An 18th-century coach house and stables in Bristol, infamous for its ‘million pound toxic flytip problem’, has been sold for £450,000. The Wick Home, located at Wick Road Brislington Brook, in Bristol, comes with six acres of land. The property, in an area known as Nightingale Valley is home to hundreds of rusting barrels, and were supposedly dumped between 1924 and 1929.
These ‘Tar Barrels of the Nightingale Valley’ lie in a wood leading from Wick House – which is not included in the sale – to a local brook. Locals describe the area as full of barrels containing a ‘gloopy, watery tar mess’. Despite this, the property was sold for £452,000. The old coach house and courtyard of stables, once part of Wick House, had a guide price of £350,000.
Theories about the origin of the tar include a link to Wick House, which was once connected to a local paint firm. In 1881, Thomas Harding, a paint manufacturer, bought Wick House and 60 acres of pleasure grounds, much of which was in Nightingale Valley.
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(Image: Emma Trimble / SWNS)
His business, Colhurst & Hardings, was located at the Paintworks – then known as Phoenix Wharf – which was built in 1850. The historic coach house and stables were constructed around 1790 for Wick House Manor.
Jackie Friel, of The Friends of Brislington Brook, told Bristol Live that despite the issue, Nightingale Valley remains a wildlife haven teeming with birds and animals. She said: “We have been aware of the problem for many years that one particular stretch of land within Nightingale Valley is a historic dumping ground. It will cost getting on for a million pounds to put this tar barrel site right.”
The group added: “On the one side of the stream, it just looks like any other parkland. But on the left-hand side of the stream is akin to walking on melted tar, according to locals. “It’s a heavily frequented and stunning nature reserve – home to newts, frogs and a plethora of delightful wildlife.
“However, every summer, the tar creeps closer to the stream, and it’s a mystery what lies beneath it. There’s a looming threat that a melting incident could occur in the future, releasing unknown substances from the ground and potentially causing an ecological disaster,” they warned.
(Image: Emma Trimble / SWNS)
The Friends group has been urging the council to clean up the land and are keen to collaborate with the new owners to resolve the issue. A petition demanding action has garnered hundreds of signatures. One signatory lamented: “This has been ignored and overlooked for too long and is and always has been an eyesore to what is a lovely local beauty spot.”
A former resident reminisced: “We used to live right by Nightingale Valley and walk here often. It was and is a tragedy and outrage to see tar barrels carelessly and callously dumped there onto the banks of the stream. A lovely area enjoyed by many but spoiled by this environmental pollution.”
In 2022, Bristol City Council stated that numerous water and soil tests have been conducted over the past two decades, but none have identified contamination severe enough to warrant a clean-up. A council spokesperson added: “With an increase in visitors and use of the area since the pandemic we’ve seen the degradation of the tar barrels.
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“The situation has escalated due to the warm weather during the summer, causing the contents of the barrels, which usually remain solid when undisturbed, to become sticky and mobile. We continue to explore other enforcement options, but as we’re limited in what we can do by the powers currently available to us we are attempting to identify the landowner so we can work with and encourage them to take action.”
Estate agent Hollis Morgan confirmed that the seller had disclosed all necessary information. The listing stated: “A freehold period coach house, stables, six garages plus various outbuildings comprising 6714 Sq Ft occupying a plot of approximately six Acres which slopes across the Nightingale Valley and down towards the Brislington Brook with vehicular access via a lane from Wick Road.
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