The Wilts & Berks Canal Trust has a grand ambition. And that’s the restoration of the Wilts & Berks canal to link the English northern and southern waterway systems. But a cloud of uncertainty has, for many years, cast a shadow over this dream. The cause of this uncertainty? The obtaining of a crossing across the M4. But rejoice! The cloud is on the verge of lifting. For the canal trust is awarded feasibility funding.
Highways England,the company responsible for England’s motorways and major A roads, has awarded over £42,000 towards the Trust’s feasibility studies. The money comes via its Environment and wellbeing fund. This fund is one of four standalone – or designated – funds which the organisation uses to support certain initiatives. That’s the sort of initiatives that deliver lasting benefits for:
1. Road users 2. The environment and … 3. … communities across England.
Gordon Olson, Chief Executive of the Wilts & Berks Canal Trust, said: “We’re grateful to Highways England for their generous award. We look forward to working in partnership to deliver this important feasibility study.
“The M4 is the biggest barrier to a full restoration of the canal and linking England’s northern and southern waterways networks. So the results could be the key to unlocking the potential of the entire project.
Hoped for canal crossing over the M4 motorway
Short term result
“In the short term it would allow us to connect the existing stretch in the Wichelstowe housing development to the north of the motorway. That stretch is currently under restoration as far as the M4. With the line towards Royal Wootton Bassett to the south, such restoration would more than double the length of canal in water in Swindon and provide a valuable new amenity for the local community.
Longer term
“In the longer term we hope it would also help to show the benefits of restoration to other towns along the historic route. Such towns as Melksham, Chippenham, Calne, Cricklade and Wantage thus attracting new funding to finally start connecting up all the stretches.
“The Wilts & Berks Canal, with its towpath and blue-green corridor, could at length provide an important new source of local employment, tourism and recreation. What’s more it would establish vital new habitats for local wildlife.”
Highways England Project Manager Ian Cole said: “We’re delighted to support the Wilts & Berks Canal Trust with funding to scope out this exciting waterways project.
“The long-term initiative to restore the canal could further realise a great walking and cycling route and environmental improvements. All of which will attract more visitors to the area, and so help the local economy.
“We’re investing in the environment and communities surrounding our road network, as well as the people travelling and working on it, to make a positive difference to people’s lives. Our aim is to address social and environmental issues and add real value to society.”
Championing the canal
It’s so great to hear some positive news like this about the canal. It’s a Swindon feature that I’ve highlighted both inSecret Swindon and in my new publication – Swindon: A Born Again Swindonian’s Guide. And, of course, on this blog:
So a week or so ago I watched a super talk, via the ubiquitous Zoom, arranged by the Friends of Museum and Art Swindon* The speaker was a sculptor by the name of Joseph Ingleby. His name might not mean anything to you but a piece of his work will. For Joseph is the creator of the Turtle Storm sculpture that resides in Queen’s Park.
This post though focuses on Turtle Storm – the sculpture.
About the Turtle StormSculpture
Joe created Turtle Storm back in the 1980s for his degree show. Indeed, June 1986 saw Turtle Storm exhibited for the first time in Farnham. The sculpture is a response to the effects on a turtle colony from nuclear testing in the Pacific in the 1980s. It’s composed of irregular natural forms including turtle shells, making an abstract work.
Below are two of Joes’s sketches of the sculpture that he drew in November 1985.
The sculpture has an interesting back story. Here it is in bullets:
1986-88 – After Joe’s degree show the West Surrey College of Art and Design in Farnham, exhibited Turtle Storm outside the entrance to the college.
1988 – 89 – The sculpture enjoyed a tenure outside Waverley Borough Council in Godalming, Surrey
1989 – 94 – A.R Dufty, the former head of the Armouries at the Tower of London bought the piece, in his capacity as curator at Kelmscott Manor in Oxfordshire. So for five years, Turtle Storm lived in the grounds of the home of William Morris. NB: NOT the Swindon Advertiser William Morris. That’s a common misconception.
1994 – Upon A.R. Dufty’s death, the curatorship of Kelmscott Manor passed to the William Morris Trust in Walthamstow. They decided not to exhibit anything there made outside of Morris’s lifetime (1834-96). As a result the Dufty family gave the sculpture to then Thamesdown Council in Swindon. They stored it while a new base of the council’s design was built for it in Queen’s Park.
1995 – present – The sculpture is sited in Queen’s Park in September 1995 with some collaboration and guidance from the artist.
The mayor of the time unveiled the work in a small ceremony. There was a small plaque installed at the time but that disappeared. But, in 2021 South Swindon Parish Council installed a new plaque. Joseph visited and some of the Friends of Museum and Art Swindon attended the unveiling.
Neil Hopkins, Linda Kasmaty, Joseph Ingleby and Chris Watts with Turtle Storm Sculpture SwindonThe new plaque on the Turtle Storm sculpture in Queen’s Park, Swindon – installed by South Swindon Parish Council.
*If you’ve any interest at all – even one as passing as mine ( I don’t profess to be ‘heavily’ into art) then the Friends of Museum and Art Swindon are worth joining. Since the onset of the pandemic they’ve been offering talks via Zoom. These are free but they welcome donations. There’s a link in the top paragraph to their website.
SARSEN STONES: THE OLD ONES OF THE DOWNS, By Rebecca Davies BSc (Hons)
Introduction to Wiltshire’s Sarsen Stones
Wiltshire’s Sarsen Stones
A Canadian friend came to stay and, since they were a Neo-pagan, I decided to show them Avebury stone circle, a favourite place of mine. This didn’t go exactly to plan. For a start they were most upset because some Early Medieval people had decided to build their village on a sacred site.
To my perplexment and sadness my visitors found this was quite unacceptable. But then I’ve found that neo-pagans can be perplexing and saddening.
I once showed another new-ager Studio Ghibli’s Spirited Away, a stirring Shinto tale, and they were most horrified. But then, explaining that the world’s most technologically advanced society is pagan often doesn’t work out well.
I thought better of trying to explain that Avebury was not a sacred site to the Saxons and, after pacifying them with a pint of cider at the Red Lion, took them up the byway leading to Fyfield Down.
This was to show them wild sarsens in their natural habitat.
I am gratified to say that they enjoyed this trip very much.
Origins of the names of Wiltshire’s Sarsen Stones
t’s probable that the stones themselves got their names from the Knights Templar who had a Preceptory at Rockley. (Blackwell & Fowler). They called them Saracen stones because they’re alien to the soft chalk. Their other name, Grey Wethers derives from the way they look like a flock of sheep, particularly on a misty morning. (Delorme).
“I shall conclude with the stones called the Grey Wethers; which lye scattered all over the downes about Marleborough, and incumber the ground for at least seven miles diameter; and in many places they are, as it were, sown so thick, that travellers in the twylight at a distance take them to be flocks of sheep (wethers) from whence they have their name.” (Aubrey)
Formation and geology
Sarsens are the remains of a tough overlay of the chalk, now eroded away, formed of silicate cemented sand and are a very dense rock; one cubic foot weighs 150 lb. (Delorme).
These rocks are the survivors of sandy islands in the Cretaceous seas, Many sarsens have holes in them formed by the roots of tropical trees. They’re relics of a more fanciful time. (Hungerford Virtual Museum).
Later the stones were part of a periglacial landscape, redistributed by meltwater. Fyfield downs contain many examples of this climatic era for the geological student to seek out. (Hungerford Virtual Museum).
Sarsens are always found on chalk downs. Yet it’s not inevitable that chalk downs harbour sarsens. You can find them from Kent to Suffolk and across the channel on the French chalklands around Dieppe. Oddly though they seem to be absent from the Isle of Wight. (Delorme).
Nor are they exactly plentiful on Salisbury plain. They are common on the Marlborough downs, both in fields and in the forest.
West Wood is today famed for its bluebells. But in the past there was a considerable extractive industry in these woods including sarsens. There are the remains of sarsen crushing machines and plenty of loose cut stone.(Archaeology Data Service.)
Recently it was proven that this is the source of the sarsen component of Stonehenge. (BBC News).
The usage of sarsens
Over the millennia the sarsens have had many uses. In the first instance they were erected as part of megalithic monuments such as Avebury stone circle and Stonehenge. Then later their superior strength lent form to Windsor castle. (Delorme).
The Cove, Avebury
Inside the West Kennet long barrow
Exploring the village of Winterbourne Monkton I saw sarsens at every turn.
Encountering sarsens
Sarsens are tactile, they invite touching and climbing upon. They come in a variety of colours, greys, creams, oranges and browns. Sarsens are well worth visiting.
The best place to see sarsens today is Fyfield Down. But there’s also a small National Trust estate at Lockeridge Dene and Piggledene which are a bit more accessible. All three places are Geological Sites of Special Scientific Interest. (National Trust).
But yet, there are many sarsens round and about Swindon, mostly upon the east side. (Hidden Swindon).
Pretty much all parks have them. You may well have seen them without actually noticing them.
Rebecca Davies is a private Researcher. Coming from the antiquity rich county of Wiltshire it was only natural for her to become aware of our ancestors and ancient landscapes. In her early forties, quite by accident, she left her home town of Swindon and travelled to Cornwall to study Archaeology. This has enabled her to develop special interests in Early Medieval Christianity, Industrial History, Vikings and Experimental Archaeology. (Though really she is fascinated by anything curious she might grab at).
She would describe herself as apart from University, mostly self-educated. Her interests are “eclectic” ranging from Bushcraft to Local history to Classic Cars. She does not think Swindon to be boring at all.
Her ambition is to have even more adventures in Heritage.
Known by everyone as Chelle, Michelle White is in training for a gruelling 48 hour challenge to run more than 251 miles on a treadmill. The aim? To raise £4,800 for charity.
The 48-year-old, who lives with her family in North Swindon, set herself this personal challenge after getting the running bug a mere five years ago. She started running after losing her mum Linda to lung cancer and wanting to do something in her memory.
I did Race For Life after mum passed away and that was it. Since then I’ve run thousands of miles from 10k runs to half marathons to marathons. I did the London Marathon last year in 3 hours 43 minutes. I’m classed in the top five per cent of runners for my age group. I also did this year’s virtual London Marathon running to Bromley and back, completing it in 3 hours and 24 minutes.”
On Friday November 20, Chelle will start running on a treadmill at the premises of Any Time Fitness in Old Town – one of her sponsors. She’ll attempt to win a Guinness World Record for miles run on a treadmill in 48 hours. This currently stands at 200 miles for women and 251 for men. Chelle wants to beat both records.
About Doing it for Dan
Doing It For Dan is a charity created in memory of Daniel Climance. He died, aged 11 after, in a road traffic collision in Purton while cycling.
His parents set up the charity. It provides grants to individuals, teams and organisations around Swindon and Wiltshire that give young people the chance to take part in sport. Dan was sports mad himself, particularly when it came to football and martial arts.
His mum Helen said: “We’re thrilled Chelle has offered to do this and support Doing It For Dan. We’ll use any money she raises to support young people in taking part in sporting activities. Something that was so important to my son and also to his wellbeing. To be able to help others engage in sporting activities is wonderful.”
Training before the challenge with Mike Land from Nickel Design and friend Helen Hancock as well as hubsand Matthew White supporting her all the way. Chelle is rasing money for local charity, Doing It For Dan. Photos taken by Barbara Leatham Photography on October 19th in Old Town Swindon. Thanks to Anytime Fitness in Swindon for access to where Chelle will be doing her challenge.
Dedication to running
Chelle’s dedication to running is even more inspiring because she suffers from an incurable auto immune condition, rheumatoid arthritis. Her condition which causes joints to swell and become very painful. They can become permanently distorted. After her diagnosis, Chelle was put on strong drugs. Yet she found her quality of life was poor with constant sickness and exhaustion.
“I have RA, it doesn’t define me,” Chelle said. “I decided I don’t want to take drugs which make me feel terrible, I want to live my best life. Now I take painkillers only when necessary, I exercise and I have recently adopted a vegan diet. That hasn’t been easy but it’s made a world of difference.
Since training for the event I’ve lost two stones, when I didn’t have two stones to lose and this shows the real toil of training. I couldn’t be more serious about this endeavour.
To support Chelle’s efforts – runner doing it for Dan
Great news for children in North Swindon who love singing, dancing and acting with a new performing arts class for North Swindon. The class will start at the Great Western Academy on Thursday November 5th.
One of the town’s leading performing arts company, Revolution Performing Arts, is offering a socially distanced class.
The classes will be in the sports hall at Great Western Academy in William Morris Way (SN25 2PP) weekly from Thursday November 5 from 5.30pm to 6.30pm.
Founder Fi Da Silva Adams said: “We’re starting the Great Western AllStars for children aged between four and 11 years old.
“We have an ethos of empowering children who can sing their favourite music, create their own dramatic scene, share their own dance moves and feel safe and secure in doing so. If they don’t want to perform they don’t have to. We want to create a fantastic, relaxing and fun experience for them.”
The Before Times
Until now, RPA were holding classes in local primary schools. But those schools are not allowing third parties to use their facilities to until 2021. Fi Da Silva Adams and her team of leaders believe youngsters need to get back to activities as soon as possible for their mental and physical wellbeing.
“Our classes are a safe and Covid-secure environment where we ‘re serious about social distancing. It’s our belief that children need to look forward to taking part in activities which bring them joy. And that’s why we’ve now found an alternative venue for our class.”
RPA leader Jade Carroll will run the new performing arts class for North Swindon with her thirteen years of dance experience.
Jade Carroll, the leader of the new Great Western AllStars group run by Revolution Performing Arts. Photographs taken by Laura Barnes.
RPA leader Jade Carroll will run the new group with her thirteen years of dance experience.
She said: “I’m excited to be starting this new class and look forward to meeting the children and their parents. We do ask that everyone books in advance so that we can ensure safe social distancing measures.
Note though that everyone’s first session is free of charge!”
About RPA
Fi Da Silva Adams founded RPA in 2007. The team have run online sessions throughout lockdown. They’re now getting back to Covid-safe classes across Swindon and surrounding areas.
The organisation received a grant from Arts Council England through the Covid19 Emergency Fund to enable them to continue supporting local children.
All their teachers are DBS checked, trained in first aid and receive full training in safeguarding protocols. It specialises in empowering young people to celebrate their individuality through the power of performing arts.
