Ladies of the Lake, Past and Present
One of the interesting early morning sights in Thorpeness is the weed cutting machine chugging across the Meare, clearing the water to allow a clear passage for the various rowing boats, canoes, punts and red-sailed dinghies which ply the sixty-acre lake.
The earliest weed cutter was of timber construction and was in use before and for a few years after World War One. The second was a Saunderson Water Weed Cutting Launch, manufactured by the Saunderson Tractor & Implement Co. Ltd. of Bedford. Saunderson produced an attractive illustrated catalogue extolling the advantages of their 'water weed cutting launches' which were reputed to 'clear rivers, canals, lakes, fens, etc., of the rankest weed growths with remarkable speed at trifling cost'.
The catalogue explains the advantage of the firm's launches over destruction by manual labour: 'The expense of maintaining gangs of men continually at work on this necessarily slow and tedious method is enormous and thousands of pounds are spent with little to show. The process is also unsightly, but in the absence of other methods there is no alternative. Hand Labour cannot keep pace with the prolific growth of weeds'.
The Saunderson Launch claimed to have revolutionised the whole process of water weed destruction and consigned the laborious hand labour method to the scrap heap 'at a trifling cost'. The 'trifling cost' is not known since the catalogue does not include a price list but 'generally speaking, both initial outlay and operating costs are recovered almost immediately'.
Press Cutting from The Children's Newspaper 19th September 1936
The Children's Newspaper dated 19th September 1936 contained a picture of 'A curious craft for cutting weeds in a lake near Thorpeness'. The picture shows Harry Dansey operating a Saunderson weed cutter on the Meare with Wendy's House just visible on the horizon. The launches were made in two sizes and the Thorpeness model appears to be a variation of Type B. The launches had a shallow draught, flat bottomed hull with a 6 h.p. paraffin-petrol engine which drove a self-clearing propeller at the stern in addition to the cutting mechanism. Type B had a draught of nine inches and a normal speed of two-and-a- half miles per hour. The Saunderson Company launches were supplied to, amongst others: H.M. The King of Spain; Their Graces The Duke of Marlborough, The Duke of Bedford & The Duke of Portland; Count Holnstein, Bavaria; The Egyptian Government (with many repeat orders); The Municipality of Bombay and The Grand Junction Canal, England.
The Children's Newspaper dated 19th September 1936 contained a picture of 'A curious craft for cutting weeds in a lake near Thorpeness'. The picture shows Harry Dansey operating a Saunderson weed cutter on the Meare with Wendy's House just visible on the horizon. The launches were made in two sizes and the Thorpeness model appears to be a variation of Type B. The launches had a shallow draught, flat bottomed hull with a 6 h.p. paraffin-petrol engine which drove a self-clearing propeller at the stern in addition to the cutting mechanism. Type B had a draught of nine inches and a normal speed of two-and-a- half miles per hour. The Saunderson Company launches were supplied to, amongst others: H.M. The King of Spain; Their Graces The Duke of Marlborough, The Duke of Bedford & The Duke of Portland; Count Holnstein, Bavaria; The Egyptian Government (with many repeat orders); The Municipality of Bombay and The Grand Junction Canal, England.
Illustrations from the Saunderson Catalogue (undated); top: Type A; Below: Type B
After World War Two, the Saunderson Company was bought out by Cunningham and the weed cutting launch was replaced by a metal one which was driven by George Wilson and George Keen. Around 1974, the existing fibre glass launch was purchased. This has a 19 h.p. air cooled, three-cylinder Lister diesel engine and the weed rake is hydraulically operated.
The latest of the 'Ladies of the Lake' is a magnificent Swedish Truxor which arrived on the Meare at Easter 2018. This is of steel construction, 4.7 metres long, 2.06 metres beam and powered by a 29.1 h.p. diesel engine. It has tracks (like a landing craft) which enable it to move from the boat shed down the slipway and into the Meare. Both launches were in frequent use this year owing to the prolific growth of water weed during an exceptionally warm summer.
The latest of the 'Ladies of the Lake' is a magnificent Swedish Truxor which arrived on the Meare at Easter 2018. This is of steel construction, 4.7 metres long, 2.06 metres beam and powered by a 29.1 h.p. diesel engine. It has tracks (like a landing craft) which enable it to move from the boat shed down the slipway and into the Meare. Both launches were in frequent use this year owing to the prolific growth of water weed during an exceptionally warm summer.
I am most grateful to Russell Middleditch and Craig Block for supplying invaluable information for this article.
Janey Blanchflower
Janey Blanchflower