1 No 211 Aug 2016
No 211 Aug 2016 1 www.sihg.org.uk
Surrey Archaeological Society Surrey Industrial History Group (SIHG) The Thirty-Fourth Award and Talk by Cherrill Sands at Painshill before the 2016 AGM on Saturday 9 July 2016 report by Hugh Anscombe
Pam Taylor, SIHG Vice Chairman, presented the thirty-fourth Surrey Industrial History Group conservation award to Painshill Park Chief Executive Michael Gove before the 2016 SIHG AGM Photo John Bourne
Pam Taylor, SIHG Vice Chairman, presented the thirty-fourth Surrey Industrial History Group conservation award to Painshill Park and the award was accepted by Michael Gove, the Chief Executive. In receiving the award, Michael described his love of the park and said that he had actually lived for a while in the famous Gothic Tower at the western end of the park. Following the presentation, Cherrill Sands gave the members of SIHG a fascinating history of the park and the individuals who created it. She explained how garden styles changed into a naturalistic look in the 18th century and how the plant-hunters of that time wanted to create a whole world in a garden in England. Charles Hamilton, whose inspiration it was, was not rich, and many of his buildings were of wood or even papier-mâché, so it was extraordinary that many of them lasted (in a highly dilapidated state) into the late 20th century. A lake was obviously necessary, and the first waterwheel and pump to fill it had four leather scoops (which discharged at axle level) – this operated until the 1790s. A new wheel was constructed in the 1830s and this was restored in 1987. It is maintained today by volunteers known as the ‘Gentlemen Greasers’. An engineering drawing of the wheel was on display. The floor of the valley of the River Mole, which runs along the south side of the park, is of clay, and many of the buildings built by Charles Hamilton were of brick, although these bricks were always concealed. At the end of the construction phase he decided to hide the brick kilns in the park by constructing a Ruined Abbey in their place. Charles Hamilton famously appointed an ‘ornamental hermit’ to live within the park but not to cut his beard or nails, not to leave the grounds or talk to the servants or attack the guests, or wear anything other than a camel-hair robe. The only known applicant was sacked after three weeks when someone spotted him at the local pub. Painshill has modern hermits but they are only required to do it for two weeks. They are also known to recover at the pub at the end of their stint! Painshill joins a distinguished list of restoration and conservation projects, including the conservation of derelict lime kilns, the restoration of water mills, windmills, a railway station, a pigeon house, a wharf, a semaphore signalling tower, a pottery and a series of bridges. ¤ Newsletter 211 August 2016 2
Contents 1 The Thirty-Fourth SIHG Award and Talk by Cherrill Sands at Painshill before the 2016 AGM report by Hugh Anscombe 3 Conferences & Exhibitions 4 Venues, Times & Contacts 5 SIHG Guildford Lecture Series 2 February 2016: The History of the Crystal Palace by Ian Bevan, member of the Crystal Palace Foundation report by Celia Gregory 7 SIHG Members Evening December 2015: Gun Barrels by Roy Johnson 8 Whitgift Schoolboys’ and others’ visits to the Chipstead Valley Railway and the Kingswood tunnel under construction by Paul W. Sowan
9 Alexander Raby and Downside Mill – a new Naval connection? by Richard and Pamela Savage 11 Coal and the Demand for Power by Bob Bryson 12 GooseyGoo website, an online collaborative mapping project plotting industrial remains. 13 Tercentenary of the birth of James Brindley , Canal Engineer
New pattern of publication for the Surrey Industrial History Group Newsletter. The Newsletter is now issued quarterly, covering: February, March & April May, June & July August, September & October November, December & January
Many thanks to all who have sent in contributions. Please send in reports or photos of holiday visits or thoughts on local, national or international Industrial Archaeology by 20 October 2016 for the next SIHG Newsletter! Any articles or images, whether long or just a a brief note will be appreciated - both by the editor and by the readers!
Please note that the diary section of the Newsletter now appears at the back, with reports and accounts of visits etc are now at the front.
Surrey Industrial History Group Officers Chairman, Lectures Organiser & Sales: Robert Bryson [email protected] Secretary: Hugh Anscombe [email protected] Treasurer: (vacant) Acting Treasurer: Robert Bryson ([email protected]) Vice Chairman & Membership Secretary: Pam Taylor [email protected] Newsletter Editor: Jan Spencer [email protected]
SIHG is a group of the Surrey Archaeological Society, Registered Charity No 272098 - Castle Arch Guildford Surrey GU1 3SX Group President: Prof AG Crocker FSA
Published by Surrey Industrial History Group, printed by YesPrint 3 Leafy Oak Workshops Cobbetts Lane Yateley GU17 9LW © SIHG 2016 ISSN 1355-8188 Newsletter 211 August 2016 3 SIHG Newsletter No 211 August 2016 Enquires to Programme Co-ordinator Bob Bryson: [email protected]. 41st series at Guildford of SIHG Industrial Archaeology Lectures alternate Tuesdays, 19:30-21:30, 27 September 2016 - 16 March 2017 Education Centre, The Cathedral, Guildford (map: www.sihg.org.uk). Non-member £40 full fee, SyAS/SIHG member £35. Single lectures at £5, payable on the night, are open to all. The full programme, with exact dates, and application form are available online - www.sihg.org.uk/meetings.htm.
Thursday Morning Lectures at Leatherhead, 10:00-12:00, 6 October - 15 December Room G6 The Institute, 67 High Street Leatherhead KT22 8AH Non-member full fee £50 SIHG member £45. Please note that attendance is for the full course only and the course is already fully booked.
Exhibition running until 7 August 2016 Sussex Mills Group Symposium London Canal Museum Sunday 2 October 2016 09:30 The Fabulous Photos of Mr. Beal There will be morning and afternoon tea or coffee and An exhibition of photographs taken in about 1906 by a stall of Milling Books Mr. W. M. Beal, who gave “Lantern Lectures” about This year’s Autumn Meeting will be at Lewes Town The Regent's Canal and the people and workers. This Hall Lecture Room, Fisher Street entrance. set of 17 of his pictures focuses on the people - lock keeper, canal workers, boatmen, boatwomen, children, The speakers will embrace such subjects as Photographic and gamblers on the towpath! They are revealing recording, restoration of mills, Kent & Sussex mills of the portraits from an era when ordinary people at work on 1950s, the importance of Historic Environment Records the canals were seldom photographed. to mills, harnessing the power of wind worldwide, and finally a series of short reports on Sussex Mills. Please book in advance as tickets cannot be purchased Hampshire Industrial Archaeology on the day.The booking from will be available soon at: Memorial Symposium www.sussexmillsgroup.org.uk/events.htm Saturday 8 October 2016 14:00-17:00 at Bursledon Brickworks as a Memorial to Dr Edwin Course who died in February AIA Conference 2016 2016 at the age of 93. It will mark Edwin’s remarkable Fri 9 - Weds 14 September 2016 Telford contribution to the industrial heritage of Hampshire Conference, Speakers will be: Terry Gould (The Itchen Navigation) http://industrial-archaeology.org/aia-conference-2016- Dr Martin Gregory (Twyford Waterworks) now-open-for-booking/ Peter Keat (Gosport Railways) Friday: Full day seminar: Britain’s Industrial Heritage: Pam Moore (The Farm Survey, Hockley Viaduct et al) What has World Heritage Status inscription done for it? Prof Ray Riley (One of Edwin’s interests in Guest speakers include: Dr Barrie Trinder, John Yates of Portsmouth and other recollections) Historic England (our Rolt Memorial Lecturer) and To reserve your place please contact Pam Moore, Dr Simon Buteux of Birmingham Building [email protected] or 02380 275153. Preservation Trust. Cost: £5 (incl refreshments) – cheque payable to Tours include: the Apley Estate Farm, Broseley Pipe- Hampshire Buildings Preservation Trust and send to works, Wappenshall Canal Basin, Lilleshall limestone 59 Bodycoats Road, Chandlers Ford, Hampshire SO53 2HA Mining Landscape, Ditherington Flax Mill. RAF Mu- seum Cosford, Burleigh Pottery, Middleport, Cheddle- ton Flint Mill, Mill Meece Pumping Station, Museum Joint Study Day of Carpet, Kidderminster and Drakelow Tunnels, by The University of Kent, Birmingham Jewellery Quarter, Aga Foundry, with Council for Kentish Archaeology, Coalbrookdale, Snailbeach Mine, Thomas Telford’s and The Kent Archaeological Society roads and canals in North Wales, Clee Hills industrial Rescuing and Recording Kent’s Lost Heritage landscape, Charlcotte Furnace and Wrickton Mill. Saturday 15 October 2016 14:00-17:00 Rutherford College, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent. Including: A Medieval Tile Kiln on the University Exhibition Campus by Dr Gerald Cramp Wandle Industrial Museum Tickets £10.00 available from: CKA, 7 Sandy Ridge, The Calico People Borough Green, Kent, TN15 8HP. Cheques payable to CKA, sae please. Our new exhibition is now open to the public. This exhibition explores the people who were involved in (Friends of the CKA, KAR subscribers, and members over 400 years of the development of the textile indus- of the KAS can apply for a free ticket - sae, please.) try along the river. It looks at some of the individuals Tickets will be available in September, and will be on a who played an important part in its growth and de- “first come - first served” basis, as space is limited. cline, the disputes, politics and techniques used. Newsletter 211 August 2016 4
Venues, Times & Contacts of Other Organisations Most venues open 30 minute before the published time. Please check before you travel; some venues are not yet open for the 2016 season.
Ancient Technology Centre : 10:00-16:00; £6; Damerham KAS, Kent Archaeological Society: Road, Cranborne, Dorset BH21 5RP; (behind school); http://www.kentarchaeology.org.uk. 01725 517618, www.ancienttechnologycentre.co.uk, Kempton Steam Museum: 10:30-16:00, £7/£6; Snakey Lane, off AIA, Association for Industrial Archaeology : elevated section of A316, Hanworth, Middx; entrance www.industrial-archaeology.org/. TW13 7ND; www.kemptonsteam.org; 01932 765328. Basingstoke Canal, Surrey & Hants Canal Society: 20:00, LDLHS, Leatherhead & District Local History Society: free; the Pavilion, Recreation Ground, Station Road, meetings 20:00; £2; The Institute, 67 High Street, Leather- Chobham GU24 8AZ; www.basingstoke-canal.org.uk. head KT22 8AH; www.leatherheadlocalhistory.org.uk. BIAG, Berkshire Industrial Archaeology Group: 19:30; Leatherhead Museum: Hampton Cottage, 64 Church £2.50; Garden Room, Watlington House, Watlington Street, Leatherhead, Surrey, KT22 8DP; 01372 386348. Street, Reading RG1 4RG ; www.biag.org.uk. London Canal Museum: Open 10:00-16:30; Talks 19:30, £4/ Brooklands: open Summer 10:00-17:00, Winter 10:00-16:00; £3; 12/13 New Wharf Road, London N1 9RT; £11/£9.90; Brooklands Rd, Weybridge, Surrey KT13 www.canalmuseum.org.uk; 0207 713 0836. 0QN; www.brooklandsmuseum.com; 01932 857381. London Museum of Water and Steam: Green Dragon Lane, Brunel Museum: Walks from Bermondsey Tube; just turn up Brentford, Middx TW8 0EN; www.waterandsteam.org.uk; Wed 16:30, Sun 10:45; £9/£7. Boat & train from Embank- 020 8568 4757. ment tube station (not pier) for Brunel sites along the Lowfield Heath Windmill: 14:00-17:00, free/donation; Russ Thames; just turn up Tue/Thu/Sat 10:45; £9/£7 Hill, Charlwood RH6 0EL (TQ 235 408). 01403 272664, (+ transport costs). Museum: Railway Avenue, www.ockleywindmill.co.uk/lowfieldheathwindmill.htm Rotherhithe, London SE16 4LF; 020 7231 3840. Mapledurham, Watermill & House : £9.50/£8.00; 14:00-17:30; Bursledon Brickworks: Open days £5/£4, Thu £3/£2; Coal Sats, Suns & Bank Hols; Mapledurham, Reading RG4 7TR; Park Lane, Swanwick, Southampton SO31 7GW; www.mapledurham.co.uk/the-water-mill, 0118 972 3350 or www.bursledonbrickworks.org.uk; 01489 576248. www.mapledurhamwatermill.co.uk, 07710717149. Chatham Historic Dockyard: 10:00-18:00, £17.50/£15; Markfield Beam Engine and Museum: 11:00-17:00, cost? Chatham, Kent ME4 4TZ; Markfield Road, South Tottenham, London N15 4RB; www.thedockyard.co.uk; 01634 823800. www.mbeam.org; 01707 873 628. CKA, Council for Kentish Archaeology: 7, Sandy Ridge, Museum of London Docklands: Mon-Sun: 10:00-18:00; Borough Green, TN15 8HP. no.1 Warehouse, West India Quay, London E14 4AL; CNHSS, Croydon Natural History & Scientific Society: www.museumoflondon.org.uk/docklands, 020 7001 9844, 19:45; free? UR Church Hall, Addiscombe Grove, [email protected]. E Croydon CR0 5LP; http://cnhss.co.uk; 0208 668 1431. Newcomen Society London: 17:45, free; Fellows’ Room, Crofton Beam Engines : 10:30-17:00; £8/£7; Science Museum, Exhibition Road, London SW7 2DD; Crofton, Marlborough, Wiltshire SN8 3DW. http://newcomen.com;new venue The Dana Studio, The Crossness Pumping Station : 10:30-16:00, £6; The Old Dana Centre, 165 Queens Gate, London SW7 5HD Works, Crossness STW, Belvedere Road, Abbey Wood, Portsmouth Historic Dockyard : 10:00-17:30, site ticket, London SE2 9AQ; www.crossness.org.uk; 020 8311 3711. annual £28/£26 HM Naval Base, Portsmouth PO1 3LJ; Croydon Airport Society: Visitor Centre: open some Sun, www.historicdockyard.co.uk; 02392 728060. 11:00-16:00, Airport Ho, Purley Way, Croydon CR0 0XZ. Railway and Canal Historical Society :18:30, free? Didcot Railway Centre: 10:30-17:00; £10.00/£9.50; Didcot The Rugby Tavern, Rugby Street, London WC1N 3ES; Parkway railway station, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 7NJ; www.rchs.org.uk. www.didcotrailwaycentre.org.uk; 01235-817200. Reigate Caves, Wealden Cave & Mine Society: some Sats, Docklands History Group: 18:00, £2; Museum of London 10:00-16:00, £3/£2; Docklands, No 1 Warehouse, West India Quay, Hertsmere Rural Life Centre: open Summer Wed-Sun 10:00-17:00 + Rd, Canary Wharf, London E14 4AL; Bank Holiday Mondays, Winter Wed/Sun 10:00-16:00; www.docklandshistorygroup.org.uk; 01689 851982. £8.50/£7.50; Old Kiln Museum, Reeds Road, Tilford, Farnham, East of London Family History Society: 17:30 for 18:00, Surrey GU10 2DL; www.rural-life.org.uk; 01252 795571. The Bishopsgate Institute, 230 Bishopsgate, London SIAS, Sussex Industrial Archaeological Society : EC2M 4QH., www.eolfhs.org.uk. www.sussexias.co.uk. Fetcham U3A Industrial Heritage Group: Meetings at 10:00 STEAM - Museum of the Great Western Railway: 10:00- in Fetcham Village Hall on the third Monday of the month; 16:00, £8/£6.50; Kemble Drive, Swindon SN2 2TA; www.fetchamu3a.org.uk/industrialheritage1.htm www.steam-museum.org.uk; 01793 466 646. GLIAS, Greater London Industrial History Society: 18:30; Subterranea Britannica: www.subbrit.org.uk. Swedenborgian Lecture Theatre, Barter Street by King- Surrey History Centre: close Mondays; free; 130 Goldsworth sway Underground Station; new venue from March 2016 - Road, Woking, Surrey GU21 6ND, www.surreycc.gov.uk/ The Gallery, Alan Baxter Associates, 75 Cowcross Street surreyhistorycentre; 01483 518737. (entrance at rear), Farringdon, EC1; www.glias.org.uk. Twyford Waterworks: 11:00-16:00, £5/£4; Hazeley Road, Greenwich Industrial History: 19:30, £1; Old Bakehouse, Twyford, Hampshire SO21 1QA; rear of Age Exchange Centre, opp Blackheath Station, www.twyfordwaterworks.co.uk; 01962 714716. Bennett Park, 11 Blackheath Village, SE3 9LA; no park- Wandle Industrial Museum: The Annex, Lower Green, ing.; http://greenwichindustrialhistory.blogspot.com. Mitcham, Surrey; www.wandle.org/. Guildford Museum: Castle Arch, Guildford, Surrey GU1 Watercress Line, Mid Hants Railway: all day travel £14, 3SX; Mons to Sats, 11:00-17:00 + Bank Holiday Mons; free on non-running days; Station Rd, Alresford, Hants www.guildford.gov.uk/museum, 01483 444751. SO24 9JG; (or Station Rd, Alton, Hants GU34 2PZ); HIAS, Hampshire Industrial Archaeology Society: 19:45, www.watercressline.co.uk; 01962 733810. free; Underhill Centre, St. John's Road, Hedge End, Hants Weald & Downland Open Air Museum, 10:30-18:00, SO30 4AF; www.hias.org.uk; 01962 855200. £11.50/£10.50; Singleton, Chichester, West Sussex Honeywood Museum Friends: 19:30, £3.50; PO18 0EU; www.wealddown.co.uk; 01243 811348. www.friendsofhoneywood.co.uk; 020 8773 0185. Wey & Arun Canal Trust: The Granary, Flitchfold Farm, Holmesdale Natural History Club: 20:00; The Museum, 14 Loxwood, Billingshurst West Sussex, RH14 0RH; Croydon Rd, Reigate, Surrey RH2 0PG, www.hnhc.co.uk, [email protected]; 01403 752403. [email protected]. Whitchurch Silk Mill: Tue-Sun, bank hols, £4.50/£4; 28 Win- IWA, Inland Waterways Association: £10/£8; no prior book- chester Street, Whitchurch, Hampshire RG28 7AL; ing required; www.waterways.org.uk; 0203 612 9624. www.whitchurchsilkmill.org.uk, 1256 892065. Newsletter 211 August 2016 5
SIHG Guildford Lecture Series 2 February 2016 The History of the Crystal Palace by Ian Bevan, member of the Crystal Palace Foundation report by Celia Gregory
The transept façade of the original Crystal Palace
www.uh.edu; originally from Tallis History and Criticism of the Crystal Palace. 1851, (Public Domain)
A new age dawned in Great Britain when Queen Victoria tured off-site in Birmingham, arriving by rail. The glass came to the throne in 1837. By the 1840s, the British panels were made by the newly-invented cast plate economy was being driven by the great age of industrial method. Wooden floorboards to carry the exhibits were expansion, particularly by the growth of the railways tested for strength. The original design was modified to and the expansion of the Empire. At this time the Royal accommodate three elm trees within the building by Society of Arts, the association championing art applied arching the roof over them. to industry, periodically held exhibitions of the then More than five thousand navvies, two thousand on site at current industrial products. a time, worked to erect the building to its modular plan. In 1849, Prince Albert, as President of the association, The finished building, a third of a mile long and over a was approached with the idea for an international hundred feet high, was completed by March 1851, and exhibition to showcase products from the British Empire opened by Queen Victoria as the Great Exhibition on and the rest of the world. His enthusiastic approval 1 May 1851. The building was given the name of the resulted in a Commission being set up in January 1850, Crystal Palace by the satirical magazine, Punch, as it to raise the finance required for the project by public contained so much glittering glass. subscription. Hyde Park was to be the location. More than six million visitors came in the six months the A competition was announced for the design to house Great Exhibition was open. The railway network was the exhibits. The building had to be temporary, quick to extended to cope with the influx by adding a new station build and as cheap as possible. Two hundred and forty- to supplement the existing one. The charge for a day’s five design entries were received, including one from admission was very expensive to start with, but Brunei. All were rejected by the Commission, even decreased to five shillings, then to one shilling per day to though the Great Exhibition was to be opened on a fixed accommodate the lower classes! date in May 1851. What was to be done? The answer Half the space in the Crystal Palace was given to British came from Joseph Paxton, with the backing of Henry exhibitors, the other half to the rest of the world, separated Cole, a Commission member. in the building by an appropriate crystal fountain that By this time Paxton had been head gardener at was twenty-seven feet high. For the comfort of visitors Chatsworth, the estate of the Duke of Devonshire, for who stayed for the whole day, toilets were provided free twenty-three years. There he had developed a ridge and for men but 1d for women, hence the saying, ‘to spend a furrow roof for the Great Stove conservatory. He had penny’. also successfully built a greenhouse for Kew Gardens, Ian Bevan then showed pictures of the huge number, for a giant lily that had to be coaxed to flower. The range and variety of exhibits on display in both parts of design of the greenhouse was said to have been inspired the building and outside. A pair of Coalbrookdale gates by the ribs on the underside of the huge lily leaves. are known survivors. For the Exhibition building, Paxton doodled a modular The Great Exhibition in 1851 at the Crystal Palace was design using cast iron pillars, trusses and plate glass infill held when this country was at the pinnacle of its indus- on a piece of blotting paper (now in the V & A museum). trial supremacy, though other European nations and the This was shown to Prince Albert and the concept of the USA were fast catching us up. design accepted. Prince Albert closed the Exhibition on 15 October 1851. Now it was a race against time to meet the opening date. It had generated a huge profit of £186,000 during the six Work began in September l850. The cast iron pillars, with months in which it had been open. This money was grooves to take the plate glass panels, were manufac- employed to develop land in the South Kensington area, (Continued on page 6) Newsletter 211 August 2016 6
(Continued from page 5) financing the building of the Victoria and Albert Museum, founded in1852, and later the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum. After the closure, the exhibits were distributed far and wide, either sold, returned to the maker, given away or scrapped. This was an enormous obligation, to place more than 100,000 objects, over half of which were from Britain. But what to do with the Exhibition building itself, built as a tempo- rary construction? What further use could it have? The dilemma was resolved when a consortium of nine businessmen bought it back from the contractors and owners, Fox Henderson, in order to provide a recreational facility for Londoners. Interior of the Crystal Palace In 1852, work commenced on rebuilding the Palace at The History of the Crystal Palace, McNeven, J., Penge Common, next to Sydenham Hill, an affluent The Foreign Department, 1851, south London suburb. The design was altered to incorpo- Ackermann (printer), rate a curved roof along the entire length of the building, V&A, collections.vam.ac.uk, (Public Domain) which was 1,848 feet long, with three transepts and wings. It housed various courts: Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Alhambran, Elizabethan and four Medieval ones. A theme park was established in the grounds, with gardens, fountains, a lake and a geological exhibit with models of dinosaurs. Full-size sphinxes were commis- sioned to flank the steps to the Upper and Lower Terraces. Joseph Paxton's first The complex was opened to the public by Queen Victo- sketch for the Great ria in 1854 and was hugely popular, averaging two mil- Exhibition Building, lion visitors a year. Attractions included tethered about 1850,. ballooning, concerts in the middle transept hall, ballet, pen and ink on boxing both inside and out, circuses, pantomimes, and blotting paper, weekly firework displays which continued to 1935. V&A Museum In 1856, the problem of water to service the fountains Read & Co. Engravers was solved by Brunei. It involved digging a well six & Printers: hundred feet deep, pumping the water into the lake and Dedicated to the then to water towers which fed the two-hundred-feet-high Royal Commissioners. fountains by gravity. (Public Domain) In 1866 the North transept with its natural history exhib- its was destroyed by fire and never rebuilt. An aquarium, London's first, was constructed to replace it. 1868 saw the athletic club, the Croydon Harriers, using the grounds. Football’s Cup Finals were played there until1914. There was rugby in 1905. Tennis and Speedway were other attractions. Visitors saw Blondin walking a tightrope a hundred feet up. A menagerie fascinated children. But by 1911 interest had waned and the company went bust. A trust was set up in 1920 with Sir Henry Buckland as General Manager. He introduced pet shows as a way to generate income. On the night of 30 November 1936, Henry, out walking his dog with his daughter Crystal, noticed a small fire at the Palace, which had broken out in a women’s lavatory. The alarm was raised, but the accumulation of dust and debris under gaps in the wooden floorboards caused the fire to spread rapidly. Eighty-eight fire engines attended, but although they used water from the lake it proved impossible to save the building. In the year after the fire A tree in the Crystal Palace during the first Great Exhibition 1851 the motor racing circuit was constructed. by Unknown - scan from a book; Now the remains of the building and the dinosaurs are original: Royal Horicultural Society, Lindley Library, Grade II* listed. Historic England are reviewing the site (Public Domain), to assess its conservation needs. ¤ https:/commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3710684 Newsletter 211 August 2016 7
SIHG Members Evening December 2015 Gun Barrels by Roy Johnson History records that “gun powder” was invented by the barrel’s recoil, although as an alternative, smaller calibre Chinese back in the 9th Century but the demands of shells could be discharged using so-called “recoilless” warfare did not evolve the “gun” itself for some three barrels - open at both ends with a gas choke at the rear to hundred years. Gun powder by any other name was balance the reaction of the shells discharge forward. apparently more peacefully applied to fireworks in gen- WWI had been an era of gun barrels pointing “skyward” eral with perhaps the only deviation being rockets to to hurl, mainly explosive munitions over or downwards alarm and maybe bomb an enemy, instead of using into a matrix of infantry filled trenches. The relatively catapults or trebuchets. short barrels, elevated from the horizontal to give range or The development of a “barrel” to direct the initial trajec- an air-burst of shrapnel were referred to as “howitzers”. tory of a projectile may well have been conceived from The rise of more mechanized warfare, particularly fireworks using rolls of “paper” or even bored-out bamboo armoured vehicles and tanks, demanded a step-change in but such material would have had limited life, even a barrel design in WWII. The classic example is that of the single use, against the burning of the propellant “black famous German “88” which became so successful as an powder”. Thus to form a crude tube, some of the earliest anti-tank gun when operated in a near horizontal mode. true guns had “barrels” formed by fixing together Developed as it was from the original long-barrelled anti “strakes” of iron with circumferential rings (also of iron) -aircraft weapon. in the same way that coopers produced containers of oak to hold liquids. Hence the name now inextricably associ- The achievement of higher projectile velocities ated with guns of all sizes. (including squeeze and sabot) is characterised by the long barrels in tank design, notably after D-Day (6 June Tubes (barrels) formed with strakes produced longitudinal 1944). The so called British “17 pounder”, fitted to a seams which, even if hammer-welded, are a weakness limited number of the otherwise vulnerable “Sherman” which may cause a barrel to split in use. An alternative tanks, becoming known as “Fireflies”, levelled up the construction was to coil a long strip of iron around a armour piercing (AP) capability of the formidable mandrel and hammer weld the seam; looking rather like a “Tiger” German adversary. The visual appearance of barbers pole in external appearance. Such construction was both tanks is striking in that they have main armament used extensively in the smaller calibres, particularly in barrels that protrude beyond the front of the chassis, with early long guns and pistols. distinctive “muzzle brakes”. Muzzle brakes were a tech- Casting in bronze was a natural progression for barrels of nical break-through born out of necessity. The puff of all sizes. Centuries of technique in using various bronze smoke from a gun gives your position away so it was alloys was applied to produce small-bore hand cannons deflected sideways. The forward blast beyond the front through to massive artillery and mortars. “Gunmetal”, as of a tank also threw up so much ground debris that the a result, is still a material used today where specific surface hapless gunner was unable to lay a second “kill-round” characteristics and corrosion resistance is required. until it cleared. Additionally, the reactive force produced by the reversed gas pressure as the shell exits, reduces Bronze is a first class material for accurate casting, the recoil and softens the forces on the gun’s mountings almost to finish limits, including internal bore size; and breech. All in all, the forged capping piece at a however material cost was always a factor and the barrel’s end is now an essential part of design. massive demand for cannon, particularly for marine (ship) application in the 16th Century, caused a revolu- WWII barrel calibres were somewhat confused by tion in the use of cast iron for this purpose across nomenclature almost to the point of being nationalistic. Europe. The expertise of famous continental artisans The famous “88” was simply a 3½ inch and the was in great demand; fortunately, England benefited 17 pounder was a 3 inch. The basic Russian T34 tank from the religious persecution of Protestant metal- sported a 76.2mm or simply a 3 inch and frequently working Guilds in Germany and the Low Countries lacked the sophistication of a muzzle-brake which was causing them to find sanctuary here. probably consistent with Russian philosophy of a tank’s limited life expectancy in action. Production of cannons to satisfy the battles at sea and then almost continually on land, lasted for several Considered by some to be the ultimate in barrel design hundred years resulting, eventually, in a need for actual technology was Hitler’s third “Vengeance” weapon the disposal. Melting down of cast iron is energy intensive “V3”. Buried deep in the side of undulating terrain, the and re-use is technically rather difficult. This spawned fixed installation barrel was directed at London. Capable the use of defectively-cast and worn-out cannon of firing a 3 cwt shell 60 to 80 miles using a system of barrels as street furniture in the form of bollards! It is sequence propulsion, triggered by the passing of the pro- interesting to note nowadays how bollards display jectile as it accelerated on its way along the barrel. features of style and design which mimic their use in a Fortunately, the only “operational” installation was much less peaceful application. destroyed using the “Earthquake” bombs, designed by Barnes Wallace, before it could fire a lethal round. Canons figure strongly in history, such that they have Ground collapse of the infrastructure made it impossible become part of folklore; hence “The Charge of the Light to function before being overrun by the advancing Brigade” and the original use of bronze from Western Allies. Crimean barrels to be used in our highest order of gallantry, the Victoria Cross. Barrel technology remains a progressive science. Calibre designation has stabilised into the more precise mms Progress in artillery reached a devastating climax in now being demanded by the advent of ever more WWI; barrels matured from swabbed-out muzzle loaders, sophisticated and frequently highly questionable muni- to shell and propellant input via a sophisticated tions which can leave the equipment and the battlefield mechanically-closed breech assembly. Massive projec- contaminated with radioactive hazards. ¤ tiles demanded hydraulic rams to absorb some of the Newsletter 211 August 2016 8 Whitgift Schoolboys’ and others’ visits to the Chipstead Valley Railway and the Kingswood tunnel under construction (part 1) by Paul W. Sowan The branch railway line from Purley to Tattenham fulls are required to fill the waggon, and that the latter Corner was built in phases. A single track was opened to holds six tons, we got some idea of the amount of earth Kingswood, a temporary terminus, on 1 November dug up at each stroke of the shovel. With difficulty 1897. Heavier civil engineering works were required persuading the party to leave the “devil”, we walked beyond this point, notably the Kingswood (310 yards) further along the side of the cutting, with the line below and Hoppity (37 yards) tunnels between Kingswood and us on our right, Mr. Whitaker explaining, in a most inter- Tadworth stations. The single line was extended through esting manner, the formation of the more curious bits of the tunnels to a station at Tadworth, opened on 1 July strata as we went along. The excursion, of course, had its 1900. The track was doubled the same year, the cuttings humorous incidents. At one time it was found that most and tunnels having been made with that in view. The of the party had suddenly vanished, and on looking line was completed to Tattenham Corner, where the round we discovered that they had taken possession of station opened on 4 June 1901. two swings in a neighbouring wood, where there was huge delight, which continued until one of the swings, The opportunity to visit the building of the railway, not being accustomed to bear three people at once, gave including the longer tunnel under construction, was nd way under the strain. After this we moved on till the top grasped by the Geologists’ Association (on 2 Ju!y of the cutting took a downward slope and was once more 1898), the Croydon Microscopical and Natural History level with the line. Here we turned back, and walking Club (on 15 April 1899), and the Natural History and along the latter, had a much better view of the “wavy” Scientific Society of Whitgift School (on 29 June 1898). strata. Each point of interest was explained by Mr. Whitaker, All three excursions were led or co-led by William whose descriptions were much enjoyed. Still walking Whitaker [1836 - 1925] of Croydon, a distinguished back along the line we once more arrived at the abode of geologist, fellow of the Royal Society (1887) and at the that most fascinating machine, the “steam navvy”. After time of the Whitgift excursion the 47th President of the again stopping a short time to “see the beast work”, we Geological Society of London, the world’s premier turned our steps towards the “house on Walton Heath”, geological society, founded in 1807. He was President where tea was provided. After making a hearty meal, of the Croydon Microscopical and Natural History Club washed down with unlimited tea and ginger-beer, some- for 1899 - 1900, that body changing its name to the one suggested a game of “tip and run”. The suggestion Croydon Natural History and Scientific Society with being adopted with enthusiasm, sides were chosen, and a effect from 1 January 1902. He is perhaps best remem- most exciting and laughable game ensued. But all good bered as the author of the two editions, of 1872 and things must end, and eventually we were reluctantly 1889, of the Geological Survey’s very comprehensive obliged to quit the scene of our enjoyments, and stroll to and detailed Memoir on the Geology of London. the station to catch the 7.30 train home. Some of the party cycled to Kingswood and back, while one adven- The Whitgift School Natural History & Scientific th turous spirit walked the whole distance. The rest, however, Society's excursion to Kingswood - 19 June 1898 took train as far as Purley, where most of us, still feeling The schoolboy author’s report is as follows: energetic, walked home, arriving in Croydon shortly On Wednesday, June 29th [1898], W. Whitaker, Esq., before nine o'clock. And thus ended one of the most enjoy- P.G.S., F.R.S., conducted an excursion to Kingswood. able days we remember to have spent in connection with The train left East Croydon at 1.25 p.m., and after the Natural History Society. Attendance, 23. changing at Purley, we got to Kingswood Station about At a committee meeting held the next day, it was re- two o'clock. Leaving the station, we took the path by the solved, on the motion of E.G. Hay, seconded by side of the new railway line, and after a short walk Mr. Dodd, to present a cordial vote of thanks to Mr. arrived at the mouth of a tunnel in process of construc- Whitaker for his kindness in sacrificing his valuable time tion. Proceeding onwards overground we looked down for the benefit of the Society. It was also decided, on two of the shafts, and saw the men at work digging out Mr. Whitaker's approval, to nominate him as vice- the tunnel, into which we presently descended by the president of the society. second shaft. Here we were provided with lighted can- dles, and now found ourselves in what appeared to be a Source: The Whitgift Magazine 16(5), 68 - 69 (August 1898) long underground passage, the walls of which were The learned 62-year-old academic was doubtless very strongly supported by innumerable wooden posts and patient with his party of playful youngsters, even though boards. Walking back towards the mouth of the tunnel, at one point a number of them deserted the learned we arrived at a part where the walls were quite finished discourse to run away and play in the woods! And the and exposed to view. Again retracing our steps, we got boys were fortunate indeed to have such opportunities to a small passage, very much resembling, so we were before any such visit would be impossible to arrange on informed, a gallery in a coal pit. This is the first devel- grounds of 'Health and Safety!' opment of the tunnel. After climbing over numerous wooden props, and trying to dodge the drops of candle Sadly, the boys' report tells us more about the swings grease, which were generously distributed over our and the tea than it does about the geology observed, it clothes from the candles, we came to another shaft, from not even being noted what rock formations the cuttings whence we reached the surface of the ground once and tunnel were made through. The ‘wavy’ strata consti- more, after gaining a very fair idea of how a railway tute the sole geological observation! Did they even look tunnel is constructed. Leaving the tunnel, we walked for fossils in the excavated chalk, one wonders? The civil along the side of the line for a short distance, and engineering is better described, with the pilot tunnel, the presently came upon a “steam navvy” or “American unlined so still-supported tunnel, and the finished lined devil” at work. This machine is used to dig out the earth tunnel all recognisable. Boys will always be boys, and from the sides of the cutting. At each stroke a huge the star attraction, even outshining the swings and the shovel digs out part of the bank and deposits its load in ginger beer and tea was clearly the steam navvy! ¤ a waggon hard by. When it is stated that three shovel- Newsletter 211 August 2016 9
Alexander Raby and Downside Mill – a new Naval connection? by Richard and Pamela Savage
Plan of Cobham (Downside) mill belonging to Alexander Raby c. 1798, from the Buttriss Archive (SyAS Research collections). The training excavation in 2006 took place over the oval mill adjacent to the copper foundry.
Much background to Alexander Raby and his metal- 18th century Royal Navy through gun-founding and the working activities in Surrey in the late 18th and early manufacture of iron hoops (for masts and barrels) is well 19th centuries is contained in Alexander Raby, Ironmas- established and recent research suggests that the copper ter (ed. Crocker, 2000), in which the collected papers foundry at Downside may have been set up to meet from the conference held at Cobham in 1998 were demand for copper sheets from the Royal Navy for the published. Following this conference, the Society newly introduced practice of copper-sheathing of the organised a nine day training excavation at Downside hulls of warships (primarily to reduce fouling by barna- Mill in the summer of 2008 to evaluate the degree of cles and seaweed but also to counteract the destruction of survival of the remains of what was apparently the ear- timber by teredo navalis, the naval shipworm). After a liest mill on the site during Raby’s time there from 1770 number of years of experimentation, the Navy Board to 1807; for the brief interim report of this and updates adopted proposals in 1763 for copper-sheathing of smaller see Howe (2008) and Savage (2012, 2014). Publication warships, extending this to larger warships in the 1770s. of the final report has been postponed pending comple- For discussions of the many scientific and administrative tion of further documentary research, particularly difficulties of this technological revolution see Knight concerning the range of iron and copper products being (1973) and Staniforth (1985), both available online. Stan- manufactured at Downside Mill between 1770 and iforth states (p. 25) that by the middle of 1784 Raby was 1807. one of a number of contractors supplying copper bolts for the sheathing. The sheathing and the increasingly Jeremy Hodgkinson has written of the 18th century iron specialised nails and bolts for fixing it to the hulls of mills on the Rivers Wey and Mole that “the variety of ships needed to be replaced every few years and Raby ironwares produced at these sites was not consistent, was one of a number of contractors who had entered into and included hoops and wire, as well as domestic items arrangements with the Navy Board under which the price such as pots and pans for which copper plating would of new sheathing was abated by an allowance for old be needed (which explains the presence of a copper copper sheets and bolts returned for reprocessing. These foundry at Raby’s Downside Mill at Cobham)” arrangements were made on a national basis so that old (Hodgkinson, 2004, p 241). Others had also concluded copper returned from any Navy dockyards could be cred- that Raby had moved beyond the manufacture of iron ited against the cost of new copper sheets (standardised plate, bar and hoops into a range of tinned and copper- over time at 32 ounces and 28 ounces) supplied to that or plated utensils for the burgeoning ‘domestic household’ any other Navy yard. As an example, a Navy Board letter market in late 18th century London. There seemed a at The National Archives (ADM 106/1291/133) reveals general assumption that the copper foundry at Down- that the Navy Officers at Plymouth recorded that in the side had been set up to service such markets. However, six months to 24 November 1787 they had received from there is no direct evidence to hand for the manufacture Raby 2,594 new copper sheets of 32 ounces each of such items at Downside, while Raby’s earlier and (weighing nearly 11 tons) and 519 new copper sheets of later career suggests he was involved primarily in 28 ounces each (weighing just over 2 tons) at an aggre- producing iron bar and plate, including tinplate (that is, gate price of £1,306 8s 9d. Old copper sheets weighing iron plates coated with tin). Research continues into the 10½ tons had been delivered to Mr Raby and were range of products that might have been made at Down- valued at £782 13s 4d, together with the return of 19 old side Mill. packing casks valued at £2 17s. The Navy Officers certi- We have been concerned that the size of the copper fied that the net sum to be paid by the Plymouth Officers foundry at Downside seems larger than would be to Mr Raby was the balance of £520 18s 5d. A further required for the manufacture of articles for the domestic letter at The National Archives (ADM 106/1289/267) a market alone. Alexander Raby’s connection with the (Continued on page 10) Newsletter 211 August 2016 10
(Continued from page 9) Reprinted, at the suggestion of the Authors, from Surrey few days later states that the 10½ tons of old copper to be Archaeological Society Bulletin 456, pp. 19-21 credited to the Plymouth Officers had actually been (June 2016). As noted above, the Authors are keen to returned to Raby by the Chatham yard – and also that hear from anyone who can add to the information in this Chatham now had so much old copper encumbering the article. yard that they would have to send it to contractors other References: than Raby, unless he could let them have details of addi- Crocker, G., 2000. Alexander Raby, Ironmaster - the tional new copper sheets supplied against which its value Proceedings of a Conference held at Cobham on could be credited. To understand a little more of what the 28th November 1998. Ed. by Glenys Crocker. above delivery to Plymouth, totalling 3,113 sheets Surrey Industrial History Group. weighing c. 13 tons, might achieve we may note that the Hodgkinson, J.S., 2004. Iron Production in Surrey. initial sheathing of HMS Victory in 1780 required In: Cotton, J., Crocker, G., Graham, A., 13 tons of copper sheets (Staniforth p. 25) and the Aspects of Archaeology and History in Surrey. re-sheathing of the ship in 1815 required 3,640 sheets at Surrey Archaeological Society. Ch. 17. a weight of ‘over eleven tons’ (Knight, 1973, p 308, fn 12 with the documentary sources). Howe, T., 2008. Downside Mill Training Excavation 2008. SyAS Bulletin, 411, pp. 2-3. (Nov 2008) Raby’s copper sheets for the Navy may well have been Knight, R. J. B., 1973. The Introduction of Copper made/re-processed in his large copper foundry at Down- Sheathing into the Royal Navy 1779-1786. side Mill. Although we have found no direct evidence The Mariners’s Mirror. 59(3), pp 229-309. that this was carried out at Downside we know of no Available online at www.rogerknight.org/pdf/ other Raby facility in the 1780s with the capacity to do The%20Introduction%20of%20Copper so. We know that iron for processing at Downside was %20Sheathing.pdf [viewed 2 April 2016] brought overland by horse and cart from Weybridge and Savage, R. W., 2012. Alexander Raby at Downside Mill, we may assume that, if old copper sheets for Cobham and Coxes Lock, Addlestone: an update. re-processing were brought to the site from Naval yards SyAS Bulletin, 433, pp.6-10. (Jun 2012) in the Thames Estuary, they too came by road from the Savage, R. W., 2014. A further update on Alexander Thames. Raby and Downside Mill, Cobham. If any reader of this note has further information regard- SyAS Bulletin, 445, pp.15-16. (Jun 2014) ing the copper foundry at Downside Mill or of the range Staniforth, M., 1985. The Introduction and use of of iron and copper products manufactured there, we Copper Sheathing - A History. would be pleased to hear from them. Additionally, does The Bulletin of the Australian Institute for anyone know of evidence that any Alexander Raby facility Maritime Archaeology, 9, pp.21-48. manufactured household items, other than relatively sim- Available online at http://academia.edu/358814/ ple forged iron items such as hearth-backs and stoves, for The_Introduction_and_use_of_Copper_Sheathing_-_ the domestic market before 1800? ¤ A _History [viewed 2 April 2016]
ENGINEERING SEASON AT THE V&A until 6 November 2016 www.vam.ac.uk/ (click
The deadline for submitting copy for the next Newsletter is 20 October 2016 Submissions are accepted in typescript, on a disc, or by email to [email protected]. Anything related to IA will be considered. Priority will be given to Surrey-based or topical articles. Contributions will be published as soon as space is available. Readers are advised that the views of contributors are not necessarily the views of SIHG. Website: www.sihg.org.uk Newsletter 211 August 2016 11
Coal and the Demand for Power 4.5 tons of coal per year to provide our transport, heat & by Bob Bryson light our homes, and manufacture our goods (neglecting imports). If we had no fuel or machines and had to rely on animal power we would each need more than 10 of Although man has used animal, wind and water power James Watts’s workhorses working for us for twelve to augment his muscles for centuries it was not until the hours every single day to satisfy our current demand for Industrial Revolution that we first became major users power. ¤ of power. Before James Watt, power could not even be reliably measured. He came up with the term horse power. At that time workhorses were usually made to walk around a circular track while harnessed to one end of a lever attached to a central pivot or capstan. The rotating shaft of the capstan worked the pump or other machinery. Watt estimated the pull of the average horse at 180 pounds, and the length of a typical capstan lever as twelve feet. If the average horse completes 144 circuits per hour the end of the lever travels about 181 feet per minute. Watt multiplied the pulling force by the velocity and rounded it up to 33,000 foot-pounds per minute. This unit was called a horsepower, as it is still known today. (Well at least by us older folks, youngsters will prefer the Kilowatt which is equal to 1.34 horsepower.) It is likely that over a workday (then 12 hours) few, if any, horses could sustain a full one-horsepower output. Unlike wind and water, coal had to be transported, and, in the days before railways, without local canals; this was difficult and expensive. A single mine pumping engine could use 12 tons of coal a day and a pack horse could only carry about 3 cwt (0.15 tons) at a time. It was not until 1830 that the power generation capacity from 100 coal equalled that produced by wind energy (about 160,000 hp). Coal production was about to take off with 30 million tons mined that year By 1870 coal production was 112 million tons and in- 10 stalled steam power was 2 million horse power. I have resisted the temptation to work out how much power they got for each pound of coal because not all of the coal fuelled steam engines; a lot probably just went on domestic fires. Already concern was being expressed by 1 Sir William Armstrong, Mr Hussey Vivian MP and others that we may run out of coal. In 1866 a Royal Commission was established to examine the problem, it having been calculated that by 1961 we would require 2,600 million tons of coal per annum, as much as had 0.1 been mined between 1781 and 1866. This figure was arrived at by simply assuming a 3.5% annual growth in demand. Other contributors pointed out that the increasing (Megajoules are units of energy equal to efficiency of machines would drive down this figure. about a quarter of a Kilowatt hour) Before Watt (1767) it typically took 35 pounds of coal per hour for each horsepower produced by the engine, while Watt pronounced one of his engines was “perfect” when it required about 7 lbs/hp (1798). Large steam engines that can still be seen locally like those at Kew (1846) required 2.5 lbs/hp and the triple acting steam engines at Kempton (1928) used only 1.25lbs/hp. UK At the start of the WWI coal output was more than double PEAK the 1870 figure at 292 million tons with steam power at in the 10 million horse power level. The demand for coal 1913 appears to have peaked again just before the WWII in 1937 when some 244 million tons of coal was produced from 1,807 deep mines in the UK. The actual amount of coal mined in 1961 was 216 million tons. By 2014 the demand had dropped to 54 million tons of which 42 million tons had to be imported. Our total UK energy demand is still at a level of 288 million tons of coal equivalent per year; however we now use gas and petrol to fuel our current lifestyle. In simple terms we each consume the equivalent power of Newsletter 211 August 2016 12 Diary September 2016 Diary October 2016 8 Thu - 11 Sun Heritage Open Days: Hun- 6 Thu SIHG 1st Lecture of the Autumn 2016 Leatherhead Series: dreds of free behind-the-scenes visits The Merchant Navy in WWII by Richard Mellor. across Surrey and beyond! Pick up a 11 Tue SIHG Guildford Lectures, 2nd of the 41st Series - Bat Boat leaflet for your area. to Red Arrows – the story of Kingston’s aviation industry; 17 Sat - 18 Sun Open House London de- Sopwith, Hawker, Hawker Siddeley and British tails available mid August; Aerospace by Chris Farara, The Hawker Association. www.openhouselondon.org.uk/ 13 Thu SIHG second Lecture of the Autumn 2016 27 Tue SIHG Guildford Lectures, first of the Leatherhead Series: History of Computation 41st Series: Engineering Edwardian by Bernard Cohen, Computer Expert. Deterrence: HMS Dreadnought 20 Thu SIHG third Lecture of the Autumn 2016 Admiral Lord Fisher & the Anglo Leatherhead Series: Accidents that transformed Aviation -German Arms Race by Prof. Safety by Patrick Lahor, Historian. Andrew Lambert, Dept of War Studies King’s College London 25 Tue SIHG Guildford Lectures, 3rd of the 41st Series: Scientific Approaches to Understanding the Manufacture, Use and Conservation of Historic Window Glass Brunel Museum Walks and Boat Trips by Dr David Dungworth, Historic England Brunel Walk Every Sunday 10:45, Monday 11:00 and Wednesday 16:30, meet at Bermondsey tube station and be guided to the Brunel Museum and Newcomen Society Symposium Annihilating Space below into the Grand Entrance Hall, secret and Time: 150 years of continuous electrical underground chamber! communications across the Atlantic Brunel’s London Boat Trip, River Walk, Royal Institution Monday 5 September 2016 Tunnel Descent www.newcomen.com/calendar/ Every Saturday, Tuesday, Thursday 10:45. Meet Embankment tube station (not pier) for British engineering and enterprise designed, guided boat and train ride of Brunel sites along manufactured and laid the first successful transatlantic the Thames. Just turn up, no booking telegraph cable, which opened 150 years ago on 27 July. required. Please note: assemble at tube Speakers will include Donard deCogan, Richard Noakes, Elizabeth station (not pier). £10/£8 (transport extra). Bruton, Keith Schofield, Ron Shearer, Jacob Ward and Fred Starr.
GooseyGoo - A new website for IA an online collaborative mapping project plotting industrial remains. www.GooseyGoo.co.uk From the introduction to the new website: Each site entry has a bit of useful history and some Den- nis Bros visitor information, encouraging people to go GooseyGoo performs two main functions; it is an explo- and see for them-selves. ration guide and a preservation hub. Our aims are to support and celebrate industrial heritage in the UK & It’s described as a ‘collaborative mapping project’ and Ireland, by engaging with a new audience and to provide GooseyGoo encourage people to submit sites that they greater coverage for campaigning groups – for free. know of to the map (for free) for others to learn about and enjoy. By participating in adding sites to the map, you will be primarily supporting the exploration guide. The beauty There is also an events guide to accompany the explora- of GooseyGoo is that relics and remains from all categories tion side of things, again the events are free to add by within industrial heritage can be seen on one independent, societies etc, so it’s a great way of reaching a new audience. dynamic map. The other main concern of GooseyGoo is to support the This guide will explain why it’s worth participating and conservationists and to inspire more with the develop- how to provide GooseyGoo with the information that is ment of the Preservation Hub. Maryann says, “we recog- needed to make your collection real and to bring your nised that the ‘Friends of’ groups are vital to the preser- sites alive! vation and management of our industrial history”. Throughout 2015 the former project manager of the As a spin-off there is also a fourth map called Working industrial history website Grace’s Guide, Maryann Den- in Heritage. This shows volunteering roles, training nis Bros Soper, has been working on a new venture. It’s courses and jobs in the industry, bringing the final piece called GooseyGoo and embodies the spirit of getting out of the picture together.
and having a good nosey around. It’s still early days, but I think this site could well GooseyGoo, which went live in November 2015, Den- be able to live up to its claims as expressed nis Bros predominantly features an exploration guide above. Do have a look and see what you think. called the industrial explorer, which allows users to see The godmother of this new website, Grace’s Guide, what relics and organisations reside near them. It also is certainly a useful site, as described by Mike has the search capabilities of focussing the results on Lattimer in SIHG Newsletter 199 May 2014. lime kilns for example, or railway sites with a café! But I do find the childish name a bit off-putting! JS Newsletter 211 August 2016 13
Tercentenary of the birth of James Brindley (1716 – 27 September 1772) Pioneering British canal engineer. Including the Bridgewater Canal, and theTrent & Mersey Canal he was responsible for 365 miles (587 km) of canals.
James Brindley’s Barton Aqueduct over the River Irwell, with a barge being towed by a horse. (www.intriguing-history.com/)
James Brindley with Barton Aqueduct in the background by Francis Parsons (1770) (Wikipedia)
A Brindley lock on the Birmingham Canal (www.intriguing -history.com/)