Thousands of Thames wherries were in use in London from the Middle Ages to the mid-nineteenth century but none survived. We used a Science Museum model that was made by J.W.Gregory in 1781 for the design of our wherry. This 1/8th scale model is large enough to provide considerable detail of wherry construction.
Mark Edwards taking the lines of the model wherry in the Science Museum in 1990
The construction of our wherry was by a group of ten people led by boatbuilders Mark Edwards and John Cox in 1991.
The wherry is 26’ 9” long by 5’6” beam.
It is constructed of 5/16th inch sweet chestnut planks on sawn oak frames.
Planking the hull at Constable Boatyard January 1991
Artist: Jenny Pearce
Launch day was 2nd June 1991 so we named our wherry “Rose in June” – the name of one of the wherries drawn by E.W.Cooke in his etching of 1829.
Rose in June on launch day 2nd June 1991