The incredible story of how a wagon-load of circus monkeys nearly drowned in a small village near Bristol

Bristol and its surrounding areas are no strangers to odd stories and occurrences.

The area is built on strange tales of piracy and more but there is one particular story which is at risk of being lost to time. It’s a story of a wagon-load of circus animals staring death in the face as their vehicles capsized when crossing a bridge on the outskirts of Bristol. The story has been brought back to life by local historian and YouTuber, Pedestrian Diversions.

Tickenham is a small village, near Clevedon, with a population of fewer than 1,000 residents but it was here, on March 13, 1906, that this story unfolded. Bostock and Wombwell’s Travelling Menagerie was making its way through the village and attempted to cross the then-named Church Lane bridge having already failed to climb the main road by Jacklands Bridge because of ice.

The horse-drawn carriage with monkeys on board tumbled into the rhyne - putting its primate cargo at risk of drowning. Elephants and horses worked tirelessly to free the wagon but to no avail before a local traction engine was used to free the monkeys. The band continued their journey into neighbouring Clevedon that evening with all animals believed to have survived.

In 2013, a plaque was installed on a stone wall in a lane called Causeway, close to St Quiricus and St Julietta Church, which was previously Church Lane bridge before the waterway below was blocked off. The plaque crowns the stretch ‘Monkey Bridge’ to commemorate the strange story which is the perfect party piece in an otherwise unassuming village.