Pluto

You've not read my book on L&LC Brightwork, as the more colourful aspects may have originated in Pugin's Gothic Revival style which marked the beginning of the changes to architectural and art styles which resulted in Art Nouveau. Pugin built Scarisbrick Hall which is alongside the L&LC, and he encouraged local craftsmen to develop their skills. The decorative work on L&LC boats reached its peak around 1910, and seems to have developed from around 1860, when Pugin was building the Hall.

I prefer Gliwice in Poland, previously Gleiwitz in Prussia. Besides some stunning Jugendstil buildings, you can also visit the two Gleiwitzer Canals, and find remains of the small Klodnitz Canal which used inclines, rather than locks, and had a coal mine section based on the underground canals at Worsley.

Words which have specific legal meanings have often become less rigorous in their definition. An apprenticeship used to be a legal transaction, but now is just a term for training, often much inferior to the original apprenticeships. Copyright is similar, as what is now suggested as copyright is actually a utility fee. Someone who holds historic old documents can charge a fee for using such documents, though the money does not cover intellectual rights, but is rather a fee to cover conservation and access to images.

2016. The old aqueduct at Minden on the Mitteland Kanal. The building on the left is the pump house, which pumped water from the Weser up to the canal. Water for this was stored in the Eder Dam, above Cassel, and which was destroyed by the Dam Busters. The aqueduct was also badly damaged during the war, with the German army blowing it up during their retreat in 1945. It was rebuilt around the time in 1946/7 when Ben Earle Walls, who had been involved with his family carrying business and then Canal Transport Ltd on the L&LC during the war, was in charge of bringing German waterways in the British Sector and the Rhine back into commercial use. The second RAF post-war reconnaissance photo shows the destroyed aqueduct, and comes from his collection of photos.

And 48 years ago

No, Rock Ferry in Birkenhead.

No, this is Rock Ferry.

In old wine and spirit measure, 31.5 gallons equals a barrel, while in old ale and beer measure, 36 gallons equals a barrel, with the imperial gallon being one fifth larger than the old wine gallon, and one sixth smaller than the old beer gallon.

Two photos of the river crossing at Briare. The first shows the original lock, which gave access purely to the river. The second shows the lock on the north side of the river which was built to provide access to the lateral canal before the aqueduct opened. The navigable part of the river is straight ahead, with the bridge's curved ramp for towage visible. A further lock on the south side of the river raised boats back up to the lateral canal.

I have just been doing a bit of research into why narrow canals were the size they are. The 70 feet (approx) is quite easy, as 68/69 feet was the length used on the first long mine boats between Worsley and Manchester, although it is uncertain if they actually entered the mine at this time as the usual mine boats were only six feet wide. In fact, Brindley's first suggestion for narrow canals was for boats 70 feet by six feet. Even in the 20th century, the Bridgewater and MB&BC box boats remained at 68 feet length. For the width, the existing river navigations around the Mersey had locks around 16 feet in width. The Duke, when he built his locks at Runcorn, used a width of 14 feet 6 inches. I suspect he did this so that he had a monopoly of carriage on his canal, as his boats were only wide enough for his locks. There were a some 14 feet wide non-Bridgewater Mersey flats at the time, but not that many, as they were mostly built for the other navigations by the 1780s. Narrow boats were then built wide enough so that two would fit into one Bridgewater lock, hence 7 feet. In short, narrow boats seem to have developed from the boats used for carrying coal to Manchester from Worsley, and Brindley is said to have experimented with them whilst deciding upon the size for what became the Trent & Mersey Canal. The width may have been influenced by the Duke's decision to have 14 feet 6 inch wide locks at Runcorn, but it is uncertain when he actually decided upon the width of locks on his canal, bearing in mind that there were several changes to his original plan for a canal towards Liverpool and the Mersey.

As in complaints about boats moving when moored - you've got too much slack in your mooring lines.

Going back 20 or 30 years, the 'slack handful' was a useful measure to check how good a hardware shop was. If they pointed you to a large open box or bag when you asked for a slack handful of 2 inch nails, you knew you were in a proper shop, not one that offered just a few nails in a little plastic bag.

Most L&LC limekilns seem to have been private, though some were on open access, ie on public land. Presumably, the local landowner owned the kilns. This is a list of all the sites in the 1820s, with information coming from two sources, a canal company workers list and the 1826 survey. The canal company did own the two sets of kilns alongside Burnley embankment, and had problems with smoke pollution as they were close to the town centre. Downholland bridge Heatons Bridge, on the Wigan side Appley Bridge, either side Kirklees, tow path side Red Rock, Blackburn side Wigan side of Douglas Aqueduct Rawlinson Bridge, off side Lime kiln, 4 chains Burnley side of Lime Kiln Bridge Eanam Wharf, off side next to bridge Whitebirk swing bridge, towpath side, close to stream Clayton-le-Moors, towpath side, Blackburn side of Whalley Road bridge Altham Barn Bridge, tow path side, Blackburn side of bridge Hapton, tow path side, 100 feet on Blackurn side of bridge Molly Wood Bridge, tow path side, Burnley side of bridge, Messrs Whithams? Gannow, tow path side, Blackburn side of bridge Whittlefield, tow path side, 200 feet from Gannow tunnel mouth Burnley, off side, Nelson side of aqueduct, Company's Burnley tow path side, 200 feet on Burnley side of Colne Road bridge, Hargreave's Lodge kiln, Oliver Ings Bridge Lomishaw, tow path side, 100 feet Colne side of bridge Wanless, tow path side, tunnel side of bridge Foulridge, tow path side towards far end of wharf Foulridge, tow path side, beyond building at end of wharf Salterforth Wharf, alongside road Cockshott Bridge, tow path side, Barlic side of bridge Rain Hall Rock Lower Barnsey Rock, Yorks side of bridge Butts Rock Greenberfield Rock East Marton Rock Earl of Thanet's Rock (Skipton) Bradley, off side, 100 feet Leeds side of Hamblethorpe swing bridge Farnhill Hall (Coneygarth), tow path side next to turnpike road Silsden (Pollards), tow path side near subsequent gas works site Bromfoot Bridge, tow path side, Leeds side of bridge opposite feeder Holden Beck, tow path side, 0.25 mile on Skipton side of Holden Bridge, Leeds side of beck Helam Grange, tow path side, 300 feet on Skipton side of Grange West Riddlesden, off side, 0.25 mile Skipton side of Stockbridge, coal pit adjacent and opposite Stockbridge/Riddlesden, tow path side, 200 feet on Leeds side of Marquis of Granby bridge Rishforth, tow path side, Skipton side of bridge Micklethwaite, tow path side, Leeds side of bridge Cross Flatts, tow path side, served lane to Keighley Road, 0.25 mile above Bingley 5-rise Bingley (Toad Lane), off side, Skipton side of first bridge below 3-rise Dowley Gap bridge, lime kilns Shipley, tow path side, Leeds side of bridge Apperley Kilns Dobson, tow path side, Skipton side of swing bridge Calverley, tow path side, Skipton side of new ring road bridge Rodley, staith and limekiln Wellington Bridge, off side, Leeds side of bridge 32 sites in 1826

According to Charles Berg's website, http://projetbabel.org/fluvial/index.htm, the original locks were 27m by 4.4m, and enlarged by Becquey to 32.4m by 5.2m, and then replaced by Freycinet with locks 39m by 5.2m. However, although the c1830 rebuilding made the locks some 0.8m wider, I think they must have kept the original chamber wall on one side as you can still see original gate recesses and ground paddle culverts. Re the first summit level canal with chamber locks, there is also the Stecknitzfahrt, from the Elbe to Lübeck. The attached figure from the paper on the waterway, 2009 DWhG Vol 13. Wellbrock, suggests that at least two of the original flash locks had been converted to chamber locks before 1480, so only shortly after chamber locks had first been used on the Canal de Bereguardo circa 1450.

What I find really interesting is that these locks were lengthened, and by the time they got to the bottom lock the bottom gate had to be moved half the length of the chamber. You can see the original gate recess halfway along the chamber, with sadly deceased French canal historian Jaques de la Garde looking down. You can find his European canal encyclopedia at http://www.voiesdeaudeurope.eu/lecture/tome-6/partie-1/ but unfortunately for some here, in French. The second photo shows an extended cill and culvert for the side paddles in the middle of the flight.