The Life and Times of Josiah Clowes

Historical Profiles: NarrowBoat, Autumn 2025

Roger Butler provides the story of an influential but largely forgotten canal engineer 

Canal enthusiasts can always rattle off the names of a few engineers: James Brindley and William Jessop, perhaps John Rennie or Andrew Smeaton and, of course, the great Thomas Telford. But how many might mention Josiah Clowes? Not only was he the surveyor or engineer – and sometimes both – to eight major canals but he also invested in several new waterways between 1776 and 1794. Clowes built the Thames & Severn Canal and helped pioneer several famous tunnels which were, quite literally, ground-breaking projects at the end of the 18th century. Clowes was also actively involved on the Shrewsbury Canal and by the end of 1793 he had prepared detailed proposals, which included guillotine gates to help save water and yet another tunnel, the 970-yard bore at Bewick, which was the first to be built with an integrated towpath. A cast-iron aqueduct, which carried the canal over the river at Longdon-on-Tern, was built by Telford and, though no longer in use, this remains an im…