Name Selby Tony

SELBY TONY was commissoned by BOCM (a British animal feed company) in Selby as part of a diesel engine powered fleet of 17 barges built to carry animal feed, grain and other goods between Hull, Goole, Selby, Leeds and York.  The fleet were distinctive in shape and named after BOCM area managers' children at the time of building.  SELBY TONY was moored at BOCM after going out of use by the firm and bought by Waddington's at Swinton.

The fleet was decommissioned in the 1980s and few barges from the fleet remain.  Laurie Dews is the last surviving skiper of the fleet and his memories of working on the Selby barges are recorded in the 'River Ouse Bargeman' by David Lewis.

In 2016 The Arts Barge Project gained planning permission to moor the SELBY TONY permanently alongside Tower Gardens in York.  In April 2018 the vessel was tugged by Acasters Water Transport of Goole to Hirst Boat Builders in Knottingley for structural steelwork.  Boat builder Nathan Rumbold undertook the work; he extended the hold to the aft to increase the space internally, created a deck across the hold, added railings around the deck, created a bar from the removed bulkhead and installed flooring.  Nathan and York Joiner Al Hamilton created two wooden staircases, one to the aft and one to the fore of the vessel. All steelwork was done according to drawings by David Spencer of DSP Architects York and in consultation with Chris Gladish, Marine Architect.  Hannah Hutchinson led a community volunteer team to paint the barge to near original colour scheme.

In July 2019 a stability test was undertaken and then Arts Barge's Christian Topman and volunteers ballasted SELBY TONY with 45 tons of sand bags and water in family paddling pools in order to get her low enough to pass under Great Heck Road Bridge on the first leg of the journey back to York on 11th July.  The vessel spent the night in Goole at the back of The National Waterways Museum and then made her way into York for the first time as a public arts space.  Karl and Graham Acaster and Little Shuva did all the hard work, navigating very low bridges and some very shallow water above Naburn.  Marcia Mackey and Hannah West, Co-directors of The Arts Barge Project were aboard from Goole and painted the floor on the way.  Friends of the Arts Barge boarded at Naburn lock, including Architect David Spencer, Joiner Al Hamilton and Arts Barge's other two core team members Christian Topman and Hannah Hutchinson.

SELBY TONY then moored on ropes next to Tower Gardens and, with the conversion only partially completed, became York's Arts Barge for the first time, temporarily hosting three weeks of arts events.  In August 2019, under the expert instruction of Karl and Ellis Acaster, the vessel was brought into Foss Basin to await completion.  Following the dormant Covid years, there was renewed momentum to resume the conversion.  In 2022 a crowdfunder and other fundraising events raised money to insulate the vessel hold, with work completed in October 2022.  The following year SELBY TONY hosted arts events, and in 2024, construction of the deck house began.  A further crowdfunding campaign raised money to pay for materials to construct the deckhouse roof, and work is currently underway as of October 2024, with most of the work being carried out by skilled volunteers.