Desert Island Doc: Mapping the bombardment of Bristol

Posted on by Fay Curtis.

Detail of a map showing the bombardment of bristolOur staff and invited guests introduce their favourite documents from the Bristol Archives collections. For this edition, Matt Coles, Archives Assistant has chosen a plan of bombs dropped, ranging from 50 kilos to 1,000 kilos, during the 1939-45 war.

This plan was produced in May 1960 and forms part of the Civil Defence Committee collection at Bristol Archives.

Along with a plan of unexploded bombs in the same collection (RefNo. 33779/7), it provides a telling visual realisation as to the extent of the bombing sustained by Bristol during the Second World War.

The maps can also be cross-referenced with the Jim Facey collection of photographs from the war (RefNo. 41969), which includes many startling images of the devastation wrought by the bombing raids. These images are available to view on the media computer in our searchroom.

Bombing maps can also be used to help understand the nature of the city’s extensive post-war redevelopment.

A good way of seeing the lasting impact of the bombing is to use Bristol City Council’s Know Your Place website. This includes a map of the bombs dropped during the last major attack, the Good Friday raid of 1941.

You can also use the site to overlay modern aerial maps over from the pre- and post-war periods to see how certain areas have evolved, notably heavily damaged parts of the city such as Castle Park and Broadmead.

The reference number for this document is 33779/8.

6 comments on “Desert Island Doc: Mapping the bombardment of Bristol

  1. Dave Acton

    I lived on Stackpool rd Bristol. And went to Avonside preparatory school.

    Coronation Rd

    On the banks of the Avon River was an old castle, with the rear bombed during WWII

    Inside the port cullis, was an old electrical wall of lights, I figured this was a radar installation

    My parents and I moved to Australia in 1968

    I have been unable to find evidence of this castle.

    Reply

    1. Bob

      That sounds like the Old Gaol in Cumberland Road. Cumberland Road is the road on the opposite side of the New Cut to Coronation Road.

      Reply

  2. Dave

    Thanks for that, I have since found that is in fact the case. Was it bombed, or what was it that knocked the rear down. Was it a radar installation. I have bought a couple of books, but not specifically mentioned

    Reply

  3. Dave Acton

    Thanks for that, we moved to Australia in 1968 and my memory is perhaps clouded.
    Did the old gaol get bombed and was it a legitimate target.

    Reply

  4. Dave Acton

    Thanks to Bob for the clarification. Since that time I have delved into history.

    It would appear the old gaol was built in the early 1800s. Knocked down in 1830 with the main port cullis remaining. In 1870 it was rebuilt and became the new gaol. Which was also knocked down, once again leaving the port cullis. Which still remains.

    The problem I had, other than thinking it was part of an old castle, was looking in through those steel doors and seeing a large grey green switchboard assembly. Hence, when someone said it was a radar facility during the war, that sounded reasonable.

    I have found nothing in the old gaol history to support this.

    Bear in mind my friends and I were 7,8 or 9 years old and played on multiple bomb sites around the Bristol area.

    Does anyone have any information related to an electrical board within the port cullis of the Bristol old gaol..

    Thanks

    Reply

  5. Paul Elkin

    I think I might be able to help. The ‘portcullis’ you recall was the main entrance to the Bristol Goal. It does look rather like a castle….but it wasn’t. The rear portion of the Goal was demolished in to make way for the Bristol Harbour Railway a short line built in 1872 by the Bristol & Exeter Railway to provide rail access to the City Dock (or ‘Floating Harbour as it was known then). A large Granary was built on the quayside by Bristol Corporation and this was bombed in 1941 during WWII. This might account for your memories of playing in war-time rubble in this area. Don’t know about a wartime radar station although the Granary was one of the tallest building in the docks area at the time and could have been used for that until it was bombed.

    Reply

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