W Whitehouse and son

[expatboatee]

Hello : )

I'm trying to find some information about this old boat and carrying company but keep running into dead ends and I hate unsolved mysteries! I know there was a Whitehouse and co in West Bromwich but I'm guessing that that's a different company, or maybe related. I think this one must have been based around the London area, and it's from a postcard published in London. The only two leads I've found are a steam boat registered at Brentford by Whitehouse and son, and a photo in the British waterways archive, Gloucester (I can't see the photo but it sounds similar), captioned:

Barge 'Perseverance' loaded with reeds on the River Wey
Black and white photograph showing the stern of the barge which is moored at a wharf, "W. Whitehouse & Son Brentford Carriers London No 132..." is written on the stern. There is a woman on the boat and men beside it, including a man stood on a wooden plank carrying reeds to the barge and a man sat on a horse. There are reeds piled on the barge and several visible near the canal.

From the Kodak museum, Lieutenant Colonel Gale.

It may even be the same photo without the oval crop. Any ideas or information gratefully recieved - especially since Whitehouse is my family name, so I'd like to adopt some boating ancestors! Being in France, it's internet or nothing for research.

 

Edited to add that it looks quite similar to a Wey style stern.

Edited September 1, 2014 by expatboatee

[kevinl]

The full picture is on the link below

 

http://www.diomedia.com/public/en/5547396/imageDetails.html

 

Scroll down to Sultan looks like he owned that at some point in time

 

http://www.steamershistorical.co.uk/steamers_registrations.htm

 

K

[mark99]

"The barge building centre for the Wey was situated at Dapdune Wharf in Guildford. The last barge to leave the Dapdune sheds was the Perseverance IV following a re-build in 1964-5. She continued to ply the river until being retired in 1968. A scale model of Perseverance IV is displayed in the Guildford Museum, Quarry Street."

 

From this excellent link.

 

http://www.weyriver.co.uk/theriver/nav_1_intro.htm

[expatboatee]

The full picture is on the link below

 

http://www.diomedia.com/public/en/5547396/imageDetails.html

 

Scroll down to Sultan looks like he owned that at some point in time

 

http://www.steamershistorical.co.uk/steamers_registrations.htm

 

K

Thanks - that's definitely it! It's nice to see the whole photo, and the date as well!! Yes, I think Sultan was the one I found, it's the only other mention of the carriers I found..

and @ mark99, I wonder if this was the original Perseverance - it seems there were quite a few Perseverances.

[pete harrison]

Hello : )

I'm trying to find some information about this old boat and carrying company but keep running into dead ends and I hate unsolved mysteries! I know there was a Whitehouse and co in West Bromwich but I'm guessing that that's a different company, or maybe related. I think this one must have been based around the London area, and it's from a postcard published in London. The only two leads I've found are a steam boat registered at Brentford by Whitehouse and son, and a photo in the British waterways archive, Gloucester (I can't see the photo but it sounds similar), captioned:

 

Barge 'Perseverance' loaded with reeds on the River Wey

Black and white photograph showing the stern of the barge which is moored at a wharf, "W. Whitehouse & Son Brentford Carriers London No 132..." is written on the stern. There is a woman on the boat and men beside it, including a man stood on a wooden plank carrying reeds to the barge and a man sat on a horse. There are reeds piled on the barge and several visible near the canal.

From the Kodak museum, Lieutenant Colonel Gale.

It may even be the same photo without the oval crop. Any ideas or information gratefully recieved - especially since Whitehouse is my family name, so I'd like to adopt some boating ancestors! Being in France, it's internet or nothing for research.

There are numerous records of W. Whitehouse & Son, Brentford, but I am not aware of any connection between this company and those of similar names in the Midlands.

 

I have health registration details of 15 boats, both wide and narrow beam, for W. Whitehouse & Son with the address of 12 given as Brentford and 3 given as Teddington. 2 of these boats were wide beam steam driven tugs, and I have the health registration of the boat in the photograph as:-

 

21 July 1885 - Brentford 46 - PERSEVERANCE for W. Whitehouse & Son, Brentford - wide beam - 2 cabins approved for habitation by 6 persons in each - master at time of registration James Stevens.

"The barge building centre for the Wey was situated at Dapdune Wharf in Guildford. The last barge to leave the Dapdune sheds was the Perseverance IV following a re-build in 1964-5. She continued to ply the river until being retired in 1968. A scale model of Perseverance IV is displayed in the Guildford Museum, Quarry Street."

 

From this excellent link.

 

http://www.weyriver.co.uk/theriver/nav_1_intro.htm

The PERSEVERANCE in the photograph above is a different boat to the one being suggested on the River Wey.

I wonder if this was the original Perseverance - it seems there were quite a few Perseverances.

I have within my scant notes 161 health registrations and 258 gauge records of 'historic' inland waterways boats named PERSEVERANCE, although some of these will be re-registrations of individual boats.

[expatboatee]

Thank you so much pete harrison - fantastic & useful information!

[pete harrison]

 

Barge 'Perseverance' loaded with reeds on the River Wey

Black and white photograph showing the stern of the barge which is moored at a wharf, "W. Whitehouse & Son Brentford Carriers London No 132..." is written on the stern.

,

 

Edited to add that it looks quite similar to a Wey style stern.

I am confident that the "T No. 132" visible in the photograph is either the owners Watermen's Hall number or the Port of London 'gauge' number for the boat - the former being most likely

 

edit - to alter Watermans Hall to Watermen's Hall - I know, an amateurish mistake

Edited September 1, 2014 by pete harrison

[expatboatee]

I am confident that the "T No. 132" visible in the photograph is either the owners Watermans Hall number or the Port of London 'gauge' number for the boat - the former being most likely

You're a mine of information - thank you! I'd never even heard of Watermans Hall : )

[jeannette smith harrison]

James Stevens was the Brother to my G grandmother on Grandads side.

Also related down the line to Caggy (Alan)Stevens

James & his family lived in Brentford for a time.

The boats I have connected to him are The Secret, William Tell & Ospray but I do not know if these are

Whithouse & son boats.

[expatboatee]

Thanks jeannette, a potential avenue to follow.

 

There are numerous records of W. Whitehouse & Son, Brentford, but I am not aware of any connection between this company and those of similar names in the Midlands.

 

I'm wondering if it was all the same company now as I found this:

Mirror of Parliament 1839
Messrs. Whitehouse and Son, Regent's Canal Basin, City Road, London, Birmingham and Dudley

 

And also this that someone copied from the 1734-1860 London Gazette:

1849-01-23, Canal Carrier & Wharfinger at Dudley; Tipton; Birmingham & City Rd Basin LND t/a John WHITEHOUSE & Sons Dissolution of Partnership

There's a record for the same date for each of 3 Whitehouses - John, Joseph and William (who I guess were the 'sons'). Perhaps William set up his own business?

 

Of course the dates are a bit early, but could have been handed down to the next generation. It's very confusing, especially with so many Whitehouses!

[pete harrison]

James Stevens was the Brother to my G grandmother on Grandads side.

Also related down the line to Caggy (Alan)Stevens

James & his family lived in Brentford for a time.

The boats I have connected to him are The Secret, William Tell & Ospray but I do not know if these are

Whithouse & son boats.

None of the above appear to be Whitehouse & Son boats. THE SECRET and WILLIAM TELL are health registered to James Stevens but I have no records of any boat named OSPRAY. I do however have 5 boats health registered as OSPREY, three of which were wide beam, one narrow beam and one unknown to me.

[jeannette smith harrison]

Thank you Pete

The spelling could be Osprey as I got this info from one of his children's baptism record,

the Parish record book being over 100 years old & had been stored in the church vault allowing

it to get damp & marked with mould .

Thanks jeannette, a potential avenue to follow.

 

 

I'm wondering if it was all the same company now as I found this:

Mirror of Parliament 1839
Messrs. Whitehouse and Son, Regent's Canal Basin, City Road, London, Birmingham and Dudley

 

And also this that someone copied from the 1734-1860 London Gazette:

1849-01-23, Canal Carrier & Wharfinger at Dudley; Tipton; Birmingham & City Rd Basin LND t/a John WHITEHOUSE & Sons Dissolution of Partnership

There's a record for the same date for each of 3 Whitehouses - John, Joseph and William (who I guess were the 'sons'). Perhaps William set up his own business?

 

Of course the dates are a bit early, but could have been handed down to the next generation. It's very confusing, especially with so many Whitehouses!

Expatboatee

If your Whitehouse people include a Horace Whitehouse born 1881 in Swan village West Bromwich send me

a p.m. as I have some records covering this Whitehouse family prior to the canal connection days

[expatboatee]

No Horace, but pm sent anyway : ) Thanks.

[Heartland]

I am not aware of any connection with the West Bromwich carrier, whose business is believed to have merged with John Whitehouse and Sons. They were both railway and canal carriers of Tipton using narrow boats, particularly fly boats until they were absorbed by the Grand Junction Canal Carrying organisation. Younger brother Joseph set up another carrying business afterwards which catered for the iron trade, like James Fellows.

 

Ray Shill