Constables Boathouses where built by nineteenth century Doggets Coat and Badge Winner, Charles Constable. The boatyard now also encompasses the former Benn’s Boathouse and this boathouse was originally built in 1702. The first Constable Boathouse dates from 1887 and the second from 1908. The boathouse was famous for traditional Thames Skiff and Dinghy boat building and the boatyard still owns and uses a Charles Constable skiff, built in 1872, which is possibly the oldest traditional skiff in the world, and she is still in fine fettle.

Today the boatyard works on any boat, fibre glass, steel, or wood, and offers a full service including hire, painting, repairs, maintenance, Calor gas, electrical charging station, DIY facilities and much more. It has a comprehensive joinery facility and maintenance shop. We also offer berths and moorings up to 72’ and skiff, dinghy, canoe and trailer storage is available as is WC and shower facilities, electricity and water points.

The current owners restored the boathouses and have been here for over thirty years. They have a history of working on the River Thames, which goes back for almost fifty years and served their time as apprentice boat builders on the Thames. Three generations have now worked at the boatyard.

When the boathouses were restored evidence of former boathouses and fisherman’s huts were found incorporated in the existing building. These date from the 17th – 18th century and the whole is built over a gravel hard. Early tobacco pipes and miniature 18th century clay legs popular at the time, and old bottles, were also recovered. Many early Thames Conservancy Licence plates were recovered from the river in front of the Boathouses.

Messrs Benn and Messrs Wallcott mainly built skiffs and rowing boats, in the 19th and early 20th century, as did Messrs Constables.

However, canoes and motor canoes were also built, as was a large steamboat for a director of the Southwark Waterboard, all with its own boathouse with a chimney in it for the funnel, which was on the site of Thames Close, next door, but was sadly demolished and lost at the time of the recent development.

Messrs Silver after the Second World War also built the Water Gem Class of houseboat at Benn’s and operated a small motor boat fleet. They also produced world-renowned mixers and restored classical Citroen cars all an extension of their engineering skills. Private owner boats such as skiffs and small motor boats have always been and still are stored at the boathouse as were private owner boats, berths and moorings offered to let.

In more recent times during our tenure of the boathouses, we have offered D Y S and very economical licences and leases, which with Jim Smith, an experienced retired foreman boat builder of Wilson’s of Sunbury, and some young men (not so young now) who helped to ensure with their endeavours and some help from epoxy resins, many traditional boats were saved from being turned into ashes. They went on to build some very fine boats. We also manufactured traditional boat ironwork and copper work for rowing chocks for these boats.

In the early 90’s we could not financially support this type of boatbuilding from our other business any longer as there was a recession we had to reduce this area but with the collapsing hire fleet industry along the Thames there was a considerable choice of larger premises for them. Our own joiner’s shop carried on with the task of restoring cruisers and all works. We produced some very fine joinery. More houseboats were also built and these adorned Taggs Island, and narrow boats were fitted out for hire and for sale.

We carried on with our hire cruisers and narrow boats fleet for many years and enjoyed this enormously with our customers until like others with the overheads, Thames Hire Boat Licences, boat insurance, and cheap Spanish holiday flights caused us to cease with the hire fleet. There were five hire fleets on our reach and today, sadly, there are none.

We still carry on with repairs, our boat joinery and iron workshop, D. Y. S. and slipway facilities (when available). We convert timber and cut ply to shape, and offer boat and narrow boat berths, moorings and storage ashore for dinghies and small boats and trailers. We offer pump out, and Calor gas sales, old boat bits and pieces, and sub contractors also offer outboard repairs, servicing, and welding.