Hidden in Plain Sight: Britain’s Boathouses From Roman Invasion to Olympic Gold

Boathouses have been a feature of the British landscape since the Roman invasion in the 1st century AD. Although a familiar feature of lakeside and riverbank, critical to the lifeboat service and coastguard, and an essential part of valued landscapes and estate parkland, until now they have received little scholarly attention.

Please join the author of the recently published ‘Boathouses of Britain’ for a fresh look at a building type, long hidden in plain sight.

In 2014 a developer proposed to replace a late Victorian boathouse on the Thames prior with a modern building. It quickly became clear there was more to this ‘nondescript’ building than met the eye. The Velma boathouse was not just another story of an unsuccessful development proposal. The complex paper trail which identified the architect, the owner and the role played by the building in the treatment of damaged children and the tragic death which the boathouse commemorated highlighted the lack of research into this class of building. Nobody knows how many boathouses there are. As well as boats they store equipment, materials, tools, and weapons. Places to repair and maintain boats and ships, in the 14th century Dante, in the Inferno, likened them to the dark boiling fires of Hell.

The talk, refreshments and discussion session will be chaired by Dr Gerry Waite, former Chair of the Institute for Archaeologists, and a senior Heritage Consultant.

Speakers:

Dr Michael Dawson is an author, editor, and archaeologist. He is a former Heritage Director with RPS and his career in field archaeology, commercial practice and cultural resource management has ranged across interests in the Roman period, garden archaeology, industrial heritage, and more recently architecture. He has published widely and is editor of the journal Historic Environment Policy and Practice.[1] The present work reflects his experience of Roman Britain, naval architecture, the great estates, and historic buildings. Boathouses of Britain is his latest book and follows the recent War and the Historic Environment published by Routledge in 2024.

Dr Gerry Wait has over 40 years of experience as an archaeologist, anthropologist, and heritage consultant. An expert in heritage and social impact assessment, conservation and management planning he has worked around the world, notably in Senegal, Congo, Sierra Leone, Russia, and Bulgaria, recently in Mongolia, and Kyrgyzstan. A former Chair of the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists and the European Association of Archaeologists (EAA), he’s a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London and has published extensively on archaeology and anthropology.

This in-person event is free and open to all. Refreshments will be served from 5.00 pm, followed by the talk at 5.30 pm. There will be a Q&A session after the talk, and a drinks reception.

Please note:

This event may be photographed and filmed. If you do not wish to appear in the photographs/footage, please let the photographer/videographer know.

Should you have any further queries, or unable to attend after booking, please contact events@kellogg.ox.ac.uk.

[1] https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/yhen20

Open to: Members of Kellogg College, Oxford University members, the public,