Winter 2021 - Issue 64

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Front Cover: An independent boatman contractor's boat loaded with house coal and stranded far from habitation after a heavy overnight frost looks idyllic, but for the working boaters struggling to keep going and make an income it was far from that. A long trek might have been necessary just to acquire food. At least there is the coal to keep warm - although not too much could be used or the owner of the consignment would complain of short-weight when the cargo was eventually unloaded at the destination.

The Winter 2021 issue includes the following features.

Picturing the Past

Picture Post Canals

Chris M. Jones continues his study of canal coverage in 1940s issues of Picture Post magazine

You can view an excerpt here.

Historical Profiles

The Derby Canal

Bobby Cowling studies the history of a once-busy East Midlands route, and its failure to survive into the leisure-boating era

You can view an excerpt here.

Canal Postcards

The Halifax Arm

Trevor Ellis looks at postcard publishers’ images of a now largely lost branch of the Calder & Hebble Navigation

You can view an excerpt here.

Historical Canal Maps

Route to Halifax

Richard Dean explores details of a branch of the Calder & Hebble Navigation.

You can view an excerpt here.

Historical Profiles

Rank’s Mill of Hull

Chris M. Jones studies a 1900s panoramic image of Clarence Mills on the River Hull

You can view an excerpt here.

Working the Waterways

Winter Chill

Chris M. Jones looks at an image of a freezing winter that reveals a story of local traffic on the Oxford Canal

You can view an excerpt here.

From the Archives

Canal Campaigners on Film

Joseph Boughey explores archive footage of canal characters and restoration pioneers, including Robert Aickman and David Hutchings

You can view an excerpt here.

Picturing the Past

Blue & Yellow Miscellany

Another delve into the Patrick Rawlinson collection shows two images of British waterways craft in the latter years of carrying on the Grand Union canal near Buckby and Cosgrove

You can view an excerpt here.

Canal Curios

Chimney Chains

Ray Thorp provides an insight into traditional working boat decoration

You can view an excerpt here.

Historical Profiles

A Lost Wonder of the Waterways?

Trevor Ellis explores the history of a unique but short-lived lift-bridge on the Barnsley Canal

You can view an excerpt here.

Picturing the Past

Wharves on the Birmingham Canal Navigations

The BCN had a multitude of wharves and Jack Parkinson photographed three types when they were still in use in the 1960s

You can view an excerpt here.

Working the Waterways

Boaters' Working Rules

Chris M. Jones explores several documents that set out working rules for employed boatmen

You can view an excerpt here.