March News
ROSEMOOR RESTORATION REPORT by Michael Elliott - 30th March 2022
The team arrived at Rosemoor to discover the scaffolding had finally been removed, the formwork for the arch was still in place and the partially completed arch still standing. As the replacement scaffolding was not finished, the team focussed on the tucking mill area and ‘the beast’ tree trunk.
The team arrived at Rosemoor to discover the scaffolding had finally been removed, the formwork for the arch was still in place and the partially completed arch still standing. As the replacement scaffolding was not finished, the team focussed on the tucking mill area and ‘the beast’ tree trunk.
Later in the morning we were pleased to welcome Martin Watts, retired millwright of 35 years standing, who last visited the tucking mill two years ago. After careful study of retrieved metalwork laid out in the lime kiln, he stayed behind to take measurements. We look forward to receiving his ideas on the possible function of the various areas of the site over time. He felt that its function as a tucking mill might have died out fairly soon after the canal opened, and was then used for a different purpose, as free water power was too valuable a resource to just abandon. He also thought that the concrete floor and signs of plaster on the walls of the chamber holding "the beast’ might indicate a dwelling, and sure enough half a griddle and part of a range were then found near the tree stump.
SHORT SHIFT AND NO SAND - Sea Lock report by Adrian Wills - 30th March 2022
Tuesday (29.03.22) was going to be a short working day for me at Sea Lock as a result of having a dental appointment at mid-day. Never-the-less I was joined by Steve and Nick just after 9 o’clock, followed shortly by Michael and we soon got to work.
Whilst Nick and Michael mixed a load of concrete, Steve set in place some shuttering across the base of the wall where some large foundation stones had been displaced. Michael had previously got them out of the way in order to make the repair. I sorted out and cut to size some reinforcing mesh and then began to lower down to Steve buckets full of concrete. This task was quickly completed and Steve then turned his attention to rebuilding wall facing.
Tuesday (29.03.22) was going to be a short working day for me at Sea Lock as a result of having a dental appointment at mid-day. Never-the-less I was joined by Steve and Nick just after 9 o’clock, followed shortly by Michael and we soon got to work.
Whilst Nick and Michael mixed a load of concrete, Steve set in place some shuttering across the base of the wall where some large foundation stones had been displaced. Michael had previously got them out of the way in order to make the repair. I sorted out and cut to size some reinforcing mesh and then began to lower down to Steve buckets full of concrete. This task was quickly completed and Steve then turned his attention to rebuilding wall facing.
By this time Nick was continuing rebuilding the back of the wall and Michael was back in the gloop at the base of the wall, removing debris from between original stonework and repointing the gaps. I had to leave them to it but returned just in time for lunch.
After lunch Steve still had a barrow full of mortar left to use but otherwise our stock of grit sand had become completely exhausted. More rebuilding was impossible which was somewhat frustrating since we still had a reasonable supply of cement, hydraulic lime in stock and some good stone which Trevor, Steve and I had got from the local quarry the previous Friday. So, while Steve used up his remaining mortar, Nick and I prepared to crane a coping stone onto the wall.
After lunch Steve still had a barrow full of mortar left to use but otherwise our stock of grit sand had become completely exhausted. More rebuilding was impossible which was somewhat frustrating since we still had a reasonable supply of cement, hydraulic lime in stock and some good stone which Trevor, Steve and I had got from the local quarry the previous Friday. So, while Steve used up his remaining mortar, Nick and I prepared to crane a coping stone onto the wall.
With Nick sitting in the crane operator’s seat, I stood in the cab behind him, telling him the sequence of levers to move in order to lift the block and drive the machine to the required position.
Having not been used for some time the crane was not feeling particularly cooperative and it took quite a bit of effort to get it to where we wanted it. However, we eventually persuaded it to play and got the block safely deposited on the wall. We then removed the lifting strops and levelled the block ready to permanently mortar it in place.
This was another satisfying and productive day.
Having not been used for some time the crane was not feeling particularly cooperative and it took quite a bit of effort to get it to where we wanted it. However, we eventually persuaded it to play and got the block safely deposited on the wall. We then removed the lifting strops and levelled the block ready to permanently mortar it in place.
This was another satisfying and productive day.
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ROSEMOOR RESTORATION REPORT by Tony Nicholls - 23rd March 2022
Spring was definitely in the air for this week’s session at Rosemoor. The sky was an unbroken expanse of blue and the sun was already shining strongly as we arrived on site. Walking down to the canal is a real delight at this time of year as the gardens start to bloom with Spring flowers.
Spring was definitely in the air for this week’s session at Rosemoor. The sky was an unbroken expanse of blue and the sun was already shining strongly as we arrived on site. Walking down to the canal is a real delight at this time of year as the gardens start to bloom with Spring flowers.
The Rosemoor digger driver has done a sterling job on the tucking mill since last week and has cleared several tons of earth from the third chamber which is now completely exposed. As a result, the full extent of the site is now clear to see. Unfortunately, one major obstacle remains – a huge tree stump right in the middle of the chamber, possibly one of the largest we have ever had to tackle which we have fittingly named ‘The Beast’. Two of the team spent the morning digging around the roots to try to establish exactly what we have to deal with. Our hope is that the tree has grown on top of the stone floor and that the roots have not penetrated the surface as this should make removal much easier. Time will tell!
The Beast
The rest of the team continued to excavate the area around the dividing wall and expose more of the brick floor of the third chamber. The floor of the building poses some interesting questions as parts are cobbled, parts are brick and parts are surfaced with what seems to be some sort of concrete possibly reflecting the different periods of construction.
A further delivery of stone from RHS Rosemoor was enthusiastically welcomed by our masons. We now have enough to complete the restoration of the arch and to carry out further re-building of the western wall of the lime kiln. The photo shows the impressive progress made on the arch with just the central section to be completed.
Working parties are held every Wednesday morning, meeting in the main car park at RHS Rosemoor, Torrington at 9.30am. (.NB. Arrangements may vary during Covid restrictions). Please contact Project Manager, Ian Harrison (tel.01237- 475707) for more information.
SNOW AT SEA LOCK IN MARCH? Sea Lock report by Adrian Wills - 23rd March 2022
Today, (Wednesday, 23.03.22) the sun was shining brightly as I went for my habitual early morning walk down to Sea Lock and back. There had been a slight frost overnight, but the temperature was beginning to rise nicely.
When I reached the causeway which crosses the canal basin the ground looked as if had a sprinkling of snow across it.
Today, (Wednesday, 23.03.22) the sun was shining brightly as I went for my habitual early morning walk down to Sea Lock and back. There had been a slight frost overnight, but the temperature was beginning to rise nicely.
When I reached the causeway which crosses the canal basin the ground looked as if had a sprinkling of snow across it.
Invasive weeds have always been a problem for the canal even when it contained water, but much more so now when the water levels are very much lower and frequently non- existent. A few years ago, the upper basin was plagued with Parrot Feather (Myriophyllum aquaticum). Ironically the lack of water here was what actually finished off this rampant weed. Since then, a mass of water reed and Bull Rush (Typha latifolia) has taken over.
The ‘snow’ which had fallen is actually the wind-borne seeds of the bull rushes. The seed heads, or maces, are exploding into a mass of white ‘candy floss’ which is disturbed and blown away on the gentlest of breezes.
Another crop of bull rushes in the making!
Another crop of bull rushes in the making!
WHISTLE WHILE YOU WORK, OR HUM AT LEAST! Sea Lock report by Adrian Wills - 22nd March 2022
On Tuesday (22.03.22) Nick, Michael and I were once again serenaded as we worked at Sea Lock by Steve who had returned from holiday.
Whilst Nick mixed a load of concrete to fill the void above and behind the road drain protruding through the wall, Steve and I dismantled the scaffold landing platform and re-erected it further along the wall. Trying to rebuild the face of the wall whilst stooping below the landing was proving to be far from comfortable.
On Tuesday (22.03.22) Nick, Michael and I were once again serenaded as we worked at Sea Lock by Steve who had returned from holiday.
Whilst Nick mixed a load of concrete to fill the void above and behind the road drain protruding through the wall, Steve and I dismantled the scaffold landing platform and re-erected it further along the wall. Trying to rebuild the face of the wall whilst stooping below the landing was proving to be far from comfortable.
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Using a combination of recycled concrete lintels and concrete blocks laid on a bed of concrete, Nick progressed the rebuild of the back of the wharf wall quite considerably. One or two more working days spent on it should see it completed to the causeway which marks the end of the middle section of wharf.
Singing happily to himself (and his unwitting audience), Steve continued working on raising the face of the wall. This particular section is very tricky since it requires a considerable quantity of good-faced, long and narrow pieces of stone of which we have very little.
Singing happily to himself (and his unwitting audience), Steve continued working on raising the face of the wall. This particular section is very tricky since it requires a considerable quantity of good-faced, long and narrow pieces of stone of which we have very little.
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I spent time trying to find useful pieces of stone from the rapidly diminishing piles and smashing many of the ‘ugly’ bits to fill the gap behind the back of the wall.
Michael and Tony worked hard to shift a pile of stone which had been dug out of the canal and moving it away from the top of the wall in order to create a clear working space for the rebuilding process. When this was almost finished, Michael got down into the canal to move some very large stones from the foot of the wall which were out of alignment probably moved when the road drain pipe was put through the wall.
By the end of the quite warm and sunny day the site was looking quite different and progress was clear to see.
Michael and Tony worked hard to shift a pile of stone which had been dug out of the canal and moving it away from the top of the wall in order to create a clear working space for the rebuilding process. When this was almost finished, Michael got down into the canal to move some very large stones from the foot of the wall which were out of alignment probably moved when the road drain pipe was put through the wall.
By the end of the quite warm and sunny day the site was looking quite different and progress was clear to see.
BUILDERS GALORE! Sea Lock report by Adrian Wills - 21st March 2022
On Friday (18.03.22) Trevor and I were joined at Sea Lock by a new volunteer, named Geb. Not only is Geb a mason but has extensive knowledge of working with lime mortar and rebuilding historic structures. Whoopee! What with him laying facing stone along with Steve and myself, we should be able to speed up rebuilding quite dramatically. The only problem is that Geb is somewhat limited in how much time he can spare to put to Sea Lock because of other commitments but every little bit helps.
On Friday (18.03.22) Trevor and I were joined at Sea Lock by a new volunteer, named Geb. Not only is Geb a mason but has extensive knowledge of working with lime mortar and rebuilding historic structures. Whoopee! What with him laying facing stone along with Steve and myself, we should be able to speed up rebuilding quite dramatically. The only problem is that Geb is somewhat limited in how much time he can spare to put to Sea Lock because of other commitments but every little bit helps.
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The first thing we set about doing on that day was to put together the shuttering for yet another coping stone and fill it. Whilst Trevor was mixing the mortar, Geb and I moved a couple of old railway sleepers to create a better compound for the grit sand than we had had before. My trailer still contained best part of a ton and a half which was waiting to be off loaded.
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Having filled the shuttering we turned our attention to the wall. Trevor continued mixing mortar and shovelling out of the trailer the remaining grit sand into its new temporary home whilst Geb and I worked on rebuilding the face. By three o’clock we had run out of cement and that seemed like a good time to call it a day.
On Saturday (19.03.22) I collected another 5 bags of cement from the local builders’ merchants, removed the shuttering from the block cast the day before, distressed the showing faces and then finished cutting bricks for the site name. Now just have to clean them up a bit and prepare a place to permanently set them.
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ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT?
Sea Lock report by Adrian Wills - 17th March 2022 It was a somewhat peaceful day at Sea Lock on Tuesday (15.03.22) without any form of theatrical accompaniment or singing. Steve was away on holiday. I don’t recall him asking for time off, but I suppose you have to put up with that sort of thing when you are dealing with volunteers. Tony was also unavailable but with the diminished work force of Nick, Michael and me, we still managed to make a considerable impact on restoring the wall. On the previous afternoon, the contractor, who had scraped a great deal of weeds and silt which had built up to a considerable depth inside the middle section of the wharf in order to clear space from the bottom of the wall for the erection of scaffolding, returned to remove some more. Michael mixed a couple of loads of mortar for Nick and me, and we continued building; Nick on the back of the wall and me on the face. Since we were only using the mortar very slowly, Michael attacked the wall further along which was now more accessible without the accumulated muck in his way. Where he was working the masonry had been considerably disturbed by roots of invasive vegetation and he was removing stone work faster than Nick and I were able to replace it. Unfortunately, this is necessary in order to get back to stable masonry. He had soon created quite a dent in the wall. The only breach in the quiet of the day was me occasionally running my big petrol-engine angle-grinder to cut stones to specific lengths. When we packed up for the day the digger driver returned and continued scraping and tidying up the floor of the basin. All in all, good progress is being made and things are looking well. |
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ROSEMOOR RESTORATION REPORT by Tony Nicholls - 16th March 2022
Our masons were very pleased to receive a large quantity of stone donated by RHS Rosemoor today. The stone has come from a demolished building on the Rosemoor estate and is therefore ideal building material. The team set to work immediately cutting some of this stone to size for the ongoing repairs to the lime kiln arch.
Our masons were very pleased to receive a large quantity of stone donated by RHS Rosemoor today. The stone has come from a demolished building on the Rosemoor estate and is therefore ideal building material. The team set to work immediately cutting some of this stone to size for the ongoing repairs to the lime kiln arch.
The rest of the team continued to work on the tucking mill site where RHS Rosemoor had kindly provided a mini digger and driver to assist with the further excavation of the site. There are still several tons of earth to be removed which is really too much for our volunteers to tackle (despite their boundless appetite for hard manual labour!). The first task was to create a safe access to the site across the little stream which flows along the bottom of the site.
Creating the access
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Building the ramp
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An earth ramp was constructed with a pipe beneath to maintain the water flow and, with some agile manoeuvring on the part of the driver, the machine had soon gained the lower level of the tucking mill and started to clear away debris. To aid the process of clearance, Rosemoor staff took down several small trees and saplings which had grown up within the site. Our plan is to use the mini digger to excavate the earth from the third chamber of the mill and to scrape away soil from the towpath to see if this reveals any clues about the relationship of the mill to the canal. With this welcome mechanical assistance, we hope to make excellent progress over the coming weeks.
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Felling the trees
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Working parties are held every Wednesday morning, meeting in the main car park at RHS Rosemoor, Torrington at 9.30am. (.NB. Arrangements may vary during Covid restrictions). Please contact Project Manager, Ian Harrison (tel.01237- 475707) for more information.
NEARLY SET IN STONE (brick actually!)
Sea Lock report by Adrian Wills - 14th March 2022
Once again unpredictable weather has been creating difficulties at Sea Lock. On Wednesday (09.03.22) I had to collect my trailer from the company which supplied it many years ago and where I was having the original rotted and damaged floor replaced. On my way home I collected another 2 tons of grit sand. I had been paying £40 +VAT for a load but unfortunately it has gone up to £60 + VAT but such is life.
Everything was in place for Trevor and me to get on for the following day. After he arrived, I removed the shuttering from a coping block which I had cast the day before and set it up for another whilst Trevor got a mix on the go. Once this task was completed, we carried on rebuilding the face of the wharf wall. It was another successful day.
On Friday (11.03.22) we had planned to continue but the weather had a different agenda, so we had to abandon thoughts of working on site for that day.
On Saturday (12.03.22) I craned over an earlier cast block and laid it alongside a previously dry-laid block. I spent time levelling them up and prepared a mix of mortar to set them in place, but by this time it had started to rain again. I packed up and went home.
Sunday (13.03.22) started out with a bright and sunny morning, so I went down to the site with the intention of finishing setting the blocks in place. I hadn’t quite reached it when the skies turned a purple- grey and it started to rain quite heavily. This changed very quickly to hail. Fortunately I managed to reach shelter and stood there for a while pondering my next move. Then the sun came out!
Sea Lock report by Adrian Wills - 14th March 2022
Once again unpredictable weather has been creating difficulties at Sea Lock. On Wednesday (09.03.22) I had to collect my trailer from the company which supplied it many years ago and where I was having the original rotted and damaged floor replaced. On my way home I collected another 2 tons of grit sand. I had been paying £40 +VAT for a load but unfortunately it has gone up to £60 + VAT but such is life.
Everything was in place for Trevor and me to get on for the following day. After he arrived, I removed the shuttering from a coping block which I had cast the day before and set it up for another whilst Trevor got a mix on the go. Once this task was completed, we carried on rebuilding the face of the wharf wall. It was another successful day.
On Friday (11.03.22) we had planned to continue but the weather had a different agenda, so we had to abandon thoughts of working on site for that day.
On Saturday (12.03.22) I craned over an earlier cast block and laid it alongside a previously dry-laid block. I spent time levelling them up and prepared a mix of mortar to set them in place, but by this time it had started to rain again. I packed up and went home.
Sunday (13.03.22) started out with a bright and sunny morning, so I went down to the site with the intention of finishing setting the blocks in place. I hadn’t quite reached it when the skies turned a purple- grey and it started to rain quite heavily. This changed very quickly to hail. Fortunately I managed to reach shelter and stood there for a while pondering my next move. Then the sun came out!
I decided the weather was so unpredictable that to continue wall building that day was not sensible. I had been thinking about an idea to physically name the site and so set about making this work. The idea was to spell out the ‘Rolle Canal Company’ wording in bricks and set them into the ground where it could be read from the viewing platform on the Tarka Trial overlooking the site. Using my large diamond-bladed angle grinder, I spent time and effort cutting bricks to the required shape. Ironically these vitreous, white bricks are made from Peters Marland clay which was one of the commodities that was transported on the canal. I managed to get quite a bit achieved when, just by way of a change, it started to rain and I abandoned the site for that day. Just the word ‘Company’ to go.
ROSEMOOR RESTORATION REPORT by Tony Nicholls - 9th March 2022
The scaffolding on the lime kiln has not yet been replaced so, rather than hold up progress, our masons decided to continue work on the re-build of the arch. As noted in previous reports, this is painstaking work but by the end of the morning a further four stones had been laid and the arch is slowly starting to take shape.
The scaffolding on the lime kiln has not yet been replaced so, rather than hold up progress, our masons decided to continue work on the re-build of the arch. As noted in previous reports, this is painstaking work but by the end of the morning a further four stones had been laid and the arch is slowly starting to take shape.
The rest of the team devoted their efforts to the tucking mill. We are continuing to expose the boundary wall of the third chamber although this seems to come to a sudden stop after a meter or so. Whether this is all of the wall which remains intact or just a collapse remains to be seen. We have also cleared the area of ground above the third chamber which was covered with cut branches from the tree felling carried out several years ago. Needless to say, there is a large and forbidding tree stump right in the centre of the site!
View from tucking mill
Close-up of end wall
Area of third chamber
Excavated the mill race
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Exposed wall of third chamber
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We continue to excavate the bank on the north side of the mill race but there is still no sign of the retaining wall which we think existed here. However, we have uncovered a few large stones at the bottom of the channel which may be the original stone floor of the race. During the course of the excavations, we discovered what looks to be an old and very rusty tap – another item to be added to our trove of artefacts.
Footnote: the Spring flowers at Rosemoor - particularly various varieties of daffodil - are coming into spectacular bloom. The gardens are well worth a visit at this time.
Working parties are held every Wednesday morning, meeting in the main car park at RHS Rosemoor, Torrington at 9.30am. (.NB. Arrangements may vary during Covid restrictions). Please contact Project Manager, Ian Harrison (tel.01237- 475707) for more information.
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LIQUORICE ALL SORTS AND WAILING WALLS?
Sea Lock report by Adrian Wills - 10th March 2022 Last week when Trevor and I arrived at the site of Sea Lock the high tide of the morning was still over the top of the higher of the 2 scaffold lifts so continuing rebuilding the wharf wall was not immediately an option. We returned our attention to the mysteries of trying to start the dumper truck more easily. Having considered various methods of attaching a starter motor we still had no clear idea as to what to do. After the tide had fallen sufficiently, I decided that I wanted to stabilize the section of wall through which a drain pipe had been installed. Michael and Tony had previously cleared all the loose masonry and debris from around it so it was just a case of rebuilding the back of the wall without filling my wellies with the water that was still cascading out of the pipe. I managed to only half-fill one of them! On Tuesday (08.03.22) I was joined once again by Steve, Nick and Michael. While Michael continued removing the last bit of rubbish from the top of the wall the rest of us tackled a large hole at the base of the wall further along where a substantial stone had fallen out. We discovered that this stone was originally part of the foundation with nothing but clay underneath it. We decided to dig out some of this clay, build some shuttering across the bottom of the wall and back–fill it with concrete. Unfortunately, before we could do this we had to slightly move the bottom scaffold lift to provide working space. Steve got down on his knees in order to access the front of the wall where the hole was. Clay was removed, quick–setting concrete and reinforcing steel mesh laid and we then had a firm foundation on which to rebuild. |
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Working here was extremely awkward and Steve spent most of the day on his knees (in penitence?) filling this void. I’m sure I heard him praying once or twice, but I think he was just asking to be able to stand up straight before too long and without any more back pain.
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By the end of the day, we had achieved considerable progress. Michael had finished clearing the top of the wall including another buttress, Nick had furthered the rebuild of the top and back face of the wall. Steve had refilled quite a bit of the hole. Unfortunately, we were unable to get the original stone back into place because of the concrete we had laid, but it will still be used somewhere else. I had brought another length of the top of the wall to the level required to lay more coping stones.
The rain which had been forecast for mid-morning only began to fall around 3pm by which time we had had enough and were pleased to pack up and go home, but we were very satisfied with our efforts.
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ROSEMOOR RESTORATION REPORT by Tony Nicholls - 2nd March 2022
Progress on the lime kiln has stalled temporarily while we wait for the scaffolding to be replaced so our masons spent the morning cutting stone for the arch reconstruction. The raw stone has actually come from the major landslide on the A 386 just outside Torrington which happened a few weeks ago. RHS Rosemoor obtained the agreement of Devon County Council to remove a lot of the loose rock and stone and take this back to Rosemoor for their own use. They have kindly donated a good quantity of this stone to the Rolle Canal Society and we hope to use this for some of our restoration work on the lime kiln. |
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The rest of the team continued to work on the tucking mill. We have successfully removed the large tree stump which sat in the middle of the floor of the second chamber and this has really opened up this part of the site. Excavation of the third chamber continues with more of the back wall being exposed.
Excavating the tucking mill
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Excavating the mill race
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In the mill race itself we have uncovered walls at the bottom of the channel at the point where the race flows into the small leat. There is a curved splay on either side of the outflow and the we have found traces of the foundations on the north side although the wall here is badly deteriorated. We are also continuing to dig out the north side of the channel a little higher up to see if there is any evidence of the retaining which we believe would have been built here. Thus far results have been disappointing although we have exposed a large slab of stone just opposite the lip of the race. Further work has been done to conserve and rebuild the internal walls of the first chamber (i.e. the one nearest the mill race) and the layout of the site is becoming much more clearly defined with each week that passes.
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Lower wall of mill race
Repairs to wall of tucking mill
(PS. It was very good to have a visit from our friend and former navvy Rusty Crowhurst during the morning. He was received with great enthusiasm. The fact that he came bearing a large and sumptuous home-made chocolate cake for the team was completely irrelevant!)
Coffee and cake
Working parties are held every Wednesday morning, meeting in the main car park at RHS Rosemoor, Torrington at 9.30am. (.NB. Arrangements may vary during Covid restrictions). Please contact Project Manager, Ian Harrison (tel.01237- 475707) for more information.
HELD OFF JUST ENOUGH!
Sea Lock report by Adrian Wills - 2nd March 2022
The weather forecast for Tuesday (01.03.22) was not very encouraging in that rain was due to start falling around mid-morning. Never-the-less Steve and Nick arrived early at my house, shortly followed by Michael and Tony.
I think it was Nick, although I’m not quite sure. It may have been a twin brother - gone was the beard and long hair. He’d put his summer head on!
Sea Lock report by Adrian Wills - 2nd March 2022
The weather forecast for Tuesday (01.03.22) was not very encouraging in that rain was due to start falling around mid-morning. Never-the-less Steve and Nick arrived early at my house, shortly followed by Michael and Tony.
I think it was Nick, although I’m not quite sure. It may have been a twin brother - gone was the beard and long hair. He’d put his summer head on!
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Tony and Michael continued clearing debris from the top of the wharf wall and within a fairly short time had reached the end at the causeway. They next concentrated on removing loose masonry and mud from around the large drain pipe running through the wall which empties storm water from the highway above.
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Once again Steve concentrated on rebuilding facing wall and back-filling it. Nick kept him supplied with mortar whilst also working on the wall. He continued laying concrete blocks along the back of it.
I had a good time smashing up broken bits of block for hard-core as well as chipping off old mortar from those blocks which Nick was using up.
By 3pm we had had enough and started cleaning tools and putting them away. By this time the predicted rain was just beginning to fall.
By 3pm we had had enough and started cleaning tools and putting them away. By this time the predicted rain was just beginning to fall.
We quickly covered all the newly laid masonry with plastic sheets and headed home. Shortly after this it began to rain with a vengeance but all was well at the site and once again considerable progress had been made.