FOCUS on Industrial Archaeology No. 66, June 2006
Gerald's Walk,
IA remnants in
Recommissioning of
'Lord Nelson' at
Beaulieu Tide Mill
Meetings and
Activities
December 2005 -
January 2006 - The
Two Queen Marys
February - The
March - Quiz Time
April - Colonel
Stephens, the Man and his Railways
May - History of
the Hythe Pier and Ferry
Reports
Our Archive
SERIAC 2006
Maritime News
Rescue &
Restoration Section
Southampton &
District Transport Heritage Trust
Twyford Waterworks
Trust
Miscellanea
Gerald's Walk,
by Carol Burdekin
On Saturday 25th March, 12 of us met Gerald “under the
clock” at Waterloo Station to repeat a walk we did about the same time last
year. This time we started at Camden Locks so we could take in the Canal Museum
in New Wharf Road, which was about to close when we arrived there late
afternoon last year. The
After a lovely sunny and warm morning it started to rain
a bit, but we carried on regardless and Alison managed to “pick up” and got
talking to, a very knowledgeable gentleman who told us more about the canal
and, equally interesting, that he had attempted to stand for Mayor of London
when the position was first created. Because of the rain, which was more
persistent by mid-afternoon, we cantered along the canal and arrived at
Limehouse to get a Docklands Light Railway train back towards
Victoria Park
During our walk and exactly the same as last year, when
we came to
Seen as a panacea for social and moral ills, public parks
in the 19th Century were formed to provide recreation and health for the urban
poor. Public parks sprang up in the cities of Victorian England from north to
south, but mainly concentrated in the industrialised north from about
1800-1885. Not only beneficial to health and well- being, Victorian parks
produced a revolution in Victorian horticulture and influenced the development
of public parks and urban landscapes throughout the 20th Century.
Although not in the industrialised north, Victoria Park
in
Nevertheless, a designer was appointed for the park and
this was James Pennethorne [1801-1871] whose father was related to the second
wife of John Nash [
Unfortunately, a lot of the original monuments designed
and commissioned by Pennethorne have now disappeared, including his magnificent
entrance gates which were destroyed in the war. A modern bandstand has replaced
the original one and amongst the other lost features are the Aviary, sandpit,
waterfall, Japanese miniature garden, Moorish Arcade, boat house, swimming pool
and the bronze boy fountain. Fortunately, the drinking fountain donated by Miss
Angela Burdett-Coutts [1812-1906] of the Coutts Banking family, which cost
about £6,000, is still there. Miss Coutts was a very wealthy woman, a social
reformer and friend of Charles Dickens, whose annual income was reputed to be
in the region of £80,000 - a vast amount in those days. At the age of 50 Miss
Coutts forfeited her fortune when, after turning down many suitors, eventually
married a man 21 years younger than herself. It is reported that the marriage
was a successful and happy one. The fountain, which we didn't have time to look
at, is now Listed and in the care of English Heritage.
At the time, the concept of rational recreation was
considered physically beneficial to the individual as a way of preventing the
falling into of bad habits and, in 1895, the park boasted 32 cricket pitches,
32 tennis courts and 4 gymnasiums. Needless to say, these were “men only”, but
the women did eventually get a tennis court after much petitioning. A bathing
lake was also added after complaints from local residents of young men swimming
naked in the nearby canal. In 1852, a
visiting American thought the park excellent, especially the pagoda [now
gone].
Fund-raising for the park continued and the money for the
miniature Japanese garden [now gone] was donated by the Mayor of Tokyo. The
park authorities were proud of the finished result, and thought they had
created an authentic Japanese garden, and a diplomat from the Japanese Embassy
was duly invited to its grand opening along with other dignitaries. It is
reported, though, that when asked what he thought about its authenticity, he
said “he had never seen anything like it”.
Long before the park was built, different groups such as
the Chartists and Suffragettes would hold meetings on the land, and the
authorities hoped that when the park was created these unofficial meetings
would end, but they continued in the park instead, and eventually this part of
the park was to be known as the “mini speaker’s corner”. Another tradition, and
this was an official one this time, was started in 1879 when surplus plants
were given away to the deserving poor, but they had to prove they were
deserving by obtaining a chitty from the Local Authority.
Public Parks
There are about 27,000 parks in
Work has now started on “
After years of neglect and under-funding, the
rehabilitation of our national parks has begun. Due to the change in the law a
few years ago, when local authorities were compelled to put out services to tender,
parks seemed to have suffered more than most. Due to a lack of skilled labour
and no one to pass on accumulated knowledge and years of experience, the parks
have suffered with the result that we now have crumbling monuments, silted
lakes, and no new planting of trees, shrubs and plants to replace dying and
diseased ones. Fortunately, the Heritage Lottery Public Parks Initiative is now
addressing these problems, but it is a national disgrace that this has taken so
long.
Finally, although the Royal Parks have not suffered quite
the same fate because they are funded direct from central government, they are
nevertheless under pressure to make money. This pressure is coming from the
likes of Ken Livingstone and Tessa Jowell, who have told them to make more
money, and who seem to see our Royal parks “as
akin to
We seem to have lost sight of what our public parks were
created for. They are for public congregation, and above all as a quiet place
to go for city dwellers to get away from the hurly burly of modern life and for
those not fortunate enough to be able to visit the countryside regularly. As
Simon Jenkins says, “there is no lobby
for peace-in-the-park because there was once no need. As a result, profit-in-the-park
is on the rampage”.
Public parks were a catalyst to the Industrial
Revolution, a haven for the working class, and it’s up to all of us to make
sure that they do not become yet another “slippery slope” syndrome, where
something that is owned by us is gradually taken from us.
IA remnants in Berlin
by Roger Hedge
Wendy and I have just been to
Two items relate to transport.
The most dramatic is the preserved canal lifting bridge
operated by four separate spoked wheels of the type to be seen steering sailing
ships. This bridge, the Jungfernbruecke built in 1798, is the oldest surviving
bridge in
The next scene is on line 2 of the Unterbahn [U2] at
Kaisserstrasse station. This is on one of the old lines and still sports its
early tile finish, including station names in Gothic script. The wall display
here has been extended “recently” to display a whole range of models of trains,
trams and buses used in
Finally, there are several paintings in the Alte
Nationalgalerie showing IA material. For me, the most intriguing and
informative was of the “Flax Barn at Laren” 1887 in
Then there are the mills. The more Dante-like portrayal is of the inside of “The Iron Rolling Mill” 1872-1875 probably based on several mills visited by the artist Adolph Mendel, including one in upper Silesia. An earlier view of the setting of the “Neustadt-Eberwolde Rolling Mill” c.1830 is bordering on the murky “pastoral”.
Additionally, there is the “inevitable” van Gogh “Moulin de la Galette” 1886. More on the fringe is a village scene “Organgrinder in Zandvoort” 1883. Should anyone want copies from my catalogue [for research purposes, of course!] get in touch.
Recommissioning of 'Lord Nelson' at
Eastleigh works, 3 May 2006
by Nigel Smith
It was to be a fitting end to locomotive construction at
Invited guests, sponsors and local dignitaries mixed with
the ERPS team who were wearing bespoke overalls with the ERPS and Lord Nelson
inscriptions, specially produced for the occasion. Alstom, the site owners,
generously provided a suitable part of the works complex for the ceremony which
was cleaned up and even had carpeting laid: in addition they sponsored a
catering firm to provide refreshments and all the other facilities needed for
such an event.
Princess Anne arrived from another local engagement and
was presented to officials representing
There followed time to enjoy the buffet and, after the
departure of HRH, ‘Lord Nelson’ was carefully moved outside into the sunshine
for the benefit of photographers and more posed group pictures of the very
proud ERPS team.
Although the loco was able to move under its own steam, there still remain some finishing touches to complete the work necessary for mainline running. This mostly involves fitting the various electrical recording and safety devices that are now required to run on the main line. When this is finished, ‘Lord Nelson’ will be towed by rail to the West Somerset Railway for running-in before it starts its programme of mainline trips.
It is worth pointing out that this was yet another
project that only succeeded due to the substantial financial support of the
Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), and one wonders what the future holds for similar
heritage projects when increasing amounts of Lottery income is diverted to
support the 2012 Olympics in
Beaulieu Tide Mill
by Angela and Nigel
Smith
In the early hours of
More than 50 firefighters were called to the blaze
(including those from Beaulieu’s own fire station 50 yards away in a side
road), further fuelled when the flames reached an adjacent room to the tide
mill which was the store for some of the Beaulieu Estate’s wine and cognac.
Considering the limited access to the mill and that the interior was built of
very dry wood, the fire personnel did a superb job to restrict the main damage
to one end, the top floor and roof of the mill, but the contents of the wine
store was completely destroyed. The main road through the village was closed
for much of the day while broken tiles, charred wood and glass were swept up.
We drove to Beaulieu via a long detour (normally takes about 7 minutes) and arrived just as the last fire engine was leaving. Meridian TV was filming. When we spoke to the police personnel, at that time an electrical fault was suspected.
The tiled roof and windows had been replaced several
years ago. Members from HIAS’s Rescue & Restoration Section and the
Hampshire Mills Group carried out a day’s clean-up in August 2002 prior to a
visit by the SPAB Mills Section, but otherwise no work had been done inside as
the Estate has been trying to obtain funding to restore the machinery.
Following the fire, John Silman was in touch with the
Beaulieu Estate Office to offer any help that Hampshire Mills Group could
provide. This offer was taken up and Friday 28th April saw a small group of
members gather for work before
It was our first opportunity to get inside the mill and
view the effects of the fire at close quarters, and it was a pleasant surprise
to see that the damage was not as bad as at first appeared. Although much of
the recently restored roof above the milling floors has been lost or damaged
beyond repair, the ground floor and all its machinery seems only to have
suffered from some superficial water damage. On the first floor the picture was
mixed with some damage to the gear wheels and sack hoists, but the floor is
largely intact although covered in debris. However, on the top floor half of
the grain bins have been totally destroyed along with a sack hoist.
The group made a start on clearing debris on the first
floor, taking great care to make sure the boards were capable of taking the
weight of a person before starting any vigorous activity. We managed to remove
about one and a half skip loads of material, mostly charred wood and broken
tiles. Any remains that looked worth saving for re-use or documentary purposes
were carefully stored on the ground floor. As work progressed we tried to
photographically record the remains for future reference.
At the end of a hard day’s efforts we had made good
progress in clearing the first floor, but more remained to be done at the end
of the building nearest to where the fire started. Towards the end of our stay
we were visited by the Hon. Ralph Montagu, who is the owner, and he thanked us
all for our work and enthusiasm.
A further clearing session, with the same 6 volunteers,
took place on May 19th when the rest of the debris on the first floor was
cleared, the top (bin) floor cleared (with the utmost caution on where to
stand) and a start made on the ground floor, where some more small original
items were uncovered including one of the bells. Unfortunately the skip was
filled to nearly overflowing by mid-afternoon so we had to call a halt. Two
further sessions in June saw the final clearance on the ground floor. Scaffolding
around the roof was being erected towards the end of May so that contractors
could make a start on removing the burnt roof timbers.
John Reynolds has donated his very fine drawings of the
mill machinery to the HMG archive and millwright Martin Watts has carried out a
survey of the damage to the machinery and is putting together a plan for its
restoration. Let's hope that all this attention may help kick-start a scheme
for the eventual full restoration of the mill and its machinery.
Meetings
by Carol Burdekin
December’s meeting found us being entertained with Mobile Movie Memories presented by Jack
and Ann Bath who have been collecting films for over 20 years. Jack said he
thought the Society would appreciate the theme of “Earthworks” with films made
to support rail and road transport. They brought along two projectors, an 8mm
and a 16mm.
The first film was a 1950s British Transport-made film showing a train delivering goods to Southampton Docks, and then a look back to the engineering works where the train was originally built. Before Jack showed us the second film of the Severn Tunnel, he let us see some slides which he had taken of the Severn Estuary so we could recognise some of the land marks in the film. The film was made in 1959 to illustrate the many difficulties in the construction of the four-mile long tunnel and, considering how many difficulties there were, it was a wonder the tunnel was ever completed! But it was and, in 1886, the first train travelled through without incident.
The next film was made by an amateur film-maker called Mr
Morris entitled the “Queen Mary, a Morris Movie” which was obviously shot from
a nearby boat, as it was a bit on the shaky side. Nonetheless it was an
entertaining film in colour with excellent shots of the Queen Mary from every
angle. Following that was a brief history of civil engineering which took us
through the training of young engineers for the future. When it was first
built, we had the greatest railway system in the world, so we needed good civil
engineers, and to train them involved a long apprenticeship. They not only had
to have a good knowledge of mathematical calculations, they also had to learn
about the different sorts of soil and general ground conditions to facilitate
the huge weight of the train engines and rolling stock.
The last film of the evening was closer to home with a
film showing the construction of the
If we were able to have ice cream in the interval it
would really have felt as if we were at the “movies”, but we made do with
seasonal mince pies and coffee instead.
January’s meeting was attended by about 65 members and 2
new members to hear our first speaker of 2006, David Maine, on The Two Queen Marys - the Old and the New.
David’s main object was to put over how completely different the two ships are.
As officer in charge of Engine Room No 1 on the first Queen Mary [1959-1961]
David had completed 50 Atlantic crossings and, although now retired, is still
heavily involved with the sea and in particular with Portsmouth Dockyard’s
Historic Trust.
For the technically minded amongst us, David explained at
length the difference between the two propulsion systems of the ships
accompanied by superb detailed diagrams. The first Queen Mary was built in
The QM2 was built for luxury, rather than speed, with a
life expectancy of about 40 years and weighing 150,000 tons and carrying 2,620
passengers and 1253 crew. Built in
February’s talk was on The Wey & Arun Canal Trust by Tony Pratt who has been involved
in the Trust for over 15 years. Tony told us that the object of the Trust is to
restore the 23 miles of canal built 200 years ago between the Rivers Wey and
Arun for public use. The strategic importance of the
The Wey & Arun Canal Society was founded in 1970 to
restore the canal and became a charitable trust in 1973. Since then 9 locks, 23
bridges and an aqueduct have been restored and, if this was not enough, their biggest
challenge is yet to come when they will try and take the canal under the B2133
at
Built to run between the River Wey at Shalford just south
of Guildford, and the River Arun at Pallingham 2 miles north west of
Pulborough, the canal was built in two sections and for 50 years carried basic
cargo including coal and timber and, for about 3 years, there were monthly
shipments of gold bullion from Portsmouth to the Bank of England. Accompanied
by slides showing the progress of the restoration work, Tony also showed us a
video titled “The Lost Wey to the Sea” which was made in 2002 with himself and
dog using a small collapsible boat [The Frog] following the route of the canal
all the way down to the sea. Obviously not all navigable anymore, with Tony
having to fold his little boat and pull it along a lot of the route, it did
illustrate very well that in the 19th century it was possible to travel by boat
from London to Littlehampton on the south coast of England via Weybridge,
Guildford, Pulborough and Arundel.
Unfortunately, with the spread of the railways in
March was Quiz Time
set by Bob Smith. I suspect that as Bob usually wins the quiz, he felt it would
be kinder to the rest of us to set it instead, and give someone else a chance
of winning! There were 60 questions in all with a good variety giving us all a
chance to get some correct answers. John Silman operated the projector and
kindly gave us one or two clues when the going got tough. In the end Keith
[Andrews] won with 42 correct answers, Bill [White] came second with 41, and
Ruth [Andrews] third with 40. Not so many members present as usual, which is a
bit surprising as the Quiz nights are always good fun, and certainly everyone
present seemed to have had a good time.
April’s meeting was a sell out with well over a 100 members
present to hear John Blackwell’s presentation on Colonel Stephens, The Man and his Railways. Accompanied by slides, John
told us that Holman Fred Stephens [1868-1931] who, after serving in WW1, was
always know as the Colonel, never married and was a lonely and autocratic man,
but extremely successful in his chosen career. The son of F G Stephens, a
Pre-Raphaelite artist and critic, he studied civil engineering at university,
and in 1888 his father arranged for him to join the Metropolitan Railway at their
Neasden works as a pupil of John Hanbury, a distinguished engineer.
As a young engineer, H F Stephens became associated with
the construction and management of light railways and remained committed to
them until he died. From a small office in Tonbridge, Stephens presided over
railway systems that stretched from
Colonel Stephens was undoubtedly a man of his time and
had he survived into the 1930s - he died unexpectedly in 1931 - he would have
witnessed all his hard work disintegrating. It is only now with the revival of
the Kent & East Sussex and other minor lines around the country that has
created a renewed interest in Colonel Stephens and his extraordinary
achievements.
After a thoroughly interesting talk, and John’s obvious
enthusiasm for his subject, it came as no surprise to learn that John had spent
all his working life with London Transport, ending up as Commercial Manager for
the construction of the Jubilee Line extension to Docklands and
May’s talk was on the History
of the Hythe Pier & Ferry by
The history of the Pier started in the late 1800s and, on
Sarah ended her talk inevitably, as it had been big local
news, with the disaster which struck the Pier on
Reports
Our Archive
By Roger Hedge, Archivist
This is to update members on what is now in the archives
of HIAS/SUIAG. Firstly, for clarification, it is helpful to answer the query
about why some material is at the
To aid members who might wish to locate specific material
in future, I have been asked to outline what is where. A detailed list would
take several pages, so I will only outline what type of material can be located
at the different sites. The University holds far and away the greatest volume
of material, not least because it has a complete set of Focus and the Journal
but also because it holds many individual past members’ sets of papers.
All the past members' material can be accessed through www.archives.lib.soton.ac and entering SUIAG MS79 in the search box.
This gives a cross-reference to further collections MS224 with a sub-collection
MS224/33 that holds many papers by Monica Ellis and Professor James to do with
Ice Houses.
The Record Office, however, covers the setting up of
SUIAG, through Bill White’s personal file of papers from 1968-79 containing
details of the founding of SUIAG [July 1968] and Minutes of Committee meetings,
reports and correspondence from 1968-71. Along with this is the History of
SUIAG [as published by Edwin] and details of our emergence as HIAS. The Record
Office is more than happy, for reasons of space, simply to cross-reference the
University deposits and I have provided them with the relevant Web-links. Their
web access is http://calm.hants.gov.uk/DserveA/search.htm
and the HIAS reference number for entry into the FindingNo Box is 92A05.
The Record Office also holds ten publications by Monica
Ellis under the reference 64M96. This contrasts with the University material
which largely relates to the originating studies for these papers. There is a
collection of material about the Schultze Gunpowder Works that is nothing to do
with HIAS. I am expecting this to be cross-referenced under the HIAS entry in
due course.
At this date, our contact at the University is Dr Chris
Woolgar and at the Record Office it is David Rymil.
by Andy Fish
This year’s SERIAC was hosted by the Sussex Industrial
Archaeology Society at the Mickerson Hall, St Richards Hospital,
The setting up of
the Connected Earth Project:- Fred Stanford gave his talk on setting up the
Connected Earth Project at
Unfortunately Roger Morgan was unable to give his talk on
Pluto (Pipe Line Under the Ocean) as he is convalescing after breaking his hip.
His place was taken by Harry Pearman. His talk was entitled A Moles Eye View of South East England.
Harry’s talk was about deneholes. These are man-made underground structures
consisting of a number of small chalk caves entered through a vertical shaft.
There has been much debate on the use of these holes - some are of the opinion
that they were flint mines while others think they were used for the storage of
corn. Subsequent investigation by The Kent Archaeology Group and The Kent
Underground Research Group confirms these holes were no more than small chalk
mines. The chalk was used to fertilise the soil.
After lunch Allan Green gave an interesting talk titled Among Those Satanic Mills, the rise of
industry in the Georgian period.
Next Vic Mitchell gave a talk entitled Middleton Press & other Midhurst
mysteries. The talk was based on the many developments Vic has developed
over the years including high speed air drills for the dentist, water savers
and a system of resin encapsulation, before going on to explain how he started
his transport publishing business.
The final talk of the day by Martin Wilson was entitled Pumping Heritage. Martin Wilson is the
site manager at Crossness Pumping Engines and he explained about the formation
of ALPHA (Association of London Pumping Heritage Attractions). The aims and objectives
of the society are to “mutual support, to act as a pressure group if need be,
covering such matters as health and safety, museums and galleries regulations
and relations with landlords, also the general networking of the organisations”.
It represents the: Crossness Engines;
The Conference closed just before 17.00 and there was an
opportunity to visit the Connected Earth exhibition at
by Jeff Pain and Angela Smith
During the winter the usual work covering the overhaul
and survey programme has progressed, though the actual hours in use during 12
months in no way meets the usage on which these statutory requirements are
based. For example, in previous years the main engines only ran for 151 and 216
hours. Last year the ballast pump ran for 2 hours and the fresh water pump 3,
but still require stripping and reassembly. However, it is hoped the Surveyor
may agree to some form of compromise.
Of more worry is that, with the withdrawal of dry-docking
facilities in
Speaking of expenses, there is a continuous battle
against rising costs this year. Insurance has risen by 50%, fuel is £50 per ton
and still going up, so if you can patronise one of her trips this year, as the
saying goes “every little helps”. New members are also most welcome, especially
those becoming hands-on volunteers.
On a more cheerful note, our society held a Christmas
dinner on board last December which was thoroughly enjoyed by all who took
part, and we must thank the volunteers on Shieldhall who made this possible.
Tug/Tender Calshot
(www.tugtendercalshot.co.uk)
Work continues on a Heritage Lottery application and cosmetic maintenance.
British Military
Powerboat Trust
The BMPT has completed restoration on Seaplane Tender
1502, which was constructed by the British Power Boat Company at Hythe in 1942
and performed search and rescue duties off the Welsh coast in the war. Groups
who would like to take a trip aboard the 42ft vessel should contact
White Star Line’s
tender SS Nomadic
It was good news for the supporters wishing to save the
SS Nomadic when the Department for Social Development in
Amongst other mills in Hampshire, members have recently
had working parties at Wherwell Mill. The charming little
This very interesting mill is owned by members of the
Hampshire Mills Group and they had asked if the group could clear out and
survey the structure and remaining machinery to see if modern power generation
installation is possible.
On a very warm Friday in early May several HMG/Heavy Gang
members collected outside the imposing mill house to begin our work. The
weatherboarded mill is attached to the mill house, but it is currently only
used for storage. It comprises of 3 floors with quite a lot of the original
machinery and fittings still intact. The floors have some rotten areas, but
there are still grain bins and line shafting in place on the top level. On the
first floor are two millstones and some associated machinery, and on the ground
floor all is still mostly intact. One water wheel is still in place, but has
lost all its wooden floats etc, but it is clear that in the early 20th Century
one of the wheels was replaced by a large turbine, although it appears not to
have been used to drive the millstones. An amazingly complete DC generating set
exists designed to output at both 110v and 220 volts and looks as if it may
have last worked about 50 years ago - some of the oil reservoirs were still
half full! The small room next to this
was clearly used for charging Leclanché battery cells with some of the heavy
glass cells and tubes still in evidence.
Efforts concentrated on clearing the mill races,
measuring the internal floor layouts and some general cleaning of floors and
windows. Our host supplied us with tea and cakes in generous portions - so
another visit was called for!
Hampshire Mills Group website: www.hampshiremills.org
Woolston Riverside
and ‘Story of
Bargate Group:
The Bargate has re-opened as an art gallery and the crests on the north side
have been removed for restoration. The group had been pestering the Heritage
Services about the poor state of repair of these crests for some time.
Attention has now been turned to research over the whole of the city into
buildings, etc, which could be considered either for statutory listing or
adding to the ‘Local List’. This is a somewhat large project for a small group
of people who already have many other voluntary tasks on their hands. So, we
may be asking for members of Federation groups to do the ground work; even
checking out your own road for possible additions to either list would be
useful. And it is not only buildings which are listed: the Statutory List for
Calshot Spit
Lightship: We are keeping a watchful eye on this vessel in
Royal Pier: A
new initiative from the Maritime Group who are putting together a concept to
restore the Royal Pier more or less to its original style and footprint for
mooring the heritage vessels. The proposal by the City to site its super casino
in the same place (by demolishing what is left of the pier and reclaiming
several acres of foreshore) has held up publication of the proposal as ABP
agreed to back the casino scheme for 6 months. Although turned down for the
super casino,
Shortly before Christmas 2005, the enormous contribution
to the Waterworks by Dr Edwin Course was commemorated by a tree planting.
Attended by volunteers past and present, the occasion served as a fitting
prelude to the first “Wassail at the Works” later the same afternoon. As
alluded to in the last TWT report, Graham Feldwick has assumed the role of
Chairman of the Trust with Ray Caine, late of Southern Water, taking up the
position of Vice Chairman in addition to continuing as Clerk of Works. Both
have been busy with a considerable amount of preparation and planning work on a
range of projects during the winter and spring. A new Health and Safety site
plan has been compiled and a safety induction document for volunteers issued.
To complement these initiatives, a general site clearance has been undertaken
with all unwanted items of a metallic nature removed by Messrs Hurst.
The kiosk from
Preparation of the Filter House for the arrival of the
Haines filters has continued with the clearance of tools and equipment etc. New
steel supports have been cut and will be fitted shortly in readiness for the
arrival of the filters from Wimborne. In the Diesel and Transfer Houses, the
air bottles have successfully passed their two-yearly inspections, enabling the
various engines requiring compressed air to continue in operation. An ongoing
job this year will be the rebuilding of the four-cylinder
The Spring open day on May 7th got the 2006 season off to
a very successful start with over four hundred visitors passing through the
gates, many, significantly, being attracted by a “Hampshire Chronicle” news
item and photograph published the previous week. Adding to the atmosphere of
the occasion, literally, were six traction engines and rollers en route to the
Bill Targett rally at nearby Allbrook the following weekend. A special bus
service was kindly operated by Friends of King Alfred Buses to and from
Winchester Broadway.
Incorporated into the June Railway and Organ Day was the
second Southern Counties Mechanical Organ Festival which produced an interesting
contrast of organ music and less well tuned Lister diesel noises! Subsequent
open day themes comprise a military vehicle gathering on the first Sunday of
July followed by a model boat day hosted by the Eastleigh & District Model
Boat Club on the last Sunday in lieu of an August event. September features an
Emergency Vehicle Day organised by the Fire Service Preservation Group with the
usual stalls and mechanical attractions rounding the season off in October.
Finally, a completely revised edition of the Twyford
Waterworks guide has been published. It incorporates the individual guides
previously available with other material drawn from the Trust’s archives and
reflects the considerable developments over recent years.
News from Southampton & District Transport
Heritage Trust
With no progress on finding a new workshop for the
The
Miscellanea
John Horne spotted this item on signposts written by the
editor in the December 2005 newsletter of the Roads & Road Transport History Association:-
Signposts
Readers may care to know of a Department for Transport
Advisory Leaflet 6/05 on Traditional Direction Signs. The leaflet is available
free from the Department for Transport, telephone 020 7944 2478.
It recognises that ‘traditional direction signs’ (which
the leaflet calls them, but “Oh, you mean signposts” they said, when I phoned
up for it) make a contribution to the local character and identity of suburbs,
villages and rural areas. It urges the protection and care of those that still
survive; it even urges reintroduction of fingerposts on roads that do not carry
an ‘A’ or ‘B’ classification. Only upper case lettering should be used. Modern
signs and symbols should not be added to fingerposts (the leaflet illustrates
an appalling example of this). By contrast, a new cast iron fingerpost to
traditional design, at Salternshill, Hampshire is illustrated in the leaflet.
The leaflet offers a very brief historical background,
but at least giving pointers to major relevant legislation such as the General
Turnpike Act of 1773 and the Motor Car Act of 1903. (It does not mention,
except as a minor ‘aside’, the wartime countrywide removal of milestones and
direction signs, that was carried out to devastating effect, under the Removal
of Direction Signs Order, imposed in Summer 1940 under the Defence of the Realm
Act). It refers to funding that may be available to community groups from the
Local Heritage Initiative, a Heritage Lottery Fund grant scheme run by the
Countryside Agency. It even closes with a short bibliography. This includes one
item that your Editor has not had time to seek out; but if any reader is aware
of it and would write a contribution for a later Newsletter, it will certainly
be considered. The item is: Department for Transport: The History of British
Traffic Signs (1999).
Ed.RA
Narrow gauge railway for Beaulieu? www.beaulieulightrailway.co.uk
Ever-keen to expand the attractions at Beaulieu, the Hon.
Ralph Montagu, who now runs the estate, has plans to build a two-foot narrow
gauge railway to transport visitors around the Motor Museum and Palace grounds.
A feasibility study is being carried out, including the evaluation of possible
routes. He hopes to obtain the loan of several veteran 2ft gauge steam
locomotives from the Sandstone Heritage Trust in
Eleventh hour reprieve for British Engineerium www.britishengineerium.com
The closure of the British Engineerium at the 1866-built
Goldstone Pumping Station,
Speaking of the closure, Dr Minns had commented that the trustees were unable to raise the funds necessary to continue as the museum had received no support or funding from local councils and the like. Apart from the museum aspect, the original works