http://www.marinemodelmagazine.com APRIL 2015THE GRAVEL TRADE
For centuries, estuary gravel had been in demand for building and
construction and the finer grades – dug from the banks furthest
from Bideford Bay and known as sea-sand – used on the land.
Most of the barges were owned by local firms in the building trade,
including the Barnstaple and Devon Trading Co, Braunton Gravel
Company, the Rock Trading Co and Bartletts of Bideford.
From the mid-19th century until the 1950s, barges were sailed or
poled to and from the gravel banks, took the ground during the ebb
and were filled by hand with up to 30 tons of gravel, loaded into the
barge with shovels. It was killing work. Gravel was dug out using a
large D-shape bladed shovel which would hold about 25 lb. Gravel
was thrown up about six feet over the deck and into the hold. If
the barge was on the level it could be loaded from both sides but
usually it was lying at an angle on the bank.
The crews of two only had two or three hours between tides to
load the gravel, which meant each shovelling up to five tons an
hour. Sam Mitchell of Braunton who worked with his uncle on the
barge JJRP remembered:
“The barges would come down on the ebb from where ever they
had taken their last cargo and take the ground on whichever bank
they had chosen to work. As soon as it was shallow enough we
would climb down a ladder from the barge and start to load the
gravel. The heaviest gravel was on the Klondike and Zulu banks and
the lightest on Crow and Middle Ridges. The crew would take the
anchor aboard before they had finished loading and when all was
ready and we were waiting for the tide we would make some tea or
have a fry-up. As the tide rose, we would trim and level the gravel
and put on the hatch covers and tarpaulin sheets which would be
secured with wooden wedges hammered in place with a maul. Very
often the freeboard would only be a couple of inches so it was vital
to keep the water out of the hold as the deck was usually awash.”
For someone who spent most of his time with his feet in water,
Sam never learned to swim. He said it was more important to learn
how to stay on board!
Sometimes the heavily-laden barge would ‘suck’ or stick on the
bottom and had to be rocked free by the crew. Barges had been
known to hold fast and sink as the tide rose. As the barge floated
free, the jib would be raised and the scandalised mainsail fully
hoisted.
Most barges never left the estuary but there were still perils
enough inside Bideford Bar. As late as 1959 two men were swept
overboard and drowned from the Nellie Anne when the barge
and another, the A.C.M, were stranded on a gravel bank in heavy
weather and quickly flooded. The crew of the A.C.M, also thrown
overboard, were rescued by the Appledore pilot-boat but the men
of the Nellie Anne were never found.
Although mechanical grabs and cranes slowly came into use on
the banks, cutting down the back breaking toil, the traditional gravel
trade on the estuary banks declined and the barge Hilda was the
last to operate under sail. There was reduced dredging activity after
the 1970s and now only the Advance remains as a living example of
a forgotten fleet.THE BOATS
The sailing barge fleet, based at Barnstaple, Bideford, Appledore
and Braunton – which was the home of over ten gravel boats – was
of traditional design, similar to wooden coasting vessels of the
time, with 2½" planking, from 30 to 50 ft long, with a straight stem
and transom stern.
The hold would be lined with 2" planking known as the ceiling,
usually pitch-pine or larch and although there was accommodation
in the cuddy, space was so limited that crews rarely slept on board.
Barges were gaff-rigged with an almost square mainsail with very
little peak and a single foresail. Because they hardly ever ventured
outside Bideford Bar, barges rarely carried any spare canvas. They
worked under sail until the 1920s but most had engines by the
1930s although the rig was retained and used when possible, to
save on fuel.Motorised barges Result
and Paul & Michael
heading for the banksGravel barge JJRP (right hand picture) waiting for the
tide with barges Sixty Spec and Hilda on the leftBarge Hilda with Harry ‘Blue’
Mitchell aboardBarges Klondike, Rowena, Paul & Michael and
Nellie loaded ready for departureView from Klondike
of barges waiting for
the tideSailing barges loading in
the early 1900sCrew of the motor
barge Nellie
retrieving anchor.
Motor barges Julie
Pile, Flower and
ACM in backgroundCrew of the motorBarge Hilda under sail with Harry
Mitchell and two daughters aboard55
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