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Waterway heritage
Think British Waterways, think canals, boats and moorings. But, perhaps surprisingly, British Waterways has recently been confirmed by English Heritage as the third largest owner of Listed Structures in the country.
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Backwaters and bygones
We are all familiar with Britain's network of rivers and canals. However, in our haste to explore old favourites such as the Llangollen or the Grand Union, we often forget all about the sights and sounds of lesser-known waterways.
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Aqueducts
The idea of a 'canal in the sky' was ridiculed initially both by engineering sceptics and the canal builders themselves.
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Bridges: masonry and brick
Bridges come in all shapes and sizes – usually dependent upon the wealth of the landowner whose fields the canal cut across.
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Bridges: timber and cast iron
Wooden bridges were common during the hey day of the canals because they were cheap to build, especially compared with brick or masonry bridges.
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Canal cottages
In the hey day of the canals, when commercial cargo was a common sight up and down the waterway network, a considerable number of workers were required to keep our trunk routes operating efficiently.
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Industrial buildings
The canals were created to meet the transportation needs of a newly industrialized country, and it follows that this industry continued to develop alongside the new canals.
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Tunnels
The construction of tunnels was one of the most difficult tasks facing canal engineers – hence many early canals followed Brindley’s contour method and wound their way around hills.
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Pubs
It will come as no surprise to learn that the long distance boatmen of old relied heavily on waterside pubs for their relaxation and recreation.
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Lock flights
Feared and revered in equal measure since the early days of canal boating, our most well known lock flights have now become leisure destinations in their own right – and a valued part of British canal heritage.
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Mile posts
Britain’s canals were the life blood of the industrial revolution and a largely commercial machine.
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The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct
The towering Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, one of the most enduring wonders of the waterways, has inspired and amazed boaters, walkers and visitors for 200 years.
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The history of Hatton Locks
Hatton’s flight of 21 locks provides an excellent example of how our canal heritage has been adapted to meet the needs of a changing society.
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The River Stort Sculpture Trail
Four freestanding sculptures and a metal and glass walkway form the three-and-a-half mile waterside trail along the River Stort linking Parndon Mill to the Gibberd Garden in Harlow.
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40 years of memories
Life continues at 40: How messing about on boats saved Britain’s waterways.
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Living and working on the canals
Working on the canals was a hard way of life. Boat people worked long days in all weathers – with often just a husband, wife and any children they had managing the myriad tasks involved.
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Brightwork; a history of folk art
Roses & Castles is well known as the vivid folk art used to decorate working boats in the 19th century. But boats on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal were painted in a style known as Brightwork.
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Foxton Locks: raising funds and boats
Foxton Locks on the Grand Union Canal has been attracting crowds for a variety of reasons for almost 200 years now. Once part of a major thoroughfare for industrial Victorian Britain, today the locks are one of the most visited attractions in the East Midlands.
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Going horseboating
For hundreds of years, horses were the backbone of British industry.
They pulled carts and charabancs, ploughed fields and transported everything from coal to soap flakes over the length and breadth of the country.
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The first canals
Although canals played a large part in the history of the UK, we were not the first country to build them.
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The rise of the railway and fall of the canals
The latter half of the eighteenth century was the great age of the canals, when transporting goods by waterway took off and investors made great profits from canals running through areas of heavy industry.
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Roses and Castles: a history
Roses and Castles is the colourful folk art that was used to decorate working narrowboats in the 19th century.
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