Bristol Industrial Archaeological Society (BIAS)

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BIAS Noticeboard updated 15 March 2008

PLEASE NOTE THAT BY GOING TO BRISTOL ON www.ukplanning.com YOU CAN NOW FIND DETAILS OF ANY LOCAL PLANNING APPLICATION
You can also search for planning applications, decisions, site histories and appeals via Bristol City Council public Access website

Clifton Rocks Railway

Next day of opening 17/18 May 2008 10-4 in conjunction with bus rally again, and Museums and Galleries Month.
Also open 6-8 Saturday in conjunction with a display by the Military Vehicle Trust
vintage buses provided to get to Clifton to avoid parking problems. Buses running half-hourly between Anchor Road and the Rocks Railway starting at 1000 from the Museum, Sunday only. Services free as before, and will be run using old Bristol double-deck buses.
Top station open only, due to Health and Safety reasons but the display different. Please note that children under 14 are not allowed, and that visitors will be escorted through in groups of 10. This is a condition of insurance
Weekly progress diary from 2005

Combe Down Stone Mines

22 April 2008: The Society has learned from a planning application (08/0097) of a proposal that the approved scheme of mitigation to be applied to areas of special archaeological importance within the mines is to he abandoned and areas previously set aside for future evaluation are to be filled with foam concrete.
Our Committee and its President deplore the continuing erosion of the programme of mitigation which should have permitted further examination of the mines when more time, and more sophisticated methods, will become available to future investigators.
There is also some surprise felt that, even after so long a period of inspection as has already been accorded, additional hazards can now be discovered which were unknown to experts in many fields hitherto and which require this drastic approach.
The maintenance of some degree of access to the former mines, as provided for in the original plans, is of very great concern to us. The importance of such a facility has been readily appreciated in other comparable, and often less unusual, sites in this country and overseas. These are often exploited as modest, but significant, magnets for both specialists and tourists.
We should be failing in our responsibilities to our successors if vve were to deprive them of the possibility of exploring and interpreting such an integral feature of the physical history of Bath. For more information see Coombe Down Heritage Society http://www.combedownheritage.org.uk/

Kingswood Coal - new book

10 April 2008: 40 pages of information about coalfields in Bristol and South Gloucestershire produced by South Gloucestershire Mines Research Group. http://www.sgmrg.co.uk/kingswoodcoal for more details, Kingswood Coal flyer to order

Brunel Swivel Bridge

Brunel Swivel Bridge, 1876 replica in foreground
Brunel Swivel Bridge		 Brunel Swivel Bridge
Brunel Swivel Bridge
Brunel Swivel Bridge
Brunel Swivel Bridge		 Brunel Swivel Bridge
Brunel Swivel Bridge
15 January 08: People from across the UK voted for which bid should get the money from the People's £50 Million Lottery contest. Sustrans got nearly half the 300,000 votes cast following head-to-head TV bidding. It beat the Eden Project, Sherwood Forest and the Black Country Urban Park. One route Sustrans is planning is Festival Way, linking central Bristol to the Ashton Court Estate, continuing to Long Ashton through Flax Bourton, Backwell, and ending in Nailsea.

The Cumberland Basin will be made much easier to use for pedestrians and cyclists, and Brunel's Swivel Bridge, which has been closed since the late 1960s, will be reopened. It is likely that £250,000 is earmarked for its restoration.
David Neale and Ross Floyd's illustrated web page on The Bristol City Docks, The Locks and Brunel's Swivel Bridge
Sustrans submission to Council

Application No. 08/00656/LA Suspension Bridge Suspension Bridge Road Bristol

13 February 2008:
Type of Application: Listed Building Consent (Alter/Extend)
Proposal: Installation of a new drainage system along both edges of the roadway of the bridge. The existing timber kerbs and their mastic asphalt covering will be removed, along with the cast iron drainage gullies and the timber splashboards. A new drainage channel will be installed, with narrow glass-fibre reinforced polymer (GRP) splashboards and extruded asphalt kerbs.
Applicant Clifton Suspension Bridge Trust
Case Officer Kate Cottrell, Tel No. 0117 922 3021. E-mail Comments to north.planning@bristol.gov.uk

Brunel's Atmospheric Pumping House Totnes

16 Feb16 Feb 25 feb25 Feb

10 March 08: we won. English Heritage has now granted the building listed status, which means it can not be knoocked down
Details of the story from 16 Feb 08

For sale: The Brunel-designed building housing the British Empire and Commonwealth Museum

5 Feb 07BRISTOL'S Old Station, including the British and Empire Commonwealth Museum is on the market - and could be sold for as much as £3 million. 2 Feb 08: (Evening Post) The building, designed by Isam­bard Kingdom Brunel houses the oldest railway terminus in the world. The sale, by the trustees of the British Empire and Commonwealth Museum, follows their decision to move the museum to London to reach a wider audience. Situated adjacent to Bristol Tem­ple Meads station, the site will be sold on a 299 year lease and includes 88,846 sq ft of buildings on a site of approximately 1.35 acres. The grade I-listed building has enjoyed a £7 million restoration since the museum moved in in 2002, earning it a nomination as a World Heritage Site.
Property agents Knight Frank are selling the site through a sealed bid system and no official guide price has been revealed but property experts believe the site could be sold for as much as £3m. Mark Brunsdon, regional senior director at Clifton property agent GVA Grimley said: "There are lim­itations on its use as it is listed, but it is close to Temple Quay which is redeveloping rapidly "It is unlikely to get planning permission for residential use but the large open spaces would make ideal studios for BBC or ITV and it is a great location. I would expect it to fetch between £2m and £3m."
The grade-I listed buildings in­clude three elements. These include the Station Offices which were built for the staff for the administration of the Temple Meads station and the Great Western Railway and includ­ed Brunei's original drawing office and today provides mostly office ac­commodation; the Engine Shed which housed the steam engines and a turntable to rotate the trains as Bristol was a terminus and today houses the museum, the museum cafe and a nursery; and the Pas­senger Shed which is used as an exhibition and venue for events, and has a capacity of 950 people.
Martin Booth, partner at Knight Frank's Bristol office which is sell­ing the property; said: "The core office area alongside the site has already established itself as the new commercial heart for the city "The vision for Temple Quay as a whole is a vibrant high density mix of development with housing, offices, retail and leisure facilities. "The Old Station is regarded as the focal point and `Jewel in the Crown' in the Temple quarter.

07/03750/F PURIFIER HOUSE GASFERRY ROAD BRISTOL

Jan 08: Plans to develop the last remaining corner of the city's Harbourside area have been given the go-ahead by councillors. At a planning meeting on Wednesday, developer Deeley Freed was given permission to convert the old Purifier House in Gasferry Road into shops, offices and flats. Erection of three/four storey building to provide ten residential apartments, retail use and restaurant. The building is the site of a former gasworks which dates back to the 1820s.

07/02886/LA & 07/04372/LA- Palace Hotel, 1-2 West Street, St Phillips

Dec 07: Grade II listed and in part 2 of CAMRA'S National Inventory of Pub Interiors. More details about change of use to an Estate agents office and six flats upstairs.

07/05728/LA & 05730/F – Clifton Observatory, Clifton Down

21 dec 07: Construction/reinstatement of the first floor observatory to form viewing terrace and external works.

Going Nuclear - and Bath Cabinet Makers

The following letter has been received from BIAS member Michael Bussell of London W14 Nov 07
With nuclear power stations, there is clearly a case for listing or scheduling the more notable structures. Both Dounreay and Calder Hall at Sellafield (nd Windscale) merit consideration. The criteria for retention should focus on their technological significance rather than what is often their desperately banal `architecture' - by a well-known architect, brought in to 'cosmeticise' what doesn't easily take to wearing make-up. Alas, technical significance may not count for much...
Which, as in your essay (in the last bulletin), brings me to the former Bath Cabinet Makers' factory on Lower Bristol Road, Bath. You will know, Stuart, from when we met and I passed you the booklet commemorating the opening which I attended, that I have a personal interest to declare, in that my late father was chairman of the Yatton Furniture Group, of which BCM was part. The Mero space frame roof, of which this was the first to be used in Britain, was and probably still is the most elegant `modular' space frame system, although sadly it is being undercut by cheaper systems. They seem to be vulnerable - the first Mero roof in the Middle East, to my knowledge (1975, VIP entrance to Doha Stadium, Qatar) was recently demolished to make way for something more like the new Wembley Stadium roof If it's either survival as a Lidl store or demolition, I'm for the former! If we have to wait 50 years before such modem structures can be listed, then there might be nothing left to list. On the other hand, the decommissioning and 'cool-down' periods for nuclear facilities - often lengthier than their productive lifespan! - might leave more from which to select, although I fear they will be on cleared sites from which the `clean' buildings have been removed - as unhelpful to proper understanding as are the splendid, but empty and forsaken, .nL,ine-houses of Cornwall to an understanding of the Cornish mining industry.

07/04439/F 1-3 Alma Vale Road Bristol BS8 2HL (Edwards Garage)

Edwards Garage

1 Nov 07: Part demolition of existing buildings and erection of a single building providing 64 no. student studios and 3no. student cluster flats with retention of listed facade.
Please object against this application by 21 November. Comments you may wish to consider
Comments about planning applications to: Planning, Transport and Sustainable Development, Brunel House, St Georges Road, Bristol BS1 5UY. Telephone: 0117 9223976. E-mail Comments to north.planning@bristol.gov.uk
You can search for full details of planning applications, decisions, site histories and appeals via Bristol City Council public Access website, and on the national planning website.

REQUESTS FOR HELP

Oct 07

DO YOU HAVE ANY MEMORABILIA?

Members of BIAS are keen to ensure that records and artefacts relating to local industry are preserved for posterity. We must ensure that material significant to the history of our own Society does not disappear from view. Do you have records, photographs or even memories which should be gathered and safeguarded? Most material can be copied readily these days. Modern storage methods allow records to be held in a safe and accessible form so that they can be made available to current and future generations of members. Please look into your personal archives and let any Committee member know if you have anything which you think may be relevant.

MUSEUM COSTS SPARK ALARM

Industrial Museum Saga

DYSON TURNS HIS BACK ON BATH

Bath Chronicle, 08:00 - 06 September 2007
Vacuum cleaner billionaire Sir James Dyson has said he will not pursue plans to build a £25m design academy anywhere in Bath. Representatives of the inventor, who started his career in the city, made the announcement yesterday afternoon after Dyson lost his preferred South Quays site to Bath Spa University earlier in the week. The land, at Lower Bristol Road, was originally going to be shared between the Dyson School of Design and Innovation and the university's new arts campus But unresolved problems with flood risk at the site eventually led landowner Bath and North East Somerset Council to decide that there was only enough room to safely accommodate one of the two projects. Both schemes were subjected to a competitive tendering process and the university won.
A spokesperson for the James Dyson Foundation - the educational wing of Dyson's business empire - said: "Naturally we're disappointed by the council's decision. "Our plans for the Dyson School of Design Innovation were at an advanced stage. "We've been progressing the plans for more than two years and invested more than £3m. "The Dyson school had received a great reception from local schools, parents and children in and around Bath. "But we're still utterly committed to getting the Dyson School up and running by September 2009. "We're currently investigating other sites and are confident that the school will go ahead in the south west - but not in Bath. "Despite losing the site we'll endeavour nonetheless to involve Bath's young people in the excitement and challenge of design and invention, with the ultimate aim being to get more young people pursuing careers in science and engineering."
Political and business leaders yesterday gave a mixed reaction to the news. Cllr Chris Watt (Con, Midsomer Norton Redfield), B &NES Council's cabinet member for children's services, said: "Bath Spa University will deliver a greater number of people with qualifications with a better fit to the local economy. "So although in itself the news about the Dyson school is a disappointment, the news about Bath Spa University having the opportunity to further invest in the area more than makes up for that."
Bath's Lib Dem MP Don Foster said: "I'm very disappointed that what would have been a very exciting addition to educational provision in Bath is not going ahead. "I hope that wherever the academy is eventually sited there will still be an opportunity for students from Bath to benefit from its courses and facilities. "Nevertheless, I'm pleased that we will be having another exciting development from Bath Spa University on the site."
Colin Skellett, chairman of business leaders' group the Initiative for Bath and North East Somerset, said: "I know that both the regional development agency and the council have worked hard to try to resolve the issues. "But the basic problem was that it was not possible to get both the Dyson academy and Bath Spa University on to the same site. "It's good that the site is going to be used by Bath Spa University, but it is a great shame that this prestigious national academy isn't going to be in Bath."

God's Wonderful Railway on track to be world heritage site

Steven Morris Friday July 7, 2006 The Guardian
The average commuter probably doesn't particularly notice the tunnels, cuttings, bridges and stations on the London to Bristol railway line as they whizz by on the journey to the office. But English Heritage yesterday put its weight behind a campaign to have the Great Western Railway recognised as a world heritage site, alongside the likes of the Taj Mahal, the Great Wall of China and Stonehenge. At a conference in Bristol, Sir Neil Cossons, chairman of English Heritage, said that the line, one of Isambard Kingdom Brunel's greatest achievements, was a "breathtaking" monument to British endeavour.

ARSONISTS DESTROY DOCKSIDE WAREHOUSE

08 May 2007
Owners of a derelict dockside warehouse were today assessing the damage caused by a major fire at the weekend. The McArthur's warehouse in Gas Ferry Road, behind the ss Great Britain, was set alight by arsonists on Sunday evening. A group of youths was seen running from the building, which is due to be demolished and redeveloped later this year, after the intense blaze began. Two homeless people who had been using the warehouse to sleep rough managed to get out before the fire took hold. Avon Fire and Rescue said 30 firefighters were needed to tackle the blaze, which started at about 8.30pm. They were at the scene for several hours and returned to the building yesterday to damp down and check for damage. Station manager Gary Carr-Smith said: "This was an intense fire on the second and third floors of the building. We believe it was started deliberately."
The Victorian redbrick building, which has wooden floors, has been derelict for 20 years. It stands between the Albion dockyard and the ss Great Britain heritage site and has been at the centre of a lengthy planning wrangle over proposals for its redevelopment. A £26 million scheme to demolish the warehouse and build flats, shops and offices on the site was thrown out at a planning inquiry in 2002. London-based developers Quada came up with a new scheme which was eventually given the go-ahead in March 2005, in spite of continued opposition from conservationists who feared the proposed new buildings would spoil the views of Brunel's historic ship.
Richard Bellman, of Quada (Harbourside) Ltd, said: "The McArthur's building was already in an extremely poor state and is due to be demolished towards the end of the year to make way for new development. "Our security experts are reviewing the state of the building following the fire. There had been reports that people had broken in and were using the building, and we were taking steps to deal with this. "It was not however possible for our security team to check out exactly what was going on in there at all times as the interior is very extensive and it was too dangerous to venture into some areas of the building. "Once we have had time to assess the full extent of the damage we will decide what if any action needs to be taken to secure the building."

Ram Hill Colliery

The Friends of the Ram Hill Colliery site will be holding their Annual General Meeting on Thursday 29th March 2007. The meeting will be held at the Miners Institute/Village Hall 214 Badminton Road, Coalpit Heath BS36 2QB, starting at 7.30pm. and it is important that the local community attend as this important historical site is in need of further support.
The Ram Hill Colliery site is a fine example of early nineteenth century coal mining. Dating to around 1830 the site is located at the heart of the North Bristol Coal Field and holds the standing remains of the Steam Engine House, the Horse Gin, the Mine Shaft, the Dramway Terminus and, in all probability, the Water Reservoir and Boiler House. All of which can tangibly explain how coal was mined during the Industrial Revolution of Britain and for many local people it forms a link to their family history. English Heritage recognition and scheduling of the site In 2006 the Ram Hill Colliery site was given Ancient Monument Scheduling Status by English Heritage. This recognises the national importance of the site and protects the site for the future.
For more information on The Friends of Ram Hill Colliery contact: David Evans by e-mail david.evans@southglos.gov.uk or telephone 01454 863649

Stothert and Pitt site, Bath

2 Feb 2007 : magnificent news that the Newark Works on Lower Bristol Road, Bath has just been awarded Grade II listing by English Heritage (The Bath Chronicle, January 25). Details
January 2007: James Dyson seems to have had a change of heart about demolishing the Stothert and Pitt site on the Bath Road.

A CHANCE TO REVISIT BRISTOL'S PAST

The Bristol Alliance is holding an archaeology exhibition on Saturday 16th September where members of the public can unearth the history of Broadmead and Quakers Friars.
Archaeological excavations have been undertaken across the site of the Bristol City Centre Expansion to discover explanatory information about the origins of this part of the city before construction work began on the £500 million development.
The exhibition - 'Broadmead through Time' - is taking place at the Podium in Broadmead and will feature a range of maps and drawings to illustrate how Bristol has evolved since its foundation in 1000 AD. Visitors will also be able to examine a series of artefacts that have been uncovered from the site and view photographs of the excavations.
A team of archaeologists will be on hand to discuss the finds and answer questions about the investigations and children will be encouraged to dig for artefacts of their own in a sandpit.
The exhibition will take place from 10:00am to 4:00pm on Saturday 16th September 2006 at the Podium in Broadmead.

Notes

The Bristol Alliance is a joint venture between Land Securities Group PLC and Hammerson plc. The overall masterplan includes: 

Michelle Poulter
Community Liaison Manager
Bristol Alliance
16th Floor
Castlemead
Lower Castle Street
Bristol
BS1 3AG

Telephone: 0117 9292888
Mobile: 07808 908321
www.bristolcitycentre.com

Plans and maps can be viewed at:

Information Centre
21 Penn Street
Broadmead
Bristol
BS1 3AU

Yate rail yard

Oxford Archaeology have been commissioned to undertake an assessment of the function and historical significance of a military railway site in Yate, South Gloucestershire. David Evans of South Glos Council has asked Jon to consult BIAS to obtain our views and to see if you had any relevant information.
The site is a rail transfer yard which was constructed by (or for) the Americans during World War II probably as part of Operation Bolero (the build-up to D-Day). There survives two vast storage sheds where US military equipment was presumably stored, after being shipped to Bristol Docks, and the site is linked by branch rail lines to the main line from Bristol. After the war the site passed to the Royal Navy and it is now occupied by the Highways Agency.
Would you happen to know anything about this site or do you hold any material relating to this site? The sorts of questions that they are trying to answer are: Reply to jon gill email:j.gill@oxfordarch.co.uk

Combe Down visit

An International Congress to visit underground mine at Combe Down. The importance of preserving public access and heritage is highlighted. Members of the 5th International Congress on Environmental Geotechnics will be taken underground on the 30th June (details).

Samuel Plimsoll bust

Christina Raddon, Building Surveyor, CSS Property, Tel 01179037457
I am the surveyor looking after the plimsoll bust on Hotwells Road which is currently boxed in. It needs to be moved in order to enable the essential maintenance works Wessex Water are carrying out. I thought this would be an opportunity to move it somewhere more accessible to the public, especially as the traffic pollution is having a detrimental effect on the stone in its current location. I have found a nice spot down by the SS Great Britain and am applying for planning permission to move it there. It would still be looking out towards the water.

Suspension Bridge Toilets

20 April 2006: Clifton and Hotwells Improvement Siciety have won the Suspension Bridge Visitor Centre 'campaign'. The Trust claim they no longer wish to develop the WC site; they therefore acknowledge our arguments regarding the additional land needed for their current design over and beyond the stopping up order land, and the potential difficulties getting DEFRA consents.
Suspension Bridge Road Stopping up Order hearing at Royal Coursts of Justice, 13 October 2005
Brian Worthington
The judge did not allow CHIS's claim against the Secretary of State for Transport, Bristol City Council and the Suspension Bridge Trust that the proposed alterations needed to accomodate the Visitor Centre are not safe for the disabled, young pedestrians or cyclists.
That had been acknowledged by the Inspector in his report on the inquiry in May 2004 when he stated that the proposed pedestrian crossing needed to be moved westward in order to counter safety deficiency. The Secretary of State, whilst accepting the report, rejected the suggestion that the crossing be moved. As a result of the recent judgement, no change will be made.
The CHIS committee was advised by leading London firms of solicitors and barristers that our appeal was strong enough to take to court, which advice they acted upon pro bono. Pledges of money were made by members of the public to cover any costs that may be incurred. We are grateful to them and to the Chairman of the Bristol Civic Society for congratulating us on arguing the case, as well as to all those members who have given active support.
30 September: The Clifton and Hotwells Society's appeal resulting from the Inspector's Report of January 2005, against the Secretary of State for Transport, Bristol City Council and the Suspension Bridge Trust (see March Newsletter for details) is to be heard before a judge in the Queen's Bench Division at the Royal Courts of Justice in the Strand on 13 October, and if necessary on part of 14 October. The Offices of the Treasury Solicitors decided that we have a valid case in law; its outcome will be important for the Society and Bristol.
6 March: CHIS are challenging the Inspectors report of January 2005, and has lodged an appeal in the High Court.
17 Feb: No re-application submitted to DEFRA yet. Wait for the new application before submitting comments (clearly 24 February is not relevent now). Use as a basis for comments.
11 Feb: VISITORS' CENTRE DELAYED AGAIN
BY IAN ONIONS (Evening Post)
A Blunder has delayed plans for a new visitors' centre at the Clifton Suspension Bridge. The trustees must apply for permission to build on common land but the public notice which has been posted in the area shows an amended plan - not the original which was given planning consent.
Richard Harris, one of the campaigners against the scheme, said: "They seem to have got things wrong again. One of the plans they put up for the public notice is wrong.
It shows the amended scheme, not the one which was given planning consent. It means they will have to go back to square one and put up the notices again with the right plan.
Mr Harris said they were not against the idea of a visitors' centre but believe the chosen site is the wrong place. The trustees want to build the £1 million centre where a toilet block near the Bristol end of the bridge is currently sited.
Mr Harris said: "We're quite happy about a visitors' centre but we don't want to see it just there. It's a very modern building which is proposed, which is fine for somewhere such as the docks but not in an area of such outstanding beauty."
The project for the new centre was delayed 18 months ago due to a blunder over the name of a road. City magistrates were asked to give permission to move the footpath next to Suspension Bridge Road. But this was the wrong name - the documents should have said "Bridge Road".
Trustees' spokesman Alf Perry admitted there had been a mistake in the plan posted on the public notice. He said the revised plan showed a slightly larger building to accommodate improved insulation.
He said they would put up public notices again in order to follow the letter of the legal process and that the delay would only be a few weeks.
The trustees were hoping that the new visitors' centre would be open in time for Brunel's 200th anniversary in 2006. But the latest hurdle could lead to a public inquiry over permission to build on common land which might not be resolved for several months.
1 Feb: Do take a look at the drawings and notices on the Toll Booth.
The notice requesting permission from the Secretary of State for the construction of the building calls for objections to be made by 24 February to:
Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs
Zone 1/05
Temple Quay House
2 The Square
Temple Quay
BS1 6EB

Ref CYD3
The site plan shows the entire site forming part of Clifton Down. One notice requests permission from the Secretary of State for the construction of the building and in particular: The other notice is the stopping up order which was the subject of the public inquiry We will publicise our comments soon.
Please email Maggie.Shapland@bristol.ac.uk if you have any comments.
The stopping up order will go ahead unless opposed before the end of March. Read the letter to objectors, letter to planning team and see the map (click to increase size of map. hash shows the footpath and road affected, diagonal the increased footprint over the existing footpath). The building must revert back to the original plan submitted, rather than the highly modified, bigger one submitted at the inquiry. The Inspectors report of the public inquiry was held on 18 May 2004 for the stopping up order of Suspension bridge Road in order to build the Visitor Centre, was received in the Government Office of the South West on 14 January 2005.
Ms AP Davis is the case officer. She can answer questions on progress but not merits of the Secretary of State's decision.
Copies of the report has been sent to challengers and applicants. If the order is confirmed, it can be challenged by the opposers and will then goto High Court. If it is not challenged, the stopping up order will be carried out. If the order is not confirmed, the applicants can challenge it. 6 weeks is allowed to challenge after receipt of the report.

Secret Underground Television Programme

FebChris Serle presented a set of 4 half hour Thursday programmes on ITV 1 West 7:30 on local secret underground sites.

Brunel 200 Competition

Competition to design a footbridge over Hotwell Road between the zig zag and Clifton Rocks Railway, as part of the Brunel 200 festivities.

Bristol Industrial Museum

Andy King
Feasibility Study and Working Group for Old Mills Colliery Engine
Bristol Industrial Museum are to fund a feasibility study to investigate the possible re-erection of the Old Milk Colliery winding engine. A consultancy has been appointed and a working group formed in connection with Richard Maggs of Radstock Museum which has invited local councillors and interested parties to work with them.
The engine is the single largest item in Bristol Museums and Art Galleries Service's indoor collection and spent its life at Old Mill Colliery outside Radstock. The engine was acquired when Bristol was collecting for a new museum on Castle Park which never materialised and when the service's collecting area for local history extended much further than it does today. There is almost no likelihood of its display in the city, yet there is a considerable ground swell of interest in its return to Radstock.
The engine is of some significance in coal mining history. It is believed to be the earliest colliery winding engine to survive nationally, having been built in 1861,and is very representative of the simple, robust, inefficient machines commonly used until the 1930s. It was made at the foundry at Paulton, near Radstock run by the mineowner William Evans and it is the largest product of this works to survive. The engine worked for over a century until the final days of the North Somerset coalfield hauling wagons of coal and spoil to the surface. Shortly before the pit closed British Coal commissioned a film of it at work. Bristol Museum acquired the engine in 1966.
Dismantled the engine occupies approximately 32 square metres and assembled it would measure l0m x 7m and stand 3m high. It weighs approximately 28 tons.
BIAS Chairman Stuart Burroughs has been asked to join the working group in 2006 and to represent BIAS's position on the future for this important engine.

Publications

The Bristol Industrial Museum has reprinted two books of local interest for publication in December 2005.

Change of Logo

Email Maggie.Shapland@bristol.ac.uk to let me know which you like:

SERRIDGE ENGINE PIT

PERMISSION HAS KINDLY BEING GRANTED FROM DAVID TOOZE THE LAND OWNER FOR EXCAVATION WORK TO BE UNDERTAKEN OVER THE NEXT YEAR AT THIS SITE. South Gloucester Mining Research Group ARE AWARE OF LACK OF RECORDING OF PREVIOUS EXCAVATIONS AT SIMILAR SITES AND WANT TO ENSURE WE OPERATE IN A PROFESSIONAL MANNER IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE INSTITUTE OF FIELD ARCHAEOLOGISTS AND ENGLISH HERITAGE. THE EXCAVATION HOPES TO ANSWER VARIOUS RESEARCH QUESTIONS:
  1. LOCATION AND LAYOUTOF VARIOUS SITE FEATURES (PUMPING ENGINE, HORSE GIN, STEAM WINDING ENGINE HOUSE).
  2. CLARIFICATION AS TO THE PURPOSE OF THE ARCH.
  3. IDENTIFICATION OF THE ROUTE OF THE DRAMWAY, SPECIFICALLY LOCATATION OF A POSSIBLE LOADING BAY .
TO DATE A GEOPHYSICAL SURVEY HAS BEEN UNDERTAKEN BY DR TIM OF CARDIFF UNIVERSITY AND EXCAVATION COMMENCED ON 3 SEPTEMBER WITH WELCOME HELP FROM WILLING VOLUNTEERS. THIS EXCAVATION WILL BE ON A VOLUNTARY BASIS THEREFORE COULD ANY WILLING HELPERS WHO CAN BE AVAILABLE (SOMETIMES AT SHORT NOTICE)WEEKDAYS OR WEEKENDS PLEASE GIVE YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS TO STEVE OR DI GRUDGINGS TEL O1256 896715, E.MAIL stevegrudgings@btinternet.com.

Planning Problems

McArthurs Warehouse, Gas Ferry Road 8211

Planning Application 03/01463/X/C and 03/01464/F/C Planning Application 03/01463/X/C and 03/01464/F/C At the meeting on 16 March, the councillors voted to uphold their original approval, and thus demolish the warehouse. The demolition was agreed by the casting vote of the Chairman, Richard Eddy - the committee were equally divided. Predictable, but very sad.
After a very great deal of lobbying by the Civic Society, the chair Richard Eddy agreed to reconsider the application at the committee meeting held on Wednesday 16 March. The 10 page report is now on the web and recommends demolition despite the Secretary of State, the Government of the South West, English Heritage, Civic Trust, and the original recommendation of the Central Development Committee report in February 2004.
14 March Read my letter that I have submitted, demonstrating the weak, contradictory arguments for demolition
Evening Post 14 March
Bristol Civic Society is furious over the latest move in a planning wrangle over a redbrick derelict Victorian warehouse near the ss Great Britain. Councillors are being advised to confirm a controversial scheme to tear down McArthur's Warehouse in Gas Ferry Road and replace it with a complex of three buildings up to five storeys high around a courtyard to provide offices, homes, upmarket bars or restaurants and service shops. The civic society has come up with its own plan to retain the warehouse, which it believes sets the scene for Brunel's masterpiece nearby.
An original scheme by Quada developers was given approval by the council's planning committee in September 2000. But before the official approval notices were sent out, the scheme was "called in" by the Secretary of State and a public inquiry was held. The four-day hearing was unusual because the council's planners, who backed the scheme, found themselves cross-examined by the main objectors - the civic society. The outcome was in favour of the Civic Society and therefore planning permission was refused.
Quada drew up a revised scheme with some modifications, including reducing the maximum height of buildings from seven to five storeys, which was submitted to the city council in May 2003 and not discussed by councillors until eight months later. English Heritage revealed that it was drawing up a report which was assessing the possibility of saving the warehouse and converting it. The council's planning officers suggested deferral so demolition could be further examined. But councillors gave approval, subject to conditions.
This prompted the Government Office for the South West to put planning approval on hold and it was later called in for a second time. A second public inquiry was expected to be held in February 2005, but English Heritage withdrew its objection on Christmas Eve, which led to the call-in being scrapped. The power to give planning permission has now been returned to the council's planning committee, which discussed the issue on Wednesday.
Planning officer Ian White says in a report there are no new matters which warrant the councillors changing their minds from previous decisions. But Stephen Macfarlane, of the Civic Society, is furious that a second public inquiry is not going ahead. He said: "If we had been told earlier, then we could have mounted our own case against the scheme. "It's not a bad building which is being proposed - it's just in the wrong place. This site is so important because it provides the backdrop to the ss Great Britain. If the buildings are too high, then the ship is lost. McArthur's Warehouse is so important because it is end-on to the ship, whereas the developer's scheme is to utilise all the dockland behind the ship. We fought this case at the first public inquiry and won. But now we've had the rug pulled from underneath our feet. What's happened is absolutely disgraceful."
Mr White says in his report that the background work which was done in preparation for the second public inquiry included the viability of saving the old warehouse. This led to a consultant's report which said the warehouse detracted from the character of the area. He said English Heritage withdrew its objection after a partial collapse inside the warehouse which led irs officials to believe that its retention and conversion was only "marginal at best" and therefore not worth fighting at a public inquiry.
We would urge all BIAS members who object to the demolition of the former Bristol United Breweries maltings, more recently MacArthur's Warehouse, and redevelopment with 6 storey offices and residential flats in the manner of the Point, to attend and voice their objections. This is a historic industrial area and should not be ruined. It should also stay as an industrial area. At the very least, write to Steve Gregory, Bristol City Council, quoting the above reference numbers making sure your letter arrives before 12 noon Tuesday.
Michael Woodman-Smith of CHIS would be pleased to provide members with further information, and details of the new material which we have obtained since the committee decided to allow the redevelopment last year. This includes the report commissioned by English Heritage which establishes the viability of the retention and restoration of the warehouse which we believe would create the best setting for the SS Great Britain. We have produced extensive 3D imagery of the proposed redevelopment (both before and after), together with in addition the proposals by SS Great Britain Trust to redevelop their own site with further 6 storey housing.
McArthurs Warehouse Application The enquiry about MacArthur's Warehouse will not now take place in February 2005. The Secretary of State has handed it back to Bristol City Council. CHIS (Clifton and Hotwells Improvement Society) are trying to get it reconsidered by the Planning Committee.

Michael Woodman-Smith will be meeting with Civic Soc again in next few days re MacArthur's. They are lobbying to get the application reconsidered by the Planning Committee so that new information and objections can be heard.

This is a historic building directly behind the Great Britain, is one of few original warehouse buildings left in the docks and has associations with Brunel and should not be demolished. Pictures of warehouse and from across the river.

News of Members

Mrs Joan Ellis and Mr. Roy Day
It is with sorrow that we record that the deaths have occurred in recent months of two members, Mrs Joan Ellis of Rangeworhy, wife of member Monty Ellis and Mr. Roy Day of Keynsham. It was only recently that Roy was elected, together with his wife Joan, as an Honorary Member of BIAS, in recognition of his contribution from the earliest days of the organisation. We extend our sympathies to relatives and friends. We have received the following appreciation:-
Roy Day 1923-2004 Roy attended the first series of lectures on industrial archaeology given in 1964 by Angus Buchanan and Neil Cossons and organized by the Extra-Mural Department of Bristol University, becoming an enthusiastic supporter. Three years later he joined the local clamour for a society, becoming the first Treasurer of BIAS, remaining a committee member when others took over, and later becoming Chairman. Making use of an art-biased education which turned to engineering with the coming of war, Roy was very much involved in producing the early Journals, being responsible for the layout, which basically remains the same today, but which was then at the forefront of current trends in graphics, as were his quite distinctive cover designs.
He contributed four articles to the Journal in the first twenty years or so, covering subjects such as Wiltshire iron, early ferro-concrete in Bristol, lettering styles on street signs and the coming and going of early picture palaces. Concurrently Roy was active in the international group which became the Historical Metallurgy Society, editing their new Newsletter from the 1970s to 1984 and designing their Journal, working in collaboration with the editor, Professor R. F. Tylecote, who became a great friend. He was also a very early supporter of the national Association for Industrial Archaeology, designing and producing their early newsletters.
From the 1980s, Roy supported his wife Joan in the campaign to prevent the 'development' of the structure of Saltford Brass Mill, later joining the group working to conserve the building and open it to the public. He attended work parties there regularly until taken to hospital three months before he died on 11th October 2004, five days short of his 81st. birthday.

Medal for Past Chairman

Former BIAS Chairman, David K Brown, has been awarded the Anderson Medal by the Society for Nautical Research marking a long term contribution to maritime history. In particular, the award relates to a series of five books on the history of British warship design from 1800 to 1985. The last volume is Rebuilding the Royal Navy 1945-1985 (co-author George Moore) during which period warship design was centred in Bath.

NEWS FROM THE ASSOCIATION FOR INDUSTRIAL ARCHAEOLOGY

Mike Bone
There is some sad news - Peter Neaverson died just before Christmas. Peter was a member of Council and a former joint editor of the AIA journal and co-author (with Marilyn Palmer) of many books and articles on IA. Their last book (on the textile trades of the south-west) was completed shortly before his death. He will be much missed by ALA members and others with an interest in IA.

From around the Region- News from our Area Representatives

Conservation in Bristol

Mike Bone
BIAS continues to keep a watching brief on developments in the city. Plans for major schemes at Wapping Wharf and the Bristol Brewery site have still to be deposited with Bristol City Council but we will continue to monitor progress. The development process now frequently involves a series of 'stakeholder' meetings prior to submission of plans. The latest of industrial interest has involved Huller House' and the 'Cheese' warehouse near Redcliffe Bridge and the WCA building. These are, I believe, the last of the old waterside warehouses to be converted. The developer is Angel Property, a firm with an excellent track record of adaptive re-use (jam factory in East London and the Dartmouth Pottery [ex brewery but originally a papermill] in Devon). The plans look good with much original fabric kept (Huller) and the 'Hennibique' pre-cast concrete frame (Cheese warehouse) kept but with new cladding. BIAS Journal 13 (1980) has an article 'Feno-Concrete' on this system by the late Roy Day. In addition to former 'industrial' sites, much is happening in Bristol and other 'stakeholder' events have featured in the redevelopment of the fonner Bristol & West tower (on the Centre) and access from here to the refurbished Queen Square, i.e. the area of the roundabout currently used for buses to turn. We can also expect some interesting reports from archaeological work on 'developing' sites at Canons Marsh (gasworks) and Avon Street (glassworks).

De Montalt Mill

Owen Ward
This former paper mill site, listed Grade II (see Bulletin 110) has been put on the market at an asking price of £1.5M, with full planning consent for conversion into six residential units. Any sale was jeopardised, however, by the fact that planning consent was due to expire on February 26th. An application to extend consent was subject to an objection by Bath Preservation Trust on the grounds that no attempt had been made to weatherproof the buildings over the last two years. It has been reported that an 18 month extension has now been granted. Agents for the sale are Knight Frank of Broad Quay, Bristol, to whom all offers should be submitted.

Museum of Bath at Work

Stuart Burroughs
A rare painting of the first 'serge manufactory' established on the site of Twerton Upper Mill has been donated to the Museum. Presented by Mrs Armstrong, whose family took over the running of the mill in the 1930s, the painting dates from 1780.
A series of lunchtime lectures given by BIAS Secretary Graham Vincent in November raised £600 towards Museum funds. His subject was steam railways at home and overseas.
A further series, 'Bath through the lens' will be given by Don Browning on Wednesdays throughout March.

SS Great Britain Museum

In BIAS Journal No.36, member Keith Hickman related the tale of the upper section of the No.1 funnel from the P&SS Great Eastern which had been serving as a kind of giant strainer at the Sutton Poyntz Pumping Station in Dorset. One of is illustrations shows the funnel section being removed from the spring head where it had rested for more than a century. Keith tells us that this historic artefact has been moved to the SS Great Britain Museum, now located in the Maritime Heritage Centre building on Wapping Wharf. Keith was present in the welcoming party when the funnel was delivered.

NEWS & VIEWS

Ochre Mines and Works at Wick - An Update

Mike Breakspear
In 1998 the article entitled 'The Ochre Mines and Works at Wick, South Gloucestershire' by Ron Smith and myself was published in BIAS Journal No 31. Recently, through the internet, I.was put in touch with Mike Beavis whose father Mr C.M. Beavis was Mark- Director of Golden Valley Colours and he has added to my knowledge of the Company and its management. This is printed in Bulletin 114 as an addendum to the original article.

At the present time the site is being developed as a nature reserve and fences have been erected to keep the public away from 'dangerous' areas. These include the reservoir above the dam though apparently further work is to be carried out to make this area safe. The only structure remaining is the winding house at the top of the incline. It urgently needs some restoration work if only to the roof. The remains of a truck which was half buried next to the winding house has been moved to a safer place.

Requests for Help

Slag Construction Blocks in Gloncestershire

April 2007: Tim Denning (timdenning@blueyonder.co.uk)is making an image bank of slag blocks
The 2003 Journal of the Gloucestershire Society for Industrial Archaeology contains a paper by Nigel Spry entitled 'Eighteenth Century Slag Construction Blocks in Gloucestershire - A Survey'. This details the results of fieldwork by members of GSIA, the Gloucester and district Archaeological Research Group, the Forest of Dean Local History Society and the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society and others, of the locations and use of 18th. century slag blocks in the present county of Gloucestershire. It had originally been intended to record the location of such blocks in all pre-1974' Gloucestershire parishes beside the Severn and Wyc and in hinterland parishes one or two beyond the riverside ones, depending on the topography. Unfortunately it was not possible to find people willing to join in carrying out the survey in South Gloucestershire, so only the present-day county was investigated. This lack of interest was surprising, considering that many of these blocks originated from within South Gloucestershire, beside the river Avon. There is much evidence of use of slag blocks within South Gloucestershire and Will Harris of BIAS suggests that there is still scope for information to be added to the GSIA survey. This presents an ideal oppoittunity for BIAS members to carry out interesting field work in our immediate area, so if any members are interested, would they please contact Will Harris who will be pleased to supply them with copies of Nigel Spry's paper. This contains details of the format in which the Gloucestershire data were recorded and much useful information for anyone interested in the subject.

Steam Roller Drivers in Bristol

Mr. Martin Ubank of 93 Elm Close, Little Stoke, Bristol B534 6RJ has sent us the following:-
I am looking for any records that relate to steam rollers in Bristol around 1900. In particular, I an given to understand that a John William PIPER was one of the first (or even the first) steam roller drivers in the area. He moved to the St George area in about 1898 and made his home in Salisbury Avenue, near St Michael the Archangel's church in Two Mile Hill. In 1901 his occupation was indeed given as Steam Roller Driver.
If you can provide any information, or you can point me in the direction of records that might help. I would be very grateful.

Bristol Corn Merchants

As part of on-going research into the history of the warehouses at Gloucester Docks, Hugh Conway-Jones is looking for information about Bristol corn importers who also had links with Gloucester. Several firms operated in both ports, and Hugh is trying to establish more about the nature of the businesses and the people involved. The firms include Adams, Hosegoods, Spillers & Bakers, Turner Nott & Co, Vining, Wait & James and Weston. He has extracted information from the trade directories, and he would now like to hear from anyone who might be able to fill in additional details. He can be contacted on 01452 619679 or conway-jones@freeuk.com

The Bristol Fireclay Company

Working on a monograph on the building stones of Norfolk including brick and terracotta, one of the problems my investigation has encountered concerns an Edwardian Chapel of Ease in the parish of Stow Bardolph in west Noffolk. The chapel is not mentioned in N. Pevsner and B. Wilson, The Buildings of England. Norfolk 2: North-west and South Norfolk, London: Penguin Books, 1999.
The chapel has an external fabric that is wholly of terracota blocks. Those for the quoins and window and door dressings were specially produced. I have so far been able to establish that the blocks were supplied using the railway system by the Bristol Fireclay Company.
The Bristol Fireclay Company had its head office at 6 and 7 Castle Street, Bristol, in the centre of the city, and a works, exploiting Coal Measures shales, in Crews Hole Road, in the St George's district of east Bristol. The company went into liquidation in 1910 or 1911, a few years after the building of the chapel at Stow Badoiph.
My query is whether anyone knows anything about this company and its products. Sources in Bristol have not so far been very helpful in answering these questions. Any information members can offer would be most gratefully received and acknowledged.
Emeritus Prof JOHN ALLEN, School of Humaan and Environmental Sciences, The University of Reading, P.O. Box 227 Whiteknights, READING RG6 6AB
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