![Gloucester c1798](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/12/Gloucester_c1798.jpg)
A trow was a type of
cargo
Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including trans ...
boat
A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size, shape, cargo or passenger capacity, or its ability to carry boats.
Small boats are typically found on inl ...
found in the past on the rivers
Severn
, name_etymology =
, image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG
, image_size = 288
, image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle
, map = RiverSevernMap.jpg
, map_size = 288
, map_c ...
and
Wye in
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
and used to transport goods.
Features
![The Severn Trow 'Spry', by John Pockett GLW GCIT L358](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/The_Severn_Trow_%27Spry%27%2C_by_John_Pockett_GLW_GCIT_L358.jpg)
The
mast could be taken down so that the trow could go under bridges, such as the bridge at
Worcester
Worcester may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England
** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament
* Worcester Park, London, Engla ...
and the many bridges up and downstream. The mast was stepped in a three sided frame open at the rear but closed with an iron pin or rope lashing. From the top of the mast a
forestay
On a sailing vessel, a forestay, sometimes just called a stay, is a piece of standing rigging which keeps a mast from falling backwards. It is attached either at the very top of the mast, or in fractional rigs between about 1/8 and 1/4 from the t ...
ran down to the bow winch. To lower the mast the pin was removed and the winch slackened off to let the mast fall towards the stern. The reverse operation pulled the mast up.
Despite their flat-bottomed hull form which made volume available for their load and permitted drying out on muddy banks in the tidal area where they operated, Trows were seaworthy. For example, with an added
keel
The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...
the Droitwich Trow ''Hastings'' is recorded as taking 90 tons of salt from
Droitwich
Droitwich Spa (often abbreviated to Droitwich ) is an historic spa town in the Wychavon district in northern Worcestershire, England, on the River Salwarpe. It is located approximately south-west of Birmingham and north-east of Worcester.
The ...
to France across the
English Channel
The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
. The flat-bottomed trows sailed on the sea by hauling a log of wood under the hull strapped with
chains
A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A c ...
to act as a temporary keel, to limit
leeway
Leeway is the amount of drift motion to leeward of an object floating in the water caused by the component of the wind vector that is perpendicular to the object’s forward motion.Bowditch. (1995). The American Practical Navigator. Pub. No. 9. ...
(the hull sliding sideways under lateral sail pressure on their fore-and-aft rig).
Types
There are two traditional types of Severn Trow. Prior to the 1840s the
River Severn
, name_etymology =
, image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG
, image_size = 288
, image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle
, map = RiverSevernMap.jpg
, map_size = 288
, map_c ...
was tidal up to
Worcester
Worcester may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England
** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament
* Worcester Park, London, Engla ...
. The trows that were used on the tidal portion of the River were called ''Downstream Trows'' whilst those that sailed north of Worcester were called ''Upstream Trows'' and were smaller. An example of a Downstream Trow, the ''
Spry'', is at the
Blists Hill
Blists Hill Victorian Town is an open-air museum built on a former industrial complex located in the Madeley area of Telford, Shropshire, England. The museum attempts to recreate the sights, sounds and smells of a Victorian Shropshire town ...
site of the
Ironbridge Gorge Museums. During the summer the flow of water was often very low and so the trows were pulled over the resultant shallows. A rope was attached to the mast and the men who pulled the boats were called '' bow hauliers''. The men would enter into a contract with the captain of the trow in the many pubs along the Severn riverbanks, and there was a right of way along the bankside.
A Trow called ''Joan'' was owned by a timber merchant called Oliver Luff. He used her to bring timber from
Tintern
Tintern ( cy, Tyndyrn) is a village in the community (Wales), community of Wye Valley (community), Wye Valley, on the west bank of the River Wye in Monmouthshire, Wales, close to the border with England, about north of Chepstow. It is popular w ...
,
Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with ...
into 'The Back' now called 'Welsh Back' in
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
's Floating Harbour, where he owned two timber yards. A
pub
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
, the
Llandoger Trow
The Llandoger Trow is a historic public house in Bristol, south-west England. Dating from 1664, it is on King Street, between Welsh Back and Queen Charlotte Street, near the old city centre docks. Named by a sailor who owned the pub after Llando ...
is situated in Bristol.
A replica Wye trow, named ''Hereford Bull'', was constructed in 2012 to participate in the
Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant
The Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant was a parade on 3 June 2012 of 670 boats on the Tideway of the River Thames in London as part of the celebrations of the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II. The Queen, Prince Philip and other members of th ...
.
A smaller ( max) boat called a 'Trow' is peculiar to the Fleet lagoon in
Dorset
Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...
. It is used primarily for the transport of
mackerel
Mackerel is a common name applied to a number of different species of pelagic fish, mostly from the family Scombridae. They are found in both temperate and tropical seas, mostly living along the coast or offshore in the oceanic environment.
...
caught by
seine net
Seine fishing (or seine-haul fishing; ) is a method of fishing that employs a surrounding net, called a seine, that hangs vertically in the water with its bottom edge held down by weights and its top edge buoyed by floats. Seine nets can be dep ...
fishing crews off
Chesil Beach
Chesil Beach (also known as Chesil Bank) in Dorset, England is one of three major shingle beach structures in Britain.A. P. Carr and M. W. L. Blackley, "Investigations Bearing on the Age and Development of Chesil Beach, Dorset, and the Associat ...
. Once caught they are boxed and transported across to the mainland by these flat-bottomed boats. Unlike the
River Severn
, name_etymology =
, image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG
, image_size = 288
, image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle
, map = RiverSevernMap.jpg
, map_size = 288
, map_c ...
version the Fleet variant is only ever towed, rowed or punted and has no mast or sail.
Pronunciation
Trow may be pronounced as trō (rhyming with "crow") or as trou (rhyming with "cow").
'Barges in Victorian Shropshire', author Richard Barker, Wilkinson Society Journal No.8, Broseley 1980, pp 8-11.
Accessed 26 May 2017 The former pronunciation was the usual one throughout Worcestershire
Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...
, Shropshire
Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...
and Dorset
Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...
. While the latter exists regionally, dictionaries often give only the former pronunciation.
See also
*Canals of the United Kingdom
The canals of the United Kingdom are a major part of the network of inland waterways in the United Kingdom. They have a varied history, from use for irrigation and transport, through becoming the focus of the Industrial Revolution, to today's ro ...
*History of the British canal system
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
References
External links
Living Gloucester info on Severn Trows
{{authority control
Boat types
River Severn