Drone over Jackson Pit

Spent this morning recording Lisa Thomson filming the George Street Re-enactors at the rear of George Street Chapel in Jackson Pit. Lisa and Louis brought along a drone helicopter to get some aerial views of the group.
We could find lots of applications for this great piece of technology.

Winsford Salt Fair Regatta 2014

The 2014 Winsford Salt Fair commemorates WWl with a parade of narrowboats dressed overall.
Winsford is the highest navigable section of the River Weaver Navigation. The narrowboats travelled down from the Trent and Mersey Canal via the Anderton Boat Lift. Now all pleasure craft narrowboats and larger barges, Weaver Flats, used to carry coal to the numerous Winsford salt works and take white salt away for distribution.

At the upper limits a large flash was formed where
subsidences were formed through wild brine pumping. 

AIA Conference Tour 2014 - Nantwich - Middlewich - Northwich

Today I led the guided Tour K, the final tour of the 2014 AIA Conference.
Excellent visit to Nantwich Museum to view the lead salt pan and medieval 'salt ship' where delegates were met by Graham Dodd.
Then a tour of the derelect, but soon to be restored, electric brine pump a part of Murgatroyd's Salt Works. The group was met by Heritage Middlewich volunteers lead by Kerry Fletcher before we all departed for lunch at The Big Lock pub on the Trent and Mersey Canal.
The final port of call was Ashton and Neumanns Flashes and the Lion Salt Works at Northwich, where we were given a tour of the salt works now that the main restoration works are almost complete.

Murgatroyds Brine Pump, Middlewich.

Lion Salt Works, Northwich.

Inside one of the salt warehouse at Lion Salt Works.

Talk to AIA Conference 2014, Chester University

Andrew gave three talks to the 2014 annual conference of the Association for Industrial Archaeologists at Chester University.
The first was a general introduction about salt, the second described the unique framed buildings developed in Northwich to withstand ground subsidence casued by wild brine pumping and rock salt mining.
The third described the formation of ECOSAL-UK as a legacy of the Ecosal-Atlantis project.
Andew also circulated a draft copy of the book about the set of photographs taken in Northwich by Thomas Birtles between 1891 and 1892 at the passing of the 1891 Brine Compenation Act.
The book will be available in October direct from A&A Fielding Ltd or from on-line printers Blurb.