Welcome to THE BARGE MEN website

Were your ancestors associated with Thames Sailing Barges or lighters, Watermen and Lightermen or the London Docks?  We have a large number of family names, sailing barge names and sailing barge histories already logged but please keep watching this page for details of our website dedicated to researching their family histories.

Our site is dedicated to researching the history of Thames sailing barges and barge builders and the watermen and lightermen who worked on the wharves and docks along the river and travelled the Thames from Middlesex, Kent, Surrey and Essex to London.  Links can be found to other river sites.

We've extended our family history research to the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk and are collating information about local wherries, wherrymen and their families.

2009 Doggett's Coat and Badge Winner on PHOTOS page.  To see the winner cross the line click . . . . . . HERE!

Site update August 2009