- A hectic year on the road
- The Hoover building
- Mornington Crescent Underground station
- The Great Central Hotel
- The Wharncliffe viaduct and Hanwell railway station
- Steeple Grange Light Railway
- A future for the New River
- Letters to the editor
- Budapest visit
- Iron and Steam
- 149news.pdf
As 1993 draws to a close, it is time to reflect on activities. During Industrial Heritage Year the GLIAS book stock has travelled hundreds of miles, raising funds and more importantly, promoting the Society. I have attended many events, from the Greenwich Local History Festival to the Croydon Local History Fayre, via the South London Book Fair at Vauxhall. From a Mayor, to an MP, even Queen Victoria, GLIAS has been shown to all, whether in the elegance of Charlton House or a wind-blown tent in a damp corner of Limehouse Basin, (the year's spectacular non-event in its re-opening). Moving out of London, GLIAS has toured the Shires, the Annual Western Industrial Conference at Bath, EERIAC at Cambridge, not forgetting SERIAC outside Maidenhead. I also had a nice week at the AIA Conference in Ambleside, which seems to have become an annual book festival where societies compete with Chris Irwin's Book House!
What books has GLIAS in its possession? I have developed a policy of stocking a few of a large range of items to appeal to the wide market in which we move. Apart from the regular issues of Industrial Heritage (details of back issues available on request), newer items range from canals to the latest books from Middleton Press on trams in South London. Also available are the Yorkshire and East Cheshire mill books, with Manchester to follow early in the New Year (requests taken). The British Library has produced some interesting books, one on the Industrial Revolution, another on Domestic Appliances, more titles will follow. I'm hoping to send you a full book list next Spring.
Confused by the explosion of titles now available for the London Metropolitan Area by Alan Godfrey? GLIAS can help with a full catalogue of those titles in stock that is included with this newsletter. I have also had produced a large scale diagram of maps available which can be seen when the GLIAS book stock is at a venue. Lastly our own Society publications have started to be produced again, with a number of walk leaflets having been distributed to you recently. More publications will be produced next year. Anyone requiring a current list of GLIAS publications should apply to me, there are leaflets for both trade and retail prices.
In conclusion, I and GLIAS Book Sales welcome all the new members who have joined in 1993 and would like to take the opportunity to remind all members that the book service I provide is ultimately your service. I may have a busy schedule of events but new venues are always sought after, whether local history or industrial archaeology; please inform me of any you know of. Similarly if anyone is involved with publishing, or knows of books that may be of interest to GLIAS members please send me details. GLIAS Book Sales may be a fast moving, pro-active road show, but it helps with participation from yourselves, to help increase the variety of events and also the books on offer and all with one aim - the promotion of GLIAS. Best wishes for Christmas, and happy reading!
GLIAS Book Sales, c/o Nigel Sturt, 94 Springbank Road, Hither Green, London SE13 6SX
At Perivale in West London the Hoover Building (former Hoover Factory by Wallis Gilbert and Partners 1932) (GLIAS Newsletter April 1992) can readily be inspected from the outside when visiting the associated Tesco supermarket which stays open into the evening. The factory itself has all but gone and it is the former office building fronting Western Avenue which is the main feature of interest. The supermarket which is behind the office building is not a long walk from Perivale station on the Central Line and you can take some interesting routes through the contemporary housing estate to the west of the Hoover site making use of pedestrian only facilities.
This summer the gardens in front of the Hoover Building were magnificently kept. At night the front facade has been dramatically lit by green floodlights but in houses close by it has not been that pleasant to have everything rendered in shades of green every evening and the practice was being reduced in scale. Inside, next to the supermarket itself, the cafe can be recommended. Numerous period photographs are on display together giving the visitor an idea of what the site did and looked like before the recent conversion. Architecturally the join between new and old and the way in which the two have been combined is well worth attention. Of the new work the doors on the west side which allow delivery lorries access are most impressive and are reminiscent of curtains in front of a great 1930s cinema screen. They should be seen in action. All that is required is a cinema organ accompaniment. This is adaptive re-use in a grand manner. Bob Carr
Mornington Crescent Underground station
Nationally known, at least from the game of the same name, the LT underground station at Mornington Crescent has been closed for a considerable time and seems unlikely to reopen in the near future.
Funding ceased to flow during refurbishment work and despite local annoyance one still cannot get on a train here.
The old station was remarkable in that the booking clerk rode up and down in the lift all day selling tickets. The ticket office was installed in the lift so the clerk could operate the lift as well. Bob Carr
When well-dressed, GLIAS members might consider a casual visit to the restored Great Central Hotel at number 222 Marylebone Road, NW1. It is possible to pop in, look around and have a drink at the Cellars bar in the basement at the southeast corner of the site. The hotel reopened on 20 February this year as The Regent. The new arrangements include a high central atrium with large palm trees where one can take (expensive) afternoon tea. Joining the hotel to Marylebone railway station to the north is a glazed walkway (porte cochère) currently being refurbished by Mowlems.
The architect of the original Great Central Hotel was Colonel Robert William Edis FRIBA and he produced a massive red brick pile in the Flemish Renaissance style having seven stories and 700 rooms. A cycle track on the roof enabled patrons to take healthy exercise. The establishment opened on 1 July 1899 and was managed by Frederick Hotels Ltd for a long time. During the world wars it was used for military purposes and until recently was the headquarters of the British Railways Board. Members wishing to read more are referred to Chapter 1 of the third volume of George Dow's Great Central (Ian Allan 1965). Bob Carr
The Wharncliffe viaduct and Hanwell railway station
Further to the item from Bob Carr in GLIAS Newsletter October 1993, we have heard from English Heritage that the CrossRail Bill is now in the Committee Stage in Parliament, which it is hoped will be completed in the Spring of 1994. There are over 300 petitioners against the Bill including all the local authorities in London affected by the route and the National Amenity Societies, including English Heritage. EH's principal objection is Clause 16 which seeks exemption from listed building, conservation areas and scheduled monument legislation for over 250 sites along the route, including Wharncliffe Viaduct and Hanwell Station. EH has already been involved in detailed discussions about the viaduct and has asked CrossRail to produce a scheme similar to that at Durham. Bill Firth
Members Eileen and Michael Adams have been in Derbyshire recently and met a number of IA-minded people and visited the sites in which they are interested. Among these is the Steeple Grange Light Railway Society which aims to re-open the 0.7 miles of railway from Steeplehouse to Middleton, near Cromford. The society is anxious to become better known to industrial archaeologists and like-minded people. Details can be obtained from Martin Smith, 187 Chesterfield Road, Matlock, Derbyshire.
www.steeplegrange.co.uk
A note in GLIAS Newsletter August 1992 commented on the changes in the water levels in the deep chalk and basal sands aquifer beneath London. The very considerable water level fluctuations over the past 200 years have been largely the result of changes in the amount of water abstracted by industry and commerce. The water level fell from the mid-19thc. up to 20 years or so ago, after which fall in demand has led to a continual rise in the groundwater level in the aquifer, especially under central London. Nevertheless, the water level is still well below its natural level and so the aquifer has a vast potential for storing water. In the 1970s, Thames Water undertook an experimental scheme in the Lee Valley by which the aquifer beneath that area would be artificially recharged by pumping during times of surplus, this stored water would then be available for abstraction to augment other sources in times of drought. The success of that experiment has led to a new artificial recharge scheme which has served to assure the future of the New River.
At present, water from the New River is abstracted at two points - at Turkey Brook, Enfield (near the M25/A10 junction) from where it is fed into the King George's Reservoir, and from the southern end to feed the East Reservoir at the now-disused Stoke Newington Treatment Works. The new Enfield/Haringay scheme, which should be operational in 1994, will make much more use of the aqueduct between the two abstraction points. A series of 23 boreholes, of which 14 are new, are located along the New River between Turkey Brook and Stoke Newington. The 11 more northerly holes will be capable both of pumping water into the aquifer and abstracting it, the remainder of the boreholes will be used only for abstraction.
Water from the New Rover will feed the East Reservoir at Stoke Newington and a new outlet from that reservoir will transfer water through new pipes laid in the New River to pick up the presently-disused underground Amhurst Main.
The Main will carry the water into the Lockwood Reservoir and thence to the Coppermill Treatment Works. At times of drought, the northerly boreholes will be used for pumping water from the aquifer and into the New River to boost its flow down to Stoke Newington. Don Clow
There are moves afoot to rehabilitate the Islington New River Walk and it has been chosen by the Mayor of Islington as one of her environmental causes. A start is to be made on the section between Asteys Row and Canonbury Road.
Dame Alice Owen founded a school in Islington in the same year as the New River was completed, in 1613. The school has since moved to Potters but some of the buildings still remain on the site, which lies between Goswell Road and St John Street - across which the New River once passed. The Alice Owen Trustees are negotiating with Islington to create a garden/open space with a 'New River Walk' across it. An information centre and gallery is planned for St John Street. Thames Water are finding potential health and safety problems in pumping stations, caused by a build-up of carbon dioxide from the chalk aquifer. They propose to restrict visits to the pumping stations along the New River. The Ring Main Building at New River Head is now in operational use.
The planning application for conversion of the notable Thames Water Offices at New River Head into student residential accommodation has been withdrawn because of. local objections. Its future remains uncertain. Don Munday
Can you or any of our members advise me on whether gasometers have ever been put to an alternative use. There is a redundant site I know of which may become available for other uses. If demolition and clearance become likely I would like to be able to suggest saving one of the four gasometers on site for a possible alternative function. I am aware that old gaswork sites, as this is, are potentially dangerous toxic sites can anybody give me sources of information?
As yet I am still waiting on a reply from the London Gas Museum. Gary Cummins
Re: GLIAS Newsletter 148. Pneumatic Parcels Tube. (GLIAS Newsletter October 1993)
Note 1. This tube was cut through and exposed during the deep excavations for the re-built Euston Station.
Note 2. A specimen of a 'carriage' used on the tube can be viewed at the Post Office History section of Bruce Castle Museum, Tottenham. Also a collection of letter boxes including a blue one for air mail.
Note 3. Gas in the tube. This is also a problem in water mains. A dreadful explosion occurred at Abbeystead, north Lancashire, at the opening of a new water main to Manchester from the Lake District. On opening the valve, the newly flowing water brought in a rush of inflammable gas; one of the opening party was smoking. The explosion caused the concrete roof to collapse on them with fatalities.
Note 4. Visit to London Ring Main at New River Head, Islington. A workman was killed at Finsbury Park by methane; asphyxiation, no explosion. However, there is sophisticated das monitoring at the Ring Main pumping station at New River Head.
The visit to New River Head was most successful with a visit to the Old Metropolitan Water Board building, excellent 1920s architecture, with a room preserved from the original building with historic panelling. The whole site is full of history. Nearby is the pumping station and access hole for the Ring Main, and specimens of the concrete tunnel sections. Also an explanatory video, with two excellent guides. A B Knight
Industrial Heritage Year brought an Easter trip to the East, through Germany and Austria to Bratislava and then across the agricultural plain to Komacov on the Danube and on into Budapest. Due to unerring navigation on the way to the campsite we had a good tour of both of the cities before arriving at a one time tram terminus in the Buda hills which is now the centre and restaurant for the Camping 52, named after the tram route.
The detour, across the Danube to the Eastern Railway Station in Pest, with its statues of Watt and Stevenson and back towards the river showed us a glimpse of a city whose architecture reflects its importance in the dual monarchy during the art nouveau period. Crossing the river by the bridge, designed by Tierney Clark, gave us a view of the Elizabeth and Margaret bridges before taking us under the old town of Buda via Adam Clark's Tunnel. By not realising we should follow the tram tracks we also had a tour round the villas of the Buda Hills before arriving, past the modern tram-depot and an ornate but disused tram-station, at the terminus.
The weather was showery and suggested that the next day would bring more rain, as it was we set off by bus to the terminus at Moscow Square and walked down towards the river. The bus route 152 was, as in London, named from the old tram route. Working from the Rough Guide and tourists maps and with some lack of street names we were surprised and pleased to come across the museum based on the original Ganz foundry, now surrounded by the flats which led to its closure in the 1960s. Ganz was a Swiss national who came to Buda in 1844 and set up a foundry which carried on its name and operation through war and revolution and is still the 'trade name' for engineering products.
The museum is housed in the original casting shop and retains the cupula furnaces and casting floor. The other part contains examples of cast products in iron and aluminium as well as machine tools and testing equipment. The curator let us look round and, fortunately as there was the one major downpour of the day, gave us a tour of the exhibits which included aluminium bells, which only resonated because of the holes cut into them, and cast-iron stoves among which there was charcoal stove in the style of a classical, draped female; her head lifted off for filling, her left arm moved up and down to riddle the ashes and the flue gave a bussel effect to her otherwise classical lines.
From the museum down to the river and across a threeway bridge which connects with St Margaret's Island and on to the Western Station (1874-77), with ironwork by Attelier Eiffel and catering by McDonalds (the inflatable Ronald McDonald had disappeared by the next day but photographs had to be carefully framed to avoid it). The Ganz name came up again on the locomotives and rolling stock, where, surprisingly, it was as Ganz-Hunslett.
We turned off the main avenue and walked through the backstreets to the East Station and looked for lunch at a traditional 'bufet' but found only Burger King, McDonalds and Pizza Hut until we searched the tram interchange. The East Station was built in 1881-4 by Rochlitz and as well as the statues there is a 'preserved' electric locomotive, again by Ganz. Returning to the river and the Tierney Clark bridge by the main avenues we found many examples of fine architecture including shops, cinemas and the Postal Savings Bank (1890s by Lechner) in gold and green faïence with bees making their way up the corners to the behive pinacles. More rain followed us round the National Bank where scenes of mining and industry are carved into the corner stones.
The suspension bridge by Tierney Clark (1849), demolished in the Second World War but reconstructed on the original pylons and approaches, crosses to the point under the old citadel of Buda where Adam Clark's tunnel takes road traffic under the Castle Hill. As pedestrians we could walk round or up but chose to ride the world's second oldest funicular railway, recently restored, to the top. From the upper terminus of the funicular a magnificent panorama of Pest shows the parliament building with the sun, now out again, glinting on the green and gold of the Post Office Bank behind.
The Old Town of Buda is still medieval in style, except for the tourist shops, and multi-coloured roofs and decorations have been carefully restored and preserved. In this part of town the violent history of Hungary can be traced with many commemorative plaques to victims of the 1956 uprising. The North Gate took us back to Moscow Square and the bus back to the campsite. One day is not enough to do justice to such a city and many hints of industrial and architectural interest had to be filed for future reference, anyway there are some shots where the light wasn't quite right.... Dan Hayton
On 6th October some 200 members of GLIAS and other interested societies, and some music buffs, sat down in the Emma Cons Hall at Morley College to hear and see the show devised by Denis Smith to celebrate the achievements of Victorian Engineering in music, images and contemporary reports.
The music was supplied by two groups; The Telford Country Dance Band (including two GLIAS members) played the more domestic pieces, hornpipes and dance tunes while the Brunel Brass supplied the marches and public pieces from the famous exhibitions and exploits of the age. Readings from such diverse sources as Charlotte Brontë and Lord Macaulay added to the atmosphere and the whole was illustrated with contemporary pictures and covers from the sheet music of the times.
Thanks to everyone who helped, the Staff of Morley College, Denis who thought it up, Chris Rule who printed the tickets (now collectors' items) and all the GLIAS members who helped on the night.