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MNL1923
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Mercantile Navy List for 1923.
Entries transcribed by Hugh Perks, SSBR. Hugh comments:
The 1923 MNL contains just under 1,500 sailing barge entries, however, not all of these would have then still been sailing.
As trade diminished immediately after the end of the Great War several barges were dismantled to become
dumb or residential lighters, roads or powder barges, while others were simply laid-up. As only 15 of
the entries are over 65 years old it suggests that more ancient craft were disposed of immediately
after the war. This is evidenced by the fact that only 16% of the barge entries are under
40 registered tons, indicating that many of the smaller brick and cement barges had already
been disposed of. At the other end of the scale there are several omissions from the 1923 list,
notably Thalatta and Phśnician. Never-the-less, allowing for those barges which ought to have
been deleted as having long gone out of trade it is likely that not much more than a thousand
barges remained under sail in that year – if that! Thirteen vessels are shown as having engines,
two of which were by then yachts, and one, Arctic, was a full-powered motor barge.
The 1923 MNL contains just under 1,500 sailing barge entries, however, not all of these
would have then still been sailing. As trade diminished immediately after the end of the
Great War several barges were dismantled to become dumb or residential lighters, roads or
powder barges, while others were simply laid-up. As only 15 of the entries are over 65
years old it suggests that more ancient craft were disposed of immediately after the war.
This is evidenced by the fact that only 16% of the barge entries are under 40 registered
tons, indicating that many of the smaller brick and cement barges had already been
disposed of. At the other end of the scale there are several omissions from the 1923
list, notably Thalatta and Phśnician. Never-the-less, allowing for those barges which
ought to have been deleted as having long gone out of trade it is likely that not much
more than a thousand barges remained under sail in that year – if that! Thirteen vessels
are shown as having engines, two of which were by then yachts, and one, Arctic,
was a full-powered motor barge.
Against some vessels there is simply a dash ‘-‘ indicating rig unknown, as with 84226 Sapphire.
There still remain some whose authenticity is in doubt, including105815 Northfleet,
105792 Shannon and 105816 Sheerness which may or may not have been under sail as Unity,
the fourth barge owned by the Thames Tug & Lighterage Co is shown as spl.
Registered tonnage is a measure not of capacity but of volume, arrived at by measurement.
Over the years changes to tonnage legislation, and the way in which vessels are measured, means
that a barge such as Why Not? built in 1866 and then of 44 registered tons had been reduced by
1923 to 38 registered tons, but able to load the same quantity. An example of how registered
tonnage is no guide whatsoever to carrying capacity is illustrated by the Faversham-built Alice of
1859. A narrow-sized barge originally measuring 73x14.6x5.3 feet she was rebuilt rose-upon to
74.7x18.4x5.9 feet and reduced to 44 registered tons. Minor alterations to registered tonnage
might be made if the hatch coamings were raised to increase volume.
Mersea Museum does not have a copy of the 1923 MNL.
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MNL1953
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Mercantile Navy List for 1953.
Entries transcribed by Hugh Perks, SSBR. Hugh comments:
For barges with engines tonnages given are net tonnage; those for
sailormen are registered tonnage.
A considerable number of those barges which continued to be registered
in 1953 were no longer in trade: some were lighters, roads barges, housebarges,
barge yachts, or had already been broken-up (some before the war).
Mersea Museum does not have a copy of the 1953 MNL.
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