Without Maldon's iconic Thames Sailing Barges, the historic Hythe Quay would be empty and a priceless heritage asset lost. Hopefully, with the deep affection and loyalty felt by local people and the care of their owners, they will be with us for many generations to come.

From their heyday in the late 19th to early 20th Centuries to their heroic role in World War 2, the sailing barges were a uniquely efficient form of goods transport. They could carry heavy loads, but navigate shallow creeks and estuaries because of their flat bottoms. The latter allowed them to sit flat on the mud at low tide, unlike vessels with keels. Most Thames barges can float in just three feet of water, and a glance at 'Reminder' at low tide, currently sitting on the barge blocks at Cooks Yard, will show just how little hull there is below the waterline. On the other hand, enormous cargoes could be loaded, and old photographs show barges with the water almost up to their decks.

Their sailing rig was big enough for them to sail fast, yet designed so ingeniously it could be handled by a man and a boy. Along the east and south coasts of England, and across the North Sea and the Channel, they carried building materials, agricultural produce and consumer items to cities, returning with manure from the thousands of horses employed on city streets. Indeed the transport of hay for London's hansom cabs led to the expression "hay up, dung down" – a totally green energy system long before it became fashionable.

The fleet of over 2,000 at its peak dwindled to just 160 still in trade in 1954. The addition of motors had helped extend their usefulness. Many found a new life in preservation, aided by organisations like the Thames Sailing Barge Trust and Topsail Charters based in Maldon, and bring pleasure to thousands who get the chance to sail on them.

Their importance to Maldon cannot be overstated. There are Maldon families who remember their active working life, and their continued presence at Hythe Quay give us a daily feel for what a working port looked like in the age of sail. Their size and design reflects coastal trading boats going back to the 17th Century and earlier, and is typical of the size of vessel handled at Maldon and many similar ports around the country. Its shallow waters meant that larger vessels generally had to anchor further out in the estuary and transfer goods by small boat.

When you sail on a Thames barge among the container ships at Felixstowe it feels tiny and fragile, but for centuries people regularly put to sea in similar sized vessels. 'Pudge' for example is 93 feet long and has a tonnage of 97 tons. Readers old enough to remember watching 'The Onedin Line' might be surprised that the topsail schooner filmed in the series, now called 'Kathleen and May', is only 98 feet long, and 136 tons.