Redcliffe Caves
Early Modern
•
14m
Redcliffe Caves are a series of man made tunnels beneath the Redcliffe area of Bristol, England. The Triassic red sandstone was dug into in the Middle ages to provide sand for glass making and pottery production. Further excavation took place from the 17th to early 19th centuries and used for storage of trade goods. There is some evidence that prisoners captured during the French Revolutionary Wars or Napoleonic Wars were imprisoned in the caves but it is clear that the local folklore that slaves were imprisoned in the caves during the Bristol slave trade is false. After the closure of the last glass factory the caves were used for storage and became a rubbish dump. The caves are not generally open but have been used for film and music events. In this episode of Snow on the Road, Alan Gray give Dan a tour of the famous and spooky tunnels.
Up Next in Early Modern
-
Bring Out Your Dead: The Great Plague...
1665-1666 was not a good time for the people of London. Not only was most of the city engulfed by what soon became known as The Great Fire of London in September 1666, but months before the most infamous outbreak of disease in British history occurred: the Great Plague. Plague arrived in England ...
-
The Most Daring Escapes From The Towe...
For more than 900 years, the Tower of London has occupied its place at the heart of English life. At various times a royal citadel, palace, menagerie, observatory, public records office, mint, arsenal and, even to this day, the home of the crown jewels of England, since 1100 it has famously serve...
-
Guy Fawkes: The Yorkshireman Behind t...
Tensions were high in England in late October 1605, when a Catholic English nobleman, Lord Monteagle, received a mysterious letter telling him to avoid the opening of Parliament in a few days time. The letter would come to foil the plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament and kill the Protestant ...
