Sad post today as my mum died yesterday, unexpectedly but as she was 89 she was slowly wearing out. At least it was quiet and in her sleep.

I was particularly keen on finding out her family history but she was unhappy about her Glasgow Irish relatives I kept finding. In the end I did not tell her about them!

Its a funny feeling being an orphan!

Nowells Again!

I see that it was in March 2007 that I last blogged about the Nowell family and how I was trying to connect a family of civil engineers with my own tree. safarisue.blogspot.com/2007/03/nowells-of-dewsbury.html

I have failed to do that and have laid aside the Nowells until now. With my interest in civil engineering families revived with the Brindley group - safarisue.blogspot.com/2020/11/ia-genealogy.html - I have spent some of the weekend updating the Nowell family tree. I am still looking for links to my own family but realise that is very unlikely that I shall ever prove the link.

Still it's interesting looking at families. Come the 19th and 20th centuries the Nowells were doing quite well for themselves and were professional people but few of them married and so lines died out. They also moved away from their traditional base in Dewsbury and came south to London and the home counties. They were still involved in civil engineering works but now for the railways rather than canals where they had originally made their name.

One branch of the family who had quarries in the village of Idle near Bradford, specialised in paving stones which they brought to London to their yard on the canal at Warwick Road in Kensington. They also brought granite quarries at Enderby in Leicestershire and became the contractors for the repair of London Parish roads and the construction of roads and sewers.

The Kilsby Tunnel was one of the great works the Nowells were involved in. The tunnel was opened in 1838 as a part of the London - Birmingham Railway It is the 18th longest railway tunnel in Britain and was natable for the difficulties in construction.

The Nowells were responsible for the stonework of the piers of the Britannia Bridge which was opened in 1850. Another feat of engineering designed by Robert Stephenson, as was the Kilsby Tunnel. It originally featured wrought iron tubes which the trains ran in.

Dr Denis Smith

Last week GLIAS hosted an pub evening in Smithfield at the Rising Sun, a small but friendly Sam Smiths pub. Although its always nice to meet GLIAS members socially, the pretext for the evening was to say 'Good bye and Thank You' to our present Chairman, Denis Smith. He and his wife moved out of London a couple of years ago but are now moving much further away to Edinburgh to be nearer to their family who have already 'emigrated' to Scotland.

Denis is the reason I discovered Industrial Archaeology nearly 40 years ago. My husband and I had just moved to London and in order to meet people I suggested we join an evening class - well five members of that class led by Denis at Goldsmiths College in September 1972 were there to say good bye on Wednesday night! There too were many members of another evening class group which Denis and I shared at Birkbeck College to gain a Certificate in Industrial Archaeology in the 1990s. Denis led many such classes particularly in North London and its surprising how many people in IA know Denis because of lectures they have heard from him.

All the members of the GLIAS Board were also there. Denis has been a Committee Meeting or Chairman leading GLIAS since he set up the Society with the help of people like Malcolm Tucker and Michael Bussell in the late 1960s. It is difficult to estimate how much Denis has advanced the study of IA especially in London.

He also encouraged members to join the Newcomen Society to which he presented a number of seminal papers on a variey of topics from John Smeaton to the Humphrey Pump. It is a source of great pleasure to many GLIAS members to know how he was received in the backwoods of Australia at Cogdobla where they have a set of Humphrey pumps still in working condition - http://www.southaustralia.com/uk/9002110.aspx Denis also served as President of the Newcomen Society for two years during which time, he led a successful Summer Meeting in New England which we all enjoyed. Another of his passions was David Kirkaldy and he was instrumental in setting up the KIrkaldy Testing Museum at 99 Southwark Street - another place where he will be missed. The motto above the door says everything you need to know about research!

Time and space does not permit discussion of his contribution to the EFDSS and the Morris socheck out Denis here - http://www.efdss.org/front/2001-dr-denis-smith/2001-dr-denis-smith-citation/92/27

So now we must bid farewell to Denis and Lyn as they venture north to discover more IA sites to explore and photograph. We will all miss his mercurial mind which led many of us to research more about IA and develop wider interests in the subject just as we will miss his leadership at Committee meetings and most of all his friendship which has always been warm and generous and which his many friends have always valued.

IA Genealogy

To help a friend in his researches, I have been compiling family trees of James Brindley, the early canal engineer, and his associates. Some of them are less known but other such as Robert Whitworth had successful careers of their own.

Many of them spent most of their working lives in the Midlands but what is also interesting, are the links with early canal engineering in America. A nephew of James Brindley,also confusingly called James, undertook canal work in Delaware and settled in America. Somewhat surprisingly one of his descendents was a Civil War hero.

Another English engineer spent time on American canals in the late 18th century with Brindley was WIilliam Weston, another associate of THE James Brindley. Its amazing how far 18th century engineers travelled in the most inclement weather and with the poorest of roads. It should be noted that James Brindley died after complications with diabetes and being soaked on one of his journeys on the Caldon Canal.

One of his descendents, albeit from an illegitimate child of his John Bennett, is the author (Enoch) Arnold Bennett whose books reflect the difficulties of life in the 19th century Potteries, far removed from his life on the French Riviera! PS Nearly forgot, those interested can check out my Brindley Group Family Tree at http://brindleygroup.tribalpages.com/tribe/browse?userid=brindleygroup&mmg=8348489141&switch=0&rand=407563368 Just click on the link

Sweden with the AIA 2011

Early warning for another event organised by Heritage of Industry in 2011 - a week long coach trip of Sweden with the Association for Industrial Archaeology from May 30th – June 5th 2011.

This will include an exploration, by guided coach, of a major area of Sweden’s rich industrial archaeology: the Stockholm / Gavle / Falun / Eskiltuna quadrilateral, the Iron Route.

Key visits will include Stockholm – Skansen, the world’s first open air museum with the possibility to visit the silk-weaving, the technical, or the Vasa museums according to choice.

Sala: silver mine with buildings from the 17th to 19th centuries and a mine visit.

Gavle: the Swedish Railway Museum, noted for its locomotives, a large site with two former roundhouses.

Falun: a copper mine working from the 13th century until the 1990s with open pit, early buildings and machinery - a world heritage site.


Angelsberg: one of the world’s most important remains of the early industrial age; blast furnace, forge hammer, water-powered blowing engine. A world heritage site. Plus the Oil Museum – a refinery dating from the pioneer years of the oil industry - 1870s onwards.


Eskilstuna: the Sheffield of Sweden with the Rademachers Smithies.


Tumba: Paper mill dating from 1755, supplying the Bank of Sweden with banknotes ever since.
Look out for details, when available on the Heritage website - http://www.heritageofindustry.co.uk - and register your interest.

City Safaris 2011

Next year's City Safaris - http://www.citysafaris.co.uk/ - will soon be announced, so here is a quick peek at what 2011 has in store for intrepid travellers!

24th – 27th MARCH HEART OF ENGLAND COVENTRY AREA
Although known for Lady Godiva and the bombing of the Cathedral, we will be looking at different aspects of Coventry! The 19th century clock making industry and ribbon weaving areas still survive with traditional workshops and many early houses and shops have also been preserved despite the devastation of World War 2. We will also explore the 20th century car industry in the city as well as the 1950s redevelopment which has to an extent left the city in thrall to the road system and the car! Certainly a different city to explore.

A former watchmaking factory in Coventry

14th – 17th APRIL HAMBURG - the great sea-faring city in Northern Germany. Although we have enjoyed a Safari there before, it was over 10 years ago and the city has changed a great deal especially on the river front. A new area has been created in the 20th century dock area - HafenCity full of homes and work spaces some in spectacular 21st century style. We can see its progress from the late 19th century Kesselhaus, Boiler House, which is currently used as the ‘InfoCentre’.

Although we will be focussing on the Elbe with the Speicherstadt, the 19th dock area with fabulous warehouses for storing all sorts of exotic goods, and the vehicle tunnels under the river, we will also be looking at the water supply sewage system installed by an Englishman, William Lindley, relatively unknown in his own country but who built water and sewage systems all over Europe. A former decayed water tower at Sternschanze has been transformed into a high class hotel with splendid views over the city.

Further information can be found here - http://bwtas.blogspot.com/2009/04/sternschanze-hamburg-germany-1910.html - at the British Water Tower Appreciation Society's website.

8th – 11th September HALIFAX/HUDDERSFIELD - a two centre City Safari Plus based in Halifax when we will look at the two textile towns, Halifax with its carpet industry and Huddersfield with wool. There are a number of iconic buildings in Halifax which we will visit, including the Piece Hall and the Dean Clough Complex, once home to Crossley carpet manufacture.

We will also be able to have a look at some of the purpose-built industrial housing built by Colonel Ackroyd in Copley and Ackroyden, on the outskirts of Halifax, for his employees. One of the reasons that the Halifax Building Society was founded was to allow his workers to buy their own homes.

In Huddersfield a must-see is the station building erected by 1860 to the plans of James Pigott Pritchett with a statue of the city's famous son, Harold Wilson, outside. Many of the mills have now been converted to other use but can still be viewed especially from the canal towpaths in the centre of the city. Of particular note is a lifting bridge, Engine or Locomotive Bridge, on the Broad Canal which dates back to 1865.

So keep your diaries clear and your eyes peeled for further information!