Bridgewater Marina

[Lol]

I didn't think I would ever start a topic in the history section, but there is a first time for everything

 

I was bored and rooting around the web about boaty things and in particular the Bridgewater

 

some time ago I came across this site and it sparked boyhood memories of fishing in the basin we used to call "the boatyard" it was full of weed and lilly and loads of big Tench, what we didn't realise was how many boats were in there

 

some of the photos below are amazing, all those boats...they were according to the locals mainly removed some being used to shore up the bank at the back of the basin which is now a flat promenade, the rest were buried and the lot covered with backfill from the local building of new houses and the broken up stone pier, the lot then having a membrane and clay put on top (the whole basin is now about 6 foot deep, in general 3ft deeper than th canal) finally the pilings were removed

 

boat graveyard

 

go to "After Coal" page for pics

Edited April 5, 2008 by Lol

[cheshire~rose]

I didn't think I would ever start a topic in the history section, but there is a first time for everything

 

I was bored and rooting around the web about boaty things and in particular the Bridgewater

 

some time ago I came across this site and it sparked boyhood memories of fishing in the basin we used to call "the boatyard" it was full of weed and lilly and loads of big Tench, what we didn't realise was how many boats were in there

 

some of the photos below are amazing, all those boats...they were according to the locals mainly removed some being used to shore up the bank at the back of the basin which is now a flat promenade, the rest were buried and the lot covered with backfill from the local building of new houses and the broken up stone pier, the lot then having a membrane and clay put on top (the whole basin is now about 6 foot deep, in general 3ft deeper than th canal) finally the pilings were removed

 

boat graveyard

 

go to "After Coal" page for pics

 

 

Wow that is amazing and also so sad to see all those boats just abandoned ... I know it must have happened all over the place but seeing the photos brings it home

[moggyjo]

I to find it really sad to see all those sunken boats.

 

I was told that there were/are a load of sunken boats at Harefield Marina, anyone know if that is the case?

[Chris Pink]

I was told that there were/are a load of sunken boats at Harefield Marina, anyone know if that is the case?

 

British Waterways were 'caught' by the IWA towing boats into Harefield flash, sinking them and burying them in gravel.

 

A fuss was caused so they had to stop and this is where a lot of the existing old working boats came from. As far as i know there are none left now.

 

This one doesn'ty look like it needs much at all to get it floating again.

Edited April 10, 2008 by Chris Pink

[Timleech]

This one doesn'ty look like it needs much at all to get it floating again.

 

Rather you than me!!

It could well be Albert Blundell's 'Tom', which IIRC was taken there after the Trafford Power Station traffic ended, mid-1960s.

We ( a group of friends, still at school then) were offered a choice between the Tom for 50 quid and the 'Edith' (ex-'Psi') for 75 quid in 1965. We chose the Edith mainly because she was a few inches narrower, at a whisker over 14' beam but also may have been in marginally better condition. Both were ex Canal Transport motor Short Boats which had been demotorised and used as dumb boats.

 

Tim

Edited April 10, 2008 by Timleech

[Chris Pink]

Rather you than me!!

It could well be Albert Blundell's 'Tom', which IIRC was taken there after the Trafford Power Station traffic ended, mid-1960s.

We ( a group of friends, still at school then) were offered a choice between the Tom for 50 quid and the 'Edith' (ex-'Psi') for 75 quid in 1965. We chose the Edith mainly because she was a few inches narrower, at a whisker over 14' beam but also may have been in marginally better condition. Both were ex Canal Transport motor Short Boats which had been demotorised and used as dumb boats.

 

Tim

 

My butty has "Blundell's Dock Liverpool" painted on the side, just visible under the existing...well i suppose you could call it paint...yes yes i know, it is high on the jobs...anyway i had though it read Bundell's Dock.

 

Who was Albert Blundell?

 

Have you still got Edith? £75 was quite a lot of money for a boat in 65.

[Timleech]

My butty has "Blundell's Dock Liverpool" painted on the side, just visible under the existing...well i suppose you could call it paint...yes yes i know, it is high on the jobs...anyway i had though it read Bundell's Dock.

 

Who was Albert Blundell?

 

Have you still got Edith? £75 was quite a lot of money for a boat in 65.

 

Albert Blundell was a canal carrier, amazingly Lived somewhere around Chorley IIRC. All his boats were named after members of his family. I believe he did originally operate over a wider area. He and Wilf Monk (James Monk & Co.) shared the Trafford and Barton power station traffics. My last post should have referred to the end of the Barton traffic, Trafford carried on for a little bit longer.

 

No, Edith was cremated at the time of the big Bridgewater breach at Bollington. She was trapped on the 'wrong' side, at Preston Brook, there was no decision being made about the future of the canal, and we were spread around the country doing different things so maintaining a big wooden boat with no real prospects for use or sale wasn't high on people's priorities. We took advantage of the canal being drained for the rebuilding of the railway aqueduct to have one very large bonfire!!

 

Edited to add that, regarding boat prices, we had been hoping to buy a Narrow Boat. We actually put in tenders for the Dragon and the Stafford from British Waterways, but at that time Narrow Boat prices were rising well above the sort of 'scrap' level they had been at for some years, those boats went for quite a bit more than we had expected (£800 or thereabouts for the Dragon, IIRC)

 

 

Tim

Edited April 10, 2008 by Timleech

[NBMike]

I've just about finished reading "Ramlin Rose" by Sheila Stewart. I thoroughly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in canal history, especially towards the end of carrying days. It tells the story of boatmans wives who are often sadly neglected in other histories. It does mention the sinking of boats in Harefield and other canals after 1947 when the canals were frozen for months. I am sure the author did her research. A great read!

[Liam]

I have just picked the book up for the second time, and I am sure I will enjoy it again. Things tend to sink in better the second time around!

 

So, what happened to all of those boats then, were they just broken up and gotten rid of?

[moggyjo]

Think my neighbour Kate Saffin knows Sheila Stewart, Kate does one woman plays based on canal people in the past (shes very good)

Ramlin Rose I think is based loosely on Rose Skinner.