Historical Study of the area known as ‘Jacob’s Wells, Clifton, Bristol, England – From pre-expulsion to modern times. By Julian Lea-Jones (c) 1999

7/29/2019 Historical Study of the area known as Jacobs Wells, Clifton, Bristol, England From pre-expulsion to modern times. By Julian Lea-Jones (c) 1999

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Historical Study of the area known as Jacobs Wells, Clifton, Bristol,

England

From pre-expulsion to modern times

Produced for the Judaica Project.

by

Julian Lea-Jonesof

Temple Local History Group

Jacobs Well NGR reference ST57697286. National Monument Reg No. 28881

This report is the results of the discoveries made by members of the Temple Local HistoryGroup over the period from 1985 to 1998. The purpose of the study is twofold. Firstly to

investigate possible links between the structures associated with the Jacobs Wells and other

medieval features situated in the vicinity of Jacobs Wells Road, Clifton, Bristol, England andsecondly to provide a framework for any further historical or archaeological research.

ISBN 0 951 0068 9 4 Temple Local History GroupBristol Record Office (City Archives) Accession No.41252


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ISBN 0 951 0068 9 4 Historical Study of the area known as Jacobs Wells, Clifton, Bristol, EnglandFrom pre-expulsion to modern times Julian Lea-Jones, 28th July 1998

ChairmanTemple Local History Group

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Contents Hyperlinks to sections Ctr + Click

Contents

Introduction ...................................................................... 4

Scope .............................................................................. 4

Acknowledgements: ....................................................... 4

Background ....................................................................... 6

Topography ..................................................................... 7

Geology ........................................................................... 8

Local History ................................................................... 9

Bristol Mercury Newspaper Cutting (5th

November 1901) 14

Discovery in St. Augustine's...................................... 14Social History ................................................................ 14

Jewish History and Culture ............................................ 17

Medieval Water systems............................................... 23

Overview....................................................................... 23

Jacobs Well.................................................................. 23

Gorse Lane Spring NGR ST 57 69 72 85 ....................... 24

The Garden Spring........................................................ 25

Chronological tour........................................................ 26

Conclusions ..................................................................... 26Possible purpose(s) &/or use of the features: ............... 28

Jewish historical issues ................................................. 28

Recommendations for future actions ............................. 29

ARCHIVAL RESEARCH IN BRISTOL .................................. 29

JEWISH HISTORICAL AND ARCHIVE RESEARCH .............. 29

BRISTOL RECORD OFFICE RESEARCH ............................. 29

FIELD INVESTIGATIONS AT, AND IN THE VICINITY OF, THE 'JACOB'S WELL' SITES 29

ECCLESIASTICAL AND OTHER HISTORICAL RESEARCH ... 30

CIVIC & MUNICIPAL ACTION ......................................... 30Appendicies .................................................................... 31

A1 Source references ......................................... 31

A2 Plans & Layouts ............................................ 31

A3 Ground Scan Radar [Subject to use] .......... 31

A1 Source references ......................................... 32

An illustrated summary - the remaining Pages of can be found on www.history4u.info 34


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Introduction

This report provides a synthesis of all the research carried out by members and associates of the Temple Local

History Group since our initial involvement circa 1985. The report contains conclusions and possible alternativehypotheses for the use and origins of the site[s], together with recommendations for the focus of any future

investigations by TLHG or others to support the proposed Judaica project.

Scope

The area of Bristol comprising the subject of this study and currently known as Jacobs Wells Road is thatBounded on the South-East by Brandon Hill, the North by Upper Berkely Place, on the West by Constitution,

and Clifton Hills, Gorse Lane and on the South by the Hotwells Road and the site of Limekiln Dock. The periodof the study is from the earliest records, prior to the expulsion of the Jews from the Kingdom in 1290 (5050)and

the current date. All aspects of the history of the study area that could contribute to a better understanding of the

use of the site have where possible been included.

Introductory notes for the survey:

For the purpose of this report, the convention of looking up Jacobs Wells Road is used i.e.

North is to the top,

South is to the Bottom,

West is to the left,

East is to the right.

The Imperial System is used for all measurements, (metric measurements where given are in brackets, thus).

All dates refer to Anno Domini unless specified otherwise. For Jewish purposes, the time chart, with thereport provides a combined time-line in AD, Regnal Years and the Hebrew calendar (from c.4860 to c.5751)and includes key events in local and national Jewish history to assist in putting the subject of this study in a

wider context.

For the purpose of continuity and ease of reading, plan and other source references have been introduced into

the text at the relevant chronological point, although in most instances the features were discovered first andsubsequently corroborated by the information contained on early plans or charters.

Acknowledgements:

The following members of Temple Local History Group without whose help this project would not havehappened, undertook archive research, field surveys, and brought their professional knowledge and expertise to

the project: Judith Samuel, Lynn Thomas,

David Price, Mary Friend, Ian Ford, Ivor Grimstead, Beatrice & Nick Leach, Bob Vaughan, Lois Cann, (for the

newspaper cutting entitled, Discovery in St. Augustines, from the Bristol Mercury Newspaper), Mr. Nicholas

Cornwell-Smith, Sydney Jacob and the late Bernard Smisson.


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Mr. John Williams, D.A.A., Bristol City Archivist, Bristol Record Office, for help in unearthing the maps, plans

and Drawings associated with the 'Jacob's Well' area listed in the table of references and for permission to

include them herein.

Mr .Henry Smith, retired Police Constable No.682 562, for explaining the reason for the discovery of the

hundreds of discarded cycle lamp batteries in the Mikveh.

Mr. Brian Nicholson of Bristol Civic Society, for his help and advice with the Gorse Lane Survey.

Mr. Michael Ponsford, Chief Field Archaeologist for the Bristol City Museum & Art Gallery, Queens roadBristol BS5 7AA, for providing the initial dating evidence for the Mikveh.

Mr. John Martelette 1985 owner of the Jacobs Well site for allowing site access for members of Temple

Local History Group and for supporting and encouraging their discoveries.

Mr. Ronny Reich, of the Department of Antiquities and Museums, Jerusalem, for his advice and details of the

Plan & Elevation of a Mikveh at Isawiya in Israel.).

Mr. Simon Cox, Supervising Archeologist, Bristol & Region Archaeological Services, Bristol City Museum &

Art Gallery for advice on the Limekiln Dock, and for permission to quote their reference source.

Dr Joe Bettey, University of Bristol, Reader in Local History, for his continual support and help with the

delineation of the bounds of Bristol.


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Background

TLHG Involvement

Jacobs Well is shown on various early maps and documents as being located adjacent to the junction ofConstitution Hill and Jacob's Wells Road. In December 1986 when Mr. John Martelette's builders were

demolishing his existing workshop prior to completely reconstructing the building, some interesting featureswere noted.

A cast iron pump close to the rear wall at the hillside end of the premises indicated the possibility of a nearby

water supply. A few feet to the left of the pump was a small stone fireplace sized opening in the stone wall, witha rebated freestone surround, flush with the face of the wall. The opening was approximately two feet in height

relative to the floor level and was totally filled with black sludge, bottles and other rubbish. Members of the

Temple Local History Group decided to observe progress on the work and take photographs, in case anything

might be revealed to confirm the exact location of Jacob's Well.


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Topography

The name Jacobs Wells Road has only been applied to the road running between Hotwells Road and the siteof Queen Elizabeths Hospital Grammar School, during this century, prior to that it was known as Woodwell

Lane. But long before that, Bristols earliest charters record the name as Woodwill Lake or Sandbrook. This

latter name featured in the perambulation of the town when Bristol received its Royal Charter in 1373. At thattime, the Sandbrook ran down a steep sided wooded valley formed between the western slopes of Brandon Hill

and the escarpment of Clifton Hill, ending in a small Pill or Creek on the Gloucestershire bank of the River

Avon, as it probably had since the Trias Period.

To gain an understanding of the scene as it must have been in those far-off days one must climb to the summit

of Brandon Hill still green and wooded. Once there try and ignore the modern urbanisation and look downinto the steep valley through which the Sandbrook once flowed. Visulise in your minds eye, the members of the

Jewish Chevra Kadisha making their way along the edge of the stream to their communitys Cemetery on theslopes of the hill, (just below and to the right of the white bulk of Field House in this picture). Even today

1999, one can see, the Jewish 'Jacob's Well', which was used by them before their expulsion in AD 1290 as theirMikveh.


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Geology

Based upon information provided by TLHG group member, Professor Ian Ford.

The present day topography of the area is essentially as it was at some time during the New Red Sandstone

(Trias) Period ' about 200 million years ago, when the older, exposed and eroded surface of carboniferous age

rocks were covered and buried under the windblown desert sands. Subsequent burial and erosion has exposed

much of the ancient desert topography and the relatively thin veneer of red sandy and muddy triassic rocks havegiven rise to the names 'Redland, and 'Redcliffe. (Ref. 26).

The Carboniferous Age rocks of the area are marine or deltaic sediments, now sedimentary rocks, with the oldsea beds or bedding planes dipping approximately 30 to the south-east. These ancient sediments, which were

laid down about 300 million years ago, occur today as a succession of rock types roughly analogous to the

pages of a history book. In this area, these rocks range from the massive limestones of Clifton Down, through

the sandstones and shales of the Quartzitic Sandstone Group to the Coal Measure Shales, Sandstones and coalseams (Ashton Little Vein) at College Green, continuing under the City towards Ashton Vale.

The rocks of the Quartzitic Sandstone Group, usually abbreviated to 'Q.S.G., are also known as 'Millstone Gritand locally as 'Brandon Hill Grit'. They consist of beds of hard Quartzitic Sandstones, red and purple in colour

and occasionally grading into quartz pebble conglomerates (pudding stones) and inter-bedded with sandy

shales. As the succession is followed upwards in age from Brandon Hill, the massive Quartzitic Sandstone beds

become thinner and less frequent and have nearly disappeared by the time the junction with St. Georges Roadand Park Street is reached. The City itself is an extensive coalfield and contains hundreds of old shafts and

mining trials.

The Q.S.G. has been quarried in the past and some of the rocks can be seen today as stone used for the bothQueen Elizabeth's Hospital School (Q.E.H.) building and the massive retaining wall, (both for the Pupils and

the Embankment!). The sameQ.S.G. rocks form the, now hidden, retaining wall behind the 1987 reinforced-concrete wall around the Jacobs Well Mikveh.

The Q.S.G. are very tough, hard, splintery rocks and can be trimmed and faced only with difficulty. The old

builders were rarely able to cut and trim them into rectangular blocks like the Bath Stone or Doulting StoneLimestone used in many Bristol buildings. It would have been extremely difficult, if not impossible, for the

people 700 years ago to dig trenches through them. The only way they could have excavated for the conduit

route would have been to follow a naturally occurring fracture zone or fault (the line of the valley of the

Sandbrook). These rocks are so hard because they are not just grains of quartz sand cernented together withIron Oxide and secondary silica but are formed of interlocked grains at the molecular level. The ancient pre-

Trias stress field which folded and fractured the carboniferous rocks of the area caused many of the quartz sand

grains to grow into one another forming sutured contacts. The structure of the rock, therefore, is something likea 3-D jig-saw puzzle and is very tough, strong and difficult to work as a result.The red Trias rocks are mostly red, sandy, calcareous mud stones which tend to disintegrate in water but which

can be firm and solid enough to build on if buried in the ground. The chamber discovered beneath Gorse lane is

excavated in this red sand stone and the red sand and very fine silt, almost mud, that comes from this springcould have explained the earliest name recorded for the valley the Sandbrook.


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The old builders could have dug into them, with difficulty in some places and trenching and excavation would

have been possible with fairly primitive equipment. Any of the old Conduits or drains can be expected,

therefore, to be in either Triassic Rocks or following fracture zones (faults) in the tough underlying rocks of theQuartzitic Sandstone Group.

Local History

One of the long term tasks Temple Local History Group has taken on since its formation in 1980, is themaintaining of "Watching Briefs" on local sites believed to contain historic features. The building work at the

junction of Constitution Hill and Jacobs Wells Road attracted the attention of Beatrice Leach, a TLHG memberwho noticed an old cast iron hand pump against the back wall of the demolished workshop. Beatrice notified

Robert Vaughan, the TLHG member who held a watching brief for the area. Robert then introduced himself to

the, then owner, Mr. John Martelette, explaining the reason for the groups interest;- that there was a possibility

that the building was the site of the 'Jacob's Well'. At that stage the only item of interest was the previously

mentioned, old cast iron hand pump mounted against the back wall of the workshop, possibly something to dowith the fabled Jacobs Well. During the rebuilding work there was an interruption in the work because

structural problems were encountered on the site, relating to upholding the 19th

Century Rubble built retainingwall of local Brandon Hill Stone, (Quartzitic Sandstone). The uncertain state of the wall combined with the

steep slope of the ground behind necessitated a reinforced concrete retaining wall. During this extended

building work three old pennant stone steps were found leading down into the opening in the wall (Ref

No.____) After the detritus and sludge was dug out water was seen about 3 foot 6 inches below the 1987 floor

level. Within the tunnel-like opening could be seen a massive freestone lintel, the walls were generally in

random stonework and the roof was corbelled by a series of stone slabs reducing in height through to the backof the opening, for a total distance of about eight feet. The conclusion was that this was the probably site of the

Jacobs Well that gave its name to the area. There was a certain confusion because the Victorian Cast Iron

Pump did not seem to get a feed from the chamber. However the owner agreed to design the new reinforcedconcrete wall with a small opening to retain access to this interesting feature. As the detritus and sludge was

removed a strong flow of water quickly cleared away the disturbed slurry. Amongst the many wheel-barrowfulsof material dug out of the chamber were hundreds of discarded cycle batteries. An observant retired police

officer, PC Henry Smith, No.682 562, walking past noted this and said that the old building had been used for

years to store police bicycles for men stationed at the Brandon Hill Police Station opposite. According to theretired policemen, before setting out on their nightly rounds, the policemen, issued with fresh sets of cycle lamp

batteries, simply threw the old ones into the conveniently placed hole in the wall! This is probably the first

recorded instance of a medieval spring being polluted by Sal Ammoniac, (the electrolyte).The aforementioned 1884 road plan, (Ref. No.____) has the site marked as the Fire Engine Building, at thattime this would have been a hand or horse drawn pump used for fire fighting. The location, conveniently near

the Police Station also had its own water supply - the iron hand pump which first attracted Robert Vaughansattention - would probably have been used to fill the fire engines water tank.

After the detritus of years had been removed the chamber of crystal clear water was seen to be issuing from a

fissure in the rock and flowing into a drain running beneath the step from the well building towards house, No.

31, on the opposite corner of Constitution Hill. The water was tepid and during a spell of freezing weather inJanuary 1987, steam could be seen rising from the opening (the water temperature was later tested and found to


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be approximately 53F.). Another exit hole just beneath the top step was noticed, but its significance was not

appreciated at that time.

When the reinforced steel and concrete wall built in front of the old retaining wall was completed, apart from

the small access hatch to the spring as promised by the owner, John Martelette, the Temple Local History Groupconsidered that its task was complete. The group felt satisfied that the location of the spring agreed with thatshown on the 1885 1stedition Ordnance Survey map, and matters would have ended there it if it hadnt been fora chance remark by one of the builders. The builder asked if someone could tell him the meaning of the

Hieroglyphics on the lintel stone above the spring. By means of torches and mirrors the stone was examined

through the foot square opening in the now thirteen inch thick steel reinforced concrete wall. The marks wereassumed to be some form of inscription, and as the name of the site was 'Jacob's Well' it was reasonable to

consider that it could have been the name. Another member of the Temple Local History Group, Ralph

Emanuel was contacted and asked to give his opinion. His initial examination suggested that there were what

looked like Hebrew characters on the stone lintel. It was at this stage that the site owner volunteered to re-openthe massive concrete retaining wall so that a closer look could be got of the inscription The rest as they say is

history! Ralph arranged for expert advice from scholars of Jewish and Hebrew history. The resultant consensusof world-wide opinion was that the inscription on the Lintel Stone read as

SACHOLIM

which translates as "FLOWING". Scholarly opinion was that the inscription coupled with the chambersdimensions and the existence of the very important s high -level outflow confirmed its function as a Mikveh. A

Mikveh is a Jewish ritual (not to be confused with religious) purification bath, the design, dimensions and use of

which are very strictly defined and controlled in the Mishnah. This particular example which used runningwater, as opposed to static water, would have had two chambers, only one of which is visible today. Although

only one chamber was uncovered by Mr. John Martelette, it was noticed that on the wall behind the old cast iron

hand pump just above the then, 1987, floor level, the masonry outline of an arch header was just visible.

The group were advised that plaster could cover a second word 'MAYIM' or WATER. The two words were

used together in the Mishnah, (the lst or 2nd century compilation of discussions of Jewish practice), to designate

a bath of flowing water which can be smaller than the more common static water bath which has a statutory

minimum size. The upper exit step or ledge that we discovered earlier, by providing, via an overflow, acontinuous flow of water, supports this hypothesis, and the inscription would have been placed there to inform

the user of this difference. The problems of dating the structure remained. Michael Ponsford of the City

Museum found similarities in the lintel and other stonework with Romanesque masonry found in the excavation

of St. Augustine's Church, College Green. As the land surrounding Jacobs Well was acquired by St.Augustine's Abbey (now the Cathedral), in 1142, the Mikveh must be earlier. It therefore pre-dates the one

discovered in Cologne in 1956 which dates from 11 70 and was the earliest then known in Europe. The

inscription is also the only medieval Hebrew one yet discovered in Britain.


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Lintel showing the inscription - with a transcript.

Whilst Jewish historians continued to study the significance and national importance of the Mikveh, members

of TLHG decided to carry out a further study of the entire area of 'Jacob's Wells to see if anythingelse hadbeen overlooked. The group decided to carry out desk, field and dowsing studies over the whole area from the

from the site known as Jews Acre further up the road to the bottom of the road on the north bank of the RiverAvon, (since 1804 made into a non tidal floating harbour), the site of the 18

thcentury Limekiln Dock. The scope

of their their study was to include all the pipes and water systems marked on the old maps. Archive researchwas also carried out, which resulted in the discovery of portfolios of plans in the Bristol Record Office showing

the development of the various water systems down the centuries. Members of the Bristol Society of Dowsers

also carried out an independent study, the results of which were later shown to corroborate TLH Gs field anddesk studies.

Although as part of the 1987 investigations only a single chamber had been found, a survey carried out by

William Halfpenny's in 1742 shows two distinct chambers. The left-hand pillar of the entrance to the Jacob'sWell is covered in graffiti. Although some of the graffiti is considered by archaeologists from Bristol City

Museum as recognisably 18th century there is a possibility that some of the inscriptions served a votive purpose.

Examples of similar graffiti have been recorded at other ancient wells, usually those considered to be sacredThis latter hypothesis is supported by comments made by Anthony Richards writing for the Nelson Society,

(Ref 19), In an article for the Journal of the Nelson Society he wrote that Admiral Lord Nelson always insisted

on having Bristol Water on board for his personal use, and that the water was from the Abbey Conduit, from the

Jacobs Well. [In addition to the public fountain at Lambwell Court at the foot of the road, it is believed thatthere was an outlet at the dock-side for the provisioning of ships]. Richards also talks of the many pilgrims to

the Abbey, who believed that the spring water had healing powers. For this reason, the graffiti at the Jacobs

Well merits further research.

[Votive inscriptions are sometimes also found in Churches such as those at St. John the Baptist Church at

Burford in the Cotswolds where a simple graffiti representing a parishioners activity or, about to be embarkedupon undertaking, was then blessed by the Parish Priest]. Further investigation is needed both to uncover, what

could be a second word on the lintel stone and any additional graffiti hidden under later plasterwork.


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Investigations are continuing and already water flow measurements carried out by Mr. J. Thomas, for the Water

Treatment Consultants in 1990 indicated that a second body of water still exists, hidden behind the massive

stone and concrete wall. When time and circumstance permit it is hoped to use camera & possiblyThermographic and Surface Penetrating Radar techniques to prove or disprove this. Finally another

investigator has proposed the possibility of the survival in the vicinity of Jewish items that were left behind,hidden, when they were expelled in 1290 where better to hide items? after all, they had no way of knowingthat they would be gone for nearly 500 years.

In order to appreciate why this discovery is of importance in terms of local history, one needs to use a little

imagination and try to visualise this whole area in the days when the flows from several springs combined toform a small stream tumbling down through a peaceful, wooded, steep-sided valley, located nearly a mile from

the busy, thriving City of Bristol. Then as now water supplies, were essential to the populace, and before

Municipal water supplies, springs were of value to the owners of the land on which they arose. Bristol was

fortunate in having many such supplies in the surrounding hills, which could be gravity fed down to the townbelow. The engineering work involved in providing conduits, cisterns and sometimes tunnels was often carried

out at the instigation of, and supervised by, the various monastic orders. Some springs, particularly 'Holy Wells',were covered by a 'well-house' structure built in stonework, sometimes with an arched entrance, complete witha stone channel or trough to retain water for the use of local people, travellers and pilgrims.

The Jews are reported to have buried their dead on the nearby slopes of Brandon Hill and Queen ElizabethHospital school (opened 1847) was built on a pre-expulsion Cemetery called Jews Acre or the Jews ChurchYard. Jacob's Wells as a district name may have derived from this connection. Reverend Michael Adler in his

paper to the Jewish Historical Society of England, given on the 12th

November 1928, listed six people namedJacob in pre expulsion Bristol, (Source Ref. No. 20). From his paper, a possible candidate could have been R

Jacob of Oxford who was one of the more affluent Jews in Bristol at that time and may have been able to

finance the building of the Mikveh and associated works but more research is needed to prove or disprove

this. However a more likely explanation lies in the tradition of using the name 'Jacob's Well' as a generic term.There are a number of these around Britain.

Returning to the term 'well', this can be confusing in that nowadays we tend to think of an well as a circular hole

excavated, lined with stone, and extended down until a stream of water flowing through a fault or fissure in therock is found, or a water-bearing strata is reached. An example of this type of well was discovered in the

Alliance Hall, (now in 1999, the Globe Sport), by Robert Vaughan only yards away from the Mikveh. Although

any nineteenth century map of Bristol is liberally marked with this type of well, in fact the word 'well' was oftenused to indicate just a spring or water source. This latter description would have applied to the springs in the

Jacob's Wells area (Jacob's Wells Road was called Woodwell Lane on 18th

and 19th

century street maps and the

name survived in Woodwell Crescent nearby). Adjacent to the 'Jacob's Well' is another water system, nowadays

even less noticeable, that of the Dean and Chapter's or Abbey Conduit.

The two conduits were laid running quite close together through this valley. The other conduit was owned by

the Abbey Church of St. Augustine (now Bristol Cathedral) which tapped a spring (now under the road) acrossfrom Jacob's Well, Marked on (Ref. No.38) as The Vault of the Abbey Conduit together with other springs

from further up the valley. There still remains today a short sealed off section of tunnel near the junction of

Jacob's Wells Road and Gorse Lane beneath where a tunnel was at some stage driven into the hillside to tappure water (which still flows today), and keep safe ownership of the source. There is a freestone arched entrance

to one length of tunnel with iron lugs on one of the jambs presumably at one time to take a door or grille for


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security; (Ref. No.31) (similar to that found beneath Park Street by Temple Local history Group when

researching St. John's Conduit). The Dean and Chapter conduit ran to the Cathedral precincts, where a large

cistern was located; probably in the Cloisters, nearby households were also supplied.

The importance and antiquity of this supply is clear in that records show that in 1373, Edward Ill instructed,(Refs 3 & [8]), that "a perambulation be made of a rivulet called Woodwill's Lake running from Jacob's Wellnorthward along its course to a conduit of the Abbott of St. Austin's'.

and from thence, by the brink of the said water, unto Avon roadunto a certaingreatStone [1] fixed upon the said water of Avon,[near a limekiln] near a certainlittle brook, called Woodwells-Lake, on the east part of the same Brook; and from

thence, ascending directly towards the north, by the course of the same Brook, [4to a stone on the bank where there was a mill to blow lead ore] from a greaStone [4] fixed nigh the same Brook, unto a greatStone [5, betwixt Jacobs Wel

and the ] set nigh the conduit of the Abbot of St. Augustine of Bristol, on the Wespart of the same Conduit; and from thence, ascending by a certain lane, calledWoodwells-Lane, on the west part of the same lane, from a greatStone, to a grea

Stone [6] fixed for the bounds of the same Lane, unto a certainStone [7] fixed nigh

a certain Wall, called Langcroft-Wall, in the same Lane to Bartholomews Close

Evans in his Chronological outline of the history of Bristol, circa 1824, (Ref. 2),adds the words Jacobs Wellin parenthesis against Woodwells-Lake, and the conduit of the Abbot of St. Augustine, he also defines

Bartholomews Close as being the present, (1824) Berkeley Crescent etc.

Barrett in his account (Ref. 8) includes the distances from [numbered #] stone to stone, in Perches and Quarters

giving a total distance from the bank of the river near the Limekiln to the stone at Jacobs Well [#5] as63perches and 2 quarters, (346.5 yards) with a further 55 Perches, (302 yards) to the stone [#7]at Long-croft.

This places the Jacobs Well and the Vault of the Conduit of the College, (of the Dean & Chapter) just overhalfway, 53%, between what is now upper Berkeley Place and the river bank

These ancient perambulations are continued in the age-old custom of beating the bounds, a custom continuedin Bristol today, 1998, on the last Saturday of each September. This is when the route of the Redcliffe pipe is

walked and the participants are 'bumped' on the stones marking the route.

Although the many plans and surveys of the area show the different plumbing arrangements developed overthe centuries to extract the maximum amount of water from the Springs and Wells that flow from the slopes of

Sandbrook, Woodwill, Woodwell, or 'Jacob's Well', as it has variously been known, most of the records havebeen lost. Only through research carried out by local history groups and chance discoveries such as that

described below, (Ref. 15), have records of the tunnel systems that housed and protected these water systems

metaphorically come to light.


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Bristol Mercury Newspaper Cutting (5th

November 1901)Discovery in St. Augustine's

The discovery was made on Tuesday of something like 400 yards of subterranean passages,used in connection with the conduit system, and extending from the Three Tuns, St. GeorgesRoad, St. Augustine's, towards the Cathedral.

The origin of the passage has, thanks to the energy of Mr. W.W. Hughes, been explained. Itappears, from an old plan, which Mr. Hughes has in his possession, that the pipe which runsthrough the tunnel is the pipe which once conveyed water from a spring at Jacob's Wells to theDeanery. The plan shows a spring at the top of Jacob's Wells and on going to this spot aMercury reporter found, after a lengthy search, two boards which must be extremely old. The

wording on them is scarcely decipherable but one has the name of the place - Bellevue - and theother intimates that 'water ' for [Drinking]? may be obtained at this spring. From this spot the planshows a water-pipe which leads to areservoir tank just by Brandon Hill Police Station.

From here the pipe is carried down Woodwell Lane and through what used to be Limekiln Lane,but is now St. Georges Road. Then it turns into Partition Street, a little thoroughfare connectingSt. Georges Road with Lower College Street.All this way there is nothing but a pipe which passes underneath the middle of the roads, but

now the pipe passes through a tunnel - the tunnel which was discovered on Tuesday. Thispassage passes underneath the backs of the houses in Lower College Street, goes right acrossCollege Street, and under Bishops Park, terminating just before Lower College Green isreached. But the pipe continues into Lower College Street and then branches off into al

directions.This plan is dated 1854 and in those days the spring at Jacob's Wells belonged to the Dean

and Chapter, who constructed this elaborate system and supplied various private houses in theneighbourhood of the Cathedral, the Dean and Chapter of course, enjoying an excellentrevenue. But when the Bristol Water Works Company came into existence, this service wasdispensed with by practically every house and the Company's water obtained. The Cathedraauthorities' system, therefore, became practically disused, and about 15 years ago [1886] thespring was presented to the city by the Dean and Chapter. Ever since that time the Jacob's Wellsswimming baths have been supplied from this spring.

Social History

The social history is addressed from the viewpoint of the development of the early community and the impact

upon it of the water supply systems. Also included is an overview of the health problems that arose from the

rapid 19th century industrialisation and the pressures that this imposed on the social fabric of the city. It isimportant to understand these, because it was as a direct result of the findings of a Royal Commission, (Refs. 27

& 28),that engineering changes were made to the water supply systems in, amongst others, the Jacobs Wells

area.


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Today in England we are fortunate enough to be able to take our Water supplies for granted and although the

processed, filtered, purified and sometimes re-cycled water is controlled and distributed by a corporate body itwas not always thus. Bristol's earliest water supplies were inherited from the monastic institutions that ringed

the medieval town.

To understand the social environment in which the Jewish population found themselves and to understand why

and how their artefacts in the Jacobs Wells area were not lost with their expulsion but reused, and adapted by

those who came after, it will be helpful if we first travel back in time: a thousand years. Back to the time when

Bricg Stowe [the place of the bridge] was a small Saxon settlement on the easily defendable hill between thejunction of the rivers Frome and Avon, situated to the North East of the present Bristol Bridge.

In Saxon times the community was small enough to get all the water it needed from springs bubbling out of the

hillsides. Over the years Bricg Stowe gradually grew in size, became known as Bristowe, gained a Royal Mintand the stockade on the hill top became a castle, but water from local Springs, Streams and Wells was still

sufficient for the needs of this small town.

Such informal and feudally owned supplies, sometimes augmented by gifts of Water Rights from the monastic

Houses, were more or less adequate up to the time of the Reformation. However by then increasing urbanisation

was causing serious problems with both the water supplies and drainage.

The crisis point arrived with industrialisation, which saw the rise of many industries vying with the population

for the precious commodity - Water. Although industries such as Tanneries, Cloth working, (Fullers andTuckers), Potteries, Glassworks, Sugar Refineries used copious quantities of water and were responsible for the

nineteenth century pollution, even the brook associated with Jacobs Well or Sandbrook as it was known in

medieval times, must have been polluted. Barrets account of the 1373 perambulation refers to the The Lead

Blowing Mill along the valley from the Jacobs Well, (Ref. 8 pp. 105).

Indeed, by the first half of the nineteenth century, Bristol had gone from having one of the country's best water

supplies to having the worst. This was due to overcrowding and slum housing causing massive pollution of

water supplies and wells by open sewers, cesspools and burial grounds. Pollution was one of the reasons why,from earliest times, all the monastic houses went towards the effort and expense of building conduits and tunnel

systems to bring spring water from the surrounding hills down to their houses. By the mid 19th

century, filth and

diseases such as Typhoid and Cholera were endemic. For example further along from the foot of Jacobs WellsRoad, in Hotwells, to the west of the Limekiln Dock there were reports of hovels built at the base of the

escarpment with no sanitation whatsoever and where the ordure from swine in pens further up the hillside ran

through the houses. In another example in Temple Parish, a house on "Temple Church Pavement" had a well in

the backroom was located less than 30 feet away from the Temple Churchyard where Cholera victims wereburied!

Reports of the same period described the River Frome as an "Open Sewer". During the summer months thestench in the City was so bad that those wealthy enough would leave their town houses for the healthier heights

of Kingsdown. It took Dr. William Budd, Physician to the Bristol Royal Infirmary, to make the authorities

accept that "the filthy habits of the poor were mainly attributable to a deficient supply of water."


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However by this time, Cholera, Typhoid and related diseases were taking such a toll of the population that a

Royal Commission was established under the direction of Sir Henry de la Beche and Doctor L Playfair. Their

brief was to "propose means of improving the health of the population of large towns".

Perhaps it would be cynical to suggest that it was the realisation that the workforce, the essential backbone ofVictorian industrialisation, was dying off in large numbers, which prompted the government to set up the RoyalCommission. The Bristol submission for an 1844 report was both investigated and compiled by Doctor W. Kay,

MD of the Bristol Dispensary makes horrifying reading. Whatever the motives, the outcome was the

establishment of local water companies, although, if Bristol's example was anything to go by, not without a

certain amount of intrigue and double-dealing. Prior to the formation of the Bristol Waterworks Company avariety of other schemes had been proposed, including one surveyed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel for the

Bristol and Clifton Waterworks Company, none of which would have provided an adequate or equitable share

of the available water resources. For example, one such scheme utilising Clifton's springs would have resulted

in 5,000 Clifton and district residents having piped water whilst the remaining 73,000 Bristolians would stillhave had to depend upon private and public wells and springs.

As mentioned earlier, this was a far cry from the situation that existed in the middle ages when the population ofBristol, then about 12,000, had about one of the best supplies in the country. Fortunately the Bristol Waterworks

Company in spite of considerable opposition won the day; but some of the strength of feeling can be judged

from a political cartoon of the day in the Magpie, entitled, "Cheap Water (for all and not for the favouredfew). The Magpie was a satirical broadsheet, and as is always the way, it was usually described by its victims as

"Scurrilous".

It was not until the Bristol Water-Works Company obtained Parliamentary assent in 1846 to pump water from

Chelvey, [and later from Barrow], to the South-West of Bristol, that all parts of the city received an adequate

supply of water. Gradually all the smaller companies and schemes were bought out.

It is ironic that one of the last Water Lederers in Bristol, selling Water at 2d. per bucket, was in the Cathedral

Parish of St. Agustine. Ironic because both the Abbey and the Gaunt's Conduits flowed nearby. The use of the

Abbey Water system was controlled by the Dean of Bristol Cathedral who allowed the Conduit tap to be turned

on for a limited period each day for the use of the Parishioners. Contrast this with the granting to theParishioners of St. John's a free branch pipe by the Carmelite Friars 500 hundred years before in 1367, whilst

remembering that the Dean and Chapter had been given the supply of water from the Jacobs Well.

It was during a Temple Local History Groups presentation on this topic in the early 1990s, that a member ofthe audience told of an outbreak of Typhoid that took place in a house near them in Style Lane, St. Michaels

Hill, Bristol, (not far from the Park Row Synagogue). They had been told that outbreak was attributed to

contamination of the house well and an associated tunnel, and that the outbreak was so serious that the housewas condemned. No, this was not the middle ages or even the nineteenth century, it was the late 1930s or early

1940s!

The recommendations of the Royal Commission resulted in provision of a municipal water supply and the

replacement of many of the slums and hovels by Workmens Model Dwellings - the social climate was

gradually changing for the better. If one considers that there was probably some pollution of the Jacobs Wellvalley as long ago as the fourteenth century, caused by the lead blowing mill it is fitting that to conclude this

section with the news that as a contribution to the health improvements of the area the committee was able to


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report, on the 30th of October 1863 That they have instituted inquiries as to the several pipes, conduits, pumpsand wells used for the gratuitous supply of water to the inhabitants within the district of the Local Board from

which it appears that there are the following pipes and pumps belonging to the Corporation all of which are nowin good repair, namely, the Quay pipe; Jacobs Wells pipe there is an open dipping place at Jacobs Wells,

Woodwell Lane which has plenty of water (Ref. 7).The following year the Dean and Chapter granted the Citythe use of their water from the Jacobs Well to supply the new municipal Hotwells Public Baths built

adjacent to the new workmens dwellings.

The purpose of this rsum of a single aspect of the social history and the contribution made by Bristol's watersystems to the health of the population was to show the need for the water system in the Jac obs Well area andprobably why it survived nineteenth century urbanisation.

In the section on Medieval Water Systems we will go back in time and examine the engineering contribution

of the different Monastic orders made to Bristols water system.

Jewish History and Culture

Jews had been brought over to England by William the Conqueror sometime after 1066 to supply him and his

nobles with finance for building works. The first settlement of Jews in Bristol c. 1100-(c. 4860) and the Mikveh

in Jacob's Wells Road was built by or for the Jewish community. We say for because it is unlikely that the

Jewish community would have had the masons skills to build the structure. Also the simple and cyclopeanconstruction of the stonework of the Mikveh suggested to the City Archaeologists that use was made of

available large pieces of stone requiring the minimum of working. This would minimise the cost to the small

but far from affluent Jewish community.

Prior to the expulsion Bristols Jewry was on the Quay between Broad Street and Small Street outside the inner

city walls but within the outer wall. The Synagogue was situated in Small Street, under the emplacement of the

later St. Giles' Church. The cemetery was outside the walls and was traditionally on a hill under today's QueenElizabeth Hospital School on Brandon Hill. Later, in the 13 th century, a group of houses in Wine Street was

owned by Jews. This had the advantage of being near to the Castle and hence Royal protection.

c. 1170-c. 4930

Moses of Bristol settled in Bristol. He was grandson of Rabbi Simon of Trier (TREVES), a

martyr of the Second Crusade. He subsequently moved to Oxford where he owned land in the

Jewry and died about 1184.

c. 1180-c. 4940

Benedict (in Hebrew Berachyah), a friend of Moses, died leaving a widow, Leah and twosons, Moses and Joseph. Benedict of Bristol had been a wealthy man and before they could

have their inheritance, King Henry claimed 40 marks from his widow in death duties and

Moses had to pay one ounce of gold, of which he paid all except 15s. The balance was not

forthcoming because he disappeared. Leah had also to pay the Royal Treasury 20 bezants


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(today equivalent to 65) to enable her to draw up an agreement between them and the local

Beth Din (Coram Judaeis).

c. 1187-c. 494 7

At the Bristol Beth Din, Judah of Bristol paid two ounces of gold for an inquiry to be made inthe "chapter of the Jews" whether a Jew ought to take usury from another Jew.

1191-4951

Leah's second son, Joseph, succeeded his father as taxcollector on behalf of the King. He was

responsible for the payment of 100 shillings of the second 1,000 marks which the Jews ofEngland promised the King in connection with the tallage levied at Guildford in 1188. He

appears to have been the communal Rabbi.

1199-4959

During his reign, King John found it necessary to borrow money from Jews in Gloucester,Bristol and wherever else in England they lived.

1210-4970On his return from Ireland, King John issued an order for the whole Jewish community to be

arrested and brought to Bristol Castle, where he was then staying. A tallage of 66,000 marks

(equivalent to32,740,000 today) was levied. There were about 2,000 to 3,000 Jews in Englandat this time. The Archae of each centre were closely inspected. The desired amount was not

produced. TheArchae contained the Charters, one part of each contract was sealed by the person

to whom the money was lent, held by the Jew and the other to be kept in the Common Chest or

Archa. Later, in 1240, these rules were changed so that the document with the seal was kept in

the Archa and both borrower and lender had a copy.

1216-4976At the beginning of his long reign Henry III and his counsellors meant to treat his Jewish

subjects kindly, orders for their protection (even against the bishops) being issued by the regent,

William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke. In response to a royal order, Hugh de Vivonia, the

Constable of Bristol Castle, appointed twenty-four citizens as guardians of the local Jews.

1218-4978

The institution of the Jew badge was intended for their good, in order that no man could pleadthat he had assaulted a Jew in ignorance of his race.


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Examples of the Jew Badge, worn over the heart, when in later years it was decreed to be of

yellow taffeta.


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12??-49??

But like all his predecessors, Henry was short of money. His first tallage was for his sister's

dowry. Princess Joan was to marry Alexander, King of Scotland, and the Jews were called uponto contribute. The total collected from seventeen communities was 654.3s.5d. (21,416), of

which Bristol gave 22.2s.9d. (725) (tenth on the list). Many other tallages followed.

1241-5001This meeting in February (Shevat) included the "richest and most powerful" Jews, as the King

desired to treat with them as well concerning his own as their benefit. The Parliamentum

Judaicum (Jewish Parliament) found they had to raise a tallage of 20,000 marks (9,920,000) bythe end of September "under pain of forfeiting their goods and estates and the greatest penalties

to the terror of all others". The six representatives from Bristol were Lumbard, Bonefey

Solomon of lvelcester (lichester in Somerset), Isaac son of Jacob, Milo le Eveske, and Isaac of

Bath.

1275-5035

All the Jews of Gloucester, the chief Jewish town in the region, were transferred to Bristol whenevery Jew in Queen Eleanor's dower was expelled.

1275-5035Greater distress was caused to Bristol Jewry when twenty-two men and two women came by

night with force and arms and attacked the Jews and broke their houses and entered the same and

took and carried away the King's goods that were in the keeping of the Jews against the peaceand to his damage 1,000 or in another version 100, which seems more likely. The Jewry was

burned, but it seemed no-one died. Their leader was William Giffard with William Maleden

Roger le Pessoner, Geoffrey Pistor and Simon le Waleys.

1275-5035Parliament ratified the Statute de Judaismo (Statute of the Jews) which would, henceforth, make

it impossible to obtain interest due on debts. Thus the business of money-lending was severely

damaged and Anglo-Jewry faced starvation.

1290-5050

The Expulsion of the Jews from En-gland. King Edward 1 ordered all the Jews of his kingdom togo to London, prior to their departure. All their property was left behind to be held by the King

The Sheriffs and officials of the Royal Exchequer compiled a register of their goods, chattels and

debts.

Bristol Jews owned the following property:-

1 Benedictus of Wintonia, hanged, left property in Winchester worth 13 shillings, 4 pence. (The

house itself was worth only 10 shillings.)2. Hak the Priest, hanged, had two properties in fee and had built on it by Peter de la Mare

Constable, worth 25 shillings, for which Peter paid the King 4 pence a year.

3. Moses (Mossi) of Kent, hanged outside Bristol Castle, a house and empty piece of land onceheld, which John of Leygrave owned and for which he paid 40d. and 4s.8d. annually to the King

which would be worth more if the house were repaired (!!!)


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4. Isaac of Caerleon held property in Winchester, held once from John of Woodstock, 6d. annually

to the King, and on behalf of Langabulo owes the King a further 3d. obols, for a fourth part of

the property. (Master Thomas of Bardeney Marescallus, Marshal, held it from the heirs of Johnof Woodstock, paying 20s. per annum because it was worth no more.)

5. Isaac the Jew held land in fee which he gave to Cresse, his son, who in turn sold it to WilliamMayleden and his heirs, giving the Jew annually 6s.6. Empty land previously belonging to Cressant, hanged, which brought the King in 6d.

7. Land next to the Castle held by Josse de Caerleon and held from John of Leygrave for 12d

annual rent and a further 40d. which the King was entitled to.

8. A certain house in which the synagogue of the Jews was attached and rebuilt on the two emptyspaces and that house was held by the heirs of Margery Toly recently deceased for 3s. annually

returned, for which return the said Jews of Bristol gave that same Margery during her lifetime, for

which sum of money into her hands we do not know and increasing yearly till it reached nil in

twenty years, a term dating from the Easter following the late king's death and for a futureeighteen years, when it would also terminate at Easter, and for the ending of that (agreement) the

king must receive 3s. annually. In the will of which king, the aforementioned assessors appendtheir signature.

1290-5050

At the expulsion of the Jews from England, all Jewish property as noted above including the Landcontaining the Jews Cemetery passed to the Crown. 1373-5133

1492-5268The expulsion of the. Jews from Spain.

1497-5273

The expulsion of the Jews from Portugal.

They settled in the Netherlands, which, though a Spanish possession at the time, was much more open-minded

about the religion of its citizens.


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17th century

A group of Sephardim (Spanish Jews) settled in London. They worshipped as Protestants in

public and privately kept the Jewish laws and festivals.

1655-5415 Representations were made to Oliver Cromwell to permit Jews to live openly in England but theCommittee was not in favour of the idea.

1658-5418

Menasseh ben Israel came from Amsterdam to discuss the subject with Cromwell. By June ofthat year it was agreed that Jews could live and worship freely and buy land for a cemetery in

England.

1753-5513Henry Simons stated ... that he had intended to visit the synagogue in Bristol two years earlier.

1756-5516The Jews' Synagogue appears in local Rate Books. This was a noted ale-house in Temple Street

earlier the residence of Sir John Knight, Mayor in 1663 (5423), now used by the Jews as a

Synagogue.

1786-5546

Jewish worship now removed to the Weavers' Hall in Temple Street, probably due to the needfor larger premises.

1842- 5602

Consecration of the Quaker Meeting House, also in Temple Street, on 23rd August 17th

Ellul.

1868-5628

In September - Ellul of this year, an agreement for sale of the Temple Street Synagogue was

agreed with Bristol City Council. This was due to the building of the new Victoria Street, whichwas to demolish the sites of all three buildings, previously used for Jewish worship.

1871-5631On 5th September this year, the new Synagogue in Park Row was consecrated. The Bristol

Hebrew Congregation continue to worship here to this day. .

From this account it can be seen that Bristol had a small but significant Jewish community. Although a Mikvehlocated at Woodwell Lane or Sandbrook outside the town would have been too far for the female members of

the community to travel, the distance would have been acceptable to the men. The existence of the mens

Chevra Kadisha who prepared the dead for burial would have used a Mikveh. The same Topography andGeology that provided the spring adjacent to the cemetery provided the source for the Mikveh.


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Medieval Water systems

It is important to examine Bristols medieval water systems and their associated monastic engineering

techniques in order to gain an understanding of the extensive plumbing system that survives in the vicinity of

Jacobs Well today.

Overview

The water systems that form the subject of this report are contained, for the most part, in a network of tunnels

beneath Bristol's streets. Temple Local History Group, discovered the existence of these whilst researching thehistory of Bristol's Medieval Water Supplies, and in particular those associated with, Temple, Clifton and

Jacobs Wells.

Most of these water systems were developed for and by the Monastic establishments that encircled medievalBristol. and that so many of these subterranean systems survive after more than eight centuries says much for

the skill of those Monastic Engineers. When researching these systems one of the biggest problems during the

initial desk study stages of the research is the reconciliation of often widely conflicting descriptions of thesupposedly same features. Mis-information as; "The winding staircase descending eighteen feet"which turned

out to be a straight flight of steps that only went down eight feet. This example was contained in a Victorian

article about the St. Johns Conduit, and was easily corrected when a visit was made to the system. However, a

similar, but possibly more significant, example was encountered when researching the Jacobs Well; - thediscovery of a carefully drawn 18th Century plan made by William Halfpenny, which included a single opening

at the site of the Mikveh together with a layout of the associated pipework extant at that period. However when

his original field sketches were examined in the City Archives it was realised that he had drawn a double

openingat the Jacobs Well. His sketch had been tidied up by the draughtsman or clerk in the office prior to

publication, losing vital evidence in the process.

There follows accounts of each of the systems associated with the Jacobs Wells and the AbbeyConduitIncluded with each account are the discoveries made by TLHG during their research.

Jacobs Well.

The initial local history research which led to the re-discovery of the 'Jacob's Well' is detailed in Section 5

Local History.

Arising from correspondence between TLHG and the Israel Ministry of Culture details were provided by Mr

Ronny Reich, the author of the study, (Ref. 13), of the Plan & Elevation of a Mikveh at Isawiya in Israel). The

possible significance in terms of similarity of construction & dimensions (within 10%) between the Mikveh atIsawiya and this one at Bristol also merits further study especially when a comparison is made with William

Halfpennys original field sketch depicting a double opening at the Jacobs We ll. The head of an arch where asecond chamber could be was visible before being blocked off behind the new, (1987) reinforced concrete

retaining wall. it should be possible to prove or disprove its existence this chamber. The measurements of water

flow rates undertaken by Mr. J. Thomas for the 1990 Water Bottling Company support this hypothesis. Theinvestigation could use Video camera examinations through small diameter bore-holes, together with Radar

techniques. Alternatively, it may be possible to negotiate with the owner of the adjacent property to approach


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the chamber from above, on the other side of the concrete retaining wall, by excavating down from their garden

Non-invasive techniques may also be appropriate to determine the existence of any further inscriptions on the

lintel stone, together with any further graffiti. Recent discoveries, made possible by the interruption of the waterflow, have revealed a further void, both to the left and below the left-hand wall slab of the Mikveh. There could

be a number of possible explanations for this arrangement. Firstly support for the slab has been eroded bywater flow over the centuries. second possible explanation, requiring further investigation, is that the slab is not

the left-hand wall, but is the centre pillar as shown, both in William Halfpennys sketch and in thephotographs of the Mikveh at Isawiya.

If this is the case, then the aforementioned Arch head would be a third chamber.

Another aspect of the Mikveh, is the provision of the hole between the two chambers normally closed by a

stopper, it would have been opened to allow contact with the pure undrawn water kept in the second chamber,

the Osar.

These aspects together with the arrangements of drains, two of which have been identified as running towards

the Garden Springs system beneath the house at No. 31 Constitution Hill, opposite. One of the 18th

centuryplans shows the existence of a square drain beneath the road surface. As a result of road works associated withthe re-building of a retaining wall to Bellvue further up Constitution Hill the drain was discovered. The City

engineers called upon TLHG to advise. Robert Vaughan prepared a measured sketch before the road surface

was repaired, (Ref. 12). Surface Scan Radar could be used to determine the exact run of this and any otherpipework. It is likely that this would have been the original outflow from the Mikveh, and therefore should be

the subject of an archaeological investigation, whereas the other pipe running into the Garden Springs chamber

is almost certainly part of the 19th

century system used to supply the public baths further down the road.

Gorse Lane Spring NGR ST 57 69 72 85

In 1987 there was a sensationalised report in a local newspaper of an underground tunnel system found by a

local Jacobs Wells resident, Although TLHG was aware of the system as a result of its desk studies it decidedto bring forward their planned exploration before it was vandalised. The results of their survey described below

are detailed in the plans, (Ref. 24).

The publicised discovery made by Mr Allen, resident at No. 59 Jacobs Wells Road arose from his observation

that the snow melted away from a particular paving slab outside his house before others. Prising up the slab

located 3 feet south west of Bench Mark 110.5, (obliterated by house rendering circa 1986), on the SW cornerof his house at No. 59 Jacobs Wells Road, was the entrance to a chambered spring within a tunnel system.

The entrance beneath the pavement slab reveals a step down to a freestone arched doorway beyond whichtunnels branch two ways. One short twenty-four foot long section, with an average height of 6 feet, runs to theleft down Jacobs Wells Road ending in a blocked up freestone arched doorway on the side wall facing across

'Jacob's Well' Road. The Other section, 31 foot long, culminates in a spring chamber of a most unusual design.

The spring chamber or cistern, offset within the tunnel, is just over 4 foot deep carved out of the base rock, redtrias sand stone. The rising spring can be seen forming a vortex in the sand-laden water. Is this where the name

Sandbrook originated? The side of the cistern has a ledge wide enough to sit or squat upon. The water from the


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spring in the cistern flows along a carved stone channel set into the on the tunnel floor, disappearing into a drain

at the lowest extent of the system, (furthest down 'Jacob's Well's road).

The heads of the tunnel arches and the majority of the masonry are in local Pennant stone. A short way into the

system beneath the house, No. 59, its Victorian foundations comprising QSG stone and local black lime mortarbreak into the tunnel roof. The spring system with the ledge along the side of the tunnel, faces towards BrandonHill. However reports include this spring system as being one of those taken over by the Dean and Chapter for

the Abbey. If the original spring system predates this takeover then it is likely that the two tunnel sections will

be of different ages. In contrast with the general construction of the system the entrance doorways are of finely

carved freestone, possibly from Dundry on the nearby Mendip hills. The present day entrance has a pointedhead arch carved from a single block, with carved side pillars as shown. However the second blocked entrance

with a similar but less elaborate arch is propped up with a packing stone, totally out of keeping with the

workmanship of the carved stone pillars and arch heads. One possible explanation for the anomaly is that when

the Abbey took over the spring system and secured access they used whatever masonry was available at the

time in the Abbeys Stoneyard and made it fit.

Surveys and Masons workbook records show that the level of the land has risen over the centuries. The 1373perambulation, (Refs. 2,3 & 8), refer to the Sandbrook running down the valley, (the account talks about

crossing over the brook). During pre-expulsion times it is possible that although the spring and cistern were

underground, the remainder was open to the facing the opposite hillside of the Jews Acre. Furtherinvestigations are needed to determine the relative ages of the different elements of this system and whether

there was a connection with the Jewish Cemetery opposite.

Note:

After TLHG completed their survey, with the authority of the Bristol City Council, they re-cemented and dated

the pavement slab, July 1987, however recent survey of the above ground system reveals the cement seal has

been removed.

The Garden Spring

One of the TLHG discoveries when investigating the water flow from the Mikveh was that there appeared to bea drain running towards the house opposite at number 31 Constitution Hill. Plans showed that there was yet

another spring system referred to as the Garden Spring beneath the house. Old maps show that there had been

a Malt House and then a Smithy on the site. Entrance was gained to the system via Pavement manholes, of a

similar style to that marked on plans for the Dean and Chapters Conduit on the opposite side of Jacob's Wells

Road. Although the Garden Spring has not yet been surveyed to the detail that the other parts of the system

have, initial visits have shown it to have some very interesting and possibly significant features. These featuresmay have a direct connection with the Jewish use of the Mikveh spring opposite. A nineteen foot long tunnel,leading under the house, opened on the right into a large chamber almost the same size as the house above. Set

in the floor of this chamber are a pair of large hand-wheel operated valves or taps, implying the existence of yet

another chamber beneath. Along one side of the large chamber is a ledge beneath, which is a feed from the

Mikveh spring opposite. To the left of the entrance tunnel is a further section, blocked with loose rubbleBehind the blockage can be seen a further tunnel leading down towards the Public baths. It is likely that this

carried the pipes from the Mikveh to the baths and formed part of the 1840s modifications to the system.


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Chronological tour

Surviving plans show that the water systems running here have been extensively modified by different users over

the centuries. Starting as a stream, the (Sandbrook), flowed down this steep sided wooded valley to a small lake,

(Woodwell Lake) then on down to a creek or Pill at the tidal River Avon. The presence of the streams would

have been known to the early inhabitants of pre-conquest Bricg Stowe which as it grew and the populationincreased,, became known first as Bristowe andsubsequently, as it is known today, Bristol. The local Jewish

community arranged to have a spring halfway down the valley made into a Mikveh. There is a possibility that

the spring further up the valley was also used by the Jews as a washing chamber to prepare their dead for

internment in the Jewish cemetery on the opposite slope of Brandon Hill. After the expulsion of the Jews, the

system of springs and streams was taken over by the Abbey of St. Augustine and channeled into lead pipes and

conduits to supply the Abbey and selected properties. Apart from repairs and maintenance this was the situation

for the next 500 years. After the reformation, although the Abbey no longer needed the same amount of water

for its monastic requirements it still needed some for its own use, it also sold the water to neighbouring

properties including a water bottling company at the site of the 'Jacob's Well'. When the bottling business

finished, the spring was once more available as a public dipping place. Visitors to Bristol, returning to Cliftonwere advised to stop and partake of the excellent water at the 'Jacob's Well'. By means of the conduit system the

Abbey also provided a very limited supply for the parish of St Augustine and shipping. Reports suggest tha

even Admiral Nelson partook of this water an example of Bristol Courage being better than Dutch

Courage? With the provision of a municipal water system in the latter half of the nineteenth century, the systemwas given to the City and the lead pipes were replaced by iron, and further chambers, settling tanks, to remove

the silt or sand, were installed or enlarged. A system of valves, taps and additional pipes were also added to

lead the water to the Bristol City Corporations new public baths. With the closure of the Baths in the 1970s the

water was allowed to drain away, unused, until that is, the spring at the Mikveh was rediscovered and once

more used for a spring water bottling enterprise. Sadly, in spite elegant blue glass bottles, the cash necessary

for the enterprise didnt flow as readily as the water and once more the burbling of the spring water is unheard.

Conclusions

The desk study carried out by Robert Vaughan for TLHG to support the field investigations identified a

considerable number of Maps, Plans and Surveys that had been prepared over the centuries and lodged with the

Bristol Record Office. (References 17, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36,37, 38, 39 and 40).

The aquifer (water bearing strata) that fed the Sandbrook and supplies the Jacobs Well, is also responsible for

supplying all seven of Bristols Monastic conduits and pipes. Examination of the contour lines on an

Ordnance Survey map of Bristol will show that all of the springs emerging from the hills surrounding Bristol,lie on or about the 120 foot contour line. On the north east slopes of Brandon Hill the springs that once ran

down the Valley of Bullocks Park, (the approximate route of todays Park Street), were shown on early maps as

the source for the conduit pipe of the Carmelite, (White) Friars. This same aquifer also supplies a series ofsprings circling the East and South East side of the hill. Further up the hil l is the area known as the Jews Acrejust a mile from the Bristols pre-expulsion Jewry yet still within the protective reach of the City. This area,

known as Sandbrook, or Woodwill Lake was outside the walled town in a private wooded area, wheregravestones with Hebraic inscriptions were found as recently as 1840 (and only 200 yards from where the oldest


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Hebrew inscription in Europe was discovered in 1987). The oral tradition, which resulted in the hillside still

being known locally as the Jews Acre even though the Jews had been absent for five centuries was vindicated

when the Jewish gravestones were discovered during excavations for the foundations of the City School, QEHUnfortunately for historians all the gravestones were reported to have been incorporated into the schools

foundations, (Ref. 4).

If the weight of evidence for the existence of a Jewish burial ground on the slope of the hill, which would have

accorded with Jewish tradition, is accepted then it should also be accepted that a washing place for the bodies

would have been needed by the Chevra Kadisha. Fortunately, one of the many springs emerged from the valley

opposite, (the modern day Gorse Lane). The topology of the spring was appropriately located and as shown inthe plans completed by Temple Local history Groups survey. Examination of their plans together with theaccompanying photographs show that the spring chamber has been excavated in an entirely different manner

from all the other spring and conduit systems that abound in Bristol. The unusual shape of the excavated

chamber together with ledges along side suggests that it could have been used as a washing chamber for thedead. Further down the same brook, another series of springs fed down into the same brook. This meant that the

site re-discovered and reported by Temple Local History Group in 1987 could meet the requirements for aMikveh because the slope of the valley flow would ensure that water flowing from the washing chamberopposite the Jewish Cemetery would not contaminate the Mikveh.

After the expulsion of the Jews from the Kingdom AD 1290 (c.5050) and the seizing of their property the areawould have been available for other uses. The area was gradually developed, the AD1373 (c.5133)perambulation reported the existence of a lead-blowing mill further up the valley, and the land was granted by

King Edward III to the City of Bristol. The water rights and the springs were taken over by the Dean andChapter of the Abbey of St. Augustine, by which time it is likely that the graveyard was overgrown and the

original significance of the Hebrew inscription on the massive lintel stone was forgotten. Educated members of

the gentile population using the spring would have been aware of the Hebrew characters even if they did not

understand their meaning, which could explain why the well came to be known as Jacobs Well merely asimple naming of what was recognised as an ancient Jewish artefact and appears to have been adopted as a

generic name for similar Jewish springs around the country.

The Carmelite Friars with rights to the springs from the other side of the hill, and the Knight Templars who hadthe rights to the springs emerging from the hill at Knowle, had something in common with the Dean and

Chapter of the Abbey of St. Augustine they all needed to protect their water rights. Digging into the hillsides

from where the springs emerged and then providing a pipe or conduit to convey the water to the monastic housewas the usual method of achieving this. The pipe made of Lead, or Elm was then further protected by placing it

beneath the ground. The pipe was usually placed in a tunnel, the purpose of which was twofold. Firstly, to

safeguard their water supply and secondly, to provide secure settling chambers, (to remove any silt), and for

access to the pipes for maintenance. The Dean and Chapters conduit followed the line of the valley of theSandbrook draining into the river Avon. [Current, December1998, archaeological research at the site of the

Limekiln dock at the foot of the road supports the hypothesis of the Limekiln Dock, (and shown on Mr. Jessops

original plan as Osbornes Dock), and before that a simple Mud Dock, started as a small inlet or Creek, known

locally as a Pill. However the water of the stream was collected and then diverted by the Dean and Chapter of

the Abbey of St Augustine and prevented from running into the River Avon by piping it across the southern

slopes of Brandon Hill to the Abbey Cistern. However plans in the Bristol City Archives show that the offset

Y branch that would have been essential to the Jewish users of the springs was perpetuated in the line of the


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subsequent pipe works. And it is believed that this important piece of evidence for the original use of the stream

still exists beneath the modern day road surface.

Possible purpose(s) &/or use of the features:

Over the centuries the spring water has been utilised by many of the inhabitants. In the 19th century there was aMalt House and then a Smithy on the opposite side of Constitution Hill to Jacobs Well. In 1887 the still

copious flow of water was used to supply the nearby Hotwells Public Baths. Remember in the 14th

century thewater had been sufficient to power a mill in the same valley and in the 19 th century to supply the water for a

bottling enterprise and yet again in 1987. The spring water for the water bottling enterprises came from the

former Mikveh, firstly for the firm of Rough, Sedge and Summers and more recently by Terry Gardiner and

then by Sydney Jacobs.

Comments made that the spring water from Jacobs Wells had healing properties could account for the fact thatthe left hand pillar of the entrance to the well is covered in graffiti and could have served a votive purpose. We

were reminded of this tradition as recently as 1987 when the well was opened and cleared. A number of the

builders and visitors were partaking of the water to clear skin conditions it was reported to work. For thisreason, the graffiti at the Jacobs Well merits further research.

Jewish historical issuesThe double opening at the Jacobs Well shown on William Halfpennys original field sketch looks very similarto the drawings and photographs of the Mikveh at Isawiya in Israel. Jerusalem.

There is a body of opinion that believes that there was a chamber used to store for safekeeping Jewish items thatwere left behind, hidden, when they were expelled in 1290, maybe it was thought for only a short period before

the King relented and they were allowed back. Although evidence points to the existence of a second or even a

third chamber, these have yet to be discovered.


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Documents

Historical Study of the area known as ‘Jacob’s Wells, Clifton, Bristol, England – From pre-expulsion to modern times. By Julian Lea-Jones (c) 1999