Lionel Thomas Caswall Rolt (1910–1974)

Born in Chester in 1910, Tom Rolt was most famous for his depiction of rural life on the canals in his seminal work Narrow Boat (1944).

Rolt started his career working with steam ploughing engines before becoming an apprentice engineer. In 1928 Rolt’s uncle bought Cressy, the horse-drawn boat that would be immortalised in Narrow Boat. Rolt wrote prolifically, producing notable biographies of the leading industrialists of his time including Isambard Kingdom Brunel, George and Robert Stephenson, and Thomas Telford.

It was Narrow Boat, however, that captured the imagination of a mass readership. Having purchased Cressy, Rolt set about converting the boat into a ‘live-aboard’. Along with his wife, Rolt embarked on a 400-mile journey along the canals of central England. The depiction of the rustic way of life and the dangers facing the canals in his book led to fellow author Robert Aickman getting in touch, and the two men launched the Inland Waterways Association (IWA) in 1946.

The IWA campaigned to save the canals from further deterioration. As Rolt’s memorial plaque in Chester neatly summarises: “The success of the IWA in halting the dereliction of the canal system and ensuring its survival owes immeasurably to Rolt’s vision.” A true early environmentalist, Rolt’s legacy lives on in the continued restoration and protection of Britain’s canals.