Restoration Round-up
by Colin Greenall
Part 1: Work Party Report

During the summer months our volunteers have been out working in two locations.

In July we had a joint event with the Stanley Bank Project volunteers working at Stanley Basin and Stanley Bank Slitting Mill, Blackbrook, St.Helens. For this event we had the luxury of a mini-excavator to take some of the hard work out of the digging.

In August we where at Spike Island in Widnes were we had the opportunity to take in fresh air on the banks of the River Mersey.

Saturday 25th July 2009

With a joint work force of twelve volunteers and two project leaders much progress was made in warm sunny conditions although for some it meant getting rather wet and muddy.

Stanley Basin: While the mini excavator was busy at the Slitting Mill site SCARS volunteers started work at the basin. With the aid of his dowsing rods, Bill Highcock had found what was thought to be the outlet culvert from the basin. This was to the east of the coal tippler and so an investigation pit was dug but proved to be nothing. The Group then moved up to the Slitting mill site where good progress was being made by the digger and the other volunteers.

Stanley Bank Slitting Mill: While the digger was removing infill from the site of the outfall culverts volunteers were busy digging a trench to try and establish if there was a corresponding wall to the wall on the north side of the culverts this proved to be a lost cause although what was thought to be two clay walls were found.

Once the digger had cleared sufficient infill the volunteers got to work at removing the muck that the digger couldn't get at. Water was a problem and it soon became obvious that water was seeping out of the second culvert although it had not yet been located.

At first it was thought to be below the water level (mud) but then Peter began to scrap the mud off the wall and revealed the curved arch which protruded a little out from the actual stone culvert arch below it. The centre of the arch was just at water level.

It was at this moment that Mark Adams arrived he is an archaeologist from Liverpool Museum, who was most impressed with what had been uncovered and suggested that this culvert may have been part of the outside wall of the building.

Attempts were made to try and drain off some of the water by removing some of the rubble in the water channel from the north culvert, this did speed up the flow a little but as the south culvert is slightly lower and water was seeping from it did not make things any better.

It was at this point that we decided to call it a day and so the temporary fence was put up and we made are way back to the Visitor Centre.

Some of us stay for a cup of tea and to discuss the days findings and also to throw ideas around as to were the site of the copper works was.

Sunday 26th July 2009

The second day turned out rather wet with heavy rain all morning, but this did not deter eleven hardy volunteers and two project leaders from getting on with the job. Once again we had the mini-excavator to help with the digging.

Stanley Basin (SCARS volunteers)

This project was a continuation of our visit to the site way back in June of this year. The plan for the day was to try and locate the basin entrance wall with the aid of the mini excavator and also to see if any trace of stone blocks remained below water level on either side of the second tippler.

Basin entrance: Steve and I went with the excavator round to where we expected to find the entrance walls.

Pit (A) was dug approximately five metres from the waters edge to a depth of two metres and extended back for approximately four metres and revealed nothing, even though the dowsing rods had given a reading at this point. This pit was sited behind the pit of the June dig. (See Plan of site in the summer issue of Canal Cuttings)

Pit (B) was excavated further back to the same depth as the first at a point by the park bench

Both pits prove that there was no stone wall to the basin entrance, there being no sign of any land disturbance or building material other than general land fill to compliment the theory that this area had been built up of material taken from the basin during its initial construction.

Tippler wall: Peter Keen and the rest of SCARS volunteers took on this task. The main aim of this operation was to establish if the walls continued along the east side of the basin. (See plan of Basin for location)

Using lamp irons as probing rods the position of the stonewall was located and mapped out, these stone blocks were all under water either side of the second tippler or crane base.

The group then moved round to the south corner to investigate the existence of more stonewall continuing towards the basin entrance. None was found.

It was however discover that the existing stonewall on the corner consisted of only one layer of stone with a coping stone on top and the foundations were made up mainly of lumps of clay, which tended to suggest that this wall was constructed during the 1970's making of the Sankey Valley Park.

It was at this point that the rain stopped and Roy Forshaw our surveyor arrived with his usual box of surveying equipment so he inspected the pits and took photographs and then the pits were back filled.

We took our dinner break in the Blackbrook Visitor Centre, here we could dry out and talk over what had been found or not found and chat with the Stanley Bank project volunteers.

Stanley Bank Slitting Mill: This operation was in the charge of Rick Rogers. In the morning the Stanley Bank Project volunteers had been busy cleaning off the walls exposed during the previous days work so that the finding could be measured and record by Roy Forshaw (Surveyor) later in the day. Roy worked at this while the rest of us were having dinner.

Once his work was done the mini digger got to work and carefully back filled the site while the rest of us stood by and admired the driver's expertise with the bucket.

When the excavator had finished we made our way back to the Visitor Centre and put away the tools. Back at Centre some of us got involved in a "think tank" about the possible location of the Copper Works, all good stuff and many theories were thrown around but no definite conclusion was reached. Many thanks to all who turned out.

Sunday 20th September 2009

Painting the Lock gates at Spike Island

I arrived at Spike Island at 9:45am. The sun was shinning and the prospects looked good for the day. Had a walk down to the locks to look at the paintwork that we did last year.

Meanwhile back at the visitor centre Steve and Walter had arrived soon after that Ian appeared, and Steve invited us to have a cup of tea before we started work.

After the tea it was off to the locks to start on painting the mesh fencing of the footbridge on the top gates, the nearside that we painted last year was left so we set to on the other side. This took up most of the whole of the morning.

Around noon a boat locked out in to the river, which is something that I have only seen a couple of times before.

With the footbridge complete Ian and I set about painting the balance beams with black fence paint while Walter went off with a can of white gloss to do the bollards in the meantime Steve had gone back to the visitor centre to see if he could find any black gloss.

He returned empty handed so while Ian carried on with the black Steve and I started to do the white glossed ends of the beams and we all ended up painting the railings on the bottom gates.

With all the gear packed in Steve's van we made our way back to the Visitor centre for a deserved cup of tea and a chat about this and that.

Thanks to every one for a most enjoyable day in the warm sunshine.

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