The Boaters' Christian Fellowship

Meet a Member

David Barton

Boat Name: Dylan.

I have lived in Lichfield since 2010, having been born in Winchester, Hampshire, in 1983. We lived in Gloucester between 1987 and 2010, where we were involved in the National Waterways Museum from its inception, and in particular, the IWA Festival in 1990.

I have had a lifelong love of the canals, having been on my first narrowboat holiday two months before I was born! We holidayed on the canals every year until I was 16. Despite a break from being ‘on the water’, my interest has continued, visiting wherever possible and keeping in touch with all things waterways.

Although I come from an Anglican family, I was first taken to our local Methodist Church in Gloucester at the age of 5. I grew up in the church, attending Sunday school, and despite a brief break in my early teenage years, returned when I was asked to start playing the organ, age 14. I continued playing the organ at various churches in the Gloucester Circuit, and in my 20s, spent five years as Circuit Administrator. I became a Methodist Church member in 2005

I met my wife, Clementine, online, and we married in 2022. We currently attend Lichfield Methodist Church, where I play the organ. Outside of the church, I've spent over 20 years teaching flute, piano and singing privately. I'm also a composer and piano accompanist, and I completed my PhD in Music Education at the Royal College of Music in 2020.

Besides music, my other interests include baking, cooking, photography and genealogy.

After quite some time of searching for our very own narrowboat, in September Clementine and I became the proud new owners of Narrowboat Dylan.