Dapdune Wharf facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Dapdune Wharf |
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Steam launches at Dapdune Wharf
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| Type | Wharf and boat-builders yard |
| Location | Wharf Road, Guildford |
| Area | Surrey |
| Owner | National Trust |
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Dapdune Wharf is a cool historical place in Guildford, England. It used to be a very busy boatyard and a place where goods were loaded onto boats. Today, the National Trust takes care of it.
Long ago, Dapdune Wharf was a key spot for moving goods. Things like wood from Surrey forests and even gunpowder were loaded here. Guildford officials didn't want gunpowder going through the town! In the early 1900s, Dapdune Wharf became famous for building special boats called barges for the Wey and Godalming Navigations.
Now, you can start boat trips from Dapdune Wharf. The Visitor Centre has fun, interactive displays. You can also see a smithy (a place where metal is shaped) and a stable. Two of the last three Wey barges in the world are here. One is the Reliance, which is damaged and sits in a dry dock. The other is Perseverance IV, which floats but needs fixing. The National Trust tried to restore it in 2010.
Dapdune Wharf is also the main office for the Navigation. The National Trust has volunteers who research and share information about the Wey and Godalming Navigations. This helps to keep British history alive.
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What to See at Dapdune Wharf
Dapdune Wharf has about twelve buildings. Most of these buildings were used to build and fix barges. They also stored all the materials needed for the boats.
You can find a smithy, where metal parts were made. There's also a shed for repairing barges, right by a small cut from the river. Another building was the carpenters' shed, which used to be a sail loft. At the north end of the site is the main barge building shed.
There was also a dry dock, called a graving dock. This was for barges that needed repairs below the waterline. Special winches, called capstans, helped move the barges.
Two older buildings were used as stores. One held gunpowder, and the other stored carbide, which was used for lamps. There were also special buildings like the steam chest, used to bend wood for boat parts. The tar chest was for caulking, which made the boats watertight.
Two cottages are also on the wharf. One, renovated in 1894 for the Edwards family, is a Grade II listed building. This means it's an important historical building. The other cottage, Dapdune Lea, was built for Mary Jane Stevens. Her brother, John, later added a balcony to watch cricket! Today, Dapdune Lea is the National Trust's office for the navigations.
Building Barges at Dapdune
The Wey Navigation opened in 1653. Boats quickly became very busy on the river. In its first year, the owners earned £800 from tolls. This quickly grew to £15,000 each year! One reason for this growth was the many mills built along the Wey. Also, other ways of transport were very slow. One of the biggest mills was at Coxes Lock, near Addlestone.
In the early days, local landowners and business people owned the Navigation. Sir Richard Weston first thought of making the Wey river easy to travel on. By 1723, the Langton family and the Earl of Portmore owned the Navigation.
Two families were very important in river transport and barge building on the Wey: the Stevens and the Edwards families.
The Stevens Family's Role
For 150 years, the Stevens family helped the Wey Navigation grow. They started as simple lock keepers. Then, they became owners and managers of a big transport business. Four generations of the family worked with the Navigation.
- William Stevens (1777–1856)
William was a trained carpenter. He moved to the Wey in 1812 to be a lock keeper at Trigg's Lock. In 1820, his family moved to Thames Lock. Thames Lock was the main entry point to the Navigation. This meant William had more duties than other lock keepers. One of his jobs was to figure out how much barge owners owed in tolls. This is likely where William learned about the business side of the Navigation.
- William Stevens II (1810–1890)
William II was born on the river. He followed his father into the business. Under him, the family started building and running their own barges from 1840. William learned his skills by working as an apprentice in several boatyards. The family moved from Thames Lock to live above the Navigation offices in Guildford. One of their first barges, Perseverance, was built in Guildford in 1840. Many barges had this name, but only Perseverance IV was built at Dapdune.
- William Stevens III (1844–1936)
William III brought the Edwards family to the Navigation. He also started building the Wey barges at Dapdune. William also ran several steam tugs and a towing business on the River Thames. In 1902, the Stevens brothers gained full control and ownership of the Navigation.
- Harry W. Stevens (1887–1970)
Harry was the last family member involved with the Navigations. When he retired in 1964, he gave the Wey Navigation to the National Trust.
The Edwards Family's Role
In 1894, William Stevens asked Edwin Edwards, a barge builder, to move his family to Dapdune. Edwin, his wife, four sons, and several daughters came from the Kennet and Avon Canal. The Stevens family gave Edwin and his family a cottage on the site. Before coming to Guildford, Edwin Edwards worked for a company in Devizes. They built wooden barges for customers in the South-West of England.
Edwin died in 1904 when he was 46. It took five more years before William Stevens III could launch a new barge. In October 1909, he launched his new barge, Dapdune, from the building shed. Edwin's four sons built the barge in their free time. Their main job was to maintain the Navigation, especially the locks. The Dapdune barge was used until 1944.
After 1909, the Edwards brothers continued to build barges for the Stevens family part-time. They completed eleven barges over the next thirty years. Besides their duties on the Navigation, the Edwards brothers also kept the barges in good condition and made any needed repairs.
How a Wey Barge Was Built
The Wey barge design came from older western barges. The first barges made just for the Wey river were probably built at Honey Street Wharf, Devizes. This could have happened as early as 1810. That's when the Kennet and Avon Canal opened all the way to the River Thames.
The main support beams, called ribs, were made from oak wood. There was a special steam chest behind the shed (where the public toilets are now). Wood could be shaped there using steam. However, the Edwards family preferred to find wood that was already naturally curved.
The outside of the hull was covered with pitch pine planks. Pitch pine was used because it was light and came in long pieces. This meant fewer joints were needed. They tried Elm wood, which was more water resistant. But it was heavier, so the barge couldn't carry as much cargo.
Wey barges had flat bottoms and straight sides. This allowed them to travel in shallow water while carrying a good amount of cargo. Once the hull was finished, it was covered in pitch. This made it watertight. The barge was built on tall stands, called trestles. This kept it off the ground and helped with launching.
Only the hull was built inside the shed. When it was ready, the river-facing side of the shed was removed. The barge was then launched sideways into the water. After launching, the barge was towed to an area where pleasure boats are now moored. This is where the rest of the boat was fitted out. This area was also used for repairing barges.
A Wey barge was about 22.5 metres (74 ft) long. Its width was limited to 4.3 metres (14 ft) by the narrowest lock. A barge would have only a few centimetres to spare when going through a lock!
A Wey barge could carry 80 tonnes of cargo from the Thames to Coxes mill. From Coxes going upstream, the capacity dropped to 50 tonnes up to Guildford. It was even less for the journey to Godalming, because the water was shallower.
What Barges Carried
Many different goods were transported along the Navigation. For example:
- Wheat grain or barley from Victoria Docks in London to Coxes mill.
- Gunpowder from Chilworth to Barking or Woolwich.
- Wood pulp from London docks to Woking paper mill.
- Timber (wood) from Guildford to London.
Barges didn't have engines or sails. They were pulled by horses or even people! Sometimes, they were pushed with poles or rowed. Once a Wey barge reached the Thames, tug boats would pull it. The horses rested in stables along the Navigation. The Navigation owned three stables: at Thames Lock, Coxes Mill, and Friary Street. The bargemen paid to use these stables. Local inns along the towpath also had places for horses to rest.
See also
- Canals of the United Kingdom
- History of the British canal system
- Wey barge Perseverance IV
