Any info re origins of Jason's Trip please?
Trevor Pavitt
My interest in canals began with a trip aboard the original "Jason" back in
the late 1960s. We did the standard trip down to Camden Lock but, as it was
right at the end of the season, we also accepted an offer from the owner
(John James IIRC) of a free, one way trip to Rickmansworth where the boat
was going for the Winter. This trip was so stimulating that we later took
several canal holidays on hire boats and eventually had our own boat, "Lady
Elgar", built and lived on her for nearly ten years.
Can anybody (Mike Stevens perhaps?) confirm the background to "Jason's
Trip". I believe that John James was an artist who had the idea of
exhibiting his work aboard a narrow boat and that this led him to begin
giving trips aboard Jason. I also suspect that our trip to Ricky was to
Walkers' yard (situated, I believe, on the site now occupied by Tesco) is
this possible?
I have tried www.jasons.co.uk , the Jason's Trip website but it seems to be
unavailable. There was certainly an article about it in Waterways World some
years ago but, as I have recently disposed of my collection of WW to a
member of this ng I can't now check this.
Any information gratefully received.
--
Trevor
Nb Lady Elgar
(Mail to the address given in the header is no longer being
read. To contact me, substitute "clogs2clogs" for "ladyelg".)
Steve King
<tre...@ladyelg.fsnet.co.uk> wrote:
>I am writing a memoir about our experiences on the waterways.
>My interest in canals began with a trip aboard the original "Jason" back in
>the late 1960s.
>Can anybody (Mike Stevens perhaps?) confirm the background to "Jason's
>Trip".
>Any information gratefully received.
John James is the son of the boatman Jack James, who lived at Stoke
Bruerne and, with his collection of what we might now call canalia,
started the Waterways Museum there. John was an artist and he bought
the former Chas Nelson of Stockton wooden motor 'Jason' and took it
down to London to convert it for use as a floating studio. The
following spring he took the boat through Maida Tunnel and was so
impressed with the beauty of the canal in Regent's Park he decided to
start running public trips, commencing in Festival of Britain year,
1951. The trips became very popular, not least because of John's
inspiring and often critical commentary, and a number of those early
passengers went off to start their own businesses on the waterways.
The trips were described in a newspaper as 'The best 2/6d worth in
London'. In 1960 the present 'Jason' (real name probably 'Portugal')
was introduced to replace the wooden boat which was subsequently sunk
in Harefield flash. An iron composite motor from the fleet of FM&C,
the boat apparently had no name when John bought her, so the name
'Jason' was transferred, and WH Walker Bros of Rickmansworth docked
the boat as one of their last jobs before closing down. I believe
'Jason' was launched by Beryl Reid. In 1968 the Small Northwich butty
'Serpens' joined 'Jason' to give passengers the opportunity to travel
on a pair of boats, and Beryl Reid returned to launch the butty. John
retired in 1972 and sold the business to Brendan Foley who re-named it
'Jason's Trip'. Brendan sold to Tony Hopkins in 1978, and Tony ran the
business until this (last?) year, during which time it underwent a
number of additions and disposals to the fleet. 'Serpens' was sold to
Alan Picken who shortened her (although I think she has now been
restored to full length) and another former FM&C motor 'Holland' now
works with 'Jason'.
I believe John James still lives in Northampton, and he has an
extensive collection of newspaper cutttings from those early years.
Waterways World magazine carried an article about the business when
John retired, and most probably others since.
All of the above is correct to the best of my memory !
Steve
Tim Blyth
.....
You can download a film of the trip on British Pathe at
http://www.britishpathe.com
It is from the issue dated 23/08/1954 & called "Canal Barge"
Film ID 1353.25
Duration 0:01:40:00
CANAL BARGE
I did not realise that it had been a Nelson Cement boat. My Grandfather
worked there.
Tim Blyth
Mike Stevens
> I am writing a memoir about our experiences on the waterways.
> My interest in canals began with a trip aboard the original "Jason"
> back in the late 1960s.
> Can anybody (Mike Stevens perhaps?) confirm the background to "Jason's
> Trip".
It's quite possible that one of the crew of /Jason/ when you went on her was
my good friend (and one-time regular contributor to this newsgroup) the late
Ray Dunford, whose memoirs I'm (still) trying to find time to edit for
publication. My knowledge of the origins of "Jason's Trip" come from those
memoirs and many conversations with Ray, who was a part-time crewman on
/Jason/ from about 1963 to 1972.
John James was the son of Jack James, the well-known lock-keeper at Stoke
Bruerne. John got a place to study at one of the London art colleges, but
had great difficulty in finding somewhere to live that he could afford. So
Jack found him an old wooden narrowboat, /Jason/ to live on, and he found a
mooring for it at Little Venice.
After he'd lived on it for a while, a bunch of his neighbours persudaded him
to take them for a day trip on the boat. Since the group included several
celebs, the Press were notified and the trip received a lot of coverage.
The result was that lots of other people wanted to go for a trip on /Jason/.
John decided to set it up as a business. So "Jason's Trip" was born. This
was in 1951, the year of the Festival of Britain, and it was the first
trip-boat operation on the London Canals.
> I also suspect that our trip to
> Ricky was to Walkers' yard (situated, I believe, on the site now
> occupied by Tesco) is this possible?
Quite likely, in fact. And yes, that is the correct location.
> There was certainly an article about it in Waterways World some years ago
That article was by Ray if it's the one I'm thinking of.
--
Mike Stevens
narowboat Felis Catus II
web site www.mike-stevens.co.uk
Million-to-one chances turn up nine times out of ten.
(Terry Pratchett)
David Blagrove
trading on the Oxford, Thames and K & A in the 1920's and 30's with
horseboats and an ancient tug. He went to work for the Grand Union Canal
Carrying Company just before the war, later purchased a cottage at Stoke
Bruerne and became lockkeeper, then caretaker of the Canal Museum.
John trained as an artist in London and about 1954 set up "Jason's Trip" at
Paddington. He also had a gallery on which he exhibited his own paintings.
The original "Jason's" provenance is obscure. Some said she was an
ex-steamer of that name, once operated by Nelsons of Stockton, others that
she was an ex-Fellows Morton boat.
John sold up the business some time about 1968 or thereabouts and went to
live at Napton and later moved to Northampton.
I met John James at the 1955 Boat Show at Earls Court and had my first trip
on "Jason" at Easter that year. There was still some horse traffic in barge
loads of oil from Southall and Kensal Green Gasworks to somewhere in the
East End at that time, and I remember that the departure of our trip had to
be delayed (they ran from near the Maida Hill Tunnel in those days) while
the loaded barges were shafted through the tunnel. John told me that if he
didn't have too many excitable passengers on board he sometimes shoved the
barges through with "Jason", but on this occasion he didn't.
Trips were also run to Alperton and, as you rightly recall, to Rickmansworth
on the occasions when the boat had to be docked by Walker Bros, whose yard
is now occupied by Tescos.