Church's Historic Waterfront

Tealeaf · 19-08-2004, 17:04

Well, at last something appears to be happening to Church's Grade II listed warehouse - although, alas, not to it's equally illustrious neighbour, the Commercial Hotel. We don't know yet weather this is simply a temporary preserving operation for the building or possibly the beginning of a redevelopment, although I suspect the former because nowts happening on the hotel.

Many thanks to Acrylic Bob for suppling the piccy's, which I suspect were taken on the same day as the Clayton Grade II warehouse.

Anyway, a couple of questions for all you students of Industrial Archeology:

1) Looking from the front of the Warehouse, what is the reason for the height of the entrance arch?

2) Looking across at the rear of the Warehouse, why is the bottom half the the facing and side wall corner angled at 45 degrees, rather than the normal right angle?

There's a Coconut from Acrylic and a goldfish from me for the first person with both correct answers.

Tealeaf · 19-08-2004, 17:06

Oops.....wrong Piccy...a-bob......can You Help...need Piccy's 84 & 96

Cheers

Tea

Acrylic-bob · 19-08-2004, 18:34

Course I can mate!

Doug · 19-08-2004, 18:54

Excellent pics Ab, we should enjoy this.

Doug · 19-08-2004, 19:03

Was number 1. Too allow for the passage of large loads of cotton bails.

Was no 2. too allow the horses to move in to a position better suited for loading barges on the water front.

WillowTheWhisp · 21-08-2004, 20:45

Could the reason for number 2 possibly also have something to do with rope? If the horses were pulling the barges round a sharp corner it would possibly wear the rope away but an angled corner like that wouldn't have the same effect. Mind you, I'd have thought rounded in that case would be even better.

K.S.H · 21-08-2004, 21:13

I think it might have something to do with the winch maechanism that is further up the wall, so having a guess at "preventing damage to bails when being loaded/unloaded" ie not banging on a sharp corner

Acrylic-bob · 22-08-2004, 06:07

Thinking about it, I think it is far more likley that it is to prevent damage to the building from tow ropes. Have a look at the pic below of the inside edge of Bridge Street bridge.
The canal turns a sharp corner here and there is evidence that vertical wooden rollers had been installed at some stage to prevent the damage shown.

WillowTheWhisp · 22-08-2004, 16:53

The combination of tough rope and soft stone there is quite amazing. I wonder how many ropes it took to wear those grooves?

Doug · 22-08-2004, 16:59

http://www.canaljunction.com/

This will give an Idea.

Doug · 22-08-2004, 17:23

I tried to up load a recent shot of a Canal Boat coming up under Church Kirk Bridge to give an idea of scale, but I can't get it up. I think that on most occasions the horse would be walked around the bridges and other obstacles, if you look at the width of some of the toe paths you can see that horses wouldn’t go.

I remember seeing blokes walking the barge through by lying against the side of the barge and using their legs to walk against the wall of the bridge. Others used poles to push their way through. I can always remember how friendly people were and how you always got a nod or a wink. The men always seemed to have worn grubby faces and the woman always smiling but tired looking and the grubby dogs that either run the banks or sat on the bow end. All this still happened back in the early 60s down by the donkey back at church.

This is a fascinating subject; I hope we can keep this going.

Darby · 23-08-2004, 10:47

Hey Tealeaf, your original photo isn't even in Church.................... Its the Former Doctors Surgery across from the (or what was) Antley Pub. Dr. Harbinsons' if I remember rightly, and it backed onto Rastricks Foundry.

As for the warehouse next to the Commercial...that's an area where money can be spent on Historical and Heritage improvements for Church. Cleaning up and improving the Canal wouldn't be a bad way of spending EU money either.

WillowTheWhisp · 23-08-2004, 11:13

Is Rastrick's foundry derelict? That area could do with a bit of a facelift.

Acrylic-bob · 23-08-2004, 11:27

With reference to the photo of Dr Harbinson's old surgery, I was in the area the other day and took photo's of that and the house that backs onto Rastricks, because they are both now empty and with the demolition planned for that area I thought that it would be a good idea to record them before the bulldozers got there. Tealeaf posted it in error.

Correct me if I am wrong but the former Antley Pub is on the same side of the road and is now a Muslim Girls School. I wonder if that will be coming down too? It would be nice if there was a plan of the areas to be demolished in that part of town.

WillowTheWhisp · 23-08-2004, 11:52

I've just come past that ex-pub/girls' school and it has a tree growing out of it! It could certainly do with a facelift if nothing else.