A&AFieldingLtd

Salt Making Demonstrations in 2012

2012-01-20T11:27:00.000-08:00

Just preparing three salt making demonstrations for this year.
Two in Lincolnshire with Tom Lane and the Heritage Trust of Lincolnshire and Archaeological Project Services. At Anderby Creek in March to be organised by ArtsNK and Saltfleetby in July as part of the Lincolnshire Grazing Partnership Project.
The third salt making day will actually be a night time experience working with Newlyn Art Gallery, Cornwall during their Museums at Night project in May.
Details to follow shortly.

British Pathe News - Report of Salt Making at Aveiro, Portugal

2011-12-12T09:39:00.000-08:00

Whilst visiting Aveiro, Portugal for the Ecosal-Atlantis meeting in November we sailed down the canal from the town centre to the salt museum, and then through this bridge along the west side of the town. Click on the link to see what it looked like in 1935 when British Pathe News visited and recorded the salt making there.

British Pathe News link
Salt Making at Aveiro, Portugal. 1935

Creating an Ecosal Route in the UK

2011-11-30T09:11:00.001-08:00

Report posted on Bournemouth University Ecosal web site pages.
Creating an Ecosal Route in the UK

Presentation at the Ecosal-Atlantis meeting held at Aveiro, Portugal on 15 November, 2011.
Presentation given to Ecosal meeting

2011-11-29T06:19:00.001-08:00

Video of the Aveiro Conference - in Portuguese!

Three Portuguese Salt Sites - part of the Ecosal-Atlantis Route

2011-11-26T07:01:00.001-08:00

Spent four days in Portugal at a meeting of the Ecosal-Atlantis project to establish a salt route up the Atlantic coast. One day of site visits covered 200 km south from Aveiro. More details and web links in next posting

Salina at Aveiro
British Pathe News 1935 - Aveiro salinas

Salina at Figuera da Foz
Nucleo Museologico do Sal

Salina at Rio Maior
Video by Carlos Silva

Talk at CBA: N and NW - Autumn meeting

2011-10-24T06:22:00.000-07:00

Unravelling the archaeology and historic environment of the North and North West of England

Salt making in the NW of England within the context of traditional Salt making on the Atlantic coast of Europe

Andrew Fielding - A and A Fielding Ltd and Bournemouth University/ Ecosal-Atlantis Project

A talk to the CBA Groups for North and Northwest England. Saturday 29 October, 2011.

Starting at 9.20 - 16.30

Held at Kirkland Hall (beside Kendal Parish Church), Highgate, Kendal, Cumbria on a variety of topics on the latest research in the regions. Joint conference between CBA North and CBA North West. Tickets by cheque (to ‘CBA North West’), which are not sent out; cost £12 members, £14 non-members plus £4 optional lunch (voucher issued at registration). Contact John Roberts, CBA NW Membership Secretary, 22 Swinchiard Walk, Flint, CH6 5HB.

http://www.britarch.ac.uk/cban/docs/Kendal_booking_form.pdf

Facebook site and Blog for George Street Chapel

2011-10-14T13:01:00.000-07:00

Age Concern Oldham have set up a Facebook site and a Blog site for George Street Chapel.

To keep up to date with all the developments at the grade ll* chapel restorations at George Street, Oldham become a friend or like

Friends of George Street Blogspot

Friends of George Street facebook page

£100,000 award for George Street Chapel

2011-10-03T15:22:00.000-07:00

One of my projects to Help Age Concern - Oldham to restore the former Independent Methodist Chapel has just received a major boost with an award of £100,000 offered to the project from Andrew Lloyd Webber's Challenge Fund through the Architectural Heritage Fund and English Heritage.
Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation

Our main application to the Heritage Lottery Fund is to be heard by the HLF Trustees on 2 December.

Salt Making at Middlewich Roman Festival MMXI

2011-09-25T13:18:00.000-07:00

Raking salt

Lost in steam

"How do you get the salt in the water?"

Salt Making at the Middlewich Roman Festival MMXl

2011-09-24T12:25:00.000-07:00

Ermine Street Guard at the Middlewich Roman Festival MMXl

Visitors looking at how the firebox heats the salt pans

Raking salt from the replica Roman salt pans

Salt Making at Middlewich Roman Festival Sat-Sun 24-25 Sept

2011-09-20T15:40:00.000-07:00

I will be leading Kerry Fletcher's volunteers in making salt as part of the Middlewich Town Council's latest Roman Festival.
Pictures of setting up on Friday 23 Sept to follow.
Salt making demo pics to follow over the week end and a video to be uploaded at the end event.

This will also be a part of the establishment of the Cheshire section of the UK Ecosal-Atlantic Route of Traditional Salt Making.

Sat Sunday 2011

2011-09-18T03:43:00.000-07:00

Salt Sunday 2011 to be held at Northwich and Halton, Cheshire

2011-09-18T00:46:00.000-07:00

A wonderful tomb dedicated to a salt officer can be found at John the Evangelist church at Crosscononby on the Solway Coast, Cumbria.
It will feature in the Ecosal Atlantic Route of Traditional Salt Making.
Tomb of a Salt Officer at Croscannonby, Cumbria

Trial blog site for George Street Chapel

2011-08-26T02:14:00.000-07:00

The Stage 2 submission to the HLF was submitted today by Age Concern Oldham to secure funds to restore the former Independent Methodist Chapel at George Street, Oldham.
The project will hear if it has been successful after the next HLF-NW trustees meeting on 2 December, 2011.
We propose a web presence supported by web site, Facebook site and a blog particularly for the Friends of George Street. To demonstrate what this might look like we set up a trial site for the Community Development Co-ordinator. Link to the Trial blog site for George Street Chapel restoration project.
A link to the project sites will follow.
Some £300,000 is needed in match funding, the organ alone requires a total of £70,000 to complete its refurbishment.

CBA North and CBA NW Joint Conference - 29 October 2011

2011-08-19T14:29:00.000-07:00

We will be giving a talk on the Ecosal 'Traditional Salt Making - The Atlantic Route' at the joint CBA North and North West Archaeology Conference being held at Kirkland Hall, Kendal on Saturday 29 October 2011.
More details to follow.

Salt Making Demonstrations September 2011

2011-07-21T04:01:00.000-07:00

We shall be demonstrating how to make salt at two events in September - at Mablethorpe, Lincolnshire and Middlewich, Cheshire.

NOTE August - sadly the Bathing Beauty Festival won't have our salt making demo. artsNK discovered that they could only pay Heritage Lincolnshire a total of £1,000 for their contribution - which included our participation - which they couldn't stretch to cover the costs of four people, materials and travel expenses, so they had to decline to participate. Shame, as it sounded like a good event. But, the artist who is the salt arch will still be there. Obviously they pay artists more money than archaeologists! or he works really cheaply!!
You will still find us at the Middlewich Roman Festival over the following weekend though.

Bathing Beauties Festival - the longest linear coastal arts festival in Europe 16-17-18 Sept 2011
We will be making salt with Heritage Lincolnshire alongside the artNK installation on Sat 17 Sept using replica ceramic salt pans discovered at Ingoldmells.

artsNK - Structures on the Edge

artsNK are an innovative arts development team based in the South of the county, working on the follow up project to the original Bathing Beauties Beach Huts commissions, a series of new public art works, Structures on the Edge.

Visit their space on the promenade for a range of fun activities from making salt to wind socks, musical instruments to salt installations, inspired by the artists designs;

A dramatic wind tower that draws in the sound and power of the wind and a seaside space created out of Salt.

To quote their brochure "Salt Licks acts therefore as an ante-chamber that allows one to leave the mental and social space of the journey behind for another more contemplative space in closer connection with nature."

Bathing Beauties Festival

The Roman Middlewich Festival MMXI 24-25 Sept 2011
We will be salt making alongside the Ermine Street Guard demonstrations.

More info to follow.

Roman Middlewich Festival MMXI

Heritage Open Days - George Street Chapel 2011

2011-07-21T03:37:00.000-07:00

Please visit The George Street Chapel during Heritage Open days 2011.

http://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/directory/HOD000308E

Ecosal UK Sites

2011-05-30T14:10:00.000-07:00

We spent three days in Cumbria last week looking at salt making sites inclusion in the Ecosal-Atlantis project to link sites in Portugal, Spain, France and the UK.
A notable site is at Crosscanonby.

Salina Fielding

2011-05-30T13:54:00.000-07:00

We have been creating an experiment in our back garden to make salt by concentrating sea water from Cemlyn Bay. We started the experiment on 23 April by filling 10 gravel trays with sea water, later increasing the number to 16.

Each tray is made from black plastic and is 250mm x 400mm x 60mm and holds 2.5 litres of sea water.
As soon as the trays evaporate by half their volume the contents of two trays is combined to fill the next tray in the sequence, thus concentrating the brine in the set of salt trays (pans).

There are eight starter pans, four concentrator pans passing to two concentrator pans and then two single crystaliser pans.

8 starter pans - 20ltr
4 concentrator pans - 10ltr
2 concentrator pans - 5ltr
1 crystaliser pan A - 2.5ltr
1 crystaliser pan B - 2.5ltr or less

This makes a total sea water content of the salina 38.75ltr

To the original 25ltrs of starter sea water we added a further 25ltrs on the 30 April, 20ltrs on the 3 May and 20ltrs on the 17 May. Making a total volume of 90 ltrs having been added to the salina. Thus the salina had evaporated 51.25ltrs since it had started operations.

The first salt crystals were observed on 29 May. Though it had been stored in a closed garage for a week as we were away looking at salt making sites in Cumbria for Ecosal! This does also mean that it is not left outside during wet weather, which perhaps distorts its true operational parameters!

Image of the first salt crystals forming in Crystaliser Pan B.

Some nice pyramidal crystals

Salt Glazed Cheshire Cat

2011-04-22T08:21:00.001-07:00

A salt glazed Cheshire Cat made by Richard Daniels of Creigiau Mawr Pottery at Carreglefn, Anglesey.

http://www.creigiaumawrpottery.co.uk/creigiaumawrpottery/Welcome.html

Pipe Organ Restoration

2011-04-15T13:22:00.000-07:00

We made a visit today to George Sixsmith and Son Ltd to look at how pipe organs are restored, repaired and built. Andrew Sixsmith has his workshop at Mossley, Tameside, Greater Manchester. Our visit was made with Julian Baum and Claire Duval of Take 27 Ltd who are working on a 3d digital model of George St Chapel, Oldham which has a pipe organ requiring restoration.
We hope to include a digital explanation of how the organ works. Andrew (right) showed us a similar sized organ his team are currently working on, with all the parts laid out before being repaired, cleaned and then re-built.
A fascinating visit.

UK Salt Trail

2011-02-28T07:57:00.000-08:00

Our UK Salt Trail is continuing to evolve. Further references and photographs will be added in coming weeks.
BLUE markers are for historic salt making sites. These will be further separated between sea salt works and inland salt works.
YELLOW markers are for modern sea salt producers.
ORANGE are rock salt mines.
GREEN are vacuum salt works.
PURPLE are gas storage scvhemes developed in rock salt strata.
A YELLOW BUILDING denotes a building related to the history of salt rather than a salt making site.

View Salt Trail in a larger map

HLF Stage One Pass for George St Chapel

2010-12-27T12:24:00.000-08:00

At their meeting on 2nd December, 2010 the NW- HLF approved a Stage One pass for the George Street Chapel. Oldham.
The award was for £699,300 towards the adaptation and conservation repairs of the Grade 2* former Independent Methodist Chapel, which has been empty since closing in 1990.
We have provided advice and guidance to the owners, Age Concern Oldham and updated the Conservation Plan and survey information.
A Planning Application and Listed Building Consent application are currently being appraised.
Following preparation of a Stage 2 submission we hope work will begin on repairing the building by the summer of 2011.

Salt Sunday 2010 Visit to British Salt

2010-10-12T02:35:00.000-07:00

Members of the Salt of the Earth Network were priviledged to be given a conducted tour of the British Salt vacuum evaporation works at Middlewich. Thanks are due to Ron Barber (blue overalls standing next to Bishop of Birkenhead).

Display boards and objects showing the salt heritage of Middlewich were provided in St Michael and All Angles church by Kerry Fletcher, Middlewich Town Council heritage Officer, and from Ineos Enterprise, Solvay and British salt. This was as part of St Michaels Harvest Festival, with a salty flavour, and was followed in the afternoon by a service of celebration of salt led by the Bishop of Birkenhead . Link to Youtube video to follow here.

2nd Salt Sunday

2010-09-28T01:20:00.000-07:00

The second Salt Sunday, part of the Salt of the Earth Initiative inspired by the Bishop of Birkenhead, will be held on Sunday 10 October, 2010 at St Michael and All Angels Church, Middlewich, Cheshire. Salt will be the main theme of their Harvest Festival being held at 10am and the Bishop will lead a Service of Celebration of salt at 3pm. http://www.middlewichparishchurch.org.uk/ http://www.saltoftheearth.btik.com/

NW Industrial Archaeology Conference 2010

2010-09-17T07:58:00.000-07:00

Saturday 25th September I will be participating in the CBA NW Region Industrial Archaeology & History Conference being hosted by the Merseyside Industrial Archaeology Society at the National Waterways Museum, Ellesmere. http://www.mihs.org.uk/CBA.pdf
My talk includes sites that should be included in a new Salt Trail being researched as part of a European funded collaboration called Ecosal-atlantis . After the talk I said would post a Google map that will include the salt making sites and links I discussed during the talk. This is now included below.

The main objective of the ECOSAL ATLANTIS project, “Ecotourism in saltworks of the Atlantic: a strategy for integral and sustainable development” is the development of joint, integral and sustainable tourism based on the cultural and natural heritage of traditional Atlantic saltworking sites.
Links between salt making sites have been created in other areas. The ALAS project was established to preserve traditions of salt making in salinas. Work in Portugal and Spain was reported in the conference I organised at Lion Salt Works in 2003 and published in the Lion Salt Works Research Report 'Salt Works and Salinas' in 2005, principally work at Figuera da Foz, Salinas d'Annana and Friends of Inland Salinas.
The Trail may have links to sites featured in the European Route of Industrial Heritage - ERIH of which Lion Salt Works was a founder anchor point in the NW of England.
Annelise and I included a gazetteer of the main UK sites in our book 'The Salt Industry' published by Shire Books in 2005. I have also posted videos of historic salt making experiments on youtube such as a demonstration on Wrangle Marsh, Lincolnshire with Tom Lane and the Heritage Trust for Lincolnshire. Other videos are included under the Saltteller and Saltfriend Channel names.

Revisit for text and google map links. These will be updated over coming days. The map will be enlarged to include all sites with a salt connection.
Click for the Salt Trail Map Link

The standard summary of salt making in Cheshire, written by Calvert and published in 1915 is now available as a download at http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924030692697

Links used in the talk (more to follow)
Cumbria web links
http://www.cumbria-industries.org.uk/salt.htm
http://www.walney-island.com/salt_works_01.htm
http://www.visitcumbria.com/wc/crosscanonby-st-john-the-evangelists-church.htm
http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/details/default.aspx?id=411241

Wirral Links
http://www.btinternet.com/~m.royden/mrlhp/local/salt/dungeon.htm
http://www.ecosert.org.uk/leaflets/Hilbre.pdf
http://www.deeestuary.co.uk/hilbre/

Cheshire Links
http://www.middlewich-heritage.org.uk/salt-and-canal.html

Salt of the Earth
http://www.saltoftheearth.btik.com/
http://www.flickr.com/groups/saltoftheearth/

Video of Laserscanning - George St Chapel, Oldham

2010-08-27T03:39:00.000-07:00

In June I set up a recording programme for Age Concern Oldham. ACO are seeking to restore the former Independent Methodist Chapel at George Street, Oldham for repair and adaptation as a heritage centre and function / events space.
A measured set of drawings was required for use by the architects and as a historic record of the building. APR Services Ltd were commissioned to laser scan the chapel and produce cad drawings.
The process was recorded by video and is now posted on Youtube. The fly-around and fly-though section at the end was produced by APR Services Ltd.
ACO are submitting a bid at the end of August to the HLF for a restoration grant. For more information go to http://www.oldham-ageconcern.co.uk/

Video link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1gul-524gY

Scanner in position below the gallery at the back of the chapel.

Butterfly Garden at the Lion Salt Works

2010-07-24T14:07:00.000-07:00

On Sunday 25 July Cheshire and Peak Butterfly hold an opening of their buddlia collection created at the Lion Salt Works, Marston, Northwich, Cheshire.

http://www.cheshire-butterflies.co.uk/
http://www.bigbutterflycount.org/

Pictures and more information after the event.

Salt Making at Reaseheath College

2010-07-15T02:27:00.000-07:00

It was a pleasure to be able to demonstrate open pan, brine evaporation at Reaseheath College on the 14 July. The occasion was for the turf cutting to initiate a new Food Hall at the college by the Duke of Westminster. My demonstration was one of four products being promoted under the 'Made in Cheshire' brand co-ordinated by Jane Casson of which the Duke of Westminster is patron.

The Duke had not seen this type of salt making before.
Also present was Jimmy Doherty, from 'Jimmy's Farm'. Introductions and a description about the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead were described by the Principal of the College, Meredydd David OBE.

Andrew describing the process of evaporating brine to make salt crystals top the Duke of Westminster. (Photo curtesy of Reaseheath College)

ITV Countrywise

2010-07-09T03:37:00.000-07:00

Suddenly out of nowhere a piece filmed at Lion Salt Works a couple of years ago was broadcast on ITV in a programme called Countrywise, on Monday 5th July. There is a link to the ITV iplayer where the programme will be viewable for a while.

http://www.itv.com/itvplayer/video/?Filter=155386

It shows Andrew making salt in a ceramic salt pan over a peat fire (also used by the BBC in an early BBC2 programme 'Coast') and two replica Roman salt pans over a wood fire.

Salt Making for BBC 1 - The One Show

2010-05-30T10:18:00.000-07:00

Got a call last week to make some salt over a wood fire in a replica Roman lead salt pan for the BBC programme 'The One Show'. They were following up on the bad winter weather when all media focus was on rock salt supplies.

The producer was going to go down the Winsford Rock Salt Mine, run by The Salt Union - Compass and Minerals and wanted to talk about the origins of salt making in Cheshire - hence the Roman salt making piece.

The filming took place at the Lion Salt Works, where they also looked at the large Victorian salt pans awaiting restoration. sadly, as is the way with television they didn't have time to complete the story by visiting either of the vacuum salt works or the controlled brine fields where modern day brine is sourced.

The piece should be shown on 20th July 2010.

Andrew with presenter Angellica Bell.

Curved Group

2010-05-10T02:54:00.000-07:00

Whilst I was monitoring the dismantling of Stove House 5 at the Lion Salt Works many timbers could not be retained for re-instatement when the stove house is rebuilt. One group of these timbers was the light weight cladding timber to the upper sections of the east and west gables.

I was able to offer some of these lengths of cladding to local artist Carolyn Shepherd, who had taken part in the 1st Salt Sunday celebrations with the Salt of the Earth network established by the Bishop of Birkenhead. She has used brine, salt and timber sourced from Lion Salt Works, Solvay and the rock salt mine operated by Salt Union-Compas and Minerals.

The work is to be displayed at the degree show to be held at the Williamson Gallery, Birkenhead - 12 June to ? and her work was selected to feature in the "Best of the Degree Shows 2010" annual publication at this link http://www.a-n.co.uk/publications/document/627569

For Carolyn's web site go to
http://www.carolynshepherd.co.uk/Carolyn_Shepherd/5.html

Flickr Group for Salt of the Earth Network

2010-05-06T06:03:00.000-07:00

I have established a Flickr Group for the Salt of the Earth Network and act as the site administrator.
The group will to encourage followers to post their photographs which show the salt and chemical industries.
The group is part of the Salt of the Earth Network, the inspiration of the Bishop of Birkenhead, Rev Keith Sinclair.
To join the site go to the site below.
http://www.flickr.com/groups/saltoftheearth/

The Salt of the Earth Network has a web site currently at http://www.saltoftheearth.btik.com/ but that will shortly change as BT change the free hosting arrangements for community groups.

The Network will have a stand at the Cheshire Show - 22-23 June, 2010 and I am helping to organise the 2nd Salt Sunday, which in 2010 is being held at British Salt, Middlewich on 10th October.

Salt Warehouse Features in the 2010 Winter Olympics, Vancouver, Canada

2010-02-24T11:40:00.000-08:00

Whilst we are in the middle of watching the winter olympics being held in Vancouver, Canada those actually attending the games can visit a restored salt.

Last year we were able to provide some information about salt packing to George Martin, then working for Commonwealth Historic Resource Management Limited, Vancouver. CHRML were working on the restoration of the salt warehouse which is now a prime feature of the Winter Olympics.

Hal Kalman kindly sent over some pictures of the warehouse taken by their architects as repair works were completed. It will have a temporary life as an Olympic facility for the 2010 Winter Olympics (it is within the Olympic Village), and will become a restaurant / pub / bakery in the heart of a new neighbourhood some months later.

Surviving salt warehouses are now quite rare, so it is nice to see this being retained within a huge area of redevelopment.

Photographs below provided by
Harold D. Kalman PhD CAHP
Commonwealth Historic Resource Management Limited
Suite 308 - 2233 Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC V6J 3H9 (Canada)
T: 604.734.7505 F: 604.734.7991
For more information contact kalman@chrml.com http://www.chrml.com/

Salt Making on Willow Tree Fen: 30-31 Jan 2010

2010-02-02T12:07:00.000-08:00

Entrance to Willow Tree Fen.

View looking towards north west towards Willow Tree Fen.

Field walking the fen.

Briefing the volunteer field walkers.

Excavation reveals a ring ditch with a saltern site in the centre. The sandy colour shows one side of the ring ditch. The other side of the ring ditch is at the far end of the machine cut trench. The hearth is in the centre.

We demonstrated how brine is evaporated to make white salt crystals. Given the very cold weather conditions we used our metal salt pan to show the process. We felt that the ceramic salt pans would suffer in the sub zero temperatures. We were able to show those who attended the weekend different replica ceramic salt pans and they were able to take away salt crystals at the end of the day in replica briquetage pots.

Our attempt to fire ceramic salt pans in a paper kiln were not so succesful. Due to the very cold conditions the two raw clay salt pans and the replica Adlington doll froze whilst they were transported cross country (temperatures eaching minus 6 degrees C) . The paper kiln we made fired well but the clay shattered during the firing process. We hope to be able to retry again in warmer weather conditions later in the year. David Hopkins, illustrator for Heritage Trust for Lincolnshire, stands next to the paper kiln. It was his sketches that suggested wattled and daub structures might be used as covers over salt kilns which suggested our use of a paper kiln to fire pottery as part of this demonstration day. A paper kiln was something we could build in a day and fire. We hope to try a proper wattle and daub structure over a kiln in a future experiment.