Doggetts: For Ever

Centurions. The winner of the 310th Doggett’s Coat and Badge Wager, held on 9 June 2024, Ronnie Richardson (right) with two ghosts of Doggett’s past: George Fogo (winner 1824, left) and Harold Green (winner 1924, centre). Both Fogo and Green were pictured many years after their wins.

10 July 2024

By Tim Koch

Tim Koch observes the legacy of Thomas Doggett in action.

In London on 1st August 1714 it was confidently proclaimed:

THIS BEING THE DAY OF HIS MAJESTY’S HAPPY ACCESSION TO THE THRONE THERE WILL BE GIVEN BY MR. DOGGETT AN ORANGE COLOUR LIVERY WITH A BADGE REPRESENTING LIBERTY TO BE ROWED FOR BY SIX WATERMEN THAT ARE OUT OF THEIR TIME WITHIN THE YEAR PAST. THEY ARE TO ROW FROM LONDON BRIDGE TO CHELSEA. IT WILL BE CONTINUED ANNUALLY ON THE SAME DAY FOR EVER.

Doggett instigated his “wager” (from the old use of the word meaning trial by personal combat) in celebration of George I’s ascension to the throne of Great Britain and Ireland in 1714 which secured a Protestant line of succession. The race originally involved heavy passenger carrying wherries sculling against the tide, with “fouling” as part of the game, and start to finish could take two hours or more. Today, it is run with the tide in contemporary sculling boats controlled by an umpire with a course record of just over 23 minutes.

A race for single sculls over a course 0.6 km longer than the Putney to Mortlake Boat Race distance, Doggetts is only open to a maximum of six qualified members of the Company of Watermen and Lightermen who meet age and other requirements, traditionally those who have recently finished their apprenticeship to be a waterman (passenger carrier) or lighterman (goods carrier) of the River Thames.

The tangible prize is a tailor made costume of an 18th-century Waterman. This is a splendid scarlet frock coat (originally “Protestant orange”) with a large silver badge on the arm plus knee breeches, white stockings and buckled shoes. The more esoteric prize is the honour of joining a very exclusive group.

*There were two competitors in this year’s race. Marshalling next to HMS* Belfast, the permanently moored museum shipsited just upstream from Tower Bridge in Central London, are Coran Cherry (left in white) and Ronnie Richardson (right in black).

Ronnie Richardson, aged 24, (foreground) of Globe Rowing Club, a former tradesmen’s club based on the Isle of Dogs in East London, a prolific producer of Doggetts competitors. Richardson works for the Port of London Authority.

Coran Cherry, aged 30, also of Globe RC. Whatever was to happen to Cherry in the 2024 race, it would be less eventful than his last contest in 2021 when his wife went into labour on race day. Cherry is a first-generation Journeyman Freeman member of the Watermen’s Company and is a Captain with Livett’s Launches.

*The competitors in front of some old and new London landmarks. Notably, the gold brick building is the former Billingsgate Fish Market which existed between 1698 and 1982.*

*The MV* Elizabethan followed the race carrying former winners (who have a privileged viewing spot at the bow), members of the Watermen’s Company and friends and family of the competitors. It is pictured here in front of Tower Bridge.

For most of Doggett’s long history, competitors were allowed only one attempt and this had to be taken in their first year of “Freedom” after finishing their apprenticeship. Doggett’s will set few entry rules save that the race was for “six watermen that are out of their time within the year past.” In modern times the rules have been eased in an attempt to attract more young watermen (and women) to enter. The number of attempts allowed was increased to three and, more recently, four, with the proviso that they had to be made in continuous years.

As this year’s race approached, the only entry came from Ronnie Richardson. Whether this was a factor in the late decision to increase the maximum age of competitors from 27 to 32, I do not know, but it allowed the 30-year-old Cherry who had “aged out” after his second attempt aged 27 in 2021 to enter again. Unfortunately, this late change gave Cherry very little time to get back into training. This was coupled with his admission that “My rowing career has been very short, primarily aimed at Doggetts” but held that “I’m grateful to have another race.”

Conversely, Richardson, six years Cherry’s junior, had effectively been in training for ten years:

I have been rowing since 2014, aged 14, for Globe Rowing Club. I have competed at different levels and have been successful in national and international races. One thing that I always looked for was racing Doggetts and I got involved with working on the river with the race in mind and have been looking forward to the race and the honour of competing ever since.

*Flashback: The start upstream of London Bridge in c.1823 and 1934.*

*Flashback: The start from above in 1952 and 2016 shows how the Pool of London has changed from a place of work to one of leisure.*

The competitors on their way to the start in the shadow of the “Shard”, one of the city’s newest landmarks. There was light drizzle throughout the race and this, combined with poor light, made photographing the race more difficult than usual.

The 310th Doggett’s race started at 12.30. Here the umpire is just under London Bridge while Richardson (in black on the left) and Cherry (in white on the right) approach the first bridge on the 7,400-metre course, Cannon Street Rail Bridge (250 metres in).

*Approaching the second bridge on the course, Southwark, 400 metres in, Richardson had already taken a comfortable lead.*

*As the umpire passes under Cannon Street Rail Bridge, the competitors approach Southwark Bridge.*

*The race heads for the Millennium Footbridge (700 metres in).*

*Richardson under the Millennium Footbridge.*

*Cherry approaching Blackfriars Rail Bridge (1,050 metres).*

As they approach the moored barges at Coin Street on the south bank just before Waterloo Bridge (centre right, 2,000 metres in), each competitor has to decide whether to go “inside”, keeping near the shore and cutting the corner, or stay in the middle of the river and pass the barges on their right. Umpire, 1973 winner and race record holder, Bobby Prentice, told me that he would “always” go inside. Cherry (far left) was of the same view, Richardson (far right) was not.

While Richardson was undoubtedly the fastest sculler, Cherry probably steered the better course. After the race, Bobby Prentice noted:

Ronnie went a little bit wide, he seemed to like both shores didn’t he? He serviced the south shore and then came back to the north shore. At Grosvenor Road he followed the north shore when he should have been on the south…

Bobby is also the current Fishmongers’ Bargemaster. The holder of that post traditionally umpires the race as, since Thomas Doggett’s death in 1722, the event has been organised by the respectable piscine livery company because the once not-always-of-good-repute Watermen could not be trusted with the legacy from Doggett’s will. Thus, I was surprised to see Bobby umpiring in “civvies” and not wearing the usual splendid livery of the Bargemaster of the Fishmongers’ Company. This was because, for reasons that I could not definitely ascertain, the Fishmongers declined to support Doggetts this year and so the Watermen’s Company took charge with Bobby umpiring in his role as a former Watermen’s Bargemaster.

I heard a suggestion that the Fishmongers temporarily dropped out as they were not interested in supporting what was, until the last minute, going to be a “row over” by one sculler. It could be argued that this dropout goes against the obligations of Thomas Doggett’s will. Perhaps an 18th Century lawyer could advise?