''Perseverance IV'' is a preserved
Wey barge, moored at
Dapdune Wharf
Dapdune Wharf is a former industrial wharf and boat yard on the Wey and Godalming Navigations in Guildford, England, UK, close to the Surrey County Cricket Club ground. It is now maintained by the National Trust.
Originally a goods transshipme ...
on the
River Wey
The River Wey is a main tributary of the River Thames in south east England. Its two branches, one of which rises near Alton in Hampshire and the other in West Sussex to the south of Haslemere, join at Tilford in Surrey. Once combined the ...
in
Surrey, England. She was the final barge to leave that surviving main boatyard on the river. She did so in 1966 and is on the
National Register of Historic Ships under registration number 2080, outside of the
National Historic Fleet
The National Historic Fleet is a list of historic ships and vessels located in the United Kingdom, under the National Historic Ships register. National Historic Ships UK is an advisory body which advises the Secretary of State for Culture, Media ...
.
History
''Perseverance IV'' was built in 1934 by G J V Edwards and Sons at Dapdune Wharf, Guildford – the tenth of eleven Wey barges made by the company.
The barge was built for the then owners of the
Wey Navigation
The River Wey Navigation and Godalming Navigation together provide a continuous navigable route from the River Thames near Weybridge via Guildford to Godalming (commonly called the Wey Navigation). Both waterways are in Surrey and are owned ...
, William Stevens & Sons, and carried bulk wheat between the
London Docklands and Coxes Lock Mill,
Addlestone
Addlestone ( or ) is a town in Surrey, England. It is located approximately southwest of London. The town is the administrative centre of the Runnymede (borough), Borough of Runnymede, of which it is the largest settlement.
History
The town is ...
.
After more than thirty years working the route, she was rebuilt at Dapdune Wharf from 1964 to 1966.
She then went back into service, before being sold to another owner who used her as a
cable-laying barge on the
Regents Canal
Regent's Canal is a canal across an area just north of central London, England. It provides a link from the Paddington Arm of the Grand Union Canal, north-west of Paddington Basin in the west, to the Limehouse Basin and the River Thames ...
, where she ended her working life in 1982.
In 1982, she came under the ownership of the
Museum of London
The Museum of London is a museum in London, covering the history of the UK's capital city from prehistoric to modern times. It was formed in 1976 by amalgamating collections previously held by the City Corporation at the Guildhall Museum (fou ...
, and was rebuilt further times: in 1986/87 and 1998.
She is one of only three remaining Wey barges in the world, and is the only floating example – the ''Reliance'' is permanently damaged and in a drydock at Dapdune Wharf, whereas ''Speedwell'' is in poor condition at the
National Waterways Museum
The National Waterways Museum (NWM) is in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, England, at the northern end of the Shropshire Union Canal where it meets the Manchester Ship Canal (). The museum's collections and archives focus on the Britain's navigable inl ...
in
Ellesmere Port
Ellesmere Port ( ) is a port town in the Cheshire West and Chester borough in Cheshire, England. Ellesmere Port is on the south eastern edge of the Wirral Peninsula, north of Chester, south of Birkenhead, southwest of Runcorn and south of ...
.
In future, the
National Trust
The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...
hope to use the barge for public boat trips up and down the Navigations.
Unfortunately, due to a lack of annual maintenance, she needs repair, and costs £10,000 per year to maintain.
Consequently, the National Trust launched a 2011 appeal to raise £200,000 for the purchase and £300,000 for years of restoration.
See also
Barges of the Wey Navigation
References
External links
''Perseverance IV'' at the National Register of Historic Ships{{National Historic Ships
1934 ships
Transport in Surrey
Ships and vessels on the National Register of Historic Vessels