Gerry answers your questions about a whale bone, the weather and Bristol porcelain

Can you tell me anything about the whale bone in St Mary Redcliffe church?

Liz Carter, Windmill Hill.

Yes, I can. This bone is said to have been bought back by John Cabot and his crew from their Atlantic voyage of 1497.

But another story says that it’s a rib from the “Dun Cow,” a mythical monster killed by Guy of Warwick somewhere near Coventry.

What it’s doing in Bristol is anybody’s guess.

Historians are sceptical about both claims, but especially the latter.

Heady

Was the winter of 1947 worse than 1962/3 and 1982?

Hugh Simpson, Ashton.

Many say it was.

 It all started on January 20th with severe frosts in the Bristol area (10 degrees below) and daytime temperatures not rising above freezing.

Some villages in the Cotswolds saw a remarkable 32 degrees of frost (Minus 17 degrees C)

At the end of the month a blizzard hit the West Country leading to drifting.

Then a short thaw led to many burst pipes (This was pre central heating)

On February 6 and 21 more snow arrived – the heaviest falls for 20 years.

As temperatures plummeted to -15 degrees C at night the Floating Harbour froze over completely – the first time since 1895

Then on March 5 another blizzard swept the country leading to blocked roads and snowdrifts between 9 and 20 feet high.

By the middle of March a thaw had set in, leading to flooding.

Yes, it was a long, hard winter made worse by post war shortages.

Heady

Is Bristol porcelain very valuable?

Grace MacInnes, Clifton.

Yes, it is.

The porcelain was, ironically, the least successful of Bristol’s potting traditions.

Benjamin Lund made soft-paste porcelain here between 1749 and 1752, but the secret was taken over by Worcester who developed into the finest English porcelain.

Plymouth man William Cookworthy transferred his paste porcelain business here in 1770 with Richard Champion taking over four years later.

Champion’s factory, which faced financial problems, closed in 1781