Narrow Boat BEATTY - 1109
Beatty is a full length 70 foot narrow boat built in 1937 by W. J. Yarwood’s shipyard at Northwich on the River Weaver in Cheshire. She spent her first 23 years working for the Samuel Barlow Coal Company carrying cargoes of coal from the Warwickshire coalfields to canalside factories on the Oxford and Grand Union Canals. In 1960 Beatty was sold for conversion to an eight berth cruising boat – an early narrow boat conversion, at a time when most canal holiday boats were small wooden cruisers. This was well before the purpose-built steel boats of today.
In 1968 Beatty was bought by the Grundy family of Liverpool for family holidays. Beatty is remarkable for remaining in the same family since then and has already been enjoyed by three generations of the Grundy family. Current owner Nick Grundy inherited the boat from his father five years ago. For the last 44 years Beatty has been used for extensive cruising over most of England’s inland waterways system. She has travelled as far north as York and as far south as Godalming, to Bristol in the west, Cambridge and Boston in the east. Beatty first navigated the Thames through the Pool of London in 1970.
Beatty is on the National Register of Historic Vessels and regularly attends rallies and other events organised by the Historic Narrow Boat Club.
Beatty will be travelling to London for the Pageant from her winter mooring at Leigh on the Bridgewater Canal. This is a journey of more than two weeks duration through the inland waterways system. The planned route is:
Bridgewater Canal – Stretford, Altrincham, Lymm, Preston Brook. Trent & Mersey Canal – Northwich, Middlewich, Stoke-on-Trent, Stone, Rugeley, Fradley Junction. Coventry Canal – Fazeley, Atherstone, Nuneaton, Hawkesbury Junction. Northern Oxford Canal – Ansty, Brinklow, Rugby, Braunston Junction. Grand Union Canal – Long Buckby, Milton Keynes, Leighton Buzzard, Tring, Berkham- sted, Hemel Hempstead, Uxbridge, Brentford. At Brentford, Beatty will join the River Thames where the flotilla will be mustered. Beatty’s journey south is more difficult than expected because of the severe drought which is affecting southern England; the Grand Union Canal from the Midlands to London has heavy restrictions on the use of locks to try to save water.
On the day of the Pageant Beatty will be crewed by eight members of the Grundy family, including Mrs Jennifer Grundy who bought Beatty with her husband in 1968. Honoured guests for the Pageant will include the High Sherriff of Merseyside and a number of other dignitaries from Liverpool. Beatty will be dressed overall with flags and bunting and will carry a banner congratulating Her Majesty on the occasion of her Diamond Jubilee.
For further information about Beatty please see our website www.nbbeatty.co.uk