is a preserved

spritsail The spritsail is a four-sided, fore-and-aft sail that is supported at its highest points by the mast and a diagonally running spar known as the sprit. The foot of the sail can be stretched by a boom or held loose-footed just by its sheets. A ...

Thames sailing barge A Thames sailing barge is a type of commercial sailing boat once common on the River Thames in London. The flat-bottomed barges, with a shallow draught and leeboards, were perfectly adapted to the Thames Estuary, with its shallow waters and na ...

now used for sail training. She was the last barge to trade entirely under sail, and took her last cargo in 1970. She is now restored and owned and operated by the Cambria Trust, a

registered charity A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, Religion, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definitio ...

under English law. ''Cambria'' is a sister to the spritsail which was lost off the coast of

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

on the evening of 9/10 November 1937. There have been four barges named the Cambria.

History

There have been four barges named the Cambria. *There was this barge, ''Cambria'', Everard's 109 ton, 1906 Greenhithe built barge, 120676, which was registered in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. *The 58 ton ''Cambria'' 068609 was built in 1877 in

Brightlingsea Brightlingsea (, traditionally , , ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the Tendring District, Tendring district of Essex, England. It is situated between Colchester and Clacton-on-Sea, at the mouth of the River Colne, Essex, River Colne, on ...

and registered in

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''. Colchester occupies the ...

. *The

Goldsmith A goldsmith is a Metalworking, metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Modern goldsmiths mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, they have also made cutlery, silverware, platter (dishware), plat ...

barge, ''Cambria'', 110043, was 67 tons, built in

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

in 1899 and registered in London. It was sold to the London and Rochester Trading Company. She was a sister ship to the ''Decima''. *Then there was 1902 Papendrecht built 117 ton barge, ''Cambria'', which was also eventually owned by Goldsmith had the number 115873. She was also registered in London. Shipwright Frederick T Eberhardt had sent his sons as apprentices to Fellowes of Great Yarmouth. When they returned as journeymen he set them to work building a barge each, William to build the ''Cambria'' and Frederick the ''Hibernia''. William built ''Cambria'' for £1895, whilst her sister barge cost £1905. She was also slightly faster than ''Hibernia'' and she came second in the coasting class in the Thames and Medway matches in 1906. "Brusher" Milton was her first skipper. He recounted one event, when she arrived in

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

, an hour ahead of a steamer which she had overtaken on her way up the channel from the

Solent The Solent ( ) is a strait between the Isle of Wight and mainland Great Britain; the major historic ports of Southampton and Portsmouth lie inland of its shores. It is about long and varies in width between , although the Hurst Spit whi ...

. "We were doing nine knots", quoted on the steamer, "and we couldn’t hold you". She was the last

, to trade entirely under sail, and was owned by Captain A. W. (Bob) Roberts. Roberts sailed ''Cambria'' for more than twenty years, and gained a reputation for hard sailing and fast passages in other Everard barges. ''Cambria'' last mate was Dick Durham from

Leigh-on-Sea Leigh-on-Sea (), commonly referred to simply as Leigh, is a List of towns in England, town and civil parish within the city of Southend-on-Sea, located in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. In 2011 it had a population of 22,509. Geograph ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, with whom Bob carried the last freight under sail alone: 100 tons of cattle cake from Tilbury Dock to

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

in October 1970. Dick wrote Bob Roberts' biography: ''The Last Sailorman''. Bob Roberts sold ''Cambria'' to the Maritime Trust in 1971, for display at

St Katharine Docks St Katharine Docks is a former dock in the St Katherine and Wapping ward of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies in the East End of London, East End on the north bank of the River Thames, immediately downstream of the Tower of London an ...

in London. But she was not looked after very well and in 1987, the Maritime Trust was disbanded. It was agreed that the barge was moved to the Dolphin Sailing Barge Museum at

Sittingbourne Sittingbourne is an industrial town in the Swale district of Kent, southeast England, from Canterbury and from London, beside the Roman Watling Street, an ancient trackway used by the Romans and the Anglo-Saxons. The town stands next to th ...

and in 1996 she was sold to the Cambria Trust for £1. On 6 September 2007, ''Cambria'' came to Standard Quay in

Faversham Faversham () is a market town in Kent, England, from Sittingbourne, from London and from Canterbury, next to the Swale, a strip of sea separating mainland Kent from the Isle of Sheppey in the Thames Estuary. It is close to the A2 road (Great ...

for restoration and rebuilding after the Barge Museum was damaged in a fire. Her funded restoration cost a £1.4 million with help from the National Lottery. She was re-launched into the Faversham Creek on 23 March 2011. She then underwent sea trials and then re-fitting to prepare her for use in supporting local schools and social outreach programmes. She won the coasting class in the 2011 Thames sailing barge match. In 2012, the 82nd Thames Sailing Barge Match took place. Cambria won again and Edith May came fifth, behind ''Thalatta'', and ''Pudge''. Prizes were presented by Richard Horlock and special guest

Griff Rhys Jones Griffith Rhys Jones (born 16 November 1953) is a Welsh actor, comedian, writer and television presenter. He starred in a number of television series with his comedy partner, Mel Smith. He and Smith came to national attention in the 1980s for ...

. In 2013 another Thames Barge Match took place. ''Cambria'' came 1st in the Coasting class.

References

External links

Thames Barge

Cambria Trust site

The Barge Blog archive about Cambria

Documentary (1970) about the Cambria narrated by Captain Bob Roberts, BBC

Documentary (2018) My Classic Boat Cambria narrated by Captain Bob Durham

Documentary (2018) by Tom Cunliffe on how to rig and sail Cambria
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cambria, SB Thames sailing barges 1906 ships Ships built in Greenhithe Transport on the River Thames Sailing ships of the United Kingdom Ships and vessels of the National Historic Fleet