In his 'Bradford on
Avon Past and Present', Harold Fassnidge describes the carillon, dating from 1614, as having been
augmented over the years; it now has a repertoire of hymns played regularly.
Even at this late date there were people advocating the 'dockisation' of the Avon, which would have resulted in the destruction of much of the natural beauty of the Gorge and the wholesale removal of Horseshoe
This route heads for the beautiful Mendip Hills, the carboniferous limestone ridge
that separates the Avon valley and Bath and Bristol from the rest of Somerset.
The historic Wharf, in regular use
in the days when the Kennet &
Avon Canal was a vital waterway,
was home to Newbury's buses
when this photograph was taken.
This view
is from Harnham Hill, looking north eastwards across the Avon and an area of farmland which is just beginning
to become built-up as the suburb of Harnham.
Facing us is Abbey Mill, whose origins date back eight centuries to the time when monks from the Benedictine monastery
diverted the River Avon to power the mill to grind the corn that made their daily
In 1801-02 engineer William Jessop came up with his own designs for a tide-free city dock area that would enclose the Avon from Rownham ot St Philip's.
In the days of sail, vessels making their
way up the Avon to Bristol had to contend with several
problems: the current, the wind through the Gorge, and
the serpentine course of the river itself.
Running across the middle of the picture is the weir, which maintained the head of water; it has now been removed during the re-management of the Avon.
Please send us an enquiry if you are interested in buying this image
Send us an enquiry
This image is a Reference Print:
it has not been shown on our website before as it has not been optimised and therefore may not meet the quality standards we require for use in our normal product range. However, we understand that this image could be potentially important for genealogical, local history or architectural research and so we are showing it on the website for on-line research only. The photo may be available to buy, but needs to be checked and optimised before you can place an order.
Buy a Print
Unframed, Mounted, Framed and Canvas prints in a range of sizes and styles.
Image Quality:
These images are intended as a guide to the content of a photo, NOT the quality. You may order any image from our website confident that we will check & optimise it (tonally adjust, remove scratches etc) before we make your prints.