Chesterfield Cargoes

Reader's Letters & Queries: NarrowBoat, Spring 2013

I was very impressed by the article by John Lower on the Chesterfield Canal (Winter 2012 NB) and also the depth John has gone into in researching his article. For the record I would make one observation. The coloured photograph on page 32 shows a number of loaded Humber keels in Stockwith Basin and the caption suggests that they were loaded with grain from the Humber ports for onward delivery to Smith’s Albion Mill at Worksop. I believe grain to Smith’s mill was off-loaded into lorries at Gainsborough or the Humber ports by this time. The more likely cargo for the craft was rolls of newsprint for Chesterfield collected by lorry, although there were also occasional loads of aluminium ingots for Leicester. Richard Allsopp, by email…