Restoration Round-Up
by Colin Greenall

During the summer our volunteers have been out at regular intervals. Our main site has been Newton Common Lock Cottage, which has received four visits, during this time work has been concentrated on finding more of the buildings outer walls and any evidence of paved areas etc. We also erected a boundary fence alongside the road that leads to the nearby farm.

On our second visit in May, we invited the last occupier of the cottage to come and help us with our interpretation of our findings. The memories of Mrs Woods and her son Ron were most helpful. She recalled the lovely homely atmosphere of the house, whilst Ron remembered the wonderful times he and his friends used to have around the locks and by-wash.

After our last visit talks took place with St.Helens Council and SankeyNOW, and they agreed to provide a JCB to remove the infill from the site of the cottage and surrounding area so that we could make progress with the landscaping etc..

The date for the arrival of the JCB was fixed for Tuesday, September 17th, and at 10 am we were all ready and waiting for its arrival. After an inspection of the site, access was made through the perimeter fence and work began. The vegetation was cleared away first - much to the dismay of the frog, toad and mouse population, many of whom were seen scurrying for cover elsewhere. The machine then began digging near the coping-stones on the lock side. Here earth was pull back to reveal the full width of the stones. Then an area in front of the cottage was lowered to the same as the copings. The site was now beginning to resemble the plan we had drawn after our earlier excavations.

At dinnertime, Tony the driver and his mate Graham went off to the local fish and chip shop, and I stayed on site with my pork pie and sandwiches. After dinner, work moved over to the cottage area, the outside walls were exposed and the infill cleared down to brick level. At this point George Bruce arrived to take photographs (back cover).

During the afternoon John Boden from St.Helens MBC arrived to check that every thing was going well, he promised that the site would be treated with weed-killer to control the brambles etc.. Once the cottage area had been cleared the waste was levelled, the banks were graded and work ended for the day.

Although I was unable to be present during the early morning work, I could see when I finally arrived that Tony and Graham had been hard at it: the surface vegetation on the lock chamber infill had been scraped off, the surrounding banks had been regraded, and they had continued with the levelling of the waste.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank St.Helens MBC and SankeyNOW for bringing in the machine and also to say a big thank you to Tony and Graham for their cooperation. I would also like to thank Joe Morris for allowing access over his land to the site and for the over-night storage of the equipment.

In early September we returned to Hulme Lock Cottage at Winwick, where we cleared a way the vegetation that had grown up over the ten months since we were last there.

Other jobs carried out included bolting down the well cover, strimming the grassy areas, removing the damaged gates to the site (making it accessible to the public) and generally tidying up (see David Dunbavin's pictures below).

Further work on this site will entail the removal of the six-foot high perimeter fence and replacing it with a knee high wooden barrier.

Once again many thanks to everyone who turned out to help.

If anyone would like to join in the fun on future Work Parties, don't hesitate to contact me: Colin Greenall, Tel: 01744 731746 (evenings) 01744 732031 (daytime).

Sizing up the task ahead		The strimmer makes short work of the vegetation around the site
The work party put their backs into it...		... and earn their place in the September sun

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