December News
ROSEMOOR RESTORATION REPORT FROM MICHAEL ELLIOTT - 11th December 2019
This week the team returned to Rosemoor, where despite the rain, the water level was still 10cm (4 inches) below the spillway.
This week the team returned to Rosemoor, where despite the rain, the water level was still 10cm (4 inches) below the spillway.
The adjacent area is edged by a double line of bricks, although the spacing is rather too wide for a cavity wall, so a water channel was another suggestion. Investigation at one end then revealed three iron artefacts. Further inspection revealed one was an old hinge, possibly fallen from a higher level in the past. That left two pierced cubical pieces on pins. One was still loose on its pin, the other fused together. Investigation at the other end of the bricks then revealed a one-piece version, clearly the lower half of a shaft bearing. So the current theory is these lines of bricks mark a space housing a machinery-driving shaft of the old mill. |
The work focus was again the tucking mill area, removing the inevitable tree stumps and clearing the top of the steps to reveal a possible floor. 
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Next week the team will again be at Rosemoor.
Generally, working parties are held every Wednesday morning, meeting in the main car park at RHS Rosemoor, Torrington at 9.30am. New volunteers are always welcome. Please contact the Project Manager, Ian Harrison (tel.01237-475707) for more information.
ROLLE CANAL RESTORATION REPORT FROM MICHAEL ELLIOTT - 4th December 2019
This week the team moved to Beam, on reports of saplings growing in the canal bed near the roving bridge. The team set to work, clearing reeds and brambles as well as many saplings, from the bridge hole to the nearby wet section of canal bed. A section of the towpath was also cleared of reeds. This whole section needs a concerted attack over several visits before the spring to uproot the reeds growing along both edges of the towpath, but next week the team will be back at Rosemoor.
This week the team moved to Beam, on reports of saplings growing in the canal bed near the roving bridge. The team set to work, clearing reeds and brambles as well as many saplings, from the bridge hole to the nearby wet section of canal bed. A section of the towpath was also cleared of reeds. This whole section needs a concerted attack over several visits before the spring to uproot the reeds growing along both edges of the towpath, but next week the team will be back at Rosemoor.
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Generally, working parties are held every Wednesday morning, meeting in the main car park at RHS Rosemoor, Torrington at 9.30am. New volunteers are always welcome. Please contact the Project Manager, Ian Harrison (tel.01237-475707) for more information.
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