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Cadbury: Canal Boat History

Heartland said:
The canal through Knowle was originally owned, and built for, the Warwick & Birmingham Canal Company.

North of Knowle was Copt Heath Wharf, bridge 76, Kixley Bridge 72 had a wharf, Knowle Top Lock had a wharf. there was a wharf, Heronfield, at bridge 70. The carriage of coal was important, but these wharves also had a use for the local agricultural community. The conveyance of night soil was once an important cargo in boats from Birmingham. Sea weed had use as a fertilizer and it would be of interest to find out if this was the reason for transport to Knowle.
Click to expand...

No evidence has been produced to show that seaweed was transported to Knowle. Although seaweed is used in all coastal areas, why would it be transported so far inland ?

A report in 1862...
“In England generally seaweed is little valued by agriculturists as an actual fertilizer, and appears to be regarded as an economical and useful covering to protect turnips and other roots from winter frosts. Farmers object to its bulk and expensive carriage...”
 
Re-
No evidence has been produced to show that seaweed was transported to Knowle. Although seaweed is used in all coastal areas, why would it be transported so far inland ?

As the original thread made a speculation in this regard, it was simply a question. But looking at the nature of the Birmingham Natural History talks, any reference to Knowle, Solihull on and Stourbridge Canal at the July 1868 meeting seems to be confined to invertebrates and plant life.

I do recall seeing a report once that talked about seaweed on coastal locations and the carriage of seaweed is mentioned in Canals of South West England along the Liskeard & Caradon Canal before closure.

Farmers did often prefer the manures such as guano, which was imported, or artificial manures once chemical manufacturers started production.
 
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Regarding the Nick Sanders trip to Bournville. OK this may seem a bit late, but i and my colleague Don, actually unloaded these Cocoa beans at Bournville. We were the last of the "handballers" of unloading. We were filmed unloading the sacks, and had a great chat with Nick. It was a lovely sunny afternoon, and Cadburys paid for one woman employee to have her hair done in early century style with the appropriate early type of overalls. She was also filmed, and it was a great historic occassion. I still have my old unloading hook that i used that day, but sadly my colleague and friend Don has long gone. R.I.P. Mate.
 
0AA49900-8483-4D41-8BE6-4C555BF2706A.jpeg

Canals and waterways by Ware, Michael E Publication date 1987.

“Cadburys was a firm that used the waterways for the transport of raw and processed materials.
This picture postcard issued by Cadburys depicts two horse-drawn boats on the Shropshire Union Canal in the 1920s, having collected milk from canalside farmers for use by the Cadbury factory at Knighton, Staffordshire. They also carried processed materials between Knighton Bournville, and between Frampton on Severn, Gloucestershire, and Bournville.
There was also long-distance traffic from Birmingham to London and Liverpool. At the height of trading the Cadburys fleet numbered seventeen, and their colours were chocolate and maroon…”
 
Pedrocut said:
View attachment 176673

Canals and waterways by Ware, Michael E Publication date 1987.

“Cadburys was a firm that used the waterways for the transport of raw and processed materials.
This picture postcard issued by Cadburys depicts two horse-drawn boats on the Shropshire Union Canal in the 1920s, having collected milk from canalside farmers for use by the Cadbury factory at Knighton, Staffordshire. They also carried processed materials between Knighton Bournville, and between Frampton on Severn, Gloucestershire, and Bournville.
There was also long-distance traffic from Birmingham to London and Liverpool. At the height of trading the Cadburys fleet numbered seventeen, and their colours were chocolate and maroon…”
Click to expand...
Cadbury premises at Frampton
 

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“This unlikely looking vessel, Bournville 1 was built for Cadbury's in 1911 and it has a special place in canal history as the very first narrow boat to be fitted with the Swedish Bolinder diesel engine (Cadbury Schweppes)”

Canals and waterways by Ware, Michael E Publication date 1987.
 
As can be seen in post 3 on this thread, the engine was later transferred to Bournville 3.
 
the (now defunct) Cadbury’s Chocolate Factory wharf, the Knighton Wharf.


The last narrowboat carrying a commercial load of chocolate crumb bound for Cadbury’s Bourneville Factory left this wharf in nineteen sixty-one
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Author, photographer, narrowboater, Englishman.
 
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