Twyford Waterworks Trust
Maritime
Trams & Buses
Mills
Book Reviews
Snippets
Tail-enders
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by Angela Smith
Following an extensive, HLF-funded, rebuild at the General Estate's boatyard in Hythe (Hampshire) - which was extended by over a year due to the workshop fire in October 2008 that destroyed the engines and most of the internal fittings of the vessel - ML 1387 Medusa was finally launched on March 1st. The scaffolding and corrugated iron workshop covering the slip was dismantled in mid-February. Nigel and I visited on the 20th to see Medusa in the sunshine, sitting in its cradle on one of the two sets of tracks on the slipway. A trial launch was scheduled for the 25th to check the seals in the hull and run the engines. This, in contrast to the 20th, was a very wet day. The launch was delayed for some minor welding work on the engine. By this time we were sheltering in the workshop, which was being cleared prior to the final move out from the yard. The cradle was pushed partly down the slipway by a JCB at 3.15pm in the fading light so that the hull was just in the water, then they were going to wait for the tide to rise to run the engines before pulling it back up the slip.
March 1st dawned cold, bright and sunny. Quite a large crowd had gathered in the yard to watch the cradle being winched down the slip for the last time, at 10.30am. There is a question mark over the future of this boatyard which is scheduled for a housing development, so I took photos and video of the final moments of the elderly winch in action. Such a shame as this is a much-needed facility in our area. The Medusa's two engines were started - there was a slight hiatus until the starboard one behaved itself - and, with the help of Trinity Star's launch, gradually drifted out of the cradle and moored at the jetty for a while. After all the final checks Medusa made her way past Hythe Pier and on up the River Itchen to Saxon Wharf in Southampton.
Her former berth in the city's Empress Dock is now occupied by another vessel. Medusa's wooden hull is vulnerable so she needs a protected berth. Saxon Wharf was only available for a month so a new berth was found at Gosport. Medusa's skipper, Mike Boyce, who rescued the then dilapidated vessel at Devonport in 1968 and has seen her through a number of restorations, said of the voyage:-
“They took passage to Royal Clarence Marina at Gosport. She is berthed there because it is within easy reach of the maritime workshop and they are still carrying out a lot of the interior fitting-out work. As a point of interest on the passage to Gosport, the engineer who carried out the rebuilding of the engines plus our observer were on board and they ran the engines up to maximum speed, which is 900 rpm, for one hour, the longest run they have had at that speed during the whole 42 years that I have been involved with the project. In the past we have been wary of running them for too long because of the salt water circulation problems. Now that we have got a fresh water cooling system, everything seems to go very well and she certainly got a move on.”
The Medusa Trust is a member of the Southampton Heritage Federation which is hoping to set up a heritage facility in the Eastern Docks so, if a breakwater can be built to protect small vessels such as Medusa, hopefully this will see her return to Southampton in the not-too-distant future.
by David Cheffy
As it is `on the premises' of our monthly meeting venue at the Underhill Centre, some notes on the history of the church clock may be appropriate. The Church was built in 1874 and inside a plaque records that - “The clock in the tower of this church was placed there in loyal and thankful commemoration of the completion of the 50th year of the reign of our sovereign lady Queen Victoria, June 20th 1887”. The date disguises the fact that from historical records** the actual installation post-dated the Jubilee. An appeal fund was not launched until 1888 and, in November of that year, the committee signed a contract with John Smith, Steam Clock Works, Clerkenwell “to supply a clock with two dials of the best materials and workmanship, and a new bell of 6cwt, for the sum of £132, an allowance of £20 to be made by Messrs Smith for the old bell”.
The forty-two names listed in the appeal fund accounts included, as principal contributors, the Foord family from Botleigh Grange and Rochester, Mr Bignell, Mrs Coker, Mrs Hazelfoot, Mrs Lee and Mr Willan. Amongst dissenting letters received, Mr Buckerill from Thornfield near Bitterne felt that “a clock on the top of a hill would be useless to the village . . . the tower will not be improved, but marred . . . and, instead, that the village is greatly in need of a Reading Room”.
Nevertheless, manufacture went ahead and, on completion, despatch to Botley station was arranged with the London & South Western Railway Company. The installation in the tower was completed on 16th March 1889.
The clock comprises a cast iron flat bed frame, 43½" x 17½", on which is mounted the two trains, the going (clock) and the hour striking. The pendulum has a total length of 70". The mechanisms require winding every five days as, unlike many existing turret clocks, modification to provide automatic winding has not been incorporated. This period takes the weights from their upper level in the belfry, when wound, down to the first floor of the clock chamber. From visual evidence an additional two days may have been achievable originally with longer cables allowing a drop to ground level within the vestry below.
However, by the turn of the century the reliability and timekeeping had given cause for concern and, in December 1904, the churchwarden, H R Smith, was writing to his namesake company requesting that modifications should be incorporated. Primarily these involved changing the escapement from dead beat to a double three-legged gravity type and the mounting of the frame on RSJs set in the walls rather than on a timber stand. This work cost £24 10s (£24.50p).
In a similar manner to seventeen years earlier, an appeal fund was launched and, again, there were differing opinions on the cost and merits of the job. General Foord contributed five guineas (£5.25p), “being one-sixth of the original amount donated by my family” whilst Mr R A Bayford thought that other priorities existed and “possibly a little more attention on the part of those winding and setting the clock might be all that is required”!
Nevertheless the modifications were completed and a foolscap, handwritten sheet, still pinned inside the clock cabinet, noted the checks and adjustments carried out against the local Post Office clock. These premises then were in the lower part of Bursledon Road, no doubt visible from the Church across the Recreation Ground.
Since that time Church records have minuted repair and maintenance requirements over the years which include, in 1923, a Mr Hack being paid £1 per annum as clockwinder. The writer, with this role for almost 30 years, has an undisclosed fee much less than that, but he has no excuse for forgetting the task as he only lives 300 yards away! In recent years a complete overhaul was carried out in 1981 and repainting and gilding of the dials and hands was done in 2006.
The clock details have recently been added to the database of the Turret Clock Group of the Antiquarian Horological Society in their Millennium survey.
(** Hants Record Office, Winchester, ref 46M81A-PW9)
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(report by Carol Burdekin) - see here
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Twyford Waterworks Trust
by Ian Harden
Dominating matters over the winter has been funding of the boiler restoration project. Canvassing of opinion from interested parties gave a large vote in favour of applying for a Heritage Lottery Fund grant and, following the inevitable burning of much midnight oil by the Trust's officers, our application was submitted in March. HLF officials will have made a site visit by the time this report appears as part of their assessment of the application. Our success or otherwise may be made known in late June. In the meantime, a fundraising appeal is underway to help fund the main materials required and is taking the form of donations to buy bricks or boiler tubes. Details and donation forms can be found under `News' on the Trust's website, www.hants.org.uk/twt
The Easter Guided Tours were very successful with over 160 visitors received on the two days, generating a four figure income in sales, refreshments, Friends renewals and Brick and Boiler Tube donations. Over those days, the improved catering facilities were put to the test after the party wall between the existing kitchen and the adjoining office had been knocked down to provide more space for food preparation and serving.
During the Make a Difference Weekend a fortnight later, the penultimate coat of paint was applied to the walls leaving the top coat and tiling to complete the project in time for the May open day. Further coats of paint were liberally applied to the tunnel wall leading up to the Filter House which would last have received meaningful attention several decades ago. Thirty volunteers turned out to tackle the usual miscellany of jobs of making the site presentable for the summer season. Further progress was made extending the narrow gauge railway bed around the quarry. The intention is to create a horseshoe-shaped layout, initially to facilitate the easier unloading of visiting locomotives and rolling stock for future events. In time it will also connect with the Incline to link the isolated upper section of track across the meadow.
Resident in the Diesel House for over twenty years, preparations for the relocation of the Amport three-throw pump to a new base near the toilets have continued. An original Twyford DC electric motor has recently been tested and this will power the pump for demonstration purposes. Other recent work has included the hydraulic testing of the two air vessels for the Ruston diesels for the Insurers, more underfloor work in the Filter House to install new stanchions, work on the 3-cyclinder Ruston and dismantling and cutting parts of the spare Haines filter tank to create a new display.
In readiness for this year's season of open days, we now have the full car parking area available again following the departure in February of the contractor's accommodation that had occupied the corner of the large field adjacent to the Rectifier House. Southern Water's contractor 4Delivery was an excellent neighbour for nearly a year and generously donated the proceeds of their accident-free days kitty to Twyford's Boiler Fund at the Wassail in December last.
The May open day was rebranded as a Spring Rally this year to reflect the wider range of visiting exhibits and we enjoyed useful advanced publicity with Matthew Feldwick appearing as the Sunday morning guest on the sofa on BBC Radio Solent the preceding Sunday morning. Unfortunately on the day, the weather decided that any barbecue summer was not going to commence just yet and wet, blustery conditions at times restricted the attendance somewhat. Income, however, held up extremely well from which much encouragement is drawn.
The remaining open days for this year feature Rural Crafts, Skills and Industrial Railways on August 1st, Vintage Vehicles on September 5th and concluding with an Autumn Rally on October 3rd.
Maritime
by Angela Smith
S.S. Shieldhall
Over the winter the thin-walled boiler tubes in the port boiler have been renewed. As with the original starboard tubes, these were found to be in remarkably good condition. Work on the main engines included inspecting the main bearings on both engines, and the port-side thrust and shaft bearings.
The 2010 programme shows an increase in prices which is due to the steady increase in fuel costs that rose approximately 10% during last year`s sailing season. A rise in costs associated with pilotage and port fees are also expected this year. The passenger certificate has been increased from 150 to 200 this year. Another piece of good news is that, after studying the regulations about dry-docking, it was found that Shieldhall will not need to be dry-docked this coming winter, but will need to be in 2011. This costs in excess of £70,000, so a lot of passengers need to be carried to pay for that. Shieldhall is based at Berth 29 on the Itchen side of Southampton's Eastern Docks. There is a very full programme this year and excursions such as Cowes and Bournemouth Air Show are already booking well.
Visit the website at www.ss-shieldhall.co.uk to check up-to-date information on sailing dates.
Tug/Tender Calshot
The Heritage Lottery Fund South East England met in March to review the Calshot application but said they were unable, at this time, to grant the major funding. The main problem seems to be the `uncertainty' of its berth in Southampton Docks, but they were told to re-apply this year. The Trust feels it better to wait until they know the outcome of the heritage scheme at Berth 50, which has to be dredged before the tug is moved.
Dunkirk Little Ships
The steam tug Challenge is currently at Shoreham and quite a lot of work has been going on, such as some leaks in the foredeck which have been dealt with. A lottery grant application is still being put together. A flotilla of exactly 50 original `little ships' crossed the English Channel in late May for commemoration events to mark the 70th anniversary of the evacuation of Dunkirk. Jerry Lewis, who lives in Warsash and is one of the trustees of the Dunkirk Little Ships Restoration Trust, reports that he attended on his boat, Tahilla, which also took Radio Solent reporter Jo Palmer. HRH Prince Michael of Kent, Patron of the DLSRT, requested to have lunch aboard on one day at fairly short notice, requiring a dash to a supermarket for supplies. Jerry also said that, when they arrived at Dunkirk, there were press vehicles lined up on the quayside fighting each other to get the first interviews.
P.S. Ryde
Scrap merchants moved on to the Isle of Wight's Medina marina site in February but work was halted due to asbestos on the vessel. An April posting on the Paddle Steamer Ryde Trust's website shows that the derelict remains were still there. An e-petition to the Prime Minister's office brought a response in March which said that “every effort is being taken to ensure that any deconstruction work on the vessel is carried out to allow a careful recording of the vessel and to ensure that its key features are retained for use in other historic vessels”.
City of Adelaide
It has been reported that a businessman, who has taken a lease on slipways at Stockton-on-Tees, has offered a slipway free to the City of Adelaide until such a time when the ship can go somewhere more permanent for restoration work. However, the problem is raising the funding to move it from the west coast of Scotland to the east coast of England. Organisations have been set up in both Australia and Sunderland to rescue the ship, the latter town quoting £2m required to move it from Irvine. The ship has been placed in the top ten of the National Historic Ships core collection.
British Power Boat Company vessels sold
Three former British Power Boat Company wartime boats, built at Hythe and restored by Phil Clabburn and his father Robin, have been sold. Motor Gun Boat 81 and High Speed Launch 102 were bought “for the nation” aided by a £580,000 grant from the National Heritage Memorial Fund plus further donations of £150,000 and were moved to Gunwharf Quays Marina in the Portsmouth Naval Base. MGB 81 took part in the D-Day landings and HSL 102 was used at Calshot. The third vessel was Seaplane Tender 206, the first vessel to be restored by Phil. It was sold to the Royal Air Force Museum at Hendon and Phil took it by sea in April on a 5-day voyage from Lymington to Shepperton Marina where it was lifted out. The current financial state of affairs was blamed for the reluctant sale, but Phil wanted to ensure that the boats stayed in the UK.
Trams & Buses
Four civil engineering students at Southampton University carried out a feasibility study on a potential heritage tramway from the Trafalgar Dock area in Southampton's Eastern Docks to terminate in Vokes Park by Platform Road or the former Harbour Board building at Town Quay. This was commissioned by Southampton Councillor John Hannides who attended the final presentation at the University on May 4th.
Twenty-nine traction poles that formerly carried the overhead wires in the Avenue in Southampton and were rescued by the City's Heritage Services many years ago, were in an outdoor storage site in Northam which was being vacated by the City to save costs. They were moved to Alan Jones' (director of the Solent Sky museum and chairman of Southampton Heritage Federation) Timsbury property in February, along with two crates of slates from the roof of the former tram shelter at the Junction, which was saved from demolition with the help of several IA group members in 1999 and was the subject of an article in Journal No. 8.
Southampton tram No. 57 which gave its name to Tram 57 Project, being the first tram to be returned to the city for restoration in 1975, reached its centenary this year. References in the Council Minutes lead us to believe that it may have gone into service on April 30th 2010, after being built at the Portswood depot. The Tramway Manager's report of April 29th says that a radial axle truck had been loaned and fitted to a tram which he hoped to “put in service tomorrow”, following which he says that two new cars, Nos 58 and 59, would be fitted with different types of trucks. There are no known photographs of the radial axle truck.
The First Bus depot at Portswood in Southampton will be closing in September and the two Guy buses owned by Southampton City Council Heritage Services, which are cared for by the Southampton & District Transport Heritage Trust, will need new accommodation. This is unlikely to be anywhere close to the city thus reducing the availability of the buses. A `Farewell to Portswood Depot' bus running day was held on May 30th with a large number of vintage Southampton buses carrying passengers around the city.
Mills www.hampshiremills.org
Longbridge Mill milling dates: Milling by Hampshire Mills Group members will take place from 12.00 to 16.00 on:- July 24, August 28, September 25, October 23, November 27, December 18. (Longbridge Mill restaurant, Sherfield-on-Loddon, north of Basingstoke on A33; g.r. SU 682 581).
Crux Easton Wind Engine Open Days: The wind engine will be open in 2010 between 11am and 4pm on the second Sunday of the month until August. It is situated at OS map reference SU 427 563, one mile east of the A343 Newbury to Andover Road between Highclere and Hurstbourne Tarrant.
Eling Tide Mill: In December the mill began production of a brand new brown flour - `Flour of the Forest Brown'. This has been made possible by the restoration of the flour dresser, a piece of machinery that removes the larger bran particles from the wholemeal that is already produced at Eling; it uses a traditional sieving method to create `brown' flour. `Flour of the Forest' (wholemeal and brown) uses local wheat grain from the Manor of Cadland near Lepe and has qualified for the prestigious New Forest Marque. Apart from sales at the mill itself, the flour can be purchased at the Hythe High Street office of The Herald, at Sunnyfields Farm in Hounsdown and the Cadnam Garden Centre, among others.
Hockley Mill: the pit wheel has now been repaired and was operated on April 26th.
Wherwell Mill: The Environment Agency is to contribute £20,000 to make a fish pass round the turbine.
Cams Mill, Fareham: A controversial plan to build a restaurant and bar on a conservation site at the Cams Hall Estate has been passed by Fareham Borough Council, in spite of a recommendation from planning officers that it would be harmful to the character of the area. The Portchester Civic Society, Fareham Society and local residents raised fierce objections to the scheme to build a replica of the tide mill which once stood on a different part of the estate, and was demolished in the 1920s. The Government Officer for the South East refused to intervene.
Bishopstoke turbines: John Christmas reported that HMG members will be working with contractors who will ensure as part of their contract that the river is dammed off. The work will consist of clearing the debris presently in front of the turbines and below the trash screen platform. The turbines will be inspected and cleared of calcination, with replacement of the control shrouds to each since it is unlikely that these are still serviceable. The draught tubes need to be cleared from the downstream side of the installation.
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by Angela Smith
Book Review - Southampton through time by Jeffery Pain
Amberley Publishing, ISBN 978 1 84868 808 7, £14.99, softback, 165mm x 235mm
Our Chairman has assembled nearly 90 postcards from his vast collection of Southampton material and, coupled with his own photographs when he revisited the same sites recently, has produced a delightful look-back-and-compare-with-today book. A less-than-desired timescale to check the proofs `on screen' has led to a few errors with captioning, for which Jeff apologises. He has selected some lesser-known parts of Southampton which are not usually seen in such books, which just shows that the postcard manufacturers of old didn't always concentrate on such subjects as the Bargate, although well-known sites are also included.
Queen Elizabeth 2 still in Dubai
Following on from Focus 73 in December and my final query “Will the QE2 actually reach Cape Town?”, the answer is a resounding NO. The QE2 is going nowhere at the moment. Dubai's finances continued to struggle with a £6 billion loan from Abu Dhabi in December, of which some £2.5 billion would be used to pay off the debts from Dubia World's Nakheel property division, which owns the QE2. The funds would cover Dubai World's general business needs to the end of April. The company also owns 51% of Southampton's container terminal. By February it was being asked if the QE2 would be sold off to ease the debts, along with other assets. In March a statement by Dubai officials said that the QE2 was “expected to be put up for sale at some point in the future”. A June website posting on www.theQE2story.com says that the “QE2 is still a fully certified passenger ship with her engines and systems running constantly, she is well maintained by a qualified crew and can travel under her own power anywhere in the world. Her owners are thought to be seeking joint-ventures or investors for projects with the ship.” So, we just wait to see what happens.
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Snippets
Lottery grant preserves Hampshire chalk pits
Buriton chalk pits, near Petersfield, have been awarded almost £150,000 by the Heritage Lottery Fund to be turned into a nature reserve. The pits were part of a lime-works quarry during the late 19th and early 20th century. Some of the money will be used to create new habitats for several rare species at the Site of Importance for Nature Conservation. A part-time ranger will be appointed to manage the mostly woodland 12-acre site, new paths will be created and existing ones improved. (BBC Hampshire News, 27/5/10)
Portable Airship hangar at Farnborough listed Grade II
61 airship sheds were built before or during WW1 but only four remain. This one is unique in being designed to be portable, though it is now in a fixed position. Its architectural importance is in its innovative concept of portability in light steel. It also has group value with other historic aviation structures in what is now the Farnborough Business Park. The shed was built 1910-11, constructed of fourteen trusses, each made up of eight frame members bolted together, the whole hot zinc sprayed followed by five coats of paint. The hangar which has now been listed had long been divided into two parts, each of them incorporated in buildings on the airfield. When the buildings were demolished, a legal agreement was made which led to the reunification of the hangar as a single structure. (The Victorian, March 2010)
Ram installed to boost village's memories
Kings Worthy, Winchester, has had a cast-iron hydraulic ram pump installed at the heart of the village to mark the history of the local Vulcan Iron Foundry which made ram pumps and exported them across the British Empire. The pump, manufactured by the Foundry, was discovered in a damaged condition in the West Country and it was purchased for £350, refurbished, and now stands on a plinth.
Munitions stores up for auction
Two former munitions stores at Priddy's Hard in Gosport were set to be auctioned in April. The ex-Royal Navy buildings, which acted as a safe repository for bombs and bullets, were being sold freehold with a guide price of £50,000. The location is wooded and overgrown. Both lots were on the market through the auctioneers last July at £35,000 each, but failed to hit the target, so the price had been dropped. In the event, at the auction on April 12th at the Rose Bowl, the two lots sold for £80,000.
Southampton University buys Broadlands archive
The Broadlands archive of historic documents (see Focus 73) has been bought by the University of Southampton for £2.8m, aided by a grant of £2m from the National Heritage Memorial Fund. (4/6/10)
Southampton City Council has received a £5m Heritage Lottery grant towards the transformation of the old Magistrates' Courts at the Civic Centre into a maritime-based heritage centre, provisionally named SeaCity. The overall cost is expected to be £15m. The initial exhibition, scheduled to open in April 2012, is expected to concentrate on the RMS Titanic, notably the Southampton crew members.
Southampton Heritage Federation
It is hoped that the Calshot Spit Light Vessel will be moved from Ocean Village to Berth 49 in the Eastern Docks during the summer. A contractor has been excavating the gravel surrounding the vessel, whose hull was found to be very sound. A cradle is being manufactured to carry the vessel by road through the docks and, when on site, it can be thoroughly inspected and a programme of restoration set up.
Monday June 14th will see the press launch of the proposed heritage facility at Trafalgar Dry Dock / Berth 50 which is to be named Southampton Aeronautica. This will combine a relocated Solent Sky aviation museum with the heritage ships and trams. It is a long-term major project with Associated British Ports and Southampton City Council lending their support.
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Tail-enders
Parts of Southampton's Royal Pier collapses into the water: Shortly before 10am on Thursday June 3rd, a section of about 30 metres in the middle of the derelict pier collapsed into the sea. Conditions were said to be `calm' at the time. Onlookers at Mayflower Park described “two enormous booms”, a “terrific tipping of stuff” and a huge plume of water. Staff from Associated British Ports were immediately on site assessing the situation. (Southern Daily Echo website, 3/6/10)
A report at the end of December highlighted a threat to 44 telephone boxes in the Winchester area which British Telecom deem uneconomic and wish to remove. The city council said it would object to the removal of 37 and residents in Cheriton hope to `adopt' their two boxes from BT once the mechanism is removed.
Traditional metal fingerposts in villages across Hampshire are gradually being restored or, where beyond repair, being recast in the Andover foundry which still holds the original patterns.