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Shellfen.co.uk

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VIDEO:A trip down onto Salford Quays through Pomona Lock . 3rd May 2007

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December 2004

LOCATION
Moored under the bridge at EgertonNarrowboats Boatyard, Stretford, Greater Manchester on the Bridgewater Canal.
CONDITION
Dry dock inspection has revealed the extent of repairs needed on the hull to make it seaworthy. The sides will need re-plating in the next few months.
HISTORY
Converted to an an oil tanker with two 2000 gallon(approx) tanks operating on the Fens in Norfolk since the 1930's. It was still in use in the 1980's for supplying oil and diesel laterly on the Bridgwewater. A Westlander Dutch barge constructed in c.1912,with an iron rivetted hull. The Lister LP2 engine was installed in 1938 and tanks and pumping gear installed.
It was registered at Lloyds in 1938 by 'Shellmex-BP Ltd.' and was the smallest oil tanker in their fleet.
PROJECT
To restore the hull of the boat as closely as possible to the original lines. To convert the tanks to modern day use and provide accomodation.

Steering (disconnected)

Pumping gear
(now removed)

Inside the forward tank.

The current superstructure with the existing tank consisting of two separate compartments.

"Shellfen". is a dutch barge that was converted in the 1930's by Shellmex-BP into the smallest oil tanker of their fleet. Registered at Lloyds in 1938 it worked on the Fens around Cambridge and Ely until the 1970's, transferring to the Bridgewater canal, where it now lives.

The Superstructure with a place for the steerer to stand.
The engine hatches were constructed from the original hold covers.

"1974 The last commercial boat to use the River Great Ouse was Shellfen, the smallest boat in Shell Oil's massive fleet. It served the pumping stations on the river and was in great demand during winter when roads were impassable. Following this, the only non-pleasure craft on the navigation were river maintenance boats."

(Canals & Waterways: Roots & Routes © Peter Hardcastle 1994-2006)

Original registration document made in 1938 when it was registered as a shell oil tanker working for 'shellmex-BP'on the fens in Norfolk.The ship had previously been known as 'Progress'

"The Westland ship was developed towards the end of the 19th Century,when 'greenhouse culture began to develop. The main characteristics are a conspicuous length/width ratio of 5 to 1 or 6 to 1, with a small draught and sheer sides (many low bridges had to be passed by) and a moderately strong bulge in the forebody."

There are plans of a Westland sailing barge and a Westland motorbarge at the 'Maritiem Museum 'Prins Hendrik' in Rotterdam.(See Design and Build)

Translated by Dr. A.V. Akveld from: Kampen,H.C.A. (1927) "Schepen die Voorbijgaan" Amsterdam p.141-145

"The Westlander is a small flat "little-ship" with little draught; the length around 52ft, the width 9ft. 3ins.. Just as the 'bok' has no side decks, here the hatch-covers take up the full width. In the after end there is no room for a cabin, and there is at the end of the hold a closing hatch. The prow falls sharply and the rudder is broad. The front end is perculiarly formed as both sides towards the front bulge out like two cheeks that fallin sharply towards the prow. Present day vessels are unwisely built with the same form, of iron, and are very full......... and in general in a large part of South Holland and the southern part of North Holland. When it appears as a motorised craft,"

Maritiem Museum
Rotterdam

Other Book used for reference:Petrejus E.W.(1971)"Oudre Zeilschepen, Jachten en Vissersschepen" Bussum. pp.77-80

The museum has some sheets of plans of this type of ship giving waterlines and a frames-plan, scale 1:20.museum nos. T1178,1177 1480,1481. This information was obtained from the museum's curator DR.L.M. Akveld in 1976 by Dr. R.Lorenz the owner of Shellfen at the time. click here to go to Maritiem Museum Rotterdam.

"going to the rally at York"August 1975

The oil tanker at Ely - Shellfen – is a well known sight on many fenland waterways in winter months. She is a Dutch barge, brought over from Holland in about 1912 to be used for carrying bulbs grown in Reach Fen to Ely Dock. When this ceased she was used in the general carrying trade between Kings Lynn and Cambridge. This did not last long, but at this time a start was being made on converting some of the pumping stations from steam to diesel operation. Previously gangs of fenland lighters had supplied the stations with coal and Shell-Mex & B.P. Ltd bought the barge to carry diesel oil in barrels to the converted pumps. At first she operated on a part time basis, but as the number of engines increased, a full time skipper was appointed. Shortly before the Second War the barge was fitted out as a tanker at Hull and from then on she carried the oil in bulk, pumping it ashore through pipes carried on board.

In 1948 Shellfen was based on Appleyard Lincoln’s boatyard at Ely, who operated her under contract. Sometime in the 1960’s ownership was passed over by Shell to Appleyard Lincoln. At one time over 100 pumping stations were supplied but as the fen roads were improved, so allowing road tankers to reach hitherto inaccessible sites and pumps were converted to all-electric working to economise on labour costs, so the number declined. It had fallen to about 80 in 1948 and to 50 by 1961. The fuel used to be picked up from rail tankers at transhipment points like Littleport, Chatteris and Benwick docks, but later road tankers from Kings Lynn arranged to meet the barge at pre-selected places not far from the pumping stations,

Shellfen is 48ft long and can carry 4,000 gallons. In a wet winter, such as 1961, when the pumps were particularly active, as many as 100,000 gallons were supplied. Now the number of pumps is about 20, which include those at the entrance to Soham, Swaffham and Bottisham Lodes; two on the Old West River near Earith; one on the Wissey at Stoke Ferry; two on the Old Bedford River and several in the Middle Level Navigations aroud Ramsey, Yaxley and March. Even now wet weather brings increased business for the barge; long may these cargoes continue.

‘Nowadays (1960’s) barge traffic has almost forsaken the fenland rivers, although they get busier and busier with pleasure craft. Indeed the maintenance and clay carrying barges run by the Great Ouse River Authority from their Ely depot, and a small tanker, which operates from Ely supplying a few fenland pumping stations with diesel oil, are the only commercial traffic left.’

Shellfen in the Middle Level,1961

(Shell-BP News,magazine of Shell-Mex&BP Ltd.)

(Thanks to Colin Lines for supplying a copy of this book)

Article from Shell-BP News .
Extracts from:
“Fenland Barge Traffic”, Based on a Thesis by John K. Wilson, Edited and additional material by Alan H. Faulkner. The second book in a series covering all aspects of boating on inland waterways published in 1972 by Robert Wilson, Kettering, Northants. (P.30-32)

Shellfen in the Old bedford River discharging diesel oil to a pumping station, 1961

(Shell-BP News)

Original specification for the sale by Appleyard's

SPECIFICATION OF M/V “SHELL FEN”.

Length 42ft. Beam 9’ 4”, Draught 4’6” laden, 2’6” unladen.

Certificate of British Registry Official No 167221.

No, Date, & Port of Registry: 82 in 1939, London.

This craft was originally built in Holland, but where and date of construction is unknown.

Constructed of steel with scow type stern and transom stern, single screw four stroke 2 cylinder Lister Diesel. Built in 1938. 4½” Diameter cylinders x 5½” Stroke. 21 B.H.P.

Gross Tonnage 10.55, Registered Tonnage 6.66.

This craft was converted to an oil tanker by Shell-Mex and B.P. in the 1930’s and has been used for refuelling the Fenland Drainage Pumps up to the present time.

The two bunkers hold a maximum of 3,500 gallons and the pumps are operated by the main machinery.

Approximately 190ft 2½” delivery hose.

This boat could be adapted as a floating pump out service station or for diesel boat refuellers.

Can be inspected at Appleyard Lincoln & Co (Boat Builders) Ltd, Riverside Boatyard, Ely, Cambridgeshire. By appointment.

Price: £1,500 (ex Ely)

Certificate of British Registry.
Particulars of ship.
Official Number 167221
Name of ship: Shellfen
No. Date, and Port of Registry : 82 in 1939 London
Stem: Scow
Stern: Transom
Build: Clinker(?)
Framework and description of vessel: State(?) Launch
Length from fore-part of stem, to the aft side of the head of stern post: 42ft 8 tenths
Main breadth to outside of plank: 8ft 9.5 tenths
Depth in hold from tonnage deck to ceiling amidships 3ft 2.5 tenths
Round of beam(?); 2 tenths
Length of engine room (if any): 6ft 5.5 tenths
Description of Engine: Four stroke. Single acting. Internal combustion. Vertical
Where and when made: British 1938
Name and address of makers: R.A.Lister (Marine Sales) Dursley
Reciprocating engine, no. and diameter of cylinders: Two 4½”
Length of Stroke 5½
N.H.P 21
B.H.P 21
I.H.P. 28.7
Estimated Speed of Ship 6½ Knots.

GROSS TONNAGE
Under tonnage deck…..9.32
Deck houses……………1.23
Gross tonnage…………10.55

Deductions allowed
On account of space required for propelling power…. 3.38
Deductions under Sec.79 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1894, and Sec 54 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1906, as follows, viz,: Boatswains Store……………………. .51
TOTAL 3.89
Gross Tonnage 10.55 29.86 cubic metres
Deductions as per contra 3.89 11.01 cubic metres
Registered Tonnage 6.66 18.85 cubic metres

“I, the undersigned, Registrar of Shipping at the Port of London, hereby certify that the Ship, the Description of which is prefixed to this my Certificate, has been duly surveyed, and that the above Description is in accordance with the Register Book; that……………. Whose Certificate of Competency or Service is No…….. is the Master of the said Ship; Residence and Description of the Owner….., and Number of Sixt-fourth Shares held by it. Areas follows:-
Name, Residence, and Occupation of the Owner: Shell Mex and B.P. Ltd., St Helen’s Court, Great St. Helen’s in the City of London.
Number of Sixty-fourth Shares: Sixty four
Dated at Custom House London the 4th day of April One thousand nine hundred and thirty nine.
Signed. Registrar of Shipping.

Letter in the form of a poem sent in reply to an enquiry by some holiday boaters who saw shellfen in 1977 while on a cruise.

Shell U.K. Oil
PO Box No 148
Shell-Mex House Strand London WC2 ODX

Mr and Mrs R.G.Green
Stechford
Birmingham
B33 8UQ January 25, 1977

Dear Mr and Mrs Green.
We are so pleased that you had an enjoyable holiday on the canals of Lancashire and Cheshire last year and we are grateful for the interest you show in the barge “Shell Fen”.

I was unaware of the existence of this barge but on enquiry with our Manchester office, Mrs Dean there has sent me a lot of information andit seems so interesting that I have attempted to condense many pages in the following saga.

From the depths of Holland Westland
From the bulb-fields of the Lowlands
Holland’s fields of glowing colour
Came the barge you saw while cruising
Came the barge that you remarked on.
More than three-score years and ten have
Passed since ‘Shell-Fens’ timbers
Felt the touch of canal waters;
More than forty of them spent in
Working for SMBP as a
Tanker carrying fuel-oil products
On the Waterways in Fenland.
Then two men, the brothers Lorenz
Brother Paul and Brother Roger
Brought her out of quiet retirement
Brought her out to start a new life,
New life as a service station.
So they set out on their journey;
Hundred leagues on inland waters
Ely start, Manchester finish
Which included, just for starters,
Nine leagues out on open waters
‘Cross the wash in King John’s footsteps
(Hidden, ‘though, beneath the water!)
Then along the Roman Fosse Dyke
Up the Trent, on tidal waters
Ploughing on towards the Humber,
Onto Navigation waters
(Of the Sheffield and South Yorkshire).
On to, then, commercial waters,
Waters of the Aire and Calder,
Rubbing shoulders with the big boys,
On to Leeds then ‘cross the Pennines
Ninety locks to navigate then
Down the flight of Johnsons Hillock
To her resting place at Worsley.
Thus the Shell Fen starts a new life
In her livery, red and yellow
And we’re sure, will long continue
So to do while people revel
In the quiet relaxation
Offered by the inland waters.

I hope this gives you the information that you were seeking and that you will be fortunate enough to come across the barge again.

Your Sincerely

E.N.Monahan
Head of Advertising Services.

The boat in the 1980's touring the canal. (photo Graham Jebb)

The steering geer . (Photo:Graham Jebb)

A SHORT HISTORY

By Mr. T. Appleyard.

c. 1912 FARMER NAMED LAW BOUGHT THE BOAT WHICH WAS POWERED BY A PETROL ENGINE, TO CARRY BULBS IN CARTONS FROM HIS FARM UP THE RIVER TO ELY RAILWAY STATION
BANHAMS A CAMBRIDGE BOAT BUIDERS BOUGHT THE BOAT TO CARRY GENERAL CARGO FROM LYNN TO CAMBRIDGE
SHELL NEXT OWNER – EVENTUALLY PUT TANKS IN. WHEN IN GENERAL CARGO HOLD WAS COVERED WITH STEEL HATCH COVERS A CONTINUATION OF THE ENGINE COVERING.
AT SOME TIME THE POWER WAS BY A SINGLE CYLINDER, SEMI-DIESEL.

Letter to Dr.R.Lorenz 21st November 1975

From Kooijiman en de Vries

Jachtbouw B.V.- Deil aan de Linge

Bouwers van traditionele jachten

Deilsedijk 64 –Tel(03457)-444

Dear Sir,

Your Westlander is one of the most typical Dutch barges, which was in use in the Westland. This is a region between Rotterdam and The Hague.

The Westlander had to bring vegetables to the market. They had a little beam and little height and depth because of the many bridges they had to pass through.

Photographs are to be found in a few books:

E.W.Petrejus- Oude Zeilschepen-p.78. Ed. Uniboek N.V. Bussum-Holland.
G.C.E.Crone- Nederlandse Binnenschepen, p.91. Ed. Allert de Lange, Amsterdam.
The Westlanders have almost disappeared. Some are still in use as houseboats. Because of the little depth they are not often converted into pleasure cabin cruisers like happened to other Dutch barges.

Beautiful models are available in the Maritiem Museum “Prins Hendrik” at Rotterdam.

The organisation that deals with the Dutch traditional barges is “Stichting stamboek Ronde en Platbodenjachten, Prinsenweg 79 at Wassenaar.

With kind regards

Yours sincerely

Kooijiman en de Vries Jachtbouw B.V

J.W. Kooijman

IWA National Rally, Northwich 1979. (photo: Nick Grundy)

(Press release c.1979.)

“NEWS FROM SHELL”

Issued by Shell Marketing Limited.

‘SHELL FEN’, THE 70-YEAR-OLD DUTCH BARGE STARTS A NEW LIFE AS A FLOATING SERVICE STATION FOR CANAL BOATS

In her youth she carried tulip and daffodil bulbs by the ton through the canals of Holland and Lincolnshire. The 40 years of her middle age she spent chugging through Britain’s East Coast fenland supplying fuel from Shell-Mex and B.P. Ltd to the pumps which prevent the waterways from flooding each winter.

And now, in her eminently respectable old age, the proud old barge called ‘Shell Fen’ has made a 300-mile journey to come out of retirement and start a fresh life carrying diesel fuel and lubricants to the growing hordes of Britain’s canal boat enthusiasts.

Two brothers, one a doctor of metallurgy, and the other a graduate printer, are helping to write this new chapter in the history of ‘Shell Fen’, which started life around 1906 as a bulb barge in Holland, and did a similar job on the Lincolnshire Fens before being bought by Shell-Mex and B.P. in the 1920’s.

The brothers who have staked both their own future and that of ‘Shell Fen’ on the firm belief that the days of the bargees and narrow boats are far from over are Dr. Roger Lorenz, a 29-year-old teacher, and 25-year-old Mr. Paul Lorenz, who three years ago swapped a secure future as a manager in the printing industry for a less obviously bright prospects as a n assistant boatman on a canal barge.

For them, enjoyment of the quiet life on Britain’s watery by-ways has grown into a faith in the fact that the slow, dependable-and cheap- transport offered by canal barge is due for a commercial come-back.

The brothers have already put their money where their mouths are by forming their own company, Lorenz Brothers, to buy and operate canal boats, and in addition Roger is a director and Paul a shareholder of a company called Northern Counties Carriers which was set up by a group of University graduates to try and keep the traditional short-boats alive and carrying goods.

“People don’t laugh at us any more. We have got a really encouraging number of enquiries coming in now”, said Roger.

‘Shell Fen’ is the latest vessel to join the Lorenz brothers fleet. She was converted to a small tanker by Shell-Mex and B.P. in the 1930’s when steel tanks were fitted into her wooden hull. Until 1970 she had chugged her way along the Fens under the control of the same boatman, Mr Edwin Appleyard, who is now an active 73-year-old.

“She carries 4,000 gallons of fuel at a time, and each winter used to supply a total of more than 150.000 gallons to keep the Fen pumps running” said Roger.

The Lorenz brothers’ plans for the future of ‘Shell Fen’ centre round keeping her as she was, and setting her up so she can sell diesel fuel, oils and greases as a sort of floating service station for boatyards and at canal boat rallies.

In fact one of ‘Shell Fen’s” first outings in her new guise will be at the Inland Waterways Association rally of boats at York in August, an event which is being sponsored by Shell.

It was Paul Lorenz himself who took the ‘Shell Fen’ on her journey from Ely to Worsley, where the brothers’ canal boat company is based.

“She handled very well all the way”, said Paul, who spent the days in ‘Shell Fen’s’ tiny stern wheelhouse, and the nights in her even smaller boatman’s cabin in the bows.

The journey included the 26-mile crossing of the Wash, which was accomplished on a calm day and with the aid of an experienced pilot.

“From the Wash we passed along the Roman Fosse Dyke, where we came across a Dutchman who immediately recognised ‘Shell Fen’ as being of his country’s Westlander design, and added that she might be the only barge of her type left in service”, said Paul.

’Shell Fen’ then headed up the tidal waters of the Trent towards the Humber before turning off the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation. She next traversed the commercial waterways of the Aire and Calder and the New Junction to Leeds, rubbing her diminutive 20-ton shoulders with the comparatively enormous 500-tonners on that stretch.

Then followed the Pennine crossing through more than 90 locks on the Leeds and Liverpool canal before passing through the picturesque Johnson’s Hillock flight of locks to her new home in Worsley.

ends

For further information please contact Alan Jacobs.

'Shellfen' by Alan Faulkner, Waterways World Magazine, January 1992, pps. 84-87.

Ted Appleyard eases a passage under one of the many low bridges that cross the Fenland waterways. If necessary the wheel house could be cleared down to deck level

Shellfen negotiates the Old Bedford River at Salters Lode. This is a tidal sluice and passage can only be made at certain restricted times when the levels coincide

The re-opening earlier in 1991 of Welches Dam Lock, which leads off the Old Bedford River in Cambridgeshire into the Middle Level Navigations, provided an opportunity to look at what was almost certainly the last commercial boat to work through the lock on a regular basis.
Ever since the East Anglian fenlands were first drained to become the fertile farm land that we know today, a vital feature of the area has been the pumping stations. With the shrinking of the peaty soil, much of the land now lies well below the level of the surrounding rivers and there is no natural drainage. Without the pumps, the fens would soon become flooded again.
Initially many pumps were driven by the wind, but once steam power was proven they were converted as this made them more effective and reliable. Most of the pumps were in isolated places, virtually inaccessible by road, but most were close to the main navigable waterways into which they discharged. As a result the coal needed for the engines used to be delivered throughout the fens by gangs of lighters.
In the 1920s many of the engines started to be converted from steam to diesel operation. This was more efficient and reduced the cost of manning the stations. The development, in turn, created the need to supply diesel fuel to the pumping stations. To meet this, one of the main oil companies, Shell Mex & BP Ltd., introduced its own tanker barge service.
The barge involved originally came from Holland in 1912 and was used for carrying boxes of tulip bulbs, grown in Reach Fen north east of Cambridge, down to Ely Dock. At that time the fen was impassable to any form of land transport, and parts would not even bear the weight of a horse. Reach Lode, branching off from the river Cam, provided virtually the only access; hence the logic of using the barge for the short nine mile trip.
Ely Dock lay to the south west of the railway station. It was linked to the main river by a short cut which included a lock in the flood bank and a bridge under the line. The dock could hold over 200 barges and transshipment took place to, and from, railway wagons. Part of the dock was filled in before, and the rest soon after the First World War.
After a few years the bulb traffic ceased and the barge lay idle for a while before being purchased in 1923 by Herbert Charles Banham of Cambridge. He renamed her Progress, registered her under the Canal Boats Act at Downham Market, and used her to carry general goods between King’s Lynn and Cambridge. He was the founder of H.C.Banham Ltd, the famous Cambridge boat builders.
The King’s Lynn venture did not last long and it was then that the barge was purchased by Shell-Mex. She was used to transport fuel oil barrels to the various pumping stations.
Ernest Goobey of Littleport ran her on a part time basis for the company as little fuel was required in the drier summer months. His father operated a gang of fenland lighters bringing vegetables and the other farm produce to Littleport Dock for transshipment to the railway.
As the number of pumping stations being converted to diesel operation rose, so the demands on the barge increased. George Leaford, formerly a driver on one of the tugs at the Ely sugar beet factory, was appointed her full time skipper.
In 1939 Shell-Mex had the barge fitted out as a tanker at Hull and she was renamed Shellfen. The oil then was supplied in bulk and was pumped ashore through pipes carried aboard. One hundred gallons a minute could be delivered. She had the distinction of being the smallest tanker in the extensive Shell-Mex fleet. This included ocean-going vessels which could carry hundreds of thousands of tons.
Following her conversion Shellfen was registered in London in 1939 and the Mercantile Marine List (No 167221) gives her dimensions as 42ft 8in in Length, 8ft 9in wide, with a depth of 3ft 2in. Originally she was powered by a petrol engine, but was replaced by a Kromhout semi-diesel which, in turn, was replaced by a Lister engine.
In 1948 Appleyard Lincoln & Co Ltd of Ely took over the contract for running Shellfen and Ted Appleyard was appointed her skipper. At the peak, just before the Second World War, well over a hundred stations had been supplied but this number was starting to decline as more roads were built into the fens allowing road tankers to reach previously inaccessible sites. Work had also started on electrifying the pumps. This produced still further manpower savings as most stations could then operate unattended. By 1948 the number of stations supplied by the barge had fallen to 80.The oil used to be picked up from railway tankers at various transshipment points such as Littleport, Chatteris, and Benwick docks. Holme Dock, south of Peterborough, may also have been used for a time. Later road tankers used to meet the barge at pre-selected sites for the transfer.
She was a 20 tons capacity vessel and could carry 4,000 gallons of diesel oil. In a wet season, such as 1961, as much as 100,000 gallons could be supplied over the five winter months when she normally operated. The figure would have been much more when she operated full time.
Shellfen used to cover an extensive area involving nearly 200 miles of waterway. Many of the stations were on the network of waterways that lie between the river Nene and the Great Ouse river and make up the Middle Level Navigations. Latterly the farthest site from Ely was Yaxley pumping station on Yaxley Lode, south of Peterborough. It was a round trip of over 90 miles. There were three stations in that area but the one supplied by water was the least used and deliveries stopped in 1970.
Another distant location was Green Dyke, in Great Raveley Fen west of Ramsey. The barge had to reverse out from here after completing the delivery. This was close to the site of the Woodwalton Nature Reserve.
Elsewhere in the Middle Level there are two dozen stations along the original course of the river Nene which passes near Ramsey and through Benwick and March. At one time most of these were supplied by water. They had evocative names like Middlemoor, Plantation, North Creek and White Fen. One of the most important was the Whitemill engine near Fridays Bridge. This was operated by the Cooperative Wholesale Society Ltd and served its extensive Coldham Estates.
Shellfen regularly used to pass through the tidal doors into the Old Bedford River and work the 12 miles up to Welches Dam supplying several stations on the way, such as that at Purls Bridge. For many of the Middle Level trips she then worked through the lock and into the Forty Foot Drain to reach Chatteris, Ramsey and beyond. This often involved having to fill the two mile stretch up to Horseway Lock as this was usually kept low for drainage reasons. The passage of this little used section was rarely without some problem or other. On one occasion the barge would continue a further 3 miles on up the Old Bedford beyond Welches Dam to supply Fortreys Hall pumping station near Mepal.
There are nearly ten stations on the Forty Foot and a similar number on the Twenty Foot River which circles round to the west and north of March. Most were served by the barge. Another series of stations is on the Sixteen Foot Drain and several of these were served despite the road running alongside. This river discharges into the Middle Level Main Drain which carries the surplus water down to a massive pumping station at St Germans on the banks of the river Great Ouse upstream from King’s Lynn.
Above Denver three stations were supplied on the Wissey east of Hilgay including the Wretton Fen engine near Stoke Ferry. On the Little Ouse at least two stations were served including Botany Bay and Decoy, both near the junction with Lakenheath Lode, some 5½ miles up from the main river at Brandon Creek. On the Lark the barge used to go 8 miles upriver passed Prickwillow and nearly to Isleham Lock.
Upstream from Ely the engines at the mouths of Soham, Swaffham and Bottisham lodes were supplied together with those at Little Thetford south of Ely and Streatham Cam, half a mile above Dimmocks Cote Bridge on the Cam. Several stations on the Old West River, such as at Chear Fen, Smithey Fen and Haddenham, were visited and the barge went through Earith Lock to visit a station at Bluntisham on the stretch of river up to St Ives.
By the beginning of the 1960s the number of stations had reduced to about 50. By 1965 it was 35 and by the end of the decade it was down to 13. This included three on the river Cam, one on the Old West River, the Soham Lode engine, one on the Wissey, two on the Old Bedford River and five on the Middle Level – three on the old course of the river Nene, the Infield Farm engine in the Twenty Foot River and the Ramsey Hollow engine on the Forty Foot Drain.
In 1970 the ownership of Shellfen was transferred to Appleyard Lincoln &Co Ltd. Ted Appleyard continued to operate her as required and was assisted by one of the lads from the company’s workforce. There was always strong competition to be chosen for the trip.
In 1973 Shellfen participated in the Inland Waterways Association’s Ely Rally by providing sewage collection service for the visiting boats. Not long after, her diesel oil delivery trips came to an end and by the summer of 1974 she was laid up at Ely. Here she was seen by the Lorenz brothers of Manchester who purchased her for use as a fuel supply vessel.
In March 1975 she left Ely for her new home. Her trip was described in Waterways World, July 1981. Since the she has effectively begun a new career after giving over 60 years of honourable service in the fenlands.

Trade on the Great Ouse

The sugar beet traffic ceased in 1959, and the last commercial boat on the upper river was "Shellfen", a Dutch barge converted to carry 4,000 imperial gallons (18,000 l) of diesel fuel, which supplied the remote pumping stations until 1974, when the last ones were converted to electricity.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Great_Ouse

Ely Group of Inland Drainage Boards.

1. Burnt Fen------------------------6,935 Ha.
2. Cawdle Fen------------------------181
3. Lakenheath----------------------1,975
4. Littleport and Downham--13,048
5. Old West---------------------------4,488
6. Mildenhall-------------------------3,383
7. Middle Fen and Mere---------8,244
8. Padnal and Waterden--------1,235
9. Swaffham--------------------------5,234
10.Waterbeach Level--------------2,720

TOTAL---------------------------------47,443 Ha.
(117,234 acres)

The March Group of Drainage Boards
and Commissioners

11.Benwick------------------------------------------2,215
12.Bluntisham----------------------------------------417
13.Churchfield and Plawfield-------------------657
14.Conington and Holme----------- ----------1,113
15.Drysides--------------------------------------------332
16.Euximoor----------------------------------------1,055
17.Hundred Foot Washes---------------------2,043
18.Hundred of Wisbech------------------------1,419
19.Ladus District-------------------------------------575
20.Manea and Welney District----------------3,102
21.March and Whittlesey----------------------- 3,483
22.March East---------------------------------------2,866
23.March Fifth District------------------------------409
24.March Sixth District-----------------------------329
25.March Third District-----------------------------423
26.Needham Burial and Birdbeck-----------1,000
27.Nightlayers------------------------------------------687
28.Nordelph---------------------------------------------465
29.Ramsey First (Hollow)-----------------------1,625
30.Ramsey Fourth (Middlemoor)------------1,503
31.Ramsey Upwood and Great Raveley--1,295
32.Ransonmoor District-------------------------1,584
33.Sawtry----------------------------------------------1,420
34.Sutton and Mepal------------------------------4,680
35.Swavesey-------------------------------------------462
36.Upwell ---------------------------------------------4,847
37.Waldersey---------------------------------------- 2,137
36.Warboys Somersham and Pidley------ 4,850
39.White Fen District----------------------- --------790
40.Curf and Wimblington Combined------2,801

TOTAL------------------------------------------------50,584 Ha.
(124,991 acres)

Text extracted from the IDB Bedford Group website

There are two groups of Inland Drainage Boards:
Prickwillow,Ely, and The Middle Level Commissioners, March.
They share the control of over 100,000 hectares of fenland with 80 pumping stations and many other control points.
The 40 districts and drainage boards have between them 500 board members, often members are responsible for more than one board, and also share the responsibility within families.
The pumping stations have colourful names like "Ramsey Hollow", "Bedlam Bridge", "Padgetts Corner", "Burrowmoor", "Bettys Nose".

Old St. Germans Pumping station.

The Middle Level Commissioners control 120 miles of mostly navigable watercourses covered by 33 individual drainage boards and also operates 7 outside of the Middle Level.

In 1252 the Romney Marsh Commissions were created to provide a living and working environment in the Romney Marsh. The creation of this local authority recognised that in large drainage sensitive areas it required a combined effort beyond the scope of the individual to successfully manage the environment. This local authority approach was repeated many times, particularly in the seventeenth century, to ensure the best agricultural land in the country was available for production. However, it was not until a Royal Commission of 1928 that the present day Drainage Boards were envisaged. In the subsequent Land Drainage Act of 1930 River Catchment Boards were formed based on the country’s major river basins. Within these Catchment Boards there were areas particularly drainage sensitive, many like Romney Marsh, that had a long history of local water level management authorities. It was these sensitive areas that were designated Internal Drainage Boards; areas within a Catchment Board boundary.

Over the centuries these areas have become more populated and peoples expectations in terms of flood protection have increased. Hence the work of Drainage Authorities has become increasingly more vital.

There is a greater population in the low lying areas of England dependent on complex systems of land drainage and flood defence than exists in Holland.

With over 2 million acres of land, including large areas of development dependent on water level management systems, it is essential that these systems are well managed. Without these works the environment, living and working conditions would suffer.

Over the centuries successive British Governments have recognised the need to manage these drainage sensitive areas, initially to maximise food production and more recently to provide safe conditions for a major residential building programme. Drainage Boards have been at the forefront of providing local solutions to these Government initiatives.

The Boards with locally elected members in control have the knowledge to ensure that their communities are as safe as possible, able to prosper and enjoy the amenity and biodiversity benefits that are available in well-managed lowland areas.

With climate change high on the national and international agenda increased challenges are inevitable as weather patterns become more intense and sea levels rise. Expert opinion leads to the conclusion that large parts of the world will not be able to sustain food production, therefore decisions will have to be made whether to continue to protect the most productive agricultural land in the British Isles or to abandon it and the surrounding communities to the elements.

"The story of Orchard Delight began in 1960 in Ely, Cambridgeshire when she was built by Appleyard Lincoln & Co (Boatbuilders) Ltd to be exhibited at the first International Boat Show which was held at Earls Court, London in 1961.

She is a 29ft River Cruiser—one of a diminishing number of boats on the River Great Ouse made completely of wood.

Her original name was Brouhaha and she was intended for Harry Lincoln, owner of Appleyard & Lincoln and co-founder of the Boat Show. She is thought to be one of the first registered with the newly formed Great Ouse River Authority, Registration Number G4000." (text taken from the website orcharddelight.co.uk)

For more on this boat go to the website at http://www.orcharddelight.co.uk/

video: Shellfen being worked along a drain on the fens.

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