News 2010
Items always required for Newspage, Newsletter and Website
Email daveksmith@friendsofpurton.org.uk
December 2010
FoP spread research net
With the sound of 'Ship shape and Bristol Fashion', ringing in our ears, the Friends attended a series of programmed visits and guided tours of Bristol's colossal vaulted archive situated in the cities historic B Bonded Warehouse on the bank of the feeder canal, sandwiched between its world famous dock. Once assembled, the Friends were eagerly whisked on a whistle stop private tour by impassioned Archives Manager, Richard Burley whose informed commentary kept all enthralled. The Friends would like to offer our personal thanks to Richard and his team, for allowing us access to some of Bristol's most precious manuscripts and for sharing a unique insight into Bristol's maritime heritage.Bristol Record Office
'B' Bond Warehouse
Smeaton Road
Bristol
BS1 6XN
www.bristol.gov.uk/recordoffice
November 2010
Time Teamers
As the Nautical Archaeology Society website promotes "the NAS Annual Conference provides an opportunity to discuss research, review the archaeological activities, exchange ideas and network with friends", and that is exactly what the Friends did when invited to attend. Janet and Paul represented the Society, again spreading the word about the fate of the hulks.
Paul discusses the Purton Hulks with Phil Harding of TV's Time Team
Friends invited to grand opening of the Brunel Institute and the David R. MacGregor Library
The Friends rubbed shoulders with the great and the good of South West maritime when attending the official opening of the recently
completed Brunel Institute, situated alongside Bristol’s most famous lady, the SS Great Britain. As invited guests of TV historian and Friends Patron Professor Mark Horton, society members were treated to a behind the scenes' tour of the conservation and archives vaults. The centre was officially opened by Professor Lord Robert Winston and is free to maritime researchers and students alike. Held within the collection, is the David R MacGregor photographic library and Lloyds Registry dating back to the beginning of the 1800s. Entrance is via application and can be achieved Tuesday to Saturday between 10:30 -16:30 http://www.brunelinstitute.org
October 2010
17th October 2010 a day to remember
Today saw the Friends gather with approximately 150 family members, friends and former neighbours to unveil two 
stone memorials dedicated to the memory of the crews involved in Severn and Wye Railway Bridge Disaster.
The day, set in glorious Gloucester sunshine, was organised to formally commemorate the 50th anniversary of the partial destruction of the bridge, struck one fog bound night by the M.V. Arkendale H and the M.V. Wastdale H leading to the untimely loss of five of the eight man crew. To compliment the event an exhibition depicting the disaster, organised by Friend, John Daniells, opened at the Dean Heritage Centre.
The Friends would to thank all of those involved in making the day a complete success, and wish to especially thank Mike and Martyn Truman of M.E.Damsell (Stonemasons) for their valued help and without whom, the memorial stones would have remained a dream.
Friends of Purton hit the headlines in Severn papers
Pick up a newspaper anywhere in Gloucestershire this weekend (23.10.10) and you will surely be surprised, as the Friends of Purton appear in no less than seven different publications stretching the length of the River Severn and the surrounding hills. These include the Western Daily Press(L) covering Somerset and Bristol to the Gloucester Citizen(L) and its countrywide readership to the Vales of Berkeley via the Gloucestershire Gazette to the five Valleys of Cotswolds and the regional Stroud Life, Of course the Forest of Dean is not to be left out as both the Forester and the Forest Review(L) both run articles regarding our activities of maritime endeavour.
One to watch or should that be two?
How's this for a double bill of maritime promotion, the work of the Friends are programmed to hit TV listing of 25th October on both the BBC and ITV.
First up, our work to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Severn and Wye Railway Bridge Disaster takes centre stage on ITV WEST 6pm evening news, when our Chairman answers questions on the importance of this timely act of remembrance. Next up, tune in at 7:30pm for BBC INSIDE OUT WEST in which Friends' Patron Professor Mark Horton explores the cause and effect of this Gloucestershire tragedy.
Friends Welcome BW stewardship live on the BBC
Radio Gloucester listeners have recently tuned in to hear the latest round of ongoing negotiations between British Waterways and the Friends of Purton to secure a lasting future for the Purton Hulks.
During the live debate, David Viner, BW Heritage Advisor, outlined the historical significance of the site and issued a firm commitment to manage the Gloucestershire time capsule through measured improvement of sign-age and an increased BW presence on the ground. This news was welcomed by Friends' Chairman Paul Barnett, who further called upon English Heritage, Stroud District Council and the Local Parish Council to join forces with BW to assist in this historic process.
Bridge Disaster remembered
October 17th 2010, will see the Friends stand alongside descendants of the men lost during the greatest tragedy in Gloucestershire's maritime history. It will be almost 50 years to the day that the 17th pier of the Severn and Wye Railway Bridge was hit and carried away by the Arkendale H(L) and Wastdale H(L) killing 5 of the 8 men aboard the vessels. It is a great honour for Friends members to be part of this act of remembrance, which will include the unveiling, at Lydney and Purton, of two identical memorial tablets, dedicated to the crews. Furthermore, Friends' member Bevis Musk has organised for two historic R.N.L.I. lifeboats to visit the wreck site and cast a memorial wreath onto the waters in memory of those lost.
Church Bells ring to remember
After hearing about the proposed commemoration event, Ian Unsworth, an accomplished bell-ringer from Dursley, felt that a specific tribute should be made for the Severn Bridge disaster memorial event, and arranged for the nearby church bells to be rung. It is planned that a full peal will be attempted at Wotton-under-Edge on Saturday 16th October followed by quarter peals at Berkeley, Stone, Slimbridge, Awre and Lydney during 17th October, all to be dedicated to the memory of those affected by the tragic event on 25th October 1960. Full article
September 2010
British Waterways to lead the way in hulks salvation
The Friends of Purton are overjoyed at the news that after 12 years of delicate negotiations, the Purton Hulks have been formally adopted by British Waterways, who have taken the pro-active step of registering ownership of the land encompassing the hulks. In a recently released statement, Mr Brian Casey of British Waterways formally acknowledged that "This land has been registered and is in British Waterway 
ownership" Furthermore, Mr Casey went on to advise "We have checked our records, cross referenced these with the Land Registry and can confirm that British Waterways now own the land on which the Hulks sit". Upon hearing the news, the elated Friends of Purton Chairman Paul Barnett stated, "This is a great day for these last remnants of our maritime history. For too many years we have witnessed our heritage being habitually destroyed by vandalism and arson, now, at last British Waterways, by taking this monumental decision, have embraced the challenge to ensure that these few remaining relics are to be given a fighting chance. We therefore applaud BW and welcome the chance to strengthen existing ties with the land owner for the benefit of the region's heritage and tourism". The news comes in the wake of an announcement earlier this year that the site's last remaining Kennet built canal boat Harriett(L) has been afforded legal protection as a Scheduled Ancient Monument. Initial indications are, that now the ownership of the site has been recorded with English Heritage, Natural England and the County Archaeologists, there will be little in the way to prevent the site from being registered as an assemblage worthy of further designation and protection.
August 2010
Joan du Plat Taylor Award 2010
Work of the 'Friends' continues to attract the accolade of nautical archaeologists, with news that we have been awarded £400 by the Committee adjudicating for the Nautical Archaeology Society (NAS) Joan du Plat Taylor Award. Mark Beattie-Edwards on behalf of Dr John Cooper, Committee Chair of NAS Joan du Plat Taylor Award, stated today, "The Committee felt that the project aims are exactly in keeping with NAS objectives and wish you all the very best with your work". The 'Friends' would like to thank the Committee for both considering and honouring us with this award.
July 2010
Severn Bridge disaster exhibition announced by 'Friends'
The Friends of Purton are today immensely proud to announce that they are to host a comprehensive exhibition to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Severn and Wye Railway Bridge disaster which took place on the 25th October 1960 and saw the untimely death of 5 men from the John Harker tankers Arkendale H and Wastdale H following a collision on that fog bound night. Purton site photographer John Daniells is currently putting the finishing touches to the exhibition that is set to open at the Dean Heritage Centre http://deanheritagemuseum.com/events.html on the 16th October 2010 and is therefore most keen to speak to anyone who may have information, anecdotes or memories of that fateful night for possible inclusion in the finished exhibition. Furthermore the 'Friends' are particularly interested in making the acquaintance of any surviving relatives of the vessels' crews with the view to inviting them to an official opening ceremony at the centre in October. Please contact us on 07833143231 or by writing to 22 Gurney Avenue, Tuffley, Gloucester, GL4 0YL for further details.
June 2010
Friends of Purton honoured at awards
Champagne corks were in abundance at the 4th Annual Pride of Gloucestershire Community Awards 2010, following the announcement that the work of the 'Friends' had been formally recognised by the people of Gloucestershire at the recent glitzy award ceremony held in the Star Suite at Kingsholm Rugby Ground. As this year's finalists and eventual runners up of the Environmental Hero Category, the hulks were once again thrust into the spotlight during the four hour extravaganza to herald the cream of the Gloucestershire unsung volunteer heros. Upon receiving the award, the 'Friends' were said to be elated at the judges' decision and were thrilled that the wonderful site continues to touch the lives of so many
Harriett Protected - The process has begun
The Friends are today overjoyed after receiving the fantastic news that as from 9th June 2010, the Kennet built canal boat Harriett has formally been recognised as being of national importance and has in turn been officially protected and listed as a Scheduled Ancient Monument. In turn she has rightfully taken her place alongside the Mary Rose and HMS Victory and in doing so adding depth and colour to the nations surviving maritime assemblage.
The Friends salute English Heritage in taking this historic step, and look forward to forging closure ties over the coming months, in order to assess the Purton Hulks' assemblage for future potential designation.
Gloucestershire's Historic Site marked for Posterity
Recent visitors to the rural hamlet of Purton on the eastern shores of the River Severn were today able to learn a little more of the village's hidden past, thanks to a joint venture between The Friends of Purton and British Waterways to mark the largest ships graveyard in mainland Britain.
This comes in light of strengthening ties between both parties and the unveiling of two specially commissioned interpretation boards, which have been positioned adjacent to the Sharpness to Gloucester Canal in order to mark the boundary of region’s now famous Purton Hulks.
Following the unveiling, Friends Chairman Paul Barnett stated “This continues to be a great day in the efforts to have the region's maritime heritage recognised and he praised British Waterway’s commitment to ensuring the site is properly recognised as an important archaeological site.
May 2010
Several of Purton Hulks to be registered on Historic Ships Register - update and terrific news
Bevis Musk (Friend of Purton) e-mail
'Friends'
As you may know on 4th May I visited the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich to put forward the case to National Historic Ships, for registering the Purton boats on the National Register of Historic Vessels.
National Historic Ships was set up 4 years ago to remove the exclusion of historic vessels from heritage protection legislation for the last 100 years! I am sure as Friends of Purton you will agree that the previous situation was crazy for a nation with such a maritime and waterway trading heritage as Britain to ignore the National Historic fleet.
At the meeting we reviewed the necessary data to register the Purton boats and The Historic Ships staff were most surprised and i
mpressed with the data that we could supply. In fact I was able to give more information than the usual applications, ours was the first application that gave a latitude and longitude for the bow and stern for each vessel! The first vessel to try the data out was the Harriett as she is obviously the most straightforward boat to describe and view (other then the concrete boats of course). Harriett fulfilled all the criteria and I received the certificate yesterday - yippee.Harriett in with her esteemed colleagues
The major debate in Greenwich then ensued regarding the visibility and completeness of the remaining Purton boats to fulfill the application criteria for Historic Ships registration. I had pointed out the obvious argument that the Mary Rose is listed on the NRHV even though she is far from complete. Whilst not wishing to make comparisons between the Purton boats and Tudor warships, the number of visitors to Purton shows how evocative the site is and therefore there is a genuine public interest in knowing what these boats are and what they did, surely National and of genuine historic interest.
Today I had a very satisfying call from Greenwich and was informed that National Historic Ships had acceded to our requests and will consider registering the Purton boats where 50% of the hull still exists. That amounts to another 11 boats.
I am still pushing to have the entire site registered as it is a special case, but I feel we have made a very good step forward.
For the first activity weekend on 19/20 June I will have the registration certificates available to display by each boat. I have also encouraged some other Historic vessels to be moored on the canal next to the site so that visitors can see some of the construction methods. I have asked National Historic Ships for literature and display materials to highlight their interest and they have agreed to do this and will also help with further PR.
If anyone requires further information about National Historic Ships their website is www.nationalhistoricships.org.uk or contact me, I have a bit of experience in this area!
Bevis
Several of Purton Hulks to be registered on Historic Ships Register
Great news, the 'Friends' Historic Ship co-ordinator Bevis Musk has secured a meeting in London with the National Historic Ships Register this coming 4th May, in order to secure places for several of Purton’s vessels. The Friends wish him all the best in the task to have several important vessels registered for the nation.
April 2010
Friends join friends at GSIA
Saturday 17th 'Friends' Chairman Paul Barnett took to the stage to address the 41st South Wales & West of England Regional Industrial Archaeology Conference organised by Gloucestershire's Society of Industrial Archaeology. During the prestigious forty minute slot, the work of the 'Friends' and the ongoing campaign to obtain continued protection for the site was explored and debated with a capacity audience.
Friends through to Gloucestershire Environmental Hero finals
We are today celebrating selection through to the final rounds of the Environmental Hero category of the annual Heritage Hero Award run by Gloucestershire Media via its regional newspapers, The Gloucestershire Citizen, Gloucestershire Echo and The Forester.
Phase One down Two to go
T
he Friends are proud to announce that 36 Phase One Vessel Document and Finding Reports have now been finalised and are soon to be made publicly available via the new formed Archaeological Page of this website. A combination of many man hours under the expert guidance of our esteemed resident Archaeologist Neil Baker, the documents effectively catalogue a historical overview of each of the 36 Purton Hulks whilst ensuring a permanent archaeological record of the site is secured for future generations. To this end, The 'Friends' would like to offer their sincere thanks to all who took part in this mammoth task with special thanks going to Neil for his enthusiasm and professional approach to this vital task.
The Severn Bridge Disaster on track for major county exhibition
Site photographer and exhibition co-ordinater, John Daniell is currently putting the finishing touches to what is being hailed as the definitive memorial to long since forgotten piece of Gloucestershire history that is to go on release at the Dean Heritage Centre. October 25th 2010 marks the 50th anniversary of the collision and eventual destruction of the Severn and Wye Railway bridge from Sharpness to Lydney by John Harker Tankers Wastdale H and the Arkendale H. In conjunction to this, the 'Friends' have also secured funding and the priceless services of Forest Stonemason Mike Damsell of Bream, who has freely offered his services to produce two distinct memorials that are to be placed at Purton East and Lydney Dock.The Friends would like to personally thank both Mike and his son Martyn for this fantastic gesture and advise that the project is on schedule for completion, dependant on obtaining English Heritage consent.
Robert Millar of the Environment Agency issued the following statement 'As managers of the Lydney site, we would wish to support the 'Friends' initiative, not only do we not have any objections but wholeheartedly welcome their proposals'
John would like to issue a request to any individual that may have personal recollection or anecdotes of the event which should be forwarded direct to john.daniell@virgin.net
March 2010
Country file revisited ... again
BBC Countryfile acknowledge Harriett scheduling
A small yet significant step forward
The 'Friends' efforts have at last been recognised and the Harriett 
is to be formally scheduled and therefore protected by the full force of British Law. A momentous step forward, but merely the beginning of ensuring adequate protection is afforded to the site's historic assemblage of maritime heritage as a whole. The 'Friends' would like to thank both The Right Honourable Margaret Hodge Minister for Culture, Media & Sport and David Drew for their valued help, support and guidance.
For more information regarding scheduling click here
Country file revisited
BBC Countryfile will once again feature the Purton Hulks. Due, we understand, to be screened Sunday 14th March. The 6 minute slot will feature some of the work being undertaken by the 'Friends' in their determination to preserve the hulks through documentation.
February 2010
Right to the top
The 'Friends' take their campaign for site protection right to the top, with an invitation to attend a round table debate at Westminster to be Chaired by the Right Honourable Margaret Hodge, Minister of State, Department for Culture, Media & Sport. Also in attendance will be Mr David Drew MP for Stroud, representatives from English Heritage, NAS, British Waterways and other interested parties. A full report will follow the meeting on 3rd March.
January 2010
On the road again
On our travels again, this time to Plymouth and the 28th Shipwreck conference organised by International Marine Archaeology & Shipwreck Society. As well as an interesting day of talks and presentations from prominent guest speakers, the 'Friends' put on an exhibition of our own project. This proved popular with delegates and again helped to increase the profile and awareness of the site amongst the Marine Archeaology community, with many keen to visit in the near future.
We would like to congratulate IMASS on a well organised and most informative event.