FOCUS
No. 57
The end of
an era, and a new start
Bill White
In the middle of 2001, Rose and I started to get the
next year’s programme together, with names and dates, and trying to fit this
with the University dates of Conferences, together with the Queen’s Golden
Jubilee and more Bank Holidays. We completed the project and all was sorted for
the 2002 programme of meetings.
In August we received a letter from the University’s
Conference Secretary informing us that we would be charged for the room in the
future (£225 each meeting and £50 for a committee room) and we would not be
able to book the room for a year, only the term ahead. We could not be
guaranteed that we would get our preferred first Monday in the month as there
might be other bookings.
This decision by the Conference Department of the University
was taken following their remit to increase their income. On a previous
occasion when the charging of rent was proposed, Dr Course had successfully
opposed it on the grounds that our activities should be treated as part of the
extra-mural programme. We also had links with the Civil Engineering department:
now these have gone.
This was the problem put to the committee if an IA group was
to continue. There was agreement that the suggested rent was too high, and not
being able to book the room for the year was inconvenient to us. It was
suggested that we looked for another venue with a room and seating for 100+,
car parking for 30 to 40 cars and the usual facilities.
Rose and I asked for suggestions and looked at various
venues, finally choosing the Hedge End Village Hall, which was available, and
fitted our criteria. We put our findings to the committee who agreed on our
choice, and we informed the members of the situation at all the following
meetings.
Because we are changing our venue from the University, we
are not allowed to use “University” in the title, and this was changed with a
vote at the November AGM to Hampshire Industrial Archaeology Society.
It is not improbable that the present powers-that-be are not
concerned about SUIAG at the University, but we will send a courteous letter to
them to acknowledge the help we have received from them for the last thirty
years.
So we are the same group with a new start: new venue, new
title, and we hope all members will support us in the future.
* * * *
* * *
Hampshire News Extra, November 15,
2001
A scheme to restore historic Hockley Viaduct has ground to a
halt. Winchester City Council had proposed renovating the 19th century railway
bridge and build a footpath/cycle way along it. Some initial building work has
been done to open it and make it safe for walkers, but the project has
foundered because of lack of cash. Although people can walk along the bridge,
the 6ft parapets are too high for admiring the views over the Itchen water
meadows. Planned viewing platforms remain unbuilt and there is no disabled
access. The council had hoped to win National Lottery funding to help pay for
the restoration of the viaduct - the biggest brick-built structure in the
county and the oldest in Britain with a concrete core. Latest estimates put the
cost of the whole project between £500,000 - £750,000. But a consultant
employed by the council has said English Heritage will refuse to grant it
listed status. It has already been turned down twice despite its historical
importance. The chief estates officer said if the viaduct remained unlisted,
any bid for lottery funding “would not get past first base”.
Southampton University Industrial Archaeology Group proved
the viaduct is the first in Britain with a concrete core. Dr Edwin Course said:
“It is very sad because far less worthy things have got listing but Hockley
Viaduct seems to be unlucky. The city council will have to decide what they are
going to do. Now they have decided not to pursue listing, the question is, are
there any other sources of funds other than the city council?
MAY: Our own Tony Daffey’s talk was entitled Croydon’s
New Tramway Explored. Apparently the talk came about because, during his
six-day visit in Croydon and district, he found so much of interest in the
impressive Tramlink. Construction work on this had started three years
previously. The three-route system is operated with 24 cars, all being
supervised from a control centre at the depot. This is manned 24 hours a day,
and a bank of 8 screens is used to look at the cars or any tram stop if the
alarm button is pressed there. At every stop, display screens give next car’
or other information, there are ticket machines and timetables. Cars can attain
50 mph on their own right-of-way; in the street they observe normal traffic
regulations. Each is in three sections and articulated, with four doors on each
side giving level access at all stops. In Croydon town centre the trams run
round a one-way loop through the streets, with routes radiating out to New
Addington, Beckenham Junction and Wimbledon. Here the trams terminate in a stub
on Platform 10 giving interchange with trains, close to the town centre. Many
senior citizens enjoy the comfort and speed of these trams. What lovely scenery
while traveling up and down the hills and overlooking Croydon: thank-you Tony
for taking us with you on these journeys.
JUNE : Our In-house Entertainment/Activity.
Jon Sims, our previous Chairman, and his son Sam brought
along all types of toys˜not necessarily to scale˜that can plant ideas in the
youngsters’ heads, introducing them unknowingly to many IA subjects such as
steam, traction, pedal power, etc. Jon felt that the children’s TV programme
Rosie and Jim on their working narrow boat was able to teach them all about
living and working on the canals. He told the story about a canal visit when he
took a canal working toy, acquired from the Early Learning Centre, which
several children persuaded their fathers to purchase, and enjoy. It was a joy
to hear Jon’s enthusiasm to encourage the next generation’s IA members, as did
Jon’s father who had also enjoyed all aspects of IA, and obviously encouraged
his son in the same way.
Jeff Pain, our next speaker, took us to Milwaukee in the USA
where his son and family live. During his 1983 visit he took many slides of
interest from trolley buses in Hamilton, Canada, and Niagara at night, as well
as the Greyhound buses. The mid-West farm area of the USA showed a typical
cattle farm with the usual farmhouses, grain and barn silos surrounded by trees
repeated through the area. We also visited Wisconsin where we saw the school
bus, which is always built and painted the same wherever a school bus could be
seen, and very strict speed limits were enforced. We saw one of the largest
steam and diesel preservation centres in Illinois where 60 or more locomotives
were held. There was so much more to see and enjoy on Jeff’s holidays.
JULY: Our outdoor visit in began when about 50 of our
members piled on the coach at Boldrewood car park and John Leader drove us
through Southampton’s Eastern Dock gate 4 after being checked out by security.
Edwin Course was our Leader, taking us through Ocean Dock, passing by the
almost totally filled-in and tarmaced over No. 6 Dry Dock and the Car Shipment
Terminal full of new cars awaiting collection. As we passed the Queen Elizabeth
II Passenger Terminal, John pointed out a number of blue and white buses
originally built in Britain and despatched to Hong Kong and now brought back to
be used as School Buses in England.
The Empress Dock was our next visit where Alan Watson was
waiting to tell us about the vessel ML1387 that was moored alongside. This
1943-built vessel is a veteran of the D-Day invasion and continued right
through until 1968 when, now renamed the Medusa, was privately bought. Today
the Maritime Volunteer Service use Medusa (ML1387) for navigation training. We
finally entered Western Dock Gate 10; continuing past various establishments
and to the end of the Container Terminal, then back to Boldrewood. Thank you,
Edwin, it was an enjoyable evening, lovely weather, but the reality was so
different from memories of the Southampton Docks of yesteryear.
AUGUST: What can I say about the slides in our Members’
Evening; I always look forward to this special meeting and wasn’t disappointed.
We were treated to a real mixture of IA including cable cars, cable ships,
mines, engine houses, windmills, aeroplanes, paddle steamers, railways, trains
and breweries, etc. We visited countries including India, Poland, Switzerland,
Germany and France as well as places in our own country such as Swanage,
Haytor, Totnes, Cornwall, Hook Norton and Risca. Slides taken in the 1960s of
Otterbourne Pumping Station showed various views of the beam engine, pumps,
levers, etc. in pristine condition with everything so clean and gleaming.
Finally Bill wished to pay a tribute to Norman Lucas by
showing a few of his collection of slides including some of Edwin’s IA weeks
and when he was on ship. Bill also paid tribute to Miss Mary Chick and Denny
Davies who were long-standing members and died recently and were seen in
Norman’s slides. I’m sorry I haven’t included any potted notes on some of the
stories that went with the slides, but if you weren’t at the meeting, you
missed a great evening!
SEPTEMBER: Jude James was our speaker who
talked about the Salt Industry of Lymington and surrounding areas. According to
the Domesday records, salt was always available in Europe: however, dependent
on good summers it would only be possible to produce salt in England on an
average of 8 to 10 weeks during April to October. Wet summers could easily
reduce the time to 2 weeks, which meant that salt making was a summer industry
tying in with two occupations. By the time of William the Conqueror the salt
industry was well established in England and saltpans were listed at
Hengistbury Head and other coastal areas. During the 16th and 17th centuries
there was a massive concentration of saltpans from Lymington, Pennington,
Keyhaven and New Milton, making salt by evaporation of salt water although it
was not easy to understand why the area was one of the major areas. Salt was
taxed and abolished twice between 1694/1730 and 1732/1825. In 1715 records show
the manufacturers in the Lymington area paid £25.10 in tax, and from 1724 to
1766, 4,612 tons of salt were exported in 64 ships, and these ships brought in
coal. The use of salt was in evidence from early days for preserving and
flavouring foods, curing skins, flux in glass and metal smelting. Parish
records contained all sorts of criminal information, including evidence that
some Forest Salt Revenue Officers, who were responsible for collecting tithes,
were prosecuted for assisting in offences and possibly taking back-handers.
There was a certain amount of confusion about the measurement used˜generally by
volume rather than water weight˜but locally, depending on dampness and quality,
the measurement was a bushel, roughly 56 lb. Jude’s interpretation was that the
Latin word salena was a saltern being a roofed pan, under which timber was used
to heat up the salt brine to produce salt which was scrapped from the pans and
then the exercise restarted.
OCTOBER: George Watts was our speaker for October giving an
illustrated talk on Drovers and Drove Roads. His interest in the subject
started about eight years ago when he realised there had hardly been any
research carried out on the subject. He has since started a “Drove Road•
walking group in Chandlers Ford and members meet once a month to walk bits of
old drove roads. In the 18th century 45% of the gross national product was in agriculture
and about 25% of that was the livestock industry. Before mechanised transport,
all animals and birds such as geese and turkeys, walked to the point of
consumption, usually driven by professional licensed drovers. George showed
pictures depicting drovers in traditional drover dress, often accompanied by
women looking for work on farms, who found it safer to travel with a “Drove”.
Livestock traveled about 10 to 12 miles a day and each animal was sold
separately. 2000 sheep alone were going into Smithfield Market each day to keep
the metropolis fed. Many drove roads criss-crossed the country and large
sections of Hampshire, including the South Downs and the Meon Valley, were
amongst them. The Lunways to London was a particularly important and ancient
drove road. Portsmouth was also a focal point, owing to its size and large Navy
presence. Compton Down is a good example of open common land, which would have
had multiple tracks crossing it. Drove roads were not straight like Roman
roads, but there are some clues available to help identify them. For instance,
a ford on the edge of a village or town enabled the drover to avoid a toll
road, and a funnel effect at the end of a track on an Ordnance Survey map could
be another clue. Ox Drove running up from Preston Candover is another example.
A hostelry en route was called a “Hut” and still survives today, examples being
The Hut in Chandlers Ford, and West Meon Hut near Petersfield. Farmers set
aside strips of land for the animals to graze and rest on their journeys,
because drovers would bring along news and merchandise. Accounts of drove
journals are rare, but an early one from 1689 stated that drovers on one trip
each earned one shilling a day. Sometimes they might also have a share in the
proceeds of the eventual sale as well as the sale of his horse and saddle:
often he could afford to return home by coach. Weyhill Fair was one of the
largest sheep fairs in Europe and went on for four days when drovers were often
hired at the same time as animals were bought and sold to drive them on to
their new destination. The heyday of the droving industry was during the
Industrial Revolution when people flocked into towns, and had to be fed. The
coming of the railway in 1845 was the start of the demise of the droving industry,
although it was said by some at the time, that the “Railway would enhance the
trade”. This was a very enjoyable and interesting talk by George Watts on a
little known subject. I am sure everyone left knowing more about the subject
than when they arrived. (Notes by Carol Burdekin.)
NOVEMBER: Bill
reminded the members that it was late August when the University advised us
that they were unable to continue to allow free accommodation after December
2001. He confirmed that we had been busy checking out possible venues with all
the necessary facilities including a good size car park, and he advised
everyone that Hedge End Village Hall fitted our requirements and has been
booked for our monthly meetings from January 2002. After discussions with the
Charity Commissioners, the Committee proposed the change of name should be
Hampshire Industrial Archaeology Society (formerly SUIAG), and Bill asked the
members if they would vote in favour of this proposal. A substantial majority
voted in favour of Hampshire Industrial Archaeology Society (HIAS) and the
necessary paperwork, etc, will now be put in progress once the Commission
confirm everything in writing. Obviously it is a little sad to be leaving the
University after over 30 years, but the members are still the same with the
same interests and aims. A change of name should not make any difference, as
potential members think that we are a group of students, and special reference
to Hampshire is included in the Constitution under Objects (item number 2).
Surprisingly, while producing these notes, I had a telephone call from a lady
living in Droxford who spoke to me last year, and was reluctant to come to
Southampton. Having recently spoken to one of our long serving members, she now
wishes to become a member now that our future meetings will be in Hedge End.
DECEMBER: The AGM went well. Roger Hedge was elected as
Chairman. Alison was re-elected as Treasurer and Committee members John Davies,
Mick Edgeworth, Rodney Hall and Jeff Pain were re-elected. Bill thanked the
committee and co-opted members for their help and assistance. He also expressed
a special thank you to Angela for producing the excellent FOCUS
newsletter twice a year. He then told the members that regretfully
Dr Edwin Course had tendered his resignation as President of the Group.
Bill reminded the members that the group began back in the 1960s when Edwin was
involved with Industrial Archaeology at Southampton University. Therefore it
was due to Edwin that we have been able to hold our meetings free at the
University during this time. Gerald Davies proposed that we offer Edwin the
position of Honorary Life President (Non Executive), for all the years he put
into promoting the Group, and was seconded by Freda Kerslake. The members
attending the AGM unanimously agreed that, as Secretary, I should write to
Edwin on behalf of the Group. Roger, our new Chairman, asked Bill to continue
chairing the meeting, and organise the Photographic and Slide Competition. Tony
Daffey, who won a book and a windmill plate, won the photographic prize. Nigel
Smith’s slide of a steam train taken at Tanglefoot Curve on the Cumbres &
Toltec Railroad in New Mexico won the slide prize, and he received a book and a
water colour of a windmill. With a little time to spare, John Silman showed
slides of the Heavy Gang working on a donkey wheel at Beech, near Alton.
* * * *
* * *
Spotted on Ceefax
. . . . . . .
# Demolition of
Rubber Domes due to start (25/6/01): Bulldozers are due to start knocking down
the historic Dunlop Semtex factory at Brynmawr in South Wales. The building was
the first post-war structure in Britain to be listed. Contractors who have
already demolished other parts of the site aim to clear the nine domed areas of
the former rubber plant within 10 weeks. It is a blow for campaigners who have
fought to save the factory - which has been empty for 20 years.
# An open-air
swimming pool dating back to the 1930s has been saved from the bulldozer. Last
night Portsmouth City Council decided to keep Hilsea Lido open and, instead of
closing it, now plans to spend £1m restoring it. It has been shut for a year
and councillors were expected to back a plan for it to be turned into parkland.
Last year it attracted only 4,000 visitors, compared to 25,000 in its hey-day (1/11/01)
# The Queen is to attend a memorial service at Westminster
Abbey to mark the centenary of the submarine fleet. The event will mark the
achievements and mourn the losses of the Royal Navy’s vessels since the launch
of the service’s first submarine, Holland 1. It carried a crew of eight men and
three white mice, used to detect the presence of carbon monoxide. (2/11/01)
# Developers at a former South Yorkshire mining village are
to be told they cannot demolish an old pit baths because it is too precious.
The 1930s derelict building in Kelverton is regularly vandalised and developers
aim to build workshops there. But Rotherham council will say the building must
be restored to its former glory, at a cost of more than £800,000. It says the
baths are an imposing monument to the coal industry. (8/11/01)
# Admission charges to the country’s top museums are being
scrapped from the weekend. From tomorrow, entry to 17 attractions will be
completely free. Museums and galleries sponsored by the Culture Dept. will receive
an extra £10m to cover the income shortfall. (30/11/01)
* * * * *
* *
Heritage Museum for Southampton?
The Southern Daily Echo carried reports in mid-October that
Southampton City Council had agreed in principal to a Heritage Museum being
built˜presumably somewhere in the area to be redeveloped in the Grand Town Quay
Plan as maritime collection’ was mentioned, as well as aviation collection’
(but sadly no reference to the tram collection’, which could provide a
heritage transport function). However, don’t hold your breath! Although the
proposal gained crossparty support the motion, put forward by the Liberal
Democrat and Tory groups, only just scraped in by two votes. Executive member
for leisure, Councillor Derek Burke, said he was committed to progressing plans
for a centre, but he did not want to be tied down to detail at this stage and
to be making promises that may not be fulfilled. All sorts of promises have
been made in the past and I don’t want to do the same. We are talking to our
partners in the city but we have to be sure that such a project can be financed
before we talk in any detail.’ Liberal Democrat Councillor Peter Wakeford said
‘It’s time for action.’
Edwin
Course
I have just re-read the last report on the situation at
Twyford to appear in Focus. It concluded with the words “Success breeds success
and it is not good policy to admit to having a difficult time•. However I do
very much hope that this report will persuade the right people to join us.
We still lack an Administrator, a Treasurer and a Clerk of
Works. However, there are signs of better things to come. We now have two new
volunteers - Richard Mullard who is working on the diesel engines and Dr Martin
Gregory who is doing whatever is asked of him. There has been a promise of two
people to act as guides for visitors although they have yet to appear. The
hoped-for visit by the English Heritage Inspector is still awaited. Our
landlord, Southern Water, has carried out essential repairs in the Transfer
House and the Lime Kiln Charging Floor, but repairs to some of the stonework
are still pending.
Bob Ansell and his colleagues have been working on the
four-cylinder diesel engine and, following a visit to Rustons at Lincoln, it
has been confirmed that it is a unique survival. On the steam side, Bill Stone
and his colleagues have serviced the high-pressure cylinder of the 1914 triple
expansion engine. They have also prepared the boiler and pipework for its
five-yearly inspection by the insurers. As this will cost us £700, we are
trying to persuade them to settle for ten-yearly inspections. We should dearly
like to start on the restoration of the unique Haines Patent Filters, which
await collection from Dorset: however, this awaits funds, which we have so far
failed to attract.
Our autumn Open Day needed to bring in more money than usual
to compensate for the spring Open Day, a victim of the foot and mouth outbreak.
October 7th started according to plan with steam raised and other attractions
such as the narrow gauge railway and the radio controlled boats in position.
The celebrity guest, Eric Richard of The Bill, arrived on his motorbike and the
rain came at the same time. As he began to speak, a shower became a deluge. It
seemed far too heavy to last Πbut it did. Exhibitors went home early and
people stayed away. Fortunately, in the morning before the afternoon of rain,
all had gone well but, rather than the hoped-for record receipts, we finished
up with a modest surplus.
2002 must be better. The next public steaming will be on Open Day, Sunday May 9th, but do not wait that long to visit us. Some of our volunteers will be at the works each Sunday until December 9th and again from January 13th. They will be pleased to see you between 11am and 4pm. Meanwhile, if you know anyone who would be able to act as an Administrator, a Treasurer or a Clerk of the Works, please do ask them to visit us.
* * * * *
* *
Jeff Pain
During the year painting, etc, has continued with a small
group of regulars. In view of the Southampton City Council’s interest in a
Heritage Centre, provisionally based near the water’s edge, the idea proposed
at one time of moving over the water to Marchwood has been shelved. With this
in mind, they are preparing a bid for Heritage Lottery funding, which can be
ready, they hope, this year.
S.S. Shieldhall
Their excursion programme has been completed for this year
with mixed results. Unfortunately 11 out of 20 trips lost money, though the
Portsmouth Festival was a success. One final trip (!!!) was undertaken this
year - as far as the Cruise terminal at 38/39 berth in the Eastern Docks on the
17th November for their Open Day entitled “Endangered Species•, which included
the Grand Draw attended by David Shepherd who did the honours at the
half-yearly meeting on the 18th.
A basic seamanship-training programme was started for
members at the end of September to enable those who wished to enhance their
knowledge to do so, with the trained volunteers, This was considered to be a
success and will be repeated on the last Saturday of each month, commencing at
10.00am.
During the winter, routine maintenance will be carried out and there is a provisional dry-docking late March/early April - preferably with a partner as No. 7 is rather large (and expensive) if she’s on her own. They, also, are working on a Lottery submission for the near future. Next year’s programme is being considered, which could include a return to the Festival of Steam at Dordrecht in the Netherlands and, although Weymouth is popular, there is some doubt about Poole, but a new venue could be along the coast in an easterly direction as far as Shoreham. So watch the press and support your local Steam-ship.
Steam tug Challenge: The tug
was slipped at Marchwood for work on the hull which lasted 13 weeks, including
shot-blasting and repaint, and returned to the water in early November. Current
work is on the boilers in readiness for steaming in May and˜hopefully˜joining
in on the Dunkirk Little Ships’ reunion a month later.
The Dunkirk Little Ships Restoration Trust is a
registered charity formed in 1993 to acquire and restore vessels which took
part in the evacuation of Dunkirk. A base has been established at Marchwood
where several ships are already stored. Membership is open to anyone - active
or “armchair”. Details from the Trust Secretary at The Cottage by the Lake,
Hook Shore, Warsash, Hampshire, SO31 9HF. Please enclose a 9" x 4"
SAE.
Angela and Nigel Smith
Slow progress continues to move forward the work on Car 11,
mainly still concentrating on the upper deck with the fabrication of new roof
ventilators and making new dust flaps to fit at floor level under each of the 8
main side windows. Some topcoat painting has been carried out on the wide ivory
band on the upper deck, outside, in preparation for a trial attempt at applying
the chocolate brown scrollwork lining.
After a lot of planning we finally managed to move Lisbon
715 under cover in late July, by use of an HGV recovery vehicle and judicious
use of heavy metal plates. The exercise took most of a day and much elbow
grease. Fortunately we were blessed with good weather.
A very successful Open Day was held on August 26th in conjunction
with the local bus preservation group who arranged a shuttle service from down
town to the trashed. Thanks are due to all those who assisted on what was a
very busy day, including Rosie and Bill. Your scribes were enjoying tram travel
further afield, enjoying the delights of PCC cars in San Francisco.
Sales of the Transport in Southampton Online video continue
to boost funds and support the purchase of materials and special tools for
those “tricky• jobs. Also new in our Middleton Press stock is Portsmouth
Trolleybuses, softback, priced at £13.95. Gosport & Horndean Tramways is
now totally sold out and stocks of Southampton Tramways are very low - we have
some of the last copies available.
70th anniversary of Bargate’s first bypass - April
24, 2002:
(From the 1932 Official Guide to Southampton): “A scheme is now in progress to make circuit roadways round the east and west sides of the Bargate, with the object of relieving the congestion of traffic in this part of the town and also of denuding the old Bar of the ugly buildings which have been built around it in modern times. The Corporation owns most of the properties in this vicinity and those, which recently stood on the east side, between Hanover Buildings and a point below the Bargate, have been demolished. The site has been cleared and a new semi-circular thoroughfare for vehicular traffic, with a footpath for pedestrians, has been provided and is now in use. It is intended to offer the frontage to this new roadway for business premises in the near future. The development of the west side will not be proceeded with until later.(The Bargate east bypass was opened to traffic on 24 April 1932. The west side was bypassed in 1938).
Not the sort of headline you would see in the press. In the
July 1993 Focus we reported that, in April that year, we took a long walk in
the countryside near Tollard Royal in Dorset to investigate the body of an old
Bournemouth tram. Quoting from that report: “ Remembering that trams in Bournemouth
finished about 60 years ago, it is remarkable that so many bodies seem to
survive. Unfortunately we could not discern a fleet number, but clearly it was
a bogie car. Even some of the notices and a route map remain visible inside.•
Nothing more was thought of this tram until we were passed a
copy of The Daily Telegraph property paper of June 9th this year. On the front
page was an article about an estate called Ashcombe House, near Tollard Royal
in Dorset, which was for sale at a cool £9m! It turned out to have quite a
history having at one time, between 1930 and 1945, been rented by Cecil Beaton,
and was the scene of much partying by his artistic friends. There was a photo
of the tram, looking not much different from when we had seen it eight years earlier.
Quoting from the Telegraph, “Guests meandered down into the valley to take tea
in a deserted omnibus• (well, nice try!).
The tram enthusiast from Essex from whom we purchased Lisbon
715, Roger Harvey, plans to build a narrow gauge tourist tramway in Walton-on-the-Naze.
He has three ex-Lisbon trams, but is keen to acquire British narrow-gauge trams
for restoring. He contacted the estate agent to register his interest in the
tram body (which he had visited a few months earlier from our directions). It appeared
that the husband and wife who owned the property were at odds over the tram’s
future - he wanted to get rid of it and she wanted it restored!
Things went quiet until there were rumours that Madonna and
husband Guy Ritchie were searching in this area for a country home to get away
from it all’. Several possible properties were mentioned in the local press,
including one in Hampshire, but the one they chose was Ashcombe House. So
Madonna is now the proud owner of a derelict Bournemouth tram, and one wonders
what the future holds for it. Roger has heard nothing from the estate agent. As
the nearest tram restoration group, we’d be pleased to go and offer suggestions
about it! When we saw the tram in 1993, it was packed with cages used for
pheasant rearing, as the estate holds shooting weekends. One last thought: I
wonder if the solicitor told Madonna that there is a network of public rights
of way all over the estate, one of which goes right past the tram body. Explain
that to her “heavies”!
* *
* * * *
*
Graham Parkes (Chairman, Friends
of Waterside Heritage)
The renovation of the Old Railway Station at Hythe is now in
hand. Since the last report we have awarded the contract to T.A.Fish Ltd of
Hardley. After initial work to clear the inside, the builders have cut through
from the entrance to the workshop area and built the blockwork to create the
corridor. The next stage was to renovate the roof. The tiles were stripped off,
the timbers were examined and treated, and the roof was felted, battened and
retiled. External painting was then carried out and guttering replaced, then
the new windows were fitted. Internal fitting out was due to start before the
end of the year, and the question of manning the Heritage Centre with volunteers
and being involved in various projects has now to be considered. (From the
Summer 2001 Newsletter of The Friends of Waterside Heritage)
The 7th
Biennial Industrial Archaeology Symposium
Rosie Voller
About 20 or so SUIAG members attended this event (Hosted by
Wiltshire Archaeology and Natural History Society and held at The Wharf
Theatre, Devizes, on Saturday 13th October 2001) from a total of about 90
persons, and were welcomed by the Chairman, Doug Roseaman, who introduced the
six speakers.
The first speaker was Mr. Nicol Smith, a member of the
hosting Society, who has lived in Wiltshire for 35 years and has always been
fascinated by hydraulic rams, thus his talk was entitled In Search of Hydraulic
Rams. He explained that the idea is for an automatic operation to achieve a
supply of water without fuel. The cycle, once started, emits a steady soothing
and distinctive beat˜once heard can never be mistaken. About a thousand hydraulic
rams of various sizes were manufactured and have been installed throughout the
world. These rams were used in streams, lakes, reservoirs, etc, for supplying
water to towns, country villages and estates and large houses: the extent of
the demand included major developments and buildings abroad such as the Taj
Mahal. Long forgotten hydraulic rams could be seen in various states of
disrepair hidden amongst brambles and undergrowth. H R Green & Carter have
been manufacturing hydraulic rams since the very early years and are still
exporting to the Third World as well as recovering and reconditioning them. I
am sure everyone at the meeting went away knowing more about this interesting
subject.
Swindon & Cricklade Railway Restoration was the subject
of Mr. Jeff Austen’s talk. As Chairman, he gave a talk about the struggle of
the early years of the railway until the Second World War when mostly equipment
and transport was moved from East Midlands to Southampton and abroad. Injured
soldiers filled the trains on their return journeys to the Midlands. The last
goods train was in 1964 when everything folded up, and it wasn’t until 1979
when a letter in the local paper brought about an organised committee meeting
to create a steam railway. A total of 300 to 400 members began fund-raising
towards this and, with the help of Swindon Council which owned an overgrown
strip of land north-west of Swindon and Cricklade, it was taken over by
volunteers who cleared the track bed of 20 years of wildlife and vegetation.
Eventually simple rides went up and down the 200yd track with the help of
volunteers. During 1986-88 the committee was re-formed and with Jeff’s
expertise as an engineer and car designer at Rovers whose Apprentice Training
School lads during the late 1980s used latest technology to produce the
necessary locomotive parts. During this time restoring steam locomotives was
being carried out in all weathers, and it was decided to design and build a
large engine shed by volunteers as well as a signal box and water tower. The
next project is to extend the track and build a new station at Savernake which
would incorporate the canal alongside, creating a linked ride and drive water
themed country park. However, the area involved contains various endangered
species such as badgers, other wildlife as well as Roman snails, which means
that the redevelopment application must be resubmitted this month. Jeff
reminded the meeting that volunteers are always needed and suggested some of us
might like to organise a group visit to appreciate and see how the projects are
coming along.
Professor Marilyn Palmer, Head of the School of Archaeology
and Ancient History at Leicester University, was our next speaker who talked
about Textile Workers’ Housing in South West England. Marilyn gave us an
insight into how the housing of textile workers reflected the changing
organisation of the textile industry in the early modern period. Peoples’ lives
were less uniform in the 18th century during the cottage industry when whole
families laboured at home spinning, weaving and washing woollen and cotton
cloth. Settlements were built around recently developed water-powered fulling
mills incorporating weaving attic rooms with extra casement windows to give
more light. During the mid 19th century peoples’ lives were changed greatly
when purpose-built buildings were constructed to bring the workforce together
to work in these factory type buildings. The male workers were bitterly opposed
to this and resistance was rife; however the employers had the upper hand and
were able to exercise better quality control and reduce the embezzlement of
yarn. At the same time the owners also built their own elegant houses alongside
these buildings. I definitely would not have liked to live during that period
unless I had money!
Lunch break gave everyone a chance to stretch our legs and
either find somewhere to eat or˜as Bill and I did along with others-we sat by
the canal eating our packed lunch and enjoyed the warm day, idly watching
everything going on.
Mr. Derek Parker, who was a civil engineer with Sir William
Halcrow & Partners, talked about the Construction of the Clywedog Dam.
Derek headed the team dealing with the aspects of compensation and handling the
purchase of land. The dam was built in the late 1960s, taking five years to
build. It is hoped to last for more years to come and will eventually become an
antique water supply. A reservoir was created on a tributary of the River
Severn to supply water in the Midlands. Reed and Mallick of Salisbury were the
main contractors to built a main control room including three buttresses and
structures with sensors to regulate the flow of 11,000 billion gallons of water
from minimum to maximum. A temporary pipe diversion was installed to control
the river, which ran through the valley, and the rock was scrubbed clean of
silt. The concrete dam was built in the valley in preparation for flooding the
area, which was picked due to its high rainfall and floods. 500 men worked on
the dam and camped on the top of the hill. Although all measures were taken to
prevent terrorism, Welsh Nationalists objected to the flooding and caused a lot
of damage and wreckage. The colour slides gave excellent pictures of what went
into building this magnificent dam
Professor Ray Riley, who has taught IA at the University of
Portsmouth since 1969, talked of Politics and Technology in Portsmouth
Dockyard. Politics provided the need for changes in Industrial Archaeology as
we always seemed to be at war with France or Spain, and ships and dock
facilities were always in need of an upgrade. The problems were solved by the
Engineers whose names we associate with these improvements. The best of them
certainly were Marc Brunel (a greater genius than his son) and Maudslay. Ray’s
slides of the Dry Docks, the long narrow Rope Walk, Block-making Machinery and
other Naval Buildings explained his line of thought with his usual dry wit.
The final talk was given by Mrs. Anne Willis who has been
ringing bells in Wiltshire for over 20 years, resulting in her interest in The
History of Bells. Bell towers were first mentioned during the Venerable Bede’s
time around the year 680. By the 13th century there were 1400 bells in
Wiltshire; many were cast in and around Melksham. John Wallis was casting bells
from 1580 to 1603, and later Cockeys, who had foundries in Salisbury, Devizes
and Warminster. Bilbys were not only casting bells but they were also clock
makers, and most other foundries held down second jobs. The bell shapes were
long; similar to a bluebell in the early days and later the shape became more
like a campanula flower. Early inscriptions would be in Latin, often a simple
“Thanks be to God• or “Praise the Saints•, but during the Plague in the 1530s
“Thank you from deliverance of the Plague• was more likely. “Cockey made me•
was another inscription found on one of the Wiltshire bells, and later on
during Victorian time the inscriptions were made in Latin. Taylors of
Loughborough cast some of the 20th century millennium bells.
The Chairman closed the meeting by giving a vote of thanks
to the speakers.
Mick
Edgeworth
Foxfield Railway at Dilhorne, North Staffordshire, has been
awarded £446,500 from the Heritage Lottery Fund as part of a £693,710 project
to both extend the railway and restore part of the former Foxfield Colliery.
The restoration of this section of the railway between Dilhorne Park and the
former colliery will enable the public to travel over the unique Foxfield Bank,
which is the steepest adhesion worked standard gauge piece of railway line
remaining in the UK.
Etruria Industrial Museum will remain closed to the public
this year while structural problems are overcome. The work of reassembling the
ball mill from Lower Washford Mill at Buglawton, Congleton, Cheshire, will
continue.
Groundwork has successfully secured funding from the
Millennium Commission to develop the site of the Tondu Iron Works, Bridgend, in
an ecologically-informed way, enhancing its self-regeneration and sensitive to
its historical context. Tondu Iron Works has been called “the most complete
Victorian iron works in Wales•.
One third of the Royal Gunpowder Mills is now open to the
public. This unique 175 acre site not only boasts 21 buildings of historic
importance, but also a large area of woodland which contains a deer herd and
the largest heronry in Essex. HIAS is hoping to run a day trip there in the
spring.
One of the four great beam engines at Crossness Pumping
Station, London, has been mechanically restored. The next stage will be to get
the engine in steam.
Standedge Tunnel on the Huddersfield Narrow Canal, Britain’s
longest and deepest canal tunnel was re-opened in May after extensive
restoration work not only involving the tunnel but also building new locks and
bridges. A new visitor centre has been opened at Marsden.
Liverpool Engineers’ Photographic Archive is held in the
Liverpool Records Office. Amongst the 168,000 photographs dating back to the
late nineteenth century is a collection of photographs of every street tram
line.
The tunnels beneath the soft sandstone of Edge Hill,
Liverpool, which were filled with rubbish and forgotten, are to be restored and
opened to the public. Joseph Williamson, also known as The Mad Mole’, was a
millionaire tycoon who saved more than 200 soldiers from poverty after their
return from the Napoleonic Wars. Rather than just giving them money, he set
them to work carving out an underground village including halls and a mansion.
Built on a site of an early Pilkington Glass Works in St
Helens on Merseyside, a new visitor attraction has opened: The World of Glass.
It tells the story of glass through an exhibition and an audio visual show, but
the highlight for IA enthusiasts are the underground tunnels under the Number 9
Tank House, a nineteenth century continuous regenerative glass tank furnace.
The tunnels are monster fuel and exhaust pipes, which carried the hot exhaust
gases from the furnace to the chimney, passing beneath the furnace through
under-floor chambers. Because cheap coal was used in the furnace, tar condensed
and left deposits in the flues, which were set alight, every Saturday night˜not
a healthy option for local residents.
Stoford Mill, Hertfordshire, damaged by fire in 1992, has
been acquired by the Stoford Mill Preservation Trust who intend to restore it
to working order.
In the Haigh Colliery Museum, Kells near Whitehaven,
Cumbria, are two steam-winding engines, one of which has been restored to
working order, and you can get to drive it!
* * * * *
* *
The Phoenix Trust, a foundation headed by Prince Charles,
has pulled out of a controversial £5m project to turn historic Fort Gilkicker,
Gosport, into luxury flats. The plans were approved by Gosport Borough Council
18 months ago but, after opposition from Hampshire County Council, the Trust
withdrew from the scheme and ownership of the fort reverted to the county
council. The scheme had caused outrage from residents as they felt the plans
would ruin the 130-year-old fort, the interior of which is closed off to the
public but the outer grassy banks can be climbed. The Trust felt that the
refurbishment and conversion costs would not be recovered by the sale of the
apartments. The council said that schemes by other developers could be
considered in the future. (Portsmouth Evening News)
DORSET INDUSTRIAL
ARCHAEOLOGY SOCIETY
A letter from John Brown, Acting Secretary of DIAS, to Rosie:
“I enclose a copy of the first Newsletter of our New Series.
Some of our members are hoping to start work on the general recording of
industrial, agricultural, military and transport structures for inclusion in
the Dorset County Council’s Sites and Monuments Record as it has few entries of
this type at present. Dorset is a rather large county so we can only look at
parts at a time, but in this way we hope our active members will get to know
each other and we will learn of their interests and expertise. Some of us are
also using our contacts to make areas, such as local government, aware of our
existence.
It is very important that we have good contact with our
neighbouring Industrial Archaeology Societies and our Newsletter is open to
your Society or any of your members who wish to inform us of work where it will
be of interest to Dorset readers, or where any of our members may be of
assistance. Perhaps at some time we could have a joint visit?•
* * * * *
* *
News from
Coldharbour Mill, Devon: The latest attraction is the
installation of the old puttee production line from Fox Bros, Wellington. In
1908 Fox Bros perfected their famous “Spiral Puttee•, one of their most
profitable lines, which culminated in the production of millions of pairs in
WWI. Despite diminishing demand, the shorter ankle version was still being
manufactured until the time of the Falklands war. Because of this, the Mill has
been able to trace workers from the Fox Bros factories at Cullompton, Uffculme
and Wellington and a reunion has been held at the Mill. (Abridged from
Coldharbour Chronicles, September 2001-Roger Hedge)
Lydney Harbour: The
scene of many a group visit has been the successful recipient of a £873,000
Heritage Lottery Fund grant for the restoration of the harbour, historic
buildings and lock gates. The total project cost is £1.9m and is planned for
completion in 2004. The grant will be confirmed once the detailed designs are
finalised and approved by the Fund. The Environment Agency, which at present
owns the docks, plans to lease the site to a management trust created within
Lydney Docks Partnership. Eventual plans for the site include a marina
development with moorings for about 50 boats. (IWA Journal, November 2001)
New Canal to be
built in Britain: Designers are creating Britain’s first canal for a
century to connect the Great Ouse at Bedford to the Grand Union Canal at Milton
Keynes, thus linking the East Anglian River System to the rest of the canal
network, but British Waterways is considering 9 possible routes for the 20-mile
link. The canal has to cross the M1, and the cheapest option would be to
construct the canal beneath the motorway close to junction 13. But more
dramatic plans are being considered to tackle Brogborough Hill. Designers could
tunnel straight through, use locks or build a lift or wheel, similar to the new
Falkirk wheel on the Forth & Clyde Canal, which is the world’s first
rotating boat lift, capable of moving eight craft at once. As a 21st century
project, they want to emulate the engineering and design skills of the original
canal builders but creating something innovative and dramatic. The canal is
expected to cost between £80m and £150m and be open in 2010. The whole project
includes a new section of canal, two aqueducts, three locks, a tunnel, railway
bridge and a canal basin. (Daily Mail, 22/8/01)
The new Museum Director of the Weald & Downland Open Air
Museum, Singleton, West Sussex is Richard Harris, who succeeds Chris Zeuner
OBE, Museum Director for 27 years, who died in January. Richard has for 23
years been responsible for developing the research and interpretation of the
exhibits at the Museum. Previously he had worked for the Avoncroft Museum of
Buildings at Bromsgrove before becoming part-time assistant to Roy Armstrong,
the Weald & Downland’s founder, in 1975. He took over Dr Armstrong’s title
as Research Director three years later. Richard has played a major part in
developing the Museum’s building conservation training programme and introduced
the M.Sc in Timber Building Conservation taught at the Museum and validated by
Bournemouth University. He has also been instrumental in developing the
Armstrong Library at the Museum, one of the biggest libraries devoted to
vernacular architecture in the country.
As part of a new management structure, Gail Kittle,
formerly marketing officer, becomes Operations Director with responsibility for
daily management of the commercial and administrative functions of the Museum.
Dangerous
Energy: The archaeology of gunpowder and military explosives
manufacture (Wayne D Cocroft) Inevitable secrecy has left this a neglected area
of industrial archaeology. This book, produced by English Heritage, details the
sites used by the industry in Britain and places them in industrial context.
The known remains, be they 17th Century gunpowder works or 1960s sites handling
rocket propellant, are effectively indexed in the gazetteer appendix. 383
in-text diagrams and photos, some in colour. 344pp, soft back. £45.00. (From the
Midlands Counties Military Book & Video Winter 2001 catalogue)
* * * * *
* *
Catalina arrives
at Lee-on-Solent: The former Greenpeace Catalina flying boat
(Consolidated PBY-5A) JV926’ (N423RS) Killer Cat arrived at Lee-on-Solent on
November 10 from Duxford, having been delayed by two days of snow in East
Anglia. The flight took just over an hour. The repaint, which was started at
Duxford, will be completed at its new base and it will be maintained in
airworthy condition for airshow appearances. It joins PBY-5A VP-BPS, which is
being restored by Super Catalina Restoration: it is hoped that this amphibian
will be flying in about 18 months. (See front page of Focus No. 56 for
information)
Digital window on
paper maps: A six-year project to computerise more than 700,000
Ordnance Survey paper maps from the mid-Victorian era onwards was completed in
October. This database is available on a free website www.old-maps.co.uk with copies for sale
via the Internet or on CD-ROM.
Internet project for county’s heritage: Volunteers from Hampshire will be photographing thousands of listed buildings this summer for English Heritage’s Images of England Internet project. The website, run by the National Monuments Record, will form one of the world’s largest free online picture libraries containing information and images of England’s 370,000 listed buildings. The project was awarded a £3.9m Heritage Lottery grant and was initiated three years ago. The prototype website is www.imagesofengland.org.uk (7/01).
Wartime airfield marked: A plaque
to mark the Needs Oar Airfield near Beaulieu was unveiled by Lord Montagu in
July. The 2nd World War airfield was constructed on farmland and was the base
for 120 Hawker Typhoon fighter-bombers, which made missions over France, is
preparation for the D-Day landings and for 4 weeks afterwards, supporting the
advancing troops before moving to bases in France. (Waterside Herald)
HIAS member John
Lindsay is well known for his expertise in ship modelling.
He has been making models for over 50 years and has carried out commissions for
such places as the National Maritime Museum. John had spent three years
restoring the Southern Railways Docks Model, which is in the Southampton
Maritime Museum, and in July he donated his collection of 42 highly detailed
ship models to bring the docks model to life. So pay the Maritime Museum a
visit (it’s free entry) and see John’s models for yourself.
Starting them
young! Pupils from primary schools in Southampton’s inner city
have been taking part in a project to learn more about the history of living
and working on the River Itchen from the mid-19th century to the present day,
sponsored by regeneration cash. They were to interview older people from the local
area.
Homes plan derailed: A plan for homes on the old Meon Valley
railway line at West Meon has hit the buffers after strong protests. Winchester
City Council Planners have thrown out an outline scheme by Sentry Development
for 12 homes on the disused line. (Southern Daily Echo, 21/9/01)
Development bid for eyesore’ cement works: A Shoreham site branded an industrial eyesore could be redeveloped with the creation of 2,000 new jobs. The old Blue Circle Cement Works and Quarry, in Shoreham Road, is to be transformed. Part of the site is used for storage but the majority of it has been left empty and deteriorating for the past ten years. The majority of the site, together with the largest of the old buildings, lies on the east side of the A283 Shoreham to Beeding road and this area is set to become a business park in a landscaped setting, together with a hotel and leisure facilities. On the smaller part of the side west of the A283, there will be residential development. (Newspaper item submitted by Gerald Davies)
Housing bid: Plans to demolish the Flying Boat public house (formerly the Officer’s Mess
for the Naval Air Station at Calshot, Hampshire) and build social housing have
been turned down by the New Forest District Council, although Fawley Parish
Council had supported the scheme. The building has been the subject of several
differing planning applications over the past few years. (November 2001)
Hampshire tollhouse restored: A unique survivor of the days
of toll-roads has survived between Bishop’s Waltham and Wickham. The historic
Grade II listed cottage is reputed to date from 1775 and is nearing completion
of a careful restoration, with the addition of a single storey extension. The
property is aptly named Tolgate Cottage. In the original cottage is a small
entrance lobby with a staircase up to the first floor and a door into a ground
floor bedroom suite featuring a brick fireplace opening. Upstairs is a bedroom
with bathroom.
* * * * *
* *
SERIAC Bursaries
Gerald Davies
The Organising Committee of the South East Regional IA
Conference has decided that part of the surplus funds accumulated from past
conferences should be made available in the form of Annual Bursaries to assist
with relevant research in our region. These can vary in value from £50 to £250,
which it is hoped will promote and encourage IA research and restoration to be
more extensively undertaken.
The nature of the work can be diverse and the Bursaries can
cover both direct and indirect activities, such as fieldwork, recording,
archive studies, preparation and publication of papers and reports. For
example, in the year 2000, it was decided to award the Bursary to the British
Engineerium Trust for work on the Eolienne Bollée Windpump from a monastery
south of Cowfold in Sussex, to assist with the cost of the removal of the pump
to the Engineerium at Brighton and its subsequent erection on a new site near
to the original one, which was inaccessible to the general public.
When applying for a Bursary, it will necessarily require
details of the research project, a statement of need for funds, together with
approximate costings and the anticipated timescale involved. Further details
can be obtained from the Secretary of the SERIAC Organising Committee - Mr. R G
Martin, 42 Falmer Avenue, BRIGHTON, BN2 8FG (tel: 01273 - 271330). SERIAC can
be found on their website at www.seriac.co.uk - this site should be linked to
those of other IA Societies.
www.industrial-archaeology.org.uk
This is the website address of the AIA - the Association for
Industrial Archaeology. A press release in June by Michael Messenger, the AIA’s
“Webmaster•, said that, since going independent in January, the site had
attracted 2,178 visitors. It is regularly updated with the diary, I A Review
pages, a contents and subject index. The site has joined the Industrial
Archaeology Web Ring, which will help promote the Association. A page listing
the Affiliated Societies was due to be added with details and contact for each
member.
AIA Conference 2001
Rodney Hall
What might Perkin’s Diesels, Grimes Graves, Barrington
Cement Works, Tattersall’s racehorse market and punting along The Backs, all
have in common? Some of you may realise they are sited in, or within easy reach
of, Cambridge and in August 2001 they, along with other sites, were visited by
members attending this year’s Association for Industrial Archaeology
Conference. And yes, yours truly got lumΠer Πaccepted the invitation to write
a report of the Conference for Focus. The event was very successful and enjoyable,
and continued the format of recent years, with a seminar on the Friday, the
Conference and A.G.M. over the weekend and field trips over four days in the
following week. Among those present were the most northerly SUIAG members, Pam
and Laurie Draper, who wish to be remembered to all friends.
The seminar is usually a time when we get to hear from
professional’ industrial archaeologists. This year they were a little thin on
the ground so some members’ contributions’ were included, all under the title
of “current research and thinking in I.A.• Kicking off, Paul Sowan came above
ground (which was most unusual for him!) in discussing research of possible
transport routes by which minerals and stone, especially Reigate Stone, were
distributed from the mines around east Surrey, mainly to London. Most previous
research into the stone mines had been investigating and recording the workings
below ground.
Ray Riley mused Œ well, we all know what it’s like when he
gets musing on a subject. Suffice to say Artefacts versus Context gave everyone something to think about in
considering a holistic approach to items of I.A. He urged a balance between
artefacts and context; between the traditional I.A. emphasis on field recording
and narrow interpretation and the wider environment which gave rise to them.
The professionals’ weighed in with John Crompton (National
Museums of Scotland) having a close investigation into the Newcomen engine at
Elsecar and describing some of the things he found out about the engine. The
story of its ceasing to work because of a cracked cylinder is untrue as the
cylinder is whole (there are cracks elsewhere). Several parts of the engine
were found to differ from the drawings in archives, often a trap for the
inexperienced who make the assumption that drawings are correct! Whether the
engine is restored and steamed remains to be seen.
Crossing the border into Scotland, Miles Oglethorpe (Royal
Commission on Ancient and Historic Monuments of Scotland) gave a recent history
of the coal mining industry in Scotland. Basically the same as England ˜closure
into non-existence. No vertical winding shafts are in use, the one remaining
deep mine (from 281 on Nationalisation) has a drift (inclined tunnel) entrance.
The heritage record of the coal industry there, as in England, is appalling,
there apparently being an obsession with making the remains disappear. Records
and artefacts have been mostly deliberately destroyed, with random photographs
and snippets in local papers sometimes the only record. The RCAHMS has
attempted to record surviving remains and retrospectively record mines.
Staying North of the Border, New Lanark, at present under
consideration for World Heritage status by the relevant UNESCO committee, was
given an update by Jim Arnold. [About the time you read this in December, the
decision on the new sites will be announced; so watch out to see if New Lanark,
along with Saltaire and Derwent Valley have been selected]. The restoration of
Mill Number One’ as an hotel was described as an example of the techniques and
form of the development of the village.
Back for subject and speaker in England, the distribution of
18th century textile mills in Cheshire and Lancashire was considered by Mike
Nevell. Most surviving textile sites are 19th and 20th century but some earlier
mills can be identified. Arkwright mills were the top-of-the-range’ type while
the great majority of these early mills were much smaller and more cheaply
built. Traditionally, fast-flowing streams were thought of as sites for mills but
this was not the sole criterion as many mills were horse powered. Social
distribution appeared more important than the traditional streams and
Manchester’s humidity on the siting of mills. A first introduction to the very
important local subject of fen drainage was discussed by hydrologer Henry
Gunston. Fen drainage can be divided into field drainage and land drainage -
i.e. before and after water collects in ditches. Moves to drain the fens went
in fits and starts, the Romans being the first to seriously attempt it and much
was done in Tudor and Stuart times. Internal drainage boards still exist but
more recently changes of administration have taken place in 1948, 1964, 1974,
1989 and 1996.
Member Derek Brumhead brought us up-to-date regarding
activities in New Mills with photographs of the imposing Millennium Walkway
providing a link between recreational areas and excellent views of the
important and still at risk’ Tor Vale Mill.
Paul Sowan, this time back underground, showed slides from a
Subterranea Britannica visit to Cold War and World War II bunkers and other
underground structures in former East Germany. Some sites are still in original
use, some now museums and others tucked away in the countryside open to anyone
coming across them.
Ian Mitchell reported on recording work done at the Midland
Railway sheet stores (tarpaulin works) near Derby. Established in 1840 as a
canal/railway interchange, the site expanded until 1899 and was sold by BR in
1960. A still largely complete site in alternative use’. John Watts showed
video footage of diesel pumping plant working as it was meant to in the
Somerset levels. Much stand-by plant had to be brought into use as a
consequence of the exceptionally wet weather over last winter.
The main Conference got under way with, as usual, an
overview of the industrial history of the locality where the conference was
being held. For this purpose Cambridgeshire was regarded throughout the
conference as the post-1974 county, incorporating the old Huntingdonshire, Isle
of Ely and Soke of Peterborough. Starting in 1500BC with part of a wheel and
Roman quarries, Don Unwin spent most time with traditional I.A., including
agriculture, blacksmiths, breweries, brickworks, bridges, buildings, canals and
waterways, communications, fen pumping, foundries, malting, milestones, public
utilities, railways, turnpikes, watermills and windmills.
Fen drainage has been such an important feature of the area
north of Cambridge and two further talks were given over to the subject.
Firstly Nicholas James presented a history of draining the Great Level. In
this, distinction was made between the peat fen and silt fen. Between 1624 and
1664, there was a concentration on banking the rivers, imposing a geometric
landscape on a chaotic’ landscape, the initiative for this mainly coming from
London. From 1664 to 1821 the emphasis was on pumping, initially by wind, and
was a more local initiative. When Daniel Defoe made his tour of England (1720s)
there were around 800 wind-powered pumps; today there are none operating. More
modern pumping and pumping stations was covered by Keith Hinde. Steam power was
first applied in 1817. It might be thought that the well-established Cornish
mine pumping technology would be used. However in Cornwall the requirement was
for pumping relatively small amounts of water up great distances whereas in the
fens it was raising large amounts of water only small distances. Some Cornish
pumps were tried but suffered, from among other things, a problem with weeds.
So scoop wheels were mainly used. These, too, had problems as the ground level
dropped with the shrinkage as the peat dried and had to be enlarged in diameter
to remain effective. Centrifugal pumps became increasingly common, especially
with oil engine pumping sets, introduced in the 1890s. Electricity is now
universally used with automatic stopping and starting as the water level in the
ditches demands.
With a complete change of subject, Mike Petty described his
detective work in tracking down early commercial photographers in Cambridge
through street directories and examples of their work. Slides of many early
photographs were shown.
After the formal dinner on the Saturday, Bernard Ambrose put
forward thoughts on some of the machines that Leonardo da Vinci sketched in his
notebooks. Most of his designs were not translated into working examples in his
times but models were demonstrated of how some might have looked and worked if
they had been.
The Conference ended with Stuart Smith’s thoughts on the
development of museums; both how they have developed up to now and how they are
likely to develop in the foreseeable future. As Chief Executive of the
Trevithick Trust and formerly Director of Ironbridge, and before that heavily
involved in the rescue and restoration of Ryhope pumping engines, he is in a
good position to review the situation. Open-air museums first appeared in
Scandinavia, Amberley, Beamish, Black Country and Ironbridge based on those
ideas with various degrees of authenticity and contrived settings. Site-based
museums have been generally volunteer-run, as also those of high technology.
Preservation of structures in situ and converted to other uses. It looks like
there will be an increasing split between ownership and management as less risk
to artefacts as has happened in Cornwall with the Trevithick Trust in the
management rôle.
Those still awake could attend lectures in the evenings
after field trips and dinner. However, they were well supported. At one time
there were many ironfounders, engineers and millwrights in Cambridgeshire which
operated over the years. Some of these became quite substantial businesses,
usually headed by one family over several generations. Peter Filby
comprehensively covered all the main firms, illustrating the talk with
photographs of products and premises.
Right! Put up your hands, those of you who know what
coprolites’ are and what they were used for. O.K. Now, for those without their
hands up, the most widely accepted theory is that they are fossilised dinosaur
dung. No, I kid you not˜this is serious stuff! [Whether the dinosaurs thought
so is not known.] They are of the Πum Πshape and size one might expect from
such a source! Incidentally, there are many different ways of spelling
coprolite’ in the records; Bernard O’Connor has found a total of 13 - unlucky
number - do the dinosaurs come in here again!?? Anyway, coprolites are small,
often curved, stones and are found in a thin stratum forming a band stretching
from west Suffolk to Buckinghamshire. Their importance lies in their high phosphate
content. A process of treating with sulphuric acid was developed in 1842
producing the first superphosphate fertilisers. The use of coprolites
diminished with the coming of cheaper, high phosphate, substances so that the
industry died out in the 1890s, apart from a small brief revival in World War I
for use in explosives. Nothing remains of this forgotten industry, apart from
some otherwise insignificant quarries.
Do you remember, while idly reading the labels at the
breakfast or tea table, coming across the place name “Histon, Cambridge•? If
so, you were looking at the jam pot, although Chivers [now you recall it!!] did
diversify into other foods. Always in the Chivers family, it is a good example
of the rags-to-rags in three generations’ business. Don Unwin took us through
the establishment of the firm beside Histon railway station in 1873. Business
was built up, as so often, by following a policy of ploughing back profits and
doing as much in-house as possible, the factory having carpenters, blacksmiths,
builders, etc, on the payroll. The second generation consolidated the business.
However, after the Second World War came a time of lack of investment, drive
and modernisation by the third generation of Chivers. The equipment became
outdated and inefficient. What a wonderful field visit it would have made, but
sadly closure came in the 1980s. Like the adjoining railway station, the
buildings have been demolished and houses built on the site, only a small
weighbridge building remaining.
Is horse-racing an industry? Certainly many people are
employed in the activity with Newmarket regarded as the centre. Enthusiastic
monarchs˜Stephen, Henry VIII, Elizabeth and James I˜gave weight to the title
the Sport of Kings’. The history was told by Hilary Bracegirdle in a talk
suitably illustrated.
The A.G.M. of the A.I.A. was, as most society A.G.Ms. are,
with no major changes and gradual changes in active personnel. Two awards were
presented for I.A. activities. One was for restoration of the bottom incline of
the Vivian slate quarry at Llanberis, North Wales. Those who know the town at
the foot of Snowdon, this is the prominent quarry near Dinorwig adjoining the
Slate Museum and station of the Llanberis Lake Railway. The recording award was
presented for the report of the engineering investigation on Stephenson’s
“Rocket• locomotive: a book, produced from the report, has been subsequently
published.
Having dealt with sitting, listening and making notes, what
about getting out and looking? On offer for the field trips were:- 7
walk-abouts (Cambridge, Ely, Kings Lynn, Newmarket, Reach, Swaffham Bulbeck,
Thorney), 5 drainage pumping stations (Hundred Foot, Marshland Smeeth,
Prickwillow, Streatham and Willingham), 4 museums (Burrell, Duxford, Horse
Racing, Stained Glass), 2 boat trips (Cambridge and Sudbury), 2 brickworks
(Bulmer and Kingsdyke), 2 bridges (Culford cast iron and Moulton packhorse), 2
drainage sluices (Earith and Denver), 2 flour mills (Foster’s Cambridge &
Eagle, Downham Market), 2 limekilns (Isleham and Rushford), 2 navigation locks
(Mildenhall flash lock and Salters pound lock), and Duxford aircraft
restoration base, Elgood’s brewery, Ely cathedral, Barrington cement works,
Euston corn mill, Perkins diesel engine assembly line, Little Barford
electricity generation station, Colford farm, Grimes Graves flint mines,
Burwell lead foundry, Cheddar Lane sewage pumping station, Soham steelyard,
Haverhill textile mill, Denver windmill, Wicken Fen windpump.
Up to three trips
ran concurrently so that it was impossible to visit all the places. There is
only room to mention the most memorable for the author. In spite of the
historic emphasis of I.A., these were the still active processes, where you can
see something happening. The Perkins Diesel assembly line, where the assembly
of medium and small size engines was seen. Computers having a lot of input
especially which engine in the range was being produced and when. Automated
assembly has progressed far but much manual input is required especially in
rectifying any faulty components.
Much has been written about Hoffman kilns for the production
of lime and bricks, so it was interesting to see them in use at Kingsdyke
brickworks. The progress of the Oxford clay from quarry, through the
preparation and production of bricks before putting in the kiln. Another
industry from quarry to kiln is cement-making and the small (relatively) cement
works at Barrington with strata of chalk and clay being dug and carried to the
preparation plant by standard gauge railway (the only quarry still served so in
the UK), including wagon tipplers was rewarding. Again the now rare wet
preparation process was seen in action where the ingredients are mixed into a
slurry before being put into the long 440ft rotary kiln. Electrical control
panels which now look dated are still used but with computer inputs. From the
talks much had been said about fen drainage so that the trips to various
locations with the different features brought the inter-related functions of
banks, pumps, washes and sluices into context. Denver Sluice is justly famous,
the writer being intrigued by an account saying it was “blown up•; in reality
just demolished, by the joint action of high tide and inland flooding in 1713.
Incidentally, I assume that those who had their hands up
about coprolites will have got tired long before now and put them somewhere
else!
Next year the Conference is to be held in Scotland, at
Heriot-Watt University just outside Edinburgh and from the flyer’ distributed
at Cambridge the field trips promise to be as interesting as ever. So, along
with the usual talks, bookstalls and socialising’ (or is the present in’ word
“networking•?), what goodies might be in store? Among the options for field
visits are likely to be:- a view of Forth rail and road bridges, Forth &
Clyde Canal with the Falkirk Millennium canal wheel, Loch Katrine and the
steamship Sir Walter Scott, the Island of Bute, New Lanark, Carron Ironworks
remains, Paisley cotton mills, woollen mills, remains of lime, iron, coal and
salt industries and much more, including of course a whisky
distillery˜Glenkinchie˜a lesser known one, is proposed. So those who don’t want
to miss the highlight of the I.A. year, put an engaged’ mark against the dates
September 6-12th 2002. It occurs to me that there are around 140 members of
HIAS and about 140 people attend an A.I.A. conference; but don’t all rush at
once, we would like to leave some room for people from other parts of the
country. Application details are usually available in February, and Rosie will
have them when they appear; or Mary and Tony Yoward are the people to contact
(4 Slipper Mill, Emsworth, Hants, PO10 8XD).
Ray Riley
Members might like to know that the Association for
Industrial Archaeology is running a two day conference on 6-7 April at
Ironbridge on The Modification of Port Structures. As we have seen in
Southampton, the container revolution and jumbo jets have brought drastic
changes to ports, resulting in widespread demolition and some re-use of
remaining buildings. However, a few ports have suffered less than others.
Speakers will look at the changes in a wide range of ports ranging from London,
Bristol, Liverpool and the ports of northern England, to the specialised ports
to be found on inland waterways and the naval dockyards. The introductory
overview is being given by Edwin Course, who will no doubt refer to Southampton
in making his points.
The Conference includes a Saturday afternoon field trip