The Batteau Lord Chesterfield
Est. 1986
The Lord Chesterfield Crew is working on their third boat in 25 years, with the intent of having it river-ready for the 2009 James River Batteau Festival. We began building the L.C. III in early 2008 and were unable to complete it in time for the 2008 festival without rushing and possibly compromising the work.
The first Lord Chesterfield, launched in 1986, was one of the original vessels in the James River Batteau Festival. It is named for Philip Dormer Stanhope (1694-1773), the fourth Earl of Chesterfield, and NOT for Yuengling’s Lord Chesterfield Ale! It was built inside what is now Chesterfield Towne Center (a decision the mall management would come to regret), and most of the crew live in Chesterfield County or lived there at one time.
The first two Lord Chesterfield batteaux logged many, many miles on the James River and also re-opened the Appomattox River from Farmville to Lake Chesdin for batteau travel and made trips on the Staunton River from Long Island to Brookneal.
Over the years the crew has supported the goals of the batteau festival with participation in interpretive events such as an annual program at Great Falls State Park, water tours for the Virginia Canals & Navigations Society, and transportation programs for Chesterfield County Public Schools. Crew members have set up a primitive camp on the bank of the Potomac at Mount Vernon and taken part in a Washington celebration that featured a reenactment of the laying of the cornerstone for the U.S. Capitol. The Lord Chesterfield also has been a part of Richmond’s annual Christmas parade, the annual Field Day of the Past in Goochland County and programs at Boy Scout Camp Brady Saunders, also in Goochland.
The crew has built something of a reputation for river cookery, and crew members published two open-fire cookbooks, “The Boatman’s Belly” and “Almost Possum Stew,” in the early to mid-‘90s.
In 2007 and 2008 Lord Chesterfield crew members kayaked along with the batteau festival, and we look forward to getting our feet back on the walkboards in 2009.“Season your gravy very high.”
-- Thomas Jefferson