Spike Island, Bristol
Encyclopedia
Spike Island is an 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
.
Spike Island was created by William Jessop
in the early 19th century, when he constructed the New Cut, and converted the former course of the River Avon into the Floating Harbour. Until the Second World War
, a lock connected Bathurst Basin with the New Cut, and Spike Island was a genuine island surrounded on all sides by water. However, fears that an aerial attack on this lock at low tide could lead to a disastrous dewatering of the docks led to the lock being filled in.
Historically, Spike Island was the site of working quays, shipyards, warehousing, and other associated dockside industry. The Bristol Harbour Railway runs the length of the island, and formerly connected these working areas with the railway network. With the redevelopment of the docks, the Island has become an area popular with developers looking to create prime dock side housing such as Baltic Wharf, The Point and Perretts Court. There are also a few restaurants and popular pubs such as The Cottage. The rest of the area of Bristol between the Docks and New cut is in Redcliffe and St Phillip's Marsh.
Other former dock related buildings have become cultural venues or museums. These include:
The path of the harbour railway across Spike Island is proposed for a £38 million rapid transit bus route from Ashton Vale to the City Centre. The existing steam railway would be retained, but buses would gain a congestion-free journey into the city. Subject to planning permission, and finances, work could start 2012 with services running 2014.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
port city of Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, adjoining the city centre. It comprises the strip of land between the Floating Harbour to the north and the tidal
Tide
Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the moon and the sun and the rotation of the Earth....
New Cut
New Cut (Bristol)
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...
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
Cabot, Bristol
Cabot is a council ward that covers the centre of Bristol. It gets its name from the Cabot Tower - a memorial tower on Brandon Hill that was built to commemorate John Cabot's voyage and "discovery" of North America.-Areas:...
.
Spike Island was created by William Jessop
William Jessop
William Jessop was an English civil engineer, best known for his work on canals, harbours and early railways in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.-Early life:...
in the early 19th century, when he constructed the New Cut, and converted the former course of the River Avon into the Floating Harbour. Until the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, a lock connected Bathurst Basin with the New Cut, and Spike Island was a genuine island surrounded on all sides by water. However, fears that an aerial attack on this lock at low tide could lead to a disastrous dewatering of the docks led to the lock being filled in.
Historically, Spike Island was the site of working quays, shipyards, warehousing, and other associated dockside industry. The Bristol Harbour Railway runs the length of the island, and formerly connected these working areas with the railway network. With the redevelopment of the docks, the Island has become an area popular with developers looking to create prime dock side housing such as Baltic Wharf, The Point and Perretts Court. There are also a few restaurants and popular pubs such as The Cottage. The rest of the area of Bristol between the Docks and New cut is in Redcliffe and St Phillip's Marsh.
Other former dock related buildings have become cultural venues or museums. These include:
- Spike Island Artspace, a collective of artistArtistAn artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
s' studios located in a former teaTeaTea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...
-packing factory - The Bristol Industrial MuseumBristol Industrial MuseumThe Bristol Industrial Museum was a museum in Bristol, England, located on Prince's Wharf beside the Floating Harbour, and which closed in 2006. On display were items from Bristol's industrial past – including aviation, car and bus manufacture, and printing – and exhibits documenting Bristol's...
, in a former dockside transit shed - The Create Environment Centre, in a former tobaccoTobaccoTobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
warehouse - Brunel'sIsambard Kingdom BrunelIsambard Kingdom Brunel, FRS , was a British civil engineer who built bridges and dockyards including the construction of the first major British railway, the Great Western Railway; a series of steamships, including the first propeller-driven transatlantic steamship; and numerous important bridges...
SS Great BritainSS Great BritainSS Great Britain was an advanced passenger steamship designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel for the Great Western Steamship Company's transatlantic service between Bristol and New York. While other ships had previously been built of iron or equipped with a screw propeller, Great Britain was the first...
, preserved in the dry dockDry dockA drydock is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform...
in which she was built
The path of the harbour railway across Spike Island is proposed for a £38 million rapid transit bus route from Ashton Vale to the City Centre. The existing steam railway would be retained, but buses would gain a congestion-free journey into the city. Subject to planning permission, and finances, work could start 2012 with services running 2014.