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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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canals
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A spate of canal-building was an important element in the early *Industrial Revolution. (There was nothing new about canals in themselves; the Chinese, who invented the lock, built their first *Grand Canal in the 7th century AD.) The first English canal to be successfully completed was James *Brindley's for the duke of Bridgewater, in 1761. Its success sparked off great activity, until canal-building was brought to an end by the *railways in the 1830s. By then there were about 6840km/4250m of navigable waterways in Britain (including several marvels of engineering, such as *Pont Cysyllte).
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They long continued as a cheaper and slower system of transport, with carthorses ambling along the towpaths harnessed to the special 'narrow boats', thin barges designed so that two could pass. The canals are much used again in modern times for pleasure purposes, and the narrow boats have been adapted very successfully as holiday homes.
With water shortages in parts of Britain in recent summers, it has been suggested that the canals might be used as a national water grid. And confidence in the future was declared by British Waterways in 2000, with the announcement of plans to build the first new canal for more than 100 years. A 17-mile waterway will link the Great Ouse at Bedford to the Grand Union Canal at Milton Keynes.
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