History In the autumn of 1983, the Personnel Manager of Stratford upon Avon branch of Marks & Spencer approached the Stratford and District Youth Leaders Council inviting them to submit ideas for a project that would benefit the young people of South Warwickshire. It was explained that, nation-wide, M & S were celebrating their Centenary by promoting schemes to benefit the community. The Council submitted twelve ideas varying in cost and substance as no sum of money had been mentioned. Included in the list was a narrowboat for the use of the young and physically handicapped. It was soon obvious that M & S had already had ideas of a narrowboat and it was with great excitement that the Youth Leaders Council received the news. In due course M & S funded the present 12 berth narrowboat through the efforts of its staff at Stratford. However, it was with some trepidation and after much deliberation that the council agreed to take on the day to day running of the boat whilst the overall responsibility for the boat would be in the hands of a group of Trustees. The then Chairman of the Leaders Council became Chairman of the St Michael Narrowboat Trust (now the Stratford upon Avon Narrowboat Trust). M & S make no contribution to the costs of running Centenary.
A policy of training leaders on the boat has proved most beneficial over the years, giving them confidence and highlighting safety issues. Over the years of its history the boat has been used by numerous youth groups with an estimation of over 250 young people using Centenary each year, equating to well over 6000 in all. The high usage has been maintained to the present day. Over the years, overseas groups visiting Stratford have sometimes been involved, including Danes, Germans, Italians and French. It is pleasing to note that young people with learning difficulties use our boat, especially during the week when it would otherwise be idle. What of the future? There seems little doubt that there is a need for this kind of resource. As a facility for doing effective youth work, it is without parallel. Young people can be involved (and should be) in all aspects of planning and operation. The narrow confines of the boat ensure that all are involved and anyone trying to opt out is soon noticed. Teamwork and development of social skills are greatly to be valued. Youngsters learn to set co-operation above confrontation; they also learn to respect other people's property. They become aware of nature, canal side wildlife and water birds. In 2005 the Trust's name was change to "The Stratford upon Avon Narrowboat Trust" to better reflect the current operation of Centenary Narrowboat.