Spring Newsletter 2017 - PLACEplace.uk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Spring-Newsletter-2017.pdfSpring Newsletter 2017 Please use the enclosed booking form for all PLACE events •

Spring

Newsletter

2017 www.place.uk.com

Please use the enclosed booking form for all PLACE events

• Forthcoming events in spring 2017 – pages 1 - 2

• News of the PLACE AGM – page 2

• Reports on events in autumn 2016 – pages 3 - 4

• New PLACE publications – page 5

• Other events that may be of interest – page 6

• Contact details for PLACE – page 6

Contents:

The talk will explore the impact of C19th industrial

developments on the landscape of the North York

Moors. Joint lecture with Yorkshire Philosophical

Society and the Royal Geographical Society, Tues.

February 14th, 7.30pm, Tempest Anderson Hall,

Yorkshire Museum, York. Entry free to PLACE

members.

Dr Louise Cooke:

Before, during and

after industry: the

North York Moors

‘This Exploited Land’

project.

To celebrate the

publication of our

new book on Winter

Walks, Margaret

Atherden will lead a

walk around the

Roman town of

Aldborough on

Thurs. 23rd February,

1.00 – c.3.30pm.

The walk of 4.3 miles will start from the public car

park in Boroughbridge (in the town centre near the

fire station on Back Lane). It is an easy walk but

walking boots are advisable. This is a free event.

Visit to Hull To celebrate Hull’s

status as ‘city of

culture 2017’, Richard

Leggott will lead us

on a walking tour of

the city on Thurs. 9th

March.

The tour of the Old Town will pass the Ferens Art

Gallery, the Maritime Museum, Holy Trinity Church,

the Hull and East Riding Archaeology Museum, the

Transport Museum and the Slavery Museum in

Wilberforce House. There will be a break for lunch,

when we can sample the local eateries. We shall

then proceed by the Princes and Humber Docks to

the Humber Waterfront, where we can see the Deep

(a marine aquarium). Meet at 11.30am by the statue

of Philip Larkin on the concourse of Hull Paragon

railway station (the bus station is adjacent). The tour

will end about 3.00pm. Cost: £5.00 per person.

People through

the Mill: past

and present.

A joint walk with

members of the

Royal

Geographical

Society.

Saturday 29th April, Manningham, Bradford.

The walk will be led by Peter Nias of the RGS and

will focus on how Manningham has changed, both

physically and in human terms, from being

Bradford’s C19th/20th international textile hub to an

area with a new global outlook today.

Meet at 10.30am at Lister Park Gates on the

approach to Cartwright Hall Gallery, North Park

Road, Manningham, BD9 4NS. The walk will last

c.2 hours. This is a free event but please book in

advance by e-mailing Chris Speight of the RGS:

[email protected]

Page 2

STOPPING THE FLOOD

an ‘al fresco’ conference

Instead of our usual spring conference, this year we are holding a two-part event, mostly out of doors. Our theme

will be Stopping the Flood, and we will look at some of the work that is being carried out in Yorkshire to try to

prevent future flooding. Many parts of Yorkshire were affected by the floods of December 2015, so this is a topical

and important issue. There will be two events, the first in the spring and the second in the summer (to be

advertised in the next newsletter). Weds. 26th April, the Pickering ‘Slowing the Flow’ Project

The ‘Slowing the Flow’ Project is exploring a new approach to flood

management, one that tries to work with nature to store more water in the

landscape and slow its passage downstream, using such means as ‘leaky

wooden dams’ (left). Whilst this will not prevent all flooding, it is expected

to reduce the frequency of future floods in Pickering. So far the signs are

good, as Pickering did not experience any flooding in December 2015,

despite having flooded many times in the past. The project is led by the

Forestry Commission in partnership with other organisations. Philip Roe of

the Forestry Commission will lead this event, which takes place on

Wednesday 26th April.

Meet at the FC Office, which is on Outgang Lane in Pickering, at 11.00am. If approaching Pickering by car

from the south, turn right immediately after the petrol station about 50 metres before the roundabout. If coming by

public transport, from Pickering town centre walk c.50 metres down the Malton road and turn left along Outgang

Lane. The FC Office is a short way along on the right. There is limited parking available at the FC Office, so

please share cars, if possible. The event will begin with coffee and a presentation by Philip Roe about the Project,

followed by questions. At c.12 noon we will set off in a convoy of cars to look at some of the flood control

measures on the Pickering Beck and River Seven. Please bring a packed lunch and wear walking boots or

wellingtons. The event will end by 4.00pm. Cost: £5.00 per person. Number limited to 20, so please book

early.

PLACE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING AND

MEMBERS DAY, SAT. 13th MAY 2017, BEVERLEY

Our AGM this year will be held in the Parish

Centre, 38 Highgate, Beverley, HU17 0DN. As

well as the AGM itself, there will be a series of

events based on the historic town and its minster:

• 10.00am Arrival and coffee

• 10.30am Talk about Beverley Minster by

John Phillips

• 11.30am Coffee break

• 12 noon PLACE AGM

• 12.45pm Lunch

• 2.00pm Guided walks led by Richard

Myerscough, John Phillips, David

Neave and Mary Carrick

Please bring a packed lunch or visit one of the cafés in the town (a buffet lunch will be laid on for the

speakers). The day will end c.4.00pm. The Parish Centre is on Highgate, a road leading north from the

Minster. There are several car parks. The bus station is c.15 minutes walk away and the railway station

c.10 minutes walk. The AGM itself is free but there will be a charge of £5.00 per person for the rest

of the day’s activities.

At the AGM we shall be accepting the annual report and accounts and electing trustees. Three

trustees step down each year but are eligible to stand for re-election. There will be at least one

vacancy this year, so please consider whether you could serve PLACE by standing as a trustee.

Nomination forms are available from the PLACE Office and must be returned by 31st March 2017.

Page 3

REPORTS ON AUTUMN EVENTS 2016

Visit to Drax Power Station, October 2016 Drax power station is big, very big. You can’t miss it. The twelve cooling towers with

their clouds of steam can be seen more than 50 miles away. Drax, the largest coal

fired power station in Britain, was built in the 1970s and its massive chimney was then

the tallest in the world. Its position near the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Aire was

important as the Ouse provided its water source and coal was brought in barges along

the Aire from the West Yorkshire coalfield. However, circumstances changed. The

mines were closed, coal became very expensive and there were major concerns

regarding pollution of the environment by exhaust emissions and waste products from

the generation of electricity. The decision was made to convert the power station to

using bio-fuel and to reducing or eliminating harmful waste products.

Thirty-one members of PLACE and their guests visited the power

station on 19th October 2016 to learn how electricity is produced there. After donning

hard hats, safety glasses and earphones, we set off in a bus. The site is so big we

needed transport to get around it. The machinery is housed in huge halls, seven

storeys high. The twelve cooling towers dwarf everything and in another frightening

area are rows of transformers, transmitters and cables reminiscent of a science fiction

movie. The bio-fuel comes from North America where they have a lot of trees. Timber

is the main source of construction material there, but only the tree trunks are required.

The unused branches which would formerly have just been discarded are now sent to

be crushed and made into pellets about the size of animal feed. This reduces the

volume and facilitates transportation. After being shipped to Britain the pellets are

transported by trains which arrive about every 40 minutes. Whilst we were there one

train was moving very slowly discharging its cargo on to the conveyor, another train

was waiting to do the same and a third train carrying coal arrived. The reason for the

latter is that only two thirds of the furnaces have been converted to use bio-fuel. The

rest are still using coal. The power station authorities are awaiting consent to convert

all the furnaces. The huge heap of coal which is now imported will then disappear.

The next process is to reduce the pellets to dust by conveying them

to the giant pulverising machines which are housed in a huge hall. The pulverisers

contain giant metal balls each weighing about one ton. They grind everything to dust

as that is the most efficient form of fuel to attain the high temperatures in the furnaces.

These are housed in an adjacent hall and they heat up the water to produce the steam

to drive the multi-bladed turbines. The coal fired furnaces work in a similar manner.

Water is extracted from the river but is carefully filtered to remove not only large items

such as plastic bags, shopping trolleys, etc. but also to allow wildlife such as fish and

frogs to swim on their way down stream. The hot water is cooled in the towers then

returned to the river in better condition than before.

Waste products are now dealt with more efficiently. SO2 is filtered

through limestone sludge. The by-product from this is gypsum, which can be used

to make plaster. The ash from the furnaces, which used to be dumped on

huge heaps, is now made into building blocks and artificial ‘pebbles’ or

converted into fertiliser. Plans have also been made to greatly reduce the

amount of CO2 produced. It was interesting to hear of smaller problems which

needed to be overcome. For example, to avoid air pockets developing in the

storage domes of pellets which could have led to spontaneous combustion, at

regular intervals a quick burst of nitrogen was injected in the dome to shake up

the contents. Likewise the coal heap could develop cavities which might ignite,

even explode, so a giant ‘blender’ type machine with multi buckets stirred up

the heap.

Drax produces enough electricity to power the whole of

Yorkshire. When one considers the heavily populated areas in west and south

Yorkshire, that is a great deal. More than 1000 people work there although not

all at the same time. Much work and planning has been done regarding

supplies, maintenance, timing, efficiency and reduction of pollution. We all

learned a great deal and left with much to think about. Maybe another visit in a

few years time will show how much has changed by then.

Margaret Bastow.

The group outside Drax.

Photo: Paul K. Burton

Mira showing the group the

layout of the site. Photo: John

Watts

Leigh addressing the group.

Photo: John Watts

The turbine hall and bio-mass

feeders. Photo: John Watts

Page 4

PLACE visit to Yearsley Mill, September 2016

A group of 15 people were given a guided

tour of the excavation of the former Yearsley

Mill on the Howardian Hills, led by Geoff

Snowdon and Elizabeth Sanderson from the

local community archaeology group working

on the site. The remains of the water wheel

were discovered in 2011 and since then more

and more of the site has been revealed by

excavation, including foundations and paved

floors of several buildings, the wheelpit (left

centre in the photo above), the base of one of

the millstones (right centre) and hundreds of

sherds of medieval pottery. We also looked at

some of the C18th landscaping of the area,

now hidden in the surrounding forestry

plantations. This site is a good example of

what can be achieved by local enthusiasts.

PLACE autumn conference 2016

The Yorkshire Wolds: Past, Present

and Future Our autumn conference was held at the

Wolds Heritage Centre in Warter in October.

Eight speakers covered a wide range of

aspects of the Wolds landscape, including

the geology, archaeology, wildlife, the ‘Wolds

Way’ trail, farming, rural policy and

commercial opportunities. There was also a

presentation on photography, featuring some

of Paul Moon’s wonderful images of the area.

The conference was attended by nearly 70

people and the papers were followed by a

discussion session. Many thanks to Richard

Myerscough and John Brown for arranging

such an interesting event. The proceedings

will be published later this year.

The Twelve Days of Christmas in an hour – the

PLACE pre-Christmas event, 2016

This event, organised by Aileen Bloomer and Veronica

Wallace and held at Bedern Hall in York in December, was

billed as a ‘home-produced DIY event to begin our

celebrations of the festive season’. Despite not knowing what

to expect, 36 PLACE members came along and were treated

to an entertaining evening of readings, a short dance and a

festive quiz, washed down with mulled wine, soup and

dessert. As the evening unfolded, we learned about the

origins of the twelve days of Christmas and explored some of

the more unusual pieces of prose loosely related to the

theme and read by PLACE members. A good time was had

by all. Thank you to Aileen and Veronica for putting on such

an original and enjoyable event.

Page 5

New PLACE publications

Michael Hopkinson has coordinated a PLACE research project over

the past few years, studying some of the villages around York and

further afield. A team of PLACE members and other scholars studied

the historical evolution and geographical types of villages. There were

case studies of New Earswick, Heworth, The Poppletons,

Copmanthorpe, Bishopthorpe, Fulford, Stockton on Forest and

Hunmanby. The resulting publication, Approaching the Village, also

includes a section on how the film record can be used. The publication

makes fascinating reading and can be purchased for £2.50 (+ £2.00

P & P) from the PLACE Office.

The PLACE Book of Winter Walks in North Yorkshire was

published in early December, after a delay in the printing meant

that the planned launch in November had to be cancelled.

Thanks to some good publicity in the local press, it has been

selling like hot cakes and is about to be reprinted! It features 13

walks suitable for the winter half of the year, illustrated by colour

photographs and sketch maps and including background

information on the areas. Each walk has a particular theme, e.g.

archaeology, veteran trees, industrial archaeology. The walks

vary in length from 4.4 miles to 6.9 miles and all have been tried

and tested by PLACE members (and approved for dogs by

Bertie). The book costs £5.00 (+ £2.00 P & P) and is available

from the PLACE Office.

YORKSHIRE WOODLANDS

Edited by Margaret Atherden and Veronica Wallace

The proceedings of the PLACE spring conference 2016,

Yorkshire Woodlands, are about to be published. The book

contains chapters by Melvyn Jones (on walls, woodbanks and

worked trees), Tim Laurie (on relict limewoods in the north-east

Pennines), John Weir (on climate change and forestry) and John

Grimshaw (on the Yorkshire Arboretum) and a summary of a

presentation by Tom Lord (on wood pasture in Upper Ribblesdale).

The conference and the publication are in memory of the late Oliver

Rackham. The book costs £5.00 (+ £2.00 P & P) and will be

available from the PLACE Office at the end of January. To order a

copy, please use the booking and order form enclosed with this

newsletter.

Coming soon:

• Industrial Legacy and Landscapes of South Yorkshire (proceedings of the

PLACE spring conference 2015)

• The Yorkshire Wolds: Past, Present and Future (proceedings of the PLACE

autumn conference 2016).

A list of all our publications currently available is printed on the back

of the booking form.

Page 6

PLACE Board and Officers 2016-17 Chief Executive:

Dr Margaret Atherden

Trustees:

Ms Aileen Bloomer

(Chair)

Dr Jean Dixon

Ms Christine Handley

(Company Secretary)

Dr Michael Hopkinson

(Treasurer)

Ms Hilary Moxon

Mr Richard Myerscough

Dr Catherine Neal

Dr George Sheeran

Mr Brian Walker

To contact PLACE: By post:

PLACE Office,

York St John University,

Lord Mayor’s Walk,

York,

YO31 7EX.

By phone: 01904 766291

(N.B. this is the Chief Executive’s home

number. Messages may be left at any time)

By e-mail: [email protected]

Website: www.place.uk.com

N.B. This is a

‘virtual’ office

and is not

staffed.

The next newsletter is due in April

Please remember to tell us if you change

your e-mail address or other contact details!

PLACE subscriptions are due on 1st January. Unless you pay by standing order or have

joined us since October 2016, please send us your £5.00 a.s.a.p. We take DATA PROTECTION very seriously. All personal data, e.g. addresses, are kept on a secure

database which is updated regularly. We will only use such data for PLACE administrative purposes

and never pass them on to third parties.

All our events are open to the general public. Children are welcome, provided they are accompanied

by a parent or guardian. Dogs on leads are allowed on most outings, subject to the agreement of

the leader.

We sometimes take photographs at events for publicity purposes. If you do not wish to be

photographed, please tell the event organiser at the time.

Other events of interest

Woodland Archaeology in the South Pennines

Anyone who is interested in woodland archaeology

may like to take part in some surveys led by Chris

Atkinson, Woodland Heritage Officer of Pennine

Prospects, between January and March this year at

localities scattered across the South Pennines,

including Bradford, Ilkley, Keighley and Hebden

Bridge. Booking is essential; for further details,

contact Chris by phone 07582101691 or e-mail:

[email protected]

Yorkshire Vernacular Buildings Study Group

Annual day school and AGM, Sat. 25th March

This year’s theme is ‘House and Home’, looking at

how houses were used and furnished in the C17th.

Venue: Headingley Campus of Leeds Beckett

University, Leeds. Speakers include Barry Harrison,

Sheila Graham, Sue Wrathmell and Peter Brears.

Adam Menuge will give an introduction to recording

vernacular buildings. Booking is essential; contact

David Cook by phone 01325 310114 or e-mail:

[email protected]

Coming soon…..

Viking Yorkshire – a short course by Robert

Wright, summer 2017. Details in the next

newsletter.

Yorkshire Dales Annual Archaeology Dayschool

The Yorkshire Dales Dayschool is on the move! In

future it will be held at different places within the

(enlarged) National Park. This year’s dayschool will

be held on Sat. 8th April in Barbon Village Hall

(near Kirkby Lonsdale). For further details, contact

the National Park by telephone: 01969 652353 or by

e-mail: [email protected]