Plea to save Victor, Ipswich's 130-year-old barge

A barge described as a "treasured icon" could be left to rot and her popular passenger voyages axed if £100,000 is not raised to save her.

Sailing barge Victor, built in Ipswich in 1895, helped establish the town as an agricultural port and was used to deliver cargo all around the East of England.

It has been on the market for a number of years but has generated little interest, due to the economic demands of maintaining the vessel, casting doubt over its future.

Judy Harrison, founding trustee of the Victor 1895 Community Heritage Trust, said the barge would meet a "sad end" if the group was unable to raise enough money to buy it.

"Sailing barges are becoming very rare – there were once thousands of them sailing around, but now there are very few still in commission," Harrison said.

"Victor will either fall into the hands of someone who wants a houseboat but won't have the resources to maintain her, or be beached and left to rot away."

In more recent years, hundreds of people have ventured aboard the traditional barge, which has taken them on pleasure trips along the River Orwell.

If the trust is to buy the barge, it will still need to generate funds to maintain her, and continuing such trips could become a vital source of income.

"There is a strong possibility that her very survival will be at stake," added Harrison.

"We need to improve the condition of Victor to the point we know she'll be around beyond our lifetimes for the people of Ipswich to value and enjoy."

Victor, which has welcomed more than 100,000 visitors, was built by Horace Shrubsall at the Dock End Yard 131 years ago, for Owen Parry.

She was part of a working waterfront, carrying between 90 and 120 tonnes of cargo around the shallow waters of the East Coast during her working heyday.

The barge, docked at Neptune Quay in Ipswich, is listed on the National Register of Historic Ships, although this does not offer her any protection.

"We'd hate to lose the historic nature of this vessel and see it just run aground - it offers so much to the people of Ipswich," said Clive Allen, from the trust.

The trust also wants to save the barge so it can use her continued presence in the area to create maritime careers, keep traditional skills alive - and "bring people together".

Her skipper of 21 years, Wes Westwood, who also worked for the port authority for 27 years, is hanging up his captain's hat.

"I'm sad [to retire] but you think your life is changing and you need to do your own thing - rather than caring totally for a barge," he said.

"Every day has been a good memory."

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