102. Flood Tide 14’2″ OD, 1/11/21.
Demonstrating how vulnerable the site was to flooding, typical ground level before construction was around 12′ OD, machine house floors were made at 16′ OD, however the basements were still vulnerable.
There was flooding including the basements later (1953 East Coast Floods?), which initiated building the low flood wall (~3′ tall) which existed in the 70s. Subsequently with increasing risk, a 2m high flood wall was built along the whole river frontage of the New Hythe site.
I can remember occasions in the late 70s or early 80s when we monitored the rise of the tide in no 1 and 2 clarifier launders in East Mill, ready to shut the process water pumps and supply to Kimberley Clark if the water topped the clarifier wall. (KC were supposed to immediately wash up if machines shut for sanitary reasons, if their water was left on they would potentially flood the Perimeter Road as this was quite low lying in relation to the West Mill drain and sump in East Mill).
The name of the inn has changed to Ferry Inn, which is what we always knew it as – or just The Ferry – it was the Personnel Dept office in my time.
