Old Photographs of Woodbridge and Melton
Soon the spritsail barges took over from the brigantines. Their shallow drafts made it easier to reach all parts of the river.
This spritsail barge is loading shingle as ballast near the entrance to the Deben estuary.
Unloading a spritsail barge.
The cluster of five men in the centre of this photograph were unloading coal. The two men on the left had pristine white collars and one of them had white shoes. There job was to record how much coal was unloaded.
Many people believe that this photograph shows how busy the barge traffic was. Nothing could be further from the truth. The barges were laid up because they were redundant.
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