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South Wales and West of England Regional Industrial Archaeology Conference 2012
Saturday 21st April at the Kings of Wessex Academy Cheddar Somerset
Click here to download a copy of the Booking Form
Somerset Industrial Archaeological Society is celebrating their 40th year and extends a cordial invitation to anyone interested in Industrial Archaeology to attend the Conference.
A valuable aspect of conference is the opportunity to display the work and publications of societies. (Societies should indicate their requirements on the booking form.)
PROGRAMME
Conference Chairman: Mary Miles
09:15 - Registration (drinks available)
10:00 - Welcome and Introduction Sandy Buchanan - President of the Somerset Industrial Archaeological Society
10:10 - Brunel’s Great Eastern John Willows - Dorset Industrial Archaeology Society
10:50 - Robert Mushet of Coleford Ian Standing - Gloucestershire Society for Industrial Archaeology
11:30 - Break (drinks available)
11:50 - Louis' Legacy. A history of steam engine preservation on the Somerset Levels Iain Miles - Somerset Industrial Archaeological Society
12:30 - Cold Buffet Lunch (Please advise us on the booking form if you have any special dietary needs, including vegetarian, so that the caterers can make provision.)
13:50 - A Cornish Railway and its Industries Mike Messenger - Oxford House Industrial History Society
14:30 - A Century of Cleansing Winchester Martin Gregory - Hampshire Industrial Archaeology Society
15:10 - Break (drinks available)
15:30 - The Extractive Industries of Dartmoor Mick Atkinson - Exmoor Mines Research Group
16:10 - Close of Conference
16:15 - Visits - A programme of guided visits has been arranged for after the conference to:
Westonzoyland Pumping Station
Chapel Allerton Windmill
Charterhouse Mining Site
Cheddar Walkabout
There should be no restriction on numbers at any site, but parking at the Chapel Allerton windmill is limited and it may be necessary to share transport. Maps giving directions to the sites will be available on the day.
BOOKINGS
Please return the booking form with payment by cheque (payable to ‘SIAS’) not later than Saturday 31st March to:
SIAS Bookings Secretary, SWWRIAC 2012, 77 Tintagel Road, Yeovil, BA21 3RE
To request a copy of the booking form or for any questions regarding bookings please contact the SIAS Bookings Secretary, (address above), email siasbooksales@aol.com or telephone 01935 420812.
General queries about the conference should be addressed to SIAS Secretary, Geoff Fitton. Telephone 01278 760869 or email sias@geoffitton.plus.com
DIRECTIONS
Kings of Wessex Academy, Cheddar, BS27 3AQ
Generous car parking space is available on site.
Adjacent to this are the ruins of the 13th century chapel of St. Columbanus.
Information from old documents reveals that the site is mentioned in King
Alfred's will of 901 A.D. and the Anglo Saxon Chronicle notes that the Witan
(Anglo Saxon Council) met on the site in 942, 956 and 968 A.D.
In Norman times, King Henry I and Henry II signed Charters here, and in 1209 King John spent £50 on "the King's houses" before giving the manor to the Bishop of Bath and Wells.
DOWNLOAD A COPY OF THE BOOKING FORM
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As
a major tourist centre, Cheddar is well signed on the road network, but the
school is in the village centre so do not follow local signs to Cheddar Gorge or
Cliffs. The school is on the A371, which may be a convenient route via Wells
for those coming from the east. If using M5 then the recommended and
well-signed route is to use junction 22, taking A38 north for about 7 miles
until Cheddar is a right turn leading to A371. If coming from the north there
is a more direct route leaving M5 at junction 21 heading towards
Weston-super-Mare to join A371, but this will require some map-reading. Either
route will lead to the Axbridge bypass passing the preserved railway station.
Continue on A371 passing a
garage
on the left, and subsequently, as the village centre is approached, look for a
road junction with a war memorial on the right; the school entrance, which will
be signed, is on the right, about 100 yards further, followed by a block of
shops.
There have
been a number of archaeological excavations in and around the school grounds,
many of which have shown evidence for extensive settlement over a considerable
amount of time. The earliest phase of activity in the area is prehistoric; a
possible Iron Age occupation was identified during archaeological work in
2000-2001. There's also a substantial amount of evidence for Roman activity in
the area, including the remains of a Roman Villa adjacent to St. Andrew's
Church, and there have been numerous finds dating from the mid-1st to 4th
centuries, including 87 coins.
The school
occupies the historical site of an Anglo Saxon Palace, and to the right of the
school entrance, a series of square blocks mark the position of the actual
post-holes of the timber framework of the last Palace.
