Thames sailing barge Xylonite competing in the Colne Barge Match sailed from Brightlingsea on 14th September 2014.

---

Xylonite was built by Mistley Shipping Mistley Essex in 1926, and is registered at Harwich. From the late 1860s the Horlock family of Mistley Essex owned many wooden barges that carryied cargo all over the east coast. Their barges worked the ports from Suffolk to Kent and into the docks of London. They would carry various cargoes from cement and paraffin to timber and grain. The Horlocks as well as successful business men and keen sailors, had a shrewd eye for saving money and moving the game on. In the 1920s there were already many steel barges trading on the rivers. Steel barges, while less traditional and ‘pretty’, could carry more cargo than wooden barges of the same size, because their construction gave more hold space. They were also lighter, more agile and cost less to maintain. In 1924 the Horlocks commissioned seven new steel Thames barges, of which Xylonite was the third. These ‘seven sisters’ are all still afloat, with the exception of the Blue Mermaid which was lost in WW2. The Colne Barge Match, was the eighth and final match of the 2014 season, took place out of Brightlingsea on September 14th when eight barges contested a course from Bateman's Tower to the Colne Bar, Clacton Pier, the Spitways and back.

---

Size: 4288px × 2848px
Photo credit: © John Worrall / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: association, barge, brightlingsea, cargo, charter, coast, colne, england, essex, match, north, sailing, sea, thames, trade, trader, trading, uk, xylonite