The River Stour Trust was formed by a group of local waterway enthusiasts on
12th September 1968 with the object of protecting and enhancing the public's right
to navigate the river Stour, one of the oldest and most beautiful of England's navigtions.
The Trust's origins however go back some 15 years earlier, when the London & Home Counties
Branch of the Inland Waterways Association was formed. A glance at the map will reveal that
there are many waterways within this area, all had different problems and for this reason
the Branch quickly formed local committees for each waterway. For the Stour the River Stour Action Committee was established. The first secretary was Peter Scrutton from Ipswich.The duties of the committee were to research the history of the navigation so as to provide a firm base for any future action as well as promoting water events, including exercising the right of navigation and countering various moves to prevent the public from navigating the river by several angling groups and riparian owners. It was soon found that the navigation authority had unlawfully disappeared leaving no one responsible either for administering the navigation or maintaining the locks.All the latter had either disappeared or were derelict. This was obviously totally unsatisfactory and after some years of further investigation, in 1963 the Committee recommended that the navigation rights and surviving structures should be taken over by the National Trust. However after considering a detailed proposal by the Committee, they declined to do so and instead the IWA decided to set up the River Stour Trust Ltd. a registered
charity to perform similar functions.
In a David and Goliath exchange, the fledgling Trust was quickly drawn into battle with a large regional angling organisation who wished to prevent canoists and other boaters from using the river. However after a confrontation they had to concede the passage of boats. Later, it became clear that it would be sensible for the drainage body, then the Essex Rivers Authority, to become the navigation authority, and this was suggested by the Trust. However when the newly created Anglian Water Authority published their draft private bill to do so, to the Trusts consternation, it also include a provision which allowed them to extinguish navigation rights. Grapevine news revealed that this was likely to be invoked for the Stour. A successful petition to The House of Lords resulted in the offending clause being removed. It is worth reflecting that without this remarkable success there would now be no craft permitted on the Stour except for a few isolated stretches.
The Trust
is very active enhancing navigation for a variety of craft. This included the restoration of both Dedham and Flatford locks to full working order. In 1991, Flatford was completly regated, at a cost of £35,000, the major part of which was donated by RTZ Ltd. At the Sudbury end, the infilled Quay Basin was returned to water via a Job Creation Scheme and later the US Airforce similarly cleared Gasworks Cut, over grown and derelict since World War I. Complementing this work was the rebuiding, again via a Job Creation Scheme 0f one of the unique Stour lighters, now, sadly, requiring further attention as well as the conversion of a previously derelict 19th century granary next to the Gasworks Cut into the Trust's own headquarters and interpretative centre. The latter was a massive project carried out mainly by voluntary help. An added attraction, introduced within the last three years inside the grade II listed building is the establishment of attractive tea rooms, open to the public every Sunday and Bank Holiday throughout the summer.
In 1997 the Trust completed the construction of an entirely new lock at Great Cornard, with the aid of a substantial grant from the Millennium Commission. This is now in regular use and enables a large range of craft to navigate between Sudbury and Great Henny.
In 1973 the Trust obtained its first small cruise boat-Stour Trusty. She rapidly became very popular, each year taking thousands of visitors along a short stretch of the river upstream from Flatford. More recently she has been replaced by Stour Trusty II, an Edwardian styled electric launch which operates every Sunday throughout the summer season. A further electric launch RoSeTte has been introduced by the Trust and operates between Sudbury and Great Henny during the summer.
Since the Trust was formed, the local perception of conservation, industrial archaeology, water recreation and navigation has changed and now largly accords with that of the Trust. Whilst there is still some last ditch opposition to its views, much of this sea change is due to continious efforts by the Trust and the enthuiasm of its members. A feasibility study recently commissioned by the Trust and the Environment Agency indicates that there is no technical reason why full navigation should not be restored along the entire river from Sudbury to the sea thereby providing a wonderful recreational amenity to the area.
The next 25 years will see further advances in its objectives.