Britain’s canals were the backbone of the industrial revolution.

In the 18th and 19th centuries the way in which people lived and worked changed enormously.

The introduction of steam-powered machines led to a massive increase in the number of factories, and gradually people moved out of the countryside and into cities to work in them. Simultaneously, the desire to keep costs down led to more factories being built away from London, in the Midlands and the North.

An important factor in the success of these new factories was transport. Coal, necessary to fire the steam engines, had to be transported from the mines to the factories. Furthermore, the goods produced by the factories had to be transferred to ports or elsewhere in the country for distribution. Without an efficient way of doing this, the factories could not flourish.

Transport solutions: rivers

Rivers had been used to power waterwheels in factories for years – although they were quickly superseded by the steam engine. Rivers did have another use though. In the south of England, where rivers were wide and slow-flowing, people could use boats to carry goods. Unfortunately, the fast-flowing rivers further north, particularly in the Pennines, made this solution unworkable.

Transport solutions: roads

Turnpike roads were common by the time of the industrial revolution. But they were far removed from the type of roads we know today. Turnpike roads were narrow, bumpy and could be quite hazardous, especially in hilly areas. It would have taken a very long time to transport goods via road. What’s more, it was likely that fragile goods would break along the way.

Transport solutions: canals

Canals provided the best solution to the problem of transporting coal and goods over long distances. The journey was smooth, meaning fewer breakages, and you could carry much more on a canal boat than on a horse-drawn waggon. Additionally, once built, canals proved a cheap and efficient form of transport.

It did not take long for industrialists to realise the potential and benefits of waterway transport, and so the hey day of the canals began. New navigations sprang up over much of the country, particularly in areas of heavy industry such as Birmingham, the Black Country, Lancashire, the Potteries and the Pennines. By the end of so-called ‘canal mania’ it was just about possible to transport goods from most UK cities to most UK ports.

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How ’bout that Panama Canal? How many days/weeks did it take off the shipping schedule from east-to-west and west-to-east?

Allowed for the transportation of heavy materials and also provided a source of power to mills.