It was great to return and meet up again with Les Reid on the Heritage Barge, the Leicester Trader. He has fascinating stories about sailing barges to tell. You can hear about it in the film below:
Newark’s unique Heritage Barge ‘Leicester Trader’ is the last Trent size cargo barge built to fit the old locks of the Trent Navigation Company. Saved from being scrapped in 2008 and renovated by Les and a group of local barge aficionados, the dumb barge is now a floating museum, moored in the lee of the imposing 900 year old Newark castle ruins. Below deck in the former cargo hold where there is a terrific collection of photographs, films, models, equipment and activities. Les showed us round the barge, both outside at Newark Marina undergoing its ten year survey and hull maintenance, and inside the exhibition and told us about the history of the Leicester Trader, and it’s place in the history of the inland navigation’s sailing barges, locks and waterways.
Find out more about visiting the Leicester Trader on the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/leicester.trader/
Video by Rich & Lou Duffy-Howard for Open Bridges
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Rich & Lou Duffy-Howard
Open Bridges, A River Full of Stories is an ongoing independent not for profit project conceived and organised by Rich & Lou Duffy-Howard. We continue to gather memories, stories, photographs, films and exhibitions about life on and around the River Hull.
Open Bridges made history when for the first time all 13 bridges over the River Hull in the UK’s City of Culture 2017 raised, swung or closed simultaneously splitting the city of Hull in two at 20:17 hours on 22nd September 2017. Historic vessels sailed down the river, met by 21st century tugs, to the sound of a new musique concrète work.
Open Bridges is an independent Hull/East Yorkshire based project.