After this narrow strip of land between the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal and the Severn estuary had threatened to give way, the canal company used old boats to strengthen the bank. Several dozen old wooden, metal and concrete craft were beached here over a 50 year period.
Courtesy of Wikipedia, a little bit of history:
In 1909, following a collapse in the bank of the river, the Canal Companies Chief Engineer Mr A. J. Cullis called for old vessels to be run aground along the bank of the Severn, near Purton, to create a makeshift tidal erosion barrier to reinforce the narrow strip of land between the river and canal.[15] Barges, trows and schooners were "hulked" at high tide, and have since filled with silt. More boats have been added, including the schooner "Katherine Ellen" which was impounded in 1921 for running guns to the IRA, the Kennet Canal barge "Harriett", and Ferrous Concrete Barges built in World War II.
You can see them on Google maps here (you can also see the location of the old Severn bridge railway):
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&q=Purton,+Berkeley,+Gloucestershire,+United+Kingdom&sll=53.800651,-4.064941&sspn=14.014358,46.494141&ie=UTF8&cd=1&geocode=FTRtFQMd957a_w&split=0&hq=&hnear=Purton,+Berkeley,+Gloucestershire,+United+Kingdom&ll=51.733301,-2.458277&spn=0.014326,0.045404&t=h&z=15
More information on this location here:
[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloucester_and_Sharpness_Canal"]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloucester_and_Sharpness_Canal[/ame]
Demolished in 1970 after suffering fatal damage during a shipping accident a decade earlier this is what remains of the Severn Railway bridge (the circular tower on the right housed a steam engine to operate a swing bridge allowing tall ships to pass on the canal):
The bridge previous to the disaster:
A very interesting area, well worth a visit.
Thanks for looking.
Courtesy of Wikipedia, a little bit of history:
In 1909, following a collapse in the bank of the river, the Canal Companies Chief Engineer Mr A. J. Cullis called for old vessels to be run aground along the bank of the Severn, near Purton, to create a makeshift tidal erosion barrier to reinforce the narrow strip of land between the river and canal.[15] Barges, trows and schooners were "hulked" at high tide, and have since filled with silt. More boats have been added, including the schooner "Katherine Ellen" which was impounded in 1921 for running guns to the IRA, the Kennet Canal barge "Harriett", and Ferrous Concrete Barges built in World War II.
You can see them on Google maps here (you can also see the location of the old Severn bridge railway):
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&q=Purton,+Berkeley,+Gloucestershire,+United+Kingdom&sll=53.800651,-4.064941&sspn=14.014358,46.494141&ie=UTF8&cd=1&geocode=FTRtFQMd957a_w&split=0&hq=&hnear=Purton,+Berkeley,+Gloucestershire,+United+Kingdom&ll=51.733301,-2.458277&spn=0.014326,0.045404&t=h&z=15
More information on this location here:
[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloucester_and_Sharpness_Canal"]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloucester_and_Sharpness_Canal[/ame]
Demolished in 1970 after suffering fatal damage during a shipping accident a decade earlier this is what remains of the Severn Railway bridge (the circular tower on the right housed a steam engine to operate a swing bridge allowing tall ships to pass on the canal):
The bridge previous to the disaster:
A very interesting area, well worth a visit.
Thanks for looking.
Last edited: