Kilsby Theatre Boat

All hands on deck!

Historic narrowboat Kilsby is being rescued, restored and repurposed as a community boat, offering educational trips, storytelling and theatre on the Oxford waterways.

Happy New Year!

Kilsby in the boatyard!

Kilsby was dry docked in March to have the hull blacked (coated in bitumen - a standard part of boat maintenance, recommended every 2-3 years)

A team of volunteers donned their finest overalls and wielded rollers and paintbrushes to get the job done.

Massive thanks go to Steph, Robin, Hugo, Helen, Tom, Matt, Steve, Mark, Lisa, John, Setareh, Jack, AK and Sean, for the hours spent in the dock painting away into all those ancient nooks and crannys.

Thanks also to Matt and the team at Tooley’s Boatyard who always make us feel welcome.

“It was a real joy to have the opportunity to get up close to this rare and beautiful 100 year boat and to enjoy the detail of her construction and lovely underwater lines. To be able to do work on her was just a bonus. Tooley’s Boatyard provided the conditions more normal in a museum – well lit, heated and clean”

John - Kilsby Volunteer

Restore Kilsby's Stern!

DONATE NOW!

We are delighted to be launching the next phase of the Kilsby Theatre Boat Fundraising campaign.

So far, with your help, Kilsby has been rescued from a watery grave and transported safely to Tooley’s Historic Boatyard in Banbury, where the glorious hull has been safeguarded and wrapped in an enormous new steel slipper (thanks to the Lucy Group of Oxford).

The Kilsby team of volunteers, consultants and experts are working on the exciting long term plans for turning Kilsby into a heritage trip boat and theatre space. Meanwhile, down to immediate practicalities - to restore Kilsby’s hull completely we need to replace the damaged stern and bring it back to its original glory.

DONATE!