Submarine Appliances And Their Uses
Deep Sea Diving, &c., &c.

DIVERS SAVE A CATHEDRAL.* The work of saving Winchester Cathedral is quite without precedent in the his- tory of Church Archæology, and constitutes an unique instance of the employment of the Diver. At first sight it is a difficult matter for the ordinary reader to understand, and the question is often asked, “How can a diver be employed on solid and dry ground such as that on which the Cathedral stands ? ’ A few words at the outset may be useful in explaining- the process. If a shaft be sunk in almost any place, the level of water will be reached sooner or later, and the excavation practically becomes a well. In order to reach a lower depth one of two courses must be adopted : either a pump must be used to lower the water, or a diver must be employed to excavate below the water level. In the case of Winchester Cathedral, it was at once apparent that pumping was inadmissible, as by so doing silt or sand would be drawn from beneath the other por- tions of the fabric, and the building- would be pumped down to destruction. Before the work of underpinning was commenced, Mr. T. G. Jackson, R.A., the Diocesan Architect, had a trial hole sunk some distance from the building, and he found that, although the foundations had been carried down by the ancient builders in A.D. 1079 ’and a.I). 1202 to a depth of 10ft. below the surface, the work had been stopped at that level by water. In those days pumping was not understood, nor were the uses of Caisson, Compressed Air and other modern appliances known to the builders. They knew nothing about diving, and consequently their operations were stopped. At the later date__a.d. 1202—beech trees of various sizes were laid side by side at the bottom of the trench—at water level—and these having been covered up with chalk, the construction of the Cathedral was proceeded with. In this trial hole, however, it was found that below the water-level a bed of marly clay 6ft. in thickness existed which rested on a genuine peat bog 8ft. 6in. in depth. This in its turn was supported by a fine bed of water-worn flints. The exis- tence of this gravel bed is that which renders the saving of the Cathedral possible. The problem that presented itself was as to the best method to be adopted for the removal of the pest and the substitution of concrete or masonry without pumping’. * Copyright by R. H. Davis in the U.S.A. 77