2007

The final meeting of the season included the AGM with a report from the Chairman and Treasurer on the state of the society. Overall it is very healthy. Numbers at meetings have been up on previous years, on some nights in excess of 60, and the bank balance is well into the black! The society has outgrown the 6th Form Centre and meetings will continue to be held in The Pyne Room for the foreseeable future. The committee announced they are all prepared to continue for another year, with the exception of Mark Abbott, who has carried out the joint role of Membership Secretary & Treasurer for a long time. The Chairman thanked Mark for the excellent work he has done. It is nice to know that Mark will be continuing in his third role as Newsletter producer/editor. After refreshments the evening concluded with two excellent slide shows, the first by Richard  King on some of the rather more obscure Warwickshire sights of interest, and the second by Martin Green on the IA of North Warwickshire. There was also a short but very interesting film on the life and work of Thomas Telford. July 2007

Lancaster Bomber B1 PA474. In October 2006 one of the two remaining flying Lancaster's in the world underwent a full overhaul at Coventry. Click here to see some photographs. July 2007

Newsletter 27, the June Newsletter is now available on line. Click here. The programme for the remainder of 2007 is also available, click here. July 2007

BBC Country File, presented by John Craven and others, are  recording a feature on the canals in South Warwickshire to be shown later this Summer. The programme is normally shown on  a Sunday, around lunchtime. Keep an eye open for the possible appearance of a well know WIAS member!  More information when available. June 2007

Well done to all those members who managed to attend the June meeting! In particular, a big thanks to the two speakers who travelled - (or paddled!), from Kidderminster to give the second part of their extremely interesting talk on the carpet industry. Torrential rain fell from about 6.30pm in the evening and Warwick town centre and the surrounding area came to a standstill. The short journey from Leamington to the meeting took some members well over an hour! Despite the terrible conditions we still managed to muster about 40 members. June 2007

The Coventry Model Engineering Society has been is existence, in one form or another, since the early 1900's. Over the years the CMES members have built and operated three railways for live steam operation. The first was at the Memorial Park, Coventry from 1952 until 1980. Many WIAS members will no doubt remember the track close to the Kenilworth Road. From 1981 the society operated a track at Stoneleigh Abbey and when that site was sold for development it moved to its present home at Ryton Country Park near Ryton on Dunsmore. This is undoubtedly the biggest and best yet. The CMES has splendid new website - click here to pay a visit. May 2007

George Singer & Coundon Court - a new page has been added to the site following a recent visit by WIAS members to his former home in Coventry. The visit included a splendid guided tour by Richard Hoare, a former teacher at Coundon Court School for over 30 years. Click here. May 2007

George Singer

Narrow Boat  - this excellent series, screened on Sky Television, is now available on DVD. Series 1 featured the restoration of the large Woolwich motorboat 'Dover'. The DVD can be ordered direct from the production company at  www.i2itelevision.com. Visit their website and you will see a link to the appropriate section. The company has also produced many other interesting DVD's. For more information contact:

Newsletter 26 now available on the web site. April 2007

Railways Remembered Archive Film Shows presented by Rob Foxon. The full diary of venues for 2007 is now available. Remember there will be a double bill at The Spa Centre, Leamington Spa on Tuesday 1st May 2007. Bygone Britain in the afternoon and Railways in the evening. March 2007

For full details and timings click here

The Kenilworth Society has two interesting open meetings in March and April to which all WIAS members are invited. The first is an illustrated talk at Kenilworth Library on the 29th March 2007 on the Grand Canal of China - The Grand Canal of China is the longest canal in the world, far surpassing the next two grand canals of the world: Suez and Panama Canal. It is 1,114 miles long with 24 locks and some 60 bridges. The building of it began in 486 B.C. making it the world's oldest canal.

The second is on Sunday 29th April 2007 when there will be a guided tour of Coundon Court, Coventry, the former home of George Singer, the Coventry car maker - Coundon Court in Northbrook Road, Coundon was built in 1891 to the design of Charles Gray-Hill for George Singer, founder of the Singer Cycle and Motor Car Company. It is now part of Coundon Court School. March 2007

For full details and timings etc click here.

Following a 'crash' at the company that hosts our web site it may have appeared to look a little out of date recently. When they restored it from their backup the latest version they had was from January 2007. It is very unusual for this to happen. All is now back to normal and by way of an apology we have been given an extra months free hosting.  March 2007

Happy to New Year to all WIAS members. The December 2006 Newsletter is now available on the web site together with dates and topics for meetings in 2007. Jan 2007
 

2006

Rob Foxon's Railways Remembered Archive Film Shows. Local dates added to Programme page and full list of venues for 2006/2007 available. Click here. Nov 2006

A new page added with a few photos connected with the Birmingham Pen Makers.
Oct 2006

The following email may be of interest to members:

Dear Everyone!
As you may recall last year, i2i Television produced Discovery Real Time's
highest rating series, of 2005, 'Narrow Boat', which followed the
restoration of a 1937 ex working narrow boat, the 'DOVER.'

Due to its success, we were commissioned to make a follow up series, where
our presenter, Alan Herd, took the Dover down its old route, from Birmingham
to London, on the Grand Union Canal.

Finally, after a long production period, I can release the transmission
times for the new series.  The series will be transmitted from Wednesday 1st
November, where there will be a double bill of
'Narrow Boat Afloat' from 10pm, on Discovery Real Time.  Two episodes of the
ten part series will be shown on subsequent Wednesdays over the following
weeks.

I hope you enjoy the second series, as much as we enjoyed making it!  It was
a great summer!

Best Wishes
Sam Green
Series Producer - 'Narrow Boat Afloat'
i2i Ltd,
PO Box 147,Malvern, Worcestershire,WR13 6YP.
Oct 2006

The September Newsletter has been added to the website. Sept 2006

Subscriptions of £10 per person/couple for the 2006/2007 year are now due. Please pay the treasurer at the September meeting or forward a cheque payable to 'Warwickshire Industrial Archaeology Society' to his address which can be found on the 'Contact Us' page. Sept 2006

 

Update - Chedham's Yard was the overall winner! Sept 2006 Chedham's Yard, Wellesbourne is one of the contenders in the 2006 BBC Restoration Series. When William 'Bill' Chedham lay down his tools at the end of his final day of work, closed the door and walked away from Chedham's Yard he left behind him a perfectly preserved portrait of the life and working conditions of a professional wheelwright and blacksmith. To read all about this and the others locations in the 2006 series click here. Aug 2006

The AGM took place on Thursday 13th July 2006, the final meeting of the season. Accounts showing a healthy balance were presented and adopted by the members and the current committee, all agreeing to continue in office for another 12 months, and were duly re-elected. Mark Abbott our long serving treasurer would very much welcome an offer of assistance with a view to eventually handing over the job, which he done since 1989, in the future. After the refreshments there were slides, power point presentations and a DVD, mostly featuring aspects of IA in North Warwickshire and one from New Zealand. The meeting generally felt that North Warwickshire had been neglected by the society to a certain extent. There is a lot of IA up there waiting to be discovered, recorded and photographed and hopefully this short session acted as a taster. Perhaps now is the time to get out there with the camera during the long summer break ? July 2006 

2 new pages added with photos of Atherstone and some shots of Friese-Green's former premises in Bath. July 2006

New images from Atherstone added to the photo gallery. June 2006

June 2006 Newsletter now available on line. Remainder of 2006 programme added. June 2006

Richard & Peter apologise in advance for the lack of a sales table at the June meeting. They hope to be present at the July meeting. June 2006

If you have not already had a look, visit the Windows On Warwickshire web site. There are hundreds of photographs in various categories of Warwickshire towns villages and countryside. Many of the photos are of interest to I.A. enthusiasts, for example in the Kenilworth section there are shots of the old gas works, the factory in Moorlands Avenue, and some great street scenes from the turn of the century.  To visit the site click here. May 2006

The Open Road is a series of films made in 1924-26 by Claude Friese-Greene using an early colour process partly developed by his father William Friese-Greene and which his son Claude perfected. The film traces a journey by car from Land's End to John O'Groats and offers an extraordinary vision of Britain in the 1920s in colour. Currently showing on BBC2 the film was released on DVD on the 3rd May 2006. To see the location of Friese-Green's studio in Bath click here. May 2006

Visit the Warwickshire Communities Web Site and learn about the exciting projects they are developing. Click here. April 2006

Roger Cleal is looking for a web site on Royal Mail Post Boxes and has sent this interesting photo of a motorcycle and mail box, possibly taken in India between 1900 and 1914. A search on Google will produce many results, but if anyone knows of a really good site please contact Roger direct at the next meeting or at Roger Cleal. April 2006

 

Jeromy Hassell -White and Poppe, was the subject of the March meeting. Over 50 in the audience enjoyed a very professional talk and slide show from someone who said 'he didn't give talks !' Coupled with the maps showing the vast scale of the operation on their site to the north of Coventry City Centre, the slides, and short film of a Royal visit to the factory, the members were told an extremely interesting story including  how White and Poppe slipped easily from the development and manufacturing of engines into munitions as WWI approached. Let's hope for a return visit from Jeromy in the future. Pictures of the remaining Lockhurst Lane buildings, presently being re-furbished, on the right.   Unknown to most people, the former Coventry City Police Force had a brick built Police Box built on the wall outside the factory. (Most boxes were of the wooden Dr Who 'Tardis' type and were removed around 1967 following the introduction of the first personal radios. Amazingly this box still exists complete with its flap which used to house the public phone for emergency use. The building now contains electrical equipment. March 2006

Roger Cleal has discovered MAGIC! MAGIC is the first web-based interactive map to bring together information on key environmental schemes and designations in one place. MAGIC is a partnership project involving eight government organisations who have responsibilities for rural policy-making and management, and although it has been designed to meet the needs of the partner organisations, the facility is available to anyone over the Internet.  Click here to have a look at somewhere you know in detail. March 2006

 

Newsletter No.22 is now available on the web site, remember you can read it on line or download it and save it on your own PC. This issue contains a fascinating article by Peter Chater on the history of Harbury Windmill near Leamington Spa. Click here to go direct to the newsletter, the article is on page 3, or click on the image to see a larger version. March 2006

Members enjoyed a splendid illustrated talk at the February meeting. The topic was Emscote Mill, remembered locally by many from its final use as a manufacturing plant by Shire Pies. Although the buildings were there for many years not everyone realised they had originally been built as a mill alongside the canal near the site occupied by the new Tesco. A well attended meeting with 50 plus members and visitors present. February 2006

Toby Cave has discovered an interesting item on the world wide web. The site features The Craig Telescope. 'In 1852 a telescope stood on Wandsworth Common in London. It was the brain child of one man, the Reverend Mr. John Craig of Leamington Spa and it represented the biggest refracting telescope in the World at the time.' Click here to read all about it. February 2006

As a result of the January meeting we all now know a lot more about Thomas Brassey thanks to an excellent talk by member Roger Cragg. An interesting 'short' item on Spanish manhole covers followed the refreshment break! Chairman Martin Green mentioned at the meeting that members have a vast store of information on a wide variety of topics and are always welcome to give a talk at our monthly meeting. Just let Martin or Mark know. January 2006

The web site has had a minor New Year makeover including, an improved title banner and hyperlinks that now subtly change colour when you hover over them. A photo gallery is under construction and older items of news can now be found in the news archive. There are new links under the Information Pages heading  on the left of the screen. January 2006

2005

Peter Coulls sponsors the first Talyllyn Railway item to be saved for the Narrow Gauge Railway Museum, one of the original slate wagons of 1865 (TR001). This is in memory of TOM CHARMAN, a true enthusiast, from his many friends in the Warwickshire Steam Engine Society and the Warwickshire Industrial Archaeological Society. Click here to visit the NGRM web site. December 2005

Newsletter No.21 now available to read or download and save.  See Peter Chater's discovery of a cob wall in Claverdon on Page 2. December 2005

The Industrial Railway Society has recently published 'Industrial Railways and Locomotives of Warwickshire' Preliminary Draft ISBN 1 910556 30 1 140 pages of text + four pages of maps, (no photos), £9.00 (soft cover). This has much of interest within, but could do with the input of WIAS members on certain aspects of things such as the cement industry.
Anthony Coulls, Collections Care Manager, Locomotion - the National Railway Museum at Shildon, Shildon, Co. Durham, DL4 1LD. Tel. 01388 771446. Fax. 01388 771448. acoulls@sedgefield.gov.uk November 2005

At the October meeting our chairman Martin mentioned a new web site featuring Birmingham's history. It is extremely interesting and well worth visiting. Click on this link to go straight to it. Made In Birmingham. Another site of particular interest to us locally is to be found at Pioneers of the Machine Tool Industry. Well worth visiting. October 2005

We are now members of the Industrial Archaeology and History Web Site Ring. At present there are 102 members of this ring of sites and you can travel from one to another in sequence or just select a random site and see what you get. They are all vetted, including our own, and follow an I.A. theme. Use the box at the bottom of the home page to get started and pay some visits. October 2005

Members are reminded that subscriptions for the 2005/2006 season are now due. Provisionally, and subject to agreement by the membership at the September 2005 meeting, the amount payable will remain as for the last season: £10.00 per person or couple with an additional meeting payment of £1.00 per person to help cover refreshment expenses. Payment should preferably be made at a meeting, but payments by post are acceptable Please note that receipts for postal payments will not be sent out, but instead will be available for collection at a subsequent meeting. Cheques should be made payable to Warwickshire Industrial Archaeology Society please. September 2005

Programme to March 2006 and Newsletter No. 20 now available. September 2005

Rob Foxons Railways Remembered Archive Film Shows. Full Autumn - Winter 2005 programme now available - see the Programme page. August 2005

The last meeting before the summer break ended with an interesting talk on Milestones in Warwickshire and further afield, a fascinating subject. On the way home from that meeting I checked to see if the one in the wall at Coventry Rd and Tainters Hill, Kenilworth was still there. It's gone and it's place is neatly filled in with two sandstone blocks. Anyone know where it is ?? This was presumably next in the link to the one at Gibbet Hill crossroads and the other, near the Memorial Park, Coventry which prompted some discussion at the meeting. July 2005

During the summer you may feel inclined to take some IA photos on your travels - why not send them to the web site to share with members. email to: webmaster@warwickshireias.org July 2005

New page added with some shots by Derek Billings of Kenilworth Station in the 1970's. July 2005

Thanks to everyone who helped make the June AGM meeting a success. All members of the WIAS committee were happy to continue and were re-elected for the coming year. Chairman Martin Green thanked those who attended meetings commenting 'you are the society'. The society accounts were not available on the night but the chairman reported from extracts that the finances were in good shape. Slides and talks completed the evening following the conclusion of the official business. Members particularly enjoyed the free beer supplied by Jane from her micro brewery at Church Lawford and the nibbles that accompanied it. (Coffee sales seemed very low for some strange reason!). Belated birthday greetings to our chairman Martin ! June 2005

The June edition of the Newsletter, No.19, is available on line from the Newsletters page and the programme to December 2005 has now been added. June 2005

On the 17th May 2005 the Corris Railway Society took delivery of its brand new narrow gauge steam loco Tattoo. Click here to see the photos. Tattoo has been built from scratch to the original design of the Corris No.4 Kerr Stuart, (now Talyllyn Rly No.4, Edward Thomas). May 2005.

At the May meeting Peter Cross-Rudkin gave an excellent talk with slides illustrations entitled  'William James - Father of the Railways'. To learn more about this extremely interesting local man visit the web site dedicated to him. Click here. May 2005.

Change of date. The AGM will now take place at the June 2005 meeting and there will a number of talks by members. If you wish to contribute, stand for election or become more involved in any way please contact us. April 2005.

A new booklet called  Kenilworth's Last Brickworks is now available. This look at Cherry Orchard Brickworks, in photographs, has been compiled by WIAS member Derek Billings. Price to members is £2.50, (normal price £3.50 + postage). For more information click here. April 2005.

The more recent newsletters are in Adobe Format, go to the Newsletter Page right click on the link to a newsletter and chose the 'save target as' option to download the newsletter quickly to your computer. You can then view it at any time without going on line. Feb 2005.

Subterranea Britannica the web site devoted to the study of  'Man Made & Man Used Underground Places!', has a recently added a new article concerning the old Newbold Tunnel on the Oxford Canal. Click on this link to learn more www.subbrit.org.uk - Mark W Abbott. Feb 2005.

2005 Cruising Programme for the steam narrow boat 'President' is now available, click here to see the proposed venues. Feb 2005.

Following the recent talk on Birmingham Glass Making, why not buy yourself a copy of Dr Michael Hodder's excellent new book 'Birmingham The Hidden History'.

Roger Cragg presents an illustrated talk at the Cambrian Society, Coventry on 11th February. See the programme page for full details. Jan 2005.

2004

Newsletter 17, Dec 2004, has been added to the site. Dec 2004.

Mark Abbott's excellent production is now displayed in Adobe Format. The advantage is that it looks just like the paper version we are familiar with - the disadvantage is that with a dial up internet connection it takes a while to open as the file size is quite hefty. Just sit back and be patient and it will appear. Most PC's have Adobe Reader installed and you should be able to read it without problem. If you do not have it, visit www.adobe.co.uk  or click on the icon below and download the free version.  Please leave any comments in the visitors book! Dec 2004.

The November meeting was an illustrated talk by John Boynton of Kidderminster, based largely on his recent book, 'The London & Birmingham Railway between Birmingham and Coventry'. If you did not buy a copy on the night you missed a bargain! It is extremely well written with excellent photographs. If you would like a copy for £10 plus p&p please email the webmaster for details. Dec 2004.

After an excellent talk, (and tasting), on Warwickshire Cheese Making at the October meeting, click here to visit the Fowlers of Earlswood Cheese Makers web site. Oct 2004.

Newsletter 16, Sept 2004 now available on line in its traditional format.

First Autumn Season meeting is on Thursday 9th September 2004. We look forward to seeing all members and visitors and hope you had a pleasant summer break.

  The second series of 'Restoration' has been won by The Old Grammar School at Kings Norton Village, Birmingham. I used to to pass it daily for many years and it's well worth a visit. To visit the BBC 'Restoration' web site and learn more click on the logo above.. 

Following a tip off from Toby Cave at the AGM, we have discovered an interesting web site that gives much information about the explosion and disaster at Baddesley Pit, North Warwickshire in 1882. It was the worst in its history, 32 men lost their lives. Click here to visit the site.

Newsletter 15, June 2004 now available on line in its traditional format.

Tie Plates A home is needed for an unusual item of IA ? Click here to learn more!

Visit the updated Sales Table for a range of items.

After WEEDON! Further to the excellent meeting on Thursday 13th May, members may like to visit a web site called 'Subterranea Britannica.' This site is devoted to the study of 'Man Made & Man Used Underground Places!'. It has an excellent page on The Royal Ordnance Depot, Weedon with many photographs, entries on numerous underground Military and Civilian Sites and a splendid affiliated site on closed railway stations. Thanks to prospective member Roger Cleal, a former R.O.C. member for supplying this information.

Why not visit the Ordnance Survey web site and see the latest maps of the UK. You can also call up old maps mainly from the 1880's, very handy when looking for IA sites. 

Don't miss the CVRTC Heritage Classic Commercial Motor Show at Gaydon, Sat & Sun 12th & 13th June.

The Spring programme for 2004 has now been arranged, details on the programme page and Newsletter 13, December 2003 has been added.

The Cherry Orchard Brickworks site, Kenilworth, is about to be re-developed for homes. Richard Storey & Peter Riley took a final look round. Click here to read more and see some photos of what's left.

The Sites & Monuments Record for Warwickshire is now on line. It includes over 9000 historic finds across the county and about 2000 images. Visit the site: www.warwickshire.gov.uk/timetrail

Visit the Odibourne Press Web Site for local history publications on the Kenilworth area.

Newsletters 8, 9, 10, 11, 12  available now, more pictures will follow in due course.

The speaker at the September meeting was Dr Mike Hodder, Planning Archaeologist from the Conservation Group at Birmingham City Council. During his talk he recommended a visit to their web site, it is full of interesting information on the work they have carried out in Birmingham. Click on the link below to pay a visit.

The BBC Restoration series has finished with viewers voting in the final for Victoria Baths, Manchester. To see more of the series and all of the buildings featured, follow the link below to the BBC Restoration web site.

The BBCi History site is full of information some of which is of I.A. interest. If you missed a particular radio programme you can play it at any time via the web site. Use the link below.