Gloucestershire Society for Industrial Archaeology Journal for 2009 Contents Editorial......................................................................................................................................2 From Willow to Wicket: A Lost Cricket Bat Willow Plantation in Leonard Stanley. By Stephen Mills ......................................................................... 3-8 Matthews & Company – Gloucester’s Premier Furniture Manufacturers By Hugh Conway-Jones ......................................................................................... 9-13 Two Recently Discovered Field Books from Sopwith’s Mineral Survey of the Forest of Dean. By Ian Standing ......................................................................... 14-22 The Canal Round House at Inglesham Lock By John Copping (Adapted for the GSIA Journal by Alan Strickland) ..................................................................... 23-35 Upper Redbrook Iron Works 1798-9: David Tanner's Bankruptcy By Pat Morris ...... 36-40 The Malthouse, Tanhouse Farm, Church End, Frampton on Severn, Gloucestershire By Amber Patrick ................................................................................................. 41-46 The Restoration of the Cotswold Canals, July 2010 Update. By Theo Stening .............. 47-50 GSIA Visit Reports for 2009 ............................................................................................. 51-57 Book Reviews .................................................................................................................... 58-59 Officers 2008 - 2009 ............................................................................................................ 60 Committee 2008 - 2009..........................................................................................................60 Cover Illustration Mathew’s furniture factory as depicted in Industrial Gloucestershire 1904 (see page 9) . © 2010 All articles are the copyright of the Author and the Society www.gsia.org.uk 1 Reprinted from: Gloucestershire Society for Industrial Archaeology Journal for 2009 page 2 Gloucestershire Society for Industrial Archaeology Journal for 2009 Editorial A lot has happened in the twelve months since the last editorial was written in June 2009. In particular, in March 2010, a pair of replica tramroad wagons were installed in Gloucester Docks on the historic alignment of the horse operated tramroad than ran from the Docks to Cheltenham between 1811 and 1861. The Society has been the prime mover of the project since 2004 but the idea of a replica tram at this location was first put forward by our former Chairman, the late David Bick as long ago as 1991. The Society hosted the 41st South Wales and West of England IA Conference in Cheltenham on Saturday 17 April 2010. Pate’s Grammar School turned out to be an excellent venue for a very well attended event. However, on a less happy note, a planning application was lodged for major developments at Kings Stanley Mill in May 2010. It is proposed that the Grade I listed brick built mill and other listed buildings will be converted into about 70 residential apartments with a similar number of new build units on the site. GSIA is just one of a number of organizations (including several national bodies) who are opposing the application because of the effect of the development would have on the character of the listed buildings. It is pleasing to report that the topics in this issue of the Journal geographically span the County from the Forest of Dean in the west to Lechlade in the east and the subjects covered are also suitably diverse. The restoration of the Cotswold canals is at last gaining momentum with the start in July 2010 of the construction of the A46 road bridge over the Thames & Severn Canal at Wallbridge, Stroud. Theo Stening brings us up to date with progress along the full length of the two canals with the next of his annual reports on the project. One of the most interesting buildings associated with the canal is the lengthsman’s cottage, the Round House, at the eastern end of the Thames & Severn Canal at Inglesham, Lechlade. The building has been recently investigat- ed and surveyed by John Copping and he has kindly made his report available to GSIA so that Alan Strickland could produce an abridged version for the Journal. Ian Standing gives us an insight into how Thomas Sopwith carried out his very important mineral survey in the Forest of Dean in the 1830s. Also in Dean, Pat Morris has more to tell us about Upper Redbrook Iron Works, 1798-9 and David Tanner’s bankruptcy. Steve Mills has written about a site at Leonard Stanley where cricket bat willow trees were grown commercially in the 1920s and 1930s. Hugh Conway-Jones relates the history of Matthews & Company, Gloucester’s most important furniture manufacturers. Their former premises immediately to the north of the Gloucester Quays Designer Outlet shopping centre has just been refurbished as the new home of the Antiques Centre. Amber Patrick continues her reports on malthouses in the County with one at Frampton on Severn now converted into holiday accommodation. There was a very good programme of Summer Visits and this year’s issue concludes with the reports on these events, followed by a selection of book reviews. As ever, we must thank all of the contributors for the very interesting articles they have provided. Hugh Conway-Jones must also be thanked for his usual invaluable help with the production of the Journal. Ray Wilson August 2010 2 GSIA VISIT REPORTS FOR 2009 Once again the Society’s thanks are due to Frank Colls who organised a programme of local visits and walks. Although a Spring coach trip had been arranged, there was insufficient support to enable it to go ahead and an Autumn trip was not pursued. The following reports have been compiled by Frank Colls, with a contribution from Ray Wilson. Sunday 26 April 2009 Afternoon walk at Parkend It was a fine afternoon as 23 of us assembled near the Fountain Inn to meet walk leader Frank Colls. We first heard about the 1811 main line tramroad from Lydbrook to Lydney and the building of several branch tramroads out from Parkend to bring stone, iron ore and coal down to the main line. These developments began a long period of industrial activity for the area. We saw some old stone tramroad blocks at Marsh Sidings which had become an interchange point between the tramroad and the later railway from around 1870. The 1878 OS map was available, showing the complexity of the tramroad and rail lines including links to the iron works (from around 1820), the site of which we saw later. We followed the line of the Milkwall and Oakwood tramroads and went close to the site of an 1859 sawmill hearing how this developed with water power and then steam power. Changes of ownership, mixed fortunes, a big fire in 1928, and eventual decline led to closure in the 1970s. New owners took on a nearby site to start a modern timber treatment plant, which we saw from the path, and this is now run by International Timber (using imported wood). We turned on to the route of the 1875 Coleford Branch of the railway which had skirted the village to the west, and saw the site of the 17th century King’s Ironworks and the terraced houses of Stampers Row. During the first half of the 19th century, water power was used to stamp slags and cinders from the earlier ironworks into a powder used in glass making. Going north towards Coleford Junction where the single track branch had left the main line we saw the base of the old signal box. Turning south along the main line (through a lorry park) we passed a site (now a caravan company) which had been a stoneworks from about 1850 up to the 1930s. We left the rail route and followed the road towards the cricket field and the 1903 New Road to see the sites of the Tinplate Works and the area used for housing many of its workers, The Square. Further on we came to the former iron works engine house and heard about the development of this major contributor to Parkend’s industrial prominence. Begun in 1799 and with a chequered history of technical problems and a fluctuating market over about 80 years, the site was home to three blast furnaces over this period. The air blast was powered by a beam engine and a second engine was installed in a new engine house in 1828. A 51’ water wheel (fed from a new pond at Cannop) had been installed in 1827 but water supply was inconsistent and a third engine was erected in 1841. We heard about a bridge structure built over the adjacent tram and rail lines to carry trucks of iron ore, coke and limestone to the tops of the furnaces. Some of the site could be seen from the current railway level crossing but all that remains is the engine house. After many years as a Forester Training School, this is now a Field Study Centre. At Parkend Station a train was arriving as part of the Sunday operation of the Dean Forest Railway. This was a chance to hear about the DFR and this year’s notable anniversary of the passing of the Lydney and Lidbrook Railway Act in June 1809, so beginning the tramroad era for Parkend and the surrounding area. The present day operation of the line is a result of the preservation efforts in the 1970s and the continuing enthusiasm and hard work of the hundreds 51 of volunteers involved. We crossed the railway footbridge and made our way across the slope to join the Yorkley road and go into the area known as Mount Pleasant. Here we heard about some of the collieries which were worked in this area and the period when coke was made for the ironworks. We continued across a grassy area to find a prominent earthwork channel which had been the line of the leat which had brought water from Cannop Pond to drive the iron works waterwheel. To the north was a broad track which had been the line of a tramroad used for bringing coke to the furnaces and later for bringing coal from Parkend Royal colliery, up till 1928. We returned to the main road and went back to the level crossing by Parkend Station where Frank was thanked for giving us a most interesting and varied look around a fascinating area.