Sea Mills, Bristol

infobox UK place
country = England
official_name= Sea Mills
latitude= 51.4856
longitude= -2.6422
civil_parish=
population =
unitary_england= Bristol
lieutenancy_england=Bristol
region= South West England
constituency_westminster= Bristol North West
post_town= BRISTOL
postcode_district = BS9 - BS10
postcode_area= BS
dial_code= 0117
os_grid_reference= ST555765

Sea Mills is a suburb of the English port city of Bristol. It is situated situated some 3.5 miles (6 km) north-west of the city centre, towards the seaward end of the Avon Gorge. Nearby suburbs are Shirehampton, Sneyd Park, Combe Dingle and Stoke Bishop. Sea Mills forms part of the city ward of Kingsweston.

History

Sea Mills was the site of a Roman settlement, known as Portus Abonae. The name and location suggest that this was a river port, but to date there has been no archaeological proof of this. [cite web | url = http://romanbristol.tripod.com/abonae.html | title = Abonae: The Roman town of Sea Mills | accessdate = January 05 | accessyear = 2007] The Roman settlement seems to have been abandoned by the 4th century, and there is no evidence of Saxon settlement.cite web | url = http://www.about-bristol.co.uk/sea-00.asp | title = About Bristol Suburbs - Sea Mills - Early History | publisher = About Bristol | accessdate = June 15 | accessyear = 2006]

By the Middle Ages Bristol had become a major port, with all traffic between the port and the sea having to pass through the Avon Gorge and past Sea Mills. In 1712, Joshua Franklyn, a Bristol merchant, built a wet dock at Sea Mills, to eliminate the need for large sailing ships to navigate the dangerous River Avon any further upstream. This was located where the River Trym enters the River Avon. However, poor transport links doomed the enterprise and the harbour facilities fell into disrepair by the end of the 18th century. Some remains of the dock still exist, and are used as a harbour by pleasure craft.cite web | url = http://www.about-bristol.co.uk/sea-00.asp | title = About Bristol Suburbs - Sea Mills - Early History | publisher = About Bristol | accessdate = June 15 | accessyear = 2006]

In the 1920s and 30s, Sea Mills was developed as a planned green suburb. Much of the housing was local authority, although it is now mainly in private ownership. Adjacent to the Portway is a small estate of prefabricated bungalows dating from a post-WW2 housing scheme.cite web | url = http://www.about-bristol.co.uk/sea-02.asp | title = About Bristol Suburbs - Sea Mills - The Housing Estate | publisher = About Bristol | accessdate = June 15 | accessyear = 2006]

October 2006 saw the opening of The Portway Rugby Development Centre. The facilities it has are 2 outdoor 3G Crumb pitches, suitable for Rugby and Football. Outdoor grass Rugby pitches (ready for August 2007). There are 2 meeting rooms and they host many aerobics classes.

Transport

In 1865, the Bristol Port and Pier Railway opened from Hotwells to a deep water pier on the Severn Estuary at Avonmouth. Sea Mills railway station was one of the original stations on the line. The station still exists, although the line is now part of the National Rail network, and the line has been extended to run from Bristol Temple Meads to Severn Beach.cite web | url = http://www.about-bristol.co.uk/sea-01.asp | title = About Bristol Suburbs - Sea Mills - Stations | publisher = About Bristol | accessdate = June 16 | accessyear = 2006]

The wide A4 Portway trunk road passes along the south-west edge of Sea Mills and links central Bristol with its outport at Avonmouth. Running parallel to the serpentine path of the River Avon, the Portway was the most expensive road in Britain when it was opened in 1926. Both the Portway and the railway line have bridges over the harbour outfall into the Avon.

Ocean-going ships used to sail past Sea Mills, going to and from Bristol Docks. Nowadays most of the shipping is in the form of pleasure craft, Bristol's main docks now being at Avonmouth and Portbury.

ee also

*Kingsweston
*Sea Mills railway station

References

Bristol Manor Farm Football Club

External links

* for Sea Mills.
* [http://www.about-bristol.co.uk/sea-00.asp Sea Mills history]