THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHlTECrS JOURNAL 



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favour of good being done by tlie proposed dock ratber tlian evil. With 

 i,>pect to the improvement of the Thames, is of opinion, that a Coniinis- 

 siiiu shoubl be formed, in which the dilferent iiiterests are represented ; as 

 the City of London, the Crown Lands, tlie Admiralty, and the Trinity 

 House, and they should carry out the requisite improvements, wliile tlie 

 two former bodies are at law, rcRardins the ri!;ht of soil ; has reason to 

 believe that this would have been clone, except for tJie change of iMinistry. 

 lu the mean time the navigation of the Thames is neglected, and its com- 

 merce interrupted. 

 EriJcnce of Mr. Fisher, Priiicipdl Unrbour Muster of the Port of London. 



Has been harbour master 2I« years. The dry bank formed by old Lon- 

 don Briilge has been removed and a depih of 11 feet water pained. Has 

 lighters generally at work in the centre of the river in order to deepen it 

 to 14 feet ; the navigable channel has increased in depth slightly from the 

 action of the steam boats at low water. After the shoal in Limehonse 

 Heach the next considerable obslruction is Ham Shelf, which is a great 

 nuisance to Her Majesty's ships that come up to Woolwich ; on account of 

 not having given the proper direction to the set of the tide all attempts to 

 clear Woolwich Ucach have hitherlo failed; a deposit is also formed in 

 front of the Dockyard, to remedy which, Mr. Walker, in 1S12, recom- 

 mended that HookXess should be cut off. Fnlly concurs in Mr. Walker's 

 recomnienilatiiins in 1P12 to the Port of London Committee ; atiended that 

 survey with Captain llullock, and approved of the lines for the side of ihe 

 river drawn by Mr. Walker. Is aware of irregularities in the bottom of 

 the river above London Hridge, but his duties are strictly confined below 

 bridge. IJecommended the Navigation Committee to deepen the river 

 from London Bridge downwards, but is not aware why this plan has not 

 been carried out ; it rests with the Committee; has pointed out the ob- 

 etructions, and advised them to be removed. I'ormerly people took sand 

 and gravel w here they pleased from the river above bridge ; in some places 

 they liad made holes of 1 foot, in others 5 or G feet ; this was allowed, 

 under the authority of the Lord Mayor, by the water bailifl'. Excavations 

 are now made under special directions of the water bailifl". Since lS-12 

 there has been considerably more waier in certain places, but they have 

 not nia<le an uniform depth in the channel. Those w ho are allowed to dig 

 above bridge are directed by the water bailill' where they are to work. 

 The only ditlicultics in widening the river would be the expense, and that 

 it would allfct many interests in water-side premies. Those at the side 

 of the river should be called upon to pile and defend their property ; jet- 

 ties, barges and craft are now runout from dilfiTcnt private landing-places; 

 during two-thirds of the tide these barges are aground, stop the free cur- 

 rent of the tide, and cause a deposit. The Navigation Committee reconi- 

 meuded the removal of all these nuisances, and ohjicted to the manner in 

 which licence has been irregularly given. No sieps have been taken since 

 that report to prevent the accumulations which have taken place ; some of 

 the jetties have been removed, but the most objectionable still remain. 

 One of these is at Greenwich, run out from the Garden Stairs. To im- 

 prove the river elfectually all these jetties ouijht to be removed : is of 

 opinion that others might be run out for pul)lic benefit, under proper au- 

 thority, and of open piles. No representation has been made by witness 

 since the Keport of 1842. Witness removed the pier at Greenwich that 

 he complained of as a nuisance, but the Lord Mayor sent him an order to 

 let it remain. The change of Mayors, &c., is very unfavourable to sys- 

 tematic work on the river ; a coniniiltee of sailors, under one acknowledged 

 authority, would soon carry out the requisite works. Since Lonrlon 

 Bridge has been removed the tides have risen higher and fallen out lower 

 than before ; in spring tides it is occasionally 3 feet higher above Ihe 

 Trinity standard than it used to be. Hardly any mud is now found in the 

 river, the steamers wash it all away. Uu the \\ biting Shoal has raised 

 100 tons of soil aday : the hard part, resembling plum pudding stone, is 

 blasted with gunpowder. Trinity dredgers raise 120 tons in 35 minutes. 

 The clay under the gravel offers great impediments to drdging ; expense 

 ii the only objection to clearing the river as recommended in the Report of 

 1842; the present irregular S5stem is directly contrary to that Ifeport: 

 the Trinity Board will only take up material that is tit fur ballast. 



Six more vessels sunk within the l.ist year lie between Northfleet Hope 

 and Sea Reach ; two near the edge of the Bligh Sand, where the Due de 

 Nemours grounded in 1843. No immediate measures are taken to remove 

 vessels, some lie 18 months. The Barking Shelf delayed the royal yaclit 

 for two hours on her passage lo Woolwich ; it is of clay, peat and gravel. 

 Cold Harbour I'oint, the shoal in Erith Reach, Dagenham Shelf, Bugby's 

 Hole, and the Middle Grounds between Blackwall and Greenwich, still 

 remain as in 1842. With the machinery at present in use there wouhl be 

 no difficulty in making the Thames of one uniform depth as recommended 

 in the Report of 1842. The mud still fills up in front of M'oolwich dock- 

 yard. Agrees with Mr. Walker that the only remedy is to cut olV Hook 

 Ness. Either shingle for ballast or mud dredged up might easily be de- 

 posited on the Isle of Dogs or elsewhere. Ill Udolwiib Reach steamers 

 are obliged to wait two hours at times to pass Ham Shelf. If sufficient 

 depth of water, by judicious dredging, were niainlaiued on the face of the 

 quays both at Greenwich and elsewhere, there would be no necessity for 

 projecting piers of any sort. 



Eridence of W. English, Mil'uright anil Contractor for Drcilging. 

 . Has been engaged dredging parts of Ihe Thames, and is now at work on 

 the Whiting Shoal, a sort of concrete or plum-puilding stone in Liniehouse 

 Beach. Cost of dredging it is 1». a cubic j ard ; gravel is lifted at id. per 



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cubic yard, of 20 cwt. ; lighterage is a separate charge, varying from 9d. 

 to Is. Is not allowed to raise gravel below London Biidge, it is mono- 

 polized by the Trinity House for ballast. No directions gi»en by the 

 water baililV or other person to deepen a channel in the river, only not to 

 go within 101) feet of the shore on each side. There would be no dilliculty 

 but the expense in deepening an uniform channel of the river lo feet at 

 low water, from London liridge to Gravesend. His two engines, of 10 

 h. p. each only, can take up .'>00 tons daily in 10 hours. Supposing the 

 qnanlity of soil lo be removed from the Thames lo be 1;J million of cubic 

 \ards, it could be done in four years, with two engines of 21 h. p. each. 

 The Whiting Shoal is about half a mile long ; witness is culling a channel 

 through it of SO yards in widih ; the soil is composed of gravel about (i 

 inches, then clay 2 feet, then a substance between a clay and stone, and 

 thill stone. Permitted to deepen above bridge 10 feet below low water 

 mark, except when near a bridge ; formerly has dredged to 27 feel in some 

 jKirls. No difliculty, if required, in dredging the Thames, from London 

 Bridge up to Wandsworth, or from London Bridge downwards to Graves- 

 end, 



Severn Navigation. 

 I'lidcncc of IT. Cubitt, Vice President of Inst, of Civil ICngincers. 

 Knumcrates the dill'erent harbours and rivers he has examined profes- 

 sionally and reported upon. Knows of no general rule for improvement 

 applicable to rivers. Crookedness of channel and nnevenness of depth are 

 the chief obstructions to the propagation of the tide. Depth in rivers is 

 chiefly due lo tides as far up as neap tides reach, above that point to 

 freshes. More to be feared for our harbours from silt brought in from the 

 sea than from detritus brought down by freshes. Has improved the 

 Severn upon two |>riiiciples ; first, as a tidal river by embanking and deepen- 

 ing ; secondlj, above the infiuence of the tide by making the river into 

 a series of level or ponds connected by locks and weirs. By means of four 

 weirs a constant and uniform depih of six feet has been obtained for 20 

 miles where formerly were only 18 inches, and navigation entirely at a 

 slop ; and ihe san'.e improved depih is nearly completed for 30 miles in the 

 tideway above (Jloucester. If wilness wire instructed to improve the 

 navigation of the Severn for seagoing vessels he would make a ship canal 

 across the isthmus at Hock Crib with double stop locks at both ends of the 

 cut, I'-aving the river to go round by Newnbam as at present ; would also 

 emliank many thousand acres of the Nooze Sands just below. If Ihe tide 

 were stopped altogether at Hock Crib it might be better for all the lands 

 abo\e and the navigation belo^v, There are tlifliculiies in controlling the 

 tide ; it would be easier to stop it, and pass the flood water over a weir. 

 A depih of 15 lo 20 feet of quiet water to Gloucester would be much 

 belter than having a roaring furious bore all the way. A weir of 3 inches 

 thick would carry off the heaviest floods, and a perfect navigation might 

 be completed lo Slourport, from GO to 70 miles. 



Rye Hareoi'r. 



Evidence of Messrs, Hiclis, Manser, and Slocks. Chairman, Cleric, and 

 Harbour Master of the Rye Harbour Trust. 



The western and eastern groynes at Rye have been run out according to 

 the opinion of the majority of those who happened to be silling as Com- 

 missioners. Mr. Cubitt was consulted as to improvements, but the (.'oin- 

 missioners did not concur in his Keport, and would not act upon it. There 

 are 43 Commissioners, who attend toleratdy well. There are three sluices 

 across the three rivers about a mile above the town, which entirely stop 

 tlie flow of the tide. If these were removed the tide would flow 10 miles 

 up the Rother and 7 miles up the other rivers. The sluices were erected 

 50 years ago, and re-erected 10 years since. Scott's Float Slnic>! was 

 broken down by the tide in 1813, and was down for two years ; the (ffect 

 upon the bed of the river was to deepen ii, so that a boat couhl go up to 

 the town at low water spring tides. 'J'he indraught was so great that the 

 flood stream continued to run up the river after the water had fallen two 

 feet at the pier head. Dredging would be a great benefit lo the channel, 

 but cannot do it for want of funds. Average revenue about 1,. 300/, last 

 year only l,050i.; amount of debt 1,500/.; expenses of management about 

 4()0(. a-year, leaving GOOi. lo be laid out in improvements. An area of 

 734 acres of marsh on the banks of the river, below the sluice, has been 

 enibanUed since 1833, by consent of the Harbour Coniimssioii' rs. lu the 

 event of a railroad crossing ihe river at a quarter of a mile aliove Ihe Iowa 

 it would prevent the passage of 112 sailing vessels annually that now go 

 up lo Scot's Float Sluice. Barges go 15 miles higher up the Kollier to 

 Bodiham Castle. At times great freshes in the Rollier. Width of river 

 at low water, at a quarter of a mile above Ihe town, 102 feet ; any bridge 

 across would be an impediment lo navigation. The eddy tides makes ihe 

 case more difficult ; the tide rises 23 feet in the bay, and 14 feel at fprings 

 at the town. The Nook was embanked in 183!) without any authority. It 

 exchiiled 10 million cubic feet of water on every spring. Tiie Admiialty 

 ('ommissioner did not report it to Ihe Admiralty, because he thought the 

 Nook without the jurisdiction of the Harbour. Scot's Float Sluice was 

 pulled down by the people, in 1830. as a nuisance, hut was rebuilt by Act 

 of Parliament. The Rye Hdrbonr Commissioners were consenting par- 

 lie* :o, and received 0,000/. for ihe 734 acres of marsh embanked in 1833. 

 These lands were covered with 3 feet water at high tides, and thus 30 mil- 

 lion of cubic feet of water were excluded, and its scour over the bar lost 

 at every spring tide. All Ihe Commissioners who consented to this ar- 

 langemcul were influential proprietors iu the neighbourhood. 



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