Waterways M-R

by Paul Hindle.

The canal received its Act of Parliament in 1791, and was opened from Bolton and Bury to Salford in 1797, it never reached Manchester but was connected to the River Irwell in 1808.

The canal principally carried coal, and there were over 6 miles of tramway linked to it.

Soft back. 96 pages. 16.5cms x 23.5cms approx. Colour and black & white photographs.

by Cyril J. Wood.

Nowadays most of us think of the Manchester Ship Canal as that bit of water under the Thelwell Viaduct as we sit in one of England's traffic jam black spots, but in the days before the M6, the MSC was an important route from the docks at Salford and industrial Manchester to the world. All sorts of ships used this busy thoroughfare.

In the 1880s, construction started on Britain's largest man-made inland waterway. A stunning engineering project in its own right, the 'Big Ditch' also spawned smaller marvels such as the Barton Aqueduct, and it remained busy for almost a century.

Soft back. 160 pages. 16.5cms x 23.5cms approx. Illustrated with plenty of black & white photos and drawings.

by Clive Holden.

The River Medway travels through the highly populated areas of Gillingham, Chatham, Maidstone, Whitstable and Tonbridge, among a number of other smaller towns and villages. The Medway has a rich and varied history. Ancient sites are plenty along the River Medway; Bronze Age, Iron Age and Roman evidence can all be found.

The River Medway is also used by many clubs and societies who use the water for paddling and other water sports.

Soft back. 128 pages. 24.6cms x 16.7cms approx. Colour and black & white photos and maps.

Recommended retail price £16.99p.

by Phil Page & Ian Littlechilds.

This unique record, illustrated with new and original photographs, maps and old pictures, charts the journey of one of the world's most iconic rivers. It will appeal to all who live and work within its catchment, as well as visitors from the UK and abroad.

Soft back. 128 pages. 24.6cms x 16.7cms. Colour photos and maps.

Recommended retail price £15.99.

by Tony Rook.

The River Mimram rises from a spring to the north-west of Whitwell in North Hertfordshire and makes its confluence with the River Lea near Horn's Hill. The river flows through two major Hertfordshire towns, including Hertford and Welwyn Garden City, and both have been greatly influenced by the river.

Soft back. 96 pages. 16.5cms x 23.5cms. Colour photos and black & white photos and drawings.

Recommended retail price £14.99.

by Harry Arnold.

An unfortunate breach in 1936 led to official abandonment in 1944. Fortunately, in 1968, volunteer work on the canal was started by the Shropshire Union Canal Society. The canal is gradually being restored and part of it is once again connected to the national network.

Written by Harry Arnold, waterways journalist, photographer and co-founder of the restoration scheme, this history features many photographs from his extensive archive and includes rare views of L.T.C. Rolt's Cressy.

Soft back. 128 pages. 16.5cms x 23.5cms approx.

by Josephine Jeremiah.

In this striking collection of carefully captioned old photographs, Josephine vividly reveals life along the Nene in bygone times.

The wide variety of waterside scenes, of bridges, boats, locks, staunches and floods - and people - include both lively town and contrasting peaceful village views.

Hard back. 126 pages. 19.3cms x 25.2cms. Illustrated with black & white photos.

by Michael Essex-Lopresti.

The New River is neither new nor a river but a four hundred year old canal winding through Hertfordshire and Middlesex and still supplying London with over 38 million gallons of water per day.

This book combines the history of this little known waterway with detailed maps and routes permitting all to make their own exploration.

Soft back. 101 pages. 14.7cms x 21cms approx. Black & white maps, drawings and photos.

by Ray Shill.

Canal historian Ray Shill explores the construction and technical developments of the canals and their social and economic contributions to the towns and cities they passed through, as well as the architecture they spawned and the legacy they left behind them.

Soft back. 96 pages. 16.5cms x 23.5cms approx. Colour and black & white photographs.

by Ray Shill.

There is a great diversity in the waterways of the North West. Within Merseyside and Deeside there were early river navigations and barge canals. Navigations stretched out in different directions to tap the coalfields around Wigan, reach the salt works of Northwich and Winsford, and bring cotton to the mills of Manchester.

The waterways serving these areas include: River Douglas Navigation, Leeds & Liverpool Canal, Mersey & Irwell Navigation, Weaver Navigation, Chester Canal, Ellesmere Canal and Sankey Brook Navigation, all of which connected to the canal network at Preston Brook and Nantwich.

Soft back. 96 pages. 16.5cms x 23.4cms approx. Colour & sepia photos.

by Ray shill.

Northern Canals Through Time follows on from the previous title by well-known author Ray Shill, North West Canals Through Time: Manchester, Irwell & the Peaks, as a study of waterway infrastructure, in this case focusing particularly on Lancaster, Ulverston, Carlisle, and the Pennine Waterways from west to east, including from Nelson to Leeds on the Leeds & Liverpool, the canal from Rochdale to Sowerby Bridge on the Rochdale and the Huddersfield (Narrow) from Ashton to Huddersfield.

Soft back. 96 pages. 16.5cms x 23.4cms. Colour and black & white photos.

Recommended retail price £14.99

by Bernard Chell.

The Nottingham Canal ran from Trent Bridge to join with the Cromford and Erewash canals at Langley Mill. The canal itself was abandoned in the 1930s and much has been built on it since then, but this detailed book provides a lasting record of its journey from past to present. Carefully researched and illustrated with a mix of archive and modern photographs.

Soft back. 160 pages. 17.2cms x 24.8cms approx.Black & white drawings and photos.

by Mike Taylor.

In this book Mike has used an extensive resource of maps and photographs, dating from the late nineteenth century to the present, to illustrate the development of cargo carrying on the river and its tributary rivers and canals.

It portrays not only the vessels at work, but boatbuilding, the power of the tides and bridges both road and rail. It is a unique and valuable record of the development of the river and its traffic.

Soft back. 128 pages. 17.5cms x 23.5cms approx. Black & white illustrations.

by Nancy Hood.

Life in Oxford through the centuries has been shaped by its waterways - the Rivers Thames and Cherwell, the Oxford Canal and a myriad of smaller streams. In medieval times, the rivers were the city's defences, as well as providing food and a means of transport throughout the ages.

As this stunning selection of images demonstrates, the enchanting and historic Oxford waterways still hold their place at the heart of the City of Dreaming Spires.

Soft back. 96 pages. 16.5cms x 23.5cms approx. Colour and black & white illustrations.

by Rod Fitzhugh.

In this book, Rod presents an invaluable record of the heyday of trade on the river when the prosperity of much of Somerset was dependent on access to the sea. From 1200 to 1971 when Bridgwater docks finally closed, the river was a trading route for cargo.

First published in 1993, this revised and updated edition brings the history of the River Parrett up to date and introduces some fascinating photographic records.

Soft back. 160 pages. 16.4cms x 23.5cms approx. Illustrated with black & white photos.

by P.A.L. Vine.

The Portsmouth & Arundel Canal was an extraordinary speculation and an ignominious failure. When it opened, in 1823, it was part barge canal, part ship canal and part open water over which barges had to rely on a primitive steam tug and a favourable tide.

Paperback. 192 pages. 16.8cms x 26.5cms. Illustrated with numerous black & white photos and drawings,

by Michael Essex-Lopresti.

This book serves both as a history and as a detailed guide to London's well known waterway, originally constructed in 1812. 5th edition. 2008.

Soft back. 118 pages. 14.8cms x 21cms approx. Black & white maps and photos.

by Keith Gibson.

The Rochdale Canal was the most successful of the three trans-Pennine canals. Trade boomed on the canal until the beginning of the twentieth century. By the Second World War, the canal was scarcely used. It was formally abandoned in 1952.

In 1974 the Rochdale Canal Society was formed to promote the restoration of the canal, and it was completely re-opened from Manchester to Sowerby Bridge in 2002.

This book follows the life of the canal from its inception in the eighteenth century to abandonment and tells of the more recent battle for its restoration.

Soft back. 192 pages. Illustrated with black & white photos. 17.3cms x 24.8cms approx.

by P.A.L. Vine.

The 3rd Earl of Egremont's enthusiasm for inland navigation had been fired at an early age by the success of the Duke of Bridgewater's canal. Within 20 years of the waterway's opening the young earl was studying how inland navigation could be utilized to improve his estate at Petworth.

The Rother Navigation was the first of his waterway adventures and his most successful. This is the story of how the navigation came to be built and how it flourished for the best part of a century.

Hard back. 176 pages. 16.3cms x 22.5cms approx. Illustrated with black & white photos and drawings.

by P.A.L. Vine.

This canal was one of only two waterways built in Great Britain by the Government. It was designed as a defence against the threatened invasion of the Kent coast by the Emperor Napoleon in 1805. The 60ft wide waterway stretched 28 miles from Sandgate to Rye.

The book also deals with the proposed Weald of Kent Canal. This book has been fully revised from the one first published 38 years ago, including new illustrations.

Soft back. 224 pages. 15.6cms x 23.6cms approx. Black & white photos and diagrams.