Ganseys is a type of jumper worn by Canal Boatmen. The garment is knitted with heavy oiled wool to keep the men dry and waterproof in winter. The jumper is special because only the top part is patterned; the boatmen used to easily damage the bottom halves, and it would both save the women time in knitting a new jumper and make the holes easy to darn.
The initial purpose of canals was to get mined produce, like coal, towards the coast. Here is an example of a Coal Tipper, which Tipped full carriages directly into waiting barges.
The average wait time for a barge was 20-25 minutes, before it would be full. Canal boats were 90 to 95 feet long, approximately 6 feet high, and roughly 14.5 feet wide, only inches narrower than the locks. Each of the hatches were about 4 feet wide and the cargo was packed tight and covered. Usually the boats were built of pine, with oak bottoms. Mules were the normal mode of power for canal boats. Boaters used two mules at a time and had to carry the animals feed. The teams were changed every few hours.
http://www.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/10cando/10visual2.htm
Jeremy Black examines why the Industrial Revolution happened in Britain. Before the IR, the population of England had an agricultural existence, defined by the seasons and the harvests.
Black explains how the simple invention of the canal revolutionised industry. They came before railways, and their invention made goods transportation 10 times more efficient. Goods could now be transported from source and taken to major towns to sell or docks to be exported. Fuel such as coal became much more accessible, as did other mined minerals such as building stone. Alongside the invention of the steam engine, Industry was revolutionised. Birmingham for example, which started off as a small metalwork town of 9,000, but soon grew to nine times its size. With easy access to raw ore, building materials and fuel, everything entrepreneurs needed to start a business was accessible, so naturally industry boomed. "No part of the kingdom is more benefited by a public work of this kind than the country through which the Leeds and Liverpool canal passes." (Joseph Priestley, 1831) Tony Robinson introduces us to the history of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. The Canal stretched 127 miles and took over 45 years to build, starting in 1775 and is commonly referred to as one of the wonders of the Industrial age.
Prior to the canal, the Lancashire was ripe with industry as the IR began to take off, but there was a demand for a faster and more reliable way to transport goods towards the coast and materials inland. Bridgewater canal, built over 50 prior to the L&L's completion was seen as an ideal solution, so they set about building their own. When work on the canal begun, Liverpool was a small town with the population of around 5,000. By the end of the century this had reached over 80,000 due to the work and opportunities the canal brought. Canals could now quickly bring building materials from mines inland, to new factory sites, which were being built close to canal routes. The benefit of this was not only an efficient and cost effective way to build, it also meant that the factories would be able to easily get deliveries of raw materials (sugar-cane for rum, wood for matches, cotton for textiles etc)and export their own produce. Canal boats were even used to ship out the vast amount of human waste out of built up areas, caused as a result of a dramatic increase in population.
Dibnah begins by taking us on a tour or Bridgwater Canal, which connected Worsley to Manchester. Bridgewater canal was invented and commissioned by Francis Egerton, Duke of Worsley, (1761) and was Britain's first canal. The idea was revolutionary; coal and stone, which was mined in the area, could be transported 10 x faster to consumers and effectively halved the cost.
Egerton wasn't able to engineer and build this marvel by himself so he commissioned James Brindley, who had experience designing and installing mine pumps. Together they designed and built the canal for £50,000, this was a huge sum of money at the time, but Egerton was soon earning £75,000 as a result. |
British CanalsEngland had the world's first canals which helped revolutionised industry. In this section I find out how |