Glossor & Lambourne

[Kez]

Title says it all really

 

As is my understanding; they were sold before GUCCo was nationalised, but where did they go? And for that matter, where are they now?

[Paul Evans]

Title says it all really

 

As is my understanding; they were sold before GUCCo was nationalised, but where did they go? And for that matter, where are they now?

 

Have a look here for the final resting place for Glossor: (LINK).

 

According to THIS Lambourne sank on the Wey in 1977. There is a little more HERE confirming its sinking.

[Laurence Hogg]

Title says it all really

 

As is my understanding; they were sold before GUCCo was nationalised, but where did they go? And for that matter, where are they now?

GLOSSOR was sold for pleasure use in the first instance, she then ended up as a Bar (as shown). I am suspect of the description of Lambourne on the Wey, the text implies it has wooden headers?, this is not a feature of a normal Town class Walker built boat, plus I have photographs of boats there and cannot see a match. Can anyone confim this? The WCBS has many errors and is out of date.

Edited May 3, 2010 by Laurence Hogg

[Steve King]

GLOSSOR was sold for pleasure use in the first instance, she then ended up as a Bar (as shown). I am suspect of the description of Lambourne on the Wey, the text implies it has wooden headers?, this is not a feature of a normal Town class Walker built boat, plus I have photographs of boats there and cannot see a match. Can anyone confim this? The WCBS has many errors and is out of date.

 

I seem to remember that part of Glossor (a centre section) was in use as a houseboat at the Gasworks Basin at Kensal Green on the Paddington Branch of the GUC perhaps back in the early 1990s, but don't take this as gospel.

 

It was me that reported the existence of Lambourne on the River Wey in 1977 to hNBOC. It was for sale in Exchange & Mart and I went to see it. I think it was already on the bottom of a backwater of the Wey and looked rather sorry for itself. It had the cabin frames of a former conversion but that was all. It also had 'wooden headers', being stout wooden posts that rose through the foredeck on either side of the deck. As Laurence points out, not an original GUCCCo fitting, but there they were and I don't know how they came to be there. Perhaps the boat had worked on the River Wey and I think the Wey barges had them fitted? I have never heard of Lambourne since that time and given the rather sorry state it was in and the amount being asked for it (£700 as I recall) I doubt that it was sold. It may well still be there, and I've been meaning to go and see if I could find it again after all these years, but the closest I've got was to look at Google Maps satellite view and was not successful. I'll try and dig out the photo I took at the time and post it here when I have a moment.

 

 

Steve

[alan_fincher]

I seem to remember that part of Glossor (a centre section) was in use as a houseboat at the Gasworks Basin at Kensal Green on the Paddington Branch of the GUC perhaps back in the early 1990s, but don't take this as gospel.

This is what the Glossor Page on the HNNOC Site says about the middle section.

[Steve King]

I'll try and dig out the photo I took at the time and post it here when I have a moment.

 

Scanned from prints so the colours have faded a bit but you get the general idea.

 

There are a number of backwaters at Send and I can't identify this location now from Google Maps satellite view. Does anyone recognise where this is? It seems to be a very narrow backwater off the main river(?), with a handy line of trees behind, which might just help.

 

 

Steve

[pete harrison]

GLOSSOR was sold for pleasure use in the first instance, she then ended up as a Bar (as shown). I am suspect of the description of Lambourne on the Wey, the text implies it has wooden headers?, this is not a feature of a normal Town class Walker built boat, plus I have photographs of boats there and cannot see a match. Can anyone confim this? The WCBS has many errors and is out of date.

 

I consider the W.C.B.S. document linked in this thread to be of poor quality and well out of date. The following is from my own records collated from original documents, period enthusiast observations and conversations I have had with River Wey staff.

 

LAMBOURNE was sold by the G.U.C.C.Co. Ltd. in 1946 to Christopher and Daphne March, Worcester for £300 - who also owned the Nurser built motor boat HEATHER BELL. LAMBOURNE was re-registered to the March's as Daventry 541 on 23 July 1946 having being the subject of a "general overhaul and complete repainted". Putting two and two together the Daventry registration suggests that the refurbishment was completed by Nurser Bros. at Braunston, who I can only presume fitted the wooden heads making LAMBOURNE more alike other narrow boats trading on the River Severn. LAMBOURNE also appears on the B.C.N. gauge registers with these owners under table number 2252 (10 July 1946) where the fleet number is given as 2, HEATHER BELL being fleet number 1.

 

LAMBOURNE, under a different owner, was subsequently converted to a house boat. By 1961 LAMBOURNE was based at New Haw on the River Wey and retained its name and both its G.U.C.Co. and B.C.N. Co. gauge plates. I understand that LAMBOURNE has not left the River Wey since with possesion being taken by the National Trust in 1968 after the boat had been abandoned. The National Trust then moved LAMBOURNE to Send where it was allowed to sink in a side loop as its condition was considered to be beyond economical repair. I believe LAMBOURNE still rests where Mr King took his photographs in 1977.

[Paul H]

Thanks Pete and fascinating pics Steve.

 

As wooden heads are an extension of the wooden bow knees the boat would have required fairly extensive rebuilding.

 

I wonder if it had been war damaged? Rebuilding would hardly have been worthwhile otherwise.

 

And what is the detailed history of Glossor?

 

Paul H

[Pluto]

Timber heads are not necessarily extensions of frames, and many wooden wide boats I have looked at have timber heads which are not knees, though they were usually bolted to a knee. Presumably, this makes replacement easier if they are damaged, and structural damage to the hull less likely. Here, the timber heads are just forward of the bulkhead which suggests that they too are an addition to existing framing and not extensions to frames.

[Foxglove]

Several years ago I asked Vince Locatelli , then navigation foreman , about the decaying wooden narrowboat at Send . I'm pretty sure he said it was Lambourne , I'm equally sure he said she was built on the K&A at Honey Street . He also confirmed that she'd been residential at New Haw . She's still there in the old loop which is about 200 yards above Worsfold Gates , non-towpath side . Virtually invisible at this time of year but you can see her from the boat during winter if you know where to look . I hadn't noticed the timber heads before , will look more closely next time I'm passing .

 

Duncan

[Steve King]

She's still there in the old loop which is about 200 yards above Worsfold Gates , non-towpath side .

 

Many thanks for the location Duncan. I guess we're looking at one of the two loops seen here:

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&sour...mp;t=h&z=17

 

Scrutiny of the photos suggests that Lambourne resides in the upper (northern) entrance of the lower (southern) loop on account of the angle to the main river and the narrower entrance. Also, the dense woodland seen in the distance, top right in the second photo, might be that bordering the upper loop.

 

 

Steve

[Foxglove]

Hello Steve ,

 

I think you are right . Walking upstream ( south ) from Worsfold Gates you pass the first loop and rather shallow winding hole , a little further on the towpath has white painted railings either side which can be seen in the google map image . Lambourne lies opposite the start of the railings , which confirms your theory .

 

Duncan