The town was formerly a port; from 1705, horse-drawn lighters transported grain to the numerous water-mills, locally made bricks, coal and even coconuts used for mat-making in Sudbury and Long Melford. Cargos, such as hay and straw, were transhipped in the River Stour estuary at Mistley into Thames barges for transport to London for the horses; they brought back horse-manure for the wheat and barley fields that lie on both sides of the river. During the Great War of 1914–18, and fearing German invasion, the remaining fourteen Stour Lighters were scuttled in Ballingdon Cut. One of these was raised and completely rebuilt by the Pioneer Trust in Brightlingsea. It was delivered, fitted with electric propulsion, to the River Stour Trust in 2012.