Does anyone know what this is?

[Phill_dvsn]

    

[jim]

Good point Phill. I seem to recall questions about that very subject back in the mists of S.L. time.

[Phill_dvsn]

jim wrote: Good point Phill. I seem to recall questions about that very subject back in the mists of S.L. time. It would be good to find some archive photos of how it worked really. There must be some on the net.

[Chrism]

Does he mean the rings on the wall or the thing in the water?

[Phill_dvsn]

Chrism wrote: Does he mean the rings on the wall or the thing in the water? Both I think.

[Leeds Hippo]

Wonder if this is the tunnel Turner painted

[jim]

I took a look at the area this afternoon. The five rings are about fifteen feet apart. and they and the timber platform remains are some thirty feet downstream of the canal connection. The Godfrey map shows a coal wharf here. Moving upstream, the river walls have been rebuilt in more recent times. but another, larger timber platform remnant can be seen by a clear set of uprights poking out of the water. A little further along the original wall reappears, with another ten or so of the iron rings (or in two or three cases just the wall fixing boss, or the traces of it's existence) still in situ. One has several loops of chain still attached. The style and spacing repeats what is to be seen further down. The entire group (including the three that are the original subject of this thread) occupies some two hundred yards.In 1906 (Godfrey map) and 1958 (memory of a young apprentice Jim) the river bank hereabouts was occupied by the Electricity Dept and "Soapy Joe's" (Joseph Watson & Co)Beyond the last of the rings I noted the entire bank wall has been rebuilt with concrete capped modern piling, but I think it likely that in earlier times the rings at fifteen feet spacing continued further upstream for a considerable distance.As Phill suggests, the rings may have been used to warp canal barges across the river, but on balance I think it likely that the original intent was for mooring purposes.    

[weenie]

The rings were infact used to warp the canal barges across the river, i am no good with this sort of thing, but only know of this as my 4x gt grandfather was a master mariner and so was the whole bunch of them,worked up and down the Aire and was stationed there boats just by the dark arches, as they owned property in Stone Row, as so on, which is where Bridgewater Place is now. My 4x gt grandfather tragically drowned just by there after leaving the Severn Stars, and falling in. His inquest was in the Old Red Lion. Weenie

[BillyBritvic]

Really enjoying all this knowledge, thanks everyone. I stand at this spot very frequently during my lunch breaks, will be able to imagine what was there all those years ago, very interesting.