''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, Hampshire, Alton in Hampshire and the other in West Sussex to the south of Haslemere, join at Tilford in Surrey. Onc ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. 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 b ...

, William Stevens & Sons, and carried bulk wheat between the

London Docklands London Docklands is an area of London encompassing the city’s former docks. It is located in inner east and southeast London, in the boroughs of London Borough of Southwark, Southwark, London Borough of Tower Hamlets, Tower Hamlets, London ...

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. Geography Addlesto ...

. 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 in eas ...

, where she ended her working life in 1982. In 1982, she came under the ownership of the

Museum of London London Museum (known from 1976 to 2024 as the Museum of London) is a museum in London, covering the history of the city from prehistoric to modern times, with a particular focus on social history. The Museum of London was formed in 1976 by ama ...

, 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 a transport museum, at Ellesmere Port in the English county of Cheshire, which concentrates on the history of Britain's navigable inland waterways. Until 2010, the Waterways Trust operated three sites, incl ...

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, on the bank of the Manchester Ship Canal. In the 2021 Unite ...

. In future, the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

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.

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

History

See also

References

External links