- Camden Roundhouse
- From the New River Action Group
- Waterloo & City trains
- Ship in West India Docks
- Brunel celebrations
- Brunel chimney a new landmark
- Jackson's vertical gas-fired boilers
- The Docklands east-west link road and IA
- 147news.pdf - part 1
- 147news.pdf - part 2
Further to the report in GLIAS Newsletter June 1992, an article in 'The Guardian' of 25 May 1993 traced the efforts to find a use for the Camden Roundhouse. Last July the Roundhouse Real Estate Ltd. purchased the site from the London Borough of Camden. The new owners hope to use it as a centre for music, opera and theatre. However their proposals would require some structural modifications and they will have to persuade English Heritage if the project is to proceed, in view of the building's Grade 2 listed status. The owners see it as part of a larger redevelopment for the area, and have undertaken to remove a large quantity of asbestos from adioining land for a 'six-figure sum'. English Heritage's Chris Sumner is reported to have said that its pre-1960's role as a gin warehouse was 'perhaps its best use'. Don Clow
From the New River Action Group
Thames Water are drilling and testing boreholes on the New River Artificial Recharge Scheme which is now complete, and yields one million gallons of water per day. Construction of pump houses continues. Thames Water maintains that the water abstracted from the aquifer will not be harmful to the ecology of the River. 'Romance of the New River' is the name under which a series of events will be held to celebrate 380 years of the River.
A planning application has been made for the conversion of the former Thames Water offices at New River Head, into student accommodation. Don Munday
The superbly atmospheric Bulleid period Southern Railway electric stock which has been working the British Rail Waterloo and City underground railway line in London from Waterloo to Bank for the past 50 years is finally being withdrawn. An example will go to the National Railway Museum at York and the rest will be cut up.
Riding in the elderly stock has been likened to a flight in a wartime Dakota with turbulence. Some coaches still had grills at the end with the words Southern Railway and the compact glass lampshades with tungsten bulbs were a joy to behold.
Sadly for industrial archaeologists this unique London experience finally ceased at the end of May. No doubt regular commuters to the City will greatly appreciate the comfort of the new trains when service recommences on Monday 12 July.
The Waterloo and City underground railway line was opened by the London and South Western Railway in 1898. A memorable GLIAS visit took place on 27 July 1979 (GLIAS Newsletter October 1979). Bob Carr
In the fourth week of June a sizable ocean-going ship once more occupied a berth in the West India Docks bringing back memories of the 1960s when small Union Castle liners operated from here. The twin-screw motorship Anastasis was berthed on the south side of South Dock (latterly Main Section) just to the west of the South West India dock entrance.
Launched in Italy in 1953 for service between Italy and Hong Kong via the Suez Canal the Anastasis was the Italian liner Victoria until 1978. She is now operated by Mercy Ships and, equipped with three operating theatres, carries out medical relief and missionary work in places like Africa. The closure of the Suez Canal in 1956 meant that the route the ship was constructed for became impassable and she worked as a cruise ship for a time before her original owners, Lloyd Triestino, sold her. By this time the advent of long distance jet airliners had made ships obsolete for world travel and the vessel is a remarkable survivor of a vanished age.
The Anastasis is 11,695 tons gross, with an overall length of 522 feet and a maximum beam of 68 feet. Close to she looked big and a ship of this size was about the biggest that would have operated from the West India Docks before their closure. Even so from a distance the ship was dwarfed by the Isle of Dogs new buildings. She is registered in Valletta and flies the Maltese flag.
Maximum draught for the Anastasis is about 23½ feet and she was drawing most of this while berthed in London. This shows that dredging around the West India entrance is still well maintained. Depth markings on the hull were in feet, perhaps surprising for a ship built in a metric country. It seems the use of feet for ships' draughts is quite widespread, partly because of the convenient size of the unit. The original Victoria was built for a route where most of the ports were under British control (or had been recently) and this would be another reason for not using metric. Ships using metric units are usually marked at intervals of 0.2 metres.
From the quay the hull looked very traditional — of riveted construction reminiscent of British practice of the 1930s and 40s. In fact construction is welded and riveted. The builders were C.R.D. Adriatico, Trieste, and the ship's yard number was 1765. The styling of the funnel and superstructure is rather modern for its date. Originally air-conditioned for the uncomfortably hot Red Sea and Indian Ocean route she was designed for, this luxury feature no longer functions.
The interior of the ship is magnificently original and most of the Italian language notices and fittings are retained. Extensive wood panelling of the period reminds one how the world's stock of trees has diminished. Any recent ship has plastic panels. This is a real ship in a very strong sense and now has few equals. The Anastasis (Greek for resurrection) is still classified 100A1 Lloyds and is a remarkable example of ship preservation. She is still operating 40 years after launching.
The twin screws are driven by a pair of FIAT diesel engines type A750.10L; ten cylinders of 750mm bore and 1,320mm stroke developing 16,100 bhp. The engine builders were C.R.D. Adriatico, Trieste. Speed is now 13½ knots, reduced from 19 for fuel economy. From London her next port of call was to be Bristol. Bob Carr
The Brunel Exhibition Rotherhithe is celebrating the 150th anniversary of the opening of the Thames Tunnel. GLIAS has been represented at both the 'Topping Out' Ceremony for the newly restored chimney at the Engine House in Rotherhithe and the Fête Brunel in Hacqueville, Normandy, Marc Brunel's birthplace.
On May 18th the Duke of Wellington inaugurated the chimney, assisted by Michael Pickard, Chairman of LDDC, while Nick de Salis lit a smoke candle to complete the spectacle. The new exhibit in the engine house is well worth a visit, the 'parquetry' designs on the floor are in real linoleum. In addition to the display at Rotherhithe the Institution of Civil Engineers has mounted an exhibition in Great George Street.
In Hacqueville on May 23rd the villagers and visitors gathered to celebrate the renaming of the main street Rue Marc Isambarti Brunei, with displays by the local fire brigade, folk dancing, stalls, an exhibition of inventions and the travelling 'Brunel Exhibition Rotherhithe' in the village hall.
A celebratory mass in the village church was followed by the unveiling of the new street name by Brunel's descendants and following the Sapeurs Pompiers' display, the assembly entered the courtyard of the Ferme Brunel, appropriately No. 1 in the re-named street, for a glass of wine. A 'buffet compagnard' followed with a magnificent meal and excellent wine laid on in one of the barns, fortunately under cover as the temperature cutside hovered around 30°C. The afternoon offered a chance to look round the exhibitions and to admire the performance of the dancers on such a warm afternoon.
The Thames Tunnel may seem to have been well and truly celebrated but there are more events to come including a dinner in the tunnel, drama performances and a Son et Lumière at the Engine House. (Contact Nicholas de Salis, telephone 081-318 2489)
In addition to the celebrations a search of various archives (member's attic) has unearthed the original site notes and completed drawings from GLIAS members' first involvement with the site in 1976. Copies of these have been passed on to the Trustees. Danny Hayton
The replica iron chimney extension on the Brunel boiler house at Rotherhithe is now erected. Although we have seen the drawings for this restoration the effect on the local landscape was difficult to visualise. The new erection is very prominent and a little surprising. It certainly advertises the boiler house in a dramatic way and should draw larger numbers of visitors to the exhibitions held there. Bob Carr
The Brunel Engine House is on Railway Avenue, SE16, by the Rotherhithe tube station. Website: www.brunel-museum.org.uk
Jackson's vertical gas-fired boilers
Wharfingers and warehouse keepers were slow to use steam power because they were concerned about the risk of fire from conventional steam boilers. The problem was solved for the docks in the 1850's with the introduction of hydraulic power which was distributed from a central pumping station. Although hydraulic power was used at some of the larger wharves it was never common until London Hydraulic Power Company provided a public supply. The capital cost of hydraulic power was too high to justify its use for small numbers of cranes. The problem was recognised in Liverpool by Arthur Jackson when he took out his patent for a gas-fired boiler. Jackson described himself as a commission agent and was a partner in the firm of Jackson & Eastman with an office at 1 Rumford Place, Liverpool. He was also agent for the West of England Fire & Life Office.
Arthur Jackson's first patent, taken out in 1852 (No. 137) was for a gas burner, his second, No. 2947 of 1st December 1860, for his gas-fired boilers. The preamble makes it clear that he had in mind a safe boiler for use in docks and shipping warehouses where there was a fire risk with 'common coal furnaces". The boiler was suitable for supplying small steam winches used with warehouse cranes. It was a vertical boiler with a lower chamber in which coal-gas and air could be thoroughly mixed before being ignited on a wire gauze above. The hot gases passed through tubes in the water space to the chimney. Steam collected under the domed top of the boiler. Jackson's third patent, No. 2014 of 1870, was for a means of supplying his boilers with water by gravity so that there would be no need for a feed-pump. This time Jackson gave his address as Loman Street, Southwark. His boilers were being manufactured by Thomas Middleton who had an engineering works in Loman Street.
In August 1861 Jackson wrote to the recently formed Warehouse Improvement and Wharf Committee seeking their endorsement of his boiler. Their surveyor was empowered to assess the fire risk of all machinery used in London's warehouses. The first reference to one of Jackson's boilers being used in London was in 1867 when Charles Freeman, surveyor to the Wharves & Warehouses Committee, noted 'one of Jackson's Gas Steam engines' at the Metropolitan Bonded Warehouses. The attraction for London wharfingers was that there were fewer restrictions on siting Jackson's boilers than coal or coke fired boilers, which had to be placed in vaults. Jackson's boilers were often mounted on cantilevered platforms high on the warehouse wall and close to the steam winches which they supplied. By the end of 1868 there was at least one at the Cutler Street warehouses. Mr Wilmshurst, Secretary of the Assam Company, described it thus:
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'The Boiler House is built outside the main building supported by brackets. It is placed on the top floor and the steam passes to an engine within the building. It is of 4 horsepower and connected with about 80 ft of shafting so as to serve two loop holes. The engine is stated to be of simple construction and such as an intelligent foreman could easily manage.' (Minutes of East & West India Dock Co. Vol 19 11/12/1868.)
The Docklands east-west link road and IA
Now is an opportune time to visit the area of Docklands in the vicinity of the new east-west link road, because of the lull in activity. Commercial development has virtually ceased because of the recession and most of the major new road and rail infrastructure is now in place - namely the Limehouse Link, Aspen Way, East India Dock Link Tunnel, the Lower Lea Crossing, and associated feeder roads. The structures for the DLR Beckton extension are also complete.
The new road links east and west Docklands and provides a useful spine from which to see Docklands, especially as the eastern half passes through areas only partly obscured by new construction. This article is based on visits to the area in June 1993. The link can be divided into four convenient sections:
1. Limehouse Link Tunnel
In contrast to the rest of the link, the opening of the Limehouse Link Tunnel received a blaze of publicity, not least because of its immense cost, averaging £141,000/m. The western portal is at the junction of The Highway and Butcher Row. It continues eastwards in a sinuous course to emerge north of the DLR West India Quay station but before this, a section branches off to give access to West Ferry Road and the west end of Canary Wharf.
As the tunnel was constructed by the cut-and-cover method a large swathe of land had to be cleared through a densely built-up area. Part of the route is through Limehouse Basin and some of the water area has now been lost as a result - canal access to the Basin has been restored. The new lock constructed at the outlet to the Thames was completed in 1989. The west-bound platform of the DLR Limehouse station gives a good view over the Basin. Much of the tunnel construction material came in and spoil was removed by barge, and a new temporary jetty was provided at Dundee Wharf for this purpose.
A major archaeological find was the discovery of a pottery factory by Limekiln Dock, sandwiched between Narrow Street and the Thames. This was Joseph Wilson's porcelain factory which was only on the site for four years from 1744 to 1748. It was possibly the first soft porcelain factory in England.
2. Aspen Way - Limehouse Link to Preston's Road Flyover
Aspen Way runs from the tunnel portal to the Preston's Road flyover where slip roads give access to a ground-level roundabout. From the roundabout, Trafalgar Way branches off to give access to Billingsgate Fish Market and the east end of Canary Wharf. Preston's Road leads south to the east side of the Isle of Dogs and Cotton Street heads north.
The Poplar Docks locality is the most interesting area here, not least because it was visited by GLIAS in September 1978 and reported in detail by Malcolm Tucker and Bob Carr in GLIAS's 'A London Industrial Archaeology Miscellany in 1983. Now, 15 years later, the area has changed dramatically but much of what remains can be related readily to the map in the GLIAS article.
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(i) All evidence of the extensive railway network and their warehouses has been eradicated.
(ii) The North London Railway east, and older dock survives as a quiet, clean stretch of water. The quay walls at the north end have been demolished and the dock infilled for a short distance to provide a foundation for the embankment of Trafalgar Way. In the course of removing the silt prior to backfilling, a sunken vessel was found! Elsewhere the quay walls are complete, also the large granite crane base on the east side.
(iii) The boundary wall along Preston's Road remains virtually untouched.
(iv) The two electric rail-mounted cranes seen on the 1978 visit are preserved. on the west side of the east dock and their track runs the length of the west quay. (Has anything more been found out about these cranes? In spite of the Stothert and Pitt 1960 works plates, their jibs and large tongue-and-grooved boarded cabs look much older.)
(v) The newer west dock is now roughly triangular in plan and reduced to about half its original water area, having been infilled as the result of the construction of the embankment for Trafalgar Way. The embankment provides a good vantage point with extensive views in all directions.
(vi) Hydraulic power remains:
(a) The Midland Railway h.p. station at Duthie Street stands forlorn and neglected with only a pub for company. Although listed, there is no sign of active preservation.
(b) The NLR h.p. station near the former Blackwall Railway station has disappeared being in the way of the link road and DLR.
(c) Two remote accumulator towers remain. That on the south east corner of the east dock has been tidied up and is a feature of the small housing development there. The other tower shown on the 1978 map is now west of Trafalgar Way on the Billingsgate Market site. It is in poor condition with many slates missing from the roof.
(vii) Before Trafalgar Way was constructed, a temporary road was provided running south between the docks and crossing the channel connecting the two docks on a temporary steel bridge - both road and bridge remain but now only give access to site offices. On the south side of the channel the span of a swing bridge has been 'beached' - was this the former road bridge crossing the connection between the docks and Blackwall Basin?
(viii) Apart from new roads, the only development at Poplar Docks has been the housing at Landons Close occupying the south side of the east dock.
(ix) Of the Midland Railway Poplar (Riverside) Dock there is no sign. The new Peuters building now dominates the area.
Aspen Way continues eastwards to the Leamouth roundabout and passes between the former power station at Brunswick Wharf and the Naval Row Conservation Area. Near the power station, the road divides, one part dives into the 350m long East India Dock Link tunnel which heads northeast to the A13, passing through the Import Dock site. Only the west-bound bore of the tunnel is in use at present, the east-bound bore of the tunnel is complete but will not be opened to traffic until major works at the Canning Town flyover have been completed in 1996.
Aspen Way continues onwards to the Leamouth roundabout and the Lower Lea Crossing. At the roundabout, Leamouth Road heads north as dual-carriageway up to the A13. Brunswick Wharf power station looks in good condition - even the windows are clean! A hoarding states that the Docklands Golf Range is to open here soon - inside the building?
The listed hydraulic power station of 1857 for the East India Docks is unoccupied and looks to be in a reasonable state but its new surroundings have had a baleful effect. The station is in the Naval Row Conservation area which includes a substantial length of the old wall to the south and west of the docks.
However, the hp station is overshadowed by new office buildings immediately to the north of the wall and the DLR viaduct to the south; and Aspen Way traffic roars past only a few metres away. The western section of the dock wall continues up to the A13 as part of a narrow landscaped strip parallel to and above the Blackwall Tunnel access road. At the A13 end is preserved the large polished granite plaque commemorating the dock's opening in 1806. This plaque was originally located over the principal entrance to the East India Docks but this was demolished in 1958 to make way for the new approach to the Blackwall Tunnel.
The East India Dock has been completely filled in although only partly built upon at present. The development in the south-west part of the site incorporates two canals and a small lake in the layout as some sort of reference back to the past. A substantial length of the eastern boundary wall has also been preserved. It now constitutes what must be the most massive crash barrier ever as it stands on the central reservation of realigned Leamouth Road. It has been heavily restored and hardly recalls the forbidding wall of the past. On the east side of the southbound carriageway the imposing gateway of the East India Company's Blackwall warehouses has been similarly restored and new gates are being fitted.
4. The Lower Lee Crossing
This runs from Leamouth roundabout over the river by the Lower Lea Crossing (LLC) bridge and meets Silvertown Way and Victoria Dock Road at another new roundabout. The LLC consists of an impressive bridge with substantial approach embankments; slip roads located on the west embankment give access to the Orchard Place industrial area. The Leamouth roundabout is located over the site of the former East India Dock lock. The East India Dock Basin still exists although it has lost its northern edge to the LLC road embankment. Both the lock and basis were dredged prior to infilling - not only was the thick accumulation of silt removed but also six cars and a commercial vehicle body!
The LLC bridge provides a magnificent viewpoint over the Lea and Orchard Place, one of the few remaining active industrial areas of Docklands. The bridge runs parallel to the east-west section of the Lea immediately before the river turns sharply south to enter the Thames. There is a good view of the river mouth and the Trinity Wharf depot. To the north, the view is over the peninsula where Pure Foods is located. On this site are two open-sided sheds with Belfast truss roofs. Some of the roofing sheets are missing and the sheds' continuing existence must be limited.
DLR Beckton Extension
From Poplar, the extension is on a viaduct immediately to the north of Aspen Way until it crosses the road to skirt around to the south of Brunswick Wharf power station. At Leamouth, the line turns sharply north over the Lea and comes down to ground level on the narrow south-facing tongue of land in a tight loop of the Lea. It goes as far as Canning Town before curving back south to run parallel to the BR North Woolwich line and picks up the Victoria Dock Road alignment. In June a long line of DLR trains were parked on the Leamouth section awaiting the opening of the extension.
Future Plans
The lull in construction will not last for the Department of Transport are currently consulting on proposals for a new river crossing at Blackwall. Their preferred option is for a bridge with the alternative of a third tunnel bore. Whichever is selected, the effect on the Poplar area described earlier will be considerable.
Sources
Linking visible evidence on the ground with maps more than a year or two old can be difficult, however, a Street Guide leaflet published by the LDDC in 1992 is invaluable. It has a map on one side, the other side includes large and remarkably clear aerial photographs of the whole of Docklands. Those interested in the geological and geotechnical aspects of the construction of the east-west link road are referred to Proc. Inst. Civ. Engnrs. Vol.90 Dec. 1991 and especially Paper 9661 by Young and Rutty. The Limehouse Link was the subject of a special issue of the 'New Civil Engineer' in May 1993. Don Clow