HISTORIC ROUTE River Severn Gloucester/ Sharpness Canal Bell House, Wallbridge Lock, Stroud, Glos, GL5 3JS Saul Junction S [email protected] 01453 752568 Whitminster To T 1 Stroudwater A38 Gloucester R Jude Lindley Connected M5 & Beyond TRUST ADMINISTRATORS B Project O Justine Hopkins Length Eastington U Newtown D Bond’s Mill Vice Presidents THE W Neil Carmichael MP TROW STONEHOUSE is published by the Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP Ryeford A Chris Coburn MBE Cotswold Canals Trust. T The magazine takes its name Ebley David Drew 1 E Dr David Fletcher CBE from the historic Severn sailing Dudbridge Professor Mark Horton vessels A R Rt Hon Sir Richard Needham A46 Compilation & Layout Capel’s Mill Bowbridge STROUD Development Advisor David Jowett 01453 755535 Thrupp Neville Nelder Brims- [email protected] Brimscombe 11 Upper Leazes, Stroud, Glos., combe Port The Cotswold Canals Trust GL5 1LA is a Registered Charity. RH Chalford Its aims are: Design & Print Liaison Sharon Dainton of T To promote for the benefit Golden Frampton Mansell of the community, The Design Co-operative P 01453 751778 Valley H the re-opening of the H Daneway Cotswold Canals Printed by Zeta Printing Services A 01453 825047 A Sapperton Sapperton To promote the restoration Tunnel M of the two waterways S to give a balance between Advertising Enquiries Peter Perry E the needs of navigation, RH [email protected] E development, recreation, Coates TEL: 01376 346705 S heritage, landscape A423 N FAX: 01376 348550 conservation, wildlife and Kemble natural habitats. 137 Notley Road, Braintree, 3 A429 Essex, CM7 1HF Ewen & To promote the use of CIRENCESTER all the towpath as PLEASE MENTION THE TROW Siddington Cirencester Arm The Thames & Severn Way. WHEN RESPONDING TO ADS Cotswold To achieve restoration of THE VIEWS & OPINIONS HEREIN Water S South Cerney the Cotswold Canals as a DO NOT NECESSARILY Park navigable route from REPRESENT THOSE OF THE E Saul Junction to the River Thames COTSWOLD CANALS TRUST North RH Cerney Wick V COPY DATE Published by Wilts Canal Some sections of the Thames & Severn Canal E REG. CHARITY No 269721 5 JAN 1 Mar Latton are in private ownership A419 with no public access Reg Co: The Cotswold Canals Trust 5 APR 1 Jun Registered in England No. 1207787 R Registered Office: Island House, 5 JUL 1 Sep Moor Road, Chesham, HP5 1NZ 5 OCT 1 Dec 2 CRICKLADE N Eisey RH Marston Meysey Cotswold Canals Trust: www.cotswoldcanals.com Volunteers’ site: www.cct.teamconnect.org.uk ENews Registration: www.cctmembers-newsletter.co.uk Kempsford Canal Route & mile marker The Cotswold Canals Trust is a member of RH Inglesham Round River RH House Thames To LECHLADE London Front Cover: Saul Junction featuring new lock gates and a refurbished Junction Bridge House (MG) Jim’s Jottings Trust Chairman Jim White The pages of this edition of The Trow are full of positive accounts of the CCT’s activities to deliver the restoration of our two canals for the benefit of the community. This would not have been possible without the commitment of volunteers supported by the Trust and Stroud District Council (SDC). This work has now been further enhanced by Many projects have advanced in the last few the promise of strong financial input to months; here are some examples. The achieve a successful bid this Autumn to the Western Depot at Eastington has totally Heritage Lottery Fund, for Stroudwater refurbished an old British Waterways work Navigation Connected. As you will read in the boat, now launched as Annette II, which is a following pages, SDC has committed to £3m, hydraulic power support vessel and also Gloucestershire County Council has approved doubles as a very effective second tug. A £700,000 and Canal & River Trust £625,000, year-long bank piling and towpath widening phased over the build programme. Of equal project between Ryeford double lock and importance is the commitment from all three Ryeford bridge is nearing completion. partners for considerable contributions ‘in Preparations are well advanced for dredging kind’. We are extremely grateful for their and disposal, at various locations between the commitments which demonstrate the Ocean and beyond Bowbridge in anticipation determination of our partners to deliver a of bringing that full section into navigation. successful project connecting Stroud by water to the national waterways network. To Page 6 u April saw a very successful conference for all our volunteers, which is an annual open forum A SLICE THROUGH TIME giving a means for them to shape the way forward. All volunteers who undertake Please come to construction or maintenance work, and those Saul Junction Lock who engage with the public, are given suitable Saturday & Sunday 20/21 May, training. A well-attended first aid course was at any time from 10 am to 4 pm. held recently and our team leaders on construction projects took a two day assessed Find out about the history of the lock CITB (Construction Industry Training Board) and the now vanished course. All our plant and machinery operators canal to Framilode. also hold the required certification. To work Follow our mystery walk and answer safely is of paramount importance and many the quiz. Listen to stories. unwelcome events often result from poor Make up your own stories about how communications. John Newton, one of our life would have been for you, Vice Chairs, has taken on the task of 200 years ago. Operations Director and has just completed a Lots of things to do for people of all ages! restructure of our depots so that reporting/support lines are clear and no one is left out on a limb. This forms part of an overall This event celebrates review of the functional structure of the Trust Canal & River Trust’s restoration of the as we prepare, with our close partners to lock in 2016, funded by HLF. meet the challenge of major restoration work, The whole event is a partnership hopefully, in the very near future - more between Canal & River Trust and CCT. details in the following editions of The Trow. 5 As members of the trust, you are remarkably successful at raising funds for specific projects, especially recently, raising the supporting funding allowing us to bid for Stroudwater Navigation Connected this the colour of the Cotswold Canals near Stonehouse as CCT’s latest autumn. These funds can only be used for Update Partnership, which emphasises that this is interpretation centre. This is another strand the specific dedicated purpose for which they by Val Kirby, Convener of very much a partnership project. The long in our plans to convince the HLF that we can Stroudwater Navigation Connected are raised. An appeal to fund a further trip title, to be used in all documents, is tell fascinating stories in unusual ways. The boat, for example, is showing signs of Stroudwater Navigation Connected. Gatehouse was built as a pillbox and gun becoming a viable project. There is, however, emplacement as part of ‘Stop Line Green’, another side to the coin. Partner Support As I write, we have just started the process one of England’s internal defence lines of letting a contract for the assessment of during the Second World War, so the stories There is a very substantial expense in the The big news in this edition of The Trow the heritage significance of both the that we will tell there are about 20th every day ‘housekeeping’ that keeps the has to be the three huge contributions Stroudwater Navigation and the archives of century history – shadow factories and the Trust in existence! As you would expect in from our partners. the Company of Proprietors of the local Home Guard. If you want to visit, we that long list are rent, insurances, salaries, Stroudwater Navigation. You might ask why hope to open at weekends and bank vehicle annual costs, fuel, electricity, etc. Articles from Dave Marshall of Stroud we need to do that when all the people holidays from Easter to the end of August. The main source of income to meet the District Council (SDC) and Jason Leach involved in the project already know how Even if we are closed, we will have new general expenses is the membership of the Canal & River Trust appear important both canal and archives are. The information panels in the windows, visible subscription, with gift aid, supported by elsewhere in this Trow. answer is that we need to convince the to anyone passing by. lesser amounts from the bookshop, 300 Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and to do that Club, Visitor Centre sales, log sales, talks, we need evidence from independent experts. In Summary events and sometimes, donations. We have been told that the competition next Unfortunately, in more recent years, this year for HLF Major Project funds will be even I will end on another positive note. It is income has not balanced the general The third contribution is from greater than in 2015, so our arguments great to be working even more closely with expenditure, and we have been fortunate Gloucestershire County Council (GCC). about the importance of our project must be Stroud District Council. CCT and SDC will be to receive unplanned gifts and legacies On 29th March, GCC approved the sum rock solid. joint lead partners in the next HLF bid and that have bridged the gap. Whilst your of £700,000 to be spent on the project this is having a positive impact on our Trustees are diligent in authorizing over four years from 2019/20 onwards. Bond’s Mill Gatehouse working relationship right now. Despite the expenditure, it would be considerably County Councillor Nigel Moor, GCC competition for HLF funds, I am confident more reassuring to know that a reliable cabinet member for fire, planning and By the time you read this, we will have that we are in a better position than ever to income stream covers the necessary infrastructure said: “Our canals have opened the listed Gatehouse at Bond’s Mill win those precious funds.