The Anne Marie Houseboat for sale

Introduction

Ferrocement vessels are built using a steel mesh framework and cement which produces a very strong but heavy boat. One of the advantages of using this construction technique is that the materials are cheap and easily available. This was particularly true during the two World Wars when steel (the traditional shipbuilding material) was in short supply.

 

Ferrocement barges (FCB's) have been built in Europe as long ago as the late 19th century and the oldest known ferrocement boat was a small dinghy built in Southern France in 1848. In the 1860's, small FCB's were built for use on canals and rivers and even larger craft in the early 1900's. The use of the ferrocement technique wasn't just limited to barges, with many much larger ships also being built throughout Europe and as far away as the US. It wasn't until World War Two (WW2) that FCB's really came into their own because the use of concrete in their construction conserved steel which was in very short supply and needed for guns, tanks and warships. It is interesting to note that many barges and ships built using concrete were named after it, names like Cretecamp, Cretecove, Creteboom, Cretetree, Cretetorrent and Cretehatch are but a few of the many built. Click here for more information about concrete vessels.

 

After WW2, concrete barges such as the Anne Marie FCB and others along West Quay, were used for supplying naval ships and transporting goods in and around the Thames and across the North Sea to Europe.

 

The Mulberry Connection

The various types of FCB's played a crucial role in many operations during WW2 and the most famous of these was as part of the Mulberry harbour defences for the D-Day Normandy Landings. These Mulberry barges took the form of floating pontoons and bear little-or-no resemblance to our FCB. Contrary to what many people believe, we have found no hard evidence that the FCB which forms the hull of the Anne Marie was ever used in connection with the D-Day landings or the construction of Mulberry harbours. Information is very sparse and much of it comes from personal memories of people around at the time. Mr Ron Pipe, a very well respected river man in Burnham, believed our FCB was a water barge of the type towed five abreast out to the Mulberry harbours. This story may be true and there is no doubt that many FCB's like ours were used in mutiple locations for the War effort. Whatever the true story of the relationship between our FCB and the Mulberry harbours, we will need more research, and possibly a bit, of luck to find it. If you want to learn more about the Mulberry harbours, please click here.

 

Our 'Anne Marie' ('AM') FCB

Four hundred and seventy two concrete barges of various designs were built by a company called Wates Ltd during the Second World War. Of these, two hundred 'Anne Marie' type FCB's were commissioned in 1940, and built up until 1945, to serve as petrol/water carrying barges for the war effort. These barges were engineered by Mouchel Ltd, and constructed by Wates Ltd using pre-cast panels built by Marley Ltd. These same companies, along with others, performed similar roles for the production of the actual Mulberry harbours. It should be noted that the companies tasked with building the FCB's were building and building supply companies not shipbuilders. In fact, Wates Ltd also built houses during WW2 using exactly the same system of pre-cast concrete panels as used in the building of the FCB's. In their original condition, the barges weighed approx 160 tons with a cargo capacity of 185 tons. They were constructed on the London dockside before being craned into the water by the giant Port of London Authority’s Goliath crane.

 

We have found no record of the use, if any, that our FCB was put to both during or after WW2. We do know for certain that the Anne Marie was brought to Burnham-on-Crouch in 1948 and that she must have been in exceptionally good condition and possibly unused. There was no evidence of fuel or oil residues when the hull was stripped out. When our concrete barge arrived in Burnham-on-Crouch in 1948 she was moored about 100m further along the quay towards the town. She was then moved at a later (unspecified date) to her current permanent mooring.

 

Construction

Our type of FCB's were constructed of steel mesh reinforced concrete panels, bolted and cemented together to form the hull. Heavy wooden blocks were bolted to the outside of the hull to protect against damage caused by dock walls or other vessels (these are long-gone from the Anne Marie). The main part of the hull is a 75mm (3") thick layer of very hard concrete surrounding a strong steel mesh framework. The main framework is a 5mm (1/4") steel rod mesh with approximately 10cm (4') squares. Additionally, within the thicker parts of the hull there are 2.5cm (1") steel rods for additional strengthening. The central part of the hull is divided into three seperate and equal compartments accessible through metal hatches set in the deck. Additional compartments are in the bow and stern. In each of the compartments are longitudinal and transverse concrete beams which were clearly intended as baffles to stop excessive movement of the fuel/water while at sea. Our Anne Marie FCB is distinctly different from most other concrete barges in that they are fully enclosed and do not have the rectangular cargo hole in the deck.  While not obvious, on some of the other barges along West Quay at Burnham you can see the upstand where the cargo hole in the deck exists. To see a short black and white film of building a concrete ship, click here.

 

Other FCB's

Despite all we have said here, there is still some discussion about the origin and use of these barges for the war effort and no account seems to be accepted as definitive. Although it appears that many concrete barges originated in and around the Thames, we have discovered that many were built by Wates Ltd in Barrow in Furness and we have seen concrete barges in North Wales where they were also constructed. The famous Canvey Barge which was destroyed in 2005 was an 'AM' FCB and you can read about it on the Canvey and Concretebarge websites. There is a sad graveyard of sixteen 'AM' FCB's left derelict on Rainham Marshes which bear testament that they were probably built in London.  To back up the theory that they were used to transfer fuel across the North Sea, we have discovered that at least one of the 'AM' FCB's did make it across to Amsterdam when she delivered fuel to the Netherlands. This is the only FCB that we know of that actually did what she was built for. This barge has also been lovingly converted to a houseboat and you can see her by clicking here.