William Basham, Maldon boatbuilder, anyone got any info?

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Bru

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Been laid low with the dreaded lergy today so doing a bit of the old family history research to wile away the time

And in sorting out records of the Maldon ancestors and relations I found that a first cousin who I had down as a mere shipwright was rather more than that

William Basham was a barge, boat and yacht builder who lived in Bath Place, Maldon (bottom end of Butts Lane, round the corner from The Downs) but apart from a trade directory and the census returns, all I have is a brief mention in "Salty Shore" by John Leather (and there is another mention in that book I can't preview on Google Books) and an unsourced reference on a web site stating that Walter Cook took over William Basham's yard in 1894

If that is correct, then the famous Cooks Yard, now operated by Topsail Charters, was owned, and possibly founded, by one of my relatives!

If anyone can dig up any info to confirm this and / or any info at all about boats Bashams built etc. I'd be very grateful

Cheers
Bru
 
A 'phone call or - better - a visit to David Patient the shipwright on Fullbridge Wharf would very likely get you the answers.

He's very knowlegeable and has almost completed writing a book on Howards, who built a lot of wooden commercial craft by the Hythe.
 
viking2 said:
I can't help personally, Bru, but it might be worth getting in touch with the Society for Sailing Barge Research

http://sailingbargeresearch.org.uk/index.htm

They have an archive in Fambridge.
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Already on it, I'm at the other end of the yard from them! Next tome I see someone there I'll have a chat :)

rudolph_hart said:
A 'phone call or - better - a visit to David Patient the shipwright on Fullbridge Wharf would very likely get you the answers.

He's very knowlegeable and has almost completed writing a book on Howards, who built a lot of wooden commercial craft by the Hythe.
Click to expand...

Good tip, thanks
 
W have the John Leather book and a thin paperback called "a barge on the blocks" by Clifford J Cook about cooks yard. At a quick glances at the latter, I can't see any mention of Basham, but you are welcome to borrow either or both if you want. Alshira is at North Fambridge so we come your way often.
 
Ali-alshira said:
W have the John Leather book and a thin paperback called "a barge on the blocks" by Clifford J Cook about cooks yard. At a quick glances at the latter, I can't see any mention of Basham, but you are welcome to borrow either or both if you want. Alshira is at North Fambridge so we come your way often.
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That would be great thanks, I know there's one other reference I haven't seen yet in the Leather book (plus a reference to another Basham relative) so that would be useful

Interesting that there's no reference in the Clifford J Cook book to William Basham. I'm not totally convinced that the info on the Maldon history website is correct and from the trade directories and census returns it may be that William had his yard up at Bath Place next to the old salt works
 
An update

Info kindly provided by Steph at Topsail Charters in response to my email raised doubts over the reference to Cook's Yard being acquired off William Basham. When Walter Cook acquired the yard it was known as "Finch's Yard" and there was a shipwright who employed other men called William Handley Finch in Maldon at that time

That set me looking into the maps and census records again and I'm pretty sure I now know where Basham's yard was. There is a reference in the 1901 census, a few years after William died, to the bottom of Crown Lane (formerly and again latterly Butt Lane) as "Bashams ways" and ways, of course, almost certainly refers to a slipway or slipways.

Furthermore, the 1875 1:500 OS plan clearly marks Bath Place (where WIlliam lived) as being the building immediately upstream of Maldon Salt Works whilst on the other side of the salt works there is a saw pit, a large area of open ground and a small building and that location is directly off the end of Crown / Butt Lane

(To pin the location down for those that know Maldon, we're talking about the upstream end of The Downs, or if you prefer the opposite end of The Downs from Marine Store)

For the sort of wooden boatbuilding William was engaged in, the facilities would not have needed to be particularly substantial or sophisticated. A modest shed, a flat-ish piece of ground and a slope down into the water and you've got a typical small 19th century boat building yard. Indeed, Cook's Yard had much less space (but tellingly had a saw pit and a small shed, just like up at Bath Place).

Only the big yard where Marinestore is now located was marked on the plan as a Ship Building Yard and even that had little in the way of structures on the site (although it acquired a couple of substantial sheds by the end of the 19th century). There was at least one other barge builder somewhere along the Hythe and there's nothing at all to indicate that operations whereabouts on the plan

My next mission will be to contact Maldon Salt Co. Ltd. as they still hold all the original deeds to the original site and there may be some relevant reference therein. They also have photographs of the works which may have caught images of either or both of Bath Place and/or the yard
 
Bru said:
An update

Info kindly provided by Steph at Topsail Charters in response to my email raised doubts over the reference to Cook's Yard being acquired off William Basham. When Walter Cook acquired the yard it was known as "Finch's Yard" and there was a shipwright who employed other men called William Handley Finch in Maldon at that time

That set me looking into the maps and census records again and I'm pretty sure I now know where Basham's yard was. There is a reference in the 1901 census, a few years after William died, to the bottom of Crown Lane (formerly and again latterly Butt Lane) as "Bashams ways" and ways, of course, almost certainly refers to a slipway or slipways.

Furthermore, the 1875 1:500 OS plan clearly marks Bath Place (where WIlliam lived) as being the building immediately upstream of Maldon Salt Works whilst on the other side of the salt works there is a saw pit, a large area of open ground and a small building and that location is directly off the end of Crown / Butt Lane

(To pin the location down for those that know Maldon, we're talking about the upstream end of The Downs, or if you prefer the opposite end of The Downs from Marine Store)

For the sort of wooden boatbuilding William was engaged in, the facilities would not have needed to be particularly substantial or sophisticated. A modest shed, a flat-ish piece of ground and a slope down into the water and you've got a typical small 19th century boat building yard. Indeed, Cook's Yard had much less space (but tellingly had a saw pit and a small shed, just like up at Bath Place).

Only the big yard where Marinestore is now located was marked on the plan as a Ship Building Yard and even that had little in the way of structures on the site (although it acquired a couple of substantial sheds by the end of the 19th century). There was at least one other barge builder somewhere along the Hythe and there's nothing at all to indicate that operations whereabouts on the plan

My next mission will be to contact Maldon Salt Co. Ltd. as they still hold all the original deeds to the original site and there may be some relevant reference therein. They also have photographs of the works which may have caught images of either or both of Bath Place and/or the yard
Click to expand...

Hi Bru,
As a direct descendant of William Basham I'd like to thank you for adding to my knowledge of the man. I'm afraid that I have little to add to your current information except that my Aunt, Henrietta Basham, was evacuated to Maldon during WW2. The family lore has it that she was billeted with the Mayor/Lady Mayoress who took her to see a statue of her Grandfather in the town. Sadly neither she nor any of her siblings survive. I only have a photograph of her with her Mother, Sister, Aunt and friends sitting on a short flight of steps somewhere in Maldon.
Thanks again
Keith Baxter (formerly Basham)
 
Hello cousin!

5th cousins once removed to be precise! (Give a genealogist a clue and there's no hiding place :geek:)

I can add a little more to my 2017 information about William

His property Bath House, the yard itself and the land next door were put up for auction in two lots two years before William's death and by his direction

Both lots were withdrawn some days before the auction was due to take place

The land now has two houses on it, when and by whom built I have not been able to ascertain

Bath House, I am fairly certain, no longer exists

The yard is now part of the yard in front of the Maldon Salt Works - indeed it is possible that the black shed on the right hand side as you look over the gate may have been extant in WIlliam's day (there is certainly a building in that location on the 19th century OS maps). Maldo Salt Co. have no record of purchasing the yard from William or anyone else (they were most helpful and looked through their archives which date back to the early days of the company but without success)

The confusion that arises between Cook's Yard at the downstream end of the Hythe and Basham's yard on the Downs almost certainly arises from there being a Bath House adjacent to both yards

William, by the way, was a prominent and active member of the Blackwater Amateur Rowing Club and also a keen and sucessful racing yachtsman. His business appears to have been very sucessful in a low key way, mainly specialising in one off designs of yachts which newspaper articles suggest William may have designed himself. I have various newspaper clippings referring

Henrietta was, by the way, his Great Granddaughter rather than his Granddaughter. If there was a statue of William in the town I know not where and assume it's long gone

I have a vast amount of information about Williams maternal ancestry through his mother Hannah Dikes (my 4th Great Aunt) but rather less about the Bashams although I do have some. I wouldn't normally have dug so deeply into William but the connection with boat building attracted my interest being a yachtsman myself!

The easiest way to get at my info would be via Ancestry.co.uk - you wouldn't need a subscriptiuon, just an account, to see my tree(s) (although without a subscription you would be unable to view original Ancestry hosted sources such as census returns you would be able to see the media, such as clippings, I've uploaded). If you have, or sign up for, an Ancestry account PM me with your user name and I will invite you to both my public main tree and the private tree which has more detail and media attached to William's record

All the best
Bruce
 
The BlackwatercSailing
Bru said:
Been laid low with the dreaded lergy today so doing a bit of the old family history research to wile away the time

And in sorting out records of the Maldon ancestors and relations I found that a first cousin who I had down as a mere shipwright was rather more than that

William Basham was a barge, boat and yacht builder who lived in Bath Place, Maldon (bottom end of Butts Lane, round the corner from The Downs) but apart from a trade directory and the census returns, all I have is a brief mention in "Salty Shore" by John Leather (and there is another mention in that book I can't preview on Google Books) and an unsourced reference on a web site stating that Walter Cook took over William Basham's yard in 1894

If that is correct, then the famous Cooks Yard, now operated by Topsail Charters, was owned, and possibly founded, by one of my relatives!

If anyone can dig up any info to confirm this and / or any info at all about boats Bashams built etc. I'd be very grateful

Cheers
Bru
[/QUOT

The Blackwater Sailing Club has a huge amount of stuff in their archives, going back to the foundaation of the club 110 years ago. I know they are at Heybridge, but barges used to come into the Ballast Hole, and they may have something about your ancestors
Click to expand...
 
Bru said:
Hello cousin!

5th cousins once removed to be precise! (Give a genealogist a clue and there's no hiding place :geek:)

I can add a little more to my 2017 information about William

His property Bath House, the yard itself and the land next door were put up for auction in two lots two years before William's death and by his direction

Both lots were withdrawn some days before the auction was due to take place

The land now has two houses on it, when and by whom built I have not been able to ascertain

Bath House, I am fairly certain, no longer exists

The yard is now part of the yard in front of the Maldon Salt Works - indeed it is possible that the black shed on the right hand side as you look over the gate may have been extant in WIlliam's day (there is certainly a building in that location on the 19th century OS maps). Maldo Salt Co. have no record of purchasing the yard from William or anyone else (they were most helpful and looked through their archives which date back to the early days of the company but without success)

The confusion that arises between Cook's Yard at the downstream end of the Hythe and Basham's yard on the Downs almost certainly arises from there being a Bath House adjacent to both yards

William, by the way, was a prominent and active member of the Blackwater Amateur Rowing Club and also a keen and sucessful racing yachtsman. His business appears to have been very sucessful in a low key way, mainly specialising in one off designs of yachts which newspaper articles suggest William may have designed himself. I have various newspaper clippings referring

Henrietta was, by the way, his Great Granddaughter rather than his Granddaughter. If there was a statue of William in the town I know not where and assume it's long gone

I have a vast amount of information about Williams maternal ancestry through his mother Hannah Dikes (my 4th Great Aunt) but rather less about the Bashams although I do have some. I wouldn't normally have dug so deeply into William but the connection with boat building attracted my interest being a yachtsman myself!

The easiest way to get at my info would be via Ancestry.co.uk - you wouldn't need a subscriptiuon, just an account, to see my tree(s) (although without a subscription you would be unable to view original Ancestry hosted sources such as census returns you would be able to see the media, such as clippings, I've uploaded). If you have, or sign up for, an Ancestry account PM me with your user name and I will invite you to both my public main tree and the private tree which has more detail and media attached to William's record

All the best
Bruce
Click to expand...

Hi Bruce
Thanks for the rapid update. Hope you don't mind me adding it into my notes? Only last week my good lady and I wrestled with the choice of Ancestry or FindMyPast. 3 guesses which we opted for? <G>

However I do have a 'trial' or guest account with Ancestry but have not uploaded anything yet. Next question is how can I contact you. You seemed to have my email but I don't have yours :-(. I'm open to offers <G>.

All the best
Keith
(5th Cuzz once removed)

DavidofMersea said:
The BlackwatercSailing
Click to expand...
 
If you private message me on here with your Ancestry user name, I'll invite you to the trees on there

I'm on Findmypast too but my tree on there is very limited
 
Bru, as this thread has been resurrected, did you ever speak to David Patient as recommended early on? (interested because I have a six page article from Tradition Sail Review - 1982 - where Mr Patient had just finished building Marigold, and the article was an extract from a history of Leigh and Gravesend Bawleys, and he was revising the book prior to publication, and as far as i am aware, it never was published).
 
ianc1200 said:
Just slightly on topic, David Patient has a book just about to be published, about Howards, but the blurb says includes the history of Maldon shipbuilding.

‘One of Howard’s’
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At £35 I think I'll have to pass on that but it looks like a really nice book to have (if only I had the money and the space - my extensive library is now all disposed of and turned digital, books and boats don't mix!)

I never got to speak to David Patient directly but indirectly was advised he had nothing to add to what little I already knew. Basham, it seems, is the forgotten member of the Maldon boat building industry - a small yard upriver, probably working pretty much on his own with perhaps one or two labourers, well enough known and respected in his day but little known in modern times (and what little has been said about him in print has invariably turned out to be wrong!)(
 
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