VOLUME 3 - NUMBER 3
AUTUMN 1995

Production Editor: David Long, Editor: Peter Keen

SCARS' TENTH ANNIVERSARY

CONTENTS

The Chester Rally
BARMEREProgress
Lottery and Restoration
 SCARS on the Internet
Forthcoming Events
 Help Wanted
SCARS Round-up
"Sailing the Sankey II"
The Sankey RVI



Sankey Canal Restoration Society
Registered Charity Number 702571
c/o The Groundwork Trust
19-27 Shaw Street,St Helens WA10 1DF
Tel: 01744 739396 Fax: 01744 24081
e-mail: David@scars.demon.co.uk
SCARS MEMBERSHIP MATTERS
MEMBERS PLEASE NOTE: The November Talk at Runcorn was listed wrongly in the last Issue of CUTTINGS. It will be given on Thursday, November 30th (NOT the 23rd). Sorry. We welcome the following to SCARS:

NEW MEMBERS
Benzie St. Helens
P.McLaughlin St. Helens
S.Bridge Warrington
Mrs C.A.Ruse & Family Hungerford
J. Boughey (Life Member)Wallasey


NOTES ABOUT MEMBER

FAMILY LINK
Mrs Carole Ruse is the Great Granddaughter of Mr James Lawton, who was the Lock Keeper at Engine Lock on the Sankey Canal in the 1800's.


SPREADING THE WORD
Joseph Boughey, who has addressed SCARS in the past, is presenting a Talk to the Railway and Canal Historical Society at the BR Club, Piccadilly Station, Manchester, on Saturday March 9th 1996, at 2.15pm. His Subjects will be:
1. An Introduction to the Sankey Canal
2. The Founders of the Inland Waterways Association

(Perhaps his Talk will shed some light on the puzzling fact that one of the Founders of the IWA, Robert Aikman, had his photograph taken with the Earlestown Viaduct in the background - it was used for the cover of his Autobiography "The River Runs Uphill" - but the Sankey seems not to have ever been on the Agenda of the Association at the time of its closure, and later in-filling. DL


TOM PUTS THE MAP-MAKERS RIGHT

One of the most frequently asked questions at Events is "Where is the Sankey Canal. Sometimes people ask our Stallholders outright, but more often they can be overheard muttering to themselves, and searching out clues on the exhibition displays. Our prime site at the IWA's National Rally at Chester (see the Report, later) enabled us to put very many people on the right track, and put the Sankey on the map. However, one of our Members, Thos. Finney, found himself fighting the official map-makers themselves on our behalf. He recently bought an Ordnance Survey Map of the Inland Waterways of Great Britain, and was surprised to find that the Sankey Canal was not shown. He therefore wrote to the Ordnance Survey, enclosing a SCARS leaflet to emphasise the point.
In reply, the OS said that the original specification for the Map was to show only those Canals and Waterways which were fully navigable at the time of printing. This concept is now being reviewed , and they are considering including canals under restoration - and the SCARS leaflet has been passed on with this idea in mind.
Well done, Tom. Considering the number of restoration schemes under way, with their original policy, the OS must have missed off almost as much as they recorded.


A PRESENT FOR SCARS

Member Gill Buxbaum, a canal artist from Cambrian Narrow Boat Craft, at Ruthin, North Wales, has very kindly donated a superbly decorated Buckby Can for the Society to raffle for its funds at a suitably worthwhile Event. Thank you to her.


THE IWA RALLY AT CHESTER

The 1995 Inland Waterways Association NATIONAL WATERWAYS FESTIVAL, held over the August Bank Holiday Weekend, right on our doorstep, at Chester, was an Event we were anxious to play a full part in. The IWA wanted to highlight the work of Canal Groups in the North West, and as we promote the interests of the region's (and the country's, of course) first modern canal, we just had to be there.

The point may not have been lost on the Festival's organisers. We booked in our Exhibition and Stall, resolved the problem of accommodation by borrowing a narrow boat from the Chairman's brother Geoff, and began our preparations for stocking and staffing for the long weekend. In July, however, a chance call on another matter to Trevor Ede, the Festival Chairman, led to our being offered space in the IWA Marquee.

This meant we had a prime spot in the first marquee visitors came to after the entrance - they had to pass by our stall at the doorway to enter the site. We had a very good weekend as a result, gaining several new Members, and doing very well on the sales side. Our thanks to Ed, Christian, Richard and Peter for helping Colin and myself run the stall - and to all SCARS Members and other supporters who made themselves known and stopped by for a chat. The wide variety of subjects covered on our exhibition stands kept visitors interested - before and after views of various spots kept the nostalgics happy, those who dig canals were happy to see work carrying on to reclaim still more of the canal's line, the locos visible in a few shots kept the steam buffs happy, boat restorers were keen to see how BARMERE is progressing, and the canal politicians were surprised to see we have been asked to host the 1997 Trailboat Rally at Spike Island.

But now back to the boat, which had been moored earlier in the week by the Chairman's son, Matthew. All we had was a reference letter - L - to help us locate ANTRIADES II when we arrived with our luggage, food etc.. The Waterspace Officer smiled sympathetically when we asked him where to find 'L' section... it turned out to be a long way from anywhere! The mooring was a good 20 minute walk from the Festival site, and the nearest bridge, which was important for getting our gear aboard. We managed to make ourselves comfortable eventually, and very soon had company in the form of Member Clive Smith and his family, who had brought WIZARD, the boat belonging to our Chairman's Parish, to the Rally to give parishioners an insight into the canal world. Their mooring was even further out than ours, but they managed to squeeze in by our boat, and enlivened the weekend for us.

It finally came to us that we were beyond the pale when it came to replenishing the water tank, and Colin had to undertake a half-day trip to Ellesmere Port for the purpose. Trying to negotiate back through the lines of boats to the nearest water at Chester was impossible. The secret of a good mooring at the National, they tell us, is to book at the Rally the year before!

So, a very worthwhile weekend. We made our presence felt, quite a bit of business was conducted one way or another... and all that walking kept us fit. Cynthia Greenall


HALTON COUNCILLORS RALLY ROUND

At the Executive Meeting just before everyone went off for their Summer Holidays, it was suggested that we should invite Halton Borough's Councillors to join us at the Chester Festival. Although we managed to get an advance notice of this out with our last Newsletter, it took time to make all the arrangements, and people were disappearing out of reach for a while. It was therefore not until a fortnight before the Festival that formal invitations were sent out to the Councillors. Perhaps because of this late notice, or because of the holidays again, the response to the invitation was disappointing. However, two Councillors, Cllr Mrs Janet Jones, and Cllr Ian Evans, and their spouses, were able to make it. On arrival at Chester, WIZARD was waiting for the party, and took them for a cruise through the hundreds of brightly-painted, often oddly-named, but always friendly-crewed boats lining the Shrops hire Union Canal. On arrival at the Festival site, the party were led to the Office of the Festival Manager, Trevor Ede, where they were met and entertained by Committee Members, and old friends of SCARS, Harry and Beryl Arnold.

When Trevor arrived, a very worthwhile discussion took place about the planned Trailboat Rally for Spike Island in the Spring of 1997. The matter of whether to hold a Rally to get the moveable bridges installed, or to hold it to celebrate their having been installed, is still considered to be a point of issue. Certainly, without the possibility of sailing beyond the presently fixed bridges, there is very little cruising water available for visiting boats. Watch this space for further developments.
It was agreed by all, however, that Spike Island was a very good Rally Site. Halton's experience in holding their Annual Show there, and of having the site prepared for such events, means that a large part of the organising of a Rally can follow a known course. This raised the question, which was to surface again at the "Sailing the Sankey Festival" in September, about working with the Borough to add a waterways dimension to future Halton Shows. The Show is held on both sides of the Sankey, yet there is nothing happening on the Canal itself and, apart from the SCARS stand, no reference to anything relating to waterways. In view of Halton's position astride the River Mersey, and of its having the country's three most significant canals within its boundaries, this is a gap which should be filled. As planning for next year's show is already underway, now is the time to suggest a change to effect this.
The conversation then moved on to possibilities of holding future National Festivals in the Borough, either on the Bridgewater or the Ship Canal. Again, as with the Sankey, the question of the existing infrastructure of possible sites presents problems. However, we hope that the Councillors will have carried back to their colleagues an impression of how well these Festivals are organised, and of the potential gains connected with hosting such an event.

Footnote: Heard on Radio Merseyside recently: "Spike Island may have got its name through a corruption of Spice Island - a satirical reference to the odours arising from the chemical works thereabouts!"


BARMERE - SHE'LL FLOAT NOW!

The work of making the hull of the BARMERE watertight has now been completed. After many years of floating like a colander when placed in water, or leaking like a sieve when out on dry land, our historic grain barge is once again ready to sail - almost! Our welder Geof Pilling, has obviously spent many hours closely observing the boat as he has been working on it. He has discovered that there is some "weeping" between the riveted joints of the hull. These will need sealing with weld before BARMERE can go back on the water.
Geof is presently preparing his Estimate for this work, together with one for repairing the deck plates and hatches. As we have used all our own cash in undertaking the work so far, we will use the Estimates as the basis for applications for funding for this next phase in the restoration.
Over at Appleton, near Warrington, SCARS Member George Bruce has taken on the task of restoring BARMERE's winch. The steelwork of this distinctive feature of a river barge (it is used to raise and lower the anchor, and to run warps) had rusted away, and the wood on the spindles had rotted. George was made very happy at the "Sailing the Sankey Festival" when the exhibitor demonstrating crafts told him how to get a square peg (the steel spindle) into a round hole (drilled through the wooden roller) - you get the spindle very hot indeed, and let it burn its way through the path you've made for it with the drill. It's easy when you know how. In the meantime, now that she doesn't leak any more, the BARMERE is storing rain-water! We will therefore need to put a temporary cover over her 11'x36' hold. Some scrap timber has been located for this purpose, but help is needed (plus a few hundred 3-4" nails) to make it up. If you can help, please give the Chairman a ring (01925 633873), soon.
With BARMERE now looking far more presentable, especially with her comings reinstated, she looks a far more attractive proposition. We are therefore now more actively following up suggestions for a future mooring-place for her in the centre of St Helens. Three locations have been put forward: outside the Chalon Court Hotel; as part of the Heritage Site by the adjacent Cone House; and alongside the reclaimed Lyons Yard site. All have their merits, but the key will probably be the available finance to make sense of each option. Now that we have achieved so much with the vessel, however, we are determined to make the most of her, both for SCARS, and the town.

Next year, the IWA celebrates its Golden Jubilee. Throughout the country, Canal Societies and IWA Branches are organising Events - Rallies, Walks, Talks, Barbecues, and Dinners - to mark the 50th Anniversary of the start of the most significant preservation and restoration movement in the land. SCARS will be joining in, so do look out for this logo appearing during 1996. These two views of Shropshire Union narrow boats at Chester show the changes which have come upon the canal scene this century. The working families have gone from the cut, and new roads and other developments change the look of many scenes almost beyond recognition.

The photographs are from the collection of the Boat Museum at Ellesmere Port, and were reproduced in September's Waterways World. The Boat Museum sent a very colourful, and colourfully staffed, standalong to our Spike Island Festival as a way of showing their support for the canals of the present day. We are grateful to them.


THE NATIONAL LOTTERY

Members may have thought, from our Spring Issue and the revelation of our ambitious plans to link the Sankey with the main canal system by means of a new cut to meet the Leeds and Liverpool Canal at Melling, that that was the extent of our interest in the National Lottery's proceeds. It is not. We have our eyes on the cash available from the other Funds which are being disbursed.

The Millenium Fund, which is our target for cash to build the new cut, is theoretically reserved for very special, once-in-a-thousand years projects, and may be tapped without the sponsors having cash of their own to put in. The other Funds, however, are more strictly administered, and usually require Lottery cash to be matched from other sources.
Even though we at SCARS think that the Sankey Canal's pre-eminence should gain special consideration when a bid for Lottery Funds is made, we are realistic enough to understand that we need to make the task of the Lottery Fund aministrators as easy as possible. Therefore, any bid we make will have as substantial a tranche of matching funding behind it as we can bring together. The key to any funding application is a carefully worked out costing, and an analysis of the financial and social benefits which will arise from meeting the costs.

The start of this, as far as the Sankey is concerned, will be the Feasibility Report currently being prepared for Warrington, Widnes, and St Helens boroughs by W S Atkins. This will give estimates of the cost involved in overcoming the obstacles to navigation on the Canal. With a total cost in view, attention can be given to putting together a package of funding sources which will be backed by the Boroughs, other statutory bodies, and the voluntary sector. This will form the basis of a bid for major funding from the Lottery.

The Atkins Report is due to be presented at the end of this year, but we expect to have a fair enough idea of its contents in time to have done much of the preparatory work for the bid. We are planning to put in considerable effort in November and December to ensure that the Report is launched with an expectation that action upon it will follow very soon.


PROGRESS MEANS GOING BACKWARDS

When the Railway and Canal Historical Society celebrated the 200th Anniversary of the passing of the Sankey Brook Navigation Act of 1755, they were able to cruise from Wood End Locks at Widnes to Winwick. When SCARS tried to undertake a similar trip during their Spike Island Festival, they couldn't get beyond the first bridge!


LAUNCH OF THE SANKEY RVI

Yet another set of initials for us to learn: RVI. They stand for RIVER VALLEY INITIATIVE - and herald the beginning of a concerted effort to clean up the catchment of the Sankey Brook. This is, of course, of vital importance to SCARS, and its hopes of restoring the Sankey Brook Navigation, to give the Sankey/St Helens Canal its historically correct title. Members of our Executive, and in particular Ed Southworth, have been involved in preliminary meetings concerned with this project from the beginning. Their effort has been extremely productive. Recognising that a plentiful supply of high-quality water is the prerequisite to restoring the Sankey, our representatives have seen the need to secure for the Sankey a high priority amongst the Objectives of the RVI. Thus, at the launch of the Initiative at the Bewsey Barns on October 19th, representatives of the local authorities, voluntary organisations, the local community, farmers, industry, landowners, occupiers and public bodies will have before them a list of Objectives, the second of which, after bringing the water quality to Grade 2 by 2005, is "To protect the line of the Sankey Canal and to promote its restoration for navigation by its 250th Anniversary in 2005".

Naturally, we are very pleased that such attention is to be paid to restoring the Canal - and we will obviously do our best to help the Initiative achieve its ends.



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David@SCARS.demon.co.uk
http://www.blacksheep.org/canals

Web Edition Edited by Phil Long
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