Abel BEESLEY (1851–1921)
Waterman and punting legend
4 Upper Fisher Row, Oxford
Abel Beesley (left) with William Grenfell (later Lord Desborough)
in the late 1880s (© Marsh Brothers of Maidenhead)
Abel was born to Abel and Eliza Beesley at 16 Upper Fisher Row in 1851. He later lived at 28 Middle Fisher Row, later returning to live at Upper Fisher Row at number 4. The Beesleys were a leading family in the local community of fishermen and boatmen plying their trades on the canal and river in this part of Oxford. Many families including the Beesley clan had lived there for several centuries. Abel senior was a Freeman of Oxford.. The Beesleys were a leading family in the local community of fishermen and boatmen plying their trades on the canal and river in this part of Oxford. Many families including the Beesley clan had lived there for several centuries. Abel senior was a Freeman of Oxford.
The punt was one of the craft used by young Abel for his trade and he became notably adept at handling it. Punting races and competitions among professionals had become part of local regattas along the Thames from the 1850s and Abel’s uncle Sampson Beesley had been well known for his punting skills.In 1878 Abel challenged and defeated Edward Andrews at Maidenhead for the title of Professional Punting Champion of England and held the title for thirteen successive years. He was persuaded to retire undefeated in 1890 to give encouragement to others to enter with the prospect of winning. He continued to demonstrate his prowess in other challenges, on one occasion beating a steam launch in a race from Medley to Godstow, and another time punting seated and using a billiard cue as pole against the competition of a regular punter.
By 1881 Abel had been appointed University Waterman, which involved training undergraduates in punting. In the 1870s and 1880s there was a growth of pleasure traffic on the Thames and punting came to be recognised as an art and a sport.
In 1893 the Thames Punting Club awarded him a testimonial in the form of a carved oak casket containing 68l in gold ‘in recognition of the impetus he has given to the art of punting, particularly on the Upper Thames’. This was organised by the sportsman W. H. Grenfell (later Lord Desborough) who had been trained as an undergraduate by Abel and went on to be Amateur Punting Champion and later Chairman of the Thames Conservancy.
Left: Medal won by Abel Beesley at
Sunbury
Regatta, 1886,
by courtesy of Wendy Tuckey
Right: These articles from Jackson's Oxford Journal report on two occasions where Abel Beesley saved the life of a boy in difficulties in the waters of Oxford Top: A boy is rescued by Beesley from the fast-flowing River Cherwell on 18 February 1880 (reported on 21 February) Bottom: A boy who had been dragged out of the Oxford Canal near Louse Lock on 23 October 1887 is resuscitated by Beesley and others (reported on 29 October) |
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Abel Beesley followed his father as a Freeman of Oxford and continued to make his living from catching and selling fish, and cutting osiers and reeds for baskets and traps. In 1886 he was appointed Chief Waterman in charge of a team stationed with life-saving equipment along the Thames from Medley to Godstow.
He moved from 28 Middle Fisher Row to 4 Upper Fisher Row (right) in about 1899 and lived there until his death in December 1921. He is buried in St Thomas’s churchyard.
Sources
- Abel Beesley, Punting Champion of England, essay by Peter Bowell, Cumnor Parish News (2017)
- Fisher Row, Mary Prior (1982)
- Fisher Row & The Watery Fringes of Oxford Through Time, Nancy Hood (2011)
The plaque was unveiled at 4 Upper Fisher Row on 26 June 2021 by Peter Bowell, who gave the tribute. Among those attending were Dick Wolff, Sheriff of Oxford; Beesley family members; and representatives of the Thames Punting Club, who saluted from the Castle Mill Stream, and of the River Thames Society.
Photographs taken at the unveiling ceremony:
- Peter Bowell unveiling the plaque
- Members of the Beesley family with Peter Bowell
- Peter Bowell, Pandora Maxwell, and Dick Wolff
- The first of the three punts arrives at Upper Fisher Row
Oxfordshire Blue Plaques Board
ABEL BEESLEY
(1851–1921)Waterman
Invincible Punting Champion
of England
who popularised the punt
as a leisure craftLived here
1899–1921
