nicknamed 'monkey boats' (the boats often travelled
in pairs) they were 70ft long and 7ft wide and usually
ornately decorated with castles, turrets, roses etc.
They were pulled along the towpath by horses (except
through certain tunnels where the crew had to 'leg'
the boats through) some were powered by steam. At the
end of the 19th centaury and petrol-driven 7hp tractors
were introduced in 1925 but many boatmen continued to
use horses until the 1950s. From 1877 canal boats used
as family dwellings had to be registered. Brentford was
one of only about three registrations. Districts along
the Grand Junction Canal. A boat family lived, ate and
slept in a cabin measuring 8ft long, 6ft 6in wide and
5ft high. Some boats also had a cupboard-size cabin at
the front. Every inch of space was utilized resulting
in a jigsaw puzzle of pull down tables, cupboards and
cross-beds. The boatwomen, who wore distinctive costume,
led a busy life. Apart from the normal routines of
cooking, cleaning, mending and raising a family they
often also steered the boat, helped with its loading
and unloading led the horse and operated the locks.
In 1896 a Canal Boatman's Mission hall and Day School
was set up in Brentford End Isleworth in connection
with the London City Mission. After the Grand
Junction Canal Company offered a site in the butts,
subscriptions were raised for the erection of a purpose
built Boatmen's Institute, which opened in December
1904. The building (now a private house) was built to
a design by Nowell Parr and functioned as a community
centre, church and at various times also a maternity
hospital and school for the boat children. One old
bargee described the Institute as the 'happiest,
blessedest little place in Brentford', it closed in
1978.
By the 1880s the largest fleet of canal boats belonged
to Fellows Morton & Clayton which had its own dock by
the original Brentford lock FMC was based on a business
formed in 1837 and carried a wide variety of cargoes
to the Midlands foodstuffs such as sugar in sacks,
tea in chests, canned goods, sultanas and spices from
abroad and many other things. After nationalisation in
1948 the British Waterways Board acquired FMCs boats
and the firm went into voluntary liquidation.
The southern end of the grand Junction Canal was also
wide enough for barges to be used (but only for short
distance deliveries) Barges (some with sails) and
lighters, pulled by tugs were the workhorses on the
Thames. Brentford became a centre for barge-operating
and barge-building. The largest was the Thames Steam
Tug & Lighterage.Co. Ltd. It loaded from or unloaded
to the ships in the London Docks and the company
maintained a fleet of tugs to tow the barges between
the docks and Brentford. Some barges continued up the
canal while others discharged their cargos into the
warehouses at Brentford Depot or into narrow boats.
Typical of the cargo handled this way was tomato puree
from Italy limejuice from the West Indies, wheat from
Canada, timber from the Baltic.
In 1962 Thames Steam Tug & Lighterage merged with the
General Lighterage Company to form Thames and General
Lighterage Ltd, making this the largest barge operator
on the canal. It later took over Vokins & Co, which
traded from Goat Wharf. Emanuel Smith, who began
trading from Ham Wharf in the 1890s, built up a fleet
of barges, lighters, steam tugs and narrow boats.
Smith was one of the pioneers of motorboats; his
company ran into financial problems and was liquidated
in 1930. Edward Woods, barge -builder was established
at Staffordshire Wharf near Thames Lock. The yard was
purchased in 1953 by Vokins and Co Ltd who changed
the name to Thomas Locks Wharf.
FOOTNOTE:-
Various members of our families worked at the Steam Tug &
Lighterage Company. There was Janice's dad, William (Bill)
Holland, he was a welder and was about 6ft and very strong
he use to hold up these big metal panels to the barge while
the other chaps would put in the red hot glowing rivets. if
he had hot sparks go on his chest he use to flick them off
as if they were flies, they would leave burn marks on his
chest and he wouldn't take no notice of them.
Other members were a couple of my Uncles from the Harrison
Family who lived across the High Street, one was George,
about 5'8" largest size and again strong. He worked on the
tugs and once saved 8 barges, when they became unattached
to the tug that was towing them, the last member was Jack
who fought in the last war, in Italy, he was a truck driver
and wrote home to his mum that he had been injured in battle
by falling out of lorry and breaking his ankle. We had a good
laugh, mainly relief!!
When I was a little boy I use to like watching all the workers
coming out of both the yards, there were men with there
bycycles littery hundred or so, you couldn't move for them,
but the person I enjoyed watching was the forman of the Goat
Wharf , who had an Old fashion wheelchair, it had 2 levers,
one either side and by pulling and pushing these levers, he
use to go like the clappers up to wards the Half Acre.
Oh dear, the good old days????
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