NEXT year, Evesham will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the reopening of the Lower Avon to the open sea.

The river, like the M5 motorway now, was once a main artery for the distribution of commercial goods and travel between the Midlands and the coast. It has been navigated since the early 13th century, but it wasn’t always accessible.

The construction of mills along its banks, together with weirs to power the mill wheels, meant vessels were denied regular passage for many years.

It wasn’t until 1635 that William Sandys of Fladbury was granted ‘letters patent’ by King Charles I, to make the Avon navigable again, which he achieved from Stratford to its confluence with the River Severn at Tewkesbury in only three years.

Clive Matthews, the general manager of the Avon Navigation Trust, said: “The building of the mills meant that weirs were also built to direct the flow of water to drive the mill wheels, but this would stop boats travelling up and down the river in the traditional way.

“Boats could not get round them without an additional facility being provided for that purpose and William Sandys did this by building locks and artificial weirs in order to create enough depth of water to allow boats to pass by.

“This was pretty cutting-edge engineering in its day and the Avon was one of the first rivers where this type of construction took place.”

But it wasn’t to last. The construction of canals in the early 1800s created direct competition to the Avon’s natural waterway, followed closely by the construction of the railways.

Mr Matthews said: “These were quicker, more direct routes into the mainland and meant commercial boats stopped running on the Avon.

“As transport declined, the revenue also declined which meant that structures along the river were not able to be maintained and they quickly fell into a state of disrepair.

Navigation then declined even more rapidly and 1875 saw the last commercial journey on the Lower Avon for some time.”

The Lower Avon above Pershore fell into neglect and became un-navigable after 1940.

It wasn’t until a decade later in 1950 that the Inland Waterways Association gave its support to a project to restore the derelict Lower Avon in what was a first of its kind. Under the leadership of Douglas Barwell OBE, a voluntary restoration project got underway which transformed the Lower Avon in 12 years. It reopened in 1962.

Mr Matthews said: “The reopening essentially meant boats were able to get to Evesham from the sea once more. It was important because the Avon was a very busy artery that had about 400 barges on it at any one time, that’s almost 20 barges per section.

“It’s also important to celebrate this anniversary because it marks the first ever river-based voluntary restoration project, which is important for historical reasons.”

The Avon Navigation Trust plans to link up with next year’s Evesham River Festival and will re-enact the reopening ceremony from 50 years ago, when Douglas Barwell’s wife cut the ribbon at the site of the old Cropthorne Water Gate just below Jubilee Bridge, near Fladbury. The event will see a flotilla of boats travel up the Avon from Wyre and continue on to Evesham.

Mr Matthews said: “We plan to instal a plaque at the site of the old water gate, before cruising in to Evesham where the flotilla will be greeted by dignitaries who will then open the festival.

“It will be history in the making once more.”