A National Lottery Heritage Fund grant of £210,000 will restore a 1912-built historic canal boat and transform it into a floating community hub, bringing a little-appreciated chapter of Oxford’s waterways history to life for future generations.
The funding will support the restoration of Kilsby, a working canal boat that has been in continuous use on the inland waterways for 113 years, converting it into an accessible centre for arts, heritage and community activity on the Oxford Canal.
The project is being delivered by the Jericho Living Heritage Trust, which runs The Kilsby Boat Project. The Trust said the grant will return Kilsby to active use, enabling people of all ages and backgrounds to engage with canal heritage in ways that are meaningful to them.
With support from volunteers, local schools and community groups, the programme will include boat trips, festivals, creative workshops, performing arts and heritage skills training, expanding on plans first reported in Towpath Talk last month.
Bringing Oxford’s Canal Story to Life
Trust chair Mark Davies said the award will allow the Trust to highlight the historical importance of the Oxford Canal to the city, the university and the suburb of Jericho in particular.
“This award provides us with the means to emphasise the historical importance of the Oxford Canal to the city, including to the university, and to Jericho in particular,” he said. “The grant will enable Kilsby to bring that little-appreciated story alive for future generations.”
A Rare Survivor of the Canal Carrying Era
Kilsby is one of 24 boats originally commissioned by the canal-carrying company Fellows Morton and Clayton, and features a tiny back cabin that once provided living quarters for the boat family who navigated it. Having survived two world wars, the vessel later became a residential boat in Oxford city centre.
Since 2019, when Kilsby was donated to the Trust in a salvageable but uninhabitable condition, the project has been supported by volunteers, individual donors, local businesses, civic leaders and charities, all contributing generously in cash and in kind.
Most historic boats of this calibre remain in private ownership. The new funding not only secures Kilsby’s long-term conservation, but also supports a future in which the boat is accessible, cared for and enjoyed by the wider community.
Community-Led Heritage in Action
Volunteer Tish Francis, a member of the Kilsby project team, welcomed the announcement.
“I am thrilled to hear that the vision behind this project and the great voluntary effort that has sustained it thus far has been recognised,” she said. “I look forward to voyaging through Kilsby’s stories and to donning my overalls again when ‘hands onboard’ are called for!”
Founded in 2012, the Jericho Living Heritage Trust works to protect, celebrate and share the heritage of the Oxford suburb of Jericho, including Oxford’s canal and riverside communities. Through projects such as Kilsby’s restoration, the Trust promotes access to heritage, supports community engagement and creates opportunities for learning, skills development and cultural activity.
Trustee and project lead Steph Pirrie said the boat has already captured widespread public interest.
“Kilsby has really captured people’s imagination, and for me this is what living heritage is all about – not just restoring a boat, but also giving people the chance to be part of something,” she said. “We want to keep the heritage of the waterways alive in exciting and meaningful ways that build knowledge, skills and community.”
