Hugh Conway-Jones outlines the life of John George, who was the premier trader on the Stroudwater and Thames & Severn Canals in the 1830s and 1840s.
John George established himself as a coal merchant at Brimscombe Port in the early 1820s, and he started building barges that he used to collect coal from Lydney. At that time, the Forest of Dean coal-field was developing rapidly, helped by the spread of horse-drawn tramroads connecting collieries with river ports such as Lydney and Bullo Pill.
John George became an agent for the Parkend Colliery Co, and he started trading with three barges. By 1830 he had twelve barges and five narrowboats, mainly carrying Forest coal to places along the Stroudwater and Thames & Severn Canals. He also had a barge regularly carrying general cargoes to places between Bristol and Brimscombe. This was by far the largest fleet trading on the two canals when most other owners just had one or two barges.
Part of this success was evidently due to his willingness to exploit good will and to bend rules. He often received calls to pay overdue canal tolls, and it 1832 it was found that his clerk had been declaring lower cargoes to the Stroudwater toll collector than were loaded on the barges at Lydney. Even worse, when this was first suspected and the toll collector demanded to see the actual bills of lading, George’s clerk obtained forged bills from the Parkend Company’s clerk. This revelation was evidently an embarrassment to the Stroudwater Company, who tightened up their procedures but did not want to publicise their own shortcomings, and George was not prosecuted.
During the 1830s, John George continued to prosper - his fleet increased to 23 barges and 17 narrowboats, of which twelve barges were built by his own shipwrights. Although his boat-building business was evidently successful, it seems he was not popular with his workmen as three apprentices absconded in 1841 and he offered a reward for information leading to their return. Around this time, he was again caught under-paying tolls on the cargoes his boats were carrying, this time by the Thames & Severn Canal Co, and he was required to pay £300 to settle the matter.
By 1840, John George was a major landowner in Brimscombe, and when a new church was planned, he gave the land for it although he was a non-conformist. He moved into the premier house at Brimscombe Port (now known as Cleeve House) where he and his family were looked after by five servants. But there were clouds on the horizon as there was talk of a brand new railway line being built alongside the canal, and it was clear that it would compete with his business.
The railway through Brimscombe opened in 1845, and this prompted John George to make significant changes over the next few years. Initially, he managed to keep a big fleet, but he had to mortgage some of his vessels to the main owner of the Parkend Colliery Co and he moved some of his coal business and his home to Stonehouse. He also opened a new business at Gloucester, importing Welsh coal and slates, and no doubt used the new railway to travel between the two sites.
Unfortunately these changes were not enough, and by 1855 John George was only operating twelve barges – still a big fleet but a huge reduction from ten years earlier. To try to diversify further, he bought a quarry in the Forest of Dean which produced high quality stone, but he was not able to raise the capital to pay for an inclined plane that would improve access and make it profitable. A further blow came in 1858 when his financial backer in the Parkend Coal Co went bankrupt, and George himself followed suit three years later. His remaining barges were sold, together with associated equipment, and he came to an agreement with his creditors.
It seems John George still had assets inherited by his wife, and he went back to Brimscombe to live in a house overlooking the port area where he had once been so successful. His life of boom and decline is a perfect mirror of the story of canals nationally and how their traffic was affected by the coming of the railways.
Vessel ownership and building information extracted from D1080/4 tonnage books and D4292 ship registrations.
Underpayment of Stroudwater Canal tolls from D1180/6/12.
Absconding apprentices from GJ 24 Apr 1841 p2.
Underpayment of T&S Canal tolls from TS/165a 29 Dec 1840.
Gift of land for Brimscombe church from Glo Jnl 18 Apr 1840 p3.
Move to Stonehouse from D1180/2/32; 1851 Census.
Establishment of Gloucester business from TNA/829/9.
Quarry in the Forest of Dean from family letters in Trow Dec 1980 to Mar 1983.
Financial backer bankrupt from Gloucestershire Chronicle 13 Aug 1859.
John George bankrupt from Gloucester Journal 11 Jan 1862.
Return to Brimscombe from 1871 census.
