AIA News 140 Spring 2007€¦ · award was given to a project on eroding limekilns in Angus, using...

INDUSTRIAL ARCHAEOLOGY

NEWSTHE BULLETIN OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR INDUSTRIAL ARCHAEOLOGY FREE TO MEMBERS OF AIA

Cornwall Conference � Somerset’s industrial past � Rolt Symposium � AIA awardsSt Pancras Hotel � Chilworth � Railway Heritage Committee � new editor

155WINTER

2010

This year’s Conference was held in Cornwall atthe Tremough Campus of University College,Falmouth, on 3-9 September. Tremough House,on the outskirts of Penryn, was built 300 yearsago by a local merchant as a private residenceand the house has subsequently been agentlemen’s academy and a convent school. Thehouse still stands on the campus but all buildingsused by the conference were newly built for thecollege. The usual Rolt Lecture was replaced thisyear by a special Rolt Symposium tocommemorate the centenary of Tom Rolt’s birth.The main conference was followed by four daysof field trips and evening lectures. Events wereorganised by the local Trevithick Society.

Rodney Hall

Conference participants who arrived by earlyFriday afternoon were able to go on a specialconducted tour of Falmouth Docks which isoperated by A & P Group Ltd, the largest shipconversion/repair company in the UK. We wereguided most knowledgably by the managingdirector, marketing director and a former long-time employee in three groups, visiting theengineering workshops, fabrication workshop(with a 400-ton press) and giant cranes. Vesselswere under repair in the No.3 and No.4 drydocksbut the massive Queen Elizabeth Drydock wasvacant. About 450 are employed at Falmouth andwe were impressed by the friendly relationshipbetween management and staff as we walkedaround. We could photograph anything unless itwas a grey ship (Admiralty).

In the evening the Conference opened with aformal welcoming by AIA Chairman Tony Crosby,and the Trevithick Society Chairman PhilipHosken. Kingsley Rickard, then gave a briefhistory of the Trevithick Society, the oldestindustrial conservation society in the country,formed in 1935 to save the 1840 beam engine at

Levant Mine from destruction. Known initially asthe Cornish Engines Preservation Committee,acquisition of other engines followed and theproperties later gifted to the National Trust.Merged with the Cornish WaterwheelPreservation Society in 1971, the name ‘TrevithickSociety’ was adopted and the society is still veryactive in a conservation and advisory role.

Allen Buckley then took us through the storyof Dolcoath Mine, Camborne, one of the richest,deepest, famous and most important metal minesin Cornwall. Many well-known names in Cornishmining either worked there or were associatedwith it. Early output was tin, it later produced asignificant proportion of Cornwall’s output ofcopper ore before finally again being a major tinmine. Closed in 1930, the sett was later workedby South Crofty and is in the latest proposals toagain mine for metals in Cornwall.

Philip Hosken led off Saturday morning witha review of Richard Trevithick. A brief run throughthe history of steam before 1800 set Trevithick’sachievements in perspective. The problems ofreduction in size and weight necessary to allowself-propulsion, having to force water into theboiler, and the engineering needed to prevent ofleaks in boiler and pipe-work were highlighted.Finally the building of the replica of the 1801‘Puffing Devil’ was described. Colin Bristow nextrecounted the research into a very early canal atCarclaze, an ancient tin streaming site, later achina clay pit. Leats were constructed to bringwater to the upland site and tunnels at two levelsdug to access the bottom of the pit. Tunnels andleats were made large enough to take tub boats,of which records remain but little can be tracedon the ground today.

After a coffee break, Doug Luxford gave alively explanation as to why there are so manyMethodist chapels to be found in Cornwall. Theclose link between the number of working minersand the rise and decline of Methodism in

2—INDUSTRIAL ARCHAEOLOGY NEWS—155

INDUSTRIALARCHAEOLOGY

NEWS 155Winter 2010

Honorary PresidentProf Marilyn Palmer63 Sycamore Drive, Groby, Leicester LE6 0EWChairmanTony Crosby 261 Stansted Road, Bishop’s Stortford, Herts CM23 2BTVice-ChairmanMark Sissons 33 Burgate, Pickering, North Yorkshire YO18 7AUSecretaryDavid de HaanAIA Liaison Office, Ironbridge Gorge Museum,Coalbrookdale, Telford TF8 7DXTreasurerBruce Hedge7 Clement Close, Wantage, Oxon OX12 7EDIA Review EditorsHelen Gomersall & Dr Mike Nevell14 Church Hill, Luddenden, Halifax HX2 6PZIA News EditorDr Peter Stanier49 Breach Lane, Shaftesbury, Dorset SP7 8LFAffiliated Societies OfficerChris BarneyThe Barn, Back Lane, Birdingbury, Rugby CV23 8ENConference SecretaryJohn McGuinness29 Altwood Road, Maidenhead SL6 4PBEndangered Sites OfficerAmber PatrickFlat 2, 14 Lypiatt Terrace, Cheltenham GL50 2SXLibrarian and ArchivistJohn PowellIronbridge Gorge Museum, Coalbrookdale, Telford TF8 7DXPublicity OfficerRoy Murphy3 Wellington Road, Ombersley, Worcs WR9 0DZRecording Awards OfficerDr Victoria Beauchamp3 Parsonage Court, Parsonage Crescent, Walkley, Sheffield S6 5BJSales OfficerRoger FordBarn Cottage, Bridge Street, Bridgnorth, Shropshire WV15 6AFCouncil MembersDavid Alderton (Heritage Link)Bill Barksfield (overseas trips)Mike Bone (Heritage Alliance)Dr Robert Carr (BA Awards)Dr Paul Collins (Conservation Award & Partnerships)Steve Dewhirst (Conservation Award)Dr David GwynDavid Lyne Michael Messenger (Website manager)Stephen Miles (Conference bookings)Paul Saulter (overseas trips)Mark Watson (TICCIH GB National Rep)Dr Ian West (Health & Safety)Honorary Vice-PresidentsProf Angus Buchanan Sir Neil CossonsProf John Hume Stuart B. Smith

Liaison OfficerDavid de Haan and Anne Lowes (assistant), AIA LiaisonOffice, The Ironbridge Institute, Ironbridge Gorge Museum,Coalbrookdale, Telford TF8 7DX. Tel: 01325 359846. E-mail: [email protected]: www.industrial-archaeology.org

COVER PICTURE

Littlejohns Pit is a vast excavation for china clay in theSt Austell district, seen during the AIA CornwallConference (see page 5).

Photo: Henry Gunston

AIA Cornwall Conference 2010

Visiting Falmouth Docks on the pre-conference tour Photo: Roy Murphy

INDUSTRIAL ARCHAEOLOGY NEWS—155—3

Cornwall was followed along with the schismswithin the denomination with each sect havingtheir own chapel.

Members’ contributions followed lunch.Marilyn Palmer described a hectic few days withtelevision’s Time Team excavation at theDerwencote cementation furnace. Aiming todiscover structures and artefacts around thefurnace, which could increase interest in the site,remains of a crucible furnace, a forge, workershousing and a charcoal furnace and rolling millwere found. The programme is scheduled to goout January 2011. Tony Crosby’s ‘holiday snaps’showed many sites of IA interest in Australia. Thepictures were accompanied by much information.News of the AIA Restoration grants was presentedby Mark Sissons, reported elsewhere. Cornwall isgenerally a county of small streams running downto the coast. Before steam, water power was usedwidely and Michael Messenger showed some ofthe sites where waterwheels either existed orwere still extant at the time of his visit. John Wattsdescribed in his inimitable style the industrialremains to be found on the Bristol Channel islandof Steepholm. Finally John McGuinness broughtalong some commemoration artefacts from his

collection and explained the story behind them.The latter part of the afternoon was given

over to the AIA Awards. Keith Falconer introducedthe AIA Fieldwork Awards and winners (see page5), commenting that there was a small number ofentries of a high standard, and all from north ofthe border! The judges came to a unanimousdecision. The Main Award (Voluntary) went toBrora Saltworks, near Wick, where Jacqui Aitkenand her team of volunteers have excavated andrecorded remains of the early salt industry overfive years, a ‘community exercise’. A specialaward was given to a project on eroding limekilnsin Angus, using electronic recording and 3-Dphotographs to monitor erosion by the sea. TheStudent Award went to Nicholas Pilszak:Conservation Plan for ruinous Garpit Corn Mill,Ferryport- on-Craig, Fife. The Main Award (Paid)went to the M74 Completion Project by HeadlandArchaeology UK Ltd and Pre-ConstructArchaeology (PCA), and Andrea Smith (HeadlandArchaeology) gave the conference a presentationon the M74 project. The work involved over 100archaeologists during nine months in 2008-9,covering a total of 13 acres, prior to constructionof the M74 south of Glasgow. The four main areas

concentrated upon were the Caledonia Foundry,South Laurieston Tenements, Govan ironworksand the Caledonia Pottery site.

Marilyn Palmer introduced the PublicationsAwards, which are described on page 9. Ian Wyrewas on hand to talk on his Dissertation Award,which was part of an MSc at the University ofYork. The subject, forging virtual links with thepast in Portsmouth, showing how changes hadbeen made to buildings on the restricted W.Treadgold site, by recreating indoor and outdoor3-D sequences through the ages from c1704-8to1988. Ken Hollamby and Stewart Squires alsospoke about their book, Building a Railway;Bourne to Saxby, which won the OccasionalPublications Award.

As usual, the awards were presented to thewinners by the AIA President, Angus Buchananafter the formal dinner in the evening. The CapeCornwall Singers male voice choir provided lightafter-dinner entertainment, singing Cornish andother ballads, unaccompanied except by pintsfrom the bar.

Sunday morning’s AGM proceedings receivedreports from the Council, Treasurer and Chairman.Importantly, Prof Angus Buchanan handed over asHon President to Prof Marilyn Palmer. Apresentation was made to Angus and BrendaBuchanan to mark the occasion. There was anelection of officers (please see page 2 for a full listincluding new faces and posts). We received areport on the AIA/CBA industrial buildings dayschools, of which only two now remain: in theEast Midlands on 11 November, and in Lancasteron 21 February 2011. Paul Saulter gave a shortpresentation on the proposed AIA trip to Swedenon 30 May to 4 June 2011, which should prove tobe ‘an impressive IA experience’. Bill Barksfield istaking over from Paul as organiser of these visits.John McGuinness reported on progress with nextyear’s Conference which is to be held in Cork.

As 2010 is the centenary of the birth of L.T.C.Rolt, a special Symposium on ‘Remembering TomRolt’ was held instead of the normal Rolt Lecture.We heard recollections from people who knewhim. Angus Buchanan introduced the panel ofspeakers, and told of how he first knew Tom Roltand his work in the creation of IA as a subject.

The engineering workshop at Falmouth Docks Photo: Roy Murphy

Stewart Squires (left) and Ken Hollamby receive their AIA Publications Award for their bookon building the Bourne to Saxby Railway

Photo: Mark Sissons

Andrea Smith (Headland Archaeology) and Peter Moore (Pre-Construct Archaeology),winners of the Main Fieldwork Award (Paid) for the M74 Completion Project

Photo: Mark Sissons


China clay loading wharf at FoweyPhoto: Marilyn Palmer

Tunnel enthusiasts. Photographing the portal of Cornwall’s longest railway tunnel which nowtakes a china clay lorry road to the shipping quays at Fowey Photo: Marilyn Palmer

Waiting to go below at the Rosevale Mine Photo: Steve Dewhirst Back to the classroom. Tony Brooks gives the AIA a lesson in mining at King Edward MinePhoto: Steve Dewhirst

Angus’s most abiding recollection is one ofgratitude for his strong personal support, throughthe Council for British Archaeology, the Centre forthe History of Technology, and the BathConferences on Industrial Archaeology. Tom Roltpressed the case for a national society and theAIA was his last great institutional achievement.Keith Falconer, head of IA for English Heritage,also knew Tom Rolt at Bath. He spoke of TomRolt’s perception of industrial landscapes and hisassociations with many monuments which laterbecame World Heritage sites, including theIronbridge Gorge , the Canal du Midi, and thePontcysyllte aqueduct.

James Sutherland recollected the earlyimpact Tom Rolt had on him. They first met in1946 at the mouth of the Standedge Tunnel onthe Huddersfield Narrow Canal, where they weretrying to test the right of navigation. James’s boatbecame stuck and he backed it out. Tom (whowas secretary of the IWA) took charge andspeeded the boat through the obstruction,without too much damage to the boat! JamesSutherland was with Tom Rolt on the council ofthe Newcomen Society, and he said how Tom’swriting made technical subjects intelligible. JuliaElton gave a bird’s eye view on her observationsas a young woman on the relationship betweenTom Rolt and her father Sir Arthur Elton. Herfather had reviewed Tom’s books and she recalled

meeting him when he came to dinner with herfather at their flat in 1971. Richard Hopedescribed Rolt’s work with the Talyllyn RailwayPreservation Society in saving the TalyllynRailway. The first 2 miles opened in May1951.Tom was general manager and Sonia wasbooking clerk at Wharf, but work was hard andthere were few other staff.

Finally, Neil Cossons described how Tom Roltwas ‘a rock anchor’ in the early days of IA. Hisengineering knowledge commanded respect.They first met at Stroud Technical College in 1963at a one day conference, but their real friendshipstemmed from the Bath Conferences. Neil alsotalked about hectic efforts to obtain acommemorative centenary plaque for Tom Rolt’sEaton Road birthplace in Chester, saved with nota moment to spare by Geoff Wallis of DorotheaRestorations.

A full report on the Symposium will appear inIA Review. Tom’s widow, Sonia, was in theaudience and a small exhibition of photographsof Tom’s life had been compiled by Don Newing.This ended the Conference proper but eveninglectures and field visits continued to the Thursday.A comprehensive booklet on the visits had beencompiled and each trip was led by members ofthe Trevithick Society.

Three field trips were organised for Sundayafternoon. Par and Fowey harbours have been the

main export ports for china clay but shipmentsfrom Par stopped about two years ago and part isto be redeveloped. After viewing the emptyharbour, the coach travelled to Fowey along theprivate road linking the two ports which was

Underground in the Rosevale MinePhoto: Steve Dewhirst

converted from a railway line and includes atunnel. No ships were alongside but the clayhandling berths and the railway (fromLostwithiel) infrastructure were inspected atFowey.

Another group donned helmet and lamp totake a trip through the small Rosevale tin minenear Zennor. Entering along an adit, features ofinterest were explained before vertical ladders upthe narrow lode were climbed to emerge at ahigher level on the hillside. A visit to thefascinating Wayside Museum nearby rounded offthe afternoon.

The third trip was to the preserved Cornishbeam engines at Pool, saved originally by theCornish Engines Preservation Society and now inthe care of the National Trust. Mitchell’s whimemgone and the pumping engines at Taylor’s andRobinson’s Shafts were visited, the latter the lastCornish engine to work on a Cornish mine.

On Sunday evening Ivor Bowditch gave a veryknowledgeable talk on the china clay industry ofCornwall. China clay, or kaolin, is the decomposedfeldspar constituent in granite, mica and quartzbeing unaffected. The rise and retrenchment ofthe industry was followed and the methods ofwinning the clay and its treatment with changingtechnology were explained. Uses, transport andexport were also covered.

Tin mining occupied one group on Monday.Tony Brooks, a leading light of the King EdwardMine Museum project, greeted us as the ‘literati(or was it glitterati?) of industrial archaeology’.The King Edward Mine was established to providea practical teaching site for the Camborne Schoolof Mines. Changes in the 1980s and 90s led to thebuildings being made into a new museum ofmining history. We toured the site especially tosee different types of tin ore processingequipment which have been reconstructed. Theoriginal Holman winder has returned to itsoriginal site (in a newly-reconstructed enginehouse), Californian stamps, a round frame,buddles, a sand table, a Frue vanner and ragframes were all seen. Outdoor travels in theafternoon (in the rain!) took us to the remains ofthe mine buildings at Marriott’s shaft, whereparts of engine, boiler, compressor and windingengine houses remain, together with a miners’dry, complete with elegant Norman-style arches.

We then saw the West Basset stamps, where thestamping engine house partially survives. Lowerdown were the remains of vanner, buddle andcalciner houses, all part of the treatmentprocesses for tin ore.

Hayle was wet, very wet! Nevertheless asgood industrial archaeologists we followedKingsley Rickard around sites of mining engineersHarvey’s of Hayle, their shipping wharves, timbersheds and foundries, demolished and partiallyintact and restored. At Poldark Mine, where oldmine workings have been re-opened we had anexcellent lunch and then scrambled underground.The tour of surface artefacts was in that day’s rainbut down in the stopes we were assured that thewater we were paddling through was at least twodays old, it taking that time to percolate throughthe ground.

County Hall in Truro was the venue where PatHarvey, Chairperson of Cornwall County Council,formally welcomes the delegates on Mondayevening. All then heard a talk by Adam Sharpe,who was part of the ad hoc committee whoprepared the bid which resulted in UNESCOrecognising the Cornwall and West Devon MiningLandscapes as a World Heritage Site in 2006.Unusually, the designation is not confined tobuildings but is composed of whole landscapes,each illustrating different aspects of Cornwall’smining industry and portraying the impact mininghad not only on the county but by emigration, theleading part played by Cornish people in miningthroughout the world. Being landscapes and 10sites meant very complex negotiations withlandowners, Local Authorities and communitiesfor protection, preservation and management ofthe sites. Afterwards a fine dinner was taken atGreen Lawns Hotel at Falmouth.

Weather on Tuesday, and the rest of theweek, was dry although threatening at times. Oneparty travelled west to Porthcurno, at one timethe largest cable station in the world and a centrefor communication with the British Empire.Fourteen undersea telegraph cables came ashorein this remote cove linking all parts of the world.Tunnels dug for protection of equipment andpersonnel in WWII have been turned into amuseum of undersea telegraphy since the siteceased being used as a training establishment in1993. The tour included a talk and demonstration

of early telegraph equipment. After a quick visitto the beach to view the hut where the cablescame ashore and lunch in the nearby pub, it wasoff to Newlyn which is a major fishing harbour.We had a quick walk through the fish market,empty at this time of day, followed by excursionsalong two quays with knowledgeable guides toview vessels alongside.

Wheal Peevor tin mine has pumping, windingand stamps engine houses in a group andexploration of this ‘conserved’ site foundnumerous interpretation boards which werebacked up by Kingsley Rickard’s extensiveknowledge. The failure of traffic congestion onthe A30 to hold us up meant we arrived at theBlue Anchor pub at Fraddon before it had opened.Rain greeted us again at Bodmin but rides on theex-GWR heritage railway there in two directionsmeant we generally stayed dry, though in true‘real railway’ style, the buffet car was not opendue to staff shortage.

The National Trust is one of the largest landowners in the World Heritage sites and onTuesday evening Jon Brooks talked about theTrust’s work in West Cornwall. Problemsencountered in the management of some sitesand ‘green’ solutions to them were outlined.Conservation and consolidation work on miningstructures in Trust ownership in West Penwithwere described including the restoration of thetunnel from the dries to the man-engine shaft atLevant mine.

Ivor Bowditch led one group on Wednesdayon a tour of sites linked to china clay productionin the St Austell district. Littlejohn’s Pit has itsorigins in the 1840s, with seven smaller pitsamalgamated into one large one now covering500 acres. We looked down on hydraulic hosesused to wash out clay, sand and mica from the pitwalls. Bucket wheel clarifiers and hydrocyclonesproduce a pumpable slurry for further processing.Passing Nanpean, one of twelve ‘china clayvillages’ which grew up in support of the industry,we reached the Meledor dry extraction site. Herethe basic rock is dug dry and transported by 70-tonne dump trucks to a central site for separationand processing. At the nearby refining plant, moremica is removed from the clay, and a magneticseparator applied to remove unwanted ironstaining. Customers in the paper, ceramic and


Impressive architecture at West Basset Stamps Photo: Steve DewhirstInside the mineral dressing mill at King Edward Mine Photo: Steve Dewhirst

other industries demand high specifications fortheir clays, and further processing is required tosatisfy their different needs. At the new Rocksdrying plant, clay is passed into long verticaltubes, each containing a bladder which oninflating by hydraulic power forces water out ofthe clay to dry it. Travelling through abandonedclay country, with the distinctive conical ‘sky tips’of waste sand brought us to Parkandillack, wherevolunteers have restored a Cornish engine built in1852. The 50-inch cylinder engine, able to pump750 gallons per minute, was built by Sandys,Vivian & Co, at Hayle, and first installed at WhealKitty Mine, near St Agnes. In 1912 it was movedto its present site, where it pumped china clayslurry until 1953. The engine now works oncompressed air and the blackberries around theengine house were delicious!

The other group visited West Penwith, firstwith a brief stop in St Just to look round the towncentre and parish church with its painted murals.Then to the former count house at Botallack Mineand an exhibition in a one-time stable annex. Aguided tour of the ore dressing floors and calcinerfollowed culminating with close inspection ofpossibly the famous Botallack Crowns mine,perched on ledges below the cliffs. Lunch wastaken at Geevor Mine after the winding enginehouse at Wethered shaft had been openedspecially for us. A very comprehensive tour of

Geevor’s surface buildings followed, and by theend of it we should all have been able to obtain‘A star’ in cassiterite processing. A quick runthrough a section of the underground workingsshowed us the conditions under which the minersworked. Walking along the cliff top path revealedother mining infrastructure covering a 200-yearspan and then the highlight for many, the LevantMine winding engine running under steam. Afinal climb down the recently re-constructedspiral stone steps and through a tunnel broughtus to the top of the man engine shaft, scene ofthe 1919 disaster when the riding rods collapsed.

That evening Tony Pawlyn recounted the littleknown steam trials of 1831 and HM steam vesselEcho. The Royal Navy was reluctant to use steampropulsion for its ships, let alone at high pressure.HMS Echo was an insignificant support vessel andsuitable for experimentation. Harvey’s of Hayle,Maudslay, Son & Field and Francis Trevithick wereall involved with the trials at some time. Forvarious reasons some trials were inconclusive buteventually, of course, the Navy became a steamnavy.

Thursday found one group at the former clayport of Pentewan where the harbour is still inwater but sand now blocks the entrance. Anarrow gauge railway once connected to StAustell and the remains of this and rails fromsubsequent activity making concrete blocks from

the sand were viewed, as was the village. The StAustell Brewery provided lunch, following whicha tour round the brewery, still owned by theoriginal family, ended with a tasting session ofsome of their brews.

The second group visited Charlestown. Theharbour and piers are mostly unchanged since1791-1801 when they were built by JohnSmeaton in what was a rocky cove of St AustellBay. Lock gates kept ships afloat for loading andunloading at all states of the tide. Copper ore wasoriginally shipped but eventually china claybecame the principal export. Loading chutes fortipping clay directly into waiting vessels remainon one quay while the other quay imported coaland timber. There was also a shipyard, ropewalk,lime kiln and a foundry. Commercial traffic andindustry has ceased and the dock is now a homefor a collection of tall ships often used for filmingand the main employer is tourism. Charlestownalso has the Shipwreck and Heritage Centrewhich displays a fine collection of artefacts andrelics and was certainly worth the visit.

Grateful thanks to Owen Baker, IvorBowditch, Tony Brooks, Pete Joseph, KingsleyRickard, Charles Thurlow, and Graham Thorne andall others who made the Conference so rewardingto participants. Personal thanks to Alan Crocker,Mick Edgworth, Henry Gunston Tony Jervis andthe Editor for input to this report.


The remains of the famous Levant Mine, perched on the clifftops of West CornwallPhoto: Roy Murphy

The Melbur dry processing china clay plant Photo: Henry Gunston

Arsenic calciner and flues at Botallack Photo: Marilyn PalmerBall mills and shaking tables in the dressing mill at Geevor Mine Photo: Marilyn Palmer


Members of the Somerset Industrial ArchaeologySociety (SIAS) have been involved either directlyor indirectly in a number of interesting projectswhich have recently surfaced or continue to bemonitored. This article gives a flavour of what hasbeen going on during the past year. The author isthe SIAS Archivist.

Brian Murless

At Nynehead near Wellington, two landownersare in their third year of a ten-year stewardshipscheme for landscape management of an areawhich covers historic parkland and part of theSomerset section of the Grand Western Canal. Thescheme has brought together English Heritage,Natural England, the Environment Agency andlocal authorities at district and county level.Currently the results of a feasibility study of thestructures are being studied encompassing acarriage drive, a three-arched river bridge, twocanal aqueducts and the remains of an innovativecanal lift, designed by the engineer James Green,which once raised and lowered canal tub boatsby 24 ft. Whilst some groundwork activities havebeen undertaken by the Waterways RecoveryGroup of the Inland Waterways Association,volunteers from the Grand Western Canal Trustand SIAS have also been at work in and aroundthe lift. Finds have included segments of a 3ftdiameter gear wheel thought to have beenassociated with one of the lift’s guillotine gates.

Although a permanent solution has yet to befound to the unoccupied and deteriorating formerwoollen mill buildings at Tone and Tonedale atWellington (IA News 150), the existing textile

business of Fox Brothers has been acquired byDeborah Meaden, widely known as an investor onthe television programme Dragon’s Den. She hasalso leased the former office block at TonedaleMills as a showroom for both contemporary andhistoric woollen fabrics as well as housing acollection of archives and artefacts associatedwith the old company. In Rockwell Green on theoutskirts of the town, Wessex Water hasrefurbished the conical cap and weathervane onthe brick water tower which revealed the letters ‘EP’ on the flight end of the arrow. These are theinitials of Edward Pritchard (1839-1900) ofBirmingham and London who designed the towerin 1885. The neighbouring circular four storeytower, by Rolfe & Raffety and dating to 1934, hasbeen extensively conserved due to the spalling(cracking) of the concrete. Treatment included theapplication of 1,000 litres of hard wearing paint toits external surfaces with a weatherproof coatingon the top floor. Both towers are listed Grade II asis the nearby associated pumping station atWestford which contains original structuralfeatures and machinery such as the 1886 rampumps by Glenfield & Kennedy of Kilmarnock. Thefuture of this redundant, late Victorian pumphouseremains uncertain and a recent attempt atmaintenance to the roof has been frustrated bythe presence of bats.

This year sees the completion of a multi-facetted project on the West Somerset MineralRailway, known locally as the Old Mineral Line,which carried iron ore from the Brendon Hills tothe port of Watchet. The work began in 2008 whena consortium of organisations and individualsundertook conservation and interpretation funded

by the National Lottery. The impressive legacy thathas resulted includes public access to miningremains (IA News 146) and railway features suchas the 1,100 yd incline which climbs a verticalheight of 803 ft at a gradient of 1 in 4 and onwhich was laid a double track of standard gaugerails. In addition to trail leaflets and a website(www.westsomersetmineralrailway.org.uk), a twovolume limited edition of the archaeology andhistory of the mines and the railway has beenpublished by the Exmoor National Park Authority.Its author, Mike Jones, has incorporated alifetime’s research and measured surveys byhimself and acknowledges the dedication of hislate colleagues, John Hamilton and Roger Sellick.A shorter book, The Brendon Hills iron mines andWest Somerset Mineral Railway is due to bepublished later this year.

Westonzoyland Engine Trust has successfullyrestored to steam a single cylinder horizontalengine by James Culverwell of the BridgwaterIron Foundry which had arrived at Westonzoylandfrom the Bristol Industrial Museum in July 1998.During its working life the engine had poweredthe mash rakes at Burnham Brewery, beingremoved when the site was cleared forredevelopment in 1966. Uncertainty about thedate of manufacture encouraged Brian Murless toresearch the history of the iron foundry whichflourished in Bridgwater from c1820 to c1908.One aspect to arise from this was that whilstexamples can be found of Culverwell’s ironworkranging from railings to waterwheels, no otherengines have come to light. Somerset ironfoundries were producing small portable andstationary steam engines for farms, mills andworkshops in the nineteenth and early twentiethcenturies along with others fuelled by gas and oilbut, with the exception of those made by Pettersof Yeovil, very few appear to have survived.

The mill visitors’ centre in the grounds ofHestercombe House near Taunton (IA News 150)has been officially opened, though a delay insourcing sufficient line shafting has meant thatsome exhibits are still static. Following detailswhich were published last year in this newsletter,SIAS gratefully received assistance from Dr IanWest, an expert on country house technology (IANews 154), leading to the acquisition by theHestercombe Gardens Trust of an acetylenelighting plant. This was one of only two knowncomplete examples remaining in situ in theBritish Isles, the other being in Northern Ireland.One surprise revealed during the restoration ofthe waterwheel at Hestercombe by Martin Wattswas the name of WC Rafarel of Barnstaple onsmall embossed plates on the wheel’s naves orcentres. These appear to be contemporaneouswith other parts cast by J E Vanstone of BlackTorrington indicating the involvement of twoDevon engineers in the construction of the wheel.An estate farm nearby at Volis also had awaterwheel originating from Devon. As therewere numerous Somerset founders andmillwrights available in the nineteenth century,

Somerset’s industrial past in 2010

Comberow Incline, West Somerset Mineral Railway Photo: SIAS Archive


the tentative conclusion is that the Portmanfamily or their estate stewards had a role or policyin relation to the procurement and servicing ofwaterwheels.

The restorers of the nineteenth-centuryDawes Twine Works at West Coker near Yeovilliterally raised the roof in April. The Coker Ropeand Sail Trust engaged the skills of the CarpentersFellowship who employed tension straps and wirecables to move the building section by section upto 30cm back to its original position. Remarkablythe heavy clay roofing tiles, of the Double Romanpattern from Highbridge and the ridges fromBridgwater, remained in place during this

operation, only one being broken. This work wasa necessary prerequisite to ensure that thestructure is safe and stable for futureconservation activities to take place. There is aprojected completion date of 2012.

The Parrett Works, a former engineering andflax complex at Martock, has a number ofbuildings listed Grades II and II*. SIAS wasinstrumental in obtaining statutory protection forthese in the 1970s and the site is now primarily asmall industrial estate. Concern had beenexpressed over the condition of the historic ropewalk which for some years had been used as abyre. It has now been bought by a consortium of

neighbouring businesses. Unfortunately there hasbeen no perceptible progress on the rebuilding ofthat part of the site devastated by fire inNovember 2007. Madey Mills nearby isrecognised as a Grade II* listed building for itsfine surviving historic features, which include alocally cast waterwheel, but has a ‘C’ rating onthe Buildings at Risk Register. This category isdefined as being in slow decay with no solutionagreed as to funding its conservation needs.However, in March English Heritage thoroughlysurveyed the building and it is understood thatdiscussions have begun as to its future upkeep.

A planning application for a change of useresulted in the demolition of a site at Chaffcombenear Chard which had been established c1896 asEarl Poulett’s Model Dairy Factory. Althoughsubsequently developed as a cider works andeven later as a council depot, a 15ft x 2ft 6inovershot waterwheel from William Sparrow’sfoundry at Martock survived from the earlyperiod, together with a primitive governor tocontrol the penstock which was added when DCelectrical generation was introduced. SIAS wasunsuccessful in obtaining listed status for thewheelhouse and contents but the planningauthority, South Somerset District Council,recognised the wheel as being of ‘local historicalinterest’. Whilst its future remains uncertainconsideration is being given to the best option forthe wheel’s preservation away from site. ChardCentral Station, located appropriately on GreatWestern Road, was opened in 1866 at the (then)terminus of the Bristol & Exeter Railway’s ChardBranch from Taunton. The surviving distinctivestation building, with a characteristic railwaycanopy, will probably suffer a loss of setting as aplanning application has been submitted for alarge-scale housing development on adjacentland, formerly part of the station site. However, arumour circulating that it was to be removed andrebuilt at Norton Fitzwarren on the WestSomerset Railway was unfounded. The short-termthreat remains arson and vandalism, a fire havingalready occurred, but there is a projected use ofthe building as a discount store.

Investigating Somerset’s industrial past haspreviously been a somewhat disjointed processnecessitating visits to both the Somerset StudiesLibrary and the Somerset Record Office housed onseparate sites in Taunton. This situation is aboutto change with the completion of the SomersetHeritage Centre at Brunel Way, Norton Fitzwarrenon the former Taunton Trading Estate. Althoughpurpose-built, the location will be known tomilitary historians as the United States ArmyStores (opened c.1942) which subsequentlybecame the War Department Supply ReserveDepot until its closure in 1966. Apart fromproviding a one-stop centre for primary andsecondary source material, the £8 millioncomplex, funded well before the presenteconomic downturn, will contain the reservecollections of the County Museum

Service, currently dispersed in storesthroughout the county but now to be held in anadjacent building. Opening to the public isscheduled for the late autumn.

Culverwell Engine at Westonzoyland Pumping Station Photo: Iain Miles

Dawes twine walk at West Coker, with its newly straightened roof Photo: Peter Burnett


AIA NEWS

AIA Fieldwork andRecording Awards 2010This year saw the bulk of the entriescoming from Scotland which wasperhaps a little unfortunate as itmeant many of the winners couldnot attend the conference inFalmouth some 600-700 miles away.Once again, a big thank you thejudges Keith Falconer, Amber Patrickand Mike Nevell for giving up theirtime to judge the entries.

The Main Award (Paid) went tothe M74 Completion Project byHeadland Archaeology UK Ltd andPre-Construct Archaeology (PCA) fora vast landscape project centredaround the M74 and demonstrateshow the public can become engagedwith industrial archaeology. As awork in progress we look forward toseeing many more reports about thisproject in the future. The award wascollected by Andrea Smith(Headland) and Peter Moore (PCA)at the conference. A worthy runnerup, and to whom we awarded ahighly commended award, wasTom Dawson and SCAPE at StAndrews University for The ErodingLimekilns at Boddin Point Angus:Preservation by Digital Record. Thisincluded an impressive fly throughanimation of the lime kiln which hadbeen recorded in 3D using moderntechnology.

The Main Award (Unpaid/Volunteer) went to Clyne HeritageSociety for their important piece ofrecording on the ExtractiveIndustries of Brora. The initialresearch strategy of rescuingevidence threatened by coastalerosion has blossomed into a full-scale project to understand early

coal-fired salt-making and relate itto general economic trends in thisearly outpost of Scottishindustrialisation. The other entry forthis category was from P. Lingwoodentitled Cwn Ystradllyn: Anindustrial landscape. The reportdemonstrated some incrediblydetailed recording of a number ofvulnerable sites in the region andshows how talented some of ourmembership is in the physicalrecording of sites. Again this wasanother work in progress that welook forward to seeing more of inthe future.

Finally, the Student Awardwent to Nicholas Pilszak:Conservation Plan for Garpit CornMill, Ferryport- on-Craig, Fife.

We are always on the look outfor new entries so please send themin as soon as possible for next year.We already have one entry.Hopefully our new categories willencourage you to take part and ifyou see or hear of industrialarchaeology projects near you,prompt people to enter. They don’thave to be AIA members but itwould be great to have some. Forentry forms see the AIA website.Remember, marks are given for: Research Strategy (10), Documentary Research (15), Fieldwork (20), Analysis/interpretation (30), Presentation (15), Advancement of the Subject(10).

We are not only looking for therecording of sites but some analysisof their context in the region ornationally so that the site can beassessed in terms of its importanceto the specific industry to which it is

connected, its rarity and anyinformation it can provide about theprocesses carried out.

It is with regret that I havedecided to have a break fromrunning the awards after a stint of15 years. Due to work and familycommitments I no longer have thetime needed to dedicate to councilmeetings and administrating theawards. I will be keeping in touchthough with AIA and who knows ina few years time may be temptedback!

Victoria Beauchamp

AIA Publications Awards2010The number of entries was ratherthin this year and few new societiessubmitted entries. This is a pity asthe quality of local societypublications continues to be veryhigh.

The Occasional PublicationsAward went once again to theSociety for Lincolnshire History andArchaeology, for Building a Railway;Bourne to Saxby, by Ken Hollambyand Stewart Squires, which waspublished jointly with the LincolnRecord Society. Charles StansfieldWilson (1844-1893) was theengineer who supervised the civilworks on the railway line fromSaxby to Bourne. A keen amateurphotographer, he took a series ofphotographs during theconstruction phase of the line from1890 to 1893, 72 of which weremounted in an album: this is apriceless survival indeed, asphotographs of the construction of arailway in Victorian England areextremely rare. This volume presentsa selection of these illustrations,accompanied by full and extensivecaptions which tell the story of theconstruction, and detail the work ofthe men and machines involved. Thejudges particularly commented onthe way in which each photographhas a well researched narrativedescribing the scene and features,and elaborating on the constructionaspects revealed in each one. Theexcellent maps also receivedcommendation.

The Journals Award waspresented to Sussex IndustrialHistory Society for Volume 40,edited by Brian Austen, whichincluded Ron Martin’s article andexcellent drawings of a warehousebuilding at No.4 Winding Street,Hastings: Ron received the award on

behalf of the Society. The judgescommended the layout of thisvolume and the selective use ofcolour, which made for an attractiveformat.

The Newsletters Award wentto Leicestershire Industrial HistorySociety, for their Spring 2010 issue,edited by Wendy Freer, who receivedthe award on behalf of LIHS. Sheexplained that LIHS has decided toproduce a more regular andextended Newsletter rather than anannual journal. This issue was full ofnews and short articles and verywell illustrated.

The Dissertation Award wasgiven fore the first time this year,,having superseded the former EssayAward. We were somewhat late insending out the information toUniversities, but did attract a verygood MSc thesis from the Universityof York by Ian Wyre on ForgingVirtual Links with the Past; rescuingthe archaeological story ofTreadgold Ironmongers ofPortsmouth. Ian explained howvirtual modelling by digital meanscan tell the history of a site andexplain its significance, andhopefully lead to betterconservation plans for industrialbuildings. Having already sent outthe information for both theundergraduate and postgraduateawards early this year, we hope toattract more entries in 2011.

Marilyn Palmer

Cork conference 25August to 2 September2011As stated at the conference inCornwall arrangements are welladvanced for next year’s conferencewhich will be in Cork and in theearlier week commencing 25August. The last Monday in Augustin Ireland is not a bank holiday. Thesleeping accommodation will be inthe university hall, where each roomis understood to contain a ¾ bedwith one side against a wall. Itshould therefore be possible to offera reduced rate for couples sharing aroom. Food and the mainconference will be held on the maincampus, an attractive landscapedand historic site. Travel optionsinclude air to Cork airport or by seaovernight from Swansea to Cork.Currently outward journeys are onWednesday, Friday or Sunday andreturns on Thursday, Saturday andTuesday.Some of the volunteers on the Brora Project Photo: J Aitken


AIA NEWS

The principle sites to be visitedwill be: The Ballincollig gunpowdermills, the Allihies copper mines andthe Shannon River hydro-electricityscheme. It is intended to reintroducethe Friday seminar, with an Irishtheme. The Rolt lecturer will beProfessor Patrick Malone, winner ofthis year’s Peter Neaverson Award,who will be coming from the USAfor the event.

There can be little doubt thatthis promises to be a conference toremembered. I therefore hopemembers will note the dates of theconference. I look forward seeingmany of you in Cork in August 2011.

John McGuinness

Retirement of PeterStanier from IndustrialArchaeology NewsDr Peter Stanier has announced hisretirement as Editor of IndustrialArchaeology News from this issue.The previous Editor, Dr PeterWakelin, announced that Peterwould take over late in 1994 and hisfirst issue was No. 92, Spring 1995.Peter’s short note about himself inthis said that he had been a memberof AIA since the inaugural meetingin March 1974 and was present atthe first national conference underthe AIA banner at the University ofKeele the same year. He added thathe had kept a low profile but nowfelt it was time he put somethingback into the Association. That hehas certainly done, with 16 years to

his credit, of four issues a year. Atthe same time, Peter has raised theprofile of industrial archaeology ingeneral by the books he hasproduced on the quarrying industryand on south-west England,together with the many courses hehas run on industrial archaeology invarious adult education centres. Weshall all miss his work withIndustrial Archaeology News buthope, of course, still to see him atannual conference and, perhaps, toread his own contributions! We allowe him an enormous debt ofgratitude for all the work he hasdone since 1995.

Marilyn PalmerHon. President

South East IndustrialBuildings day schoolThe AIA and CBA South East regionIndustrial Buildings day school washeld on 5 July in the Percy Arms atChilworth just outside Guildford inSurrey, and chaired by David Calow(Surrey Archaeological Society),Brian Grimsditch and Mike Nevell.Lynne Walker updated delegates onthe new PPS 5. Support came frommembers of the Surrey IndustrialHistory Group (SIHG), part of theSurrey Archaeological Society.Glenys Crocker describedgunpowder sites and thedevelopment of the GunpowderMills Study Group, while Prof Alan

Crocker spoke on paper mill sites.Andrew North, Chairman of theChilworth Gunpowder Mills Group,told about protecting thegunpowder site and the problemsarising when planners (and evenarchaeologists) fail to interpret theimportance of apparentlyinsignificant buildings. ChrisMatcham (Surrey Wildlife Trust) andPaul Sowan (SIHG) introduced theoften overlooked topic ofcollaboration between industrialarchaeology and wildlife interests.Both gave many examples fromabove and below ground.

The afternoon was taken up bya tour of the nearby ChilworthGunpowder Mills site, led byAndrew North and Alan Crocker. Themills were established in 1626 bythe East India Company. Advancesduring the late nineteenth centuryincluded the production of cordite,but the works closed in 1920. Manyof the buildings were demolished,and much of the site is now ownedby Guildford Borough Council. Theaward-winning ChilworthGunpowder Mills Group (see page11) has been active in preservingand conserving the significantremains such as the charcoal andsaltpetre stores, magazines, water-powered incorporating mills withtheir edge runner stones, a canaland tramway with a German-builtswing bridge.

Harper’s bridgesWe were interested to read TimMickleburgh’s letter about theHarper bridges at Grimsby in yourautumn edition, IA News 154. Thebridge across to Duck Island in theRiver Freshney was drawn to ourattention recently by Bruce Lincolnof Grimsby and DH visited the siteearlier this year. On the bank sidethe ironwork of the original bridge isretained, but it is not attached to themodern bridge replacementimmediately beyond. There is nooriginal ironwork on the

island. While we’d like to think thatthe reason for the original structurehaving been retained was as a linkwith the history of the crossing,more likely it was to control accessto the wildlife of Duck Island. It wasan interesting find and a source offurther information about thearchitecture of the bridges of thattime. Details of the Harper light footsuspension bridges worldwide maybe found at: www.harperbridges.com.

D.R. Harper, T.M. [email protected]

Peter Stanier receives a framed print in recognition of his long tenure as IA News editorfrom AIA President Marilyn Palmer and Chairman Tony Crosby during the Council meetingat Coalbrookdale on 6 November Photo: Ian West

VISIT THE AIA WEBSITEwww.industrial-archaeology.org.uk

LETTER

NEW EDITOR CHRIS BARNEY Starting with the next issue of Industrial Archaeology News, February2011, your new Editor is Chris Barney who has kindly agreed to takeover the post. Please give him all your support, especially in the earlyissues as he begins to find his way. Keep sending in those news items,features and photographs. Chris Barney can be contacted at The Barn,Back Lane, Birdingbury, Rugby, CV23 8EN, Telephone: 01926 632094,E-mail: [email protected].

AIA VISIT TO SWEDEN30 May – 5 June 2011

An exploration of a major area of Sweden’s rich industrialarchaeology, with key visits to Skansen, the world’s first open air

museum, Falun copper mine, Sala silver mine, the Swedish RailwayMuseum, Angelsberg early iron working site, the Oil Museum,Eskilstuna (the Sheffield of Sweden), and Tumba paper mill.

Please see the enclosed flyer for booking.


NEWS

St Pancras Station HotelIt is expected that the lower part ofthe building will reopen as a hotelby the summer of 2011. Some of theapartments on the upper floorsbought by private individuals arealready occupied. The major part ofthe restoration work including allthe heavy structural engineeringnecessary to make the buildingviable for the next hundred years orso has been done. Fifty years agowhen it was in a dilapidatedcondition and regarded as aVictorian monstrosity there was areal risk of demolition, but evensince then it could easily havesuffered structural collapse. Thisstate of affairs is at an end and it islargely the details of interiordecoration which still have to besettled.

The public entrance to the hotelis at the southwest corner of the siteand in the 1890s the original doorshere were replaced by one of thefirst revolving doors to be installedin Europe. Invented in 1888 byTheophilus Van Kannel ofPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, thesewere becoming popular in Americafor high-rise buildings whereordinary doors had proved hard tooperate because there is a slightvacuum inside a tall building causedby air flowing upwards throughstairwells, elevator shafts, andchimneys. Van Kannel’s new designof door, essentially an air-lock, waseasy for guests and visitors to useand saved heat in winter, especiallyimportant in the cold wintersprevalent in North America (no GulfStream there). A new replicarevolving door, this time made inBritain, is to be installed where theoriginal American door was put in.The fine room above on the firstfloor with windows on three sidesbecame the Ladies Smoking Roomat about the same time. This wasanother innovation, almost uniquein Europe, where ladies werepermitted to smoke in public. Theroom is being restored to somethinglike its original appearance.

Many of the new hotelbedrooms are not in the originalGilbert Scott hotel. An entirely newblock to the northwest alongMidland Road, built in asympathetic style, will house mosthotels guests at a more moderateprice than the prestigious roomsoverlooking the Euston Road. Thenew standard rooms will cost about£200-250 per night. The multi-room

Presidential Suite incorporatingwhat was at one time the Hotelballroom will almost certainly bebeyond the means of almost allreaders of IA News – perhaps about£8,000 a night! Only a tiny fractionof the hundreds of rooms in theoriginal Hotel are being restored toanything like their original conditionand even this is involving greatexpense. For the present phase ofthe restoration work about £100 -180 million will be needed. In therebuilding of the Hotel all kinds ofprinted ephemera have beenbrought to light, such as adverts,price lists, bills, receipts and dancecards found beneath the sprungfloor of the ballroom which is tobecome part of the PresidentialSuite: it is intended that some of thispaperwork will be published asreproductions or in a booklet.

Part of the former cab road onthe west side of the Station, thedeparture side, has been enclosedand converted into a covered glazedspace where meetings and functionswill be held. North of this the cabroad paved with granite setts slopeddown steeply and after a tight bend,inside what is essentially a shorttunnel, emerged into Midland Road.Signs which read ‘black cabs only’really meant what they said. The cabroad exit was designed in the daysof horse-drawn hansom cabs andonly vehicles such as the Londonblack cab have a turning circle smallenough to negotiate the bend at thebottom of the slope. Latterly somedrivers of ‘white vans’ chose toignore the warning notices anddescending the slope to the north atspeed became well and truly stuckin the tunnel, the tight bend not atfirst being obvious. Apparently someof these vans had to be cut out toremove them, resulting in thedestruction of the vehicle. Quitehow tall theses stories are isuncertain: from memory it waspossible to negotiate the sharpbend, which was closed to traffic in2001, in a small motor car. Some ofthe ‘black cabs only’ signs havebeen salvaged.

The celebrated St Pancrasstation ticket hall with its originallinen-fold booking office and ‘stone’figures of railway men at work willnot be reopened to the public: it hasbeen incorporated into the hotel.Railway travellers must now buytickets on the floor below, forEurostar at the south end of thestation in what used to be the store

for barrels of beer from Burton-on-Trent. For domestic routes thebooking office is on the same levelat the north end of the station.

Robert Carr

Chilworth GunpowderMills Group receivesConservation Award The 2010 Conservation Award of theSurrey Industrial History Group waspresented to the ChilworthGunpowder Mills Group andGuildford Borough Council onSaturday 10 July 2010 in recognitionof their work over many years inrecording, researching andrestoration of the site of the formergunpowder works at Chilworth onthe Tillingbourne. The award wascommemorated by the presentationof a plaque by Mr Robert Bryson(Chairman, Surrey Industrial HistoryGroup) to Mr Andrew Norris,representing the Group and itsconstituent members the GuildfordBorough Council and St Martha’sParish Council. The GuildfordBorough Council was representedby Councillors Jenny Powell, RoyHogben and David Wright. Theaward is the 28th in the series ofannual awards made by the SurreyIndustrial History Group.

The Chilworth Gunpowder Millswere established in 1626 by the EastIndia Company using water powerfrom the Tillingbourne, but latermade powder for the King and forcommercial sale. From 1885 a newtype of powder was made for heavyguns, and from 1892 cordite, asmokeless propellant, was made in a

new factory. In WWI the Admiraltybuilt a second cordite factory onadjacent land. After the warexplosives factories merged, andmost closed, as did the Chilworthworks in 1920. The site was sold bythe Duke of Northumberland in1922.

Many of the buildings weredemolished. Much of the site is nowowned and maintained by theGuildford Borough Council. Therehas been much work in recentdecades in research into the historyof the site, the recording andinterpretation of building remainsand their conservation and repair,including removal of damagingvegetation. The ChilworthGunpowder Mills Group, aninformal association of localauthorities and local history andnatural history organisations,supports the care and managementof the site and encourages publicinterest and involvement. Thisincludes arranging activities onHeritage Open Days, the ParishCouncil’s annual open eveningand giving talks to interestedbodies.

Numerous books and articleshave been written about the mills. Ashort guide to the site and thehistory of powder making is A Guideto the Chilworth Gunpowder Mills(4th ed) by Glenys Crocker (SIHG2005), and a more detailed accountis given in Damnable Inventions:Chilworth gunpowder and the papermills of the Tillingbourne by Glenysand Alan Crocker (SIHG 2000). Amore extensive list may be obtainedfrom [email protected].

Andrew North, Chairman of the Chilworth Gunpowder Mills group, explaining the saltpetrehouse during the recent Industrial Buildings day school (see page 10)

Photo: Peter Stanier


NEWS

SS Robin returns to theThamesAt the end of June the restoredsteam coaster Robin (see IA News147 pages 13 & 20) was lifted bodilyonto a specially-constructed floatingmuseum pontoon by two heavy-liftcranes at the Commercial Roadslipway in Lowestoft. After beingdelayed five days by bad weatherRobin finally left Lowestoft on Friday17 September, on the pontoon beingtowed by Griffin Towage tugPrinceton, 148 tons gross. Thefollowing day she arrived in theThames estuary and berthedalongside Tilbury landing stageabout 11am. She stayed there untilthe early evening when she was tobe moved into Tilbury dock itself. ThePort of Tilbury is giving Robintemporary accommodation for oneyear, generously without charge,until a suitable berth in London canbe found. Can anyone give Robin agood home?

Present plans appear to be thatRobin will remain on the pontoon,which itself will be used as part ofthe available museum, exhibitionand classroom space. As a floatingarrangement the whole ensemblewill be relatively easy to move aboutin London as required.

Purpose-built in Szczecin, thepontoon took five days to reachEngland. The staircase on the portside, to give access to the main deckof the coaster, was also built inPoland and is integral to thestructure. The pontoon is fitted withportholes; the spacious interior hasgenerous headroom and is presently

bare and unfinished, perhapsreminiscent of the inside of the hullof an oil tanker. There will bedisabled access to this exhibitionand gallery space downstairs bymeans of a lift at the after end ofthe staircase but not to the deck ofRobin herself as that is notwheelchair-friendly.

Robin is supported on thepontoon as a ship would be in a drydock or floating dock. One caninspect the hull from close quartersand admire her fine lines. As anexample of the best shipbuildingtechniques of the late-nineteenthcentury, this will provide a goodopportunity to see just how thingswere done. Subsequent repairs andpatches are an eloquent reminder ofthe hard work the hull wassubjected to during her long andarduous commercial career. Thevessel appears to be fitted with thespare iron propeller which wasusually carried on a ship. The normalpropeller would probably have beenbronze.

Robert Carr

The Railway HeritageCommitteeOn 14 October the governmentannounced the abolition of theRailway Heritage Committee whichhas served the rail industry for thelast 14 years, continuing the work ofidentifying railway records andartefacts for preservation, started byBritish Railways over 60 years ago.The acting Chairman, PeterOvenstone, has said that theCommittee has ‘confirmed its

willingness to work proactively withGovernment, the rail industry, andthe heritage and archiving sectors,during the winding down process, tosee how the heritage of the modernrail industry can best be protectedfor the future. The strong supportgiven to RHC by the rail industry –both pre- and post- privatisation –has emphasised the continuedawareness of and pride within theindustry of the value of its heritage.’

The Railway HeritageCommittee was established by theRailway Heritage Act, 1996, andtook over from the British RailwaysBoard the role of designatinghistoric railway artefacts andrecords. When no longer wanted byrail companies, the Committee candirect their disposal for safekeeping, including to the NationalRailway Museum, heritage railwaysand to local museums and archives.The Chairman and members of theCommittee and its specialist sub-committees are all unpaid and theCommittee has for many yearsoperated with a paid staff of one,the Secretary.

During its life, it has designatedmany thousands of importantartefacts and historical recordswhich include Brunel’s drawings ofthe Great Western Railway, somestill in use as working documentstoday; the British Transport Filmscollection; paintings by TerenceCuneo; coaches from the RoyalTrain; a travelling post office sortingvan; and the GNER archive. Since2006 the railways owned by theMinistry of Defence have also beenwithin the Committee’s scope and anumber of important artefacts havebeen designated as a result,including a coach used as a mobilehospital during World War One.

The National Archive at Kewcontains the records of BR, but doesnot accept the records of privatecompanies for safe keeping, and thechallenge will be to safeguard thekey archives and records of therailway industry which will beinvaluable to future historians.

The loss of Old OakCommonMany readers who took an interestin railways 60 years ago will befamiliar with the locomotive depotsdesigned by the eminent engineer C.J. Churchward. They were quitecommonplace over much of theformer GWR system and there was a

considerable concentration ofChurchward buildings of varioustypes at Swindon Works, nowalmost all gone. It will probablycome as a surprise to be told thatthe only surviving remains of aChurchward roundhouse depot arethe few buildings left at Old OakCommon in West London whichremain after the demolition of thelarge four-turntable engine shedthere circa 1964. This was theprototype Churchward roundhousedepot opened in 1906 and similarbut smaller examples weresubsequently built at many of thelarger GW motive power depots.

Still at Old Oak Common, butdue to demolished shortly, is alocomotive lifting shop in use untilabout a year ago for diesel locorunning repairs, offices, a one-timecanteen building, large storesbuilding, boiler house and a formersand furnace building: in all thereare eight Churchward buildings left.Attempts at listing are nowpointless as the area is covered bythe Crossrail Act. Ten or so years agolisting Grade II should have beenstraightforward but unfortunatelytransport enthusiasts, despite theirfanatical devotion, have almost nointerest in where and how theirtreasured machines were made,housed or maintained.

An excellent description of theOld Oak Common depot can befound in An historical survey ofGreat Western Engine Sheds 1947by E. T. Lyons (M I Struct E), 2ndedition with corrections 1974. InFebruary 1907 when a youngengineer, Sir William Stanier FRSpresented his first paper ‘TheEquipment of a Running Shed’ tothe Swindon Engineering Society.This mentions Old Oak Common andwas published in the Society’sTransactions as paper 77. Moreinformation is also available on theGLIAS website (www.glias.org.uk).Click on News and use the links:there is an index.

Robert Carr

Hastings and WestonPiers: two contrastingtalesOn 5 October arsonists managed todestroy much of Hastings Pier inEast Sussex. The 1872 pier had beenclosed for four years because ofsafety fears. Earlier this year,Hastings Borough Council boughtthe pier with a compulsory purchase

SS Robin on the pontoon, berthed at Tilbury Landing Stage, 18 September 2010Photo: RJM Carr


NEWS

order and gave it to the HastingsPier and White Rock Trust, whichhad invited architects’ designs forredevelopment just the day beforethe fire. This is a major setback andthe Trust is now assessing the fullextent of the damage. The narrowbridge section of the pier has beenfurther weakened by the loss of thedeck planks from the fire and needsemergency work to prevent itcollapsing over winter. The Trust hastherefore launched an EmergencyFund. See the website:www.hpwrt.co.uk.

Meanwhile, later in Octoberthousands of people queued in therain when the Grand Pier at Weston-super-Mare reopened after a £39mrefurbishment. The pavilion wasdestroyed in July 2008 by a massivefire caused by an electrical fault. TheGrade II-listed pier first opened in1904, but the first pavilion burntdown in 1930. Now, the thirdpavilion offers state of the artentertainments.

Sugar works dig on StKittsCaribbean Volunteer Expeditions areinviting volunteers to join in the

second ‘dig for history’ at theWingfield Estate Sugar Works, StKitts, West Indies, from January 30to February 6, 2011. WingfieldEstate is one of the oldest sugarestates in the Eastern Caribbean,and has its origins in the firstEnglish settlement established in1623. Sugar cane cultivation beganhere in the 1630s, and by the mid-1700s the estate was the largestand most advanced on St. Kitts.Cane was processed in the waterand steam-powered sugar worksuntil the 1920s. With its edge-of-the-rainforest location on the banksof the Wingfield River, this site mustbe one of the most picturesque inthe Caribbean. The historicpreservation project at WingfieldEstate involves careful excavation ofruined or buried remains, artefactconservation, mapping andphotography, and assisting in themaintenance of existing restoredstructures. During the week we willalso explore St. Kitts and enjoy someleisure time. The Group Leader isDavid Rollinson. A member of theAssociation of Caribbean Historiansand a Heritage Conservationspecialist, David is a former residentof St. Kitts & Nevis and has been

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NEWS

involved in the preservation ofWingfield Works for many years. Formore information related to theprogram, travel or island facilitiesplease contact: David Rollinson,Email: [email protected]

Blists Hill beaten byUlster MuseumThe Ulster Museum, Belfast, haswon this year’s £100,000 Art FundPrize for museums and galleries. Thethree other short-listed museumswere the Blists Hill Victorian Town(Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust),the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford,and the Herbert Art Gallery andMuseum in Coventry. Our readers’interest will lie in the Blists HillVictorian Town, where the 54-acresite has been re-invigorated bycreating an East ShropshireCoalfield town of c1900, broughtalive by costumed staff andvolunteers. The site was transformedlast year, with many new features,such as a new visitor centre and astreet of shops, including a PostOffice, fried fish dealer, draper’sshop, sweet shop andphotographers, along with a claymine experience and an inclined lift.Substantial conservation work hasbeen completed on the historicwrought ironworks on site whichoffers one of the most powerful livedemonstrations of any museumin Britain. Anyone who has notvisited Blists Hill for some time willbe surprised by the many changes.

New World Heritagesites 2010 The 34th session of the WorldHeritage Committee meeting on 25July-2 August in Brasilia under theChairmanship of the Minister ofCulture of Brazil, João Luiz da SilvaFerreira, inscribed a total of 21 newsites on UNESCO World HeritageList.

Those with industrialarchaeological associations includetwo new cultural sites: AustralianConvict Sites (Australia) and theSeventeenth-century Canal RingArea inside the Singelgracht,

Amsterdam (Netherlands). TwoWorld Heritage sites that have beenextended are: the Mines ofRammelsberg, Historic Town ofGoslar and Upper Harz Watermanagement System (Germany) andthe Røros Mining Town and theCircumference (Norway).

Lincoln Castle: the endThe PS Lincoln Castle was built onthe Clyde in 1940 by A&J Inglis andspent her life on the River Humberas a railway-owned ferry until shewas taken out of service in 1978.Latterly she was moored inAlexandra Dock, Grimsby, close tothe National Fishing HeritageCentre, where she served as a pub.Despite an offer (believed to be£100,000) by the Lincoln CastlePreservation Society to purchaseher, the owner has destroyed thevessel by tearing her apart using ahydraulic grab. The accompanyingpicture was taken on 15 October bywhich time only the transom wasrecognisable.

Chris Lester

Silver-lead mine for saleThe mine heritage complex at theLlywernog Silver-Lead MineCeredigion, Mid Wales, is currentlyfor sale after 36 years of privateownership and development. Thesale is being handled by ChestertonHumberts via their Ludlow office. Itis a large site with a good trackrecord and ample room forexpansion of facilities. The guideprice is £350K with a possible, partprivate mortgage, available. Anenthusiastic new owner is beingsought who could breath new lifeinto this 300 year old silver-lead-zinc ore mine. Website:www.silverminetours.co.uk

Goodbye Corus helloTataOn 27 September Corus adopted thename Tata Steel which will appearon all its documents, vehicles andsteel plants. British Steel mergedwith the Dutch steel companyHoogovens BV in 1999, when it

became Corus. Then, in April 2007Corus was bought by the Indian firmTata, creating one of the world’s topten steelmakers, with a majorpresence in Europe as well asAsia. Tata Steel has a long andsuccessful history, having pioneeredthe first integrated steelworks inIndia a century ago. Tata SteelEurope is Europe’s second largeststeel producer, with its mainsteelmaking operations in the UKand the Netherlands.

Two Tunnels Scheme The cycling charity Sustrans hasacquired the old Devonshire andCombe Down tunnels which wereabandoned when the Somerset &Dorset Railway closed in the 1960s.The aim is to create a 4-mile cycleand footpath between Bath andMidford. Sustrans is paying nearlyhalf the cost of the £1.9m project,with rest from fundraising and Bathand North East Somerset Council.The plan is to open the new TwoTunnels route in 2011.

Saving WedgwoodartefactsStoke-on-Trent’s Wedgwood Museumwas put into administration in March2010, and local MP Tristram Hunt ispressing for the valuable collection

to be kept together and notdispersed. This is sad news, since themuseum won the £100,000 Art Fundprize in 2009.

No rain for DroitwichBarge CanalThe Droitwich Barge Canal, disusedfor 80 years, has been restored byBritish Waterways but its openingwas delayed in early September by alack of water (no rain!). However,all should be well next year whenthe opening of the Junction Canalwill complete a £12m project tocreate a 21-mile cruising ring inWorcestershire.

Killhope wins awardThe North of England Lead MiningMuseum at Killhope, Weardale, wonthe Small Visitor Attraction of theYear at the North East EnglandTourism Awards 2010, held atRamside Hall, Durham, on 12October.

Brewery site for saleHardy and Hanson’s KimberleyBrewery, Nottingham, is up for sale.The site, in the KimberleyConservation Area, ceased brewingat the end of 2006 after it had beenbought by Greene King of Suffolk.


‘Roll on – roll off’ takes on a whole new meaning during the sad demolition of the formerferry Lincoln Castle Photo: Chris Lester


REGIONAL NEWS

West of EnglandIA in the region remains in goodhealth with an excellent 41stregional conference in Cheltenhamin April, last. Organised by GSIA, theGloucestershire Society, the wholeprogramme was of interest but thequality of fieldwork came through inpresentations on Bromsgrovenailers and their workshops, thePurton Hulks Ships Graveyard,Newcomen engines on the old southGloucestershire coalfield andunrecorded early coal-mining in theForest of Dean. Something of thevitality experienced at earlierregional conferences, and perhapsmissing in some subsequent years,was the dominant impression at thiswell-organised day (see IA News154, page 11).

A fine example of the spirit ofadventure of times past was therescue of the stock of the Victorianengineering and mineral waterworks of J. B. Bowler of Bath in thelate 1960s by Russell Frears. Hispassing was mentioned in IA News154, page 12, but it is perhapsworth noting here that a short filmpresented by Kenneth Hudson onthe recording and rescue of thecollection that was to form the coreof the Museum of Bath at Work isnow available on a DVD of historicfilms from this museum. AIAmembers who attended the pre-conference programme at the 1986Bath Conference might rememberRussell’s showing of this film (in pre-digital days) and his account of histhen risky venture.

On the conservation front, theeconomic downturn has certainlyreduced the overall number ofdevelopment applications in this

region’s largest city and very fewfresh ‘industrial’ cases have comebefore the Bristol’s ConservationAdvisory Panel. It is clear that thenew PPS 5 (replacing PPG’s 15 & 16)is now being used purposefully bydevelopers and their agents andthere is an urgent need for AIAmembers active in planning mattersto adapt to the new statement andassociated guidance. The advice maychange but some of the old caseskeep returning. A public enquiryrecently went against proposals todevelop the site of the listed StokesCroft carriage works and permissionto demolish William Bradford’smaltings, next to the SS GreatBritain, has come up for renewal asthe previous scheme has not beenimplemented. Both cases have beenreported in previous newslettersand the maltings has been on andoff the agenda since the 1980s! It isindeed a ‘long game’.

Brian Murless reports elsewherein this issue (see page 7) on anumber of interesting projects inSomerset. In summary, at Nyneheadon the Grand Western Canal,volunteers from the Canal Trust andthe Somerset IA Society have beenactive in and around the remains ofJames Green’s innovative canal liftwhich once raised the canal tubboats some 24 feet. Segments of agear wheel, thought to have beenassociated with one of the lift’sguillotine gates, have been found.Also in the Wellington area, plansfor the reuse of part of the Tone andTonedale works have followed thepurchase of the Fox Bros business byDeborah Meaden of the TV Dragon’sDen panel. Wessex Water hasrefurbished and repaired twohistoric water towers on theoutskirts of the town. The bricktower of 1884 has had its conicalcap and weathervane refurbishedwhilst the later (1934) four-storeyconcrete tower has been repaired.Both are listed Grade II, as is theassociated pumping station atWestford. The future of the latterremains uncertain, which is a pity asit retains original structural featuresand hydraulic machinery.

Elsewhere in Somerset, this yearwill see the completion of a projectinvolving the conservation,interpretation and public access to theheritage of the West Somerset MineralRailway which carried iron ore fromthe Brendon Hills to the coast atWatchet. There are trail leaflets, alimited two volume book on the

mines and the railway, and a website(www.westsomersetmineralrailway.org.uk). At Westonzoyland, theEngine Trust has now restored tosteam a single cylinder horizontalengine by James Culverwell of theBridgwater Iron Foundry. This wasacquired from Bristol IndustrialMuseum’s stores, having previouslyworked at the Burnham Breweryprior to the clearance of this site in1966. At Hestercombe House, nearTaunton, AIA’s Ian West has assistedin the acquisition of a rare acetylenelighting plant for the mill visitorcentre. This was one of only twoknown complete examplesremaining in situ in the British Isles,the other being in Northern Ireland.

Finally, work on theconservation of the extremelyfragile Dawe’s Twine Works, nearYeovil, has been going well with asuccessful lifting of the roof.However, there is concern at thecondition of the historic rope walkat the Parrett Works, a formerengineering and flax-manufacturingcomplex at Martock.

In Dorset, there is good newsfrom the Swanage Railway where,for the first time in 43 years, asteam-hauled passenger train ranfrom Swanage all the way toLondon. In late November 2009 the11-coach Capital Christmas Expressleft Swanage for Waterloo, hauledby the 1940s Bulleid Pacific steamlocomotive Tangmere. British Railreplaced steam with diesel on 5September 1966, before closing theline six years later. The SwanageRailway has been working towardsthe day when regular trains can runagain through to Swanage fromWareham on the main line. Money isnow at last available for signalling

modernisation which will achievethis aim.

On a sadder note, 2009 markedthe end of an era for the GreatDorset Steam Fair. Michael Oliver,MBE, founder of the renowned Fair,died aged 75 on 29 November.Around 1,000 people were said tobe present for his funeral in hishome village of Child Okeford on 15December, which also featured theshow’s ‘mascot’ traction engine QuoVadis, with music provide by asteam-powered fairground organ.Michael Oliver’s first steam showwas held in a field near Shaftesburyin 1968, which became the firstSteam Fair at Stourpaine in thefollowing year. This moved toStourpaine Bushes in 1971, then tonearby Everley Hill in 1985 beforearriving at its present 600-acre siteat Tarrant Hinton three years later.From small beginnings, the five-dayGreat Dorset Steam Fair attractsaround 200,000 visitors from homeand abroad. The show is now run byMichael’s son Martin and the 2010event was a great success.

In the north of the region, a pairof replica tramroad wagons havenow been installed near the originalentrance of the tramroad toGloucester Docks. The wagons weremade by Dorothea Restorations ofBristol and were financed by theSouth West Regional DevelopmentAgency as part of the area’sregeneration scheme. It is now some19 years since the late David Bickand his colleagues first suggestedthis idea! On a more worrying note,there is widespread concern atproposals for adaptive reuse of thehistoric Stanley Mill at KingsStanley. This Grade I listed woollenmill complex dates from 1813 and is

The Rockwell Green concrete water towerunder construction in 1934

Photo: Wessex Water

The condition of the former rope walk at the Parrett Works is a cause for concernPhoto: Geoff Fitton

noted for its fireproof constructionand elegant cast ironwork. The millwas much admired by the notedPrussian architect Karl FriedrichSchinkel on his journey to Britain in1826 and influenced his use of ironcolumns in his designs for PrinceAlbrecht’s Palace after his return toGermany. The developmentproposals include the placing of 76residential apartments within thehistoric mill buildings which wouldseverely damage the fine interiorand destroy the essential characterof this historic building. It is alsoproposed to demolish many of thelater buildings associated with themill to build a further 70 new units.The building is on the ‘at risk’register but such a development isseen as inappropriate for such animportant industrial building.

The mothballing of the Lafargecement works in Westbury, Wiltshire,was mentioned in our 2009 reportand it has now been announcedthat much of this 1962 plant(featured in Kenneth Hudson’sIndustrial History from the Air(1984) when it was the Blue Circleworks) will be demolished. The120m stack, kilns and clinker (i.e.the product after the burning of thechalk and clay) plant will go. Themills for grinding and blendingcement will remain when itcontinues as a depot only. Thisdecision, the upcoming closure ofthe Keynsham confectionery factoryafter the Kraft takeover of Cadburyand new plans to ‘facade’ the Bathor Pitman Press works, mentioned inour 2008 report, raise issues for AIAand local societies. English Heritage,it seems, is reluctant to listtwentieth-century industrial sites

and industrial archaeologists havenever been quite sure of their ‘cut-off’ date. The inclusion of sites fromthe last century in gazetteers hasbeen uneven and it is perhaps timeto put their recording and/orconservation higher on the agenda.The current economic downturn andcontinuing demise of manufacturingadds great urgency to this debate.

Mike Bone

South West England I wrote last year that recession wassaid to be good for heritage but thepreponderance of bad news thisyear gives me room for doubt. Againthere is a majority of news from thefar west and I should welcome anycontributions which could correctthis bias.

The autumn of 2009 saw twodiscoveries in Cornwall, verydifferent but each of interest. InSeptember a granite outcrop mortarstone was reported in the WendronValley near the Poldark Mine. Thestone had 17 hollows in its upperface, the result of prehistoric tincrushing. It is believed to have beenin use around the second and firstcenturies BC. Its importance is that,unlike detached mortar stones, theoutcrop has never been moved. Ithas now received ScheduledMonument status. The previousAugust, highways contractorsworking at North Wheal Crofty,Tuckingmill, near Camborneunearthed an engraved CornishWrestling trophy. It had beenawarded to Sam Ham at ManorHouse, Jeppestown, South Africa.Investigations revealed that Sam,

born in 1880 near Camborne, wentto South Africa to mine in 1906,returning in 1913. He had asuccessful wrestling career, beingMiddleweight Champion of SouthAfrica in 1910. Sam retired frommining a victim of miners’ phthisis(silicosis) and died in 1946. He isburied in Camborne. The cup, stolenby burglars in the 1980s, has nowbeen returned to his family.

October saw the 90thanniversary of one of Cornwall’sgreatest mining disasters when therod of the man-engine at LevantMine at Levant Mine broke and 31miners died. An ecumenical open-airservice took place near the oldminers’ dry at Levant from where aspiral staircase and tunnel lead tothe mouth of the man engine shaft.Many descendants of the victimswere present. Publicity about theanniversary then led to the solutionof a long- standing mystery. A poem,‘Lines on the Disaster’, appearedimmediately after the tragedy andwas sold in a 2d broadsheet. Theverses are still read andremembered but the author hadhitherto been identified only by theinitials KA. We now know that hisname was Kirby Atkins and heworked as a compositor at aPenzance printer. His granddaughterrecalled that Mr Atkins came homeon the night of the tragedy andwrote the poem sitting at his tableafter his evening meal.

In November came news fromYokohama, Japan, of the death ofFrank Okuno, great, great grandsonof Richard Trevithick. Born in Japan,Frank owed his surname to hisgrandfather’s adoption of his wife’sname in order to be rewarded as a

Japanese citizen for his contributionto the country’s railwaydevelopment. Frank Okuno was veryproud of his Cornish heritage andwas a regular visitor to the countyparticularly on Trevithick Day.

Autumn was also the season fordemolitions. Bartle’s Foundry nearSouth Crofty was threatened by aroad scheme, essential for localregeneration. The building datedfrom 1861 and had been owned bySouth Crofty and Holman Brothers.In a novel use of World Heritage sitestatus, a ‘spokesman’ for CornwallCouncil justified demolition on thegrounds that the building was justoutside the designated area. At thetime of writing no progress has beenmade with the road and the buildingstill stands. Shortly afterwardsbulldozers moved onto a far moreimportant site, namely the lastremaining vestiges of HolmanBrothers’ works in Camborne. Thiswas the No. 3 rock Drill Worksadjacent to Camborne station. Tothe surprise of few, once workbegan the buildings were found tobe in a far worse state thananticipated and at risk of imminentcollapse. Most of the site has nowbeen cleared amongst continuingrecrimination about the extent ofdemolition and what was to beretained. The World Heritage Sitedocuments listed Holmans as having‘outstanding international value’.On a happier note in early 2010 aseries of showings took place inCamborne of films from the HolmanCollection now in the care of theTrevithick Society. A project hasbeen undertaken to digitise thisarchive and, as well as the filmshows, there was a three day‘memory shop’ session as well asoral history recording. The seasonended with an evening of music andpasties from the Holman ClimaxChoir. Funding is being sought tocontinue this programme. Finally onTrevithick Day the High Sheriff ofCornwall unveiled a memorialplaque to the Holman family andtheir connections with Camborne,adjacent to the sad remains of theNo. 3 Works.

That we still have some way togo in securing acceptance of thevalue of industrial remains wasapparent in May when workmenlaying power cables ripped upgranite setts or sleeper blocks onthe Tresavean Mineral TramwaysTrail. The blocks are to be replacedby the contractor but raise the issue

REGIONAL NEWS


Westbury cement works, now under threat of demolition Photo: Peter Stanier


as to why the avoidance of suchproblems was not specified by thosecommissioning the work. TheTresavean case might be considereda sin of omission but the demolitionof Plymouth’s 1951 NAAFI (the lastsuch purpose built survivor in thecountry) by its current owner theUniversity of Plymouth is very muchone of commission. The NAAFIdesigned by Messrs Joseph for aprominent site on the city’s ArmadaWay was an elegant piece of publicservice architecture and is the mostgrievous loss to date of Plymouth’spost-war Abercrombie city centre.The building was neglected by anowner determined to demolish itand allowed it to deteriorate, whena new use could have been found.nglish Heritage had previouslyrefused to list and confirmed thatdecision in an emergency review.Plymouth Council was as usualcareless of its unique post-war city

centre heritage. A totallyunmemorable nine-storey block ofstudent accommodation will replaceit. The University’s own Professor ofArchitecture had, in the definitivereport on Plymouth’s post-warbuildings, rated it as a ‘building ofhighest quality’. That a universityshould be responsible for such anappalling piece of vandalism isdeeply depressing.

The archaeology of leisure doesnot always receive its share ofattention, even in areas like theSouth West. In Plymouth a 70 yearold diving board, adjacent to thelisted Art Deco Tinside Lido wasdemolished last year. Closed since2003, it was 70 ft high and wasbeing used by local children for thedangerous activity of ‘tombstoning’,diving vertically into the water. Therestored Lido in contrast is a greatsuccess as is its Cornish equivalentthe tidal Jubilee Pool at Penzance.This unique structure celebrated its75th anniversary in May. Here it wasrevealed that during the war itsconcrete base was strengthened totake two 6-inch guns for coastaldefence, firing over the wall of thepool.

In February 2010 a nineteenth-century cobbler’s shop, which hadlain untouched for 28 years, was re-erected at Dairyland Farm World, apopular Cornish tourist attraction. Ithad been moved piece by piece fromits original site behind the home oforiginal owner William Spellers atCarharrack near Redruth. The shopwas built in the back yard whenWilliam Spellers refused to payincreased rent for his previous shopin nearby St Day. Customers came tothe front door and through thehouse to the shop. It closed in the

1980s on the death of Stephen,William Speller’s son. His sisterFlorence, now 99, contacted theTrevithick Society, which arrangedits transfer and preservation.

It is pleasant to end on ahappier note with good news formsome of the area’s key museumsites. Morwellham Quay, thenineteenth-century copper port onthe Devon bank of the River Tamar,has reopened under newmanagement. New owners theLister family already own the BictonGardens tourist attraction in EastDevon. King Edward Mine, nearCamborne in Cornwall, opened anew winder house this August. Thisis a replica of the original, burntdown in 1958, and houses the site’s1907 Holman winder, itself returnedto King Edward a few years agoafter sojourns at Castle-an-Dinaswolfram mine and Poldark Mine.Volunteers at King Edward mournedthe death in July of Willie Uren.Willie had spent a lifetime inCornish mining and mineralprocessing and was a tower ofstrength in the restoration work atKing Edward. At Geevor Mine workcontinues to extend the

underground tour for visitors. Themine also received a visit from HRHThe Duke of Kent in July to mark theinauguration of Geevor as a keycentre for the Cornish Mining WorldHeritage Site. The Duke unveiled aplaque and opened new orientationand interpretation rooms.

Graham Thorne

WalesHeritage bodies and localcampaigners have beencampaigning to save the minesrescue station at Wrexham after thesite was purchased for developmentby a local business man. Attemptsseemed to fall on stoney grounduntil the building was recommendedfor listing by Cadw subject to a fourweek consultation, due to end on 3September. The consultation periodto determine whether the rescuestation would be officially listed wasunderway when the diggers movedin and demolition began in mid-August. Wrexham council stoppeddemolition work stating that asafety certificate was needed beforework could continue at the building.On 18 August Cadw spot listed thebuilding for its special historic

REGIONAL NEWS

The newly installed Holman winder in its house at King Edward Mine, a site visited duringthe AIA’s Cornwall conference Photo: Steve Dewhirst

The tunnel to the man-engine shaft atLevant Mine. This October was the 90thanniversary of the disaster which killed 31miners

Photo: Marilyn Palmer


REGIONAL NEWS

interest, giving it immediateprotection.

The Maesgwyn Road rescuestation (SJ 3328 3507) is a Ruabonred brick building purposely built in1913 by the North Wales CoalOwners Association to serve themines within the North Walescoalfields. It retains (or maybe didretain!) its original form and layoutincluding a rare example of atraining gallery. Amongst others, thestation trained those who helped inattempts to rescue miners from the1934 Gresford disaster, when anexplosion claimed the lives of 266people. The centre closed in the1980s and was subsequently usedby the fire service.

Planning permission fordemolition was granted to thecurrent owner two years ago andCadw were notified in an attempt tosave the building. It seems the spotlisting came too late. Contractorscontinued demolition work after thelisting without either a safetycertificate from the council or listedbuilding consent. Reportedly thetraining gallery, possibly the mosthistoric feature of the building, hasbeen demolished. The gallery ranround the rear of the building atirregular heights to simulate asection of a coal mine. The houseadjoining the station was built forthe training instructor.

Legal action is currently(September 2010) being consideredby Wrexham Council over the‘unauthorised demolition’ of theRescue Station. As we well know, itis a criminal offence to undertakeunauthorised works to listedbuildings and as the matter willhopefully be dealt with seriously.

Elsewhere in Wales, industrialarchaeology appears to havebenefitted from development. Arapid investigation by The ClwydPowys Archaeological Trust (CPAT)in advance of construction works fora new dwelling at Dolafon Road,Newtown (SO 1138 9172)confirmed that substantial remainssurvived relating to nineteenth-century limekilns which are likely tohave been constructed shortly after1821 with the completion of thesection of the MontgomeryshireCanal, which terminated at a basinto the west of the development site.The kilns were evidently disused by1886 when they were depicted onthe Ordnance Survey 1st edition 25-inch map. This shows a row of fourlimekilns with a small building to

one side. The limekilns still stand toaround 2.7m with two largedrawholes visible, built into asubstantial stone revetment wall.Each drawhole would have servedtwo kilns. The foundations for thesmall building were revealedfollowing the removal of demolitionrubble, along with part of a brickpaved yard.

The limekilns are an importantfeature of Newtown’s industrial pastand are one of only two visiblestructures directly related to thecanal basin. The other is theCommercial Mill, a nineteenth-century flannel and tweed millaround 100m north of the limekilns.

Again at Newtown, the remainsof a small brick kiln were identifiedby CPAT in a pasture field on thesouth side of the town duringtopsoil stripping for a new watermain (SO 1144 9100). The strippedarea was then cleaned by hand anda programme of rapid excavationand recording took place over afour-day period. The kiln, identifiedas Great Brimmon Brick Kiln,occupied an area of around 8.5mnorth-east/south-west by 5.75mnorth-west/south-east and wasreadily identified by the intenseburning which had taken placewithin the kiln. The remains weredifficult to interpret and it seemslikely that two phases arerepresented, with flues on slightlydiffering alignments. Each phasemay have had up to eight linearflues spaced at regular intervals;around 1.0m apart and measuring c.0.5m across and up to 0.2m deep,all of them filled with a mixture ofcoke and charcoal beneath a depositof brick fragments.

The flues had been cut through adeposit of crushed and compactedfired bricks which formed theplatform on which the kiln had beenconstructed. Two samples of fired butdeformed bricks were recovered fromthe kiln, each measuring around 230x 108 x 65mm (9” x 4¼” x 2½”).These were of a type known as ‘place’bricks, which lack the indentation, or‘frog’, typical of later, particularlyindustrial-scale manufacture. Potteryfound in the immediate area suggeststhat the kiln may date from the lateeighteenth or early nineteenthcentury.

The brick kiln is of a type knownas a clamp kiln, and is likely to havebeen a temporary structure, beingused for a specific building projectand subsequently dismantled, leaving

no obvious surface trace. The fieldcontaining the kiln is known locally as‘brick field’, and information providedby the landowner suggests that thekiln may have been constructed tofire the bricks which were used tobuild Great Brimmon farmhouse,around 150m to the south-east,although this has now been replacedby a modern building. Unfortunately,it is not known when the farmhousewas constructed.

Nigel Jones, Clwyd PowysArchaeological Trust, isacknowledged for both these reports.

Pat Frost

Northern England Just after I had finished writing thereport for 2009 Cumbria was hit bysome of the most severe flooding forcenturies. Whilst this led towidespread damage to buildingsespecially in Cockermouth with theJennings brewery being closed for aperiod, no major industrialstructures were affected. Somemining sites in the Lake District fellswere also damaged in places bywash outs but no major structureswere lost.

However, the main structuraldamage was to the bridges of thearea. The listed bridge, North Side(new) Bridge at Workington wastotal destroyed with the unfortunateloss of the life of PC Barker. TheGrade 2 listed bridge at Lorton wasalso totally destroyed and numerousother bridges in the area weredamaged, many being closed untilrepairs could be completed. TheLorton bridge is being replaced witha steel girder bridge instead of theoriginal two arch stone bridge,although it will be covered in stoneto camouflage the steel. Aconsultation is taking place for a

new design for a replacement forthe North Bridge at Workington.

As already reported in IA News153, Summer 2010, iron and steelmaking on Teeside came to an endwith the mothballing of the Redcarblast furnace. The furnace was builtin 1979 and its closure brings to anend 150 years of iron and steelmaking on Teeside since thediscovery of ironstone in the EstonHills in the early 1850s. Teeside hada total of 100 blast furnaces by 1875producing two million tons of ironper year.

The first iron and steel workswere built on the Redcar site in1917 and the two blast furnaceswere producing 500 tons of iron perday. Development of the newcomplex started in 1973 with theopening of the ore terminal on theriver Tees. This was followed by thesinter plant, coke ovens andpelleting plant in 1978 and what atthe time was Europe’s biggest blastfurnace in 1979. This furnace wascapable of producing more iron thanthe 100 blast furnaces present onTeeside 100 years earlier. With theclosure of the two smaller blastfurnaces at the Cleveland works in1993, the Redcar furnace becamethe only blast furnace in the NorthEast of England.

Two major industrial sites inWest Cumbria have now beentotally cleared. The Workington steelworks and rail mill has no structuresleft on the site and the same appliesto the Marchion chemical plantabove Whitehaven. With the way inwhich industrial sites are cleared inthe present environment one doeshave to ask what will be theindustrial archaeology of the latetwentieth century?

Graham Brooks

North Bridge Workington, destroyed by floodwater Photo: David Powell


PUBLICATIONS

Local Society and other periodicals received

Abstracts will appear in Industrial Archaeology Review.

Brewery History, 134, Spring 2010; 136, Summer 2010; 137, Autumn2010

Brewery History Society Newsletter, 50, Summer 2010

Bristol Industrial Archaeological Society Journal, 42, 2009

Cumbria Industrial History Society Bulletin, 77, August 2010

Dorset Industrial Archaeology Society Bulletin, 28, September 2010

Greater London Industrial Archaeology Society Newsletter, 249,August; 250, October 2010

Hampshire Mills Group Newsletter, 90, Winter 2010

Historic Gas Times, 64, September 2010

Leicestershire Industrial History Society Newsletter, Vol2 No 1, 2010

Manchester Region Industrial Archaeology Society Newsletter, 132,June 2010; 133, August 2010

Merseyside Industrial Heritage Society Newsletter, 301, Summer2010; 302, Autumn 2010

Midland Wind & Water Mills Group Newsletter, 97, August 2010

North East Derbyshire Industrial Archaeology Society Newsletter,39, August 2010

Piers: the Journal of the National Piers Society, 95, Spring 2010; 96,Summer 2010

Scottish Industrial Heritage Society Bulletin, 56, September 2010

Somerset Industrial Archaeological Society Bulletin, 113, April 2010;114, August 2010

Books

Brill Windmill Buckinghamshire. The History, Technology,Conservation and Repair of a 17th-Century Post Mill, by Luke Bonwick,Buckinghamshire County Council, 2010, 99pp, £10 + £3 P&P fromwww.shop.millsarchivetrust.org

A well researched and attractively produced book on a much-lovedlandmark. The drawings are particularly useful for anyone trying to come togrips with the mechanical and structural elements of a post mill. A historyof the mill is followed by detailed descriptions of the structure and workingparts of Brill Windmill, an analysis of how the mill has evolved, and endswith a proposed chronology. The next section deals with the programme ofconservation and repair of the mill with which the author has beenintimately involved, and the final part, is largely a report on thedendrochronology by Martin Bridge. The programme of conservation andrepair in 2009 provided much new evidence, and the mill has been given anew lease of life. This post mill had been thought to date from the 1680s,but the latest research suggests the majority of the present mill representsa rebuilding of about 60 years later. The Toll-houses of North Devon, by Tim Jenkinson & Patrick Taylor,Polystar Press, Ipswich, 2010. ISBN 978 1 907154 03 4. 120pp, 106 illus.£8.95.

This illustrated gazetteer lists some 75 surviving toll houses in NorthDevon, each with a photograph and a short description including referencesfrom census returns. There are also brief notes on over 100 vanished toll-houses. The introduction includes some background on turnpikes and theirorganisation in general, but only a single page is devoted to a summary ofthose of North Devon. The book complements a first book on South Devon(see IA News 151, p19), the fact that there are two volumes is a reflectionon the extensive road network of a very large county.

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AIA REGIONAL GAZETTEERSCambridge & Peterborough £4.95 Derbyshire £5.50Greater Manchester £4.95 Hertfordshire & Lea Valley £5.50Kent £4.95 Lancashire £5.50North West Wales £3.95 Scotland, Forth & Clyde £5.50South East Wales £4.95 West Midlands: £1.50Wiltshire: £5.50

P + P extra: One copy: £0.60 inland, £1.10 overseas.Two copies: £0.85p inland, £1.90 overseas.Three copies: £0.85 inland, £2.60 overseasSix or more copies: half postageTen or more copies: post-free

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20—© Association for Industrial Archaeology, November 2010Registered in England under the Companies Act 1948 (No. 1326854) and the Charities Act 1960 (No. 277511)

Registered office: c/o IGMT, Coach Road, Coalbrookdale, Telford, Shropshire TF8 7DQProduced by TBC Print Services Limited, Blandford Forum, Dorset DT11 8ST

DIARY

15-16 FEBRUARY 2011DIGITAL PAST 2011: NEWTECHNOLOGIES INHERITAGE, INTERPRETATION& OUTREACHat Bodelwyddan, North Wales,papers, seminars, and practicaltraining sessions covering the latesttechnical survey and interpretationtechniques and their practicalapplication in heritageinterpretation, education andconservation. For details, contactSusan Fielding, ArchitecturalInvestigator, Survey Branch,RCAHMW, Plas Crug, Aberystwyth,Ceredigion SY23 1NJ. Telephone:01970 621219Email: [email protected]

2 MARCH 2011 TOWARDS AN AGENDA FORTHE HISTORY OF EARLYMAIN-LINE RAILWAYS at the Conference Centre of theNational Railway Museum, York, thisworkshop will explore the timebetween the opening of the firstmain lines and the comparativematuring of the industry in the lastthird of the nineteenth century. Theafternoon will consist of two pairsof short position papers, followed bydiscussion. See the Institute ofRailway Studies & Transport Historywebsite: www.york.ac.uk/inst/irs/

2 APRIL 2011SOUTH WEST & WALESREGIONAL IA CONFERENCEat the Llanhilleth Miners Institute,near Abertillary, hosted by theOxford House Industrial HistorySociety. For details, contact BrianAbsolon, Conference Organiser, Tel:01633264819, E-mail:[email protected].

14-16 APRIL 2011ELEVATORS ANDFUNICULARS OF THE WORLDat Santiago and Valparaiso,organised by Chilean TICCIH andPortuguese Association forIndustrial Heritage, Municipality ofValparaiso, SEK-Chile InternationalUniversity and the University ofPavia-Italy. The survival of a mostimportant group of elevators andfuniculars in Valparaiso requiresurgent attention and thisinternational conference invites allwith the relevant experience ofconservation, intervention andtechnology. The main sessions areon history and development;conservation and value restoration;and projects and technologies forthe future. There are also tours. Fordetails, contact TICCIH Chile:congreso [email protected].

21 MAY 2011 EMIAC 81: THE IMPACT OFLEADING MINING ON THEPEAK DISTRICT LANDSCAPE at Matlock Bath, hosted by the PeakDistrict Mines Historical Society. Theconference explores the impact oflead mining on the Peak Districtlandscape both underground and onthe surface, with talks on thearchaeology of mining, drainageand the challenges of filmingundergrounds, followed by sitevisits. For details and booking form,go to www.niag.org.uk/emiac.html

30 MAY - 5 JUNE 2011AIA VISIT TO SWEDENexploration of a major area ofSweden’s rich industrialarchaeology, with many key keyvisits. See page 10 inside and theenclosed flyer for booking.

29 JULY - 1 AUGUST 2011 NAMHO 2011 at Preston Montford Field Centre,Montford Bridge, Shrewsbury, theannual conference of the NationalAssociation of Mining HistoryOrganisations, hosted by ShropshireCaving& Mining Club andShropshire Mines Trust Ltd. More information from www.namhoconference.org.uk

25 AUGUST- 2 SEPTEMBER2011AIA ANNUAL CONFERENCEat the university, Cork, Ireland.Advance notice only.

The waterpowered Nancledra tin stamps on display at the Geevor Mine in west Cornwall. See inside, page 5.Photo: Marilyn Palmer

INDUSTRIAL ARCHAEOLOGY NEWS(formerly AIA Bulletin ISSN 0309-0051)ISSN 1354-1455

Editor: Dr Peter Stanier

Published by the Association for IndustrialArchaeology. Contributions should be sentto the new Editor, Chris Barney, The Barn,Back Lane, Birdingbury, Rugby CV23 8EN.News and press releases may be sent tothe Editor or the appropriate AIA RegionalCorrespondents. The new Editor may betelephoned on 01926 632094 or e-mail:[email protected]

Final copy dates are as follows:

1 January for February mailing1 April for May mailing1 July for August mailing1 October for November mailing

The AIA was established in 1973 to promotethe study of Industrial Archaeology andencourage improved standards of recording,research, conservation and publication. Itaims to assist and support regional andspecialist survey groups and bodies involvedin the preservation of industrial monuments,to represent the interests of IndustrialArchaeology at national level, to holdconferences and seminars and to publish theresults of research. The AIA publishes anannual Review and quarterly News bulletin.Further details may be obtained from theLiaison Officer, AIA Liaison Office, TheIronbridge Institute, Ironbridge GorgeMuseum, Coalbrookdale, Telford TF8 7DX. Tel: 01325 359846.

The views expressed in this bulletin arenot necessarily those of the Associationfor Industrial Archaeology.

Information for the diaryshould be sent directly to theEditor as soon as it isavailable. Dates of mailingand last dates for receipt ofcopy are given below. Itemswill normally appear insuccessive issues up to thedate of the event. Pleaseensure details are sent in ifyou wish your event to beadvised.

More Diary Dates can befound on the AIA website at

www.industrial-archaeology.org

AIA News 140 Spring 2007€¦ · award was given to a project on eroding limekilns in Angus, using...

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