Barges and Boats - A Collection of old photos relating to Lincoln's historic waterways

Описание: Following videos of old photos relating to trains, buses and trams, here is one of waterborne forms of transport around Lincoln.

Lincoln's waterway heritage is often forgotten when compared to the Romans, Vikings and our famous historic buildings up on the hill. But when the Romans arrived there was already a thriving Iron Age culture based around the River Witham. Then they recognised the importance of water based transport and commerce by creating the Foss Dyke canal to connect the city to the River Trent, and the sea via the Humber estuary. Lincoln was one of Britain's busiest inland ports for centuries, and it was only the arrival of the railways in the mid 19th century that started the terminal decline of waterways as a commercial transport network. The 20th century saw road transport complete the job.

These old photos cover most forms of water based transport, from a magnificent Humber Keel sailing barge on the Foss Dyke, through the heavy motor barges that once dominated our waterways, pleasure craft, ferries and even a canoe. I think there is also a little steamer or two in there?

You will see Brayford Pool transformed from a bustling commercial port to a popular marina for small cabin cruisers and converted narrow boats, while the surrounding warehouses and mills are replaced by the university, offices, hotels, restaurants and modern apartment blocks.

As someone who often despairs at the gridlock caused by modern traffic levels on the city's roads, I wonder if similar frustrations happened with such large barges trying to negotiate the narrow river through the centre of Lincoln? I assume they found ways of working with it, much like car drivers have to today on the roads.

As with previous collections of old photos most of these have already appeared in time shift videos, but many haven't been seen here before. If you want to learn more about Lincoln's history as a port please use the search facility to find previous videos relating to the Brayford Pool, Foss Dyke and River Witham.