Editing River Avon, Bristol (section)

=== Navigation ===
[[File:Swinefordweir.JPG|alt=A weir with water flowing from right to left, surrounded by trees and vegetation.|thumb|Weir at [[Swineford Lock]]]]
{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = {{visible anchor|River Avon Navigation Act 1711}}
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of Great Britain
| long_title            = An Act for making the River Avon, in the Counties of Somerset and Gloucester, navigable, from the City of Bath, to or near Hanham's Mills.
| year                  = 1711
| citation              = [[10 Ann.]] c. 2{{br}}Ruffhead c. ''8''
| introduced_commons    = 
| introduced_lords      = 
| territorial_extent    = 
| royal_assent          = 22 May 1712
| commencement          = 
| expiry_date           = 
| repeal_date           = 
| amends                = 
| replaces              = 
| amendments            = 
| repealing_legislation = 
| related_legislation   = 
| status                = 
| legislation_history   = 
| theyworkforyou        = 
| millbankhansard       = 
| original_text         = 
| revised_text          = 
| use_new_UK-LEG        = 
| UK-LEG_title          = 
| collapsed             = yes
}}

The Avon above Bath remains navigable as far as Bathampton where there is the remains of a [[flash lock]]. However, the lock past the weir below Pulteney Bridge was demolished when the weir was reconstructed, so passage between the sections is only possible for dinghies and canoes using the roller slipway on the side of the weir.

Beyond its junction with the Kennet and Avon Canal, the Avon flows through [[Keynsham]] towards [[Bristol]]. For much of its course after leaving Wiltshire, it marks the traditional boundary between Somerset and Gloucestershire. For most of this distance the navigation makes use of the natural riverbed, with six locks overcoming a rise of {{convert|30|ft|m|0}}. From Bath to [[Netham Lock]] where it divides into the New Cut and the Floating Harbour is {{convert|12|mi|km}}. The stretch is made navigable by the use of locks and weirs.

In the centre of Bath it passes under various bridges, including the [[Midland Bridge]] which was built by the [[Midland Railway]] Company to allow the [[Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway]] access to and from its [[Bath Green Park railway station|Green Park]] terminus station. In November 2011, the navigation between Bath and Bristol was closed because of safety concerns about [[Victoria Bridge, Bath|Victoria Bridge]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Update: New row over Victoria Bridge as part of river closed to boats |url=http://www.thisisbath.co.uk/Update-New-row-Victoria-Bridge-river-closed-boats/story-13797253-detail/story.html |publisher=This is Bath |access-date=17 November 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111117001525/http://www.thisisbath.co.uk/Update-New-row-Victoria-Bridge-river-closed-boats/story-13797253-detail/story.html |archive-date=17 November 2011 }}</ref> [[Weston Lock]] on the outskirts of Bath is in what now forms the [[Newbridge, Bath|Newbridge]] area. Weston Cut is a man made channel, opened in 1727, for boats to approach and pass through Weston Lock; the island created between the cut and the river weir became known as Dutch Island after the owner of the [[brass mill]] established on the riverside in the early 18th century.<ref name="allsop">{{Cite book |last=Allsop |first=Niall |title=The Kennet & Avon Canal |year=1987 |publisher=Millstream Book |location=Bath |isbn=0-948975-15-6 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/kennetavoncanalu0000alls }}</ref>
[[File:Kelstonbrassmill.JPG|alt=Looking across water to moored boats. Beyond them is a stone chimney surrounded by trees, with hills in the distance.|thumb|left|Kelston Brass Mill overlooking [[Saltford Lock]]]]
[[Kelston Lock]] and weir have permanent moorings above and below them. The Riverside Inn and Saltford Marina are also close by. [[Saltford Lock]] and weir are overlooked by the remains of the [[Kelston]] Brass Mill, which was working until 1925. It is a Grade II [[listed building]].<ref>{{NHLE |num=1215014 |desc=Remains of 2 Annealing Ovens |access-date=24 September 2006}}</ref> Alongside the lock is a [[pub]], whose garden extends over the lock to the small island between the lock and weir. The lock was opened in 1727 and destroyed in 1738 by rival coal dealers to stop the use of the river for transportation.<ref name="allsop" /> In its heyday, between 1709 and 1859, [[Swineford]] had an active [[brass]] and copper industry around [[Swineford Lock]], served by the river which also provided water power for the cloth industry,<ref name="allsop" /> as did the [[River Boyd]], a tributary which flows into the Avon near [[Bitton]]. [[Keynsham Lock]] opened in 1727.<ref name="allsop" /> Just above the lock are visitor moorings and a pub, on an island between the lock and the weir. The weir side of the island is also the mouth of the [[River Chew]]. The river is joined by the [[Siston Brook]] at Londonderry Wharf, terminus of the dramway which brought coal from [[Coalpit Heath]].<ref>
{{cite web
 |url         = http://www.southglos.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/D18FA6D8-980E-42A5-9A88-A2AF7E65A31B/0/PTE070024.pdf
 |title       = The Dramway
 |publisher   = South Gloucestershire Council
 |access-date  = 29 November 2009
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20110719100454/http://www.southglos.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/D18FA6D8-980E-42A5-9A88-A2AF7E65A31B/0/PTE070024.pdf
 |archive-date = 19 July 2011
 |df          = dmy-all
}}
</ref> The final river lock, [[Hanham Lock]],<ref name="Pearson" /> is on the edge of the Bristol built-up area; below here the river is affected by high tides which overtop Netham Weir.<ref>[[Nicholson Guides]], Volume 7, 2006, Harper Collins Publishers, {{ISBN|0-00-721115-5}}</ref> Above the weir, in the [[St Anne's, Bristol|St Anne's]] area of Bristol, the river is joined by [[Brislington Brook]].

[[Netham Lock]] is the point at [[Easton, Bristol|Netham]] in Bristol at which boats from the Avon gain access to Bristol's [[Bristol Harbour|floating harbour]]. Construction started in 1804 to build the tidal [[New Cut, Bristol|New Cut]], where it is joined by the [[River Malago]], and divert the Avon along the [[Bristol Feeder Canal|Feeder Canal]] to the harbour; a system designed and built by [[William Jessop]] and later improved by [[Isambard Kingdom Brunel]].<ref name="WDP">{{Cite news|url=http://www.lexisnexis.com/uk/nexis/results/docview/docview.do?docLinkInd=true&risb=21_T7131415098&format=GNBFI&sort=BOOLEAN&startDocNo=1&resultsUrlKey=29_T7131418307&cisb=22_T7131418306&treeMax=true&treeWidth=0&csi=169745&docNo=5 |title=Lock, stock and a barrel of fun |last=Clensy |first=David |date=14 June 2008 |format=fee required |work=Western Daily Press, archived at [[Nexis]] | publisher=Bristol United Press |page=4 |access-date=12 August 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110612202557/http://www.lexisnexis.com/uk/nexis/results/docview/docview.do?docLinkInd=true&risb=21_T7131415098&format=GNBFI&sort=BOOLEAN&startDocNo=1&resultsUrlKey=29_T7131418307&cisb=22_T7131418306&treeMax=true&treeWidth=0&csi=169745&docNo=5 |archive-date=12 June 2011 }}</ref> A weir carries the river into the New Cut and boats use the adjacent lock. Access to the harbour is only possible during the day, when the lock keeper will open the gates unless the water level in the river between Netham and Hanham is above or below the level of the harbour.<ref name="BCC">{{Cite web|url=http://www.bristol.gov.uk/node/3377 |title=Navigation of Floating Harbour and Feeder Canal |work=Marine and waterway services |publisher=Bristol City Council |access-date=3 March 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130401211925/http://www.bristol.gov.uk/node/3377 |archive-date= 1 April 2013 }}</ref> Netham Lock and the weir form part of Bristol's flood defence mechanisms.<ref name="BEP">{{Cite news|url=http://www.lexisnexis.com/uk/nexis/results/docview/docview.do?docLinkInd=true&risb=21_T7131415098&format=GNBFI&sort=BOOLEAN&startDocNo=1&resultsUrlKey=29_T7131418307&cisb=22_T7131418306&treeMax=true&treeWidth=0&csi=166254&docNo=4 |title=Work starts to secure Bristol's floating harbour |last=Staff writer |date=12 December 2008 |format=fee required |work=Bristol Evening Post, archived at [[Nexis]] | publisher=Bristol United Press |page=15 |access-date=12 August 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110612202620/http://www.lexisnexis.com/uk/nexis/results/docview/docview.do?docLinkInd=true&risb=21_T7131415098&format=GNBFI&sort=BOOLEAN&startDocNo=1&resultsUrlKey=29_T7131418307&cisb=22_T7131418306&treeMax=true&treeWidth=0&csi=166254&docNo=4 |archive-date=12 June 2011 }}</ref>

[[File:Bristol bridge.jpg|alt=A three-arched bridge viewed from an oblique angle, illuminated by lights|thumb|Bristol Bridge from Castle Park]]
[[File:River Avon at Welsh Back Bristol (June 2010).jpg|alt=The view north from Redcliffe Bridge, showing one yellow water taxi, warehouses and various buildings along Welsh Back|thumb|The River Avon in Bristol, looking towards [[Bristol Bridge]] with [[Welsh Back, Bristol|Welsh Back]] on the left. Boats of the [[Bristol Ferry Boats|Bristol Ferry Company]] are moored in the foreground, and the spires of [[St Nicholas, Bristol|St Nicholas]], [[All Saints' Church, Bristol|All Saints']] and [[St Mary le Port Church, Bristol|St Mary le Port]] churches can be seen in the distance.]]

In central Bristol, where the river is tidal, it is diverted from its original course into the New Cut, a channel dug between 1804 and 1809 at a cost of £600,000.<ref name="buchanan">{{Cite journal|last=Buchanan |first=R. A. |year=1969 |title=The Construction of the Floating Harbour in Bristol, 1804-9 |journal=Transactions |publisher=Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society |volume=88 |page=196 |url=http://www2.glos.ac.uk/bgas/tbgas/v088/bg088184.pdf |access-date=14 August 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111004202733/http://www2.glos.ac.uk/bgas/tbgas/v088/bg088184.pdf |archive-date= 4 October 2011 }}</ref> The original course is held at a constant level by lock gates (designed by Jessop) and is known as the [[Bristol Harbour|floating harbour]], since it enables ships to stay afloat rather than grounding when the tide ebbs. The harbour is protected by an 1870s replacement for Jessop's locks. This unusual dock has a tentacled plan resulting from its origins as the natural river course of the Avon and its tributary, the [[River Frome, Bristol|River Frome]], and is intimately entwined with Bristol's city centre as few docks are. As a result of this, the floating harbour is one of the more successful pieces of dockland regeneration, with much of the dockside now occupied by residential, office and cultural premises, and the water heavily used by leisure craft.  Downstream of central Bristol, the river passes through the deep [[Avon Gorge]], spanned by Brunel's [[Clifton Suspension Bridge]]: the river is tidal and is navigable by seagoing vessels at high tide but dries to a steep-sided muddy channel at low tide. It was largely the challenge of navigating this section that sealed the fate of the floating harbour as commercial docks, and saw them replaced by docks at [[Avonmouth]] where the Avon joins the [[Severn Estuary]].

Before reaching its mouth, the Avon is joined by the [[River Trym]] at [[Sea Mills, Bristol|Sea Mills]] which was the site of ''Portus Abonae'', a [[Roman Britain|Roman]] port. Shortly after, it passes the village of [[Pill, Somerset|Pill]] on the south bank where the Pill Hobblers were based in order to tow ships up the river to Bristol and where yachts and other boats still have moorings in Chapel Pill and Crockerne Pill.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://pccsail.com/moorings/|title=Moorings|date=2016|website=Portishead Cruising Club|language=en-US|access-date=11 March 2019}}</ref> It then passes under the [[Avonmouth Bridge]] which carries the [[M5 motorway]]. The main span is {{convert|538|ft|m|0|abbr=on}} long, and the bridge is {{convert|4554|ft|m|0|abbr=on}} long, with an air draught above mean high water level of {{convert|98.4|ft|m|0|abbr=on}}. The river then serves two major dock areas. The [[Royal Portbury Dock]] is on the southern side of the mouth of the river. The deepwater dock was constructed between 1972 and 1977, and is now a major port for the import of [[motor vehicle]]s. The Royal Portbury Dock has the largest entrance lock into any UK port, accommodating vessels up to {{convert|41|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} beam, {{convert|290|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} length and {{convert|14.5|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} draft. The [[Avonmouth Docks]] are on the north side of the river and are one of the UK's major ports for chilled foods, especially fruit and vegetables. The first dock at Avonmouth, Avonmouth Old Dock, was opened in 1877 and acquired by Bristol Corporation in 1884. In 1907, a much larger dock, the Royal Edward Dock, was opened. The docks form part of the [[Port of Bristol]] and were operated by the Port of Bristol Authority, part of [[Politics of Bristol|Bristol City Council]], until 1991 when the council granted a 150-year lease to the Bristol Port Company. Pilotage is provided by Bristol Pilots LLP who supply authorised pilots for the River Avon and Bristol City docks, as well as the Severn estuary and the Bristol channel; they are based at Avonmouth Docks.