|
by George Freeston These
notes cover the date span April 1982 - September 1984 with some gaps
where indicated. During the exploratory digs along the tunnel top, twelve other shaft tops were unearthed, but they had all been infilled at an earlier date. Some of those old working shafts, as well as the two unfilled capped ones were not all in a direct line above the tunnel. Inspections of the interiors of the seven existing shafts, used as vent shafts since c1870, were carried out from a top scaffolding frame and an electrically-operated winch, to which an examiners chair was attached. By the end of July, all equipment, hutments and mobile units were taken away and peace returned to the area around the north end of Blisworth tunnel. Drillings and the collection of the strata samples proceeded slowly at many points on Blisworth Hill, extending down to 40 metres or more at the highest point. On April 21st, a J.C.B. was brought into service, operated by local Ron Morton of Milton Malsor. Ron's expertise enables him to crack a walnut with his machine, so he proved just the man for the job in digging at many points for unknown tunnel shafts and tunnel headings. Ron worked under the direction of the Waterways Mining Engineer and his staff, all of whom stem from the Leeds area. The first lucky dig was in the hollow of the first field south of the tunnel North end. Where a brick "oval" of a filled-in shaft appeared. Loosely dumped around the outside of this shaft top were brick kiln wasters as well as two broken sections of the Blisworth Hill tram rail. From then on, for the next 21 days, other shaft tops came to light, including two unfilled ones which were capped with splendid brick domes. The final dig was on May 12th at the Stoke Bruerne end. Most of the digs were successful, but owing to the danger to the animals the holes were speedily infilled once they had been photographed and measured. I spent almost every day during that operation on Blisworth Hill, listening to the almost constant call of the cuckoo, and was intoxicated by the perfumes from the fields of rape and the hawthorn blossoms. I later heard said that "little me" presented a hazard by my presence, for with each excavation it was thought that I would have to be rescued from one or the other of the holes but I survived to tell my story! This present mammoth task is being carried out by teams of experts appointed by Mr Tom Mann, principle construction engineer to British Waterways, together with their mining engineer, Mr. D. M. Stakes, whose base is at Leeds. Mr Stakes has a national coverage of some 55 canal tunnels which if placed end to end would form a tunnel of some 27 miles, including that of Blisworth. The team carrying out the intensive drilling of Blisworth Hill are with Geotechnical Engineers of Gloucester and London. The consultants for the whole project are Mott, Hay & Anderson of Croydon whose representatives are always at hand and through whose hands (literally) pass all the specimens from the drillings. The complete findings of this mammoth geological, and history record of the Blisworth Hill canal tunnel will then undergo a desk study as never before, and then someone will "blow a whistle" in the autumn for the work to proceed (it is hoped). Two items of costing when opening up extra ventilation shafts c1865 are of interest, as follows: Supplying 10,000 bricks for tunnel shaft from Northampton Brick Company £10/10/0 29th May 1865. Supplying ditto by G Norman of Northampton £10/10/0 26th July 1865 and an amusing little request from Mr J Gowling, then living at Blisworth Hill Farm, who wrote to Mr Millner at Blisworth Arm, dated April 2 1925, "Dear Sir, I hope that you will build the shaft opposite my cottages (shaft No 2) to correspond with the one in front of my house, (shaft No 3) as it will look odd if you make it the same height as the one you have just built at Tunnel Hill (shaft No 1)". He also asks for a small rent for the shafts erected on his land! In a previous issue of the Northamptonshire History News, I made mention of the uncovering by consultant contractors Mott, Hay and Anderson Ltd. of two hitherto unknown working shafts on Blisworth Hill, both of which were capped by brick-constructed domes. These were shafts of diameter around six feet dug by the original tunnellers of 1800 in order to divide up the span of the hill into about 22 separate workings that would eventually become contiguous. A small hole was made in the tops and a television camera was lowered in the shafts, revealing the structure and condition of the shafts interiors. Presumably, they were considered in good shape, for in mid July 1982 excavations around the shafts were filled in with concrete thus capping the domes over and around, so we won't be seeing them again for a long, long time. During the past weeks much activity has been in evidence around the North end of Blisworth tunnel. Living caravans, a site office, a portaloo, etc., have taken up the parking space opposite to the Stone Works house. The boat horse shelter below became the technical photographic laboratory for recording the hundreds of metres of Blisworth Hill which was brought up from many points along the tunnel top by the drilling operation. A second platform was cut out of the clay bank directly above the tunnel head, this space becoming the stand for a giant mobile crane which unloaded the heavy equipment from road transport vehicles and transferred such items as generators on to the special craft moored just outside the tunnel. Two iron narrowboat hulls lay alongside each other with a platform built on them; this working platform looked like a canal version of a canal aircraft carrier. A lightweight protective guard was build on them, but on May 10/11th 1983, the working platform was re-fitted with a heavy superstructure of iron girders shaped to fit the contour of the tunnel and the whole frame was covered by heavy gauge mesh. Evidently the original lightweight protective fitment was not good enough (see Robin Garrett's account). It was quite impressive to watch this floating working platform complete with its protective cover as it was slowly pushed into the depths of the tunnel where it will become the mobile work platform. The "pushing" was done by the Waterways vessel "Gayton" running in reverse. This present working boat "Gayton", together with a sister boat "Blisworth", were based on the design of the old type wooden working "flats" of the same names and were constructed at Rickmansworth by the Waterways staff. On Monday, August 23rd, a new consignment of equipment and hutments arrived. The old horse pathway leading down from the Stoke Road to the canal was widened, thus allowing the new machines to be moved down to the towpath. With the assistance of Allen's lorries from Towcester, a caterpillar "951" arrived that was to be operated by James King of Blisworth, who also worked a Massey Ferguson long arm excavator and, last but not least, a dumper driven by "Stan" from Yorkshire arrived. Tons of hard core was then brought in and a coffer dam was built across the canal approximately 100 yards north of the tunnel mouth. Actually a fabric and scaffold stank was established first of all. Stop planks were also placed across the tunnel mouth, thus forming a basin of water between the dam and the tunnel. Steel piles were then driven in across the canal on the north side of the dam, thus making a support for the hard core and also making the dam watertight. It was the noise emitted from the pile driver that disturbed many villagers. The power hammer struck 20 times to each 5 seconds over two days. It really was a din. Removal of the water from the basin was followed by the excavation of the deep sludge which was loaded into iron working boats and taken away for dumping by the Waterways staff. The exposed floor of the canal bed within the pool area was then overlaid with a blanket carrying a trade name of "TERRAM" which is a product of ICI. This special material allows water to pass downwards through it, but it will not let water rise upwards. Hard core was then dumped on to the "TERRAM" and an access road was built sloping down from the dam to the tunnel floor. During the current operations, pumps were withdrawing the water from the tunnel from the Blisworth end and up to a point, two thirds the length of the tunnel where another fabric stank was placed to hold back the waters of the Stoke Bruerne end. The stanks are quite revolutionary and are a British invention. It is simply a curtain of a tarpaulin material extended across the tunnel, held up by lightweight supports on one side. It's quite magic to me when compared to the massive structures formerly used. With the first two thirds of the tunnel empty of water, a road will be laid, machinery will then enter and remove the sludge and objects from the tunnel floor in readiness for the arrival of the repair men and material. The present work is being carried out by the Mowlems Group, together with their resident engineer and a staff of four. Also, in daily attendance is Mr Jack Robertson, a consultant engineer with the firm of Mott, Hay & Anderson. Jack was flown in direct from Hong Kong to take on this Blisworth consignment (and he loves it!). Visitors include safety officers, Waterways engineers and Bob Wright, the local village butcher who attends to the needs of the flesh pots of the small team of experienced workers in the employ of Mowlems - who cook for themselves. This team consists of Tommy, their foreman, his nephew Stan, both from Yorkshire, and then Jack who comes from Ireland. It is whispered around that those three workers enjoy a pound and a half of steak each for breakfast and that their beer capacity some nights is 16 pints per man. During the working week they sleep in a site caravan, disappearing over the weekends. I am convinced from my observations of their versatility in tackling their daily work, together with their appetites and love of beer, that they must be descended from the original tunnel builders! September 1982: On a recent visit to the Blisworth tunnel workings, I contemplated how the navvies had managed to cope at all with the Blisworth Hill clays, muck, and water during the many winters from 1793 to 1805. Just think, no waterproof clothing, or Wellingtons, and very little light for their tunnel boring exploits. Also we were at war with France from 1793 onwards - could this have affected the labour market? At this point in my day dreams, my foot kicked against a small object. Picking up and cleaning it, I read the words, "GRAISSE POUR TRACTEURS. A GRANDE LONG VITE" My boggling mind again went back to the Napoleonic war - could my find be a relic from that period? I soon came out of my reverie and became aware that I was not in a "time machine" but that I was up to my ankles in sticky black Blisworth mud, and in the Common Market... hence "le Graisse". Now back to reality - picture in your mind that at present the tunnel is divided (roughly into three sections. The first two-third, has been emptied of water and sludge, and is now illuminated by a string of electric lights fed from a generator. Over the past 2 months the first half of that dry section has received some 5,000 tons of crushed stone spread along the floor (the invert), which was delivered to the north end by lorries running from a stone quarry in the village of Alkerton on the Edgehill escarpment, and next to the village of Hornton where another quarry produces its famous building stone: As the lorries were unable to go into the tunnel the stone was dumped at the foot of the incline road, a shuttle service of dumpers took the stone in at first to 935 metres and a tunnel road was slowly being built back to the north end. The operation was a mammoth spectacle of speeding dumpers entering and re-emerging in quick time from the tunnel. After the stone bed was laid and compounded by a JCB, railway sleepers were laid lengthways along each side of the tunnel. These sleepers acted as levels for the concrete to follow. A trench was then cut along the whole length of the stone bed and a 6 inch diameter plastic drainage pipe was laid. Water seepage which is continuous in the tunnel, now drains through this pipe into a dump at the north end from which it is pumped into the main canal some 100 yards further north. Mats of steel mesh were then overlaid on the stone bed. On Tuesday October 6th, the first delivery of concrete arrived. As the delivery vehicles could only drop their load from the rear, they had to reverse fully into the tunnel, the first load going up to the 935 metre point. The Mowlem team of 5 had to work at great speed with the spreading and tamping the concrete, for deliveries occurred at half hour intervals. On completion of the concrete road the wooden sleepers were turned on their sides and were backed with rubble, thus turning the continuous row of sleepers into a protective curbing along the tunnel walls. The concrete was supplied and delivered by Messrs, Ready Mixed Concrete (Transite) Ltd, from their Ransome Road, Northampton depot. Owing to the distortions of the tunnel floor, and before the road was put in, pools of water and black sludge became the last refuge for a few large eels and one pike. The attempts to catch the eels by hand was highly hilarious as one can well imagine. One eel tipped the 51b mark. During the sludge extraction period the lighting was not installed - black sludge in a black tunnel had to be seen and felt to be appreciated. Now for a note about the middle section from 935 to 1885 metres, at which furthest point a concrete dam is built holding back the Stoke Bruerne waters (initially a fabric stank). This middle section has been drained and owing to the bad state of the brickwork will be completely torn out and rebuilt. The south section of the tunnel still retains its water, and has already had sections of the brickwork replaced by the brick-workers operating from canal flat top work boats - a separate job going on. Two teams are now repairing the brickwork within the north end of the tunnel, and their mobile scaffolding is set on the new concrete road, Where new sections of red engineering bricks are built in, so is there inserted a blue brick impressed with 1982. Outside in the daylight, an area of Tunnel Hill Farm field O.S.9668 just south of the tunnel head has been levelled and fenced in. It is into this area, which displays some remnant rubbish from 1800 tunnel workings, that an eight-unit office block has already been assembled, complete with all 'mod cons'. Lighting will be provided by a generator (later a hook up to the local 11000 volt grid) and sewage disposal is by Entee of Andover who supplied a Standard Duty Free fibre glass cesspool recommended for use "on wet or dry ground". During the first day of December 1982, work commenced on concreting the north portal area, as well as the incline road (formerly the norse pathway) up to the Stoke Road. This road and the north end will be used heavily by machines and vehicles over the next few months by Mowlems Group who have done the preparatory work to date and have now been given the contract for the completion of the tunnel restoration. It is very worthy of mention too that the construction and Engineering Company of Messrs. Mowlems commenced in 1822, and that their first office was at the Paddington Basin of the Grand Junction Canal Company, London. I am indebted to Mr. David Bridges, Site Engineer of Messrs. Mott, Hay, & Anderson, who are the tunnel Project Consultants. Also to the Mowlem Site Engineer, Mr. Richard Haller, together with their splendid "Colourful" working team employed over the past months at Blisworth, who have kept me laughing. Then there are the numerous visiting members of British Waterways Engineers, experts in tunneling, in general, all of whom have accepted me so kindly. December
1982: From December 2nd, there was an ever-increasing awareness of tidying up the site. The weather did not help, for heavy rains often interfered with the concrete and fencing. The concrete road from the tow path was extended up to the Stoke Road. Office equipment arrived for the consultants, Messrs. Mott, Hay & Anderson, including a splendid scale model of the machine which will be used to tear out the "inards" of the tunnel. A high timber fence was erected on the boundary opposite to the Stone Works house. The reason for all that "spit and concrete" was explained when on Monday, December 13th, the whole site became filled with visitors' cars, including the Northampton Radio Outside Broadcasting vehicle.
Television people were there too. The occasion for this get-together was the signing
of the remedial contract between Sir Frank Price for the British Waterways, and
Mowlems, the tunnel contractors. The ceremony over, the scale model of the tunnelling machine was taken away - as well as the empty glasses. The previous day had been one of sleet - a promise of conditions to come.
By December 10th, the temporary dam, sited at 935 metres, had been removed, thus making it possible to walk or drive (or wade) up to the main concrete dam at 1885 metres, which is the extreme point for the tunnel rebuild. The wet section of the tunnel between 935 metres and 1885 metres is rightly named, and owing to the heavy recent rainfall, there was an increase in the quantity of water coming into the tunnel. This inflow means that the water has to be constantly pumped out over the dam into the Stoke Bruerne
level. In clearing out the "muck" from the central invert, a heavy iron rudder came to light. I guess that loss was difficult for some unknown skipper to explain. On December 22nd, all tools were downed "or drowned" and the site became a ghost area over Christmas. It was not entirely a silent place, for pumps had to be kept running for the extraction of the incoming water. After the holiday, Messrs. Mowlems' office blocks arrived and were fitted out.
Next to come in was the Portaloo - a mess room - and work shops: later on a drying room came - this will be a great boon, for from now on, more MINISTRY OF SUPPLY TRACTOR G.S. FOR TEN TON TRAILER SCAMMEL 12101 Veh. No. 82 BL 23. Mounted on this
Scammel tractor chassis was a rock drilling machine, which looked to me like a dentist's giant piece of equipment. (I even thought that it could be mistaken for a rocket launcher, but I must not start such a
rumour). Extensive drilling was carried out for it is very necessary to ascertain what lies the other side of the tunnel brickwork before it is torn out. At a later date, the Scammel was withdrawn and a smaller drilling machine went in, housed on caterpillar tracks. In February, the Press announced that Messrs. C.V. Buchan (Concrete) Ltd., of Coleshill, had been given the contract for the concrete lining of the tunnel.
Lorries running from Dunstan, Tyne & Wear, brought in loads of steel piping which are laid from the
Blisworth tunnel end up to the central section. These pipes are in three sizes, the four inch and two smaller diameter. The large bore is for bringing out water from the tunnel, owing to the continuous seepage. One of the others will carry-pressurised water in and the other is for high pressure air to the working machines - (its a case of taking
coals to Newcastle). The brick-workers are still steadily replacing faulty brickwork in the Stoke Bruerne end, operating from their floating platforms. Snow fell on February 7th 1983, transforming the site from the blue/ black surface to a pristine whiteness; the men took on their winter garbs. The direct opposite soon took place with a change of weather, this warm sun bringing along fitters who fixed sun blinds to some of the office windows. A small extra staff has been added to both the outdoor workers, and also to the office staff, including two lady members. At this stage, I thought of applying for the job of "TEA BOY", but age tells, and I did not get the
job! The south end of the tunnel approach was likewise processed with piling and a traditional tow path pattern laid down, fronting the building which was the storehouse for the use of the former tugs. Farther along towards Stoke Bruerne is the other old 'boat-horse' shelter. The shelters, one at each end of the tunnel, have often been confused with the leggers' huts. The Blisworth leggers' hut was demolished just after the war and it stood at the bottom of the former "Sun Moon and Stars" public house garden, next to bridge 51, and the leggers' hut at Stoke Bruerne is next door to "The Boat", the leggers would not have had it otherwise. Near to the south portal is a fairly new "winding" hole, but it was noticed that the steep bank behind it on the west side was moving and pressing forward the steel piles fronting the "winding" hole. The steep bank was considerably lightened by the removal of tons of clay and the piling was anchored to additional irons driven into the bank. The south portal was sand blasted and, since the opening day, a complete circle of concrete segments, similar to those in the new tunnel, have been laid on the slope on the east side of the canal and just outside the tunnel mouth - a splendid visual for all who walk up to the tunnel. I would say that much of the fabric of the pink brick south portal is original. Blisworth north portal was of similar material and design until 1903, when it was rebuilt with modern hard blue engineering bricks. As the major jobs were completed, Mowlem's work force was moved up to Sheffield, where a sewer job is being carried out. Many were sorry to go, but the thoughts of being nearer to their homes was the greater attraction. The departures of the men was a good excuse though for extra "drinks all round" but they never called in another Kiss-a-Gram' - a great pity I thought Works continued in the shafts and extra brick workers came to finish the repairs to the old brickwork in the north and south inner stretches - for a week or two they worked on a 'round the clock' system. The dumpy shaft chimney next to Buttermilk Hal! Farm had been demolished when shaft No 6. was relined. On completion of the shaft, the chimney was rebuilt as before. This No 6. shaft is one of the off-set ones. All tracks and roads used over farm lands during the rebuild were made good. Many who went through the old tunnel would have noticed square cast iron plaques on the wall. They carried raised figures denoting the yardage of the tunnel in 'hundreds'. With the restoration, they were removed, sand blasted, repainted and refixed. I understand that two are missing! To bring things up to date, new small oval cast discs have also been fitted along the tunnel length. These discs carry the yardage in metres in one hundreds and with intermediate ones in 'twenty five', fifty and seventy five metres, and so on through the tunnel. With the opening date looming ever nearer, what few hands were left had plenty to get on with. First, the Mowlem workshops etc. were taken away followed by all the remaining eight units which had comprised the office blocks. On the day of moving those prefab structures, the gale force winds and rains almost blew them sky high as they were being lifted by the crane on to the vehicles. I trembled to think what could happen to them when on the M1. On August 10th I took my last tunnel walk. It was in darkness and there was a considerable rise of water in the invert. I wore my waders but one of them leaked, so quite soon I was dragging a water-filled left leg. On this occasion, as on many former ones, my companion was Joseph Tibor Vadkerthy, a member of the consultant's office staff of Messrs Mott, Hay, and Anderson. Tibor is one of the elders of the site, so I soon learned that with his age and a gammy leg that he walked slower than the young ones but in pace with me, an older one. But the water depth beat us and on reaching the 900-metre mark, we turned around and headed back to the welcome light at the north end. I with an even more waterlogged left foot and leg. During the following days the north portal and the horse shelter were sand blasted, the staff of British Waterways were busy dredging the tunnel approaches and others were cutting back the overgrown trees alongside the canal, along the intended processional route. On Saturday, August 11th everybody else was calm but I could not see how that long black tunnel could ever be filled with water in time for the opening on the 22nd. However, an excavator came along, moved across the north end dam and removed some of the rubble supporting the piles. This manoeuvre enabled Peter Stock to burn four holes in the piles, through those holes the canal water cascaded into the empty basin at the tunnel head - it was pretty to watch - something I did many times during the Saturday and the Sunday. On Monday, the excavator moved again across the coffer dam and one by one extracted the piles from across the canal width. With every pile removed, so the inflow of water rushed into the tunnel and quite soon the levels were equal and the tunnel filled. Nothing could have been more simple. To mark the occasion, I suggested that a trip to the Stoke Park pavilions would be a nice change from the rush of the day. It was agreed, so off we went. It was a particularly nice evening to see the buildings and garden, and I was reminded that when the tunnel was under construction the minutes recorded that a "Mr Vernon" provided timber. It could only have been Mr Vernon the then owner of Stoke Park - hence the connection. I later provided a supper!! Little needed doing now for the water was in the tunnel again as well as 'millions' of tiny fish which appeared, travelling in great shoals from the waters of the north side and reappearing at the south end waters. In all probability, their parents had told them of the new water world southward from which they had been cut off by the closed tunnel. On Wednesday, August 22nd the sun arrived to welcome the great day. There was a positive buzz of excitement around. Small parties of children and others assembled at the best vantage points along the canal between bridge 51 and the tunnel north end. By 10.30 am, the invited guests had arrived at Stoke Bruerne and were then brought over the hill to Blisworth by coach. At the wharfage of "Blisworth Tunnel Boats Ltd" the VIPs went aboard the two special boats which were to carry them through the tunnel. The nearby church bells rang out - the ringers being members of the Peterborough Diocesan Guild of Ringers. And so the procession moved off. The third boat to follow was a replica of the first of the tunnel tugs named 'Spider', built and run by Mr. Eric McDowall. Aboard the 'Spider' was our village postmaster, bedecked in a genuine costume of an early postman, the uniform being on loan from the London Postal Museum. Mr Bedford "Frank by name" spent most of the tunnel trip in the cabin for he was committed to 'frantically frank' his own large number of first day covers which would be on sale by the time the tug arrived at the Stoke Bruerne end. I was greatly privileged to be aboard too, in company with numerous reporters and television crews. There were hundreds of happy folk all along the route to the tunnel north end. There the boats were stopped and Sir Leslie Young cut the tape which was across the tunnel mouth, followed by a speech and with the cheers of the crowd the procession moved into the darkness of the restored tunnel. On emerging at the south end, Sir Leslie repeated the ceremony of cutting yet another ribbon and, after making another speech, the boats then proceeded through a continuous line of moored colourful boats up to the Museum. The area was crowded with lots of happy folk who were fully enjoying the unique occasion, the like of which had not been seen since the original opening of the tunnel in 1805. A splendid lunch was laid on for the visitors in a marquee, I nearly missed my lunch for I was waylaid by many of the 'boys' formerly on the tunnel job and who had come down from Sheffield and other points to share in the tunnel trip. During their tunnel trip they had laid on their own supplies of beer, so what with the fact that the local pub The Boat' had an all day license, the Boys certainly became well "oiled"! Apart from one stepping off the boat and unable to judge the distance to the bank, which resulted in a canal immersion ... and one other who later fell asleep in a nearby cornfield and was roused when the farmer passed him quite close with the combine, seemingly nothing serious happened to mar the jollifications. Back at Blisworth I gave a "tunnel talk" with slides to a crowded village hall. WHAT A DAY TO REMEMBER! The next day, and to date I have visited the work site regularly. With the completion of the top soiling and seeding little will remain to indicate the unique tunnel part-rebuild. As for me, well, our village bypass will soon be 'on the stocks' and that too will have to be recorded.
There is certainly never a dull moment. |