THE OLDEST SURVIVING Oxford University College barge has returned to the city after 60 years away.
Originally a horse-drawn haulage vessel built in 1882, it was then converted in 1898 into a college barge for St Edmund Hall, Janet Friend reports.
Changed hands
After leaving Oxford, the barge changed hands and names a number of times, with the previous owner, Sheila Finney, doing what is described as an incredible job of preserving her.
Shown on the picture by Mark Tiller are Bruce Heagerty with Sheila Finney, the previous custodian of the barge.
Alas not really waterproof it sank a couple of times in shallow water some 20 years ago so Sheila gave her a new aluminum hull and then, 11 years ago, a new fibreglass roof.
But the painted plywood sides were rotten, so the boat's owner, Bruce Heagerty renovated these, with the Environment Agency in Caversham allowing him 14 months to do her up in its yard.
Practically a new boat
He now remarking that despite being 143 years old, it’s practically a brand new boat.
He has kept all the original panelling inside and as many of the old features as were practical, including some of the original teak hull on one wall.
Then trip up from Caversham on the Thames was a five-day, nerve-wracking odyssey, Bruce told.