SUSAN

SUSAN is the only surviving wooden lighter purpose built for the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation. She was built for Brown and Son Ltd, timber merchants of Chelmsford who used her for transporting timber from Heybridge Basin in Maldon to Springfield Basin in Chelmsford.

The design of SUSAN closely resembles that of the traditional horse-drawn lighters which worked on the Navigation from 1797. The Navigation is very shallow and all large boats were built to a special design with a flat bottom. The propeller is set in a tunnel formed in the hull to ensure that it does not protrude below the bottom of the boat. Twin rudders are provided, one each side of the tunnel. Commercial traffic on the Navigation ceased in 1972 and Susan was then taken over by the Navigation Company for use as a maintenance boat. In 1976, the Inland Waterways Association purchased Susan to prevent her from being broken up. In 1979, the Chelmer Lighter Preservation Society purchased Susan and restored her to working order in 1981.

The ownership of SUSAN was transferred to the Passmore Edwards Museum in 1984 and to Chelmsford Museums in 1991.

In 2006, SUSAN was donated to The Susan Trust, a registered charity, established to restore, maintain and operate her on the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation. Chelmsford Borough Council provide a secure mooring for SUSAN on the River Chelmer at their Industrial Museum and Education Centre at Sandford Mill. In May 2010, SUSAN was towed to St Osyth on the Blackwater / Colne Estuary for restoration.

The restoration was carried out in 6 Stages. Stages 1 to 4 were completed early in 2019. The main and sub keels (keelsons) were replaced, the framework was rebuilt and the hull completely re-planked, at a total cost of £160,000.  Work then progressed on Stage 5 which involved the provision of new cappings on the gunwales and the provision of a new floor.  

In July 2024, Susan was towed back to Heybridge Basin and the Chelmer & Blackwater Navigation where the original Thornycroft engine will be refitted as part of Stage 6 - the final stage - of a fourteen year restoration project.  As well as the refitting of the engine, Stage 6 will also provide a cover for Susan once funding has been secured. On completion of the restoration work, Susan will return to her base at Sandford Mill and will be operated for public trips by volunteers on the Navigation for which she was built.   

January 2025 The Restoration of Susan has been completed. Susan has returned to the Chelmer & Blackwater Navigation and she should be carrying passengers for trips along the Navigation later this year. 

To be continued..