Coal merchant, barge owner and inn keeper.
William Knee was a successful businessman based at Wallbridge Wharf, the terminus of the Stroudwater Canal. Born in 1816 to a labourer father, he was running a coal and salt business on the Coombe Hill Canal near Cheltenham in the late 1830s, and he moved to Wallbridge Wharf in 1845.
For the next thirty years, he lived with his family in the Ship Inn beside the wharf, selling coal and building materials delivered by about half a dozen of his own vessels. His narrowboats brought coal from the Midlands and his barges brought coal and stone from the Forest of Dean and road stone from Bristol. His business was badly hit by competition from the railways, but he managed to keep going.
William Knee became very well known in the local community, and in 1856 he organised a sheep roast on his wharf to celebrate the end of the Crimean War. Activities like jumping in sacks, donkey racing and other amusements took place on the wharf during the day, and around 80 people sat down to dinner.
It was well known that coal merchants allowed for some ‘wastage’ in the handling of coal, but one of Knee’s boatmen went too far. When returning from a trip to the Midlands in 1872, Thomas Clift stopped by his house at Ryeford and was seen carrying a very big lump of coal into his garden before taking the boat on to Wallbridge. At the police court, Knee acknowledged that he did allow boatmen some coal, but not two hundredweight. He added that he was willing to continue employing Clift, who was then sentenced to one day’s imprisonment.
By the 1870s, carrying by water was really suffering from competition from the railways, and Knee tried to keep his business going by selling coal he had collected from the nearby railway yard. This of course was contrary to the terms of his lease from the Stroudwater Company, and when it was discovered, he was required to pay them 3 pence per ton which cancelled the benefit.
William Knee’s long battle to keep trading came to a sudden end when he died in December 1876, aged 60. He was a highly respected member of the community and his funeral at Rodborough church was attended by about 70 of the principle tradesmen and inhabitants of Stroud. Before this, he had tried to get his son William to take over the coal business and the Ship Inn, but it all proved too difficult. So his vessels were soon put up for sale, together with the building materials, carts and wagons on the wharf.
Coal and salt business in Cheltenham from Lon Gaz 8 May 1838.
Wallbridge Wharf and Ship Inn from rent book D1180/2/54.
Vessel movements from D1180/4 Tonnage Books.
Celebrating the peace from Str Jnl 7 Jun 1856 p2.
Stealing a lump of coal from Str News 11 Oct 1872 p5.
Penalty for selling coal brought by rail from D1180/1/6 p.182.
Funeral of William Knee from Str Jnl 16 Dec 1876 p5.
Sale of vessels etc from Glo Jnl 13 Oct 1877 p4.
