The Fellows Morton and Clayton Boats

Fellows Morton and Clayton came into being in 1889 with a merger between Fellows Morton and Company and part of William Clayton, initially all craft were horse drawn but steamers gradually came into vogue and they in turn were later converted to motor boats.  FMC became one of the largest canal carriers over the years but in 1948 the Company went into voluntary liquidation and the assets  were acquired by the British Transport Commission.  Many of the craft are still extant, some having been fully converted for leisure use, some have new signwritten names and a few retain the original forms of naming, numbering and decoration.

 

President is one of the last steam powered full size narrow boats on the canal system, built at Saltley Birmingham in 1909, converted to a motor boat, returned  to steam, fully restored in 1976-9 and now operated by “Friends” and part of the Black Country Living Museum, a regular visitor to the Blisworth area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Northwich a composite construction English Town Class Josher butty, built pre 1912 at Saltley and displayed for many years at Stoke Bruerne but now at Gloucester museum. Depicted here moving down the locks at Stoke with President.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gosport a 1912 Josher butty built by Braithwaite and Kirk of West Bromwich at a cost of £190 and Bascote moored at Blisworth one evening 2006. The different styles of fore end from the two boatbuilders is clearly visible.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Falcon,  a 1926 iron Yarwoods built motor, rebuilt at Ellesmere in the 1980’s and here paired with Venice a Saltley built iron composite construction Foreign Town and Country Class butty, constructed between 1898 and 1912 now with a full undercloth conversion seen here visiting Blisworh one evening.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Columbia also a Foreign Town and Country Class  iron composite construction butty converted to a motor boat by Yarwoods in 1939, eventually shortened to 54 feet long and fully converted.

In recent times purchased by a young lady living locally at the time and brought south, caught fire, sank on the moorings at the mill, was raised and taken to Blisworth Tunnel Narrow Boats, was resuscitated and with a new bow section returned to its original length and working specification.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Columbia - burnt out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Columbia re floated

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Columbia at Candle Br.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Columbia finally sign-written.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jubilee, an iron composite construction originally one of the Midland and Coast of Wolverhampton fleet which was absorbed by FMC on the 1st July 1938 and now regularly operating on the Grand Union selling coal and fuel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lily, a 1914 Saltley built iron motor, which currently has a 20 HP Bolinder engine, depicted moving past the pub and into the locks at Soulbury returning from the Jam ‘ole Run in 2006.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ferret, a 1926 iron Yarwood built motor moored at Ellesmere.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Camel, cabin detail of a 1924 iron construction Yarwood  motor, moored at Stockton and fully converted.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bison, a much modified but well turned out iron motor boat built by Yarwoods and dating from 1923, taking part in the Braunston event in 2007.

Neil Ratcliffe writes to say "I used to own the real Bison which is now at Warwickshire Fly Boats under restoration. I also had all the documentation showing the previous owners etc."  So this one is a well turned out replica.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Victory, an iron construction motor by Yarwoods  in 1927, moving through the locks at Stoke Bruerne in company with a Wyvern Hire boat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Roach, operated by John Jackson.  This motor is a 1935 Yarwood built iron boat which joined with Starling to bring pre-packed coal to Braunston to offload to the Waterways Trust pair for onward delivery.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bream seen at Stoke Bruerne.  The boat is somewhat unusual - the rear section is an FMC Josher, Fish Class built Feb 1933 at Northwich, the front section is from a Birmingham Canal Navigation Joey boat. The cabin interior is decorated in traditional manner with lacework, brasses and plates.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Owl passes the museum at Stoke Bruerne, now fully converted in the undercloth manner the boat was originally constructed at Yarwoods in 1928.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trout being refurbished at the Shardlow museum in 2006 having originally been constructed in 1936 at Yarwoods.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Archimedes & Australia at Candle bridge Blisworth.  Australia built with a bow cabin as an iron composite butty rebuilt with stern end of FMC butty Malvern now part of the South Midland fleet after running under Captain cargo livery for a time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

England converted in 1938 to a motor boat at Saltley ,iron construction ,now fully converted for leisure use and appeared at the Shackerstone event in 2006.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Minnow a 1934 built iron Yarwoods construction with a bow cabin attended the Blisworth tunnel Centenary event in 2005.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lupin built of iron in 1914 at the saltley dock, rebuilt at Stretton on the Shropshire Union Canal in the 1980’s and visited Blisworth for the Bicentenary event

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Panther south from mill bridge at Bicentenary.  Panther originally built in 1930 of steel by Yarwoods and was originally 70feet 6inches in length. Now used by the Coventry Canal Society for maintenance works and attends canal events, including the Blisworth tunnel Bicentenary.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Petrel was built as a motor in 1914 of iron construction at FMC’s main Dock for boat building at Saltley, now repainted in Orion Canal Carriers livery but retaining the fleet number 81.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Peacock, an exhibit at the Black Country Living Museum, she was built in 1915 as a motor at Saltley, here depicting washday on the canal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monarch built with a composite construction, originally steam powered in 1908 converted to a motor boat in 1925, shortened in the 1990’s.  Regularly attends the Braunston event.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dory at Braunston, a full length motor retaining its original working condition, originally built of steel in1934 at Yarwoods.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dragon, a 1925 built iron motor at Yarwoods, recently rebuilt at Brinklow ,photographed in 2007 with new livery at Stretton on Dunsmore.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dace, a 1934 steel Yarwoods built motor

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lamprey at Stretton 2006. It was built in 1934 of iron by Yarwoods, fleet no 316 and is 70ft 10" in length.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kangaroo appeared in 2007 at the Braunston event in good shape, in South Midland Carrying Company colours, built in iron by Yarwoods in 1928 and rebuilt at WFB Co. in recent years.