Re: What is it - Mystery Object challenge.
Originally Posted by
Tiffany
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Yay! I was nearly right.
But, Fruitcake what was it for?
This.
Originally Posted by
Feey
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it gave access to storm gates
It was a glorified manhole cover on the city centre. When I was a kid I once saw a man open the door and climb inside. There was a ladder leading down to the flood dam of the river Frome below
"The Frome mostly flows beneath Prince Street and into the Avon. The exception to this is when the river is in flood, when overflow will pass over the concrete dam under the Centre’s northern edge to join the Floating Harbour outside Watershed.
This section can be visited, by authorised personnel only, via an entrance down from the pavement on the northern edge of the Centre, by the large building known as Electricity House.
For decades, access was via a green pillar box, now housed in the M Shed museum. A ladder descends from the spot (now simple metal grilles in the pavement) for several feet, allowing access to a large area of underground riverside"
You can just make it out in the bottom left of this old picture, next to two children.