Here you will find links to short articles from various sources, particularly those sent out to members via the GSIA mailing list. At present they are listed chronologically as there are too few to separate into meaningful categories.
Similar articles relating to Gloucestershire’s Industrial Heritage are warmly invited. Please send them (or suggestions for articles) to nq@gsia.org.uk.
Steam Passenger Boat at Purton on the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal by Mike Smith
This article recalls the times between 1852 and the early 1930’s when the steam packets, the Wave and the Lapwing, ran a regular service along the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal. [July 2023]
What are ‘composition’ millstones? – millstone manufacture in Gloucester by Stephen Mills
This article looks at the various Gloucester firms that were making millstones, and in particular, Barrons, who made very effective millstones by embedding ground up abrasive materials, such as emery, in a matrix of strong cement. [June 2023]
Visit Report: Eastington, Sunday 14 May 2023 by Stephen Mills
Starting at Bonds Mill Stonehouse,the party walked westward along the Stroudwater Canal to Westfield Bridge and on the retuen loop visited a number of sites including Churchend and Millend Mills. [May 2023]
Steam Boat Service from Westgate Bridge, Gloucester to Lower Lode, Tewkesbury by Mike Smith
An account of Gloucester’s tramway system is also included [May 2023]
The Inchbrook Works/Crystal Fountain Mills by Stephen Mills
The production of boron Attached is an
This article explores one of the more unusual uses that a redundant Stroud valleys cloth mills was used for – the production of borax and boracic acid.
[April 2023]
Showrooms of the Gloucester Carriage & Wagon Company Limited by Mike Smith
A lesser known aspect of one of Gloucester’s most important engineering companies is that the company built a limited number of road vehicles in addition to their core business of railway carriages and wagons. This article gives an account of the company’s showrooms near the Great Western Railway Station for carriages and “trade vehicles”. [April 2023]
AI and IA [Artificial Intelligence and Industrial Archaeology] by Ray Wilson
There has been considerable interest in Artificial intelligence (AI – the science of making machines that can think like humans) following the launch of “Chatbots” such as ChatGPT and Bard. This article provides a very basic introduction to AI and gives the results when these two Chatbots were asked to “Write a 1000 word article on the most important sites of industrial archaeological interest in Gloucestershire UK”. Unfortunately, both responses were stilted and contained serious errors and demonstrated that this technology still has a long way to go before it can be used reliably. [April 2023]
Frocester to Frampton-on-Severn Mineral Railway by Stephen Mills
A short article exploring the background of a small largely forgotten mineral railway that once ran between Frocester and Frampton-on-Severn. [March 2023]
Somerset Industrial Archaeology Society, 50th Anniversary Celebration, 3 September 2023 by John Berry
GSIA were represented at SIAS’s 50th anniversary celebration by John Berry who has provided this report. [February 2023]
Leatherboard Production by Stephen Mills
Visit Report – Gloucester Incinerator – Wed 16 November 2022 by Stephen Mills
Twenty members enjoyed a very interesting and informative talk followed by a tour of the plant. [December 2022]
Gloucester engineering and the first vacuum cleaner (Hubert Cecil Booth Inventor) by Stephen Mills
Hubert Cecil Booth, was the Gloucester born inventor of the vacuum cleaner. Early versions were powered bty a petrol engines and the whole assembly mounted on a horse drawn cart and manufactured by Fielding and Platt at Gloucester. [November 2022]
Visit Report – Bixlade area, Forest of Dean – Sun 23 October 2022 by Stephen Mills
The visit included Cannop Ponds, the tramroad that ran up the Bixlade valley to the quarries at Bixhead, along with various former quarries and mines along its route. [October 2022]
The Harold Wingham Collection of Aerial Photographs by Ray Wilson
Some 2000 photographs were taken by Harold between April 1951 and July 1963 and what is so remarkable is that it was all self-funded. Harold spent most of his life in Gloucestershire and this is reflected in the 748 images for the modern county. There images are all available online on the Historic England website. [October 2022]
Visit report – Three Stroudwater Canal Crossings – Sun 9 October 2022 by Stephen Mills
The three crossings were The Ocean Jubilee Bridge (the new rail bridge), at Stonehouse, the two new bridges were incorporated into the roundabout on the A38 at Whitminster in 2020, and the existing underpass for the River Frome, where is it proposed to take the canal under the M5. [October 2022]
An ancient pump of unknown origin by Stephen Mills
A query from New York, USA, regarding Newman Hender, a long-established engineering firm at Woodchester, Gloucestershire. [September 2022]
Useful Ephemera! by Stephen Mills
The story of how the discovery of an old invoice prompted an investigation into a trio of large mills working together in South Gloucestershire. [July 2022]
The Ron Cook and Alfred Compton Photographic Collections by Ray Wilson
Ron Cook’s collection of 233 colour slides includes a lot of local railway images and Alfred Compton’s 53 colour slides show “The Mills of the Leadon Valley” [June 2022].
A short history of Lydney Products by Stuart R Thomas
While he was working in Gloucestershire 25 years ago, the author became involved with the firm of Lydney Products who were manufacturers of timber products especially high grade plywood. Their factory which was situated near Lydney Docks had been built during World War II to manufacture plywood for aircraft manufacture, especially for the De Havilland Mosquito. [April 2022]
William ‘Shiner’ Price – a Gloucester boat builder and man of the river by Stephen Mills
The story of the author’s great grandfather William ‘Shiner’ Price, who is described as a man of many parts – shipwright, hunter, fisherman, swimmer, poacher, [April 2022]
George Waller and Sons by Peter Powis
A brief history of George Waller and Sons, engineers, of Thrupp near Stroud together with illustrations of some of the very wide range of products the company manufactured. [March 2022]
Charles Hooper 1810-1869: A mill owner’s sad and untimely end by Stephen Mills
This article reveals the sad ending to the life of one of the Stroud area’s most prominent and successful cloth mill owners, Charles Hooper of Eastington.
Leckhampton Hill: Scrub Clearance on Industrial Archaeology Sites by Ray Wilson
The article describes the essential scrub clearance required on key IA sites on the hill to to ensure they remain visible to the public. This was carried out during 2002 to 2005 by GSIA working parties but is now carried out by other organisations. [November 2021]
The mystery of the cast iron wheels found at Thrupp – solved! by Stephen Mills
A pair of large cast iron wheels were found in 2021 on waste ground at Thrupp. Their unusual features meant that initilly their function was a mystery. Various theories were put forward but as described in this article it has now been determined that they were tappet wheels as used to raise the hammers in a set of fulling stocks and that the wheels had come from Cam Mills in about 1970. [August 2021]
Berkeley Station – The Bricks by Derek Hore and Andrew Perrin
The co-authors of this article are volunteer members of the Vale of Berkeley Railway (VoBR) based at Sharpness Docks. It is an account of research into the various types of brick found when the site of the former Berkeley Station was excavated.
The station is on the former railway line between Sharpness and Berkeley Road which the VoBR are working towards reopening as a Hertage Railway. [August 2021]
Lovedays Mill – the Old House? by Jeremy Tyson
An account by the owner of some excellent detective work which shows that what is referred to as the old house at the mill is in fact a rebuild from between 1829 and 1856 of an earlier house on the same site. [July 2021]
A Lister engine in North Wales by Stephen Mills
An account of a small diesel engine made by R A Lister & Co of Dursley which powered a locomotive that operated in various slate quarries in North Wales from 1936 and then latterly at two heritage railways. It arrived at National Slate Museum at Llanberis in North Wales in 1993 where it can be seen today. [June 2021]
Redevelopment at Dudbridge Stroud by Stephen Mills
Dudbridge, Stroud was an area that was once rich in industrial history. Much of this changed in the 1990 when teh Lweis and Hole foundary closed as the site redeveloped as a Sainsburys supermarket. Now much of the remaining industrial area is being developed for a Lidl supermarket and housing as outlined in this article. [May 2021]
The Stroudwater Canal Swing Bridge at Saul Junction Restored by Ray Wilson
The small swing bridge across the start of the Stroudwater Canal to RW Davis & Son Ltd’s boatyard has been locked open for several years. However aided by a grant from the Association for Industrial Archaeology (AIA) the bridge has undergone a full restoration and is operational again. This article includes an image from the GSIA Archives of the bridge in 1964. [March 2021]
The Castle Meads Fireless Loco by Stephen Mills
This article traces the history of the so-called fireless loco that was built by Andrew Barclay and used at Cartle Meads Power Station, Gloucester from its opening in 1942. Following the closure of the power station in 1973 it has been in the hands of various railway preservation societies. It is currently with the Vale of Berkeley Railway based at Sharpness Docks. [March 2021]
Comments on Fireless Locos including one at Heysham Nuclear Power Station, Lancashire by Neil Howarth [March 2021]
Can You Identify This Piece of Specialist Equipment Please? by Robin Townsend
The exact use of this tool remains a mystery despite a number of suggestions by members. [March 2021]
Castle Meads Power Station by Stephen Mills
This was a small Second World War coal-fired power station situated on Alney Island in the River Severn at Gloucester. Opened in 1942 it closed in 1973. [February 2021]
Suspension water wheels and rim gearing by Stephen Mills
This article discusses two very important technical advances, developed during the 19th century relating to water power, namely the suspension design, and rim gearing. Suspension wheels were usually stronger, lighter
and able to handle greater amounts of torque than their predesessors while rim gearing reduced stresses in the axle which could thus be lighter. [January 2021]
Query About Rock Mill House, Stroud by Stephen Mills
Information, especially photographs would be welcomed by the owner. [October 2020]
Waller & Son gas exhausters, a long way from home by Stephen Mills
George Waller & Sons Ltd of the Phoenix Ironworks, Thrupp for many years, produced a range of engines, pumps, and hydraulic equipment. They also came to specialise in the manufacture of machinery for gas works which was supplied both in the UK and overseas. This article describes Waller equipment that survives in the gasworks at Dunedin on South Island, New Zealand, which is now a gasworks museum. [October 2020]
The Pin Mill at Bodnant Garden by Stephen Mills
In 1938 a fine former gazebo or summer house referred to as the Pin Mill was removed from Frogmarsh Mill, Woodchester and re-ercted in the garden at Bodnant, the home of Lord Aberconway, in North Wales. This article gives a brief history of Frogmarsh Mill and the story behind the transfer of the Pin Mill to Bodnant which is now owned by the National Trust and the garden is open to the public. [September 2020]
GSIA and Newent Glassworks by Stephen Mills
This is an account of assistence provided by GSIA in finding a secure home for artefacts discovered several years ago on the site by field walking. [September 2020]
Cotswold Canals Restoration video: New Bridge at A38 Whitminster Roundabout by Ray WilsonIn 2020 two new bridges were constructed to carry the A38 main road over the Stroudwater Canal at Whitminster, Gloucestershire, UK. This item shows an image of one of the massive concrete sections that will form the new western bridge being craned into position and has a link to a video of the operation. [September 2020]
Pine End Works, Lydney Docks by Stephen Mills
The works were built as a shadow factory during the Second World War to produce specialist grades of plywood for military and other uses. The 14 acre site operated for more than 60 years until it finally closed around 15 years ago and the whole site has been recently cleared. [July 2020]
Workman & Sons, Engineers of Slimbridge, Gloucestershire by Stephen Mills
This small engineering company was set up around 1861 and like many other similar enterprises would undertake a wide range of related work. However, they were most famous for their cider mills and presses, winning awards at a number of major agricultural shows. [June 2020]
Gloucestershire’s Industrial Heritage Picture Quiz by Ray Wilson
Members were asked to identify six sites from deliberately very obscure images. In most cases the best anyone could do was identify one! As intended this increased the interest answers which were subseqently published in the form of a short articles on each one.
Item 1: Nailsworth Railway Station [August 2020]
Item 2: Llanthony Swing Bridge [September 2020]
Item 3: Detail of Upper Siddington bridge over the Thames and Severn Canal [October 2020]
A Lister Engine in Guatemala by Stephen Mills
A posting on social media from a former Stroud resident now living in Guatemala included a photograph of a small Lister diesel engine driving a coffee mill on a smallholding at Verapaz, Guatemala. The image is reproduced in this article by kind permission and there is also a brief review of the work carried out by GSIA on the documents, including minute books, rescued from the factory when it closed in May 2014 [May 2020]
Some curious industrial remains [Coal Tippler at Stroud Gasworks] by Ray Wilson
After 1924 coal for Stroud Gasworks was delivered in railway wagons to the siding on the Stroud branch of the Stonehouse and Nailsworth Railway. Wagons were up-ended and the coal sent down to the works below using a facility called a coal tippler. Some remnants of the siding have survived which prompted a query from a member of the public which in turn led to this file note about the coal tippler. [April 2020]
More on Sroud Gas Works – I by a Non-member [April 2020]
More on Sroud Gas Works – II by Lionel Jones
(includes a photograph of Dursley gas works) [April 2020]
Query: Who supplied the Coal Handling Plant at Stroud Gas works? by Ray Wilson
An image from te Compamy’s history refers to the supplier as “West” [June 2020]