Getting giddy with it…
Kilsby has been floating on the inland waterways for 110 years. Over the past century it has taken on many guises. Bits have been chopped off, stuck on, welded over and ripped out, transforming the boat with each new purpose.
We are simply the next band of boat lovin’ enthusiasts to take a look at this big beautiful chunk of steel, iron and elm and see that it has yet another lease of life in store.
Before Kilsby had even been donated to the Jericho Living Heritage Trust, the dream had been to find a boat that could be shared amongst the community, provide a platform to showcase the talents of local performers, and in so doing bring to life the heritage embedded in the Oxford Canal and everything that floats on it.
The boat was found, but the dream kept growing….
We now know that we want to…
Celebrate the historical value of Kilsby by restoring the traditional livery and lines of the 1912 commissioned design.
Provide the opportunity for passengers to cruise around on Kilsby, with a propulsion method that reduces carbon emissions and is fit for purpose.
Have the capacity to host intimate performances on board, and with a smidge of forewarning be able to convert the space to an open air stage for canal side performances
Work with integrity towards the statement on our flyer - ‘a canal boat for everyone’ - meaning you should be able to access all facets of Kilsby’s offerings regardless of age, income, disability, or any other factor.
What once seemed like a simple idea has evolved into a complex web of operational, historical and environmental ambitions. It’s an exciting state of affairs, but it needs some attention….
‘We need’, said Steph, ‘a feasibility study’.
And so began the analysis of the big dream, the serious assessment of the practicality of our ambitions for Kilsby. Not too serious of course. There have been coffees, and biscuits, and always the hope that if we got the serious work done quickly enough there might be time to get to the pub.
In addition to examining the constraints and opportunities of the existing local infrastructure (working out, for example, how many day trips could realistically operate out of Jericho on any given day), we have enjoyed connecting with other boat lovin’ enthusiasts who have embarked on similar adventures....
The Village Butty, for example, is a 1959 narrowboat that has operated as a much loved floating village hall, music venue and community centre in London since 2010. We got quite overcome with the warm and fuzzies when we watched this short clip about it - The Village Butty - marvelling at their success in creating a communal space that simultaneously revels in its own quirkiness and creates a welcoming environment for all.
We were drawn to their community spirit but ended up phoning them with much more practical concerns. As the name suggests, their boat is a butty (a non motorised boat), so they use a push tug to move their boat around. Kilsby was also originally a butty. We got all giddy thinking about a simpler, more faithful restoration, meaning that we would not install an engine on the finished Kilsby. What were the pros and cons of tugging an engineless community boat about the town?
We didn’t know, so we called them up for a chat and added their voices of experience to the feasibility study.
You can’t start digging about the floating stages of London without discovering Widgeon Theatre Boat https://www.widgeontheatreboat.com/
Their creative use of the limited space offered by a narrowboat has boosted our confidence in the capacity of Kilsby to operate in multiple ways - to be designed and rebuilt as a flexi-space which can transform from an open-air stage to intimate indoor venue...
Woah I hear you cry!
I thought you were getting all giddy about a faithful restoration? A pop up roof? Open air stages?… This doesn’t sound very 1912?
Enter Jim Hutchinson, another stellar character who has hopped on board and helped us with our feasibility homework.
Jim has recently completed the restoration of Hampton, a butty from the same fleet as Kilsby, and crikey what a lovely job he did!
Get a cup of tea and marvel at this undertaking on his website https://www.buttyhampton.com/
(then come back and finish reading about Kilsby)
Jim’s restoration mindset was similar to ours - to restore the boat as faithfully as possible, but with the intention of being able to use it .
For Jim this meant paying great attention to historical design details whilst also deciding to motorise the butty. The installation of an engine with hydraulic drive to a motor in the elum (the massive rudder on traditional buttys) meant that he had enough space to restore a boatman’s cabin at the back of the boat. With this design solution there was no need for a propeller shaft, (as is necessary on most motorised boats) and therefore sufficient space for the boatman’s cabin within a traditional butty stern shape...
In short, it looks like an authentic historic non-motorised butty, but it can whizz about by itself, even spinning on its axis a la Torvil and Dean.
Hampton was the second historic boat restored by Jim and his family. The trials and tribulations of the restoration of narrowboat Owl is told in Jim’s new book, ‘Owl - The story of a Josher’ (Jim was missing boating during the pandemic, so immersed himself in boatiness by writing this book.).
You can buy it here: https://www.canalbookshop.co.uk/new-arrivals/owl-story-of-a-josher.html
Jim’s son Tim is an illustrator and has created some wonderful cutaways of traditional working narrowboats, a must-see for anyone who wants to know their tiller from their top tingle once and for all.
Here’s an example below, visit his website to see it in all its glory:
Jim is experienced and knowledgeable, and the real cherry on top is his enthusiasm for our ambitions. We’ll be heading down for a visit later this month where we’ll be taking Hampton for a spin and giving Jim a high-five and a huge thanks for supporting the big Kilsby dream.
In the pipeline too is a visit to narrowboat Birdswood https://www.birdswood.org/about/
Built in 1938 and showcasing the beautiful lines of a horse drawn boat, Birdswood offers passenger cruises propelled either by horse or an electric engine!
The silence of an electric engine would allow Kilsby’s passengers to enjoy other sounds…
perhaps a shanty…or a monologue... or the quack of a duck…
But with little infrastructure in place to support the electrification of Oxford canal boats right now, would it be a feasible option?
Perhaps we need to be the egg in this chicken vs egg conundrum…
or the egg…
or the chicken…?
What there is no shortage of on the inland waterways are boats that are kept afloat by communities. Across the land volunteers get together and help people get on board and enjoy our historical canals and all they bring to our present.
Trusts and charitable organisations are providing canal boat adventures for everyone; from children's ukulele orchestras to a party of passengers using wheelchairs, from disadvantaged and isolated local groups to families wanting to celebrate a special birthday on the cut. Communities are making it happen, and many of them have been for decades.
Our research isn’t over yet, but we are certainly on the way to appreciating the feasibility of our aims.
Through the gusto of volunteers and the generosity of donors we have successfully completed major structural works to safeguard the future of historic Kilsby. Now we get to the really fun part - the rebuild and reimagining of our beautiful hunk of iron, elm and steel.
What will Kilsby be next?
Once we can answer this question we’ll start preparing funding bids to institutional funders and make it happen. Hurrah!
If you’d like to get involved in any way please click here and get in touch!
