The River Stour Trust is a registered charity (No. 257806), led by volunteers dedicated to the restoration, conservation and education of the Suffolk & Essex River Stour Navigation for the benefit and enjoyment of the public.
You can help whether you choose to join us as a member, make a donation, and/or support our activities and events. This river has a long history which we hope you will help us preserve. We could not exist without our members and supporters – find out more.
For generations the River Stour occupied a central position in the lives of people living on its banks, both in work and play. It is one of the most attractive rivers in the country, winding through a wide pastoral and wooded valley past towns and villages of great beauty and with many historical associations.
We seek to reinstate through navigation, improve river access points and campaign for a change to the byelaws in order to permit electric boats on the whole stretch of the River Stour. We actively encourage use of the river and particularly promote the use of small and electrically powered craft that are silent in operation and environmentally friendly. We organise many river-based activities and fundraising events on or near the river, we operate river trips for the public and hold regular working parties to maintain the locks and structure in our care.
We have undertaken several successful restoration projects – Flatford Lock, Dedham Lock, Great Cornard Lock, Flatford Barge Dock (in association with the National Trust), the Quay Basin at Sudbury, Gasworks Cut at Sudbury and The Granary building at Quay Lane, Sudbury. In 2017, we finally completed restoration of the third Constable Lock at Stratford St Mary Lock to open a further three miles of the navigation. We have built a Visitor Education Centre on the site next to Great Cornard Lock which enables visitors to learn about the history of the River Stour Navigation, its importance in Britain’s industrial and cultural heritage and the Trust’s own role in promoting use of this historic waterway. We rescued an original Stour Lighter which has been fully restored (under the Managing a Masterpiece scheme) and is now in use on the River Stour as a trip boat and ‘floating classroom’ to be enjoyed by future generations. We took over the freehold of Cattawade Picnic site to ensure this river access point was retained. We have acquired the equipment and training to undertake weedcutting on the river to collect and remove weed that would otherwise restrict river users.
River Stour Trust
Registered Charity Number 257806
A non-profit distributing Company limited by guarantee number 938670
VAT Registration No. GB 688 5912 71
Vice Presidents: Mr Emrhys Barrell; Mr William Frecknall; Mr Peter Hesketh; Mr John Mills; Mr Griff Rhys Jones; Mr David Stevenson
Click on the links below to download and read the following documents: