Victorian boathouse gets Grade-II listing

Saunders' Boathouse in Goring-on-Thames has been recognised by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport

A Victorian boathouse has been Grade II-listed for its historic and architectural value.

Saunders' Boathouse in Goring-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, was recognised by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport on the advice of Historic England.

It was built around 1894 for pioneering boatbuilder and engineer Samuel Saunders whose connection to the building is marked with a blue plaque.

Historic England described it as a rare surviving example of a late Victorian commercial boathouse on the non-tidal River Thames.

The boathouse was built in about 1894 for pioneering boatbuilder and engineer Samuel Saunders

Sarah Gibson from Historic England said the listing "celebrates the building's design and its origin as the early business premises of Samuel Saunders who became one of England's leading boatbuilders and engineers.

Saunders commissioned the boathouse after the stretch of Thames nearby had grown more popular following the arrival of the railway in the 1840s.

Jerome K Jerome's classic travelogue Three Men in a Boat, published in 1889, credited Goring and Streatley as "charming places to stay", the annual regatta was drawing large crowds and there was a boom in leisure boating.

Sarah Gibson at Historic England said the boatyard was a "prominent local landmark"

Saunders offered boat building services and craft for hire from the boathouse which included the riverside wharf, a showroom and a manager's flat.

The building, which faces both the riverside and High Street has had a variety of uses over time.

Its showroom was leased to WHSmith and then to the Royal Mail for use as a sorting office and part of it currently houses a dental practice.

There was a boom in leisure boating in the area when Saunders commissioned the boathouse

Samuel Edgar Saunders (1859–1933)

• At Goring he patented the Consuta boat building method, placing thin layers of wood together with a waterproofing material, stitched together with copper wire, creating a lightweight, tough hull that allowed for higher speeds

• In 1898 he built the steam launch Consuta as an umpiring boat for the Henley Royal Regatta, later used by the BBC for live TV commentary of the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race

• In the early 20th Century he expanded his business to East Cowes on the Isle of Wight

• His company developed faster and lighter powerboats, flying boats, and aircraft

• Aircraft designer and manufacturer Sir Edwin Alliott Veron Roe invested in 1928, and the company became Saunders Roe, or Saro

• Its famous designs include Sir Malcolm Campbell's Bluebird K3 speedboat

Source: Historic England