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| St Helena Boathouse |
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Many of the row of eleven boathouses on Richmond riverside belonged to the houses above in St. Helena Terrace. The boathouses were under-used, or used for storage or domestic purposes. We jumped at the chance to buy the 60 year lease of No 4 to prevent it being developed for non-river use and to help a number of families to share the boathouse and the delights of the river.
The boathouse could hold six dinghies and a number of canoes. We brought together enough families to put up 2/3 of the asking price. We bought a Mirror dinghy so that the inexperienced, or those who would find it too costly to own their own boat, could share costs and go out in this boat with others. A sympathetic bank manager loaned us the remaining 1/3 of the cost. Two of the group donated their spaces for renting so we repaid the loan within a couple of years. In return these two took places in the shared Mirror dinghy. This was intended to be a temporary arrangement but it has suited the group to continue it and fund major repairs or improvements to the boathouse. These improvements have included installing a flood door to prevent water and river rubbish from coming in and out with the tides, a pump to remove surplus water and a canopy over the domed ceiling to prevent evaporating salts from falling onto the boats. A grant from the Council helped us to restore the brickwork of the whole row of boathouses by removing cement covering the facade of the end boathouse and re-building it to match the rest of the row. We currently plan to donate Collinge hinges in place of those along the row which are missing or broken to help owners deterred by the additional cost of this heritage ironmongery. This is a friendly, river-loving group who sometimes take out their boats together to explore up and down the river or to have lunch in a riverside pub. We plan soon to buy another dinghy for sharing. If you are interested please ring 020 8948 2323, or 020 8392 8695. |
This was one of our earliest projects started soon after our foundation.
