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Sussex Industrial History: Journal of the Sussex Industrial Archaeology Society, edited by Dr. Brian Austen, published 1989 (issue no. 19, Sussex Industrial History, ISSN: 0263-5151) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/506526] Download PDF
Sussex Leather Industry in the 19th Century, by G. Mead, published 1989 in Sussex Industrial History (issue no. 19, article, pp.2-10, ISSN: 0263-5151) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/506526] Download PDF
Abstract:The leather industry had a role in the national economy greatly overlooked by many economic historians. Even the S.I.A.S. field guide does not mention a single item connected with the industry. During the eighteenth century it was the second biggest industry overall: by 1800 its value of &Pound;10+ million was only exceeded by woollen cloth and yarn. It remained a vital component in the nation's wealth throughout the nineteenth century, and in 1907 output by value, as a proportion of total industrial output, was 2.6% equal to the value of shipbuilding, and exceeded only by wool products at 2.8%. Tanning was carried on in 800 yards and the industry employed half a million people.
Products for home and export markets, raw materials of bark, hides, tan and finished goods, leather, footwear and harness, were stimulated by the rapid expansion of British industry in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. At all levels of production and usage the products of the leather industry performed vital functions, from supplying machinery driving belts, to linings of gentlemen's hats. The growth of industry, closely linked as it was to the improvements in a wide range of communications, stimulated transport of all kinds, and thereby saddlery and haulage harness. For domestic consumption there was a continuously heavy demand for all types of footwear, clothing and gloves, and articles as diverse as bellows, buckets and bookbindings.
Products for home and export markets, raw materials of bark, hides, tan and finished goods, leather, footwear and harness, were stimulated by the rapid expansion of British industry in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. At all levels of production and usage the products of the leather industry performed vital functions, from supplying machinery driving belts, to linings of gentlemen's hats. The growth of industry, closely linked as it was to the improvements in a wide range of communications, stimulated transport of all kinds, and thereby saddlery and haulage harness. For domestic consumption there was a continuously heavy demand for all types of footwear, clothing and gloves, and articles as diverse as bellows, buckets and bookbindings.
Water-wheel Driven Beam Pump at Bignor Park, by R. M. Palmer and A. E. Baxter, published 1989 in Sussex Industrial History (issue no. 19, article, pp.11-21, ISSN: 0263-5151) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/506526] Download PDF
Abstract:It was a tantalisingly brief mention of Bignor Park in the S.I.H. article on the Petworth Water Supply that set the first-named author on what proved to be a long and at times exhausting trail of discovery and detection. Armed with the statement that a beam pump similar to that at Coultershaw existed in Bignor Park, he set out with the, almost voluntary, aid of some S.I.A.S. colleagues to track it down. This article relates their endeavours to piece together the design and operation of the pump installation.
The article starts by tracing the history of Bignor Park and includes some comments on water supply to country houses. This is followed by a description of the excavation and recording carried out on site. The results are then set out, leading to a theoretical reconstruction of the layout and operation of the pump. Finally, the archival evidence available on the history of the pump is considered and some attempt made to date its origin.
Bignor Park is in West Sussex, situated just to the north of the Downs near Petworth and lies in the Gault Clay strip between the Upper and Lower Greensands. Through the Park runs a stream fed by springs which gush out from the foot of the Downs above Bignor Mill. By this stream was built the beam pump (GR 993153) to supply water to Bignor House.
The article starts by tracing the history of Bignor Park and includes some comments on water supply to country houses. This is followed by a description of the excavation and recording carried out on site. The results are then set out, leading to a theoretical reconstruction of the layout and operation of the pump. Finally, the archival evidence available on the history of the pump is considered and some attempt made to date its origin.
Bignor Park is in West Sussex, situated just to the north of the Downs near Petworth and lies in the Gault Clay strip between the Upper and Lower Greensands. Through the Park runs a stream fed by springs which gush out from the foot of the Downs above Bignor Mill. By this stream was built the beam pump (GR 993153) to supply water to Bignor House.
Lowfield Heath Windmill, by P. J. James, published 1989 in Sussex Industrial History (issue no. 19, article, pp.22-33, ISSN: 0263-5151) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/506526] Download PDF
Abstract:It is indeed remarkable that only two months before the worst storm in the last 200 years, Lowfield Heath Windmill was dismantled and thus saved from certain destruction. This marked the first phase in the restoration to full working order by the 'Lowfield Heath Windmill Trust', which together with a small team of volunteers have made this formidable task possible.
Lowfield Heath is of the type known as a post mill, in which the whole body of the mill is suspended on a single post. The mill body, or buck, can then be revolved about this post by levering against the tailpole, until the sails face the wind. It is interesting to note that this basic design of mill dates back to the twelfth century, and continued to be built in this fashion right up to 1868, almost to the end of the windmill era.
Lowfield Heath is of the type known as a post mill, in which the whole body of the mill is suspended on a single post. The mill body, or buck, can then be revolved about this post by levering against the tailpole, until the sails face the wind. It is interesting to note that this basic design of mill dates back to the twelfth century, and continued to be built in this fashion right up to 1868, almost to the end of the windmill era.
The B.M.R. Gearless Car, by Michael Worthington-William, published 1989 in Sussex Industrial History (issue no. 19, article, pp.33-36, ISSN: 0263-5151) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/506526] Download PDF
Abstract:Brighton, along with other seaside towns like Bournemouth and Eastbourne, had more than its fair share of motor manufacturers and home-grown makes over the years.
Just recently David Hurley, showed me some fascinating photos of the Gearless car built by B.M.R. Ltd, (Brighton Motor Repair) at Portslade in 1919. They were provided by Mr F.G. Watts of Sutton, who was employed as a boy by B.M.R. and whose father (previously with coachbuilders Thomas Harrington of Hove) was their coachsmith. Mr Watts' employment as a fitter and turner lasted only from June 1919 until January 1920, and during that period at least twelve Gearless cars were laid down.
Just recently David Hurley, showed me some fascinating photos of the Gearless car built by B.M.R. Ltd, (Brighton Motor Repair) at Portslade in 1919. They were provided by Mr F.G. Watts of Sutton, who was employed as a boy by B.M.R. and whose father (previously with coachbuilders Thomas Harrington of Hove) was their coachsmith. Mr Watts' employment as a fitter and turner lasted only from June 1919 until January 1920, and during that period at least twelve Gearless cars were laid down.
Bricks for the Martello Towers - further details, by M. Beswick, published 1989 in Sussex Industrial History (issue no. 19, article, pp.36-37, ISSN: 0263-5151) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/506526] Download PDF
Abstract:Since the publication in Sussex Industrial History No. 17 of the article 'Bricks for the Martello Towers in Sussex', further information has come to light on the exact location of some of the brickfields. This is contained in a military map entitled 'Sketch of the Coast from Eastbourne to Hastings' - scale 1 mile to an inch. It was enclosed with a letter of 2 June 1805 from Brig-Gen. Twiss, the Commanding Engineer of the Southern Division who was then in Hastings, to R.H. Crow of the Board of Ordnance in London. On the map are marked the sites of the Martello towers then under construction and the location of 60 twenty-four pounder guns in position at that date. Also marked, by letters, are the sites of five of the brickfields which were supplying materials for the building of the towers.
Old Forge, Wadhurst, by R. Martin, published 1989 in Sussex Industrial History (issue no. 19, article, pp.37-40, ISSN: 0263-5151) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/506526] Download PDF
Abstract:James Bassett started his business as a general smith in the 1880s and moved in about 1900 to the present site in Mayfield Lane, Durgates in the Parish of Wadhurst, map reference TQ 630322. Business had by then increased and was expanded to include carriage building and the buildings which still exist were then erected.
These comprise a single storey range containing two forges set back from the road and a two storied block to the north at right angles to the road with its front edge on the road line. Construction generally is of softwood studded walls covered with painted weather-boarding externally with continuous ranges of windows and with corrugated sheet steel roofs. The rear wall of the forges is in 215 mm thick brickwork. A later single storey extension to the rear contains remains of under-floor line shafting by which power from an electric motor was transferred to woodworking machinery. A brick-built cottage adjacent to the forge to the south was built in 1906 and is still occupied by the grandson of the founder.
These comprise a single storey range containing two forges set back from the road and a two storied block to the north at right angles to the road with its front edge on the road line. Construction generally is of softwood studded walls covered with painted weather-boarding externally with continuous ranges of windows and with corrugated sheet steel roofs. The rear wall of the forges is in 215 mm thick brickwork. A later single storey extension to the rear contains remains of under-floor line shafting by which power from an electric motor was transferred to woodworking machinery. A brick-built cottage adjacent to the forge to the south was built in 1906 and is still occupied by the grandson of the founder.