Name Speedwell

Built in 1925 for William Stevens & Sons of Guildford, SPEEDWELL is a Wey barge with a hull of oak frames, oak planking and a pitch pine deck. The barge was towed and its principal traffic was carrying grain from London docks to mills on the River Wey. This trade came to an end in 1969 when grain imports moved from the London docks to Tilbury. Subsequently she was bought by Balfour Kilpatrick for use on a pipeline laying contract on the Lower Grand Union Canal until 1980. She was acquired by the Boat Museum, Ellesmere Port in 1982 and is now a floating exhibit at the museum. In 2007, she was reported to be at Ellesmere Port, but in pretty poor condition, resting in mud in the top basin with an automatic pump left on.

Feb 2024 she was seen ashore at an offsite storage location secure but partially open to the elements.