BWTAS at Earls Colne

On Saturday 27th September, members of BWTAS showed up in force, well, seven of them, at the Earls Colne Heritage Museum at the former Atlas Works to admire their water tower. The museum is small but well stocked with artefacts about the history of the works and Earls Colne. Now we know who made all the brackets, wheels and shafts for thousands of belt-driven mills and factories around the world as well as the hand-powered grain milling machines still in use in many under-developed countries. Our thanks to Brian Alderman for opening especially for us. They don't know if the water tower was made on site. It is made of sand-cast iron plates in an unusual 3' x 4' size but it is more likely they were made by one of the specialst foundries on the Tyne. The museum is well worth a visit and there are lots of other things to do and see nearby, including a railway museum and a rather ironic town pump dedicated in thanks to the absence of cholera in the town.

Jumbo at 125

Saturday, September 27th, 2008: Brian Light shows a photograph taken September 27th, 1883 at the dedication of the Balkerne Water Tower 'Jumbo' to members of BWTAS attending Brian's guided tour of Colchester's historic sites.

Happy Birthday Jumbo!

We're sorry you've been so neglected and ignored in recent years but your many fans wish you many happy returns for your 125th birthday on Saturday 27th September. 

BWTAS will be sure to remember the occasion if no one else does when it gives a tour of historic Colchester starting at 1.30 PM on the Saturday, starting at your feet.

Best Wishes,

BWTAS

Colchester Zoo

The Bocking family took in a visit to Colchester Zoo last week.

In the zoo they noticed this structure and the notice affixed to it.

It's good to see that the zoo have taken the opportunity to make the most of every educational opportunity.

BWTAS event: Atlas Works and historic Colchester, September 27, 2008

BWTAS members Brian Light and Brian Alderman have kindly given their time to provide a day out for water tower and history enthusiasts. 

Firstly the Earls Colne Heritage Museum in Earls Colne in Essex will be opened specially for BWTAS at 11 AM on Saturday 27th September 2008. 

The museum in housed in the water tower of the former Atlas Works, a foundry making agricultural machinery. 

Address: The Old Water Tower, Reuben Walk, Earls Colne, Colchester, Essex, CO6 2SZ

ECHM MAP LINK

Later in the afternoon BWTAS will meet at 1.30 PM outside 'Jumbo' the water tower on Balkerne Hill, Colchester, for a guided tour of the historic centre by Brian Light, co-author of the guide available for £2 at local tourist information centres and an expert on the history of Colchester's water systems.

These events are free but a donation to ECHM would be gratefully apppreciated as would buying a beer or two for your guide afterwards!

DIRECTIONS

To get to 'Jumbo' from Earls Colne by car: take the A1124 southn towards A12 then take A133 to Colchester, then turn right at roundabout up Balkerne Hill A134. 

AERIAL MAP LINK

Go up Balkerne Hill to the large roundabout, do a complete circuit and down Balkerne Hill. Take the slip road to St Mary's multi-storey car park on the left. Walk over Balkerne Hill on the footbridge, go through the Balkerne Gate, approach Jumbo but turn right towards Church St. 

However, if coming direct to Colchester: come via A12, then down Ipswich Rd A1232, then right along Cowdray Ave A133, then up Balkerne Hill as above.

AREA MAP LINK

EATING

For lunch in Colchester, the Old Court House (labelled on map) near Jumbo is a pleasant cafe which does decent food.

TRANSPORT

To travel from the Atlas Works to Jumbo by public transport, you can take the 88 bus. Please go to Traveline or Google Maps and enter the postcode CO6 2SZ as the start and CO3 3AA as the destination. 

Travel time is about 45 minutes with five minutes walking at each end.

Cyclists might like to know that Earls Colne is 6.8 miles from Marks Tey rail station where there is ample car parking on weekends.

BWTAS meeting report

BWTAS met at the Star, Wenhaston on Tuesday, 9th September. Attending was Nat Bocking, Wilson Harvey (chair), new member Clare Johnson, Brian Light, Andy Norris and Ferrers Young. 

The Treasurer reported that finances remain healthy with an excess of £6oo in the bank and £20 in dues held by Nat are to be deposited.

The General Secretary reported membership stands at 119 with three new members since the last meeting, recruited by the BWTAS blog.

Talk at NIAS: Nat will give a brief talk on the history of water towers and Ferrers will talk about Norwich water towers and more specifically, those that have been recently demolished. After the talk, BWTAS members will repair to the pub next door if there is any desire from the audience to continue discussions as the room time is limited.

Colchester Tour: Wilson Harvey reported that his letters to George Braithwaite, the owner of Jumbo, have gone unanswered. It was agreed that Brian Light would contact Brian Alderman and arrange a visit to the Atlas Works at Earls Colne followed by a guided tour of historic Colchester (or vice-versa) including a stop outside Jumbo. This was tentatively scheduled for September 27th or October 25th depending on availability of the Atlas Works.

Henham Steam Rally: although very successful at recruiting members and gleaning information, all of the ctte. had various schedule conflicts for the weekend of 20/21 September so it was decided to skip the presence of BWTAS at the show this year. It was noted that sometime in the darkness of winter, BWTAS would update the exhibition map, information panels and photos.

Art Show: It was proposed that BWTAS hold an art exhibition in 2009, as 2008 was a rest from the very successful ones held in 2006 and 2007. The proposal was thoroughly seconded by Clare Johnson, an artist herself. Several venues (commercially sensitive) were proposed and members have been assigned to make enquires on their availability. Members thought it would be appropriate to widen the exhibition remit to include other structures so that the exhibition might present artists' responses to the built environment, working title; 'water towers and friends'. There could also be a talks and workshops combined with the exhibition. Members agreed to put word out on the grapevine to artists showing interest since the last shows and prepare a press release for Green Pebble as soon as a date can be set.

Following business, Clare Johnson showed her images of water towers taken on a recent trip to the USA in Chicago, Detroit, Gary and Ann Arbour. Ferrers showed his most recent images and details of several new finds not in the Barton database including an archive image of the Hunstanton WT being demolished.

No date set for the next meeting but to be annouced as soon as visit to Atlas Works confirmed.

Essex Water Towers For Sale

Not to be confused with the concrete tower which is the subject of phone mast protests, the 1889 water tower(s) at Colne Road, Halsted in Essex have been on the market for some time at £599,950. Rightmove listing here

They may have been sold by now but at time of posting were still for sale. If you fancy a tower with four bedrooms, 3 baths and and another water tower as a home/SME office, (is this a BOGOF offer?) then get onto Wright & Co at Sawbridgeworth.

A one-bedroom Victorian water tower in Braintree is also on the market with Connells for around £200,000

Heritage Open Days

Heritage Open Days this year are on 11-14th September.

This is a Govt. scheme (basically achieved by covering the cost of liability insurance) by which property owners can open places not normally open to the public although lots of regular attractions also take part and most have free entrance during the Heritage Days.

For water tower enthusiasts, the Earls Colne Heritage Museum will be open on 13 & 14 September.

The ECHM tell us although there isn't a water tower there, at the Museum of Power, Langford www.museumofpower.org.uk , there is a strong link with water and one of the enormous pump engines is still in situ and worth a viewing. The pump is one of several that was part of the water supply system to Southend. The museum has a wealth of items of interest, with free entry on Heritage Days.

image copyright Brian Alderman

High Acres Phone Mast Protest

This site is not the place for a debate over radiation safety but residents of Stourbridge in the West Midlands are calling for their local water tower to be demolished over health fears from the mobile phone masts on the water tower.

50% of the number of news alerts BWTAS gets on water towers turn out to be protests about phone masts. Stourbridge is not the only case. Residents of Halstead near Colchester, Essex have raised similar concerns.

The High Acres and Halstead water towers are not exceptional examples of reinforced concrete construction but their straightforward and honest appearance has been greatly disfigured by the accretion of masts and antennae. We think most members of BWTAS would object to putting phone masts on water towers on those grounds alone.

Dudley Metropolitan Council says:

"The water tower at High Acres on which the antenna are attached, and the land on which the water tower stands, are privately owned.

"All antenna currently on there are permitted developments. Any company wanting to install such equipment must provide a certificate to confirm emissions from their equipment is within guidelines set out by the International Commission for Non-Ionising Radiation Protection (ICNIRP).

"We have carried out checks at the High Acres water tower and all the equipment meets the legal planning requirements. However, any additional equipment would need planning permission."

These water towers look similar to the Octel water tower on Anglesey which so far has escaped such vandalism, perhaps because of the location amidst stunning coastal scenery, although that does depend on which direction you look.









It does seem as if tower owners can put masts on towers with very little objection (and derive substantial income from doing so). But if planning permission is required to put masts on water towers, perhaps more vigorous objections on aesthetic grounds in the first place could be effective.

More German towers

In response to the posting on the Bocking's visit to Kevelaer on one of Ryanair's penny flights; BWTAS member David Blackburn sent in his pictures of a tower in Andernach (close to Koblenz so also accessible by Ryanair) which has an interesting past.

David is off soon to his Derbyshire home's twin-town of Sindlefingen in Germany where there are a couple of decent towers and he hopes to meet there Guenther Bosch, the dedicated enthusiast behind the Baden Wurtemburg water towers website.

As said here before, BWTAS is British in name but not British in outlook. We exist for people in Britain who are interested in water towers. Many German towers were built by illustrious Britons such as William Lindley.

It would be great to locate some examples in continental Europe of his work.