Century-old narrow boat uncovered at canal site

IT was once the site of a thriving waterway, bustling with canal traffic serving the industrial sites along its banks near Chesterfield.
Andy Robinson at work at an archaeological dig at Staveley, where an original Cuckoo boat, unique to the Chesterfield Canal has been dicovered. Picture Scott MerryleesAndy Robinson at work at an archaeological dig at Staveley, where an original Cuckoo boat, unique to the Chesterfield Canal has been dicovered. Picture Scott Merrylees
Andy Robinson at work at an archaeological dig at Staveley, where an original Cuckoo boat, unique to the Chesterfield Canal has been dicovered. Picture Scott Merrylees

But after the collapse of the almost 3,000-yard-long Norwood Tunnel in October 1907, the stretch of the Chesterfield Canal between the tunnel at Kiveton in Rotherham, and the end of the canal at Chesterfield, was cut off, and became derelict, eventually being filled in for good in the 1970s.

Many of the boats that had been used for centuries to carry supplies and freight along the waterway, were abandoned.

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Now, thanks to the persistence and determination of the Chesterfield Canal Trust, which has carried out extensive renovation work along the route of the old canal, an archaeological dig has uncovered a lost ‘cuckoo’ narrowboat at the Bellhouse Basin at Staveley.

Andy Robinson at work at an archaeological dig at Staveley, where an original Cuckoo boat, unique to the Chesterfield Canal has been dicovered. Picture Scott MerryleesAndy Robinson at work at an archaeological dig at Staveley, where an original Cuckoo boat, unique to the Chesterfield Canal has been dicovered. Picture Scott Merrylees
Andy Robinson at work at an archaeological dig at Staveley, where an original Cuckoo boat, unique to the Chesterfield Canal has been dicovered. Picture Scott Merrylees

The two-week excavation is mainly due to the hard work of co-ordinator Andy Robinson, who, in 2012, wrote a paper entitled The Lost Cuckoo, saying he believed there could be an example of the wooden narrow-keeled boats, hidden beneath the basin.

He had carried out extensive research among older members of the community, and went as far as to pinpoint exactly on the site where he believed one could have been left.

Rod Autin, a trustee at Chesterfield Canal Trust, said: “Some people thought he was talking rubbish but some of us had faith. Around this time last year, Scott Lomax, an archaeologist from the City of Nottingham, got in touch, and after reading Andy’s paper he thought there was something in it.”

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Mr Lomax worked with Mr Robinson on a bid for funding from Aviva Community Fund, and after attracting 9,500 public votes, a detailed bid won £10,000 to fund the dig, which began on August 5.

Volunteer Charlotte Robinson with a model of a Cuckoo boat. Picture Scott MerryleesVolunteer Charlotte Robinson with a model of a Cuckoo boat. Picture Scott Merrylees
Volunteer Charlotte Robinson with a model of a Cuckoo boat. Picture Scott Merrylees

And on the very first day of work, it hit the jackpot.

Mr Robinson said: “The plan was to just scrape the surface of the turf up ready for the diggers and participants, who were arriving the next day.

“But on the second scrape, we hit a piece of wood, and then another, and another.”

And it wasn’t just a cuckoo. They also unearthed a maintenance boat, complete with iron ice-breaker, and then later, the original canal towpath.

Historical photo of members of the Staveley community with a Cuckoo boatHistorical photo of members of the Staveley community with a Cuckoo boat
Historical photo of members of the Staveley community with a Cuckoo boat
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Mr Autin said: “It was magical to find the first boat. For Andy in particular, it was wonderful because a lot of people hadn’t believed what he was saying - but he was entirely vindicated.”

Mr Robinson continued: “Initially it was a relief that there was plenty in the ground still to see, and then the excitement of seeing more and more exposed.

“We have been able to identify the first boat as a cuckoo, and the second as a maintenance boat as it has a shallower draft, and it is 50 ft long.”

Both boats are in remarkable condition, with the cuckoo’s waterproof lining still intact.

The canal in the 1970s, when it was reduced to a bog.The canal in the 1970s, when it was reduced to a bog.
The canal in the 1970s, when it was reduced to a bog.
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Teams from the Canal Trust and up to 50 volunteers are working with Rotherham-based Elmet Archaeological Services to fully uncover the boats, but sadly, after an open day this Saturday, August 19, they will be covered over once again.

Until then, local children have been at the site learning about the boats and the dig process.

“Hopefully, by the weekend, we will have learnt everything we want to know from the boats,” Mr Robinson said. “Then eventually, the site will ether become a visitor carpark or part of the restored canal itself, in around five years time.

“It has been a great pleasure to see the kids learning and enjoying themselves.

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“You could look at them and see rotting, mankey old boats, but what I see is a story. People here used them to make a living.”

Among those volunteering at the dig is 18-year-old Sam Marples, who hopes to study archaeology at university.

Andy Robinson at work at an archaeological dig at Staveley, where an original Cuckoo boat, unique to the Chesterfield Canal has been dicovered. Picture Scott MerryleesAndy Robinson at work at an archaeological dig at Staveley, where an original Cuckoo boat, unique to the Chesterfield Canal has been dicovered. Picture Scott Merrylees
Andy Robinson at work at an archaeological dig at Staveley, where an original Cuckoo boat, unique to the Chesterfield Canal has been dicovered. Picture Scott Merrylees

He said: “The whole experience has been breath-taking - above and beyond what I could of expected from a community dig.”

What’s in a name?

The wooden, narrow-keeled boats, which were 70 feet long, were thought to have gained the name ‘cuckoo’ by people working on the waterways of Gainsborough in Lincolnshire.

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“They would often travel beyond the Chesterfield Canal, to the River Trent, or to Linconshire on the wider system, and it wasn’t the Chesterfield men that called them cuckoos,” Andy Robinson said. “They were called cuckoos by a Gainsborough chap, as they were different and out of place. How it came to stick, we don’t know.”

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