Any Muddy Bottom

by Geoff Body

  While, later, great Somerset enterprises like that of Stuckey & Bagehot might proudly operate East Indiamen out of Combwich and emigrants might sail from Bridgwater to North America, the pattern of Bristol activity was always the dominant feature in the profile of shipping within the Bristol Channel, at least until steam power and railways came to the South Wales coal mines. Shipments through Bristol did decline for a while when the West Country woollen industry diminished in importance from the fifteenth century, but the volume of Irish trade grew, as did that to the Atlantic coast of Europe. The first half of the seventeenth century saw the beginning of a steady growth in Bristol’s industrial activity and the use of large numbers of vessels to carry its products. By 1650 the trade with North America had equalled that to and from Ireland. Then came the era of slave trading and its ancillary barter activity, the slave ships working their sad course in a triangle out to West Africa, across to the Americas and home with the rich produce of the New World. It was displaced in turn by the growth in direct business with the West Indies, especially sugar, molasses and rum.

  Bristol was a dominant influence on local shipping activity and this view from the Clifton Suspension Bridge shows a typical scene with a tug towing two ketches and a smack, a dredging operation off the north bank and a number of small vessels further downstream.

  The Minehead and Bridgwater harbour groups were not greatly dissimilar in terms of volume of shipping. At the beginning of the eighteenth century the number of vessels recorded at Bridgwater usually exceeded the Minehead figure, but not always. The main flow into the Minehead group was that of coal and culm from Swansea and Neath; these and other traffics from Pembrokeshire and Carmarthen formed the second highest inwards total for the group as a whole, with those from Bristol and beyond the third. There was a similar inward pattern at Bridgwater, but with rather more manufactured and transhipped goods from Bristol and cargoes from harbours up the Severn.

  Inward voyages to Minehead and Bridgwater, principally livestock plus coal and other minerals, usually exceeded 300 a year at this period, but outward movements would only be about a third of this total. This reflected the character of the areas around the two ports, with cereals, fodder crops and produce the main commodities dispatched, plus to a smaller extent, flax, hemp and linen. An immense variety of other goods requiring shipment were offered in very varied and irregular quantities and ranged from ale to cabbage plants and pit props to cereals.

  In comparison, Bristol was served by some 1,500 local trade voyages a year, with Severn trows bringing in ironwork from the Wye works, produce from the Cotswolds in addition to the Somerset supplies, and meat, hides, linen and the like from Ireland. Market boats worked regularly to and from Chepstow, Caerleon and Newport and there was a weekly link with Bridgwater.

  With large numbers of Welsh and Irish cattle being shipped to Somerset and landed pretty well anywhere required, this would have been a very common scene.

  Inevitably, this broad picture of Somerset coastal trade prior to the great changes from the 1790s onwards is something of a generalisation. Account needs to be taken of the varying integrity of early records which, even in later years, depended on the location and efficiency of the various customs houses and of a rather mixed bag of harbour authorities. While cargoes of higher value needed underwriting and their dispatch and arrival recorded, small and low-value goods could be moved without security under Letpass and similar documentation. Customs officials were not greatly concerned with the latter, but even small vessels might take on high-value goods by transhipment which might, or might not, get noticed. Additionally, masters might act as merchants for a little trading of their own, a feature often involving small coal shipments from the Neath area pits from which half the output was going to Somerset in 1701–05, taking over from the former livestock pre-eminence. The small movements for friends, other seamen and the local entrepreneurs would also feature.

  The trade patterns of the past began a dramatic revision as the nineteenth century approached. Land enclosure and new machinery totally changed agriculture. First turnpike roads and then canals revolutionised inland distribution, steam usurped the former water-power dependence, and shipping increased in importance as an economic bulk movement agency. Vessels were now to get bigger, their operation more sophisticated and navigation and harbour facilities quick to follow suit. A comprehensive postal service speeded up the process of matching loads with shipping and the arrangement of agencies, credit and the like. Primitive lighthouses like the 1737 privately-owned, coal-fired lighthouse on Flat Holm, which was reconstructed by Trinity House in 1820, came under that body’s unified control and charts could now be relied upon.

  The whole of national life, not just its coastal shipping, was to change dramatically under the influence of the Industrial Revolution, ubiquitous railways, expanding mines, new docks, urban housing and other such factors. Throughout, coal remained a dominant feature of shipping activity in the Bristol Channel. Around 1790 steam power was increasingly being used in the South Wales collieries, and Dean coal pits were producing 100,000 tons a year as the 1800s arrived. Helped by tramways and their link to Lydney from 1813 and stimulated by the repeal of duty measures in 1833, the annual Dean output had risen to over 500,000 tons by 1880 – some 60 per cent going to Bridgwater. The rise in shipment coal was even more dramatic at Cardiff and Newport, especially after the Taff Vale Railway established the first feeder route in 1840–41. Coastal shipping trade adapted from the former local produce and other traditional movements to cope with the new opportunities presented by the demand for coal along with parallel growth such as the dispatch of large volumes of bricks from the Parrett ports, stone outwards for docks and sea walls, the short-lived iron ore export boom at Watchet and similar flows. The wines, tea, spices and other long-distance imports also increased, but were now supplemented by more exotic luxury goods from further destinations, either landed from deep sea vessels or, more often, transhipped by them at Bristol.

  The Somerset ports and pills were now entering their heyday. Most coastal communities had seamen living there, along with many others connected with the sea. A busy port like Bridgwater would be dominated by the talk and movement of waterborne goods and its vessels, by the carriers and merchants working in the docks and the lives and needs of the seamen. Prior to the opening of the Severn Tunnel in 1886 the port had dealt with over 4,000 vessels in the peak years and traded with the United States, Canada, Newfoundland, Prussia and Russia in addition to the many home and local ports. Some three-quarters of the sailings were inwards with significant quantities of timber, twine, hemp, linseed, grain and general goods being handled, as well as coal. Timber also moved in the other direction, along with cement, plaster of Paris, gypsum, building bricks, scouring bricks, pipes and tiles. The character of each harbour location and its role and activity had become more complex and more individual, as will become apparent in the later descriptions of the various Somerset ports and their trade.

  Despite a gradual slowing down it so continued until the dawn of the twentieth century, but the writing was already on the wall. The number of vessels bringing cargo into Bridgwater, for example, had dropped by a quarter between 1890 and 1892, but between the dawn of the new century and the outbreak of the First World War the drop was nearer a half, although the average load had risen only from 55 tons to 66 tons. After the war the decline became dramatic with the port depending on coal for four-fifths of its inbound business and fertilisers, sand and gravel for most of the rest. Outward flows had virtually ceased altogether.

  Steamers and motor vessels featured increasingly in the Somerset harbours in these later years, but the railways had won the battle for the homeland traffics. They made use of water shipment themselves by bringing coal and rails into Highbridge Wharf and serviced the shipping’s trade distribution needs from Portishead, Bridgwater and Watchet, at least until the railway industry itself went on to face its own nemesis in the rise of road transport. Portishead Docks were
busy for many years with timber, phosphorus and coal for the power stations there and a few small steamers supplied local gasworks at Minehead and Weston-super-Mare.

  Even the Bristol Channel’s excursion steamers eventually surrendered their record of pleasure voyages, but Combwich did have a useful period of handling construction traffic for the Hinkley Point nuclear power plant, a few sand boats continued to come up to Bristol and, against all the odds, modern coastal shipping found a new role in bringing in coal and stone to Dunball Wharf. At the other end of the size scale, by the dawn of this century a succession of huge car carrying and coal vessels were using the new docks at Portbury.

  3. THE VESSELS

  Over the centuries, vessels of innumerable different designs, rigs and purposes have sailed the waters off the Somerset coast, from Viking longboats and pirate galleys to sleek schooners, laden barques and brigs, from fishing smacks to East Indiamen, and from revenue cutters to men-of-war. Sail ruled until the later years of the nineteenth century with the volume of activity accelerating steadily from the Tudor years onwards to a peak in the mid 1800s, steam then gradually becoming more commonplace. There were huge leaps in trade volume and vessel numbers in times of war and industrial growth with slumps often following.

  The classic range of sailing vessels had its origins in the first attempts to harness the extra propulsion wind could add to clumsy oars and paddles. A short mast and a square sail had the advantage of simplicity, in terms not only of handling, but also in the processes of stepping the mast and providing a strong but manageable sail. The lug sail, along with other variations, all had their day. However, although a square or similar sail might capture a steady wind, it had its shortcomings in tricky conditions of water and weather and was hardly the perfect instrument for easy ship handling and manoeuvrability. A fore and aft sail with a free boom was one answer, but experience over years of seamanship produced others and fed them back to the shipwrights and sailmakers. In parallel with the evolution of the sail marched the skill of the craftsmen in wood in selecting timbers and working and joining them to provide the extra length and stability needed to provide the platform on which more generous sails might be rigged.

  A taller mainmast with a topsail above the mainsail would capture more wind, a factor at the heart of fast schooner design and of the famous maritime clipper breed. Upper topsails would harness even more wind and repeating the combination on further masts took it one stage further. Square sails alone had their drawbacks when sailing in confined or unpredictable waters and the remedy was to either mix in a fore and aft sail on the mainmast or just add another mast and provide it with a fore and aft sail. Such mizzen masts became commonplace and together the two types provided both speed and manoeuvrability.

  Drawing showing the principal sails, in this case forming the rig of a typical ketch. (Roy Gallop)

  Clearly the overall length of a vessel governed the number of masts it could accommodate, but it could be effectively lengthened for sail-bearing purposes by adding a bowsprit. Jib sails could then supplement a foresail and be anchored to the mainmast to prove a valuable addition to every aspect of a ship’s performance. Inner, outer and flying jib sails became a feature of many commercial sailing vessels, sometimes as many as five. Happily, a long bowsprit extending from an upswept stem not only worked well in sailing terms, but could also emphasise the graceful, sea-friendly lines of a vessel’s hull. Another useful add-on was achieved by providing gaffs to the principal masts and squeezing in a stay sail or two.

  Any substantial alterations to the pattern of a vessel’s sails clearly had consequences in terms of the size of crew needed to handle them, and thus on its operational costs. It would also affect how well, or badly, she handled, something not always foreseeable when the alterations were made. A new rig needed to be tested and changed if not producing the desired results. Nor was every alteration the outcome solely of thoughtful consideration. Cost and availability of materials were also major considerations and extra sails were frequently sourced from whatever happened to be handy. Many an old sail was acquired cheap and put to use, often after being cut to fit its new purpose. The best bits of a large sail might be perfectly suitable for a smaller role and the necessary cutting and stitching be well within the ability of a vessel’s own crew.

  Hulls followed a similar irregular pattern of development, but with a much simpler relationship between profile and use. In shallow waters a flat bottom was called for to allow for the grounding that was part of most voyages. Where the intended trade was not primarily between limited pills and harbours, a good beam not only increased cargo space but also provided stability when lying on the bottom to load or unload. Many estuaries developed their own peculiar vessel designs, but a common feature was a strong, solid construction able to withstand the regular knocks from wharves, rocks and other vessels and to survive a lesser grounding or listing incident. For deeper waters a deeper keel was needed for water ‘purchase’.

  There was, of course, another side to this progression. More masts and sails meant higher building and running costs and thus had to be justified by the trade on offer. Fitting out was costly too, with mounting expense for the rising volume and sophistication of running gear, tackle, ropes, sailcloth and the like. More seamen with better experience were also needed. Serious thought and sizeable pockets were all essentials of the business of shipbuilding, owning and operating.

  Like all generalisations there were plenty of exceptions, chief among which was the fact that few ships remained in the same ownership for overlong. Start-up businesses would often buy a vessel second-hand and, just as often, make some alteration to its hull or rigging to suit whatever need they had in mind or just to reflect the experience and preferences of a new owner. A ship’s history could well be a long and convoluted saga with names changed almost as frequently as ownership.

  The overall picture in the Bristol Channel and the Severn Estuary was that of quite large numbers of sailing vessels with a dozen or so different types intent on their varying activities. With their size, sailing characteristics and handling methods equally varied, staying clear of one another and of navigational hazards was no mean undertaking. The scene at places like The Shoots or off the mouth of the Avon must have had something in common with a modern motorway junction except, of course, that the variety of ‘vehicles’ was infinitely greater, their power source was often highly unreliable and sudden braking was totally impossible!

  The Sloop or Smack

  The early years of channel trade, even more so than on the River Severn, were very much the province of simple sloops and smacks, single-masted and relying on mainsail and foresail to supplement the tide. Cutters, luggers and yawls were also to be seen, but the sloop was much favoured for its basic simplicity and versatility. Its simple rig, successor to that of the early fishing smacks, made for ease of handling, but did have its limitations. The forward location of the mast led to a tendency to plunging in head-on heavy seas. Heaving-to was also difficult in a sloop, and this was a decided disadvantage in the seas of the upper channel and Severn Estuary with their small and tricky harbours. In its cutter form some of the sloop’s drawbacks were alleviated.

  The sloop rig was widely used by smaller vessels; this arrangement was both simple and effective. (Roy Gallop)

  The Cutter

  Larger than the sloop, the cutter’s fore and aft rig of mainsail and two foresails created a fast, handy vessel, especially efficient in windward sailing. Their use for cargo was limited, but the channel waters would at one time have revealed a great many cutters, mainly as pilot boats roaming out as far as Lundy to meet incoming merchantmen. Sturdily built, with a deep draught and wide beam derived from this activity, their 40–60ft length also gave them room for the boarding punt, a decent cabin and adequate space for all the gear and provisions. Pilot cutters could lie to in heavy seas when waiting, a frequent occurrence in the days when sailing and voyage times for deep-sea shipping were totally dependent on weather a
nd the pattern of incoming merchantmen unpredictable. The waiting time would be spent fishing, but the cutter could then produce speed and manoeuvrability when required, an important feature when seeking to board an incoming vessel before the opposition could make its bid. And yet these handy little craft were still within the capacity of a man and a boy, and of the latter to bring home on his own after the pilot had left.

  Happily, the type still survives as revealed in a later chapter.

  Another ubiquitous vessel and rig, the cutter, pictured above in its basic trading vessel form and below as employed by the Bristol Channel pilots for its great sea-keeping characteristics.(Roy Gallop)

  The Trow

  The Severn trow was first cousin to the Humber keel and, like the latter, was a very simple vessel, originally just a straightforward shallow-draught barge with bluff bow, open hold and square stern. Working upstream from Gloucester necessitated a pivoted mast, pinned in a simple box so that it could easily be lowered towards the stern to negotiate bridges, and just as easily raised again. The mast also served to anchor the towing rope and facilitate loading and unloading. For their work along the length of the Upper and Middle Severn the single mast and square sail were adequate to supplement the tides as far as these reached, and towing was the practice beyond. Water depths were critical on the Severn, hence the shallow draught and flat bottom. Progress could even be influenced by the amount of rain coming down from the Welsh hills where the Severn rose, and result in small fleets coming down river together. The vessels waiting to go up river could then take similar advantage of the additional water depth.