02 Dec 2020
This may be the very first time I've gone for a One Mile Matt wander and not actually gone down any new roads, trod any new steps. I just wanted a coffee, frankly, so I went the same old way to Imagine That in the marina and back again.
This is the current plan to replace the caravan park
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Text Recognition Tags: BALTIC WHARF WHAT ELSE IS PROPOSED OTHER THAN HOMES? Our aim is to create new public spaces, with a mix of uses, that encourage a sense of community and social inclusiveness, that are accessible to all, and which prioritise walking and cycling. social interaction and physical activity for a high quality of ife. The design of these public spaces wil draw heavily on the site's historical contet and harbournide setting, producing a unique space that acknowledges the area's history as a busy and dynamic working dockyard. This will be achieved with materials and public art that reference the site's heritage. The proposals will make the most of the waterfront location with seating steps and social spaces with striking views across the water for residents and locats. in contrast, private and semi-private amenity spaces on terraces and roof gardens will be calm and relasing with comfortable furniture and colourful and biodiverse planting. Ground floor commercial space is proposed on the harbour frontage, which could include a mix of places to eat and drink, in turn enhancing activity in this comer of the harbour and creating a new destination. The commercial space will complement rather than detract from The Cottage Inn and Underlall Yard, and could incorporate some local social enterprises, which will enhance footfal and promote social activity to further eniven the harbour setting Above: How theo cite cou lockhom Cumberlard Hoad HOW CAN I FIND OUT MORE? Goram Homes is keen to understand the views of local people and would like to encourage people to have their say. Given COMD restrictions, we have launched a dedicated website for the project, which provides more detail about what is proposed, whilst addressing some ef your questions and potential concems. The website also provides an opportunity to have your say on our plans before they are finalised and submitted in a planning application to Bristol City Councit Abover The proposals withintheir contot Belaw: The emergng site layout www.balticwharfhomes.com We have also organised an ontine presentabion for the wider community at Tpm on Thursday Bth October 2020 1o find out more, ask questions and give us their thoughts, Ifyou would like to attend, please visit this link to sign-up: www.balticwharfhomes.com/presentation If you are unable to visit either website, please give our Co Isultation team a call on 07342 039 444 (during office hours), who can book you in and make olternative amangements to get involved in the session, or provide all information in an alternative fomat appropriate for you BALTIC WHARF WHAT ELSE IS PROPOSED OTHER THAN HOMES? Our aim is to create new public spaces, with a mix of uses, that encourage a sense of community and social inclusiveness, that are accessible to all, and which prioritise walking and cycling. social interaction and physical activity for a high quality of ife. The design of these public spaces wil draw heavily on the site's historical contet and harbournide setting, producing a unique space that acknowledges the area's history as a busy and dynamic working dockyard. This will be achieved with materials and public art that reference the site's heritage. The proposals will make the most of the waterfront location with seating steps and social spaces with striking views across the water for residents and locats. in contrast, private and semi-private amenity spaces on terraces and roof gardens will be calm and relasing with comfortable furniture and colourful and biodiverse planting. Ground floor commercial space is proposed on the harbour frontage, which could include a mix of places to eat and drink, in turn enhancing activity in this comer of the harbour and creating a new destination. The commercial space will complement rather than detract from The Cottage Inn and Underlall Yard, and could incorporate some local social enterprises, which will enhance footfal and promote social activity to further eniven the harbour setting Above: How theo cite cou lockhom Cumberlard Hoad HOW CAN I FIND OUT MORE? Goram Homes is keen to understand the views of local people and would like to encourage people to have their say. Given COMD restrictions, we have launched a dedicated website for the project, which provides more detail about what is proposed, whilst addressing some ef your questions and potential concems. The website also provides an opportunity to have your say on our plans before they are finalised and submitted in a planning application to Bristol City Councit Abover The proposals withintheir contot Belaw: The emergng site layout www.balticwharfhomes.com We have also organised an ontine presentabion for the wider community at Tpm on Thursday Bth October 2020 1o find out more, ask questions and give us their thoughts, Ifyou would like to attend, please visit this link to sign-up: www.balticwharfhomes.com/presentation If you are unable to visit either website, please give our Co Isultation team a call on 07342 039 444 (during office hours), who can book you in and make olternative amangements to get involved in the session, or provide all information in an alternative fomat appropriate for you
I went to have a peep at the giant sinkhole that's opened up in Canynge Square—ironically, having recently discovered the gardens were public I'd had the (triangular!) square on my list to re-visit for a few days, but now there's no entrance to the gardens due to the danger. The area was well fenced-off for safety, but I tried to get a couple of photos from behind the barriers.
I also explored the area around Camp Road, an real melange of architectures, one of the most mixed-up areas I've seen in Clifton, in fact, and confirmed my friend Claire's suspicion that an earlier snap of a sign from Manilla Road was in fact for a fire hydrant. Nice.
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Text Recognition Tags: Dear negbour od 14 aund 1 ene unknoun tomeit the extensebuling wo ur wy on the house t to umber, damag ringwide truc/orry the d t eoistently parked at the te for seeal wee ng and aown and iemrahing ut you to ask i you can al e regivtration number of any detavsal regarding thê truck, bu yourself have hat yeur demaged recently as lythis ne an isolated moa rm what remenber itwosa uck wth aopen ar ba end for toading up scatfording etc, uimilar to this steckiel Wiknson The driver contacted my partrer aver the interc o seek the owner before breakin offand SL alter being informed the persen te wistalng too couid put him in comt with me herefore ey that if this persan has degnother cars uch as yours. he is kely t repeat behavidur in the future and nat act to infem you 00 have had amy dimage to yaur car recently or an emember and share any details of the Tack in question or if you saw what haupened t would be enainouly acoreciated f you would Lotact me va teatical 0766994321. Orvamall at simonmattheapayne@nai.com Althe best, Mecry Christmaes and stay sale Smbeumbi The Fosseway Dear negbour od 14 aund 1 ene unknoun tomeit the extensebuling wo ur wy on the house t to umber, damag ringwide truc/orry the d t eoistently parked at the te for seeal wee ng and aown and iemrahing ut you to ask i you can al e regivtration number of any detavsal regarding thê truck, bu yourself have hat yeur demaged recently as lythis ne an isolated moa rm what remenber itwosa uck wth aopen ar ba end for toading up scatfording etc, uimilar to this steckiel Wiknson The driver contacted my partrer aver the interc o seek the owner before breakin offand SL alter being informed the persen te wistalng too couid put him in comt with me herefore ey that if this persan has degnother cars uch as yours. he is kely t repeat behavidur in the future and nat act to infem you 00 have had amy dimage to yaur car recently or an emember and share any details of the Tack in question or if you saw what haupened t would be enainouly acoreciated f you would Lotact me va teatical 0766994321. Orvamall at simonmattheapayne@nai.com Althe best, Mecry Christmaes and stay sale Smbeumbi The Fosseway
01 Feb 2021
I just wanted to get some exercise, really, so I set out to knock off the lower bit of Jacobs Wells Road that I'd not managed to walk up yet. I set the new signboard that the community association had had erected as my destination, after reading about it on their blog.
As it turned out, I couldn't even read it, as the building that houses the actual Jacob's Well had water flooding out onto the pavement. I wonder if it was actual Jacob's Well water? Have the soles of my walking shoes been mystically blessed now?
You can't see much of the flood in the photos I snapped, but I did shoot a little video, too. Ed on Twitter said:
I spoke to the seller at the time with a view to buying it - I mentioned an old friend who grew up nearby remembers it flooding regularly. He swore blind my friend was wrong.
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Text Recognition Tags: WASHING IN THE WEL Bathing in the Past The cidest ebres mogton te tund REMEMBERING JACOB'S WELLS this country caved toa tue lei ael ina prvte housen c Road suggests ahal hewn haring back to a ne before 12and Edard 1when lewish pplew bd fom England, preventing then ton ng and wonhipping here The Hebrew insrigteos poly d asfowing w discovered in he The phrase acpears to be nomple sther word have posbly been leter the centuries and there las ben ongong debate about wht these words nigee been and what signfcane they yha had Wasta ber ohorah und r dening the dead before buryng themin the Cemetery now benuh Queen tigtet Hospital Schoof Dsute e Jacob's Wels Road Miveh a al cansag p Jor those ortatinga ho d FORMATION Auldy ert WASHING IN THE WEL Bathing in the Past The cidest ebres mogton te tund REMEMBERING JACOB'S WELLS this country caved toa tue lei ael ina prvte housen c Road suggests ahal hewn haring back to a ne before 12and Edard 1when lewish pplew bd fom England, preventing then ton ng and wonhipping here The Hebrew insrigteos poly d asfowing w discovered in he The phrase acpears to be nomple sther word have posbly been leter the centuries and there las ben ongong debate about wht these words nigee been and what signfcane they yha had Wasta ber ohorah und r dening the dead before buryng themin the Cemetery now benuh Queen tigtet Hospital Schoof Dsute e Jacob's Wels Road Miveh a al cansag p Jor those ortatinga ho d FORMATION Auldy ert
12 Mar 2021
I was browsing some historical photos the other day, and came across "Rear of Unspecified House" in the Bristol Archives' John Trelawny Ross collection, and immediately recognised it as being the back of 1 Albermarle Row, just around the corner from me. I've not had much time to research the history of this odd little addition to Albermarle Row, or what happened to 1-4 Cumberland Place, number 4 of which used to be attached to the side of 1 Albermarle Row, but it was interesting to look at old maps for a few minutes and work out what used to be where.
That all connects with the little local bit of land at Granby Green, too, as it used to be numbers 1-3 Cumberland Place. There was something of a planning battle over Granby Green, and I've included an old edition of Hotwells & Cliftonwood News that I found online, a copy of which would have been popped through my letterbox at the time.
I was also inspired by some old pictures of Hotwell Road to try to put a few more people in my pictures, though I set my pre-focus a couple of extra metres out from normal to make sure I didn't get too close to anyone!
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Text Recognition Tags: Decision time for new h&cca Open Space in Hotwells HOTWELLS & CLIFTONWOOD COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION A recent poll of the people who sion granted to Edward Ware Homes campaigned in vain to preserve makes it clear that the whole site must Granby Green has confirmed that be landscaped and maintained for a year most want the remaining piece of before adoption by the Council, The undeveloped land in Cumberland original plan for the garden was heavily Place, Hotwells retained as a pub- criticised by members of Friends of lic open space with local people Granby Green as over-complex and having a say in how it is developed 'institutional but FROGG members are reviewing revised proposals that were The consultation followed an approach produced last year. They are hopeful by solicitors to the developers Edward that a partnership can be established with the Council Parks Dept. to ensure the residual land they own to the Com that the site is managed in a way that munity Association. Most people who reflects local needs without it being a responded to a questionnaire did not major financial burden for the Commu- ed by and managed. Ware Homes with an offer to transfer see ownership of the space as impor- nity Association. tant but were concermed that it should The whole development has been the be protected from any future develop- subject of a number of planning breaches and consequent enforcement Part of the site intended for open space action by the Council, described as a 'nightmare by an offi- cer in the Planning De- Alkhough Granby Hill is now open to traffic, the planned improvements to the footpath and highway have not yet ment. is owned by Bristol City Council and there is a provision in the planning agreement for the developer's section to be transferred to partment. Bristol C.C. owmership as well. The offer of ownership of one part of the site to the CA taken place. If you want to be in- volved with the pro- posed garden or have any comment on the scheme contact Mike would not therefore overcome the prob lems of split ownership or guarantee the out- come that local people Timmins tel: 9291804 want. The planning permis- The s of the panned garden Granby Green -a short history This apace had cared for by local residents a an informal community garden from as far back as the 1970s unail a fance was erected by a develaper, to establiah a tde with the Land Ragistry in May 2002 Tha 4 day interruption to pubic access later proved to be a crudal factor in the IB legal battle to regster the space as Town Green which would have protected it from developmere, n renoved by a recent High pnenas of Graby Green) campagned to Ibeen regardiess of ownership (iroricaly. chis technical objection has now been Court rulng A support group of around 100 local people prevent the loss of the space and the group tced a professional legal team at a three day publik in In this edition: Community News Winning ideas - Meet Your Neighbour -6 Events & Activities - quiry At one point, Town Green satus wos con ferred by the Bristol CC Open Spaces committee but bear rescinded folawing thrests of legal action by the then ownieri, Etward Ware Homes. Local resident Mike Timmin has ggeed that the now smaler space below Walace Place, che new 4 block of Mats should be christened Gromit Gar. 7 dens Rey Smth Contacts 8 HOTWELLS&CLIFTONWOe Spring 2007 SM3N Published y Hetwells A CIenweed Cemmunity Aassetaten, Htepe Chapel, Hepe Chapel Hill, Hetwells, Brtatel. BSa 4ND Decision time for new h&cca Open Space in Hotwells HOTWELLS & CLIFTONWOOD COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION A recent poll of the people who sion granted to Edward Ware Homes campaigned in vain to preserve makes it clear that the whole site must Granby Green has confirmed that be landscaped and maintained for a year most want the remaining piece of before adoption by the Council, The undeveloped land in Cumberland original plan for the garden was heavily Place, Hotwells retained as a pub- criticised by members of Friends of lic open space with local people Granby Green as over-complex and having a say in how it is developed 'institutional but FROGG members are reviewing revised proposals that were The consultation followed an approach produced last year. They are hopeful by solicitors to the developers Edward that a partnership can be established with the Council Parks Dept. to ensure the residual land they own to the Com that the site is managed in a way that munity Association. Most people who reflects local needs without it being a responded to a questionnaire did not major financial burden for the Commu- ed by and managed. Ware Homes with an offer to transfer see ownership of the space as impor- nity Association. tant but were concermed that it should The whole development has been the be protected from any future develop- subject of a number of planning breaches and consequent enforcement Part of the site intended for open space action by the Council, described as a 'nightmare by an offi- cer in the Planning De- Alkhough Granby Hill is now open to traffic, the planned improvements to the footpath and highway have not yet ment. is owned by Bristol City Council and there is a provision in the planning agreement for the developer's section to be transferred to partment. Bristol C.C. owmership as well. The offer of ownership of one part of the site to the CA taken place. If you want to be in- volved with the pro- posed garden or have any comment on the scheme contact Mike would not therefore overcome the prob lems of split ownership or guarantee the out- come that local people Timmins tel: 9291804 want. The planning permis- The s of the panned garden Granby Green -a short history This apace had cared for by local residents a an informal community garden from as far back as the 1970s unail a fance was erected by a develaper, to establiah a tde with the Land Ragistry in May 2002 Tha 4 day interruption to pubic access later proved to be a crudal factor in the IB legal battle to regster the space as Town Green which would have protected it from developmere, n renoved by a recent High pnenas of Graby Green) campagned to Ibeen regardiess of ownership (iroricaly. chis technical objection has now been Court rulng A support group of around 100 local people prevent the loss of the space and the group tced a professional legal team at a three day publik in In this edition: Community News Winning ideas - Meet Your Neighbour -6 Events & Activities - quiry At one point, Town Green satus wos con ferred by the Bristol CC Open Spaces committee but bear rescinded folawing thrests of legal action by the then ownieri, Etward Ware Homes. Local resident Mike Timmin has ggeed that the now smaler space below Walace Place, che new 4 block of Mats should be christened Gromit Gar. 7 dens Rey Smth Contacts 8 HOTWELLS&CLIFTONWOe Spring 2007 SM3N Published y Hetwells A CIenweed Cemmunity Aassetaten, Htepe Chapel, Hepe Chapel Hill, Hetwells, Brtatel. BSa 4ND
10 Jul 2021
Lisa had a couple of hours to spare before going up in a hot air balloon (exciting!) so we went for a quick local walk, revisiting a bit of Cliftonwood we've seen before, exploring the secret garden I'd visited before that I thought she'd enjoy (I didn't take any new photos there) and then pushing on to another garden, Cherry Garden. Last time we passed this way, I'd noticed the gate, but we hadn't gone in as I'd assumed it was private. I'd since found it on CHIS's list of communal gardens in Clifton, so I wanted to have a look inside this time, and try to figure out whether it was private-communal or public, and possibly Council-owned, like several of the other gardens in Clifton.
Photo taken from the book Bygone Bristol: Hotwells and the City Docks, by Janet and Derek Fisher.
You can see the gate from the previous photo at the start of Narrow Quay. Plenty of other changes in the area, too: the statue of Neptune stands at the head of the water; there are no Cascade Steps yet; cranes still stand on Broad Quay, and you can just about tell that there's still a main road running right across the middle of Queen Square in the distance.
The gate stands half-closed; presumably before the E and W sheds were converted into the cinemas, bars and restaurants of the Watershed and other publically-accessible attractions there was still some need to keep the (working) dockside a little more secure, and I'm guessing it might have been locked at night.
The gates are listed and have apparently been there since 1894.
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Text Recognition Tags: WILLS CAPSTAN CIGARETTES FLOATING HARBOUR, CITY CENTRE, BRISTOR 79 78. Looking down on Neptune's Statue and Broad Quay before the Bristol & West Tower Building and the removal of the CWS Building. River trips on the "Kingstonian" are being advertised. e 1951. 40 WILLS CAPSTAN CIGARETTES FLOATING HARBOUR, CITY CENTRE, BRISTOR 79 78. Looking down on Neptune's Statue and Broad Quay before the Bristol & West Tower Building and the removal of the CWS Building. River trips on the "Kingstonian" are being advertised. e 1951. 40
14 Jul 2021
As it turned out, I didn't manage to get a coffee on my lunchtime coffee trip, as Imagine That were briefly shut down by a Covid-19 exposure notification (false alarm, it seems.) On the plus side, my trip was made worthwhile by spotting a couple of people from the University of Bath Mechanical Engineering Department testing an autonomous body-finding catamaran, which isn't a phrase I was ever expecting to write...
All the way to the marina, but my destination had disappeared! Lucy and Dan were fine and I saw the Imagine That horsebox back here and working the following morning.
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Text Recognition Tags: The CAFE Dear customer, The OP We have had to close as a precautionary measure due to a potential exposure to the virus. We have both had negative lateral flow tests and are currently teeling wel but are wating on PCR test results before we can returm to work. All being well well hopefuly see you in a few days. You can check aur social media pages for updutes in the meantime: Serving Coffee r bites.♡ IND US @. IMAGINETHAT BRISTOL a CMAGINETHATBRISTOL M@MAGINE THATBRIS Instagram: eimaginethatbristal Facebook facebook.com/imaginethatbristol ... Lucy and Dan We THU: 8 -3 FRI : 8 - 3 SAT 9- 4 SUN 9-4 WWW. IMAGINETHATBRISTOL. COM The CAFE Dear customer, The OP We have had to close as a precautionary measure due to a potential exposure to the virus. We have both had negative lateral flow tests and are currently teeling wel but are wating on PCR test results before we can returm to work. All being well well hopefuly see you in a few days. You can check aur social media pages for updutes in the meantime: Serving Coffee r bites.♡ IND US @. IMAGINETHAT BRISTOL a CMAGINETHATBRISTOL M@MAGINE THATBRIS Instagram: eimaginethatbristal Facebook facebook.com/imaginethatbristol ... Lucy and Dan We THU: 8 -3 FRI : 8 - 3 SAT 9- 4 SUN 9-4 WWW. IMAGINETHATBRISTOL. COM
I've been pretty awful at reading so far this year, apparently averaging about one book per month. That's a far cry from 2019, say, where I got through 41 books in the year. Today's wander was prompted by my rubbish reading, as I needed to go hand back some books to the library, because I'd managed to renew them so many times that I hit the limit on renewals. Oops. Several of them were still unread.
So, off to the Central Library for me, tail between my legs. On the way there I did my best to recreate a historical photo of Dowry Square; while I was in the area I walked under the adjacent Norman arch and poked around behind the Cathedral, and I also had a little diversion to the city centre and came back along the south side of the river, hitting some trouble with the lock gates as I finally crossed the harbour back towards home.
A bit more detail if you fancy it.
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Text Recognition Tags: THE CORN EXCHANGE CLOCK The clock on this building with an extra minute hand recalls early Victorian days, when Bristol was in two minds about the correct time. Although today we take Greenwich Mean Time or British Summertime for granted before 1880 no standard time existed in the British Isles. Every city had its own local time, reckoned by the sun and signed by church bells. Bristol lies 2 degrees, 36 minutes west of the Greenwich Meridian and so the sun reaches its noon nearly peak 11 minutes later than in Greenwich. Before the growth of railways, most people expected to spend their lives close to home. Travel by stagecoach or ship was slow and uncomfortable. Timetables were vague. For Bristolians a change came in June 1841, when the first through train from London pulled into Temple Meads Station. Brunel's Great Western Railway began to tempt people to travel, now they could go to London in hours rather than days. The Railways ran on London time (Greenwich Mean Time). If you wanted to catch a train at noon from Temple Meads you had to remember that it would pull out at 11:49 Bristol Time. To help Bristolians catch their trains, Bristol Corporation arranged for the main public clock on the Corn Exchange to show both local and Greenwich Mean Time (Railway Time) with two minute hands. Other clocks in Bristol adopted the same compromise, In September 1852 Bristol adopted GMT and Bristol time became the same as Lond THE CORN EXCHANGE CLOCK The clock on this building with an extra minute hand recalls early Victorian days , when Bristol was in two minds about the correct time . Although today we take Greenwich Mean Time or British Summertime for granted before 1880 no standard time existed in the British Isles . Every city had its own local time , reckoned by the sun and signed by church bells . Bristol lies 2 degrees , 36 minutes west of the Greenwich Meridian and so the sun reaches its noon nearly peak 11 minutes later than in Greenwich . Before the growth of railways , most people expected to spend their lives close to home . Travel by stagecoach or ship was slow and uncomfortable . Timetables were vague . For Bristolians a change came in June 1841 , when the first through train from London pulled into Temple Meads Station . Brunel's Great Western Railway began to tempt people to travel , now they could go to London in hours rather than days . The Railways ran on London time ( Greenwich Mean Time ) . If you wanted to catch a train at noon from Temple Meads you had to remember that it would pull out at 11:49 Bristol Time . To help Bristolians catch their trains , Bristol Corporation arranged for the main public clock on the Corn Exchange to show both local and Greenwich Mean Time ( Railway Time ) with two minute hands . Other clocks in Bristol adopted the same compromise , In September 1852 Bristol adopted GMT and Bristol time became the same as Lond
I mostly went out to hang out with my friends Sarah and Vik in Bedminster, but along the way I thought I'd take a closer look at something a little nearer home: the last crossing point of the Rownham Ferry.
And here's the picture that inspired this little local visit today. A week or so back I was browsing the boxes of books at Rachel's and Michael's Antiques on Princess VIctoria Street, and flipping through their collection of Reece Winstone books. Winstone's famous Bristol As It Was series are an amazing documentary source created by a man who loved both photography and Bristol and effectively became Bristol's foremost documentary photographer for decades. A lot more of Bristol's history is visible today because of him.
In the Bristol As It Was 1939 - 1914 book I saw this picture of the Rownham Ferry. Unfortunately the book was a first edition and priced at £20, so I ordered a cheaper edition from an independent dealer in Stockport when I got home! (Let's consider that as me leaving the rare first edition for the true connoisseurs, rather than just being cheap.)
Here we see the ferry just five days before its closure on the last day of 1932. Looking closely, it seems to be perhaps operating as a reaction ferry, with the boat tethered to a static line across the river, and the ferryman using the rudder to turn the boat and use the power of the flowing water to shuttle the boat from side to side. Clever!
Photo © Reece Winstone Archive. (I recommend buying the books if you like old photos of Bristol. They're amazing!)
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Text Recognition Tags: (63) 26 December 1932 : Rownham Ferry, Hotwells, discontinued 5 days later. There was a river crossing here since Norman days and carried the Abbot of St. Augustine's on his way to Abbot's Leigh. Before the 1870's when Cumberland Basin was re-designed, the crossing was further down- stream. Dangerous at high tide, it was merely a bridge of boats at low tide. (63) 26 December 1932 : Rownham Ferry, Hotwells, discontinued 5 days later. There was a river crossing here since Norman days and carried the Abbot of St. Augustine's on his way to Abbot's Leigh. Before the 1870's when Cumberland Basin was re-designed, the crossing was further down- stream. Dangerous at high tide, it was merely a bridge of boats at low tide.