Where are the WRGies?
by: Jon Pontefract
So, you've read the piece on the CCT website, but just what are the WRGies up to at Inglesham this year. As Rick Barnes has reported, the towpath side of the lock chamber wall was completed last year, as was the offside top gate area
including spill weir, paddle culvert, and chamber for back pumping. This year, two long weekends of work saw all of the damaged brickwork removed from the offside chamber wall, and a large stepped excavation created behind. The first 3 week-long Canal
Camps have been busy rebuilding the brickwork and the associated concrete blocks behind. I turned up on Sunday as the 3rd Camp were being shown around the site and introduced to their planned work.
On the right hand side of this picture can be seen the start of rebuilding the towpath side wing wall - I think there was about 2 courses of semi-decent brickwork left to establish the curve. As Camp leader Ricey explained, he hasn't
got many experienced volunteers on this Camp, so he's grateful to a couple of veterans staying on for a few days to either lead the 'newbies', or tackle the complicated bits, such as the ladder recesses or paddle culverts. This next picture shows David Smith
busy altering the scaffolding to allow the next few courses of brickwork and blockwork to go up.
The tarpaulins aren't up in case of any impending rain, but to keep the sun off the bricklayers, and to stop the mortar drying too quickly. The pump was running at this point, so the lower levels of scaffolding were just emerging from
the flooded lock chamber - the Thames will leak in over a day's site shutdown. The river is not as low as one might expect during the current weather, probably because up to 40% of the Thames water is made up by Swindon's treated sewage at this point.
Bet you don't want to go swimming there now you know that!
The Inglesham site will be shut down for the first 2 weeks of August, but work resumes on 11 August for a final 3 weeks of Canal Camps. At the end of this Summer's activities, it's hoped that the lock will be more or less finished, which
leaves the landscaping to be considered. Then CCT needs to come up with a plan for a working lock and what to do with the 1/4 mile of canal it owns above the lock.
