first british pound locks.

[hughc]

Leading on from the discussion about the last flash locks has anyone else on this forum read The Piercebridge Formula by Raymond Selkirk (ISBN 0-85059-621-1 ). He makes a very convincing case for Roman pound locks and navigation dams on the Wear and Tyne rivers- why else would a detachment of Tigris boatmen be based at Arbeia? His thesis says that wherever a Roman road crosses a river- even quite a small river- then evidence should be sought for navigation works- even if these are disguised by later adaptations for mills or fish weirs. Google earth shows, for example, at least one site on the Soar which fits all the criteria. Regards, HughC.

[stort_mark]

Leading on from the discussion about the last flash locks has anyone else on this forum read The Piercebridge Formula by Raymond Selkirk (ISBN 0-85059-621-1 ). He makes a very convincing case for Roman pound locks and navigation dams on the Wear and Tyne rivers- why else would a detachment of Tigris boatmen be based at Arbeia? His thesis says that wherever a Roman road crosses a river- even quite a small river- then evidence should be sought for navigation works- even if these are disguised by later adaptations for mills or fish weirs. Google earth shows, for example, at least one site on the Soar which fits all the criteria. Regards, HughC.

 

My father has a copy of the book. Sounds like I should read it.

[Max Sinclair]

The Romans had to use boats to reach England so it is logical they used the rivers to explore further inland.While their roads were straight they were for marching not transporting heavy goods. Quite surprisingly their wagons did not have steering axles and had to be lifted to turn a corner, they did not invent the front axle swivel tree. In Worcestershire we have the Roman named River Salwarpe. Sal for Salt, Warpe for haulage. They created watermills for grain milling to feed their forces, five on the Salwarpe from Droitwich to the Severn and the weirs would have incorporated a watergate for transport. Despite their road engineering abilities the river was the only usable method for transporting goods in bad weather.

The River Teme was used for bringing sheet lead down from the Welsh Black hill to Droitwich to be made into salt brine boiling pans. Serious archeological examination of all our rivers and major streams would, i am sure reveal Romano, British activity. Come on you youngsters the waterways world is your treasure oyster.

[stort_mark]

Hmmmm. I was under the impression that the one thing the Romans were not good at was boating. Just because an army had to use boats, it doesn't necessarily mean that they were proficient or keen to use them for trade.

 

However, clearly there would have been great incentive for the Romans (and others) to use water transport both. The extremely important salt industry was not just prominent in Droitwich but also west Cheshire, where there is also a long waterways tradition. However, the names of all of these towns - Droitwich, Nantwich and Middlewich - stem from the Viking word vik, meaning harbour. Now the Vikings certainly were well known for their boating skills. I suspect that - within reason - you will find evidence of use of our rivers for trade purposes in most periods, possibly going back before the Romans in some areas.

[Max Sinclair]

Have a look at the Roman Barge remains unearthed on the Rhine. I am sure with diligent ground radar scanning of our river beds and banks much could be found. Much earlier craft have been discovered in recent years at Dover, in Yorkshire and South Wales. Earliest man used log boats, inflated animal skins and of course the universal coracle type boat which could carry considerable loads as the Irish Curraghs still do today.Unfortunately these left little to discover.The first locomotive in the USA was built in Stourbridge and carried down the Stour and Severn on a Flote ( Float) a timber raft with built up sides, a most useful piece of equipment generally used for carrying Cathedral and Abbey stones.

 

Hmmmm. I was under the impression that the one thing the Romans were not good at was boating. Just because an army had to use boats, it doesn't necessarily mean that they were proficient or keen to use them for trade.

 

However, clearly there would have been great incentive for the Romans (and others) to use water transport both. The extremely important salt industry was not just prominent in Droitwich but also west Cheshire, where there is also a long waterways tradition. However, the names of all of these towns - Droitwich, Nantwich and Middlewich - stem from the Viking word vik, meaning harbour. Now the Vikings certainly were well known for their boating skills. I suspect that - within reason - you will find evidence of use of our rivers for trade purposes in most periods, possibly going back before the Romans in some areas.

The word wich or wick derives from salt.

[hughc]

There is a great deal of information available on the Northern Archaeology Group's (NAG) website. This is mainly concerned with the northeast but it includes information on the Piercebridge and Bywell sites and a possible coast- to-coast link via the Tipalt Burn.Selkirks book includes photographs of what could well be a lock chamber and by-pass canal in water. Regards, HughC.

[PaulG]

Leading on from the discussion about the last flash locks has anyone else on this forum read The Piercebridge Formula by Raymond Selkirk (ISBN 0-85059-621-1 ). He makes a very convincing case for Roman pound locks and navigation dams on the Wear and Tyne rivers- why else would a detachment of Tigris boatmen be based at Arbeia? His thesis says that wherever a Roman road crosses a river- even quite a small river- then evidence should be sought for navigation works- even if these are disguised by later adaptations for mills or fish weirs. Google earth shows, for example, at least one site on the Soar which fits all the criteria. Regards, HughC.

According to LTC Rolt's "Navigable Waterways", the first recorded pound locks in England were on the Exeter Canal, built between 1564 and 1567. Three locks were built with chambers 189 ft long by 23 ft wide, to allow several boats to locked through at the same time. The upper gates were mitred, but the lower ones were single, and must have been massive.

 

The next one to be built was on the River Lea at Waltham Abbey in 1571-74, and this had mitred gates at both ends.

 

Of course, these are only the first recorded examples, and it is entirely possible that there were others that went unrecorded.

[Max Sinclair]

The Flash Lock brick structure still survives at Salwarpe, Droitwich below the Church, down the Jacobs Ladder steps. This was last used by Brindleys workmen in the 1770's to carry barge loads of bricks for the canals construction.Others at Porters Mill and Mildenham Mill.

[Max Sinclair]

According to LTC Rolt's "Navigable Waterways", the first recorded pound locks in England were on the Exeter Canal, built between 1564 and 1567. Three locks were built with chambers 189 ft long by 23 ft wide, to allow several boats to locked through at the same time. The upper gates were mitred, but the lower ones were single, and must have been massive.

 

The next one to be built was on the River Lea at Waltham Abbey in 1571-74, and this had mitred gates at both ends.

 

Of course, these are only the first recorded examples, and it is entirely possible that there were others that went unrecorded.

The Romans navigated the river through Droitwich and named it the Salwarpe. Sal for salt and Warpe for barge haulage.

[koukouvagia]

 

The word wich or wick derives from salt.

No it doesn't. The suffix "wich" comes from the Indo-European root (*woik-) meaning "village", "house", dwelling". It doesn't derive from the word meaning "salt". The connection with the salt towns of the north is that a group of these "wiches" or villages was associated , since before the Conquest, with the production of salt and the suffix "wich" acquired a specialised, but false etymology, "salt".

 

I now know how Gibbo feels when someone posts a half truth or a muddled explanation of electrical matters.

[Derek R.]

It's true 'wich' comes from the term place, but also from Wikipedia:

 

"Wich and wych are names associated (but not exclusively) with brine springs or wells in England. Originally derived from the Latin vicus, meaning place, by the 11th century use of the 'wich' suffix in placenames was associated with places with a specialised function including that of salt production.[6] Several English places carry the suffix and are historically related to salt, including the four Cheshire 'wiches' of Middlewich, Nantwich, Northwich and Leftwich (a small village south of Northwich), and Droitwich in Worcestershire. Middlewich, Nantwich, Northwich and Droitwich are known as the Domesday Wiches due to their mention in the Domesday Book, "an indication of the significance of the salt-working towns in the economy of the region, and indeed of the country".

 

The Latin for salt is sali. I wonder where that places Salisbury. Do I hear - 'Wiltshire'?

 

Wiki is not the most trustworthy of sources but I think it fits.

[Max Sinclair]

The word Salary derives from the Romans being paid in Salt.