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May 10th 2007

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Then and Now

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Notes on Pride

by Christine Richardson

Pride was a typical working boat of the Chesterfield Canal. The boat registers show that the year of construction was 1903, probably at West Stockwith. The original owner was the Steetley Lime Company, and the picture shows the boat alongside the company’s quarry at Cinderhill. The first skipper was William Hewitt, a member of a large family of working boatmen. On the maiden voyage up the canal from West Stockwith the skipper stopped at Retford on 31 July 1903 and had the new boat registered with the authorities there as required by the Canal Boats Act of 1877 – it became number 44. The cargo was stated as "lime and limestone", and the route Pride was to ply was between Woodend and Retford. The aft cabin’s dimensions were - height 4ft, length 8ft 4ins, and width 6ft 11ins. Pride was the only boat registered as owned by the Steetley Company so the name may have been indicative of the quarry owner’s pleasure in having his own transport system rather than relying on other craft.

On December 1914 Pride was seen at Drakeholes by a boat inspector, who made the note "a new boat", but it is unclear what that signifies. However, a boat named Pride was still in existence on 15 July 1920 when the ownership was changed to Furley & Co of Gainsborough, and noted as still in existence in July 1925.

The photograph was taken c1907 and the cumbersome size and weight of cameras at that time probably indicates a formal commission for the photographer who may have travelled from Worksop. The children could have been the family of the quarry owner.

The existence of the photograph was known prior to now, but only as a small illustration from Waterways World magazine many years ago, and that had been cropped to remove the right-hand side. That we now have the full image, and in a high resolution, is due to the photograph’s owner Alan Mugleston of Devon - who has generously supplied two large prints which will be of tremendous value to the New Dawn Project.

Notes by Geraint Coles

The tramway is an edge railway.　 The gauge is interesting – it appears to be quite wide (c. 2ft 6" to 3ft" – compare with height of child) – rather too wide to be a colliery dram line (mostly 18" to 2ft in these parts).　 Wider gauges were common however in the railways serving limestone quarries (no underground restrictions and bigger capacity I guess).　 If the load is limestone (and it does appear to be big light coloured blocks not black stuff) then this also fits with Cinderhill as there was an adjacent quarry and the OS appears to show a small tramway leading to a loading point on the canal.

There was a vogue in late Victorian/Edwardian period for having pictures of your kids taken with your workhorse – on the railways you see lots of Dad plus kids type family pictures on locomotives.　 I have see similar on the canal (Christine has a lovely one of a boat at Retford with everyone in their Sunday Best). 　Normally dad is in the picture (is that him on the wall?).　 Equally the kids could be window dressing "borrowed" by the photographer to make a nice sentimental scene.　 In the distance near he bridge is another figure bending down near a huddle of stuff – this might be the photographer’s assistant with bicycle and the portable darkroom needed to set up the glass photographic plates.　

Notes by John Lower

The second picture was taken on March 6^th in as near as possible to the location of the original photograph. I was in fact standing next to the top gate of the new Boundary Lock 41a, which was constructed as part of the present restoration. It is noticeable that the right-hand aqueduct parapet slopes down in front of the standing person on the original photo – the repair is clearly visible at the present time. In the original photo, the left-hand parapet is of stone, but it is now blue brick. A stone in the present wall reads "constructed 1772-77, reconstructed 1946", ie after the earlier photo was taken. Christine Richardson notes that the aqueduct was originally built circa 1773.

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We have been sent this postcard of the Chesterfield Canal taken sometime in the past!

I wonder if anyone can help with details about the location, date, maybe even who the children were, and the tramway alongside the boat? Any help in locating this scene would be very welcome.

Please send any ideas . March 16th 2007

The way we were ... twenty years ago

• The second 'Walk to Rhodeesia' campaign walk was held

• New information panels were unveiled at Town Lock Retford and Turnerwood, hand-painted by Brian Pearson

• A boat rally was held at Sandhill Lake Worksop in May in incessant rain

• Chesterfield Canal day was held a Lavers in Chesterfield in September

• The Norwood Packet was relaunched on the summit pound after a year's layoff

• Researches unearthed 'The History of Chesterfield' published in 1939 and published by Fod, Stationer, Irongate, with many interesting references to the Chesterfield Canal

• Concern was raised about the effect of the proposed Staveley - Brimington bypass on the canal in Derbyshire, which was to block the canal

• While the CCS estimate for restoring the canal from Worksop to Rhodesia was £66k, British Waterways' calculation was £470,850!

• Membership reached 204 and membership remained at £2pa

The way we were...June 1777

As canal navigations have been found highly beneficial to the public, especially those concerned in trade, it is with very great pleasure we inform our readers that the canal from Chesterfield to Stockwith is now navigable from one end to the other; and we hear from Chesterfield that a boat laden with goods from Stockwith, was brought to that town on Wednesday last (being the King's birthday). When the canal was opened; - an account so long wished for, so interesting and advantageous could not be regarded as a common occurrence, and therefore was celebrated by the proprietors in the town, and the inhabitants in general, with all those demonstrations of satisfaction and joy, which they must feel on such an occasion.

The boat was met a t the first lock, by several gentle men of the committee and a great number of proprietors, attended by a very larg concourse of people, and was introduced, with colours flying, firing of guns, and a band of music, after which the goods were unloaded and put into waggons, which were drawn to the town by the navigators, preceded by the gentlemen of the committee and proprietors, who awlked in procession with the music playing before them.

The assiduity of the workmen, whose labour for the last three weeks almost exceeds belief, was rewarded by a handsome treat given them by the proprietors, of which nearly 300 of them partook, and the gentlemen of the town concluded the day with a cheerful glass; ringing of bells, bonfires, and fireworks contrubuting to the festivity of the evening.

We cannot help mentioning one circumstace to the honour of the poor working navigators, who tho' generally stiled the sons of riot and confusion, behaved in the mos decent and orderly manner, and dispersed early in the evening, without making any disturbance whatever.

The next day, the gentlemen gave the ladies a treat on the water, and the boat which was honoured wih bringing the first load of goods to Chesterfield, received the additional and much greater honour of conveying above 100 ladies of that town through the first lock, the boat was lined and decorated with streamers, and furnished with an excellent band of music provided for the occasion.

It is now generally believed that this navigation cannot fail of paying the proprietors very large interest for their money, as the weekly tonnage already rceived (even in its unfinished state) has been very considerable, and we are informed that great quantities of goods of vaious kinds, are daily conveyed thereby which were not considered or thought of at commencement of the undertaking.

From the Derby Mercury June 9th 1777

Year

Coal

Lead

Lime

Corn

Stone

Iron

Timber

Sundries

Total

1777

12,058

3,429

4,677

1,671

2,133

519

2,575

5,560

32,622

1780

17,065

1,852

4,093

2,227

2,667

1,732

1,377

4,723

35,738

1790

13,924

3,204

4,326

7,545

6,845

1,383

2,422

13,992

85,641

1800

52,325

1,367

3,867

8,426

10,929

2,622

4,376

11,966

95,878

1810

52,886

1,054

4,287

12,158

12,595

5,965

4,054

18,924

111,903

1820

43,494

58

4,654

11,764

12,094

3,296

2,621

18,352

96,333

1826

38,154

105

3,549

18,107

14,174

4,296

4,256

20,397

103,020

The way we were ... twenty years ago

• The second 'Walk to Rhodeesia' campaign walk was held

• New information panels were unveiled at Town Lock Retford and Turnerwood, hand-painted by Brian Pearson

• A boat rally was held at Sandhill Lake Worksop in May in incessant rain

• Chesterfield Canal day was held a Lavers in Chesterfield in September

• The Norwood Packet was relaunched on the summit pound after a year's layoff

• Researches unearthed 'The History of Chesterfield' published in 1939 and published by Fod, Stationer, Irongate, with many interesting references to the Chesterfield Canal

• Concern was raised about the effect of the proposed Staveley - Brimington bypass on the canal in Derbyshire, which was to block the canal

• While the CCS estimate for restoring the canal from Worksop to Rhodesia was £66k, British Waterways' calculation was £470,850!

• Membership reached 204 and membership remained at £2pa

The way we were...June 1777

As canal navigations have been found highly beneficial to the public, especially those concerned in trade, it is with very great pleasure we inform our readers that the canal from Chesterfield to Stockwith is now navigable from one end to the other; and we hear from Chesterfield that a boat laden with goods from Stockwith, was brought to that town on Wednesday last (being the King's birthday). When the canal was opened; - an account so long wished for, so interesting and advantageous could not be regarded as a common occurrence, and therefore was celebrated by the proprietors in the town, and the inhabitants in general, with all those demonstrations of satisfaction and joy, which they must feel on such an occasion.

The boat was met a t the first lock, by several gentle men of the committee and a great number of proprietors, attended by a very larg concourse of people, and was introduced, with colours flying, firing of guns, and a band of music, after which the goods were unloaded and put into waggons, which were drawn to the town by the navigators, preceded by the gentlemen of the committee and proprietors, who awlked in procession with the music playing before them.

The assiduity of the workmen, whose labour for the last three weeks almost exceeds belief, was rewarded by a handsome treat given them by the proprietors, of which nearly 300 of them partook, and the gentlemen of the town concluded the day with a cheerful glass; ringing of bells, bonfires, and fireworks contrubuting to the festivity of the evening.

We cannot help mentioning one circumstace to the honour of the poor working navigators, who tho' generally stiled the sons of riot and confusion, behaved in the mos decent and orderly manner, and dispersed early in the evening, without making any disturbance whatever.

The next day, the gentlemen gave the ladies a treat on the water, and the boat which was honoured wih bringing the first load of goods to Chesterfield, received the additional and much greater honour of conveying above 100 ladies of that town through the first lock, the boat was lined and decorated with streamers, and furnished with an excellent band of music provided for the occasion.

It is now generally believed that this navigation cannot fail of paying the proprietors very large interest for their money, as the weekly tonnage already rceived (even in its unfinished state) has been very considerable, and we are informed that great quantities of goods of vaious kinds, are daily conveyed thereby which were not considered or thought of at commencement of the undertaking.

From the Derby Mercury June 9th 1777

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