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Crews Hole takes its name from Cruses Cottages, which once stood on the opposite side of the river.

The Cruse family practically owned most of the land there. From Cruse came Screws Hole, and finally Crews Hole. However, there is another theory that the area took its name from the crews of old Sailing ships who sheltered here from the dreaded press gangs.

It is also to Crews Hole that persecuted Baptists fled from Bristol. It is said that they cut steps or terraces into the hillside in 1682 to serve as a gallery for their congregation. Lookouts were posted at the top of the hill to watch for the sheriff or a mob.

Although the mining of mineral deposits - primarily coal, sandstone and lead - had been carried out in the area from at least the Middle Ages, the Bristol Brass Company brought new industry to the area in 1710, and by 1724 there were twenty-four furnaces operating in Crews Hole. This rose to forty-nine and production continued until 1828, when the derelict mills were sold.

A copper works stood nearby at Conham, built in around 1696. It was later sold to the Bristol Brass Company. Much later the site was used as a council rubbish tip. Parts of these old works can still be seen in the woods.

Slag blocks made at Crews Hole still survive throughout Bristol, incorporated into many walls and houses. The Black Castle at Brislington is the best example of a building made with these blocks.

Between 1766 and 1803 there were three glasshouses here, two of which produced soap. Also here was the Bristol Fire Clay Co., producing almost unbreakable bricks. The company operated from the 1800s until the early 1900s. The Crown Clay Co. was another firm making firebricks, but they also produced sanitary pipes and terracotta were from about the same date.

In Victorian times, Crews Hole was compared to the north Devon village of Clovelly, as both were steep, with ranks of cottages that tumble down lanes and narrow roads to the waterfront. In contrast with this idyllic scene was the intense concentration of industry making it the Avonmouth of its day. Employment attracted workers, and short terraces of dwellings were built amongst the scattering of earlier cottages. A relatively secluded and independent community grew, its distinct character reflecting the area's setting development and history.

The Feeder changed the River Avon, which had been a tidal river up to this point. At low tide the ferry was turned into a floating badge, parked m the middle with planks to the bank on each side.

Another force for change in the village was the tar works. In 1843, William Butler was the manager of this tar works owned by Roberts and Daines. He had previously worked with Brunel on the Great Western Railway.. Brunel needed products to protect the wooden sleepers under the railway tracks. We are sure Brunel had some connection with this plant, if only in an advisory capacity.

In 1803 a fire broke out, nearly destroying the plant. The owners, fearful of the fire risks, soldout to William Butler, who then gave his name to the factory. Another fire broke out in 1897, killing one of his workforce. It was described at the time as one of the greatest spectacles ever seen the burning oil from that fire spread all across the river and was seen for many miles. There was no way of putting it out, so It had to just be left to burn itself out.

Even serious flooding from the River Avon in 1894 didn't close the plant

A very important company during both wars, their products were needed for the war effort, and they even had then own fire-watchers. It ended its days being owned by the British Steel Corporation.

Today, original cottages from the industrial days of the 18th and 19th centuries co-exist with the 'Quayside Village', built on the old tar works site Although the heavy industry has long gone with many of its old buildings, the countryside character and narrow lanes of Crews Hole remain. It is an area rich in industrial and social history.

Road Names Crew's Hole BS5

Crew's Hole Road BS5 The orgin of the name is Scruizehole a family who occupied the land many years ago. It was the Victorians who invented the legend of the hole in which men hid to avoid the press gangs.

Troopers Hill BS5 Once known as Harris's Hill it was renamed after a battle between the Royalists and the Roundheads in 1643. It was also known to locals as Donkey Island.

Bull Lane BS5 Named after the public House The Bull Inn.

Niblett's Hill BS5 This led to a dwelling of someone wth this name.

Corker's Hill BS5 This led to a dwelling of someone wth this name.

1757 - 12th July - A boat with men, women and children, in all eighteen persons, was overset at Crew’s Hole. One was saved by catching hold of a dog’s collar, the dog swimming in shore with her but she unfortunately lost the child from her breast which another woman saved by laying hold of it taking it for the stump of a tree.

The river being narrow and the people being speedy in assisting them,

ABOUT HISTORY OF ZUMZUM.





In Zum Zum there lies a sign for those who seek the truth about Islam, and the truthfulness of Prophet Mohammed (Peace be upon him); of Allah, the Creator of the laws of hydraulics and ground-water flow and the well of Zum Zum.


About 4,000 years ago, a young infant was crying for water and rubbing his feet in the sands of a desolate valley, where stands today the magnificent house of God, the Ka'aba, and the city of Makkah. His mother was running in between the nearby hills known as Safa and Marwa in search of water, possibly to ask for water from a passing caravan. All of a sudden, she saw water gushing out under the feet of her infant son. This was the beginning of the famous well of Zum Zum that continues to flow even today.


The infant was Ismael and his mother Hajira, wife of Ibrahim. At that time, these two were the only habitants of the valley of Makkah, described in the Holy Quran as a valley without a blade of grass. They were left in the then barren valley by Hazrat Ibrahim under the command of Allah who had a great designs for the place. They were the first citizens of Makkah, the most revered place and seat of the religion of Islam. Makkah, today, is a city with more than a million people and the well of Zum Zum is located in the heart of the city.


The well of Zum Zum is the oldest flowing well in the world and is located right in the Mutaf (circling area around the Ka'aba), about 150 feet from Baitullah Sharif and towards eastern the side. As she was trying to contain the newly-appeared spring, Hajira said "Zum Zum" meaning "stop" or "hold on." Since then, this water has been flowing and carries the name of Zum Zum.


After being in use for many centuries, it disappeared after the Bani Jurham, a tribe of Makkah in whom Ismael was married, filled it up with soil before leaving Makkah. It remained obliterated and untraced for quite a few centuries till its location was disclosed in a dream to Abdul Mutallib, the grandfather of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) in the first half of the 6th century AD, that is about 540 AD. Hazrat Abdul Mutallib, in spite of opposition from the local leaders and chieftains of Makkah, excavated the ground with the help of his only son, Haris, till he found the well (in all, he was blessed with ten sons, but nine were borne after the rediscovery of Zum Zum).


The well's dimension of 18ft x 12ft x 5ft of water depth was measured in 1971 by Tariq Hussain, a Pakistani chemical engineer who was then working with the Saline Water Desalination Corporation at the Jeddah plant. He was assigned to take a water sample from the well of Zum Zum for chemical and biological examination, and to disprove the claim of an Egyptian doctor that the water of Zum Zum is contaminated with sewage leakages from Makkah's sewage system. The dimensions measured by Tariq Hussain in 1971 are the same to which the well was excavated by Hazrat Abdul Mutallib, and has remained unaltered for 1,400 years.


The city of Makkah is located in a valley with hard, granite mountains on all sides, and the Haram Sharif (Masjid-ul-Haram) located at its lowest point. There is about 50 to 100ft deep sandy silt formation underlain by igneous rocks. The well of Zum Zum is located in this sand/silt formation and its water level is about 40 to 50ft below the natural ground level.


The source of the well of Zum Zum has been traced to an aquifer extending out to the hills of Taif. This was accidentally discovered in June 1982, while a tunnel on the Safa side of Haram Sharif was being excavated. While excavating the tunnel roof, water profusely started flowing, so much so that the contractor was confronted with a difficult situation. At the same time, the flow into the Zum Zum well turned slack and for the first time in 1,400 years, the well almost ran dry. His Majesty, King Fahad of Saudi Arabia, immediately appointed a committee to look into the matter that included Dr Adnan Niazi, professor of Geo-Physics at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.


The water tests showed that the tunnel water and the water in the well of Zum Zum were the same and therefore it was confirmed that the tunnelling operation had ruptured the aquifer bringing water to the well. Immediate repairs were undertaken and as the rupture was closed, the Zum Zum flow was restored. A visit to the tunnel saw almost a flood coming out of the ruptured roof of the tunnel in the month of Ramzan in (June) 1982.


Before discussing the well of Zum Zum any further, the ground-water theory and equations that govern its flow into a well have to be discussed to provide a basis to the readers for comparing the hydraulics of the Zum Zum well with the ground-water theory. There are two types of wells, namely open and deep wells (also called tube wells)


Open wells are hand-dug wells in a shallow water table and can be up to 10 to 15ft in d