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Summary

Short inlet from the canalised part of the River Kennet documented as a wharf in the late 19th century, but not in use shortly after this

Associated Legal Designations or Protected Status

• Conservation Area: Kennet and Avon Canal East
• Conservation Area: Newbury Town Centre

Monument Type(s):

• RIVER WHARF (Late 19th century - 1880 AD (pre) to 1880 AD (pre))

Full Description

The name of Waterloo Wharf is marked on the north bank of the River Kennet <1>, where it had been canalised as the Kennet and Avon Canal, east of Newbury though historically in part of Thatcham parish. The river's meanders are very close to the London Road. The wharf was adjacent to a channel of the river which curved round past The White House public house (MWB20718) though had been cut across by the canal; north of the wharf was also a building called Brook House, which may have been associated with the business. Another probable former inlet of the river lay to the east of Waterloo Wharf.

Waterloo Wharf would have been less than a mile along the canal from Greenham Wharf which was on the edge of Newbury. The name of Waterloo suggests a post-1815 dating, but the wharf is not marked on later OS maps and may have been a short-lived structure. (The river's meander is shown on the First Edition OS map of 1880-81 <1>, but thereafter marked as the Centre of the Old Course of the River [COCR] on the Second <3> to Fourth <4> Edition maps of 1899 and 1933-34, respectively, as it was gradually infilled.) Berry notes however that there would have been multiple wharves along the Navigation and later the Kennet and Avon Canal when it was being used commercially: there were 18 in Newbury and its surrounding area <2>.

During an archaeological evaluation carried out on land belonging to the Narrow Boat public house (the former White House public house [MWB20718]) in July 2018 <5>, in situ remains of a wooden boat and a line of five wooden posts or stakes were found. The posts may have been part of a jetty or wharf used by the owners or occupiers of the building, or part of a revetment of the river bank. There were no clear indications, however, of whether or not the boat or posts were related to Waterloo Wharf.

Sources and further reading

Related Monuments

Associated Excavations and Fieldwork

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