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Author: Admin | 2025-04-28
In British mines during this period.Canals in the Industrial RevolutionImage source, ALAMYImage caption, A barge passing a gas works on the Regent's Canal, London, 1828.The canals were created to transport large quantities of heavy goods, safely and cheaply.The most extensive canal network can be seen in the Midlands of England where there were numerous coal fields.For example, Josiah Wedgwood used the canal network to transport his pottery goods from the factory in Stoke-on-Trent to new mass markets all over Britain.The benefits of canals was that they could carry large amounts of goods over long distances compared to horse and cart.While they made moving huge amounts of coal cheaper and easier, the canals were very expensive to build.The Bridgewater Canal that runs through the north west of England was opened in 1761 to allow coal to be transported to Manchester. Ultimately, the forty-one miles of canal cost the equivalent of £28 million. Source: Stories of Inventors and Discoverers in Science and the Useful Arts: A Book for Old and Young, Timbs, J, 1860Another drawback of canals was that they were slow – they could only move at the walking speed of the horse that pulled them.Hilly terrain also caused problems as barges found it difficult to navigate stretches of water that featured a change in height.Canals could also be very seasonal. In winter, a bad cold spell could mean that the canals froze over.To cross hills, barges had to navigate a system of canal locks that raised or lowered the water
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