Mystery Photo

[cheshire~rose]

A lady who lives in a cottage near to where we moor said she had 3 old framed photos of boats on The Chesterfield Canal that she was hoping to find new homes for. I went to have a look and very quickly dismissed two of the photos as being quite unlikely to have been taken on The Chesterfield - I later managed to get confirmation that both were taken around Brentford (or perhaps The Lea or Regent's Canal) very quickly via many of my knowledgeable friends on Facebook,

 

I didn't share the third picture because at first glance I assumed it was a Chesterfield Boat and rather stupidly concentrated on trying to fathom the location on the canal rather than look closer at the boat which I have now been informed is not a Chesterfield Boat - so is there anyone here who can assist in identifying what this boat is and perhaps where and when it may have been taken?

 

The photo I took is not great because it was impossible not to get glare off the glass over it.

 

 

A couple of details:

 

The bridge in the background:

 

And the bow of the boat:

 

It has been suggested to me that it may be an "Upper Trent" boat. These were known to have visited The Chesterfield Canal very early on but when the swing bridges were replaced by brick c1800 they could not longer get up to Retford. Chesterfield boats rarely plied the canal with a mast on board, these would be left at West Stockwith and fitted before going out on the river.

It certainly appears to be a boat that would navigate a river but can anyone shed any light on what part of the country it is likely to be from?

[matty40s]

Looks to.me a bit like Eckington Bridge on the lower Avon perhaps taken from Devils Elbow ?

 

[cheshire~rose]

That could make sense! Does anyone have any info on the typical boats that plied The Avon in bygone times?

[Chris M Jones]

That image appeared in West Sussex Waterways by P.A.L. Vine plate 105.

 

It was identified as below Pulborough Bridge on the Arun Navigation in 1898 with bargemaster Henry Doick and his sons Percy and Tom on barge No.64.

[cheshire~rose]

Wow, thank you for that

[Chris Lowe]

28 minutes ago, Chris M Jones said:

That image appeared in West Sussex Waterways by P.A.L. Vine plate 105.

 

It was identified as below Pulborough Bridge on the Arun Navigation in 1898 with bargemaster Henry Doick and his sons Percy and Tom on barge No.64.

Do you mean Old Swan Bridge Pulborough? 

 

 

Edited December 29, 2019 by buccaneer66
Added image

[Chris M Jones]

The caption referred to just said Pulborough Bridge which presumably meant the Swan Bridge rather than Clements Bridge. The main wharf and dock was near to the Swan Bridge.

[Chris Lowe]

Probably where the current slipway is.