Willow Wren

[pete harrison]

Excellent, thanks for the info!

 

If you do come across the brochure that has Rowan in I'd love to see a copy of it if you are able to scan/photocopy - PM me. We have a few bits and pieces of her history in a folder that we would love to add to

 

As I run a 'private' archive I can put my hand to this brochure straight away, or at least as soon as I get back home in a week or so's time ! I shall PM you next weekend.

[jeannette smith harrison]

Hi Jeanette, & welcome.

 

You've delved back a while, so to be clear, can you just name the boats you are most interested in, and there is a good chance someone here will be able to give their status.

 

Satellite was mentioned in your quote. Was that one of them ? If so it's former owner has been posting on here recently, and I think I got confirmation that the boat is now Aylesbury based.

 

The Harrisons, as you clearly know, were one of the very well known boating families. I worked previously alongside one in the early 1970s, who had been a working boatman, but by then was doing work for hire firms, plus painting canal ware. I'm damned if I can remember his name though - I think it was Joe, but I could easily be wrong about that. My mum still has some items he painted, but I can't prise them off her!

 

As an aside, if your canal researches find anything for people with my surname, (Fincher), I'd be interested to hear, as some from the same town as my ancestors were boatmen in the latter half of the 19th century., I've yet to prove they are my relatives, though!

[pete harrison]

 

As an aside, if your canal researches find anything for people with my surname, (Fincher), I'd be interested to hear, as some from the same town as my ancestors were boatmen in the latter half of the 19th century., I've yet to prove they are my relatives, though!

In my records I have only one Fincher, James Fincher who was steerer of the single cabin wide boat EMMA LOUISA owned by G. Jordan and C. Knight, Paddington. My reference is dated 04 September 1879 when EMMA LOUISA was health registered as Tring 18 (inspected on 20 August 1879).

[jeannette smith harrison]

sorry for blank message

Alen the boats where Satellite & Quail that was my main intrest as added info Narrowboat Spring 2009 has an artical on willow wren last traffic

with some great pictures of the boats & familys also Canal shop company sell a set of 16 postcards of Willow wren boats. no 9 is Mark Harrison on Quail & Satterlite @ Nelson Lock 27th oct 1963 whilst taking coal to John Dickins croxley mill.

If your hear of anyone selling Joes stuff please please let me know I would love to add them to my collection esp now he is gone.

sorry this is an old thread i forgot all about it.

regards

Jeannette

[alan_fincher]

In my records I have only one Fincher, James Fincher who was steerer of the single cabin wide boat EMMA LOUISA owned by G. Jordan and C. Knight, Paddington. My reference is dated 04 September 1879 when EMMA LOUISA was health registered as Tring 18 (inspected on 20 August 1879).

 

Very much , but my extreme thanks to Pete for this answer........

Pete,

 

I forgot ever mentioning this, but am most grateful for your input......

 

I do know who this man is, I think, and he is not actually strictly a FINCHER, as his parents, George FINCHER and Sarah BARRATT did not actually marry until some months after his birth in 1845. His birth was actually recorded with Fincher as his second forename, hence James Fincher BARRATT, and there seems little doubt that that confirms George FINCHER as the father.

 

However James Fincher BARRATT appears to have been known thereafter as James FINCHER, and subsequent censuses record him as follows.....

 

1851 Census

(James Fincher) Aged 5, (sched# 125) Park Street, Tring, Herts Born Tring

 

1861 Census

(James Fincher) Aged 15, "Private House", Marsworth (Ag. Lab.) Born Tring, Herts

 

1871 Census

(James Fincher) Aged 25, Stanhopes End, Marsworth, Bucks (Boatman) Born Tring, Herts

 

Thereafter I wasn't sure I could trace him, but felt sure that a Joseph FINCHER aboard a canal boat in 1881 must be him, simply because it is otherwise a match, and that Joseph fails to show as existing in any other record....

 

So we have...

 

1881 Census

(Joseph Fincher) Aged 36, Canal Boat "Emma Louise", Grand Union Canal, Hillingdon Middlesex, (Master) Born Herts, Tring

 

But now you have placed James FINCHER aboard the Emma Louisa less than 2 years before that census. Not absolute proof that Joseph was James, but I'm now convinced!

 

Sadly his death was recorded only just over 2 years later in late 1883 or early 1884, so he didn't make it beyond his late 30s.

 

His brother Richard is also recorded as a Canal Boatman in two censuses....

 

1871 Census

Aged 22, Canal Boats, Hemel Hempstead, Herts (Boatman) Born Tring, Herts

(Unmarried, captain is John Lines, born Marsworth)

 

1881 Census

Aged 32, 75 Walton Street, Aylesbury, Bucks (Boatman Captain) Born Herts,

 

Richard was married, but also died young, his widow Jane later joining another boating family when she married a Ssmuel Wilson, in Aylesbury.

 

For the doubters about terms used for those in charge of canal boats, the term Master and Captain both appear apparently interchangeably in such records.

 

Whilst I believe I share common ancestry with these FINCHERs, I'm damned if I can actually prove it though.

 

Probably a bit like you trying to find out what happened to one end of a particularly illusive boat!

 

Do you know any more about G. Jordan and C. Knight, of Paddington, who you say were the owners of Emma Louisa, please, (Emma Louise is the spelling used in the census, but such inaccuracies are commonplace!).

 

Was health inspection of a wide boat as far up as Tring normal, given the usual suggestion that wide boat traffic generally didn't go beyond Berkhamsted ? I wonder if by any chance the boat was built near Tring by Bushells, who I believe built quite a few wide boats ?

 

Anyway, after those ramblings that have nowt to do with Willow Wren, I am most grateful to you!

[pinkoi]

As I run a 'private' archive I can put my hand to this brochure straight away, or at least as soon as I get back home in a week or so's time ! I shall PM you next weekend.

 

you are a superstar! many thanks :-)

[Hairy-Neil]

As I run a 'private' archive I can put my hand to this brochure straight away,

 

Hi Pete, do you have any info on boating families with the names Cotton, Benton or Holdback?

[David Schweizer]

May I also Hi-jack this thread and ask whether anyone has any information about a Dennis Papworth who I believe was a working boatman for a while. I am certain he was not from a boating family as he could read and write, but he knew all the Willow Wren and Blue Line crews by first name and they all knew him.

 

He never said much about his earlier life, but we always believed that he had been a working boatman, there was some suggestion that he may have worked on the Harefield lime boats, or the London/Harefield rubbish wide boats, and that may be the case, but he was well known to Leslie Morton, John Wooley and the Walkers at Rickmansworth, which suggests to me that he may have worked for Willow Wren for a while. He also knew people like Ron Hough, David Blagrove, and Michael Streat and knew the system around the Midlands without the aid of a map, indicating that he must have worked a longer distance than the Harefield boats

 

I knew him during the mid 1960's to early 1970's as the part time Captain of the Community Boat Pisces, but by that time he had a young family and was living and working in Harefield. I was still quite young in those days and we just took some things for granted, never thinking to ask for any details of his past life, but I would like to know if anyone has any information about him. I have plenty of photos of him in those later years, however, there are one or two earlier photos around of an unidentified boatman who could be him.

Edited March 20, 2011 by David Schweizer

[pete harrison]

Hi Pete, do you have any info on boating families with the names Cotton, Benton or Holdback?

 

I have a William Cotton, Weekday Cross as owner of wide boat EAGLE (Nottingham 27 - 18 November 1881). I also have John Cotton as master of narrow boat No. 30 owned by Willaim Hayes & Son, Runcorn (Runcorn 629 - 05 May 1879) then John Cotton as master of narrow boat LOUISA owned by Daniel Boulton, Kidsgrove (Stoke on Trent 358 - 24 June 1897).

 

I have no reference to the family names Benton or Holdback (but I do have two references to William Holback on the Coventry health register).

[pete harrison]

 

Do you know any more about G. Jordan and C. Knight, of Paddington, who you say were the owners of Emma Louisa, please, (Emma Louise is the spelling used in the census, but such inaccuracies are commonplace!).

 

Was health inspection of a wide boat as far up as Tring normal, given the usual suggestion that wide boat traffic generally didn't go beyond Berkhamsted ? I wonder if by any chance the boat was built near Tring by Bushells, who I believe built quite a few wide boats ?

 

 

I have no other references to G. Jordan and C. Knight, Paddington. I do not even have a Grand Junction Canal gauge for this boat, but this is most likely due to extant gauge tables prior to May 1882 (G.J.C. 10501) being a bit hit and miss (10100 to 10500 as well as many other earlier volumes are missing).

 

There are 53 wide boats on the Tring heath register, many of which are listed as being a "new boat". I think the next Authority (heading north) that carried out health registrations was Towcester. Unfortunately the Towcester health register is lost but I am pretty sure it was made up of narrow boats only. Likewise the Daventry health register is certainly all narrow beam.

[Blossom]

Excellent, thanks for the info!

We know a bit of history about her being a camping boat, in fact we have met a couple of people around and about who used to take Rowan on family holidays in the 70's who have taken details and offered to send pictures which in the end haven't turned up, such is life :-)

Indeed she still has the Lister SR3 fabulous thing. Now has a wooden cabin over the hold where it previously was just canvass (get cold just thinking about it) I think that was added around 1993.

 

If you do come across the brochure that has Rowan in I'd love to see a copy of it if you are able to scan/photocopy - PM me. We have a few bits and pieces of her history in a folder that we would love to add to

 

Hi Pinkoi just thought this might be of interest to you Linky

[tony collins]

Taken from "The Canals Book" - 1974 Edition

 

 

This would have been when Dennis Clark was running the Rugby operation. I had my (glass fibre) boat moored along the arm at the time. About that time he quoted me "£200 a yard" for a new boat.

 

I liked him, he often gave the impression of not caring much about anyone or anything, but if you wanted to buy/borrow/cadge anything from him you rarely came away empty handed. Good painter in his time too, served his apprenticeship with Ron Hough at Nursers yard in Braunston.

[pinkoi]

Hi Pinkoi just thought this might be of interest to you Linky

 

 

oh I feel a purchase coming on!

 

:-)

[Hairy-Neil]

 

I have no reference to the family names Benton or Holdback (but I do have two references to William Holback on the Coventry health register).

 

Interesting.

 

The family I'm researching were married in Warwickshire (Saltisford) and believed to be working the southern canals as soon after they settled on the bank at Uxbridge as coal heavers.

[XAlan W]

This would have been when Dennis Clark was running the Rugby operation. I had my (glass fibre) boat moored along the arm at the time. About that time he quoted me "£200 a yard" for a new boat.

 

I liked him, he often gave the impression of not caring much about anyone or anything, but if you wanted to buy/borrow/cadge anything from him you rarely came away empty handed. Good painter in his time too, served his apprenticeship with Ron Hough at Nursers yard in Braunston.

 

I also found him to be very helpful. From my own observations he dis liked people who tried to impress or bulls**t He helped a lot with a few teething troubles I had with the SEFFLE, would not accept any payment & always mentioned the fact I gave him a couple of bottles of wine & his good lady flowers & chocolates

[Max Sinclair]

I am attempting to put together a page on the above company and would appreciate any information/history anyone can help with. Both the carrying side and the early hire boats are of interest.

You are welcome to use my gallery pictures.

[pete harrison]

you are a superstar! many thanks :-)

 

PM sent.