Goldsmith Of Grays

Pickfords of the North Sea

by Graham Dent

Founded in the mid-1800s, by the early 1900s the Grays, Essex, firm of E.J. & W. Goldsmith Limited operated by far the largest fleet of sailing barges in the ‘seeking’ trades of the south and east coast of England. With relatively modest in-house needs for bulk transportation, they were largely reliant on others for most of the cargoes that filled the holds of their unique fleet. First in the field with standardised craft, the business was to endure for over 100 years. This is the fascinating story of the people, the sailing barges, the motor vessels and the business that was Goldsmith of Grays. The book features many little-known facts, some a surprise even to surviving members of the Goldsmith family. A staggering quantity of related images from the early days of photography up to the present, bring to life the story of the firm accorded the epithet “Pickfords of the North Sea”.

This is an outstanding book which covers the history of this well known company in detail and I would very highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in this fascinating part of Thames maritime histort.