Name Ben

BEN was built by Harris Brothers of Bumble Hole, Dudley, in 1934 as a cargo carrying boat for the Talbot Garage Company (Kidderminster) Limited, and originally carried coal for the carpet trade on the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal. 

In 1941 she was gauged at Tipton for work on the BCN.  The gauging sheet shows that it would take a maximum of 33 tons although this was with half an inch of freeboard!  At 25 tons the freeboard was 8”.

BEN subsequently worked for T&S Element at Oldbury on the BCN and carried coal from the Anglesey Arm to GEC, amongst other cargoes.  Later Ben was leased for a while to chemical firm Albright & Wilson and carried liquid phosphorous waste from the Chemical Arm (Oldbury) to a marl pit at Brades on the Gower Branch. Three watertight bulkheads were added to contain the waste forming two open topped tanks.

In the 1960s T&S Element Ltd decided to sell their boats and to concentrate on road haulage (a business they are still in today).  In 1964 the company sold BEN to David and Sheila Statham of Barrow upon Soar. Three years later Ben was converted to residential use for the Stathams by Malcolm Braine.  After several years as a family holiday boat they sold BEN to the playwright, Peter Terson (Patterson).  The next owner was Nigel Jackson, who sold it on to Shaun Lloyd in the 1970s. Shaun lived on the boat at Stoke Bruerne for a while before de-converting it shortly before selling it on to the owner, Rupert Smedley.

Rupert owned her from 1988 and in that time had significant amounts of repair and restoration work done to the engine and hull.  He built the small fore cabin in 1993; and the back cabin was replaced in 1994.  After a number of years moored on the Grand Union Canal in Hertfordshire, she was based on the Caldon Canal in Staffordshire until sold to her current owner.