inandaround Fundraising first–in the wake ofMorris
Howtodo thefull132
SPAB founder WilliamMorris loved the Thames, and twice travelled between his homes in London and Oxfordshire by boat. This May, a traditional Thames skiff was rowed by a team of volunteers to raise money for theDance Trust. The trust supports the Society’s annual Lethaby Scholarship for architecture students,which introduces them to the philosophy and methods of the SPAB.One of the 2009Scholars, Hugh Conway Morris, reports on seven days of ducks, aches, picnics, nature and pulling together
I
n the summer of 1880, and again in 1881,WilliamMorris and his friends rowed 132miles up the River Thames, fromKelmscott House inHammersmith,west London, to its original namesake andMorris’s beloved home, KelmscottManor, inOxfordshire.
Their vessel, aptly named the “Ark”, took themthrough some of the loveliest countryside in this understated landscape, connecting placeswhich Morris knewwellwith previously unknown corners of England. The journey undoubtedly influenced his strong views on the beauty of the naturalworld and the pastoral history of the country – and formed the narrative backbone to his utopian socialist novel, “News FromNowhere”, first published in 1890. Foundingmember and first
Secretary of the SPAB,WilliamMorris inspires all of us inmanyways. In spring 2009, taking part as one of that year’s Lethaby Scholars in the Dance Scholarship Trust’s “Morris Meander”, a tremendously successful sponsoredwalk fromboth Kelmscotts to themid-point in Reading along the Thames Path,wewalked part of the route betweenOxford andDorchester.
12 Cornerstone, Vol 32, No 3 2011
Itwas then that inspiration hit (having just finishing reading “News From Nowhere”) of a sponsored rowalong thewhole route. This dreamremained dormant for two years, but inMay this year it became a reality. In total, 17 people took part in rowing a traditional Thames skiff (the “Stella”) between the Manor andHammersmith in seven days. The eventwas organised by the Dance Trust, founded in 1988 to support the Lethaby Scholarship. Many of the crewwere former and
current SPAB Scholars,while the WilliamMorris Craft Fellowswere also represented, aswell as a number of keen friends. Althoughwe had been warned of the difficulty of the undertaking,wewere fortunate that three or four of the crewwere experienced rowers. The firstmorning of rowingwas
notable, for not only didwe have 26 miles to cover between Kelmscott and Iffley Lock in one day, but none of the initial crewhad experience of the Thames or the skiff. It says a great deal for the camaraderie and friendship, which became the highlight of the trip, that by lunchtime our amateur team hadmastered theworking of locks and the handling of the craft.
breaking over the sides, either fromthe wash of large boats travelling too fast, or the rough andwildwaters of the tidal River at Chiswick. All this, of course,wasmanymiles
away fromOxfordshire,where the Thames is narrowand gentle. Staying the first night on board at Kelmscott before our early departure the next morning, itwas easy to understand Morris’s devotion to the place. It seems hardly changed fromhis own descriptions of it. Indeed,much of the upper Thames appears to have escaped Morris’s fears for its demise – “In twenty years, everythingwill be gone in this countryside,which twenty years agowas so rich in beautiful building: andwe can do nothing to help
A skiff is a low, broad boat,with
space for two rowers, benches in the stern and the sides,with roomin the prowfor a further crew-member. The iron hoops and guys visible in the photographs support a canvas cover at night, turning the “Stella” into a snug sleeping place. By day they sported Union flag bunting – not somuch from patriotic fervour than to catch the eye of passing skippers, as the skiff herself sits so lowin thewater. Even this did not prevent thewaves occasionally
This page (top), Scholars Hugh Conway Morris and Harriet Von Fritsch powering ahead eastwards through Oxfordshire; Above left, Hugh and Lucy Stewart in the engine room
Facing page (top), refuelling stop, with, from left, Henry Saunders, Simon Stevens, Hugh Conway Morris, Harriet Von Fritsch, Jan Schneidewind and Drew Meakin (also in middle photograph, providing mid-voyage muscle). Bottom, duck ahoy (from left) Drew Meakin, Hugh Conway Morris, Henry Sanders, Jan Schneidewind and Harriet Von Fritsch
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