Friday 30 November 2012

Disabled History

 

Greenwich Workshops for the Blind, Eastney Street, 1972
Making a Fendoff


Eastside Community Heritage have sent us info about their Disabled History Events in December

Reminisence Session at Dagenham Valence House, 

Launch of Adphabs 'Making Music' Docklands Campus, UEL
and an exhibition 'Working with Disability




We couldn't help remembering the Greenwich Workshops for the Blind  - and are asking them to liaise with us on that.


Greenwich Workshops for the Blind
Burney Street 1972
Making baskets
 





Eastside are also running projects on  Ugandan Asians in London;  St.Clement's Hospital, Bow;  Making Music; Stratford Explorers

Info www.hidden-histories.org.uk/wordpress
or st4eve@ech.org.uk   020 8553 3243


When Greenwich and Woolwich at Work was published the Publisher's editor would not believe that these pictures were taken in the 1970s  - and refused to put that date in the book. 
If the photographer reads this blog perhaps they would verify that date.


Wednesday 28 November 2012

Woolwich's big event this week - Launch of the Survey of Woolwich

The launch this week of The Survey of Woolwich was a great success - and the book itself even more so.    Various people are sending their impressions and report about the launch and the book. So - some are given below and some will be added in - first of all - here's the invite:

 ENGLISH HERITAGE invites you to a reception in WOOLWICH TOWN HALL,
in the presence of The Mayor of the Royal Borough of Greenwich, Councillor David Grant  to mark the publication of
Survey of London volume 48: Woolwich
for English Heritage by Yale University Press on behalf of the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art

So - what have people got to say? - and why is it so important?  First Mayor, David Grant, who opened the event:
 
"The publication of the English Heritage Survey is a very important moment for Woolwich, which is at last showing the signs of development and growth which it has long needed.  The book itself is magnificent and the borough has been fortunate in being given three copies - one for the public library in Woolwich, one for the Heritage Centre and one for the staff library in the Woolwich Centre.  It is a very worthwhile read, even though at £75 a copy it is beyond most people's reach to buy".

and now a contribution from veteran Greenwich historian (and ex-councillor) Darrell Spurgeon:

"They could have chosen Deptford, they could have chosen Greenwich. Instead English Heritage’s Survey of London chose Woolwich for their first venture into South East London. It was an inspired choice, for Woolwich has a fantastic history –military, municipal and manufacturing, retaining a fine ensemble of buildings relating to that history. Most of that history is of course industrial or has industrial associations.
Mary has written about the book launch at the Town Hall on Monday this week, so has Richard Buchanan. I too was lucky to have been invited. It was a great occasion, with good speeches from the Mayor, David Grant, and from senior English Heritage personalities - Simon Thurley, Andrew Saint, and the main author, Peter Guillery.
What a wonderful book! You would of course expect it to be, with over 500 pages, over 400 illustrations, and at a price tag of £75. But it is even better than I had expected!
Darrell Spurgeon

and - next - a much longer piece from our regular contributor Richard Buchanan
 
English Heritage hosted a reception at Woolwich Town Hall on 26th November 2012 to launch the Woolwich volume of the Survey of London.  The invitation itself was handsome, and featured a detail of an electrolier from the main hall of the Town Hall.
Peter Guillery is stated in the preamble of  the book to be its Editor - a term which in this case includes principal researcher and writer – he was of course at the launch.   Once the company had assembled, Andrew Saint, the General Editor of the Survey of London, opened the proceedings.  He welcomed everyone; and went on to say how they had decided some years ago that it was high time that a Survey was done south of the Thames – Battersea being in mind -  until Peter said Woolwich had a stronger case. 
 
For the last several years Peter Guillery has been a genial face in Woolwich, reading voraciously and talking to anyone with any knowledge of the Parish.  Many of these were present, particularly from the Council, the Heritage Centre, the Woolwich Antiquarian Society and the Royal Artillery.
Councillor David Grant, the Mayor of the Royal Borough of Greenwich, gave a short but heartfelt speech.  Simon Thurley, Chief Executive of the English Heritage then spoke.  The royal connections of Woolwich, as distinct from Greenwich, were paraded.  The Woolwich Survey in draft form, without illustrations, has been on the internet since the spring, so speakers (and many present) had had time to see the text and gave it great praise.
Peter Guillery himself spoke, saying how helpful people had been, and named his principal contributors.
The publishers, Yale University Press, had a table in a corner, and were selling the book (at the wholesale price).  Notwithstanding its presence on the internet, the book, very handsomely produced, could not be resisted and many copies weere bought.
I first read an eleven page article written by Peter Guillery in the Greenwich Historical Society’s Journal Vol.2 No.3 of 2000, about the buildings on Park Vista, Greenwich - and was impressed.  The Woolwich Survey, of 446 pages (with another 70 for references & index), is to the same high standard throughout.

The Survey covers the Parish of Woolwich, which is a roughly triangular area between Woolwich Dockyard, the Arsenal and the western slope of Shooters Hill.  An exception was made to include the historic part of the Arsenal that extends over the parish boundary.  It is an impressive book intended to expound what is known, from as early as can be ascertained, to the present – who built what and when, what difficulties they faced, the social problems, who demolished what, and so on.  Many sources were consulted, though often a single reference at the end of a paragraph will list several relevant documents.  It is well illustrated with photographs and drawings, some specially commissioned.  This is one of the most significant books ever to have been published on Woolwich.
Richard Buchanan
 
More to follow ..........................................
 
 
 
 

Monday 26 November 2012

New Project; New Pinterest Board :)

OMG: I can't believe how excited I am to have the little camper; aka the 'Hilton on the Hill' here at my place!
I have been looking over the Pinterest boards for camper makeover inspiration: even started a new board:

Right before Thanksgiving, we drug it off the hill & parked in at the bottom in front of the family cabin in Idaho City.  Then, this weekend, we all met up at the cabin for Thanksgiving: cooked the turkey in the wood fired oven & everything-it was great :)  Afterwards, I hooked onto the little camper & hauled it home...with only one minor delay due to a flat tire: we were 5 miles from home too,  ; )  

I parked it between 2 pine trees, next to a storage shed; & I'm making plans for an overhaul: glamping style!
Not familiar with glamping???  Think camping; but glamorous....check out the original Glamping Girl's guide at:

Every time I see it out there, I can't help but plan & scheme....a new paint job, a few updates to the interior (it's in amazingly good condition), a crystal chandelier, a little deck out front, and finally my chance to put in an outdoor bathtub; complete with pool-house!
 http://www.messynessychic.com/2012/04/08/photomix-this-is-how-you-retire-early/


More to come... got to make a trip to Home Depot to get a new plug-in for the extension cord; the original was just too far gone & fell apart when I tried to plug it in...hopefully I'll be able to find a replacement easy enough; that seems to be all that is wrong with it right now... & we have guests coming for Christmas; the camper is going to be the spare bedroom/bed & breakfast :)  

Stay tuned: I'll let you know how the wiring goes: I think I can do this one myself: but if all else fails; will call in Marcella; superwoman/electrician/ handywoman  plus BFF ; )

Hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving.  I so much enjoyed being up in the mountains away from all the black friday rush, etc.  We cooked the turkey in a very old wood-burning stove, along with stuffing, taters, & the works--& enjoyed paper plates, campfire, the stars, & good company.

More soon...

Amber
aka: Fuzz   

Running the River Thames Project

A recent meeting of the Docklands History Group featured the “Running the River Thames Project”.  by Professor Sarah Palmer and Dr Vanessa Taylor, of Greenwich University..

Sarah explained that the project looks at London,and the environmental governance of the River Thames from 1960 to 2011.  This is a two year project, which stated in August 2011 by the Greenwich Maritime Institute financedby the Economic and Social Research Council.

Vanessa’s is working full time on this and her previous projects have been 1. Public policy, stakeholders and the river in the twentieth century and 2. Thames governance oral histories 1960-2010.  She had interviewed 24 people about their experience of Thames governance.

The current project covered the Thames as a whole - the watershed, the tributaries and the basin.  They had to balance the changes arising from uses which included the port and wharves, passenger and freight transport, land drainage, water supply, sewage and waste and water removal, habitats, eco system services, recreation, landscape and property development of all sorts.

The “stakeholders” involved were groups - for instance those with a geographic interest riparian, residential, houseboat, commercial property, agricultural, environmental or archaeological and also single interest groups like anglers, or sailors. 

The project asks who influences and who governs the River?  They looked at organisations like the Port of London Authority, the Environment Agency, Thames Water Authority, local authorities and the Greater London Authority.    As well as this organisations like the government, the European Union, Natural England and so on.

Some aspects of environmental governance had not been looked at before.  Over the period of the project docks had closed, there had been redevelopment and the port operatioon itself had moved down river.  This meant that In effect the governance had moved away from London institutions and into river basin management under private ownership e.g. Thames Water Authority.  Today there is a need to comply with with environmental regulations and an obligation to consult stakeholders.  They were studying how these changes related to the Thames, the impact on London and the implications for today’s governance. 
 
They are thus focusing on:

  1. Stakeholders and environmental governance of the port and river 1960 to 1975.
  2. Watershed democracy London and Thames Water Authority 1973 to 1989.
  3. City, port and “Ecological hinterland” 1964-1992.
  4. The Thames, Stakeholders and Democracy 1960 to 2010.

There was now consultation instead of representation.  Has it had influence?  How do stakeholders operate and make their voices heard?

Sarah stressed that as historians they had to remain neutral and take a dispassionate view and they did this by discussion and interviews with stakeholders, campaigning groups and policy makers.  In addition there was a tremendous amount of material providing direct and indirect evidence in the National Archives, although limited by the 30 year disclosure rule, and there was material in local authority archives and with local organisations, and in the Parliamentary archives.  The problem was how to select the material and draw it together.  They would be producing:

  1. Academic articles which Vanessa would produce.
  2. A guide on their website in three parts, firstly a guide to the database of organisations, secondly a guide to the accessibility of archives and thirdly a tabular guide with links.
  3. Talks and presentations to a wide range of audiences
  4. A final conference
  5. A full report.
Hopefully Greenwich Industrial History can be involved in some of this and also hope that either Sarah or Vanessa can come and talk to us about it.
 
 
 

Wednesday 21 November 2012

Black Friday Sale on my Etsy Shop!!

I'm having a Black Friday Sale on my Etsy shop (first time ever)!!
I just listed a bunch of new stuffs, yay :)
I'm offering 25% off everything; just enter the code BLACK7166 at checkout, & your discount will be applied :)
There is some new jewelry, garden art, & new wall pieces listed.

 Also, the discount will apply to any custom orders this weekend as well :)  If you have an old key that you want me to turn into a necklace, or an idea for a custom gift; send me a line & we will come up with something perfect :)
 
 
Happy Thanksgiving!
 
Amber
 

Tuesday 20 November 2012

New Small Pieces; on Etsy tomorrow

Just a sneak peek at some pieces that will be listed on Etsy tomorrow :)

"Flower"--19" wide by 10" tall; aluminum, steel, & copper

"Vortex" 13" tall by 23" wide

Nuclear (small) 8.5 inches in diameter :)

Bio-Hazard (tiny) 8.5 inches in diameter...

omg; these tiny pieces are so cute!  Such a pain to put together, but I love them :)  They will be available on my Etsy shop tomorrow & I'll be sending out a Black Friday discount coupon; so stay tuned : )  

--already sold a tiny bio-hazard: before it was even listed, lol --
So much fun; I want to keep them all!  But I'm happy when they go to good homes, too.

More new stuffs to come tomorrow :)

Amber

Monday 19 November 2012

Happy Monday

Love this!
One of my fav. musical artists, btw :)

Happy Monday

Amber

Sunday 18 November 2012

the "Silver Palace"

About 2 weeks ago, we drug the "Silver Palace" off the hill....  the Hilton on the Hill is no more... :)
--if you are wondering: my family has a cabin that we built together from the ground, up in Idaho City; the "silver palace" was a nice addition for the construction phase, that is now over & the "palace" will be coming to my place for a makeover after Thanksgiving...
Really; it's a cute little camper; old, yes; but with  potential.  I am looking forward to working on it this winter; I want to give it a "glamping" makeover:

We are planning Thanksgiving at the cabin this year: & I'm so excited about it!  No TV, no internet, no cell phones; just good friends & family & wood fires (& ATVs) ...it's going to be fun!
I am planning an egg/scavenger hunt; for both adults & kids; the pics will be fun; thats all I can say :)
Looking forward to a non-traditional holiday this year: we'll see how it goes, lol :)

It sure beats Black Friday... ; ) 
Cheers!


Amber

Gordons and their Deptford Shipyard


 
The latest volume of 'Shipbuilding and Ships on the Thames' includes an excellent article by Chris Ellmers "This Great National Object - the Story of the Paddle Steamer Enterprise'.  This is an intriguing story and very much recommended to be read.  However - in the course of the paper Chris does give some details about the builders of Enterprise - which might be of specific interest to Greenwich historians - remembering that much of the Deptford riverside area was part of Greenwich until relatively recently.
 
So - as far as Enterprise is concerned, Chris says ''Messrs’ Gordon and Co. Deptford’ Gordon and Company are given as the builders'.   He goes on to point out that 'Surprisingly little has been written about Gordon and Company ..... Philip Banbury (in Shipbuilders of the Thames and Medway) says ‘that 'the Enterprise is the only ship known to have been built by Gordon & Co'’, and devotes much of his short discourse on the yard to her story.

Chris also gives some details about the Gordon family and their business, and they turn out to be surprisingly upmarket!

"Between 1820-1826, the principals of the Gordons' businesses were David Gordon and his sons Charles David Gordon (1790-1826) and Michael Francis Gordon (1792-18-60). Towards the end of the period they would have been supported by David Gordon's youngest son; Adam Gordon (1801-1839). ......................It is likely, however, that David Gordon himself was then no longer involved with  any of the  day-to-day activities of the business, having succeeded to the title of Gordonof Abergeldie  in December 1819' . ...................... It would appear that none of the younger Gordons had received any training as shipwrights. Indeed, Charles David Gordon, Michael Francis Gordon and Adam Gordon had all received privileged educations at Harrow School, with Charles David becoming a friend of the young Byron. It is clear that the Gordons' venture into shipbuilding represented a capitalistic investment opportunity - albeit at a time when the fortunes of London shipbuilding were still in a period of post war decline - rather than an outlet for any family training, or technical talents".

Chris continues by discussing the site of the yard - pointing out that many historians have mistakenly located it at Deptford Green  - however he says 'As the directories and Deptford rate books make clear, the Gordons' shipyard was at Grove Street Deptford. This was at the old Dudman's Dock, where major shipbuilding activities had previously been undertaken by William Barnard, William Dudman and Henry Adams, from 1763 until 1813. During the time of Gordons' occupation the yard consisted of the large wet dock that was Dudman's Dock itself, two dry  docks and five slipways. Then one of the largest facilities on the Thames, the yard would have offered maximum flexibility for both shipbuilding and ship repairing. Some idea of what the the yard was able to achieve in busy periods, is indicated by statistics relating to John Dudman’s operation of the yard, during the years 1803-1812. Across this period, the yard – 25 naval ships and 13 merchant ships, repaired 282 ships, and employed between 174 and 340 men.

And in relation to the Deptford Green site: "The Gordon family did have an operation at Deptford Green but it was a metalworking one, focusing on iron founding and anchor making. This was developed in the last quarter of the 18th century by David Gordon (1751-1831), and his then partners John Biddulph (his brother-in-law) and William Stanley - of Lime Street in the City.
 
View fromm Dudman's Dockyard Deptford 
John Cleveley 1774
And - in summary - "Gordons' Deptford Green works was also a very substantial operation. The various entries in the London directories state that the following trade activities were undertaken there 'millwrights"; 'engineers'; 'machinists'; anchorsmiths'; 'founders'; and 'wholesale ironmongers'. Given the Gordon family's educational and mercantile background, they must have been very dependent on skilled draughtsmen, managers and foremen for the production of both businesses. This skill base certainly helped make it a ship building business of first rank.

Chris ends the paper with a postscript about the yard "fifteen days after the launch of the second Enterprise (in 1838) much of Gordon's Deptford shipyard - including warehouses,. timber house, workshops ... were destroyed in a major fire."  and "the yard eventually closed in 1842"

If you want to read the whole story of Enterprise you will need a copy of Proceedigns of the Fourth Symposium held on 28th February 2009. This is edited by Dr J.R.Owen and obtainable from jr_owen100@hotmail.com

Saturday 17 November 2012

Still RAW, but not so much...

Well: the RAWards Boise show was pretty amazing; I got an overwhelming number of votes & met lots of really cool people; even got a commission or 2 out of the night.  In the end, I didn't win; but came in 2nd: ahhhh; so bittersweet to be first runner up....alas, I have been here many times before.
Honestly, I really am disappointed; I wanted to get my work in front of the national judges & have the chance at the amazing national prizes.   But, that's the way these things go; I am still really glad I did the RAW shows & will consider trying again next year :)  

For now: we are on to designing some new fun stuff to add into the line, & some personalized Holiday gifts--pics coming soon...  And: Thanksgiving at the cabin this year: should be lots of fun!  I am organizing a turkey egg hunt; one for kids & one for adults, hehehehehe ; )  And, afterwards, I'm bringing the little camper aka the "silver palace" back to my place for a makeover; glamping style!  More to come---

Amber

Thursday 15 November 2012

Boise RAWards-Wish me Luck!

The Semi-Finals show is tomorrow night this evening; yikes; it's after midnight by a long-stretch...  I've been working on my display, slide-show, & a few new pieces today: I'm nervous for the show, to be quite honest....I'm up against 5 other very talented visual artists & I know that my style/work is a bit out of the box...   We'll see: I think I have a shot of winning & going on to compete nationally, but it's all soooo very subjective...wish me luck :)

Now, off to try & get some sleep...
Hope to see you at the show.

Amber

Wednesday 14 November 2012

There She Blows! - ad for Whaling Trade Symposium


‘THERE SHE BLOWS!’ – ASPECTS OF THE LONDON WHALING TRADE
DOCKLANDS HISTORY GROUP ANNUAL SYMPOSIUM
THE MUSEUM OF LONDON DOCKLANDS
SATURDAY 23rd MARCH 2013
Programme

9.45 Museum of London Docklands’ doors open - registration, tea and coffee
          
10.20 Chris Ellmers – Welcome and Opening Remarks
10.25 Dr. Janet West (Scott Polar Research Institute) – Introduction  
10.40 First Session - Chairman, Charles Payton
10.40 Paper 1: Alex Werner (Museum of London) – Revealing London’s Hidden Whaling History: An Appreciation of A. G. E. Jones, Whaling Historian
11.10 Paper 2: Hazel Forsyth (Museum of London) – The ‘Business of Striking the Whale’ The Muscovy Company and Early Whaling
11.40 Paper 3: Chris Ellmers (Maritime Historian) – ‘A Place of Blubber and Oil’: The Greenland Dock and the Whaling Trades
PM    
12.10 Dr. Stuart Frank, Charles Payton and Chris Ellmers – A London Whaling Miscellany

12.45 – 2.00 Lunch – This is not provided by the organisers. Local cafe details provided       

2.00 Second Session - Chairman, Chris Ellmers
2:00 Paper 4: Beatrice Behlen (Museum of London)  ‘In Whalebone Bondage Gall the Slender            Waist’: Fashionable Uses of Baleen
2.30 Paper 5: Dr. Stuart Frank (New Bedford Whaling Museum) – ‘Curiously Carved’: Scrimshaw and the South Sea Whale Fishery
3.30-4.00 Coffee/tea
4.00 Third Session – Chairman, Chris Ellmers
4.00 Paper 6: Charles Payton (Whaling Historian) – The Worlds of the Enderby Family
4.30 Paper 7: Jean-Thierry Du Pasquier (Whaling Historian) – The Enderbys and the Dobrée           Whaling Venture
4.50 Paper 8: Dr. Richard Sabin (Natural History Museum) – The Bay Wharf Whale and Early Thames Strandings
5.20 Edward Sargent, Chairman of the Docklands History Group - Concluding Remarks
5.30 Closure

Booking will be via the Docklands History Group website: www.docklandshistorygroup.org.uk. Bookings will open in early December.

LONDON WHALING TRADE SYMPOSIUM - EVENING DINNER

A Whaling Garland
With Music and Words Performed and Presented by Dr. Stuart Frank, Charles Payton and Chris Ellmers
This event is planned to take place in the Museum restaurant, Rum & Sugar, subject to fifty delegate and other bookings being made by mid-February 2013

Monday 12 November 2012

Duck Eggs :)

Aaaand; on a different note....
I have duck eggs for sale :)
 
 
At the moment, I have 2 duckies & 7 chickens that free-range the property; eating bugs & attempting to eat all my kale... the duck eggs are starting to stack up: I prefer the chicken eggs for breakfast & don't do much baking (not surprising, as I have no oven ;)
 
 
Duck eggs are very comparable to chicken eggs--but they are larger & definitely less runny; & the shells are much harder :)  Lots of people swear by duck eggs for baking & some prefer the taste over chicken eggs.
Here is a link to a good article comparing duck to chicken eggs:

These are my duckies; begging for treats at the front door; they're so cute!!  Right now, I have a male runner-duck (the taller) & a female of unknown variety...  She is slightly crippled; walks with quite the gimp, but gets around just fine: & she lays an egg almost every day--big bluish green eggs.  
I want to add in at least 3 more runners in the spring; all hens--so I'm really going to have lots of eggs next fall, lol : )

I love having the ducks around; they're so funny!  And less destructive in the garden than the chickens; they eat bugs & weeds & don't dig things up: although they did like to nibble on my baby sunflower plants...
They spend their days wandering about our property, & visiting the neighbor's horse pasture next door; splashing in their little pool & tapping on the glass door : )  They get rations of organic feed & treats of seeds & berries & grapes.
 
If you are interested in trying out duck eggs; let me know: I'm offering them for $4 per half dozen.  I would be happy to meet up with you to deliver them in the Boise area--or if you are in S. Boise, you can come pick them up :)  Call or txt me at 861-7515 or email me at refinerii@yahoo.com.  My cell coverage is really spotty out here; so leave a message & I'll get back to you :)  
 
Amber

Sunday 11 November 2012

London Shipbuilding Symposium Papers - an advert


        FOURTH SYMPOSIUM ON “SHIPBUILDING AND SHIPS ON THE THAMES”
The Proceedings of the above which was held in February 2009 at the Museum of London Docklands is now available. It is regretted that there has been a delay in publication due to a change in the editorship earlier this year. The volume is an A4 size, softback publication similar to those produced for the meetings held in 2003 and 2006. It is a limited run publication that will not be reprinted or sold elsewhere. The ten papers presented at the 2009 meeting were as follows:

1. Dr Damian Goodburn
Investigating Fragments of a Large Oared Ship, or Galley, of the late 13th Century excavated from the London Waterfront. 18 pp., 7 illus.

2. Dr Janet Macdonald                                                                                                        
British Patents of Interest to Maritime Historians filed in London between 1780 and 1820, 12 pp., 8 illus.

3. Dr Cori Convertito-Farrar and Ken Cozens                                                                    
The Operations of the Trinity House Ballast Office in the Late Eighteenth Century, 15 pp., 3 Tables, 2 Fig., 5 illus.

4. Chris  Ellmers                                                                                                                                                            
‘This Great National Object’ - the Story of the Paddle Steamer Enterprize.  23 pp., 1 Table, 8 illus.                   
 5. Professor Andrew Lambert                                                                                                                              
Woolwich Dockyard and the Early Steam Navy, 1815-1852, 15 pp., 2 Tables, 2 illus.                                           

6. Dr Carlos Alfaro Zaforteza                                                                                                                                   
Sea Power and Technology Transfer: The Spanish Navy and the Thames Shipyards, 1844-1850, 13 pp., 4 Tables, 3 illus.                                                                                                        

7. Alexis Haslam and Duncan Hawkins with contributions by Christopher Mayo, Denise Mulligan and Andrew Skelton
Recent archaeological investigations at The Forge, Millwall and Payne’s and Borthwick Wharves, Deptford, 14 pp., 13 illus.                                                                                          

8. Dr Roy Fenton                                                                                                                                                          
London Tramps and London Colliers. 8 pp., 3 Tables, 2 Fig.                                                                               

9. Professor Ian Buxton                                                                                                                                            
The Output of Thames-side Yards from 1850 to 1914. 8 pp., 1 Table, 7 Fig., 3 illus.                                                       

10. Rif Winfield and Stuart Rankin                                                                                                                        
John I. Thornycroft & Co. - the Chiswick Years.  20 pp., 2 Tables, 12 illus. 

The cost per copy is £12.50, which includes £2.50 p&p for mailing to UK addresses.  To purchase a copy contact me, as below, with your mailing address and you can pay on receipt.  

The proceedings for the 4th Symposium are being published and distributed on a non-profit making basis with any surplus funds after paying expenses being donated to the “Help for Heroes” charity.  The proceedings for the 5th symposium held in February 2012 are being edited by Chris Ellmers with the assistance of Jenny Collett, both of the Docklands History Group, and they will be distributed by that Group, probably early in 2013.

Dr Roger Owen     email: jr_owen100@hotmail.com      tel. no. 0208 777 7103

                                                                                                                 

Friday 9 November 2012

Idaho Botanical Garden; a visit to some of my creatons...

This week, on the last warm & sunny day this fall, we took a walk through the Idaho Botanical Garden to visit some of my creations...  The fall colors were beautiful, & it was warm & sunny: perfectly beautiful for a walk through the garden....    
The Machine is looking great; the grasses have grown up around the base & look amazing! At 15 feet tall; this sculpture stands watch at the upper end of the garden :)
 Plates & Shadows keeps watch below; located near the garden cottage & herb garden.
And Suspended Gear is looking happy among the fall colors ; )

I decided to donate all three pieces to the Garden in 2011 & I'm so happy with how they look--it's so nice to know that lot's of people get to see & enjoy them :)

As we walked through the Garden, we had to stop & visit the fish in the childeren's garden...
They are so huge! & colorful & pretty!

And, we checked out the progress on the Tree House; just being built now.  OMG: it's going to be such a fun addition to the garden & I love the concept sketch---I'm thinking I need to get involved with this one ; )
I could see doing the railings; with some colorful copper, stainless, etc & maybe the flag-poles on the roof; oooh: would love to see the top as a kinetic wind-spinner!
So much fun!

I'm so glad we spent the afternoon enjoying the sunshine; today it snowed & I think winter has arrived...although, I am looking forward to seeing the Garden all lit up for the Holidays :)


Amber

PS: I am doing another project out at the Garden that I'm really excited about, but I'll save that announcement for another post....stay tuned :)

Thursday 8 November 2012

Blackheath Caverns


Ever since last spring we have been meaning feature an article in the April edition of that wonderful publication ‘Subterrania’ – the article is  ‘Chalk Mining near Blackheath Hill, Southeast London. Including Jack Cade's Cavern’ by Anthony Durham
Ostensibly it is yet another account of the caverns known to lie under Blackheath Hill but the author does raise some interesting points and tries to examine the subject holistically.  However, to begin at the beginning – he says ‘ten years ago I had very little idea what lies under the ground near my home. But that all changed on 7 April  2002, when the A2 main road through Greenwich  collapsed into a big hole halfway up Blackheath Hill’.  Having opened up his interest he began to look further  and discovered more.

He started offering guided tours of where the holes were but met with problems because of his unqualified status.  He also contacted the authors of a local blog about Underground Greenwich and says they helped him.  He says he read Harry Pearman's important work in Vol 6 of the Chelsea Speleological Society – but doesn’t indicate that he has ever  spoken to Harry, which is a real pity (Harry has published a more recent article on the caverns in Vol.44).
Returning to the 2002 A2 collapse he says ‘Transport for London and  Thames Water were essentially gifted a get-out-of-jail- free card by a plausible story that the lime burners of three hundred years ago were a bunch of cowboys who repeatedly caused trouble to the road managers of that time’- I hope that isn’t referring to my rather shoved together talks on it – I am certain I never mentioned the word ‘cowboys’ , although I might have my doubts about the level of care and honesty exhibited by 17th quarry workers – although Anthony Durham is ’inclined to stand up for those old lime burners near Greenwich, whose engineering and managerial skills, and respect for the  local community’ should not be under-estimated.

He gives the much quoted note about the activities of the Steers family  ‘In 1677 William Steers, Limebumer, was fined £40 for "not filling up, supporting and making good, safe, and  secure the King's Highway there against his Lime Kilns leading from Deptford to Blackheath, which said highway he hath undermined by digging, taking and carrying from  thence great quantities of chalk’ and so on. He pictures the Steers family ‘earning their living for generations on a patch of hillside that nobody much cared about, selling lime for rich people to build houses’
Returning to the 2002 collapse he discussed the spring line on Blackheath and the consultants' report paid for by Transport for London which explained that ‘most subsidence events are caused by water transporting soil particles underground and opening up ever-bigger voids, which finally collapse.’  But then he says ‘Unfortunately the report did a rotten job on the specific conditions of Blackheath Hill’ and adds that ‘little is known in detail about mining techniques used around Blackheath, even as late as the 1800s’.  he says ‘While digging into a hillside without modem machinery, miners will tend to create a vertical cliff or quarry workface with a horizontal area in front that is partly the floor of the digging and partly the top of a spoil heap’ and that ‘mining tended to transform hillsides’ . He then looks at the area around the hill and the landscape of cliffs and craters  - he is quite right, go out and look at it!  He asks ‘ how far those steps are man-made’

With reference to ‘Jack Cade's Cavern’  he discusses its exact position  and how it might be located by the casual passer by – but asks not to ‘pester (residents) in search of their underground cavity.’
As he points out the Cavern ‘has led an eventful life over the centuries, having been lost, found, lost, found,  and lost’ – and gives a brief history, including the inspection of it as a potential second world war air raid shelter .... ‘They found it exactly as their Victorian forebears had left it: graffiti, old bottles and all.’

He goes on to discuss some of the Blackheath lime burners and has unearthed some interesting  material from the Morden College archives. Has found other Steers – including a Liverpudlian ‘England’s first major civil engineer’ leading him to speculate ‘that Blackheath Hill was the real  nursery of British Engineering’. It’s easy for me to say ‘ of course it was’ – but Penn’s and their followers/trainees  were really mechanical engineers –and  I am not sure where we fit Perkins and his steam guns tests into this
He says, rightly, ‘Blackheath Hill is a whole landscape of industrial archaeology’  - and it is so well hidden by modern buildings and the traffic. 

Read the article – and I would like to get Anthony Durham along to talk to GIHS sometime
Subterranean Britannica.  www.subbrit.org.uk
April 2012 issue 29 Edited by Nick Catford editor@subbrit.org.uk