James was delighted to be invited to the opening ceremony of the Stratford-St-Mary lock.
The official opening ceremony of a historic lock on the River Stour which took 12 years to restore took place on Saturday.
Supporters of the River Stour Trust, the charity which has overseen the ambitious restoration, congregated at the lock at Stratford St Mary on the Suffolk/Essex border to mark the occasion.
They were joined by a number of guests including the trust’s vice president, TV personality and comedian Griff Rhys Jones who hosted proceedings.
Speaking to the crowd, Mr Jones said: “I feel strongly that the trust is doing so much good work and a vital element of this is that it is keeping the river navigable.
“When Constable painted this river he called it a ‘Scene from a navigable river’ and his father was also involved in keeping it navigable.
“Sadly, 95% of rivers are actually closed to navigation and boats - to me, I find this sad.”
Mr Jones then invited Mark Harling, the regional manager of waste management company Enovert, to cut the ribbon on the lock gates. The firm provided a £85,000 grant for the work through the Landfill Communities Fund.
Another guest was Mary Harrison, whose late husband Tony left a legacy for the project after he advised on the scheme as an engineer for the Inland Waterways Association.
The new lock at Stratford St Mary marks a major step in the River Stour Trust’s ambition to open up the Stour for use by the local community and the wider public, who come in their thousands to visit Constable Country every year.
“Sadly, 95% of rivers are actually closed to navigation and boats - to me, I find this sad.”
Mr Jones then invited Mark Harling, the regional manager of waste management company Enovert, to cut the ribbon on the lock gates. The firm provided a £85,000 grant for the work through the Landfill Communities Fund.
Another guest was Mary Harrison, whose late husband Tony left a legacy for the project after he advised on the scheme as an engineer for the Inland Waterways Association.
The new lock at Stratford St Mary marks a major step in the River Stour Trust’s ambition to open up the Stour for use by the local community and the wider public, who come in their thousands to visit Constable Country every year.
“Sadly, 95% of rivers are actually closed to navigation and boats - to me, I find this sad.”
Mr Jones then invited Mark Harling, the regional manager of waste management company Enovert, to cut the ribbon on the lock gates. The firm provided a £85,000 grant for the work through the Landfill Communities Fund.
Another guest was Mary Harrison, whose late husband Tony left a legacy for the project after he advised on the scheme as an engineer for the Inland Waterways Association.
The new lock at Stratford St Mary marks a major step in the River Stour Trust’s ambition to open up the Stour for use by the local community and the wider public, who come in their thousands to visit Constable Country every year.
Published by the East Anglian Daily Times.