Chris Turland 12th June 2024.
Barges on the Orwell have been a familiar sight since the late 1890’s. The box like
design was easy to maintain and although slow was brilliant at transporting large
cargoes.
The wood to build the barges was floated into the docks and was obtained from local
woods. The barge design was adapted to make it easier to be sailed by one or two
crew. The boom was omitted to allow the sail to be lowered by one person. The skill
of the barge crew was demonstrated in the London to Ipswich barge race. One of the
fastest was a barge made of iron called Ironsides which won one of the early races.
The sails were dressed with a mixture of red ochre and linseed oil which gave them
their recognisable colour.
Barges were built at Ipswich by several people but probably one of the most astute
and adept business men was William Paul who as well as shipping cargo, diversified
into building barges. He bought a steam tug which he used for cruises and
hospitality, guiding in the barges to port and he also hired the tug to tow the life boats
out to ships in peril. This gave the tug salvage rights which could be very lucrative.
William Paul’s business acumen was also demonstrated by his idea of using his
empty barges to store grain when prices were low and wait until the price rose.
The men who sailed these barges were masters of reading the weather and tides but
unfortunately towards the middle of the twentieth century these iconic barges were
adapted to motors and now these beautiful sailing barges are mainly used for
recreational trips.
Sally Card