June News
ROSEMOOR RESTORATION REPORT by Tony Nicholls - 29th June 2022
An excellent volunteer turn-out this week meant that we were able to tackle a variety of tasks on site.
Following the sustained vegetation-bashing of the last two weeks, there remained just one area which needed attention – the east bank of the upper basin. It was important to cut this back properly to allow our masons access to the canal wall as they raise the level of the stonework. Several trees, mainly sycamore and hazel, were throwing up vigorous growth from old stumps and these needed to be removed as they were starting to overhang the basin. Good progress was made building up the canal wall as the photographs show. Having good quality stone to work with makes a huge difference!
An excellent volunteer turn-out this week meant that we were able to tackle a variety of tasks on site.
Following the sustained vegetation-bashing of the last two weeks, there remained just one area which needed attention – the east bank of the upper basin. It was important to cut this back properly to allow our masons access to the canal wall as they raise the level of the stonework. Several trees, mainly sycamore and hazel, were throwing up vigorous growth from old stumps and these needed to be removed as they were starting to overhang the basin. Good progress was made building up the canal wall as the photographs show. Having good quality stone to work with makes a huge difference!
Upper basin before clearing
Upper basin after clearing
Raising the level of upper basin wall
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Raised wall - upper basin
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The rest of the team continued to work on different areas of the tucking mill. We are anxious to preserve as much of the cobbled floor as possible and spent some time securing exposed edges with a thin fillet of concrete to protect them from further damage. We also managed to excavate a further length of the rear (west) wall of the mill although, as usual, much of the original stone has disappeared – probably removed to provide material for other buildings. The mill was certainly solidly constructed as this rear wall is some three feet thick. On the canal (towpath)side of the mill, we have unearthed some curious pieces of rusted iron which we think may be connected to a small drain or sump built into the canal wall. Unfortunately, there is another tree stump here which will need to be removed to allow further excavation to take place.
Repairs to floor of mill
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Repairs to cobbled floor
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Foundation of rear wall
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Line of rear wall of mill
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Exploratory dig near the drain
(Footnote: the guided walk on 19th June through the Rosemoor woods from Darkham Weir to the lime kilns was a great success with over 30 members of the public taking part. And, unlike 2019, it stayed dry!)
Working parties are held every Wednesday morning, meeting in the main car park at RHS Rosemoor, Torrington at 9.30am. Please contact Project Manager, Ian Harrison (tel.01237- 475707) for more information.
Working parties are held every Wednesday morning, meeting in the main car park at RHS Rosemoor, Torrington at 9.30am. Please contact Project Manager, Ian Harrison (tel.01237- 475707) for more information.
ROSEMOOR RESTORATION REPORT by Tony Nicholls - 22nd June 2022
Now that the lower basin is looking tidy, we decided to concentrate our efforts on cutting back some of the vegetation growing in the upper basin. The reasons for this were twofold: firstly to get the upper basin looking shipshape again and secondly to enable us to start work on the capping off of the upper basin wall.
Now that the lower basin is looking tidy, we decided to concentrate our efforts on cutting back some of the vegetation growing in the upper basin. The reasons for this were twofold: firstly to get the upper basin looking shipshape again and secondly to enable us to start work on the capping off of the upper basin wall.
Sorting stone for the wall
Last year we realised that the eastern wall of the basin was about 12 inches lower than the western wall. The discrepancy was caused largely by the lack of good building stone available at the time. Thankfully, this is not a problem now as we have a plentiful supply. As the water level in the canal is low at the moment, this is the ideal time to commence the work of raising the wall by the required amount. Once this is done we can then construct the formwork to create the capping stones. We are still debating how to finish off the western (towpath) wall of the upper basin as we think this would have originally been just a simple stone and earth bank.
Building up the wall
While our masons worked on the wall, the rest of the team started hacking their way through the jungle of vegetation which had grown up in the canal bed. Amongst this was the dreaded Himalayan Balsam which we were at pains to remove as, once seeded, it spreads prolifically. By the end of the session we managed to clear most of the basin as far as the upper sluice. Overall, the site is now looking in much better shape and has – temporarily, at least – been reclaimed from Nature’s clutches.
Upper basin wall
Upper basin before clearing
Upper basin after clearing
Working parties are held every Wednesday morning, meeting in the main car park at RHS Rosemoor, Torrington at 9.30am. Please contact Project Manager, Ian Harrison (tel.01237- 475707) for more information.
ROLLE CANAL SOCIETY GUIDED WALK - Sunday 19th June
ROSEMOOR - The Dark Weir, Canal Basin and Lime Kilns. Walk Leader: Michael Elliott.
Starting from the end of the new extended car park at RHS Rosemoor Gardens near Great Torrington, this is an opportunity to walk beyond the public gardens through attractive woodland to Darkham Weir on the River Torridge from where the waters to feed the Rolle Canal were taken.
Then follow the Mill Leat to the recently cleared Canal Basin, effectively the terminus of the Rolle Canal. Here the old lime kilns can be seen as well as the foundations of a Tucking Mill.
Length about 2 and a half miles. Meet at 2.30pm on Sunday 19th June at the far end of the RHS Rosemoor car park.
The income from the small charge of £2 per person on the guided walks makes a valuable contribution to the Society's work in improving access along the canal and providing interpretation of the major features.
Sorry, but RHS Rosemoor operates a strict no dogs policy!
ROSEMOOR - The Dark Weir, Canal Basin and Lime Kilns. Walk Leader: Michael Elliott.
Starting from the end of the new extended car park at RHS Rosemoor Gardens near Great Torrington, this is an opportunity to walk beyond the public gardens through attractive woodland to Darkham Weir on the River Torridge from where the waters to feed the Rolle Canal were taken.
Then follow the Mill Leat to the recently cleared Canal Basin, effectively the terminus of the Rolle Canal. Here the old lime kilns can be seen as well as the foundations of a Tucking Mill.
Length about 2 and a half miles. Meet at 2.30pm on Sunday 19th June at the far end of the RHS Rosemoor car park.
The income from the small charge of £2 per person on the guided walks makes a valuable contribution to the Society's work in improving access along the canal and providing interpretation of the major features.
Sorry, but RHS Rosemoor operates a strict no dogs policy!
ROSEMOOR RESTORATION REPORT by Tony Nicholls - 15th June 2022
This week saw a continuation of the work we started last week to tidy up the Rosemoor site in time for the guided walk on 19th June.
This week saw a continuation of the work we started last week to tidy up the Rosemoor site in time for the guided walk on 19th June.
Cleared towpath at upper basin
The team split up to tackle different parts of the basin which still required attention. The towpath along the upper basin which was badly overgrown was strimmed and cleared while further work was done cutting back vegetation on the towpath along the lower basin. This has now been cleared as far as the overflow and can be safely navigated. Elsewhere, the remaining vegetation along the lower basin wall was cut back and removed and the last few clumps of water plantain dug out from the canal bed. There is still a lot of weed growing in this area but we hope that this will die back when the canal is once again fully in water. We also spent some time mowing the area in front of the lime kiln which – whilst not quite up to Wimbledon standards – is now much improved.
Cleared towpath lower basin
General view of lower basin
All in all, the site is now looking much more presentable and we hope to maintain it in this condition during the summer while plants are still actively growing.
Clearing growth from the lime kiln
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Strimming near the lime kiln
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The lawn cut and mowed
Working parties are held every Wednesday morning, meeting in the main car park at RHS Rosemoor, Torrington at 9.30am. Please contact Project Manager, Ian Harrison (tel.01237- 475707) for more information.
SEALOCK REPORT BY MICHAEL ELLIOTT - 14th June 2022
The Tuesday Sea Lock team returned to find a new coping stone lowered in place waiting to be set in mortar, so half the team tackled that task. They then turned to rebuilding more of the wharf wall. The others worked on clearing mud out of the wall. This tends to loosen the stones, so they are then removed, revealing more mud to be removed. Sometimes there does not seem to be much of the wall left before the stonework is sufficiently stable to be left in place. By the end of the day, a good section of stonework was laid ready for the next coping stone, and the final section of wall was cleaned up ready for rebuilding.
The Tuesday Sea Lock team returned to find a new coping stone lowered in place waiting to be set in mortar, so half the team tackled that task. They then turned to rebuilding more of the wharf wall. The others worked on clearing mud out of the wall. This tends to loosen the stones, so they are then removed, revealing more mud to be removed. Sometimes there does not seem to be much of the wall left before the stonework is sufficiently stable to be left in place. By the end of the day, a good section of stonework was laid ready for the next coping stone, and the final section of wall was cleaned up ready for rebuilding.
CARRY ON REGARDLESS?
Sea Lock report by Adrian Wills - 9th June 2022
The work force at Sea Lock on Tuesday (07.06.22) was reduced to a mere but elite 3 volunteers including me! Michael and Tony were not available due to other commitments, but Steve and Nick arrived early, bright-eyed, bushy-tailed and eager to get on. We now have a supply of facing stone although the quality is not as good as we would have liked but at least rebuilding could continue.
Sea Lock report by Adrian Wills - 9th June 2022
The work force at Sea Lock on Tuesday (07.06.22) was reduced to a mere but elite 3 volunteers including me! Michael and Tony were not available due to other commitments, but Steve and Nick arrived early, bright-eyed, bushy-tailed and eager to get on. We now have a supply of facing stone although the quality is not as good as we would have liked but at least rebuilding could continue.
Nick quickly got a load of mortar mixed and Steve selected a collection of stones ready to lay. I gave my attention to continue the work that Michael had started some time ago which was stuffing mortar into the gaps around the blocks used to fill the gabion baskets.
Initially we had tried to simply repoint these gaps but this proved to be slow going and difficult due to the wire of the baskets getting in the way, so I decided to just render them over and later to scratch some lines into the render to imitate actual stone work. This, of course, meant that I had to get down into the mud AGAIN and several times had great difficulty in trying to extricate my wellies from its grasp.
The render is very white at the moment but after having been subjected to a few high tides it will soon calm down and hopefully become almost invisible.
If and when the lock gates can be repaired / replaced these gabions would be below the waterline within the basin so won’t be visible anyway. But that’s a long way off.
The render is very white at the moment but after having been subjected to a few high tides it will soon calm down and hopefully become almost invisible.
If and when the lock gates can be repaired / replaced these gabions would be below the waterline within the basin so won’t be visible anyway. But that’s a long way off.
Later on I spent time and energy repointing gaps between stones where degraded mortar had previously been raked out.
This was another very productive day ending with Steve and Nick bringing the wall up to the level where another coper can be laid. The completion of this section of wall is rapidly approaching.
As of Saturday (11.06.22) my wife and I are away from home for several weeks, but Steve and Nick have kindly offered to carry on without me. I am hoping that Michael and Tony will also be willing to continue as well.
This was another very productive day ending with Steve and Nick bringing the wall up to the level where another coper can be laid. The completion of this section of wall is rapidly approaching.
As of Saturday (11.06.22) my wife and I are away from home for several weeks, but Steve and Nick have kindly offered to carry on without me. I am hoping that Michael and Tony will also be willing to continue as well.
ROSEMOOR RESTORATION REPORT by Tony Nicholls - 8th June 2022
Our plan of work this week was to tidy up the Rosemoor site in preparation for our next guided walk (Sunday 19th June, 2.30pm) which will follow the route of the canal from Darkham Weir to the canal basin. The photos taken for last week’s report show the astonishing growth of vegetation around both the lower and upper basins so we were under no illusions about the scale of the task in front of us.
Our plan of work this week was to tidy up the Rosemoor site in preparation for our next guided walk (Sunday 19th June, 2.30pm) which will follow the route of the canal from Darkham Weir to the canal basin. The photos taken for last week’s report show the astonishing growth of vegetation around both the lower and upper basins so we were under no illusions about the scale of the task in front of us.
Growth around upper basin
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Clearing growth on the bund
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Our first job was to clear the area around the lower basin which is the focal viewing point for anyone visiting the site. Thankfully - after some gentle persuasion - we managed to get our strimmer fired up and, working in shifts, we cleared the towpath, the bund between the upper and lower basin and the area in front of the lime kiln which we affectionately call ‘the lawn’. One member of the team wearing waders ventured into the canal itself to tackle the vegetation growing from the lower basin wall below the tow path. At the same time, we removed some clumps of water plantain which has started to sprout from the canal bed. This plant is particularly invasive and we spent a great deal of time last year digging it out to prevent regrowth. Our efforts seem to have paid off and this year there are only a few plants in evidence. It was also pleasing to see the dry stone wall beneath the tow path which had been totally obscured revealed once more.
Strimming the towpath
Towpath after strimming
A further clearing session is planned for next week after which the site should look more like a canal and less like a tropical rain forest.
Working parties are held every Wednesday morning, meeting in the main car park at RHS Rosemoor, Torrington at 9.30am. Please contact Project Manager, Ian Harrison (tel.01237- 475707) for more information.
Working parties are held every Wednesday morning, meeting in the main car park at RHS Rosemoor, Torrington at 9.30am. Please contact Project Manager, Ian Harrison (tel.01237- 475707) for more information.
Strimming the 'lawn'
The 'lawn' cut back
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NOT WHAT WE WANTED
Sea Lock report by Adrian Wills - 2nd June 2022
Michael and Tony were left to their own devices for much of Tuesday morning (31.05.22) since Steve, Nick and I were off to collect a load of stone from a quarry just beyond Barnstaple. I had previously had a conversation with Geoff’, the quarry owner, about what I was looking for. At that time he had no available stone, nor did the nearer quarries, because of several orders he had to fulfil, but said I was welcome to come and see what sort he had. Steve, living fairly close by, visited the quarry and reported back to me that the stone he saw was good for our purposes.
Sea Lock report by Adrian Wills - 2nd June 2022
Michael and Tony were left to their own devices for much of Tuesday morning (31.05.22) since Steve, Nick and I were off to collect a load of stone from a quarry just beyond Barnstaple. I had previously had a conversation with Geoff’, the quarry owner, about what I was looking for. At that time he had no available stone, nor did the nearer quarries, because of several orders he had to fulfil, but said I was welcome to come and see what sort he had. Steve, living fairly close by, visited the quarry and reported back to me that the stone he saw was good for our purposes.
I ‘phoned Geoff’ on Monday and was told that there was now some available stone, so Steve, Nick and I met near the quarry and went to pick a load. When we got there we were told that we couldn’t select the stone ourselves but could only take a load dropped in by machine. This was already a little disappointing because I was of the opinion that having spoken to Geoff’ we could pick what we wanted and so our time was somewhat wasted.
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Not only was this quarry further away from Sea Lock (a 31 mile round trip) than either of the other two I had been dealing with but the stone was considerably more expensive. We will not be going back there again. Once bitten, twice shy!
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When we got back to Sea Lock Michael and Tony had spent their time filling holes in the wall with new mortar where they had previously removed loose stones and debris. Steve and Nick unloaded the new stone from the trailer whilst I picked up a coping ‘stone’ with the Priestman crane and trundled it over to where it had to be laid. We then spent time levelling it and later it was mortared into place. Another problem then became apparent – we were completely out of grit sand so no more building could be undertaken.
All in all this was a rather frustrating and disappointing day despite some progress being made.
ROSEMOOR RESTORATION REPORT by Tony Nicholls - 1st June 2022
We arrived on site in glorious sunshine this week but our spirits were somewhat dampened when we saw the extent of vegetation growth around the canal basin. The rate at which plants have grown over the last two weeks is phenomenal and it is alarmingly clear how quickly the site would revert to a wilderness if left untended.
We arrived on site in glorious sunshine this week but our spirits were somewhat dampened when we saw the extent of vegetation growth around the canal basin. The rate at which plants have grown over the last two weeks is phenomenal and it is alarmingly clear how quickly the site would revert to a wilderness if left untended.
Lower basin
Upper basin
With the arch of the lime kiln now completely restored, we continued to repair the masonry above and laid two more courses of stone during the morning. There is still a great deal of remedial work to be done here. The wall around the arch is nearly three feet thick in places and a lot of backfilling is required to make this structurally sound. As we move higher up the wall, we are removing the old ivy roots which are deeply embedded in the masonry. This is a delicate task as, when pulling out the roots, there is a real risk of dislodging loose stone.
Towpath by tucking mill
With the arch of the lime kiln now completely restored, we continued to repair the masonry above and laid two more courses of stone during the morning. There is still a great deal of remedial work to be done here. The wall around the arch is nearly three feet thick in places and a lot of backfilling is required to make this structurally sound. As we move higher up the wall, we are removing the old ivy roots which are deeply embedded in the masonry. This is a delicate task as, when pulling out the roots, there is a real risk of dislodging loose stone.
Repairing wall above arch
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Removing ivy roots from lime kiln wall
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On the tucking mill site we are continuing to expose the lower (west) wall of the building and, after much digging, managed to find the edge of the foundation where it meets the back (south) wall. The thickness of the external walls – about three feet – is evidence of the sheer solidity of the building. It was certainly built to last! There is an interesting stepped section to part of the south wall. As this is adjacent to the area where we think the range may have been located we think it may have had some associated purpose but, as usual, this is pure speculation.
Excavations at the tucking mill
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Edge of perimeter wall
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Next week, it will be all hands to the pump (or perhaps that should be strimmer and shears...) to reclaim the site from Nature’s formidable grasp.
Stepped section of rear of tucking mill
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.