Medway Navigation (1836)

Post date: Jul 10, 2012 1:56:54 PM

In 1836 a House of Commons committee took evidence on a proposed Medway Navigation Bill which aimed to reform the Medway Navigation Company (established 1739) and further improve the navigation of the Medway from Maidstone up to Tonbridge and extend navigability up to Forest Row. The minutes cover 430 pages foolscap pages in Kent Archives (reference K/Medway, River (x)). Matthias Lucas of Wateringbury Place gave evidence on 20th June 1836 (pages 276 to 283) generally supportive of the Medway Navigation Company (MNC). Some of the evidence against the MNC was from supporters of the owner of Tonbridge Mill, James Christie. Lucas' evidence is summarised below.

Lucas estimates his consumption of coal to be about 80 to 90 chaldrons (one chaldron equals 25 cwt) a year, used for drying hops, family use and use by his gardener and bailiff. Lucas has built a wharf on the Medway by putting in a stone front and piles to enable anything to be landed with greater convenience and less expense, and has a tenant called Hutson who lives on the edge of the wharf with a barge or two who is a dealer in coals. However in 1833 he had compared the price of coal (on a like for like quality) if he had bought in Rochester and had his tenant transport for him with the price charged by MNC and finding the MNC's price cheaper had switched to purchasing direct from the MNC. He found that the cost comparable to transport on the Medway to a similar distance on the Thames to Kingston. He thinks that it would be advantageous if a bulk stock of coal was held to guard against winter supply interruptions and that if the MNC were prevented from trading prices would increase.

He thought "the navigation of the Medway was as good as any other navigations" and was particularly knowledgeable about the Thames where barges were frequently stopped in dry seasons for lack of water. Sometimes it is necessary to use cows to form a dam in the river to refloat a barge, a cow-flash. Every year on the Medway the MNC establish a day on which water lowered for purposes of removing shoals such one at Wateringbury Bridge from which Lucas takes 100 tons of ballast out each year. He believed a horse towing-path would need to be fenced off to disadvantage of landowners and to which he had signed petition against.

He was cross-examined on his evidence and asked about one of his tenants being obliged to have his manure carted from Maidstone to Wateringbury. Lucas sometimes had 1,000 tons of manure every year brought by river from London but economics from Maidstone barracks more favourable to carting because of loading and unloading at each end and use of 'back carriage' on carts which had taken produce to Maidstone. He was then re-examined. He considered London street sweepings the best of manure which he purchased.