Tough as old boots
THE 200-year-old Union Canal runs for 31 miles between Edinburgh and Falkirk. Its long history includes an association with Burke and Hare, the notorious murderers who allegedly used the canal to transport bodies into the city.
The canal recently produced another mystery from the past when an old boot was found in the dry dock at Seagull Trust Cruises’ base at Ratho. It’s not uncommon for rubbish to be washed into the dry dock but Seagull Trust volunteers were excited to find such an old object when the dock was drained. It had obviously been in the canal for a long time and the charity immediately contacted National Museums Scotland. After investigation, the boot was declared to be a man’s leather working boot, with metal lacing eyelets and partial laces, dating from between 1915–40. The trust has donated the boot to the museum service, which will further research its past.
The Seagull Trust charity is entirely run by volunteers and provides free canal cruises for the elderly, infirm and those with special needs. Stuart Rennie, chairman of f the Ratho Branch, has s spent more than 15 years volunteering on the canal. He says you meet many interesting people on the water and the towpath, most with a story to tell. Seagull Trust Cruises is always on the lookout for more volunteers and has a dedicated phone number and email address for more information: call 07749 034468 or email Rat ho Volunteer@seagulltrustcruises.org.uk
The ’ body snatchers’ Burke and Hare worked as navvies during the construction of the Union Canal.
In the early 19th century, Edinburgh and Glasgow universities were centres for anatomical study. By Scottish law, the supply of bodies used for medical research was restricted and there was a shortage, leading to unscrupulous grave robbers providing the necessary. Burke and Hare took advantage of the situation and were responsible for a series of 16 murders in 1828, when w the bodies were sold to Edinburgh University. U Visitors to t the graveyard at Cadder C Parish Church beside b the Forth & Clyde Canal C will see a Watch House H where, after a fu uneral, relatives and c hurch officials would mount m guard over the gr rave. It was thought th hat grave robbers would take t advantage of the proximity to the canal to move the stolen bodies.