The Nautical Heritage Association has now started preliminary work towards the restoration and preservation of Primrose, the last Rye barge.

A small team of volunteers has met on several occasions to dry-clean the barge. Dried mud and dirt, which still adhered to the timber, had to be carefully removed. This work proved to be painstaking and was done mainly with a hand brush and vacuum cleaner, great care being taken not to damage the structure of the barge. Some of the loose bottom boards had to be lifted to give access to the mud that lay between the outer and inner skins of the barge but careful note was taken of their position in order that they could be replaced in exactly the same place. The mud had impregnated the woodwork to such an extent that even after a section has been cleaned, more dust fell away as the volunteers moved about the barge

Now the dry cleaning has been completed, the timbers are being soaked in brine which, being hydroscopic, will reintroduce moisture into the timber to give it life and flexibility. The brine will be produced by packing raw salt into the barge and then moistening it with a fine mist of water. The barge will then be given several coats of a mixture of linseed oil and Stockholm tar.

Restoration will be restricted to reconstructing the front galley as far as and including the horizontal knees. But before this can proceed detailed drawings, supported by photographs, will be made of the construction, to ensure that no detail of the original work is lost. Any timbers that are sound will be left in place; only those which are unsound will be replaced. This will include a completely new stem post, parts of the outer boarding, ribs and stretchers, as well as a complete new roof for the galley. As far as practicable the methods used to do the work will be those used by the original builder using tools of the period. We will also need to build a "steam chest" to bend some of the timbers.

Although our application for funding from the National Lottery Millennium Commission has been rejected the Hastings Community Fund has given us a sizeable grant for which we are very grateful. Whilst work is underway visitors to the Shipwreck Heritage Centre will be able to watch work being carried out on the barge. Anyone interested in helping with any aspects of this important project should e-mail Terry Fawthrop or phone him on 01424 429481.

If you feel that you lack the skills or the time to participate in the work then you may wish to support it by buying one or more £10 units to become a Primrose Patron. Your contribution will be recorded on timber adjacent to Primrose and, more importantly, you will have contributed to saving the last Rye barge. We are taking advantage of the recent change in the tax rules which now enables us to claim an extra 27% from the Inland Revenue for each donation made by a UK based tax payer. Download the donation form, complete it and send it to the Association together with a cheque made payable to the Nautical Heritage Association. At the time of writing, £500 has been received from Primrose Patrons who have contributed in this way.

Download Primrose donation form (MS Word format)

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Click here to see the document 'The History of the Primrose' >>>

Click here to see a gallery of photos of the restoration work >>>