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Canal Boats

Thank you for this very interesting information. My husband’s “Lovekin” ancestors were boat builders in the mid-1800s.


Richard Lovekin, born 1780ish Sheriff Hales, Shropshire, buried St Paul's Birmingham 1858. Six of hubby's 3x great grandfather’s children were baptised at St Philips, a job lot on 1 January 1830: he gives 2 addresses at their baptisms, Duddeston Row and Mill Street, occupation - Boat Builder.


His address on his burial record in 1858 is Sherbourne Street. He was 80. His family all lived in the area. I’ve attached a snip from the 1855 White’s directory of Birmingham showing, Richard and sons William (hubby’s 2x great grandfather) and Richard Jnr all boat builders.

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I’m wondering if anyone here can help with what type of boat they would have built or repaired?
 
My guess, , Bewdley, given the location where they lived, would be those for canals. In the past, unlike to day, most people worked within walking distance of home. No buses or trams back then - or cars. ;)
 
bewdley said:
Thank you for this very interesting information. My husband’s “Lovekin” ancestors were boat builders in the mid-1800s.


Richard Lovekin, born 1780ish Sheriff Hales, Shropshire, buried St Paul's Birmingham 1858. Six of hubby's 3x great grandfather’s children were baptised at St Philips, a job lot on 1 January 1830: he gives 2 addresses at their baptisms, Duddeston Row and Mill Street, occupation - Boat Builder.


His address on his burial record in 1858 is Sherbourne Street. He was 80. His family all lived in the area. I’ve attached a snip from the 1855 White’s directory of Birmingham showing, Richard and sons William (hubby’s 2x great grandfather) and Richard Jnr all boat builders.

View attachment 130287



I’m wondering if anyone here can help with what type of boat they would have built or repaired?
Click to expand...

From October 1860...

2C1F88E6-6307-4186-ADF6-12F84DA96E60.jpeg

U
 
Sad news from March 1848...death, after a few days illness, 19 year old Jane Louisa, youngest daughter of Mr Richard Lovekin, boat builder of Morville St.
RIP
 
Pedrocut said:
Sad news from March 1848...death, after a few days illness, 19 year old Jane Louisa, youngest daughter of Mr Richard Lovekin, boat builder of Morville St.
RIP
Click to expand...

Pedrocut. Thank you so much for all the above information. I didn't know of Jane Louisa, her surname had been mistranscribed as Lockin on her baptismal record at St Philips in 1837 on Ancestry. Strangely her dob is 2 April 1829 so I'm surprised she wasn't baptised with the rest of her siblings in 1830. I have corrected her surname now and added her to the family where she belongs: so others should be able to find her easier.

I will try to pin down who exactly the J Lovekin is in your newspaper report, Richard had two sons Joseph b1809 and John b1825. I will do some research into them tomorrow.

Thank you so much again I really appreciate your help.
 
Heartland said:
Canal boats- the common term for the boats on West Midlands Canals is a narrow boat. If it is on the Severn, then used to be called a long boat. Narrow Boats are very prolific on modern waterways, but on Midland waterways of the past, they fall into different categories. The two basic divisions are the open boats and the cabin boats. Open Boats were a basic narrowboat being totally open or a basic shelter or cabin. The cabin boat had accommodation for the boatmen, including a bed and fire. Another set of terms were a stage boat and a fly boat. Both were used by merchandise carriers, the former for all wharf traffic, the later calling a specific wharves, travelling day and night and covering large distances to Manchester, the Potteries and London.

Then there are the specific terms for boats owned by a particular firm, such as Josher and Bantock Boat.

Barges is often referred to as those that were found on wider waterways including rivers and included Keels, Flats, Trent Boats, Trows and Wherries.
Click to expand...
In the current issues of the canal journals Narrow Boat and Waterways World, there is an article on the Wilts and Germs canal and reference to a picture which shows a Severn Longboat.
Bob
 
I have heard of the Wilts & Berks Bob, but not the one in your post? Or is it a boaters nickname for that canal?
 
An advert from September 1901
bewdley said:
Pedrocut. Thank you so much for all the above information. I didn't know of Jane Louisa, her surname had been mistranscribed as Lockin on her baptismal record at St Philips in 1837 on Ancestry. Strangely her dob is 2 April 1829 so I'm surprised she wasn't baptised with the rest of her siblings in 1830. I have corrected her surname now and added her to the family where she belongs: so others should be able to find her easier.

I will try to pin down who exactly the J Lovekin is in your newspaper report, Richard had two sons Joseph b1809 and John b1825. I will do some research into them tomorrow.

Thank you so much again I really appreciate your help.
Click to expand...

1831 Advert An Open Oak Coal Boat in excellent repair, having just come out of Dock. Apply Mr Lovekin, Boat Builder, adjoining New Union Mill.

1841 Sale of Oak Cabin Boat in good condition, apply R. Lovekin, Sherbourne Dock

1869 bancrupcy proceedings for Richard Lovekin.
No mentions until 1894 then advert for Boat, Capital Oak Cabin, Lovekin, Boat Builder, Ladywood.

1901 also 1918 Advert by Joseph Lovekin for steady men. Boat builder, Rotten Park St. (Also one for ICKNIELD Boat Dock)

Note that the adverts are for Canal Boat, and not narrow boat. The specifications being so diverse.
 
Interesting article John, but I wonder where the writer has been for the last thirty years or so. Another press writer re-inventing the wheel in order to justify their job maybe?
 
Radiorails said:
I have heard of the Wilts & Berks Bob, but not the one in your post? Or is it a boaters nickname for that canal?
Click to expand...
No it's the tablet and of course I typed this and was trying to talk to someone at the same time and I did not check it. Now you can see why in another post I did not say salt of the canal, because someone would have said canal are not saltwater. The Germs canal could be, probably where Aquaman lives.
Bob
 
The Birmingham Canal Navigations gave all its bridges names, although some times those names would be changed, other canals gave numbers to their bridges, there were a few that did both.

The Shropshire Union bridges were numbered, CRT in recent years added a W to those bridges on the part from Welsh Frankton to Dee Falls, so that workmen did not end up at the wrong bridge
 
A Narrow Canal Boat...

In #33 Heartland mentions the book "Narrow Boat" by LTC Rolt, published in 1944, and recounting his canal travels starting in 1939. It was originally titled The Painted Ship but changed due to the difficulty in finding a publisher. Rolt is considered as one of the pioneers of the leisure cruising industry, and a founder member of the Inland Waterways Association.
In his appendix Rolt describes "The Boat”: Cressy is a Shropshire Union narrow boat, 70ft in length by 7ft beam, with an average draught of 1 ft 6 inches. Originally a horse-drawn 'fly-boat'.

In his Glossary a fly-boat is described as a horse-boat which, using relays of horses, travelled by day and night. He adds that the term now applies to any type of boat so travelling. For Narrow Boat he says a craft measuring approximately 70ft long by 7ft beam, extensively used throughout the Midland Canal system. Sometimes referred to as a Monkey Boat or a Long Boat.

When he set off on his adventures he took with him Bradshaw's Guide to the Canals and Navigable Rivers, by Rodolph de Salis (1904). This was considered to be the Inland Navigator's Bible.
At the outset de Sallis states that “navigable means navigable for the purposes of trade; waterways that can only be used by rowing boats and for pleasure purposes are not dealt with.”
In his Glossary for MONKEY BOAT he says see Narrow Boat.... NARROW BOAT: A type of boat in extensive use on canals, commonly called "a boat" (see section 9).

In Section 9 he mentions the ordinary "narrow" or "monkey" boats with capacity of about 30 tons being by far the most numerous class of vessel engaged in inland navigation…They are from 70ft to 72ft long by from 6ft 9in to 7ft 2in beam and draw from 8 to 11in of water when empty, loading afterwards to about 1in to 1 ton. He then mentions the modifications of the narrow boat found in Yorkshire, the Shropshire Union.

Taking the previous 150 years of canal history prior to 1900, there are mentions of narrow boats, but are small in number. Looking at sales, accidents and canal improvements etc they are referred to as open boats, cabin boats, and narrow canal boats.
 
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