91Èȱ¬

91Èȱ¬ BLOGS - Mark Cummings' Blog

Archives for October 2012

Wild boar cause uproar once again

Post categories:

markcummingsadmin | 06:22 UK time, Friday, 12 October 2012

Damage done by wild boar in the Forest of Dean

There's growing anger in the Forest of Dean about the way the wild boar cull is being managed - and there's a big meeting today for the Forest Verderers' to discuss the problems.

The campaign group 'Friends of the Boar' says the focus of the cull is in the wrong areas.

They're upset that animals deep in the woodland have been targeted and claim others have been left free to destroy land in and around Coleford and Ruardean.

Golf courses have been damaged, grass verges have been ripped up, gardens have been destroyed.

It's a mystery

Post categories: ,Ìý

Mark Cummings | 12:10 UK time, Wednesday, 3 October 2012



Have a look at this picture and read the email below...then please HELP!

Hi Mark,

Building an orangery at The Red House, Bourton-on-the-Water. Fellow worker, Adrian, noticed a bit of unusual ground, so we investigated it; Only 6 ins below normal ground we uncovered some bricks built on edge, in a circle and about 4 ft. wide. The owners, Iain and Kate Bradley excavated the hole to about 3 ft. deep all last Saturday. We now see the hole opens up to 7 ft. wide, circular with a lovely domed head, which has 8' ventilation holes in it. We estimate it to be 7 ft. deep. The sides are rendered with a very hard material - I'm not sure what it is at the moment, but the brickwork is built in a lime mortar, dating it to about 1830 - 1850 - the same as the house.

We have discovered over the weekend that the house was not only the 3rd ever hospital in Bourton, but it was the 1st with a fully paid staff and it was also an isolation hospital. I've never uncovered anything as exciting as this building in my 54 years in the trade and I really want to know what it was before we reluctantly have to cap it over.

Suggestions so far lean towards: an ice house for storing meat or other foods, a morgue for storing bodies until undertakers collect or surgeons do post mortems, an isolation chamber for patients with unknown symptoms or again awaiting examination, a dousing bath or something along those lines, as the walls were obviously water-proofed at that time.

Bourton historian and good friend, John Finch, has searched local photos of the 2nd half of the 1800s, even an early aerial photo of the property, but nothing conclusive to date.

It has already raised great interest locally, so we desperately need answers this week. Friday it has to be finalised.

Norman

Any ideas...cummings@bbc.co.uk

91Èȱ¬ iD

91Èȱ¬ navigation

91Èȱ¬ © 2014 The 91Èȱ¬ is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.

This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.