In researching locations for this month’s walk, I not only stumbled across a website pointing me in the direction of the top five walks in Gloucestershire, but also another informing me that Sharpness Docks have just celebrated 150 years since their opening.  So, it seemed timely to explore this part of the estuary, particularly given that next month we’re going to be in Gloucester for the Severn Estuary Forum, at the other end of the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal.   It was also an opportunity for me to touch base with one of my former students, no less than ‘Barney’ (Paul Barnett, Chair of the Friends of Purton) to find out more about the Purton Hulks, one of the Estuary’s key maritime historical sites.  So, one reasonably sunny Saturday, I set off to sample the section of the Severn Way between Purton and Sharpness and to delve into some of the estuary’s maritime past.

Sampling the Severn Way: the tow path

Arriving at Purton car park, I felt I’d walked into a neatly laid out model village.  As I admired the sprucely painted cottages, the attractive little church and the pseudo-classical styled canal bridge keeper’s house, I half expected Rosie and Jim or Postman Pat to appear.  There were certainly quite a number of colourfully painted narrow boats trundling along the canal but there was also a fair number of kayakers and paddle-boarders.  Together these kept the swing-bridge operator extremely busy, much to my initial fascination, but my later frustration, when trying to cross the canal to retrieve my long-awaited lunch from the car.

I can certainly recommend a stroll along this section of the old tow path along the Gloucester to Sharpness Canal, although at a weekend you certainly won’t be alone as cyclists and fellow walkers are aplenty.   There’s not only water-based activity to entertain, but, at this time of year, also glorious hedgerows abounding with autumn fruits – if only there’d been time to pick some more blackberries, elderfberries and even sloes.  I did manage to salvage some fresh mint leaves though and we enjoyed Severn mint sauce later in the day with our Welsh lamb!   Image Severn gin though?!  I digress ….  Breaks in the hedgerow revealed occasional glimpses of the Estuary itself –  mud flats were emerging with a falling tide and across the waters the reddish colour of the  cliffs near Lydney  was just visible against a rather dull grey sky. Enjoying the warm autumn sunshine and the gentle putting sound of the narrow boats gliding along the canal, it was difficult to imagine this canal in its heyday when it was the main artery for ships between Sharpness and Gloucester.  Built to avoid treacherous tidal waters, sandbanks and the infamous meander of the Severn around Arlingham, the canal, when opened in 1827, was the broadest and deepest in the world no less!   A proper ship canal which enabled all sorts of vessels including even oil tankers to reach the inland port of Gloucester, where we’ll pick up the story in our next walk.  Even up until the 1960s the canal had been busy with commercial traffic.  The occasional bollard and waymark are some of the few reminders of this important maritime past, all immaculately tidy thanks to the current owners, the Canal and River Trust.  

The Upper Swing bridge and ornate bridge keeper’s house at Purton

A tranquil scene along the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal

A ferro-concrete barge, Hulk FCB 68, rising above the grassy waves.  The National Historic Ships website notes ‘This was one of thirty nine such vessels built during World War II. These concrete barges were the test beds for the Mulberry Harbour temporary and portable harbour system for the D Day landings.’

Visitors exploring a ferro concrete barge, FCB77, built in Barrow in Furness in 1941 and beached 1962

The last of the Purton collection, another ferro concrete barge built in Barrow in Furness,  FCB75, beached here in 1965.  Barney informs me that she’s lying above the 1900 Monarch, the largest Severn Trow ever built – more about those in my next article

Maritime nostalgia – Purton Hulks and the old Severn Railway Bridge

I soon arrived at the information board introducing the Purton Hulks site where quite a few other visitors were gathered.   Immediately, however, my eye was drawn to the remains of the massive greying concrete barges which were emerging from the mud, seemingly floating within a sea of long maritime grasses.  ‘They’re both strangely ugly and beautiful’ remarked one of the visitors.   A photographer’s dream site, as some of the following photos hopefully suggest, but also an important maritime historical site and sea defence as well.  

Barney, Paul Barnett to the wider world, was keen to point out the importance of this site when I caught up with him later.   The Purton Ships’ Graveyard is a national treasure, being the largest collection of beached vessels in England. It includes the remains of over eighty ships from ferro-concrete barges to schooners, trows, dockyard and other work boats, from right across the UK.  These vessels had been stripped of their identity, however, before being deliberately beached along the estuary’s muddy shores.

It is, however, an accidental museum, being a quick fix solution to allay erosion of the riverbank and to protect the thin sliver of land between the river and the strategically valuable Gloucester-Sharpness Canal.  Following the collapse of about sixty metres of foreshore one day in late December 1909, AJ Cullis, Chief Engineer of the Dock Company, advised and instructed that a number of redundant barges be run aground to protect the shore.  This was to be the shoreline management approach for this stretch for the following sixty years, with further beachings in 1946, 1951, 1962 and eventually 1965.  Even now, the shoreline management policy SHAR8 of ‘no active intervention (with local activity only)’ until 2015 for this stretch, suggests that these vessels and the muds which have engulfed them, are providing adequate protection and have been real value for money!   Indeed, Barney remarked that there appears to be about 15 cm build up of sediment every year along much of the site and was convinced that sea level rise associated with climate change would have little effect. Today, decaying remains of vessels rise out of the mud and grasses, much to the delight and interest of visitors.  There’s a rusting stern and fragments of a wooden schooner emerging out of tall flowing grasses, whilst other almost unidentifiable remains are engulfed by blackberry bushes and other shrubs.  And there are even more haunting relics emerging from the mud – each has a story to tell and evokes memories of the rich maritime history of the Severn and beyond.  The Friends of Purton, steered by Barney, have made it their mission to research and share details of each relic.   So, thanks to them you can spend some time reading the plaques and contemplating the history of each vessel.  However, for some of the more overgrown sites, trying to match remains with plaques, becomes more like a game of hide- and-seek.  Fortunately, Barney was able to check my photos so I’m not misleading you with the following interpretations –  here’s just a small selection from my extensive Purton collection!  

Discussing the site with Barney later, I realised that, whilst the site is designated for its nature conservation value, it has been a struggle to get recognition of the site beyond relatively local interest from the community.   Following much vandalism, arson and theft, alongside  degradation due to natural processes, there was much deliberation about the site’s legal status and protection.  This even included discussions in Westminster.   There were also various land ownership issues to be unravelled. Eventually, only Harriett, the last known example of a Kennet-built barge, was declared as a scheduled ancient monument.  Well, as Barney wryly noted, this is one of the few hulks here that ‘looks like a boat.’  He seemed remarkably unperturbed, suggesting that this designation provides ‘a sort of blanket cover’ for the site, given the vessel’s location relatively high up above the shore.   He was, however, keen to point out the maritime historical significance of the Dispatch/New Dispatch (shown below), which he considered to be a more worthy contender for legal protection.  It seems like this 1888 schooner exhibits the only known examples of Fell’s Patent Knees. Nothing to do with a sailor’s anatomy, but special iron braces which helped keep deck and hull together in storms.  Fell’s special knees were also a useful substitute for oak braces at a time when quality oak timber was in short supply.  The new braces also provided greater flexibility than the wooden versions.  On a positive note, Barney did note that there had been a welcome reduction in wanton vandalism and misuse with the significance of the site becoming more widely known.  Whilst recognising that natural processes may subsume a ‘further 20% of the maritime artefacts, following the loss of 25% of the maritime historical interest …. over the last twenty years,’ he suggested rather poignantly that the ‘rusticles’ should be ‘left in peace to regain their pride.’   

The rusting stern of Abbey, a 1900 Gloucester-built wooden barge, which was beached in 1956

The remains of Harriett, the last known example of a Kennet built barge, which was beached in 1964

Harriett, moored near Bristol bridge, October 1934 (with Tug Medway alongside) (photo by kind courtesy of Paul Barnett)

The jaws/ remains of Dispatch (remained New Dispatch) –  a topsail schooner built in Speyside in 1888 and beached decades later in 1961

Dispatch in full sail (photo courtesy of Paul Barnett)

Returning to the tow path and looking out across the estuary in the deteriorating visibility, I was just able to pick out some long grey-brown structures mid-channel.    It turns out these are the wrecks of the Wasdale H and Arkendale H, two tanker barges which came to grief one foggy night in 1960 whilst transporting their cargoes from Avonmouth to Worcester.  Not only did the two vessels collide with each other, but they also hit one of the piers of the Severn Railway Bridge and caused a massive explosion and fire which could be seen for miles.  This tragic event and a further collision the following year, led to the closure of the bridge and the demise of the operations of the Severn Bridge Railway Company which had operated this railway line for coal transport from the Forest of Dean to Sharpness docks.   Today, further along the tow path, I came across a plaque and memorial to this event alongside the remaining two rusticated stone piers of the bridge, the rest having been demolished over fifty years ago.   Framing the canal, these piers have been compared with the entrance to Gondor in the Lord of the Rings, but on a rather grey autumn day, they looked somewhat less impressive.

A distant glimpse of the wrecks which perished following a collision with the old Severn Railway Bridge

The remaining stone pillars of the old Severn Railway Bridge

A brief encounter with Sharpness Docks: today and yesteryear

Arriving at Sharpness Marina, I’d reached the end of the canal – the lock gates providing access to the Estuary’s waters firmly and permanently shut.   On a calm, grey day, this was a ‘quiet haven’ for a motley collection of canal-touring vessels, rather than the bustling maritime hub which it must have been back in the day when the canal opened in 1827.  The handsome and imposing old dock building which once would have been buzzing with activity, was also quiet today, even though this now the home to the Severn Estuary Rescue Association (SARA). Unfortunately, the chandlery was closed so there was no ice-cream to be had, so a quick walk up the hill to the Sharpness Sports and Social Club for a cup of tea was a necessity.   Once the Sharpness Hotel, built to accommodate navvies building the docks, the slightly faded brick Club building today not only provides for locals but also for a surprising number of visitors, who come from all over Britain to stay in the shadow of Sharpness Docks in their campervans and even to sample the Saturday curry nights – quite a local attraction, run by volunteers.   Although an old poster reminded me that I’d missed the 150-year Sharpness Dock celebrations on entering the Club, I was still able to study and admire a most interesting collection of old photos of the docks –  yes, it really had been possible to walk from one side of the dock to the other across the vessels! Given my limited time I had to make do with a very rapid reconnaissance of the edges of the current docks.  There wasn’t much activity to see, but it was late on a Saturday afternoon.   I’m very aware that this remains an important inland port with Sharpness Dock handling ships of up to 6,000 tonnes (with cargo).  They can service a wide range of bulk cargoes too, including cement, fertilizer, timber and scrap metal.   There’s even a Leading Lights website which you can visit to see when the next vessel is arriving or departing so you can plan your photographic opportunity – another time, hopefully.

Final thoughts

Although I’ve done a relatively short walk this month, there’s been plenty to explore afterwards as I’m sure you’ll agree.  I hadn’t realised how much local history is packed into our estuary’s shores but also how much our local communities value, care for and promote the heritage of these areas, both locally and regionally.  Barney and the huge efforts of the Friends of Purton have certainly provided me with new glimpses into our Estuary’s glorious maritime heritage.  I’m really looking forward to revisiting the site now that I know a little more about the history of the area, but it will be on a Sunday afternoon so I can test the cream teas on offer at the church in Purton!   In the meantime, alongside our Severn Estuary Forum I’m planning to visit the other end of the canal at Gloucester next month.   Hopefully, I’ll see you at the Forum or may be even along the canal?

The Marina today

The old dock office, now home to the Severn Estuary Rescue Association (SARA)

Sharpness Docks today