Monument record BCB 014 - Ballingdon Cut

Ballingdon Cut and 20 wooden lighters (barges) `...a cut used to connect the river traffic with Ballingdon chalk pits. The Cut, now dry and overgrown, still contains the remains of nearly twenty wooden lighters lying bow to stern where they were moored by the Navigation Company. The last of them were, in fact, deliberately scuttled here in 1914 to prevent their being useful to the enemy should Germany invade.
Ballingdon Cut led to former brickworks (see BCB 008) where bricks were loaded for Mistley and transhipment to London (e.g. Albert Hall)(S2). Named as `canal' on 1845 tithe apportionment.
It was from this "graveyard" that, in 1972, working parties of the River Stour Trust and local organisations succeeded in raising a hulk still sound enough to allow for eventual full restoration' (S1) . Details, copies of drawings etc in archive file.
By 1995 the raised barge had deteriorated to such an extent that burning, following recording?, was proposed - see (S3).
1999: Further barge (No 8) excavated prior to dredging and destruction. For results and survey of remaining barges, see (S4).
In 2005 the 'restored' barge was officially placed on the 'at risk' register by the National Historic Ships Committee.

Included in the Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and History annual round up of individual finds and discoveries for 1999 (S5).