History of the CAMBRIA Sailing Barge
Cambria at Dolphin Yard Sittingbourne
Cambria at Sheerness
Cambria being towed along the Swale
Tony Ellis celebrating the HLF funding
History Continued ...
The Maritime Trust offered to buy the Cambria from Captain Bob Roberts, who retired to the Isle of Wight. Cambria became an exhibit at St Katherine’s dock in London and owned by the Maritime Trust. However, due to neglect, the condition of the barge deteriorated in the fresh water of the docks and the barge was sold to the Cambria Trust. On a visit to the barge in 1981, Dick Durham noted that there were leaks in the ceiling, yet no work was being undertaken to remedy the situation. "All wooden boats leak you know. She's flat bottomed so it really doesn't matter".
In 1996 the Cambria was sold to the Cambria Trust for £1 and towed to Dolphin yard Sittingbourne.
Despite a loyal group of interested volunteers, the condition of the Cambria continued to decline and there were no adequate funds to stem the deterioration in the condition of the barge. In 2005, the Dolphin yard Barge museum was scheduled to close, and more importantly, access to open water was being threatened by plans to build a low bridge across Milton creek.
Following an unsuccessful bid to gain a Landfill tax community grant to restore the barge, efforts were made to try for Heritage lottery funding, as the Dawn Trust in Maldon had made a recent successful bid.
Through the generous assistance of Peel ports (Medway port authority), Cambria was given a berth at Sheerness dockyard, and the barge was towed to its new location on 27th April 2006.
On the 1st March the South East Region Committee of the Heritage Lottery Fund agreed to award £990,000 to the Cambria Trust towards the restoration of the Cambria.
In order to commence the restoration, the Cambria Trust became a company limited by guarantee, and the restoration process was put out to tender. Mr Tim Goldsack was successful in securing this contract, and his favoured location for the restoration was Standard Quay at Faversham.
For the second time, Cambria was towed along the Swale to its restoration home, where it was greeted by a large crowd of well-wishers, on 1st September 2007, which coincided with the Faversham Hop festival. The long process of restoration of the barge could now begin, with money from the Heritage Lottery Fund, a clear plan for the future activities of the barge, and local support from the town of Faversham and commercial sponsors.
The future of the famous sailing barge Cambria has been secured. Let's get on with the restoration!
