Features / Weather
Remembering Bristol’s Great Flood of 1968
On July 10 1968, about two months of rainfall fell in less than two days. Around 3,000 properties were flooded and eight people died in Bristol and the surrounding areas in what became known as the Great Flood.
In the city, 24 buses were abandoned around the streets. No trains could reach Bristol for several hours as landslides and tunnel flooding prevented progress.
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The grounds of both of Bristol’s professional football clubs, Ashton Gate and Eastville (where Rovers used to play) were left underwater.
Residents of the ground floor flats in Southbow House and Winterstoke House close to Ashton Gate were taken in by residents of the upper storeys. On Friday, July 12 the ground floors of the multi-storey blocks were still under three feet of water.
Flooded Winterstoke Road was blocked for days, the Wills tobacco factory was brought to a standstill as the flood waters engulfed machinery and destroyed stocks, dozens of shops in East Street were flooded, and several families were evacuated from their homes around Marksbury Road and Somermead.
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Talks on the Great Flood take place on Tuesday, July 10 at Bristol Central Library from 12.30pm to 1.15pm, and on Wednesday, July 11 at the Southville Centre from 5.30pm to 6.15pm.
A commemorative walk and talk is taking place on Wednesday from 1pm to 4.30pm along stretches of Pigeonhouse Stream and the River Malago in Bedminster.
Throughout July and August, there will also be a pop-up exhibition about the Great Flood in six Bristol libraries.
For more information, visit www.bristol.gov.uk/museums-parks-sports-culture/bristol-great-flood
Main image courtesy of Bristol City Council
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