The Anne Marie Houseboat for sale

It is estimated that over 15,000 people live afloat in the UK and, despite records of houseboats dating back to the 1800's, there is very little good historic information about houseboats in the UK.

 

At nearly seventy years old, the Anne Marie Houseboat is probably one of the oldest continuously habited houseboats within the UK. The history of the Anne Marie is a previously untold story and we have tried to piece together the snippets of information from the memories of those who have lived on and enjoyed the Anne Marie over her lifetime. We are continually searching for new information about the Anne Marie and we recognise that there are huge time gaps in the history we have gathered. If you are reading this and know of any information missing from here, please use our contact page to enlighten us.

 

Quite what transpired around 1945-1948 to enable a ferrocement barge (FCB) built for the war effort in World War Two (WW2) to be converted to a houseboat is unknown. We do know that the FCB's original owners brought the Anne Marie to Burnham in 1948. Whether she was already converted to a houseboat on arrival in Burnham, or if she was converted in situ, is unclear. ​We do know that when our FCB 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 on West Quay.

 

The people responsible for the Anne Marie Houseboat were Mr Stanley Mapleson and Miss Grace Carter (later married). It was their original plan which led to the creation of a houseboat from our FCB, and they named her 'Anne Marie' after their grand-daughter. We have been in contact with a lovely lady called Maggie Davis (nee Hines) who is a relative of the Mapleson's and remembers visiting the Anne Marie in her early years. Maggie has kindly shared some of her early memories of being aboard the Anne Marie and you can read them here.

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In 1985 the Anne Marie was bought by John and Kathleen George. My wife, Lynda George, recounts some of her memories from that time and you can read them here.

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We have found very little information as to what happened to the Anne Marie between the Mapleson's selling her and Mr and Mrs George buying her. We have spoken to many people and it is generally accepted that she had a rather dubious history during that time. We would love to hear from anyone who has any information about this period of the Anne Marie's history and you can tell us all about it on our Contacts page.

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Many changes have been made to the design of the Anne Marie in the intervening years and she is still evolving. Many people in Burnham can remember living here throughout the years. In 2006, she was completely emptied and has been fully refurbished. As far as possible, the original timbers and fittings were kept, including the Australian rubber wood ceiling beams in the photo. 

 

The Anne Marie is an amazing place to live with stunning wildlife, ever changing scenery, large skies and the busy river to entertain us. 

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