Thames Landscape Strategy - Hampton to Kew -

Teddington River Festival

A couple of weekends ago we celebrated life on the Thames at the annual Teddington River festival. Although only in its third year the festival has established itself as one of the most colourful along the Thames and is now the largest event on the freshwater river after the Henley Royal Regatta. All manner of different boats were on show with visitors keen to learn more about the boating traditions of the river.

It was once said that there was not a navigable waterway or lake in the UK that did not have a boat that was either built on or designed for the River Thames. Indeed during the C18th an incredible one in five Londoners made their living from the river. The River Thames was the power horse of the capital. This tradition still continues to some degree along our stretch of the river today and many historic Thames craft can still be found.

The oldest type of boat used on the river was called a ‘Peterboat’ probably developed from Viking longboats although the traditional craft of the Thames was the ‘wrerry’. This was a wooden boat designed to glide over the water rather than through it making it a very fast way of getting from A to B. Wrerries were rowed by one, two or three boatman depending on how far the passenger wished to travel and how fast.

The trade was one of the first to be regulated dating back to a statute passed by Henry VIII in 1514 to control the fares that could be charged. A subsequent Act of 1555 created the ‘Watermans Company’ – one of the City Liveries that controlled water traffic between Windsor and Gravesend. They introduced an apprenticeship of one year for all prospective waterman. This was later extended to seven years, a period of time that still stands. To indicate that a waterman had successfully completed their apprenticeship they were given a smart uniform of a pleated coat, knee breaches and stiff cap. They were the first public servants to wear a uniform (even the army did not have any distinguishing clothes at the time) making the Waterman a very common sight in the capital plying their trade aboard the wrerries and shallops of the day.

Also making their living from the river were the ‘Lighterman’ who piloted a type of boat known as the Thames Lighter. In 1700, the ‘lighterman’ were brought under the same control as the waterman creating ‘The Company of Waterman and Lightman of the River Thames’. The Thames lighter dated back to the time when cargo had to be unloaded from ships moored in the river channel rather than in a purpose built dock. The flat bottomed lighter was secured next to the ship and goods transferred at low tide form one craft to another before being moved to a nearby wharf. The lighter was towed by a horse in the freshwater reaches of the river but on the tideway they used the power of the tide to manoeuvre controlled by a large single ore – a very skilled job. Some of the last Thames lighters to be seen on the Thames were in our patch to take coal to Kingston power station and the Surbiton Waterworks as late as the 1960’s although their commercial use is now confined to history.

A variation of the lighter was the ‘Thames sailing barge’ – powered by sail and used to transport all manner of goods up the river as far as Oxford. Once every wharf along the Thames would have been full of these craft. Each town would have had its town wharf – at Richmond by the White Cross pub, in Twickenham on the Embankment and in Kingston by the Horse Fair. The excitement and bustle created at these places can still be experienced at Twickenham (although on far less scale than in the past) as goods are loaded from outside the Barmy Arms pub and taken across to the working boatyards on Eel Pie Island.

Another traditional craft of the Thames was the punt – originally used for fishing and gravel extraction from the riverbed but during the C19th became increasingly important for recreational use. It was during this period that our stretch of the Thames really came into its own when messing about on the river became the order of the day. This was largely made possible by the coming of the railways. Londoners could easily travel to Kingston, Richmond or Hampton to take to the water. To accommodate these recreational users traditional boats such as the punt were modified and the skiff, gig and dinghy were born.

The skiff was a perfect boat for the day-tripper to use being easy to row and could also be used to sleep in. This was the craft that Jerome K Jerome hired from Kingston to journey ‘three man in boat’ to Oxford. At the time there were quite literally thousands in use between Molesey and Richmond – it was said that there were so many boats in the water on one sunny Sunday afternoon that it was possible to walk over them from one side of the river to the other.

A great recreational pursuit of the Victorian age was the ‘boat trip’ and our short stretch of the river led the way. The first steamer to ply for trade on the Thames was the Richmond – launched incredibly in 1814 to carry passengers between London and Richmond. The most ambitious service however, must have been the Salter’s Steamers that run weekly between Kingston and Oxford stopping en route at many riverside towns such as Windsor, Reading and Wallingford. Salter’s most celebrated boat The Alaska was seen at the Teddington River Festival last week and was available for trips (although only between Teddington and Kingston this time). The Salter’s boats would wait at Oxford for the Paddington train to arrive before setting off at 9.30 every Monday morning – quite possibly one of the first examples of an integrated transport service that we could only dream of now. The steamers reached Kingston late Tuesday afternoon before returning to Oxford on the Wednesday. Remarkably The Alaska was discovered rotting away on the bed of the Oxford Canal in the 1970’s and was completely restored. She really was a magnificent sight at the River Festival

Since this Edwardian hey-day however, boat traffic has reduced significantly on the Thames. This said we are so very lucky that there are still many ways for us today to take to the water. Traditional camping skiffs can still be hired and rowboats are available by the hour at Richmond, Marble Hill and Kingston. For a shorter trip take the Hammertons ‘Ferry to Fairyland’, between Twickenham and Ham House or for a longer ride the steamer between Richmond, Kingston and Hampton Court. What better way could there be to get to the Hampton Court Flower Show this week (and avoid the inevitable traffic jams).

Living in this part of London our history is intrinsically linked to the use of the River Thames and it is up to all of us to make certain that this tradition is not lost. Without the hustle and bustle of river life the Thames scene would be so much the poorer. Working boat yards such as on Eel Pie Island, Thames Ditton and Brentford are remnants of this history and living examples of our connection with the water. They are however, constantly under threat form development and housing and once gone very difficult to ever replace. The same can be said for the wharfs, jetties and landing stages along the river and unless we use the trip boats, day hire and rowing boats these too may one day disappear from our river. So why not take to the water this summer and enjoy by boat London’s most glorious asset – The River Thames

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