Publications

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Programme

Summer Season 2012

40th YEAR CELEBRATION PROGRAMME

Saturday 19 May

STEAM ON THE LEVELS WEEKEND at Westonzoyland Pumping Station

Sunday 20 May

STEAM ON THE LEVELS WEEKEND at Westonzoyland Pumping Station

Tuesday 29 May

EVENING VISIT TO HOME FARM, ST AUDRIES

Another repeat visit from 40 years ago. Model farm with estate gasworks and other features. Meet at 19.00 at the car park at Home Farm Holiday Centre, West Quantoxhead, GR ST105429

Sunday June 3

IN-STEAM DAY at Westonzoyland Pumping Station

Monday June 4

IN-STEAM DAY at Westonzoyland Pumping Station

Wednesday 13 June

MORNING VISIT TO WISEMAN'S DAIRIES, NORTH PETHERTON

Meet at 11.00 at reception at GR ST302339. Steps unavoidable and mobility required. Numbers limited and advanced booking with Field Officer essential.    

Friday 29 June

EVENING FOSSICK TO PORLOCK AND PORLOCK WEIR

Led by Peter Daniel.

Meet at 18.45 in the car park in Porlock at GR SS885468

Sunday 1 July

IN-STEAM DAY at Westonzoyland Pumping Station

Wednesday 11 July

ALL DAY TRIP TO MORWELLHAM QUAY AND DEVON GREAT CONSOLS MINE

By minibus.

Another repeat from 40 years ago. Entrance fee to Morwellham £7.50 includes mine train. Minibus costs about £11 each depending on numbers. Bring packed lunch or get refreshments on site. Stout footwear advisable. Meet at 08.30 at Hankridge Farm, Taunton, in the car park between Homebase and Pizza Hut GR ST254251. Advance booking with Field Officer essential to determine numbers.

Thursday 26 July

EVENING FOSICK TO YEOVIL

Led by Peter Burnett and Peter Daniel.

Meet at 18.45 at Goldenstones Car Park (by the Leisure Centre). GR ST 554154

Sunday 5 August

IN-STEAM DAY at Westonzoyland Pumping Station

Thursday 23 August

AFTERNOON VISIT TO GRAND WESTERN CANAL AND OTHER STRUCTURES AT NYNEHEAD

Led by Denis Dodd.

An opportunity to see the results of the conservation work that is currently taking place. Meet at 14.00 at Wharf Cottage GR ST145220. Stout footwear advisable.

Monday 27 August

IN-STEAM DAY at Westonzoyland Pumping Station

Sunday 2 September

IN-STEAM DAY at Westonzoyland Pumping Station

Sunday 9 September

HERITAGE OPEN DAY at Westonzoyland Pumping Station

Monday 24 September

ALL DAY TRIP TO THE EXE ESTUARY, EXETER AND THE EXETER CANAL

By Stuart Line cruises from Exmouth Marina GR SX 993807. Fare £8 per head. Meet at 10.45. By boat up the Exe Estuary and the Exeter Canal to Exeter Canal basin. Lunch in pubs or cafes at the Quayside or bring picnic. Then walk through Exeter led by Peter Daniel and looking at IA sites on the way to Exeter Central Station. Train along the estuary back to Exmouth. Returning to Exmouth by about 16.30.  Advance booking with Field Officer essential since numbers are limited.

Sunday 7 October

IN-STEAM DAY at Westonzoyland Pumping Station

Sunday 4 November

IN-STEAM DAY at Westonzoyland Pumping Station

Reports on 2011/12 Meetings

Saturday 12 May

ALL DAY VISIT TO BRENDON HILLS IRON MINES AND WEST SOMERSET MINERAL RAILWAY

A repeat of the first SIAS trip 40 years ago!

Saturday 21 April

ANNUAL SOUTH WEST AND WALES REGIONAL INDUSTRIAL ARCHAEOLOGY CONFERENCE (SWWRIAC)

Monday 19 March

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Tuesday 13 March

"LIFE WITH STEEPLEJACK FRED"
 

TV presenter Fred Dibnah was remembered with affection by a large audience at the Brewhouse Theatre when his widow Sheila shared her memories of life with this much-loved celebrity and true British eccentric. This charity event in support of the Fred Dibnah Heritage Centre and the Westonzoyland Engine Trust, was held in celebration of SIAS's 40^th anniversary and was the highlight of this year's special anniversary programme.

Fred Dibnah at the 1989 Langport Steam Rally

Sheila was introduced by event organiser and SIAS committee member Peter Burnett. She began by recalling her early appreciation of engineering, and her childhood collection of spanners and rubbings of manhole-covers! Although steeplejack Fred was voted least romantic man in Britain in 1981, Sheila nevertheless became his third wife in 1998, having already impressed him by climbing a factory chimney with him unaided. Fred, true to form, travelled to his wedding by steam roller, and the engineering theme continued at the reception with the novel use of spanners as the base for table decorations and bouquet. A honeymoon to Wigan Pier followed later.

In his television appearances, Fred could speak to camera by drawing on his extensive knowledge without having to research beforehand. He once attended Bolton Art School, and the beautiful illustrations of engines and machinery that featured in the programmes were his own.

In 2001 Fred was made a MBE for services to heritage and broadcasting. He died in 2004 aged 66. Fred used television as a platform to tell the nation about Britain's industrial heritage, and we have a greater appreciation because of him.

Sheila’s presentation, always amusing, often hilarious, drew on her own acting abilities to capture Fred’s unique character and keep his memory alive.

Report by Geoff Roughton

Monday 5 March

COASTAL SHIPPING

The story of commercial coastal shipping was recalled by author Bernard McCall. It is a sad tale of decline in the face of road competition and the loss of the industries and smaller ports that were served. Bernard highlighted the strong contrast of this decline with the growth and innovation in water transport in Europe.

A tour around the south-west coast using transparencies began at the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal, which saw its last commercial ship in 1996. Small ships that would fit the canal are now viewed as uneconomic and are no longer built. Health and Safety requirements and taxation changes have also contributed to decline and mean the cargoes now go by road. Bernard contrasted the UK situation with that on the continent, where for example, the Danes recognise there is still a market for small coasters to sail worldwide, some being away 12-18 months. He considered that British Waterways have concentrated too much on the pleasure boat market and are no longer interested in commercial shipping.

Moving around the coast, Bristol sees visits from commercial ships once or twice a year, but Bideford, Fowey, Plymouth and Teignmouth see more frequent activity, and are visited by a variety of ships from the continent. Boats built in Russia, Germany, Holland and Norway are often designed to take specific cargoes or to match the topographical characteristics of a country’s coastline.

Most small ports however, have ceased trading commercially, and have been converted to marinas, redeveloped for housing, or are simply derelict. Bernard showed slides of Portishead, Watchet, Dunball, Yelland, Hayle, Par, Totnes and Exmouth as examples of the many small ports that have ceased commercial activity in recent years.

Meeting report by Geoff Roughton

Monday 20 February

PEVSNER - SOMERSET REVISITED

In his talk on “Revising Pevsner” Julian Orbach emphasised the enormity of architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner's undertaking in writing 46 volumes of “The Buildings of England”. Beginning in Cornwall in 1950, he finished in Staffordshire in 1975. Most counties have now been revised, but “South and West Somerset” of 1958, is the oldest unrevised volume. This responsibility is presenting Julian with issues and challenges, which he illustrated with examples of important local buildings.

In 1958 there was not a great feeling that industrial buildings should be included. Pevsner often had to rely on other sources and thereby introduced some inconsistencies. For instance Tonedale Mills and its workers' housing is omitted, but the nearby but comparatively minor, Five Houses is included. The Drawing Office of Westlands at Yeovil by Farmer & Dark 1955 stood out when new, but it is hard to feel the same thrill today. The entry for Long Load Bridge refers to its mediaeval origins but not to the C19 enlargement of the central arch to aid navigation. The beautiful 1820s bridge at Burrowbridge is not mentioned.

Julian is required to include subjects which escaped attention in 1958, and to cover aspects that were not thought significant, such as construction and purpose. A study of surviving buildings, such as Gray's Almshouses, Taunton, or Beard's Iron Foundry at Langport, could tell the story of brick and iron as constructional materials.

A number of questions were posed to the meeting. Should the revision include buildings in poor condition, without a viable use, or converted unsympathetically? This is particularly pertinent to industrial buildings. Once converted, the character of many such buildings is lost, yet a new use must be found. Tonedale Mills is one of the finest industrial monuments in the country, but will it be as “readable” as such if it is converted to housing?

From canals and their often astonishing but overgrown remains, and surviving early railway buildings, Julian extended the transport theme to the road era. It is difficult to enthuse about motorway service areas, and although Taunton's 1949 bus station is more notable, its future is uncertain given the pace of redevelopment. Post-war public housing and the innovative materials used in their construction demonstrate the application of industrial techniques to social problems. Julian concluded by looking at more modern buildings, commenting that they can be knocked down faster than we build them, which makes life difficult for anyone updating Pevsner.

Meeting report by Geoff Roughton

Monday 6 February

RAILWAY STAFF RECORDS AND
THEIR USE BY LOCAL HISTORIANS

In delving into railway staff records author and genealogist David Hawkings revealed a seldom studied aspect of railway history. Almost a thousand individual railway companies were formed in England and Wales during the 19^th Century though many were subsequently absorbed or amalgamated as larger companies emerged. From surviving staff records, David extracted those human stories that told of  working lives in the early days of the railways.

Sickness and accident reports showed the stress that the staff were under and the long hours worked. Pay books and accounts listed the many job titles, the wages paid and sometimes the fines deducted. As an example, in 1881 a driver was fined two shillings for letting his engine run low on water.

Copies of posters and records from both major and minor companies had been brought to the meeting and examples from the London Brighton and South Coast, Bristol and Exeter, Thetford and Watton, Hull and Holderness, Cornwall Railway, South Devon and, closer to home, the Great Western, could all be examined. Brunel kept very detailed staff records for the GWR, a practice that was continued by them in later years and which showed it to be one of the better companies in the treatment of its workforce. Eventually the surviving railway companies produced their own staff magazines containing personal news and matters relating to staff generally.

The reminiscences of those who worked on the railways within living memory are now well recorded. However, David's researches have filled a gap in the knowledge of working conditions among the 19^th Century railway companies.

Meeting report by Geoff Roughton

Monday 23 January

40 YEARS OF SIAS

Presentations by Committee Members on different aspects of the work of SIAS and its successes and failures over the years.

Thursday 19 January

TOUR OF THE NEW SOMERSET HERITAGE CENTRE

A second opportunity was provided to view Somerset's new heritage facility for those unable to obtain a place on the previous visit.

Monday 9 January

THE WAY WE WERE

Mines, quarries and railways in the South-West 40 years ago

In the first event of SIAS's 40th anniversary programme, founder-member Chris Tilley showed slides of the mines, quarries and railways in the South-West, as they are remembered by those who were able to visit them in the 1960s and 70s.

Chris's tour started in West Cornwall, where the dramatic engine houses of Botallack mine, poised above the sea, were beginning to collapse. Had they not subsequently been stabilised and conserved, these iconic structures would by now have disappeared. Many other mine buildings in Cornwall have since collapsed or have been demolished, so it was interesting to see engine houses that are now preserved, and Morwellham's Victorian port, languishing in their pre-preservation state and facing a very uncertain future. 40 years ago it was possible to explore many of these industrial sites without being debarred by present-day safety considerations. On the positive side, the worst cases of industrial pollution have been removed.

In Devon, Finch's Foundry at Sticklepath presented a sad picture with its roof gone and machinery deteriorating. Now restored, it is open to the public. The meeting was also reminded how many historic industrial sites were still operating 40 years ago, often using machinery that even then was antique, and would now be very collectable or in a museum.

Changes in the methods of working have led to changes in the landscape. The ball-clay mines of North Devon have been swept away by open-cast pits. The conical china clay tips of Cornwall have been regraded to reduce the risk of slippage. Peat working in Somerset is now mechanised and no longer employs narrow gauge railways.

The 1960s and 70s saw many closures and much demolition. The wave of national interest in our industrial heritage prompted a wish to conserve what remained, but the resources and funds came just too late to save many important features. Chris's slides are a valuable record, and a reminder of what has been lost. However, his talk was also a celebration of what has been saved and restored for future generations to learn from and enjoy.

Meeting report by Geoff Roughton

Monday 14 November

HISTORY OF THE SOMERSET COALFIELD
An update.

Shane Gould, of English Heritage, began his talk with the comment that many of the collieries of the Somerset Coalfield are remarkably well preserved. In most coalfields elsewhere in Britain, systematic clearance has meant that little survives today. Consequently North Somerset retains some of the best preserved coal mining landscapes in the country.

Some of the coalfield's earliest remains are to be found in the Nettlebridge Valley. This valley is bisected by the Fosse Way. The Romans would have found coal when making this road, and coal is known to have been used in Bath. The valley also contains evidence of early workings of mediaeval date, and exploitation continued until c1800. Although some early mining sites are protected, these features are sometimes difficult to interpret and documentation is poor.

Within the Nettlebridge Valley, Coleford lies in an area of intensive extraction. Late C18 shaft mounds, horse gin platforms, trackways, leats and water wheel pits survive. The extent of these remains points to complex and interconnected underground workings.

With the introduction of steam engines in the early C18, the physical appearance of collieries changed dramatically. The first “fire engine” (steam pumping engine) appeared in Somerset at Paulton in 1750. Initially used solely for pumping, by the end of C18 their use was widespread, and engines were also being used for raising coal. Using early photographs, Shane illustrated the frequent use of beam engines, with their characteristic Cornish design of tall, stone built engine houses.

Vobster Breach coking ovens
Shane described the histories of collieries at Vobster, Newbury and Radstock using maps and historic photographs, and compared them with the scenes today. Vobster Breach and Vobster Colliery were probably sunk in the 1860s. They suffered from high levels of gas, and there were many deaths and injuries due to explosions. The Vobster Breach Coke Ovens have survived and are now protected. The surviving surface features at Newbury and nearby Mackintosh Collieries are of national importance. These remains also have great social significance when one remembers the impact on small communities of mining accidents, and the use of children as young as 7 or 8, who operated ventilation doors in total darkness for 10 hour shifts because candles were considered too expensive.

Finally Shane considered how the transport system grew with the developing coalfield. Canals were linked to collieries by plateways (early railways) and were eventually superseded by them. The plateways were in turn replaced by conventional railways. Together with the mines they served, they now form part of the Somerset Coalfield's landscape and archaeology.

Shane Gould is the author of SIAS Survey No.11 “The Somerset Coalfield” which can be purchased by post or at SIAS meetings.

(For details see the Publications page.)

Meeting report by Geoff Roughton

Monday 31 October

THE GROUND-BREAKING RESTORATION OF CORSAIR KD431
An archaeological and forensic approach to aircraft conservation.

At the start of his talk David Morris, Curator of Aircraft at the Fleet Air Arm Museum, Yeovilton, posed a question. Should we regard a World War II aircraft as a museum object, an antique, or an archaeological site. Could it be any or all of these?

The Fleet Air Arm Museum contains the only American Corsair fighter aircraft in the UK. It was built in 1944 and had been repainted in 1963 after entering the museum. For the last 40 years it has had the wrong colour, tyres, and many other details. As David said “everything about it was wrong”. The further question he asked was could such a repainted aircraft be fully restored to its original condition and what new history would be revealed in the process? Was the 1944 paint scheme still underneath today's colours?

So a museum team began the first project of its kind in the aviation world, employing techniques from archaeology and forensic science. The gradual removal of each layer of paint eventually revealed the colour history, down to the 1944 camouflage. Original markings,construction techniques, and even the methods of protecting the aircraft during transport by sea, came to light and could be corroborated through photographs or used to augment or correct other records.  Wartime accident damage was verified by tracing the pilot. Careful detective work proved the engine to be original.

A small area on a wing was found to have been painted with a reactive agent to warn of chemical attack. A sample sent to Porton Down was found to be still viable.

David asked what would be the point of doing a half-hearted examination instead of going all the way and getting the process right? However, nothing more was dismantled than was absolutely necessary. There is no doubt that had the aircraft been subject to the frequent museum practice of stripping and repainting, then much of its history would have been lost. Yeovilton's Corsair turned out to be a time capsule and is now a world renowned example, and their forensic approach to twentieth century artefacts is being copied in museums in the USA and Japan.

(book)

Meeting report by Geoff Roughton

Monday 17 October

THE AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION, 1700 - 1850

Jim Pimpernell of Bristol Industrial Archaeological Society took a broad overview of a period of enormous change for our landscape, for farming, and for industry. He began by asking whether there had actually been a revolution. Graphs showed that between 1700-1850, the population engaged in agriculture had fallen by three-quarters while over the same period output had tripled. The increase in productivity of both land and workers indeed constituted a revolution. Yet the underlying story is complex.

Ever since farming first emerged, food surpluses, when they occurred, allowed crafts and other non-agricultural activities to develop. Increasing specialisation provided the tools and goods that in turn supported increases in agricultural production. By the C18, crafts were becoming industries; organised, innovative, and large scale. These absorbed the workers displaced from the countryside, and the farm surpluses that were being created. Focussing on innovation in agriculture, Jim showed where the improvements were made.

Since everything starts with the soil, the need to maintain fertility is paramount. Early practices simply allowed the ground to 'rest', but eventually crop rotation and new crops became the most important means of improving fertility. Lime and marl were added to reduce acidity. The Gibbs family of Tyntesfield made their fortune importing guano. The proportion of fallow land fell from 20% in 1700 to 4% by 1850.

New planting techniques included growing clover, which fixes nitrogen from the air. Growing turnips for example, provided early forage for animals, and the long roots reached deeper minerals and improved drainage. Both were used on lowland heaths, and enabled rough pasture to be converted to productive arable land.

Animal breeding led to improved 'conversion' resulting in more meat and dairy produce for the same amount of feed, enabling increasing and changing consumer demands to be met.

Horses had for long been replacing oxen, their greater stamina enabling deeper ploughing. Horse 'engines' were also introduced on farms. However, rapid mechanisation occurred from 1800 onwards, using the machines from production line industries. The results were immediate. A man could harvest 1/3 acre of wheat per day using a sickle, but 10 acres with a reaper-binder.

In 1700 the organisation of farms had not changed much for 500 years. Small scale tenanted and subsistence farming using the open field system of ridge-and-furrow was pre-eminent. The 'traditional' pattern of fields and hedgerows is more recent. The enclosure movement that brought it about rationalised ownership and removed common rights. Although greatly resisted, it eliminated the need to travel between small dispersed plots, and enabled the farmer to choose what to plant, and to specialise. Private Acts of Parliament from 1750 onwards accelerated the process. Farms merged to share investment costs and overheads. Finance became the main agent of change, as landowners and tenant farmers borrowed from new financial institutions and invested in their farms.

Lastly, Jim referred to infrastructure. In 1750 the roads were in a dreadful condition, and transport was mainly by river or sea. The development of turnpikes, canals, and then railways resulted in the exchange of information as well as goods. Newspapers and specialist farming publications gave the latest market prices to which farmers could respond. Improved travel meant fewer and bigger markets, the rise of the middle-man, and the decline of many localised products.

Jim concluded by showing how two revolutions, in agriculture and industry, co-existed and how each was dependant on the other.

Meeting report by Geoff Roughton

Monday 3 October

CRAWLING OUT OF THE MUD
the evolution of the Crawler Tractor

The first meeting of the Autumn on October 3 was well attended, and Derrick Warren told the story of the crawler tractor.

Ever since the wheel was invented, it has suffered the problem of only having a  narrow bearing surface, resulting in it sinking into muddy roads and fields. From the Romans to Macadam, attention focussed on improving the road, not the wheel, although much broader wheels were used by heavy carts on 18^th Century roads. Derrick described the weird, wonderful, and largely unsuccessful machines that were built to overcome the state of the roads.

The possibility of a tracked vehicle had been thought of as long ago as 1769 by Cugnot, a Frenchman. In 1770 Richard Lovell Edgeworth patented his “portable Railway”, which consisted of hinged wooden plates fixed to the wheels of wagons. John Heathcoat's ploughing engine of 1836, with its 8-foot diameter wheels and continuous canvas belt moved successfully but failed when it came to ploughing. The invention of heavy steam traction engines, which carried their own coal and water as well, gave added urgency to the search for a solution. Between 1846 and 1854 James Boydell fitted traction engine wheels with overlapping iron shoes, giving a continuous flat surface on which wheels were supported. Although these were taken up by the manufacturers of the day, they were not particularly successful. However, a patent taken out by Joseph Hawker of Chard, Somerset in 1872, showed a linked chain made of interlocking iron blocks forming a continuous surface. It was the first practical track, but it received no financial backing.

The invention of the much lighter diesel oil engine in the 1890's and the engineering skills of David Roberts, MD of Hornsby of Grantham, produced a viable solution. Oil engine tractors were made by Hornsby and by Petters of Yeovil. In 1907 Roberts demonstrated a tractor fitted with chain tracks to the army. The generals, still thinking horses, were not impressed. The Royal Engineers however,  were sufficiently taken with the idea and nicknamed the machine “the Caterpillar”, but no orders materialised from the War Office. Hornsby, to recoup his losses, sold the rights to the Holt Tractor Co of North America, from whom all tank tracks then had to be obtained during World War I.

Following the lapsing of patents in the 1920s, caterpillar tracks could now be fitted to any crawler or other tractor. Japan, South Korea and Taiwan began to make crawler tractors on a large scale. Caterpillar tracks are now used in all kinds and sizes of earth moving machinery and diggers.

The ideas of Joseph Hawker of Chard were a major influence on progress, and through Roberts, led to true “caterpillar” tractors emerging in the early 20^th Century.  Sadly the crawler tractor became yet another British invention that was ignored at home and developed abroad.

Meeting report by Geoff Roughton
 

Thursday 15 September

AFTERNOON TOUR OF THE NEW SOMERSET HERITAGE CENTRE

The new state-of-the-art Somerset Heritage Centre houses Somerset's archives, local studies library, Historic Environment Record, and archaeological and museum reserve collections, as well as the Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society library and office. It is the home of the Archives and Local Studies Service, the Heritage Learning team, the Historic Environment Service, the Museums Service the Victoria County History of Somerset and the Finds Liaison Officer of the Portable Antiquities Scheme.

The Somerset Heritage Centre

SIAS members were shown around the two buildings which comprise the site. The public entrance and reception area is in Building 1 and leads to the main search-room where there is an area for microfiche viewing, tables for consulting archive documents, open-access library books and networked computers for the public to access online resources including Ancestry and the Historic Environment Record.  There is wireless internet access and sockets for laptops. The group then saw the separate research room for consulting museum objects and the archive and library strong-rooms.

Leaving Building 1 by a rear exit, members crossed the delivery yard to Building 2 where they saw the Museum and Records Management stores and the various technical areas including archive and museum conservation and the design department studio.   

It was explained that the public can use the local studies library and the computers on a drop-in basis although pre-booking a table or computer guarantees a place. When asked why the Heritage Centre may need 24 hours' notice to produce photographs from the archives and local studies collections it was pointed out that they are stored in a cold environment which is carefully managed to provide optimum storage conditions and need to be allowed to return slowly to room temperature to avoid being damaged.

To look at documents, Historic Environment Record files or museum objects an appointment is required; the telephone number to ring is 01823 337600 or email archives@somerset.gov.uk

For more information about visiting the Heritage Centre go to the Researching at the Heritage Centre section of the Somerset Heritage Centre website.

To discuss in-depth research before a visit the Archives and Local Studies staff can be contacted on 01823 278805 or emailed at archives@somerset.gov.uk

For the Historic Environment Record and archaeology telephone 01823 347431 or email heritage@somerset.gov.uk

The County Museum Service's telephone number is 01823 347443 and their email is county-museums@somerset.gov.uk

The Portable Antiquities Scheme's Finds Liaison Officer is available on 01823 347457 or by emailing lburnett@somerset.gov.uk.
 

The archives catalogue and the local studies catalogue are both available online, as is the Historic Environment Record

Further details are available on the Somerset Heritage Centre website.

Report by Chris Cooper
 

Saturday 13 August

Monday 25 July

ALL DAY TRIP TO THE EXE ESTUARY

SIAS members traveled by boat up the Exe Estuary and the Exeter Canal to Exeter Canal basin. The trip started at Exmouth Dock entrance and passed along part of the sea front before turning to go up the Exe Estuary, passing Lympstone, Starcross, and Powderham Castle on the way to Turf Lock.

Turf Lock

Here the boat entered the canal although this part was an extension added by James Green in 1825. Above Topsham the line of the canal is the original one which originated in 1564 as a bypass to the weirs at Countess Wear.

Countess Wear

The boat trip finished at Exeter Quayside with its warehouses, Customs House and other buildings dating from Exeter's maritime heyday.

Exeter Quayside

Lunch was enjoyed at the quayside. Peter Daniel then led the group through the industrial archaeology of Exeter including Cricklepit Mills, the medieval Exe Bridge, the Iron Bridge, St Annes Well Brewery and other sites of interest to arrive at Central Station. Here the party boarded a train to return along the estuary to Exmouth. It was an excellent trip and SIAS intends to repeat it next year.

Report and photos by Peter Daniels

Wednesday 13 July

EVENING FOSSICK TO SOMERTON


What better place for SIAS member to meet than in the covered market
 cross in the town centre for an enjoyable and informative
fossick led by Field Officer Peter Daniel.
(Photo: Chris Cooper)

Thursday 16 June

ALL DAY VISIT TO WILTSHIRE
 

Warminster Maltings was remodelled in 1879. Under the direction of E.S.Beaven it became an academy of barley breeding and malting until 1941. Guinness acquired the business and continued to make malt for The Park Royal Brewery until 1994.

 
SIAS members watch the work of the "Malt-stars"
in the modern part of the premises.

The maltings narrowly avoided closure thanks to a management buyout led by Chris Garratt, Head Maltster, who had to establish a completely new portfolio of brewery customers beyond Guinness

.
SIAS secretary Geoff Fitton enjoys the fascinating insights into the
malting business which owner and guide Robin Appel included
in his extremely entertaining tour of the maltings.
 

Robin Appel, the respected Hampshire based grain merchant, purchased the business in 2001 and straightaway embarked upon a serious programme of reinvestment. This has enabled the maltings to establish itself as a leading malt supplier to the independent brewing sector, with more than 200 regular customers across Britain, as well as customers in France, Belgium, Denmark, Japan and North America.

After an excellent lunch at the Warminster Maltings SIAS members moved on to visit the very well presented Trowbridge Museum where the history of the weaving industry was brought vividly to life by the expertise of Ken Rogers, previously the Wiltshire County Archivist, who then led a wonderful tour of the town centre detailing the history of many fascinating buildings and highlighting those connected with the wool and clothing industry that were once so important to the town.

Report by Chris Cooper
 

A teasel drying house has managed to survive amongst the modernity
of the shopping precincts in Trowbridge.

(Photos: Chris Cooper)

Monday 23 May

EVENING FOSSICK TO HIGHBRIDGE AND BURNHAM
 

There was little left to see but much to learn thanks to Fossick leader Iain Miles' research into the industrial past of the two towns.

Sunday 15 May

VISIT TO COWBRIDGE MILL, NEAR TIMBERSCOMBE

SIAS Treasurer Judith Marchent interrogates mill owner Owen Rush

Cowbridge Mill owner Owen Rush gave SIAS members a most interesting and informative tour of the restoration work being undertaken. Owen described how, after a delay of over a year in getting planning permission, he finally received the go ahead to demolish the range of old buildings, which were a combination of wood, tin, asbestos and stone and in a very poor state, and construct a slightly larger two storey building to house a workshop, forge and store with the addition of a long loft above in which he intends to display many of the items he has collected over the years. The new building, seen in the background, is of concrete block construction with a local stone cladding and a slate roof and incorporates a dormer with doors to enable heavier items to be winched into the loft. Plans to generate electricity have been delayed due to the fact that the leat runs alongside the wall of the new building and will need renovating.

The floors in the Mill have been rebuilt to their original levels and more storage space created in the roof.

The cast iron water wheel frame has been cleaned up, repainted and fitted with a new shaft and bearings and is now awaiting the installation of buckets.

A new oak launder has been made but cannot be fitted until the heavy sole plates are installed on the wheel.

(Photos: Chris Cooper)