The coordinates given are taken from the Trent and Mersey Canal towpath facing the mooring for Dane at Middleport Pottery.
The Narrow Boat Heritage Foundation was set up to find, restore and preserve as many of Britain’s most historic and captivating river craft as possible – and at the same time develop and sustain the skills needed to maintain them in the future.
"Our first restoration project, Narrowboat Dane, was relaunched on 6th August 2016 at Alvecote Marina.
Originally registered at Stoke-on-Trent (No. 965) on New Year’s Day 1947, Dane was completed in November of the previous year by the Mersey Weaver and Ship Canal Carrying Company (MW&SCCC). Built at the Charles Stanyer yard in Burslem, she is 70 feet long and 6 feet 11inches wide and was powered by a 1947 Lister JP2 engine."
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"Rescued historic boat set to return home
Published on: August 21, 2017 - Middleport Pottery News
One of Britain’s last remaining wooden built narrowboats is set to return to its historic home after being rescued from years of decay and disrepair.
Narrowboat Dane, built in 1946, will be travelling under her own steam to Stoke-on-Trent tourist attraction Middleport Pottery on Saturday September 9th following a five-year-long conservation project to lovingly restore her to her former glory.
The barge was built at the Mersey Weaver and Ship Canal Carrying Company next door to the pottery and she spent her working life bringing clay from Cornwall to the Potteries. Now 70 years after starting her service on the Trent and Mersey Canal, Dane will be returning to her Middleport mooring during Heritage Open Days ready to become a permanent part of the working pottery’s story.
The 70-foot-long narrowboat will become a key part of the Middleport experience and plans are currently being drawn up to use her for educational activities, tours and even boat trips.
Marketing Manager Sarah Nadin said: “We are so excited to be bringing this really important piece of Staffordshire’s cultural history back home for all to see. The canals were an integral part of the pottery industry and Dane will become an important part of our unique story-telling at Middleport.”
The heritage attraction is also in contact with a local crate maker who made crates for barges such as Dane and is investigating the feasibility of restoring the Middleport loading crane. This would mean it may be possible to demonstrate loading her with crates exactly as would have been done just after World War II.
It seems that Dane was a working boat for various companies until the late 1950s before becoming a pleasure boat. In 2012 she was purchased as a rotting shell by the Narrowboat Heritage Foundation and moved from Middlesex to Alvecote Marina, near Tamworth. Enthusiasts at the charity have spent thousands of hours over the last five years expertly restoring the craft into what many now believe to be the most authentic rebuild of a wooden narrowboat for more than 30 years.
Sarah said: “The craftsmanship completed by the Narrowboat Heritage Foundation on this boat is breath-taking and we are absolutely delighted that the charity approached us to provide a long-term home for Dane. We appreciate that it has been a very personal project for them, and we’re honoured to be able to showcase her to the public.”
The arrival of Dane at Middleport Pottery coincides with an activity-packed weekend for Heritage Open Days, and the boat’s historic approach will be greeted with the sounding of the factory’s steam engine whistle." SOURCE: (
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An article by Dave Knapper 9th September 2017 describes the return of the narrowboat 'Dane' to Middleport Pottery.
The returning 70ft narrow boat, water-worthy again thanks to a four-year restoration was built in around 1946 at Mersey Weaver, which used to be based next to the Middleport Pottery site, where the Steelite factory now stands.
"Hayley Underwood, heritage manager at Middleport Pottery, said: “We’re looking at the different things it will be used for such as boat trips, an extension to the tea rooms along with corporate hire. It’s nice that the boat has come home.”
Dane was rescued by the Narrow Boat Heritage Foundation after members spotted it rotting away in London. The organisation pumped in £150,000 with AP Boat Building painstakingly to restoring the boat. Around 75 per cent of the original fixtures and fittings were retained.
Trustee Jeremy Barker said: “This is unique as it’s a full restoration of a wooden boat. It’s ideal for it to be here now with the history of the area and what this boat was used for.” Source: (
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