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''Mirosa'' is a
Thames 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 nar ...
which was built in 1892. From 1892 until 1947, she sailed under the name ''Ready'' when the name was sold to Trinity House for a lightship support vessel. Under her new name, she traded until 1955. ''Mirosa'' has never had an engine.


Description

''Mirosa'' is one of the few remaining spritsail barges never to have had an engine fitted. Her owners claim she is now the most original of the active barges. She has a full set of flax sails, manilla running rigging, and a full set of sweeps (oars), and still has wooden masts. ''Mirosa'' is long, with a beam of and a draught of . She was built with a bowsprit, this was removed but was reinstated in 1976. Her keel and chine planks are of elm, with pitch pine planks on the bottom and two-inch oak sides. This was later doubled over with pitch pine when was 30 or 40 years old. The shallow shape of her hull is typical of barges built by John Howard, of Maldon. She is assessed at .


History

She was built by of Maldon and launched on 28 June 1892 as the ''Ready'' for John Gutteridge, of
Vauxhall Vauxhall ( , ) is an area of South London, within the London Borough of Lambeth. Named after a medieval manor called Fox Hall, it became well known for the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens. From the Victorian period until the mid-20th century, Va ...
, London. She was a stackie, barge that sailed carrying a large amount of hay and straw on its deck. These were needed to feed the city's horses. She travelled with her mainsail furled to a special series of reef points, from Essex and Suffolk to London, then returned with horse manure for the farms. The skipper steered by rudder from on top of the stack, while the mate kept watch from deck level. This trade declined and ceased with the use of motor vehicles after World War I in 1918. She transferred cargo and went into timber, which like the hay was stacked metres high on the deck. She was bought by W W Keeble and then in the 1930s to Francis and Gilders, of Colchester, for whom she carried general cargoes, working out of Maldon and
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 ...
. She was skippered by ‘Billy’ Austin, then after the Second World War the
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 ...
sailmaker Jim Lawrence was her skipper. In 1947 the owners sold her original name, ''Ready'' to
Trinity House The Corporation of Trinity House of Deptford Strond, also known as Trinity House (and formally as The Master, Wardens and Assistants of the Guild Fraternity or Brotherhood of the most glorious and undivided Trinity and of St Clement in the ...
for use on a new lightship tender and she was renamed ''Mirosa''. In 1954 was entered into and won the staysail class of the Thames and Medway barge matches. In 1955 she was sold to Brown and Son, of
Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Colchester and Southend-on-Sea. It is located north-east of London ...
, and de-rigged for use as a timber lighter in the
Heybridge Basin Heybridge Basin is a village and civil parish about 1 mile from Maldon, in the Maldon district, in the county of Essex, England. In 2018 the built up area (which includes Osea Island) had an estimated population of 732. The parish was formerly p ...
. The coasters importing timber anchored off
Osea Island Osea Island (, "Osyth's island"), formerly also Osey, is an inhabited island in the Blackwater Estuary, estuary of the River Blackwater, Essex, East England. It is approximately in size and is connected to the north bank of the river by a caus ...
, being too large to enter the lock. When the lock was altered this trade disappeared. In 1964 she was re-rigged- this time as a bowsprit barge to race, this was done by Dilberry Clark and Bill Percy. She was sold in 1967 to Alan Walker who used her as a live-in barge, but also raced with her, with Jimmy Diddams as skipper. In 1970 Carrie Spencer bought her and started racing her again in 1970. Peter Dodds, bought her in 1976 and based her at Iron Wharf, Faversham, where he lives aboard her. He refitted her extensively, and sails her to the Humber down to the Isle of Wight. She takes part in all of the barge matches.


See also

* List of active Thames sailing barges


References


Bibliography

* * * *


External links


Thames Sailing Barge Trust

Mersea museum barge database

Sailing Barge Association


{{DEFAULTSORT:Mirosa Mirosa 1892 ships Individual sailing vessels Transport on the River Thames Sailing ships of the United Kingdom Ships and vessels of the National Historic Fleet