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Heritage of Industry Tours. Details of forthcoming tours in 2024 are now available at this link. Click here. 24th December 2023

WIAS Newsletter. The December 2023 Newsletter, (Edition No. 80), is now available. Thanks to those who help prepare the newsletter, more help is always welcome. Click here. 15th December 2023.

“On This Day”. Barry Franklin has supplied a link to this fascinating 5 mins film – “1963: In Shipston-on-Stour, England’s smallest gasworks produces gas for 150 locals. It’s literally a one man operation – the same man lays mains, stokes the furnace and carries out inspections. Before nationalisation, he was also the owner”. Click here to watch the film. 15th December 2023

Death of WIAS member. With much sadness we record the death of Elizabeth Margaret (Liz) Sayell, 21^st June 1939 – 17^th September 2023.  A service in memory of Liz was held at All Saints’ Church, Emscote on Tuesday 17^th October 2023”. Liz and her husband George have been active members of WIAS for many years and for a long time prepared the refreshments at our monthly meetings. She also embraced the ‘Zoom’ technology to follow WIAS during Covid and our current monthly schedule. 23rd November 2023

New WIAS Zoom Recordings. We are very fortunate to have been able to record our last two WIAS meeting speakers. Victor Riley’s talk in October, ‘The Riley Story’ and Chris Clack’s talk in November, Harry Ferguson ‘Man of Vision’ are now available on our web site at this link. Sub-titles are available. 14th November 2023

Database of Warwickshire Bridges. WIAS member Roger Cragg has now compiled a comprehensive list of the bridges throughout Warwickshire. The list is similar in format to our main database project. There are no plans to link photographs at this stage. You will find links in the main drop down menu and at the foot of the Database page. 2nd November 2023

RAF planes that won the Battle of Britain were built on German machinery: How Jewish refugee engineer, Ludwig Loewy, was crucial to the war effort. This was the subject of a recent meeting of the Newcomen Society, Sheffield Branch, presentation by Dr Jonathan Aylen. Thank you to Alain Foote & John Willock for bringing this to our attention. The talk was recorded and it is hoped will be available at a later date. In the meantime the full story is available at this link and is well worth reading. Our onetime WIAS member, the late Richard Hartree, and Banbury Aluminium are mentioned. 2nd November 2023

Steam Launch “Consuta”. A new contribution from John Willock about this interesting steam powered launch built in 1898. Click here. 3rd October 2023

Newsletter 79. Thanks to our Newsletter editorial team, edition 79 is now available on the website at this link. All our newsletters are available on the ‘News and Retort!’ page of the website, click here to visit. 27th September 2023.

IMPORTANT – WIAS NEW MEETING VENUE – Over the summer the Warwick Junior School Playground has been re-surfaced, trees planted, and playground equipment installed such that it is no longer available for us to use as a car park. After discussions with the School, it has been decided to move our venue for meetings from the Halse Pavilion to the Warwick Prep School Hall CV34 6PL. This is at the far western end of the school site, accessed from the Banbury Road. The Prep School Hall has a large amount of adjacent parking spaces, with the offer of reserved space if required, and six disabled spaces. The hall itself has many advantages, both on the technical side and in terms of space available. 

(CLICK HERE TO VIEW MAP OF LOCATION & PARKING).

The attached map indicates the location and entry point from the Banbury Road. The entrance to the Hall is to the left of Main Reception. There will be directional signs to aid you on the night. Could I please encourage you to attend the meeting on Thursday to view this facility and to familiarise yourselves with entry and parking. It would be very valuable to have your input on the change – I feel sure that the adjacent parking will be an enormous benefit. It is also, of course, a chance to meet up with fellow enthusiasts after the summer break, to be part of the AGM and to enjoy the Members’ Contributions. We greatly value the personal contact that these meetings provide. Martin Green, WIAS Chairman, 11th September 2023

2023/2024 Season. Our full programme of talks is now available on our ‘Programme‘ page. The new format, last season, proved successful so once again it will be a mixture of 7 Live/Hybrid meeting and 3 ZOOM only meeting. 14th August 2023

WIAS Database Project. The Database project continues to go from strength to strength. Thanks to Roger Cragg a number of interesting new entries have been added and all versions updated. Visit the Database page at this link and do consider submitting a few entries. There are plenty of suitable objects around the county not yet included. 16th July 2023

WIAS Membership. We are pleased to confirm that membership fees for 2023-2024 will remain unchanged. Membership runs from 1st September each year for 12 months. £20 per individual and £26 per couple at the same address. (If you join WIAS after February, membership fees will be reduced on a pro-rata basis). 14th July 2023

Water Towers in Warwickshire. Roger Cragg has just updated his interesting article from 2020 with new and revised information. Click here to view. 14th July 2023

Newsletter 78 Now available on line – the June edition of the WIAS Newsletter which covers the meetings held in February and March, plus a couple of photos from each of two of the Visits organised by Alain Foote over the Spring. Many thanks to Chris Barney for taking on primary responsibility for writing up the meetings, and to Mike Hurn for putting the articles together. Newsletter 79 will be published in time for the new season, with full details of the programme 2023-2024. 21st June 2023

WIAS Meeting – The WIAS June meeting is the last of the season and I hope I can encourage as many as possible to attend in person at the Halse Pavilion, Warwick School. It is always good to meet up with fellow enthusiasts for the industrial heritage and the meeting will focus on a family and two firms that had a very significant influence on the industrial history of Stratford-upon-Avon, a topic worthy of a wider recognition and further research. The presentation is entitled ‘NCJoseph Ltd, SONA and Stratford Produce Canners’. Brian Joseph will be in attendance together with a few items from his family’s collection of SONA products. It will bring back memories of searching for that SONA wedding gift on the shelves of Rackhams or Debenhams! Martin Green, 6th June 2023

Making a Barrel! There must be many different ways to build a barrel but here is a German Cooper. Click on this link to watch. John Brace, 3rd June 2023

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The Coronation of His Majesty The King and Her Majesty The Queen Consort 
Saturday 6th May 2023

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WIAS Committee and Newsletter. Edition number 77 is now available on the website at this link. The 77th. edition of the WIAS Newsletter will be the last to be edited by Mike Hurn. He is handing over the computer keyboard after 15 years as editor, having produced 45 Newsletters over that period. The Newsletter is primarily a record of all the meetings held by WIAS, and Mike’s ability to accurately reflect the content and flavour of these meetings, whilst at the same time adding his own editorial style, have always made these reports a pleasure to read – as well as being a most valuable record for the Society. I am sure you would wish to join with me in offering our sincere thanks to Mike for all his efforts over the past 15 years. He should be very proud of what he has achieved in creating a lasting record of the activities of WIAS.

For the future, Chris Barney has agreed to maintain a watching brief over the role, but would very much like to increase the number of people willing to write up reports of meetings. There may a topic that is of particular interest to you – feel free to contact us if you would like to be involved. From my own experience, an occasional contribution has been a rewarding experience both in terms of coming to grips with a topic, and in contributing to the records of the Society. 

In addition, at the end of the current season of meetings, our Membership Secretary Sue Hammon has decided to resign her role, after many years of service. This is a key role in the Society and her calm, unobtrusive and efficient approach has been greatly valued. We are grateful for all that she has done over a long period of time. Once again, anybody willing to consider taking on this role should contact us, and we can discuss potential ways in which you might be able to help. The WIAS wheels need to keep turning and we rely to a large extent upon the efforts of a few. It would be very good to expand the number of people involved in running the society. Give it some thought! Martin Green, Chairman 16th April 2023

Next WIAS Meeting: 13th April 2023 (Hybrid) – ‘A View of Computing History – 22,000 Years in 60 Minutes’ – Peter Hoath.

I write to remind you of the next WIAS meeting, together with the fact that the meeting will be held in the PYNE ROOM, WARWICK SCHOOL, not the Halse Pavilion. This is because the Pavilion is being utilised for an Easter Holiday Programme of Activities.

Dennis Eagle Warwick Factory Tour – 22nd March 2023. A group from WIAS were indeed fortunate to enjoy a very full and informative tour of the Dennis Eagle plant on the Heathcote Industrial Estate, Warwick, part of the Terberg Environmental Group. Dennis Eagle manufactures over 1000 vehicles per year for a range of UK local authorities, and private sector contractors such as Biffa and Veolia. It is the dominant supplier in the UK market. The firm also has a continually expanding customer base in continental Europe, Scandinavia , Australia and the USA. Click here to read about the visit and view photos and a short video. Martin Green, Chairman 25th March 2023

Windmills in Germany! Another fascinating link to watch thanks to John Brace. This film, in German, shows how the sails for a windmill are erected. Click here to view the film. 17th March 2023

BALH Newsletter. The latest edition is now available, if you don’t receive this directly click here to view. 11th March 2023

Heritage of Industry Tours 2023. Please follow this link if you are interested in any of their planned tours as some of the dates have now changed. 11th March 2023

Death of WIAS Member. It is my sad duty to pass on the news that John Bell has died at the age of 85 years of age. John will be remembered as a quiet, modest man who was a loyal, long-serving, member of WIAS. Alongside and beyond a career at Armstrong Siddeley, Bristol Siddeley, Rolls-Royce and Jaguar Land Rover, he was blessed with the ability to develop a range of interests from arts to the many branches of engineering, combined with the pleasure of walking and overseas travel. He shared these interests and experiences with a group of friends from Coventry and these notes are very much based on the information supplied by one of those friends, Martin Woolston. John was always on the look-out for interesting meetings or places to visit, and he was a regular attendee on John Haslam’s former Heritage Coach Trips. I always found him courteous and friendly, with genuine enthusiasm for the transport and industrial heritage. He was typical of that generation that possessed widespread knowledge and experience, willing to share with others, but never in an over-bearing way. He was a highly-valued member of Warwickshire Industrial Archaeology Society.

John had suffered kidney problems for some time, manfully coping with the demands of dialysis, but he had been in and out of hospital for the past three months. He had a partner, Gill, for 40 years, and he is survived by two nieces. His funeral will take place at 1.45pm 0n Monday April 3rd. at Charter Chapel, Canley Crematorium, CV4 7DF.

Martin Green, Chairman, WIAS. 11th March 2023

WIAS Website 2014. For a glimpse at how we looked in 2014 click here. 25th February 2023

St Mary’s Church, Warwick. Many of you will know Tim Clark and remember his talk on Warwick’s Worsted Mill. Over many months Tim has been dedicated to recording the history of St. Mary’s Warwick (embodied in a book he has written) and he comments;

“Try as I might, I can’t find a connection between HISTORY 900 and WIAS, but I knew that nonetheless you’d be interested in seeing details of the programme, including the launch of the book on the history of St. Mary’s on 27 April. A copy of a poster we have produced is attached, and there are more details on www.faireandgoodlybuilt.org.uk and our Facebook and Instagram pages.” Martin Green, 18th February 2023

Barford Power Station. An interesting article on a little known hydro scheme, by John Brace, is available now in our ‘Contributions’ section. Click here. 18th February 2023

BALH Newsletter. The latest edition of the BALH Newsletter is now available to view at this link. As always, it is full of great articles. 15th February 2023

Barnacle Hall Brickworks. A new paper by Chairman, Martin Green, detailing the history of this little known location in North Warwickshire. “The unusually named hamlet of Barnacle lies on the outskirts of Coventry, and at least one site for brick-making had an important presence in the area during the second half of the nineteenth century through to the early years of the twentieth century”. Click here to view. 9th January 2023

Heritage of Industry Tours 2023. A new series if IA related tours including Swansea, Amsterdam and Portugal. Full details and booking information is available at this link. January 6th 2023

Welcome to WIAS 2023

‘The History of Stourbridge Glass’, Dr Kate Round. If you were unable to hear this excellent talk at our meeting on December 8th, it is now available to watch on our ZOOM recordings page. Click here to view the page now. There is also plenty of further reading on Kate’s website at https://kateround.com. 14th December 2022

British Association for Local History e-newsletter, December 2022. Thanks to Martin Green and Victor Lobb for providing a link to the latest newsletter from the BALH. As always, along with their excellent website, it is filled with very interesting quality articles. Click here for access. 4th December 2022

Leamington Spa. There is a new request for help on our ‘Can You Help’ page. Click here for full details. 29th November 2022

Vulcan XM 655 at Wellsbourne Mountford. John Willock has supplied this wonderfully evocative selection of images of Vulcan B Mk2, XM 655, taken at Wellesbourne Mountford, Warwickshire  on the 12/11/22. This aircraft has been at Wellesbourne Mountford since early 1984. This particular aircraft was the third last Vulcan to be completed and was equipped with the more powerful Bristol Olympus 301 engines. This machine is fitted with two sets of underwing “hard points” for the attachment of the projected Douglas GAM–87A Skybolt missile. This missile was cancelled by the Americans in December 1962, causing political difficulties between Britain and the USA; perhaps hastening the introduction of the submarine launched ICBM and the demise of the nuclear bomber.

Of the nineteen (19) Vulcans preserved worldwide, eight (8) are likely to have Skybolt missile pylon attachment points. Of these six (6) are in the UK and two (2) in the USA.  Every Vulcan from and including the 61^st B Mk 2 machine (XM 597), had wing strengthening and the Skybolt pylon attachment points. They are as follows: XM 597, at Lothian; XM 598, at Cosford; XM 603, at Woodford; XM 605, at Atwater, Cal. USA; XM 606, at Barksdale AFB, Bossier City, Louisiana. USA; XM 607, at RAF Waddington; XM 612, at City of Norwich and XM 655, at Wellesbourne Mountford.

For more on the the full Vulcan story, visit our page ‘Vulcans at Bitteswell’.

© All Images by Richard Willock. 22nd November 2022

Programme Change – November 10th 2022. It is with regret that I have to announce that Chris Clack, our speaker for Thursday’s meeting on Harry Ferguson, has tested positive for Covid and will be unable to deliver his talk. We have been in close contact via e-mail with Chris and he is very disappointed not to be able to join us and has agreed to deliver his talk at a future meeting. The current advice is that two clear days of negative testing should be in place prior to a meeting, and we are very mindful of the make-up of our membership, so would not wish to take any risks. However, I am delighted to report that Roger Cragg has agreed to step in and to deliver a talk on ‘The London and Birmingham Railway’. 

There is so much controversy about the HS2 route from London to Birmingham that it would seem timely to examine the earliest ‘high speed’ option between London Euston and Birmingham Curzon Street stations – The London and Birmingham Railway. It is a crucial link in the development of the UK rail network, and we are fortunate that Warwickshire is included in the path of this pioneering route. Roger will be known to many of you, with a highly respected knowledge of the civil engineering heritage of the Midlands, and I can guarantee an evening full of interest. 

I look forward to seeing you either in person or online for the meeting this Thursday. Refreshments available from 7pm at the Halse Pavilion.
Martin Green, Chairman WIAS 8th November 2022

Railways Remembered. Rob Foxon returns to the Benn Hall, Newbold Rd, Rugby at 7.30pm on Wednesday 5th October. ‘The East Coast Main Line 1896 -1966’ is a carefully researched programme of rare archive films recalling more than 100 years of East Coast Main Line Running. Tickets £8 on the door, licenced bar available. 22nd September 2022

The Maginot Line. My son Mark has just completed a television documentary for SWR Television based in Baden-Baden on the Maginot Line, which has just gone out respectively on the German and French national television systems. Whilst not exactly Industrial Archaeology of Warwickshire, it might just interest one or two of our members from an engineering point of view. Despite its somewhat blinkered military thinking, the Maginot Line was an innovative and brilliant blend of terrain and engineering solutions to meet a particular set of circumstances, ie, an existential threat from the east. Some of the Maginot Line forts are in excellent condition and contain much of their original equipment, including  fully operational electric railway systems, etc.  Very worth a visit. The documentary unfortunately is in German and some French, and runs for 44 min 22 secs. John Willock, 21st September 2022. Click this link to play the film.

Industrial Archaeology News. The latest edition of the AIA News, full of interesting articles, is available here. 27th July 2022

Summer News Supplement! Chairman, Martin Green, has put together a collection of items of interest to all. If you are on the WIAS mailing list you should have received it but it’s also available at this link. 23rd July 2022

WIAS Newsletter. Our latest newsletter, No. 76, is now available on line at this link. Many thanks to Mike Hurn for all his hard work in the preparation, volunteer editors/reporters are very welcome to assist! 20th July 2022

Newspaper Archive On Line. Warwickshire residents can now access over 3 million pages of historical newspaper articles online for free at a selection of Warwickshire Libraries or at the County Record Office. As part of an initiative from The British Library to digitise their historic newspapers, millions of pages have been scanned and made available online from The British Newspaper Archive (BNA). Warwickshire Library members will be able to benefit from this extensive resource saving hours of painstaking manual searching through microfilm. Click here for full details. 5th July 2022

Contributions. The start of July has seen two new contributions by WIAS members John Brace and John Willock. John Brace has supplied an interesting article about the arrival of electric power in Shipston on Stour in South Warwickshire. John Willock has given us his personal memories of Midland Garage Services, (MGS Engineering Co), Rugby Road, Leamington Spa. Both make excellent reading and can be found in our ‘Contributions’ list at this link. 3rd July 2022

Foundry Wood, Leamington Spa, has recently taken on the piece of adjacent land to the woodland – via a lease from Network Rail – to manage as a woodland and wildlife space. Much of the rail track has been left in situ (4 x railway sidings and buffers). You can see from the attached picture – how the silver birch trees are all growing between the tracks and look quite amazing. Full details available at http://www.foundrywood.co.uk/ and in our WIAS photo gallery here.

The Late Keith Rogers. I have received details from Martin Woolston of a Memorial Meeting to be held for Keith Rogers on Tuesday 5th. July at 2pm at the Hatton Locks Café on the Grand Union Canal just outside Warwick. Rather than sending full details to everyone, I thought it more appropriate just to send to those who knew Keith and would like to remember him via this gathering. There are no formal proceedings but simply a chance to share memories of Keith. I am very happy to pass on fuller details or they are available from Martin Woolston at martinwoolston@talktalk.net. Martin Green, Chairman WIAS 1st June 2022

Visit to HS2 Tunnel Site. Thanks to an initiative by George Illingworth, Alain Foote has arranged a visit to the Long Itchington Wood HS2 Tunnelling Works Visitor Centre for Wednesday 29th June at 13:00. We will visit the purpose-built Visitor Centre and viewing platform.  We will not enter the tunnel nor require PPE. The visit will last around one hour. Not quite industrial archaeology just yet, but it will certainly be of considerable interest. Please book your place with Alain Foote, WIAS Visits Secretary, email  alain.foote@outlook.com, and he will send additional details. 23rd May 2022

City Safaris. The last tour of the season in 2022 is now open for booking. Hamburg is Germany’s second largest city and has been a port for almost 1000 years. As a member of the Hanseatic League it had a lot of influence in the Middle Ages and traded with most of the known world. Full details of this trip are available at the Heritage of Industry web site. Click here. 23rd May 2022

Replacement of Rugby Rd Railway Bridge. Details and photos of the Rugby Rd, (Milverton), bridge replacement project in Leamington Spa have been added thanks to George Sayell. Visit this new page here. 26th April 2022

TV Tonight! Peter Coulls draws our attention to a programme tonight at 7.30pm ‘The Story of Slate’ on BBC4 where Huw Stephens visits the National Slate Museum in Llanberis. The North Wales slate industry has been very much in the news recently due to the award of World Heritage Status, and, of course, we benefited from the recent Zoom lecture by David Gwyn to WIAS. 4th April 2022

Rugby Road Railway Bridge, Leamington Spa. George Sayell has drawn attention to the activity associated with the replacement of the railway bridge at Milverton, Leamington Spa. Most obvious is the use of the fields in front of Rock Mill (known by many as the Potterton Fields), and he supplies photographs of that activity. He has been monitoring progress, with the field levelled and raised to create a working area, the creation of an access ramp for low-loaders; ‘ready-made’ pieces of the structure (e.g. concrete from Ireland) arriving by low loader; and the large crane installed (which arrived in pieces and was erected on site). It will be interesting to observe progress. 30th March 2022

WIAS. A reminder to one and all that WIAS meetings re-start in person at The Halse Pavilion, Warwick School tomorrow, Thursday 10th March 2022. Doors open at 7pm for coffee and chat with the presentation at 7.30pm. If you cannot attend in person the meeting is also being ‘ZOOMED’. 9th March 2022

WIAS Newsletter No. 75. Thanks to Mike Hurn, the latest newsletter is now available on the WIAS website. Visit the Newsletter & Retort page or click here. 9th March 2022

White Japanned Clock Dial. The latest paper from John Willock is a brief history of the White Japanned Clock Dial and its manufacture for about a century, predominantly in Birmingham. Everyone is familiar with the so called “Grandfather Clock”, more accurately called a long case clock, and the white faced dial that is often an accompanying feature. Click here to read John’s latest contribution with excellent illustrations. 18th February 2022

Photos. The photo gallery is available again but may disappear from time to time to allow for updating and re-construction. Contributions welcome. 9th February 2022

Heritage of Industry Tours. Managing Director Bill Barksfield is pleased to announce that a full programme of UK and International tours is now available. Bookings can be made through their website at this link. 8th February 2022

‘Brass, Steel and Fire: 100 years of Model Engineering’. A talk by Anthony Coulls, Senior Curator Rail Transport & Technology – National Railway Museum. If you were not able to join our January ZOOM meeting, this excellent talk by Anthony was recorded and is now available, (with sub-titles), on the web site at this link. 19th January 2022

The Bentley BR1 & BR2 Rotary Aero Engines of World War 1. This is the subject of the latest paper from our WIAS aviation writer, John Willock. John has excelled once again with a detailed history of the rotary aero engines, a joint collaboration between W.O. Bently and the Humber Motor Co, Coventry. Click here to read the full article. 12th January 2022

AIA eNews Bulletin January 2022. The latest edition from the AIA is available now at this link. Full of information, as always, there is an interesting item about the re-purposed Catesby Tunnel between Rugby and Banbury. The tunnel is now a high tech vehicle test track, possibly the only one of its kind in the world. 12th January 2022

WIAS Newsletter No. 74. The latest WIAS Newsletter is now available on the web site. Click here to visit the Newsletter page. Many thanks to Mike Hurn for preparing the newsletter which involves a great deal of time & effort. 6th January 2022

‘ZOOM’ Visitors. Non-members can now visit a new page where they can complete a short form and make a suggested donation of £3 to access a ‘ZOOM’ meeting. If you know anyone who may like to take advantage, please pass on the link. You can visit the page here. 6th January 2022

The AW 55 Apollo. The latest paper from John Willock gives us a look at the short lived Armstrong Whitworth AW 55 Apollo – ‘The Forgotten Airliner’. Click here to read the full article. 29th December 2021

Winter Steam on Saturday 11th December. If you are a steam enthusiast, there is a treat in store on Saturday.

1) 44871 Black Five will be passing through Leamington Spa on a northbound ‘Christmas Market Excursion’ from Paddington to Birmingham and then on to Shrewsbury. It returns via the same route in the evening. NOTE – Loco change – Duchess of Sutherland is replaced by Black Five 44871.
Timings – Northbound, Leamington Spa at approx 1009hrs, Southbound at approx 1948hrs.

2) 7029 Clun Castle will be heading south on ‘The Merchant Venturer’ stopping at Leamington Spa having already collected passengers at Solihull, Dorridge and Warwick Parkway. It’s final destination is Bristol.
Timings – Southbound, Leamington Spa at approx 0902hrs, Northbound at approx 2123hrs.

More timings are available via links on the Rail Advent website. 9th December 2021

WIAS Meeting. I write with details of the next WIAS meeting on Thursday December 9th. at 7.30pm delivered by Zoom, where Dr. David Eveleigh will give a presentation ‘Bogs, Baths and Basins: the history of domestic sanitation’. Services utilised by us all every day have an interesting history and Dr. Eveleigh will explore this and the associated developments in technology. He is the leading expert in the UK on this subject, well recorded in his highly-regarded book. Martin Green. 6th December 2021

‘FLAG’ meeting on Tuesday 18th January 2022. ’18th Century Coventry Silkmen – Masters of the City’s Industrial Universe’ by David Fry. If you were unable or chose not to join in this presentation to WIAS via ZOOM earlier this year, this is an opportunity to see and hear it again ‘in person’. FLAG (Friends of Leamington Art Gallery) presentations take place at Dormer Conference Centre at 7.30pm. All welcome. 30th October 2021

The Late Ivor Jones, 1927 – 2020. An obituary page is now available to view at this link. 30th October 2021

Crossness in 1961 by George Sayell. From 1957-62 I did a Student Apprenticeship with English Electric, Rugby, manufacturers of steam turbines and large slow revving static diesel engines for power generation. In the Spring and early Summer of 1961 I was sent down to the ‘Southern Outfall Works’ (Crossness) where the company was in the preliminary stage of installing diesel engines and associated equipment in the new power house. (In fact the power house was then an empty building. The engines would not have appeared until the following year). The engines were to be ‘dual fuel’ in that they would start up on oil and then run on methane gas. During my time there I took a number of photos on 3 films, the script provides information on the films. It must be appreciated that these are my recollections after 60 years. To view the full article and photos click here. 26th October 2021

Coventry Transport. A nice trip down memory lane for transport enthusiasts! This gathering of Coventry Transport vehicles was photographed over the late summer bank holiday weekend outside Yardley Wood Garage in Birmingham. 21st October 2021

WIAS MOLE. The WIAS MOLE, (Monthly On Line Edition), was launched in September 2021 to keep the WIAS on line community in touch with news and views on the industrial heritage of Warwickshire and beyond. A printed version was sent to those without internet access. It was always intended as an experiment and after the first three issues, we are in a position where social distancing is diminishing and access to sites, museums etc is easier, so we shall not continue with further editions. Any crucial pieces of information will be sent out by e-mail, but only on an occasional basis. The 3 editions of the MOLE are reproduced at this link. Use the small tool bar at the bottom of the screen to enlarge, zoom, flip pages etc. Martin Green, WIAS Chairman, 13th October 2021

“Regent of London“ David Strasburger Limited, Leamington Spa. This new contribution from John Willock describes the history of a fascinating Leamington Spa manufacturer of fancy goods. Do you still have any of the items they produced at home perhaps? Click here to read now. 30th September 2021

Derek Billings. A tribute to the late Derek Billings has been added to the website, click here to visit the page. 18th September 2021

The WIAS Database. The database continues to grow and WIAS welcomes new contributions. If you know of an existing piece of IA, that is not already listed, please send us the details and a photograph if possible. Complete the simple form at this link to submit a new entry. 11th September 2021

Kempton Steam Museum and Hercule Poirot. What’s the connection you might ask? ITV3 and Drama, amongst other channels, are showing the brilliant Poirot series starring David Suchet. If you saw the episode ‘The Murder of Roger Ackroyd’ this week, you might have spotted that the enormous ‘factory’ in the story was in fact the Engine House at Kempton Steam Museum, home of the world’s largest working triple-expansion steam engine. Worth watching on ‘catch up’ if you missed it. Click here to visit the Kempton web site. 11th September 2021

46100 Royal Scot passing through Kenilworth on Saturday 4th September 2021

WIAS Newsletter No. 73. The latest newsletter is now available on the website. Click here. 9th September 2021

The Pioneering Life of Peter Kirk–From Derbyshire to the Pacific Northwest.
Pages:318
eBook ISBN:9781098370923
Paperback ISBN:9781098370916

I have recently published a biography about Peter Kirk, a 19th century industrialist who manufactured rails and sold them around the world. He incorporated at least 15 of his own inventions into his products and the machines that produced them to fuel his success.
His knowledge base came from his Derbyshire family who had been in the wrought iron business since at least 1770.

Even though this story encompasses Peter Kirk’s life, including immigration to an American frontier to build a large-scale steel mill in 1886, there are many anecdotes of interest to industrial archaeologists. Some of these include: the Industrial Revolution additions his ancestors put to work to advance the forge, his family’s work philosophy, an incident after the 1842 Mines Act passed, how he and his brothers tackled the chemistry problems of the different ores and other resources needed, descriptions of his inventions, and how rails were made.

My book is titled The Pioneering Life of Peter Kirk–From Derbyshire to the Pacific Northwest. You can read the first ten pages at Book Baby Bookshop: https://store.bookbaby.com/book/the-pioneering-life-of-peter-kirk. It is offered on Amazon, Waterstones, Baker & Taylor, and Bookshop.org.

Best regards,
Saundra Middleton

Life after Victoria. The Leamington History Group present our new film about the history of Leamington. Life After Victoria tells the story of the town in the early 20th century – its contribution to the First World War and the Votes for Women movement, the transformation in living conditions and workers’ rights, and the birth of some of Leamington’s most treasured cultural institutions. We also bring the long-lost Leamington and Warwick Tramway back to life! 16th August 2021

Water Towers in Warwickshire. Roger Cragg has put together a comprehensive paper containing details of Water Towers, surviving, converted and demolished in Warwickshire. There is also a photo gallery of some of the installations. The list of towers is searchable. Click here to visit the page. 9th August 2021

Precision Gauge Blocks. Also sometimes referred to as Slip Gauges or “Jo Blocks”, are the foundation of physical measurement in mechanical engineering. John Willock’s latest contribution explains in detail their importance in the world of precision engineering. Click here to read this fascinating illustrated paper. 6th August 2021

WIAS 2021 – 2022 Subscriptions. As we move towards re-launching a season of traditional WIAS meetings, (regulations permitting), a timely remeinder that subscriptions are due from the 1st September for 12 months. Full details and methods of payment are on our ‘Membership’ page. Click here to visit. 4th August 2021

UNESCO World Heritage Status for the Talyllyn Railway. Many people will have heard that the Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales was granted this incredible accolade this week. The 6th component of the application was the Talyllyn Railway, Abergynolwyn and Bryneglwys Quarry, familiar to many from the Midlands who have taken holidays in the area. To celebrate the news – the Talyllyn Railway put on a special train, with No.2 Dolgoch pulling a rake of slate wagons – just like it would have done back in the 1860’s! The driver was none other than Anthony Coulls, familar to all of us at WIAS! Enjoy the interview with Anthony and a trip up the line with the slate train in this film. 1st August 2021

Funeral – The Late Derek Billings. The funeral will take place at  the North Chapel, Oakley Wood Crematorium on Monday August 9th. at 10.00 a.m. I do hope that those who knew Derek will be able to attend. Martin Green, WIAS Chairman 26th July 2021

Industrial Explorer – West Yorkshire 9th – 12th September 2021. The Heritage of Industry walking tour based in Bradford has been sold out for some time but, due to a late cancellation, we can now offer one place (would consider two people sharing a double or twin room) on an exploration of this former woollen town and surrounding areas. Read full details here and if you are interested email me quickly bill@heritageofindustry.co.uk and we may be able to get you in! Bill Barksfield, Managing Director, Heritage of Industry Ltd 26th July 2021

Chesapeake Mill, Hampshire. As far as we know, there is no Warwickshire link but John Willock’s latest contribution about how this fascininating mill got it’s name is a cracking historical story well worth reading. If you find yourself in Hampshire the mill is well worth a visit. Click here to read the story. 19th July 2021

The Friendly Midland Red. In an extensively illustrated presentation, Transport Author Roger Torode, will talk us through the 70-year history of this fascinating company, covering: its substantial growth from early horse bus operations through to its segmentation prior to privatisation; its distinctive and largely self-build vehicle policy; its people; its style; and its similarities (and differences) with parallel developments in London.

Produced by The Friends of the London Transport Museum
Donate to the London Transport Museum at https://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/donate
Join the Friends at https://www.ltmuseumfriends.co.uk/

AIA e-News Bulletin July 2021. This edition is now avialable, click here to access. 15th July 20221

Death of WIAS member – Derek Billings. It is with much sadness that we announce the death of Derek Billings at 1pm on Tuesday 13th July 2021. He had been admitted to Warwick Hospital as an emergency on Saturday 10th. Derek was one of the most loyal members of WIAS, and his knowledge and photographic collection was unrivalled, he was particularly keen on Railway and Canal subjects for his camera lens. More than this, he was always courteous, helpful, and positive, ever willing to add to the knowledge of others. Our thoughts at this sad time will be with Pat, son Andrew and daughter Sarah. Further information will follow in due course. M Green & J Willock 13th July 2021

Ivor Jones. Many WIAS members will remember Ivor Jones who died in 2020. Owing to the Covid-19 regulations the funeral was restricted to a limited number of family members only. Everyone is invited to a Service of Memorial to be held at St Nicholas Church, High Street, Kenilworth at 11am on Tuesday 5th October 2021, to commemorate Ivor’s life on what would have been his 94th birthday. The service will be immediately followed by the interment of Ivor’s ashes in the churchyard, to which all are also invited, after which the family hope as many people as possible will join them at Bubbenhall village hall for lunch. 7th July 2021

“A Worcestershire Wizard” The Heywood SH6 Series Air Compressor. Members might recall John Willock speaking about this interesting piece of aviation equipment at one of our Warwick School meetings. He has now produced a fine paper giving a lot more information about the compressor and how it was used in some of our most famous WWII military aircraft. Click here. 16th June 2021

Healey Blue Plaque. Following on from the opening of the ‘Healey Cars – For Speed and Glamour’ exhibition in the Market Hall Museum in Warwick, Peter Coulls has passed on this information:

“On Saturday July 3rd there is to be an unveiling of a blue plaque at Healey Court, Warwick, commemorating the site of the Healey showroom. The organisers are expecting about 300 Healeys to descend on Warwick for this event and have arranged with the Town council to use part of Myton fields as a car park for the Healey cars. The organisers would like to assemble a team of volunteer marshals to keep an eye on the cars during the event. They are looking at covering a period from 9 until 5 and having two marshals at a time for 2 or 3 hours depending on the number of volunteers. If anyone is interested in helping out, please contact David Scothorn at :  davidscothorn@outlook.com.”

Incidentally, I have been asked about an easily accessible lead-in to the Healey story and I would recommend Graham Robson’s Austin-Healey (Shire Publications), available from the Museum Exhibition. I do hope the summer will give opportunities for further exploration of the industrial heritage, and that you will discover material that deserves to be shared with the WIAS community via website or talk. We are always ready to hear what you have to say! With best wishes, Martin Green, 15th June 2021

Snow Hill Station. If you remember travelling into Snow Hill, Birmingham, take a look at this collection of slides from Derek Billings taken in 1977. Click here. 13th June 2021

The Water Tower, Tainters Hill, Kenilworth. IA enthusiasts might be interested to know that Kenilworth’s famous water tower on Tainters Hill is currently for sale, priced at just £1.4 million. Once home to the owner of Druckers Vienna Patisserie chain, there are good photgraphs available on the Right Move web site at this link. 1st June 2021

Upton House & Shenington Airfield in Wartime. Further to recent dicussions, John Willock has put together a short paper about this interesting location in the south of the county. Click here. 29th May 2021

Cherry Orchard Brick Works, Kenilworth. There is a new request on our ‘Can You Help?’ page for information about surviving members of the Burgess family who owned and operated the brick works. For full details visit the page here. 24th May 2021

HMS Hood. John Willock has put together some information to mark the 80th anniversary of the sinking of the battlecruiser HMS Hood on the 24th May 2021. Click here to visit the new page in our ‘Contributions’ section. 19th May 2021

Drain Spotting: The people who keep their minds in the gutter! Manhole covers, coalhole covers and drain covers all offer access to an underground world that is full of artistry, history and in many cases beauty. Click here to visit this BBC feature on a fascinating aspect of IA.

The BBC programme: ‘Boring Talks’ No 49, Coal Holes. “Amir Dotan explores the small metal discs on our pavements and door steps”, is available via BBC Sounds at this link. 15th May 2021

Crossness Engines. I have received this note via Alain Foote from the Greenwich Industrial History Society concerning a Zoom talk on the crossness Engines. Crossness will be familiar to many WIAS members and this looks like an ideal opportunity to learn more. There is a limit on numbers so move quickly to register. Details are included in the message. Martin Green, 7th May 2021

FROM GREENWICH INDUSTRIAL HISTORY SOCIETY
Next Tuesday, 11 May, we are holding our eighth virtual talk. Mike Jones, of the Crossness Engines Trust, will be talking about Crossness engines past and present. Crossness — down the river, just beyond Thamesmead — is famous as the site of the Joseph Bazalgette sewage works. This follows the talk from Chris Binnie back in February 2021 about the history of London sewers from Bazalgette to the Thames Tideway Tunnel. (You can still see Chris’s talk and all of the others on YouTube, at http://tinyurl.com/GIHSvideo

As will all of the other talks in the Covid era, Mike’s talk on Tuesday will be free of charge, but you must sign up in advance via Eventbrite using this link:https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/crossness-engines-past-and-present-tickets-153544109565

Two Zoom presentations to tell you about. The second is run by AIA and takes place on Saturday 8th. May and offers a truly global view on the subject of industrial archaeology. It is The First East-West Workshop on Industrial Archaeology’, with speakers drawn from very different parts of the world.The two speakers from the West should be familiar!

The first is closer to home. It announces the next WIAS Zoom Presentation on Thursday 13th. May when Dr. Ray Wilson will give a presentation on the “The Industrial Heritage of Gloucestershire’. The variety of the county’s industrial heritage sites will provide a fascinating evening, and hopefully may tempt you out on day trips, or even a longer ‘staycation’. All are very welcome to tune in, particularly those considering joining us for the first time. Both events are free, although the AIA requires registration first. Martin Green, 6th May 2021

Topic: WIAS 13 May 2021 meeting, Time: May 13, 2021 07:00 PM London – Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88309962203
Meeting ID: 883 0996 2203, To join the meeting using your ‘phone’, please dial:, 03300885830 or 01314601196

AIA ZOOM Presentation – Saturday 8th May 2021 10:30 – 12:30 online
The 1^st East-West Workshop on Industrial Archaeology.
Full details and registration available at this link.

‘Retort Magazine’. The original WIAS annual publication, ‘Retort’, has been available to view on the website for some time. The digital copies have now been turned into ‘Flip Books’ so when you view them it’s just like turning the real pages over. At the bottom each page there is a small toolbar where you can toggle the pages and make them full screen for easy reading – zoom in or out to make text larger or smaller etc. Click this link to view. 4th May 2021

For Sale. If you are a Frank Whittle admirer, you might be interested in part of Frank Whittle Mews in Leamington Spa which is currently being advertised for sale! Frank Whittle Mews 3rd May 2021

Early Wooden Railways. There is a tendency to think that railways were a nineteenth century phenomenon, the names of Trevithick, Blenkinsop, Hackworth and Stephenson, et al, being synonymous with their early development. However, this is a very incomplete view of the historical picture! The latest paper from John Willock delves into this interesting subject. Find it in our ‘Contributions’ section or go directly at this link. 3rd May 2021

WIAS 2021 Survey. Thank you to everyone who took part, the survey has now closed. 18th April 2021

Heritage and Culture Warwickshire have a series of Live virtual talks over the next few months. The first is on 28th April and is about Warwick County Lunatic Asylum. Details on this talk and the others are on the link. https://heritage.warwickshire.gov.uk/adultsandyoungpeopleevents

We are hoping to open the County Record Office and Market Hall Museum in May if restrictions are lifted. Market Hall will have a new exhibition on Healey Cars so I hope you will be able to visit us soon.

Austin Healey Motor Company
Wednesday 9 June 8pm – 9.15pm Cost: £3*
Join us for this virtual talk on the archives of the Donald Healey Motor Company, now part of an exhibition at Market Hall Museum. The Donald Healey Motor Company is best remembered for the world famous Austin Healey sports cars but did you know that the company was based in Warwick? Rob Eyre, Senior Archivist explores the history of the company and its founder Donald Healey, with reference to the archive material now held at the County Record Office.

BOOK YOUR TICKET HERE

Louise Louise Jennings
Development Coordinator (Marketing and Fundraising)
Heritage & Culture Warwickshire (HCW)
Email: louisejennings@warwickshire.gov.uk 15th April 2021

WIAS 2021 Survey. There are only 2 days left to complete the survey. If you haven’t already done so please consider doing it to help plan the future of the society. Click on this link to complete the on line form, it only takes 2 or 3 minutes. 15th April 2021

Underfloor Hypocaust Warm Air Heating System. There is a new request for information about this heating system that was installed in some south Warwickshire churches on our ‘Can You Help’ page. Two Leamington builders were responsible. Click here to read the full request. 14th April 2021

Heritage of Industry – Latest Trips. The latest newsletter from this organization detailing events planned for later this year is available at this link. 13th April 2021

Donations. Thank you to those who have donated to WIAS recently. Although we are not meeting in person yet, the society still has running costs. All support is very much appreciated. 12th April 2021

Swing Bridges & Burning Issues! Paul Waller thought the attached eventbrite event might be of interest to members 
Burning Issues: The Future of Fossil Fuels in Heritage

Pater Coulls has supplied some photos of the Anderton Lift which are now up on the website and I include two shots of the Northwich Swing Bridge on the River Weaver, plus a youTube video. Feels like a return visit to Cheshire is coming on! 
PreviewPreview3:14Northwich Town Swing BridgeYouTube · mykaskin7 Oct 2014

Best wishes to all, Martin Green, Chairman WIAS. 12th April 2021

Anderton Boat Lift. After mention of the Anderton Boat Lift during this months Zoom talk, ‘The Salt Archaeology of Cheshire’, Peter Coulls supplied these photos he took on a vist in 2014. 10th April 2021

European Heritage Awards / Europa Nostra Awards. Although the award winners cover all sorts of structures – the majority have some sort of industrial interest.  Those that don’t are still worth looking at.  There is not a lot of text (in three languages) but the pictures are splendid.  Something over 200 pages but well worth downloading. It highlights 50 winners of the European Heritage Awards / Europa Nostra Awards from 19 different countries. As such you would expect 2 or 3 from each country, but there are in fact 12 winners from the UK! Click on ‘Further information on the publication’ and then under ‘Object Links’ on the righthand side, click ‘Download’ to download a pdf of the publication, but be aware it is about 440MB! It takes a while for the document to open. Link. Chris Barney 4th April 2020

Thank You! to all those who have supported WIAS with donations during the difficult period of lockdown and subsequent restrictions. Your contributions are greatly appreciated. Thanks also to all those who have returned the Survey forms. We have heard from several of our more regular supporters, but we are equally keen to hear from those who are occasional visitors or, indeed, new contacts. The information about the Survey and Donations can be found on the website. 3rd April 2021

Next WIAS Zoom Lecture is on Thursday April 8th. at 7.30pm, when Dr. Mike Nevell will speak on ‘Cheshire’s Salt Archaeology’. Dr Mike Nevell is a landscape, buildings, community, and industrial archaeologist with more than 30 years experience, and has become one of the country’s leading figures in the field of industrial archaeology. He was Chairman of the Association for Industrial Archaeology from 2017-2020, and he is currently Industrial Heritage Support Officer for England, a project funded by Historic England. 3rd April 2021

Coventry Singer. On a rare trip out to the local farm shop today this beautiful Singer pulled into the parking area. This particular vehicle is a Singer 10-26 (1926), Engine 1308cc S4 OHC, Production 15500, Registration Number RU 3845. A modernised version of the Singer 10 with four wheel brakes from 1926 as indicated by the red triangle on the rear bumper Cost for complete car £220 in 1925! 30th March 2021

Martin Green, WIAS – Old Warwickians Talk, March 2021 – Thanks to Anne Douglas, Alumni Relations, Warwick School, WIAS is able share the following film. 175 OWs from across the globe and decades zoomed in to Martin Green’s fascinating talk on Warwickshire’s Industrial Heritage and Warwick School. From Scotland to San Diego and Sydney to South Africa, OWs reconnected with each other, with Martin and with the school. 29th March 2021

WIAS 2021 Survey. The survey is now available to complete on line. Please help define the future of WIAS by giving us your views. Click here. 27th March 2021.

Gloucester-Whittle E28/39 ‘Pioneers’. In the latest paper in our Aviation section, John Willock concentrates on the development of this incredible jet powered aeroplane. Although not actually constructed in Warwickshire it made many flights from RAF Shenington/Edgehill across the Warwickshire countryside. Click here. 27th March 2021

Guestbook. Our WIAS Guestbook page is now available, click here. 19th March 2021

Bentley Cars. Following on from our January “Bentley Boys” talk I remembered taking these photographs which might be of interest. Better late than never! 19th March 2021

GPO Marker Post etc. This web site is dedicated to those cast iron pieces of street furniture that almost always go un-noticed, but are reminders of our social, technological and physical past. Marker posts of a standard design were used by the Post Office (later known as the General Post Office, or GPO) from the earliest days of telecommunications, when they ran the fledgling telegraph network in the UK. There is an interactive UK map showing positions of markers and cables and a detailed section on Manhole covers. Well worth a visit. Click here. 16th March 2021

WIAS March Talk. Our speaker this month, David Fry, has very kindly made the text of his talk on the ’18th Century Coventry Silkmen’ available to us. Click here to view. 13th March 2021

WIAS Database. More contributions to our IA database are always welcome. If you have a photo of IA that still exists and can be seen today you can complete a simple form on our database page and send it to us. The database team will do the rest. Just click on the link in the main menu for full details. You can also search the database by, industry, location or photograph. The database has just been updated with a number of new entries. 10th March 2021

Coventry Factories – Long gone Coventry Factories including, MF, BL Triumph, Rootes, Coventry Climax and Hawker Siddeley feature in this Coventry Telegraph album. Click here to view. 2nd March 2021

Jet Man: The Making and Breaking of Frank Whittle, Genius of the Jet Revolution by Duncan Campbell-Smith. This new publication has now been reviewed by John Willock. Click here to visit our ‘Book’ page and read it. 22nd February 2021

R F Brookes Pie Factory. Following on from Martin Green’s research, Paul Cooke sent the following information.

I found you story “ R.F.Brookes, Pie Factory “ very enjoyable, I started working there in the latter part of 1969 as an oven operator. Both a Mr Stewart and a Mr J Griffiths worked in a management capacity, if I remember correctly Mr Griffiths was the factory manager.

A few months into my employment I can remember that we were told to expect a important visit, the visitor was a Mr Rick Turnbull who was a Canadian by birth and a relative to Mr Brookes. We later understood that Mr Turnbull was to takeover the running of R.F.Brookes. I never saw Rick again and later found out he was based at Wigston, Leicestershire.

Shortly after his visit there was a restructure and a change of management, one or two moving over the canal to start Shire Foods. Sometime after we were taken over by Avana Meat Products. At sometime I had started the management training program and part of that role was to represent the management on the social club side.

As far as I can remember it was always called R.F.Brookes social club, but I’m not sure if it didn’t have or was possibly going to have a name change to Avana Products ?? I think it was turned down as everyone knew Brookes or pie factory. We did have a football team which was called Avana, I do have a photo of the team which was near all Warwick based.

I left Brookes in 1976 and moved away to Ross-on-wye, only to return a couple of years later to work for Rick Turnbull at Wigston. 17th February 2021

Hydro Electric Power & Aluminium Production. Stuart Robertson & Martin Green highly recommend this 30 mins video. To read Stuart’s notes on the area and the process click here. 13th February 2021

Transporter Bridges. Following the interesting talk on Thursday night, Peter Coulls has supplied these excellent photos of Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge which he took in the 1980’s. 12th February 2020

WIAS February Meeting. Don’t forget our Zoom meeting this Thursday 11th Feb, Margaret Ingham, ‘The UK’s Forgotten Transporter Bridge and the Campaign to Save It’.

WIAS in the past. Do you ever wonder what we were doing years ago? Have a look at our ‘Index of Meetings’ page and you can see all our meeting and events back to 1993. Use the search box in the top right corner to search for a word or year. Link here. 10th February 2021

More Aviation – Own a V Bomber! Our aviation enthusiasts might be interest in a forthcoming auction to be held by the well known auctioneer Charles Hanson. (Link here).

‘We are pleased to be offering a unique private collection of part restored V Bomber cockpits, along with many additional individual items from the collection. This is a rare opportunity to own a collection accumulated over many years. We are currently inviting offers on the entire collection, with a view to going to auction as catalogued if the complete collection has not been sold. From left to right, Victor B2 XH670, Vulcan B2/K2 XH560, VictorK2 XH669 At rear Valiant B1 XD826’. 1st Feb 2021

The Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory. The latest paper from John Willock in our Warwickshire Industries, (Aviation Section), is now available here. Another excellent read from our aviation expert! Click here to visit. 25th January 2021

Newsletter No. 71. Thanks to Mike Hurn the latest WIAS newsletter is now available to read on the website. Visit the ‘Newsletter’ page here. By the way, many of the latest web browsers and pdf readers now offer an audio function should you prefer to listen to it being read to you! 21st January 2021

Diana Barnato -Walker The Powder Compact Incident. Born in 1918 Diana Barnato was the daughter of playboy “Bentley Boy” racing driver Woolf Barnato and his wife Dorothy. The Barnato family, who were extremely wealthy, had made their considerable fortune in the diamond mines of South Africa. Consequently, Diana had something of a gilded upbringing being a debutante and had the means to learn to fly privately before the Second World War broke out. She was an extremely attractive young woman and this contributed to her persona.

If you joined our WIAS January Zoom meeting this week, you may have noticed John Willock holding up a sign with ‘The Powder Compact Incident’ written on it! Unfortunately John had no working microphone so he was unable to tell us the story. He has since written it down and this fascinating incident is now available here.

Fine Porcelain. Members may be interested in this piece of porcelain which features the Iron Bridge at Coalbrookdale. It is a superbly painted and extremely accurate image of the Iron Bridge based on the William Ellis engraving of 1782 – itself based on an original painting by Michael Angelo Rooker. The item is a porcelain tray, part an Imperial Vienna Porcelain Factory Cabaret Set, comprising: Tray, Coffee Pot, Coffee Cup & Saucer, Sucre and Milk Jug, Circa 1801. Only the tray carries the image, which is set against a lovely Mazarin Blue ground. The inscription is in French. The set is displayed in the Museo delle  Porcellane, Pitti Palace, Florence. Porcelain comes quite high on my set of interests and it doesn’t come much better than this. Its rather a pity its not on a piece of English porcelain – of course one would immediately think of Coalport. I wrote about this item in  the Caughley Society Newsletter No71, August 2017. Industrial Archaeology comes in many forms, as we all know! 

(The original engraving, shown above, was acquired by the British Museum in 1870 but is not on display. For full details click on this link). 

This rather naïve mostly printed, but with some hand wash, image of the Iron Bridge on a saucer was made at the Caughley factory circa, 1782-94. It is extremely rare with only one example known to date. The image contains one little known feature of the bridge when it was first built. If you look at the third, innermost, rib it will be seen that it does not continue right through to the base. This rib continuation was added subsequently. This feature can be most easily discerned in a 1780 print (woodcut) made by J Edmunds, from which this ceramic print was most likely made. John Willock, 14th January 2021

AIA Newsletter. The latest AIA newsletter is available to read here. 9th December 2021

WIAS Zoom Meeting 14th January at 7.30pm. David Skillen – ‘The Bentley Boys’. The Bentley Boys were a group of wealthy British motorists who drove Bentley sports cars to victory in the 1920s and kept the marque’s reputation for high performance alive. In 1925, as the marque foundered, Bentley Boy Woolf  Barnato bought the company, leading to the creation of the famous supercharged Bentley Blower car. 8th January 2021

WARWICKSHIRE AVIATION
by Alfred J. Jenks
ISBN 978-1-5272-7216-3
534 pages. 297mm x 207mm. Hardback.
£25 + £7 p&p UK

If you are considering buying a copy of this excellent publication you can now read John Willock’s review of the book on our ‘Book’ page, click here. 8th January 2021

Norman Engineering. There have been some useful e-mail exchanges recently concerning a company named Norman Engineering, a firm initially located in Upper Grove Street in Leamington Spa, before they moved to Millers Road in Warwick in 1936. Among other things, they made portable petrol engine driven generator sets for the military during the Second World War.  Thanks to information supplied by Tony McGuire we now know they made much more; including components for several of the minor aero-engine manufacturers such as Pobjoys and Cirrus-Hermes. They also seem to have made airframe components, including machined tube end attachment fittings, similar to those used in aero engine bearers. John Willock 30th December 2020

Kenilworth Scooter. Jon Tait, a member of the Vintage Motorcycle Club, reminds us of the following: “I’m a member of the Vintage Motorcycle Club, and was going through a backlog of club journals, I came across this article that may be of interest to you and your members. The Kenilworth scooter itself is interesting, but I was unaware of the Norman Engineering Company, who were in Leamington and supplied the engines. Does anybody know anything more about them? I enclose a scanned copy of the article. Please feel free to distribute it, as appropriate.”

I am happy to pass this on with grateful thanks to Jon and the Vintage Motorcycle Club. Martin Green 29th December 2020

Click here to view the article

More Great Central. Thanks to Chris Barney who follows up Roger Cleal’s story of walking through the Catesby Tunnel, but with a slightly more disconcerting tale!

“My experience of the tunnel was somewhat different.  In 1975 or ‘76 some friends were staying with us and they, as we, had a 7 year old son. It was a beautifully sunny Sunday afternoon and I had the idea to walk through Catesby Tunnel. Our respective wives dropped us near the South end and drove around taking the even younger children to wait for us. I and my friend set off with the two little boys in summer clothes and a couple of torches into the darkness. We were completely unprepared for the thick fog we encountered after about a hundred yards so thick the torches were barely any use at all. We should have turned round but that would have meant a long and devious walk by the lanes to catch up with the rest and of course there were no mobiles, so we kept on. If anything the fog got thicker and as we got further in we came to where they were scrapping up the ballast and so the surface was very rough and at one point I fell flat on my face into a pile of ballast. As you can imagine the seven year olds were beginning to get quite frightened and so keeping them cheerful was another worry. Reciting rhymes and singing was about the best we could do. Then we got cold – we really needed full arctic wear but only had skimpy shirts and shorts on with sandals or the like. It was not good. Three or four times there was ghostly light as we passed under the air shafts. Right in the middle, the strangest thing, we came to a little dozer probably a D4 or a Drott left there by the contractors which we nearly walked into. The mixture of fog and pitch black I shan’t forget. It took a long time but finally a faint glimmer ahead cheered us up and after a bit more we came out into the bright sunlight, none the worse but very relieved indeed.” 29th December 2020

Great Central Railway. In the midst of unremitting gloom, rest assured that WIAS and its membership will be able to discover glimmers of light. Roger Cleal – together with others – has recalled experiencing a trip through Catesby Tunnel, now being converted to an interesting alternative use. This was as a result of the TV programme ‘Walking Britain’s Lost Railways’ Series 3 Episode 4: the East Midlands, available on My5. This explores the Great Central Railway, which passes for a short stretch through Warwickshire. This is strongly recommended – Roger calls it Compulsory Christmas Viewing! He writes “We as a cycling group had walked a couple of times with our bikes through the tunnel south to north usually from either Badby or Greens Norton youth hostels. I hadn’t appreciated it was 1.7 miles long. My memories are of a very dark, dangerous walk done during my late teens or 20’s in the early 1970’s with huge holes in the floor and water dripping from the air vents. I’m glad to see it put to some good use. It was a pity the viaduct was after the tunnel in the programme and not in the correct order. In addition. it was a great shame it ended there and did not continue to Marylebone”. Also highlighted is the quality of the civil engineering and the use of high-quality blue bricks. These structures can be seen throughout the line, and I attach a couple of examples, taken before lockdown near Wolfhampcote. This is where the Great Central crosses the Marton Junction to Weedon Branch of the LNWR almost at right angles. The quality of the Great Central accommodation bridges and tunnels for local farmers is shown, with the name of Joseph Hamblett to the fore.

WIAS Members. Just a thought about WIAS members not on the internet. If you know of any of our members/supporters who are without internet access, please call them before Christmas and wish them well and remind them that WIAS is still thriving and hopefully will be back with them as ‘live’ meetings sometime in 2021. Martin Green 23rd December 2020

Dambuster Programmes on TV. George Illingworth sent the following: “Members who watched those programmes may be interested in the Meccano model I built in 1993 to mark the 50th anniversary.  The models still exists, stored in major sections for transport. It is 1/12 scale so 8ft 6in wingspan and contains 9 electric motors to operate functions including the spinning UPKEEP weapon. Building an accurate model in 1993 was not easy as there was still a lot of inaccurate and indeed intentional disinformation about what had been a top secret weapon system.  The basic aircraft was straightforward as drawings are readily available but I also drew on many sources including declassified AVRO drawings, published scientific papers and a German intelligence report on the weapon which survived a crash in Holland.  It has been very reassuring to see that as more details have been released over recent years the accuracy of the model is there to see.” George Illingworth 6th December 2020

Photos of the model

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Talk On Sir Frank Whittle – 9th December 2020 Duncan Campbell-Smith will be giving a talk entitled ‘Frank Whittle and the Jet Engine’ via Zoom at the Rossiter Books virtual literary festival, at 7pm on Wednesday 9th December. Jet Man: The Making and Breaking of Frank Whittle, the Genius behind the Jet Revolution. Duncan Campbell-Smith will talk about his new book, The story of Frank Whittle – RAF pilot, mathematician of genius, inventor of the jet engine and British hero. Drawing on Whittle’s extensive private papers, Campbell-Smith tells the story of a stoic and overlooked British hero, a tantalizing tale of ‘what might have been’. For tickets and further information, go to: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/rossiterbooks/t-dmndmm

Paul Waller / Martin Green 6th December 2020

Death of WIAS member – Derek Billings. It is with much sadness that we announce the death of Derek Billings at 1pm on Tuesday 13th July 2021. He had been admitted to Warwick Hospital as an emergency on Saturday 10th. Derek was one of the most loyal members of WIAS, and his knowledge and photographic collection was unrivalled, he was particularly keen on Railway and Canal subjects for his camera lens. More than this, he was always courteous, helpful, and positive, ever willing to add to the knowledge of others. Our thoughts at this sad time will be with Pat, son Andrew and daughter Sarah. Further information will follow in due course. M Green & J Willock 13th July 2021

 

Ivor Jones. Many WIAS members will remember Ivor Jones who died in 2020. Owing to the Covid-19 regulations the funeral was restricted to a limited number of family members only. Everyone is invited to a Service of Memorial to be held at St Nicholas Church, High Street, Kenilworth at 11am on Tuesday 5th October 2021, to commemorate Ivor’s life on what would have been his 94th birthday. The service will be immediately followed by the interment of Ivor’s ashes in the churchyard, to which all are also invited, after which the family hope as many people as possible will join them at Bubbenhall village hall for lunch. 7th July 2021

2020/2021 Subscriptions. The WIAS committee has agreed that no subscriptions will be charged for season 2020-2021, and that for any meetings that are, in the end, able to take place in the Halse Pavilion, it will be a case of pay at the door – £2 donation from members; £3 from guests. Martin Green 11th September 2020

Death of WIAS member.t is my unfortunate responsibility to pass on the very sad news that Mark Barnard has died. He had been a loyal supporter of WIAS over many years, following an outstanding career in the motor industry, particularly remembered for his association with gas-turbine powered Rover cars. A fuller appreciation is available now at this link, click here. Martin Green, 4th September 2020

 

Everyone needs a train journey, even in isolation. In this 8-part video series,​ Tales from the Tracks, ​ be inspired with the right to relax from the pressures of isolation by drinking in the best views of the West Coast Main Line as it takes you up from London Euston to Glasgow Central, through Rugby, Crewe and the Lake District.

With bright fresh sunshine, blue skies and fluffy clouds adorning the best of the British landscape, this series guides you up the Main Line using a front-mounted digital camera from the driver cab giving you uninterrupted views of the route through the country.

Experienced and characterful Avanti West Coast drivers Dave Egerton and Darran Townsend narrate each journey, bringing to life tales of the train line from past decades – describing railway artefacts and potted human stories associated with the train line – as well as highlighting spots of beauty you can enjoy today.

For nature lovers, the routes have a magnificent array of landscapes to enjoy. From train lines closely flanked by steep shrubbery and trees to routes that pass freely through villages and fields that stretch away into the distance, you’ll see every hue of the classic British countryside in summer. 29th August 2020

Click here to watch the eight films!

Newsletter 70. The latest WIAS Newsletter is now available to read thanks to Mike Hurn, click here. 22nd August 2020

WIAS & ZOOM. Following on from the cancellation of all meetings at Warwick School for the remainder of 2020, WIAS is planning to present lectures & talks by ZOOM on the second Thursday of each month at 7.30pm from September. Full details will be circulated nearer the time including detailed instructions on how to join the meeting. If you have a PC, Laptop, Mac, Tablet or Smart Phone that’s all you need. The procedure is free of charge, very straight forward and the trials held so far have been extremely successful.  25th June 2020

I received a note from George Illingworth notifying the postponement of today’s HS2 webinar until Wednesday June 3rd., and, perhaps inevitably, a note from AIA that this year’s Conference in Liverpool is postponed until August 2021. The planned 2021 conference in Dublin is postponed until 2022.

We hope we can continue to keep members and friends informed on IA issues, and welcome contributions from all. Sorry not to bring any encouraging news. Stay safe. Martin Green, Chairman, WIAS, 28th May 202

Event Postponement: Archaeology webinar about exciting discoveries from our Birmingham Curzon Street site rescheduled to 1pm – 2pm, Wed 3 June

Posted on May 27th 2020 by HS2 in Warwickshire. Unfortunately, we have to postpone tomorrow’s planned webinar.  We are sorry for any inconvenience caused and hope that you are still able to join us next week.   

The Archaeology of HS2 – Uncovering the Curzon Street roundhouse, will now be broadcast live from 1pm – 2pm on Wednesday 3 June.  All tickets will still be valid for the session on 3 June, so if you have already registered for the session you do not need to register again.

If you have not already registered but are keen to attend, you can still register your interest in attending this online event.

About the event

Hosted by HS2’s Historic Environment team, this webinar will focus on the unearthing of what is thought to be the world’s oldest railway roundhouse at our Birmingham Curzon Street construction site earlier this year. The webinar will feature previously unseen photographs, footage and imagery captured during archaeological excavations earlier this year. You will be able to ask the team questions via a live Q&A chat option.

We will be publishing video recordings of each webinar online, so if you are not able to listen live you can still learn about our archaeological work through a dedicated playlist on the HS2 YouTube channel.

For more information about this event or any of our forthcoming events please contact our HS2 Helpdesk team on 08081 434 434 or email hs2enquiries@hs2.org.uk.

Annual Conference 2020 The Association for Industrial Archaeology Promoting the study, preservation and presentation of Britain’s Industrial Heritage

It will probably come as little surprise that Council have decided we must postpone the Annual Conference this year. The ‘good news’ is that Hope University Liverpool, the venue for the event, and the local organisers have agreed that we can postpone until the same time next year.

The new dates are: 19th – 26th August 2021. Booking will open in January 2021 – Those who have already booked for 2020 will be refunded in full as soon as possible. The Conference planned for Dublin in 2021 has been postponed until 2022.

Virtual WIAS. You will find a lot of new information and discussions on our ‘Virtual WIAS’ page. Click here to visit now. We also have a lot of new articles on our ‘Contributions’ page, click here, and a selction of films to watch on our new  ‘Films’ page, click here. Plenty to keep the IA enthusiast interested! 19th May 2020

BTH Coton House  – Apprentices Hostel. Can this link be added to the website or otherwise circulated to raise interest ? Another part of the B.T.-H. story.  The site is maintained by John Richards, who has personally borne the running costs, but has now decided to give it up.  The whole site is less than 33 Mbytes, but there are several Gbytes of scanned material on the DVDRom archive being offered for £3.50. Regards, Paul Waller, wallerpj@yahoo.com, 22nd April 2020

To visit the site before it closes and order a copy of the DVD click on this link – Coton House

Death of WIAS member. Sadly, I have to announce the death of another WIAS member, Bill Lovell. The news was passed to me by Nigel Briggs, and I attach an extract from his message. “I’m sorry to announce that Bill Lovell, a dear personal friend and a member of WIAS for many years has passed away today 13th April in Warwick Hospital at the age of 90 years and 2 weeks. His death was not Covid-19 related but due to haemorrhaging within his stomach / digestive system. A retired railway man, formerly a manager in the mechanical and electrical department at Tysley Depot in Brum, Bill always looked forward to the meetings and especially the comprehensive write ups in the newsletter.He also enjoyed as a single man the tea with homemade cakes and biscuits.He had lived in Leamington for all his life. Apart from a niece in Switzerland Bill had no other family.”  Nigel Briggs.  Martin Green, Chairman, WIAS. 13th April 2020

Death of WIAS Member. Sorry to have to add to the general mood of gloom, but I have heard from John Willock that Ivor Jones died this morning in the Leicester House Nursing Home. Ivor, who was 92, died peacefully in his sleep and this was not a Covid 19 death. Ivor was a member of WIAS over a long period, usually attending meetings with Messrs Haggard and Ward. He was for many years European Sales manager for AC Wickman Ltd, Coventry, and was part of a group of friends who shared industrial and railway enthusiasms, and the pleasures of walking. He was a true gentleman and will be greatly missed. Ivor’s son Gary has informed John that the intention is to have a Memorial Service for Ivor, probably at St. Nicholas Church, Kenilworth when the Covid 19 crisis is at an end. Martin Green, Chairman, WIAS. 10th April 2020

Update. This is merely an advisory e-mail to say that Ivor Jones’ Funeral will take place at Oakley Wood Crematorium on Monday, April 27th at 2.30 pm.    Due to Covid 19 restrictions, this will be a VERY STRICTLY LIMITED FAMILY ATTENDED SERVICE ONLY.  I am sure we all will have Ivor in our thoughts at the time of the service and indeed for many years to come. John Willock. 18th April 2020

TV Viewing. WIAS members maybe interested in a new original TV series. The Architecture The Railways Built with Tim Dunn presenting. It starts on Tuesday 28th April on the Yesterday Channel. He also has various  existing  videos appearing on YouTube. These are also about railways  and might be of interest. Regards, Graham Higgins. 10th April 2020

AIA Bulletin. I forward the AIA’s e-news bulletin. I hope it will be of interest. Hope you have avoided any contact with the dreaded virus. Take no risks. Stay safe. Martin Green, Chairman WIAS. 7th April 2020

NOTE; This edition has local interest including the discovery of the oldest locomotive roundhouse in the world, discovered as a result of HS2 archaeology digs and more about the future of Chance Brothers Glassworks. Click here to read the bulletin.

Contributions and Updates. A new page about the history of Cherry Orchard Brickwork’s in Kenilworth including a collection of photos taken by WIAS member Derek Billings in 1977 has been added. (The photos are also available in the gallery section under ‘The Derek Billings Collection’).  There is also another contribution from WIAS member George Sayell about his fascinating research with Differential Analysers. They can be found under the ‘Contributions’ tab in the main menu. 7th April 2020

WIAS Members Film Section. To help pass some of the time we have on our hands at the moment a selection of films is being added to the site, mostly with a theme that will have an IA interest. There is a new link in the main menu at the top of each page under the ‘Contributions‘ tab.

The first film has kindly been supplied by Derek Billings. It features a family from the USA enjoying crossing the Atlantic by ocean liner and arriving in the UK at Southampton. The family then travel on via the GWR to Leamington Spa reaching their eventual destination, a house in Radford Semele. The precise year of the visit is uncertain but from the identity of the ship they arrive on it has to be between 1921 when it was re-named and 1938 when it was sent for scrapping. A guesstimate would be the early 1930’s? The film is a delight in that we see steam ships, steam locomotives, views of Leamington Spa, Radford Semele, Warwick Town, Warwick Castle, London, Worcestershire and much more. Look out for some good shots of the streets and vehicles of the period, in particular a Midland Red bus passing through Radford Semele. The journey to see the May blossom in Worcestershire is made in a Rover car which may help identify the year. Eventually there are goodbyes as the family return by train from Leamington Spa to Southampton to board their ship for the journey back to the USA and ultimately we see them arriving back at their home. Sit back and enjoy a time gone by! Webmaster. 4th April 2020

CLICK HERE TO GO STRAIGHT TO THE FILMS

TV Viewing. I received an e-mail from John Willock that might be of interest. If you watch the programme “The Repair Shop” featured on BBC1, which has as its theme the restoration of basically anything, the next one to be screened on Wednesday evening at 8.00 pm. may be of particular interest.  Alan Reed, rang me a couple of evenings ago to say that a chair that once belonged to his grandparents in occupied France in WWII will be featured in the programme. Perhaps a little light relief from the serious situation that is swirling all around us at the moment! You may wish to disseminate this to a wider audience. Martin Green. 1st April 2020

Borg and Beck – Clutch Manufacturer. John Willock has contributed a detailed paper on this famous Leamington Spa company and it has been added to our new Warwickshire Industries section. Click here to visit the page. The Borg and Beck Company was one of the main constituent companies of the large Automotive Products Group, whose headquarters and main manufacturing divisions were situated at Tachbrook Road, Leamington Spa, in Warwickshire. Other companies within the Group were the Lockheed Hydraulic Brake Company, Thompson Steering Joints, Purolator Filters Division, later relocated to Bolton, Automatic Gearbox Division, Lockheed Precision Products (Aviation Products) situated at Speke, Liverpool, Competitions Department (AP Racing) and the Spares and Service Division situated at Banbury.  Further contributions are always welcome. 30th March 2020

WIAS News Archive. More items have been added to the WIAS archive which stretches back to 2003! Click here. 30th March 2020

Death of WIAS Member. I’m afraid I have to pass on the news that Richard Hartree has died. Richard was a great enthusiast for the industrial heritage, and travelled near and far in pursuit of his interests. He was a member of the AIA for many years, performing the role of treasurer for four of those years, and adopted a similar role for WIAS. He passed on these duties to Victor Lobb and moved from the area about six years ago. He gave several presentations to WIAS, including one in 2010 on The Aluminum Works at Banbury 1929-2009, which accompanied the publication of a book on the subject written by Richard. Richard graduated in 1954, from Cambridge in the  Natural Sciences tripos with metallurgy as his Part II subject, a long way from today’s Materials Science. In the 1970’s,  he was Director of Alcan’s R&D Centre in Banbury. Above all, he was splendid company, genial at all times, and ever-willing to share his knowledge with others. Richard made the journey from his home in Sibford Ferris, Oxfordshire to most WIAS meetings. Our condolences go to his family.  24th March 2020

WIAS Meetings Cancelled. Your Committee has decided to cancel all WIAS meetings for the remainder of this season. We shall review the situation in the summer. In the meantime, please use e-mail and the website as your link to the industrial heritage. As I suggested in the Quarterly Newsletter, this could be just the chance to write that article, sort out those photos, or relate those work experiences for the benefit of the WIAS community. Those experiencing both involuntary isolation and bandstand deprivation might like to look at this page on the WIAS  website where you will find two fascinating videos about the restoration and manufacture of bandstands. Click here. Most of all, look after yourselves. Best wishes, Martin Green, Chairman WIAS. 17th March 2020

WIAS Meetings and COVID-19 Virus Update. After agonising over whether to hold last Thursday’s meeting, events seem to have moved very rapidly and the Committee have taken the decision to cancel the meeting on Thursday April 9th.’Bandstands: History, Decline and Revival’ by Paul Rabbitts. We have contacted Paul and we are currently working on finding an alternative date next season for him to give his talk. We are currently leaving the May and June meetings as ‘under review’, and will make a decision as events unfold in the coming weeks. Thank you for your understanding over these issues. Martin Green, Chairman, WIAS. 15th March 2020

SIR FRANK WHITTLE 7.30pm Thursday March 12th 2020

This is to confirm the meeting on March 12th. in the Halse Pavilion, Warwick School at 7.30pm when Ian Whittle will give talk on the Life and Work of his father, Sir Frank Whittle. This is a wonderful opportunity to hear this story of one of the nation’s most important aeronautical engineers. Sir Frank has, of course, many local connections, being born in Coventry, enjoying the benefits of an education at Leamington College, and carrying out crucial experiments on the jet engine in Rugby. I feel sure it will be a fascinating evening. All the usual bookstalls and refreshments will be available.

The evening will be busy at the school, so please arrive early and share a lift if at all possible. We have negotiated special parking arrangements with (marshalled) parking on the Junior School playground (the area of tarmac you usually walk across to get to the Halse Pavilion). On arrival at the Junior School car park you will be given (by me or a member of the committee) a permit to place on top of your dashboard, and will then be directed onto the Junior School playground by a car-parking marshall. Please fill up any spaces in the car park before utilising this additional space. We really hope this can assist with the pressure on parking, and please be tolerant of any teething problems with this new system.

COVID-19 VIRUS

Naturally we have been keeping in close contact with the School over Covid19 and the latest guidelines are attached. These were published this morning, with the statement  “It remains the case there are no confirmed cases or any testing of pupils or staff across the Foundation for Covid-19”.  Full details received from the school are available here.

We will keep you informed about any change in the situation, and please check e-mails right up to the meeting in case of any last-minute change in advice. Look forward to seeing you on Thursday.

Regards, Martin Green, Chairman. WIAS 9th March 2020

Please park for the event in the Warwick Junior School car park – see map below

Newsletter 69. The latest WIAS newsletter, March 2020, is now available on the website. Click here. 7th March 2020

WIAS Photo Gallery.

• Our photo gallery currently contains over 1400 photos and videos and contributions are always welcome – why not send us some of yours? If they don’t fit one of the existing categories don’t worry, we will create a gallery for you! If you haven’t visited it recently click on the gallery link in the main menu. 
• In addition there are another 400 plus photos in the WIAS database and contributions are always welcome. 15th February 2020

Contributions To Our Website.

• More articles have been added to the WIAS website, take a look at the growing list on our contributions page! Thank you to the people who have supplied these. Click on ‘Contributions’ in the menu at the top of the page.
• Additional industries have also been added to our new section of the website which features some of the industries that can or could have been found in Warwickshire.  Click on ‘Industry’ in the menu at the top of the page. 8th February 2020

WIAS is on The Move! Not far actually but from the February 2020 meeting this and all future meeting will be held in the beautiful Halse Pavilion. Just a few yards away from the Pyne room, and slightly nearer to the Junior School car park, this state of the art building has a lift to the large light and airy function space on the first floor overlooking the first team cricket pitch. Facilities are excellent and there is even a terrace to stroll out onto in the interval when the weather permits. WIAS looks forward to welcoming everyone old and new to this splendid new venue.

The Ironmen of Leamington. Copies of this excellent book by Martin Green and Mick Jeffs are available to purchase through the website. Click here for full details. 1st February 2020

Index of WIAS Meeting. Over the years, the amount of meetings held by the society has been considerable and some are so long ago as to have been forgotten! However, records of meetings and visits, (usually walks), do exist as far back as 1993 and these have been compiled as a searchable index. Use the search box towards the right to find a particular or topic or speaker by just typing in a few letters.  Click here. 27th January 2020

Histories of the Unexpected Tour. I’m helping to promote the Histories of the Unexpected show, which is coming to Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon on 13 February 2020, and I thought that some of your members might be interested in attending. The Histories of the Unexpected team is comprised of TV historian and adventurer Dr Sam Willis and University of Plymouth Professor of Early Modern History James Daybell, and their purpose is simple: to show that everything – even the most unexpected of subjects – has a history and that these histories link together in unexpected ways. Thus, they aim to bring great research and new approaches to history to audiences around the country and across the globe. They’ve been running a podcast for several years, covering topics as diverse as cricket and executions, and have published five books under the Histories name. These have been converted into a tour, which has been selling out at the likes of the BBC History Weekends. You can find out more about the show, the team, and their work, as well as listen to their podcasts at www.historiesoftheunexpected.com. If you are interested in the show, or would like more information, please let me know. If you are interested in the show, but are unable to get to Stratford, the team have a number of other performances planned for your area, the dates for which are listed here: https://historiesoftheunexpected.com/tour/. Thanks, Debbie Kilroy debbie@getclever.co.uk  23rd January 2020

Heritage of Industry 2020 Tours. Booking has now opened for the 2020 series of tours from this well established company. This years trips include, West Yorkshire, Poland, East Anglia, Hamburg, Bucks Oxon & Surrey, New Zealand. For details of each tour and information on how to book click here to visit the Heritage of Industry website. 16th January 2020

WIAS Website. Exciting new sections are being developed for the site based on Warwickshire Industries. It is hoped to include an introduction page and then more detailed information including further reading, visits and photos for each industry. If you have knowledge of a specific industry you are welcome to contribute to this project.  Click here to view the progress so far.

There are also new contributions from members on the Features & Links page of the site. Click here to view. 13th January 2020

WIAS January Meeting. Just a final reminder of the talk this Thursday by David Skillen entitled ‘Giants in the Sky – the Zeppelin in World War One’. All are welcome to hear this fascinating story. The meeting will be held in the Pyne Room, Warwick School CV34 6PP, with all the usual bookstalls, refreshments and convivial company readily on hand! Next month’s meeting is a Members’ Evening of short presentations of 20 minutes or less. I look forward to hearing about these contributions on Thursday so that I can formulate the programme. Don’t be shy!! Martin Green, Chairman, WIAS 7th January 2020

All available parking locations at Warwick School

A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL ENTHUSIASTS FOR THE INDUSTRIAL HERITAGE!

WIAS begins the new decade by casting our eyes skywards with a talk by David Skillen entitled ‘GIANTS IN THE SKY: THE ZEPPELIN IN WORLD WAR ONE’. The meeting is on Thursday January 9th. 2020 at 7.30pm in the Pyne room, Warwick School and all are welcome. One of our members is struggling to get to meetings and can no longer drive. He wonders if anyone might be prepared to give him a lift. He lives in Leamington, off the Old Milverton Road, not far from the Vauxhall garage. Please let me know if you are able to help, and I will put you in touch with the person concerned. Many thanks. I look forward to seeing you next Thursday. Martin Green, Chairman, WIAS. 3rd January 2020

WIAS Meeting December 14th 2017. Most of the weekends heavy snow has now gone from the school premises so our December meeting will go ahead as normal. December 2017

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Kenilworth Station – Update. Although virtually finished the planned opening date of the 10th December 2018 has been moved back, yet again, to February 2018. The government department responsible and Warwickshire County Council are blaming each other for this new delay. The reason? There are no trains or drivers available until February 2018 presumably after London Midland ceases to exist and the new franchisee West Midlands Trains is up and running. Click here for more from the BBC. December 2017

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WIAS November Meeting. Thanks to all those who were able to attend last night’s meeting. In the midst of all the ironwork material, I failed to mention that the evening raised £45 for the Poppy Appeal organised by Janet Coulls.  Thank you for your support.

Thanks also to Robert Caldicott for his display of the Milestones Project (photo above), and to Ian Colls for his Flavel material. Martin Green, Chairman, WIAS. November 2017

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Help to Restore a Steam Roller! Full details of this project co-ordinated by Anthony Coulls is on our ‘can you help page?’ Click here. November 2017

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WIAS Visits. On the 30th October 2017 several WIAS members visited the Birmingham Museum Collections Centre at Dollman Street, Nechells in Birmingham. This was a fascinating look at just what Birmingham Museums have in store and not on general display. Our chairman Martin Green is pictured below with our host for the visit, Paulette who describes the collection as ‘……..India Jones meets Ikea!’ . Click here to see photos of some of the exhibits that are in store. Keep an eye on the ‘Visits’ page in the main menu for future outings! November 2017

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Kenilworth Station. Work continues apace at the site of the new station in Priory Road, Kenilworth. As the line currently remains single track it has been ‘slewed’ to right, when looking towards Leamington Spa, to align with the new platform face. The opening date has been set for the 10th December 2017 with an initial hourly service in each direction to Leamington Spa and Coventry operated by London Midland. The public footbridge between Priory Rd and Farmer Ward Rd has now re-opened after renovation and provides good views! Some photos from this week appear below. November 2017

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WIAS November 2017 Meeting. Don’t miss this one!

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Photos. WIAS member Derek Billings has very kindly shared some more of his wonderful photo collection. The latest photos are of the steam boat ‘President’ in Warwick, Leamington and Birmingham in the 1970’s and 80’s. Click here to view. October 2017

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WIAS Newsletter No. 61. The latest edition of the newsletter is now available on the website, click on the link in the main menu. This is an excellent edition, thanks to our editor Mike Hurn, with a wealth of detailed information documenting speakers presentations at WIAS meetings. October 2017

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WIAS Photo Gallery. Our photo gallery currently contains over 1200 photos and videos and contributions are always welcome. If you haven’t visited it recently click on the gallery link in the main menu.  In addition there are another 360 plus photos in the WIAS database. October 2017

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Rowington Records. At the latest WIAS meeting our guest speaker, Nick Holmes, mentioned that there were approximately 5000 photos on his website ‘Rowington Records’. To view the site click here. October 2017

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Maps! Kenilworth Family History Society told me of this map website. http://maps.nls.uk/os/. These maps are national including Belgium Trench maps. Its the National Library of Scotland ordnance survey. The maps are viewable on line though they suggest you purchase them. See this one as an example of Warwick http://maps.nls.uk/view/101585401. Members will already know of this one from Warwickshire County Council http://maps.warwickshire.gov.uk/historical/ but this only covers Warwickshire.
Roger Cleal, October 2017

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First Meeting of WIAS 2017/18 Season – Follow Up. It was good to start the WIAS programme and to see members and visitors at last night’s meeting. Thanks for the support. I did not quite finish my presentation and I attach some details that might be of interest.
Latest Barrie Trinder publication – link here.
Talks by the Nuneaton Local History Group – link here.
Hope they will be of interest.
Martin Green, Chairman WIAS, September 2017

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First Meeting of WIAS 2017/18 Season. The first meeting on Thursday 14th September provides the ideal opportunity for the renewal of membership of WIAS! Subscription rates are unchanged – £16 for individual and £20 for joint membership. All income received is used to fund the running of the society and its monthly meetings, as well as contributing to the other aims of WIAS e.g. the support of local projects associated with the industrial heritage. I feel sure our membership secretary, Sue Hammon, would appreciate the exact money from each of us to speed the process of renewal and reduce the pressure on her to have the correct change available.
Many thanks.
Martin Green, Chairman, WIAS, September 2017

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National Memorial Arboretum. We have an event coming up, that as a society or group interested in local history, we felt would be of interest. By receiving this email it does not mean you are on our mailing list. To sign up for this please see our website www.thenma.org.uk. This September, the National Memorial Arboretum will hold a two-day symposium to coincide with our on-going World War I centenary events and activities. The diverse programme of seminars, interactive workshops and site tours, perfect for academics, students and historians, will examine the social changes wrought by the conflict, helping to create a greater understanding of how these changes came about. As well as examining the changing role of women during the conflict, – focussing on the care of the wounded on both the Western and Home fronts, themes will consider the Home Front at a more local level. Topics to be explored by a wealth of speakers include the female vote, food crises, attitudes towards conscientious objectors, the changing role of the country estate house as convalescent homes, and the development of female labour in traditionally male roles. The programme will also offer opportunities to explore our galleries and to participate in workshops and guided tours of the 150-acre Arboretum site. The Arboretum is the UK’s year-round centre of Remembrance and home to over 300 symbolic memorials and around 30,000 trees. Centrally located, it is easily accessible from the M42, M1, M6 toll, A38 and A50. The site is well-noted for bringing to life the stories of military and civilian sacrifice in a meaningful and thought-provoking way, and its diverse range of WWI centenary events makes this the perfect venue to examine and discuss this fascinating subject.  Click here for more details. September 2017

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Birmingham Museum Collection Centre. The Museums Collection Centre is a 1.5 hectare site that holds 80 per cent of Birmingham Museums’ stored collections under one roof. Among the thousands of objects stored here are steam engines, sculptures, an entire collection of Austin, Rover and MG motor cars and even a red phone box. The centre, located in Nechells, has been described as ‘Indiana Jones meets Ikea!’ You will get the impression from the photo below! Many of the objects once on display at the B’ham Museum of Science and Industry in Newhall Street are now stored here including the steam road vehicles and much more. There are items of local interest from Willans, Guys Cliffe House, Warwick and GEC Rugby. For full details and information on how to visit the centre follow the link here. Some photos of the collection have been added to the WIAS photo gallery. Click here. September 2017

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Broad Gauge in Warwick. Derek Billings has kindly supplied some photos from 1980 featuring old broad gauge railway coaches which were located off Myton Road, Warwick. As was often the case at that time nobody seemed very interested in them and they were destroyed. To see all the photos visit the Derek Billings page in the WIAS photo gallery by clicking here. September 2017

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Cromwell & ‘Royal’ Leamington Spa! Not such a bad combination when it is  70013 Britannia Class ‘Oliver Cromwell’, the last steam loco to officially haul a train on British Railways. Thursday 31st August 2017, a glorious late summer morning with ‘Oliver Cromwell’ at Leamington Spa for a 30 mins signal check whilst heading south from Tyseley to Old Oak Common.  A few familiar WIAS faces were in attendance!  Short HD Video of departure below, best viewed in full screen. August 2017

 

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Warwickshire Wildlife Trust Bubbenhall Project. Hi, I’m Faye Irvine, Wildlife Engagement Officer at Warwickshire Wildlife Trust. As you may be aware, the Trust purchased Bubbenhall Wood and what was part of Wood Farm, just outside the village of Bubbenhall. As part of a larger project to engage local people and open up the site to our members we are conducting an Oral History project to capture people’s memories and photos of the site and how it has changed in living memory. I wondered if anyone in your organisation may have knowledge of the wood, lived near the wood as a child, or have recent memories of the wood as it went through it’s quarrying phase. Likewise, do let me know if you have further questions. Click here to view the Information Sheet.

Kindest Regards,
Faye Irvine
faye.irvine@wkwt.org.uk

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WIAS 2017/2018. It will soon be time to start the brand new season and WIAS looks forward to welcoming everyone to its first meeting on Thursday September 14th, 7.30pm in the Pyne Room, Warwick School. As usual the evening commences with the AGM, (your chance to get more involved), followed by refreshments and then a series of short illustrated talks on local topics of interest. The ‘welcome letter’ from the Chairman, Martin Green, is available here on the the web site together with the brand new programme of speakers for 2017/2018 put together by the committee. Put the date in your diary now! August 2017

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WIAS June 2017 – David Hulse. The final meeting of the 2016/2017 season was a talk by engineer David Hulse from Stone in Staffordshire. It was truly amazing and inspiring! If you were not able to get to the meeting, which opened with a 10 mins video about David, you can watch it here. Highly recommended viewing! Visit David’s excellent web site for much more information  – click here. June 2017

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WIAS Visit to GE Rugby. On Monday 12th April 2017 members visited GE, Rugby (current occupants of the BT-H site), followed by lunch at Brownsover Hall, former Wartime Headquarters of Power Jets Ltd., to commemorate the the 80th Anniversary of the world’s first operational run of a gas turbine turbojet engine by Frank Whittle at the British Thomson-Houston Works, Rugby. The society is grateful to Alain Foote for orgnising this event and to John Willock who prepared and excellent booklet detailing the event. This booklet is now available on the website – click here to view. June 2017

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Stoneleigh Abbey, Stoneleigh. Each year, as funds become available, restoration work is being carried out mainly within the abbey grounds. Over the winter months there has been considerable work on the sluice gate mechanisms so they function properly on the flow of the river through the parkland. Most impressively, the derelict pump house together with all its equipment has been beautifully restored and hopefully the interior will be on full view to the public in the near future. The water wheel and all the ancillary equipment which was used to pump water from the river to Ashow village looks magnificent having been sent off to a specialist in Worcestershire for restoration. The building itself had no roof and large trees grew from the interior. It now boasts a new roof, restored stonework and a smart green entrance door. I am reliably informed that at some stage in the future there are plans to restore the ice house, which collapsed in on itself, to its former glory. April 2017[wowslider id=”20″]

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From Warwickshire Libraries. I would be grateful if you could pass the following information to your members about a recent purchase made by Warwickshire Library and Information Service of the on-line version of the Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland. This is really a very useful resource, particularly the comparison between the numbers of people with a surname on 1881 census and those with the same name today.  Hard copies of the 4 volume title are also available at Leamington, Nuneaton and Rugby (temporarily until Stratford re-opens in Henley Street). Accessing the on-line resource can be done at home if a library member. Go to the referenceandlearning  pages and scroll down to the local and family history heading and click on the Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland. Members will be asked for a library card number, please type WARKS before this as in the example WARKS12345678. If any of your members live or work in Warwickshire (or an adjoining county) and are not library members they may join the library by completing the form on-line join and a membership card will be posted out to them or they can visit any Warwickshire County Council library with ID (name and address) and join. Members may also be interested to see the other on-line resources we have including Which? Groves Music, Times Digital Archive etc by looking at the other headings on the referenceandlearning pages. An overview of local and family history material held in libraries can be found at library local studies web pages Our library catalogue can be found at librarycatalogue  (Narrow the search to local studies material on the catalogue, by clicking on the collections arrow, just above the general search box and then click on local studies and family history). I hope your members will find the above information useful and we look forward to seeing you soon.
Kind regards
Louise Essex, Senior Librarian, Local Studies, Warwickshire Library and Information Service,
Resources Group, Nuneaton Library, Church Street, Nuneaton, CV11 4DR. April 2017

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Next Meeting – 13th April 2017

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From the Chairman. Dear all, Arthur Astrop was a stalwart of WIAS for many years, producing an important Occasional Paper on the Machine Tool Industry of Coventry, acting as recorder of meetings for the WIAS Newsletter for a long period, and continuing in the role of proof reader right through to the latest edition. He was a delightful man – cultured, charming, erudite – and he will be sorely missed. It was John Berkeley who passed on the news of Arthur’s death to me and he summed up Arthur perfectly – “one of life’s real gentlemen”. Arthur’s humanist funeral will take place at Oakley Wood Crematorium, Bishops Tachbrook, Leamington Spa, CV33 9QP on Wednesday April 5th. at 11.30 am. Martin Green, Chairman, WIAS, March 2017

WIAS member Arthur Astrop. Our good friend Arthur Astrop passed away peacefully at lunchtime on Friday 17th March. He had tuned his radio to listen to the one o’clock news, adjusted his headphones, the pips had sounded and the broadcast begun…and he slipped away. I cannot imagine a more dignified way to go for one of life’s real gentlemen, exactly as he would have wished, in his own home, with family members present.  I am sure many members of the Society would wish to pay their respects, remembering him with great affection and I’ll pass on details as soon as the funeral arrangements are known. John Berkeley, March 2017

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Packington Hall Gardens Open.  Sunday 7th May (2.30 – 5pm). Admission £5.50, children free. Home-made teas. Refreshments in aid of St James’, Great Packington & the local WI. Packington is the setting for an elegant Capability Brown landscape. Designed from 1750 in 100 acres of parkland which sweeps down to a lake incl 1762 Japanese bridge. Delicious WI teas on the terrace or in The Pompeiian Room if wet. If you missed the opportunity to visit this fabulous location in September 2016 the gardens are once again open by kind permission of Lord & Lady Aylesford as part of the National Garden Open Scheme.  There is a considerable amount of Industrial Archaeology in the park including the lakes and their system of dams and spillways, the remains of a mill, bridges and water features. Full details on the NGS/Packington Park web site – click here. Photos from the 2016 opening. March 2017
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Cast Iron Mile Posts in South Warwickshire. I think you know about our project to restore the six (known) survivors of the nationally unique set of cast iron mileposts along the former Stratford on Avon to Long Compton Turnpike. Thanks to a grant from Heritage Lottery Fund we have made a start, and the posts are being extracted and collected for restoration by a specialist company Leander Architectural. I will keep you informed of further progress as it takes place.

A synopsis of this interesting project to date is now available – to read the full story click here.

Robert Caldicott, Warwick
March 2017

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Chance Glassworks Trust. The Trust needs your help! To read about the appeal to save this famous glass works site click on the picture below. February 2017

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WIAS Newsletter No. 60 January 2017. At present this edition is only available on line, click here to view now. Paper copies will be freely available at the March 2017 meeting. February 2017

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Heritage of Industry Ltd 2017 Tours. Full details available now on the Visits page. February 2017 

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WIAS Meeting 9th February 2017. ‘The Lost Railway – Henley in Arden to Lapworth’ by Paul Baker. Everyone welcome!

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WIAS Trip March 2017. Aattached is a booking form for the Visit on Sunday March 19th. 2017 to Kempton Great Engines and the London Museum of Steam and Water. Alain Foote, the organiser of the trip, will be collecting these forms at the meeting on Thursday 9th February 2017. Click here to go to the WIAS Trips & Visits page now for details and to download the booking form. Feburary 2017

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Kenilworth Railway Station – Update. Work on the ‘new’ Kenilworth Railway Station, (on the site of the original station closed in the 1960’s and demolished in the 1970’s), is now well under way. Mostly preparation of the substructure and diversion of underground services at present but if you find yourself in Station Rd/Waverley Rd, Kenilworth you can see the construction from the nearby footbridge that leads to Farmer Ward Road. Unfortunately the planned opening date had been put back again and the completion date is now estimated as December 2017. Here are a few photos of the site on a cold and dark January afternoon. Trains are still passing through the site at normal speed. January 2017 [wowslider id=”18″]

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WIAS 2017. The first WIAS meeting of 2017 will take place on Thursday January 12th. 2017 when Peter Crowley will describe his experiences of spending his working life at Alvis, and the continuation of that connection with his involvement with Red Triangle in Kenilworth. Choosing to remain on the shop-floor to maintain his hands-on experience, Peter has a unique story to tell of this once eminent company. The meeting will be held in the Pyne Room, Warwick School. All are welcome. Martin Green, Chairman, WIAS. January 2017

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‘THE RED ROSE’ 11th February 2017. Have you seen 60163 Tornado on the West Coast Main Line? She will be hauling ‘The Red Rose’ on a London Victoria – Shrewsbury excursion on Saturday 11th February 2017. Timings to be confirmed, 60163 will pass through Coventry and then take the Nuneaton line before continuing on via Birmingham, to Shrewsbury. January 2017

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AIA Spring Tour 2017. I am pleased to announce that we now have full details for the upcoming AIA Spring Tour “The Randstad – North & South Holland and Utrecht” 15^th – 21^st May 2017. This unique and exciting tour includes visits to sites in the Amsterdam area, Rotterdam and Utrecht most of which have not been visited by the AIA before, or at least not for over 20 years. Those few that are revisited are important enough to warrant a return visit and one of those at least has been returned to productive work from the dereliction that was seen before. We will be including evening talks which give a background to some of the visits and a half-day, joint Anglo-Dutch seminar with our friends in Dutch IA groups on the theme of adaptive re-use. The itinerary is generating a lot of interest. Booking has been open for only a week to those who had previously registered interest and already 23 places have been booked. Now is your chance and I recommend booking right away if you don’t wish to miss the opportunity.
Click here for full details: http://www.heritageofindustry.co.uk/Longer%20Tours/2017_Holland/Randstad.html

Kind regards,
Bill Barksfield, Managing Director, Heritage of Industry Ltd
Exploring the Industrial Past for more than 25 years
The Gables, 20 Main Road, East Hagbourne, Oxon, OX11 9LN
Web: http://www.heritageofindustry.co.uk Email: bill@heritageofindustry.co.uk
Phone/Fax: +44 1235 352275
Heritage of Industry sponsors http://www.ourindustrialpast.org – the index to Industrial Heritage

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Atherstone. If you walk around looking at the ground it can be quite revealing! These three water box covers were recently spotted set into the ground in Atherstone Market Place. All look to be of considerable age and a guess suggests NEWWB stands for North East Warwicksire Water Board? December 2016[wowslider id=”16″]

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WIAS Trip 2017. In recent times, WIAS has enjoyed talks on Kew Bridge and Great Kempton Steam and a tentative plan has been formed for a visit to both locations on Sunday March 19th. 2017. This is very dependent on numbers interested, so I am sending this e-mail to assess the level of support for such an idea. If you are interested, please would you let Alain Foote know the numbers, and he will explore costs of coach etc. His e-mail address is alain.foote@tesco.net These are two wonderful examples of steam power and this provides an excellent opportunity to visit both sites, one in the morning, one in the afternoon. Please let Alain know if you are interested.

Can I also take this opportunity to thank you all for your support for WIAS in 2016, to offer best wishes for Christmas, and to look forward to more investigation of the industrial heritage, both local and beyond, in 2017.

Martin Green,Chairman, WIAS, December 2016

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WIAS Meeting – December 8th 2016. Learn more about THE GREAT KEMPTON ENGINES at the next meeting of the Warwickshire Industrial Archaeology Society. Thursday December 8th. at 7.30 pm in the Pyne Room, Warwick School. Alain Foote – a renowned expert on steam power – will describe the workings of the world’s largest triple-expansion steam engines. These engines worked 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, pumping millions of gallons of water to North London between 1927 and 1980. All are welcome to attend the meeting and discover more about these magnificent examples of steam power and engineering. December 2016

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WIAS Newsletter. No 59 October 2016 issue is now available to read on line. Click

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WIAS 2014 – 2003. The archive is in pdf format.