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Burbage Wharf |
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Burbage, Wiltshire KAC37.23 |
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KandAC mile 37
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Burbage wharf from the towpath side; this is also a winding point.
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The brick built warehouse is now a private residence. The bricks used
in the building come from the nearby estate of the Earl of Ailesbury;
they are stamped with a letter 'A'.
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The original wooden wharf crane was dismantled 1971; the crane on site
now is a fake, a replica made by Stothert and Pitt, engineers, crane
manufacturers, Bath, Somerset, 1979.
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The wharf opened with the canal, 1810. A stone on the east front of
the wharf building has the name of an employee of the Earl of
Ailesbury:-
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W. Gale 1810
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By 1830 the Earl had installed Thomas Stanley as superintendent, who
ran a timber business on the towpath side. Two coal merchants had
businesses here, and at one time there was a brickworks. By 1870 the
wharfinger was:-
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Thomas Watts Brooke, Wharfinger, Coal, Timber, Salt and Slate Merchant
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By 1880 the wharf was run down from competition from the local railway
goods station.
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Reproduction of the wooden wharf crane.
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Kennet and Avon Scrapbook 2000
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