Dredging – Dudbridge to Chestnut Lane
by: Peter A.
Over the past few weeks, Hamster has been busy dredging the offside of this section, which had not previously been dredged and had some additional material placed there when Augustus Gloop dredged the towpath side.
As previously mentioned, there has been a considerable quantity of large stones, together with plenty of silt. Progress has been steady.
Today, a couple of interesting finds. A common question is “what have you dug up?” Well, firstly, after many probing attempts to grab hold of whatever it was buried there, we pulled out a lawn roller, minus its handle. It may well have been launched into the navigation from the school sports field alongside.
Secondly, an old glass bottle was spotted in the hopper, which we fished out. It had markings moulded into its base that read ‘7235 Patent C.S & Co Ltd’. The company is Cannington Shaw & Co of St Helens, a major glass bottle manufacturer of the late 19th to early 20th century, 1872 to 1913. The 7235 indicates the mould tool. It could be a mineral water bottle. The top would have had a fitted lid, there is no screw thread. There is a slight green tint to the glass.
Other finds include a bike, a shopping trolley (of course), a number of traffic cones plus a selection of bits of pipe and other metal.
As usual, we provide great entertainment for the ‘little’ people in push chairs and other youngsters that walk the towpath and love to watch a digger!
