My fourth and last thought from Bristol is inspired by my visit to the harbour. I was advised that a walk round Bristol harbour is one of the most pleasurable experiences of sightseeing in Bristol. In fact, it was bitterly cold when I was there and we opted for a boat trip in a covered over boat that was comfortable and informative.
I had heard the harbour referred to as a floating harbour and learned that the engineering project completed in 1809 to complete this was needed because the River Avon has the second highest tidal variation in the world of up to 12 metres. Before the floating harbour was created boats could get stuck in mud at low tide for weeks and much time was lost when boats could not load and unload their cargo. So, the harbour is now a man-made waterway at a constant level, with the River Avon diverted into the New Cut. No longer a commercial harbour since Avonmouth has taken over that role, the harbour is now a thriving leisure destination.
On June 7th 2020 Bristol harbour became the focus of the News when the statue of slave trader Edward Colston was torn down and thrown into the water. The monument, erected in 1895, had been the subject of years of local campaigning and petitions to get it removed. It was later retrieved from the water and taken to the M Shed Museum on the waterfront where it is displayed lying horizontally and covered in graffiti. The 4 protestors who toppled it were later found not guilty of criminal damage. Over the years many citizens of Bristol had defended Colston’s reputation, pointing to the considerable contribution he had made to hospitals and schools within the city. But following the murder of George Floyd in America in May 2020 feelings ran high across the UK and the statue of Colston could no longer remain in a place of honour on the waterfront. Colston had transported and trafficked an estimated 84,000 to 100,000 enslaved African men, women and children to America. Due to the appalling and inhumane conditions on board the ships an estimated 19,000 to 20,000 enslaved Africans died on board the ships and had their bodies discarded into the ocean.
At the church of St Mary, Redcliffe, near to the harbour, there has been some rethinking following the heart searching in Bristol about Edward Colston and his legacy. A stained-glass window dedicated to him has been removed and much thought has gone into what should replace it. They ran a competition to find designs that would be consistent with the church’s modern values of compassion, inclusivity and justice. The winning design has 4 windows. The first shows Christ calming the storm on the raging seas during the Transatlantic slave trade. In the second Jesus is shown as one of the protestors during the Bristol Bus Boycott that paved the way for the Race Relations Act. The third panel depicts the current refugee crisis and echoes the Holy Family’s flight into Egypt. The final panel shows a diverse group of neighbours facing the future in a display of hope and togetherness. The panels connect us back to the parable of the Good Samaritan and ask the question, ” Who is my neighbour?”