Gipping Gossip Newsletter of the River Gipping Trust- January 2019 May Your New Year Be Happy and Healthy

GIPPING GOSSIP NEWSLETTER OF THE RIVER GIPPING TRUST- JANUARY 2019 MAY YOUR NEW YEAR BE HAPPY AND HEALTHY

Out with the old and in with the new as the old adage goes. So for 2019 we have a new look and title for our twice yearly newsletter. Please let me know your views and any other thoughts you may have to improve the publication. Having worked in the PR for well over 40 years I have naturally developed a thick skin. At times my inability to understand the complexities of waterways restoration has labelled me thick on another front too.

TOP AWARD FOR PETE BOWERS

Many of you who are acquainted Peter (Father Christmas) Bow- ers will be delighted to read that he has won two prestigious awards for his commitment and longstanding dedication to canal restoration. These awards are very well deserved and long overdue. As one who has the privilege of working alongside of him for the past seven years I know just how dedicated he is to restoring the waterways of the UK.

GENERAL INTEREST

Inside are a couple of general interest pieces. One relating to the Roman fortifications in Bayhlam, the other about the promis- ing future of the canals of Britain. Let us hope we can realise our dream of restoring limited navigation on the River Gipping soon. Les Howard Editor PROGRESS REPORT

BY MARTIN BIRD RGT PROJECT MANAGER

A wet Autumn and early Winter season has led to the cancellation or cutting short of some work parties. Turnout after the holiday period has however been excellent, with on several occasions all 14 regular volunteers being on-site.

Pipps Ford Following approval from the Trustees to continue with the application, a submission has been made to the Environment Agency to approve the temporary damming of the lock chamber with steel piling to enable the stop plank installation to take place. After a little initial confusion, the EA have confirmed the application is being processed , and the treasurer has forwarded the application fee of £170.00. We are still awaiting the result. Some tree and shrub clearance has taken place upstream of the lock chamber on the hut side of the river. A rotten tree had fallen into the stream and broken into several parts. This has been removed and further bank clearance has taken place to remove overhanging shrubs which were collecting debris

Footpath Maintenance The routine mowing and clearance of overhanging branches is continuing, with significant work taking place downstream of Pipps Ford to remove overhanging blackthorn scrub, open up a view of open water and keep the footpath in usable condition. To compensate, some blackthorn slips have been planted on the land- ward side of the path.

Permissive Footpath Alder Carr Field We have cleared and strimmed a footpath route on the west side of the river at Alder Carr field, downstream from Pipps Ford. This will allow, subject to agreement with the Onians Trust, the creation of a permissive footpath across the field known as Alder Carr. The route follows the bank of the river from the railway to the old bridge, then cuts diagonally across the field back to the railway, following the route shown on old maps. This work has included the creation of a culvert for the ditch at the north end of the field, to allow for safe pedestrian traffic.

Work at Baylham. We have completed occasional tidying at the Baylham site, including a complete inventory of tools and kit for insurance purposes. We have received a report of a number of men removing scrap from the site, together with a request from the Onians Trust to find an alternative location to store the scrap.

On investigation it seems that nothing has in fact been taken, but the report emphasises the need to find alternative safe temporary storage. A number of suggestions have been made, with the two front runners being a temporary store in the old barn behind the Baylham huts, or a more permanent location for a lockable skip. Further discussions are required on both these options.

A meeting was held Professor Onians and Gareth Hart to update them on recent work, and to establish their views on creation of the permissive footpath and the re -establishment of the bridge across the river. The meeting was very positive and all now is required is formal written approval to proceed. In the meantime preparatory work is taking place along the proposed route. Volunteers starting to remove a willow tree that has grown in the middle of the river just upstream of Baylham lock. It had created a dam of assorted materials and is seriously impeding the flow of the river.

Upstream of the lock at Pipps Ford a rotten willow tree had fallen into the river and created another obstruction . The RGT volunteers can be seen here manually removing the tree.

Top: RGT Volunteers removing overhanging Blackthorn from the river bank. Bottom: Another small twig that was dragged out of the river. Over the summer the weir at Pipps Ford had become overgrown. A party of RGT volunteers set about clearing the offending weeds. Well some did! WORK STARTS ON NEW FOOTPATH PROJECT The above photographs show RGT volunteers clearing and preparing the area leading up to where bridging of the drainage culvert down stream of Pipps Ford will take place. This work will allow our digger and dumper to access the old bridge abutments. Subject to getting approvals and putting the finances in place a new bridge will be constructed in due course. A new permissive footpath will be created so that it follows the path of the river TOP: top soil be loaded onto the dumper for infill on the new culvert BOTTOM: RGT Volunteers erecting the wooden shuttering on the culvert. Creating the new culvert . In typical British workmen style few working while others look on—well they are all volunteers. TOP: Culvert nearing completion. BOTTOM: Testing out the finished product and heading home. SUFFOLK MASONS DONATE £500 TO RIVER GIPPING TRUST

The Provincial Grand Lodge of Suffolk recently donated £500 to the River Gipping Trust to assist it with ongoing projects. The RGT were among a number of other local organisa- tions to receive donations from the masons of the county. Freemasonry is one of the UK’s top charities raising over £33 million a year and one of its main grant-giving bodies. Masonic values are based on integrity, kindness, honesty and fairness. Freemasons characteristically practice charity and care, not only within their own membership but also amongst the community as a whole. From its earliest existence Freemasonry has been committed to caring for others, something that still continues today.

Their charitable work and support is certainly not an Insurance Policy just for Freemasons and their families. However, they are there to offer advice, assistance and financial support following a life-changing event such as a medical diagnosis, changing care needs, family breakdown or the death of a family member.

Masonic charity is exercised at every level, individual lodges make gifts and give aid to their local communities and every Province in the UK contributes large sums of money to regional charitable causes. Nationally, Their efforts are channelled through the Masonic Charitable Foundation. www.ugle.org.uk/giving VANDALS STRIKE AT PIPPS FORD Late one summers evening mindless vandals broke into the mess and storage hut at Pipps Ford. Only a jar of coffee and four mugs were stolen. They let off the fire extinguisher and sprayed it all over the con- tents. It took a whole morning to clear up. New and stronger security measures are now in place. It has never been so tidy! A LOOK BACK TO ROMAN TIMES

The sole classical reference giving the name of the Roman fort and settlement at Baylham House in Suffolk is Iter IX of the Antonine Itinerary, "the route from Venta Icinorum (Caistor St. Edmund, Norfolk) to Londinium (London)", a total distance, of one-hundred and twenty-eight miles. The name Combretonio appears second on the list of stations in Iter IX, 15 miles from Ad Ansam (Stratford St. Mary, Suffolk) and 22 miles from Sitomagus (probably Ixworth in Suffolk, though possibly Saxmundham in Suffolk). Baylam House also gets a mention in the Peutinger Table, a medieval copy of an original Roman map in which it is spelled Convetoni, and is listed 15 miles from Sitomagus (q.v. Antonine Iter IX) and 15 miles from Stratford St. Mary. The name now commonly accepted is Combretovium, though equal- ly, the name may have been spelled Combretonium or Convetonium. In addition, Combretovium must have been on the route of Antonine Iter V but was not listed among the stations in this itinerary. The various spellings of the name make it difficult to translate. The prefix possibly derives from the Latin verb comburo, meaning 'to burn', but the endings are many. The suffix may have stemmed from the Latin word via 'way, path, road', or vivo 'live, survive', or possibly from tonitum 'thunder'. Scholars believe that the place-name means something along the lines of 'The Burning of the Ways', perhaps in reference to an incident during the Boudican unrest in the winter of 60/61AD. Study of an aerial photograph taken in 1978 show two superimposed forts of different periods, the larger (and earlier) had three ditches and enclosed an area of over 11 acres (4.45 hectares), very likely a Claudian campaign fort. The second, smaller fort lies in the south-western corner of the larger enclosure and covers about 5½ acres (2.2 ha), in all respects a normal-sized auxiliary fort. Situated at the crossing of the River Gipping, this site has produced a number of notable finds, including a saddle-cloth weight, indicating the presence of Cavalry, and a bronze statuette of Nero with silver and niello inlay which appears to have been deliberately broken, perhaps in 68AD when Nero received the damnatio after his assassination. This quality piece is unlikely to have come from a native settlement, thus strengthening the argument that a large military presence occupied the site.

The site is a 60 hectare open settlement, with occupation from the late Iron Age and Claudian periods through to the mid 4th century. Traces of a Roman road running to a ford on the river at Sharnford were identified. Numerous finds were made in the vicinity of the road, including 1st to 4th century coins, a bronze mirror, a cinerary urn, pottery, slag, building debris and a wall 30 yards long and 2 feet thick. There were also 1st century hut circles associated with drainage gullies and rubbish pits. This level was sealed by 2nd to 3rd century occupation debris, including footings of a rectangular timber building. To the south-west of this area a Roman Conquest-period enclosure ditch was excavated, while to the east there was a 1st century cremation cemetery. Two 2nd century pottery kilns, and a late 1st or 2nd century enclosure ditch with a gateway complex was uncovered. Rubbish pits and ditches were abundant and a timber-lined shaft 9.25 metres deep was also excavated, which contained pottery, a La Tene III brooch and a silver coin of the Iceni. In the absence of any sign of ritual, it was presumed to be a well. Although occupation of this marginal part of the settlement was clearly never substantial, the quantity of finds was taken by the excavators to indicate the importance of the main settlement which lies under pasture nearer the river. Extension northwards is shown by the discovery of ditches and finds in Pool Fields. Roman burials have also been discovered in fields near the sheepwalk.

The map on the right shows the site of the two forts. Two Roman forts are known. The larger encloses about 14.5 acres (5.8 hectares) and its defences include a triple ditch system. The smaller fort of 5.3 acres (2.1 hectares) lies within this and is surrounded by a set of four ditches. The Roman Road form Colchester to Caistor passes through both sites and its positioning suggests that the small fort was the earlier, replaced by the larger fort. Acknowledgement and Source of material of this article www.roman-britain.co.uk INNAUGURAL RGT LUNCH A BIG HIT

Thirty five members and their guests attended the first RGT lunch which was held in the Sir Alf Ramsey Suite at Rushmere Golf Club. An excellent traditional roast beef meal was enjoyed by all attending. The highlight of the event was a special presentation made by our Chairman, Brian Annis to Peter Bowers on his obtaining the IWA Richard Bird Medal. There is no truth in the rumour that the Club’s Lady Captain asked him to be Father Christmas for its children's party. Please put the date for this years’ lunch in you diary. Sunday 27th October. Peter Bowers (right– in case of any doubt) receiving a commemorative plaque from the River Gipping Chairman, Brian Annis. The plaque was produced by Gerry Crease with some of the background information provided by Chard Wadley. Photographs supplied by John Ford the RGT photographic archivist. (more on next page). OUR PETE WINS TOP IWA AWARD Peter ‘Pete’ Bowers has been awarded one of the highest honours the IWA can bestow—The Richard Bird Medal. This is awarded to IWA members whose efforts and support are considered to have brought significant benefit to the Association over a sustained period. The nomination was put forward to the IWA by Chard Wadley, Charles Stride and Brain Annis. The following is a summary of their submission.

Peter has been a member of the Ipswich Branch, IWA and a restoration volunteer since 1992 initially working with the Branch on the River Gipping at Bosmere Lock. He continued to be at the fore-front of the restoration work on the River Gipping at Creeting Lock, Baylham Lock and now at Pipps Ford, the latter locks being with the River Gipping Trust.

He was involved in building a bridge at Creeting and carried out most of the brickwork, and he helped rebuild the lock walls at Bos- mere and Baylham. At Pipps Ford, to date, he has been involved with the construction of a new wooden bridge and the restoration of the bywash.

Peter has many years of experience on brickwork, digger driving and much more. This makes him an invaluable member at the work parties with his experience and knowledge. We can always rely on Peter to suggest good ideas to solve any problems, which may arise.

Chard Wadley said, ‘when I was Branch Chairman I could always rely on Peter to take on any task on the restoration work being carried out on the River Gipping. Therefore, I think Peter is a worthy nominee for the Richard Bird Award and he has my full support’. Not only is Peter a great asset to the IWA Ipswich Branch he has also given a great deal of time to many WRG Work Camps over the years, starting in 1988. Their records show that, in the last five years alone, Peter has attended 22 Canal Camps all over the country from The Chelmer & Blackwater Canal in Essex, to Chesterfield, and Inglesham in the Cotswolds. The recorded total for how much time Pete has spent on Canal Camps in this period, equates to 154 days or a total of 1232 hours spent sleeping in village halls, being knee deep in mud and restoring canals! WRG said, ‘If we had more volunteers like Pete it’s almost certain we could have run out of canals to restore’.

Mike Palmer, WRG Chairman added “Pete Bowers is a prime example of the amazing impact volunteers can have on making a practical difference to a project. Pete brings with him an impressive array of skills and experiences to each and every Canal Camp he attends, enthusiastically passing on knowledge to our less experienced volunteers, and is a thoroughly great bloke to have on camp. During our 2017 Canal Camp season we were fortunate to be blessed with Pete’s presences on 8 Camps, consistently putting our younger volunteers to shame in terms of endur- ance.”

Since 1996 Peter has also been involved with the Wendover Trust, a period of 21 years, and spends several weeks at a time working with their volunteers on the restoration of the Arm. Photo: Peter Bowers with the Ivor Caplan IWA National Chairman receiving the Richard Bird Medal Drifting into the future at 4mph: a rebirth awaits for Britain’s canals - Guardian Some 3,000 miles of navigable waterways will be almost doubled in a bid to reawaken a historic national asset. There are now 38, narrowboats – one quarter of them are homes – on 3,000 miles of navigable waterways, and the number of people enjoying barge holidays has doubled in recent years. Membership of the Friends of the Canal and River Trust (CRT), the waterways’ version of the National Trust, hit 28,000 this year. Towpaths are teeming with walkers, anglers and cy- clists, and there are thousands of volunteers working on 98 canal restoration projects from Devon to West Sussex to Cumbria. The Inland Waterways Association (IWA), the charity that champions canal restoration, is working towards reopening 2,500 miles of “dead” canals which lie derelict.

Due to be published early this year, a report by the restoration hub of the IWA will emphasise the benefits of canal restoration in terms of economic regeneration, wildlife and plant diversity, architectural heritage, tourism and education. Putting freight back on the canals is also viable, which is why an inland port is being planned in Leeds. Mike Palmer, the report’s main author, said the canal network was “a huge linear national park – a leisure park, a vital wildlife sanctuary, an important industrial heritage site and an environment-friendly transport system all rolled into one”. While the report is being digested, the IWA volunteers will be hard at work on projects, which include: • De-silting work on an abandoned stretch of the Wey and Arun navigation near the Surrey-West Sussex border. • The completion of a two-year restoration of a hopelessly derelict lock on the Grantham canal in the east Midlands, bringing the Lincolnshire town a step closer to returning to the national network it left more than 80 years ago. • A redoubling of fundraising efforts by the Lichfield and Hatherton Ca- nals Restoration Trust, which raised the money to build an aqueduct over the M6 toll road 16 years ago despite the fact that there is no canal there (there will be, eventually). Unless work on a tunnel under a railway and a new roundabout starts within a year or so costs will in- crease enormously. The trust must raise £1m by the end of this year in a campaign led by the actor and canals supporter David Suchet: it has just passed £530,000.

• Taking the next step on one of the most daunting challenges faced by any of the nation’s restoration projects, the Missing Mile on the Cotswold canals, a stretch that was more or less obliterated when the M5 was built. Motorists on the A419 will see narrowboats crossing the middle of a roundabout; there is also junction 13 of the M5 to deal with, plus a major gas pipeline and two more roundabouts. It should be finished by 2023, bringing Stroud back on to the national network. The IWA’s report aims to change the attitude of funders, politicians, government departments, local authorities, restoration groups and even health professionals. As well as the economic and environmen- tal benefits of canals, it will stress the effects on health. Regular exercise in a beautiful, peaceful natural environment with water has an added bonus. It gives a sense of wellbeing, reduces stress and helps depression. Walking beside a canal not only helps patients with diabetes, hypertension, lung disease and arthritis but also patients with mental health problems.

The report will recommend focusing on micro-projects rather than the entire length of a canal. Restoration should be seen by government agencies and volunteers as a national issue, rather than as a hotch- potch of local groups working in isolation.

The Cotswold canals project in Stroud will eventually link the Severn with the Thames. “There was a big gap in terms of looking at things strategically,” said Palmer, who chairs the waterways recovery group, the IWA’s volunteer taskforce. There are long-running disputes with road builders and planners in Swindon; on the route of the abandoned Berkshire and Wiltshire canal; on the new Bedford and Milton Keynes waterway; and on the Lichfield and Hatherton canal.

“Everybody is struggling with planning permission, with highway crossings, with water abstraction rights,” said Palmer. “This report will say to the government, to the Environment Agency, ‘you need to do better on this’. It’s quite likely that even the bosses of any ministry don’t actually understand that it’s a major issue. They just think it’s dozens of little local issues and don’t spot that they’re joined up.” Despite this lack of political will, Britain’s canals have had their advo- cates. In the 1960s, the Queen Mother and the transport minister, Barbara Castle, were among those who spoke up for canals at a time when the attitude of many, especially in local politics, was that they were dirty, dangerous and of no value.

John Dodwell, who has been active in restoring the waterways since 1961 and who chairs the Montgomery Canal Partnership, said that a 1970 conference in Oxford on the urban future of canals “was instru- mental in turning the tide with town planners and highway engineers”. Something similar needs to be done now, especially with road builders.” he welcomed the IWA report and pointed out that there were no national planning guidelines covering the restoration of canals.

One of the best examples of a self-contained, landlocked restoration that has improved life is in Stroud. The Cotswold canals restoration, a big project that will eventually reconnect the Severn and the Thames, has been heavily supported for 10 years by Stroud district council. Several miles have been reopened, and the council has moved its offices to Ebley Mill, which was a moribund part of town a few years ago. David Marshall, the council’s canal project manager, said: “The canal used to be a place to avoid – rubbish, derelict, broken locks – and now it’s a place to come to. What we’ve done so far stands on its own two feet.”

The Cotswold project has more than 7,000 members, more than any other canal trust. Palmer, whose main aim is to generate more exter- nally-funded projects on the waterways, said: “We want more people to be involved in the waterways.

“The purpose of our report is to show that you don’t need to fully restore a canal in order to gain all the benefits. If you start with a small piece of restoration and plan it well you will get the benefits right from day one. It might be restoring a kilometre here, restoring a canal-side warehouse that becomes a community centre. A lot of people just want somewhere safe to walk, or a cycle path. And when people see one kilometre restored they want the next, and the next…” One day it will be possible, as it was 150 years ago, to travel by inland waterways from Littlehampton in West Sussex to the Lake District. By road, on a good day, that would take six hours. At the more sedate pace of the canals, where the speed limit is 4mph, it would take weeks.

The most popular writer on canals was Tom Rolt, the godfather of canal restoration who helped found the IWA. In his hugely popular and still in-print 1944 book, Narrow Boat, he said that canal travel “seemed to me to fulfil in the fullest sense the meaning of travel as opposed to a mere blind hurrying from place to place”.

This article was abridged from a report in the Guardian Newspaper and full acknowledgement is given to the source

The River Gipping Trust Ltd is a company limited by guarantee. Registered in England No. 06145692. Registered as a charity No. 1119586 Full details of its activities and how to join can be found on our website. rivergippingtrust.org.uk .

Help the River Gipping Trust fund raising activities by collecting scrap metal. It is as simple as ABC. Aluminium Brass Copper Also Tin, Lead, Batter- ies, etc We can arrange collection from your home.