A lot of older people have mentioned the quarry that used to be where the car park is now at the end of River View. Thanks to some archive research at the Bristol Records Office by Andrew Hill, we have now found a black and white photo of the quarry from the 1950s. Sadly we did not find this picture in time for it to be included in the 'All About Snuff Mills' booklet, but there are lots of mentions of the quarry in it. You can get a copy of the booklet from the Snuff Mills cafe and various other places in Stapleton and Fishponds.If you have old photos of the area, we'd love to see them, email them to snuffmills@hotmail.co.uk
4 comments:
Brings back mermories. That shot is from what we'd call the far bank. Used to swim across. It was so bitterly cold that it was only a short swim. Used to climb through the tin corrogated fencing, Done bit of fishing for tiddlers and newts. Caught a grass snake once.
Oh those were the days/
This is a fantastic picture! For so long I've wondered what the quarry looked like - being a new resident to Stapleton (only ten years). I wonder if the annual diving spot for the man who dressed as Tarzan was that ledge visible just above the head of the man standing on the left? There are a few children(?) standing just above the water's edge on the LHS of the quarry lake. This area of land is still quite difficult to visualise today.
Yes,the photograph is quite a find. I was beginning to think I would never find a photograph of the Broom Hill quarry. It's amazing to see how big the quarry actually was. It is hard to believe that it is now a Car Park, woodland and a field!
I just wish I had got to the photo before the book was printed... it was lack of time and problems getting to the Records office.
The quarry and the small lake is actually more attractive than I imagined it would look.
As a child everthing seems bigger than it really is, but I estimate the swimming area was about 25 ft by approximately 40 ft. There was a shallow ledge going into the water for about 10 ft, then a very steep drop into deep water. With a little run I could dive in and come up about 15ft from the
little rock stuck out in the picture. Some of the more adventurous lads would climb up to that flat rock, about 15 ft high, and dive off.
Round about then, 1950, they put a high corrugated tin fence across it to keep us out. But you know what kids are?
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