Uncover the hidden heritage secrets of inland waterways
CAMPAIGNING charity the Inland Waterways Association is asking people to help uncover hidden heritage on their local waterways in the South West and beyond.
Along the canals and rivers of the UK are many, often small, manmade features that were installed way back when the waterways were first built or while they were being used for transportation, and the Inland Waterways Association (IWA) believes that these are often overlooked today.
The charity would like to record more of these small details but needs help from the local community.
Larger structures such as bridges, locks, aqueducts and tunnels are all obvious and some of them are protected either by being Listed or as part of a wider conservation area, but smaller features can sometimes be missed both by people using the waterways and by council planners and developers. The IWA feels that, although they might be small, these features are no less important to the history of waterways.
It would like to know about things like rope marks on a bridge, mason’s marks on a lock wall, canal company signage or mile posts along a towpath. Each of these might seem like a tiny thing but it all adds to the overall heritage of the waterway setting and tells the story of how the waterways were built and used in the past, the charity says.
Alison Smedley, IWA campaigns and public affairs manager, said: “The IWA believes that waterways should be protected from inappropriate development, through being included in a Conservation Area or by specific buildings and structures being Listed. As part of our campaign to call for local authorities to better protect waterways heritage, we are asking people to investigate their local canal or river in more detail than perhaps they ever have before and find items of interest. We want to make sure the quirky features of the waterways are retained, ideally in working order and are not forgotten in the future.”
The charity is asking that when people visit a local waterway they look out for forgotten historic features from the days of the working
Small historic features along canals and rivers may be overlooked. Now a charity is asking people to record them in the hope they can be better protected in future
boats, or something that dates from when a canal was first built. It added: “If you spot something, IWA would like you to snap a photo of it on your phone and then send it to hiddenheritage@waterways.org.uk
“Once received, one of IWA’s resident heritage experts will try and identify the feature and upload it into the IWA Hidden Heritage Gallery which can be found on the charity’s website www.waterways.org.uk. The aim is to record as many important historical features as possible as a resource for future generations,” the charity said. “Please include the exact location, ideally using the ‘what3words’ app. If you could take a close-up picture of the feature and also a photo of the overall setting, that will help with the identification. Please also grant permission for the IWA to use your photographs.”
The IWA says things to look out for might include such things as a starting pin. This small curved metal pin can sometimes be found on locks. It could easily be overlooked by future generations, and maybe not always be retained when major works take place. Its purpose was to help get a horse-drawn (or bowhauled) boat out of a lock by using a rope and a pulley block against this pin to propel the boat forward.
Rope marks – grooves cut into metal, masonry and wood are lasting reminders of the number of boats that would have been towed by a horse along the waterways, with the rope always finding the same slot to carve out the gouges still seen today. The towpath side of bridge arches is a common place to find rope marks, but you can also find them on bollards and railings.
Rollers – these were used to protect masonry from rope damage or to prevent the towline from taking the shortest route between boat and horse on some of the tighter bends.
Mileposts/Milestones – cast iron mileposts and stone milestones are features of many waterways, with some even having ½ mile and ¼ mile markers in between the mileposts. Not all waterways had them, but those that do each had their own unique design. Mileposts were used to work out tolls for boats with cargo.
Balance beam spikes – some waterways have lock gates with specially designed spikes to keep them in the open or closed position.
Date stones – these can be found in many places, often on bridges or aqueducts.