is a preserved

spritsail The spritsail is a four-sided, fore-and-aft sail that is supported at its highest points by the mast and a diagonally running spar known as the sprit. The foot of the sail can be stretched by a boom or held loose-footed just by its sheets. A spr ...

Thames sailing barge A Thames sailing barge is a type of commercial sailing boat once common on the River Thames in London. The flat-bottomed barges with a shallow draught and leeboards, were perfectly adapted to the Thames Estuary, with its shallow waters and na ...

now used for

sail training From its modern interpretations to its antecedents when maritime nations would send young naval officer candidates to sea (e.g., see Outward Bound), sail training provides an unconventional and effective way of building many useful skills on and ...

. She was the last barge to trade entirely under sail, and took her last cargo in 1970. She is now restored and owned and operated by the Cambria Trust, a registered charity under English law. ''Cambria'' is a sister to the spritsail which was lost off the coast of

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

on the evening of 9/10 November 1937. There have been four barges named the Cambria.

History

There have been four barges named the Cambria. *There was this barge, ''Cambria'', Everard's 109 ton, 1906

Greenhithe Greenhithe is a village in the Borough of Dartford in Kent, England, and the civil parish of Swanscombe and Greenhithe. It is located east of Dartford and west of Gravesend. Area In the past, Greenhithe's waterfront on the estuary of the ri ...

built barge, 120676, which was registered in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. *The 58 ton ''Cambria'' 068609 was built in 1877 in

Brightlingsea Brightlingsea is a coastal town and an electoral ward in the Tendring district of Essex, England. It is situated between Colchester and Clacton-on-Sea, at the mouth of the River Colne, on Brightlingsea Creek. At the 2011 Census, it had a pop ...

and registered in

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colch ...

. *The

Goldsmith A goldsmith is a metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Nowadays they mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, goldsmiths have also made silverware, platters, goblets, decorative and servicea ...

barge, ''Cambria'', 110043, was 67 tons, built in

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

in 1899 and registered in London. It was sold to the London and Rochester Trading Company. She was a sister ship to the ''Decima''. *Then there was 1902

Papendrecht Papendrecht () is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland, at the crossing of the River Beneden Merwede and the Noord River. The municipality had a population of in and covers an area of of which ...

built 117 ton barge, ''Cambria'', which was also eventually owned by Goldsmith had the number 115873. She was also registered in London. Shipwright Frederick T Eberhardt had sent his sons as apprentices to Fellowes of Great Yarmouth. When they returned as journeymen he set them to work building a barge each, William to build the ''Cambria'' and Frederick the ''Hibernia''. William built ''Cambria'' for £1895, whilst her sister barge cost £1905. She was also slightly faster than ''Hibernia'' and she came second in the coasting class in the Thames and Medway matches in 1906. "Brusher" Milton was her first skipper. He recounted one event, when she arrived in Dover, an hour ahead of a steamer which she had overtaken on her way up the channel from the

Solent The Solent ( ) is a strait between the Isle of Wight and Great Britain. It is about long and varies in width between , although the Hurst Spit which projects into the Solent narrows the sea crossing between Hurst Castle and Colwell Bay t ...

. "We were doing nine knots", quoted on the steamer, "and we couldn’t hold you". She was the last

, to trade entirely under sail, and was owned by Captain A. W. (Bob) Roberts. Roberts sailed ''Cambria'' for more than twenty years, and gained a reputation for hard sailing and fast passages in other Everard barges. ''Cambria'' last mate was Dick Durham from

Leigh-on-Sea Leigh-on-Sea (), commonly referred to simply as Leigh, is a town and civil parish in the City of Southend-on-Sea, in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. In 2011, it had a population of 22,509. Geography Leigh-on-Sea is on the northern ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

, with whom Bob carried the last freight under sail alone: 100 tons of cattle cake from Tilbury Dock to

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line ...

in October 1970. Dick wrote Bob Roberts' biography: ''The Last Sailorman''. Bob Roberts sold ''Cambria'' to the Maritime Trust in 1971, for display at

St Katharine Docks St Katharine Docks is a former dock and now a mixed-used district in Central London, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and within the East End. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, immediately downstream of the Tower of London an ...

in London. But she was not looked after very well and in 1987, the Maritime Trust was disbanded. It was agreed that the barge was moved to the Dolphin Sailing Barge Museum at

Sittingbourne Sittingbourne is an industrial town in Kent, south-east England, from Canterbury and from London, beside the Roman Watling Street, an ancient British trackway used by the Romans and the Anglo-Saxons and next to the Swale, a strip of sea separa ...

and in 1996 she was sold to the Cambria Trust for £1. On 6 September 2007, ''Cambria'' came to Standard Quay in

Faversham Faversham is a market town in Kent, England, from London and from Canterbury, next to the Swale, a strip of sea separating mainland Kent from the Isle of Sheppey in the Thames Estuary. It is close to the A2, which follows an ancient Briti ...

for restoration and rebuilding after the Barge Museum was damaged in a fire. Her funded restoration cost a £1.4 million with help from the National Lottery. She was re-launched into the Faversham Creek on 23 March 2011. She then underwent sea trials and then re-fitting to prepare her for use in supporting local schools and social outreach programmes. She won the coasting class in the 2011 Thames sailing barge match. In 2012, the 82nd Thames Sailing Barge Match took place. Cambria won again and Edith May came fifth, behind ''Thalatta'', and ''Pudge''. Prizes were presented by Richard Horlock and special guest

Griff Rhys Jones Griffith Rhys Jones (born 16 November 1953) is a Welsh comedian, writer, actor, and television presenter. He starred in a number of television series with his comedy partner, Mel Smith. Rhys Jones came to national attention in the 1980s for h ...

. In 2013 another Thames Barge Match took place. ''Cambria'' came 1st in the Coasting class.

References

External links

Thames Barge

Cambria Trust site

The Barge Blog archive about Cambria

Documentary (1970) about the Cambria narrated by Captain Bob Roberts, BBC

Documentary (2018) My Classic Boat Cambria narrated by Captain Bob Durham

Documentary (2018) by Tom Cunliffe on how to rig and sail Cambria
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cambria, SB Thames sailing barges 1906 ships Ships built in Greenhithe Transport on the River Thames Sailing ships of the United Kingdom Ships and vessels of the National Historic Fleet