The Company of Watermen and Lightermen (CWL) is a historic City guild in the City of London. However, unlike the city's 111 livery companies, CWL does not have a grant of livery. Its meeting rooms are at Waterman's Hall on St Mary at Hill, London.
The role of watermen was to transfer passengers, while lightermen moved goods and cargo, between the Port of London and vessels moored in the River Thames. Although modern river workers are licensed by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, the Company continues its roles arranging apprenticeships, lobbying on river matters, and organising historic annual events and ceremonies.
The company's clerk is Julie Lithgow, formerly director of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers.
Thames Watermen Act 1514 | |
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Act of Parliament | |
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Long title | Acte concernyng Watermen on the Teamys. |
Citation | 6 Hen. 8. c. 7 |
Dates | |
Royal assent | 31 March 1515 |
Other legislation | |
Repealed by | Thames Watermen and Lightermen Act 1827 |
Status: Repealed | |
Text of statute as originally enacted |
Thames Watermen Act 1555 | |
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Act of Parliament | |
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Long title | An Act touching Watermen upon the River of Thames. |
Citation | 2 & 3 Ph. & M.. c. 16 |
Dates | |
Royal assent | 9 December 1555 |
Other legislation | |
Repealed by | Thames Watermen and Lightermen Act 1827 |
Status: Repealed |
Thames Watermen Act 1604 | |
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Act of Parliament | |
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Long title | An Acte concerninge Wherrymen and Watermen. |
Citation | 1 Jas. 1. c. 16 |
Other legislation | |
Repealed by | Thames Watermen and Lightermen Act 1827 |
Status: Repealed |
Thames Watermen and Lightermen Act 1827 | |
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Act of Parliament | |
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Long title | An Act for the better Regulation of the Watermen and Lightermen on the River Thames, between Yantlet Creek and Windsor. |
Citation | 7 & 8 Geo. 4. c. lxxv |
Dates | |
Royal assent | 14 June 1827 |
Other legislation | |
Repeals/revokes | |
Repealed by | Watermen's and Lightermen's Amendment Act 1859 |
Text of statute as originally enacted |
Watermen's and Lightermen's Amendment Act 1859 | |
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Act of Parliament | |
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Long title | An Act for the better Regulation of Watermen, Barge Owners, and others connected with the Navigation of the River Thames between Teddington Lock and Lower Hope Point. |
Citation | 22 & 23 Vict. c. cxxxiii |
CWL was established in the medieval period to support and maintain rights of the river workers. The two main occupations were that of watermen and lightermen. [1] The watermen transferred passengers across and along city centre rivers and estuaries. Most notable are those on the Thames and Medway. Other rivers such as the Tyne and Dee in Wales had watermen who formed guilds in medieval times. [2] Lightermen transfer goods between ships and quays (including wharves, jetties and piers) –they specifically loaded (originally 'laded') and unloaded ('alighted') the ships. Laded survives in the phrases bill of lading and fully laden) In the Port of London they overwhelmingly used flat-bottomed barges, called lighters. [2]
The King's Bargemaster and Royal Watermen are chosen from their number.
The company's centuries-spanning apprenticeship index is a popular genealogy source. [2] [3]
The Doggett's Coat and Badge, which was first raced in 1715, is the oldest continuously-run river race. It claims to be the oldest continually staged annual sports event; [4] though single sculls replaced the original skiffs or lighters.
The winner's prize is a watermen's red coat plus a silver badge, displaying the White Horse of Hanover and the word "Liberty", in honour of George I's coronation. Each completing contestant of the six apprentice competitors receive a miniature of a Doggett's Badge for their lapel in a ceremony at Watermen's Hall, in silver for the winner and in bronze for the others. The Fishmongers' Company sponsors the awards, rewarding the rowing clubs of the top four with tiered prizes of £1,000, £600, £400, and £200. [5]
Three public houses retain memorabilia of the race :
Swan Upping is the practice by which the swans found on the river Thames between Sunbury and Abingdon are caught, ringed, and released. The skiffs used for this practice by the King's Marker of the Swans are rowed by a team of oarsmen, from the Watermen and Lightermen. [6]
Every year the Thames Traditional Rowing Association organise a ceremony called the Tudor Pull, in which the Royal Barge Gloriana is escorted down the Thames by cutters, all crewed by the King's Barge Master and members of the Watermen & Lightermen Company. They transport 'The Stela' - a section of ancient wooden water pipe - from Hampton Court Palace to the Tower of London, where it is handed over to the Duty Governor of the Tower and the Yeoman Warders. [7] [8]
Every June, since 1381, the company holds the Knollys Rose Ceremony when a well-dressed procession presents a fresh rose to the incumbent Lord Mayor of London at his official residence, the Mansion House. [2] CWL also takes part in the annual Lord Mayor's Show.
CWL lobbies on river-related matters. It often works alongside the Passenger Boat Association, raising issues about jobs, legislation, and safety. The organisation negotiates with the UK government and its agencies. For example, in 2003 the Company of Watermen and Lightermen was given funding to provide assistance grants to apprentices from the riverside east London boroughs of Tower Hamlets and Newham. [2]
In 1975 a linked charity, Transport on Water (TOW), was founded by members and people in public life. It aims to maintain the Thames and other waterways, including the Medway, as working rivers. It has organised The Thames Barge Driving Race since 1975. [2]
A wherry is a type of boat that was traditionally used for carrying cargo or passengers on rivers and canals in England, and is particularly associated with the River Thames and the River Cam. They were also used on the Broadland rivers of Norfolk and Suffolk.
A livery company is a type of guild or professional association that originated in medieval times in London, England. Livery companies comprise London's ancient and modern trade associations and guilds, almost all of which are styled the "Worshipful Company of" their respective craft, trade or profession. There are 111 livery companies in total. They play a significant part in the life of the City of London, not least by providing charitable-giving and networking opportunities. Liverymen retain voting rights for the senior civic offices, such as the Lord Mayor, Sheriffs and Common Council of the City Corporation, London's ancient municipal authority with extensive local government powers.
The Worshipful Company of Fishmongers is one of the 111 livery companies of the City of London, being an incorporated guild of sellers of fish and seafood in the City. The Company ranks fourth in the order of precedence of City Livery Companies, thereby making it one of the Great Twelve City Livery Companies.
The Lord Mayor's Show is one of the best-known annual events in London as well as one of the longest-established, dating back to the 13th century. A new lord mayor is appointed every year, and the public parade that takes place as their inauguration ceremony reflects that this was once one of the most prominent offices in England and subsequently the United Kingdom.
Swan upping is an annual ceremony in England in which mute swans on the River Thames are rounded up, caught, ringed, and then released.
A lighterman is a worker who operates a lighter, a type of flat-bottomed barge, which may be powered or unpowered. In the latter case, it is usually moved by a powered tug. The term is particularly associated with the highly skilled men who operated the unpowered lighters moved by oar and water currents in the Port of London.
Thomas Doggett was an Irish actor. The birth date of 1640 seems unlikely. A more probable date of 1670 is given in the Encyclopædia Britannica.
A lighter is a type of flat-bottomed barge used to transfer goods and passengers to and from moored ships. Lighters were traditionally unpowered and were moved and steered using long oars called "sweeps" and the motive power of water currents. They were operated by skilled workers called lightermen and were a characteristic sight in London's docks until about the 1960s, when technological changes made this form of lightering largely redundant. Unpowered lighters continue to be moved by powered tugs, however, and lighters may also now themselves be powered. The term is also used in the Lighter Aboard Ship (LASH) system.
Doggett's Coat and Badge is the prize and name for the oldest continuous rowing race in the world. Up to six apprentice watermen of the River Thames in England compete for this prestigious honour, which has been held every year since 1715. The 4 mile 5 furlongs race is rowed on the River Thames upstream from London Bridge to Cadogan Pier, Chelsea, passing under a total of eleven bridges. Originally, it was raced every 1 August against the outgoing tide, in the boats used by watermen to ferry passengers across the Thames. Today it is raced at a time amenable to spectators, in September, that coincides with the incoming tide, in contemporary single sculling boats.
A heraldic badge, emblem, impresa, device, or personal device worn as a badge indicates allegiance to, or the property of, an individual, family or corporate body. Medieval forms are usually called a livery badge, and also a cognizance. They are para-heraldic, not necessarily using elements from the coat of arms of the person or family they represent, though many do, often taking the crest or supporters. Their use is more flexible than that of arms proper.
A waterman is a river worker who transfers passengers across and along city centre rivers and estuaries in the United Kingdom and its colonies. Most notable are those on the River Thames and River Medway in England, but other rivers such as the River Tyne and River Dee, Wales, also had their watermen who formed guilds in medieval times. Waterman can also be a person who navigates a boat carrying passengers. These boats were often rowing boat or boats with sails. Over the years watermen acquired additional skills such as local pilotage, mooring vessels at berths, jetties, buoys, and docks, and acting as helmsman aboard large vessel.
The Thames Barge Driving Race or Barge Race is a river-race that was set up in 1975 by a charity called The Transport On Water Association (TOW), founder members being Jack Faram, Jonnie McSweeney, Ron Livett, Don Able and Peter House, now known as the Thames Barge Driving Trust with the backing of Members of Parliament and Members of the House of Lords in the United Kingdom.
Kenneth Victor Dwan is a British former rower who competed in the Olympic Games in 1968 and 1972 and won the Wingfield Sculls six times.
James Arthur Messenger was a British sculler who was the world champion from 1854 to 1857. He served as the Queen's Bargemaster from 1862 to 1901. He resided in Teddington. In 1854 he became the Champion of the Thames which was effectively the English Sculling Championship and the World Sculling Championship. The English title gained the world status in 1876, earlier winners were retrospectively given the world champion title. In 1862 he won the famed Doggett's Coat and Badge, which claims to be the oldest sporting championship in the world. There is some confusion as to whether James Messenger who won the World Sculling Championship in 1854 is the same person, recorded as John Messenger of Cherry Garden Stairs, who won the Doggett's Coat and Badge in 1862.
A royal barge is a ceremonial barge that is used by a monarch for processions and transport on a body of water.
Kitty is a wooden Thames sailing barge in the bowsprit class of 65 tons. She was built in Harwich in 1895. She is No. 209 on the National Historic Ships Register.
The Knollys Rose Ceremony is an annual event led by the Company of Watermen and Lightermen. The ceremony dates to 1381 and is held each year in June. A single red rose is snipped from the garden in Seething Lane, placed on an altar cushion from All Hallows-by-the-Tower and carried in procession west to the Mansion House where it is presented to the Lord Mayor of London.
The Coat & Badge is a pub in Putney, London, England.
Knollys may refer to: