⇐ S.I.H. 1970 (No. 1)S.I.H. December 1971 (No. 3) ⇒
Sussex Industrial History: Journal of the Sussex Industrial Archaeology Study Group, edited by John Farrant, published June 1971 (No. 2, Sussex Industrial History) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 16389/2] & The Keep [LIB/506524] Download PDF
Dolphin Motors of Shoreham, by Michael Worthington-William, published June 1971 in Sussex Industrial History (No. 2, article, pp.2-22) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 16389/2] & The Keep [LIB/506524] Download PDF
Abstract:"In accordance with your instructions I yesterday visited your Works at The Old Shipyard, Shoreham, in order to examine your manufacture and methods of production.
The engine you are producing, so far as I was able to judge, is decidedly efficient, and without doubt a very cheap article to produce.
The other branches of your business are all running on satisfactory lines, and I have no doubt will pay very well in the future, when a sufficient market is obtained for their products.
Your methods of workshop management are exceedingly good and there is nothing to criticise in the class of material you are using.
Taking the whole circumstances into consideration, I am of the opinion that, given sufficient capital to get your products on the market, there is no reason why your business should not be a decided commercial success."
Thus ran the optimistic report dated 5 October 1909 from H.W. Bamber, M.I.M.E, consulting engineer, and commissioned by Michael Sassoon of the Two Stroke Engine Co. Ltd. Within a few weeks the company was moribund. To understand this apparently paradoxical state of affairs, it is necessary to examine both the history of the firm and those concerned with it, and the general atmosphere of motor manufacturing into which it was precipitated, perhaps prematurely, by its enthusiastic young sponsors.
The engine you are producing, so far as I was able to judge, is decidedly efficient, and without doubt a very cheap article to produce.
The other branches of your business are all running on satisfactory lines, and I have no doubt will pay very well in the future, when a sufficient market is obtained for their products.
Your methods of workshop management are exceedingly good and there is nothing to criticise in the class of material you are using.
Taking the whole circumstances into consideration, I am of the opinion that, given sufficient capital to get your products on the market, there is no reason why your business should not be a decided commercial success."
Thus ran the optimistic report dated 5 October 1909 from H.W. Bamber, M.I.M.E, consulting engineer, and commissioned by Michael Sassoon of the Two Stroke Engine Co. Ltd. Within a few weeks the company was moribund. To understand this apparently paradoxical state of affairs, it is necessary to examine both the history of the firm and those concerned with it, and the general atmosphere of motor manufacturing into which it was precipitated, perhaps prematurely, by its enthusiastic young sponsors.
Lime Kilns in Central Sussex, by Margaret Holt, published June 1971 in Sussex Industrial History (No. 2, article, pp.23-30) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 16389/2] & The Keep [LIB/506524] Download PDF
Abstract:The Downland escarpment from Washington to Glynde contains an almost continuous line of chalk pits; some of them are still worked commercially, some were so worked during the nineteenth century, and many tiny sites were used exclusively by the farmers who owned or leased the adjoining land. Chalk is a form of the mineral calcite, consisting of calcium carbonate which, when burnt in a kiln, parts with its carbon dioxide and becomes quicklime (calcium dioxide); if water is then added it converts to slaked lime (calcium hydroxide), and it is this resultant product which is used in making mortar and cement, and as a fertilizer to restore calcium to the soil. Lime burning was carried on in conjunction with these chalk pits, and the kilns were usually set back into the sides of the Downs in order that the raw material could be easily and economically handled. Unfortunately, a great number of these kilns has been filled in, but there are, nevertheless, some which are still intact, and traces of many others. This short survey of pits and kilns has been undertaken to discover in what way, if any, the Downland kilns differ from those within the Weald, to which chalk was transported for burning. The area surveyed was chosen simply for ease of access, and the sites were initially located from the first edition of the 25 inch Ordnance Survey maps of 1875.