On the evening of Friday 9 September HMG members gathered at Warnford Village Hall for our Annual General Meeting.  Our chairman, Andy Fish, welcomed everyone and also welcomed Stephen Gadd.  The meeting commenced with Stephen’s talk and was followed by the AGM and brief general meeting.

Navigating the Avon from Salisbury to Christchurch
in the Medieval and Early Modern Periods

Stephen Gadd’s talk as reported by Alison Stott

Images from Stephen Gadd

Stephen Gadd started his talk by showing us a picture of a ballad, written in 1665, all about linking Salisbury to the sea.  In the 1660s considerable efforts had been made to improve the navigation, despite the problem of Christchurch harbour being so shallow.  However for some reason – possibly the closure of the priory in Christchurch or the war with France in the 1690s – these efforts were not successful, and trade began to decline.

Mills on the River Avon

There is indirect evidence that the river was navigable in the 14th century.  In 1372 the government commissioned military barges.  One of these was built in Sarum, despite its not being a port, the cost being borne by the townspeople;  all over England the same thing was happening.  The French attacked in 1377 and more and bigger barges were ordered – these could obviously reach the sea and Stephen thought that only about 6 inches of water would have been needed for the unladen barges to make the journey downstream.

In the 14^th and 15^th centuries the presence of mills and fisheries impeded passage, and caused a conflict of interest with the river’s use as a navigation.  Climate change in the late 13^th century from wet to dry led to a famine in Northern Europe in the early 14^th century, but was also blamed on the shortage of mills to process the grain;  on the other hand there were complaints of ‘certain impediments which are called locks’!  These ‘impediments’ could be destroyed by law as the river was, and still is, the King’s (or Queen’s) highway.  For example the Priory Mill was destroyed in 1535 in order to allow navigation.

Stephen illustrated flash locks on the River Thames, and suggested that the rush of water these caused helped to keep the river running faster and deeper.

In 1660 twelve mills are recorded on the Avon;  however there was a further problem with navigation as the narrow entrance to Christchurch harbour was silting up.

A cut that was proposed in 1670 was begun in 1686;  Mudeford Quay was built and ironstone was used to make training piers.  The new cut made some difference as twenty six tons of coal were recorded being shipped all the way to Salisbury.

By 1854 further ironstone was being mined from around Hengistbury Head, but unfortunately this removed the protecting bank and increased the rate of silting in the river mouth.

All the time Southampton was competing for trade and Stephen thought that perhaps restrictive practices there and the problems with the silting up of Christchurch harbour eventually led to the decline of navigation up the River Avon.