For our June meeting we were fortunate in having Marilyn Palmer, Chairman of the AIA, to talk to us on The Textile Industry of South West England. Marilyn is Professor of I.A Archaeology & Ancient History at Leicester University, and well known to many of our members. Marilyn’s talk was based upon her recent book written in conjunction with Peter Neaverson titled The Textile Industry of South West England: A Social Archaeology. Published by Tempus Publishing Limited and, for those of you who would like a copy, the ISBN number is 0752431331. Marilyn based her talk mainly on the surviving textile buildings in the South West ranging from the splendid Truckers Hall in Exeter, the clothiers’ houses and rural fulling and spinning mills, together with workers’ housing, which remained workplaces for handloom weavers well into the 19th Century. Not many people realise that when they come across some of the wonderful remaining mills in the South West, they are looking at the legacy of the cloth industry, for which the South West was well known from the Middle Ages onwards. Marilyn explained the role of the clothier, which roughly translated is a West County word for entrepreneur and, together with slides, we looked at some of their remaining houses. One of the grandest still to be seen today is Westwood Manor which is now in the ownership of the National Trust, a fine example of trade becoming gentry. Clothier houses are written about in Pevsner [Professor Nikolaus Pevsner, distinguished expert on art and architecture], and their rise is not dissimilar from their northern counterparts who built their grand houses on the proceeds of the Industrial Revolution. Some clothier houses were purpose-built to house their workers, not only for economic reasons, but also to enable them to keep an eye on their workforce. As Marilyn said, we do not normally think of the south west of England as being industrialised, but thanks to her extremely interesting and instructive talk, we do now.

July’s meeting found us at Bournemouth Airport where Bournemouth Aviation Museum is situated. On a very hot evening we assembled for an introductory talk from Chris Christy, one of the Museum’s two managers, who gave us a brief history of the airport and Museum. Chris is one of a hundred volunteers who help out with the 15,000 visitors the museum has every year, and the income this generates goes towards paying the £140,000 yearly running costs which the Museum incurs!  The Museum occupies about 30,000 sq ft and is dedicated to preserving and presenting to the public operational examples of historic aircraft appreciated by many hundreds of thousands attending U.K airshows. The original private collection was formed in 1981 by Mike Carlton as the Hunter One Collection. After Mike’s tragic death in a flying accident in 1988 the Hunter One Collection was sold and renamed Jet Heritage which, in 1994, was granted charity status. A board of trustees was formed and preparations were started to display the aircraft to the public, which was finally opened in 1998. Due to overwhelming interest from the public and a demand for more exhibits, it was decided in 1999 to change its name to Bournemouth Aviation Museum. We ended a very pleasant and informative meeting by making the most of a lovely sunny hot evening eating ice creams and watching the mail planes take off. 

Unfortunately, August’s speaker, Ted Fox, had to postpone his talk on Wheelwright & Blacksmith but fortunately, our President, Bill White, stepped in at short notice to give a talk on Cinemas. As you are all no doubt aware, cinemas are a passion with Bill, so we had an evening consisting of plenty of slides together with lots of historical background and plenty of memories. Although cinema-going has become more popular in recent years, it still lags behind the huge numbers who used to go to the “flicks” in its heyday. Bill started with showing us some slides of early posters c1865 advertising the Lumier Bros showing downstairs in a café in Paris. Amongst the many slides Bill showed of cinemas, not many are still actual cinemas having either been demolished to make way for housing, car parking etc, or had a change of use into bingo halls, churches etc. A local cinema, The Woolston, built in 1912, is now a bingo hall and The Ritz in Gosport, which was part of the ABC chain, is now a supermarket. Although still standing, the Odeon at North End Portsmouth which opened in 1937 could be closed soon and, also in Portsmouth, The Palace with its “Moorish” style towers is now a nightclub. In the cinema heyday Fareham boasted three cinemas - The Embassy, The Savoy & Alexander - and the Odeon in Southampton had the distinction of  being one of the last two cinemas to have its own restaurant. Many of the members in the audience had anecdotes of their own cinema-going days to tell including the usual “fleapit” stories of “going in on your own, and coming out with a friend”. We were very grateful to Bill for entertaining us at short notice and, along with the annual book sale, it was a very enjoyable evening.

I was unable to attend September’s meeting on WW2 Anti Invasion Defences in Somerset and Devon by David Hunt as I was on my way north to the Arctic: didn't see much I.A, only the odd polar bear!

October’s talk was by Major George R Dance on the Longmoor Military Railway. Moving army supplies by rail goes back to the Crimean War when at Sebastopol a 7½ mile long track was laid which was capable of moving about 700 tons of supplies in a day. Soldiers were initially trained by civilian railway staff, but as time went on this was taken over by the military and the Royal Engineers, and all trained personnel went through Longmoor. The military railway at Longmoor dates from 1903 when a twin 1ft 6ins gauge tramway was laid to move about 70 corrugated iron huts from Longmoor Camp to Bordon. It was then re-laid to standard gauge in 1905-1907 and the name changed to the Woolmer Instructional Railway, but changed back to Longmoor Military Railway in 1935, when the branch from Whitehill via Hollywater to Longmoor was under construction, and finally completed in 1942. Unfortunately, owing to the sandy soil in the area, locomotives used at Longmoor tended to be short-lived, the same problem the military experienced in the Sudan. In 1914 the camp only had 4 locomotives as well as a shortage of skilled railway workers, and a decision was taken to put a lot more resources into military railways, consequently by the end of WW1 there were about 26,000 trained men and 500 officers. During WW2 there was an average of 42 training courses going on at one time, but after the war the numbers were reduced and most of the soldiers being trained were destined for Germany. The line was finally closed in 1969 and the railway itself has now disappeared. 

At our AGM in November on a rather foggy night, Andy Fish and Rosie Voller were re-elected to the Committee, and the photographic competition was won by Ruth Andrews with Jeff Pain a close second.

Reports

Association for Industrial Archaeology Conference 2006                 (Rodney Hall)

This year’s conference was held in Douglas, Isle of Man, so transport was either by air to Ronaldsway or boat to Douglas. Instead of the usual university hall of residence, the Claremont hotel on the promenade was the venue. Facts about the Isle are that it is not part of the United Kingdom (it is a crown protectorate), is not part of the European Union and can trace its parliament, Tynwald, back for over 1000 years. It has belonged to Norway and Scotland, as well as England, in that time. Tynwald sets the island’s laws (generally following England’s) and taxes but pays England to administer defence and foreign policy. Also the Isle of Man did not sign the peace treaty ending WWI in 1918! National income is mostly derived from financial and other services, tourism accounting for only 6% and agriculture 1% with construction and manufacturing both at 8%. But what about industrial archaeology?

After official welcomes the first talk, on Friday evening, gave an overview of industry and industrial remains on the island. This was given by Frank Cowin, a trustee of Manx National Heritage (of which more later). Not only giving the first and the final talk of the conference, Frank accompanied field trips on all days, imparting his great wealth of knowledge at sites and on the journeys, and also acted as local organiser of the conference.

For several hundred years the Earls of Derby were ‘Lord of Man’, some of whom encouraged industry. There are no coal deposits on the island, any used having to be imported, and wood was not plentiful so that water power was used as much as possible although there were at one time over 200 horse gins.

Flax flourished for a time, cotton was tried but failed and ‘The Trade’ was a big ‘employer’ while it lasted. ‘The Trade’ consisted of importing goods and re-exporting them, often clandestinely. In short the island was a base for smuggling and the consequent loss of revenue to the Exchequer led eventually to England taking back the island and the English sovereign being Lord of Man. 

Fishing has gone on from ‘time immemorial’ but smoking the fish was introduced in 1771 leading to the famous Manx Kippers. Corn was grown and was ground in many small watermills throughout the island. Many are now ruinous or converted to other uses but the modernised Laxey Glen Mill produces most of the flour used on the island. Boat building is an age-old industry but the one remaining yard, at Ramsey, only does repairs and conversions.

Metal mining has been carried on for many centuries but Bronze Age workings have not been proven. Iron and copper have been mined but the main metal ores have been of zinc and, predominantly, lead. The latter had an unusually high silver content, which kept some mines going long after they would otherwise have closed. The most notable piece of IA on the island is from lead mining and is, of course, the Laxey Wheel, “Lady Isabella”, which is now one of the ‘semi-official’ icons of the Isle of Man.

Tourism became established during the Napoleonic wars when the continent was closed to those wishing to do ‘The Grand Tour’. It developed fast when a regular steam ship service to the island was introduced in the 1830s, with transport and service industries growing to cater for tourists. Other industries, such as brush making, were set up to provide work out of the tourist season. Tourism declined with the growth of air travel and cheap packaged holidays to sunnier climates.

On Saturday delegates to the conference heard about Manx National Heritage, and about Laxey Mine. Manx National Heritage is a government sponsored organisation operating under several acts of Tynwald, administering museums and the heritage in general, including protection of monuments, preserving important landscapes and holding the national archive and art collection. It is both a Government agency and a Charitable Trust and looks after 13 major sites and many smaller sites. The English system of listing and scheduling does not apply to the Isle of Man. There is, however, a system which affords similar protection.

The mining boom in the Isle of Man was in the 1870s with the main activity in the Laxey and Foxdale areas. Laxey Mine started in the 1780s and expanded to the 1850s, declining in the late 19th century and finally closing in 1929. The 72ft diameter Laxey Wheel was constructed in 1853/54 to pump water from the lower levels of the mine, water for the wheel being channelled from the nearby valleys. After closure of the mine, the wheel was purchased by a local builder and kept in repair until coming into ownership of the Manx Government. The Wheel and several buildings further up the side valley are now run by the Manx National Heritage and are open to the public with well-appointed information boards. In the main adit of the mine, manpower was first used to bring out ore to be processed, then ponies were introduced in 1820 and diminutive steam locomotives in 1877. Dressing floors were built further down in Laxey and a horse-worked tramway took the concentrated ore to the harbour for export. Virtually no ore smelting was done on the island due to lack of coal and wood.

Sunday started with awards; the HIAS Journal winning the Local Societies Journal Award; Hereford Waterworks Museum winning the Local Societies Newsletter Award and The Town Mill Trust at Lyme Regis winning the Occasional Publications Award. The Dorothea Award for practical conservation went to the Ipswich branch of the Inland Waterways Association for restoration of Creeting Lock on the River Gipping Navigation. There were only two entries for the Fieldwork and Recording Awards, both from students and both of very high quality, so both were presented with an award. One was a study of the glass industry of Manchester and Salford and the other a study of Angel Meadow cemetery and surrounding area. The award winner of the latter, Lee Gregory, gave a presentation of his work.

A thought-provoking Rolt Memorial Lecture by David Gwyn focused on the role played by Wales, Ireland and the Isle of Man in being peripheral to England, seen as the main centre of industrialisation, to the rise of industry and also of industrial archaeology. The form of industry tended to be different in different cultures and often tended to be more innovative and resourceful in the ‘periphery’, these areas generally being relatively deficient in resources.

Lectures during the evenings of the days of field trips continued the Isle of Man theme. The island’s main maritime company, the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, formed in 1830 and some of the ships it owned to the present day, and the land transport dwelling mainly on the steam and electric railways, filled Sunday evening. On Monday evening, Manx National Heritage laid on a buffet at the Manx Museum in Douglas with the museum galleries and selected archive material available for inspection. Glass lantern slides of the Isle of Man, screened with appropriate equipment, entertained on Tuesday evening while the last evening, Wednesday, was devoted to descriptions of diving of 4 shipwrecks of different ages off the shores of the island and vernacular architecture of island buildings.

Being approximately 32 miles long and 11 miles wide at maximum and Douglas being near the centre of the island, there were no long journeys to field trip sites. On Saturday options were either to the national folk village of Cregeash, to Castletown or a tour of Douglas, the former two making use of the steam railway. Centres of attraction for Castletown were the water-powered roundabout at Creg Mill and the Maritime Museum.

Sunday trips were either a cruise along the coast northwards from Douglas - which unfortunately became foreshortened to basically a trip round Douglas harbour due to weather and sea conditions - or a trip on the Manx Electric Railway to Laxey. Time at Laxey was mainly spent at the remains of the mine remains - the dressing floor where a waterwheel had recently been set in motion on an old site and the National Heritage site of the Laxey Wheel.

A return to Laxey could be made on Monday, with a trip on the railway to the summit of Snaefell, the highest point on the island. The other option was to some of the lead mining remains at Foxdale followed after by a lunch stop at Port Erin, then a visit to a privately preserved watermill near Port St Mary. On the way back to Douglas a stop-over was made at Balladoole to view the site of a Viking ship burial which overlooked an abandoned stone quarry while fortuitously in a nearby field, long straw wheat for thatching at Cregneash was being harvested the ‘old fashioned way’ by tractor and reaper. Another stop was made at Derby Haven for limekilns, fish houses and the remains of a smelt mill.

A rather wet Tuesday could be spent in a Douglas walk-about or a tour of Peel. On the latter, the industrial village of Cronkbourne was seen, The old church and graveyard at Kirk Braddan and the church and four-tiered mouth of Tynwald at St Johns were visited. At Peel, after a tour of Moore’s Manx Kipper smoke house, the rest of the afternoon was free to visit museum, castle, harbour, etc until the return to Douglas.

The nature reserve and lighthouses on the Calf of Man was on the agenda for Wednesday or a visit to the north of the island. The latter explored two abandoned farmsteads by Sulby reservoir and found remains of horse gins and farm machinery followed by another church and churchyard visit to Maughold. Lunch at Ramsey allowed some exploration of town and harbour then on to Point of Ayre. Here the lighthouse, foghorn and subsidiary light along with remains of a brine pumping station could be seen. A stop at Jurby airfield allowed inspection of some of the remaining buildings (empty or in alternative use) on the way back to Douglas.

On the last day there were no alternatives, organised visits in small parties being made to utilities around Douglas. At the control room of Douglas harbour explanations on the workings of the port to the writer's party were cut short by a fire alarm! A tour was made of one of the two main power stations on the island, using diesel engines and gas turbines to generate electricity. A recently opened state-of-the-art incinerating plant (a.k.a. as a refuse destructor!) was also visited: carefully controlled quality of the rubbish fed to the furnace produces enough steam to power turbines that generate electricity not only for the plant but to feed a useful amount into the island’s grid. The last visit was to the Glencruchery water filtration plant where water for Douglas and surrounding area is filtered and treated. Without major alterations since built in the 1930s, this was a complete contrast to the modern, state-of-the-art equipment seen earlier. Unfortunately a new waterworks is in the process of being built, so this plant will become redundant next year. Let’s hope some at least of the historic equipment can be saved from destruction. All-in-all another very interesting conference.

Maritime Projects                                                    (Angela Smith)

S.S. Shieldhall    www.ss-shieldhall.co.uk

The Shieldhall’s Heritage Lottery Fund grant application was approved on 29th July, the total sum being approximately £273,000, and covered six projects. A chunk of this had already been taken up by the dry-docking at Falmouth and further funds were used in advance due to necessary work to renew the fuel bunker line, as there was serious concern over corrosion in some areas of pipe-work. Deck caulking and ballast tank coating is currently being undertaken; windlasses and derricks will be refurbished.

The Shieldhall cardboard model kit, previewed in the last edition of Focus, is now on sale and will be available from the Shieldhall Souvenir Shop on board and by mail order from Jill Tulip (15 Foxhayes Road, Blackfield, Southampton, SO45 1XX). Your editor trialled this model in August to iron out any problems and found it to be well-detailed and definitely ‘cardboard engineering’, as it was described. It comes in an A4-sized plastic pack, retails at £8 and, for mail order, please add £1.50 for postage, cheques payable to ‘SS Shieldhall Support Group’.

Tug/Tender Calshot    www.tugtendercalshot.co.uk

Calshot has been awarded a Heritage Lottery Grant and dry-docking or slipping facilities are being sought.

P.S. Medway Queen     www.medwayqueen.co.uk

Another maritime HLF grant, of £1.861m, was awarded to the paddle steamer Medway Queen in July. The paddler sustained serious damage to the after stern during a severe storm in February and it sank again at its mooring at Damhead Creek on the Medway estuary. The Lottery award is for restoration of hull and superstructure. Once the grant was approved, work began in early August to dismantle the vessel on site, using money raised from the ‘plate fund’ for a Chatham marine services firm to carry out the work which is costing £280,000. Consequently there is now a shortfall of £225,000 in the Society’s funds which needs to be raised to match part of the HLF grant.

White Star Line’s tender SS Nomadic     www.nomadicpreservationsociety.co.uk

The former White Star Line tender Nomadic, purchased by the Northern Ireland government in January, left Le Havre on 12th July on a barge bound for Belfast, where it will be restored and put on display as a part of the city’s Titanic story. A charitable trust is being set up to co-ordinate fund-raising for the restoration programme which is expected to cost up to £7m. However, the sad-looking vessel being towed to Belfast - with no superstructure - added one more tragedy to the old company’s name. A worker on the boat died from a suspected heart attack before it reached Northern Ireland and an opening ceremony, organised by the government, was postponed to July 25th.

Rescue & Restoration Section / Hampshire Mills Group

HMG visit to Itchenstoke Mill on Sunday 1st October                    (Nigel Smith)

Between 15 and 20 HMG members and friends gathered at Itchenstoke Mill on a blustery Sunday afternoon to visit the mill and see the water meadows by kind invitation of Mr and Mrs Roger Harrison.

Mr Harrison invited all to explore the interior of the mill, now converted into comfortable living accommodation, before he gave us all a short description of the history of the building and surrounding estate, prompted with snippets from our archivist Tony Yoward. It appears that a mill was recorded at this site in the Domesday book and the present structure dates from three periods from the 17th century onwards. Corn milling ceased shortly after the First World War when a turbine was installed capable of generating sufficient electricity for the whole village. As originally commissioned, the equipment could output up to 10 kilowatts (110v DC), although latterly this was reduced to 7Kw by the time generation ceased in the early 1950s. It must have been a similar setup to that which still exists at Wherwell Mill, but unfortunately the original Armfield turbine has been removed and there is little remaining of the older milling machinery.

The water courses and location of the turbine pit remain intact so there may be scope for the owners to consider installing a modern turbine for electricity generation and HMG is keen to give any advice on this subject.

We were then given a guided tour of the water meadows showing the work done to maintain the channels and sluice gates which makes these rare examples of this type of farming practice. The main beneficiary of this is in supporting an enormous variety of plant and wildlife which makes the whole area and the river system an ecological hotspot in this part of Hampshire. The owner has worked to achieve this with many external agencies such as EA, DEFRA, and various wildlife trusts and noted academic experts. It is no accident that this area was chosen for the release of otters back into the Itchen valley, which has been a notable success. The streams abound with birdlife and are a haven for ornithologists.

On the conclusion of our walk we were treated to tea with a table groaning with homemade cakes and buns! Our sincere thanks to Roger and his family for such an interesting visit and their generous hospitality.

Recent activities                                                     (Angela Smith)

Hampshire Mills Group members enjoyed a barbecue at Whitchurch Silk Mill in June and a picnic at Kingsley Mill, near Alton, in September. Winter weed clearance of the tail race is being undertaken at Longbridge Mill where the restaurant owner, Whitbread, has financed some major works to repair the weir and both external sluices, install a walkway over the weir, dredge the headrace and stop up water leaks into the mill. HMG members also dismantled and cleaned the milling machinery during the 2 to 3 month shutdown.

A trash screen (to prevent most of the weed entering the mill’s channel) was installed at Wherwell Mill on 31st October. The mill and attached house are currently undergoing extensive refurbishment and the owner would like the turbine restored to produce electricity. A big job! At Headley Mill, 37 new buckets were fitted to the wheel and the mill is now grinding again. The owner, Richard Ellis, says he has never heard it running so sweetly.

The Heavy Gang’s work at Timsbury is at last looking like the end is in sight. The starts and paddles have been fitted to the wheel and a bypass weir has been installed. The remaining major task is to get the pump working. For HIAS members who are not familiar with this installation, the wheel and pump are in the garden of a property next door to Timsbury Manor House, to where it once pumped fresh water from the River Test into the roof tanks. When mains water was laid on, the wheel became disused and derelict. The present owner plans to use the waterwheel-powered pump to operate a fountain in the adjacent bypass pond, as he is not allowed to abstract water from the river. 

Hampshire Mills Group website: www.hampshiremills.org

Southampton Heritage Federation                                       (Angela Smith)

The Federation goes into its fifth year and, while not much seems to have been achieved, we feel that we have been acting as the ‘conscience’ of the city council. Currently the Story of Southampton seems to have been put on the back burner, with the developer for the Lower High Street site having pulled out and apparently little enthusiasm on the part of the council to pursue an alternative scheme. Solent Sky is hoping to expand on its Albert Road South site and is applying for an HLF Project Planning Grant. At Woolston Riverside, earlier promises from SEEDA to allow the Maritime Group to use half of the ground floor of the FOTC block - the sole-remaining building on the former Vosper Thornycroft site - as a maritime conservation centre were sunk when new plans showed that the building would be partially demolished to become a multi-storey car park, and the planned shipbuilding area between the FOTC building and Itchen Bridge has decreased dramatically, halving the expected employment figure with 1000 jobs now evaporated. On a slightly brighter note, the Maritime Group is now involved with ship-related firms in trying to keep housing developers’ hands off the US Army base at RAF Hythe, which closed in September. Part of this complex was formerly a flying boat base and has historical value.

Tram 57 Project                                                        (Nigel Smith)

Not much physical progress has been made in the restoration project, but members have remained active behind the scenes exploring possible workshop facilities or promoting a future use for the cars. We remain in contact with organisations which may be in a position to offer a home for the trams either in Southampton or the near vicinity, but very often the difficulty is finance or planning issues. Sites at Woolston and, more recently, in Hythe, in collaboration with the Maritime Group of the Southampton Heritage Federation, are under consideration should an opportunity to gain workshop facilities crop up.

In terms of securing a viable future for the trams sees us working to make the stakeholders in Southampton waterfront re-development plans aware of the potential of tourist or heritage tramways in the provision of a traffic-free way of moving people from parking to visitor or business destinations. Our ongoing aim is to work with the City Council and other organisations to develop ideas which will see the cars restored and on public view (and use), and so we must ensure that the project is visible when strategic planning is reviewed by Council.

A recent letter from our friend Bruce Maffey, who lives in Christchurch (New Zealand) and is related to the Southampton Maffeys who once owned a shop at the Junction, shows what can be done when there is a will on the part of the local authority to proceed with such heritage schemes. The highly successful heritage tramway which operates on a circuit in the centre of Christchurch may be extended. Bruce says “The city fathers are planning an upgrade of the City Mall, which was pedestrianised some decades ago, and the option to install a tramline along it is looking possible. This would eventually result in another loop making the tramway into a figure 8.” In the North Island, a new tram project in the city of Wanganui is progressing well, with a 1¼ mile loop in the old city planned and track-laying to commence within a year. In Auckland, two ex-Lisbon trams are being refurbished for a planned tramline in one of the suburbs.

However, it must be said that, in the UK, the greatest stumbling block is not just the local authority, nor even the cost, but the government and its procrastination over planning. Just look at what happened to the South Hampshire light rail proposal. Maybe we’d be better off taking our trams to New Zealand!

Twyford Waterworks Trust                                                (Ian Harden)

After several frustrating years, a replacement part of Twyford history returned to the Works in mid September. Seven water softening tanks and their constituent Haines filters were finally delivered from Wimborne pumping station as replacements for the originals that were removed almost forty years previously. During this coming winter, the tanks will be cleaned and painted prior to being installed in the Filter House thus representing a significant landmark for the Trust.

A further step forward will come in the New Year with the start of work on the next phase of asbestos removal from the Babcock boilers. Agreement was reached in June this year with Southern Water regarding the financing of this operation with TWT subsequently putting forward proposals for the most effective means of dismantling the boilers. This will involve removing the brick fireboxes to gain access to the offending substance. One or more of them may not be reinstated during the eventual rebuild to illustrate the metal framework construction.

Prior to the commencement of the open day season, the kitchen and Ron Mapp Room were completely redecorated, greatly enhancing the facilities for visitors and volunteers alike. The Transfer House received similar treatment in the Spring and Summer, its first major refurbishment since the original building firm of Braziers repaired it in the 1980s. Parts of the Lime Kilns also received fresh coats of Buckingham Green paint. Meanwhile, work on the Kiosk has recommenced with repairs carried out on the wooden framing and a brick base being laid onto which it will soon be lowered. The next stage will involve dealing with the roof in order that it can survive whatever rigours this winter’s weather may have in store.

This year’s open days have once again been well supported despite a noticeable change in fortune with the weather on some occasions. The Railway and Organ Festivals in particular built on the success of their inaugural events in 2005, attracting visitors from an impressive distance. Several open days also featured connecting bus services from Winchester Broadway and tours round the local area courtesy of the Friends of King Alfred Buses and Stagecoach. Sales of the revised guide book published for the start of the season have been extremely good and have contributed to a significant increase in income from visitors.

During the closed season, the approach of Christmas will once more be marked by another Wassail at the Works on December 16th at 4pm and its passing on New Year’s Day by receiving passengers on FoKAB’s popular Running Day. Looking further ahead, plans are well advanced for the 2007 summer open days. In a break with tradition, a number will take place on the second Sunday of the month to avoid clashing with other local events. Information on the programme of events at Twyford Pumping Station will be circulated in the Spring.

Twyford Waterworks Trust website: www.hants.org.uk/twt

Waterside Heritage (Hythe, Hampshire)

“The future of the former American base at Hythe remains a matter of considerable concern. The application for the listing of the main hangar on the site, as a building of national historic importance, was submitted by Waterside Heritage, with the support of Hythe & Dibden Parish Council, New Forest District Council and Hampshire County Council. Major interest is being shown in the possible use of the site as a commercial boatyard. Maintenance of the Heritage Centre building (Hythe old railway station) is ongoing and volunteers to help with painting or garden tidying would be very welcome. Indexing and collation of our increasing volume of local historical records continues on Thursday and Saturday mornings at the Centre. Anyone interested in joining the team engaged in this fascinating activity should contact Graham Parkes (023 8084 4074).”                                                       (John Towndrow, Secretary of Waterside Heritage)

Miscellanea

Southampton’s King George V dry dock gains Grade II listing . . . . .

The news was announced just too late to appear in the June 2006 newsletter that the listing application for the largest drydock in Southampton, the “KGV” (No 7), opened by HM King George V and Queen Mary in 1933, was approved by the DCMS on June 5th. Unfortunately the caisson had already been removed and dismantled and is unlikely ever to be replaced, but the (now flooded) dry dock, the one remaining crane and the pumping station have been safeguarded for the present (though we all know what happened to the listed Trafalgar dry dock).

The Summary of Importance quotes: “King George V Graving Dock has special historic interest both locally and nationally as a rare survival from the heyday of the transatlantic liner era. It has special architectural interest as a good example of the evolution of dock design as it stood in the mid C20, innovative in its construction. The dock has associations with great ships and events important in British history, and was the most significant dry dock in one of Britain's leading ports.”

. . . . . but Hockley viaduct could be ‘allowed to fall down’

The UK’s first and largest brick railway viaduct with a concrete core is to be allowed to fall down because the government is not interested in its well-being. The 33-arch Hockley Viaduct has been denied listed building status on the advice of English Heritage. Winchester City Council has expressed its dismay at the decision because it is powerless to arrest vandalism to the 600-yard long structure built in 1891, or to see it turned into a public walkway and viewing platforms created at an estimated cost of over £500,000. Culture Minister David Lammy has said “The Secretary of State does not consider the viaduct’s association with the Second World War is sufficient to render it of special historic interest.”

The news is a blow to Friends of Hockley Viaduct. Spokesman Chris Webb told Steam Railway: “Its present condition is not a good advertisement for Winchester or Hampshire.”      (Steam Railway, December 1 2006)

Vulcan restoration reprieved at the last moment               www.vulcantothesky.com

Restoration work on Vulcan XH558 was well advanced by the summer but the project needed £250,000 by the end of August and a further £750,000 by the end of 2006 if the work was to continue. Redundancy notices were issued to all workers and the aircraft's future was very uncertain. A major publicity campaign was launched in mid-August and subscribers were asked to pledge funds. The necessary amount was achieved by the deadline of midnight on August 31st, but primarily due to Sir Jack Hayward, OBE (a vice-president of the Transport Trust) who donated £½m at the last moment. Individual contributions totalled a further £300,000. The dismissal notices were withdrawn and work continued, but a major sponsor is still required if the planned flying display programme is to be achieved after the one test flight in 2007.

Southampton’s Solent Sky appeals for Walrus restoration donations

Solent Sky (formerly the Hall of Aviation) has re-acquired the Cowes-built, R J Mitchell-designed, Supermarine Walrus which it was originally donated (in 2 pieces) back in 1985 and which was then passed on to aircraft restorer Dick Melton in 1989, who planned to reconstruct it. An item in Focus of July 1991 covers this early episode. Work ceased on it several years ago and Solent Sky purchased the now-rebuilt fuselage earlier this year and plans to continue the reconstruction work to make it airworthy. The fuselage is now at a restorer in Kent.

Of 740 Walruses built in Southampton and the Solent area, only 4 examples survive worldwide, including this Walrus, given the registration G-RNLI.

A fund-raising effort was launched at the Goodwood Revival Meeting on September 1 to 3, where the restored fuselage was exhibited. The museum cannot achieve this ambitious project on its own - it needs the support of sponsors and donations from the general public. The HLF has refused to make a grant because of the plans to make the Walrus airworthy. If you can help or know of anyone who can help, please contact Solent Sky on 023 8063 5830 or log on to the website, www.projectwalrus.com.

Alresford’s Eel House restoration under way

A stop-press item in June’s Focus drew attention to what is believed to be the last remaining Eel House in Hampshire, on the River Arle in Alresford, which is in very poor condition. The building was used until the 1950s to trap eels. A campaign was set up in May by the Alresford Society to raise funding to stabilise the building prior to restoration, when it is hoped visitors will be able look inside and see the three channels flowing beneath it where the traps were set. An adjacent large ash tree, whose roots had entangled themselves in the submerged foundations, was removed and they now have specialist sub-surface engineers contracted to start work on the concrete foundations. This work has been delayed as the contractors had to submit an assessment and method statement to the Environment Agency who have yet to reply, and the water levels are quite high at the moment. New Alresford Town Trustees have leased the Eel House and have set up a separate charity called Eel House Restoration which will be funded by donations.

(With thanks to David Goodman of the Alresford Town Trust)

Hampshire Narrow Gauge Railway becomes a Trust

The 7th October 2006 became Inauguration Day of the Hampshire Narrow Gauge Railway Trust. After 45 years of service to local railway preservation, the Hampshire Narrow Gauge Railway Society had spent months investigating various options of either amalgamation with other railway groups or total re-organisation. Following the first meeting of the Trustees in November, the HNGRT anticipates a positive future ahead as it continues to conserve and operate narrow gauge equipment at various sites across the South of England.

With an operational base at Bursledon Brickworks (the last surviving steam-driven example in the country) HNGRT members will continue to provide a volunteer workforce and locomotive power to support London's only steam railway at the Kew Bridge Steam Museum in West London, as well as the Narrow Gauge Railway Collection at the Amberley Working Museum near Arundel, West Sussex.

For more information, please visit our website: www.hngrt.org.uk

SR locomotive Lord Nelson

Following the recommissioning ceremony in May (reported in the June Focus), members of the Eastleigh Railway Preservation Society continued work to get the loco ready to go to the West Somerset Railway for running in. There were problems fitting the Train Protection Warning System (TPWS) and On Train Monitoring Recorder (OTMR), vital for allowing the locomotive to carry out main line passenger hauling. It was decided to tow Lord Nelson to the WSR where work could continue at the same time as any minor problems could be checked while running-in, and it left Eastleigh on August 16th. However, the two systems were taking a long time to complete and, in any case, had to be certified by someone with the “right piece of paper”, so it was towed to the East Lancs Railway at Bury on November 22nd and put in the hands of Ian Riley to complete, from where it will return to the WSR before possibly carrying out a mainline run to Eastleigh early in the New Year.

The ERPS was given a deadline of October 27th to clear any of their property from the railway works at Eastleigh and the final task was to empty their workshop van, a former Southern Railway PMV (parcels and mail van) which had formerly been in use as a circus scenery van. At the same time, scrapmen were busy at work on another part of the site tearing up trackwork and sleepers. A sad end to a once great employer.

Listed Southampton bridge to be partially demolished

It only seems like yesterday, but in fact it was in February 2004 when Southampton’s Central Bridge was listed Grade II (see Focus No. 62, June 2004). Listing ‘structures’ (rather than ‘buildings’) in the city seems to put the kiss of death on them, as part of Central Bridge is now to be demolished. It is reported that six of the pillars supporting the roadway over the railway line are in a ‘grave’ condition and need to be replaced. Network Rail owns this central section and say they have to demolish and replace this section. Any replacement would need to take loads of up to 40 tonnes as it provides a major transport route to the Itchen Bridge from the city. Designs would have to be submitted before final planning permission is granted to Network Rail. City archaeologists would also be required to survey the bridge during demolition.

The bridge has already been subject to a narrower access and a weight restriction for a few months and the reconstruction work is not planned until 2008 and expected to last for 6 months.

The central span over the railway lines was noted in the Schedule as “having riveted iron box-girders supported on riveted iron piers with cross-bracing between.” Whilst we can’t expect a replica rivetted cast iron bridge to exactly match the existing one, as Network Rail will most likely opt for the least expensive structure, one hopes that at least the ornate “cast-iron parapet balustrades with cast-iron lamp standards” will be carefully dismantled and re-instated (city planners please note!).

Grants for New Forest historic buildings

In July the New Forest National Park Authority announced it had set aside £20,000 to support work on historic buildings. It was inviting applications for grants of up to £2,000 towards the cost of repairs over the next financial year. Buildings must be either listed, prominent unlisted historic buildings, distinct local buildings or boundary structures. The scheme was felt to be important as it would help preserve the diverse range of buildings that typify the New Forest. It is aimed to assist those who need to carry out specialist repairs beyond general maintenance.

Snippets - for those who missed them - collated by Rodney Hall

..... from the BBC

The scheme to restore the Montgomery Canal all the way back to Newtown received a boost with the launch at the Welsh Assembly and Westminster of a £45m plan by the Montgomery Canal Partnership of local authorities, boating, wildlife and heritage organisations. Entitled “Regeneration through Sustainable Development”, we shall have to see if progress is made on the ground. Meanwhile the bottom end of the Bude Canal is being dredged and re-lined to allow navigation to the bottom of the first incline. This news coincided with the announcement that government funding for British Waterways is to be cut by £7m.

 

Ten mining landscapes in Cornwall and West Devon are now a designated World Heritage Site: the bid being successful for such recognition was announced by UNESCO in July. One of the areas, Caradon Hill, has been awarded £1.85m from the Heritage Lottery Fund and £670,000 by the South West Development Agency for conservation of the mining remains and wildlife protection.

 

The mothballed Apedale coal mine in Staffordshire, latterly hosting a mining museum, is hoping to open to supply coal for