BRISTOL'S INDUSTRIAL PAST - JOHN LYSAGHT'S AND THE FEEDER CANAL

JOHN LYSAGHT'S WAS A MAJOR EMPLOYER OF MEN WHO LIVED IN BARTON HILL AND THE DINGS. IN OCTOBER 2022 I FOLLOWED IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF MY GRANDFATHER AS HE MADE HIS JOURNEY TO WORK EVERY DAY FROM BARTON HILL TO JOHN LYSAGHT'S SILVERTHORNE LANE WORKS. THIS AREA WILL CHANGE FOREVER AS REDEVELOPMENT IS NOW TAKING PLACE.

[@andymoore7337]

Hi David great video,I work for Manor Scrap based on Feeder Road on the site of the old car breakers, MaGill's.We were involved in the removal of the scrap from this site in 2023,mostly stuff dug out of the floor.They found some very nasty stuff in the ground there.Where Feeder Commercials used to be at the Avon Street end they found some quite large diameter cast iron pipes half full of a tar like substance which smelt like creosote, if you got it on you clothes or hands you just couldn't seem to wash it off.Also in the middle part where Clarkes Wood would of been they found buried in the ground a 15ft deep concrete tank full of creosote,we could smell that in our yard opposite for weeks after.The site is now cleared.

[@martinhowe1422]

Great work. Without contributions from dedicated local historians like yourself, all this knowledge would be lost.

[@thefloorkiller]

Really enjoyed that, as Bristol is my adopted City I love to find out its history

[@alanjones8422]

My Dad got a job at Lysaghts after he was demobbed from the Royal Marines after WW 11. He cycled there from Totterdown at first but after we were re-housed to Henbury he had a long bike ride every day on top of a hard physical days work. He never had a good word to say about the firm calling it “Slogger Lysaghts” and he got a nasty neck wound there handling sharp metal. He operated a cutting machine on piece work and his machine kept breaking because he used to cut two sheets at a time instead of the one sheet it was designed for. He said it was the only way he could make the job pay and he left to work at the old Bristol Aeroplane Company at Filton. I’m 75 years old but remember going to a Lysaghts children’s party at the factory in the early 1950s. Thanks for the video, brought back memories for me.

[@historymandave4739]

Hello Alan. Thanks for sharing your dad's memories. Regards Dave.

[@davidsimms6609]

Lovely building. Keep up the interesting content.

[@historymandave4739]

Thanks, will do! Regards Dave.

[@puppy1584]

Blimey Dave I’d like as many pounds walking under the bridge of Silverthorne Lane. My dad worked in the railway yard…. Walk along the pavement, access his yard from a gate inset in the wall. Climb up a huge amount of concrete steps (for a young child) and go inside the shunters cabin above. Make my dad and his fellow shunters tea. Stir in condensed milk…serve. Sometimes me and my sister would walk towards the shed and hear our dad’s voice (he was head shunters) swearing at something or other. No swearing once we were inside!
Your postings always bring back memories Dave. So thanks for that 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇬🇧

[@historymandave4739]

Was your fathers name Jack Hyde or did he know him? I think he was the yardmaster in the early 1980s. Regards Dave.

[@puppy1584]

@@historymandave4739 no, sorry Dave. My Dad was there 50’s and 60’s.

[@quedveg]

Hope you're making a video about the new demolition and redevelopment that's happening down on feeder..x

[@simonuden8450]

I used to work on the Feeder Road, for a company called Thorn Security, for a while. I remember Lysaght being there, but this would have been in the late 80s and I'm not sure if they were still going then. However, we used to cross the footbridge up onto Silverthorne Lane to access a Greasy Spoon cafe, if I remember correctly. I doubt it is there now, with the lack of manual workers in the area. I can smell the aroma that pervaded that whole area now, and later found out was coming from a bonemeal factory just off the Feeder Road. It was vile.

[@historymandave4739]

Nobody could forget the smell of the boneyard. Regards Dave.

[@AgencyScum]

Brilliant timing Dave. Most of that got demolished the day before yesterday!

[@historymandave4739]

I knew demolition was imminent. I must get down this week to see whats happening. Regards Dave.

[@louisesouthgate5231]

Oh my! How awful! Have all the buildings gone?

[@shaunw9270]

Very interesting, thanks for making this .

[@historymandave4739]

Glad you enjoyed it! Regards Dave.

[@michaelturner4457]

Bristol Packet booze cruise. I suppose it was going to Bees Tea Gardens or Old Lock & Weir probably?

[@historymandave4739]

Yes, usual destinations. Regards Dave.