Historic Canals Of Coventry
Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2022 11:11 am
There were only two canals in the boundary of Coventry The coventry Canal-- the oxford canal. The Coventry canal at the Sea level of 304 feet, the oxford canal was 4/5 inches higher, so to join them they had to build a loch.
There were only two dockyards inside the boundary of Coventry, one at Sutton Stop, that built the narrow boats, one at Tusses bridge that repaired damaged boats. This one belonged to my family from back in Victorian days.
In Victorian days they were all towed by animals horses mules etc, the water was clear and there many small fish, bream ,roach. etc. the boatman and his family lived in the small cabins of these boats for they always worked in pairs, the lead boat pulling the 'Butty boat' one of the family walking behind the towing animal, the children learnt the canal ways from birth and helped with life as soon as they could walk. It was a hard lonely life, by the time they were about ten years of age they were capable of running and working a boat. and there animals most could not read or write for there were no time for schooling, but they were intelligent in other ways they could lift a sack and tell you it's weight, could tell you distance to within an inch, new every plant and bush by name.
The canals where called 'Navigation' and the people that dug them where called ;Navies' they worked in gangs and travelled in gangs.
It was a thirsty life so every few miles they built a pub at the side of the canal and most had stables to feed and water the animals that towed the boats. they also had to build a house about every five miles for the repair and observation of the canal and Towpath- called a 'lengthman' he lived in a 'Tied house' each boat could carry 25 tons of goods, so coming in to Coventry Basin you had fifty tons of goods instead of horse and cart that only carried five tons at the most- what a difference that made to Coventry was enormous.
The shaping of the wood to make a boat was done by portable steam boxes.
There were only two dockyards inside the boundary of Coventry, one at Sutton Stop, that built the narrow boats, one at Tusses bridge that repaired damaged boats. This one belonged to my family from back in Victorian days.
In Victorian days they were all towed by animals horses mules etc, the water was clear and there many small fish, bream ,roach. etc. the boatman and his family lived in the small cabins of these boats for they always worked in pairs, the lead boat pulling the 'Butty boat' one of the family walking behind the towing animal, the children learnt the canal ways from birth and helped with life as soon as they could walk. It was a hard lonely life, by the time they were about ten years of age they were capable of running and working a boat. and there animals most could not read or write for there were no time for schooling, but they were intelligent in other ways they could lift a sack and tell you it's weight, could tell you distance to within an inch, new every plant and bush by name.
The canals where called 'Navigation' and the people that dug them where called ;Navies' they worked in gangs and travelled in gangs.
It was a thirsty life so every few miles they built a pub at the side of the canal and most had stables to feed and water the animals that towed the boats. they also had to build a house about every five miles for the repair and observation of the canal and Towpath- called a 'lengthman' he lived in a 'Tied house' each boat could carry 25 tons of goods, so coming in to Coventry Basin you had fifty tons of goods instead of horse and cart that only carried five tons at the most- what a difference that made to Coventry was enormous.
The shaping of the wood to make a boat was done by portable steam boxes.