Wide Boats on the GU

[Carl Ryan]

Riverwey

 

Two of the river Wey barges, I think Speedwell and Perseverance were used by Balfour Kilparticks as workboats to lay the electrity cables under the towpath in London in the early eighties. I worked at the time for T & D Murrell who had the contract to service these boats. loading supplies and towing them around. i did this for a few years. Slightly later, maybe 1983-4 I worked for John Woolley and we rebuilt one of these barges at Eel Pie Island on the thames. This boat at the time was owned by the museum of London. We spent many months on this boat. Unfortunately I do not seem to be able to find any photos of this but if I remember correctly the museum team came from time to time to see how it was progressing and took photos. if you can get copies I would love to see them.

 

 

The only photo I have is a scan of a postcard that Tam & Di produced which shows one of the Stevens barges being brought back to Bulls Bridge at the end of the contract. I think it eventualy sank and I think this is the one John rebuilt at Eel pie. I suspect it is Perseverence as Speedwell is as Ellesmere port.

 

 

Hope this helps

 

Carl

[Tam & Di]

 

Hope this helps

 

Carl

 

The boat doing the towing is of course the L&L long boat Cadellis. It was originally Ironclad but the Navy wanted that name. However it had been a registered ship and Ironclad was engraved into the top strake and for some time we had Cadellis onthe fore end and Ironclad on the stern.

 

Tam

Edited August 31, 2014 by Tam & Di

[Carl Ryan]

Tam

 

Do you have the original photo. I think i am steering the Stevens barge. I suspect you are steering Cadellis

. Not sure who is steering the lighter.

Carl

[Timleech]

 

The boat doing the towing is of course the L&L long boat Cadellis. It was originally Ironclad but the Navy wanted that name. However it had been a registered ship and Ironclad was engraved into the top strake and for some time we had Cadellis onthe fore end and Ironclad on the stern.

 

Tam

 

Cadellis was the name of Albert Blundell's house in Chorley. I believe that all his boats apart from Cadellis were named after family members.

Albert Blundell was the last commercial owner of Cadellis 'Oop North'.

I don't know which was named first, was the boat given that name when it first went into service?

 

Tim

[pete harrison]

I don't know which was named first, was the boat given that name when it first went into service?

 

Tim

CADELLIS was built by W.J. Yarwood & Sons Ltd., Northwich (Yd No. 432) as IRONCLAD for H. and R. Ainscough Ltd., Ormskirk (Official No. 162388), and was health registered as such at Liverpool on 19 October 1933. This health registration was transferred to Albert Blundell, Chorley on 02 April 1960 with the boat name listed as CADELLIS.

[Timleech]

CADELLIS was built by W.J. Yarwood & Sons Ltd., Northwich (Yd No. 432) as IRONCLAD for H. and R. Ainscough Ltd., Ormskirk (Official No. 162388), and was health registered as such at Liverpool on 19 October 1933. This health registration was transferred to Albert Blundell, Chorley on 02 April 1960 with the boat name listed as CADELLIS.

 

So, when did the name actually change? Any clues? Was it on the change of ownership.

I did visit Albert Blundell's house just once. Froom Street, IIRC.

 

Tim

Edited August 31, 2014 by Timleech

[Tam & Di]

 

Cadellis was the name of Albert Blundell's house in Chorley. I believe that all his boats apart from Cadellis were named after family members.

Albert Blundell was the last commercial owner of Cadellis 'Oop North'.

I don't know which was named first, was the boat given that name when it first went into service?

 

Tim

I think we were told, perhaps by Nigel Carter, that it was named after his children, something like Carol Derek and Lisa (I made those up, but they were names that went together to form Cadellis). He apparently got well paid for the name Ironclad too.

 

Presumably this was concurrent with the change of ownership from Ainscough.

 

We did try to resurrect the official registry in our names, but it needed a complete sequence of legal paperwork for all changes and it was not possible to get that bit sorted retrospectively,

 

Tam

Edited August 31, 2014 by Tam & Di

[Pluto]

I think we were told, perhaps by Nigel Carter, that it was named after his children, something like Carol Derek and Lisa (I made those up, but they were names that went together to form Cadellis). He apparently got well paid for the name Ironclad too.

 

Presumably this was concurrent with the change of ownership from Ainscough.

 

We did try to resurrect the official registry in our names, but it needed a complete sequence of legal paperwork for all changes and it was not possible to get that bit sorted retrospectively,

 

Tam

I think they were Christine, Agnes, Denise, ELL for Blundell, Irene, Shirley. I can imagine Albert thinking about how to name his 'new' boat whilst steering, and coming up with Cadellis. He renamed my boat Denise after his daughter. It was going to be Denis, but they had a girl instead.

[Timleech]

I was recently sent some pics taken by Bill Greenhalgh in 1970, these were taken at Barton in the early stages of a summer spent travelling to Yorkshire and points therein with our Short Boat Edith (just captured at the edge of the second picture):-

 

 

 

 

Bill's copyright of course.

 

 

Edit - I'm guessing that the dumb boat was the NORMAN. What happened to that?

 

 

Tim

Edited September 29, 2014 by Timleech

[Pluto]

Norman and Shirley at Barton c1972. The coamings on Norman, ex Parbold, have been cut off in the same manner as in Bill's photo, so that is likely to be Norman as well. I think it ended up on the GU at Cowley, but may have moved more recently. Parbold was the last horse boat on the L&LC, worked by the Lamb brothers for Ainscoughs in the late 1950s.

[Timleech]

I've just been reliably informed that the steerer on Cadellis will have been Tommy Haymer (sp?), with Albert Blundell himself on the dumb boat, and that is definitely Albert's dog

 

Tim

[Timleech]

Norman and Shirley at Barton c1972. The coamings on Norman, ex Parbold, have been cut off in the same manner as in Bill's photo, so that is likely to be Norman as well. I think it ended up on the GU at Cowley, but may have moved more recently. Parbold was the last horse boat on the L&LC, worked by the Lamb brothers for Ainscoughs in the late 1950s.

One reason the comings were retained on the Cadellis was so that the hold could still be hatched over, it was sometimes used for grain on the Kelloggs run when the coal job was quiet.

 

Tim

[Pluto]

I've just been reliably informed that the steerer on Cadellis will have been Tommy Haymer (sp?), with Albert Blundell himself on the dumb boat, and that is definitely Albert's dog

 

Tim

I seem to recall that Albert's mate was Tommy Almond, and that his surname was shortened to Haymer or Aymer. Tommy usually steered the motor and Albert the dumb boat.

 

Regarding hatches and coamings, these were removed on boats working to Wigan Power Station to make the hold wide enough as they were unloaded by grab. Boats working to Trafford Park did not need this as coal was removed by suction, so much less damaging to the boat.