May31
Gunning punts in Norfolk and Essex
Gunning punts at the Museum of the Broads. The smaller boat is styled after
a gun punt but is too small for the purpose.
Intending to pick up on another recent theme from Chris Partridge’s Rowing for Pleasure weblog, I took some photos of gunning punts at another of my favourite small boating museums, the splendid Museum of the Broads at Stalham.
So imagine my surprise when I found he has only today put up a series of photos virtually identical to mine. Ah well… Great minds and all that. I trust he won’t be offended if I put mine up also.
The folklorist, antiquarian and scholar Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould lived in Mersea in Essex. Hervey Benham quotes Baring-Gould describing the business of gunning like this:
‘At a former period wild-fowl shooting was largely practised by the [Mersea] islanders, who had their punts painted grey… In these shallow boats they lay for many hours at night and contracted both ague and rheumatism. My impression was that generations afflicted with these complaints acquired in the marshes had lowered the physique and mental development of the islanders. When the east wind blew the wild ducks and geese came in flocks near the coast where they were surrounded and shot.’
Call me a pessimist, but I can’t help thinking this tactic of surrounding and shooting the birds must have led to some nasty incidents in which some of the boatmen must also have been injured.
In a way, gunning punts are still used in Norfolk on a regular basis – for they were adopted for racing and developed into the scary Norfolk Punt, a high-powered sailing racing machine still sailed regularly on Barton Broad. But that’s another story that I’d like to tell one day.
PS There’s an interesting postscript to Chris’s Rowing for Pleasure post on gunning here.
6 Comments »Culture: songs, stories, photography and art, Locations, Racing sailing craft, River boats, Small boats, Techniques, Traditional carvel, Working boats
Robert Telford Jun 3rd 2008 at 11:01 am 1
Gavin,
Have you read John Wentworth Day’s book Coastal Adventure. It describes the use of punts for wildfowling, the record being 32 punt-gunners shot 704 wild geese, but hundreds of dead and wounded got away, to be picked up by others later, so they believe that the real total was over 1000. Sounded a risky enterprise to me and they do not say how many gunners were hit…
The real point of interest for me in this book, is that it describes the owner of the original Scoter, upon which Maurice Griffiths based my boat – Idle Duck. He was Xavier Victor Alfred Octave de Morton, Count de la Chapelle, a much respected wildfowler, and co-founder of the Wildfowlers Association.
Scoter still exists, being rebuilt near St Germans on the Tamar.
Amazing, really…
Gavin Atkin Jun 3rd 2008 at 11:42 am 2
I’ve received this message from Brian Smith:
I thought I would tell you that these punts were also in use on the Dee estuary here between the Wirral and North Wales. There is a punt in the Merseyside Maritime Museum collection. The paperback “Dee Wildfowler The last professional by harold Gill ed and published by Leslie Brockbank is a good source of information. The punts appear to have used the balanced lug for sailing; an unusual rig for a working boat.
I hope this is of interest,.
Regards
Brian
It certainly is Brian! These widespread boats are worth a study of their own – and very appealing little boats they are. The comparison I’d draw is with the North American Melonseed developed for similar purposes.
Gavin Atkin Jun 3rd 2008 at 06:12 pm 3
Bob -
How nice to hear from you. I haven’t read the book I’m afraid – all that banging away at the birds would take the edge off it for me – but I’m certainly interested in Scoter. I didn’t know there was a prototype for Idle Duck.
Was she a similar size – and was the Count de la Chappelle a rather tall gentleman?
On the ID itself, how’s she going? Can we have pics some time please?
Cheers, and thanks,
Gav
Robert Telford Jun 4th 2008 at 09:39 am 4
Gavin,
You have to remember that this was a [short] harvest in those days, and the failure rate for shooting anything from a punt, which is virtually the only way of getting near ducks and geese on the water, is about 75%. All the birds were sent to market, and the marshmen, [some of whom were fisherman] lived on them as well.
The Sport hunters like the Count, who only ever shot from a punt or standing in the water [he did not agree with shooting from the land] never shot over areas harvested by the professional wildfowlers, because it was their livelihood.
Apart from the occasional extreme activities, usually led by so-called sportsmen, all the birds were recovered, usually by dogs. Hunters and bird shooters do not like to leave any wounded animals, and spend much effort tracking down a single wounded bird, with dogs of course, who return it to be dispatched.
That’s as much a part of country life and our culture as sailing and fishing; like oysters, originally not the preserve of the landed or wealthy, but enjoyed by local folk, not as a sport, but for survival.
Interestingly, the current sport is dominated by ordinary folk; the local Marshwarden is a tree-surgeon and his predecessor was a brickie.
I do not shoot myself, never having had the taste for it, but my concern is to maintain a balance between wildlife and our culture.
Sorry, I have banged on a bit [excuse the pun]…
I have sent pics of ID but will sent all I have on Scoter.
Gavin Atkin Jun 4th 2008 at 10:05 am 5
I’ve no principled objection to people shooting birds to feed themselves or make a living – I grew up in one of the most rural and empty parts of England!
Nevertheless, I doubt I could enjoy reading about wildfowling so please forgive me if I don’t try!
There’s obviously a real distinction between subsistence shooting and the kind of thing some of the ’sportsmen’ do. Scale has something to do with it – a near neighbour in Lincolnshire when I was a kid was Joe Nickerson, a wealthy landowner who enjoyed blasting at the birdies so much he would often kill a thousand brace of pheasant each year. That seemed to me to be something very different to the bloke who would catch or shoot a few rabbits from the next field to cook for his tea, though no doubt he enjoyed his chase also.
Anyway… I think gun punts/gunning punts/duck punts are generally very cool little boats!
Gav
Jan Feb 8th 2010 at 01:24 am 6
Dear all, I am now the accidental, but very proud owner of the Scoter! I would very much appreciate any information on this fine looking vessel …
Regards
Jan