Derek Pratt 978 0 7478 0632 5 (Album 444) about 56 pp, colour ills.

The original purpose of canals was to link regions of industry to major rivers and ports at a time when poor quality roads and packhorses was the only method of transport. Built a half a century before the arrival of the railways, the canals provided a watery artery for trade and commerce that made possible the Industrial Revolution. They remain as a constant reminder of that turning point of Britain’s history when an agricultural way of life that had existed for centuries gave way to an industrial economy. This book looks at the wonderful variety of structures that made the canals work in their commercial heyday and are still enjoyed today by today’s pleasure boaters and walkers.

Derek Pratt is a professional photographer with a special interest in inland waterways. His Waterways Photo Library is a result of many years of wandering around Britain’s canals and rivers with a camera. Other titles for Shire by this author:

Harold Bode 978 0 85263 485 1 (LL 14) 48 pp, 22 ills.

The 'Father of British Waterways' , Brindley was responsible for the construction of over 4,000 miles of canals.

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Avril Lansdell 978 0 7478 0586 1 (Album 300) 56 pp, 89 colour and 19 b/w ills.

The canals of England and Wales are some two hundred years old. They revolutionised the transport of goods before being largely superseded by the faster railways and have become a monument to a way of life harder and more frugal than those who now use the canals for their leisure pursuits would choose. However, the boaters who lived and worked on the narrowboats of these canals were people who tried to make their homes as comfortable and decorative as they could. This book reflects the author’s continuing interests in the life of the boaters on the canals and includes her researches into the handicrafts of the boatwomen and their families.

Avril Lansdell was Curator of Weybridge Museum from 1968 to 1989. Other titles for Shire by this author:

Tony Conder 978 0 7478 0587 8 (Album 427) about 48 pp, colour and b/w ills.

This book is primarily an introduction to narrowboats but it also covers wider canal craft. It is illustrated by photographs of boats on the inland waterways today and will act as a guide to those who want to search out the heritage of the working canals. Photographs also show some of the techniques of canal boating and chronicle some of the groups who work to preserve craft and use them for education, pleasure and trade. Older photographs show the working boats against the background of industry and the historic canals. There is a section listing all kinds of contacts, museums and societies, which will help the reader search out craft around the waterways.

For twenty-five years Tony Conder was Curator of the British Waterways Collection. In 1988 he opened the National Waterways Museum at Gloucester and in 1999 became Curator to the Waterways Trust taking the collection to national designated status.

Michael E. Ware 978 0 85263 878 1 (HIC 9) 88 pp, 113 ills.

Many of Britain’s navigable waterways now carry more traffic than they did in the supposed heyday of canals, though the traffic today is pleasure boats rather than commercial craft. This book traces the history of these artificial waterways, from Roman days through to the decline of commercial traffic in the 1950s. It covers the building of canals, the structures that make them work, their maintenance and the boats that travelled on them.

Michael E. Ware became interested in canals in 1963. With a background of professional photography and working in a museum, it was almost natural that this enthusiasm should result in him collecting historic canal photographs, building up one of the largest private collections in Britain, which has now been passed on to the Boat Museum at Ellesmere Port. Other titles for Shire by this author:

Derek Pratt 978 0 7478 0601 1 (Album 432) about 56 pp, colour ills.

This book is for people who want to discover the canals of London on foot or by boat. There are about 60 miles of waterways in London waiting to be explored by visitors who want to look further than the obvious tourist attractions. Popular stretches of London’s canals are now busy with walkers, joggers and people who just want to sit and watch the boats go by.

Derek Pratt is a professional photographer with a special interest in inland waterways. His Waterways Photo Library is a result of many years of wandering around Britain’s canals and rivers with a camera. Other titles for Shire by this author:

Thomas Telford £4.50

Rhoda M. Pearce 978 0 85263 410 3 (Lifeline 10) 48 pp, 25 ills.

Thomas Telford’s genius is reflected in the variety and great technical skill of his achievements, most of which are still in use today. But it is perhaps Telford’s work on Canalsin Britain which attracts most attention now: the Ellesmere Canal with its magnificent aqueducts at Pontcycyllte and Chirk; the Caledonian cutting its way through the Great Glen in Scotland. Telford’s appointment as first president of the Institution of Civil Engineers showed that his generation recognised him as the real founder of his profession, and perhaps the naming of Telford New Town after him is an indication that his great contribution to civil engineering is being recognised in our own times.

Rhoda M. Pearce has been both a deputy head and Headmistress and has edited an archive teaching unit on Thomas Telford and a documentary source book, Canals, for use in schools.