Brislington Brook
Encyclopedia
Brislington Brook is a short 5 miles (8 km) long tributary of the Bristol Avon, rising on the northern slopes of Maes Knoll
on the southern boundary of the city of Bristol
, England
. The stream has been badly affected by pollution but improvements have been made in the latter part of the twentieth century, and some wildlife is supported. St Annes Well near the northern end of the brook was a major pilrimage site for Christians in the Middle Ages
.
just north of the boundary between Somerset
and Bristol. One branch flows culvert
ed through the Bamfield estate and then runs on the surface alongside Airport Road.
The other briefly enters Bath and North East Somerset
and then enters a shallow valley and passing underneath Saltwell Viaduct which carries the A37 Wells Road
. The brook then re-enters Bristol, passing between Hengrove
and Flowers Hill, on into Brislington
, met by a small un-named tributary on the right bank just before it passes underneath the A4174 road
, where it joins the western tributary at West Town Lane. Brislington Brook then turns in a northeast direction, passing underneath the A4 Bath Road and flowing down into Nightingale Valley in Broomhill, passing under a restored packhorse bridge
. Near here, a side weir carries excess water in times of heavy rainfall into a tunnel which discharges into the Avon opposite Conham
.
Brislington Brook itself then resumes its northerly course and is augmented by water from St Anne's Spring before running through industrial estates in St Annes Park before joining the Avon in a culvert at the site of the former St Annes Board Mills.
, mother of the Virgin Mary
. A ferry from the northern Gloucestershire bank which conveyed pilgrims across the Avon was recorded in the Domesday Book
in 1087. In 1485, Henry VII
visited St Anne in the Wood, a chapel erected nearby, possibly by the Barons de la Warr who held Brislington Manor. The chapel was described by William Worcester
, the noted fifteenth century chronicler, as being 19 yards (17.4 m) long and 5 yards (4.6 m) wide, and containing a number of giant wax candles, some 80 feet (24.4 m) high, which had been donated by some of the city guilds
. John Latimer, in his book Sixteenth Century Bristol, considered the height of the candles to have been exaggerated. The site was described by the early Protestant reformer
Hugh Latimer
"as being no less famous for pilgrimage than the shrine at Walsingham
." After the Dissolution of the Monasteries
the chapel was pulled down and the lands let to local gentry.
. In the 1990s improvements were made by identifying and rectifying illegal sewage connections, but water quality remains poor with relatively high biochemical oxygen demand
and a high count of coliform bacteria
.
Maes Knoll
Maes Knoll is an Iron Age hillfort in Somerset, England, located at the eastern end of the Dundry Down ridge, south of the city of Bristol and north of the village of Norton Malreward near the eastern side of Dundry Hill...
on the southern boundary of the 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...
, England
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...
. The stream has been badly affected by pollution but improvements have been made in the latter part of the twentieth century, and some wildlife is supported. St Annes Well near the northern end of the brook was a major pilrimage site for Christians in the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
.
Course
Brislington Brook rises in twin tributaries fed by springs on the northern slopes of Maes Knoll, at the eastern end of Dundry HillDundry Down
Dundry Hill is immediately south of Bristol, England: it includes farmland, a small number of houses and a church. It stretches east-west for some two miles....
just north of the boundary between Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
and Bristol. One branch flows culvert
Culvert
A culvert is a device used to channel water. It may be used to allow water to pass underneath a road, railway, or embankment. Culverts can be made of many different materials; steel, polyvinyl chloride and concrete are the most common...
ed through the Bamfield estate and then runs on the surface alongside Airport Road.
The other briefly enters Bath and North East Somerset
Bath and North East Somerset
Bath and North East Somerset is a unitary authority that was created on 1 April 1996 following the abolition of the County of Avon. It is part of the Ceremonial county of Somerset...
and then enters a shallow valley and passing underneath Saltwell Viaduct which carries the A37 Wells Road
A37 road
The A37 is a major road in southern England. It runs north from the A35 at Dorchester in Dorset into Somerset through Yeovil and Shepton Mallet before terminating at the Three Lamps junction with the A4 in central Bristol...
. The brook then re-enters Bristol, passing between Hengrove
Hengrove
Hengrove is a suburb and council ward of Bristol, England, situated between Whitchurch, Knowle and Bishopsworth, running along both dual carriageways, Wells Road and Airport Road . It consists mainly of working to middle class terrace houses. It contains an infant, primary and secondary school...
and Flowers Hill, on into Brislington
Brislington
Brislington is an area in the south east of the city of Bristol, England. It is on the edge of Bristol and from Bath. The Brislington Brook runs through the area in the woodlands of Nightingale Valley...
, met by a small un-named tributary on the right bank just before it passes underneath the A4174 road
A4174 road
The A4174 is a major road in England which runs around the northern and eastern edge of Bristol, mainly in South Gloucestershire, and through the southern suburbs of Bristol...
, where it joins the western tributary at West Town Lane. Brislington Brook then turns in a northeast direction, passing underneath the A4 Bath Road and flowing down into Nightingale Valley in Broomhill, passing under a restored packhorse bridge
Packhorse bridge
A packhorse bridge is a bridge intended to carry packhorses across a river or stream. Typically a packhorse bridge consists of one or more narrow masonry arches, and has low parapets so as not to interfere with the horse's panniers.Packhorse bridges were often built on the trade routes that...
. Near here, a side weir carries excess water in times of heavy rainfall into a tunnel which discharges into the Avon opposite Conham
Conham
Conham is a suburb of the city of Bristol in England. It lies near Hanham on the north bank of the River Avon just outside the city boundaries in South Gloucestershire....
.
Brislington Brook itself then resumes its northerly course and is augmented by water from St Anne's Spring before running through industrial estates in St Annes Park before joining the Avon in a culvert at the site of the former St Annes Board Mills.
History
St Anne's Spring was in medieval times a site of pilgrimage to venerate Saint AnneSaint Anne
Saint Hanna of David's house and line, was the mother of the Virgin Mary and grandmother of Jesus Christ according to Christian and Islamic tradition. English Anne is derived from Greek rendering of her Hebrew name Hannah...
, mother of the Virgin Mary
Mary (mother of Jesus)
Mary , commonly referred to as "Saint Mary", "Mother Mary", the "Virgin Mary", the "Blessed Virgin Mary", or "Mary, Mother of God", was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee...
. A ferry from the northern Gloucestershire bank which conveyed pilgrims across the Avon was recorded in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
in 1087. In 1485, Henry VII
Henry VII of England
Henry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....
visited St Anne in the Wood, a chapel erected nearby, possibly by the Barons de la Warr who held Brislington Manor. The chapel was described by William Worcester
William Worcester
William Worcester , was an English chronicler and antiquary.-Life:He was a son of William of Worcester, a Bristol citizen, and is sometimes called William Botoner, his mother being a daughter of Thomas Botoner from Catalonia....
, the noted fifteenth century chronicler, as being 19 yards (17.4 m) long and 5 yards (4.6 m) wide, and containing a number of giant wax candles, some 80 feet (24.4 m) high, which had been donated by some of the city guilds
Guild
A guild is an association of craftsmen in a particular trade. The earliest types of guild were formed as confraternities of workers. They were organized in a manner something between a trade union, a cartel, and a secret society...
. John Latimer, in his book Sixteenth Century Bristol, considered the height of the candles to have been exaggerated. The site was described by the early Protestant reformer
Protestant Reformers
Protestant Reformers were those theologians, churchmen, and statesmen whose careers, works, and actions brought about the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century...
Hugh Latimer
Hugh Latimer
Hugh Latimer was a Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge, Bishop of Worcester before the Reformation, and later Church of England chaplain to King Edward VI. In 1555, under Queen Mary, he was burnt at the stake, becoming one of the three Oxford Martyrs of Anglicanism.-Life:Latimer was born into a...
"as being no less famous for pilgrimage than the shrine at Walsingham
Walsingham
Walsingham is a village in the English county of Norfolk. The village is famed for its religious shrines in honour of the Virgin Mary and as a major pilgrimage centre...
." After the Dissolution of the Monasteries
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
the chapel was pulled down and the lands let to local gentry.
Natural history and hydrology
Kingfishers and eels have been identified in Nightingale Valley, which also supports a range of trees and plants. The water quality is regularly sampled by Bristol City CouncilPolitics of Bristol
The city of Bristol, England, is a unitary authority, represented by four MPs representing seats wholly within the city boundaries. As well as these, Filton and Bradley Stoke covers the northern urban fringe in South Gloucestershire and the north eastern urban fringe is in the Kingswood constituency...
. In the 1990s improvements were made by identifying and rectifying illegal sewage connections, but water quality remains poor with relatively high biochemical oxygen demand
Biochemical oxygen demand
Biochemical oxygen demand or B.O.D. is the amount of dissolved oxygen needed by aerobic biological organisms in a body of water to break down organic material present in a given water sample at certain temperature over a specific time period. The term also refers to a chemical procedure for...
and a high count of coliform bacteria
Coliform bacteria
Coliform bacteria are a commonly used bacterial indicator of sanitary quality of foods and water. They are defined as rod-shaped Gram-negative non-spore forming bacteria which can ferment lactose with the production of acid and gas when incubated at 35-37°C...
.