The focus on Tuesday 11th July was to undertake the installation of 3 new mooring rings and also to protect recently repaired walling at the head of the canal next to the dry dock with a large “railway sleeper” buffer. This proved to be quite a challenge and one eye was always on the grey skies and the odd threatening rain cloud – fortunately the sun shone on the righteous on this occasion!

The job to drill horizontally just above the water wasn’t however without its problems and early on it was an amusing sight to see grown men dangling magnets into the cut ‘fishing’ for the dropped 10mm drill bit – that was good fun and plenty of micky taking ensued (I won’t name the unlucky culprit who dropped this vital component) but at least the drill bit was fairly quickly recovered from the murky waters to enable drilling to continue into the hard blue bricks lining the canal at this point.

The installation of the mooring rings was a little easier and we were fortunate to have the right  tools to do the job of drilling quite large holes for the screw bolts  to secure these firmly into the mooring.

Another job to cross off the list !

If you would like to join us in maintaining the Bonded Warehouse and the site as a whole, please contact the Bonded Warehouse or simply pop down and introduce yourself on Tuesdays from 9.30am until 3.30pm.

We are pleased to announce that Ken Bywater, the Blackcountry Man trip boat manager, has recently qualified for his Maritime and Coastguard Boatmaster’s licence.  Having had the necessary training to qualify for the licence Ken can now skipper the Blackcountry Man for the coming season. For any vessel that carries more than twelve passengers, under maritime law it has to have a fully qualified Boat Master on board. The training involved in obtaining the Boatmaster qualification ensures that candidates have the required level of boatmanship skills to control a passenger vessel, with particular attention being paid to the comfort and safety of the passengers and crew on board.

The Stourbridge Navigation Trust sponsored the training and Ken had to work hard to absorb fresh knowledge before being thoroughly tested through a written and practical on the water examination. SNT Trustees congratulate Ken whole-heartedly for putting significant effort into passing this qualification and indeed for his massive enthusiasm in running the trip boat operation.

The Blackcountry Man already has over eighty trips booked for the coming season and it is essential that it is crewed by competent, experienced and qualified people in order to ensure the safety of the passengers and others using the waterway. Ken, who is also a keen river boatman, some years ago also qualified for his Royal Yacht Association (RYA) day skipper qualification, confirming that he has the knowledge needed to skipper a yacht on shorter, coastal cruises during daylight.

Ken is using two new steerers he has recently recruited, who are also Boatmaster qualified, so they will be helping to run the Santa trips later this year which we are sure is good news for everyone, especially our younger visitors.

On the subject of accreditation and licencing, Ken and Heide-Marie Barratt (the SNT Trust Manager) have also undergone training and passed their personal licencing course and received certificates to prove it! They have also undertaken Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)  checks which have been processed through Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council who have subsequently issued Personal Licences HABC Level 2. Being a Premises Licence holder means that they can legally sell or authorise the sale of alcohol, with Ken responsible for that on the Blackcountry Man and Heide in the Bonded Warehouse itself.

Clearly this investment in our people at SNT is focused very much on the enjoyment, safety and protection of visitors to the Bonded Warehouse and when on board the Blackcountry Man trip boat.

The volunteer force known as the Tuesday Cub became the Tuesday & Thursday Club last week in order to complete the work to recover and refit the seating in the Blackcountry Man trip boat in readiness for the first trip of the season. It was amazing to see the range of skills deployed (including upholstery as a ‘first’) by the enthusiastic group who can generally make a good job of any task that crops up at the Bonded Warehouse.

Needless to say the extra hours given to fitting the seating did the trick and the shiny new seats were all neatly and securely installed for the Saturday excursion – a 50^th Birthday Party. We hope the trip was enjoyable and that the seats were comfortable!

In June 2016 the Stourbridge Bonded Warehouse was yet again severely affected by flooding due to heavy rain. The River Stour burst its banks, flooding across the cobbled Canal Street and then into the Stourbridge Arm Canal. Not only did this deposit tons of silt onto the street, but also caused considerable structural damage to the adjacent moorings. The Canal itself did not flood, as it is well protected by adequate spill weirs positioned downstream.

A massive clean-up operation took place after the site was hit particularly hard by this latest episode of flash flooding caused by unprecedented and torrential downpours, leaving the aptly named Canal Street under several feet of water after the River Stour actually burst its banks and over-spilled into the nearby stretch of the Stourbridge Town Arm, immersing the basement and offices to some depth with filthy water and physically knocking down brick walls as the flood water cascaded spectacularly into the canal over the towpaths and moorings.

Work to repair the damage caused to the Grade II listed building and the Stourbridge Navigation Trust office was undertaken, just in time for the annual Open Weekend in October, thanks to the sterling efforts of the volunteer workforce and also recognising the good support from professional agencies who needed to be engaged to resolve the residual crisis. We are pleased to report that the facility is now fully functioning and preventative steps are being considered by the Local Authority to avoid any further flooding in the future.

This year the Trust will be staging the 36th annual Open Weekend. The event which runs from 10 am until 5 pm on both days will attract many canal boats which will be moored along the historic Stourbridge Canal.

There is free admission to the site and there are a number of attractions which include classic vehicles, traction engines, amusements, canal boat trips, fairground organs and a craft fair in the Bonded Warehouse. We are also planning more food outlets to cater for a range of tastes as well of course as the beer tent and live music.

Mark your diaries now so that you can attend this wonderful local event with something for all the family.

Public parking needs to be found ‘on street’ in nearby locations within easy walking distance of the Bonded Warehouse site.

Extract from Express & Star 4th February – Stourbridge canal side restoration project revealed for former historic ironworks:

A stretch of canal beside a former historic ironworks factory in Stourbridge will be transformed, under new plans. The work to the canal towpath will include removing graffiti, managing the trees and undergrowth, brightening up brick work and restoring the historic interpretation panel. It has been adopted by the Riverside House group as part of Canal and River Trust’s adoption scheme.
The stretch of canal is situated next to the Foster Rastrick Ironworks, a significant factory in the early 19th century which includes the recently restored New Foundry – now the Lion Health Medical Centre.

The first major event of 2017 at The Bonded Warehouse saw the start of the Mayor of Dudley’s Charity Canal Walk. It was a cold, crisp and slightly dull morning but a large turnout, in good spirits, assembled for the 11.00am start.

Before the start Mayor Hanif addressed the walkers, thanking them for their support and also expressed gratitude to David Caunt, Chairman of Stourbridge Navigation Trust for the use of the site. Hopefully it was an enjoyable walk which raised funds for the various charity’s the Mayor is championing.

Check out our photo gallery from the day HERE »