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Barbara Joan, an original 1950's Taylor's cruiser, custom built- awaiting restoration by anyone with the knowledge and the time. A potentially valuable boat- when done.
Thursday 25th January 2007.
Today is the meeting of the Stretford Town Partnership on the first floor of O'Brien's Pub at 2.pm.
Mick and I attend.
Monday 29th January
Tomorrow Mike Webb from Peel Holdings will be coming down to the boatyard and have arranged to meet him there.
Tuesday 30th January 2007
Mike Webb and David Molyneux from 'Land and Planning' Bridgewater Canal Department pay a visit to the yard, and take photographs and notes. They will be giving out keys to the boat owners on the yard soon. Start the cleaning up.
Thursday 1st Febuary 2007
Investigation into water and electricity. According to Jeff the electric cable was buried under the bridgeworks in the sixties. Water comes from under the bridge and supplies the Stretford Boat Club. The electrics to the site when Egerton Narrowboat Ltd existed were supplied from Stretford Boat Club from somewhere else along the canal. Negotiation with Stretford Boat club might get the electric back but there is an alternative- a Petter generator in the shed which I shall try and get going.
stretford boatyard before demolition
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'Barbara Joan' awaiting restoration and rescue.
This is 'Lindy Helen' the sister ship to 'Barbara Joan' for sale in London for £22,500.
'Amaryllis is a wooden motor-cruiser. Her original name was Teal. She dates from 1954 and is constructed from mahogany planking on oak frames. She has a round bilge, which is typical for this type of craft. She was powered by a 7hp Morris Vedette engine.
Amaryllis has been restored to her former glory and is on display as part of the Life on the Cut exhibition on the upper floor of the Island Warehouse at Ellesmere Port.'
Here is a copy of the invitation to the Stretford Town Partnership Meeting to be held on 29th March 2007
c/o Nicola Ward
Area Services
Room 28
Trafford Town Hall
Talbot Rd
Stretford
M32 0YT
Dear Business Owner/Manager,
Continuing the growth of our Town Centre Partnership. We would like to invite you to the next meeting which will take place on…
Thursday 29th March 2pm
At O’Brien’s Public House, First Floor – use entrance from Chester Rd
The agenda will include…
• Developing our action plan
• Community safety – what are the potential ‘unsafe’ areas in Stretford
• Plans for canal side developments
• Marketing our town – consideration of a town centre guide
• And more…
Our partnership is beginning to become established and become instrumental in local decision making. We have also shared in some considerable discussions regarding developments for the A56. Thank you to those members who have shared their views.
If there are any other items you wish to discuss this can be done during the ‘Any other business’ section of the meeting or sent to the partnership at the above address.
Let’s continue working together to make a better Stretford!
Kind regards,
Terry O’Brien
(Chairman of Stretford Town Centre Partnership)
'Stretford Boatyard aims to stay afloat' (31st January)
By Lynsey Roberts of the Messenger, (click on link above to go to articles in the Messenger Newspaper.)
BOAT owners at Stretford boat yard are pulling out all the stops in an effort to return the site to its former glory.Over recent years the yard, off Edge Lane, has been allowed to fall into a state of disrepair.But for barge owner James Strangeways, the final straw was when electricity and telephone lines were cut before Christmas and he is now leading the attempt to breath life into the area he refers to as the former "capital of the Bridgewater Canal."He said: "What I'm frightened about is we are going to lose this as a working site when we've had one in Stretford for 200 years."It would be a shame if it were to go. It was the centre of the Bridgewater Canal at one point."We were told the yard would be cleared by Christmas with all the wreckage removed from the site but it's an absolute tip and I'm worried about its future."James has been involved in a number of discussions with landowners, Peel Holdings, hoping to sort out an agreement that will enable him and other interested parties to take over management of the site so they can bring about the desired changes.He claims it has now been agreed the boat owners will be given keys for the gates but will not be able to take over the lease.He added: "We want to clear the site, it's a disgrace but what we need to get clear from Peel Holdings is whether we have permission to do this. We are worried that we could get the site up and running and they'll turn and say thank you, see you later.'""I'd like to see it as a public boat yard with proper moorings and a working repair yard. It would be wonderful for it to be developed in the right sort of way. It could be really good for Stretford."They could put in a cycle lanes and information boards and you could hire boats but I'm worried it could be left derelict for years before any sort of development."James also believes community involvement in the restoration of the yard could prove beneficial when applying for any lottery grants in the future.Peel Holdings were unavailable for comment.
l What would you like to see happen to Stretford boatyard? Have your say at sumnews.co.uk lroberts@messengergrp.co.uk
10:01am Monday 5th February 2007Posted by: Shelly Quinton, Stretford on 2:58pm Thu 1 Feb 07
I think that this boat yard as it is, is an eyesore. It would be fantastic if it could be re-developed into a resource that people could use and I think James's ideas are excellent - it seems to be a shame that Peel Holdings could not get behind the scheme, with a lease and some cash.
Posted by: Alex, Urmston on 8:43pm Thu 1 Feb 07
I fully back any re-development of the site to help promote the canal system, we are losing too much of our past and we need to save some of it for the future, I hope Peel can see how much good it would do the area as a whole, as nice as the Trafford Centre is, they need to help us save our heritage.
Posted by: John Westbrook, Norwood Road Stretford on 9:09am Tue 6 Feb 07
Stretford Boat Yard must stay as a local business, providing a service for the users of the canal. If you consider recent developments of vacant sites alongside our local canals, there are many examples of café-bars and apartments taking advantage of waterside views, but very few local enterprises providing more varied employment and a more interesting mix of uses. Peel Holdings is a huge organisation with multi-million pound developments along the Manchester/Liverpool corridor. It doesn’t need to hold small local businesses or the boating community to ransom. Surely Streford needs to present its canal as a living and working resource. There is scope for so much variety here. As well as an educational resource, a boat yard here could be another dimension in a multiple transport interchange including bus, tram, bicycle and water. Why not a small water-bus to link Stretford with Dunham Massey and Trafford Park? We need people to be able to use the canal as a resource and not just to look at it over a pint of lager!
Thursday 29th March 2007
Meeting of Stretford Town Partnership. Tried to put the case for the Town Partnership to get involved with the idea of a boatyard.
Commodore of the Watch House Club, and Mike Webb from Peel Holdings present.
Friday, 30th March 2007
Have put adverts on Apollo Duck (advert id. 57624), and Boats and Outboards (No. F138799). Had a phone call this morning from the owner of 'Lindy Helen' the sister ship of BJ, who told me that the boat was restored by a german, but he couldn't remember his name, but would try and find out.
Monday 2nd April 2007
As well as the magazines, at Tim's suggestion , I put Barbara Joan on ebay, and as a result have had about twenty emails and a few phone calls. Have had to update the information. 47 watchers and eleven bids so far. Started at 99p up to £111. A few enquiries have come through Boats and Outboards.
Re-fitting the front cabin on Shellfen just to get it back to how it was before we took the tanks out.
Tuesday 3rd. April 2007
Removed Barbara Joan from sale, as it is sold. We wait to see who the new owner will be. Spoke to someone from the North Cheshire Cruising Club, who has given me the number of a previous owner of 'Lindy Helen'. He also said that the boats were originally made for a hire fleet. Probably one of the first on the canals in the 1960's.
Sustrans is hoping to get a lottery bid for the Bridgewater Way project with parts of the towpath between Sale and Stretford included in the project. The Boatyard could be a potential 'Gateway' for the canal, as it is the link between local communities and the canal that need to be developed. The proximity to the town and metrolink and the possibility of developing the site as an information centre for the canal make this an ideal location. Cycling and boating are highly compatible activities in this locality.
The boatyard could offer cycle storage for commuters as well as cycle hire. It is not beyond the bounds of possibility that city cruises into the centre of Manchester could be operated from here. Boat services already operate between Manchester football ground which is a short distance away.
GOODBYE BARBARA JOAN.
BON VOYAGE
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Thursday 10th May 2007
Barbara Joan sails off to her new home on the Great Ouse in Bedfordshire and a new owner keen to restore her to her former glory. Darren Cain's Transport from Wigan arrives with crane on a truck capable of easily lifting the boat. Jason ties her down securely, but all the same she looks precarious on the back of the lorry.
The rally plaques date back to the early days of the Inland Waterways. The insignia of the hand and sword was the early symbol for the campaign. 'Barbara Joan' was named after Barbara Tole. The boat was custom built by Taylor's, other than that, the early history is unknown.
Jason manoeuvres the boat onto the lorry with the remote control.
Manage to trace the manufacturer of the pumping gear by phoning a company in London witht the same name, W.P. Stone unfortunately not the same as J.Stone, but a company that does all the leadwork for Buckingham palace as well a ballast for boats. They tell me that J. Stone and Co. were in Deptford and moved to Crawley. Both companies have a history going back to the end of the 19th Century. W.P.Stone were involved in the Pluto pipeline, and is run by the grandson of the company founder.
• NOTES FROM THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE STRETFORD TOWN PARTNERSHIP 29.03.2007
Stretford Boatyard
Peel has taken possession of Stretford Boatyard from Edgerton Narrowboats as they have ceased to trade. Peel intend to clear the whole site. Those who are presently paying fees will remain. They intend to keep moorings on the canal but area will not be used as a boat yard. It was noted that the boat yard has not operated successfully for some years. Peel are presently looking at alternatives. Litter to be removed and site tidied within the next month. Approximate cost of this is £10,000.
Boat owners are opposed to the view of scrapping boat yard. They feel that it is a valuable asset to the area and that the canal will cease to function as such without the yard. They would like to look at restoring the yard.
It was queried as to whether there is any possibility for additional residential moorings. Planning permission would be required. Stretford Marina is about to open. This will include residential moorings.
Stone Paramor Rotary Pump (Patent No. 238620)
J.Stone & Co Ltd.
London S.E.
The beginning of the demolition of the site (see video).
Stay for some of the time, but leave them too it.
There is a possible chance to save King Alfred and an engine that belongs to Graham Jebb.
Lionel is allowed to keep his property and we also manage to rescue some bits and pieces on the top of Shellfen.
The empty yard with Lionel's pile of goods under a tarpaulin. King Alfred needs a new owner.
Kittywake finds a new home.
This is another historic canal boat; one of three: 'Kittywake' 'Rebel Rose' and 'Gay Lady' originally constructed for customers on the Bridgewater Canal in the 1960's by Little Ships-Oulton Broad Ltd. Eric Hurd was the original owner of 'Kittywake' and lived in Sale. They are not in the class of 'Barbara Joan' and 'Lindy Helen' which may be called almost 'gentleman cruisers' of the the canal but are however very fine in construction. 'Heavily built on traditional lines with shell frames, beams and floors at 18"- 24" centres with beam knees and bottom brackets' (Capt. GM Taylor FCMS, surveyor's report 18th May2004). The wood is teak and she has been partly repaired by the previous owner, Graham Jebb. The boat is much lighter in construction than the Taylor's Boat, but they were both specifically designed for the canals neither exceeding the 7'6" width.
Kittywake is 30' 6" in overall length, 6'10" maximum beam.
Here it is moored in Bedford Basin in Leigh in front of the Toll Office.
Kittywake is now undergoing restoration on the Ashton Canal.
Thursday 16th August 2007
Views of the boatyard after clearance. All that remains are the few bits rescued plus the 'doctor who loo'. Notice the spire of St Anne's church designed by Pugin in the background
The New Arrival at the yard. A trip boat that operates out of Castlefield. Had to give up my mooring space, and move back under the bridge. The area under the bridge is in danger of missiles from above and also this boat being high out of the water could be boarded from the bridge. Anyway I get to chat to passers-by more often, and listen to their comments.
Link to Metro News article by Helen Clifton
Click on picture to read article about this new marina in 'The Metro News' by Helen Clifton.
A video off You Tube, about the Bridgewater Canal,
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