GATCOMBE
A small riverside villagein the parish of Awre, Gatcombe
was once a noted port on the Severn, particularly for
salmon fishing and exporting Dean's timber, which was
shipped as far a field as Milford Haven and Plymouth.
The waterfront once had a quay, stone and timber pier
and a slip way but when the present South Wales main
railway line, which runs directly across the hamlet's
riverside frontage, was built in 1851 it destroyed everything
except the quay. This still exists on the landward side
of the railway but it is heavily silted up and though
the railway engineers left an arch to allow fisherman
and boat owners access to the river, no working craft
remain.
The fishermen at Gatcombe developed their own unique
type of fishing boat called a Stop-net boat, which utilised
huge V-shaped nets hung on poles from the bow and stern
and three of these craft (the only ones which survive),
can be seen in a sadly ruinous state close to the quay
today. Gatcombe's most famous inhabitant was the famous
Elizabethan mariner Sir Francis Drake, who stayed at
the port whilst in the area visiting Sir William Wintour,
a Vice-Admiral in Elizabeth is navy who lived at Lydney.
Drake reputedly lived at the house which though known
today as Drakes House, was once a riverside inn called
The Sloop.
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