Transport and Industrial Heritage

Keith Fitzpatrick-Matthews from North Herts Museum gave a thought-provoking talk on the Industrial Archaeology of North Herts with an emphasis on the social aspects of the changes brought about by the development of the factory system. Keith sought to expand the ‘definition’ of industrial archaeology to include service industries such as printing and tanning and also work located in the domestic environment, such as straw plaiting.

John Magill gave a fascinating talk and 'tour' around the many different places he has worked starting with Marconi in Stanmore. We followed the evolution of these companies including (but not limited to) the British Aircraft Corporation to BAE Systems via British Aerospace as well as Marconi, GEC and the European aerospace corporation, Airbus. Hertfordshire has played a major role in hosting these companies and we also enjoyed a brief foray into Cambridge and Chicksands in Bedfordshire with an excellent range of slides illustrating the journey.

Guy Thomas shared with us a wealth of knowledge and research into the many different locations, characters and machines that form the history of aviation in our county. We learnt about the various airstrips that developed across Hertfordshire as well as the manufacturers such as De Havilland and the intriguing individuals who built, flew and funded these machines. Excellent slides accompanied the talk illustrating many scenes then and now.

We were pleased to welcome back Jo Ward from Stevenage Museum who gave us a fascinating tour through some of the industrial heritage of Stevenage. There was a particular focus on the Educational Supply Association (ESA) who used their experience with plywood derived from their experience building Mosquito aircraft in WW2 to produce a range of hardy and economical school furniture after the war and Vincent Motorcycles. 

Richard Meredith-Hardy, owner of Radwell Mill and member of Revivel, gave us an engaging talk on how the upper reaches of the River Ivel were once healthy enough to support mills at Radwell, Norton and Stotfold. Accompanying his talk with archive images, Richard then moved on to explain the hydrogeology of the Ivel, a chalk stream, and the impact that extraction of water from the chalk aquifer is having on it. With stretches of the river now drying or experiencing very low flows, huge damage is being done to the ecology of the river.

Malcolm Bates gave an engaging talk about Letchworth company, Shelvoke and Drewry. Founded in 1922 and trading until 1991, S & D first produced the Freighter a general purpose ‘lorry’’ going on to design and produce a large range of vehicles including tractors, fork lift trucks and bin lorries. War-time production included tank transporters and submersible craft.

Terry Cavender, Executive Officer at the Buckingham Canal Society (BCS), gave us an impressive account of the achievements of the Society and volunteers in protecting and restoring the Buckingham Arm, built in the 1790s as part of the Grand Junction scheme. The canal was a financial success and community asset until the opening of the railway in 1850 drew trade away from it. It was dammed off in World War II and offically abandoned in 1964. The BCS formed in 1992 and has been working to restore several sections.

Douglas Kent, Technical Director at the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB), explained the work of the SPAB before discussing how SPAB principles have been put into practice through the programme of major conservation work underway at the Old Sun Inn, Saffron Walden. We learned that the inn is a Grade I-listed historic building displaying some of the best pargeting – external decorative plasterwork – in England.

Matthew Platt gave a fascinating talk entitled Ice Age to ICL: technology through time sharing images from the collection of North Herts Museum at which he is Assistant Curator. From mammoth hunting tools in Weston, to the 'One per Desk' computer created by Letchworth Company ICL, our local area has played host to the development of many innovative technologies.

Josh Tidy, Heritage Manager at the Letchworth Heritage Foundation, gave a fascinating talk on the town during World War II. We heard about home life, including the monotonous diet, and the role of various Letchworth industries in supporting the war effort including British Tab, Spirella, Kryn and Lahy, Meredew and more. A bumper crowd of 40 of us listened to the detail and anecdote with great enjoyment.

James Greer from Airbus gave us a fascinating and enlightening talk about the company and its commercial predecessors which have been building launchers / satellites from the Stevenage site since the 1960s. We learnt about early projects and commercial telecommunication satellites as well as science and space exploration missions including the current programmes in build like Biomass and the Mars Lander. A varied range of questions from our audience provided an interesting ending to this stimulating talk.

Letchworth author and historian, Bill Lindsay, gave a fascinating talk based upon his recently published book on the history of his ancestor William Schaw Lindsay. An orphan who ran away to sea at the age of 16, Schaw's entrepreneurial nature led him to develop a significant merchant shipping line and successfully handle the transition from sailing ships to those with auxiliary steam power. Schaw wrote the key text on the history of merchant shipping and became the Liberal Member of Parliament for Tynemouth and North Shields.

Jo Ward, Curator of Stevenage Museum, gave a fascinating talk on the relationship between the development of transport and the shaping of Stevenage. We explored the original roads layout and the coaching industry, moving onto turnpikes before the advent of the railway in 1850. The station moved from the Old Town to the New in 1973. As workers changed from bicycles to cars the role of buses expanded to relieve pressure on the roads and we learnt of the Superbus initiative.

Tuesday, 2 July 2019   Beep Beep! A talk on micro cars