Stanley Ferry Logboat

After years of planning Wakefield Library and Museum unveiled a new display of a Viking era logboat this week.

The logboat with Cllr Peter Box, Leader of Wakefield Council

This  very special object was found 6 feet under the River Calder when the foundations of the Stanley Ferry aqueduct were being built in 1838.  

Stanley Ferry aqueduct

The boat is known as a log boat or dug out because it is made it is made from a hollowed out tree trunk. They are the earliest known type of boat and as such this boat was originally dated as being prehistoric . Analysis of the wood has shown that it is around 1,000 years old making it relatively modern.

As the boat was found by the River Calder near Stanley it was probably used to take passengers from one bank to the other – like a ferry. It could be the original ferry from Stanley Ferry.

Artist impression of the logboat in use 1000 years ago

It dates to around the year 1,000 – before the Norman Conquest of 1066 and when Viking Kings, jostled with Anglo Saxon Rulers to control Yorkshire and England. 

Visit the Stanley Ferry Logboat at Wakefield Library & Museum, free entry.

Meet a Viking event

20 August

2pm – 4pm

Drop in to Wakefield Library & Museum and meet Njal Siggurdsson the Viking. Find out - What it meant to be 'A Viking!' How coins were made. Traiders, Invaders and Raiders! Try a helmet and shield.  Suitable for families with children aged 8 and over. Free


The Stanley Ferry Logboat is on loan courtesy of York Museum Trust (Yorkshire Museum)