January News
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CHANGING WEATHER CREATES HAVOC
Sea Lock report by Adrian Wills - 30th January 2022 It was really nice to be joined by Trevor on Thursday (27.01.22) who had arrived at my house with the intention of helping me continue the restoration of the wharf wall at Sea Lock. Sadly it was a dark and dismal morning with the steady and persistent falling of very fine rain. The weather forecast was for this to blow over by 10.00 am and a dry spell would follow. It didn’t! These conditions are most unsuitable to stone wall building or pushing barrows full of mortar across wet and soggy surfaces. For a while we mooched about at the site wondering what we could productively do. One small task which we successfully completed was to free the safety pawl on the Ruston Bucyrus crane. This mechanism prevents the boom from inadvertently lowering with potentially disastrous consequences and for some unknown reason it had decided to stop working. This problem was solved quite quickly and then I started the crane’s engine and worked the various actions on it just to make sure everything was operating correctly as well as to charge up the batteries. The rain continued to fall, if anything more heavily than before. Following a cup of tea we decided that enough was enough and headed home. Trevor left, promising to return the next day. |
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Around 2.00 that afternoon the rainfall had finally stopped. Now being at a bit of a loose end I decided that I would go back to the site and lay a few more stones. By this time the sky was bright and clear although the sun was going down. Before quitting for the day, I covered all the new work with a black plastic sheet, cleaned my tools and went home.
It was nice and dry when Trevor arrived on Friday morning (28.01. 22) but distinctly chilly. There had been a heavy frost overnight and everything was white. Fortunately this cleared quite quickly and the temperature rose sufficiently for more building to continue.
Trevor provided me with mortar and while I was laying stones he sorted through a load of broken concrete blocks, stacking those which could be used again and smashing up others for hard core filling.
It turned out to be a very productive day with a length of wall now ready to have 2 more coping stones laid on it which I hope to achieve over the week-end.
It was nice and dry when Trevor arrived on Friday morning (28.01. 22) but distinctly chilly. There had been a heavy frost overnight and everything was white. Fortunately this cleared quite quickly and the temperature rose sufficiently for more building to continue.
Trevor provided me with mortar and while I was laying stones he sorted through a load of broken concrete blocks, stacking those which could be used again and smashing up others for hard core filling.
It turned out to be a very productive day with a length of wall now ready to have 2 more coping stones laid on it which I hope to achieve over the week-end.
On Saturday (29.01.22) I craned the 2 most recently cast coping stones onto the wall and levelled up one of them. On Sunday, subject to good weather, I intend to level the other and then mortar them in place.
I now need to set about casting a whole lot more copers. At this time the finished section of wall is about half its total length so there is still a considerable amount of work to be done.
I now need to set about casting a whole lot more copers. At this time the finished section of wall is about half its total length so there is still a considerable amount of work to be done.
FORGING AHEAD
Sea Lock report by Adrian Wills - 26th January 2022
Having a reasonable supply of good facing stone once again enabled a great deal of rebuilding to take place on the wharf wall at Sea Lock yesterday (25.01.22) despite the usual Tuesday morning team being one member short.
Sea Lock report by Adrian Wills - 26th January 2022
Having a reasonable supply of good facing stone once again enabled a great deal of rebuilding to take place on the wharf wall at Sea Lock yesterday (25.01.22) despite the usual Tuesday morning team being one member short.
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Michael alternated between mixing and supplying Steve, Nick and me with mortar, and digging out along the back of the wall in preparation for reinstatement. Steve and I continued rebuilding the outer face of the wall whilst Nick worked on rebuilding the inner edge.
Whilst we were all ‘beavering’ away, Steve entertained (I think that’s the word?) us by singing snatches of songs from his eclectic repertoire. It’s a pity that he doesn’t know all the words!
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The weather was kind to us and by the end of the day we had progressed substantially but sadly were suffering from ‘ear worms’. Thanks to Michael for the pictures. 
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GETTING TOO OLD FOR THIS!
Sea Lock report by Adrian Wills - 23th January 2022
Restoration of the middle wharf wall has progressed well over the past few days despite problems with lack of materials. On Tuesday (18.01.22) Michael and Tony continued working hard on cleaning recycled concrete blocks in preparation for reusing. I suspect they probably view this task as something of a life sentence but their efforts have resulted in a substantial stack which will save a lot of money.
Steve spent time scavenging through the much depleted pile of stone for building up the face of the wall. Nick began the day by mixing several loads of mortar for Steve and me. I had assembled the shuttering for the production of another coping stone and within a short time he and I had managed to fill it.
He then gave his attention to laying bricks and blocks along the top back-edge of the wall while I emptied the trailer of some 2 tons of grit sand that I had collected the day before.
By the end of the day there was virtually no facing stone left so Steve and I arranged to go to a quarry on Friday (21.01.22) to replenish our stock. Unfortunately the nearest quarry to Sea Lock had had a very large quantity of selected stone booked for another building project and had none to spare for me for at least a couple of weeks. I had already visited this other quarry which is significantly further away and the stone is £35 per ton more expensive but I decided that in order to move on I would have to ‘bite the bullet’ and purchase a couple of tons from that source.
Sea Lock report by Adrian Wills - 23th January 2022
Restoration of the middle wharf wall has progressed well over the past few days despite problems with lack of materials. On Tuesday (18.01.22) Michael and Tony continued working hard on cleaning recycled concrete blocks in preparation for reusing. I suspect they probably view this task as something of a life sentence but their efforts have resulted in a substantial stack which will save a lot of money.
Steve spent time scavenging through the much depleted pile of stone for building up the face of the wall. Nick began the day by mixing several loads of mortar for Steve and me. I had assembled the shuttering for the production of another coping stone and within a short time he and I had managed to fill it.
He then gave his attention to laying bricks and blocks along the top back-edge of the wall while I emptied the trailer of some 2 tons of grit sand that I had collected the day before.
By the end of the day there was virtually no facing stone left so Steve and I arranged to go to a quarry on Friday (21.01.22) to replenish our stock. Unfortunately the nearest quarry to Sea Lock had had a very large quantity of selected stone booked for another building project and had none to spare for me for at least a couple of weeks. I had already visited this other quarry which is significantly further away and the stone is £35 per ton more expensive but I decided that in order to move on I would have to ‘bite the bullet’ and purchase a couple of tons from that source.
Friday proved to be a very cold day. When Steve arrived at my house at 9.30am the temperature was reading -3ºC. It was still very cold when we reached the quarry and the pile of stone which we were going to sort through was frozen solid. We had to get one of the quarry employees on site to loosen up the pile using the heavy hydraulic ‘pecker’ on the boom of his 18 ton tracked excavator.
After quite some time of slipping and sliding about on the pile we decided that we had enough of that game for the day. Got the load weighed – just over a ton and a half – seemed like more than twice that, and headed for home.
On reaching my house we stopped for lunch and after that set my pressure washer on the trailer load of stone to remove all the mud attached to it. By this time the temperature had risen to just above freezing point.
Towing the trailer to the wharf side wall, we then set about unloading it and stacking the stone as near to the place where it was to be used as we could. The day before I had cleared a space for it so now we are ready to roll again.
We spent the remainder of the afternoon dry-laying and levelling another coping stone. Two more have been cast and are waiting to be laid
It had been a very hard day but still a satisfying result had been achieved.
After quite some time of slipping and sliding about on the pile we decided that we had enough of that game for the day. Got the load weighed – just over a ton and a half – seemed like more than twice that, and headed for home.
On reaching my house we stopped for lunch and after that set my pressure washer on the trailer load of stone to remove all the mud attached to it. By this time the temperature had risen to just above freezing point.
Towing the trailer to the wharf side wall, we then set about unloading it and stacking the stone as near to the place where it was to be used as we could. The day before I had cleared a space for it so now we are ready to roll again.
We spent the remainder of the afternoon dry-laying and levelling another coping stone. Two more have been cast and are waiting to be laid
It had been a very hard day but still a satisfying result had been achieved.
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ROSEMOOR RESTORATION REPORT by Tony Nicholls - 19th January 2022
The recent rain has raised the level of the water in the canal significantly and this has brought about two positive changes: firstly, it has started to flush away some of the pondweed which has proliferated over the winter months; secondly, it has killed off many of the reeds which were choking the far end of the lower basin. The net result is that the canal is starting to look more like a canal again.
The recent rain has raised the level of the water in the canal significantly and this has brought about two positive changes: firstly, it has started to flush away some of the pondweed which has proliferated over the winter months; secondly, it has killed off many of the reeds which were choking the far end of the lower basin. The net result is that the canal is starting to look more like a canal again.
Lower basin
On the tucking mill site we have exposed more of the substantial wall which seems to form the boundary of the third chamber. The floor here is composed of a concrete material but there is evidence that this may have been laid over stone cobbles. This would make sense as it would be consistent with the flooring in the first two chambers. We have uncovered the remains of a brick wall here and a large flagstone which is causing some interest. In the wheel pit itself, we have succeeded in tying in the masonry work of the external wall (just above the location of the old water wheel) to the upper wall where it meets the lip of the race. This was quite tricky but this whole section of wall is now almost complete.
Wall of third chamber
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Remains of brick wall
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General view of tucking mill
An important stage of the lime kiln restoration was marked today with the laying of the first two stones at the base of the arch. We are cutting these stones to a uniform size - a laborious task but the effort will be amply repaid by the appearance of the finished arch. We have not undertaken anything on this scale before and our masons are quite literally on a ‘learning curve’! We are also continuing with the re-build the main wall of the lime kiln. Our goal is to restore this to the finished height of the rest of the wall but this will require the scaffolding to be raised to enable us to complete the final section.
Repairs to lime kiln
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Reconstruction of arch
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Upper basin
Generally 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.
ROSEMOOR RESTORATION REPORT by Tony Nicholls - 12th January 2022
We had a very cold, frosty start to our second working session of the New Year. In Bideford, it was interesting to see a band of mist lingering above the River Torridge and following its course towards Weare Giffard. This was probably caused by cold air hitting the warmer surface of the water but it made a very dramatic early morning spectacle. We are a bit below full strength at present so we concentrated our efforts on building up the buttress on the lime kiln and continuing with work on the tucking mill.
We had a very cold, frosty start to our second working session of the New Year. In Bideford, it was interesting to see a band of mist lingering above the River Torridge and following its course towards Weare Giffard. This was probably caused by cold air hitting the warmer surface of the water but it made a very dramatic early morning spectacle. We are a bit below full strength at present so we concentrated our efforts on building up the buttress on the lime kiln and continuing with work on the tucking mill.
Repairing the buttress
On the lime kiln, we raised the buttress by another couple of feet and have formed a ledge which will support a scaffolding platform to assist in the re-build of the arch. The buttress will be deliberately left with an ‘unfinished’ stepped appearance to indicate the line of the old wall which extended to the wharfside of the canal. We also managed to lay a few more stones on the damaged section of the lime kiln wall before we stopped for lunch.
Repairs to lime kiln wall
The team working on the tucking mill is making steady progress removing earth from the wall which runs south from the main chamber. We are still not sure how far this extends but it is clear that there is another large room here. A large section of the wall along the mill race has now been reconstructed and we have started the tricky job of connecting this with the upper wall of the building at the point where the channel was deepened to accommodate the old waterwheel.
Rebuilt wall of mill race
Finally, with a huge physical effort from everyone, we carried the two heavy iron shafts with their cogwheels from the mill up to the lime kin where they will be stored prior to cleaning. The sheer weight of these pieces is proof that the old engineers really built these things to last!
Generally 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.
CRACKING ON
Sea Lock report by Adrian Wills - 12th January 2022
A very productive day was had on Tuesday (11.01.22) at Sea Lock with 5 of us working on site.
Sea Lock report by Adrian Wills - 12th January 2022
A very productive day was had on Tuesday (11.01.22) at Sea Lock with 5 of us working on site.
Michael and Tony set about removing render and lumps of mortar from the a pile of recycled concrete blocks recently delivered and by mid-day had produced a neat stack of cleaned blocks ready to be reused on the back of the wall.
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With Steve acting as banksman, I picked up a recently cast coping ‘stone’ using the Priestman crane, trundled it over to where it was to be set and laid it on the wall. We then spent a short time levelling it up whilst Nick prepared a load of mortar which Steve then used to permanently fix the block. Having done that he and I carried on rebuilding facing wall using up the very limited stock of decent stone still remaining.
Nick now gave his attention to back-filling holes and levelling the back of the wall. By the end of the day we had completely run out of grit sand and facing stone but had managed to extend the back and face of the wall quite considerably.
More materials are now urgently required!
More materials are now urgently required!
The day had started somewhat damp and miserable but quietly cleared up into an almost warm and sunny day and we left the site well pleased with our progress.
WORK IN THE NEW YEAR BEGINS!
Sea Lock report by Adrian Wills - 6th January 2022
Due to other commitments on Tuesday, (04.01.22) Michael and I only worked a half day at Sea Lock. Other volunteers not being available, the 2 of us still managed to make an impact on the restoration site.
Sea Lock report by Adrian Wills - 6th January 2022
Due to other commitments on Tuesday, (04.01.22) Michael and I only worked a half day at Sea Lock. Other volunteers not being available, the 2 of us still managed to make an impact on the restoration site.
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Michael continued the rather onerous job of preparing a section of wall for rebuilding by clearing it of loose masonry and soil build-up. By lunch time he had removed quite a bit of masonry. This is an unfortunately necessary task since rebuilding can only be undertaken on a firm base. Whilst Michael was happily demolishing wall I spent my time tidying up the site and relocating stone and infill to where it was required for the next building session. More rebuilding that day could not have been done simply because my stock of cement was completely exhausted. My intention was to replenish it that afternoon along with hydraulic lime of which I only had about half of a bag remaining.
Steve to use for bedding stone. Unfortunately for me, my supplier of hydraulic lime was still closed as a result of the Christmas holidays so I was unable to get more of that until after January 10th. While Steve and Nick were working on the wall, I set up shuttering in order to cast another coping stone. 
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Nick then mixed a load of mortar, minus lime, for me and before long another block was made and left to set hard. By 3.30pm the temperature had dropped quite considerably. It had become really quite chilly. Steve had brought the wall up to a level ready for the next coper so we covered up all our work in plastic, cleaned tools and that was that for another day but the rebuilt wall is progressing along fantastically!
END OF ANOTHER YEAR
Sea Lock report by Adrian Wills - 2nd January 2022
The last Tuesday of the year (December 28th) saw Steve, Nick and me working on the wharf wall, just for a change! I was hoping that between us we could bring the section we were working on up to the height required to top it with coping ‘stones’. I had previously cast 2 more and I wanted to finish the year with them in place.
Sea Lock report by Adrian Wills - 2nd January 2022
The last Tuesday of the year (December 28th) saw Steve, Nick and me working on the wharf wall, just for a change! I was hoping that between us we could bring the section we were working on up to the height required to top it with coping ‘stones’. I had previously cast 2 more and I wanted to finish the year with them in place.
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Despite the recent acquisition of good facing stone, the pile was rapidly shrinking and as usual it soon became a problem of finding the right sized stones for laying on particular courses.
However, by the end of the day we had more or less reached our target. By this time the rain had set in, our stock pile of good stone, infill and cement had seriously diminished but we were well pleased with how far we had got. Later in the week (New Year’s Eve!) I craned the last blocks onto the wall, levelled them up and used the last half bag of cement remaining in the shed to mix a barrow full of mortar to fix them permanently in position. |
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I am very grateful to the small band of volunteers, Trevor, Steve, Nick, Michael, Tony and Norman, who have spent so much time and effort in helping me progress the restoration of Sea Lock on Lord Rolle’s Canal. With their continued support and fresh supplies of building materials, funded by the Association of Industrial Archaeology, 2022 should see the middle section of the wharf wall that has been the most recent focus of our attention, completely finished. Wow! |
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