An anchor has recently been recovered from the bed of the River Shannon, in the old Limerick to Killaloe Navigation, at O'Briensbridge. Chain was also found but has not yet been recovered.
It is known that, in the early nineteenth century, buoys were anchored in the river above and below the bridge, with cables or chains running through the navigation arch (then the fourth from the County Clare bank) to enable boats to be hauled through against the current. There are photographs of the anchor at http://www.pbase.com/bjg/anchor and other photos of the navigation are accessible from http://www.pbase.com/bjg. The anchor has a wooden stock. Does the design of the anchor give any clue to its date of manufacture? It is accepted that that date may be much earlier than the date of its use on the Shannon. I understand that the Royal Navy began phasing out wooden stocks from around 1830, but they may of course have continued in use elsewhere after that time. Was a similar arrangement used on any British river? bjg
