Name Glenfield

GLENFIELD is a narrow boat, presumed to have been built as a joey by Thomas Bantock and Co. of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, sometime in the late nineteenth century. She was originally 72 feet in length and composite built, with iron sides, a lower elm strake and 3 inch elm bottoms. Bantock built vessels for their own use as well as for the Great Western Railway, and they were primarily operated to support and extend the range of GWR’s operations. For a number of years in the mid-twentieth century, she was used as a dredger under contract for the Birmingham Canal Navigation Company, with a wooden platform at the centre of the hull where a crane was positioned. 

At some point, she was sunk near Cannock, Staffordshire, where in the early 1970s she was raised by M Sinclair and A Brookes and moved to Bumblehole Boatyard in Netherton, West Midlands. There, she was split in half, with the bow section, for Sinclair, becoming BALLINGER, and the stern section, for Brookes, becoming GLENFIELD. They reshaped the stern into a bow, replaced all the elm with steel, and welded new motorboat counter sterns to the existing iron hull. The project lasted for two years, and the vessels were used as houseboats. It is unknown for how long Brookes owned the vessel, and she is thought to have been named TALPA between 1976 and 1985.

In 2022, the 1970s cabin was removed and replaced with a steel one. New internal fittings were installed between 2023 and 2024. The internal design comprises a boatman cabin at the rear, mid based engine room with external doors on both sides, walk through bathroom, open plan sitting room and galley kitchen, and spacious front cratch. In 2025, on Stoke-on-Trent, she was painted with a grey superstructure and dark blue panels Her current engine is a 1950 Gardner 3LW Diesel with separate hydraulic drive, using traditional speed wheels, cable connected. She also has two roof-mounted solar panels and two skylights. Internal heating is via a diesel heater and radiators.