Summer 2026 - Issue 82
The Summer 2026 issue includes the following features. You can purchase this magazine from our online Shop.
You can read the articles in this and all other NarrowBoat issues online by becoming a NarrowBoat subscriber.
Front Cover: Below Springwell Lock 83 in Hertfordshire by the early 1890s a loading chute at Springwell Chalk Pit provided day-boats and long-distance craft with cargoes for the production of Portland cement and the Middlesex brickmaking industry. The wide-boats depicted were typical of the craft involved in this work.
Historical Profiles
The Severn & Canal Carrying Co
Andy Tidy traces the rise, struggles and reinvention of a Severn-based carrying business shaped by estuary trade, canal connections and relentless competition
View an excerpt.
Working the Waterways
Transporting fuel to Birmingham
In 1953, journalist Vivian Bird joined the Berridge boat family on a fuel-carrying trip
View an excerpt.
Historical Profiles
Rethinking the Staffs & Worcs
Julian Smith draws on overlooked 18th-century records to challenge long-held assumptions about the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal – from the truth about Brindley’s first lock to the real story behind Tixall Wide
View an excerpt.
A Broader Outlook
Barge traffic at Hull Docks
Chris M. Jones highlights various aspects of traffic and trade in and around the docks of Kingston-upon-Hull in East Yorkshire
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Historical Profiles
Canal and Tramway Connections
David Cheetham explores the historic link between these two modes of transport
This is our free-access sample article from the Summer 2026 NarrowBoat
View an excerpt.
Historical Canal Maps
Bridgewater Origins
Richard Dean searches for the earliest map of the Duke’s canal
View an excerpt.
Historical Profiles
Wide-boats at Rickmansworth
Chris M. Jones studies images of wide-beam craft around Rickmansworth, mainly engaged in short-haul traffics
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From the Archives
Ellesmere Port in limbo
Joseph Boughey explores details of the Cheshire site before the opening of the National Waterways Museum
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Picturing the Past
Trent Riverside
In 1962 Jack Parkinson photographed two views of water-transport facilities and traffic on the River Trent at Nottingham
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Boat Profile
A Gypsum Boat
Chris M. Jones looks at how a Newark-based firm commissioned a wide motor boat for its traffic
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