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Hotwells is a neighbourhood in the English port city of Bristol. It is located to the south of and below the high ground of Clifton, and directly to the north of the Bristol Harbour. The southern entrance to the Avon Gorge, which connects the docks to the sea, lies at the western end of Hotwells. The eastern end of the area is at the roundabout where Jacobs Well Road meets Hotwell Road. Hotwells is split between the city wards of Clifton, and Hotwells and Harbourside. Bristol City Council 2016 Ward Review
The physician Alexander Sutherland, published a summary account of the qualities of Hotwells water in 1773, typically known by that time as "Bristol Water". Alexander Sutherland, The nature and qualities of Bristol water: illustrated by experiments and observations, with practical reflections on Bath waters, occasionally interspersed (Bristol, 1773) Sutherland says of it that "BRISTOL-WATER received in a glass, appears, to the naked eye, colourless, pellucid, and manifestly impregnated with Air, sparkling and bounding through its substance, in the form of little bubbles, as if the whole had been in a ferment." He says the water tasted "particularly pleasant and soft" was "quite inodorous" and "lukewarm" only, rising from the pump at a constant 76 °F. Sutherland, The nature and qualities of Bristol water, p. 48.
In 1692 the Society of Merchant Venturers leased the springs and a pump room was built. The pump room of 1696 was demolished and replaced by Hotwells House in 1816 which was itself demolished when the river was widened in 1867. In the Georgian era, Hotwells was developed as a spa including the building of Dowry Square in an attempt to compete with Bath. Many visitors came, including the diarist John Evelyn and the travel writer Celia Fiennes, who hunted for Bristol Diamonds in the gorge. The Somerset historian John Collinson came to Hotwells in 1793 seeking recovery from an unspecified lingering illness and died there on 27 August 1793.
During the 18th century Hotwells Water was extensively bottled and exported. Daniel Defoe noted in 1724 that there were over 15 glass-houses in Bristol, 'which are more than in London...and vast numbers of bottles are used for sending the water of the Hotwell not only over England but all over the world." Alexander Pope was another admirer, claiming in 1739 that 'I am satisfied that the water at the Well is different from what it is anywhere else.' Vincent Waite, The Bristol Hotwell (Bristol Historical Association, 1960), p. 9. Later customers of the water included Admiral Horatio Nelson, whose correspondence includes references to his purchase of Bristol water in 1798. Colin White (ed.) Nelson: The New Letters (2005), p. 210 Known for his abstemious habits, it was said 'He never exceeded four glasses of wine after dinner, and seldom drank three; and even those were diluted with either common or Bristol water.' Joseph Allen, ''Life of Lord Viscount Nelson (1853), p. 231.
The Jacobs Well Theatre, built in 1729, provided entertainment for visitors and Bristolians, however Hotwells never attained the same status as Bath. In the 1790s 'the celebrated hot mineral spring, denominated the Bristol Hotwell' still featured in tourist guides. Archibald Robertson, A topographical survey of the great road from London to Bath and Bristol. : With historical and descriptive accounts of the country, towns, villages, and gentlemen's seats on and adjacent to it (London, 1792, pp. 181-86. However, the spa went into decline during the Napoleonic Wars and by 1816 a local physician said of Hotwells that 'It has the silence of the grave, to which it seems the inlet. Not a carriage to be seen once an hour, and scarcely more frequently does a solitary invalid approach the neglected spring.' Vincent Waite, The Bristol Hotwell (Bristol Historical Association, 1960), p. 13 A new pump room was built in 1822 and in the mid-19th century efforts were made to promote the spa, styled as The Royal Clifton Spa. The promotional efforts included the publication of a new guide, with sections written by eminent local scientists, William Herapath and Robert Etheridge, who discussed the water's chemistry and medicinal qualities, as well as the area's geology and botany. The new pump room was demolished in 1867 to allow for widening of the River Avon. A new pump was set up in 1877 and continued in use till 1913. However, the pump appears not to have tapped into the original spring. When it became clear that the pump's waters were polluted, the pipe was sealed off. There were trial borings in 1913 and 1925 to relocate the original spring, but these were unsuccessful. Vincent Waite, The Bristol Hotwell (Bristol Historical Association, 1960), pp.14-15
In 1799, the physician Thomas Beddoes opened the Pneumatic Institution in Dowry Square. Free treatment was advertised for those suffering from consumption, asthma, dropsy, "obstinate Venereal Complaints" and scrophula. The laboratory superintendent was Humphry Davy, who investigated nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas, using equipment designed by James Watt. Under Davy's supervision laughing gas parties were held, attended by guests such as Robert Southey, Thomas Wedgwood and Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
In the 20th century much of the housing in Hotwells was in a poor state of repair, but since the 1970s there has been refurbishment of the older Georgian properties and new housing built on derelict dockside wharves and along the Hotwell Road.
Hotwells has several of Bristol's Grade II* listed buildings, including the Church of Holy Trinity, designed by Cockrell, and Albemarle Row, a Georgian terrace. Also listed is the Pump House, formerly the power plant for Bristol Harbour's bridges and other machinery, now a public house.
The nearest secondary schools are Ashton Park School, Cotham School and Bristol Cathedral Choir School.
Public transport links include buses serving Weston-super-Mare, Clevedon and Portishead which pass through the area. There is a ferry service to the city centre and Temple Meads railway station.
target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> Hotwells and Harbourside Ward Map
For elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, both electoral wards are in the Bristol Central constituency.
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