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RESTORATION ROUNDUP - John Wood
A look at what's been happening over the last few months
With this edition of Wey-South there is a "Help Wanted" giving comprehensive details of all the activities of our groups who deal with the practical restoration work. In addition, there are other very important teams who organise and run our two trip boats, sales stand, publicity and leaflet distribution etc. The Wey & Arun Canal Trust is so very fortunate in having the most enthusiastic and friendly team leaders you could possibly wish for. Practical work is undertaken nearly every day of the week.
The only problem being that with an ever-increasing workload, these team leaders desperately need more volunteers to assist them. Can YOU help’? If only you could spare just one day a year helping a team that is doing work that sounds interesting to you, it would make such a difference.
The Monday Working Party Group
"Keeping Up Appearances".
Leader Brian Crossley - 01737 843192.
MEETS: Usually twice a month.
Brian reported that during September, the pair of swans who nest by the canal near The Old Wharf house at Newbridge have generally been confined to cruising to the south of the A272 road, because the culverts under the road regularly become blocked with dead trees and branches. This debris is carried down the canal after heavy rainfall. When we work at the Newbridge road crossing, we always try to clear these blocked culverts and the sight of the two swans escorting their five cygnets through one of the culverts rewarded us.
Mowing, strimming and tidying up at our six major road crossings continued to the end of the growing season. During January. February and March we plan to visit sites previously restored (some as as long as 25 years ago!) in order to give some TLC, and inspect the structures to see if all is well.
The Mid-Week Working Party (MWWP)
Leader: Colin Gibbs - 020 8241 7736 or mobile 07870 371019.
MEETS: Usually twice a month
Our work during the last quarter has been varied to say the least! Logs, which we sell, had to be removed from the Devil's Hole Lock area and some 100 lengths of timber moved from Gennets Wood. Then we were asked to help Gordon Limbrick’s group deal with the completion of repairing the large breach in the canal bank at Harsfold, also the construction and installation of a towpath footbridge over the spillway there. Then there was the painting of our donated ex-Leeds & Liverpool swing bridge currently ‘in store’ awaiting future installation somewhere along the canal. We have drawn up a list of projects that badly need attention and which we hope to attend to over the winter months. These include the following previously restored sites: Old Toat Bridge to Cooks Bridge, Run Common North. Lock 17 (Rowly) and maybe Lee Farm, Harsfold and Haybarn areas.
The Winston Harwood Group
Contact Winston on 01293 424672 (note new phone number).
MEETS: Every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday
Lordings Flood Gates Bridge is now complete and what a marvellous sight it is too. This is our first bridge restored from just the crumbling abutments and has been re-built in the traditional style, indeed very similar in design to the original Arun Navigation Bridge. You may be saying, hang on a minute, what about those ten still-standing bridges we have already restored? Well, don’t forget those ten still had the brick arch intact.
We had to build a causeway across the meadow towards the Orfold Aqueduct, together with several lorry loads of chalk to fill up the worst of the ruts across the fields from Lordings Road. These should mean that we could still have vehicular access to Orfold for longer periods during the wetter winter months. Contractors have also dredged over half a mile of canal on the section we have been working on and Gordon Limbrick has flailed the vegetation on the towpath bank. It all makes a very pretty scene. So maybe, weather permitting, we can now make strides to restoring the structures at Orfold aqueduct, together with the unique waterwheel there.
The Loxwood Link Maintenance Unit
Leader: Peter Wilding - 01483 422519.
MEETS: On alternate Tuesdays
August saw our work boat May Upton out of the water for the first time since it was launched in May 1995. With the Barnsill slipway occupied by our trip boat 'John Smallpeice', it was decided to use the slipway at Drungewick Winding Hole - but it hadn’t been built! However, farm tractors are not just for farming and Peter Foulger managed it. Thanks to Ken Bacon and workcamp helpers all the rotten flooring was renewed and the hull repainted.
Two other very useful jobs have been completed. The steps up to the canal towpath from the end of the Trust’s car park at the Onslow Arms have been rebuilt with help from Bob Jones who also provided materials and a portable generator to operate the power tools. And, at last, the quagmire just to the east of Brewhurst Bridge has been brought back into being a canal towpath with 15” depth of stone together with some very skilled work by Richard Julian; with May Upton in support clearing the jungle. Funded by West Sussex County Council, its Surveyor and Rights of Way Officers were most impressed. The work was completed on 12 October and just in time as we had nearly an inch of rain the next day. A lot of towpath walkers will appreciate this work this winter.
Mentioning rain, there were only 2 days with rain during September, but an inch fell and enabled Zachariah Keppel to keep running (just) as the previous rain, also an inch, was on 11th August. Our River Lox supply was cut off on 16th August, on for only 2 days in September and finally on again 15th October. Out of 82 days, from the end of July to mid-October, we were allowed to pump from the river for only 12 days, our most difficult time since the drought years. Maintaining levels in the three pounds for the frequent Zachariah Keppel charter trips needed almost daily monitoring and adjustment of the pumping hours at Baldwin’s Knob Lock pump. The situation was not helped by problems with the pump’s non-return valve, as it was frequently found to be un-primed and pumping air. It is supposed to maintain water draught not air!
The Eric Walker Group
Contact Eric on 02392 463025.
MEETS: EveryThursday and Saturday at least!
Hopefully, by the time you read this, work on rebuilding the lock chamber at Devil’s Hole will be complete and the site cleared. Further work on this lock, the gates and back pumping etc. will have to wait until such time as the canal can pass under the B2133 at Loxwood High Street.
It is possible that our group may be asked to do some remedial work on Baldwin’s Knob and Drungewick Locks.
Subsequent to the visit and excellent painting work by the Mid Week Working Party, there’s been a review of the donated swing bridge (temporarily stored at Newbridge), with members of the Sussex Industrial Archaeological Society. This review was to take their experience with the restored Poyntz swing bridge on the Chichester Ship Canal, and apply it to our bridge, which came from the Leeds & Liverpool Canal. In particular there is the matter of the ball bearings as these were not available to us when we took delivery. The bridge was made to account for the difference in height across the canal where it was to be situated at Bar Lane, Keighley. Setting the bearing on the underside of the bridge at an appropriate angle did this.
Now, in its new location, it is expected to repose horizontally. Therefore we will have to take out the shims. At the same time we will resolve the size of the ball bearings, with the half of the bearing that is on the underside of the bridge. Having sorted out the bearings, the underside of the bridge will need painting. Finally for the bridge itself, the decking will need to be repaired. As to its location, once it is firmly agreed at which of the several locations it could be used, then planning consent etc. will be sought, subject to a survey of the site and abutment designs.
I have been told that there is yet another swing bridge becoming available from the Leeds & Liverpool Canal, but we also have a contractor willing to make one for us.
The use of a swing or lifting bridge will NOT be allowed on the A272 crossing at Newbridge or the B2133 at Loxwood High Street. (pity - WS Ed) The reason is the cost of maintenance and the disruption to road traffic should it fail to work! The same restrictions should apply to the canal, in that a fixed bridge should always be used where possible. The advantages of a swing bridge are the low cost and the avoidance of difficult long approaches, which are necessary to reduce the slope of the hump in order to accommodate modern road traffic, including farm machinery.
Shopping List
After our appeal in the last Wey-South Bulletin (No. 120) we had an excellent response to our Shopping List. Our sincere thanks to Joseph Clay, Bob Everett, Paul Whittle and an anonymous donor for their generosity in providing us with a generator, a power drill with accessories, and two sack harrows, all of which is greatly appreciated. This time we are appealing for Crowbars, Sledgehammers, Loppers - Please contact Colin Gibbs on 0208241 7736 if you can help.
Situations Vacant - Publicity
The Trust intends to improve and update our existing publicity boards over the winter months. We have been most fortunate in being donated some new display panels. Our appeal is for anyone who has professional experience with Graphic Design work, who could advise us the best way forward to achieving eye-catching display information etc. about the Wey-South Project. It is hoped that a certain amount of the required new display material could be produced in-house with expert guidance. Please contact me on 01903 753099 or Email John Wood if you can help.
Newspaper/Magazine Recycling
The amounts we are collecting remain very good, although our skip at "Family Cook", the Farm Shop at Hurst Farm, Turners Hill Road, Crawley Down could do with more support. Our apologies to anyone who during September, found the skip at our car park at the Onslow Arms, Loxwood, overflowing and was not able to deposit his paper. The problem was that Messrs SITA who empty the skip for our merchants, Messrs Aylesford Newsprint, had several of their drivers away sick and got behind with their collection schedule.
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