John Dickinsons Papermills

[alan_fincher]

I remember my mother telling me that Apsley station was specifically added to carry the huge numbers of workers from the mills to and from work (she used to come from Berko by bike, my father from nearer in Hemel old town).

 

Les

Absolutely, and remarkably recently, only opening in 1938.

 

My father told tales of attending the opening ceremony as a teenager, and how a tank locomotive drove its train through a massive hoop of Dickinsens paper.

 

I'm sure he had newspaper cuttings, but they are not something that seems to have survived him, unfortunately.

 

Alan

[Catrin]

Really great to see these photos Derek - almost makes me feel wistful for the old place (no, truth is, I hated it). Oh, but I remember the trek across that bridge every lunchtime to the canteens on the other side of the (old) A41.

 

Completely, Christmas 1979, I tried winding up John, a bloke who had recently started there and who worked next to me, about 'the day we all come in in fancy dress'. I nearly managed it - just about every one else in the office fell in with the wind up - they were all describing what each other had (supposedly) worn the previous year. Then at the last minute a manager came in and expostulated 'What are you talking about!' And I had so hoped to get him to come in dressed as a clown or something.

 

Upshot of the wind up was that we agreed to do it anyway - although some people were only brave enough to come in dressed in a particularly tasteless tie. I went in dressed in a 1960's suede miniskirt and thigh length boots (I had my eye on someone at the time). But John didn't show, and didn't show, and didn't show. Eventually we heard howls and screams from the next door office as John arrived, dressed as a tramp, in a filthy raincoat tied with string, and complete with holey trousers and boots and with about half a bottle of vodka tipped over him. He'd actually gone to the trouble of rubbing something nasty into the fabric of his coat.

 

Our manager had an important visitor coming in - so sent John off on some trivial errand to the other end of the factory (one of the corridors was rumoured to be half a mile long). When he returned John told us that as he had been crossing over the canal bridge when he was met by two security guards coming the other way. He was expecting trouble, but they suddenly both turned on their heels and went as quickly as they could in the other direction - not actually much use as security then.

Cheers

Cath

[Keeping Up]

Just to add a more recent memory, where the wood yard used to be (south of the double bridge, on the west side) about 20 years ago they built an ugly storage unit which was then converted to offices. I had one of those offices, from my window I could look out at the bridge all day and dream about being on the canal instead.

 

The arch of that bridge is the lowest arch on the canal; when we brought the Griffins' dutch barge Apolonia up to Linslade, we had to get the hacksaws out and cut off the stern rails when we got stuck under the bridge (we had got under all the others from Brentford OK). There was a wonderful photo in an old copy of WW that I used to have, showing one of the narrowboat "paper dashers" loaded so high it almost exactly fitted the profile of the bridge.

[Hairy-Neil]

It was the severe winter of 62-63 that killed it to Apsley, I believe. Having switched to road supply to get around the iced up canals, they never switched back.

 

Coal to Apsley restarted after the thaw. The Braunston lock keepers log shows 4 pairs heading south for Apsley (Aps), passed through on 12th march, the day after the thaw. The trade continued with on average around 6 pairs a week till the the end came on wednesday 22nd May, when 178 'Tadworth' (the buttys aren't recorded) with steerer Caleb? Lane locked through at 1.45pm.

 

Nash Mill had stopped taking waterborne coal before the freeze up. The last recorded pair, 135 'Darley', ominously passed through Braunston at 1.45pm on friday 13th July 1962 with steerer Wright in charge.

 

Anyone know which day BW officially gave up carrying and Willow Wren took over the contracts?

[Lesd]

A couple of photo's from a week or so ago when we cruised past.....I'll see if I can pop in to take some more next week.

Les

 

 

Edited February 15, 2009 by Lesd

[Derek R.]

I had a tidy up recently, and see all the previous pics of Apsley & Nash have technically gone. I can fetch them back if desired, but will pop this in as a cast back in time.

 

I think we can fairly reckon the location, but how about when?

 

 

 

Derek

 

Sorted - they're all back up.

Edited February 15, 2009 by Derek R.

[Derek R.]

Here's a better angle - just about got in the same spot as that photographer did all those years ago:

 

[carlt]

Training the horse to open the gates is amazing.

 

If they could have just learnt to use a windlass they'd have never been replaced, by the diesel engine.

Edited February 18, 2009 by carlt

[alan_fincher]

Curiously the demolition work at Nash didn't look a lot more advanced than the pictures above that Les D took nearly two months earlier.

 

They don't usually hang about with such things.

 

Is this another case of developer in trouble, I wonder ?

 

[LEO]

Curiously the demolition work at Nash didn't look a lot more advanced than the pictures above that Les D took nearly two months earlier.

 

They don't usually hang about with such things.

 

Is this another case of developer in trouble, I wonder ?

Hi,

 

Might be that the remaining buildings are to be utilised in the re-development, others demolished to avoid 'empty business rates'. Development can then be put on 'economic' hold.

 

Leo.

[Derek R.]

I think the plans were for residential apartments and the like, with a footbridge across the canal below the lock about where Alan's boat is.

More likely the financial woes affecting the building industry is the culprit.

[LEO]

I think the plans were for residential apartments and the like, with a footbridge across the canal below the lock about where Alan's boat is.

More likely the financial woes affecting the building industry is the culprit.

Hi,

Agreed, hence the need to put the site into 'economic hold' from the developers point of view - used to be called 'mothballing' the project.

 

Leo.

[alan_fincher]

Reopening this one......

 

After massive demolition at Nash Mills early in the year, work seemed to be largely suspended by Easter, although plant was still on site.

 

Six months further on, it looks little different other than that any contractors plant appears to have been removed.

 

Does anybody know the story please ? Have the developers gone bust ?

 

I'm surprised not to have heard anything in local news or by gossip.

 

It's certainly even more unsightly as it has been left, as it was before they started.

[Derek R.]

I think we will have to wait until more confidence has returned to the money market for further action. An approach to Three Rivers District Council's planning department might be one avenue of investigation.

 

What used to be can be seen in Robert Wilson's 'Too Many Boats'. A picture credited to John Dickinson Ltd. of one pair of boats being unloaded by the overhead grab crane, with another pair behind waiting. On P.12.

 

Derek