops survive from the 1880s but were extended in the early 20th century. The brick building is topped with a tiled double-pile hipped roof with corbelled eaves. It has sliding doors at each end, giving access to the boiler and engine houses, blacksmith's and engineer's shops. Much of the original machinery survives, including steam-powered plant from the mid-1880s, these include a Whitworth planing machine, a Whitworth slotting machine, punching-and-shearing machines, a long-bed lathe and a steam hammer. There is also wall-mounted line-shafting and a Tangye horizontal engine and Cornish boiler. [15]

Pattern maker's shop

The former pattern-maker's shop and stores date from the same period and are grade II listed, [16]

Many of the original wooden patterns still exist with some being used for educational purposes, some being put on display, and others have been kept for operational purposes. [11] The shop is occupied by RB Boatbuilding Ltd, a small business dedicated to the re-creation of classic, late 19th century, wooden working boats, including the Bristol Channel Pilot Cutter. [17] The Slipway Co-operative Ltd manages the slipping of boats. They build, repair and restore wooden craft including the 14 feet (4 m) Bristol Jolly Boat. [18]

Slipway

The original slipway was built by John Ward Girdlestone in 1890 which had replaced a predecessor built in the 1850s by boat builders Ross and Sage. It used a system in which the ship is floated onto the cradle and secured. The cradle is then drawn out of the water with a steam-driven winch. The device was a low-cost alternative to dry docks for maintenance and repair work. This became known as the Patent slipway or 'Heave-up Slip' and was patented in 1819 by shipbuilder Thomas Morton of Leith in Scotland. [5]

The 1890 replacement was originally driven by an hydraulic engine powered by the dock's hydraulic system. In 1924, an electric motor was installed which still operates today. The Bristol slipway is relatively small with a cradle of 100 feet (30 m) and a runway of 265 feet (81 m) and can lift vessels up to 250 tons (250 tonnes). [5] [19]

The three electronic pumping engines Underfall Yard Pumps.jpg
The three electronic pumping engines

It fell into disuse by 1974. By the 1990s this was rotting and was rebuilt by members of the Slipway Co-operative and Underfall Trust in 1998–99. The restoration required the complete renewal of the underwater runway with steel piling to replace the previous timber, iron and masonry supports. The above-water track was re-laid, reusing the original cast iron centre rails with their integral ratchets. The cradle was completely rebuilt on the original pattern. [5] The functioning of the slipway was essential for the long-term preservation of the restored Underfall Yard as a historic industrial monument, as it provided the Underfall Restoration Trust with funds to maintain the slipway and buildings, and the tenants of those buildings with boats to earn a living. [20]

The Pump Room

The power house at Underfall Yard was built in 1887 to supply hydraulic power to a network around the floating harbour. It was originally powered by steam (the large chimney remains from this system). The room which is now the visitor centre housed three boilers which powered steam hydraulic pumps. There are three electric pumps in the room adjacent to the visitor centre which are regularly run to demonstrate how they worked. These three pumps are 1907 replacements for the originals. [21]

The Big Shed

Originally used as a place in which large items such as lock gates were built, the Big Shed was used by maritime businesses and is not open to the public.

See also

Related Research Articles

A hydraulic accumulator is a pressure storage reservoir in which an incompressible hydraulic fluid is held under pressure that is applied by an external source of mechanical energy. The external source can be an engine, a spring, a raised weight, or a compressed gas. An accumulator enables a hydraulic system to cope with extremes of demand using a less powerful pump, to respond more quickly to a temporary demand, and to smooth out pulsations. It is a type of energy storage device.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dock</span> Human-made structure involved in the handling of boats or ships

The word dock in American English refers to one or a group of human-made structures that are involved in the handling of boats or ships. In British English, the term is not used the same way as in American English, it is used to mean the area of water that is next to or around a wharf or quay. The exact meaning varies among different variants of the English language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bristol Harbour</span> Harbour in Bristol, England

Bristol Harbour is the harbour in the city of Bristol, England. The harbour covers an area of 70 acres. 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 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canon's Marsh</span> Inner city area of Bristol, England

Canon's Marsh is an inner city area of Bristol, England. Canon's Marsh occupies low-lying land on the north side of the Floating Harbour, immediately to the west of the River Frome spur of the harbour. Canon's Marsh includes Bordeaux Quay, Canon's Wharf, Hannover Quay, and Millennium Square, and is part of the area that has been branded "Harbourside".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spike Island, Bristol</span> Human settlement in England

Spike Island is an inner city and harbour area of the English port city of Bristol, adjoining the city centre. It comprises the strip of land between the Floating Harbour to the north and the tidal New Cut of the River Avon to the south, from the dock entrance to the west to Bathurst Basin in the east. The island forms part of Cabot ward. The area between the Docks and New cut to the east of Bathurst Basin is in the neighbourhoods of Redcliffe and St Philip's Marsh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bristol Bridge</span> Historic bridge in United Kingdom

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 impounding the river in 1809. The current bridge was completed in 1768 and is a Grade II listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patent slip</span> Mechanism for hauling ships out of water

A patent slip or marine railway is an inclined plane extending from shoreline into water, featuring a "cradle" onto which a ship is first floated, and a mechanism to haul the ship, attached to the cradle, out of the water onto a slip. The marine railway was invented by a Scot, Thomas Morton, in the early 19th century, as a cheaper alternative to dry docks for marine vessel repairs, in particular below waterline. Larger modern marine railways can handle vessels of thousands of tons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Netham Lock</span>

Netham Lock is the point at Netham in Bristol at which boats from the River Avon, acting as part of the Kennet and Avon Canal, gain access to Bristol's Floating Harbour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hydraulic engine house, Bristol Harbour</span>

The Hydraulic engine house is part of the "Underfall Yard" in Bristol Harbour in Bristol, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cumberland Basin (Bristol)</span> Place in Bristol, England

The Cumberland Basin is the main entrance to the docks of the city of Bristol, England. It separates the areas of Hotwells from the tip of Spike Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pump House, Bristol</span>

The Pump House is an historic pub in Hotwells on Bristol Harbour, Bristol, England. It is a grade II listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bathurst Basin</span> Harbour basin in Bristol, England

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.

An engine house is a building or other structure that holds one or more engines. It is often practical to bring engines together for common maintenance, as when train locomotives are brought together.

Fire-float Pyronaut Historic fireboat in Bristol, England

Pyronaut is a specialised form of fireboat known as a fire-float. It was built in 1934 by Charles Hill & Sons Ltd., Albion Dock Bristol, Yard No. 208. Registered number 333833. She is owned by Bristol Museums and based at M Shed in Bristol's Floating Harbour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Cut, Bristol</span> River in Bristol, England

The New Cut is an artificial waterway which was constructed between 1804 and 1809 to divert the tidal river Avon through south and east Bristol, England. This was part of the process of constructing Bristol's Floating Harbour, under the supervision of engineer William Jessop. The cut runs from Totterdown Basin at the eastern end of St Phillip's Marsh, near Temple Meads, to the Underfall sluices at Rownham in Hotwells and rejoining the original course of the tidal Avon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Temple Quay</span>

Temple Quay is an area of mixed-use development in central Bristol, England. The project was initiated by Bristol Development Corporation in 1989, under the name Quay Point until 1995. In that year it was handed over to English Partnerships, under whom development eventually started in 1998. It is bounded by Temple Way to the west and Bristol Temple Meads railway station to the southeast; to the northeast the development was bounded by Bristol Floating Harbour until 2002, when development of Temple Quay North started on the harbour's other side. In 2012 the whole area became part of Bristol Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bristol Feeder Canal</span>

The Bristol Feeder Canal is a body of water in Bristol, England, that connects the Floating Harbour with the River Avon.

<i>Bertha</i> (drag boat)

Bertha is a steam-powered boat built in 1844 to remove silt from the Port of Bridgwater in Somerset, England. It is the oldest operational steam vessel in Britain, and possibly in the world. It is part of the National Historic Fleet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Welsh Back, Bristol</span> Wharf and street in the city of Bristol, England

Welsh Back is a wharf and street alongside the floating harbour in the centre of the city of Bristol, England. The wharf and street extend some 450 metres (1,480 ft) along the west side of the harbour between Bristol Bridge and Redcliffe Bridge. At the northern end, the street and wharf are immediately adjacent, but to the south they are separated by a range of single story transit sheds. The wharf is a grade II listed structure and takes its name because it was freqented by vessels from Welsh ports.

References

  1. ↑ "Our Story: Underfall Yard in the present day". www.underfallyard.co.uk. 7 June 2016. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 "A walk through Victorian Bristol" (Word). Bristol City Council. Retrieved 9 September 2007.
  3. ↑ Mellor, Penny (2013). Inside Bristol: Twenty Years of Open Doors Day. Redcliffe Press. pp. 70–71. ISBN   978-1908326423.
  4. ↑ McNeill, Jeremy (1997). Bristol's Harbourside: A Guide to the City Docks. Hotwell. pp. 38–39. ISBN   978-0953027002.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "History". Underfall Boatyard. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 9 September 2007.
  6. ↑ "Yard Businesses". Underfall Yard. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  7. ↑ "Underfall Yard on Bristol harbourside in £3.8m revamp". BBC News. 2 June 2015. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  8. ↑ "Life sentence for Underfall Yard arsonist Boyd-Stevenson". BBC News. 27 November 2023. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
  9. ↑ "Underfall Yard fire: Homes and houseboats evacuated by serious blaze on Bristol Harbourside". ITVx News. 6 May 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  10. ↑ "Our Story". Underfall Yard. 7 June 2016. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  11. 1 2 "Our Story". Underfall Yard. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  12. ↑ "Chimney of hydraulic engine house". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 18 August 2006.
  13. ↑ "hydraulic engine house". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 18 August 2006.
  14. ↑ "Bianchi and Servettaz Hydraulic Interlocking". Dr Elizabeth R. Tuttle. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  15. ↑ "Machine shop". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 18 August 2006.
  16. ↑ "former pattern-maker's shop and stores". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 18 August 2006.
  17. ↑ "RB Boatbuilding" . Retrieved 9 September 2007.
  18. ↑ "Slipway Cooperative". Archived from the original on 24 August 2007. Retrieved 9 September 2007.
  19. ↑ "Patent slip and quay walls". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 18 August 2006.
  20. ↑ "Slipway". Slipway Co-operative Ltd. Archived from the original on 27 August 2007. Retrieved 9 September 2007.
  21. ↑ "Visitor Centre". Underfall Yard. 20 June 2016. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  22. ↑ "Big Big Train – The Underfall Yard". Discogs. Retrieved 12 April 2018.

Bristol Harbour Map

51°26′48″N2°37′03″W / 51.4468°N 2.6174°W / 51.4468; -2.6174 Bristolharbourmap.png

  1. Prince's Wharf, including M Shed, Pyronaut and Mayflower adjoining Prince Street Bridge
  2. Dry docks: SS Great Britain, the Matthew
  3. St Augustine's Reach, Pero's Bridge
  4. Bathurst Basin
  5. Queen Square
  6. Bristol Temple Meads railway station
  7. Castle Park
  8. Redcliffe Quay and Redcliffe Caves
  9. Baltic Wharf marina
  10. Cumberland Basin & Brunel Locks
  11. The New Cut
  12. Netham Lock, entrance to the Feeder Canal
  13. Totterdown Basin
  14. Temple Quay
  15. The Centre
  16. Canons Marsh, including Millennium Square and We The Curious
  17. Underfall Yard
  18. Bristol Bridge and Welsh Back
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