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same conduit' The more detailed 1736 survey of the county boundary describes this stone as 'standing betwixt Jacob’s-Well and the Vault of the
Conduit, which leadeth to the College'. The implication is that the Abbey (later Cathedral) conduit lay just to the east of the great boundary stone, while Jacob's Well lay just to the west, putting it just outside of the county of Bristol as established in 1373. The Cathedral continued to be supplied with water from its conduit in Jacob's Well Road until the mid-19th century.
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338:, was of good quality but the volume was not enough to supply the city. Most of Bristol's water supply at this time came from the city's medieval conduits, which fed public cisterns / fountains. At some point in the later nineteenth-century the site of Jacob's Well was developed, its superstructure was demolished and the well itself was walled in at the rear of a Victorian property. In 1905 the waters from the area's springs were diverted into the
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754:
In 1905 the three historic Jacobs Wells
Springs at the bottom of Constitution Hill and Gorse Lane were also diverted into the baths. Two of these had been used in Jewish ritual bathing and washing the dead who were buried in the local Jewish Cemetery on Brandon Hill. The Mikveh at Jacobs Wells dates
326:
in 1142. However, there appear to have been at least two different structures at the site associated with water supply. The 1373 survey of the boundary of the new county of
Bristol refers to a 'a great stone fixed near the conduit of the Abbey of Saint Augustine of Bristol on the western part of the
255:
or Jewish ritual bath. They noted that the small chamber 'filled with clear water issuing from a fissure in the rock, at a constant 53 °F, and left from another opening feeding the presumed conduit.' The temperature reference has led some to characterise it as a 'hot spring'. However, 53 °F
267:
The interpretation of the well and the inscription was challenged in 2001. The authors suggested that the well is too deep and restricted for a mikveh and too far from the medieval Jewish quarter, in the centre of the town. In the Middle Ages Jacob's Well lay in a wooded valley, on the edge of the
280:
which was established after 1177. If so, it would be the only surviving example in
England. They note that while inscription on the lintel above the well's chamber certainly includes Hebrew characters, most of the inscription is too damaged to be sure of the reading. They suggest it could be
342:. Jacob's Well was rediscovered in 1987 by the Bristol Temple Local History Group, who were investigating the site during the rebuilding of a furniture workshop which had been the Hotwells Police Station bicycle shed, and a one-time fire engine house.
300:, on digging the foundation for which, a few years ago, a number of gravestones were found, with inscriptions in Hebrew characters; they were, however, thoughtlessly used in the building' The precise location of the
543:
Bloomfield, John P. ; Jackson, Christopher R.; Stuart, Marianne E.. 'Changes in groundwater levels, temperature and quality in the UK over the 20th century: an assessment of evidence of impacts from climate
304:(also referred to as the 'Jews Churchyard') was identified in 2007, using eighteenth and nineteenth century maps and plans of the area. The boundaries of the cemetery correspond to that of the modern school.
330:
A Royal
Commission on the Health of Towns reported in 1845 that nearly all of the water laid into the houses of Bristol came from Jacob's Wells. The Commission noted that the water, which also fed the
268:
town, about a mile from the Jewry. That was centred first around what is now Quay Street "Old Jewry", then later on Wine Street, close to the castle. Hillaby and Sermon suggest that the well was a
243:
The stone structure is built round a natural spring and on a lintel there is an inscription that includes Hebrew characters. It was initially suggested that these might form part of the
160:
240:, is an early medieval structure incorporated into a 19th-century building on the corner of Jacob's Wells Road and Constitution Hill. It is thought to be a Jewish ritual bath.
349:
to extract and bottle up to 15 million litres (3.3 million imperial gallons) of water a year. Water from the well was previously bottled and sold in the 1980s.
16:
This article is about the medieval structure built over a spring on Jacob's Well Road, Bristol. For the former
Victorian public baths on Jacob's Well Road, Bristol, see
840:
554:
I. Blair, J. Hillaby, I. Howell, R. Sermon and B. Watson, 'The discovery of two medieval mikva'ot in London and a reinterpretation of the
Bristol "mikveh"',
404:
I. Blair, J. Hillaby, I. Howell, R. Sermon and B. Watson, 'The discovery of two medieval mikva'ot in London and a reinterpretation of the
Bristol "mikveh"',
67:
845:
694:
Bristol. The City
Charters...To which are added, The Bounds of the City, by Land, with the exact Distances from Stone to Stone, all round the City
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318:
Jacob's Well and the
Cathedral Conduit marked on 1743 map of Bristol. County boundary marked as a dotted line, with the shirestone also marked.
527:
865:
855:
597:
296:
Writing in 1861, the historian George Pryce wrote that Jacob's Well lay close by 'the “Jews Acre”, or burial ground, where now stands
251:, "flowing". Following the well's rediscovery in 1987, the archaeologists involved in its survey suggested that the well might be a
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449:
386:
768:
358:
323:
285:"living waters", which would be appropriate for waters intended for the ritual purification of a person after touching a corpse.
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860:
498:
R. R. Emanuel and M. W. Ponsford, 'Jacob's Well, Bristol, Britain's only known medieval Jewish Ritual Bath (Mikveh)',
483:
R. R. Emanuel and M. W. Ponsford, 'Jacob's Well, Bristol, Britain's only known medieval Jewish Ritual Bath (Mikveh)',
442:
Historical account of the area known as Jacob’s Wells, Clifton, Bristol, England: from twelfth century to modern times
432:
R. R. Emanuel and M. W. Ponsford, 'Jacob's Well, Bristol, Britain's only known medieval Jewish Ritual Bath (Mikveh)',
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The 19th-century building at the corner of Jacob's Wells Road and Constitution Hill within which the well lies.
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Second Report of The Commissioners for Inquiring into the State of Large Towns and Populous Districts
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Digitally enhanced image of Jacobs Well inscription based on a 2017 archaeological 3D scan
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256:(12 °C), is close to average for groundwater in the UK (10 °C-11 °C).
578:
Joe Hillaby, 'The Bristol Jewry to 1290' in Madge Dresser and Peter Fleming (eds.),
415:
Joe Hillaby, 'The Bristol Jewry to 1290' in Madge Dresser and Peter Fleming (eds.),
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769:"Jacob's Well, Bristol, Britain's only known medieval Jewish Ritual Bath (Mikveh)"
707:
J. H. Bettey, ‘The water supply to St. Augustine's Abbey and Bristol Cathedral’,
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51:
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Bristol Observed, Visitors' Impressions of the City from Domesday to The Blitz
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A Jewish community was known to exist in Bristol from at least 1154 until the
82:
69:
542:
635:
Joe Hillaby and Richard Sermon, 'Jacob's Well, Bristol: Further Research',
423:
Joe Hillaby and Richard Sermon, 'Jacob's Well, Bristol: Further Research',
393:
J. Hillaby and R. Sermon, 'Jacob's Well, Bristol: Mikveh or Bet Tohorah?',
812:
722:
Henry. T. de La Beche, 'Report on the state of Bristol and other towns',
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J. Hillaby and R. Sermon, Jacob's Well, Bristol: Mikveh or Bet Tohorah?,
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Transactions of the Bristol & Gloucestershire Archaeological Society
485:
Transactions of the Bristol & Gloucestershire Archaeological Society
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Transactions of the Bristol & Gloucestershire Archaeological Society
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https://archive.org/details/bristol-record-society-01/page/154/mode/2up
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Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society
709:
Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society
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Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society
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Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society
682:(Bristol Record Society publications, Vol. I, Bristol, 1930), p. 155.
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In February 2011, the company that now owns the well applied to the
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Jacob's Well and Jews Acre marked on a plan of Brandon Hill (1823)
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651:"Jewish Communities prior to 1290 in South West England; Bristol"
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wholesale banishment of the Jewish community from England in 1290
562:(2001) 15-40. The argument was further elaborated in 2004:
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It has been claimed that the spring became the property of
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580:Bristol: Ethnic Minorities and the City, 1000-2001
417:Bristol: Ethnic Minorities and the City, 1000-2001
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809:"Bristol firm applies for historic well licence"
582:(Chichester : Phillimore, 2007), pp. 14-15.
419:(Chichester : Phillimore, 2007), pp. 9-32
8:
175:Location of Jacob's Well in Bristol Central
357:For other similarly named structures, see
36:
27:
767:Emanuel, R. R.; Ponsford, M. W. (1994).
558:(Jewish Historical Society of England)
475:
408:(Jewish Historical Society of England)
738:"History of Jacobs Well Baths Complex"
522:. Yale University Press. p. 196.
519:Bristol, Pevsner Architectural Guides
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126:
118:
109:
25:Historic site in Cliftonwood, Bristol
7:
841:Buildings and structures in Bristol
726:, Vol. I, (London, 1845), pp. 252-3
593:"Bet tohorah at Jacob's Wells Road"
598:National Heritage List for England
14:
381:(Redcliffe Press, Bristol, 1986)
276:in the nearby Jewish cemetery at
123:Bet tohorah at Jacob's Wells Road
194:
187:
166:
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203:Jacob's Well, Bristol (Bristol)
846:Scheduled monuments in Bristol
1:
696:(Felix Farley, Bristol, 1736)
637:Bristol and Avon Archaeology
622:A Popular History of Bristol
425:Bristol and Avon Archaeology
274:cleanse bodies before burial
866:Medieval history of England
856:Jews and Judaism in England
680:Bristol Charters, 1155-1373
178:Show map of Bristol Central
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742:Jacobs Wells Community Hub
711:, 130 (2012), pp. 300-302.
456:Secret underground Bristol
298:Queen Elizabeth's Hospital
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556:Jewish Historical Studies
406:Jewish Historical Studies
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678:Norah D. Harding (ed.),
782:: 73–86. Archived from
516:Foyle, Andrew (2004).
365:References and sources
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624:(Bristol, 1861), p.23
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221:Jacob's Well entrance
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502:, CXII (1994), p. 75
487:, CXII (1994), 73-86
436:, CXII (1994), 73-86
324:St Augustine's Abbey
83:51.45318°N 2.61017°W
639:, 22 (2007), 97-106
427:, 22 (2007), 97-106
206:Show map of Bristol
79: /
861:History of Bristol
815:. 14 February 2011
568:122 (2004) 127–152
347:Environment Agency
340:Jacobs Wells Baths
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136:Reference no.
113:Scheduled monument
88:51.45318; -2.61017
18:Jacobs Wells Baths
789:on 4 October 2011
744:. 7 November 2019
529:978-0-300-10442-4
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817:. Retrieved
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784:the original
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746:. Retrieved
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283:mayim chayim
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278:Brandon Hill
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226:Jacob's Well
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31:Jacob's Well
22:
851:Water wells
454:S. Watson,
270:bet tohorah
230:Cliftonwood
131:31 May 2002
86: /
62:Coordinates
52:Cliftonwood
835:Categories
470:References
128:Designated
71:51°27′11″N
655:JewishGen
332:Cathedral
302:Jews Acre
74:2°36′37″W
813:BBC News
353:See also
334:and the
272:used to
249:zochalim
48:Location
692:Anon.,
544:change'
444:(1999)
370:Sources
238:England
234:Bristol
140:1020792
56:Bristol
819:28 May
793:28 May
748:28 May
660:28 May
605:28 May
526:
462:
448:
385:
253:mikveh
245:Hebrew
787:(PDF)
772:(PDF)
247:word
99:Built
821:2020
795:2020
750:2020
662:2020
607:2020
524:ISBN
460:ISBN
446:ISBN
383:ISBN
780:112
398:122
228:in
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560:37
508:^
410:37
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674:[
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389:.
20:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
