Electrical safety 1900. cutting from the Kentish Mercury about an accident at the power station on Greenwich Peninsula – Blackwall Point
Category: Document
Maps and plans of the tide mill
mill ms contents0001 – this is a scan of a list of contents of the mill in 1892
Return to Tide Mill general page
- Extract from Tithe Map 1847
Turkish ferries
Maudslay sold 5 ferries in all to the Turks
Azimet 1870
Rahat 1870
Selamet 1870
Suhulet 1871
Sahilbent 1871
Blackadder’s wreck
With reference to the Maudslay Shipbuilding Yard at Greenwich. I am currently living and working in the city of Salvador, Bahia, Brasil. As a scuba diver I am taking advantage of the local warm water and diving as often as possible. One of the sites we visit, especially if we have new divers, is a wreck know locally as the Black Drr, a Norwegian steam/sail ship. Very recently a local diver has discovered that the ship is actually the Blackadder. She lies alongside the shore line at the bottom of a rock outcrop. Two of the masts lie pointing out to sea and there is very little of her hull left. The site is between 2 and 10 Metres and approximately 50 Metres off shore.
Chris Freeth 2001
Dangers of the Blackwall Tunnel 1897
Molassine – at Greenwich Industrial Exhibition
GREENWICH INDUSTRIAI, EXHIBITION.
STANDS 73-76
Stand No. 73.
THE MOLASSINE Co., Ltd., Tunnel Avenue, Greenwich, S.E.10. Telephone-Greenwich 135l.
The Molassine Co., Ltd., occupies about 5 acres of land on the Thames side at East Greenwich.
It is well-known to users of the “river and excursionists by its great steel tanks, which are capable of holding nearly 20,000 tons of Molasses, while its imposing offices in Tunnel Avenue cannot be missed.
The Company manufactures Molassine Meal, so popular with owners of live stock everywhere, also Molassirie Poultry Foods and Molassine Dog and Puppy Cakes, as well as the smaller products, such as Mollets, Stimo and Vims, which “dogs love,” the latter having become a household word. Supplies may be had from corn dealers everywhere.
Return to Molassine
Colliery street names – misc. correspondence
The following is a collection of letters and emails with reference to street names in the East Greenwich area
FROM TYNE&WEAR MUSEUMS
Dear Mary Mills. Thank you for your letter of 18th September. The Pelton and Waldridge collieries were both adjacent to the line of the Stanhope and Tyne Railway; however I cannot at present confirm whether Derwent refers to the name of a colliery. R.G.Braddyll was the proprietor of South Hetton Colliery, which exported coal via Seaham Harbour from the 1830s via the South Hetton Waggonway. We too are interested in the associations between the Thames and Tyne & Wear so far as the seaborne coal trade is concerned; a particular line of research at the present time is to identify to what extent the term ‘Wallsend’ (sometimes ‘Wall’s End’) was used in the London area from the late 18th century onward to market the best household coal to individual customers. I shall be in touch with the Museum of London fairly soon, but I would be glad to learn of any other leads you can suggest which may be worth following up. DIRECTOR OF TYNE AND WEAR MUSEUMS: DAVID FLEMING OBE, MA, PHD, AMA, FRSA.
From RICHARD ELLAM 1998
Northumberland County Or Earl of?
Longstone. Personal name: not a place name listed in my Ordnance Survey road atlas.
Newcastle Place or Nobleman?
Thornley. Colliery village between Durham and Peterlee. There’s another, much smaller, Thornley up in the Pennines near Tow Law, which puts it right on the edge of the Coalfield.
Whitworth. Probably not a colliery name, at least not in the North-East. Whitworth the place, is in Greater Manchester, and so lies on the Lancashire Coalfield. By 1856 Coal from a colliery in that place (if one existed) would be reaching London by rail, However, I think that the name may refer to Sir Joseph Whitworth, an engineer and arms manufacturer from Manchester whose name would have been quite well known in the midst of the Crimean War as an inventor of a system of rifled artillery. Whitworth is remembered today as a pioneer manufacturer of machine tools and as the progenitor of the system of British Standard screw threads which bears his name.
Paddock. A Paddock Colliery would not be unheard of, but I think you might well find that this name is of more local origin: did this street lead to a paddock, or was apaddock there before the street was built?
I hope these thoughts are of some use to you. They may help in pursuing future researches but because it is some ten years since I last did any serious work on the Coal Trade you should not take any of this as gospel. I think that if you want to try and tie down the coal trade references exactly you will have to make a trip to the North-Fast and dig in the archives up there. Unfortunately the mining archives are spread between three record offices, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear and Durham, and the holdings of the record offices do not match the geographical areas they claim to cover. The best holdings of mining records (are in the Northumberland Record Office, which now holds the extensive archive of the North East institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers. This contains extensive collections of ‘Views technical reports on collieries, which are all invaluable source of information on colliery ownership. From the late ISSOs, 1857 I think, there are published reports of the Government Mines Inspectors, which list collieries by owner and also give an indication of whether they are working or not. These annual reports will be available in the British Library, if nowhere else in. London, and the Science Museum Library may hold some of them, too.
From Alan Vickers, December 2000
Subject: Types of coal sold on the London market between 1852 _ 59.
Hi – I have extracted all the types of coal which were sold on the London
market which I can find in my copies of the Illustrated London News between
1852 – 59.
Acorn Close. Bate’s West Hartley. Bell’s Primrose . Benson, Braddyll’s Hetton. Caradoc Cassop, Eden, Framwellgate, Hartlepool, Hartley’s, Hasting’s Hartley, Haswell Gas, Hedley, Hetton, Heugh Hall, Hilton, Holywell, Johnson, Kepier Grangem Lawson, Nixon’s Merthyr, Northumberland, North Percy Hartley, Redheugh Main, Russell’s Seaham, Sidney’s Hartley, South Hetton, South Hartlepool, Stewart’s, Tanfield Moor, Backhouse, Bell, Belmont, Braddyll, Buddle’s West Hartley, Carr’s Hartley, Cowpen Hartley, Eden Main, Gosforth, Hartlepoolm Hetton, Harton, Haswell, Hebburn, Hervey, Hetton Hartley Main, Hilda, HIlton Hyons, Hunwick, Kelloe, Lambton, Lyons, North Hartlepool, Northumberland East, Pelton Main, Riddell, Russell’s Hetton, Shincliffe, Smith’s West Hartley, South Durham, South Kelloe, Stewart’s Hartley, Tanfield Moor Butes, Tees, Thornley, Towneley, Trawell Gate, Victoria Steam
Ward’s West Hartley, West Hartley, West Kelloe, West Tees, Whitworth, Tees Eden, Thorpe,
Tramwellgate, Tyne Main, Walker’s Primrose, West Hartlepool, West Hetton, West Lumley, Whitwell, Wylam
Pelton Colliery .Pelton, nr, Chester le Street. 6 miles [9 km] NNW of Durham. (Sheet 88) NZ253517, 54° 51′ 34″ N, 1° 36′ 20″ W, 1898 from Reid’s Handy Colliery Guide. 1928 from Reid’s Handy Colliery Guide. 1951 from the Guide to the Coalfields (Colliery Guardian)
1835. Feb 1965. Brow Pit,: (Sheet 88) NZ251521, opened: 1867
Busty Pit. (Sheet 88) NZ251518. Fan Pit, opened: 1867. North Pit, opened: 1867
1835 – Messrs. KingsCote & Co. ???? – James Reid & Partners ???? – Messrs. Swabey & Co.
???? – Messrs. W. C. Curteis & Co. 1869 – Lord Dunsoney & Partners 1901 – Owners of Pelton Colliery Ltd. Output: 1929 – Mid Durham Coal Co. Ltd. 1947 – National Coal Board (N.C.B.)
1896 – Coal: Gas. 1902 – Coal: Gas, Steam. 1930 – Coal: Coking, Gas, Household.
1940 – Coal: Coking, Gas, Household. (215000 tons) 1947 – Coal: Coking, Gas, Household. (175000 tons) 1950 – Coal: Coking, Gas, Steam 1955 – Coal: Coking, Gas, Steam.
1960 – Coal: Coking, Gas, Steam. 1964 – Coal: Coking, Gas, Steam. Seams Worked: 1894 – Maudlin, Low Main, Hutton, Busty 1930 – Hutton, Towneley, Tilley, Busty 1940 – Hutton, Towneley, Tilley, Busty, Low Main, Shield Ro 1950 – Low Main, Hutton, Towneley, Tilley, Brockwell [inv: Ne 1955 – Shield Row, Low Main, Hutton, Brockwell, Tilley, Tow 1960 – Harvey, High Main, Tilley, Hutton, Five Quarter 1964 – High Main, Hutton, Harvey, Tilley, Bottom Brockwell 1857 – A boring was put down from the hill of the Busty Colliery, proving the Brockwell and lower seams. 1867 – The North Pit, Pelton Colliery, sunk from the surf
Seam. 1893 – A boring was put down at Pelton Colliery below the Seam, proving the Brockwell Seam too thin to work. The pumping engine is a high pressure of 80 horse power. The winding engine is also a high pressure of about 40 horse power. The coals are transmitted by the Stanhope and Tyne Railway to the drops at South Shields, a distance of about 14 miles.
PELTON COLLIERY.
This colliery is situated about 2 miles west-south-west from Chester-le-Street It was commenced by Messrs. Kingscote and Co., but is now carried on by James Reed, Esq., and Partners, who have, since they came into possession, effected many valuable improvements in the concern. The ground was broken for the air-shaft on August 12, 1835. The depth of this shaft is 64 fathoms, and that of the working shaft 52 fathoms. The seam wrought is the Hutton, which is here from 4 feet 4 inches to 4 feet 6 inches thick. The winding engine is of 25 horse power, and the pumping engine 100; but it has not yet been found necessary to exert the whole power of the latter. The coals are transmitted by the Pontop and Shields (the Stanhope and Tyne) railway, a distance of about 13 miles to the staithes–at South Shields.
From Mike Syer Subject: Re: Chester le Street Collieries date 2000
I don’t know if any of this is useful. ‘Hope it is!
1843 Deacon There was a Deacon Drift at Eden Colliery, Leadgate. This was owned in 1844 by E. Richardson. Edward Richardson & Ptnrs of Sunderland owned Sacriston Colliery from 1839 and also Charlaw Colliery (m. Sacriston) and Medomsley Colliery. , E. Richardson owned Eden Coliery, Leadgate in 1844, and possibly Derwent Colliery, Medomsley in the 1850s . Lord Howden, Cargills, Horsington & Richardson owned Wingate Grange Colliery in 1843. I’ve no idea whether this is the same Richardson.
1843 Lambton.Obviously too many references to mention. I’ve had a quick flick through such information as I have about the Earl of Durham’s collieries and found no obvious link (or coincidence!) other than geographical proximity with the others you enquired about.
1843 Lime Tree It’s probably total coincidence, but there are only six streets in the old part of today’s Waldridge. One is Lime Street and the others are all named after trees: Oak, Poplar, Pine, Olive and Cedar. I’m not sure how old these terraces are – but they certainly are’t 160 years old. Early 20th Century, probably.
1843 PeIton Pelton Colliery was owned by Jas. Reed [or Reid?] & Co.lPtms in 1843. There were other collieries in the Pelton area but I don’t have any other relevant information about ownership etc. at that time.
1843 Standard ??
1843 Stanley I have no special references though there were a lot of pits in the Stanley area. It was James Joicey country,
1843 Waldridge You know a bit about Waldridge Colliery already! Geo. Sowerby & Partners leased Waldridge Colliery from Joliffe & Byron in the 1830s + 1840s. Sowerby, Philipson & Co. owned Chester Moor Colliery, which was a mile or so away from Waldridge, in the 1880s. Messrs Sowerby & Fletcher operated Burnhope Colliery, Lanchester till 1881.
1843 Wellington There was a Wellington Pit at Edmondsley Colliery, which is a mile or so from Waldridge. It’s owners in the 1850s were Samuel Tyzack &Co. There was also a Wellington Pit at Usworth Pit, Washington, which is four or five miles from Waldridge.
1845 Chester (Chester le Street) I have no special references though there were obviously a lot of pits in the area, including most ofthose mentioned here.
1846 Derwent E. Richardson was the sinker of Derwent Colliery, Medomsley, between 1853 and 1856. Derwent Iron Co. was the operator.
1849 Durham Obviously too many references to mention.
1850 Kent??
1850 Marlborough ??
1850 Trinity}?
1851 Gibson T.C. Gibson owned Sacriston Colliery in1843. He may have obtained it from Mr. Richardson, or they may have been in partnership. Sorry, I don’t know. I think TC Gibson & Ptnrs became the South Hetton Coal Co. who, apart from South Hetton Colliery, also owned Trimdon Grange and Murton Collieries. Another of the partners in this company was Colonel Braddyl.
Gibson’s Pit at Newfield Colliery, near Willington, was sunk in 1841, when it was operated by John Robson and partners. I did wonder, in looking into your enquiry, whether I had confused this Newfield with the one that is near Chester-le-Street (near Pelton). But John Robson’s links with the Willington area are clear, including collieries at Hunwick and Byers Green, all in the 1840s. There may, of comse, have been more than one John Robson and the same goes for many of the other links I am suggesting in this note. In the 1840s there was also a Robson involved in Whitwell [Grange] Colliery and possibly at Bowburn – and I would love more information about them …
1852 Braddyl Braddyl, Walker, M. Foster, Green, Rawsthome, and partners owned South Hetton Colliery in 1843 and Col. Braddyl was one of the partners in the South Hetton Coal Co. Messrs Braddyll & Co. also then owned Dalden-(i.e. Dalton?)-le-Dale Colliery.
1852 Caradoc ??
1852 Northumberland A big area …
1853 Longstone ??
1853 Newcastle A big area …
1855 Thornley Apart from Thornley Colliery, the Thornley Coal Co. also owned Ludworth at 1860 and Cassop and possibly Cassop Moor in the 1840s. Partners in this company included Messrs. Chaytor, T. Wood, Gully & Burrell. I’m not sure whether R.D. (or R.P.) Philipson was a partner then. Nor do I know whether that Philipson was the one associated with Waldridge’s Sowerby
(or the Philipson involved in the Herton Coal Co.). But he did at one time in the 1850s own the Cassop collieries. And his manager in 1852 was one John Robson.
1856 Whitworth Whitworth Park was owned in 1851 by Messrs Richard S. Johnson & T. Reay [et al.?].
1864 Paddock Paddock Myers Colliery was sunk near Evenwood Park in 1845. Another coincidence, perhaps, but Messrs. Charlton were one-time owners of Even wood and Tees Hetton Colliery, at Evenwood. And there was a Martin Charlton’s Pit at Whitworth Park.
Letter from Brian Hilsdon – hilsdon letter0001
Roque map 1748
A map of London and the adjacent Country 10 Miles Round: 1748 – Greenwich area extract
Travers map 1695
Extract from Travers’ map of Greenwich 1695
Wharves report 1980s
Extract from report prepared by the London Rivers Association 1980s.
WIMPEY Asphalt
This operation largely caters for the building requirements of the parent company. All road stone is imported by ship – about arrival a week is currently required, other raw materials for asphalt production are brought in by road. There is considerable local sensitivity about the lorry movements that this operation produces. The firm is known to be currently negotiating about sites in the Charlton Riverside area. It is believed that they are interested in a somewhat larger site than they are currently occupying (two acres). They would need good river access rot no rail access.
PIPER BARGES
This firm that has been in the Borough for more than four decades is on the point of departing. The last barge to have been repaired in this yard left in December 19~6. The workforce of five were laid off and the company owners are reluctantly looking round for potential buyers.
Lovell’s
This is the longest standing public wharf in the Borough; yet it is not safeguarded in planning terms. There is a clear awareness that, partly as a result of this, the value of the site is as great as the value of the going business. This is a family business with close association with the Thames but the prospect of considerable capital gains is becoming increasingly attractive. 40,000 tons are currently being handled which is considerably less than that achieved a few years ago or that potentially obtainable. The Company is currently heavily dependent on two steel stockholders outside the London area. The long term
STC
This firm which is engaged in producing sophisticated armaments for submarines has not used its wharf for over a decade and is unlikely to do so in future. Unfortunately there is no separate vehicle access to the wharf and for security reasons access through the site is unlikely to be granted. There should be some discussion about; the future use of this wharf which is in relatively good condition and has good depth of water.
Victoria Deep Water Terminal
This is the only wharf in the Borough that handles containers. Currently over 40,000 boxes a year passes through the 40 acre site. This is somewhat up on previous years but is nowhere near the full capacity of the site. The terminal has two modern gantry cranes and large 279 metre berths. In the past few years the company has given up operating a shift system and undertaking groupage on site. Employment has fallen from 75 dockworkers and 60 staff four years ago to 20 and 30 respectively today. Two shipping lines account for almost all of their traffic – Bell Lines and Seacon. Both these are currently expanding and are happy with the service provided. The management are worried that by going out to attract new traffic they could alienate their long-standing customers. The company’s biggest problem is the size of their site and their rate bill (over £200,000 per annum). They are looking for a compatible tenant for part of their site and are campaigning for all ports to be assessed for rates on the same basis.
CIVIL AND MARINE
This is the largest sea dredged aggregates firm to operate on the Thames. It has recently purchased the Delta Wharf site (aver 4 acres) with a view to using it to land and process sea dredged sand and gravel. At present it has a large plant and headquarters at Purfleet but feels that it needs a processing plant on the south side of the river. The company operates t\«) 5CXX) ten sand and gravel dredgers. If it can find new processing sites it will invest in further in vessels. It considers that increasingly building materials such as sand and gravel will have to be obtained from the sea bed because of environmental objections to the use of land derived sources. At present the economics are finely balanced. Marine dredged aggregates are more expensive to mine but cheaper to transport. This gives a premium to landing these aggregates as near as possible to the end use. The first planning application was turned down because of objections from the houses that are close by and because of a concern that the operation might not generate a significant amount of new employment. A second planning application has been recently presented which the applicants hope will be more acceptable as it involves a smaller site within the S8IOO employment levels and will free parts of the 5 acre site for other employment generating uses.
Jackobaits
This old established barge and boat building firm is occupying a one and a half acre site on the above Civil and Marine freehold. They moved here three years ago after being ousted from their premises in the Royal Docks by the PLA. They have successfully moved into boat building and repair and employ 18 craftsmen and three apprentices. Their order books are full for the next two years having recently secured a large contract to build a 60 ton private cruiser. Their main problem is that they are currently occupying; their site on a licence and could be evicted at a moment notice. While it is understood that Civil and Marine are happy that this firm continues on the site, the lack of security affects the ability to plan for a long term future and the ability to secure finance from Banks.
Ordnance Wharf
This area is let on short term leases to five firms none of which use the river. There are two wharves on the site which could be used in future for cargo handling. They have good water and road access. All the existing users have leases up to 1995 from British Gas which has said that they are interested in disposing of the site. Consideration should be given to its development for river related uses in the longer term. The whole site is over six acres.
Blackwall Point Power Station
This has recently been bought by Brown and Mason a demolition firm which is currently demolishing the Power station and want to develop the site for their own benefit. The site is about three acres but; may well be seriously contaminated. The firm wants to develop for the highest value which they appear to believe is a high class residential development but are Prepared to talk about; other possibilities. It is believed that they acquired the site at a considerable discount because they were prepared to take on the Problems of asbestos on the site and the risk of contamination.
GREENWICH SAILING CLUB. This is owned and (currently) run by the Borough. A 20 person Community Programme scheme has been run from these premises for the last four years. The plan is that the borough will pull out and the area (about three acres of land and metres of tideway) will be let out at a peppercorn rent to the Greenwich Yacht Club. The Club has access to a narrow slipway (called the causeway) and recently the British Steel Wharf which they intend to use as additional moorings. At present they have over 100 moorings on the tideway and over an acre of hard standing. The club is currently used by an Association of disabled people but their future involvement is unclear
Greenwich Peninsula History 