Stepping up to the forge at Humpy Bridge
THE Friends of Cromford Canal work party was recently asked to participate in the construction and fitting of new steps up the bank from the boardwalk to the forge site, at the quaintly named Humpy Bridge at Jacksdale.
This location was originally Lock 7 of the Codnor flight of locks, on the Cromford Canal, and is where the canal originally diverged into the Jacksdale Basin.
The timber and fittings were supplied by the Friends of Belper Park Ltd incorporating the Friends of the Forge, a non-profit charity and conservation group that bought the forge site by donations.
Funding for the steps was from a Derbyshire County Council Action Grant. This was primarily to improve access to the forge site for walkers of all ages and to better connect the villages of Codnor Park and Jacksdale. The steps were a primary part of this plan, as were kissing gates, notice boards and general information boards to the public. The hand rails, which are to be fitted, have been funded by an anonymous donor.
The site was brought to the attention of the Friends by Butterfly Conservation. The site has two BAP (Biodiversity Action Plan) species resident and up to 25 species have been recorded on site. Since the site was bought, it has been realised how rich it is for all species and the intention is to clear as much of the grassland in order for butterfly species to flourish and to protect ground-nesting birds.
Some woodland will be left and specific trees will be planted which benefit particular butterflies. Other areas will be developed to benefit dragonflies etc. For clarity, this site is next to the
River Erewash, which is the boundary of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire; the forge site is on the Derbyshire side.
The FCC work party group project leader John Boucher put on his civil engineering hat and worked out the angle of bank and determined that two sections would be needed, with a level section between. Each of the flight stringers (side pieces), would be 4.2m long with one-metre-wide risers.
Four work party members, with John supervising, arrived at his workshop one Wednesday and started by setting the wood out, and then giving it the builder’s ritual; all walking around it, standing looking at it, blowing cheeks out, rubbing chins and then offering the first pieces up.
Luckily, John being the professional civil engineer that he is, brought some gauges and drilling fixtures to produce the correct angle of the incline.
Using the fixtures, two of the stringers were drilled with the correct spacing for the step boards to be fitted across. These were fitted into place with two, 200mm timber bolts at each side, working down the whole length of the section. When all were fitted loosely into place, the alignment and positioning of each step was checked and adjusted and the whole assembly was tightened up.
Checking the whole assembly was true and square, measurements were taken across diagonal corners. We found, when both assemblies were checked, we were within 3mm (1⁄8 of an inch) of square.
The day before fitting at the forge site, we had to load the steps for transportation and check the work site. When we were there, we found part of the boardwalk under water with the water level really high. Not only that, the aggregate, all 12 tons of it, had been delivered at the top of the forge site; unfortunately the ground was so boggy that it was dumped just inside the gate, giving us a big problem getting it to the canal side.
Early start
On the day of fitting, four of us were on site early and started preparing the site by digging out the existing steps and widening the location; the early start was to ensure the site was ready when the first flight was delivered. When the flight of steps arrived, we had to manhandle them over the Humpy Bridge and across the partially flooded boardwalk, the comparison to Dad’s Army was close, at one point several volunteers nearly had an early bath. We intentionally kept the initial working group small because of the confined working area.
We then began to lock the flight into place with 50 mmx50mmx 700 mm angle iron lengths, sledge-hammered into place and timber screws through the pre-drilled holes in the angle iron.
The call then went out to the other FCC work party group, who were working half a mile away at Ironville, to come and assist with transporting the aggregate from the forge gate to site, about a quarter mile, with wheelbarrows.
We had anticipated the need for the extra hands but did not need them on site until the first flight was fixed. They all turned up, each with a wheelbarrow and spade, and started moving the aggregate. It was a long, slow operation due to the really wet conditions underfoot. The first flight was then part-filled with backfill from the digging out and then aggregate.
The next phase was togo back to the workshop and load the second flight for transportation; we were not able to carry both flights at one go, due to the weight.
The second flight, delivered and successfully manoeuvred across the boardwalk, was then carefully lifted into place. Eventually it fitted, after digging away at the bank to get the alignment correct. With it locked into place, the intermediate level section between the two flights was built and then we started to back fill the risers to within 12mm of the top edge, to allow for a finish dusting to be put on later. Moving the aggregate turned into a major job with volunteers alternating to bring a barrow load back in the wheelbarrows. The top approach to the steps was also landscaped to finish the job. A great job, lots of laughs with great group of people.
Eventually after a very long day and moving several tons of rubble and about seven tons of aggregate, the job was done. We had 16 volunteers at the peak of the work, producing a total, including build and transport, of 122.5 volunteer hours for the project.
We have got to put the hand rail on this section and another flight of steps with hand rail about half a mile away to allow a circular walking route, but that’s when we are allowed to get back to work. This part of the project was completed as described before the coronavirus lockdown.
If you feel you would like to join either group, details are:
The Friends of Cromford Canal work parties: contact John Barker, FCC work party leader; work@ cromfordcanal.org
The Friends of the Forge: contact Sally Fisher; sallyfisher28@icloud.com
The Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) species on this list need protection and are part of a global initiative. The two butterfly species on the forge site are the dingy skipper and the small heath.