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I thought the lugs looked very Chapter Lea like, particularly the rear drop outs and the fork crown. I could of course be mistaken.
My local LBS suggested I buy a modern sealed BB unit, to alleviate the problem of water ingress in the BB shell, but I feel that would be cheating somewhat, so i will see how the mudguards work out.
falconvitesse-
You could be right about those lugs - I don't know what they are, but the bottom bracket is standard size, so that's not much help for indentification.
Sealing your BB bearing might be ok for the bearing, but it's not a solution for the problem - perhaps your LBS is hoping to sell you a new frame after yours has rusted through!
I think this problem is almost always caused by lack of a back mudguard, but you might take the extra precaution of silicon sealer around the seat bolt area.
It used to be normal practice (towards the end of the unsealed BB era in the 70's and 80's) to fit a plastic seal between the BB cups. You may still be able to find these at cycle jumbles, but if not it's possible to make one from a plastic bottle.
clubman
Aussie Hurlen Frame
I've no reason to think the lugs are Chater Lea. When I referred to the 'bottom bearing' I meant the bottom of the headset, not the bottom bracket.
The oversize bottom headset bearing was a fairly common feature pre 1939. I think most Selbachs had one, as did Sunbeams. I don't know who made them, and I've got a feeling that Sunbeam made their own. It certainly seems a good idea since it is always the bottom end of a headset which gets damaged, so beefing it up ought to help.
Mudguards
Riding without mudguards can often cause water to get into the seat tube and from there it may well ruin the BB bearing or, worse still, sit in the tube until it rusts through.
Possible remedies include:
-fitting a back mudguard.