The
history of
SHIRLEY
GUCCCo Town Class Motor
(Large
Northwich motor narrow boat)
SHIRLEY is a Large Northwich motor narrow boat, built in 1936 for the Grand Union Canal Carrying Company as part of their Town Class fleet (all named after towns). Fleet number 169. She would have worked (with a butty) primarily between London and Birmingham carrying various goods northwards with the return loads usually being coal from the Midlands coalfields. On nationalisation in 1948 SHIRLEY became part of BWB’s South Eastern Division carrying fleet.
In the 1960s she was on loan to Willow Wren Canal Transport Services and worked for a while on the Wellingborough Grain run with butty ABOYNE. She was certainly still carrying in 1965 - an entry in the Braunston Lock Keepers Log Book for 2nd January 1965 records her travelling south for Croxley (probably loaded with coal for Dickinsons paper mills). By 1967, however, she was one of the many boats awaiting disposal on the Wendover Arm and was sold into private ownership.
SHIRLEY was converted (with all steel superstructure) in the early 1970s by Geoff Percy on the Slough Arm. He re-named her HALIFAX. Subsequent owners from 1985 were Derek and Diane Kendall, who lived on the boat at Bulls Bridge Junction for several years until sold to present owner, Alison Smedley (then Alison Struckett) in 1994. At this time SHIRLEY was given back its original name.
Dimensions
Being
one of the Large or Town Class fleet of the GUCCCo’s fleet, SHIRLEY
was built (in steel) to 72 ft long, 7 ft ½ inch beam and 3 ft draught.
Engine
The engine is a 1930s National DM2, 18 horsepower,
2 cylinder, water cooled, with electric start. This engine is that originally
fitted to EDGWARE (GUCCCo would periodically remove an engine from a boat
and replace it with another, so probably none of the boats have their
original engines).