newsletter 177 - sihg industrial archaeology news no 154 autumn 2010 ... council for british...
TRANSCRIPT
Published by the Surrey Industrial History Group and printed
by YesPrint 3 Leafy Oak Workshops Cobbetts Lane Yateley GU17 9LW
© SIHG 2010 ISSN1355-8188
1
www.sihg.org.uk
Reigate Heath Windmill -
Historic Windmill
Renovation Nearly Complete
26 August 2010
A HISTORIC windmill has had a new
30ft tail post craned into position as part
of the final stage of its restoration.
Reigate Heath windmill, which dates
back to 1765, is thought to be the
only one in the country which is a
consecrated church.
In 1880, the roundhouse was converted
into a Chapel of Ease to St Mary's.
Services are still held in the tiny church
during the summer.
Over the past three weeks, Reigate &
Banstead Borough Council, which owns
the mill, has been undertaking a range
of restoration works including repairing
slats to the Vestry and Crown, while the
whole structure has been given two
coats of tar to weatherproof it.
And, as restoration works draw to a
close on the Grade II-listed building,
council bosses are promising the mill
church will be ready for the Heritage
Open Days Weekend on
September 9-12, with the rest of
the building opening shortly after.
Councillor Mike Miller, executive
member for planning, transport and
housing, said:
No 177 Sep 2010
Reigate Heath Windmill - Renovation.
http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/632932
© Copyright Ian Capper (Creative Commons Licence)
“The old tail post was showing signs of decay.
“The new one, carved from a specially selected Douglas Fir tree, has been made in the same style
“and will be fitted in the same way as the old one.
“The work is being carried out as part of our remit to maintain our historic buildings.
“Once completed, Reigate Heath windmill will be a gleaming beacon on our skyline again.”
A 6ft length of the old tail post and the original peg workings will be going to the local Holmesdale
Museum in Reigate.
The tail post was used by the miller to turn the windmill into the wind and then he would set the sails.
The mill has not worked by wind since 1862.
This article appeared at www.getsurrey.co.uk (search for ‘windmill’). ¤
Surrey Industrial History Group Officers
Chairman & SIHG Lectures Organiser: Robert Bryson, [email protected]
Secretary: Alan Thomas, [email protected]
Treasurer: (vacant)
Membership Secretary: David Evans, [email protected]
Newsletter Editor: Jan Spencer, [email protected]
September 2010 2 Newsletter 177
Reports & Notices Details of meetings are reported in good faith, but information may
become out of date. Please check details before attending.
SIHG Visits, Details & Updates at www.sihg.org.uk
Contents
1 Reigate Heath Windmill Renovation
2 Notices
3 Venues, Times & Contacts & Diary: 20 September - 30 November
6 Surrey Industrial History Group Officers
5 Is Ockham Mill an Odious Building? by Alan Crocker
7 Industrial Archaeology News No 154 Autumn 2010 report by Gordon Knowles
Members' Talks If you would like to give a short talk on a holiday experience
or your research on an Industrial Archaeology topic,
please sign up for 7 December 2010. Please contact Bob Bryson, [email protected].
SIHG Outing- London - 28 Oct - see p 3.
Barrett, Exall & Andrewes - Reading Pioneers in Steam
Museum of English Rural Life, Reading. Wednesday 3 November 2010, 1300-1400. The Reading Iron Works was one of the foremost builders of steam engines in the nineteenth century.
Roy Green, an expert on the history of the company, and Dr Jonathan Brown, MERL Honorary Fellow,
give a guide to the business and its engines. Free and open to all, but advance booking is essential,
0118 378 8660 or [email protected]. MERL, Relands Road, Reading RR1 5EX. www.reading.ac.uk/merl
Council for British Archaeology / Association for Industrial Archaeology
East Midlands Regional Industrial Heritage Day School
Hosiery and Lace Industries
+ site visit in the afternoon to lace mills in Long Eaton & Erewash Canal
Thursday 11 November 2010, 0930 - 1630. Booking: www.britarch.ac.uk
at Long Eaton Art Room, Granville Avenue, Long Eaton, Derbyshire
Surrey Archaeological Society Autumn Conference 2010 - The Research Framework
Building Materials from Timber to Tiles
Saturday 20 November 2010 0930 - 1630
Presentations on a Range of Materials by eminent Specialists from
English Heritage and the Commercial World
The Dixon Hall, The Institute, 67 High Street, Leatherhead, Surrey KT22 8AH
Tickets from the Society, Castle Arch, Guildford, GU1 3SX
£8 in advance, £10 on the day. Details: www.surreyarchaeology.org.uk
September 2010 3 Newsletter 177
SIHG is a group of the Surrey Archaeological Society, Registered Charity No 272098
Castle Arch Guildford Surrey GU1 3SX
Group Patron: David Shepherd OBE, Group President: Prof AG Crocker FSA
SIHG Newsletter No 177 September 2010
DIARY
The 35th series of SIHG Industrial Archaeology Lectures starts on 29 September 2010 on alternate Tuesdays, 1930 - 2130 at the University of Surrey (Lecture Theatre F).
Enquiries to programme co-ordinator, Bob Bryson, [email protected]. Maps at www.sihg.org.uk
Free parking is available in the evening on the main campus car park.
Single lectures at £5, payable on the night, are open to all.
The Autumn 2010 Thursday Morning Lecture Series at Leatherhead starts on 23 September 2010.
Enquiries to Leatherhead programme co-ordinator Ken Tythacott, [email protected]. As seating is strictly
limited, enrolment is for the whole course only; casual attendance is not possible.
Surrey Industrial History Group
Half-term Visit on Thursday 28 October 2010
London Transport Museum in Covent Garden, followed, after lunch, by a visit to the Tower Bridge Exhibition.
The London Transport Museum tells the story of the development of the capital’s bus, tram, trolley-bus and underground railway systems,
the effect that this had on the lives of Londoners and the growth of suburbia.
Tower Bridge, opened in 1894, was one of several designs to provide a new river crossing without impeding ships seeking to sail into the
Pool of London. Visitors ascend the North tower by lift to the upper walk-way level where there is a video telling the history of the
building of the bridge. As visitors cross the enclosed walk-ways they will find models, drawings and photographs about the bridge as well
as panoramic views across London, so bring your cameras. After descending the South tower the visit continues to the plant rooms where
the steam engines and hydraulic gear which operated the bascules of the bridge are excellently preserved and presented.
Refreshment facilities. There is a café in the London Transport Museum and many places for lunch round Covent Garden.
Travel arrangements. The coach will depart from the rear car park of the Leatherhead Leisure Centre promptly at 0900. In your timings
please allow for the traffic congestion through Leatherhead at this time. The coach will then pick up passengers from near the public car
park by the Sainsbury’s roundabout on the A3100 at Burpham (not Sainsbury’s own car park) before proceeding to London on the A3.
After lunch the coach will transport us from Covent Garden to Tower Bridge at a time to be announced. The intention is that we should
return to Leatherhead by around 1715. When approaching the Leisure Centre do not park in the first car park on your left but continue past
the Centre buildings and park in the farthest section of the rear car park. It is free of charge.
Cost. The cost of entry fees, the coach and driver’s gratuity will be £20,
reduced to £10 for those who are enrolled on the Leatherhead SIHG Thursday course.
Guests will be welcome subject to availability of seating on the coach.
Further details from
Ken Tythacott - [email protected], Geoff Roles - [email protected], or Robert Bryson [email protected].
Diary September 2010
23 Thu Surrey Industrial History Group: New Lecture Course at Leatherhead.
28 Tue Surrey Industrial History Group New Lecture Series (Guildford): Watches in England,
the First Hundred Years, 1580-1680 by David Thompson, Curator of Horology, British Museum
Diary October 2010
12 Tue Surrey Industrial History Group Lecture Series: The Cable Ships of Turnchapel by John Avery, Local Historian.
26 Tue Surrey Industrial History Group Lecture Series:
Replicating British Army Aircraft No 1 by David Wilson, Farnborough Air Sciences Trust.
28 Thu Surrey Industrial History Group: Half Term Visit London Transport Museum & Tower Bridge, page 3.
Diary November 2010
09 Tue Surrey Industrial History Group Lecture Series:
Robert Stephenson - Eminent Engineer by Dr Michael Bailey, Past-President, Newcomen Society.
20 Sat Surrey Archaeological Society: Conference - Building Materials from Timber to Tiles, see page 2.
23 Tue Surrey Industrial History Group Lecture Series: Start, Stop, and Start Again: Building the Oxted Line
(Croydon to Oxted) in 1865-67 & 1880-84 by PaulSowan, Croydon Natural History & Scientific Society.
September 2010 4 Newsletter 177
Institute of Welsh Affairs
History Heritage & Urban Regeneration
A One-day Conference at the National Waterfront Museum, Swansea.
Thursday 14 October 2010 0930 - 1730
The day will explore how history and heritage, particularly of our industrial past,
can help inform creative and sustainable regeneration.
The day will also launch a new project, funded by the ESRC, on the
Local and Global Worlds of Welsh Copper
at Swansea University.
Conference tickets: £40 for IWA members £50 for non-members.
Booking: 029 2066 0820 or [email protected]; www.iwa.org.uk/en/events/view/100.
Institute of Welsh Affairs, 4 Cathedral Road, Cardiff CF11 9LJ
Other IA Organisations
Amberley Museum & Heritage Centre: next to Amberley railway station, West Sussex, www,amberleymuseum.co.uk.
Association for Industrial Archaeology: www.industrial-archaeology.org.
Basingstoke Canal Authority: 01252 370073.
Brighton Circle (London, Brighton & South Coast Railway): www.lbscr.demon.co.uk.
Chatham Historic Dockyard: Kent ME4 4TZ; www.chdt.org.uk.
Cobham Bus Museum: London Bus Preservation Trust, Redhill Road, Cobham, Surrey KT11 1EF; www.lbpt.org.
Croydon Airport Visitor Centre: Aiport House, Purley Way Croydon CR0 0XZ; www.croydon-airport.org.uk.
Croydon Natural History & Scientific Society: meetings: Small Hall, United Reformed Church Hall, Addiscombe Grove, E Croydon.
Cuffley Industrial Heritage Society: Northaw Village Hall, 5 Northaw Road West, Northaw EN6 4NW; www.cihs.org.uk.
Didcot Railway Centre: Access via Didcot Parkway Station; www.didcotrailwaycentre.org.uk.
Docklands History Group: Museum in Docklands, No 1 Warehouse, West India Quay, Hertsmere Road, London, E14 4AL;
www.docklandshistorygroup.org.uk.
East London History Society : Latimer Church Hall, Ernest Street, E1; www.eastlondonhistory.org.uk.
Enfield Society: Jubilee Hall, 2 Parsonage Lane, Enfield, EN2 0AJ; www.enfieldsociety.org.uk.
Fetcham U3A: http://fetchamu3a.org.uk/home.htm.
Greenwich Industrial History Society: Old Bakehouse, Age Exchange Centre, 11 Blackheath Village, SE3 (opposite Blackheath Station).
Great Dorset Steam Fair: South Down, Tarrant Hinton, nr Blandford, Dorset DT11 8HX; www.gdfs.co.uk.
Hampshire Archaeology Society (HIAS): Underhill Centre, St. John's Road, Hedge End, SO30 4AF.
Hampshire Mills Group: www.hampshiremills.org.
Heritage Open Days: 1 Waterehouse Square, 138-142 Holborn, London EC1N 2ST; www.heritageopendays.org.uk.
Honeywood Museum: by Carshalton Ponds, Honeywood Walk, Carshalton, Surrey SM5 3NX; www.friendsofhoneywood.co.uk.
Kempton Great Engines: Feltham Hill Road, Hanworth, Middx TW13 6XH (off elevated section of A316); www.kemptonsteam.org.
Kew Bridge Steam Museum: Green Dragon Lane, Brentford, Middlesex TW8 0EN; www.kbsm.org.
Lewisham Local History Society: Lewisham Methodist Church SE13 6BT.
London Canal Museum: 12/13 New Wharf Road, N1 9RT; www.canalmuseum.org.uk.
London Transport Museum, Acton Depot: 2 Museum Way, 118 - 120 Gunnersbury Lane, London, W3 9BQ; 020 7565 7298.
London Underground Railway Society; Upper Room, All Souls Clubhouse, 141 Cleveland Street, London W1T 6QG; www.lurs.org.uk
Lowfield Heath Windmill: near Charlwood.
Mid-Hants Railway (Watercress Line): Alresford Station, Alresford, Hants SO24 9JG or
Alton Station, Alton, Hants GU34 2PZ; www.watercressline.co.uk.
Newcomen Society London: Fellows’ Room, Science Museum, Exhibition Road, London SW7 2DD.
Newcomen Society Portsmouth: Room 0.27, Portland Building, University of Portsmouth, St James Street off Queen Street, Portsea.
Open City London (Open House London): www.open-city.org.uk.
Portsmouth Historic Dockyard: www.historicdockyard.co.uk.
Railway & Canal Historical Society: The Rugby Tavern, Rugby Street, London WC1; www.rchs.org.uk
Rotherhithe & Bermondsey Local History Group: Time & Talents Centre, Old Mortuary,
St Mary Church Street, Rotherhithe Village, SE16; www.kingstairs.com/rotherhithe.
Royal Gunpowder Mills: Waltham Abbey; www.royalgunpowdermills.com.
Rural Life Centre, Old Kiln Museum, Reeds Road, Tilford, Farnham, Surrey GU10 2DL.
Shalford Mill (National Trust), Shalford Guildford Surrey GU4 8BX.
Shere, Gomshall & Peaslake Local History Society: Shere Village Hall, Gomshall Lane, Shere GU5 9HE; www.sherehistorysociety.co.uk.
Southwark and Lambeth Archaeological Society: Housing Co-op Hall, 106 The Cut SE1 8LN (almost opposite the Old Vic).
Shirley Windmill: Postmill Close, Shirley, Croydon CR0 5DY; [email protected].
STEAM - Museum of the Great Western Railway: Kemble Drive, Swindon, SN2 2TA; www.steam-museum.org.uk
Surrey & Hampshire Canal Society (The Basingstoke Canal): Parish Pavilion, Station Road, Chobham; ww.basingstoke-canal.org.uk.
Sussex Industrial Archaeology Society (SIAS): www.sussexias.co.uk.
Sussex Mills Group: www.sussexmillsgroup.org.uk.
Twyford Waterworks:Hazeley Road, Twyford, Hampshire SO21 1QA; www.twyfordwaterworks.co.uk/.
Wealden Iron Research Group: Nutley Memorial Hall, Sussex, (North end of village, West side of A22).
Westcott Local History Group: Westcott Reading Room, Westcott near Dorking, Surrey RH4 3NP; [email protected].
Wey & Arun Canal Trust: The Granary, Flitchfold Farm, Loxwood Billingshurst, West Sussex RH14 ORH; www.weyandarun.co.uk.
Wings & Wheels at Dunsfold Park: near Cranleigh, Surrey GU6 8TB; www.wingsandwheels.net.
September 2010 5 Newsletter 177
In 2007 SIHG awarded its annual
conservation plaque to the Horsley
Countryside Preservation Society (HCPS)
for its initiative in conserving a series of
bridges built by Lord Lovelace, mainly in
the 1860s, on his forest estate south of
East Horsley. As part of its efforts to
obtain a major grant from the Heritage
Lottery Fund, HPCS is now extending this
Lovelace Bridges Project to include other
Lovelace buildings in East Horsley and
neighbouring villages. One of these
buildings is Ockham Mill (NGR TQ 0559
5792) and HPSC asked me for my
comments on it and to write a note for the
their magazine Around & About Horsley.
This appeared in the Summer 2010 issue
and is the basis of the present note.
In his book Old Surrey Water-Mills,
published in 1951, Jack Hillier describes
this mill as an ‘odious building with
architectural embellishments associated
with misapplied Ruskinian decoration’.
He did however note that the garden of
the adjacent Millstream Cottage is ‘one of
the loveliest in Surrey’. Lord Lovelace built the mill in
1862 to replace the former timber mill, (shown left), that
had been destroyed by fire. All that appears to survive of
this earlier mill is a cast-iron sluice gate with the partial
inscription ‘LORD [WILLIAM] LOVELACE [18]41’.
The new mill is a large 4-storey brick building plus a
loft and has elaborate flat-arched windows with alternate
black and red cut bricks, string courses, terracotta tiles
with incised patterns and fancy ridge tiles (see below).
All of this is of course typical of many Lovelace
buildings. In his book The Watermills of Surrey,
published in 1990 (not the peculiar date MCMCX on the
title page), Derek Stidder comments that the building is
a fine example of a Victorian mill!
In 1296 Ockham had two watermills and in 1706 there
was a mill on the present site. In 1707 Lovelace’s
ancestor Peter King acquired Ockham Park and later
became Lord Chancellor. The Park stayed in the family
until 1894. In 1862 the miller was Henry Bowyer and he
stayed 15 years. Then Alfred Tice took over and stayed
until 1899 when the large agricultural firm of Henry
(Continued on page 6)
Is Ockham Mill an Odious Building? by Alan Crocker
Ockham Mill in the early 19th century,
based on a reproduction of a painting in the Minet Library, Lambeth.
Ockham Mill in about 1900.
September 2010 6 Newsletter 177
The waterwheel in Ockham Mill in the 1970s.
Photo: Francis Haveron, founding Secretary of SIHG.
Moore & Son acquired the mill. It ceased working in
1927 and lay disused until 1958 when it was converted
for residential use. However, the gearing was restored
sympathetically by professional millwrights and the
present owner had the superb internal, low breast-shot
waterwheel restored and turning again in 1988. Its
diameter is 14ft 6in, its width 9ft 10in and the iron
shaft bears the legend ‘Filmer & Mason, Engineers,
Guildford. 1880’. A photograph of this wheel, taken in
the 1970s, is shown above. It powered five pairs of
millstones and there are now at least nine old stones
used as decorative features in the garden of Millstream
Cottage.
An interesting collection of items relating to the mill
has been put on display on the ground floor of the mill
adjacent to the gearing. They include an ammeter and
a voltmeter manufactured by Drake & Gorham Ltd,
London. This firm was formed in 1888 and installed
early electrical lighting equipment in many grand
country houses, including Chatsworth House for the
Duke of Devonshire and Alnwick Castle for the Duke
of Northumberland. It is tempting therefore to think
(Continued from page 5)
Ockham Mill Now, wwwgeograph.org.uk/photo/518331.
Photo: © Copyright Colin Smith.
Licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Licence.
that they also installed lighting in some of
Lovelace’s properties and that electricity
was generated by waterpower at Ockham
Mill. However, the firm did not become a
limited liability company until 1901 and
therefore could not have used ‘Ltd’ after
‘Drake & Gorham’ until eight years after
Lovelace died. Also, these particular meters
are thought to date from the 1920s. A
photograph of the face of the ammeter is
shown on page 20.
Jack Hillier, quoted in paragraph 2, died in
1995 and his obituary states that he was an
authority on Japanese art and that his
mother was connected with Lord Byron’s
friend Scrope Berdmore Davies. The life of
Scrope (which rhymes with ‘soup’ and not
‘soap’) is recorded in a book by T A J
Burnett entitled The Rise and Fall of a
Regency Dandy that was published in 1983.
The foreword was written by Jack Hillier’s
son Bevis, who is an authority on Art Deco.
One can but wonder whether Jack knew
that Lovelace’s first wife Ada was Lord
Byron’s daughter. She was a brilliant
mathematician and collaborated with
Charles Babbage on his design of the early
general-purpose computer, the analytical
engine, and is credited with being the
world’s first computer programmer.
Perhaps Ockham Mill is an ‘odious
building’ but I have certainly found it to be
fascinating. ¤
See page 7 for two more images.
September 2010 7 Newsletter 177
The April visit to Upper Normandy is described by
Richard Hartree. Three days were spent looking at the
port of Rouen and 120km upstream as far as Honfleur. A
visit was made to the Port Authority Head Office, where
it was pointed out that the Rouen complex of harbours is
the fifth largest in France. A tour made along the docks
revealed everything from containers ships to cruise
liners. An unusual feature noted was a waste incinerator/
electricity generating plant built to resemble the outline
of an ocean liner. Wheat is exported to Algeria and wine
imported to blend with local wines.
The former textile industry and museum in an 1822
cotton mill in the valley of the river Cailly was visited.
The mill still has a waterwheel driving machinery to
produce braided and plaited textile products. At
Montville a fire fighting museum was next on the list; it
contains a wide range of appliances from a 1722 hand
pump to a late 20th c. 36m extended ladder engine. Next
the impressive 27 arch brick Barrentin Viaduct, 100ft
high and 600yards long. Designed by Joseph Locke and
built by Thomas Brassey in 1846, it collapsed soon
afterwards - the reason was never discovered - and was
rebuilt by Brassey at his own expense. Then a visit to the
private venture Maritime Museum in Rouen. Some
members of the group then visited a stationary steam
engine and two rotative beam engines at a local
waterworks, while others visited more museums. (There did seem to be a lot of museums visited, perhaps the only way these days to see relics of industry, as so few remain in situ. GK).
Then on to the Moulin de Hautville at Brotonne, which
had first operated in the 13th c. By the 19th c. it had
become a tower mill with a thatched roof on the rotating
cap. It has now been completely restored. Next to yet
another museum, a maritime one at Caubebec-en-Caux,
where a display illustrated how the tide is used to enable
ocean going vessels to go up to Rouen and back
downstream again. Next to the Palais Benedictine at
Fecamp where the medicinal herbal drink made by the
monks for centuries has been used since 1863 to flavour
alcoholic spirit to make the well-known liqueur. (There is no reference to samples being drunk, but I am sure there were. At least they were when I visited the site some years ago! GK).
The final visit was to the lace museum in Calais. The
industry had been set up by English businessmen in
1815.The museum has a working Leavers lace making
machine and several displays of more recent
developments in textile materials.
Mark Sissons describes three more ventures supported
by the AIA from its recent anonymous bequest. The
Hoylandswaine nail makers workshop between Barnsley
and Pennistone needed urgent roof repairs, which have
been started with the aid of the AIA grant. The site was
a small family workshop with three forges and was still
producing foundry nails by hand until WWII. The
National Waterways Museum at Ellesmere Port was
assisted to restore a coal box boat of mixed wooden and
iron construction. It was the forerunner of today’s
container vessels. The final grant this year went to the
Chaldron Waggon Project at Beamish Museum, County
Durham. The museum is working to rebuild two rakes of
chaldron waggons to enable a demonstration set to be
available. Repairs made in the 1970s, often in softwood,
are life expired. A concurrent scheme to provide covered
storage is also in hand.
Applications for Restoration Grants for 2011 can now be
made up to June next year: details are on the AIA
website.
Ian Drysdale reports that the Farme Colliery winding
engine, erected in 1810 at Rutherglen near Glasgow, is
now in the Summerlee Museum at Coatbridge. It is
reputed to be one of the last working Newcomen rotative
engines, but there is some doubt now as there were two
other engines on site, it is possible that data from them
has been confused over the years.
Bob Carr reports on a number of Greater London
activities, or lack of them, including the delay in moving
the St.Pancras gasholders to a new site to the northwest
of Kings Cross station. Work is going ahead on the new
University of the Arts in the Grade II listed Granary
complex to the north of the Regent’s Canal. The engine
house at Markfield Road in the Lea Valley has been
transformed and the 1886 Woolf compound beam
engine is now regularly steamed. Bob reports on the
100th anniversary celebrations of A.V.Roe’s flight from
Hackney Marshes and the re-opening of the Brunel (Continued on page 8)
Ada Countess of Lovelace
Ammeter at Ockham Mill.
Photo: Penelope Veiga-Pires for HCPS.
Industrial Archaeology News No 154 Autumn 2010 report by Gordon Knowles
September 2010 8 Newsletter 177
tunnel on the underground system under the
Thames, following closure in 1995 for major
repairs. Foot passengers were allowed to
walk through over 12-13 March before the
line re-opened to traffic. A large 12th c.
timber tide mill was discovered at
Greenwich in 2008, the site has been
thoroughly recorded and the remains of the
waterwheel have gone to the York
Archaeological Trust for preservation. The
site is now being re-developed with housing.
Attempts to list jetties and silos at the former
Tunnel Glucose Refineries close by the
Blackwall Tunnel were unsuccessful and a
photographic recording was made last
September. Demolition has now started.
SIHG Secretary Alan Thomas, who is the
correspondent for the South East, reports at
some length on regional matters including
demolition of more 1950s buildings on the
Manor Royal Industrial Estate in Crawley,
Sussex, and the cement works at Northfleet
and Halling in Kent. Also the final
demolition of the former Aveling and Porter
works in Strood, also in Kent, although the
company had moved to Grantham in the
1930s and survives as part of the Aveling-
Barford group. (The Strood site has been part of the offices of the District Council for some years, and included a small industrial heritage centre containing A & P and Shorts Aviation material. I do not know where the records will be housed in future. GK).
Rochester Common has been cleared for re-
development, no archaeological
investigations of the industrial sites have
been made. These included the 18th c. shipyard where
East Indiamen and 3rd rate battleships were built. The
Folkestone Harbour railway branch has closed; there is
uncertainty as to the future of the line, viaduct and
station buildings. Also under threat is the Sittingbourne
and Kemsley Light Railway, with its early pre-stressed
concrete viaduct, now that the older Lloyds paper mill
buildings have been demolished. A regeneration scheme
for the area is likely.
The Explosives Museum at Gosport has been taken over
by the Portsmouth Naval Base Property Trust and there
are plans to run a ferry service to it across the harbour.
Lottery money has been provided for a new visitor
centre at Fort Nelson on Portsdown Hill. A further £1.5
m is being raised in matching funds. The PS Ryde is
being demolished on the Isle of Wight but work was
halted because of the presence of asbestos. In
Southampton the Calshot Spit lightship was due to be
moved to Berth 49 in the Eastern Docks, adjacent to the
new Ocean Terminal. Proposals have been announced
for a new museum complex at Trafalgar dry dock and
Berth 50, including the relocation of Solent Sky
Aviation museum. The scheme will include ships such
as the tug tender Calshot and ML Medusa. The portable
airship hangar at Farnborough has been listed Grade II,
(Continued from page 7)
Sadly, efforts to save the former Aveling and Porter works have been in vain.
the sections scattered around the site have been re-united
and it is now located with other historic structures on the
Business Park. The Beachy Head lighthouse is among
those listed for closure as they have become redundant
now that ships carry satellite navigation equipment. The
de Witt lime kilns at the Amberley Museum are being
restored following receipt of a Lottery Fund grant of
£400,000. Work continues on the Wey and Arun canal
to extend it north of Loxwood to Southland. A legacy
has helped fund this work. On the Bluebell Line work
proceeds at East Grinstead on the junction with the main
line and the new platform is due to be opened in
September. Track is laid south of the station allowing
rubbish from the Imberhorne cutting to be moved by
rail.
In Surrey Peter James is continuing work on the Ockley
smock mill reconstruction, of which only the
roundhouse remained. Original methods and materials
have been used wherever possible. The interior will be
fitted out as a dwelling. The postmill at Tadworth is
being repaired by Reigate and Banstead Council; it last
worked in the 1920s, was damaged in WWII and
repaired in 1950. Since then little has been done on the
structure. ¤