When the Thames was the main highway through London and along the Thames Valley, many different types of vessels were developed to carry passengers. The choice for the ordinary citizen wishing to go from one place to another, was between a cross river ferry, which plied between fixed points on either side of the river or, on longer journeys, the wherry.
The wherry design, became standardised in the early fifteen hundreds and adopted as the vessel licensed for use by watermen and would ply for hire from the many landing stairs sited along the riverbanks. The equivalent today of the black taxicabs.
The Gravesend, or Long Ferry, which left on the turn of the tide from The Pool of London, was a larger open vessel, capable of carrying as many as twenty passengers and even a little cargo if necessary. This Long Ferry, if full, allowed a Shallop to take the excess passengers. These were called Tilt-boats, a tilt being a covered section or primitive cabin for sheltering passengers. These shallops were rowed by up to eight men and were very fast.
Tilt-boats or Shallops date back in their basic design to the early Viking vessels. The shallow draft, wide burden carrying middle section and the almost double-ended design, was found to be the most suitable for use on the waters of the Thames. This fast-through-the-water design was therefore chosen as the quickest and most comfortable means of travel for City officials. The wealthy adopted them as their private water transport. In today's terms we can liken a Shallop to a modern limousine. An eight-oared Shallop could cover the distance from Hampton Court to Greenwich in approximately four hours.
Over the prime years of oared craft, from the thirteenth century to the late nineteenth century, all rich families, official organisations such as the Navy Board and the City merchants, built their own Shallop. These Barges were the fastest means of water transport between business centres and residences, which were mostly built alongside the Thames. Evidence can still be seen today of the importance of these vessels. At Somerset House in London the arched river entrance for Shallops to enter the Barge-House of the building can still be seen, the magnificence of the stonework displaying its importance. In the small park off Villier's Street near Charing Cross you can still see an example of a beautiful river Watergate in Victoria Gardens, now sadly some distance back from the embankment built by the Victorian engineer Joseph Bazalgette.
The earliest mention of a Royal Shallop is in 1214 at the signing of Magna Carta, near Runnymede on the Thames. It is stated that King John was attended on by his Royal Barge. It is also mentioned that the Barons arrived in their barges for this prestigious occasion. All these craft would have been Shallops of various sizes. The largest of the private shallops were eight oared, with six and four-oared versions being the smaller and slower vessels.
Today the Queen is still attended by her Bargemaster and eight Royal Watermen for ceremonial river duties in memory of those eight oared Royal Shallops.
One way in which rich and powerful men displayed their wealth and importance, was by decorating their Shallop with gilded carvings, or to drape an expensive carpet over the vessel's Tilt. They also employed crew splendidly dressed in a livery.
The most highly decorated of all were the Royal Shallop Barges, examples of which can be seen in the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich. In the wonderfully restored Barge House in Somerset House an Admiralty Shallop can also be seen on display.
R. G. Crouch
Past Bargemaster to HM the Queen