Updated Jan 2011
Somerleyton Hovercraft Celebration
Press Release 4 Hovercraft Column Project 20th Feb 2008
Foundation Laid for the Hovercraft Column at Somerleyton
Laying the foundation of anything is a special moment, and so it is with the landmark Column to commemorate the invention of the Hovercraft at Somerleyton in 1955. Well known local builder M S Oakes Ltd., with their directly employed local workforce, are much respected for their fine workmanship. Clearing the site began on the 12th February and by the 19th they had completed both excavation and laying the reinforced concrete.
Lord Somerleyton, who is Chairman of the Hovercraft Column committee, said 'I am extremely pleased that the project has reached the building stage and know that every effort will now go into early completion. It represents the latest step in a progression of local commemorative works in recent years beginning with the Hovercraft Roundel Memorial on the Pergola Lawn at Somerleyton Hall in 2006, and the naming of the Sir Christopher Cockerell Centre at Lowestoft College in 2007. It is particularly pleasing that the Hovercraft Column will stand so close to the centre of the village, a reminder to those who pass that Somerleyton has played its part in our country's rich maritime engineering history, although landmarks to our great engineers are all too few.'
Frances Cockerell says that she is 'really thrilled that the work on site for laying the foundation for the Hovercraft Celebratory Column in honour of her father and his invention, has now started. She added, 'I am also very touched indeed by the hard work put in by so many, and the generosity of all those who have made donations to help record this important British achievement'.
Sir Christopher has become something of a local hero and from the outset there has been much local support for the Hovercraft Column project to commemorate his life and work. Somerleyton Parish Council Chairman Simon Phillips, a Master Mariner working as a pilot at Gt Yarmouth, said 'it is wonderful to see this commemoration of the creation of a world-wide industry taking shape. Particularly so as the Hovercraft invention is entering a new phase of activity that stems from its unique amphibious qualities. This allows hovercraft to operate without port or harbour facilities and so greatly enhances all kinds of transport in third world countries and allows special life-saving designs to operate freely over shallows where it would be impossible to use displacement craft'.
Taking a historical view, architect James Airy points out that columns have been built throughout the world to commemorate great events. His design for a modern column to landmark the invention of the Hovercraft at Somerleyton has been very well received. Indeed in granting planning consent Waveney District Council commented that 'it is felt that this particular man-made intrusion adds to the land and vista'. As the M S Oakes team made ready to leave the site, James Airy said how pleased he is with their co-operation.
Structural engineer Richard Swift of SFK Consulting designed the foundation and has proposed a particularly interesting method of reinforcing the Column. A stainless steel rod will be placed within a precision bore through the centre of the stonework and deep into the foundation. A special grout will be injected into a sock encircling the rod resulting in an immensely strong structure when set.