James Ashcroft Bargee

James Ashcroft Bargee by Matt Kenrick (2025) Come gather ye round and I’ll sing ye a song Of a bargee who laboured both steady and strong With his horse on the towpath, through weather and love He hauled coal and salt on the old barge ‘Dove’ From Burscough he hailed, near the market and green Where the locks hissed like kettles and the water ran keen Through Wigan and Burnley, through tunnel and glade He followed the cut where his living was made Chorus So heave on the line, let the rope never slack The horse pulls ahead and the ‘Dove’ won’t look back With a song for the sunrise, and soot in the air James Ashcroft rolls onward with hardly a care His hands they were calloused, his coat stained with tar He knew every stone on the towpath by far At night in the cabin, by lantern he’d sit With a pipe full of peace and a dry bit of wit The children would sleep in the hold snug and tight As the ‘Dove’ bobbed along ‘neath the stars silver-bright His missus would cook on the iron-wrought fram And curse every lock gate that ever got lame Chorus Now some folk went south and some dreamt of the sea But James had the cut, and the cut had its key Though the mills clanged their progress and railways would groan He’d swear on his tiller. “This barge is my own!” (Softly) They say there’s a ghost boat that glides through the mist With a rope in the water and coal in the list And if you pass Burscough at quarter to one You might hear James whistlin’ and not at his son. Final Chorus : So heave on the line, let the rope never slack The horse pulls ahead and the ‘Dove’ won’t look back The cut may be quiet. and steam may have won The bargee rolls onward - his journey’s not done I am indebted to Matt Kendrick for allowing me to include this song, which won the 2025 Cheshire Folk Song Cup, on the site. Matt has recently chosen to write canal related songs and has written this as a tribute to his late father and grandfather. His father worked all his life on the the canals as a chief clerk for British Waterways. Matt’s maternal grandfather was a bargee whose name was James Ashcroft and that’s who this song is about. On looking through the waterways records Matt discovered that his boat or barge was called the ‘Dove’. It was a horse drawn barge carrying salt and coal from Liverpool up the Leeds and Liverpool network.

James Ashcroft Bargee by Matt Kenrick (2025) Intro : D////Em////C////G////C////G////C////D//// Come [G]gather ye round and I’ll [C]sing ye a [G]song Of a [G]bargee who laboured both [D]steady and strong With his [C]horse on the [G]towpath, through [C]weather and [Em]love He [C]hauled coal and [G]salt on the [D]old barge [G]‘Dove’ From Burscough he hailed, near the market and green Where the locks hissed like kettles and the water ran keen Through Wigan and Burnley, through tunnel and glade He followed the cut where his living was made Chorus : [G]So [Am7]heave on the line, let the [G]rope never [C]slack The [G]horse pulls ahead and the [Am7]‘Dove’ won’t look back With a [C]song for the [Em]sunrise, and [Bm7]soot in the [C]air [Am7]James Ashcroft [Csus2]rolls onward with [Dsus4]hardly a [G]care His hands they were calloused, his coat stained with tar He knew every stone on the towpath by far At night in the cabin, by lantern he’d sit With a pipe full of peace and a dry bit of wit The children would sleep in the hold snug and tight As the ‘Dove’ bobbed along ‘neath the stars silver-bright His missus would cook on the iron-wrought fram And curse every lock gate that ever got lame Chorus Now some folk went south and some dreamt of the sea But James had the cut, and the cut had its key Though the mills clanged their progress and railways would groan He’d swear on his tiller. “This barge is my own!” (Softly) They say there’s a ghost boat that glides through the mist With a rope in the water and coal in the list And if you pass Burscough at quarter to one You might hear James whistlin’ and not at his son. Final Chorus : [G]So [Am7]heave on the line, let the [Em]rope never [C]slack The [G]horse pulls ahead and the [Am7]‘Dove’ won’t look [D]back The [C]cut may [G]be quiet, and steam may have [C]won [G]The bargee [Em]rolls onward - his [D]journey’s not [C]done Outro : C////G////Am7//G//C////D////G////G////G// I am indebted to Matt Kendrick for allowing me to include this song, which won the 2025 Cheshire Folk Song Cup, on the site. Matt has recently chosen to write canal related songs and has written this as a tribute to his late father and grandfather. His father worked all his life on the the canals as a chief clerk for British Waterways. Matt’s maternal grandfather was a bargee whose name was James Ashcroft and that’s who this song is about. On looking through the waterways records Matt discovered that his boat or barge was called the ‘Dove’. It was a horse drawn barge carrying salt and coal from Liverpool up the Leeds and Liverpool network.

James Ashcroft Bargee by Matt Kenrick (2025) Come gather ye round and I’ll sing ye a song Of a bargee who laboured both steady and strong With his horse on the towpath, through weather and love He hauled coal and salt on the old barge ‘Dove’ From Burscough he hailed, near the market and green Where the locks hissed like kettles and the water ran keen Through Wigan and Burnley, through tunnel and glade He followed the cut where his living was made Chorus So heave on the line, let the rope never slack The horse pulls ahead and the ‘Dove’ won’t look back With a song for the sunrise, and soot in the air James Ashcroft rolls onward with hardly a care His hands they were calloused, his coat stained with tar He knew every stone on the towpath by far At night in the cabin, by lantern he’d sit With a pipe full of peace and a dry bit of wit The children would sleep in the hold snug and tight As the ‘Dove’ bobbed along ‘neath the stars silver-bright His missus would cook on the iron-wrought fram And curse every lock gate that ever got lame Chorus Now some folk went south and some dreamt of the sea But James had the cut, and the cut had its key Though the mills clanged their progress and railways would groan He’d swear on his tiller. “This barge is my own!” (Softly) They say there’s a ghost boat that glides through the mist With a rope in the water and coal in the list And if you pass Burscough at quarter to one You might hear James whistlin’ and not at his son. Final Chorus So heave on the line, let the rope never slack The horse pulls ahead and the ‘Dove’ won’t look back The cut may be quiet, and steam may have won The bargee rolls onward - his journey’s not done I am indebted to Matt Kendrick for allowing me to include this song, which won the 2025 Cheshire Folk Song Cup, on the site. Matt has recently chosen to write canal related songs and has written this as a tribute to his late father and grandfather. His father worked all his life on the the canals as a chief clerk for British Waterways. Matt’s maternal grandfather was a bargee whose name was James Ashcroft and that’s who this song is about. On looking through the waterways records Matt discovered that his boat or barge was called the ‘Dove’. It was a horse drawn barge carrying salt and coal from Liverpool up the Leeds and Liverpool network.