Sea Mills Kingsweston (ward)

the remains of dock wall , severn beach line crossing trym @ sea mills.

sea mills suburb of english port city of bristol. situated 3.5 miles (6 km) north-west of city centre, @ seaward end of avon gorge. nearby suburbs shirehampton, sneyd park, combe dingle , stoke bishop.

sea mills site of roman settlement, known portus abonae. name , location suggest river port, date there has been no archaeological proof of this. roman settlement seems have been abandoned 4th century, , there no evidence of saxon settlement.

by middle ages bristol had become major port, traffic between port , sea having pass through avon gorge , past sea mills. in 1712, joshua franklin, bristol merchant, built wet dock @ sea mills, eliminate need large sailing ships navigate dangerous river avon further upstream. located river trym enters river avon. however, poor transport links doomed enterprise , harbour facilities fell disrepair end of 18th century. remains of dock still exist, , used harbour pleasure craft.

in 1920s , 30s, sea mills developed planned green suburb. of housing local council, although in private ownership. adjacent portway small estate of prefabricated bungalows dating post-ww2 housing scheme.

the wide a4 portway trunk road passes along south-west edge of sea mills , links central bristol outport @ avonmouth. running parallel serpentine path of river avon, portway expensive road in britain when opened in 1926. both portway , railway line have bridges on harbour outfall avon.

ocean-going ships used sail past sea mills, going , bristol city docks. nowadays of shipping in form of pleasure craft, bristol s main docks being @ avonmouth , portbury.

october 2006 saw opening of portway rugby development centre. facilities has 2 outdoor 3g crumb pitches, suitable rugby , football. outdoor grass rugby pitches (ready august 2007). there 2 meeting room s , host many aerobics classes.