Newsletter November 2020
Date posted:
Good News
for urgently-needed repairs to the Old Forge !
The work will be carried out over the next few months by long-established Banbury firm P.R.Alcock & Sons, using traditional materials suitable for this historic (1788) building.
As some of the damage was caused by people climbing over the railing outside the entrance to Castle Quay and on to the Forge roof, that railing will be heightened as part of the work.
Our thanks to the team at for recognising the importance, nationally as well as locally, of the Boatyard site, and making this funding available under their Heritage At Risk programme.
Pontoon Bridge to form part of towpath
In other news, work continues on the design of a pontoon bridge which will form part of the opened-up towpath alongside the dry dock. Cherwell District Council Castle Quay Liaison Committee gave this project its blessing. We still need to make sure it fulfils all planning, H&S and accessibility requirements. And we need to raise funds to pay for it! So we have set ourselves a target:
This will cover not only the physical works needed but also the provision of all-weather information panels to tell the story of Tooley’s and of the Canal, further works in and around the yard, and necessary preparations for the regular boat trips we hope to offer from next spring.
We already have a promise, from the Banbury Charities, of £5,000. This is a great start, and thank you to the Trustees of that body! But there’s still a long way to go.
Can you help?
All donations, however small, would be greatly appreciated.
One way would be to support Cherwell District Council’s Community Lottery. To buy tickets for this, and be eligible for weekly prizes as well as helping our own good cause, go to: https://www.cherwelllottery.co.uk
When you shop at Smile, Amazon, 0.5% of your purchase (not including VAT, shipping costs or returns) will be donated to the charity of your choice – in this case Tooley’s! Go to: https://smile.amazon.co.uk/ch/1182371-0 to start shopping (note: not the usual Amazon website).
For further information, or to support our work with a donation, please contact:
John Madden, Chair of the Trust: or tel: 07831 421175