Cuts, Bargees & Navvies

A comprehensive narrative history of canals in Britain from their earliest origins to the present day.

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Crisscrossing the country like veins of a body, the canals were once the lifeblood of industry of Britain. Whether they were taking coal and lime to the factories of Birmingham or transporting Wedgwood's ceramics, these waterways at their height, moved the raw materials and goods of the industrial revolution. They changed the countryside and brought wealth to the nation. But this is not just a history of locks, aqueducts and barges, hundreds of thousands of men, women and children worked the 'cuts'. Canal people were a hardy group and sometimes seemed to be outside the main life of the country. Most were born, married and died without leaving the waterways. Navvies who dug the canals always seemed on the periphery of crime, one such navvy, Nathaniel Lester was knifed by Emma Weeks in 1868 after meeting her in a pub on Deptford Broadway. Life was tough for people like 'May' who were brought up on canal boats. Into her seventies she had a permanently red mark on her hand from the days of scrubbing the rope fender until it was pristine. After years of decline, the waterways of Britain have begun a new lease of life. Look at a map of Britain and you can see approximately 2,000 miles of canals, each one steeped in history and with a fascinating story to tell. 'Cuts, Bargees and Navvies' tells that story and of the people who built and worked on Britain's wonderful waterways. Illustrated with over 80 illustrations, many in colour.