Huddersfield Narrow Canal Liveries of Working Boats or Boat Companies

[Alison Ross]

Hi Does anyone know where I can see any info on colours for the working boats using the Huddersfield Narrow in its commercial days?  Thanks. Alison

[Pluto]

I would suspect that they were similar to other northern narrow boats, so much less of the 'roses and castles', and more geometric shapes and scrolls. The attached poem was written by Reg Wood, whose family operated boats on the Rochdale Canal, and there would have been some influence from the wide boat companies mentioned. Each company had one main colour, though other colours would be used for decoration. Yorkshire boats had extensive varnished areas compared to Lancashire, and were less flamboyant in terms of colour, though some of the panel lining was highly detailed. Sam Yates, who did the painting at Whitebirk, near Blackburn, told me they only had five or six main stainers to make colour paints from a white lead base. Each yard had its own standard for red, yellow, green, black, and two blues, one light and one dark. It was possible to identify which yard painted a boat from the shades used, though there was no specific standard so each colour would be slightly different each time it was mixed. The colours could reflect the companies whose boats were docked, so at Whitebirk the dark blue was the main colour for the coal carriers Dean Waddington, though it would be used on other fleets in small amounts. Many boats on the Huddersfield Narrow would have worked onto the Calder & Hebble, so were only 57 feet in length, and some appear in the C&HN boat register 1793-1828, which would give some names to firms operating boats on the HNC at that time. I suspect that the use highly coloured liveries was something which developed through the 19th century. Early schemes would be much simpler than those for which photographs are available.

Boats I have loved.pdf

[ditchcrawler]

How about the book "Colours of the cut"?

[cuthound]

Blimey, £19.99 I got mine free with Waterways World magazine each month, many years ago.

[Ray T]

Deleted.

 

Edited May 28, 2023 by Ray T

[Ronaldo47]

I originally posted this observation  about difficulties in reconstructing liveries from old photos in the "Tunnel Lights" thread.

 

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When reconstructing liveries from old photographs, you have to bear in mind that the early photographic emulsions were not sensitive to all colours. Thus the early "ordinary" plates were only sensitive to blue, and would render both red and green as black, the later "ortho" plates were sensitive to blue and green and so would render red as black, and the modern "panchromatic" films are sensitive to all colours, although still over-sensitive to blue unless a yellow-green filter is used.  Ortho and Pan emulsions only started to be used around the turn of the 20th century, so virtually all Victorian photos would have been taken on "ordindary" film. Pan cost more than the other earlier types, which continued to be available to general-pupose photographers into the mid-  1950's.

Edited September 27, 2021 by Ronaldo47

[Alison Ross]

Wow. Thank you so much to all contributors to my query. 

 

The upcoming painting commission is not an historic boat so it doesnt need to be totally authentic, but it's whole life is on same canal, and serves some historic sites, so it's good to know the background

 

Poss will be carrying bridal parties, so will  look for images of later boats, after the women came on board, and see if there's a few roses to be seen. 😀

 

[BEngo]

The Huddersfield narrow fell into the ambit of the LMS railway, so the maintenance craft would have worn LMS livery.

 

N

[Pluto]

1 hour ago, BEngo said:

The Huddersfield narrow fell into the ambit of the LMS railway, so the maintenance craft would have worn LMS livery.

 

N

But did the LMS have a standard livery, or would boats have continued with layouts for the L&NWR/Midland/Lancashire & Yorkshire/North Staffs with the owner's name changed?

[Alison Ross]

Interesting.i read Colours of the Cut today. No mention of Hudderfield at all

 

 

 

[davidg]

Being completely unhelpful, I have seen a photo of a boat operated by a Milnsbridge carrier (black & white obviously) somewhere but can't remember where. It is out there somewhere...