Where was this photo taken

[Richard T]

We have been given a copy of a photograph of our boat in its original livery and under its original name. Can anyone identify where the photograph was taken?

The boat was built in 1988 by Colecraft and fitted out by Rugby Boatbuilders for the Bank of England and called Watermark. When they sold it the boat was bought by Sileby Mill, renamed Millstream and used as a hire boat until we bought it and renamed it Tyto Alba in 2012.

[Burgiesburnin]

You would have to wonder why The BoE would have a boat built.

Floating gin palace or load it with bullion and cruise away inconspicuously.

[Scholar Gypsy]

I wonder if that is the stretch of the Regents Canal in Primrose Hill, between the T-junction at Cumberland Basin and the railway bridge / pirate castle?

 

The Bank of England have quite a lively staff sailing club - with several shared boats, I think - see here.

 

I think they used to have an Inland Waterways flotilla.

 

A google search also found this, which is rather different ...

 

http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/education/Pages/resources/games/boatgame.aspx

Edited February 16, 2016 by Scholar Gypsy

[Ray T]

You would have to wonder why The BoE would have a boat built.

Floating gin palace or load it with bullion and cruise away inconspicuously.

 

Not canals and slightly but during the 1980's -90's Barclays and Lloyds Bank's had fleets of offshore yachts for corporate and staff use. I never did quite get to the "bottom" of the arrangement but I think there was some tax advantage at the time on having a marine mortgage which were freely available then.

[Mrs Trackman]

Great picture.

Like the speculation. Good thing rick has thoroughly worked his way through the boat, seems no signs of dropped bullion.

Not quite sure where scholar gypsy means but think the general area could be right. What about the junction area with the arm that goes down to Paddington basin at little venice.So the picture would be taken coming from the arm.

Edited February 16, 2016 by Mrs Trackman

[Scholar Gypsy]

I think bullion would make rather good ballast. I think that picture is probably somewhere in London, and somewhere with good access to the opposite bank of course.

 

Maybe near east end of Islington tunnel ??

[Athy]

Well, the Royal Navy owns some narrowboats which may be hired by their personnel. They're kept at Calcutt (the boats, I mean). So it's not impossible that the Bank of England has boats for the use of their staff.

[Tonka]

The banks did indeed have narrowboat's for their staff. The BBC had one which I am trying to remember the name. Not sure if they owned actually by the corperations or their staff club.

[Dorlan]

The banks did indeed have narrowboat's for their staff. The BBC had one which I am trying to remember the name. Not sure if they owned actually by the corperations or their staff club.

It's 'Savoy Hill'.

http://www.bbcclub.com/connect/canal-cruising

[churchward]

Well, the Royal Navy owns some narrowboats which may be hired by their personnel. They're kept at Calcutt (the boats, I mean). So it's not impossible that the Bank of England has boats for the use of their staff.

Yes they do. We have shared the locks up the Hatton flight with one of them.

[Athy]

Yes they do. We have shared the locks up the Hatton flight with one of them.

I thought that perhaps the banks might have relinquished their boats due to lack of interest.

[mango]

You would have to wonder why The BoE would have a boat built.

Floating gin palace or load it with bullion and cruise away inconspicuously.

Gold bullion would be handy for adjusting the trim of a boat. It would take up less space than the usual 56lb weights and not go rusty.

[Dorlan]

The Royal Navy boats are ‘Emma’, ‘Lafter’, ‘Andrew’ and ‘Trafalgar’, seen here in Calcutt Marina.

 

[magictime]

I thought that perhaps the banks might have relinquished their boats due to lack of interest.

 

That was just when the pound was low.

[Dorlan]

There was an article in the Independent on Friday 13 May 1994, which included the following...

 

Bank of England employees were given the chance to potter around on the staff boat this week before they decide if they would like to book it for their summer holidays. The Watermark, a narrow boat bought by the Old Lady's boating society in the 1980s for pounds 40,000, was moored on a canal in Islington, north London on Thursday. Damned fine it looked too. In smart green and black livery, it even sports the dates 1694-1994, added to acknowledge the bank's 300th anniversary.

The bank is quite big on boats. It also has a 42ft yacht called Ingotism moored near Southampton. Eddie George, who is commodore of the bank's Sailing Association, uses the yacht but is not thought to have availed himself of the smaller yet perfectly formed Watermark. This weekend the narrow boat will wend its way slowly back to its regular spot in Burton-on-Trent.

 

 

[cuthound]

Well, the Royal Navy owns some narrowboats which may be hired by their personnel. They're kept at Calcutt (the boats, I mean). So it's not impossible that the Bank of England has boats for the use of their staff.

Indeed they do. One came last my mooring at such a speed last year that he watered the garden for me!

[Athy]

 

That was just when the pound was low.

[matty40s]

The Royal Navy boats are ‘Emma’, ‘Lafter’, ‘Andrew’ and ‘Trafalgar’, seen here in Calcutt Marina.

 

I think the Andrew has been sold off into private ownership now, moored on the Barby straight.

[David Mack]

The wife of a colleague of mine is former chair of the Bank of England's Waterways Association, which is part of the Bank's staff social club. Watermark was owned by the Association, not the Bank, although funded from a loan from the Bank which was fully repaid. They owned Watermark for about 7 years until it was replaced by a new boat. The OP's photograph was taken when the boat was moored up at Islington near City Road locks for the Bank's Tercentenary celebrations in 1994.

[Leisure boater]

A few years back I went up Hatton with "The Andrew" the lowest rank aboard was just a plain Admiral bloody good laugh it was, too great fun.

[Mrs Trackman]

A few years back I went up Hatton with "The Andrew" the lowest rank aboard was just a plain Admiral bloody good laugh it was, too great fun.

 

'The Andrew' was a private shared boat that moored in the fellows morton Clayton building in the centre of Nottingham though I've not seen it for a while.

[Nightwatch]

I'm fairly sure I have seen two Andrews.

[Leisure boater]

'The Andrew' was a private shared boat that moored in the fellows morton Clayton building in the centre of Nottingham though I've not seen it for a while.

I'm refering to the navy owned boat that was based at Calcutt Marina.

[Dorlan]

I think the Andrew has been sold off into private ownership now, moored on the Barby straight.

The website for the boats, http://lafportsmouth.com/narrow-boat/ shows that ‘Emma’, ‘Andrew’ and ‘Trafalgar’ are available for hire this year.

[Peter X]

You would have to wonder why The BoE would have a boat built.

Floating gin palace or load it with bullion and cruise away inconspicuously.

It's actually fairly rare for gold bullion to be moved at all, partly due to the security costs involved. One of the odder programs I've worked on in my career was effectively a stock control program for gold bullion, keeping a record of each bar belonging to a merchant bank's clients with its serial number, weight (they all vary slightly) and owner. When someone sells a gold bar, it usually just stays where it is in the vault and gets a new owner in the computer. I didn't see any of the gold of course, the vault locations are on a need to know basis. My boss said all he knew was it was somewhere under London, he just had an 020 phone number for it. Legend has it that the BoE gold vault extends out under the pavement of Threadneedle Street, but if that's true I think you'd have to do more than lift a few paving slabs to reach it.

 

Maybe we should start an Internet myth that there's a secret BoE arm of the Regent's Canal, built at the same time just after the Napoleonic Wars to sneak the reserves away in the event of any future invasion...