I’ve been in London for the weekend and one of the joys of visiting is a chance to see my niece Katherine.
She’s currently in the middle of a project and is building a coracle in her flat in Bermondsey.
Like other vessels covered by a membrane stretched over a frame, coracles are an ancient form of water craft. The use of coracles in Britain was noted by Julius Caesar on the occasion of his invasion of Britain in 55 BCE.
The etymology of coracle is from the Welsh corwgl, which is in turn related to Irish curach, meaning a boat.
Although an ancient form of craft, coracles have still found working uses up to the present day. For instance, for many years until 1979, Shrewsbury coracle maker Fred Davies achieved some notability amongst football fans; he would sit in his coracle during Shrewsbury Town FC home matches at their old riverside ground of Gay Meadow and retrieve stray balls from the River Severn. His coracle was last heard of in the National Football Museum.
Coracles are difficult to manoeuvre as they are unstable due to their sitting “on” that water. In addition, coracles can easily be carried by currents and the wind. Nevertheless, let’s hope the maiden voyage is recorded for posterity.
It looks a wonderful vessel, which may be in an exhibition shortly, though how it will get there is a mystery! I think the original idea came from a Finnish chap, who had also made a coracle in his bedroom.
The next steps are to cover it in canvas then paint it with bitumen. Good luck to Kate!
Hi Hilary
I reckon it could reach the exhibition by bike trailer! 🙂