Royal Leamington Spa I

Erstwhile Newbold Gardens, which run alongside the River Leam, were originated in 1831. They opened free of charge between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m., after which time they were restricted to patrons of the nearby spa bath-house, although a sunken right of way, which still exists, was provided to enable transit by the hoi polloi.















A lake was excavated in 1843, and the gardens were renamed, three years later, after Dr Henry Jephson, a promoter of the town's spa waters (which taste rather like St Yorre). A statue of Jephson sits within a Corinthian temple, before which stands the Czech Memorial Fountain, unveiled in 1968 in memory of the Czech Free Army that, during WWII, was quartered in the town.

Another philanthropist, Dr Hitchen, is memorialised by a fountain of 1869 (top). Once in the hands of the local council the gardens declined after WWII, but lottery money won in 1999 was used to successfully return them to full glory. A new sub-tropical glasshouse and restaurant was added to the gardens as part of the upgrade, a fine piece of modern architecture.

Royal Leamington Spa II

In 1800, Leamington Priors was a village of just 300 people. By 1850 exploitation of the local springs had given birth to Royal Leamington Spa, with a population of 15,000. The Royal Pump Room and Baths were built in 1813 by Charles Smith. It was significantly extended in the early 1860s, to include hot, tepid, cold, douche, plunge, shower, swimming and Turkish baths.

The Turkish baths consisted of apodyterium, labrum, calderium, tepidarium, and frigidarium - changing, washing, hot, tepid, and cold rooms. A larger swimming pool was added in 1889. The Turkish baths closed in about 1977 and the remainder of the complex in 1989. Thankfully, the building has been saved to home a museum, gallery and library. Just around the corner is the Art Deco Bath Assembly Hall of 1926, now a music venue.

Bala Lake Railway

Running four-and-a-half miles between Llanuwchllyn ("the village above the lake") and Bala, the Bala Lake Railway operates on two foot narrow gauge track laid on the bed of the original standard gauge GWR railway that ran between Ruabon and Barmouth. The Llangollen Railway utilises another section of the GWR trackbed.

Passenger services ceased in 1965, and the line closed in 1968, but the lake railway was operating just four years later. All of the locomotives are ex-quarry engines, all bar one from the Lanberis slate quarry. Four, including Holy War, were built by the Hunslet Engine Company of Leeds. The signal box at Llanuwchllyn is of 1896.

Warwickshire's Beautiful Waste

Immediately adjoining the parish of Henley-in-Arden, Warwickshire, is that of Beaudesert. The de Montfort family held the manor here subsequent to the Norman conquest: Thurstan de Montfort built a castle in the twelfth century. Unfortunately, nothing remains of this other than the motte, now known as The Mount.

At the foot of The Mount, and of the same period, circa 1170, is the church of St Nicholas, likely built on the site of an earlier edifice. This boasts gorgeous Norman arches and, on the north side of the chancel, stone rope-work that could just be Saxon. The stained glass is of a quality commensurate with a much larger church.

The People's Set

The Philadelphia Storage Battery Company, of Pennsylvania, started making batteries in the early 1900s. The Philco brand appeared in 1919. The development of the rectifier valve, which enabled radios to be powered from the 'mains', persuaded Philco to expand beyond batteries, and in 1928 they started making radios. A UK operation was set up in Perivale, Middlesex. American sets generally used more valves than British ones, which, given that the UK valve manufacturers operated a strict cartel, would have made a British Philco expensive. Philco thus set about developing a radio with fewer valves.

Introduced in 1936, the 444 was the first British Philco, its tombstone-shaped Bakelite cabinet pressed by Ekco. It sold for six guineas (£6.30), and was dubbed the People's Set. Some claim that the cabinet design was influenced by the bonnet of the Volkswagen 'Beetle', the People's Car, but only prototypes of the latter existed by 1936.

In fact, it was Philco that gave the set its name, trading on widespread adoption of the word "people" in the context of the Spanish Civil War. The set had initially sold poorly, but Philco's bit of cynicism turned that around spectacularly.

The set photographed is the 333, employing the same cabinet as the 444, but in this case powered by batteries.

Historical note: Philco was acquired by Ford in 1961, and ultimately by Philips in 1981, who until then had been prevented from using their similar-sounding trademark in the States. Philips still use the Philco brand.

Myddle Muddle

Gently mouldering away in a farmyard just outside Myddle, in north Shropshire, are a number of MG Midgets, MGBs, and a Triumph Spitfire. Doubtless the barns and lean-tos are home to yet more of the same.

The Berth of Legends

Hidden away in north Shropshire, and on private land, is The Berth, a mid-Iron Age 'hillfort' of about 300 BC. The site has been claimed as the capital of the Welsh king Cynddylan, and as the Isle of Avalon, the burial place of King Arthur, though little archaeological work has been undertaken.

In plan, the fort is akin to a memorial ribbon, a smaller enclosure linked by a causeway to its larger cousin. The construction is not atop a hill, but upon marshland, and would have gained its defence by virtue of originally being surrounded by water. A sense of what the site may have been like is provided by the adjoining Berth Pool.

Steaming Ahead

Last in steam in the early 1960s, Peter Clare's 10¼" gauge Canadian Pacific Hudson Class 4-6-4 live steam locomotive, on the move under its own power for the first time in half a century, here driven by its owner. A testament to the quality of its engineering and the determination of those involved in returning it to life.

Matchless BSA

Matchless motorbikes were constructed in London's Plumstead from 1899, making the marque one of the oldest in British two-wheeler history. The marque was retained when, in 1938, Matchless and AJS were both taken under the banner of Associated Motorcycles but continued as separate entities. However, it didn't survive the 1960s, with the last single pot made in 1967, and the twin pot replaced by the Norton equivalent.

BSA motorbikes were just one of many products manufactured by the Birmingham Small Arms and Metal Co Ltd, the first built around 1906. A BSA-engined machine arrived in 1910, and the marque went on to be the largest motorbike manufacturer in the world. Inertia and cost inefficiency saw the market lost to Japan, and by 1973 BSA had been subsumed within Manganese Bronze Holdings, when the marque disappeared. Both machines are run by Leif Evans, British vintage bike enthusiast.

Rhiwargor, Powys

At the far end of Lake Vyrnwy, Powys, is an area known as Rhiwargor. Approached through the valley to the left of the photograph (left click to enlarge to full screen) is the eponymous waterfall, known locally as Pistyll Rhyd-Y-Meincau.

H Van A to Z

The Citroën H van, with its square form, low floor, and significant carrying ability, has been used over the years for virtually every purpose imaginable. Andy Bennett has about a dozen H vans, including those previously used as a betaillaire, charcuterie delivery van (in typical white and red livery, below), and by the Service Départemental d'Incendie et de Secours - the fire and rescue service.

Beating About the Bush

The Bush DAC10 was released in 1950, the same year as its cousin, the DAC90A. It was of a similar size but boasted more modern design cues, notably a louvred wrap-around grille that also featured in the company's TV22 television of the same year. Pre-programmed station settings were accessed by means of push buttons on the top of the radio. One could thus concentrate on other matters.

Brogyntyn Burrowings

North-west of Brogyntyn Hall is a Grade II listed tunnel of the nineteenth century, built of coarsely-shaped limestone, and carrying over the older road the drive that would have led to the hall.

































Nearby is what remains of twelfth-century Castell Brogyntyn, the ringwork recently cleared of trees. The outer ditch is about 18 feet across and 12 feet deep, enclosing a circular area of about 260 feet in diameter, the central part used in the high days of the hall as a bowling green.

With its entrances in the ditch is a tunnel, about seven feet high, that runs right under the castle remains, curved in plan, and likely part of the eighteenth-century landscaping of the park.

April Fools' Car Show

Hosted by Fiona MacDonald and Iain Campbell at Canal Central, Maesbury Marsh, Oswestry, was the inaugural and informal April Fools' Car Show.

Over 40 cars attended, including this Pembleton Brooklands, based on a Citroën 2CV and powered by a BMW motorbike engine, which carried away the trophy for Car of the Show.

Attendees included three Reliant Scimitars (above), one of which was a Sabre, and a Humber Sceptre in glorious condition.

A number of vehicles of the Morris and Triumph marques, including a lovely TR4 (top), were in evidence, and a very nice Hillman Minx (below).

Bikes included what can only be described as a bonkers 2,300cc Triumph Rocket III (below) ...

... and a beautiful JAP Enfield. It's good to know that Mad Max lives! A very good turnout.

Dobby Dray

On site at the April Fools' Car Show, courtesy of Peter Clare, was this beautiful vintage roundabout, complete with hand-painted mounts and vacuum-induced music.

Built in the 1900s, and thus well over a century old, the roundabout, lovingly restored, has been campaigned all over northern Europe. An absolute delight from a more innocent age.

Echo of Another Time

The upright Ekco AD77 tabletop radio of 1936 was designed by Serge Chermayeff, one of the architects behind the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill-on-Sea. It was possibly the first radio to have an angled tuning dial that ran almost the full width of the cabinet. The set was available in both walnut (pictured) and black Bakelite, and in AC-only (AC77), battery (B67) and accumulator/vibrator (BV67) versions. A different radio, the AC-only AW87, was housed in the same cabinet. Best enjoyed in evening dress and with a Sobranie Cocktail.

Aquatic Pushmi-pullyu

Awaiting fit-out on the Montgomery Canal is this new trip boat. It is of a pushmi-pullyu design, enabling the horse (or possibly pair of donkeys) that will provide the motive power to tow from both ends, without winding of the boat.

Backdraft

Domestic hairdryers originate from the 1920s, but didn't take off until after WWII. This Ormond E1022 dates from the 1950s, and was made by the Ormond Engineering Company of Clerkenwell, London, who also manufactured radio components. Upmarket versions came in a Bakelite vanity case, complete with mirror and comb.

The hairdryer is made from compression-moulded phenol formaldehyde. These polymers were invented by Belgian chemist Leo Baekeland, from whence comes the name Bakelite - phenol formaldehyde mixed with a wood flour filler. Urea can be substituted for the phenol, which produces a cream-coloured polymer, in which the Ormond was also available.

The Bridge

Runcorn Bridge crosses the Manchester Ship Canal and the River Mersey, and links Runcorn and Widnes. Opened in 1961, it replaced the Widnes-Runcorn Transporter Bridge, of which latter bridge type only those in Newport and Middlesbrough remain in use. 

It has been known as the Runcorn-Widnes Bridge, the Runcorn Bridge, and, since widening work was completed in 1977, Silver Jubilee Bridge. Locally it is known, and signed, simply as The Bridge.

Grade II listed, the bridge is of the through arch type, with a main arch span of 1,082 feet. The through arch ties the side spans of 250 feet each into the main span, to enable the structure to cope with adverse vibration set up by the adjacent railway bridge.

The bridge provides for 80 feet of headroom for the ship canal, and when first completed had the third longest steel-built arch span in the world. Its 5,900 tons of steel, held together with 720,000 rivets, requires a regular re-coat of 6,000 gallons of minty green paint.

Not Much Room

A fine patch of common Cortinarius. This is a very broad genus, found all over the world, and embracing over 2,000 species. Without the mycorrhizal fungi there would be no plants, over 95% of which are known to be dependent on fungus to draw nutrients from the soil. No fungi, no plants; no plants, no animal life.

TV Times

The LV20 was introduced by Pye in 1949, just three years after television broadcasts were re-commenced in Britain. A full nine inches of entertainment.

The same screen size but a world away design-wise, Bush’s TV22, released in June 1950, is a Bakelite icon. Although cheaper than a set in a wooden cabinet, at 42 guineas including purchase tax it still represented a significant outlay. This was the first set the owner could tune to one of five BBC 'channels.' These were regional transmitting stations, the two of 1950 plus three more operational by 1953. Commercial television arrived in September 1955, on an entirely different frequency band.

That's Livin' Alright

Most manufacturers of steam rollers made living vans, designed to be towed behind the roller to site, and lived in until the job was done. The vans also have an association with the travelling community, particularly showmen. This fine example sits at the foot of Lyth Hill, near Shrewsbury. Auf wiedersehen pet.

Wenlock Priory

The priory at Much Wenlock has been founded twice over. It was originally founded in 680 by the Mercian king, Merewalh. Nepotism saw his daughter, Milburga, installed as abbess, whose convenient raising to sainthood served to bring in funds.

The Normans refounded Wenlock as a Cluniac priory. There are remains of the thirteenth-century priory church, and of a beautifully blind-arcaded chapter house of circa 1140. The infirmary wing survived the Dissolution of 1540, and remains intact as a private residence (above).

In the cloister garth is a 16-position lavabo (top), ornamented with carvings of the twelfth century, used for the washing of hands before entering the nearby refectory. It is now surrounded by a number of topiary forms.