STEEPLEJACK'S CORNER 2012

[Stanley]

The Lad in the man cage at Ellenroad in 1991. More than one way to get high and have a good view.

[plaques]

After a shopping trip at B & Q Brierfield I took a walk round the back of the Junction 12 store. (The old "Hollin Bank Mill"). As Stanley mentioned previously there was obviously some work taking place on the chimney. Unfortunately, there was nobody there to ask what was going on but it has all the hallmarks of a piecemeal removal.

[Stanley]

Good Lad P.... Yes it's a demolition and they are dropping the bricks down the inside of the stack. That's why they have a hole cut in the side of the stack at low level. That one is now officially cracked!

[Stanley]

Peter taking a small brick chimney down at Littleborough in 1986 using the same method. He replaced it with a tin whistle.

[Stanley]

Was this stack at Swindon?

[Bodger]

Hi all you Jacks, fancy a trip to Guinness land,
https://www.google.ie/?gws_rd=ssl#q=poo ... on&tbm=nws

[Stanley]

Bodge, the last thing you'd get on that site would be free Guinness!

[Stanley]

I went looking for the spiral chimney that used to be at Turner's at Bingley and found this one in Sedo, Spain. Lovely example of brickwork but was it just a whim of the architect?

[Invernahaille]

If it was in a windy area it could be used to tunnel the moving air.

[Stanley]

That's what I thought Robert, it's why they put the spirals on tin chimneys I think. Good brickies!

[Invernahaille]

No question about the Brickies Stanley. I wonder how many layers in they go?

[Stanley]

Robert, if you think about it they must have built it spiral until they reached a profile where they could switch to a cylindrical (or even square) core. I wonder of they rubbed the last bricks in the transition to shape? Somehow I doubt it!

[plaques]

Is this chimney brick or stone? Our circular chimneys had curved bricks reducing in profile as the height increased. One of the last brick chimneys to be built in Burnley at Massey's brewery had every course individually cast. It would probably have been easier to cut the helical profile from solid rather than cast special size bricks.

[Stanley]

P, chimney brick was made in different profiles and given codes to identify them. They usually built a whole section using one profile and then shifted to the next smaller profile. This one looks like brick and because of the profile, they probably used the same bricks throughout.
Best brickwork I have ever seen is in the old stables at Gledstone, now used as a private house. It was square on the outside but a circular arcaded courtyard on the inside. The bricks in the transition were all rubbed to shape.

[Stanley]

From Walter Pickles' rare book, 'Our Grimy Heritage'. Turner's spiral chimney at Bingley.

[Stanley]

Can you remember me talking about steam engines on farms in the steam topic? I found this pic in Walter's book.

[Stanley]

Tatham HQ at Tims Terrace, Milnrow, in 1986. Young Tom will remember this job!

[Steeplejerk]

Sleeping at night is hard enough in this weather,even worse now you've reminded about re-laying those setts,haha

[Invernahaille]

I remember Petes Yards. It had a series of lean to's where he stored his ladders. That was a long time ago. I think Peters dad was running the business then.

[Stanley]

Could have been his granddad Robert. Young Tom will know....

[Stanley]

Fred Dibnah watching Era chimney as the props burn away. 1979.

[Stanley]

John Burlison has sent me this image of Ellenroad, one that I haven't seen before... It must be sometime in 1984 or shortly before. This is what faced me when I first took the job on. The sale sign isn't clear enough to read but there was a mistake on it, it had an extra zero on the end and thought the mill was over 2,000,000 square feet. The small incinerator in front of the chimney was one of the first things to go. The raised manhole in the foreground was the main drain from Ellenroad Street which at one time was projected to pass right through the site. It went under the River Beal via a syphon to a large modern concrete manhole on the other bank which was upgraded when the motorway junction was built. We levelled the area for our site huts and the foul drain was very handy for our toilets!
Looking at this pic reminds me of what I faced in 1984 and I often wonder at my arrogance in believing that I could deal with the demolition and refurbishment. Nobody will ever know the scale of the problems we uncovered!

[Stanley]

Minerva Mill, Bolton in 1910.

[Stanley]

Have a look at THIS for the demolition of three of the Didcot Power Station cooling towers at 05:00 this morning.

[David Whipp]

Bet that bang woke a few folk!