LEWES PHOENIX RISING APPENDIX TO THE REPRESENTATIONS TO THE INDEPENDANT EXAMINATION OF THE LEWES DISTRICT JOINT CORE STRATEGY JANUARY 2015
CONTENTS
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July 2014 survey of Phoenix Estate
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Interconnections survey diagram
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Summary of key questions from site survey, Autumn 2014
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North Street landownership plan
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Phoenix Place site location plan
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English Heritage online application for listing the old foundry buildings
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Unit 1 perspective survey drawing
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Unit 3 perspective survey drawing
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Unit 8 perspective survey drawing
Updated survey of Phoenix Estate July 2014 All businesses surveyed, with exception of those to South of Phoenix Place: CA Car Parts, Coach Company, Wenban Smith and Gosnells, Soap Factory (and Storage Containers, North St). 2 of these are intending to relocate to Malling Brooks (Wenban Smith, Gosnells) Total: 50 businesses on remainder of site. 7 Centres for the Arts, comprising 85 workshops/studios and 13 venues 13 Community/Charitable/Educational enterprises 13 Manufacturing & Design Businesses 12 service businesses 2 light industrial 2 construction businesses 1 retail business 453 jobs on the Phoenix Estate 3,972 people (weekly footfall): using facilities, clients etc. 14,109 sq metres of industry, workshops, businesses etc. Not one of these businesses has had relocation or new premises on site confirmed. 25% businesses have had discussions at some point over last 2 years re.relocation, but as yet nothing confirmed or affordable offered, though 2 in advanced discussions re. new premises on site. 75% have never been contacted.
Lewes Phoenix Rising, July 2014
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Lewes Phoenix Rising
Analysis of Key Questions from Site Survey, Autumn 2014 Q19 What are the 3 main things that attracted you to site? Top 3 things that attracted residents to site Number Price 48 Size of space 40 Location 37 Neighbouring businesses 28 Layout of space allows flexibility/adaptability 28 Special requirements e.g to make noise 10 Other 11 Note: most respondents completed this question and chose 3 to highlight; several left blanks several chose to cite 4; they have all been included in table. Q21 Why are they important to your business? (tick significant areas) – refers to interconnections with other businesses at North Street Interconnections – why important Number We collaborate/work together 44 Skills, knowledge, ideas 45 Materials/equipment/machinery 39 Venue/rehearsal space 19 Entertainment/Education 20 Other e.g skilled staff 1 Note: most respondents completed this question, 6 left it blank Question 24 How dependent/reliant are you on these connections using a scale of 1-4 Level of dependency/reliance Number Not important 2 Somewhat important 7 Important 16 Very important 34 Blank 4 Total 63
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Question 26: What 3 main improvements do you feel would make this site a better place for running your business? Type of Improvements Opportunities to show case More local business networks Local services and suppliers Better pedestrian and cycle links to rest of town Car Park Spaces Safety and security Management and regulation Affordable rents Access for deliveries Live/work units Business training and support
No 15 13 7 12 6 4 1 38 5 33 7
Note: 2 respondents left question blank, 10 cited more than 3 improvements; a number of other respondents chose to include other improvements that were not listed on the questionnaire. These were primarily, security of tenure, improvements to buildings e.g. roof and insulation.
Question 30 How dependent/reliant are you on the connections you have with Lewes Town? Level of dependency/reliance Number Not important 2 Somewhat important 9 Important 14 Very important 36 Note: 5 respondents left question blank
Question 33 What effect would moving out of the Phoenix Estate have on your business? Number It would be an advantage 1 Make no difference 4 Problematic 10 Very problematic 45 Note: 5 respondents left question blank
Lewes Phoenix Rising, November 2014
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LAND OWNERSHIP
TO SP3 SITE ‘NORTH ST’
Policy 3: “North Street Quarter” and adjacent Eastgate area, Lewes. Land amounting to approximately 9 hectares at North Street and the neighbouring * Spatial part of Eastgate is allocated for a mixed-use development that would create a new neighbourhood for the town of Lewes. Joint Core Strategy doc. page 54.
+ 2
+ 2
38, 339 m 3.83 ha
>>>
= 2
23,664 m 2.36 ha
TOTAL North Street area
8226 m [total] .8 ha
Phoenix Place area
> 18 % of SP3 site <
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FORMER STABLES * ** FORMER BOILER / STEAM ENGINE ROOM *** FOUNDRY GALLERY
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UNIT 1 PHOENIX PLACE FOUNDRY GALLERY FOUNDRY WORKSHOPS
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PHOENIX PLACE. LEWES. BN7 2QJ. SITE LOCATION PLAN. 22_12_14
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View Online Application Accessibility
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EH Reference Number: 489306
CONTACT DETAILS William Anderson Telephone: Alternative Telephone: Organisation: Job Title: Address:
(wa239@cam.ac.uk) 07778 796 328 07778 796 328 Lewes Phoenix Rising Ltd Designer 1 the street firle nr lewes East Sussex
APPLICATION TYPE Type:
New
IDENTIFICATION Subject:
Unit 1, 3, 4, 5a, 5b, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, Phoenix Place, Phoenix Industrial Estate, Lewes Listing and Designation Online application
LOCATION Primary County/Unitary Authority:
East Sussex
Descriptive Location:
Unit 1, 3, 4, 5a, 5b, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, Phoenix Place, Phoenix Industrial Estate, Lewes
EXTENT * Maps may not appear on this view for up to 2 days after submission to English Heritage.
OWNERSHIP & OCCUPANCY Owner: Occupier: Owner/Occupier Details:
You are not the owner of part or all of the subject. You are not the occupier of part or all of the subject. Clive Wilding Organisation: The Santon Group Telephone: 020 3478 3900 Owner The Santon Group own the entirety of the buildings specific to this application. Santon House, 5355 Uxbridge Road, Ealing, London W5 5SA,
PLANNING Current Planning Application/ Permission/Marine Consent: Post Planning Application: Post Planning Permission:
This asset is not the subject of a current planning application, permission or marine consent. You will not post a copy of the Planning Application You will not post a copy of the Planning Permission
Uploaded Planning Applicaions/Permissions:
REASONS HISTORIC INTEREST The Phoenix Iron and Steel Works. 1832 – 1986. Sussex was once the centre of English Iron manufacturing; the forges and furnaces in the Weald employed over 50,000 men. It is believed, but not confirmed, that the remaining Phoenix Iron and Steel Works buildings on the current Phoenix Estate in Lewes are the last foundry buildings that remain in the South East of England [1]. Summary John Every started the Phoenix Iron and Steel Works in Lewes in 1832. By the late 19th century the Works were as significant a landmark to the town as Lewes Castle [2]. Four generations of the Every family developed the Phoenix into the biggest local employer during the 19th and 20th century. The Phoenix Works was a community in itself with workshops, a smithy, a foundry, assembly bays and offices. The Phoenix Workmen’s Institute provided meals and hot baths. It was also the focus for social gatherings, concerts and entertainment for the workers and their families. Historical Interest The Phoenix Iron and Steel Works manufactered cast iron and steelwork on a range of scales, functions and ornamentation. The streets of Lewes display an abundance of Every products (ornate coal and drain covers, railings, window frames, and structural columns and beams with architectural detailing). Everymade ironmogery, architectural components and whole structures are still in daily use across the South East of England (Hove seafront and Eastbourne Pier amongst many other examples). Every components can be seen to this day in engineering projects in the Far East and Australia. A primary source for understanding the quality and scope of Every’s products is the Every Catalogue “John Every Phoenix Works Lewes, castings, structural iron and steel work, stock sections of steel and iron, general engineering” (catalogue undated but c.1900) [3].
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The catalogue makes it clear that the Every’s workforce was composed of engineers as well as iron founders. The Phoenix Iron and Steel Works manufactured the prototype Simplex petroldriven trams and, later, light rail carriages; the latter played an important role in supplying the front line
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View Online Application during the First World War. The Lewesbuilt trams were first employed in Karachi [4]. The Simplex company records survive, unlike those of the Phoenix Iron and Steel Works. They are referenced in Early Years of the Motor Rail & Tram Car Company by W.J.K. Davies, published in 2008. Davies notes that at least 30 trams were built for Karachi in Lewes plus two that were built for Italian use before the war prevented their export. Smaller innovations such as the ‘paper rolling machine’ patented in 1919 and ‘the device for lifting valves and manhole covers’ patented in 1933 are recorded by Reeves (Edward Reeves: Lewes photographers established 1855 and still operating from Lewes’s highstreet) as Every products.
Historical Interest:
To sustain this output the Phoenix Works ran two furnaces, an engineering department and departments for the fabrication and construction of steelwork which included a hydraulic riveting plant. Power was provided by two steam engines. Most of the raw materials and finished products were shipped along the Ouse, and vessels were served by two steampowered cranes on the river banks. The Everys were Unitarians, in the nonconformist tradition that is closely associated with the industrial history of Lewes and its liberal political tendencies. The Everys were considered model employers for their time. His declared pacifism notwithstanding, John Henry Every provided temporary billets at the Phoenix Works to units of Kitchener's New Army, a part of which was trained in Seaford before embarkation to France [5]. Their presence in the Iron Works was recorded by Reeves photographers. The workers’ facilities at the Phoenix Iron Works were described in The Sussex County Magazine of 1935 as: ‘[a] mess room for those unable to get to their home for a meal during the working day’ and also ‘baths which any member can use at will’. The Magazine concludes that ‘few foundries –even in the industrial north – are so well equipped’ [6]. John Henry Every was an alderman, Mayor of Lewes and a member of the The Sussex Archaeological Society. He collected ironwork and had a museum at the Phoenix Works, which was also recorded by Reeves. Every bequeathed a selection of these exhibits to the Sussex Archaeological Society; the selection escaped the disastrous fire in 1948 and can be seen at the museum in Anne of Cleves House in Southover, Lewes. The origin of these pieces found in the the Anne of Cleves House Museum is recorded in an article in the Society’s publication, Sussex Archaeological Collections of 1943. In 1951 J.H. Every’s son, John Morris Every, sold the works to a Mr Burchell who renamed the company ‘East Sussex Engineering Company Ltd’. During the 1950s and 60s the demand for cast iron declined and the company retooled for heavy engineering and structural steel work. In 1976 Aurora Holdings bought the factory, and stripped its assets. The nonferrous metal side was bought by GKS Coxheads Ltd in 1978. They continued trading until April 1986, when the last casting was made and the last four men to be employed were made redundant [7]. The remaining buildings of the Phoenix Iron Works are a reminder of Lewes’s industrial past. Every’s archives were lost in the 1948 fire so the unique foundry buildings form Lewes’s only link to its, and Sussex’s, iron heritage. [1] Discover the lost industrial heart of Lewes, retrieved 18/12/13, http://www.lewesphoenix.org/trail/phoenix_trail.pdf p. 11. [2] Discover the lost industrial heart of Lewes, retrieved 18/12/13, http://www.lewesphoenix.org/trail/phoenix_trail.pdf p. 11. [3] “John Every Phoenix Works Lewes, castings, structural iron and steel work, stock sections of steel and iron, general engineering” (catalogue undated but c.1900). [4] W Davies, Early Years of the Motor Rail & Tram Car Company, Plateway Press, London, 2008. [5] English Heritage, Kitchener’s Camps at Seaford, August 2010, retrieved 22/12/14, < http://services.english heritage.org.uk/ResearchReportsPdfs/027_2011WEB.pdf> [6] The Sussex County Magazine, 1935, p.723. Sussex Archaeological Society , Sussex Archaeological Collections, 1943. [7] Artemis Arts, The Phoenix Iron and Steel Works, retrieved 28/12/14, ARCHITECTURAL INTEREST Summary Phoenix Place, the area of the Phoenix Iron and Steel Works buildings, is comprised of two building complexes on 1.4 hectares of land to the north east of Lewes’s historic core. The site is bounded by the River Ouse to the north east, Phoenix Place to the south and North Street to the west. Pedestrian access to the Phoenix Place site can be gained via Green Wall, and Wiley’s Bridge which crosses the Ouse to the north. Phoenix Place is comprised of eight ancillary units housed within two primary buildings. The two complexes are structured from the surviving building fabric of the Phoenix Iron and Steel Works post the 1948 fire which destroyed sections of the Work’s formal entrance which faced Phoenix Place. Building Assessment Please reference document: ‘Lewes Phoenix Iron and Steel Works Building Location Plan 2014.’ Unit 1: Unit 1 Phoenix Place forms a group of structures with workshops to the north and offices and the Foundry Gallery to the South. The workshops form a group of three attached, long, linear structures aligned northsouth, with pitched roofs, currently clad in profiled cement sheet and continuous glazing at the apex. The western wall of the workshops is visible from North Street and consists of four recessed bays of dark stock brickwork bordered by red brick piers. Within one bay a stone plaque is dated 1902, providing the construction date for the western workshop structure, although OS mapping suggests that the two workshops ranges to the east originated slightly earlier. At the southern end of the western workshop wall is a two storey flat roofed addition used as offices (Plate 5). The office extension is constructed in stock brick with red brick detailing. The first floor is accessed by an iron spiral staircase which can be identified in a Reeves photograph (Historic Plate 24) as John Every’s office circa 1920. The interior of the three linear, gabled structures form an open plan workshop. The internal structure of the building is steel framed with riveted Isection girders beneath the valley gutters. The Isection beams are supported by a combination of cylindrical (Plate 7) and Isection beams. The roof trusses, which are manufactured from steel, each comprise four slender struts riveted to a composite tiebeam and principal rafters (Document: Laser survey drawing of Unit 1, 2014). Attached to the southern end of the eastern linear gabled structure is a twostorey, brick built structure with a steeply pitched, hipped roof. This is thought to be the former location of the boiler/steam engine house which provided power for the furnace and is probably one the earlier buildings on site circa 1880. Internal access is gained from the workshop and from the Foundry Gallery to the south. Internally the building contains a substantial square brick chimney stack which
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View Online Application has been removed above roof level. The roof is timber framed; a visible roof truss shows the construction to be a double purlin roof supported by a pair of queen posts and raking struts, strengthened with iron strapping. Baltic merchant’s marks confirm the timber to be Baltic softwood (Plate 9). Attached to the south is the Foundry Gallery. This building comprises two parallel ranges aligned eastwest, fronting onto a small yard off North Street and gabled to the west and east. A metal sign on the west elevation suggests it predates 1903 (Plate 14). The Foundry Gallery interior is open plan, and framed in iron with similar roof trusses to the adjacent workshops supported on Igirder columns. These columns support substantial rails which carry lifting gear which spans the southern range (Plate 11). Units 311 Units 311 principally comprise a large group of attached parallel gabled buildings running roughly northeast southwest, fronting onto Phoenix Place to the south and the river to the north. Units 3 and 4 form a pair at the western end of the group, unit 3 is hipped at the south end and gabled to the north, unit 4 is gabled at both ends. The southern elevation of unit 4 consists of some historic brick and flint work. Internally unit 3 and 4 are generally open plan, the roof comprises substantial timber tie beams with queen posts and raking queen struts, and timber cross bracing between the trusses, which concurs with a presumed mid19th century construction date. Historic photographs suggest that these two units formed the foundry casting workshops (Plate 20, 22 [Kitchener’s army troop stabled in unit 3 / 4 1915: Plate 21]).
Architectural Interest:
Units 5a and 5b form a pair of units attached to the east side of Unit 4. These two ranges retain timberframed roof trusses, each comprising a substantial tie beam, raking struts to the principal rafters and iron king rods. Unit 6 occupies two parallel ranges running northsouth. The building is generally open plan and has an iron frame comprising substantial Isection stanchions supporting long Isection girders to one side. At the south east corner of unit 6 the former stables of the Iron and Steel Works are retained within the building. This is a small, twostorey structure, aligned northsouth, built in dark stock brick, now painted, with a pitched, gabled roof. The interior of the building retains some indication of its former use. Two cylindrical cast iron columns supporting a central Isection ceiling girder contain housings for stable door fittings, supporting slender, deep section joists of the floor above. The floor is covered with Staffordshire blue paviours. Units 7 forms a long, twostorey range running northeast southwest. The majority of the range appears to be based on a structure that was in place by the time of the production of the 1910 Ordinance Survey Map. The southern end is the buildings principle façade. This façade is constructed in dark stock brickwork in English bond, divided at first floor level into three recessed bays separated by brick piers, each bay having a flatarched head with dentil brick detailing (Plate 15). The central bay contains a date stone of 1911. The bays to either side each contain a pair of ornate metalframe windows. The building is iron framed, with the roof structure formed by trusses of slender struts bolted together, as in unit 1, supported on iron brackets fixed into the brickwork. Units 811 form a group of four large, regular, gabled buildings, if viewed from the south (Plate 3 + Historic Plate 25 / 26). Each has a roof structure comprising slender angle iron bolted trusses, supported on iron columns (Document: Laser survey drawing of Unit 8. 2014). Large sliding timber doors with glazed panels are possibly original and survive on the southwestern elevations of units 9 and 10. Unit 11 contains the surviving lifting mechanisms at its northwestern end, stamped with ‘Every Lewes’ and comprising rope and chain pulley systems, attached to Igirders spanning the width of the building. Significance of buildings: The buildings that form the subject of this application contain remarkable surviving fabric relating to the former Iron and Steel Works. There is very good survival of the historic roof trusses and iron framework from throughout the period of the site’s development. There is also limited survival of machinery relating to the former use of the site. The surviving fabric of the Iron Works buildings allows the phasing of the site to be interpreted and illustrates the development of industrial construction techniques: the earliest buildings on the site being constructed in timber and brick with a progression towards the use of iron framework and roof trusses. The understanding of the development of the site is further illuminated by the considerable quantity and quality of historic photographs and maps in the Reeves archive. In most cases the surviving historic fabric was viewed from the interior of the buildings, their exteriors being obscured by later cladding. There is consequently the potential to reveal further information about their construction, former appearance, phasing and use through the removal of later cladding and finishes. The loss of this historic fabric would remove the potential for Lewes’s future generations to learn about the town’s industrial history from the surviving architecture of Phoenix Iron and Steel Works. This application suggests that these overlooked building have great significance for the future of Lewes and deserve protection. Observations, photographs and survey drawings by W Anderson. Cambridge Design Research Studio.
THREAT The remaining buildings, iron structures and wharf of the old Phoenix Iron and Steel Works in Lewes, are due to be demolished by developers The Santon Group to make way for housing and an underground car park. Santon will be submitting their outline planning application early in the New Year (2015), however they have indicated that they might proceed with demolishing some of the buildings prior to consent. They have recently terminated leases on one of the buildings and two neighbouring yards (to be vacated in January), possibly in order to enable demolition access. Lewes Phoenix Rising (LPR), community development company, wishes to renovate the buildings for the purpose of protecting and displaying our industrial heritage and continuing the centuriesold tradition of using the site for manufacturing and creative enterprises. LPR can provide substantial documentation (surveys, photographs and research) which we believe justifies investigation into the whether these buildings should be saved.
Threat:
PHOTOGRAPHS
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Uploaded
Plate_1_Unit_1_interior_historical_comparision.jpg Internal Plate 1_Unit 1 interior historical comparision Plate_2_Unit_1_Foundry_Gallery_interior_historical_comparision.jpg Internal Unit 1_Foundry Gallery_interior historical comparision Plate_3_Units_7_11_exterior_historical_comparision.jpg External Units 711_exterior historical comparision Plate_4_Unit_9_interior_historical_comparision.jpg Internal Unit 9_interior historical comparision Plate_5_West_wall_of_Unit_1_Phoenix_Place.jpg External West wall of Unit 1 Phoenix Place Plate_6_Interior_of_workshops_in_Unit_1_Phoenix_Place__looking_north.jpg Internal Interior of workshops in Unit 1 Phoenix Place, looking north Plate_7_Interior_of_workshops_in_Unit_1_Phoenix_Place_column_capital_detail.jpg Internal Interior of workshops in Unit 1 Phoenix Place_column capital detail Plate_8_Surviving_chimney_in_former_boiler_steam_engine_house__and_stanchions_supporting_the_first_floor.jpg
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Photographs:
Internal Surviving chimney in former boiler steam engine house, and stanchions supporting the first floor Plate_9_Roof_truss_of_former_boiler_steam_engine_house.jpg Internal Roof truss of former boiler_steam engine house Plate_10_Foundry_Gallery_interior.jpg Internal Foundry Gallery Plate_11_Foundry_Gallery_Iron_framework_and_lifting_gear.jpg Internal Foundry Gallery_Iron framework and lifting gear Plate_12_Interior_of_Unit_3_looking_south.jpg Internal Interior of Unit 3_looking south Plate_13_Interior_of_Unit_3_looking_north.jpg Internal Interior of Unit 3_looking north Plate_14_Metal_sign_on_the_west_wall_of_Foundry_Gallery.jpg External Metal sign on the west wall of Foundry Gallery Plate_15_West_elevation_of_Unit_7.jpg External West elevation of Unit 7
Other Photograph/s:
You will post photographs.
DOCUMENTS
Uploaded Documents:
Other Documents Bibliographic References:
Site_Plan_2014.jpg Lewes Phoenix Iron and Steel Works Building Location Plan 2014. 1870s.jpg Lewes Phoenix Iron and Steel Works Building Location Plan 1870s. 1910.jpg Lewes Phoenix Iron and Steel Works Building Location Plan 1910s. 1930s.jpg Lewes Phoenix Iron and Steel Works Building Location Plan 1930s. Unit_1_Survey_Drawing_A4.jpg Laser survey drawing of Unit 1. 2014. Unit_3_Survey_Drawing_A4.jpg Laser survey drawing of Unit 3. 2014. Unit_8_Survey_Drawing_A4.jpg Laser survey drawing of Unit 8. 2014. The_Phoenix_Iron_and_Steel_Works_Model.jpg 1_75 plywood model of the current buildings of the Phoenix Iron and Steel Works. Model made by the Cambridge Design Research Group to raise awareness of Lewes's industrial heritage. You will not post any documents. Web Reference Organisation/Author: Artemis Arts, Title: The Phoenix Iron and Steel Works, Date Accessed: 28/12/14, URL: http://www.lewesphoenix.org/gallery/gallery_inside_19.html Book Reference Author/s: Davies W, Title: , Early Years of the Motor Rail & Tram Car Company, Year: 2008, Page/s: Web Reference Organisation/Author: Artemis Arts, Title: Discover the lost industrial heart of Lewes, Date Accessed: 18/12/13, URL: http://www.lewesphoenix.org/trail/phoenix_trail.pdf Web Reference Organisation/Author: English Heritage, Title: Kitchener's Camps at Seaford, Date Accessed: 22/12/14, URL: http://services.english heritage.org.uk/ResearchReportsPdfs/027_2011WEB.pdf Book Reference Author/s: Every, Title: John Every Phoenix Works Lewes, castings, structural iron and steel work, s, Year: c.1900, Page/s: Book Reference Author/s: Sussex Archaeological Society, Title: The Sussex County Magazine, 1935, Year: , Page/s: 723
COMMENTS The entirety of the application area lies within the South Downs National Park.
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