The Patent Slipway at the yard is undergoing a major restoration for the first time in nearly 30 years. Underfall Yard Volunteer Writer Andrew Radford decided to investigate. Underfall Yard at the Western end of Bristol’s floating harbour is a treasure trove of historic machinery and equipment related to the nautical world, much of which is still in working order, making the Yard not a Museum but an exemplar of conservation and regeneration. A prime example of this and one of the stars of the Yard is undoubtedly the Patent Slip. Boatyards commonly have slipways in order that boats [...]

In November Underfall Yard was delighted to welcome boatbuilder Gail McGarva to run her Disappearing Lines boatbuilding workshop. Underfall Yard volunteer writer Andrew Radford takes up the story.  Having only recently joined the Underfall Yard volunteer force, and spent some time reading the website, I saw mention of this workshop and signed up. Between doing so and the day of the event I had many moments of doubt wondering what on earth was a 74-year-old landlubber with few practical skills doing attending a boat building workshop? But it was great to step outside my comfort zone and be able [...]

On 9th, 10th and 11th of November Underfall Yard will host a series of special boatbuilding workshops run by traditional boatbuilder Gail McGarva. The Disappearing Lines workshop is a combination of practical hands-on activities interwoven with capturing the stories of craft in danger of extinction. The one-day workshop will give you the opportunity to try your hand at two key processes in traditional wooden boat building – steam bending and copper-rivet fastening. Through demonstrating and tutoring, you will create your own miniature oak ribcage of a boat, a ghost ship symbolising the disappearing lines of the craft. You do [...]

Explore Bristol’s maritime past at Docks Heritage Weekend 2019, with events for all ages at Underfall Yard, M Shed and SS Great Britain. This annual event celebrates the important story of Bristol’s historic Docks, which were the centre of the city’s trade for centuries. Eclipsed after the 1920s by Avonmouth Docks, the last regular trading ship departed in1974 and the Docks were closed to commercial shipping in1975. Since then the Harbour has been regenerated into the leisure, residential and business centre that we see today.  This special weekend offers a taster of yesteryear with fun and engaging activities for [...]

Underfall Yard’s exhibition of photographs of Bristol Harbour in the late 1970s by Jem Southam provide a unique and definitive portrait of the harbour on the eve of its transformation from a place of industry and work to one of leisure and recreation. One of Southam’s first major projects, the photographs were published in The Floating Harbour: A Landscape History of the Bristol City Docks (1983) and majority of the works are being exhibited for the first time. Underfall Yard Trust is delighted to welcome Jem to discuss the exhibition and share his experience of photographing the harbour at [...]

Underfall Yard is delighted to be taking part in the first ever Bristol Photo Festival this summer. From 18th of June until late summer, an outdoor exhibition will display a series of photographs of Bristol City Docks in the late 1970s by Jem Southam which provide a unique portrait of the harbour at a time of rapid change. One of Southam’s first major projects, the photographs were published in 1983 in The Floating Harbour: A landscape history of Bristol City Docks and the majority of the works will be exhibited for the first time. The Bristol Photo Festival grew [...]

Thanks to a recently installed webcam, people from around the world can now enjoy the stunning view of Bristol’s historic Floating Harbour from Underfall Yard at the click of a button. The webcam project is part of the Trust’s wider effort to allow visitors to remotely engage with Underfall Yard and Bristol Harbour. In future it is hoped the live feed will help promote the Harbour as an attractive and bustling visitor destination. Working with Skyline Webcams, an Italian company that specialises in providing live webcam footage of interesting and iconic sites around the world, Underfall Yard Trust installed [...]