Roses and castles
Description
English canals, canal boats and canal people
The period 1760 - 1835 is considered the Golden Age of canal building in Great Britain. In those years, mainly in England, a coherent network of more than 3,000 km of canals was built.
Although river improvements did come about much earlier, the first real canal was not completed until 1762. Canals were built by private companies for freight transport (coal!) and canal boats were mainly owned by canal shipping companies.
There are three standard types of canals. Wide canals, lock width 14 feet, narrow canals, lock width 7 feet, and tub boat canals with a lock width of 6 feet.
The canal boats were also given standard sizes. The best known are the 'narrow boats' for narrow canals with a length of 70 feet and a width of 7 feet. The lecture focuses on 'narrow boats' and narrow canals.
With the rise of railways, canal transport declined. Although there were some revivals, by 1960 the canals were all but done with.
The complete disappearance of canals was prevented by the Inland Waterways Association (IWA), founded in 1946. This association has become very influential and, where possible in collaboration with local and regional organisations, has brought about the restoration of much of the canal system. Apart from the preservation of the technical heritage, the IWA is particularly successful in striving for the tourist use of the canals and their inclusion in spatial planning.
Around 1850, the influence of the railways on transport became so noticeable that freight prices fell and with them the wages of boatmen. As a direct result, instead of hiring staff, the skipper's family came on board and lived in the 'narrow boats'. This led to the emergence of the subculture of canal folk with their own costumes and their own style of decorating the boats, the Roses and Castles style.
ROUTE DESCRIPTION
From motorway A13 Rotterdam or The Hague, exit Delft Zuid/TU Delft. Keep following TU Delft. At the end of the exit TU Delft turn right onto Schoemakerstraat. Then take the first turn left and immediately left again across the bridge. You are now in the car park of the burnt down Faculty of Architecture (Van den Broekweg). The Cultural Centre is at the end of this road, across Mekelweg. Due to work on the newly constructed ' Mekelpark', the Mekelweg is closed. Public transport via NS Delft-Zuid (see: www.snc.tudelft.nl, then on contact and then on directions).
10.30 h Reception with coffee
11.00 h Lecture by dr.ir. Menno Tienstra
11.45 Pause
12.15 Continuation of lecture with concluding discussion
12.45 End of meeting
Location
Culture Centre (theatre hall, 232)
Mekelweg 10, 2628 CD Delft
Organiser
History of Technology
Histechnica
Name and contact details for information
Further information from R. Lutke Schipholt, using the e-mail address below.