 | This article possibly contains original research .(October 2018) |
The Wey barge was based on the earlier West Country barge designs and the first barges built specifically for use on the Wey were probably built at Honeystreet Wharf, near Devizes. The earliest that this could be was 1810 as the Kennet and Avon Canal was opened through to the Thames that year.
There is little evidence of barge building on the Wey before 1876. Many of the barges used before then were constructed at the Honeystreet Wharf near Devizes. The Kennet and Avon Canal opened in 1810 which allowed the passage of barges to enter the Thames and thus the Wey. The first barges from here to be used on the Wey were known as "West Country" or "Western" barges [1] which were designed to be used on the western waterways such as the Kennet and Avon Canal and the Thames and Severn Canal. These became the standard for the Wey Navigation.
Around 1876 the Edwards family moved from Honeystreet to Dapdune Wharf setting up a barge building business. The Surrey Advertiser published an article in 1909 on the launch of the barge Dapdune [2] built by George Edwards and his three sons.
The main method of propulsion on the navigation was by horse. Barges were rowed, sailed or towed by larger vessels from the various London quays to Thames Lock at Weybridge where they were 'horsed up' for a price of 9/6d.: [3] The sizes of these barges were determined by the size of the locks they needed to travel through. These were [1]
| Canal | Length | Width |
|---|---|---|
| River Wey and Navigation | 73 ft 6 in (22.40 m) | 13 ft 10.5 in (4.229 m) |
| Basingstoke Canal | 72 ft 6 in (22.10 m) | 13 ft 6 in (4.11 m) |
| Wey and Arun Canal | 74 ft 9 in (22.78 m) | 13 ft 0 in (3.96 m) |
The barges were generally a flat structure with a small cabin at the stern and a locker in the bows for stowing ropes and other equipment. The cargo hold was covered by either wooden hatches or a canvas tarpaulin which were held above the cargo by the hatch beam.
The boats were built in a large shed at the north end of the wharf. The ribs of the hull were built from oak. There was a steam chest behind shed where the wood could be shaped. However the Edwards family preferred to find wood naturally shaped.
The hull was planked with pitch pine. Pitch pine was used because it was lightweight and came in long lengths so required less joints. Elm was tried, and although it was more water resistant, it was heavier and therefore the barge had a lower cargo capacity. The gaps between the planks were sealed by caulking, a process involving mixing a fibrous substance, often unpicked old rope, with tar and ramming the mixture into the joints while the tar was hot.
The barge was flat bottomed and straight sided, this meant that it could operate in shallow water with a reasonable cargo, also it could be safely grounded in tidal waters. Once the hull was complete it was covered in pitch to create a watertight finish. The barge was built on trestles to keep it off the ground and assist in launching. Only the hull was built in the shed. On completion the water side of the shed was removed and the barge was launched sideways into the river. The barge was then towed up to the area where the pleasure boats are moored today and it was here that fitting out was completed. This was also the area used to repair barges.
The Wey barge was 73 ft 6 in (22.40 m) in length and the width was constrained by the narrowest lock to 13 ft 10.5 in (4.229 m). [4] A barge would have only inches to spare when going through the lock. They could carry 80 tonnes of cargo from the Thames to Coxes mill. From Coxes going upstream the capacity was reduced to 50 tonnes as far as Guildford and further reduced for the journey to Godalming owing to the decrease in the depth of water available.
Over time there have been many barges, each with its own name. Names were reused, such as Perseverance which has been used on four different barges.
| Name | Date | Built | Registered | Number | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arun | 1846 | Recorded in Stevens Barge Master Accounts [5] | |||
| Reliance | 1847 | Recorded in Stevens Barge Master Accounts [5] | |||
| 1885 | Recorded in Stevens Barge Master Accounts [6] | ||||
| Perseverence | 1877 | Recorded in Stevens Barge Master Accounts [6] | |||
| Industry | 1880 | Complaint letter about 'Captain Cox worse for drink' [7] | |||
| 1880 | Recorded in Stevens Barge Master Accounts [6] | ||||
| Providence | 1907 | Insurance Premium [8] | |||
| 1880 | Recorded in Stevens Barge Master Accounts [6] | ||||
| Diligent | 1907 | Insurance Premium [8] | |||
| 1885 | Recorded in Stevens Barge Master Accounts [6] | ||||
| Hope | 1885 | Recorded in Stevens Barge Master Accounts [6] | |||
| Wey | 1907 | Insurance Premium [8] | |||
| 1895 | Recorded in Stevens Barge Master Accounts [6] | ||||
| Alert | 1907 | Insurance Premium [8] | |||
| 1895 | Recorded in Stevens Barge Master Accounts [6] | ||||
| Surrey | 1907 | Insurance Premium [8] | |||
| Unity | 1907 | Insurance Premium [8] | |||
| Dapdune | 1909 | 1909 | 31/03/1910 | 8848 | Built Dapdune Wharf, Launched, [2] last used Oct-1940 |
| Industry (II or later) | 1913 | 1913 | 5/12/1913 | 8833 | Built Dapdune Wharf, Last Used Nov-1946 |
| Providence (II or later) | 1914 | 1914 | 8830 | Built Dapdune Wharf | |
| Wey (II or later) | 1914 | 1914 | 18/10/1915 | 8843 | Built Dapdune Wharf, Last used May-1951 |
| Kate | 1915 | 1915 | 4/04/1917 | 8848 | Built Dapdune Wharf |
| Victory | 1920 | 1920 | 18/10/1913 | 8840 | Built Dapdune Wharf, Last used Nov-1956 |
| Renown | 1923 | 1923 | 8/03/1924 | 8812 | Built Dapdune Wharf, Last used Jun-1956 |
| Speedwell | 1924 | 1924 | 19/10/1925 | 13298 | Built Dapdune Wharf, Last used Jun-1969 |
| Hope (II or later) | 1929 | 1929 | 06/09/1929 | 5507 | Built Dapdune Wharf, Last used Jan-1969 |
| Reliance (II or Later) | 1931 | 1931 | 25/07/1932 | 14652 | Built Dapdune Wharf [9] |
| Perseverance IV | 1934 | 1934 | 04/06/1937 | 15639 | Built Dapdune Wharf, Last used Jun-1969 |
The Wey and Godalming Navigations was a major distribution route for the distribution of goods in south England and along with the Wey and Arun Canal it provided an inland route from London to the South Coast. The goods transported varied from gunpowder from the Gunpowder Mills at Chilworth [10] to more usual raw materials such as timber, coal, grain and wool. The amount of goods that could be carried was governed by the size of the barges used which were restricted by the size of the locks in the various waterways. As each waterway was constructed and owned by a different company the size of the locks varied.
The Kennet and Avon Canal is a waterway in southern England with an overall length of 87 miles (140 km), made up of two lengths of navigable river linked by a canal. The name is used to refer to the entire length of the navigation rather than solely to the central canal section. From Bristol to Bath the waterway follows the natural course of the River Avon before the canal links it to the River Kennet at Newbury, and from there to Reading on the River Thames. In all, the waterway incorporates 105 locks.
The canal network of the United Kingdom played a vital role in the Industrial Revolution. The canals permitted the creation of wealth, by industry, that led to the British Empire in the Victorian Era. The UK was the first country to develop a nationwide canal network, which expanded to nearly 4,000 miles in length. The canals allowed raw materials to be transported to a place of manufacture, and finished goods to be transported to consumers, more quickly and cheaply than via a land based route.
The Wey and Arun Canal is a partially open, 23-mile-long (37 km) canal in the southeast of England. It runs southwards from the River Wey at Gunsmouth, Shalford, Surrey to the River Arun at Pallingham, in West Sussex. The canal comprises parts of two separate undertakings – the northern part of the Arun Navigation, opened in 1787 between Pallingham and Newbridge Wharf, and the Wey and Arun Junction Canal, opened in 1816, which connected the Arun at Newbridge to the Godalming Navigation near Shalford, south of Guildford. The Arun Navigation was built with three locks and one turf-sided flood lock. The Junction Canal was built with 23 locks
Hanham Lock is a canal lock situated on the River Avon, at the village of Hanham near Bristol, England.
Saltford Lock is a canal lock situated on the River Avon, at the village of Saltford, between Bristol and Bath, England.
Seend Locks are at Seend Cleeve, Wiltshire on the Kennet and Avon Canal, England.
Tyle Mill Lock is a lock situated near Tyle Mill and the village of Sulhamstead on the Kennet and Avon Canal, England.
Sheffield Lock, at grid reference SU648706, is a lock on the Kennet and Avon Canal, in the civil parish of Burghfield in the English county of Berkshire. It is also sometimes known as Shenfield Lock.
Woolhampton Lock is a lock on the Kennet and Avon Canal, in the village of Woolhampton in the English county of Berkshire. The lock has a rise/fall of 8 feet 11 inches (2.72 m) and is administered by the Canal and River Trust.
Caen Hill Locks are a flight of 29 locks on the Kennet and Avon Canal, between Rowde and Devizes in Wiltshire, England.
The Kennet and Avon Canal Museum is a museum in Devizes, Wiltshire, covering the history of the Kennet and Avon Canal.
The London to Portsmouth canal was a concept for the construction of a secure inland canal route from the British capital of London to the headquarters of the Royal Navy at Portsmouth. It would have allowed craft to move between the two without having to venture into the English Channel and possibly encounter enemy ships. There is no naturally navigable route between the two cities, which resulted in several schemes being suggested. The first, which was put before Parliament in 1641, was for a canal to link the River Wey and the River Arun, whose sources were only 2 miles (3.2 km) apart, but the bill was defeated. Improvements to the River Wey were authorised in 1651, and navigation was extended to Godalming in 1763. During the American War of Indepencence, goods was conveyed to Godalming by water, and overland from there to Portsmouth, but this ceased when the war ended.
The River Wey Navigation and Godalming Navigation together provide a 20-mile (32 km) continuous navigable route from the River Thames near Weybridge via Guildford to Godalming. Both waterways are in Surrey and are owned by the National Trust. The River Wey Navigation connects to the Basingstoke Canal at West Byfleet, and the Godalming Navigation to the Wey and Arun Canal near Shalford. The Navigations consist of both man-made canal cuts and adapted parts of the River Wey.
Dapdune Wharf is a former industrial wharf and boat yard on the Wey and Godalming Navigations in Guildford, England, UK, close to the Surrey County Cricket Club ground. It is now maintained by the National Trust.
John Hore was an English engineer, best known for making the River Kennet and River Avon navigable. Hore was one of the earliest English canal engineers, and Sir Alec Skempton wrote that he was "in the first rank among the navigation engineers". The Hutchinson Chronology of World History described his work on the Kennet navigation as "[setting] a new standard for inland waterways, and is an important forerunner of the canals of the Industrial Revolution".
The Petworth Canal was one of Britain's shorter lasting canals, opened in 1795 and dismantled in 1826. Upon completion of the Rother Navigation, the Earl of Egremont used his estate workforce to build the 1¼ mile long canal from just upstream of the Shopham Cut to Haslingbourne, with two locks, each with a rise of 8 feet and 6 inches. The Haslingbourne Stream was diverted to provide the water supply, and still flows in the canal bed from Haslingbourne to the site of Haines Lock. The initial intention was to extend the canal through the Shimmings Valley to Hamper's Green on the north side of Petworth, then northwards to join the Wey Navigation at Shalford.
The River Wey is a tributary of the River Thames in south east England. Its two branches, one of which rises near Alton in Hampshire and the other in West Sussex to the south of Haslemere, join at Tilford in Surrey. Once combined the flow is eastwards then northwards via Godalming and Guildford to meet the Thames at Weybridge. Downstream the river forms the backdrop to Newark Priory and Brooklands. The Wey and Godalming Navigations were built in the 17th and 18th centuries, to create a navigable route from Godalming to the Thames.
The Cassington Canal was an early 19th-century canal near Eynsham, Oxfordshire. The canal was built by the 4th Duke of Marlborough to provide a link between the River Thames and Cassington Mill; it later provided alternative wharfage to that at Eynsham. The 0.75-mile (1.21 km) canal was in operation for less than 70 years, its use declining with the advent of rail transport.