Discover the people, places and stories that makes up the Wilts & Berks Canal History

Dragonfly Boat
Dragonfly Boat
Dragonfly Boat

The Wilts & Berks magazine ‘Dragonfly’ was named after a boat, here is an extract from magazine issue #1 dated November 1977:

"Our journal is named after the steam inspection launches of HR de Salis, deputy chairman of F.M.C at the time. The second launch had many connections with W & B, being photographed in the locks at Ardington and Latton Basin. It was built at Abingdon in 1895 and its engine boiler built at Wantage"

A set of glass slides held by Swindon Library shows that ‘Dragonfly’ had passed along the Wilts & Berks Canal and North Wilts Canal in 1895, see photos below, these slides feature in Swindon Library’s ‘Flickr Collection, they don’t show ‘Dragonfly’ to the south-west of Swindon, although there is proof that it travelled along the entire canal.

H R de Salis’ book called the ‘Chronology of Inland Navigation’ was published in 1897, and at the back of the book Mr de Salis listed the journeys he had made on the inland waterways, perhaps to show his extensive knowledge. The table shows that ‘Dragonfly’ traversed the Wilts & Berks and North Wilts canals up to three times, as shown in the table below from his ‘Chronology’ book:

Brickmaking
Brickmaking
Brickmaking 17+ million bricks, 13 brickyards over 14 years

Typical Brick Usage Bridges: Arch 35,000, Lift 15,000 Locks: 178,000 + 425 Cubic feet of stone and 206,000 with a tail bridge Pewsham 3 locks needed 630,000 bricks @import url(https://themes.googleusercontent.com/fonts/css?kit=fpjTOVmNbO4Lz34iLyptLUXza5VhXqVC6o75Eld_V98); ol{margin:0;padding:0} table td,table th{padding:0} .c12{border-right-style:solid;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;border-bottom-color:#000000;border-top-width:1pt;border-right-width:1pt;border-left-color:#000000;vertical-align:bottom;border-right-color:#000000;border-left-width:1pt;border-top-style:solid;background-color:#93c47d;border-left-style:solid;border-bottom-width:1pt;width:55.5pt;border-top-color:#000000;border-bottom-style:solid} .c11{border-right-style:solid;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;border-bottom-color:#000000;border-top-width:1pt;border-right-width:1pt;border-left-color:#000000;vertical-align:bottom;border-right-color:#000000;border-left-width:1pt;border-top-style:solid;border-left-style:solid;border-bottom-width:1pt;width:132.8pt;border-top-color:#000000;border-bottom-style:solid} .c14{border-right-style:solid;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;border-bottom-color:#000000;border-top-width:1pt;border-right-width:0pt;border-left-color:#000000;vertical-align:bottom;border-right-color:#000000;border-left-width:0pt;border-top-style:solid;border-left-style:solid;border-bottom-width:1pt;width:49.5pt;border-top-color:#000000;border-bottom-style:solid} .c2{border-right-style:solid;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;border-bottom-color:#000000;border-top-width:1pt;border-right-width:1pt;border-left-color:#000000;vertical-align:bottom;border-right-color:#000000;border-left-width:1pt;border-top-style:solid;border-left-style:solid;border-bottom-width:1pt;width:49.5pt;border-top-color:#000000;border-bottom-style:solid} .c18{border-right-style:solid;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;border-bottom-color:#000000;border-top-width:1pt;border-right-width:0pt;border-left-color:#000000;vertical-align:bottom;border-right-color:#000000;border-left-width:0pt;border-top-style:solid;border-left-style:solid;border-bottom-width:1pt;width:41.2pt;border-top-color:#000000;border-bottom-style:solid} .c8{border-right-style:solid;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;border-bottom-color:#000000;border-top-width:1pt;border-right-width:0pt;border-left-color:#000000;vertical-align:bottom;border-right-color:#000000;border-left-width:0pt;border-top-style:solid;border-left-style:solid;border-bottom-width:1pt;width:55.5pt;border-top-color:#000000;border-bottom-style:solid} .c22{border-right-style:solid;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;border-bottom-color:#000000;border-top-width:1pt;border-right-width:0pt;border-left-color:#000000;vertical-align:bottom;border-right-color:#000000;border-left-width:0pt;border-top-style:solid;border-left-style:solid;border-bottom-width:1pt;width:132.8pt;border-top-color:#000000;border-bottom-style:solid} .c3{border-right-style:solid;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;border-bottom-color:#000000;border-top-width:1pt;border-right-width:1pt;border-left-color:#000000;vertical-align:bottom;border-right-color:#000000;border-left-width:1pt;border-top-style:solid;border-left-style:solid;border-bottom-width:1pt;width:41.2pt;border-top-color:#000000;border-bottom-style:solid} .c15{margin-left:18.5pt;padding-top:0pt;text-indent:-0.5pt;padding-bottom:0.2pt;line-height:1.0416666666666667;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left;margin-right:7.2pt;height:12pt} .c17{color:#000000;font-weight:400;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;font-size:1pt;font-family:"Arial 55";font-style:normal}.c0{color:#000000;font-weight:400;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;font-size:10pt;font-family:"Arial";font-style:normal}.c5{padding-top:0pt;padding-bottom:0pt;line-height:1.15;text-align:left;height:12pt}.c4{padding-top:0pt;padding-bottom:0pt;line-height:1.15;text-align:center} .c20{border-spacing:0;border-collapse:collapse;margin-right:auto}.c6{font-size:10pt;font-family:"Arial";color:#ffffff;font-weight:700}.c1{padding-top:0pt;padding-bottom:0pt;line-height:1.15;text-align:right} .c7{padding-top:0pt;padding-bottom:0pt;line-height:1.15;text-align:left} .c19{background-color:#ffffff;max-width:595.4pt;padding:0pt 0pt 0pt 0pt} .c9{background-color:#4a86e8}.c21{height:27.8pt}.c10{height:15.8pt} .c16{height:16.5pt}.c13{background-color:#93c47d} .title{padding-top:24pt;color:#000000;font-weight:700;font-size:36pt;padding-bottom:6pt;font-family:"Arial 55";line-height:1.0416666666666667;page-break-after:avoid;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left} .subtitle{padding-top:18pt;color:#666666;font-size:24pt;padding-bottom:4pt;font-family:"Georgia";line-height:1.0416666666666667;page-break-after:avoid;font-style:italic;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left} li{color:#000000;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Arial";text-align:left} p{margin:0;color:#000000;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Arial";text-align:left}

Brickyard

1796

1797

1798

1799

1800

1801

1802

1803

1804

1805

1806

1807

1808

1809

Total

1.Melksham

535,000

179,000

694,750

2.Queenfield & 3.Lacock

523,000

159,750

702,000

4.Pewsham

836,020

235,000

180,250

1,251,270

5.Stanley

656,000

206,000

862,000

6.Cunnegar/ Conigre Farm

380,000

384,000

764,000

7.Foxham

111,000

315,750

556,000

682,400

1,665,150

8.Dauntsey Park

167,200

25,000

30,000

222,200

9.Trow Lane

731,734

741,257

280,000

1,752,991

10.Chippenham

288,050

288,050

11.Dunnington

1,172,750

405,860

23,000

1,601,610

12.Marston

809,151

763,743

1,572,894

13.Longcot

389,077

927,148

1,165,004

2,198,741

1,309,095

5,989,065

Total

2,550,020

1,270,750

1,047,200

581,000

1,444,134

741,257

1,740,800

405,860

832,151

1,152,820

927,148

1,165,004

2,198,741

1,309,095

17,365,980

Contractor

1796

1797

1798

1799

1800

1801

1802

1803

1804

1805

1806

1807

1808

1809

Total

Edwards, Burrows and Foster

1,492,020

1,492,020

John Ching and James Heath

1,058,000

338,750

1,396,750

James Heath

932,000

1,047,200

1,979,200

Samuel Downs

581,000

712,400

1,293,400

McIlquham & Brown

731,734

741,257

1,472,991

Henry Guy

288,050

288,050

James Dobson

1,452,750

405,860

832,151

1,152,820

927,148

1,165,004

2,198,741

1,309,095

9,443,569

Total

2,550,020

1,270,750

1,047,200

581,000

1,444,134

741,257

1,740,800

405,860

832,151

1,152,820

927,148

1,165,004

2,198,741

1,309,095

17,365,980

Source: Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre Ledger A 2424/27 & Ledger B 2424/28 Newspaper Clippings