1846 – 1937
A fine boatman, and the founder of one of the most significant boathouses on the Thames.
Edward’s father and grandfather had both been boatmen on the Thames, as was Edward himself, and in 1870 he and his brother Charles established the company E Andrews and Son. This was one of the first boathouses in Maidenhead, a growing industry at the time as the Thames was becoming popular for recreation, and Maidenhead was becoming a fashionable resort.
There was a rich harvest of fish – salmon, trout and eels – in the river at this time, and Edward hired out boats complete with professional fishermen. The Fishing Gazette of 1900 described Edward as “one of the cleverest freshwater fishermen of his day who came from four generations of fishermen”. His father was described as “the finest rod and line fisherman ever known”.
Andrews boathouse is famous for building the first Greyhound Slipper Launch in 1912 – it was designed by John Andrews, Edward’s son They were famous for their long sloping stern, and were most popular on the river in the 1920s and 1930s.
The boathouse also enjoyed Royal patronage. In 1908, Edward received a telegraph from an equerry to King Edward VII, requiring him to “deliver his best electronic launch, Angler, to the King’s boathouse opposite Datchet, with his best boatman”. A boat was provided, manned by Joseph Tindall, Edward’s best boatman, and H Matthews, his best steersman. King Edward and Queen Alexandra cruised along the Thames and took tea on the lawn at Monkey Island.
