Today, instead of my endless trying to blag stories and research out of you guys for this blog, you have a chance to possibly help out friend and sometime contributor, David Rye, who is doing some research around an old barge location and asks for our help.
Corey’s Slipway, Photo provided by David Rye.
“Some of you will be aware”, says David, “that I am trying to research S.B. Rathbale built at Erith in 1896 by Easton & Anderson, previously E.A. & Goolden. Recently Ken C. kindly took myself and a cousin to what is left of the site – the slipway where we believe she was built – it is now concreted over. He also provided me with the attached photo. In the right-hand corner you will see a building with a double white roof and another to its right – in between is the slipway. On it appears to be a Cory’s tug, white band on funnel with a black diamond on either side if I remember correctly, together with perhaps another tug and two dumb barges. E. & A. originally owned the slipway but eventually Cory’s took it over presumably when E. & A. ‘went out of business.’ I will attach a photo of Giralda on the slipway. As to Cory’s wharf Ken knows all the details but briefly the one in the photo was replaced by the present larger one which extends perhaps one third further out into the river. The public can now use it – a bit like a pier in the old days – certainly not when we were children. It was out of bounds even for the most bold! Finally, again looking at the photo, everything to the left of the slip as far as perhaps two thirds of the way across the photo is now a Morrisons, with flats beyond towards the river, a pathway and then the river. Any information or photos of Rathbale would be gratefully received”.
Thank you for that, David. Maybe one of our readers will comment?