PRESS RELEASE, 30th September 2025
The Chesterfield Canal Trust has installed a new information board beside the canal at Shireoaks. It was unveiled by Vickie Preston from the Mansfield Building Society which gave the Trust a grant to pay for it.
The board tells the story of Dawn Rose, which is the only Chesterfield Canal boat in the world. It was built by hand by Trust volunteers. It is now looked after by a group from the Trust called the Friends of Dawn Rose.
Vickie Preston, Head of People at Mansfield Building Society, said “The Chesterfield Canal is an important part of our heritage, and we should promote it. The new information board about the building of a replica canal boat, the Dawn Rose, will inspire people about the unique history of local canalboats. At Mansfield Building Society, we are rooted in our community, and we hope the information board will provide a point of interest and a celebration of our local identity for many years to come.”
Lynn Lyons, the Chair of the Friends of Dawn Rose, said “We are very grateful to the Mansfield Building Society for their very generous grant. This has enabled us to realise a long-held dream of telling the story of Dawn Rose to all who walk along the towpath past its mooring at Shireoaks Marina.”
The Chesterfield Canal has never been linked to any other canals and therefore its boats, often referred to as Cuckoo boats, developed differently for those found on many other canals. For example, most journeys were relatively short, so families did not live on them which meant there was no need for large cabins.
The last of these unique boats was built in the 1920s. The sole surviving one on the canal, was moored at Worksop. It rotted away in 1976, but not before Richard Allsopp had done a thorough survey, measuring everything to produce technical drawings. There was another Cuckoo boat at the National Waterways Museum at Ellesmere Port, but that met its maker in the 1980s. It was called Dawn.
In the early 2000s, a few members of the Chesterfield Canal Trust decided that it would be a good idea to build a new, full-sized Cuckoo boat. The called it the New Dawn Project. The project was launched by an article in the Trust’s magazine in Spring 2004. An appeal for money to buy the wood followed. This proved very successful, so the wood was bought and stored to season in a secret location for several years.
Serious work started in January of 2011. It was led by David Bownes, who worked on Cuckoo boats as a young man. He was one of the very few people alive with real working knowledge of their construction.
The task was enormous, not least because of the decision to use only tools that were available 80 years before. 360 hand-made 9” nails had to be hammered upwards to secure the bottom beams. Planks 27 feet long and 2” thick had to be steamed and bent to shape. Vast quantities of pitch, oakum and linseed oil were needed for the caulking. The boat was launched and named Dawn Rose in 2015.
The boat is now used to tell the story of goods carrying on the canal. It does horseboating demonstrations. It also does boat pulls, whereby local groups can use it to tow for a couple of miles for sponsorship for their favourite cause, in return for a fee. This has raised tens of thousands of pounds for local charities, including regulars like Bluebell Wood.
Dawn Rose appeared in an episode of Robbie Cumming’s “Canal Boat Diaries” on BBC1.
The Information Board tells the story of boat carriage along the canal and how the boat people lived, as well as the construction of Dawn Rose itself.
To see the panel, click here.
Richard Allsopp watches as Vickie Preston unveils the information board.
Richard points out some information to Vickie. Photo by John Bates
Some of the Dawn Rose volunteers with Vickie.
Vickie presents the cheque to the Friends of Dawn Rose officers.
Vickie with the cheque.