Hall o'the Heath

Preparations start for the baked potatoes  

December workday

Message from Colin....

"So this coming Sunday is the most anticipated work day of the year and I hope to see everybody there, but particularly Dave and Chris! 

There are a few jobs that I have thought of that we can do to work up an appetite:-

•  Change the house type nest box in the yard for a new starling box
• re-label all of the boxes in and around the yard with the correct numbers
• check all of the owl nest boxes using the big ladders
• reinforce the wildflower meadow fence with two new fence posts
• remove supports etc from trees in the wildlife garden

and that’s before I ask Ron!"

Sunday December 7th, 09:00 starting from Waterloo Road Car Park.

November Workday

A note from Colin.

"The next workday is the next Sunday which is the first Sunday in November – hard to believe with the weather as warm as this.  The plan is to check the nest boxes at Hall o’the Heath farm; Ron has the ladders, the forecast is fair so we should be good to go.

 

Hope to see you all then."

Sunday 2nd November, 09:00, meeting at Waterloo Road Car Park.

October Workday - Plant Plugs

The October workday was split into two tasks, both at Hall o'the Heath Farm.

Task 1. Planting 150 wild flower plant plugs into the wild flower meadow.

Colin describes the method...

10 plugs of 15 varieties, plus some extra potted plants.

Remove a small area of competing turf, insert and water in.

Task 2. Replace the damaged fence and access point, this should keep straying cattle from the newly planted area.  The two rails have been bolted into place, they will be unbolted in the Spring to allow access once the growing season starts again.

September Workday

Conservation workday for 7th September 2014 will be repairing a stile.  Please gather for 09:00 at Waterloo Road car park for further details from Ron.

Autumn Workday

The first Autumn workday is on Sunday 6th October starting at 09:00 at the Waterloo Road car park.  We hope to be planting a tree inside a new tree guard at Hall o'the Heath Farm.

December work day

A note from Colin regarding the next Conservation Volunteers task on Sunday.

"Hi,

 

Nearly forgot to send a reminder about our next workday this coming Sunday – but I guess you won’t need reminding anyway!!

 

Hopefully before the spuds and mince pies we can plant a tree and control some brambles – but not too much work.

 

See you then

Colin"

Please meet on the car park for details of the secret rendezvous.  I will try and bring some matches.

Arrival of the Winterley Interpretive Panel

On Saturday the freshly delivered Winterley interpretive Panel was moved into temporary storage inside a cold local mill.  We have been advised to store the panel in away from heating until ready for installation on its plinth next to Winterley Pool.  This was an ideal opportunity to examine the brief published history of the Winterley Pool and Mill together with the carefully selected wildlife photographs and notes.

Fungi by Fowle Brook

Interesting collection of fungi growing around a tree close to Fowle Brook in the walkway area next to Primrose Avenue.  17th October 2012.

Haslington Conservation Volunteers win Heritage Lottery Fund support

Haslington Conservation Volunteers                            Heritage Lottery Fund

Haslington Conservation Volunteers win Heritage Lottery Fund support

Haslington Conservation Volunteers have recently been granted £3,600 by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for a project aimed at improving the future of Winterley Mill Pool, a valuable local landmark. Led by volunteers from the local community, the project will focus on creating greater public awareness of the pool through the erection of replacement information boards and the production of easily accessible online information about its history and wildlife.

As part of the project the volunteers are planning to acquire a number of new skills, including methods of researching historical records and the use of specialist photographic techniques, to assist them in developing a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the pool.

The project, which is also receiving a grant of £300 from Haslington Parish Council,   will ultimately enable everyone who is interested to learn more about the mill pool, which dates back to possibly the middle of the eighteenth century.

Commenting on the award, Project Manager Colin Lythgoe said: “We are thrilled to have received the support of the HLF and are confident the grant will enable us to research the history and wildlife of the site and make the resulting information as widely available as possible”.

Sara Hilton, Head of Heritage Lottery Fund North West, said: “We are delighted to be able to support Haslington Conservation Volunteers with this innovative project to get more people involved in learning more about their heritage. As well as exploring the history of the pool, the project will actively involve people in our natural heritage, deepening their understanding of their local environment.”

The Heritage Lottery Fund award comes less than a year after Haslington Conservation Volunteers were awarded the Conservation and Environment Award in the 2011 North West in Bloom Competition for their work in helping to protect and preserve the local countryside around Haslington. 

Using money raised through the National Lottery, the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) sustains and transforms a wide range of heritage for present and future generations to take part in, learn from and enjoy. “From museums, parks and historic places to archaeology, natural environment and cultural traditions, we invest in every part of our diverse heritage.  HLF has supported over 33,000 projects, allocating £4.9 billion across the UK. Website: www.hlf.org.uk”

If you have any information about the history or wildlife of Winterley Mill and Winterley Pool , which you would like to pass on to Haslington Conservation Volunteers, please contact Colin Lythgoe on 01270 – 582642. Any help provided will greatly assist the volunteers in producing as comprehensive a history as possible.        

Cheshire Archives visit

As part of the training in research skills funded by our Heritage Lottery Fund bid we visited the Cheshire Archives and Local Studies Centre in Duke Street, Chester.

The centre is based around a converted mill building [1850] which contains much of the archive material for the old county of Cheshire.  The archive rooms are physically secure and have sophisticated fire protection systems installed.  Additional materials are stored in the Winsford Salt Mines.
The morning two hour session included a presentation from an archivist who had tried to assemble as much material relating to Winterley Pool and Mill as possible.  We were shown the main indexing resources enabling relevant research material to be retrieved - much of which can be done in advance of a visit via home internet access.
Of particular interest were two bundles of parchment documents relating to leases and land transfers of the Winterley Pool and Mill.  The documents were available in the "Cheshire Archives" as the Mill had been owned by the Delves Broughton Estate for a short period of time and they had passed their estate documentation to Cheshire Records.
The afternoon session provided the opportunity for "hands on" access to the materials in the main reading room.  Hands should be clean but not still damp from washing, gloves are not recommended as these can remove the ink from parchment.
Understanding the old legal documents from around 1675 involved the ability to read the typeface of old handwritten legal documents and then understand some of the legal terms involved.  The key document was an Indenture from 1675 which recorded the transfer of a water powered corn mill, but we still need to fully understand how the land was pieced together from other title deeds covering the previous 100 years, together with any clues as to the date the mill and pool were built.
Return visits will be required to establish when the Winterley Mill and Pool were built.

Travel for the study group to Chester was via train from Crewe, with a walk via the Roman Walls, passing under the Clock that marks Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee.

August 2012 Workday

Sunday 5th August 2012 saw a small group of volunteers take a Barn Owl box to be fitted in a sycamore tree on Stockton's Farm off Holmshaw Lane.  Whilst the blogger held the box in position using the blue rope Chris was able to fix the first of three large bolts through the back of the box into the tree.