Number 208 March 2015

1 THE BOAT MUSEUM SOCIETY President: Di Skilbeck MBE Vice-Presidents: Alan Jones, Harry Arnold MBE, Tony Lewery

DIRECTORS Chairman: Jeff Fairweather Vice-Chairman: Will Manning Vice-Chairman: Chris Kay Treasurer: Barbara Kay Barbara Catford Barry Green Lynn Potts Sue Phillips Bob Thomas Cath Turpin Mike Turpin Andy Wood

CO-OPTED COMMITTEE MEMBERS Nigel Carpenter Martyn Kerry Ailsa Rutherford Andy Wood [Re:Port Editor] 34 Langdale Road, Bebington, CH63 3AW T :0151 334 2209 E: [email protected]

The Boat Museum Society is a company limited by guarantee, registered in England Number 1028599. Registered Charity Number 501593

Visit our website www.boatmuseumsociety.org.uk

The National Waterways Museum, Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, CH65 4FW, Telephone: 0151 355 5017 http://canalrivertrust.org.uk/national-waterways-museum

Cover: Gilbert and Planet coming down Stoke Bruerne Locks, © Sylvie Maney

2 Dates for Your Diary Sat 7-Sun 8 Mar NWM Ellesmere Port Model Boat Club, Model Boat Show. Tue 10 Mar IWA 'Havana to Galapagos' - Cruising the Caribbean from Havana to the Panama Canal'. Captain Derrick Kemp. Sun 15 Mar NWM Waterways Craft Group. Meets 3rd Sun of the month 10.00-3.00 with the odd exception. Tue17 Mar EPLFHS AGM. Cath Turpin will give us a fascinating insight into the lives of the residents of Porters’ Row. Wed 18 Mar NWM International Guild of Knot Tyers, 11.00-2.00. Fri 20 Mar BMS “Water Management – too little, too much, just right”. Alan Comerford, National Hydrology Manager for the Canal & River Trust. Fri 3-Mon NWM Easter Boat Gathering and Sea Shanty Festival. Real 6 Apr Ale Festival, music, lock demonstrations, boaters’ games. Fri 3 Apr BMS Peter Brown “Death on the Shropshire Union”. Local newspapers of the past give accounts of interesting and some times gruesome events. Launch of Waterways Journal Volume 17. Tue 14 Apr IWA 'Fort Perch Rock, New Brighton'. What do local people know about its hilarious history? Derek Arnold, former Chief Engineer in the Merchant Navy, will be telling us about this iconic structure on the Wirral shoreline. Wed 15 Apr NWM International Guild of Knot Tyers, 11.00-2.00. Tue 12 May IWA 'Researching the lives of Narrowboat Families'. Cath Turpin has spent many hours tracing the families that worked the narrowboats which came in and out of Ellesmere Port. Fri 15 May BMS Gavin Hunter Wirral’s Mersey Coast. Gavin is a local historian and speaker with a great interest in the history of Wirral. Sun 17 May NWM Waterways Craft Group. 10.00-3.00. Tue 26- NWM Pirate Cruises May Half Term Thur 28 May

BMS All meetings are held at 7.30 in the Rolt Conference Centre at the NWM CCHT Talks start at 8.00 pm in the Clubhouse at Chester Boughton Hall Cricket Club, Boughton Hall Avenue, Boughton, Chester, CH3 5EL. Free to members of CCHT, IWA & SUCS. Non-members £2.50 EPLFHS meets at 7.30 in the Rolt Comnference Centre at the NWM IWA Chester & Merseyside All meetings are held at 7.45 in the Rolt Conference Centre at the NWM

Copy Date for Re:Port 209 - Wednesday 20th May. Views expressed in RE:PORT are those of the contributors, and should not be taken as the policy of the Boat Museum Society, National Waterways Museum or CRT.

3 Number 208 March 2015

Directors’Chairman’s Report Report 2013/14

I amam pleased pleased to to be be able able to announceto announce that that CRT CRT have haveappointed appointed Graham Graham Boxer asBoxer our new as the Head new of Museums.Head of Museums Reporting, writes to IanJeff Rogers, Fairweather Head of Customer. Graham Service, comes Grahamto us from will the be Imperialresponsible War for theMuseum National North. Waterways However, Museum looking at Ellesmereback, this Port hasn’t and beenthe Gloucester an easy yearWaterways for any Museum of us, and all of the designated museum and archive collections. Graham joins us on 27 April from themanagement, Imperial War staff Museum and volunteers in his role alike. as Director, Few of us accountable could have for predicted the overall the vision,amount direction of time andor effort operation that wouldof the Imperial be needed War to Museummeet the North emerging resulting challenges in record and visitor to deliver numbers the progressand their highestthat now ever is levelso evident. of media The exposure. working He relationship previously worked between for CRT, Liverpool NWM City and Council BMS andhas Liverpoolimproved Cultureand developed Company at anda rapid earlier pace at andSt George’s I see no Hall,reason National why that Museums shouldn’t & Galleries continue. on Merseyside The knowledge and Merseyside and depth Maritime of experience Museum. available within BMS about boats and heritage is well known,​This hasn’ butt thisbeen year an easythrough year my for role any as of Chairman us, management, I have been staff amazed and volunteers at the breadth alike. of Few other of usskills could and have knowledge predicted that the we amount have at of our time disposal. or effort We that continue would tobe beneeded an influential to meet theorganisation emerging challengeswhose members, and to deliverin conjunction the progress with that the now management is so evident. and To staff, the credit continue of CRT, to make NWM significant and BMS thecontributions working relationship to the day between to day operations us all has improved of the site. and developed at a rapid pace and I see no reason why that The shouldn’t Society continue.is not just about boats. It has a valuable role to play in historic waterways heritage,The research,knowledge education, and depth publications of experience and available providing within talks BMS to outside about groups.boats and BMS heritage frequently is well known, but this year through my role as Chairman I have been amazed at the breadth of other skills and demonstrates its tenacity, versatility and resourcefulness as an organisation doing its best for not knowledge that we have at our disposal. We continue to be an influential organisation whose members, injust conjunction our boats withbut thethe wholemanagement collection and staff,which continue has involved to make many significant hours ofcontributions meetings toto establishthe day to daypriorities, operations obtain of thefunds site. and to make decisions about spending the money wisely. The The Society major isworks not just on about the Toll boats. House, It has Limea valuable Shed, role Boat to play Hall, in historicPower Hall,waterways Accumulator heritage, research,Tower, Porters education, Row, publications Volunteer andHub providing and Rest talks Room to outsideunder the groups. direction BMS and frequently supervision demonstrates of Steve itsBosworth tenacity, are versatility now near and to resourcefulness completion. Margaret as an organisation Harrison, Collectionsdoing its best Manageri for, not just heads the aboats, team but of thevolunteers, whole collection staff and which conservation has involved experts many in ahours major of conservation meetings to establishstudy of priorities,all the boats. obtain funds and to Imake would decisions like to sayabout a bighow thank the money you to is all spent our wisely. members, new and old, who have worked so hard Thealongside major theworks staff on and the managementToll House, Lime to achieve Shed, soBoat much Hall, throughout Power Hall, the Accumulator year. Cath TurpinTower, Portersfor her workRow, inVolunteer the archives, Hub andarranging Rest Room the Society under themeetings direction and and editing supervision the “Waterways of Steve BosworthJournal”, arewhich now remains near to completion.a “must-have” publication for serious waterways people. Thanks to Sue Phillips our websiteMargaret is Harrison vibrant ourand collections up to date manager and an isexcellent heading away team for of peoplevolunteers, to find staff outand aboutconservation BMS. experts in a major conservation/preservation study of all of the boats. ThanksI would to Andy like Wood,to say a“Re:Port” big thank isyou still to the all onlyour members, communication new and that old, goes who to have every worked member so hardand alongsideis an important the staff means and management for us to keep to inachieve touch. so Thanks much throughout to Ailsa Rutherford, the year. Cath “Museum Turpin forTimes” her work has inbeen the publishedarchives, arrangingevery month the Societyand kept meetings us up to and date editing with thethe widerWaterways museum Journal, and CRTwhich issues. remains We a “must-have”are very fortunate publication to have for seriousmembers waterways who will people. devote Thanks so much to Sue of Phillipstheir personal our website time is to vibrant, these aliveimportant and up communications to date and an excellent media. way for people to find out about BMS. Thanks to Andy Wood, “Re:Port” BMS is hasstill assistedthe only thecommunication Museum in thatmany goes events to every and memberthanks must and isgo an to important all those chance who helped for us toin keepa wide in touch. variety Thanks of jobs. to Ailsa Our Rutherford,Treasurer, “MuseumBarbara Kay, Times” for has front been of published house, fund every raising month andand keptorganising us up tothe date raffles; with Christhe wider Kay museum for tour andguides, CRT Lynn issues. Potts We as are BMS very Secretary; fortunate toBarbara have members Catford whoas Membership will devote soSecretary; much of theirBob Thomaspersonal timefor historic to these interpretation important communications and Santa’s grotto;media. Jane Lane for theBMS Craft has Group;assisted Annthe Museum Gardiner in formany the events Crochet and Group;thanks mustStuart go Gardiner to all those on whoMossdale helped andin a wideGeorge variety; Martyn of jobs. Kerry Our for Treasurer, BAG Group; Barbara Di KaySkilbeck for front and of the house, care fundgroup raising have andkept organisingGifford well the raffles; Chris Kay for tour guides, Lynn Potts as BMS Secretary; Barbara Catford as Membership Secretary;maintained; Bob Mike Thomas Turpin for onhistoric outreach interpretation projects andand theSanta’s Russell grotto; Newbery Jane Lane rally; for Barry the Craft Green Group; and AnnDave Gardiner Russell forfor theirthe Crochet ongoing Group; work inStuart the LimeGardiner Shed, on Slipway Mossdale and and Site George; maintenance Martyn planning. Kerry for BAG ThroughoutGroup; Di Skilbeck the year and it has the been care goodgroup to have see keptvolunteers Gifford out well in maintained;force working Mikeclosely Turpin with on outreachthe management projects and and the staff Russell assisting Newbery in all rally; areas Barry including Green and Front Dave of Russell House, for Restaurant, their ongoing Porters work inRow, the LimeBookstall, Shed, IslandSlipway Warehouse, and Site maintenance Archives, planning.Power Hall, Pump House, Car Park, Guiding and of courseThroughout the BAG the team year whoit has were been on good hand to to see open volunteers and close out the in pontoon,force working operate closely the locks with and the managementorganise the mooringsand staff assistingfor the boats. in all Myareas thanks including go to Frontmy own of House,site maintenance Restaurant, team Porters for Row,their

4 Number 208 RE:PORT Bookstall,loyalty, support, Island Warehouse,hard work and Archives, above Powerall their Hall, friendship Pump House,through Car some Park, very Guiding difficult and times. of course the BAGAmong team our who objectives were on hand for the to opencoming and year, close must the pontoon, be a drive operate for new the members.locks and organise It’s been the a mooringsbusy year, for with the boats.another My on thanks the way go toand my we own need site to maintenance consider some team objectives. for their loyalty, Many support, are decided hard workfor us, and but above for me all theirextending friendship the membership, through some spreadingvery difficult the times.workload, planning for a very busy futureAmong and having our objectives more Society for the involvement coming year, and must activities be a drive are forhigh new on members.the list. It’s been a busy year, with Everything another onthe the Society way and has we achieved need to consider over the some years objectives. is because Many of theare decidedcommitment for us, andbut for me extending the membership, spreading the workload, planning for a very busy future and having morededication Society of involvement individuals and– be activities they society are high members, on the list. CRT, museum staff, supporters, attendees at ourEverything talks, exhibitions the Society and has workshops achieved orover part the of years one isof because the many of organisationsthe commitment we and are dedication delighted ofto workindividuals in partnership – be they with. society members, CRT, museum staff, supporters, attendees at our talks, exhibitions For our and society workshops to flourish or part it ofrelies one heavilyof the many on the organisations good will of we so aremany, delighted and in to return work we in partnershipmust constantly with. strive to deliver a quality experience for everyone who participates in our events or uses our premises to further their own objectives. Jeff Fairweather Around the Museum [Photo: BMS] DI SKILBECK tells us that she had hoped to get Gifford on dry dock in October but owing to her recent health issues this was not possible. Scaffolding on the Toll House further delayed the operation and by now Martyn Kerry had kindly volunteered to mastermind the dry docking. Di expected that Gifford would need a lot of shoeing and she was worried about the state of three bottom boards in the hold at the stern end. She was therefore delighted when Martyn got Mike to come and inspect the boat. Mike checked the shoeing and said it was in a reasonable condition, suffering from corrosion as opposed to abrasion. He identified a 12 foot section on the starboard side, forward of the back cabin, which needs replacing and recommended that we replace 10 foot sections of shoeing at each docking. His other advice was to coat the underneath of the shoeing with pitch and tar to reduce the effect of corrosion. Martyn and his merry band have scraped the underneath of the shoeing and applied a coat of coal tar oil blacking. Once we have measured the available shoeing we can purchase some more, remembering to get a full sheet of metal converted to cut down lengths for economy! Mike does not think the bottom boards are in any worse condition than when he inspected them in 2012. There are two boards with indentations and these should be filled with hot pitch and tar as we have done on several previous occasions! There are 3 or 4 boards at the stern end which are ‘O.K’. but may need replacing in 2 or 3 years. Mike will examine these boards in more detail when the boat is on dock prior to Easter 2015. He may advise applying a tingle to the suspect area. He also advises us to fundraise so that we could sub-contract the ‘bottoms’ job and get it done professionally. Once a date for the dry-docking is known we need to alert Mike so he can examine the boards once the shoeing is removed. Fundraising will be discussed by the BMS committee.

5 RE:PORT Number 208

I am very pleased with Mike Carter’s views on the state of Gifford, it is a great tribute to the Gifford group of volunteers who come down on a weekly basis to remove water, light fires, clean brasses, scrub decks, clean ropework and clean paintwork inside and outside. I am delighted to welcome several newcomers to the Gifford crew, Nigel Carpenter, Eddie Hefford, and David Williams. Gifford is a well known boat and it is therefore important that she always looks her best. Thank you to all the Gifford volunteers for the superb work they do and a special thank you to the BAG Group for covering Di and Daphne’s absence from the rota. Paul O’Grady Would be Proud BEFORE CHRISTMAS a female Yorkshire Terrier was rescued from the canal by Kevin (Front of House). After being dried off she was given some food before a member of staff took her to the vets in Little Sutton. She had not been chipped so she was brought back to the Museum. Jane, our Friends recruiter took her home that that night, where she spent the night with a couple of poodles and a puppy to keep her company. Unfortunately the Yorkie was not claimed, and she went to kennels where she had a lot of veterinary treatment. Her ears were infected, her back teeth were ground down and painful, and it became clear that although she was only about four years old she had had three or four litters. All the evidence suggested that she had been used for puppy farming. In a search for her owners, photos of her were posted on the Museum’s Facebook page. The response was amazing. There were lots of offers to give her a good home, but her adoption had to go through the kennels’ proper channels. However, happily, our happy little Yorkie has now been successfully re-homed. Accumulator Tower Comes Back to Life THE RE-BIRTH of the Grade II Listed Accu- mulator Tower was quite a challenge for Steve Bosworth, the CRT Project Manager writes Barry Green. It also called on the wealth of experience of Rod Gordon, the Site Manager for the construction group Kier May Gurney. Initially it was thought that the structure had four columns, one in each corner, but it was found that there were two more that carried the runners for the 70 tonne accumulator vessel. Also the pulley which carried the rope for the ‘tell-tale’ indicator, to show the position of

6 Number 208 RE:PORT the accumulator vessel in the pump room could be seen on the tower wall. The six columns are 12” section Baltic Pine. These were revealed when the cladding was removed, plus the amount of damage caused by pigeon droppings falling into the gutters and down pipes and internal timbers. The cost of this damage alone is estimated to be £100,000, which includes digging out and disposing of 170 bags of pigeon waste - that is 3,400 kilos! Specialist timber and structural engineers were employed throughout the project as this was no ordinary woodwork job. The scaffolding had to be designed to be self- supporting while also supporting the structure, as 30% of the cross members had to be replaced. In addition to this, Number 6 column, which was a guide column for the accumulator, required 20% of its length replacing and Number 4, a corner column,needed 80% replacing. When they tried to source stress graded Baltic Pine in the required size it was not available, so Douglas Fir had to be used instead. Due to the limited access, the replacement timber had to be cut into segments which could be manhandled but required jointing: this meant that standard timber glues were unsuitable and they had to emloy a special thixotropic resin. Once this was completed, the building needed cladding and, although new clad- ding was required, some of the original was used as were the vents and windows. The gutters and down pipes had to be replaced due to the level of corrosion caused by the pigeons. Amazingly only six new roof slates were required. After site work lasting twenty weeks it is not surprising that the final cost was £150,000 but was on budget. This brings the cost of refurbishing Ports Row, Lime Shed, Toll House, Power and Boat Hall to £1,000,000. Is that the end of the work on the Tower? No! When funds are available CRT want to put a window alongside the walkway, plus Perspex cladding below this, so that our visitors can appreciate the incredible engineering feat of our past generations. The first accumulator tower built was by William Armstrong in 1846, which was used to power cranes in the docks at Newcastle. The purpose of the accumulator vessel is as an energy storage deveice, where there is a pressure storage vessel in which a non-compressible liquid (water) is held under pressure. This is achieved by pumping water into the accumulator vessel, making it rise within the tower thus increasing the head of water in the system. This also provides a smooth, non-pulsating hydraulic feed to operate the cranes for lifting cargo. Archive Developments SINCE the launch of the archive website positive feedback has been received and the archive volunteers have worked hard to respond positively to such comments as that the images were too small; they have now been enlarged. New catalogue software also went live in the New Year. Funding has been received to refurbish Hazel’s room and to make it the Archive Search Room of the future. It will form part of the “must see” tour of the Museum.

7 RE:PORT Number 208

A grant has been received to have an Artist in Residence, who is Francesca Mil- ligan-Slater who will do a performance on archives, and will involve drama work- shops. Both Linda Barley and John Inch ex- pressed their thanks to the volunteers, who had undertaken a huge amount of work during 2014, even though some of it had been incredibly boring but absolutely es- sential to the success of the Archives facil- ity. [C N Hadlow collection, NWM Archives]

OBITUARY - BILL CARTER A Tribute From Linda Barley

Archive volunteer Bill Carter passed away in December following a major stroke. Bill gave over twenty years of service as a member of the Archive Volunteer Team, coming in every Tuesday morning. He did a tremendous amount of acces- sioning, transcribing and box listing, and was always meticulous in everything he did. His help and support was invaluable to me when I started to unravel the secrets of the Ellesmere Port Museum Archive. His dry sense of humour kept us going until I began to build up the volunteer team after 2007. He made some lasting friendships amongst the new volunteers on a Tuesday, and we missed him greatly when his eyesight began to fail and he reluctantly ‘retired’ in 2010, just coming in occasionally to say “hello” or for special events. His passion was the Weaver Navigation and being born and brought up in Northwich his local knowledge was again invaluable, and he was delighted to be involved when TWT agreed to digitise all the archive material relating to the Weaver Navigation swing bridges. Many thanks Bill.

Keeping Things ‘Ship-shape”

IN THE SUMMER of 2014 writes Dave Russell the Site Maintenance Team began work on creating a master plan of all routine maintenance activities for the Museum site. Targeting volunteer recruitment wher additional skills or manpower are needed, the creation of the plan also involved several members of staff, in order to ensure our work dovetailed with the

8 Number 208 RE:PORT overall operation of the Museum. Our maintenance activities are many and varied. At one extreme they are ad-hoc or very frequent, such as clearing weed from the canal during the summer! At the other end of the scale (and leaving aside one-off refurbishments) we are proposing that all woodwork, gutters, etc. on the buildings should be repaired and repainted on a five year cycle. In creating the master plan, we also recorded information about “when last done” and were able to make estimates of the manpower required. This has Duckweed enabled us to prioritise a number of longer term activities. As we continue to refine the information and planning, the longer term activities for 2015 and beyond will also fall into a clear priority order. All in all we are making good progress in having a much clearer view of the future workload and targets for the Site Maintenance Team. We very much intend that this should translate into a consistently better looking Museum and getting many activities done more cost effectively. If you would like further information about what we are dong, Jeff Fairweather, Barry Green or Dave Russell can bore you for hours on topics as diverse as paint specifications and tree-lopping procedures! Do come and talk to us about it.

Sonia Rolt and the Museum WE WERE particularly saddened by the news of Sonia Rolt's death wrtes Cath Turpin as she had been a strong supporter of the Museum (The Boat Museum as it then was) since the early days. As Joseph Boughey remembered in his obituary of Sonia in RePort 207, December 2014, she had married L.T.C. (Tom) Rolt in 1953. Work by volunteers started on the Ellesmere Port site just a few months after her husband's death in May 1974. When the first stage of the Museum opened in the Toll House in June 1976, Sonia performed the official opening. In 1984, she opened the new Conference centre at the Museum, named after her husband. She visited the museum again at Easter 1997, to launch her book 'A Canal People' which has alreadybecome a classic. Sonia continued to keep up to date with events at the Museum through RePort until she died last October. The photograph overleaf, of the Toll House exhibition in June 1976, shows from Left to Right the Mayor and Mayoress of Ellesmere Port, Sonia Rolt, Dr David Owen and the then Chairman of the Merseyside IWA. The photograph is reproduced courtesy of Harry Arnold of Waterways Images.

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Boat Conservation THE FOLLOWING borrows freely from the National Historic Ships publication “Conserving Historic Vessels”) writes Margaret Harrison. There isn’t a straightforward answer to the question of choosing the right conservation option, and it has to involve careful thought. There are many challenges in conserving boats. The survival of original fabric, a key concept in conservation, conflicts with an essential part of the design of historic vessels - the requirement to operate them. Operation brings obvious risks, including potential damage. Wood is vulnerable to insect damage in addition to wet and dry rot, and ferrous metal corrodes. A boat’s fabric will always need regular work and the historic material is gradually eroded and replaced by modern fabric. On the other hand, operating a boat maintains traditional operating and boat repair skills. However, the strength of that connection depends on how authentic its use is. Few historic boats can claim an unbroken continuity of original use. Most have come to the end of their working lives and ceased to operate as they once were long before they come into heritage use. Many historic-looking vessels may have scarcely any original fabric left and may be no more than a contemporary view of what the boat might have been like rather than what she actually was. A static vessel though has also lost a key part of its design process. Static vessels in the open are vulnerable to all the damage that weathering can bring. However, static conservation can allow more fabric to be kept, especially if boats are under cover and ashore. Although their operation is abandoned the compensation is the fascination of an authentic object. The real thing should be inspiring and instructive. So how do we decide which conservation option to take?

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Assess Significance The aim of conserving an historic boat is to retain its significance – or what it is that matters about it – and pass it on to future generations. Before any decision about conservation is made it is important to work out what is significant about a boat. Considerations of all its historic values and meanings should be at the forefront of any work that is carried out. A boat can be important for many different reasons. It could be a rare surviving example of a type or remarkable for technological innovation. It might retain an exceptional percentage of original fabric. She may have a special role to play historically. It may have a particular relationship with a place or group of people. So, the first step in conservation is to understand the boat. This means finding out about its working life and what has happened to it since. It involves a careful analysis of the fabric of the boat and historical research. The Conservation Gateway Analysing the importance of a boat will enable a decision about the best conservation method to take to retain its significance. National Historic Ships calls this the “Conservation Gateway”, where a choice must be made whether to conserve a boat primarily for its fabric or to keep it in operational use. When that choice has been made there are still decisions to be made about conservation processes. Preservation: means keeping part or all of a boat’s fabric as far as possible in its existing state and retarding deterioration. Restoration: returning the existing fabric or part of it to a known earlier state by removing additions or re-assembling existing components with the minimum introduction of new material. Reconstruction: returning all of the fabric or part of the fabric of a vessel to a known earlier state but is distinguished from restoration by the introduction of significant new material into the fabric. Adaptation: modifying a vessel to suit a proposed new use. Replication: building a copy of a vessel, defined at various levels of detail and accuracy. Most conservation work on boats will employ more than one process and some may use all four. The balance between them will be determined by the chosen conservation route. Sometimes after an assessment of a boat’s significance and condition, it may be decided that a conservation project is unviable. The option in this case would be preservation by record. Detailed recording and deconstruction would be carried out with a conservation management plan of how the boat is managed. Conserving boats at the National Waterways Museum So, how do we apply this thinking to the boat collection at the National Waterways Museum? It is obviously a challenging and complicated process but as a starting point we’ve successfully applied for a grant from the Association of Independent Museums. The grant will enable us to work with Robert Turner from Eura conservation for 10 days to start to draw up conservation plans for all the boats. Robert has worked with us already on deciding the correct conservation approach for Mossdale. He also visited the Museum in October to talk to staff and volunteers about some of Eura’s conservation projects. Robert has lots of experience working with heritage ships, including SS Great Britain and HMS Victory. 11 RE:PORT Number 208

A group of staff and volunteers is already working on doing the research to produce statements of significance. We will then discuss these with Robert to finalise them and work out the most appropriate conservation approach and plan for each boat. It will not mean that we will immediately start restoring more boats but it will mean we can properly plan for how we should look after the boats, and what resources we’ll need to do this. We cannot do anything without this. A Recollection of Joe Murrell DAVE CONNERTY remembers Joe Murrell who died about a year ago. He writes:- “I first met and got to know Joe in the early 1980s when he turned up on his scooter, volunteering to help with restoration. He became actively involved every Sunday, and was very knowledgeable about various marine engines as he used to go out sea-fishing aboard small fishing boats. He was in his element going around cleaning and lighting stoves/ranges aboard various boats. Shortly after arriving he was the victim of hit and run driver who knocked him off his scooter and this left him with a disability. He was determined to come back and help at the Museum and he became an active member of the Cuddington crew. He serviced the gas heater in the galley and rigged up electric lights in the cabin and in the hold. Joe assisted in taking Cuddington, Basuto and Scorpio to and from rallies. Joe was very enthusiastic and would often be one of the first on site and would take the cloths and hatches off to air the hold, also open the cabin, light the stove and have the kettle on the boil to make tea for the crew. He used to jokingly pull the legs of friends and tease the ladies! About ten years ago he also became involved in restoring historic trams at the Tramway Museum in Birkenhead.” Di Skilbeck adds: Dave had contacted Joe when he was in hospital but lost track of him, and did not realise that Joe had died in hospital after he had been admitted to intensive care. It was only when Dave found Joe’s sister’s details he was able to find otensive care. He made a very valued contribution to the Museum and especially to Cuddington. BMS Easter Gathering Bookstall At this time of year, the call always goes out for books, CDs and DVDs for sale on behalf of BMS at the Easter Gathering. For the last two years we have also included items of good quality bric-a-brac, e.g. orna- ments, brassware, costume jewellery etc., which has proved to be very successful. If you have anything that you would like to donate, items may be left at the Museum’s Reception Desk, and clearly marked for the Bookstall. Please note that we cannot accept any electrical items. Thank you in anticipation of your continued support.

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Mike Stammers Memorial Lecture

MICHAEL STAMMERS died as Keeper Emeritus of Merseyside Maritime Museum, which he had led for almost 20 years before his retirement writes Di Ascott. He is widely remembered in many allied roles by people all over the world. There have been memorial events elsewhere but the Centre for Port and Maritime History thought it appropriate to lead a celebration of Mike’s local associations which could be accessible to all. Thus the Boat Museum Society, Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire, Liverpool Nautical Research Society, Merseyside Industrial Heritage Society and the Royal Mersey Yacht Club were invited to celebrate the contributions which Mike made. Other institutions and individuals are welcome to join us! Mike was a supporter of BMS before there was a BMS. He was, with Adrian Jarvis, a leader of the happy band who cared for George and Scorpio moored (or sunk!) on the Leeds-Liverpool near Mike’s home in Maghull. Maintenance had a secondary role - to provide pumping practice for the local fire brigade. From those heady days in the ‘70s until his death, Mike supported the Society with his expertise, advice and contributions to Waterways Journal, the last of which was published posthumously in volume 15. There is much more to be said of a quiet and modest man but I will leave that to the speaker. The Memorial Lecture will take place on 22nd April at 7.00 p.m. At Merseyside Maritime Museum, Liverpool. The speaker will be Adrian Osler, Independent Maritime Historian, whose subject will be “Mike Stammers: the Essential Antiquarian”. All are welcome. Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor May I say how outraged I was to see the modern working boat replica Hadar reviewed in the hallowed pages of Re:Port (No. 207 page 9, December 2014). The boat at first glance appears to be a genuine working boat, fabricated by a respected boat builder, but then look at the dimensions: Length 70’ (21m) (too short), Width 6’10” (2.08m) (too narrow), Draft 2’6” (0.76m) (too shallow). When the Grand Union Co. produced a fleet of boats in the 1930s they ‘pushed the gauge’ of the canal system to its limits, making boats that were 18” longer, 2½” wider, and 12” deeper than Hadar, making them a misery to boat with today on anywhere except the Grand Union. Those boating on the narrow canals on an ex-Grand Union boat know that it means trouble wherever they go

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On length, for example, coming up Farmers’ Bridge with single bottom gates, all the heavy soggy wet fenders, fore end and stern have to be lifted up and the tiller held hard over to squeeze past the closing gate. On width, the extra ½” over the normal maximum of 7’0” means that if there is so much as a tram ticket behind the gate, the boat won’t go in As for depth, the 3’6” draft is ‘ploughing’ the canal all the time and punishing the inattentive steerer by immediately going aground. I realise that all modern steel box leisure craft are built to the same reduced dimensions as Hadar, thus enabling them to skid about on the surface of the water and go into locks with the gate half-open. But Hadar, on the face of it, has the appearance of a working boat with the saving grace that she does actually carry a cargo, even if in a cruiser sized hull. However, please, in future, for Boat Museum Society boaters, real historic full sized boats only! S.T. Arnpost Wonderful news from the Heritage Lottery Fund WE’RE CELEBRATING the confirmation of a grant of £790,300 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) as well as invaluable match funding of over £50,000 from the Wolfson Foundation. The HLF support will fund key initiatives as part of the Museum’s ‘Window on the World’ project. This includes the restoration of the Leeds and Liverpool short boat George, the conservation of Mossdale, the last remaining all timber flat which worked on the River Mersey until the mid 1950s as well as opening up and interpreting the slipway at the rear of the museum. Margaret Harrison, the Museum's Collection Manager says: “We’ve decided to preserve Mossdale as she is. This involves providing sufficient support and a cover to provide a suitable environment for her to dry out. Fenton Holloway provided a sugges- tion for a timber support frame which will allow us to remove the current steel frame. This approach has been successful for the long-term preservation of other boats, in particular, the “Spry” at Ironbridge. This is what’s been included in the bid to HLF with ongoing conservation support and monitoring. Mossdale is one of the most important boats in the collection. This is not just because of the amount of surviving “original” material but because she has a unique story to tell in her present condition. A preserva- tion approach allows us to provide a real and tangible link to the past.” BMS Annual General Meeting At our AGM which took place on Friday 20th February Barry Green and Andy Wood were elected as directors. The museums General Manager, John Inch, gave a presentation about the past years activities and achievements at the museum and a review of future aims. Our Chairman's emphasis was on promot- ing BMS membership. 14 Number 208 RE:PORT Plans to Widen the Suez Canal

EGYPT IS PLANNING to begin work on a second 45 mile long section of the Suez Canal, which will run alongside the original 145-year-old waterway. The project could be complete in five years at a cost of more than £2.4 billion. The 101 mile long canal is the fastest shipping link between Europe and Asia. The new waterway will allow ships to travel in both directions over half of its length, and the Egyptian authorities believe it that will boost annual revenues to $13.5 billion from shipping making the transit of the canal. The scheme is just one of several 'mega projects' designed to breathe new life into the nation. As Egypt's President Abdel-Fatteh el-Sisi, formerly chief of the general staff of the army, officially launched the military-led scheme warplanes flew overhead in a ceremony broadcast on state television from the canal city of Ismailia. the President said that although the initial time frame for completion was five years, he estimated that it could be finished in just 12 months. The current Suez Canal currently earns some $5 billion in revenue each year; a vital source of hard currency for Egypt which has suffered a slump in tourism and foreign investment since the 2011 uprising and the military takeover. However, sources in the Suez Canal Authority have reportedly said the new canal will boost annual revenues to $13.5billion by 2023. To attract more ships and generate more income, the country has had plans for some years to develop 29,000 square miles around the canal. Mohab President Abdel-Fatteh el-Sisi

15 RE:PORT Number 208

Mamish, chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, told a conference in Ismailia, “This giant project will be the creation of a new Suez Canal parallel to the current channel of a total length of 72 kilometres (44.74 miles)”. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is expected to announce the selection of a winning consortium to develop the project, which includes building an international industrial and logistics hub in the Suez Canal area. He said the project would involve 21 miles of 'dry digging' and 22 miles would be 'expansion and deepening', indicating the current Suez Canal, which is 163 km (101 miles) long, could also be widened as part of the project. The first canal in Egypt connecting the Mediterranean and Red Seas by way of the River Nile was dug in 1874 BCE. during the reign of the Egyptian pharaoh Senausret III. It was abandoned and reopened several times over the following 2,500 years. The Diamond Oil Company AT THE BACK of the towpath, near the lower narrow lock at Ellesmere Port writes Norman Stainthorp is a small simple building called ‘The Paraffin Shed’. I ask myself ‘why isn’t it called ‘The Fuel Store’’, or ‘The Gas Oil Store’ or ‘The Diesel Store’? - could it be that its name harks back to the early days of oil refining at Ellesmere Port, when The Diamond Oil Company traded in paraffin, refined from light oil imported from America by Mr Elijah Prentiss, a Liverpool oil importer? Early evidence of the Company’s existence is a record of a Mersey ‘Flat’ or ‘Float’ exploding in the Mersey Channel when bound for Ellesmere Port on 8th January 1870. It cannot be said that paraffin was ‘invented’ at this time, as various forms of ‘paraffin’ have been produced for use as lamp oil since ancient times, but this was the first time that paraffin had been refined from light mineral oil using the American process developed around 1850 and known as ‘Kerosene’ Site of the Diamond Oil Company’s Stuart’s Wharf on in the USA. the Ship Canal (right) [Photo: Norman Stainthorp] Prior to the availability of paraffin, lighting

16 Number 208 RE:PORT around the wharfs and warehouses was provided by Lucigen Flares, known to the Dockworkers as ‘Lucy Janes’. The Diamond Oil Company owned land on both sides of the Shropshire Union Canal, south of Powell’s Bridge, part of which on the non-towpath side was leased to The Ellesmere Port Soap Company. An illustration of the Soap Works can be seen in the book, ‘Ellesmere Port, A Municipal Borough’ plate 3. With the coming of the Manchester Ship Canal in 1895, the Diamond Oil Company moved to a new wharf on the Ship Canal, (next to the present Museum Car Park) built speculatively in 1899 by Hahnemann Stuart of Stuart & Douglas. It may be that the wharf is named after Mr Mazzini Stuart, proprietor of the Oil Company, or after the builder Hahnemann Stuart, or both! The wharf is still occasionally used today by ships laying over, waiting for the tide at Eastham. The approach road to the extant Powell’s Bridge was originally known as ‘Diamond Street’, later changed to ‘Bridge Street’ and the Diamond Street name transferred to a minor side street close to Grosvenor Street. All three streets were eventually swept away with the coming of the Motorway in the early 1970s. There is now little evidence of this harbinger of the oil trade, apart from Stuart’s Wharf. Powell’s Bridge now leads only to a small area of planting next to the southbound motorway access slip road.

Drawing: Norman Stainthorp

17 RE:PORT Number 208

The Graiguenamanagh Boatmen: A Unique Community – Part II

IN THE 17th CENTURY iron smelting had been carried out at Graiguenamanagh, using ore imported from England. The need for timber to be harvested and limestone, necessary in the smelting process, to be mined provided valuable employment on the river. Limestone was also transported down river to lime-kilns downstream, providing lime for both building got use as fertiliser in the area. A salt works operated by James O’Leary on the quay at Graiguenamanagh in the 1880s, also gave work to the boat owners in transporting rock salt from Waterford harbour, and timber and coal for the furnace. The product of the salt works - refined salt - was, of course, an essential ingredient of the food preserving process. Farmers in communities like Graiguenamanagh also traded produce downriver to Graving dock the ports of Waterford and New Ross, important [Photo courtesy Aidan McCabe] staging points for the busy trans-Atlantic sailings. Salted provisions, butter, corned beef and bacon in particular, in addition to oatmeal and flour from the local mills, were important goods in the provisions trade, particularly in the last half of the 18th century and the early 19th century. Wool had been an important export from the area in earlier times and continued into more recent times. Cushendale Woollen Mills, operated by the Cushen family for a number of generations, running a full wool processing enterprise in Graiguenamanagh, is unique in that it is one of the few surviving family woollen mills still in production in Ireland. The dry dock (Graving docks) recently excavated and consisting of two chambers, was an integral part of the extensive boating business in the town. It provided the many timber boats that traded and fished up and down the river in former times and also provided employment for a variety of trades and skills in the town. John Joyce in his account of the town states that: “the graving docks below the bridge had always been used for building the Claurauns and other boats, which were a feature of Graigue life way back before the canal era. But in the 18th century the Washington family, who were boat builders on The Broads at Boston, Linconshire, came to Graigue to build boats there, and as time went by the dock became known as “ Washington’s Yard”. Later – in 1821 – The Barrow Navigational Company took over, and a fine new boatyard, with two cut stone dry dock chambers, were constructed…” In that yard many of the long-tailed wooden barges which plied the waterways of Ireland came into existance.

18 Number 208 RE:PORT

John Connolly Senior, in his account of the old boatmen, suggested that at one time there were twelve shipwrights and five boys, who were serving their time in the trade, working in the docks. Not many names survive of those that worked in the docks – Washingtons as already mentioned, the Seymore family were mentioned by Jack Prendergast in his recall of the river boating days,and Ned Lee, a member of the Graiguenamanagh brass band in 1829, was described as a boat builder. The last boat built in the docks was the 15B. Originally built for the Barrow Navigational Company in 1877, with the designation number 984, she was eventually purchased by her skipper Mick Maguire. He gave her the new number and she was last owned by Seamus Bolger, who worked her until she was wrecked on the weir beside the old graving docks in 1955. Many other initiatives and enterprises added to the potential of the river. John Kelly’s Barrow Starch Works, established in 1842, flourished for much of the remainder of the 19th century. Initially using wheat, but eventually using imported Rangoon rice to manufacture his unique Snow Flake Starch, the starch works was conveniently sited beside Tinnahinch quay and, no doubt, used river transport. An assortment of corn mills, Walsh’s iron foundry, the growing number of merchants (including three wool dealers) and regular monthly livestock fairs all combined to promote the town as an important inland river port. Those various industries, crafts and processes, although fluctuating in their importance and success over the centuries, helped to fashion the urban settlement around the old abbey of Duiske, and also act as a stimulus in the growth of a river boating community. Working on the boats accounted for a significant number of families livelihood in the towns of Graiguenamanagh and Tinnahinch. A number of those surveyed were first generation boatmen. But a significant number came from what could be classified as traditional boating families who worked the boats for several generations – Bolgers, Connolly’s, Whelan’s, McDonald’s, Griffin’s, Gill’s etc. Indeed of those surveyed, thirty-six or over 40% at least, were third generation boatmen. John Connolly Junior (1936 – 2002) was son of John Senior (1901 – 1985) and grandson of Watt Connolly (1890 – 1950) and he, Watt, was son of John (1867 – 1901) who lived in No. 4, Main Street, Tinnahinch, and all were boat-men and the family maintained a lasting affinity with the river. 38M with John ‘Butt‘ McDonald at the tiller, and his nephews Many boatmen, both Pat and John McDonald, 1949. [Photo:Shortall Collection] through the maternal and

19 RE:PORT Number 208 paternal family connections, have a long connection with the river going back not only generations, but centuries. In the Barrow Anchor Society’s records, which date back to the early years of the 19th century, many family surnames are preserved that correspond to those surveyed. Bolger (Bulger), Murphy, Kinsella (Kinchla), Whelan, Ryan, Roche and Kelly appear at various times as members of the society. Maternal connections with old Anchor Society family’s may also be seen in unions such as Jim “Crow” Bolger’s marriage to Bridget McGuire, William Bolger’s marriage to Bridget Hayden and John Connolly’s marriage to Ellen Butler, all women with old boating family surnames appearing in the Society’s records. Within the core boating’ families, those with at least three generations of boating or river association, we find a number of boatmen whose ancestors migrated into the town as boatmen bringing with them a long tradition of boating in their families. John Hoare Senior came into Graignamanagh from Athy, Co. Kildare and married Anne Prendergast from Barrow Lane (whose father, Patrick, was also a migrant boatman from Inistiogue). They settled in Barrow Lane and their sons, Pat, Eamon “Doc” and Sean served their time on 34M with their father John. Many of the boating families became associated with particular boats: “34M was a Hoare boat”, for example. When the river transport system closed and the boats became redundant, they were sold off and many were converted to other uses: 34M was converted to a house-boat and renamed The Whistler. John’s father, Patrick, was a native of Graiguecullen, across the bridge from Carlow town and was skipper on the hack-boat, 11B. He was married to Catherine Dooley (Athy) from a boating and lock-keeping family. His grandfather William also worked on the boats. The Heritage Boat Association of Ireland holds an annual boatmen’s reunion in Graignamanagh. Meeting the Navy on the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal

THE PHOTOGRAPH opposite shows two Royal Navy “Archer” class armed fast patrol boats, P274 Tracker and P275 Raider, on 13th February 2014 returning from a courtesy visit inland to Gloucester in 2014. Crewed by students of the Oxford and Cambridge Universities RN Units (URNUs), the vessels had made a goodwill visit to Gloucester. On the way up the canal after entering it at Sharpness, the ships’ officers entertained the Mayor and the Sheriff of Gloucester. The crews of a narrowboat were startled to be treated to a close up view of Tracker and Raider heading south from Sellars bridge towards Parkend bridge. Of course, boats being overtaken on a canal have the right of way over the overtaking vessel, so when it is overtaking a slower-moving boat, it should keep well clear and pass on the left if possible. Not that you would argue if an armed fast patrol boat decided to ignore the rules!

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[Photo: Robert Paget}

The aim of the URNUs is to give undergraduate students an insight into naval life - however, there is no commitment for the students to join the Royal Navy or Royal Marines after graduation (although a significant proportion of the Royal Navy's new officer intake each year comes from the URNUs). Even if the students do not choose to join the Navy afterwards, they will take away a greater understanding of modern naval forces with them into civilian life. There are fourteen “Archer” class vessels attached to different universities. In their Easter deployment, they visit ports in this country and Belgium and the Netherlands. Each vessel carries a full-time Royal Navy crew of five, who are joined by up to 12 university students at any one time. One of the commanding officers said, “There is no better experience for [the students] than to get to sea and put theory into practice in whatever situations or conditions are thrown at them.” The Gloucester & Sharpness Canal, which opened in 1827, was once the broadest and deepest in the world - s true ship canal. Even today, it sis only exceeded in scale by the Manchester Ship Canal in its sheer scale and impressive engineering. The canal is 86 feet 6 inches (26.36 metres) wide and 18 feet (5.48 metres) deep, and is capable of taking craft of 600 tons burden, with maximum dimensions 190 feet (57.91 metres) long and 29 feet (8.83 metres) wide. It was designed by the civil engineer Robert Mylne in 1793 but James Dadford, who had been engaged as resident engineer in 1795 took over. But a lack of funds resulted in the company ceasing to employ Dadford in 1800.

21 RE:PORT Number 208 More Lowry Barges

FOLLOWING Norman Stainthorp’s request in the previous issue of Re:Port for suggestions about the location of L. S. Lowry’s painting “Barg- es on the Manchester Canal” writes Andy Wood another similar painting has come to light. This painting is simply titled “Barges on a Canal”. It was painted in 1941 and is in the Aberdeen Art Gallery. One commen- tator on Lowry’s work, although speaking about another painting, has said, “Like many of Lowry's pictures this is not a depiction of a particular place, but is based on recol- lections”. Lowry has been described as a mischie- ‘Barges on a canal’ 1941, L. S. Lowry. [Photo credit: vous man, and this Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums Collections.] should be borne in mind, particularly when he has given a non-specific title to a work, like this painting. Even if the artist did not give the location of a painting’s subject, there are some painting which are instantly recognisable. For instance, the painting called “Canal bridge”, 1944, is instantly recognisable as the top lock (Lock 18) at Fairfield on the Ashton Canal. Other waterways related works are set in the artist’s non-specific - you could even say generic - industrial landscape, like “Industrial Landscape: The Canal”, in which the land in the foreground slopes steeply down to a stretch of water that resembles a lake rather than a narrow canal. Returning to “Barges on a canal”, above, the most obvious features, the sloping foot bridge is unlike any canal bridge I have ever encountered in many years of cruising on canals all over the country. Equally, the long line of moored barges (although even the leading one does not seem to be tied up) appear to be fully loaded with coal but seem to be riding remarkably high in the water. The safest conclusion to come to is that Lowry was much more interested in the geometric shape of the bridge and the reflections in the water than in documenting an observed scene.

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Sylvie Hankin, Waterways Artist

THE COVER ILLUSTRATION of this edition of Re:Port is a painting by Sylvie Hankin of Gilbert and Planet coming down the second set of locks at Stoke Bruerne with Dodger the dog on top. Sylvie was born in Clerkenwell, London, and started painting at 11 years of age. She has had little or no formal training or degrees, and is completely self taught. Looking at her paintings it is clear that she has a natural ability that many people would envy. She managed a couple of Art shops in Islington and Covent Garden which, she says, was great fun. Later on she and her husband sold up and Sylvie Hankin bought a boat in 1998, and travelled the canal system for a few years. They now have a small Brummagem tug called Laura and Sylvie sits by the towpath to paint. She prefers landscapes/canalscapes as they offer freedom to improvise. Last year for the first time they put up a display of her original paintings on top of the boat, when they were moored, for all to see, and sold some to her surprise. She is a member of The Guild Of Waterway Artists and for many years has exhibited her work at both the Crick Boat Show and the Braunston Historic Rally of Boats. The I.W.A have used her work for Christmas cards and she has had many art exhibitions, not least one in Stoke Bruerne Museum with the late Michele Field. She undertakes commissions if anyone wants one and paints anything from boats and dogs, to bikes and cattle. There is a tutorial on her website if anyone wants to have a go at painting themselves, or she can give advice if they prefer, and there is also a slide show on the website. The website address is www.waterwayartist.co.uk and her email is [email protected]. In the picture on this page, “A Cold Day for Nellie Rose” a Samuel Barlow boat has just come through the Islington Tunnel in London, and is picking up the horse after going under Danbury Street Bridge, (formerly Frog Lane Bridge) near the Angel, Islington. Nellie Rose is the child named after Sylvie’s mother, who grew up in the next street to the London Canal Museum, which she would probably have known as Carlo Gatti's Ice House. Her mother and grandfather both worked in the basin in Parslowes Jam factory, so Sylvie’s connections to the canal are in the family. The Guild of Waterway Artists is a group of like-minded artists who have joined together to promote art about the waterways by exhibiting together and to offer each other mutual support and encouragement. Founded in the 1980s, notable members were Garth Allan, Brian Collings, Alan Firth and Harley Crossley.

23 RE:PORT Number 208 Tom Rolt's Philosophy and Beliefs

THE STRANGE AND SEEMINGLY OBSCURE title of Lionel Thomas Caswall Rolt (Tom) Rolt's book, “High Horse Riderless” comes from a line in a poem by W. B. Yeats, and is not mentioned anywhere else in the text, but it seems to be intended as a sardonic comment on the so-called 'progressivist' beliefs that he was criticising. Although it is possibly the least read of his books, it has been called “a classic of green philosophy”. The book's introduction by the late John Seymour, sets the tone for the book's themes of living according to the natural order, self-sufficiency and responsibility. Seymour himself, the founding father of modern self-sufficiency, was the author of “The Complete Book of Self-Sufficiency”, published in 1976, the key reference to living off the land, which covered all the practicalities from ploughing fields to milking cows, as well as advice on how to create an urban organic garden and harness natural energy. Rolt's own 'green' classic has been out of print for twenty years. First published in 1947 it was actually written in the middle of the Second World War, which may well have gave added urgency to his themes. For that time it was very forward-looking; discussing the dangers of mankind separating itself from nature, the waste of resources by an acquisitive society, the emptiness of modern ideas, and the need for a spiritual renaissance. Many organic pioneers and writers in the 1930s and '40s were on the far right of politics, seemingly having arrived there because of their opposition to usury. However, although Rolt was also opposed to usury, he was not anti-semitic. In the book he spelled out clearly and unambiguously the dangers of fascism, totalitarianism and Soviet-style communism, political systems that he described as predatory. Obviously global warming was not an issue at the time Rolt was writing, but he does explore how and why things had gone so badly wrong between human beings and nature. He clearly believed that this happened around the time of the Reformation, when people's attitude to nature changed. The medieval concept of God, man's place in the scheme of things, and the natural world has been greatly maligned by modern historians, but Rolt offers another way of looking at history. He was no Luddite or Romantic; as an engineer how could he be? He poured scorn on the Arts and Crafts Movement of the 19th century, led by William Morris but instead offered suggestions for how society could integrate the achievements of the machine age with traditional craftsmanship. Rolt simply hated the way the machine had taken over. 24 Number 208 RE:PORT

Apart from some slightly outdated terminology, it would be easy to think the book is a contemporary work. But this was written 67 years ago. You might hesitate at the Rolt's belief that we need to reaffirm the importance of the natural law, and recover the spiritual values of religion, but in this he is in tune with the new 'green theology' of the present day, as opposed to the grey theology of Christianity. Rolt observed the changes in society resulting from the industrial-scientific revolution. In the epilogue to his biography of I. K. Brunel he writes: “Men spoke in one breath of the arts and sciences and to the man of intelligence and culture it seemed essential that he should keep himself abreast of developments in both spheres... So long as the artist or the man of culture had been able to advance shoulder to shoulder with engineer and scientist and with them see the picture whole, he could share their sense of mastery and confidence and believe wholeheartedly in material progress. But so soon as science and the arts became divorced, so soon as they ceased to speak a common language, confidence vanished and doubts and fears came crowding in.” He set out these ideas more fully in “High Horse Riderless”. He reflects many of the concerns of the inter-war years about 'mass societies' in which increasing centralised control - whether overtly fascist or socialist - is seen to create an increasingly homogenised, urban society in which people indulge in mass pursuits (the holiday camp would be a prime example), work at increasingly de-skilled jobs and live in homes which offer 'convenience' and embody a pastiche of history, rather than the real thing. He was anxious to point to the still-surviving examples or craftsmanship, which he thought were fast disappearing, and urged a return to a more communal way of life. His ideas echo a range of movements throughout the twentieth century, and there are common themes with early conservationists like John Betjeman. More significantly, it points to a rationale behind the ideal of volunteering, as practised on the Talyllyn Railway, about which he wrote to the “Birmingham Post” in 1950, suggesting that it should be rescued and restored by enthusiasts. It is thanks to Tom Rolt that the Talyllyn and its successors, and indeed those who have restored inland waterways, that volunteering has grown. He believed that to volunteer is to recapture a communal life, craft skills and conserve their products for continuing use in the future. Although clearly of its time in many ways, this is an important insight into the mind of a key figure in conservationist history. Tom Rolt died on 9th May 1974 and was buried at Stanley Pontlarge where he and his second wife Sonia lived. Rolt’s parents had bought this 14th century hall house at Stanley Pontlarge, near Winchcombe in Gloucestershire, in 1921. He is buried in the churchyard at Stanley Pontlarge. There are no headstones in the churchyard but a plan inside the church identifies Rolt's grave. “Waterways Journal” Volume 12 has an article “Waterways Conservation and Writing”, L.T.C. Rolt 1910-1974 BY Joseph Boughey.

25 RE:PORT Number 208 “A Cry from the Boat Cabins” GEORGE SMITH was born at Clayhills, Tunstall, Staffordshire, on 16th February 1831, the son of William Smith (1807–1872), a brick-maker, and his wife, Hannah ne Hollins. When he was just nine years of age, George began working at his father's trade. This would involve carrying about 40 pounds (more than 18 kilograms) of clay or bricks on his head. Brick- workers worked thirteen hours a day, sometimes with added night-work at the kilns. George managed to get some education, and he saved his earnings to buy books. In this way, while still a young man, he managed to climb the ladder above his fellow workers. In 1857, while he was the manager of a large brick and tile works at Humberstone, Staffordshire, he visited Coalville in Leicestershire, where he discovered several valuable seams of clay. By revealing his discovery prematurely he did not reap the full benefit of it but, in his capacity as manager, he succeeded in forming a large George Smith business there. During this period he strongly argued for legislation to improve the working conditions of the brick-makers. He gave lectures on the degradation, immorality, and ignorance of the workmen, and particularly on the cruelty with which the children were treated. He gave the example a boy weighing 53 pounds (24 kilograms) had to carry a load of 44 pounds (20 kilograms) of clay on his head. In 1863 Smith gained the support of Robert Baker, an inspector of factories, and from then on his efforts were unceasing. In 1871 he published ‘The Cry of the Children’, which attracted the interest of the Earl of Shaftesbury. In the same year an Act of Parliament was passed, providing for the inspection of brickyards and the regulation of juvenile and female labour in the industry. In recognition of his services Smith was given a purse of sovereigns, and was praised in an address at a meeting presided over by Lord Shaftesbury. However, Smith had attracted considerable ill-will within the trade, and towards the end of 1872 he lost his job as manager at Coalville. After his dismissal from his post as manager at Coalville in 1872, Smith spent thirteen years in dire poverty. However, in 1885 he received a grant from the Royal Bounty Fund. With this grant he bought a house at Crick. In 1886 he formed the ‘George Smith of Coalville Society’ at Rugby, the members of which were to assist in furthering his philanthropic works. Smith died at Crick on 21 June 1895. In 1873 Smith had turned his attention to the conditions of life of the 1000,000 men, women, and children who were living and working on boats on canals and navigable rivers. He found that drunkenness and immorality were rife among them. In 1874 Mr. John Morley printed an article by Smith on the subject to the ‘Fortnightly Review’ and, the following year he published ‘Our Canal Population: a Cry from the Boat Cabins’. In 1876 Smith failed to dissuade Lord Sandon, in his first Education Bill, from applying a two mile limit to children living in canal boats, but the following year, 26 Number 208 RE:PORT as a result of his representations, George Sclater- Booth (afterwards Lord Basing) introduced the Canal Boats Bill, which came into force on 1st January 1878. This act required the registration of all canal boats under the name of a place where there was a school for the children to attend, as provided by the Elementary Education Acts. It also regulated the sanitary conditions of life on board. The Act, however, left too much to the discretion of local authorities to ensure the effective improvement of the condition of the canal population. In 1881 a bill to amend its provisions and make it more workable was blocked by Sir Edward Watkin and others, but it was finally passed three years later. By this Act's provisions local authorities were required to make annual reports to the Local Government Board, and the board in turn to Parliament. The local authorities were instructed to enforce the attendance of the children at the schools, and a inspector of canal boats was appointed. See “Waterways Journal” Volume 9 for more details about George Smith and his work. Thoughts of a Waterways History Heretic Sources – Still Photography FOR A NUMBER of reasons, I am going slightly out of sequence in my series writes Joseph Boughey – but normal service will be resumed! This time I seek to discuss photography; initially, your own photographic work, as an aid to research, and as a source for future research. There have two minor revolutions in photography in my lifetime: first, the significance of historic photographs has been realised in mainstream history, and second, the affordability and ease of photography has improved markedly. I will deal with the latter here. The revolution has been caused by the digital camera. I recall buying my first SLR camera late in 1976; a cheapish camera for its time, its price in today’s prices would be £842, while each roll of 36 transparencies, developed, would cost about £50; so that a very large collection of photographs (10,000) would cost around £14,000. Looking idly through an online catalogue, I note that a modest camera can be purchased today for £40, and a memory card for £20. There is no reason why 10,000 digital images should not cost £60 plus the cost of recharging batteries, as against £14,000. Many more images can now be recorded with minimal marginal cost. If you are researching anything in the built environment (as opposed, say, to memories), familiarity with the present day scene is generally helpful. There are some derelict waterways for which there are scant remains, and those traces that persist do not supply any helpful impressions. Much of the Monkland Canal in the Glasgow area, for

27 RE:PORT Number 208 instance, was used as the site for the M8 motorway, and even the surrounding landscape has been massively changed, as has the post-railway Croydon Canal. But, usually, there is enough left to provide impressions, even if comparison with historic images will be necessary to detect whether impressions from the present day are misleading or useful. If your subject is an individual waterway, or group of waterways, it will be helpful to visit, to walk what is accessible (not everything is), and to photograph as much as possible. This is not quite the same as detailed field study (although it may contribute); it is a matter of familiarisation, and sometimes may provide the inspiration for historical research. The cheapness of digital images makes it possible to photograph anything about a waterway that seems that it might be of interest, and to have these available to contrast with historic images. I am sometimes asked if I am a photographer, and my reply is “no, I am someone who takes photographs”. Really good photography should be left to professional photographers and enthusiasts. It is, I feel, a mistake to feel that photographs that you take to augment your personal record must be the sort that would win competitions. They may look uninteresting and would not be published for commercial gain, but if they record what you wish to record, that should be the highest priority. Aesthetics need not come into it. That said, you may as well adhere to some basic principles of good photography while you are out in the field. My late father (who photographed as a RAF reconnaissance pilot) advised me early on how to frame a photograph (and how to mess it up!!), and I have always followed his advice. But, while views of the back of buildings, or featureless stretches of water may win you no prizes, they remind you of what was there on a particular day. And, if there is enough there to see in detail, they may spur you back to carry out detailed fieldwork. If a limited stretch of waterway is being studied, a full set of photographs, however imperfect, will provide a reference point when some structure or place is being referred to in historic documents, or when someone describes somewhere in an oral history interview. Indeed, the latter may be enhanced by the viewing of images, even if these are simply what you took with a cheap camera last year. This effectively forms a new source, in the making of a record of what was on site at particular times. My past collections show that photography often records much that is inadvertent. As time goes on, revisits and updates may show what has disappeared or been modified. Personal collections may well increase in value (not monetary) as time passes, and the changes may prompt further research. On its own, however, a personal collection provides only a baseline, and it is its combination with other collections, and other records, that make it an important research tool. If You Go Down to the Cut Tonight . . . WHEN WE THINK of our canals, what usually springs to mind is cruising on lazy, sunny afternoons (forgetting those days of heavy rain) but during the industrial revolution they were busy, brutal places, and they have left a legacy of ghosts which are said to haunt them still. The locks and bridges, the canals themselves, and the tunnels were cut by hand by

28 Number 208 RE:PORT teams of navvies, often at a terrible human cost. The tortured souls of those who died by misfortune or ill-will still linger in places. On 15th June 1839 a young woman, Christina Collins, began her journey as a passenger on a narrowboat from Liverpool. Her planned destination was London, where her husband had gone to look for work, but she never got there. Her body was found in the canal at Brindley Bank near Rugeley aqueduct. The three members of the crew of the boat were later convicted of her murder. Nearly 10,000 people attended the hanging of James Owen and George Thomas in Stafford, while the third man was transported to Australia. It is said that when Christina's body had been pulled from the water, her blood ran down a flight of sandstone steps leading from the canal. To this day it is said that the stains occasionally reappear on those stones, reminding passers-by of the dreadful murder which took place nearby. Another of the grisly stories of evil doings that is still told concerns the lock- keeper's cottage on the Montgomery Canal, at Burgedin in Wales, where a tragic young woman, the lock-keeper's daughter, was walled up alive by her father, as punishment for having run away with her lover. It is said that her angry spirit still haunts the basement there. Then there is the ghosttly figure of Spring Heeled Jack, who accompanies boats as they pass beneath a bridge on the Grand Union Canal, just west of London, his steps echoing in the gloom. A little further down the same canal, there is the tale of a family, who ten years ago, took their narrow boat through Blisworth Tunnel, and were startled to see a ghostly fork in the tunnel which is not marked on the Nicholson's guide. The fork appeared to be lit by candles, while the main tunnel was straight on. The fork coincided with where the original tunnel that had collapsed, killing fourteen navvies. It is said that the phantom fork is haunted by the ghosts of the navvies. In all 50 workers were killed, digging out the three kilometre tunnel in 1805. It was harsh, dangerous work. The Shropshire Union Canal around Market Drayton is home to two ghostly residents; a shrieking spectre which causes boatmen to hurry through Betton Cutting, and a helpful ghost at Tyrley middle lock who closes the lock gates behind night-time boaters.

The Boats Other People Care For Tarporley Tarporley, a ‘Northwich’ class narrowboat built by W. J. Yarwood at Northwich, is on the register of National Historic Ships UK. William Yarwood had served an apprenticeship at an iron foundry in Northwich. He was employed as a blacksmith by the River Weaver Navigation. In 1896 he assumed control of, and renamed the John

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Tarporley in its original working trim [Photo: Camden Canal and Narrowboat Association]

Thompson shipbuilding business, based on the west bank of the River Weaver near Northwich. Tarporley is a ‘Town’ class large Northwich boat, 71'10” long by 6'11” wide, which was built in 1937 by W J Yarwood for the Grand Union Canal Carrying Company. The hull is of of steel plate built, and the engine is a Lister diesel HR2A,

Tarporley on the CCNA moorings [Photo: Camden Canal and Narrowboat Association]

30 Number 208 RE:PORT installed in 1958. It was one of 37 Large Northwich 'Town' Class boats built. It has been operated by the Camden Canals and Narrowboat Association (CCNA) as Camden’s community narrowboat for more than thirty years. It has been converted with a full length cabin so that it can be used for both day and overnight cruises with a maximum of 12 people. The CCNA runs trips for local community organisations such as charities, clubs and schools. The boat is also available for private parties and business events and the hire fees for these private bookings help to subsidise the services provided to community groups. The boat is based on the Regent’s Canal, at Kings Cross in London. Because Tarporley is an historic vessel it can only be handled safely with skill and experience, and is therefore not available to hire on a self-steer basis. Life on an Aire & Calder Barge THE 1881 CENSUS returns list many families whose boats were moored at Leeds on census night. One family, the Websters, lived on a barge called the Minnie, registered at Hull. Abraham Webster and his wife had four children; Wallace, aged 10, John, 6, Henry 4 and Mary Ann, just 3 months old. On the keelboat Arthur, that same night were Thomas and Emma Greaves with their six children. Mary aged 13, Bella 9, Jane 7, Edith 5, Thomas 3, and James 1. It must have been very difficult looking after such large families in such cramped living conditions.

Goole Docks from an old postcard, with Aire & Calder barges (lower right)

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A horse-drawn barge on the canal from an old postcard

On horse-drawn barges there were usually two cabins, one at the stern and one at the bow. The stern cabin of the boat was the main living accommodation. It had about 4 feet headroom and a cast iron stove in the middle of the bulkhead between the cabin and the hold of the boat. The stove was about 12 inches square by 3 feet high, and was open fronted. For a kettle or cooking pot to be used, a hob could be fastened to the fire bars. The main line of the Aire & Calder is 34 miles (54.4 km) long and has 11 locks. Aire & Calder barges were usually 142 feet long, 17 feet 8 inches beam, with a draft of 7 feet 6 inches and an air draft of 12 feet 3 inches. On the right of the cabin was the double bed, separated by a partition or curtain, possibly with room for a single bed as well. At the rear of the cabin were cupboards, the central one of which folded down for use as a table. There were drawers under the cupboards, and a small shelf above, and to one side a locker to store feed for the horse that towed the barge. A bench ran round the walls of the cabin with storage space underneath. There was also a cabin at the front end of the boat, with two single beds, and a stove. Water for drinking and washing was carried in a barrel on the deck, where there was often a dog kennel as well. On steam powered barges, the engine room took the place of the stern cabin, while the bow cabin became the living area for the captain and the mate. Families did not usually live on the steam-powered barges as they did on the horse barges. The cramped living conditions often led to accidents, and there were many cases of small children being scalded by boiling water from pans and kettles knocked off the stove. For safety, therefore, young children would often be tethered on the stern deck, so they would not fall overboard. The main line of the Aire & Calder Navigation runs from Leeds, where it joins the Leeds & Liverpool Canal, to Goole, where it joins the Yorkshire Ouse.

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To cater for the spiritual needs of the boat families, a small stone building on the wharf at Warehouse Hill, Leeds, known as the Riverside Mission Hall, was originally used for religious services by St. James' Church and later by the St. Peter's, Leeds Minster. When the services were discontinued, the running of the mission was taken over by the Seamen and Boatmen's Friendly Society, the mission of which was to promote the social, moral, and religious welfare of the river and canal population of Leeds and District The workers from the mission visited the boatmen and their families, and held Sunday services at the Mission Hall. But the missionaries were not just concerned with the spiritual welfare of the boatmen; they also ran the Riverside Institute where there was a reading room, a billiard room, and a kitchen and wash-house for the use of the boatmen’s wives. There was a Sunday School at the Institute on Sunday afternoons, and classes and meetings for the women during the week. There were Sunday school treats and outings. Because they were always on the move children living on the canal boats could not attend school regularly, and Sunday School was probably the only formal education they had.

MEMBERSHIP MATTERS Barbara Catford

We would like to welcome the following new members: Steve and Jane Beckett and Nigel Carpenter. We also welcome the many volunteers who have become BMS members. The code on your 2014-15 membership cards gives you access to the BMS Members’ site.

My Story LAST SUMMER writes Cath Turpin the BBC filmed an episode of their cBeebies children's My Story history series at the Museum. We represented the Industrial Revolution, looking at the way a child would live on a narrow boat (Ilkeston) in the 'olden days'. After 3 days filming, my grand-daughter Lucy and I were in the programme transmitted in January this year.

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Have you joined the Boat Museum Society 200 Club yet?

Members of the club ensure a significant and steady income for boat restoration projects. Each month 50% of the total subscribed is paid in prize money and 50% goes into the Boat Restoration fund. By joining the 200 Club, members who live too far away from the Museum to be able to come to help, or those who have other commitments, have the opportunity to make a regular contribution to the Society. You can buy as many numbers as you like at £1 each, the only proviso being that you are a member of the Society. The more numbers that go into the draw each month, the bigger the prizes. The 200 Club draw is usually made at the monthly Society meetings. You can join at a meeting, or by completing the form below and sending it with your membership fee to Graham Adshead, whose address is at the bottom of the page. Winners November Ruth Brown (63), Celia Webber (35), Di Skilbeck (88) December Barbara Kay (65), Chris Kay (61), Ruth Foster (76) January Ruth Foster (70), Margaret Smerdon (41), Michael Crompton (96) February Lewis Phillips (60), Ann Gardiner (9), Michael Crompton (95) Many thanks to those who have so generously donated their winnings back to the Society, this is much appreciated.

Application Form - The Boat Museum Society 200 Club Name: …………………………………………………………………………………………..

Address: .….…….……………………………………………….….…….…………………..Office Use

Post Code: …………………………….. Telephone: ..…………………………………….

I apply for membership of the Boat Museum Society 200 Club and agree to pay the sum of £1.00 per month per number. Subscriptions are payable in advance for the months up to and including June or December. I am over 18 years of age and a paid-up member of the Boat Museum Society.

Signed: Date:

Please send the completed form with your payment to: Graham Adshead, 44 Seymour Drive, Overpool, South Wirral, CH66 1LU. Cheques should be made payable to the ‘Boat Museum Society’.

34 A water vole's eye view of a narrow boat entering the top lock at Hatton on the way up the flight. [Photo: © Nigel Mykura. Creative Commons]

The wharf at the head of the Cromford Canal. The warehouse was constructed in about 1824. [Photo: © David Dixon. Creative Commons]

35 The River Barrow flowing through Graiguenamanagh, County Kilkenny. The four storey stone building, stone storey four The Kilkenny. County Graiguenamanagh, through flowing Barrow River The now corn originally was an hotel a store. [Photo: Directory] Ireland’s

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