Butty The
Crofton for Kids
How Crofton Beam Engines are engaging young people
Bradford Lock
Our lock series continues Rennie’s Canal in Bricks
Welcome
Dear Members,
Contrary to what our cover image would have you believe, it’s getting chillier and the evenings are drawing in, which means it must be time for the Autumn Butty!
Our cover for this edition was sent to me by Lesley Hooper, our Boat Manager at Bradford on Avon, and shows happy passengers enjoying a trip on Barbara McLellan as part of The Jane Austen festival You can read more on this, as well as our other trip boats, in our Branch Updates (pages 4-13)
We also hear from Mary Ranger, who updates us on how the season has been for our twinned canal, Canal du Nivernais I always enjoy hearing from Mary and thinking about how similar our canals are despite the miles between them In this article, Mary remarks ‘our beautiful canal seems to swing between years of drought and lack of water or excessive rainfall and flooding’ which brings back memories of sitting in the K & A office debating the problem of there being not nearly enough water in the canal for our Bruce Boats to run trips.
I would love to include more content from readers and members in future editions of The Butty so please do feel free to write to me with your memories of the Canal, pictures you have taken along the towpath and would like to be shared or that canal article you’ve been meaning to write. You can email me at thebutty@katrust.org.uk
I hope you enjoy the articles and photos in this edition and until I write to you again in the Spring, stay warm and well,
Jen
JenSmith-Furmage
Editor
K&A Canal Trust, Devizes Wharf, Couch Lane, Devizes, Wiltshire, SN10 1EB
Who's who
President:
Rob Dean CMG
Vice presidents: Rt Hon Lord Benyon
Bill Fisher
David Lamb
Michael Corfield
Michael Goodenough
Prunella Scales, CBE
Terry Kemp
Timothy West, CBE
David Copley
Trust council:
Graham Puddephatt, Chair chair@katrust org uk
Jerry Dixon, Hon Treasurer fd@katrust org uk
Graham Snook
Mike Bailey, H&S
Ali Cannon
Robert Dunton
Terry Mundy
Paul Hanson
Enterprise board: Graham Puddephatt, Chair
Jerry Dixon
Michael Corish
Ceri Hanlon
Paul Hanson
Office:
Helen Flavinfinance@katrust org uk
Phoebe Restorickadmin@katrust org uk
Chairman’s Letter
An update from Trust Chairman, Graham Puddephatt
Branch Updates
Updates from the our Branches (and their boats!) as we come to the end of the 2024 season 4-13
Work Experience
Nola Laidlaw tells us about the experience of working with the trust as a sixth former
Locks on The Canal
Alison Cannon continues her locks series with Bradford Lock
Building The Canal
Jamie Wright shares his knowledge of Rennie and some of the materials that built the canal
The Canal Taverners Boat Club
Trust Archivist Elaine Kirby reflects on the club
News From The Nivernais
Mary Ranger brings us news and updates from our twinned canal in France, Canal du Nivernais
Chairman’s Letter
I hope you all had an enjoyable summer,
When I wrote in the Spring, I commented on the highwater levels, and red boards which lasted until mid-May. We are now reaching the close of September, and the high-water levels and Red Boards have returned again. This is earlier than I have known before, and again raises concerns about floods and water management. The growing need to manage the weather extremes affecting our navigations, appears to go beyond the resources of a charitable function. Managing the waterways as a resource to move, direct, store and control the levels and availability of water, would justify the IWA campaign to ‘Fund Britain’s Waterways’, maintaining government funding.
Our volunteers have been doing a tremendous job of showing our passengers and guests how wonderful our waterway is with the fascinating mix of nature, environment and history to be found along the lengths. I have taken my granddaughter on a few trips this year and it was delightful to see how much she enjoyed the experience. It was great to see the crews doing what they do, always with a pleasant word and a smile to their passengers.
Volunteers are our great asset, and they were again in evidence when I visited Crofton for a steaming, with my family. My seven-year-old granddaughter was fascinated with the overflow tank as it gurgled and spluttered away. Her enjoyment was enhanced further when she found she could roll down the embankment. My mother-in-law loved chatting to the volunteers who were driving the engine and stoking the boiler. Dark skies were the focus for the astronomy night at Crofton. Our impressive engine took a polite background stance, gently turning over with little fuss.
My granddaughter took the opportunity to photograph the moving engine in the more dimly lit atmosphere. She was thrilled with the result. She was further impressed when the Astronomer giving a talk said the light was generated by the stars when Elizabeth I was on the throne, as she is fascinated by the Tudors.
The Trustees are currently reviewing the arrangements where many activities such as passenger boats and café’s, are operated through a trading subsidiary known as Enterprise. Professional advice has been received demonstrating that the trading company could be absorbed back into the Trust. Consultation and due diligence within the Trust is under way to assess the benefits and disadvantages, hoping to conclude by the end of the year.
My experience this year has shown me what a wonderful job our volunteers do. Enjoyment and engagement is there for young and old alike. For my part there is a huge thank you to all the folk who contribute to the activities of the trust. It is greatly appreciated.
GrahamP
Sadly, in early September we learnt that Major Mike Wyatt, a Vice president and long-term supporter and activist with the Trust has died. It is a sad loss, and our condolences have been passed to his family. Mike was actively involved in the Trust activities with the Reading branch and restoration. He was involved in the initial Reading Waterfest and he championed subsequent events. It was only a few years ago that his own boat Moonflower last attended the event. Mike gave a presentation to the branch talking about the history of the Reading branch and some of the parts he played. This 60 min presentation has been arranged into 10 min clips and is be available from the Trusts YouTube channel.
youtube.com/kennetandavoncanaltrustrea2464
Reading Branch Updates
Reading Waterfest feels like a long while ago but is now a good memory We had lots of smiling faces and an increase in boat attendance although we had a number that had planned to make the trip that were stopped by water conditions There were two boats who had planned to set off from Sheffield but had to resign themselves to not being able to make the distance in time Likewise, we had four boats that told me reluctantly, the night before, that they were still west of Newbury and were not going to make it!
Our first decision for next year’s event was to move it back in the calendar Waterfest will be on June 28th in 2025 This will give an extra two weeks to get over the winter water issues, and see the trees removed, and the banks repaired. We were unable to use the Huntly wharf moorings this year due to the lack of depth against the new wharfage This was supposed to have been taken down to 3 ft by the developer but wasn’t!!! we are talking with Reading Borough Council and the developers to rectify this for next year and hopefully earlier. We plan to bring one of the Bruce Boats Branch accessible boats to the Waterfest again next year and will be looking for local groups who may be interested in trips t was felt that the music on the floating stage was much more in keeping this year and we have already begun talking to musicians to provide next year’s music.
Our Matilda Too trips are continuing to be popular By the end of August…Passenger Numbers were up by 15% and income up by 8%. Advertising through “What’s on Reading” seems to be creating interest and customers We find we are on the outer edge of the TfL area courtesy of the Elizabeth line This has provided some interesting passengers from many parts of the Greater London area who can use their Freedom pass to reach Reading. We have increased the crew numbers by 2 new volunteers and have 3 newly trained accredited CCBM skippers The early rise in water flow means we have had to look at running for the winter moorings before we are once again trapped away from maintenance and workshop space
The Aldermaston Tea Room has been well attended and has staged some Promotional K&A Trust events They offer K&A Trust member discounts for their offerings Our work on the “Wash / Toll” house has continued, with more artefacts being donated to further add to the wash house display It is open during the summer when the tea room is open.
We arranged to restart the Branch Winter meetings in September with our first guest speaker to be Victoria Owen talking about her new biography of LTC Rolt Unfortunately, she was unable to attend at short notice Our thoughts are with her and her family. We will reschedule the talk in future. The September meeting instead turned into a general review of recent Reading Branch & Trust activity and raised much interested discussion
Debris on the ZigZag weir
Lowland Rescue at Waterfest
On 15th October we decided to show the video presentation that Mike Wyatt gave us a few years ago as reminder and recognition of the work that Mike had done for the Reading Branch and the Trust in general
We hope to have the CRT hydrology team talking about a study which has been done, with computer modelling of the flows and flooding, of the Kennet and Avon over recent years.
In the New year we plan to host Kev Maslin showing us his photographs of canals and working boats
Meetings take place on the third Tuesday of the month at The Cunning Man Pub, Burghfield bridge, RG30 3RB
They can also be accessed via Zoom. Email chair.reading@katrust.org.uk for the meeting link. Dates and subjects of all talks can be found on the Website once confirmed Katrust org uk
Best regards GrahamP
“Reading on Kennet and oh so near the Thames” Daniel Defoe 1724
Autumn 2024
Photos (left to right) Waterfest Trophy Winners Major and Lord Lunt banging home a point at Waterfest Matilda and the gang at Waterfest
Newbury Branch Updates
It is nearly the end of September and we are back to mentioning the rain!
The picture of Jubilee at the wharf was on a day when the river Kennet was back in flood and some boats were struggling to make progress up the river. It was pouring with rain and we were discussing the flow rate through the town bridge (again)
We have had a busy Summer – training was done on dry land as the river flow didn’t allow us to move the Jubilee – we eventually started to operate the boat 4 weeks later than plan with a reduced capacity in the middle of May.
That being said, we have been very busy; many passengers on public trips and a significant increase in several areas. Gin and beer tasting trips in partnership with local businesses have been very successful We have been operating 3-4 charters a month.
We also managed to get the Jubilee down to the Reading Waterfest in June (but with some adventures on the way and on the way back and the high flow meant that steering the boat upstream was like weight training!) However, it was all worthwhile – lots of interest from the visitors on the many trips done The long transit from Newbury to Reading was also a much-appreciated opportunity for all the crew to helm the boat, see different parts of the Kennet and Avon Canal and spend time catching up
We have a good number of new volunteers on the boat and they are now crewing and helming the boat but we are always looking for more volunteers We start to wind down soon – Creepy Cruises in October and then Santa Trips, which we hope to be able to run on the water this year
A rainy day in Newbury
Hungerford Branch Updates
Another season draws to a close, although the ever popular Santa trips are still to come. Pleasingly (and profitably!), there have been a large number of charters this year.
Passenger numbers have, in general been lower than in previous seasons; there appears to be specific reason for this and informal discussions with other businesses in Hungerford suggest that there have been fewer visitors overall.
Weather delayed the Rose’s MCA out of water inspection.Although not unexpected, it was disappointing to find that her hull had thinned to a level where MCA required us to replace a large area of her plating. We were, however, permitted to continue with passenger trips for the summer on a temporary certificate and the required repairs will take place at the beginning of November, in time for the December children’s trips. MCA insisted that the old plating be removed and replaced, rather than simply overplating. This means that the galley and toilet will have to be cleared out, as they are both fitted in wood. It has been decided to use this opportunity to improve access to the toilet for people with disability, although this will mean a considerable reduction in galley space.
Weather also delayed a much needed paint job and she looked her age during the first part of our season. A window of opportunity at the beginning of August was gratefully seized!
Rose of Hungerford remains the highest rated Hungerford tourist attraction on TripAdvisor and we are grateful for the kind comments from passengers who have enjoyed their experience.
Finally, a very sad piece of news: Glenys Bettley, wife of Tony, one of our Boatmasters and a keen and dedicated volunteer herself, died in September, after a prolonged period of ill health. Her cheerful competence and enthusiasm, her ready smile and the mischievous twinkle which so
Bruce Branch Updates
What a year we have had! 50 holiday hires, 68 day trips, 31 Lady Hilda bookings The four Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Residentials on Lady H provided 23 young people with training leading to the NCBA Boat Handling Certificate. We have run 9 hirer training weekends In all, Bruce Boats has this year given time on the water to over 1400 people. Our 75 active volunteers – including over a dozen new this year – have crewed, cleaned, checked and maintained the boats to consistently high standards, recording over 4500 hours of activity on KARS.
But Bruce Boats is not about numbers It is about making a difference to people’s lives – especially those who are disabled, disadvantaged or elderly, their families, friends and carers, and members of youth organisations The many spontaneous thank you emails we receive are a testimony to our success in doing this. Here are three of them: Fiona and her two friends had no experience of canal boating until they came for a training weekend in advance of their holiday. Although Fiona has physical disabilities, she was able to steer the boat sitting on a perching stool while her companions worked the locks
Afterwards, Fiona wrote; ‘We had an amazing adventure We all loved it so much It was very empowering as we all found things we could achieve so we came away feeling that we could do more than we thought we could It was such a boost to our mental health as well as great fun My best holiday ever.’
Nigel wanted a holiday with friends, but one of their number had had a severe stroke and is now a wheelchair-user. They chose Bruce Boats, and discovered the benefit that time on the canal can bring: ‘I just wanted to drop a quick note to thank everyone at Bruce Boats for our recent experience hiring one of your boats The experience has been brilliant from first enquiry to handing back. Communication was excellent, the training perfect and then the actual hire was everything we hoped for. By the end, our friend Gordon had really improved and we saw a lot more of our old friend from before he had his stroke ‘
Our day trips cater for a wide variety of groups: care homes, day centres and support groups, as well as families celebrating special birthdays or other milestones. This email gives a good idea of what a Bruce day trip is like:
‘For this diverse group of different ages, abilities and tastes, this trip brought everyone together in the most wonderful way! The canal worked its magic and everyone was relaxed and charmed. The boat is so well cared for and equipped. Your crew were all open and friendly and their enthusiasm and love of the canals was infections! The children were occupied and active as you involved them with all the locks. My nephew, who can find it difficult to manage himself, had just the right level of challenge and purpose to have a really good day. The men in our group, who can find family chatting and socialising a little under-stimulating, had the opportunity to steer and quiz your crew about all the technical details! Dad could sit and feel in the centre of things and my Mum, the birthday girl, had everyone she loves all around her. Please pass on our thanks and congratulations for the wonderful atmosphere and experience you, as a group of volunteers, have created. Your values and ethos shine through. A truly life affirming experience!!’
Ali Cannon
Crofton Branch Updates
In the Spring Butty, we told you about our ‘Crofton for Kids’ project, funded by an award from the Association of Industrial Museum’s ‘New Stories, New Audiences’ grant programme and the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Now three-quarters of the way through the project, we wanted to give you an update.
Classes from four local schools, St Katharine’s C of E Primary School, Great Bedwyn C of E School, Burbage Primary School and Easton Royal Academy, came to Crofton for a visit in the spring, where they had a tour of the station and met and chatted with volunteers about Crofton.
We then visited each school to talk more with the children and finalise their scripts, followed by each class spending a day at Crofton filming.
St Katharine’s School explored the station and how it works, Great Bedwyn delved into some of the people important in Crofton’s past (and present). Burbage looked at the history of the station and Easton Royal focused on the restoration of the canal and station and the future of Crofton. The children did a fantastic job with their videos, and over 85 children took part in the project. One of our fantastic volunteers filmed and edited the footage together to create a video from each school, which are available on our website https://www.croftonbeamengines.org/about/videos/ and will soon be available via QR code on the Crofton intranet, so that visitors can scan and watch on site.
In addition, another volunteer designed a buildable working model of the station. The grant funded forty sets of the model, enough for two classes.
After the filming visits, we went into each school with a learning session involving the models.
The children saw demonstrations involving steam and vacuum, which demonstrate some of the scientific principles behind the engines, pump and boiler at Crofton, developed by one of our volunteers, a retired physics teacher.
Better understanding how the station works, the children then worked in pairs to build the model and see it in action.
The children were all invited to our June steaming, where we had a reveal event of the project. Multiple screenings were held throughout both days in the Side Boiler House of the four videos, interspersed with a chance for visitors to build the model.
Response to the videos and the models from our partners and the wider community has been positive and enthusiastic. The new learning session is now available for school or community groups to book. The model was also featured at our August steaming, alongside some newly developed hands-on demonstrations of ways to lift water, including a lift pump, centrifugal pump, bucket and windlass, and Archimedes Screw.
In the coming months, we will be working on a few more resources, including some printed material featuring a new cross-section of the Crofton station, drawn by local artist Dru Marland, and a new transportable lock model which features a summit pound.
We are grateful for the Crofton volunteers who have supported this project with their time and expertise, as well as our four partnering schools.
It is over 5 years since major work was carried out on the building fabric at Crofton Pumping Station with the help of National Lottery Heritage Funding.
Signs of wear and tear are now showing on the Georgian Lantern in the Boiler House and the windows of the Engine House.
A team of Crofton volunteers have been working hard repairing eight windows in the Beam Gallery that can be reached safely from the Beam Gallery flooring.
We have the Georgian skylight to be inspected and repaired and sixteen sash windows to be repaired which a contractor has started work on.
An appeal for £30,000 of funding is about to be launched to help pay for this work.
Watch This Space
Crofton for Kids
Georgian Lantern and Engine House Windows
Devizes Branch Update
It hardly seems five minutes ago when I was writing about all our plans for the KV this coming season… and now its time to put the heating on along with woolly hats and there are pumpkins round every corner!...How time flies!
On the KV we have continued with all our public trips,with lots of interest generated, especially when they include several locks.
In July we supported the Devizes beer festival by manning a stall selling wine and soft drinks. Hard work but rewarding in lots of ways.
In August we spent a happy evening in the company of our local Gateway club,members and helpers About 100 people attended and were treated to taster trips on the boat and a wharfside BBQ.
At regular intervals through the year we played host to our local and very popular band,the Crofton Stokers,always well supported by loyal fans. We still have some charters to complete before the end of the season,including using the boat as a venue for a local cub pack Christmas party.
On shore the wharf building has been given a bit of a facelift and has been given over to our care in order to promote its facilities to local groups etc..
So far to date we have a yoga group,park run pit stop,the “Copper Man” (look him up) and the local theatre use the Rennie room for rehearsals. Another crowd pleaser gaining momentum is the museum tea room, along with a monthly jigsaw puzzle swap.
As the season comes to a close we are preparing
Bradford on Avon Branch Updates
This was a highly prestigious event for the Barbara Mac.The internationally acclaimed annual Jane Austen Festival held in Bath brings together Janeites, those who exhibit “the self-consciously idolatrous enthusiasm for “Jane” and every detail relative to her”.During the entire week, a range of options are on offer and our boat was chartered by Bath Theatrical Costme Hire to run two mega trips.
Dressed in their finery, guests arrived by train and were met by Peter Hughes, one of our Mates with a particular interest in canal and local history. Peter led an informal stroll to the boat via some key historical places in Bradford on Avon. Peter was praised for his relaxed, easy, conversational style of presentation. A glass of bubbles was served to our guests by suitably attired crew, before afternoon tea was enjoyed. The boat had been decorated with vintage crockery on specially made miniature tablecloths and hand made doilies, bunting, english lavender and floral garlands.
It looked stunning. Victoria and Nancy from the Canal Trust Cafe produced an absolutely sublime tea. One American lady commented: “I am a connoisseur of afternoon teas having participated in many locations around the world, and I can tell you this is the best I have ever eaten”. What a richly deserved accolade.
With the guests now sipping Pimms we cruised to Avoncliff where they disembarked for views of the valley en route to the neat little train station to take the train back to Bath The crew were a Dream Team with everyone going above and beyond to ensure the trips were a triumph.
We have run 60 private charters of all sorts, together with our regular Wednesday and Saturday trips, a monthly Cream Tea Trip and trips to Dundas that appear as Spring Burst, Midsummer Day Dream or Autumn Colours depending on the time of year!
26 of our crew of 42 have covered more than ten trips each and to them we say a massive thank you
Dates have been reserved for 6 charters in 2025, including being used as a “water taxi” for a wedding. It goes without saying that the two coach companies who include a boat trip in days out will be back too along with further Jane Austen trips to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the author’s birth You just never know what’s around the corner when you volunteer on our boat
Lesley Hooper Boat Manager Barbara McLellan
Work Experience at the Trust
In July, KACT welcomed a sixth-form student for three days of work experience. Read Nola’s account of her time with us below:
On my first day I was warmly welcomed by Terry and the other volunteers at the museum. Spending time at the museum gave me an insight into the deep history of the canals and the communities living on and around them It was eye-opening to find out about the strong connections between different families living on the canals and the lifestyle that they had, especially the children whose lives greatly differ from those living in a modern village or town. The day also let me understand the skills needed to work with the public with multiple customers coming into the museum to enquire about the canal and the museum Overall, the day gave me an amazing background into the canals ready for my second day with the trust. My second day was the highlight of my time, spending the afternoon helping on the Barbara McLellan boat It was a busy trip with the boat turning on the aqueduct with a beautiful view of the river Avon On some of the quieter parts of the canal I was given the chance to steer the boat with help from Ali, which was surprisingly relaxing.
I also helped at the lock at the beginning and end of the trip which was tiring but also very interesting as it allowed me to see first hand how it worked
My last day was with Bath and Bristol Branch at Kelston lock. This was the most hands-on, where the work we did made a direct impact on the canal and specifically the lock we were maintaining We spent 5 hours around the lock with a break halfway for lunch in the sun. We removed weeds which would have damaged the lock over time This was important for ensuring that it could be used in the long run. I was glad to be able to help and make a proper impact.
Overall, I had a lovely time with the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust. All the volunteers were very welcoming and it allowed me to see many different aspects of what the Trust do on and around the canal
Nola Laidlaw
Locks on the CanalBradford Lock (14)
By Alison Cannon
The lock at Bradford-on-Avon is now one of the busiest in the UK; it came fourth last year in CRT’s national league table, with a whopping 6183 lockings * The numbers are boosted by large hire boat companies in the vicinity, and also of course by KACT’s own trip boat, Barbara McLellan, which makes regular trips down through the lock to Avoncliff aqueduct and back.
The lock is no stranger to busy-ness. It was one of the first to be built on the canal, when digging began simultaneously here and at Newbury A source of clay for lining the canal was found nearby, and the site would have been a hive of activity, with hundreds of men with picks, shovels and wheelbarrows When completed, the lock was to be the deepest on the new canal – about 12ft 6in – and there were busy wharfs both above and below it The upper wharf dealt mainly in agricultural products, including barley for the town’s breweries. The lower wharf received coal from the Somerset Coal Fields, and stone from Bath After the First World War it also received wounded soldiers on the boat Bittern, travelling up from their convalescent home at Avoncliff to refresh themselves in local hostelries. Rumour has it that, on return to Avoncliff, they were met by nurses bearing stretchers to carry them home – not on account of their injuries, but on account of the free beer they were given in Bradford!
Next to the lock was the gauging dock, where boats had to be measured to determine how low they sat in the water from a given weight of cargo. Blocks of known weight were piled on, and the measurements recorded so when the boat returned loaded with goods the appropriate tolls could be levied.The blocks which were used for this are still there, now painted white and often used as seating from
passers-by lingering to watch the boats passing through. Other buildings nearby are also rich with history. The wharfinger’s house, still standing proudly by the bridge, was set at an angle to afford maximum views of the canal. The Barge Inn was once stabling for Midland Railway horses, when for a couple of decades at the end of the nineteenth century the railway company also ran cargo boats between Bradford and Bath. The Canal Café is housed in what was the lock-keeper’s house, although his little office right next to the lock is long gone. The café is not, as you might imagine, a modern innovation: in the 1920s Elizabeth Andrews, the lock keeper’s wife, also ran a café here.Her husband George is in the picture (reproduced with permission from the Bradford on Avon Museum – check out their website for more historic photographs).
An interesting feature of this picture is the chains hanging in loops from the centre of the gates to the bank. Why are they there? There was some debate on an internet discussion forum a few years ago, and no-one seemed to know. If you can help, I should love to hear from you! Please email me at aecannon@yahoo.com.
Alison Cannon
* If you are interested to know which locks beat it, they are Hillmorton on the Oxford Canal, New Marton on the Llangollen, and Cholmondeston on the Shropshire Union.
Jean SmithIn Remembrance
Jean Smith joined the local branch of the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust at Devizes in 1985 and was part of the team that secured a lottery grant of £27 million for the canal restoration. But it was the people that interested her most and she organised the roster for the K&A shop helpers at the Wharf Building. Jean was a major influence in getting Devizes its own trip boat, The Kenavon Venture
Alongside her husband, Alan, she was one of the first and regular crew members on trips. Jean learned of a group of adults with special needs in the Devizes area, they were members of ‘The Kennet Gateway Club’. She attended their meetings as a helper and friend She organised an annual ride on Kenavon Venture for them which continues today.
Jean stayed on the committee for 35 years helping out whenever possible in a variety of roles. Who could forget her legendary tombola stalls and garden parties?
She also organised the buying and wrapping of hundreds of happy children’s Christmas presents for the Kenavon Venture Santa trips.
Our Trust President, Rob Dean, recalls: “Jean was always someone you could rely on to get things done With the greatest enthusiasm and the least fuss When the Princess Royal visited the Trust in Devizes in 2014, we were asked to reserve a loo for her possible use.
Jean promptly set to, not just cleaning but completely repainting one of the loos in our building And during the visit, she guarded it carefully to ensure it was exclusively for the Princess When we celebrated the 25th anniversary of the reopening of the canal in 2015, our colleagues at Canal and River Trust worried about funding to buy in catering for the many expected visitors “Nonsense” said Jean, “we’ll do that ourselves”. She then recruited an enthusiastic band of sandwich and cake makers who took over her house alongside Caen Hill and produced the most amazing buffet at an incredibly low cost. Drive, enthusiasm and cheerfulness are what I really remember about Jean”
Jean sadly passed away earlier this year and will be sorely missed by Devizes Branch, the crew of Kenavon Venture and the wider Kennet and Avon Canal Trust.
Building The Canal - A
History in Bricks
written by Jamie Wright
It is common to hear that when John Rennie started excavating at Caen Hill for the canal he found clay and realised that he could use it to make bricks, then establishing a brickyard that supplied bricks for the Caen Hill locks and possibly even sending two million bricks for the Bruce tunnel nineteen miles away. As often happens the story is more complex and the following article tries to show some of the complexities. This is still work in progress. To make the article more readable the references are omitted but can be supplied should anyone want them. LJ Dalby's 1971
The Wilts and Berks Canal should be mentioned as an authoritative account of that canal's strategy to acquire bricks, and the numbers needed.
The account of Rennie ‘discovering’ clay is quickly dispelled. The will of John Painter, a brickmaker of Rowde (the parish that Caen Hill lies in), was proved in 1676, in 1710 John West leased a brick kiln, tile house and cottage in Rowde and Robert West was listed as a brickmaker of Devizes in the Universal Directory of Trade for 1781-8. Brick making was well established when Rennie arrived, and potentially the West family had been brickmakers there for most of the 18th century.
However, a kiln could produce only about half a million bricks a year - a ten day cycle of loading, firing, cooling and unloading. A kiln held about 20,000 bricks, with no firing in winter - and this would barely build three lockseach lock on the Wilts and Berks canal needed 180,000 bricks. Clearly several kilns were needed, preferably spread along the length of the canal.
The details of how Rennie solved this problem are still unclear but now we have some light on the area between Burbage and Kintbury.
Elaine Kirby, archivist for the K&A, managed to spot two pages of Rennie’s notebook that mentioned bricks and these show that he was buying bricks from established brickyards. On 21 December 1795 Hutchins ‘contracted to make a[nd] deliver 1,500,000 statute best bricks a[t] 34/6 to be delivered at any place between little Bedwin a[nd] the Coppice at Froxfield.’ The Coppice at Froxfield is likely to have been Brick Kiln Copse, where the Hopgrass Brick Kiln was located. The Hutchins family were local brickmakers: in 1732 Thomas Hutchins and another rented a brick kiln at Leigh Hill from Lord Bruce, while Edward Hutchins of Marlborough was a brickmaker in 1791-98, and various Hutchins of The Green, Marlborough were brick and lime burners until at least 1853. A second, undated entry by Rennie read ‘Agreed with Hawkins - Great Bedwin for 100,000 Bricks to be delivered at Great Bedwin Church Lock at 34/ p[er] 1000...’ Since Robert Hawkins’s will of 1766 the Hawkins family is known to have used a kiln at Brail Farm, they were named several times in the 19th century, and as late as 1939 CW Hawkins and Sons of Great Bedwyn were brickmakers. Both Hawkins and Hutchins were being paid a commercial price of 34s or 34s 6d per thousand for their bricks. The 9s 0d per thousand for large and 8s 6d per thousand for small bricks reveal a different arrangement. Rennie agreed the price with Messrs Day, Jupse and Wilson in December 1795 adding the company finding all material, they digging the clay and making the bricks.
Brickyards open before 1810 and their links to the K&A plotted on Rennie’s 1810 map The canal is shown in red
The quantity was left vague at three or four million bricks, and this seems a fairly typical sub-contracting arrangement, probably with the canal company providing the yard and fuel and a brickmaker providing and organising a work force. The agreement was reached at Kintbury, and presumably the bricks were to be made there as two large yards were shown south of the village on the 1877 OS map.
An example of the canal company running a brickyard was revealed by a court case concerning the theft of coal. In October 1808 an employee of the canal gave a statement that he surreptitiously followed a wagon, as theft was suspected, while conveying Coal from the Company’s wharf at Pewsey to their Brick Kilns [at Dodsdown]. When opposite the prisoner Batt’s cottage, she three times carried as much Coal as she could conveniently hold in her Arms into the cottage. The verdict is likely to have been guilty with an unknown sentence, but Dodsdown Brickyard was twice called their, ie the canal company’s, yard.
A further reference to one of the company’s brickyards is from slightly earlier, in 1795/6. A notebook listed To Cash Received ... for Workmen by Day on Mirreldown ... for the Canal Companeys Brickyard. Entries were madebetween November and April, totalling over £274, and payments were for both digging and burning clay. Mirreldown or Mirldown is in Little Bedwyn parish and the notebook is the earliest reference to a brickyard there. However the yard was shown on OS maps from 1873 to 1961, and a kiln survives there, as far as the author knows the only such survival in the county (but on private land). Also in Little Bedwyn was a brick kiln at Chisbury, the only kiln possibly active in the area with no known connection to the canal. It was shown on a map of Chisbury manor in 1719 and mentioned in the enclosure of 1722 but there are no later references and it may have closed by the time of the canal’s arrival. These various sources show Rennie’s strategy to obtain bricks along a particular stretch of the canal: he used existing commercial sources, he apparently took over existing yards subcontracting the brick making and he possibly set up at least one new yard.
Much of this activity was soon after the start of work on the canal at Newbury (October 1794), showing the necessity of planning in advance for the vast number of bricks needed.
Before October 1808 any bricks being sent from Caen Hill to the Bruce tunnel would have been double handled before being unloaded at Pewsey and it seems more likely that bricks from the Bedwyn area were used. Similarly it is likely that the engine house at Crofton was constructed from locally made bricks although it is accepted that, without scientific analysis of the bricks and the clays used, this is speculation.
The Canal Taverners Boat
The beginning: Towards the end of 1988 a small group of boaters some of whom were Kennet & Avon Canal Trust members used to go to the Canal Tavern, Bradford on Avon for a quiet Sunday lunchtime pint (Wadworth’s 6X of course).
They generally talked about the increasing number of boats using the Western end of the K&A canal. As members of the K&A Trust they realised that the Trust had no mandate to speak solely on behalf of boaters and so it was suggested that they form a Boat Club. They believed that as boaters this would give them a voice in promoting boating interests, and by giving them a legitimate reason for being in the Canal Tavern it would keep them out of trouble with their wives when they arrived home late for their Sunday lunch.
So after several weeks of discussion and consuming many pints of 6X they decided to call the Club the Canal Taverners, the objectives of the CTBC were determined to be:
Social, including imbibing 6X
To promote and support any measure which will improve navigation and boating activities.
The landlord of the Canal Tavern gave them permission to hold meetings in the Dundas Bar on any Wednesday evening and so on Wednesday 20th March 1989 the CTBC was founded. Motto, ‘Panic Slowly’.
As the canal opened up to through navigation in the early nineties more and more boats were using the canal, so much so that by the mid-nineties the Club’s membership rapidly increased from approximately eight in the beginning and settled at around 70 members.
A Few Highlights:
Barton Farm Swing bridge/Meadows Footbridge: At the beginning of the nineties when the number of boats using the canal increased it soon became apparent that the swing bridge to Bradford on Avon Sewage Works which was rarely used by vehicles, was causing considerable difficulties and some danger to users.
It was suggested by the CTBC that the bridge should be left in the open position and that an up and over footbridge should be provided for pedestrian access to the non-towpath side of the canal which would give vehicle drivers access to swing the bridge allowing them entry to the sewage plant
After much correspondence and a meeting between the Club, Wessex Water and BW it was agreed by Wessex Water that they would provide a footbridge at a cost of £35.
In November 1992 Dr John Meadows the Club’s No.1 (Club parlance for Chairman) broke the tape at the opening ceremony which included a towpath champagne celebration organized by Wessex Water
Sadly Dr John Meadows who was a canal enthusiast and who along with a few other enthusiasts brought about the formation of the CTBC died on 24 March, 1993
Following his death permission was given for the Club to name the bridge in his memory. At a ceremony on Sunday 25th April,1993 his daughter Sylvia witnessed by over 80 people unveiled a plaque naming the bridge Meadows Bridge, a fitting tribute to the memory of Dr John and his wife Meg who, some years earlier, was taken ill at the Swing Bridge and died.
The Royal British Legion:
For several years, the Club successfully gave members of the Royal British Legion, who were convalescing at Somerset Legion House, Weston Super Mare a day out on the K&A canal, starting with a cruise aboard club members own boats, a visit to the Canal Tavern and ending with a meal prepared back on-board the boats.
The Taverner Magazine:
The Taverner was produced all through the nineties by Robert Coles and his wife Pat. Their arrival at the Club’s monthly meetings with copies of the Taverner was greeted with great excitement as members eagerly looked to see if they were included in its pages or to see what controversial opinion Robert had expressed regarding BW’s latest actions or proposals. Robert certainly had the knack of ruffling the feathers of BW’s local management.
Eventually Robert and Pat bowed out and the Taverner was taken over in the year 2000 by John Richardson ably assisted by Hazel Yates Jones. The magazine then had a different format and is issued three times each year and includes articles written by Club members, items of interest about the Kennet & Avon Canal, British Waterways (Canal & River Trust) and many more.
Other Activities:
The Canal Taverners Boat Club was a very socially active club with activities arranged throughout the year.
These included the Annual Dinner, a boat trip on the Bridgwater/Taunton Canal, Boules Competition, several planned and impromptu BBQ’s Club members also attend the Bristol Harbour Festival, Newbury Boat Festival, Wilts & Berks Canal Trust BBQ and the Carol Service at Dundas and some interclub events.
Sad to say the world has changed and the Canal Taverners Boat Club is now no more, the decision has been taken to close the club. The amount left in the kitty will be shared between the Wilts & Berks Canal Society and the Kennet & Avon Canal Trust. The Canal Taverners Burgee will be laid up in the K & A Trust Archive.
The previous words have been gathered together from various members and sources I pay homage to the members past and present who made boaters from all along the K & A and beyond welcome a wonderful friendly club for likeminded boaters.
Elaine Kirby K&A Trust Archivist.
News from the Nivernais
By Mary Ranger
"Rain, rain go away, come back another day!"
This year the very wet weather has dominated and dictated the boating season with numerous closures to navigation due to flooding. It is true that the particularity of our canal is that it is, in effect, the river Yonne canalised and consequently more susceptible to changes in water levels than a "pure" canal.
However, a prized member of our association who is also unique in being our only member who works for the V N F (Voies Navigables de France who run our inland waterway system here), commented that such a situation has never been previously observed where the canal has been closed four times over periods of several days if not weeks. It was necessary to stop navigation in April, May, June and October and, as I write the canal is still closed creating many
logistical dilemmas for the hire boat companies, hotel boat managers as well as private boat owners hoping to reach home ports or even just a port before the winter. This has obviously had repercussions on the statistics of the average number of boats passing through the locks during the season which has plummeted to an average of 7! And, another consequence is the poor time but also the poor image of canal holidays experienced by holiday makers and then the very poor season for all the restaurant owners and other businesses found along the canal banks. Let's hope for more sunshine next year but not a heatwave either!
Despite the inclement weather, Les Amis have been keeping busy participating in the annual general meetings of our partener associations including "Autour du canal de Bourgogne"
who continue to agitate to maintain this canal open to navigation
We equally have the opportunity to regularly partake of the meetings initiated by V.N.F. to inform all users of water levels, work being undertaken, innovations, etc. in our area and discuss and present ideas and problems from our side
In March twenty of our members, ably assisted by the local fishermen and the heritage association of the village Mailly le Chateau, made up a working party to clear the banks of the canal of vegetation thereabouts followed by a well earned picnic. Many years ago, a British artist living on his boat here painted several very attractive watercolor scenes of the canal which inspired a small booklet of information promoting the canal Les Amis have republished it and presented it publically this year on the occasion of the annual Epiphany celebrations where the "galettes des rois",a flaky pastry tart with an almond creamy filling were much appreciated by all.
Our annual general meeting this year was held on the ex working "péniche", the Ysaline now converted into a café- theatre moored in Auxerre, and which our association supports Following our meeting, we continued in our gastronomic vein and enjoyed a tasty meal in a restaurant on the quay in Auxerre before taking a digestive walk to the first lock on the Nivernais, "le Batardeau" to look at the new weir and " rubber balloon" weir and the exhibition of the previous weir installation
During the year, some members manned the association's stand at the annual "festival du port " in Mogennes and later at Vandernesse for th"fete de la Nature", both events held on the neighbouring canal de Bourgogne
One of our regular "conseils d'administration", open to all members and always followed by a picnic-meal, was held in a local old restored windmill but , unlike the rain, the wind was not present that day depriving us of the amazing scene of the old sails whirling around to a background of several slower moving blades of the new modern enormous windmills.
In September, the annual "journées du patrimoine" are celebrated nationally with many buildings and varied sites being opened up to the public over the weekend Les Amis gave a conference in Mailly le Chateau followed by a visit to the exhibition of the "flottage du bois" based in Clamecy, the original hub of the
huge log collecting and organising for sending this wood for heating to Paris over the centuries. There is an excellent exhibition of this trade in the Clamecy museum.
The life of our beautiful canal seems to swing between years of drought and lack of water or excessive rainfall and flooding but at least, the problem of excessive invasive weed growth was kept at bay this year. There is always a silver lining to the clouds!
