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Aylesbury Basin/covered dock


LEO

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Hi,

I came across this picture recently, it features Aylesbury Basin, more particularly, the covered Dock by the Warehouse buildings. Not sure of the date, but it is unusual in that no boats are featured and the crane is no longer there.

I used to walk past this most lunchtimes in 1964 and recall narrowboats boats being converted for residential purposes. The warehouse was occupied by Mick Riley, who dealt in motor cycles and bits.

The canal ends here but there were plans to continue it following the River Thame to join the Thames at Dorchester. 

The picture is featured in 'Aylesbury Remembered' and the Carl Vaughan owns the copyright.

17796726_1577694045594724_9014598129097227102_n.jpg

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IIRC this was demolished when Kingfisher House  ( red brick office block, once home to a tax office)  was built.  The canal was shortened, to about the nearest end of the cover and made wider at the same time, so as to preserve the net basin water area.  Kingfisher House went up in the early 'seventies  I think.

 

I shall ask Bryan Barnes next time I see him..

 

N

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Bryan believes this was taken even before Ran Meinertzhagen set up in about 1955.  He installed  a sign on the white hut to the right, advertising his operations.

He also brought moored boats, as moorings,  awaiting sale or finishing being fitted out.  There were several resident moorers by the time of the 1961 IWA National Rally.

Bryan also says that the structure was in much worse condition by 1968 when he first arrived in the basin.

The track on the right lead to a house at the rear of the brewery.   The brewery, but not its barrel yard, was replaced by an office block and a Gulf petrol station which survived into the late 80's and were in turn replaced by housing.

The "crane" at the very end of the arm was an ACS devised contraption which went up about the same time as Kingfisher House. It comprised a second-hand  telegraph pole supporting the jib and wheel from a salvaged crane.  It had a safe working load of nowt and no hoist rope..  It survived until the late 'nineties when the jib became rotten and was dismantled.

The was a however a proper cast iron crane base in the timber yard at the end of the other arm of the basin.  This survived until the later stages of the Waterside development after  Sep 2013.

 

N

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Thanks,

I reckon it was taken in the late 1940's. early 50's, there is no ground made up around the building, and the whole building looks as if no work of maintenance has been carried out for years. I recall the canal being dredged about 1959/60 when I was at school (as schoolboys we walked from Walton road to the Town centre most weekdays), presumably for the IWA rally in 1961.

There are several more on the Aylesbury remembered site, it's well worth a visit.

Shame it's all been so 'gentrified'.

M

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