To The Far Side Of The World

In the English County of Gloucestershire the  tiny village of Dyrham is best known for its magnificent 17th century stately home (https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/dyrham-park). The village itself consists of a small number of farms, along with a few cottages for their workers. Cotswold stone is the predominant building material  and as slabs is even used for roofing. Sturdy timbers are required to support the relatively high loads. Now that .most of the village has as far as possible been reconstructed in original materials and style, the village has more the appearance of a film set and as you would expect, on many occasions it has provided an authentic  backdrop for costume and  historic dramas.

 

 

 

In the mid 1970s when most rural villages had been split up and their properties in the hands of private and corporate owners, in Dyrham most farms were still owned by the Squire just as they had been for generations past but it was a social structure from a bygone era and it didn’t lie comfortably with the modern way of doing things. In 1979 a new Conservative Government came to power under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher  or the “Iron Lady”. “Every man a man of property” was the message of the day, but when matched against the value of properties in other similar locations, even the most basic farm workers cottage was often well beyond the means of it’s tenants. Many, with families that had lived in the village for generations, found their only option was to leave the land and seek employment and accommodation else where. These were youths often with children of their own. They left behind ageing parents, grandparents and vacant houses ready for renovation as retirement homes.  In the space of a decade the demographic balance was changed

 

 

 

 

 

 

What was to become of the village school?

As numbers of school age children decreased there came a point where the local education authority decided that it could no longer support the tiny village school. Ownership of the property was returned to the School Trustees which included the squire and other prominent members of the community. Faced with the question of how best to use the buildings for the benefit of the community, some extended discussions resulted in a plan that at first seemed unlikely to succeed; it was to become a Craft Centre. It would be a place where people from the village could carry out projects of their own, in wood, metal, clay or concrete, paper or  plastics, the classrooms would be redecorated and converted into art and craft workshops. A pottery kiln would be built, the toilets repaired, A forge, benches, tools for wood and metal would appear along with materials for painting drawing and sewing. Without doubt this was an absurdly  ambitious plan and with virtually no funding, it was hard to see how it could succeed, and yet – it did.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Made at the Dyrham & Hinton Craft Centre

The proof came a couple of years ago when during a brief visit I was shown many items of pottery made at the Craft Centre, some still in daily use.

 

 

Many people passed through the Craft Centre, during the 15 or so years in which it was it operated. The range of crafts they produced was extensive and included screen printing of posters, shirts,  and tiles, furniture repairs, tool and electronic production and a steady flow of lawnmower and agricultural machinery repairs.

 

Boat Building

Weighing in at around 17 tons and with an overall length of 13.9 metres the sailing boat Pangolin II was without doubt the largest Craft Centre production. Construction from go to wow took about three and a half years with the hull complete after one year. The pictures below show some of the more significant steps along the way. 

 

Steel was a great choice of material for the hull. It was inexpensive, strong, could be stick welded without being under cover and was easily protected against corrosion by flame sprayed zinc and epoxy and chlorinated rubber paints. These are choices I would repeat today if faced with the same job, though not everyone shared my confidence. Rev. J. Hinton, our local Vicar, School Trustee and WW2 submariner, once made a pastoral visit to enquire about my “faith”. “You will certainly need some if you are going to put to sea …” he added. As his voice trailed off the words “in that” remained clear but unsaid. Some days earlier and another clergyman friend had referred to it as “Harris’ Folly”.  I could see his point. Getting it out of the School yard would not be easy, but thanks to the skilled local transport and crane hire company, the journey to the Bristol City Dock launch site went without a hitch.

 

Steps along the way – from sheets of steel to a beach in France

 

 

 

Captions 

 

  1. View forward with frames in place showing garage in which the keel was built
  2. Plating started
  3. A hull takes shape quickly at this stage
  4. Stern deck and pushpit
  5. Bow and pulpit
  6. Access steps constructed at the first oportunity saved a lot of time
  7. A light rusting ensures that the mill scale is detached
  8. Grit blasting preparations
  9. To reduce exposure, only a small area is blasted before protecting with zinc flame spray
  10. Grey SA3 blast finish
  11. Blasting inside
  12. The copper slag blasting medium was collected for reuse
  13. The blasting team
  14. Finished paint job. Epoxy tar inside, zinc chromate/phosphate primer and chlorinated rubber out.
  15. Walkers Treadmaster held in place with polyurethane caulk
  16. 12mm plywood cupboard and locker fronts
  17. Industrial Epoxy primer and polyurethane gloss were used extensively (no marine products)
  18. 2 Part polyurethane foam insulation was mixed in a polythene bag
  19. Aerosol polyurethane foam used to prevent 2 part foam leaks
  20. The mixed foam is squeezed behind he top of leach pannel
  21. Thorough mixing or the foam before placing is critical. There are only seconds to spare.
  22. Polyurethane paint and varnish provided a lasting interior finish
  23. English oak trim from Bendry’s of Bridge Yate, Bristol.
  24. The mast support was also a table and echo sounder support and a lamp post in another life.
  25. Preparing the lift over a wall power and phone cables
  26. This is about the last chance you get to paint under the keel.
  27. So many small jobs to do before the lift
  28. Everyone knew what was expected so the job went smoothly
  29. Air ship
  30. Getting out of Chapel lane
  31. Police and phone company escort for the trip into Bristol City Docks
  32. I get to ride on deck with a rake to fend off any phone cables or branches.
  33. A small crowd gathers by Princes street swing bridge to witness the unceremonious launch.
  34. The Mud dock. A comfortable berth for the next few months.
  35. Early trials in the Bristol Channel
  36. Best to look where you’re going as things happen quickly in t he channel
  37. Aground on the English and Welsh grounds
  38. Living at an angle until the tide return.
  39. With a gimbaled stove you can at least make tea.
  40. An early trip to Ilfracombe.
  41. A Coral beach in the Glenans (France)
  42. Ribadeo (Spain)
  43. Cape Finistere (Galicia Spain)
  44. First trip to spain (Cape Finistere)