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The magazine of the Ipswich Branch of the Inland Waterways Association
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1
ANGLIANANGLIAN
CUTTINGSCUTTINGS
Ipswich Branch Newsletter
Autumn 2013 No. 126
The IWA may not agree with the opinions expressed in this publication. They are, however, published as
a matter of interest to our members and readers. Nothing printed can be construed as policy or an official announcement unless stated.
The IWA accepts no liability for any matter in this publication.
SUMMER REFLECTIONSSUMMER REFLECTIONSSUMMER REFLECTIONS
2
YOUR COMMITTEE
Chairman -
Chard Wadley
Secretary & Anglia Cuttings Editor -
Charles Stride
Treasurer
Spencer Greystrong
Membership
Clive Saville
Publicity
Brian Holt
Social Secretary
Diana Holt
River Gipping Trust
Lewis Tyler
Pickerel Project/River Stour Trust Brian Cornell
Officer
Gerry Crease
***************************
IWA Ipswich - http://www.waterways.org.uk/ipswich
IWA IPSWICH BRANCH
3
C H STRIDE
Well Summer did come and stayed with
most of us and I am hoping that it will
continue for the next few weeks as we
are off to try out the Leicester Ring later
this month. We last did that ring 18
years ago in 1995; although did plan it
last year only to be stopped initially by
closures due to lack of water, then
closures due to too much water!
Keeping fingers crossed.
Thank you again to all those who have
provided articles and photographs for
this edition, a bumper one as we have
EDITOR’S
PONDERINGS
had to increase by four pages this time.
Again we cover a range of items from
right across our Branch area as well as
further afield.
You will also find on the back page
advance notice of our AGM and I make
no apologies for repeating the article on
page 6 regarding the future of this
Branch. The AGM will be the
opportunity to come forward to join the
Committee to ensure that the Branch
goes forward beyond our 40th
Anniversary celebrations taking place
It really was Summer .
MORE SUMMER REFLECTIONSMORE SUMMER REFLECTIONSMORE SUMMER REFLECTIONS
4
CHAIRMAN’S JOTTINGS
At the end of May into June, Carolyn
and I spent three weeks in the USA with
Pauline and Charles Stride. We travelled
from Washington DC up to Gettysburg
to the site of the Civil War then through
the Blue Ridge Mountains down to
Nashville and Memphis. In Nashville
we were lucky enough to attend a show
at the Grand Ole Opry and in Memphis
we visited Graceland, the home of Elvis
Presley. This was certainly something
different to our boating holidays.
In July, Jan Roden, the President of the
Australian Canal Society, came over for
the ‘Gathering of the Friends of the
ACS’ which was held, as usual, at The
Blue Lias, Stockton. The weekend was
very hot with temperatures up in the 30s
which was perfect weather for sitting in
the beer garden at the end of the day by
the canal. From the Friday, members of
the ACS gradually arrived in their
narrow boats and by the Sunday we had
9 boats moored outside the Blue Lias.
At the gathering on the Sunday we had
45 people in attendance and the staff of
the Blue Lias did us proud serving full
roast dinners and desserts. During the
afternoon we had three speakers showing
slides, one being our own Spencer
Greystrong giving a talk on the River
Gipping. Everyone had a great time and
said how much they enjoyed the talk
given by Spencer. After those who
arrived by car said their goodbyes, those
of us on boats spent a pleasant evening
sitting under the trees where one of our
members, Phil, ran a quiz after dividing
At last we have had a brilliant summer and I hope you have all been able to take
advantage of the sunshine whilst boating or enjoying other activities.
5
MEMBERSHIP
UPDATE
( Editors Note: Yes the photo above is your very own Courageous Membership
Officer, cleaning down after he had dived into the canal to save a young sheep that
had fallen in. A passing hireboat pointed out the problem without stopping to
help!! We are not sure whether DEFRA will make an award, but a ‘Rewarding
Beer’ will always be welcomed from any Member next time you meet him.)
We gladly welcome all our new members
From Norfolk: Mr. M B Jones; Mr. & Mrs. J & J Pickett.
From Suffolk: Mr. M Pont and Family.
From Essex: Mr. M & Mrs. S Key; Mr. K Nash
Clive Saville
us up into 4 teams; this made an
enjoyable end to the weekend.
40TH
ANNIVERSARY Progress is well underway for our 40th
Anniversary Celebrations with the coach
trip in September 2014 being very well
supported. Just to remind you that we
will not be holding the usual annual
dinner in March 2014.
As you would have read in the last
Anglian Cuttings a lunch will now be
held on the 4th October 2014 at the
Cedars Hotel in Stowmarket as part of
the Celebrations.
Please keep the date free as I will be
taking names of those who wish to
attend at our forthcoming winter
meetings. More information will be in
the next Anglian Cuttings if you are not
able to attend these meetings.
Bye for now.
Chard Wadley
6
IPSWICH BRANCH
It is thirty nine years since Ipswich Branch was founded and next year we will
be celebrating our 40th Anniversary with two events to mark the occasion,
details elsewhere in this edition of Anglian Cuttings.
During this time the Branch has been very successful in looking after and
representing the IWA’s interests in the area. In particular it has, through its
many volunteer members past and present, done much practical work in the
maintenance and restoration of the River Gipping, Stowmarket Navigation, as
well as supporting other waterways in North Essex, Suffolk and more recently
Norfolk. In order for the Gipping restoration work to continue and, in
particular to allow a wider access to funds and donations, it was necessary to
set up a separate Trust to further this work, The River Gipping Trust is now
well established and is actively taking the restoration work forward.
There is still a major role for the Branch in supporting the River Gipping
Trust, and other River Trusts in the area, many of which are regularly
reported on in Anglian Cuttings, representing the IWA, protecting Waterway
interests, and providing contact and social events with our large and
widespread membership. To this end our winter social meetings continue to
have a good turnout with a range of interesting speakers, and our almost annual
outings are nearly always fully subscribed.
To run the Branch and these activities it does need input from a number of
willing Committee Members. Most of your present Committee have been in
place for an extended number of years, our Chairman is one of the longest
serving in the IWA with over 20 years in that position. Recent appeals at our
AGM’s for new members have not brought forward any volunteers, and the
recent letter sent out to all Branch Members did not bring any positive
response.
The present Committee meets about 6 times a year, usually over lunch, and
there is of course some background work and arrangements to make for any
events.
The present Committee is dedicated to marking the 40th Anniversary next year,
but after that many of them wish to pass on the baton to fresh minds and input.
It is essential therefore that new volunteer Committee Members come forward
over the next 12 months, or else it is probable that the Branch will have to close
and all the local activities will have to cease.
PLEASE CONSIDER SUPPORTING THE CONTINUATION OF YOUR
BRANCH
7
summer months. Since taking full re-
sponsibility the BA now patrol 12
months a year and require a vessel suita-
ble for the task. Short river
trips were offered to those attending.
Also moored at the yard was the BA's
new mud wherry. Unlike the patrol
boat this was not built locally but con-
structed in Ireland. One of its
features is a demountable wheel house
for passing under bridges in times
of high water levels.
Brian Holt
Full details of the Broads Authority
and their activities can be found on
their website at:
http://www.broads-authority.gov.uk/
index.html
By holding the meeting there the BA
were also able to show off their new
workshop and offices, as for the past
few years the team have been working
out of a Portacabin in the yard.
After an introduction by the BA Chair-
man, Dr Stephen Johnson, Chief
Executive Dr John Packman gave a
presentation on what the BA had
achieved over the past year and what its
plans were for the future. This was fol-
lowed by a more detailed presentation of
the work ongoing on the River Chet
with regard to flood defences and dredg-
ing. Before the meeting closed Dr
Johnson took questions from the floor.
The meeting was well attended with the
room full to capacity for the
first session.
Also on display was the BA’s new
Breydon patrol boat, the "Spirit of
Breydon" In the past the BA have only
patrolled Breydon Water in the
On Saturday 29th June the Broads Authority (BA) held their annual public
meeting. This year the venue was their new workshop at Griffin Lane, Thorpe.
8
The major item to report since the last
edition of Anglian Cuttings was the
Annual General Meeting of the Trust
which was held at the Needham
Market Community Centre on 13th
June 2013. This was reasonably well
attended and the statutory items were
disposed of in an exemplary manner by
our Chairman, Brian Annis to the extent
that the AGM was all over in the space
of five minutes! Charles Stride, Colin
Turner and Lewis Tyler were re-elected
as Directors, the Chairman’s. Secretary’s
and Treasurer’s Reports were passed and
it was noted that there were currently
107 members in the Trust.
This left the floor open for our principal
guest – Dr Charles Beardall, Area
Manager Eastern Area, Environment
Agency, Anglian Region – his topic was
the Water Frameworks Directive which,
on his own admission, did not sound a
particularly interesting subject! However
a wealth of information was forthcoming
from which the audience were able to
appreciate the various duties vested on
the EA and how they were implementing
them.
The current co-operation between the
EA and the RGT was welcomed on both
sides – we look forward to this
continuing into the future.
One matter that is causing concern is the
current condition of the Towpath – this
ultimately is the responsibility of Suffolk
County Council and we are investigating
how the very overgrown state can be
improved. Lewis Tyler
RESTORATION
REPORT
Sluice Gates in Place at
Baylham This summer has seen the conclusion
of one long standing project and
much progress on our current
scheme at Pipps Ford.
The installation of the new sluice gates
at Baylham had been on hold for sever-
al months as we needed to install a cof-
fer dam to work safely. Our discussions
with the supplier had been frustrating,
with offers of assistance that never
came to fruition. However the relative-
ly good weather over the summer came
to our aid, and with water levels in the
main channel of the Gipping holding
low and steady, the team spotted an op-
portunity in early August when we
could install the gates safely, without
having to resort to the use of a dam.
After a couple of weeks of preliminary
work by a small team clearing out the
last of the old decayed woodwork and
setting up the site, a concerted effort by
those who weren’t on holiday at the
time saw the new timbers slotted into
place and the new structure completed
in just a couple of visits. It is a tribute to
the design and the workmanship of the
sluice ,and the organisation on site, that
even after being stored in our shed for
several months, the timbers were safely
moved into position and fitted perfectly
first time. The new sluice looks superb
and I’m sure will serve its purpose for
another 200 years!
9
This phase of our work at Baylham is
now complete, and we will be talking to
the landowner soon about our future
involvement in the area around the old
mill.
Away from Baylham much progress has
been made on our other project at Pipps
Ford. We are well on the way to complet-
ing the new abutment walls for the new
footbridge, with just the last couple of
courses of brickwork to finish off and
backfill. We have been delayed a little in
our wider plan here, as the Environment
Agency have asked for a professional
geo-morphological design for the re-
instated river channel. This is to ensure
that our solution complies with the Euro-
pean Water Framework Directive and
enhances the overall quality of the water
course. We are currently researching
suitable consultants, and hope the IWA
may be able to assist.
In the meantime we are continuing to
work on preparation for the footbridge,
and we have been informed that the tim-
ber for the bridge itself will be cut and
ready for fabrication at the start of Octo-
ber.
Our workparties continue every Wednes-
day and first Saturday of each month,
meeting on site at Pipps Ford
Martin Bird
For photographs of how it was done
See over
10
11
12
John Constable Lighter Passenger Services
The John Constable is now available for private charters and as a
‘floating classroom’ for educational visits; subject to existing
bookings and commitments. The Lighter operates between Sudbury,
Great Cornard and Great Henny. There are a range of trips you can
enjoy, such as: Return cruise to Great Henny where passengers can
disembark to enjoy a meal at The Henny Swan; A visit to our
Visitor Education Centre to enjoy a picnic by the river; River trip
with tea and cake at The Granary Tea Room; River trips for guests attending
functions at RST venues or The Henny Swan.
The River Stour Trust also owns and operates four more boats, Stour Trusty II,
Rosette, Francis J and Kathleen.
ALL ENQUIRIES/BOOKINGS: 01787 313199 www.riverstourtrust.org
River Stour Trust Restoring and conserving the River Stour Navigation
Just one of the River Stour Trust’s Annu-
al Summer Events. The Pirates invaded
on Bank Holiday Monday 26th August,
those under 12 going free with Grown
Up’s paying towards the on-going resto-
ration and conservation of the river, For
More information on past and future
events see their website:
http://www.riverstourtrust.org
PIRATES ON THE STOUR!
13
Earsham Study Centre Opening 19th October
By
Grif Rhys Jones
(For Trust Members So why not join now?)
We are absolutely delighted that Griff Rhys Jones has kindly accepted our invitation to
open the Study Centre at Earsham Open Day starting at 10.00. The event will be by
RSVP for members only and some invited guests, so do please click the RSVP button
to let us know that you would like to come.
We will send out a more complete programme for the day in about 3 weeks time but the
main attractions will be:
An Open Day at the River Waveney Study Centre with river walks, displays, infor-
mation about our courses and projects, chances to offer help as a volunteer and more.
The tearoom will be in full swing.
A "Paddle with Griff" in the afternoon which will be by invitation and simple registra-
tion for all our canoeist members
A formal (short!) opening ceremony by Griff
An evening lecture at Diss Corn Hall at 8 p.m. by Griff - working title "3 rivers and a
man" when Griff will entertain us from his great experience of sailing, canoeing and
other watery exploits. Tickets will be £10/£8 concessions and all the proceeds will be
shared between RWT and Diss Corn Hall (Griff is generously donating his time with no
charge to us).
We know this is going to be a great day and hope as many members as possible can
make it to support us, find out more about the Trusts's work and meet with many other
like minded lovers of the Waveney.
Go to our website www . riverwaveneytrust . org and log on using the email and pass-
word you used to become a member. You can then find the event on the calendar (19
October) and a page with the brief details and an RSVP button to use.
14
From ancient times rivers have been
used to transport cargoes. On the small
river Stour horse-drawn wooden lighters
like the John Constable were built to
carry cargo, where their shallow draft
and dimensions were tailored to suit
their working environment. Along with
carrying everyday goods for the towns
and villages along the river they
transported the unwanted manure from
London to be spread on the fields, with
bricks produced in Sudbury being a
major outgoing cargo.
Similarly, in Australia, large quantities
of wool produced around the Murray
River area was collected from the
producing stations by boat, to be
transported by water to Echuca Wharf
where it was tranferred to the railway to
travel to Melbourne for export. One such
boat is the paddle steamer Pevensey,
which was built to carry bulky bales of
wool over long distances on the large
Murray river, with a shallow draft
allowing it to access the producers’
wharves. It was made of iron and timber
as a barge 112ft long x 23ft wide in 1910
and converted into a paddle steamer in
1911 with an English-built 20hp 2
cylinder Marshalls steam engine running
on fuel available locally – 1 ton of red
gum wood per hour when it is fully
loaded with 120 tons of cargo. The wool
was loaded into the hold and piled on
deck up to the height of the wheelhouse,
in the same way as cargo had been
carried for many years on barges in
England. It carried 815 bales, increased
to 2000 bales by towing barges behind.
A pair of Stour lighters carried 26 tons.
When the river trade ended Pevensey
was not holed and sunk like the John
Constable, but was tied up until it was
restored in 1973 in Echuca, now a centre
for these paddle steamers. From here it
operates tourist trips from the old, multi-
level wooden wharf. On the day of our
visit at the end of their summer the water
level was low (as can be seen in this
Talking of cargo
boats .........
This summer crews have begun learning to work the Stour lighter, John Consta-
ble, on the Sudbury – Henny run. After crewing the 21ft Frolics, Rosette and
Kathleen, and pontoon boat, Francis J Batten, JC feels huge at 45ft long x 10ft 6”
wide, completely filling Cornard Lock and needing great care to get it round the
sharp bends along the river. With electric motors our task is easier than the old
boatmen’s, who needed to train their horses to jump onto the foredeck to be
quanted across the river whenever the towing path changed sides.
15
picture of P.S. Adelaide) so we embarked
from the lowest level of the wooden
wharf structure. Incredibly, the river can
rise to the top of the wharf in wet times -
easily explained as the catchment area
for the Murray River is one seventh of
the area of Australia.
We sat on token bales of wool on deck
for the trip, during which the skipper put
the bow into the bank to pick up more
passengers and turn, then concentrated
once more on the small, high-speed
boats darting around us on the relatively
small area of water
Long may both P.S. Pevensey and the
John Constable delight and educate
tourists about a past way of life.
Susan Brown
***************************************************************************************
RESTORATION REQUIRED —BUT WHERE?
Chairman will award a prize to the
first correct answer drawn out of his
hat at the October Branch Meeting. meeting.
16
The Denver Sluice Complex
In 1947 a massive flood
devastated East Anglia with over
600,000 acres under water, the worst
flood ever recorded. After the
floodwaters had receded it was decided
to put the second part of Vermuyden’s
plan into action at a cost of £10.5
million, that would be £130 million
today.
The Ely Ouse was widened and
deepened from Denver through Ely to the
junction of the River Cam known as
Popes Corner, this improved the water
flow all the way from the Cam to
Denver and reduced flooding at higher
flow rates. In addition to this a channel,
known as The Relief Channel was dug
from the Ely Ouse at Denver to join the
tidal Gt. Ouse just above Kings Lynn at
Saddlebow.
The purpose of this channel
was to drain the Ely Ouse and its
tributaries directly to the sea when levels
in the Gt Ouse below Denver Sluice
prevented discharge. This Channel is
10.5 Miles long and runs parallel to the
Gt. Ouse. It has a sluice connecting it to
the Ely Ouse at Denver with 3 X 30ft.
gates, which is know as the Head Sluice
or the AG Wright Sluice.
When fully open this sluice can pass
about 15 million litres of water per
second. At Saddlebow there is another
sluice, this one is larger with 7 X 30ft.
gates and is known as The Tail Sluice.
THE
DENVER SLUICE PART TWO
In the last edition of Anglian Cuttings you will recall that in April I visited the Denver Sluice Complex with the Gt. Ouse branch of IWA and I described the complex from its conception to 1947.
17
Again the land between the Relief
Channel and the river can be flooded to
store excess floodwater if the tide at
Kings Lynn is too great for it to
discharge out to sea.
The relief Channel was
designed so that in times of serious flood
risk it would be possible to breach its
banks at predetermined points to allow
the water to flow onto the flood plains
between the two waterways faster. This
was originally by using explosives set
into the breach points, later superseded
by dragline. How it would happen today
is not known.
The second part of
Vermuyden’s delayed plan was to
excavate what is known as The Cut Off
Channel. This takes waters direct from
the head waters of three of the tributaries
of the Ely Ouse down to the relief
channel so bypassing the Ely Ouse to
reduce the flow in it and the risk of
flooding.
The Cut Off Channel starts
where it connects to the River Lark near
Barton Mills via a sluice, from here it
runs northwards in a large semicircle
passing under both the river Little Ouse
and the Wissey before joining the relief
channel. Where it passes under both the
Little Ouse and the Wissey it is
connected to the rivers by a sluice.
Also at this point there is a
second sluice in the river, so in theory at
times of flood it is possible to close the
sluices in the rivers so stopping all flow
from them to the Ely Ouse and open the
sluices to the Cut Off channel, so that all
the flow from the three rivers can flow
straight into the Relief Channel.
Brian Holt
Part Three to follow.
*********************************************************************
IPSWICH
BRANCH
BOATS
SUMMER
MEMORIES
18
OBITUARY
Doreen Ruff
Sadly I am writing to say that Doreen Ruff passed away on 27 April 2013 aged 91
after a short illness. Doreen joined the committee of the Ipswich Branch in 1978
starting as the River Gipping Representative and then moved on to Sales Repre-
sentative, a position she held for many years. Many of you may remember our
branch meetings when Doreen would set up a table with the IWA stock for us to
purchase such items as books, maps, pens, etc. In June 1996 Doreen, with her
friend Rosemary, took part in the Jubilee Journey celebrating the 50th Anniver-
sary of the IWA. This entailed taking the Ipswich Branch section of the jigsaw
on their narrow boat ‘Reeve’ for the last part of its journey from Kegworth to
Birmingham where it was put in place as part of a map of the waterways.
Brian Cornell, Carolyn and I attended Doreen’s funeral as friends and represent-
atives of the branch.
Chard Wadley
19
DATES
for your
DIARY
BRANCH MEETINGS & EVENTS 2013/2014
Branch Meetings held at the Community Centre, School St., Needham Market
At 7.30, unless otherwise stated.
FRIDAY 11TH OCTOBER
Talk by Peter Minter. Bulmer Brick & Tile Company
FRIDAY 8TH NOVEMBER
Talk by Brian Dyes, Ipswich Transport Museum
‘Made in Britain’
FRIDAY 13TH DECEMBER
Presentation by Geoff Doggett—Chairman River Waveney Trust
FRIDAY 10TH JANUARY 2014
Members Evening or Speaker tbc
FRIDAY 14TH FEBRUARY
AGM
FRIDAY 14TH MARCH
Speaker or Members Evening tbc
FRIDAY 5TH SEPTMBER 2014—SUNDAY 7TH SEPTEMBER 2014
Branch 40th Anniversary Outing
SATURDAY 4TH OCTOBER 2014
Branch 40th Anniversary Luncheon—Stowmarket
Details to come.
1st
2nd
WORKING PARTY DATES Working Parties are held by the River Gipping Trust from 0900 to 1700
every Wednesday and on the first Saturday of each month, unless that
Saturday is a Bank Holiday in which case it will then be held on the second
Saturday of that month.
For further information and to confirm dates contact Martin Bird
Tel: 01394 380765 Email: [email protected]
20
USEFUL WEBSITES
IWA Head Office - http://www.waterways.org.uk
Waterway Recovery Group - http://www.wrg.org.uk
River Gipping Trust - http://rivergippingtrust.org.uk River Stour Trust - http://www.riverstourtrust.org
East Anglian Waterways Association –http://www.eawa.co.uk
Aylsham Navigation - http://aylsham-navigation.norfolkparishes.gov.uk River Waveney Association -http://groupspaces.com/RiverWaveneyTrust/pages/our-aims
IWA Peterborough Branch - http://www.iwapeterborough.org.uk
The Broads Society - http://www.broads-society.org.uk
The Australian Canal Society - http://www.auscanal.org.au/
The Canal & River Trust - http://canalrivertrust.org.uk/
DEFRA Dept. for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs - http://www.defra.gov.uk
The Inland Waterways Association is a non-profit distribution company limited by guarantee.
Registered Office; Island House, Moor Road, Chesham, Buckinghamshire. HP5 1WA Tel: 01494 783453 Web: www.waterways.org.uk
Registered in England No. 612245. Registered as a Charity No. 212342
40TH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
Notice is hereby given that the
AGM of the Ipswich Branch of the Inland Waterways
Association
will be held at the Needham Market Community Centre,
School Street, Needham Market at
7.30pm on Friday 7th February, 2014
AGENDA
1) Apologies for absence
2) Approval of the 2013 AGM Minutes
3) Matters arising from those minutes
4) Chairman’s report
5) Treasurer’s report and presentation of accounts
6) Adoption of the accounts
7) Election of Committee members
