54 APRIL 2015 http://www.marinemodelmagazine.com
I
t was perilous, badly paid and back-breaking work, but it was an
important, if little-known, part of the maritime scene and docks
like Bristol, Swansea, Cardiff, Barry and Newport relied for
centuries on the toil of the gravel-diggers of the Taw and Torridge.
Since the Middle-Ages, five massive gravel banks in the combined
estuary of the Devon rivers which empty into Bideford Bay had provided
a livelihood for the crews of a fleet of sail-powered barges who dug out
the gravel by hand when aground at low-water, unbelievably hard and
dangerous work which wouldn’t be allowed today.
Indeed, gravel-digging on the Klondike, Zulu, Crow, Spratt Ridge
and Middle Ridges banks, in the middle of the estuary opposite the
villages of Braunton and Appledore, was finally banned in 1998 after
a spate of accidents, many fatal, combined with serious ecology
problems, and today the estuary barges have long gone and instead
giant dredgers effortlessly scoop up millions of tons of gravel roundthe corner in the shoal-waters of the Bristol Channel.
The gravel ridges were owned by a variety of local authorities
which charged barge-owners one shilling for every ton extracted –
in the heyday of the gravel trade that was over 5,000 tons a year.
But now the area is largely protected from commercial exploitation
and is a peaceful haven for wildlife.
Only one wooden barge has survived from the fleet of dozens of
vessels that supplied prime gravel for building the docks and roads
which were key to Britain’s past industrial might. Advance, now
awaiting restoration in the Rolle Canal at Barnstaple, was built in
Appledore in 1926 for the Devon Trading Co and originally designed
as a gaff sloop but was never rigged and instead was fitted with a
Widdup semi-diesel engine. In dire need of attention, she is 48 ft
overall, 15 ft beam and draws 4 ft. If anyone wants to model her,
they better do it now!GREAT BRITAIN
GRAVEL BARGES
OF THE TAW AND TORRIDGE
TONY DISCOVERS SOME FORGOTTEN HARD-WORKING HEROES OF BRITAIN’S
INDUSTRIAL PASTAUTHOR: TONY JAMESThe model of JJRP at work on a gravel bankTony with his completed modelp54_MMAPR15_GravelBarges.indd 54 10/3/15 09:19:43