Walter Cook established a Thames sailing barge building business in 1894 on the bank of the River Blackwater at Maldon, Essex, England. The business, known as Walter Cook and Son, operated until the 1980s - at which time, it was the last remaining barge yard in Britain. In 1999, Topsail Charters took on the lease of the yard and refurbished it. They restored boatbuilding and barge repair to the site and maintain the last set of original barge repair blocks on the east coast of England.