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All Aboard the Edith May
The evening of March 18th 2011 found thirty members of the Lynsted with Kingsdown Society in an unusual venue for their latest event. They had been Invited on board a Thames Sailing Barge at Lower Halstow by owner Geoffrey Gransden to hear about the history of the Thames Sailing Barges and, in particular, the renovation of the Edith May.
On descending into the former cargo hold we were served a hot, tasty supper cooked in the galley by Geoffrey's wife, Jane, before being treated to a highly informative, illustrated talk by the owner. The 'Edith May' was originally built in 1906 in Harwich and was a brick carrying barge, working for the Eastwood Brick Company. She would have taken a full load of 40,000 up to London and then returned with a load of ash which was then used to make more bricks. We were also told about the popular barge races which had started in the mid nineteenth century. A lot of money could be made on these races and so the owners adapted they barges by increasing the length of their masts more and more so that larger sails could be used to catch more wind and hence move faster. Veronica and Sirdar were two of the fastest barges and the Veronica could reach up to 14 knots when racing under full sail. Because of the increased risks being taken and the bitter rivalry it provoked this type of professional racing ended in 1963 by mutual consent of the owners. Most of the racing barges were subsequently sold off as houseboats. However, in 1965 this popular sport was restarted, but only on an amateur basis, and still thrives today providing a wonderful spectacle in the Estuary. Incidentally, the Edith May hopes to be among the barges racing later this year.
Geoffrey told us about his lifelong obsession with barges and oyster smacks. As a boy he said he had felt privileged to see the Sirdar racing and had always wanted to be involved with barges when he grew up. In 1999 he chanced to come across the Edith May in a very sorry state at Upnor and, against advice from his father, he knew he had to buy her. So, in November 1999, he brought the barge into Lower Halstow, and raised her up on four barge blocks ready for renovation. She was, indeed, in very poor condition and so thus started ten years of extremely hard work in which the Edith May was re-framed and then re-rigged. We were shown many pictures of the barge as she went through her various stages of reconstruction and as we sat in the barge we could see, at first hand, the incredible transformation that had taken place. Finally in May 2010 a new lee board was added and the flag raised on the present Edith May. She is now officially chartered for sailing in in the summer months and can take up to twelve passengers per trip up the estuary. (For more details see the web site, www.edithmaybargecharter.co.uk). However, you can also go aboard the barge in the winter when, from Friday to Sunday, Jane and friends serve light lunches and cream teas (location map). Photograph albums are on also on show so that you can follow for yourselves the rebirth of the Edith May.
We all had a wonderful evening and thank Geoffrey for letting us experience at first hand a small piece of Kentish history. I would certainly like to take a trip out on the Edith May at some time and will look, with new eyes, on these picturesque boats now that I know something of their background. Their working days may be long gone but I hope that they will be seen gracefully sailing along the North Kent coastline for may years to come.
Norma Baxter
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