Many residents of Bristol know of the Redcliffe Caves at the edge of the Floating harbour (though not so many have actually been on a tour inside them).
Covering around 3 acres, they were mine workings from the 15th to 18th centuries, when fine sand used in glass making and for ship’s ballast was quarried. They are also believed to have been used by merchants for storing goods and – some say – slaves. Stories of smuggling and hidden treasure have also attached themselves to the caves, though these are probably myths.
A torch is needed on the tours, but fortunately for visitors the caves are not particularly cold or wet. It is possible for wheelchair users to access most of them and the ceilings are high enough to walk without having to stoop.
Here is a map of the Redcliffe caves (and a corresponding map of the surface) with links to photos showing entranceways, crawl spaces, shafts and passages, former underground railway lines – and the place where the foundations of the old Sun Alliance building (now the Holland House Hotel) cut into the caves.
The largest chamber in the caves looks quite impressive. There is also a well shaft that may have been used as a sewer until the New Cut (completed in 1809) diverted the River Avon, and stopped the previous tidal water movements in this area, helping to create the Floating Harbour. The base of a now demolished lead shot tower drops into the caves on the east side, but is no longer safely accessible.
The older part of the caves is walled off thanks to an interesting court case:
In 1800 Captain Thomas King, of number 2 Redcliffe Parade West, the African Merchant, took the owners of the caves to court. He claimed that as his house was directly above the caves then the caves beneath his house and land must be his property. The court stated that although he owned he property above the caves he had no access to them thus he could not claim them as his. Not to be outdone Thomas promptly dug a shaft from his property into the caves, walled off the surrounding area and claimed them as his own.
St Vincent’s Cave
Not so well-known is the natural cave that can be reached from the Clifton Observatory. A tunnel snaking under the Downs from this leads to a cave mouth with a spectacular view of Clifton Suspension Bridge and Avon Gorge. St Vincent’s Cave (also known as the Giant’s Cave) is 250 feet above the valley.
Originally the only access was via the cliff face, until the long underground passage was cut out in the 19th century. The cave is said to have been linked with the chapel of St Vincent, as pieces of carved masonry were discovered in the cave. This chapel is presumed to have broken away from the cliff and fallen into the gorge below.
It’s believed that the cave opening was used as a chapel by the Romans in the 4th Century, and since that time as a shrine and a place of refuge.
Clifton Rocks Railway
The former Clifton Rocks railway in Avon Gorge now forms an underground tunnel between the top station at Sion Hill (close to the Suspension bridge and the Downs) and the Portway. The tunnel is 500 feet long, elliptical in cross section and climbs 240 feet at a gradient of about 1:2.2 (a vertical rise of 1 foot for every 2.2 feet).
At the time the widest tunnel created, it was hidden underground to protect the views of Clifton, whose residents were keen to preserve its exclusive character and relative isolation from the central part of Bristol and Hotwells.
The railway opened to great acclaim in 1893, but the number of people using it declined inexorably afterwards (one factor was that use of trams declined in favour of buses), and it eventually closed through lack of use in 1934. Efforts are now underway to restore it – here are photos of how it looks currently.
The railway worked in an ingenious way:
The four track railway used no steam engines – just a simple system of water and gravity. When the cars – one at the top and one at the bottom – were loaded, they balanced one another. But as water was pumped into the top car’s tank so it became heavier than the lower one.
Then, as the brakes were released, the heavier car would descend, pulling the bottom car to the top. An electric telegraph linked the two so that each brakeman knew how many passengers they had and could adjust the amount of water in the tanks accordingly. When the upper car reached the bottom, the water was pumped back to a reservoir at the top.
The four oil-lit cars took 18 passengers at a time, plus a brakeman who rode on a small platform. For safety’s sake each pair of cars had three sets of duplicate brakes. Although it was pitch black in the brick lined tunnel the cars were painted light blue and white with gold lining. The journey, which took just 40 seconds each way, cost one penny to go up and one half-penny to come down.
At the start of the second World War the top part of the tunnel was used as a bomb shelter. In 1941, the BBC took out the carriages and converted the lower section into an emergency headquarters as a fallback if London’s Broadcasting House was destroyed.
They were well-prepared, installing a recording room, transmitter room, control room and a small studio equipped for music and drama. A ventilation shaft was also installed so that the occupants could survive gas attacks.
Many Bristolians sheltered in caves and tunnels during the blitz in World War 2, and church crypts also provided some protection.
Bridge Valley Road Tunnels
Just off the Portway, unseen by drivers passing by, there are two Victorian-era tunnels that were built for the defunct Port and Pier Railway which ran to Avonmouth.
Tunnel number 1, 73 yards long, was used to store council records and museum art treasures during the war years. Tunnel number 2, which is 175 yards (525 feet) long and runs under Bridge Valley Road, was used as a wartime public shelter. Officially it would take 200 people, but more than a thousand would turn up at times, and at one point in January 1941 a sit-in was staged to prevent the BBC taking possession of the tunnel, which it had earmarked to use for relocating away from a heavily-bombed London.
If you want to find out more about caves in and around Bristol, the Axbridge Caving Group site may be of interest.
