Redcliffe Caves
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| Location | |
|---|---|
 Redcliffe Caves
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| Location | Redcliffe |
| City | Bristol |
| Country | England |
| Coordinates | 51°26′53″N 2°35′35″W / 51.448°N 2.593°WCoordinates: 51°26′53″N 2°35′35″W / 51.448°N 2.593°W |
| Production | |
| Products | Sand for glass and pottery manufacture |
| History | |
| Opened | Middle Ages |
| Closed | Mid 19th century |
| Owner | |
| Company | Bristol City Council |
Redcliffe Caves are a series of man made tunnels beneath the Redcliffe area of Bristol, England.
The Triassic red sandstone was dug into in the Middle ages to provide sand for glass making and pottery production. Further excavation took place form the 17th to early 19th centuries and used for storage of trade goods. There is some evidence that prisoners captured during the French Revolutionary Wars or Napoleonic Wars were imprisoned in the caves but it is clear that the local folklore that slaves were imprisoned in the caves during the Bristol slave trade is false. After the closure of the last glass factory the caves were used for storage and became a rubbish dump. The caves are not generally open but have been used for film and music events.
The explored and mapped area covers over 1 acre (0.40 ha) however several areas are no longer accessible and the total extent of the caves is not known.
The caves were dug to provide sand for glass making and pottery production. They were dug into the Triassic red sandstone cliffs, which give the area its name, adjacent to the southern side of Bristol Harbour, behind Phoenix Wharf and Redcliffe Wharf. The first excavation was during the Middle Ages but the majority of the digging was during the mid 17th and early 19th centuries. In the larger caverns the stone columns supporting the roof were not sufficient and these have been supplemented with wall arches made of stone, brick and more recently of concrete.
In 1346 a hermit called John Sparkes lived in the caves and prayed for his benefactor Lord Thomas of Berkeley. Several other hermits lived in the caves between the 14th and 17th centuries.
There is no evidence to support the rumours that the caves were used to hold slaves during the Bristol slave trade of the 17th and 18th centuries, however they were used to store the goods brought in by ships from Africa and the West Indies. There is some evidence that prisoners captured during the French Revolutionary Wars or Napoleonic Wars were imprisoned in the caves, while involved in the creation of the New Cut.
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Wikipedia