Page 32 - Hindsight Issue 26 April 2020

PeoPLe
me and I gave her what I knew about
Joseph Clarke. she replied a few days
later saying that she’d found him, told
me which census to look at, thus giving
me a start to find his ancestors. she
also gave me a lot of information about
the boat people which was fascinating.
A couple of days later I proceeded to
upload my photographs I’d taken to my
computer and was amazed to find ‘J
Clarke’ mentioned on the small plaque
in the photograph I’d taken of Sunny
Valley, the replica canal boat on the top
floor of the museum! I was astounded
to find that he was one of the four men who built the boat and I could even see his signature on the plaque! there was a black and white picture of the men – I feel sure he must be one of them but of course I don’t know which one.
I am now ‘hooked’ on the history of the Boat People, the canals, stoke Bruerne and everything else that is related to them. I’ve always had an affinity for boats and rivers and have painted them in watercolour. When I discovered my ancestors were from stoke Bruerne I decided to do a course on Canal Art at Knuston Hall Residential College for Adult education. I mentioned this to Lorna and she said that you often find this – it must be in my genes! It’s a fascinating hobby, this ancestry!
THE BURTON MEMORIAL, DAVENTRY
Colin Davenport
Colin Davenport is a retired history lecturer with an MA in English Local History from the University of Leicester. He has run courses on Daventry’s history and is a volunteer steward at Daventry Town Museum.
edmund Charles Burton was a dominant figure in Daventry and a nationally known figure in sporting circles in the second half of the 19th century.
Born in 1826 at Churchill House, Welton, e C Burton was the son of edmund singer Burton and Anna Marie Burton. He attended Westminster school from 1838 to 1845 and went on to study at Christ Church oxford, gaining his BA in 1849 and MA in 1852. While at oxford he had outstanding rowing success winning his ‘Blue’ in 1846 and 1849; there were no Boat Races against Cambridge in 1847 and 1848. He was a member of the oxford eight at the Henley Regatta
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Replica of the canal boat Sunny Valley