The Univ Barge

The Univ Barge has been a major part of David’s life, and a catalyst for much of what he has achieved. The Univ is an Oxford college barge, built in 1878, to the designs of the Victorian architect John Oldrid Scott (1841-1913). When the rowing first started at Oxford in the mid nineteenth-century the Oxford University Boat Club (OUBC) and a few enlightened colleges, such as University College, purchased the Thames livery barges for use as their clubhouses on the river. Univ bought the Merchant Taylor’s barge in 1854, and later commissioned John Oldrid Scott to build a new barge, taking inspiration from the designs of the livery barges. The Univ came up at auction in 1987. David bought her after the auction, on a whim, at a dinner party, and then had to restore her. For many years Univ went to the Henley Regatta, where she played host to University College, charities, and private parties. The friendships fostered on the barge are the reason why David convenanted that the Oxford University Boat Club and University College’s First Eight could row on the Redgrave Pinsent Rowing Lake for ‘free and for ever’.

The Univ barge plans were put onto Autocad by a naval architect in 2018 to safeguard her history for a future build, using a steel frame. All the hardwood fittings and Univ ephemera were preserved.