Awherry is a type ofboat that was traditionally used for carrying cargo or passengers onrivers andcanals inEngland, and is particularly associated with theRiver Thames and theRiver Cam. They were also used on theBroadland rivers ofNorfolk andSuffolk.
London passenger wherries evolved into theThames skiff, a gentleman's rowing boat. Wherries wereclinker-built with long overhanging bows so that patrons could step ashore dryshod before landing stages were built along the river. It is the long angled bow that distinguishes the wherry and skiff from thegig andcutter which have steeper bows following the rise of theRoyal Navy, and the building of landing stages.
The use of wherries on theRiver Cam inCambridge was common and is described byDaniel Defoe in his journey through England. The use of wherries on theRiver Cam preceded the popularity ofpunting byCambridge University students.[1] By the late 18th century, a name was given to theNorfolk wherry, a kind of sailing barge with large sails which was developed to replace an earlier cargo boat, the Norfolk Keel.
The term wherry is also associated with a particular type of lighter used on the River Tyne largely in connection with the coal trade. The last complete exampleElswick No.2 is owned byTyne & Wear Archives & Museums service.[2][3] There is a well documented study of the last surviving wrecked examples as surveyed in 2009.[4]
There is firm attestation that the term was used in the Irish Sea. Vessels like "Manx wherries" and "shell wherries" (the latter evidently based in Kirkcudbright for the shell fishery) are recorded in the early 19th century. Three shell wherries at least were active in 1810 and known to be of 10–12 tons and clinker built.[5]
Wherries were used by the fishermen of Skerries and other ports of the Irish sea north of Dublin in the 18th and 19th century. These wherries generally had two or three masts with a mainsail on the aft mast, and a foresail on the forward mast. Due to the lower height of the rig, they were more manageable in strong winds.[6]The east coast Wherries from Rush, Skerries and Balbriggan were famously decked, clincher built, and schooner rigged. Many of them travelled as far as Scotland and some were even employed in the smuggling trade.By 1866 they had been replaced by more efficient boats of carvel construction.[7]
The term "wherry" or "wherrie" was a regular term used for a boat as theCoverdale Bible of 1535 speaks of "All whirry men, and all maryners vpo the see…" in theBook of Ezekiel.
Wherries along thetideway inLondon werewater taxis operated bywatermen and inElizabethan times their use was widespread. A wherry could be rowed by two men with long oars or by a single waterman using short oars or 'sculls'. AnAct of Parliament in 1555 specified that a wherry should be "22½ feet long and 4½ wide 'amidships'".[8] and could carry up to five passengers.[9] According to one account concerning Shakespeare'sGlobe Theatre, "Patrons were transported across the River Thames to Southwark by 'wherry boats'. At one time over two thousand wherries made their way to and from the theatre district."[citation needed]
During the eighteenth century rowing competitions for watermen became established on the Thames, and the prize was often a new wherry. The Sporting Magazine describes an event on 6 August 1795 as "the contest for the annual wherry given by the Proprietors of Vauxhall by six pairs of oars in three heats". In 1822Bell's Life reported on a contest on 30 June between eight watermen belonging to the Temple Stairs for "a prize wherry given by the gentlemen of theInns of Court" and on 31 July "the anniversary of the Grand Aquatic Regatta of the inhabitants ofQueenhithe", when "a handsome Wherry" and other prizes were contended for by "six of the free watermen belonging to those stairs".[10] In 1820 there were still 3,000 wherries plying on the Thames, while in the same year there were only 1,200 hackney coaches. As late as 1829, the usual means of crossing the river fromWestminster toVauxhall was by boat, but the wherryman's trade came to an end when new bridges were built and cheap steamboats were put on the river.[11]
In North America, particularly in thePenobscot Bay region of theGulf of Maine, wherries became the preferred boat for the longshoreAtlantic salmon fishery. The Lincolnville Salmon Wherry, the Rhodes Wherry, the Duck Trap Wherry, and the Christmas Wherry are still being built for recreational use.[12] They are generally long and narrow, with a straight stem, a wineglass stern and usually carvel planked (smooth sides).John Gardner writes that the single characteristic that distinguishes a wherry is its flat bottom that allows the boat to ground out in an upright position and serves as a shoe for dragging the boat up and down the beach.[13] The boat usually has two seats, one for the rower, and one in the stern sheets for the passenger, although longer ones can have a third seat forward. The term "shell wherry" was recognised in 19th-century America.[14]
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