In this issue:
- Hospitals at risk
- GLIAS cruise
- Croydon B power station
- Greenwich power station
- Visit to Stansted Airport
- The Longford and Duke of Northumberland's rivers
- Hydraulic organ blowers at Union Chapel
- City of London coal duty posts
- English Heritage
- Anthrax at King's Cross
- GLIAS visit to Royal Arsenal
- Books
- 143news.pdf
The recent talk given by Colin Thom of RCHME to the Peckham and Camberwell Societies gave details of some of the hospital buildings in the London area which have been surveyed by the Royal Commission on the Historic Monuments of England, and as hospital buildings could be thought of as the industrial archaeology of the health care industry readers may be interested to have their attention drawn to the imminent loss of many interesting hospital buildings. Hospital buildings are at risk of being demolished due to not meeting modern medical needs and ideas, and to the reorganisation of health care provision. Only a small percentage of hospital buildings are listed, therefore RCHME are undertaking an emergency programme of recording, but as they only have three people to cover London and the Home Counties are often arriving on site just after demolition has already taken place.
GLIAS members may be interested in finding out what there is of interest at their local hospitals and perhaps doing some recording work before it is too late. If anyone knows of something particularly interesting it may be worthwhile writing a small piece for the GLIAS Newsletter. An example is the chevron shaped 'Tolworth Isolation Block' at the South West Middlesex Fever Hospital, Twickenham, which was built in the 1930s and I understand is now semi-derelict, and due to be demolished so a supermarket can be built on the site.
I am currently undertaking research on empty historic buildings, with the intention of understanding why they become empty, are allowed to remain empty and deteriorate, and what can be done to arrest this decay and bring these buildings back into use. I would be grateful if any GLIAS members could advise me of any notorious examples in their local areas of historic buildings that have been empty for some time, and are either still empty ur eventually found a new use. Any details such as original use, details of owners (if known), and if possible a potted history of attempts to get them back into use would be gratefully received and would enable me to follow up by examining the cases in further depth. Any information on the problems that cause these buildings to remain empty and unused, would also be welcomed from owners, developers and their agents.
Please tel. 081-301-5570 if you can help.
On Sunday 11th October 1992 a GLIAS party set sail from Barrier Gardens Pier in Sargent Bros. working open boat 'Endurance" - seeing the cold weather appropriately named. We headed for Deptford Creek with the tide still rising and were able to reach the limit of navigation, just north of Deptford Bridge on the A2, despite an uneasy moment when rubbish surfaced close to behind the boat when almost as far as we could go.
Notable features of the Creek were the railway lift bridge and Mumford's mill. After the minor fluster with underwater obstructions we returned to the Thames and proceeded up Bow Creek noting the recent new bridges and other changes. Passing Bow Locks and Three Mills we carried on up the Channelsea River almost as far as the bridge containing the Northern Outfall, but with the tide no longer rising it was prudent to return to the river. By now water was emptying from Bow Creek at a noticeable rate.
Our remaining time was spent going down river almost as far as the Woolwich Ferry. We passed the ship repair slips on the south bank (former Dubow's) now operated by Downtown Marine and came back along the north bank noting Tate & Lyle's Thames Refinery and its unloading jetty although no ship was at the berth that day. After a final close run by the Thames Barrier we arrived back at our starting point. It is hoped to operate further similar GLIAS cruises. Keep an eagle eye on the Newsletter!
See GLIAS Newsletter October 1990.
Only the two 300 ft. high chimneys now remain and on November 5th the new IKEA furniture store opened on the site. Close by is Waddon Marsh railway station served by trains which run between West Croydon and Wimbledon. This line is likely to be converted for trams if they are introduced in Croydon and it would not be a difficult matter to divert the tram line to provide a stop right outside the furniture store. (It looks as if meat balls (at a reasonable price) will be on the menu in IKEA's Scandinavian restaurant there the branch near Neasden was doing roast reindeer for Sunday lunch (perhaps only around Christmas time?)).
Earlier this year Scottish Power proposed to enlarge the generating capacity at the present LT Greenwich Power Station which is equipped with gas turbines and can supply electricity at 22kV for underground railways in central London at peak periods. Control is from the LT generating station at Lots Road.
Scottish Power proposals are to install two 123 MW combined cycle gas turbines (CCGT) driving generators; the exhaust gasses being passed through a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) system. This would provide enough steam to drive a third 123 MW generator by means of a steam turbine, giving the new station a total capacity of 370 MW. The present LT load would be provided for from this output.
Natural gas would be used for fuel as at present, being drawn from the British Gas plc Regional Transmission System. The gas will need to be pressurised for the gas turbines. To cover possible interruption of mains gas supply distillate fuel oil would be used as an alternative, delivered direct by ship to the Power Station's Thameside wharf. Coal was used for fuel at Greenwich until the late 1960s and surviving buildings and structures of the coal handling system would be demolished.
The present main building dates from 1902-9 and would house most of the new equipment. The existing four 56 metre high chimneys would discharge the exhaust from the HRSGs with an additional six metres being added on top to improve dispersion. Cooling water would be taken from the Thames via a new tunnel extending 70 metres from the embankment. The water is to be returned to the River via a new outfall with a rise in temperature of not more than 12°C.
Additional land to the North East would need to be acquired from Morden College, who own it. Part of Hoskins Street would be permanently closed. It is understood there have been local objections on environmental grounds. The new generating station would have a power output just over twice that of the old Battersea B station but contemporary fossil fuel power stations have an output about six times that of Battersea B. Bob Carr
Over 40 people, two thirds of whom were GLIAS members, joined this visit. About 25 met at Liverpool Street where we were joined by the BR Divisional Director who has responsibility for the rail service to the airport. Before the train departed he described the service to us and answered questions. The service has a better performance than the Gatwick Express but at present does not have anything like the same number of passengers.
On arrival at Stansted we were shown how the platform has a slight inward slope designed to prevent British Airport Authority baggage trolleys, which, unlike BR trolleys, do not have a fail safe brake, from running off the platforms on to the tracks. From the rail station we went straight to BAA's adjacent office block, Enterprise House, where we joined those who had not used the train, and were given a presentation about the airport by the External Relations Manager. Starsted was built as a USAAF bomber base in World War II and had always had a concrete runway which was a plus in its favour when London's third airport was under consideration. After the war there were trooping flights together with some civil flying, using facilities on the other side of the site to the new terminal. Stansted had been mooted several times as the third London airport but none of the plans had come to anything (remember Cublington? remember Maplin Sands?). Finally Stansted had been selected and was now fully operational.
We split into small groups for a tour of the new facilities. The new terminal designed by Norman Foster is very impressive. All passenger facilities are on one level where there is a high degree of daylight from the glazed external walls. We were shown how its unitary construction makes expansion easy. There is easy access to the rail station, bus and coach stops, and car parks.
The terminal is connected to a satellite, where the aircraft dock, by an automatic train - a Tracked Transit System - which, by some clever system of passes, we were allowed to use although we were not passengers. There is provision for a second satellite although at present traffic is light, but the combined policies of the government, the CAA and BAA will ensure future growth. We returned to the terminal building as if we were returning passengers. Someone was disappointed that they had been unable to buy duty frees and HM Customs were not interested in us.
Back in Enterprise House we had a splendid buffet lunch and, before we left, a question and answer session in which Stansted's Operations Director, Ron Paternoster, joined. We were impressed by the pride in and commitment to Stansted, of our hosts, to whom we are most grateful for an excellent visit. Bill Firth
The Longford and Duke of Northumberland's rivers
The history, purpose and ownership of these two man-made rivers makes for interesting reading. They take water from the River Colne near West Drayton, run parallel under and to the south of Heathrow Airport, and part company just east of where they are crossed by the A30. The Longford then runs to Hampton Court through Feltham, in culverts under Hanworth Park, over a tunnel for the Shepperton branch railway at Hampton Hill, and enters Bushey Park, where it is eventually culverted. Total length is about 11 miles. It has a steady, clearly regulated flow.
According to the Middlesex Village Book, it was built by Charles I (who reigned 1625-1649) to improve the water supply to Hampton Court, and still supplies the ornamental ponds and fountains there. Mr. V. Goslin of Ashford, Middlesex, advised that it has been known as the Cardinal's River and Queen's River. The culverting at Hanworth Park resulted from the 1930s airfield there. In a temporal context, this river was made two or three decades after the much longer New River was built 1609-13 to bring fresh water to London.
After it parts company with the Longford, the Duke of Northumberland's River continues east about one and a half miles where it discharges over a weir into the River Crane just north of where that river is crossed by the A315. Just before the Crane reaches Twickenham, however, a man-made channel takes much of its water north, through Kneller Park to Woodlands, then east to the Thames at Isleworth, just upstream from The London Apprentice pub, and opposite Isleworth Ait. According to Mr. Goslin, it was built to supply water to work the flour mill at Isleworth, and to feed the fountains at Syon Park (hence the name). The path to its north just before it joins the Thames is called Mill Plat. Date of construction is not known.
An enquiry to the National Rivers Authority about these rivers brought no help. None of the references on water supply in London mention them. Why was it necessary to build them? Who owns them now? Should anyone be able to add further to the history and ownership of these rivers, please contact John Knowles, 12 Sussex Road, New Malden, Surrey, KT3 3PY, or tel.: 081-942 2329, or day-time: 071-276 5476. John Knowles
Hydraulic organ blowers at Union Chapel, Compton Terrace, Islington
In the 1850s organ builders began to experiment with hydraulic organ blowers, prompted perhaps by the increasing availability of town water supplies and by the success of other hydraulic machinery around that time. There were several unsuccessful attempts before David Joy, best known for his work on steam locomotives, and William Holt, an organ builder in Leeds, solved the problems. Joy devised a special slide valve which gave a smooth action and eliminated the jerk which had caused the earlier failures. They took out a patent in 1856 and installed the first blower in a chamber organ at the Leeds home of Mr Walker Joy, David Joy's brother. Its first use in a church organ was at the East Parade Chapel in Leeds.
Hydraulic organ blowers could be designed to use pressures from as little as 7 psi and, as the cost of blowing by hydraulic engine was much cheaper than by hand, there was a ready market for them. They were soon adopted by many organ builders, including Henry Willis who built the organ at Union Chapel.
Although out of use and disconnected, four hydraulic organ blowers remain in situ in a small, dark room behind the organ at Union Chapel. They are arranged in two pairs, the smaller pair with their cylinders mounted vertically below the bellows, the larger pair mounted at an angle. Both pairs operate feeders via rocking levers. Each bears the signature of the firm who made them, Watkins and Watson of 16 White Lion Street, Islington. The supply main enters the room from the north. A stop valve on this pipe could be turned from the corridor outside by means of a rod and gearing. At the blower side of this valve the pipe splits to serve each pair of blowers. On each of these two pipes is a special valve designed to control the flow of air into the reservoirs automatically. Each of the two pipes splits again to serve each of the four blower cylinders. Each engine has its own control valve which would have been connected to the organ console to allow the organist to start the blowers from there. The waste water is conveyed through another system of pipes to discharge into a rainwater hopper outside the room. Each of the gunmetal engines is fitted with a small air vessel to smooth out fluctuations in supply. This was a feature of low-pressure engines running off the town water supply.
The expansion of the London Hydraulic Power Company's network in Central London enabled some organs to be fitted with high pressure hydraulic blowers. These included the organs of St Margaret's Westminster, the West London Synagogue, St James in Westbourne St Paddington, and St Paul's Cathedral. Although LHP had a pumping station alongside the City Road Basin of the Regent's Canal its mains did not reach Compton Terrace. The Chapel blowers' water would come from the New River Company.
The likelihood is that a small header tank in the roof space was filled from the water company's main and that the supply pipe to the organ blowers led from that. Watkins and Watson set up in business in 1870 so the Union Chapel blowers cannot be older than that. But the organ is older and the question arises of how was the organ blown prior to their installation. The most likely answer is that the organ was blown manually, as organs had been for centuries. Union Chapel's hydraulic organ blowers were replaced by 'Discus' centrifugal fans, another product of Watkins and Watson. Survival of the hydraulic blowers, in situ, is unusual and might even be unique in London.
I must thank Mr Richard Wallington for drawing my attention to these organ blowers, and to Rev Dr Janet Wootton for allowing me to see them. Tim Smith
City of London coal duty posts
Please accept my apologies for not writing to you earlier, in response to the piece in the GLIAS Newsletter April 1992. I received a considerable number of offers to house the two posts concerned.
Although a number of applicants had sound reasons as to why their particular claim had merit, we eventually decided that the Gas Museum at Bromley-by-Bow could offer the best home for the two posts. They are, we understand, undergoing restoration and will be placed on display at the entrance to the Museum. There is of course a direct link between the coal and gas industries, and the posts will serve as a reminder of this link.
Many thanks for your help in finding a good home for these two posts, and perhaps I may use your columns to pass on our appreciation to all those organisations and individuals who expressed an interest in housing them. Chris Bartlett
Recent news reports allege that Mr Jocelyn Stevens, Chairman of English Heritage, is proposing to dispose of some historic buildings and monuments. Also he intends to close down The London Advisory Committee which has power to force public enquiries on sensitive conservation issues. Should the LAC be disbanded then London will become more open to unrestrained development. There is concern that Mr Stevens will not champion preservation against progress! Editor
The Guardian on 9th October 1992 reported that anthrax spores had been discovered in the roof of King's Cross station. The spores were discovered in laboratory tests on a sample of roof insulation consisting mainly of horse hair.
Anthrax is one of those many 'nasties' left behind by past industry. It is a lethal bacterial disease of livestock which is occasionally transmitted to humans. In the 19th century it was a greatly-feared disease which killed rapidly - sometimes within a day of first feeling ill - and there was no known defence against it. It was primarily a disease of wool workers and known in France as the 'maladie de Bradford'! Other victims of the disease were those working in industries processing animal bones, hair and hides. There were several epidemics in Britain in the last century, including London in 1882 and 1893. However, strict controls on imported animal products have greatly reduced the incidence of the disease in this country; the Guardian stated that only 13 cases have been notified in the last decade.
Anthrax can be transmitted to humans by one of three routes: through a break in the skin, leading to a malignant pustule, but this can be treated effectively with antibiotics; from eating raw or undercooked infected meat; or by inhalation ('woolsorters disease') which leads to a form of pneumonia. The last two forms are rare but difficult to diagnose and are often fatal.
A particular problem with anthrax spores is that they can remain viable for many years and can survive adverse conditions until the environment is ripe for replication. A recent Health & Safety Executive publication warns that the spores are liable to be found on any tannery or fellmonger site where the premises have been used for a number of years. They have also been found in premises previously used for the production of gelatin from crushed bone and in old wool sorting stations. If the premises have been out of use for several years it may not be possible to identify with certainty high-risk areas, so the whole premises need to be regarded as a risk area.'
The Alan Godfrey map reprints reveal that there were many sites in the London area which meet the H & SE criteria - RECORDING GROUPS BEWARE!
The Royal Arsenal at Woolwich is one of the most important industrial archaeology sites in the country, but it is a secure Ministry of Defence establishment and is surrounded by the river to the north and by a high brick wall on other sides.
It contains a wealth of important buildings dating, from 1696 onwards, including three convincingly attributed to Sir John Vanbrugh Most buildings are totally hidden from public view, but there are a few public viewpoints around the perimeter which give tantalising rather than satisfactory views of some of the buildings. It seems particularly frustrating that the two most important Vanbrugh buildings - the Royal Brass Foundry and the Model Room - cannot be seen properly from the outside.
I was privileged, therefore on a pleasant afternoon on 3rd November to join a GLIAS party for a tour of the Arsenal conducted by Alan Turner, who is employed there and chairs the Royal Arsenal Historical Society.
We convened at the Main Guard House, a building of 1788 by James Wyatt. This leads straight into an open space surrounded by important buildings - Verbruggens House of 1773, and two other Vanbrugh works of 1717, Dial Square (of which only the entrance front survives) and the outstanding (Grade I listed) Royal Brass Foundry. From here our way led past the two entrance pavilions surviving from the Royal Laboratory of 1696, sadly derelict but probably the oldest remaining industrial buildings in London, to Vanbrugh's other masterpiece, the Model Room.
At the Model Room, where the Royal Military Academy was founded in 1741 and which is now used as the Officers Mess, we were shown the two principal rooms, one of which retains its original impressive dimensions.
The Arsenal site is now cut off from the river by the raised embankment which was part of the flood defence project of the late 1970s, at the same time as the Thames Barrier, further west in Charlton, was constructed. But a viewing platform has been erected near the Grand Store, which affords a view of the river as well as an overview of the site as it stretches eastwards towards Thamesmead.
The Grand Store must have been a splendid sight when it was completed by James Wyatt, in 1813, a monumental composition occupying three sides of a great square facing the river. But it is difficult to appreciate now, with many later buildings filling up most of the square, and much of the complex derelict. Also here is one of the two Mallets Mortars, the largest ever made, constructed in the Arsenal in 1857; the other is more readily viewed by the public, near the Royal Artillery Barracks on Woolwich Common.
From the Grand Store we progressed to the Shell Foundry, of which only the entrance block, a baroque building of 1856, remains. Its original splendid cast iron gates were returned here last year from the Royal Ordnance Factory at Patricroft, Manchester.
By now it was becoming dark, and we had to prepare to leave. in nearly three hours we had seen only a small part of this amazing site; it really does need a visit lasting a full day.
Many thanks to Mary Mills for organising this unique opportunity and to Alan Turner for guiding us round so knowledgeably. Darrell Spurgeon