Families Won and Lost.

 As you approach Rotherham you come to a lock at the foot of the Dove and Dearne Canal that is closed. This is Swinton Lock. It has been renamed Waddington Lock and you can still see why the name is synonymous with the area 

The Waddington's Barge 'Resilience' is kept up today as she occasionally gets work taking heavy and large items to factories and power stations along the South Yorkshire and River Trent. Things that would cause too much Chaos by road.

The first in the line of Waddingtons in the are that was involved with the navigations was Peter Waddington, 1820 - 1883. He seems to have started in partnership with a John Callis who had been a foreman with another local boat builder. By 1847 the partnership was severed and Peter seems to have set up on his own. In 1863 Peter, at his own expense paid for a meal for 124 of his workers, tenants and friends to celebrate the wedding of Queen Victoria's eldest son, the Prince of Wales, to Princess Alexandra of Denmark. After the meal he provided punch to the ladies and cannons were fired by day and fireworks at night. He seems to have done his bit for the people generally as he was elected on to the local Board of Health in 1873.

Waddington's yard is now found occupying the first three locks on the disused Dove and Dearne Canal just above the Swinton Lock.

Joseph, Peter's eldest child seems to have taken over the running of the yard with Peter having died in 1883. In 1887 the largest vessel ever built in Mexborough was launched at Waddington's yard. It was 62' x 16.5' x 9' height and was of 150 tons burden. It was unable to navigate to Mexborough when loaded but was intended for use on the Humber and Trent rivers, and wider sections of the other navigations. Joseph;s eldest sister Emily named her 'Highflier'. In 1889 the papers again said that Waddington's produced the largest vessel from Waddington, but only said that it just managed to scrape under the canal bridge. They were also the first Mexborough boat builders to build a vessel for the Aire and Calder Navigation., a keel of 80 tons. 

Waddington's at Swinton in 2000.

Some time after 1888 Joseph's younger brother Edward seems to have taken over the running of the company, but Joseph is credited with the launch of a keel 'Cedar' but made of English oak in 1893. On his death in 1892 his eldest son Albert Edward took control. The yard was now found at Bull Green in Mexborough and in 1902 he launches his first vessel called the 'Francess'. She had been designed by Joseph though and built of English oak. Her dimensions were 56' long x 6.5' high x 14'6" beam and 100 ton load

Unfortunately the number of hulls at Swinton Lock has greatly diminished since this photograph. After launching his first in 1902, as above, in 1928 there was much made the launching of a 4 ton boat, 22' x 10'  that was to be used as a ferry for the Cadeby Colliery between the mine and Conisborough. It was the first boat launch in Mexborough since 1914!

It was the Albert Edward's brother who took over the business due to Albert's ill health. That was Ernest Victor, and it was he who started to branch out from the boat building into carrying and property etc.  Ernest's son Victor started helping out with the business when he was 15 and when his father died in 1965 he was in sole charge. He later became known as 'The Canal King' as he built the business up with around 70 vessels and 80 employees as well as property, warehousing etc. He was an activist for freight to be carried on the canals and lobbied very hard for it. He died in 1999 but I'm sure he would have been pleased that in September this year sea dredged aggregates are been moved from Hull to Knostrop Wharf, Leeds, in 500 tonne loads. The saving of pollution from using inland quarries and river/canal transport that saves 18 lorries per lift. They are hoping to shift 200,000 tonnes a year, that is 8 barges a week! Maybe Victor's sons Steven and Tony will be involved. Swinton Lock was renamed Waddington Lock after Victor.

https://www.yfanefa.com/record/11525

This is a great look at Yorkshire TV programme fro 1985 all about Victor Waddington titled 'The Modest Millionaire'

After passing Swinton and Mexbrough we came to Rotherham Lock. There have been several changes in the river/canal layout here but at the moment there is lots of work going on on the land between the canal and the river, known as Forge Island. Luckily for many I'm sure, there are plenty of workers a round. The gates are a right bugger to shift and a helping hand will be a must for many.

In the past there was a road that ran along Forge Island by the canal called Forge Lane. It is here in 1841 that a great tragedy occurred. It was at the yard of George Wilton Chambers and Son, boat builders and mine owners. On Monday 5th July a boat launch was to take place. It was a 70 ton vessel that was designed to sail the canals, rivers and coasts of the UK, and so had raised bulwarks. The vessel was to be called the 'John and William'. The waterway is very narrow so the boat had to enter the water sideways, or at least at an acute angle. It was also common for all the neighbourhood to come along and enjoy the spectacle, and even ride down the slip onboard. On this day there were over 100 people aboard the new vessel, mainly children, when John Callis, (yes the man who was a partner with Peter Waddington until 1847), set the launch operation going. As the boat moved and started down the slip everybody aboard moved to the one side to see the big splash. This spelled disaster as  once in the water it capsized. The bulwarks that were designed to stop waves washing aboard and to prevent seamen being washed overboard now acted as prison bars as people were trapped between them and the deck. In the end there were 64 deaths recorded, all from the local area too. There were only about 6 or 8 adults, the rest being children. Can so many have been lost on a UK canal disaster anywhere else? I had never heard of it until coming across it to write this piece.

There were lots of stories about people being saved and how some who would have been aboard decided against it at last moment, but also of a canal man being aboard with his two children and all been lost. From then on only required employees were allowed on launched vessels. There re memorials at Rotherham and Masborough.