email.www.merseaislanders.co.uk

Ron and Wendy Green  Pond House  Mersea Island

www.merseaislanders.co.uk

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WENDY’S DIARY Updated 14th March 2013

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Mersea Islanders
Ron and Wendy Greens
web site

Mermaid of Mersea launch May 2012

‘Mermaid’ moored near

Dabchicks Sailing Club

17th October 2012

Thames Sailing Barges at Mersea

UNION and EBENEEZER

appear to have been the only two sailing barges owned at Mersea

UNION   - From the Colchester registry of 1824 – 1825

Union -  24 tons

Built Limehouse 1806

registered at Colchester 1807

Owned by a ‘Mersey Merchant’

EBERNEEZER

Built Reading 1807

Registered at Colchester 1812

Owned by  S Overall  ( Steven Overall would have been 29 at the time)

Master - J Lee

The barge was out of register by 1824

The 1841 census for West Mersea lists Steven Overall as a merchant aged 58 living at Strood House with 25 year old Steven  (his son?) listed as a mariner

Next door lived Daniel Halls also a merchant, and Stephen Gasson also a mariner aged 20

In 1851 Halls is listed as a Merchant and Ship owner aged 55 and Stephen Overall as a

coal merchant

It would seem that local coal supplies were brought in to The Strood, which would be a more central point to serve Peldon and East and West Mersea

By 1861, Henry May was a merchant living at Stone House by West Mersea hard

He had a coal yard about  where Coast Inn now stands.

Halls and Overall were still in business at The Strood

By 1871 Henry Murrell had taken over at the Strood. The Murrells were a barge owning family who also kept the White Hart at Virley where they had a coal yard

By 1881 George Cooke had started a coal yard by West Mersea Hard, which was later taken over by his son Munson. This business carried on until the 1950’s. Cooke had coal delivered to the hard by barge until the outbreak of WW2

During September 1908, the barge Chieftain broke off from her usual work down channel, to bring a freight to Mersea from Hull which was almost certainly coal for Cooke. Her master at the time was Mersea born Jonah Smith who’s home was on the barge. This postcard shows the Brightlingsea owned ketch barge Britannic on the hard c1910 with coal

 Also up to that time Clifford White the local builder and merchant  had  been having materials delivered to the Hard by barge. In the mid 1920’s when he built the 12 council houses in Barfield Road, much of  the material was delivered by barge and these postcards show barges  with bricks, timber and cement for Clifford White

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              Barges were still trading regularly to the Strood. In March 1923 the Delce delivered  shingle loaded at Orford and Veronica brought in tarmac c1930.  Ragstone from Kent was  coming in regularly for making up the sea walls up to 1946

               Over the years, up to about 1930, much of the local farm produce including hay was taken away by barge. The ‘Stackies’ as the hay barges were known, made a fine sight with hay stacked up some 12 of 14 feet high above deck with a man perched on top to  direct the helmsman through a very busy London River often returning with manure for the  fields  

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Ketch Barge ‘Britannic’  of London

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Three Barges unloading building materials on West Mersea Hard for local builder Clifford White

Watercolour of Stackie Barge  by RAG May 2006

Sailing Barges at Mersea circa 1926

(left)    Russell of Rochester unloads bricks into Clifford White’s cart

(centre)  Golden Fleece of Colchester is loaded with timber

(right)  The third unidentified Barge

carries cement

Note:   Clifford White’s K Carrier lorry stands to the right of picture

The barge ‘Gwynhelen’

Unloads coal for Munson Cooke on the Hard West Mersea

Veronica discharges tarmac at the Strood

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Some of Ron’s watercolours

KC and Gwynhelen

Bradwell Quay 1905

Bradwell Quay 1915