76 replies to this topic

[phildunford]

There are several updates to our project, so I thought I would put them all in one place so you can see what's happening.

We have recovered a substantial amount of material, which is now in storage at Amberley, ready for the rebuild.

Here you can see a 'time lapse' of us taking the hut down:

Youtube Video

Here you can see us delivering the material to Amberley:

Flickr Photo Set

On the project website, you can see a new page of photos from the 'deconstruction' days:

www.wellsatamberley.org



I will shortly be upgrading the website with a dynamic gallery that can show many more photos.

We are also in the local press - you can see the report here:

Dartford Times Article

Keep looking in please - it will be a long haul for us and we need to know we have the continued support of our members.

Edited by phildunford, 06 June 2010 - 06:51 PM.

[rocketpro]

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Edited by rocketpro, 06 August 2010 - 11:23 AM.

[pyrotechnist]

Next time you go back for another, if you can that is, try nab some of them little roofs that go above the doors which this building had just a few years back but now it appears someone has taken it though I still see the slanted shed is still virtually as is .

[phildunford]

Next time you go back for another, if you can that is, try nab some of them little roofs that go above the doors

Yes we have those, we have original plans of the buildings which were submitted to Dartford council in 1938, so we know exactly what they looked like. I also have VHS footage of the site from 1980 on the way, when the site was only just out of use...

[chrismdunford]

You can find more photos of the salvage work and the factory site on the Wells at Amberley facebook page at the link below:


http://www.facebook....38022149?ref=nf


Hard work but good fun. I hope we can go back again.

[Arthur Brown]

I'm very impressed. Some really good work done there. I hope that the required planning permissions at Amberley come together swiftly.

[pyrotechnist]

Nice will you be posting the VHS tape for all to see on here? would love to see it.

[phildunford]

Just to let everyone know, Alan Wells has very generously donated a copy of his book 'Bernard Wells Pyrotechnist' for us to auction for funds.

Only 20 have been printed and only 2 have been sold outside the Wells family - at £100 each.


It has 67 pages and 15 illustrations. For those who do not know, Bernard was Alan's uncle and is (among other things) responsible for introducing fireworks to Disney in America.

This is a rare piece of pyro history.

Please let everyone who might be interested know about this.

We will publish the address of the auction in a couple of weeks, once the word has got around.

[phildunford]

Another big thank you to those who helped rescue huts and take them to Amberley last Saturday & Sunday. A brilliant effort! Hope the sunburn is feeling better...

The latest suggestion from Amberley for a location for the exhibit is the long strip along the back of the White Pits area, which I think could be very good for us. They still do not seem to have agreed among themselves though!

Our next priority has to be to nail them down to a location, so we can draw up final plans...

Watch this space!

[pyrotechnist]

How many buildings have you managed to save all together now?

[crystal palace fireworks]

How many buildings have you managed to save all together now?

With the exception of floor joists (which will be re-newed because of issues involving stability, powder impregnation etc). I would say we have enough material to reconstruct one original shed 14 ft x 12ft.

[digger]

Are there any plans to take any more bits and pieces? Or is that it now?

[crystal palace fireworks]

Are there any plans to take any more bits and pieces? Or is that it now?

Yes as far as Im concerned, but time is against us because of possible new owners not giving us access. If we could get 15 to 20 UKPS volunteers this summer, we could deconstruct, drag, load, and deliver another complete shed over a two day period on a weekend this summer, do this again on another weekend, and we will have three sheds ready to be rebuilt at Amberley,...we would also save a considerable amount on buying new materials to refubish!

[Arthur Brown]

Probably it would be a good plan to see how much Amberley can use, and get planning permission for. A stack of shed panels covered in snow and keeping damp while planning applications get reviewed may not be positive.

[phildunford]

My feeling is that we have probably done as much as we need to, although there is nothing stopping us going back for more. As keith says, money is an issue.

We will not realistcally have space for more than two original sheds plus our proposed Museum building (which will be bigger than a shed). Given the space needed between buildings, we need a surprisingly long site and Amberley only have so much space... We must also bare in mind our ability to fill the buildings with interesting stuff and maintain them for the forseeable future.

I think we have enough money & material now to construct the two "original" sheds, although it's possible planning costs could seriously erode this. I would see the new building being constructed from new materials, as it needs to be built to a higher standard. We don't have anything like the money for that, although we are waiting for the results of some grant applications.

It's possible that we will have to build two huts & wait on the third. I'm hopeful that once people see something emerging from the ground, they will start to believe it can happen & stump up some cash!

Our main concern at the moment, is to pin Amberley down to an exact site and ground plan so we can start to schedule the works.

All very complicated...

Edited by phildunford, 14 June 2010 - 08:07 PM.