It happens in Hungerford once a month, on a Thursday morning from April to October. The towpath of the Kennet and Avon canal comes alive with the chit chat and laughter of a group of 12 to16 men and women who have volunteered to work together as part of MET – Mike’s Environmental Team.

The Mike in question is the Revd. Mike Saunders, vicar of St. Lawrence’s church, Hungerford, and about half his team are volunteers from the congregation and half are non-churchgoers passionate about their environment.

Empowered by bacon butties (it seems that men will do almost anything for a bacon butty and a hot drink!), the team spends hours along the towpath, making life more pleasant for walkers and boaters alike.

They have painted three locks and three swing bridges, spread tons of gravel along the towpath, and cut back metres of intrusive vegetation. They have also planted 7,000 trees for local farmers.

Those who use the canal and towpath are an important part of life in Hungerford. The canal was built alongside the church and several members, including the vicar and his wife Alison, serve as Waterways Chaplains, offering to anyone they meet a listening ear, support, advice or information, if needed.

The vicar can be contacted by ringing 01488 208341 or found at the church or nearby Vicarage.

This follows my previous article on the building of the Kennet and Avon canal and its great success initially. For instance, in 1816, the Bath stone to build St. Lawrence’s church, Hungerford, was brought along the canal to the building site alongside the towpath. However, the canal’s use declined after the railway came through in 1847. Of course, it was in the interest of the railway companies that the canals should fall into disuse.

Nationalisation in 1948 put the canals in the ‘care’ of consecutive organisations, which eventually became the current Canal & River Trust. Initially, these organisations had little interest in the canals and did not consider they had a future, but the 1950s saw the start of the canal restoration movement, whose aim was to use the canals as pleasure waterways.

One saving factor for the K&A was barge operator John Gould of Newbury, who won a legal case because the 1794 Act demanded the right of navigation in perpetuity. So the canal was saved in principle, but in reality it was a total mess. Long stretches without water were filled with undergrowth, broken and rotting lock gates, crumbling banks, locks filled with deep mud, and so on.

Restoration in earnest started in the early 1970s with volunteers working in weekend gangs. As skilled as they became, the task was totally beyond them and most of the work had to be done by contractors.

The main task for the volunteers was then raising vast amounts of money. Fortunately, the National Lottery came up trumps, providing £25 million, one of its largest grants. After nearly 20 years, the restoration was complete and the entire Kennet and Avon canal was reopened by Queen Elizabeth II on the 8th August 1990.

Today the work of the Trust is focused on maintenance. Dredging is on a 3-year cycle. Wooden lock gates last about 25 years. Steel gates were tried but proved to be a disaster.

However, as reported in the Newbury Weekly News dated 23rd March 2000:

Members of the Newbury Britain in Bloom committee were joined by local canoeists, residents, representatives of the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust and canal enthusiasts, actors Timothy West and Prunella Scales, for the sixth annual River and Environmental Space Clean Up Event (RESCUE). On Saturday, the volunteers worked on the canal, using grappling hooks and ropes to dredge the bottom.

Passers-by were amazed at what came out and soon a crowd gathered to watch. The newspaper reported that, among the items pulled out of Newbury’s rivers and canals at the weekend, were eighty-five shopping trolleys, two armchairs, a tractor tyre, and security fencing and signposts, complete with concrete foundations.

“It just got to the point where we just threw the grappling hooks in and would pull something out. It was a lucky dip,” said one of the organisers.

Hopefully, our 2,000 miles of waterways in England and Wales will now be kept in good repair and continue to provide homes and leisure pursuits for all who wish to use them.
Iris Lloyd

An original and tattered copy of the Newbury Weekly News Centenary Supplement dated February 1967 has recently been discovered in Hungerford Town Hall. It contains the following article by David Barnes.

Newbury has seen many changes, mainly for the better, over the past 100 years, but one for the worse, in the opinion of many people, has been a steady decline in the use and maintenance of the Kennet and Avon Canal.

Gone for ever, but nor forgotten, are the days when a fleet of barges carrying thousands of tons called at Newbury every year as they plied between Reading and Bath on this once-important inland waterway linking the Thames with Avonmouth.

Older readers will recall the time when supplies were regularly unloaded for coal merchants at the Wharf and West Mills, corn was brought in from the farms to Dolton’s Mill and large quantities of gravel, sand and other building materials were invariably moved by barge.

Today, Newbury is one of the few places where the canal is still fully navigable for a few miles in each direction. Elsewhere, it is now a quiet backwater choked with weeds and rushes, but still a potentially valuable amenity appreciated most by fishermen and a band of enthusiasts dedicated to its eventual restoration.

Completed in 1810, it was hailed at the time as a masterpiece of civil engineering, consisting of 87 miles of waterway with 106 locks, 29 of them within 2½ miles at Devizes – and an aqueduct over the River Avon about a mile from Limpley Stoke.

For the next 30 years, the canal lived up to expectations that it would be a profitable commercial undertaking. In its heyday, 300,000 tons of merchandise passed along the canal, bringing prosperity to landowners, manufacturers, merchants and tradesmen who lived along the route and revenue of £70,000* in one year, 1832, to the owners, the Kennet and Avon Canal Company.

But by 1840, this golden era was drawing to a close. The advent of the Great Western Railway brought severe competition and a battle for survival between the railway promoters and the canal company.

Long struggles through the House of Commons and the Lords ended in 1851 when the Great Western Railway bought out the canal shareholders for less than a fifth of the million George III gold sovereigns it cost to build with the undisguised object of eliminating all competition.

From 1918 onwards the condition of the canal deteriorated to such an extent that the time taken to navigate it practically eliminated all commercial traffic.

The railway company continued, however, to pursue a policy of discouraging traffic to such an extent that before nationalisation there was rarely a canoe or rowing boat seen on the canal at Newbury.

With nationalisation in 1947, management of the canal became the responsibility of British Waterways. Its commercial use revived for a while, but in May 1950 it finally ceased completely when the Docks and Inland Waterways Executive closed a section between Reading and Newbury, ostensibly to repair some of the locks.

A second attempt in 30 years to close the canal, this time by the British Transport Commission in 1955, again met with widespread opposition. After protests and a petition, Parliament decreed that the canal must not be allowed to deteriorate beyond the state into which it had fallen.

In recent years, report has followed report in defence of the Kennet and Avon, but despite the thousands of words on the value of the canal as an amenity, its future is still uncertain.

The Kennet and Avon Canal Trust, who for years have been campaigning for the complete restoration of the canal, recently showed what could be done by rebuilding a derelict lock at Sulhamstead with prisoners and soldiers carrying out the work under the supervision of the British Waterways inspector at Newbury. This project was carried out so successfully that the Trust hope to repair other disused locks.

* over ten million pounds in today’s money

Readers may know that the K and A canal was eventually restored and opened by the late Queen in 1990 – I will write about its restoration in the next issue of Canalsonline.

Meet Paddington!

If you travel the waterways or walk the canal towpaths of Britain, you may meet Paddington Bear. He can be seen sitting in the prow of his very own vessel, a 25-year-old, 60-foot narrowboat in royal blue and red colours that bears (not meant to be a pun!) his name of Paddington. He is very much admired by the children who discover him moored at Aston Marina, Staffordshire.

Paddington finds sailing on a narrowboat a very sociable and relaxing way to travel around the country – and he is never seasick! He usually takes a month’s holiday every year and also spends weekends with his partners, co-owners of the boat since 2016, and their family and friends.

A year ago, he took 17 days to sail a clockwise route via Autherley Junction, Wolverhampton, Birmingham, Worcester, Stourport on the Severn and back home, sailing by day and mooring by night. He always enjoys an evening meal in a pub if it is canalside. Paddington said that cruising through central Birmingham and mooring near Gas Street Basin close to the Symphony Hall was special.

This year he and his friends took the boat north to the Llangollen Canal, cruising along the iron clad Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and parts of Cheshire.

He met many interesting people along the way – live-aboard boaters, holiday cruisers and others busy on working boats. One of the most interesting was a working blacksmith towing an unpowered butty boat at over 71 feet 6 inches, which only just fitted into the locks.

Among these interesting people were the Waterways Chaplains, who are always ready to help boaters negotiate locks or lend a sympathetic ear to their problems and concerns, giving advice and help where they can. They also talk to folk walking the towpath or fishing in the canals. Paddington says that sometimes it is a great relief to unburden yourself by chatting to a friendly chaplain. And visiting the lovely old churches along the way is always a pleasant and peaceful experience.

As for next year – he’ll be off again and says that the waterways of Britain offer miles of natural beauty for everyone to enjoy. Perhaps he’ll sail by you along some peaceful stretch. If so, do shout, “Hello, Paddington!” as you pass. You can be sure he will raise his hat and wish you well. He is such a well brought up little bear!

Meet Charles Garven, who has been a Waterways Chaplain since 2021. He used to spend a long working week as a lorry driver but took early retirement during lockdown and, as life began to return to normal, re-evaluated his time.

Having served inside the church as Lay Reader for over 25 years, he wanted to take his faith out into the community and becoming a waterways chaplain was one way of doing just that. He and his wife have been live-aboard boaters since 2005.

Currently, they have a mooring near Saul Junction on the Gloucester and Sharpness canal, which is a wide ship canal bypassing the dangerous sandbanks and huge tides of the River Severn.

He is Senior Waterways Chaplain for the Severn and (Stratford) Avon, and his team covers Sharpness through to Worcester and also cross to Stratford. They can be ‘on call’ for the Monmouth and Brecon and for the upper Thames and one of their members covers the Penarth and Cardiff Bay marinas.

The waterways chaplains minister to anybody and everybody they meet on the towpath – boaters, walkers, fishermen, canal staff, local businesses, etc. etc. There are no boundaries. He says that the root causes of many problems stem from loneliness, poor health or financial poverty.

He relates that, a few months ago, he met a boater who owned only the clothes he was wearing that day. He was unwell with a long-term condition which made him unemployable, and his medication gave him depression. His income support was mostly spent in the pub, which did in fact help with the depression, but sadly only contributed to his ill health. Charles asked for help through the local church news sheet.

Within three days, he was able to deliver five large bags containing clothes, some of which were brand new and had been bought especially. This gentleman must now be one of the best dressed people on the towpath!

Another man he met lives on his boat with his wife and family. He was a jobbing boat builder and had done some work for a client who hadn’t paid him. This brought hardship to the whole family. A couple of visits from the local food-bank was enough to put them back on track. When he saw them again, they were overjoyed. “They even gave us Easter eggs for the children!”

I asked Charles if the problems of those he tries to help depresses him and were there any upsides. He said that he was well supported both at home and by his local church and local waterways chaplaincy. So, he doesn’t really get depressed, but he does feel for the people he meets and shares their concerns.

He added, “Yes, there are upsides, of course. There is happiness to be shared when a friend comes through a difficult patch. And having 100 people on the towpath for a carol service at Christmastime is a joy!”
​
I asked him why he undertook this ministry. He said, “Quite simply, to offer practical, emotional, and spiritual help as it is needed. If you try and ram Christianity down someone’s throat, they will choke on it. But by being a friend and trying to help, and perhaps reminding someone of things that were important when they were younger, I am planting the seed of evangelism.

And, of course, I enjoy it!”

The Waterways Chaplaincy is a community of trained volunteers who walk the towpaths and river banks of the country, offering a friendly chat and any assistance needed by a boater or towpath user who asks for help.

Chris Upton was born in Northumberland but was brought up on Mersea Island, Essex. He says that the island, with its tides, mud and warm Essex weather was an idyllic place in which to grow up and he remembers seemingly endless summers of picnics on the islands of the Blackwater and Colne estuaries. His mother taught him to swim in the
sea, which he enjoyed all year round, and to sail. At first it was dinghies, then yachts, up and down the East coast and beyond. When he was not in or on the sea, he took long walks along the sea wall, appreciating the ever-changing distances.

He was not brought up as an active church goer and says being dragged there once a year on Christmas morning was quite enough, but he came to faith at his secondary school, a boarding school with a Christian ethos which meant attending chapel four times a week. Initially, this all left him unresponsive but, in order to escape some French homework, he attended a mission event, led by a team from Christians in Sport. Three nights later he took the plunge and decided to give his life to Christ.

From then on he became very involved in the school’s Christian Union and started leading services in the chapel. He says there was not a microphone in sight so he had to project his voice to reach over 500 pupils, which ability has been of great value.

Whilst at Newcastle University as an undergrad, indulging his love of boats “and all things watery” by studying Naval Architecture, he also led the Christian Union. He met his wife at a freshers’ fayre Christian Union event. She was part of the drama group looking to attract new members and he was unable to resist! They married the
day after his graduation and together went to Jamaica for a year, working as teachers in a small school in the mountains.

Returning to Essex for five years, they set up home and raised a family. During this time, Chris worked in a variety of jobs that included fisherman and boat builder, but he ended up combining church youth work with painting and decorating.

In 2000 he felt drawn into the ministry and they moved to landlocked Haworth in West Yorkshire, where he served as student minister at West Lane Baptist Church. ‘Student minister’ means that he was on day release whilst studying theology at Manchester university. He became the sole person in charge of the church, like a curate but with no senior cleric in place to guide him. He says, “It was daunting but I learnt fast and the congregation were very forgiving!”

Chris is still in Haworth 23 years later but no longer as church minister. He is still a ‘reverend’ and an accredited Baptist minister but has moved from pulpit to pew, “which is taking a little time to get used to”. However, it has opened up new areas of service and in January this year he started as church funding officer for the national charity Christians Against Poverty. This is only a part-time role and dovetails well with his new work for the Waterways Chaplaincy. He is also helping a number of clergy as an accredited pastoral supervisor.
​
Chris also enjoys running, cycling, fixing things and helping to lead the local community cinema. He finds that the beauty of the natural world with its space and silence clears his mind and speaks to his soul, which he says is very needed on occasions!

Chris is excited about the future and where the Lord will lead the Waterways Chaplaincy under his leadership. We wish him fair weather and happy sailing!

The Waterways Chaplains are available to help any boater or towpath user in any way they can, be it to assist at the locks, have a chat on or off the boat, provide help in practical ways such as filling in complicated forms, be a listening ear or hopefully a problem solver. They are happy and ready to do whatever they can to help anyone in
need, whatever the need.

The lead chaplain covering the south of England is Sarah Hayes, who can be contacted on 07878 455644.

Pip and Robert are in training and cover Devizes; Mike serves between Pewsey Wharf and Semington Wharf; Alice between Claverton and Avoncliff; Nicola between Avoncliff and Bradford on Avon; and Mike and Ali are based in Hungerford.

Do get in touch if you think they can help you in any way whatsoever.

Finally, did you know that there is a shower available for boaters' use each Tuesday at the St. James Centre in Devizes (suggested donation £3) and free tea and coffee on Tuesday mornings from 8am to 10am. The centre is in Eastcourt Crescent, postcode SN10 1LR, close to the London Road Bridge no 138.

However, before visiting for the first time, please ring the parish office, telephone number 01380 723891, 8am to 12 noon on Tuesdays or 9am to 12 noon every other weekday. They will ask your name, your boat’s name, and your telephone number, so they can advise you in the future if there are any changes in the arrangements.

Do give it a try if you are in the area, it’s a great facility.

1st January 2023 was a day that marked the transition of the Waterways Chaplaincy from being a part of Workplace Matters to becoming an independent, ecumenical charity within the Church Army family.

We have left Work place Matters (WM) with fond memories and much appreciation of the way that, in 2019, WM ‘birthed’ WWC and continued to nurture the ministry. The effectiveness of their encouragement over the years has seen WWC grow into a unique nationwide charity being Jesus’ hands and feet amongst the waterways communities.

You might say that it is a sign of success that WWC is now ready to strike out independently and grow further, but now with the support of the Church Army.

The Waterways Chaplaincy’s ministry has a more natural affinity with Church Army. Wilson Carlile, who established the Church Army in 1882, believed that God’s love is for everyone. He was passionate about his faith and wanted to share the good news of Jesus with people who would never dream of stepping foot in a church.

That continues to be the Church Army’s mission today and is why the Waterways Chaplaincy fits so well into its family of ministries.

a window on the world!

Having passed on that news, I must tell you about our new church doors. St.Lawrence’s church, Hungerford, which is right next door to the towpath of the Kennet and Avon canal, was built in 1816 on the site of previous churches. It has a stout wooden outer door and, until a couple of weeks ago, ugly red baize inner doors. They have now been replaced by handsome new glass doors, manufactured in Germany, each one attractively etched with a ceremonial Cross. This means that the entrance into the church is lighter and brighter and those inside are able to look out into the churchyard with, at the moment, its carpet of snowdrops. More importantly, those outside can see what is happening inside before they venture in – or not, if the viewer is too shy to do so – perhaps next time he or she will have a change of mind?

The doors are the first step in refurbishing the back end of the church to provide a commercial kitchen, disabled toilets, and small meeting rooms that can be heated individually without heating the whole church (which actually means heating the high
roof!)

The doors and installation have been paid for by the Friends of the church following a lot of successful fund raising, and their donated £12,000 was match funded by Greenham Common Trust.

Our vicar’s wife, Alison Saunders, heads up the Kennet and Avon hub of the Waterways Chaplaincy and our vicar, Mike, is also a chaplain. The church is open all day and we would love to welcome you at any time!

Dear Lord, you promised Paradise
At the measure of our years.
No grief, no crying, no more pain,
You’ll wipe away our tears.
A city built of purest gold
Its walls a jasper ring,
And we shall be your people, Lord,
And you our God and King –

But can it be more beautiful
than England in the Spring?

I drove today along a road
With hedges clipped and neat
Fluorescent green in light and shade
With daisies at their feet.
And trees, sap rising, swayed their heads
Atop their patterned bark
And shelter gave to verge side flowers
Beneath cathedral arc.

There were snowdrops in the churchyard
And bluebells in the wood,
And daffodils were everywhere –
You’re right, it all “was good” –
So who has need of amethyst
When wisteria’s on the wall?
And hyacinth and foxglove
Steal the colour from opal?

Primroses, joy self-seeded, see
the roses, not so prim,
ignore pale onyx, agate, quartz,
And from carnelians skim
bright red and yellow, flame and pink,
as buds uncurl, rain-pearled.
And there are violets underfoot -
jewels hiding from the world.

Seen from the bridge, the water plays
Like crystal, diamond glass,
And there are mallards in the flow
And swans preen on the grass,
And grown-ups sit and children play
And dogs run to and fro.
Don’t you have spaniels up there, Lord?
May I refuse to go?

There’s a hedgehog in the garden
And it’s fallen in a pot,
And we’ve rescued him and popped him safe
Among forget-me-not.
He curled up in protective ball,
Breath prick(er)ly and slow.
If hedgehogs aren’t in Heaven, Lord,
do I really have to go?

And here is blossom, cherry red
And apple, pink and cream,
Forsythia, wood anemone,
Dog roses by the stream,
The dandelion and celandine
glow golden, campion red,
the crocus burgeons, lilac bursts
like stars above my head.

I know you love us, Lord of Life,
Creator God and King,
But it will be so hard to leave
Dear England in the Spring.

(Revelation 21.1-4 and 18-21)
Iris Lloyd

You may not be aware of the Waterways Chaplaincy. Our chaplains work across the inland waterways to support boaters in need, helping to resolve a wide range of issues from access to benefits and healthcare to being a listening ear and companion to the lonely and anxious. Chaplains are committed to walking one mile of their towpath each week but most walk much more than that. They are happy to chat to anyone they meet, whether it be boaters, fishermen, cyclists or other walkers, and to help in any and every way they can, if asked.

The last Sunday of February 2022 was a special day for a group of us who are part of the Waterways Chaplaincy. We travelled to Box, near Bath, to support Alice, a probationer, as she became a fully licensed and commissioned chaplain.

The Commissioning took place during the morning Holy Communion service conducted by Revd. Claire Southgate in the ancient parish church of St. Thomas a Becket. To mark the commissioning, Alice was given a windlass so she can assist boaters at any lock gates. This was presented to her by Revd. Pat Willis, the senior waterways chaplain for the Kennet and Avon canal, who had it cunningly concealed. When she whisked it out at the appropriate moment, reminiscent of a Tommy Cooper trick, it produced delighted laughter from the congregation.

The preceding talk was given by Rev. Sarah Hayes, who is lead waterways chaplain for the south of England and whose area extends from just below Birmingham to the south coast. She explained what the chaplaincy is and does. A gentleman member of the congregation, now retired, was so impressed with what he heard that he enquired about becoming a chaplain himself.

Alice is dedicated to her new ministry but Box is nowhere near a canal and, as she is without a car, it takes her more than half an hour by bus to reach her patch. In her enthusiasm, she takes all this in her stride.

Following the service, Alice’s group enjoyed an excellent lunch at The Quarrymans Arms, which advertises itself as a traditional country inn with a history stretching back over 250 years. It is sited on Box Hill, with such a superb view in the glorious sunshine that I was prompted to comment, “It is like being in a picture book”.

Revd. Pat went straight from Box to meet a gentleman on a bench on the canal bank at Hungerford, Berkshire, to assist him with filling in some complicated forms.

Any inland waterways user can contact the Chaplaincy through their website.