Watermen and Lightermen
1. About this guide
This guide explains how to find individuals who worked as watermen or lightermen on the River Thames. Watermen transported passengers and lightermen transported goods.
2. Online Records
The following indexes by Robert John Cottrell are available on Findmypast.co.uk (see Thames Watermen & Lightermen 1688-2010):
- Company of Watermen and Lightermen: index to apprenticeship bindings, 1692-1949
- Company of Watermen and Lightermen: index to apprentices reassigned from one master to another, 1688-1908
- Thomas Doggett Coat and Badge race: index to winners, 1715-2010
- Corporation of Trinity House: index to licences granted to ex-mariners to work as watermen on the River Thames, 1829-1864
Also available on Findmypast are the following indexes:
- Company of Watermen and Lightermen: index to watermen in the Royal Navy, 1803-1809 (see London, Watermen In Royal Navy, 1803-1809)
- Company of Watermen and Lightermen: index to the birth register of contracted men, 1865-1921 (see London, Watermen, Birth Register Of Contracted Men, 1865-1921)
- Company of Watermen and Lightermen: list of free watermen, 1827 (see London, Watermen, List Of Free Watermen, 1827)
3. Watermen and Lightermen's Company
Watermen and lightermen who worked on the River Thames between Gravesend and Windsor generally had to be a member of the Company of Watermen and Lightermen. This company was founded in 1514 for watermen but was extended to lightermen in 1700.
Until the late nineteenth century it was only possible to become a member by completing a seven year apprenticeship. Apprentices had to be between the ages of 14 and 20. From 1865, watermen and lightermen too old to serve an apprenticeship could obtain a licence by being contracted for two years.
You can search the surviving records of the Company on the LMA Collections Catalogue under reference code CLC/L/WA. Scroll down to Collection Tree View to see the full list.
The most useful records are outlined below:
| Record | Series |
|---|---|
| Apprentice bindings books, 1688-1908 (Post 1908 books are held at Watermen's Hall) |
MS 6289/1-24 |
| Apprentices' affidavit books, 1759-1897 | MS 6291/1-6 |
| Apprentices' birth/baptism certificates, 1773-1921 with gaps | MS 6291A/1-107 |
| Register of contracts for those too old to serve an apprenticeship, 1865-1926 (Post 1926 registers are held at Watermen's Hall) |
MS 19548A |
| Freedom admission books, 1765-1927 | MS 6290/1-19 |
|
Quarterage books, 1764-1923 with gaps |
MS 6819/1-2 MS 6820 MS 6404 MS 6402/1-11 MS 6401/1-7 |
| Court minutes, 1700-1887 | MS 6287/1-21 |
| Complaint books, 1802-1909 with gaps | MS 6301/1-8 MS 6302 MS 6303/1-6 MS 6304/1-2 MS 6305/1-4 |
| Payments to pensioners, 1794-1928 | MS 6400/1-6 |
| Payments to inmates of the almshouses in Penge, 1841-1859 | MS 6602/1-6 |
4. Trinity House Watermen
The Corporation of Trinity House also had the right to license watermen though the numbers were much fewer than the members of the Watermen and Lightermen's Company. These men were ex-mariners and tended to be older. The only surviving register of men covers 1829-1864 and is held at London Metropolitan Archives (CLC/526/MS30335). It is indexed on Findmypast (see Section 2 on Online Records).
5. Doggett's Coat and Badge
The 1721 will of Thomas Doggett, a Drury Lane comedian, provided for a scarlet coat and silver badge to be awarded annually by the Fishmongers' Company to a waterman of exceptional talent. Six watermen within a year of completing their apprenticeship would race from the Swan at London Bridge to the Swan at Chelsea, and have done so annually ever since. The winner would be the recipient of the said coat and badge.
The winners are indexed on Findmypast (see Section 2 on Online Records).
Reports of races can often be found in contemporary newspapers. Many newspapers have been digitised and made available on The British Newspaper Archive.
There are a couple of files relating to the race in the Fishmongers' Company archives (MS 7269 and MS 28833).
6. Thomas Martyn's Charity School
A watermen's school in Putney was founded in 1684 by Thomas Martyn after he had been rescued from the river. 20 sons of local Putney watermen were admitted when the school opened in June 1718. The school was situated in Putney until it closed in 1911. The Thomas Martyn Foundation still exists today as a charity providing grants for the sons and daughters of watermen.
You can search the surviving records of the school on the LMA Collections Catalogue under reference code LMA/4523. Scroll down to Collection Tree View to see the full list.
7. Corps of River Fencibles
Thames watermen and other groups of river tradesmen voluntarily formed associations of River Fencibles in 1798. Fencibles were an early version of the Home Guard. The River Fencibles were officially established in 1803, and by 1804 had uniformed commissioned officers. The force was disbanded in 1813.
You can search the surviving records of the corps on the LMA Collections Catalogue under reference code CLC/057. Scroll down to Collection Tree View to see the full list.