Another lovely day & off we went to the other end of the River Churnet. On Tuesday we'd walked close to its source, near Flash (Postscript 7); today we walked from the village of Rocester, close to the Churnet's confluence with the Dove, just south of our Fathers Day outing (Postscript 6)
Never heard of Rocester before our house-hunting exploits: now I know it to be the site of a Roman fort & settlement, home to the country's first University Technical College (opened in 2010) &, most overwhelmingly, World Headquarters of JCB! Look at the map, though; it's still only a small village!
Decided it was a bit low-lying for us to live here, particularly bearing in mind the River Dove's recent watery misdeeds, but it did make for some gentle, mostly-level wandering after the knee-challenging valleys of Tuesday
Rocester's JCB Academy
Love this picture of the JCB sponsored new-build alongside Arkwright's 18th century mill!
Arkwright arrived here about 10 years after his revolutionary work with water-power in Cromford, bought an old corn-mill & set up a business which continued in Rocester until 1985
Unsurprisingly, the Academy's specialism is Engineering & Business but I'm far more taken by its House names: Bamford, after Joseph Cyril Bamford (it's in the initials!), Arkwright & Royce, after Henry Royce who had a mate called Rolls!
Took a slightly ambitious route across fields, initially to Roston & then on to Norbury - ambitious as the few footpath signs we found couldn't be relied upon to be pointing in the right direction!
Roston's pub, known as 'The Shant' was due to close, forever, the day after our visit.... but it wasn't open today either!
'Collected' this well-dressing in the lane outside Norbury Primary School which, in keeping with the signposts, appeared to be in the village of Roston!
Expected the return to Rocester to be much more straightforward as we picked up the Limestone Way here at Lower Ellastone
Might be a recognised long-distance bridleway, clearly marked on the OS map with bright red triangles, but all I can say is that it's a good thing we knew we were following the River Dove! 
A curiously-deserted village centre showing Rocester's Buttercross & 'The Red Lion'
No interesting beers so basked in the sunshine with a cider!
Just as Arkwright's mill & the cotton industry began to decline another major employer arrived in Rocester
The original Bamfords factory was built in the 1950s; its replacement & now JCB World Headquarters was opened on the same site in 1970 - it would have been churlish not to explore their attractive landscaped grounds!
'Opus' by Mark Delf
Depicting men digging, shovelling & moving earth - this is the theme JCB asked for, presumably to remind us all how much easier they've made it!
'Startled Horse'
Local artist Delf's first sculpture for JCB: completed while a student at Stoke's Sir Henry Doulton School of Sculpture & unveiled in 1990, two years before 'Opus', it was this piece that earned him the second commission
'Sumo' by Allen Jones
Fashioned from Corten steel
According to Sir Anthony Bamford, "Just like JCB machines, Sumo represents power and strength."
Well, he is the chairman!
Wandered around the large lake where a fishing-match was just about to get underway
We'd seen loads of huge carp sunbathing on the far side of the lake's island but there didn't seem to be any round this side
A fact confirmed by one of the anglers we spoke to: he said they weren't allowed to match-fish around there!
Song of the Day : Fisherman's Blues by The Waterboys
(Perhaps those big birds had scared them all away!)
'The Fosser' by Walenty Pytel
This was the largest steel sculpture in Europe when it was created in 1979 from JCB digger parts
(Fosser means 'digger' in Latin!)
Quite dramatic, it looks like some gigantic Earth-threatening insect from a black & white science-fiction film!
Probably wouldn't look quite so scary if it was bright yellow!
Finished our afternoon jaunt by walking back into the village by the river & past the 'other' Rocester Mill: this, too, has had the JCB makeover & now houses the company's financial offices
Fascinating walk.... I can find industrial archaeology almost anywhere!
Les merging into the undergrowth!
Not somebody's garden, simply bushes & wildflowers growing beside the track as we climbed away from the Dove at Riverside Doveleys
St. Michael's Church, Rocester
Apparently there are visible remains of a wall close to the church which once formed part of the Roman Fort.... we couldn't find them!
Totally invisible, except for a few grassy mounds, are the remains of a 12th century Augustinian Abbey which once stood here
A curiously-deserted village centre showing Rocester's Buttercross & 'The Red Lion'
No interesting beers so basked in the sunshine with a cider!
Just as Arkwright's mill & the cotton industry began to decline another major employer arrived in Rocester
The original Bamfords factory was built in the 1950s; its replacement & now JCB World Headquarters was opened on the same site in 1970 - it would have been churlish not to explore their attractive landscaped grounds!
'Opus' by Mark Delf
Depicting men digging, shovelling & moving earth - this is the theme JCB asked for, presumably to remind us all how much easier they've made it!
'Startled Horse'Local artist Delf's first sculpture for JCB: completed while a student at Stoke's Sir Henry Doulton School of Sculpture & unveiled in 1990, two years before 'Opus', it was this piece that earned him the second commission
'Sumo' by Allen Jones
Fashioned from Corten steel
According to Sir Anthony Bamford, "Just like JCB machines, Sumo represents power and strength."
Well, he is the chairman!
Wandered around the large lake where a fishing-match was just about to get underwayA fact confirmed by one of the anglers we spoke to: he said they weren't allowed to match-fish around there!
Song of the Day : Fisherman's Blues by The Waterboys
(Perhaps those big birds had scared them all away!)
'The Fosser' by Walenty PytelThis was the largest steel sculpture in Europe when it was created in 1979 from JCB digger parts
(Fosser means 'digger' in Latin!)
Quite dramatic, it looks like some gigantic Earth-threatening insect from a black & white science-fiction film!
Probably wouldn't look quite so scary if it was bright yellow!
Finished our afternoon jaunt by walking back into the village by the river & past the 'other' Rocester Mill: this, too, has had the JCB makeover & now houses the company's financial offices
Fascinating walk.... I can find industrial archaeology almost anywhere!
No comments:
Post a Comment