From time to time whilst navigating Wye Invader up the River Wye to Hereford City and in the 27 years since, I’ve been accused of being cavalier in my approach to research and by the mooring of Wye Invader in and around The Old Wye Bridge in Hereford.

In the Case Barton v Church Commissioners of England, there were 18 volumes of evidence with a total of just less than 10,000 pages entered to the High Court, many of the documents were in Latin and some were several hundreds of years old.

While researching the Title to Hereford Castle, I went as far back as the original Latin Charter of Richard the First of 1189 and then, the chain of title up to the present day of Hereford Castle including, several leases held by myself completing the chain over 800 years unbroken and with no Church involvement and, perhaps more to the point, including a document from King Henry the Third in 1251 confirming the building and the quays at the ‘Port at Hereford Castle in the Town of Hereford’ before Hereford was given City status.

List of all Court Cases between Frank Barton (Skipper, Wye Invader), Hereford City Council and The Company of Proprietors of the River Wye and Lugg Navigation and Horse Towing-Path and the Declaration by Mr Justice Rix in the High Court of Justice, Admirality Court in conclusion that Hereford is a harbour and the River Wye is still a navigational river.