SCARS ILLUSTRATED TALKS: 95-96 SEASON
Another casualty of the long delay since the last CUTTINGS was published
has been the Reports of our series of Illustrated Talks which take place
between September and April. This year we moved on from Warrington to the
Bridgewater Motor Boat Club’s Clubhouse on the Canal at Runcorn, where we
were very well received by the Members.
MERSEY FLATS AND FLAT MEN by Mike Stammers
Our guest speaker at our first Members’ Meeting, on September 28th, was
Mike Stammers, curator of the Liverpool Maritime Museum, and author of a
number of works on the vessels of this region and its coast.The subject of
his talk and slide presentation was Mersey Flats and Flatmen which is also
the title of his recently-published book.
Mike first took us back to the 16th Century to find the earliest reference
to the word "flat" relating to boats; with slides of early engravings of
the Port of Liverpool, he showed their predominance at work, moving
cargoes from deep sea-going vessels to Quayside warehouses. Later, the
design of the Flats was described; how they went from round stern to
square and back to round. Boat building was another topic which took
people's interest with so many flats being built on the Sankey canal, even
in St. Helens. The working conditions of the men who worked on the boats
was described in vivid detail, with descriptions of sinkings and
disasters. The demise of the sailing flat began in the
mid-nineteen-hundreds; and led eventually to their final extinction by
the 1950’s. Now, sadly, none of the sailing flats survive. The nearest we
have are the Oakdale and Mossdale which were only ever dumb barges but of
similar dimensions. The former has been rigged by its owner and can be seen
moored at the Albert Dock in Liverpool. The latter is in the Boat Museum
at Ellesmere Port.
A most interesting talk which increased our knowledge of the Mersey and of
the working of the boats which sailed upon it and along the surrounding
waterways.
WATERMILLS AND WINDMILLS by Richard Bramwell
Richard Bramwell's talk and slide presentation at our October 26th Meeting,
provided us with probably one of the most interesting meetings that we
have had. In the first half he dealt with watermills and described the
various types of waterwheel used to power them, from under-shot,
breast-shot to over-shot. Many of the pictures were of local interest,
particularly Stanley Bank slitting mill at Blackbrook. Richard explained
how man had learnt how to harness the power of water at an early date and
how this inventiveness was brought through to the age of steam. This also
applied to windmills, as we heard next.
We were shown the different types of windmill, from post mills, where the
whole of the building could be turned to face into the wind; to the tower
mill where just the top is turned into the wind. Again Richard showed
local examples - the windmill in Ravenhead Road and the those at
Bickerstaffe and Parbold, which is beside the Leeds and Liverpool canal.
At the end, leaflets giving information about mills in the North West
which are open to the public were distributed. Many thanks, Richard, for a
most interesting presentation.
Canal Cuttings Issue 3.4 Index
David@SCARS.demon.co.uk
http://www.blacksheep.org/canals
Web Edition Edited by Phil Long
(http://www.geocities.com/broadway/1701/index.html)