0:00:02 > 0:00:06The waterways of Britain are a wonderful world of their own.
0:00:06 > 0:00:09From the earliest times, we've sailed, rowed,
0:00:09 > 0:00:12paddled and steamed along them.
0:00:14 > 0:00:16Whether travelling, trading,
0:00:16 > 0:00:20hunting, racing or just having a good time, we've made a boat
0:00:20 > 0:00:23that's perfect for the job.
0:00:23 > 0:00:25I'm Mary-Ann Ochota.
0:00:25 > 0:00:28I like nothing better than getting out on the water.
0:00:28 > 0:00:31Boats fascinate me - their design, their engineering,
0:00:31 > 0:00:34and what they tell us about the people of Britain.
0:00:38 > 0:00:42The narrow boat was the HGV of the 18th century.
0:00:42 > 0:00:46It helped power our great Industrial Revolution.
0:00:47 > 0:00:51And it shaped the lives of those who earned their living from the canals.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54The history of Britain's boats is our history.
0:00:54 > 0:00:56This is Britain Afloat.
0:00:58 > 0:01:01UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYS
0:01:13 > 0:01:15Ah, life in the slow lane.
0:01:15 > 0:01:18Isn't the canal looking absolutely gorgeous?
0:01:18 > 0:01:23It was actually a narrow boat that started my love of boats and water.
0:01:23 > 0:01:25It was my tenth birthday, it was a surprise trip,
0:01:25 > 0:01:31and I still remember the thrill. Nowadays, loads of us love canals
0:01:31 > 0:01:34and playing about on narrow boats, for day trips, for holidays - some
0:01:34 > 0:01:37people even choose to live here.
0:01:37 > 0:01:42You can even have a narrow boat like Dolly Blue made to order.
0:01:42 > 0:01:45- Glynis, hello.- Hello.- Mary-Ann.
0:01:45 > 0:01:48- Hello, Mary-Ann. - What a gorgeous boat.
0:01:48 > 0:01:51- How long have you had her?- Oh, we've had her about 18 months now.
0:01:51 > 0:01:55- Are you enjoying it?- We absolutely love it, thank you, yes.
0:01:57 > 0:02:00- Can I have a look inside?- Of course you can.
0:02:00 > 0:02:01Oh, that would be lovely, thank you.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09Wow, look at this - granite work surfaces,
0:02:09 > 0:02:13there's a wine cellar in the floor, the LED lights are controlled
0:02:13 > 0:02:15by a mobile phone app. This is like a really posh
0:02:15 > 0:02:18apartment, but narrower.
0:02:26 > 0:02:29And its narrowness is no accident.
0:02:29 > 0:02:33To find out why, I'm cruising the Trent and Mersey Canal at
0:02:33 > 0:02:37the heart of our inland waterways. It was built in the 18th century.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40The Industrial Revolution was gearing up and a speedy
0:02:40 > 0:02:44transport system was needed. An ambitious engineer
0:02:44 > 0:02:47called James Brindley came up with a solution.
0:02:49 > 0:02:53It's 1766, and he started building this -
0:02:53 > 0:02:56the Trent and Mersey Canal, which stretches 93 miles
0:02:56 > 0:03:00through the Midlands and the north-west. But just to find enough
0:03:00 > 0:03:03water to fill this canal would be a challenge in itself.
0:03:03 > 0:03:07Brindley didn't just have to deal with a limited water supply, he
0:03:07 > 0:03:10also had to face the challenge of getting boats up and down hills,
0:03:10 > 0:03:12and keep construction costs down.
0:03:17 > 0:03:19This was his ingenious solution.
0:03:19 > 0:03:22A narrow lock, which would be cheap to build and use
0:03:22 > 0:03:26as little water as possible. Now all he needed was a boat
0:03:26 > 0:03:30- narrow enough to squeeze through. - Mary-Ann, welcome to Fradley.
0:03:30 > 0:03:32- Hello, Nigel. - Nice to meet you.
0:03:32 > 0:03:34Nigel Crowe, from the Canal and River Trust, is meeting me at
0:03:34 > 0:03:36Fradley Junction in Staffordshire.
0:03:38 > 0:03:42- So he's got these teeny, tiny narrow canals.- Yes.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45- Where does he get the boats from? - Well, the idea for a narrow
0:03:45 > 0:03:48boat seems to be based on the starvationer.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51- Starvationer? - Yes, they're called starvationers
0:03:51 > 0:03:54because of the skeletal appearance, and these interesting
0:03:54 > 0:03:57kind of ribs along the inside of the boat there.
0:03:57 > 0:03:59And these boats were very special boats, and they were
0:03:59 > 0:04:02designed to work in the Duke of Bridgewater's mines,
0:04:02 > 0:04:06on the Bridgewater Canal, which James Brindley had a hand
0:04:06 > 0:04:12- in designing and building.- So skeletal underground boats are
0:04:12 > 0:04:15actually the inspiration for the canal system that we've got today?
0:04:15 > 0:04:18Well, that's what we think, for the narrow canals in particular,
0:04:18 > 0:04:22and the famous narrow boat that was designed snugly to fit
0:04:22 > 0:04:26the locks that Brindley dimensioned at 72 foot long
0:04:26 > 0:04:28and about seven foot wide.
0:04:30 > 0:04:32James Brindley never saw this epic
0:04:32 > 0:04:36project completed, or the economic success of the Trent and Mersey
0:04:36 > 0:04:42Canal. He died in 1777, before this canal was finished,
0:04:42 > 0:04:44but it's his vision of a narrow boat
0:04:44 > 0:04:49in a narrow canal that has shaped our country's waterways.
0:04:49 > 0:04:51See you later.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54Narrow boats are lovely for a gentle cruise, but for the 19th-century
0:04:54 > 0:04:57boat people, things were far from pretty.
0:05:00 > 0:05:02Whole families lived
0:05:02 > 0:05:05and worked aboard. Leicestershire author
0:05:05 > 0:05:09Wendy Freer has researched what life was like for them.
0:05:09 > 0:05:13We're aboard a historic narrow boat on the Grand Union Canal,
0:05:13 > 0:05:17which links London to the industrial Midlands.
0:05:17 > 0:05:21Wendy, the Grand Union Canal looks absolutely gorgeous,
0:05:21 > 0:05:23and it's really idyllic on a day like today, but I'm
0:05:23 > 0:05:26guessing, in history, it wasn't quite like this?
0:05:26 > 0:05:28No, and of course the main thing is you had to do
0:05:28 > 0:05:32it all the year round. This woman here has got
0:05:32 > 0:05:36a very small child - she's actually holding it
0:05:36 > 0:05:41in her arms - but traditionally a child as young as that would be
0:05:41 > 0:05:45sitting on the roof, strapped, probably to the chimney,
0:05:45 > 0:05:47to stop it from falling in.
0:05:49 > 0:05:53The stove's hot, there's hot water on it, so it was dangerous to leave
0:05:53 > 0:05:57- children unattended in the boat. - It's easy to think of canal boats
0:05:57 > 0:06:00as a place to have a leisurely holiday, but it's hard
0:06:00 > 0:06:03- graft, isn't it? - All the time, yeah.
0:06:09 > 0:06:13This book, Our Canal Population, was written in 1875,
0:06:13 > 0:06:16and in it there's a description of a boat that was on the
0:06:16 > 0:06:18Ashby Canal in Leicestershire, and it says -
0:06:18 > 0:06:23"In the cabin, of which there were only 202 feet of cubic space,
0:06:23 > 0:06:26"were living a man, wife and six children."
0:06:29 > 0:06:32Cramped living conditions made life tough.
0:06:32 > 0:06:36Brindley's narrow locks may have been a marvel of engineering,
0:06:36 > 0:06:39but inside the narrow boat, space was at a premium, and boat people
0:06:39 > 0:06:42were forced to be just as clever.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45The door of this cupboard
0:06:45 > 0:06:48comes down to form your dining room table.
0:06:48 > 0:06:53That's absolutely genius. What sort of food were they eating?
0:06:53 > 0:06:56Well, any sort of fairly cheap meat cuts that they could get
0:06:56 > 0:06:58hold of in local shops. They'd also do the odd
0:06:58 > 0:07:01- bit of poaching.- Mmm.
0:07:01 > 0:07:05- That's...mmm.- It's lovely. - Really tasty.
0:07:05 > 0:07:09Meals had to be simple, and stew was a staple dish.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12And the thing about stews is, the longer it's
0:07:12 > 0:07:15simmering away, the better it gets, and you can keep adding to it.
0:07:15 > 0:07:17You could keep it going for a few days.
0:07:19 > 0:07:22So we've got dinner sorted. How on earth do people
0:07:22 > 0:07:27- sleep in this space? - Well, I've got a few helpers who can
0:07:27 > 0:07:31- come along and demonstrate that. - OK, bring on the family!- OK.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34Hello, welcome to our tiny home. So am I getting in
0:07:34 > 0:07:37- bed with you, Wendy? - Yes.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40Mum and Dad would be in the bed here.
0:07:40 > 0:07:44Neesha gets to be on the side bed - she's the lucky one.
0:07:46 > 0:07:49- What we do with these two? - Well, bad luck, kids,
0:07:49 > 0:07:52because you're on the floor.
0:07:52 > 0:07:55All right, there we go, Wendy, sorted.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58Let's get the Barry White on! SHE LAUGHS
0:07:58 > 0:08:02I mean, this is just ridiculously cramped,
0:08:02 > 0:08:05and we've only got five people in the cabin.
0:08:05 > 0:08:09They could have been trying to find space for perhaps nine people.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12It just goes to show how tough life was and how tight
0:08:12 > 0:08:14they were on space.
0:08:17 > 0:08:19Boat people made these small spaces
0:08:19 > 0:08:23home, and it became customary to decorate cabins with frilly lace,
0:08:23 > 0:08:28rag rugs, and china plates tied together for safety.
0:08:28 > 0:08:33The narrow boat was the Victorian home in miniature, but boat people
0:08:33 > 0:08:36had their own style, too. The decor of choice
0:08:36 > 0:08:39was roses and castles painted on the doors and walls.
0:08:41 > 0:08:43No-one knows why these were so popular, but they look
0:08:43 > 0:08:47similar to the elaborately painted gypsy caravans of the day.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57In the early days, there was another member of the narrow boat workforce
0:08:57 > 0:08:59that was essential to its success.
0:09:01 > 0:09:03By the time Queen Victoria took
0:09:03 > 0:09:08the throne in 1837, there were a few fragmented railways operated
0:09:08 > 0:09:12by steam power, but on the canals, horses still pulled the boats.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19A horse towing a narrow boat on the canal could pull perhaps
0:09:19 > 0:09:2415-30 tons of cargo - that's so much more than the same
0:09:24 > 0:09:28horse could possibly be able to pull in a cart, on the road.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31This was a transport revolution.
0:09:34 > 0:09:36Sue Day runs the Horseboating Society.
0:09:36 > 0:09:40She travels all over the country with her horse, Bonnie, to show
0:09:40 > 0:09:42people how they worked.
0:09:42 > 0:09:46Today we're on the narrow-locked Peak Forest Canal.
0:09:46 > 0:09:48Just under 15 miles long,
0:09:48 > 0:09:52it runs from Greater Manchester into rural Derbyshire.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55So, Sue, how did you get into horseboating?
0:09:55 > 0:09:58Bonnie, in the year 2000, came up here, through Marple,
0:09:58 > 0:10:01with this very boat, Maria, and she pulled the boat
0:10:01 > 0:10:04all the way to London. And as a result of this big, big,
0:10:04 > 0:10:06big, big journey, we set up the Horseboating Society,
0:10:06 > 0:10:10and our main aim is to preserve and promote horseboating, and so,
0:10:10 > 0:10:12yes, that big journey is the biggest one we've ever done,
0:10:12 > 0:10:15but it was Bonnie here with the boat Maria,
0:10:15 > 0:10:18- and we came through Marple.- Wow! HORSE PUFFS
0:10:30 > 0:10:33Maria is thought to be the oldest working wooden narrow boat
0:10:33 > 0:10:37still in operation. Constructed in 1854, she would have
0:10:37 > 0:10:41travelled this route many times, carrying cargo
0:10:41 > 0:10:44for the Buxton Lime Company.
0:10:44 > 0:10:46Today we're taking her over the Marple Aqueduct,
0:10:46 > 0:10:48the highest in England.
0:10:50 > 0:10:52Sue, how did horseboating get started on
0:10:52 > 0:10:56- Britain's canals? - Well, before horses were on canals,
0:10:56 > 0:11:00they were on the rivers. Going right back, even the Romans
0:11:00 > 0:11:05used perhaps mules on a few canals, but the difficulty with the rivers
0:11:05 > 0:11:08was that you had currents. The big change was building
0:11:09 > 0:11:12a really good towing path for the horse to work on.
0:11:12 > 0:11:15Did each family have their own horse,
0:11:15 > 0:11:18or were they swapping them in and out like a stagecoach?
0:11:18 > 0:11:23No, normally a family would own the one horse, and therefore
0:11:23 > 0:11:26they wouldn't be changing. The horse worked extremely hard,
0:11:26 > 0:11:29but so did the people. But normally a horse
0:11:29 > 0:11:33was grateful to get to a stable, which would be provided sometimes
0:11:33 > 0:11:37beside the canal, sometimes at locks, sometimes in pubs.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40And the horse would be very grateful for, you know, a bed
0:11:40 > 0:11:42for the night and good food, especially in the winter.
0:11:42 > 0:11:45Bonnie's been towing boats for almost 20 years.
0:11:45 > 0:11:48Maria, the narrow boat, is more than 150 years old.
0:11:48 > 0:11:51We are enormously proud and pleased of what we're doing,
0:11:51 > 0:11:53keeping the heritage alive.
0:12:01 > 0:12:03Lovely as it seems today,
0:12:03 > 0:12:08horse power came with some unique dangers for the boat families.
0:12:10 > 0:12:13I've got a report here from The Western Daily Press,
0:12:13 > 0:12:16September 1887, and at the bottom corner there's a pretty sad story
0:12:16 > 0:12:21about a canal boating accident. Apparently a horse was walking along
0:12:21 > 0:12:25the canal and its driver whipped it, which made it start up.
0:12:25 > 0:12:27It rocked the boat, that started to fill with water.
0:12:27 > 0:12:31The wife on the back managed to jump on to the tow path and save herself,
0:12:31 > 0:12:34but their baby, who was asleep in the cabin, couldn't be saved
0:12:34 > 0:12:38and it was found drowned. It's a really sad story,
0:12:38 > 0:12:42but it's on page eight and it takes up about an inch of column space.
0:12:43 > 0:12:46Canal boating accidents were pretty common things.
0:12:59 > 0:13:01By the middle of the 19th century, change was on its way
0:13:01 > 0:13:05for boats and their owners. Steam technology was introduced.
0:13:05 > 0:13:08This pump house on the Cromford Canal in Derbyshire
0:13:08 > 0:13:10was built in 1849.
0:13:14 > 0:13:16Used to pump river water
0:13:16 > 0:13:18to keep the canal topped up, steam technology
0:13:18 > 0:13:22like this could also be used inside the boats.
0:13:22 > 0:13:25Railway locomotives were improving all the time, and canals needed
0:13:25 > 0:13:28to speed up deliveries.
0:13:28 > 0:13:30However, early narrow boat steamers
0:13:30 > 0:13:34had limited success. In fact, canal owners
0:13:34 > 0:13:39complained they were too fast and damaged their banks.
0:13:39 > 0:13:43And worse was to come. In 1874, on the Regent's Canal,
0:13:43 > 0:13:49a spark caused a massive explosion on a steamboat
0:13:49 > 0:13:52that was carrying sugar, gunpowder, petroleum and nuts.
0:13:52 > 0:13:54EXPLOSION
0:13:54 > 0:13:57The crew of the Tilbury, from Loughborough, were killed,
0:13:57 > 0:14:00a canal bridge was destroyed, and all the windows
0:14:00 > 0:14:03of the surrounding buildings were blown out.
0:14:03 > 0:14:08It is in fact thought to have been the biggest explosion to ever happen
0:14:08 > 0:14:11in London before the start of World War I.
0:14:11 > 0:14:13DRIVING STRINGS MUSIC PLAYS
0:14:16 > 0:14:20Nevertheless, if you wanted to be competitive, steam engines seemed
0:14:20 > 0:14:23like the way forwards. Fellows, Morton and Clayton,
0:14:23 > 0:14:25one of the biggest companies at the time,
0:14:25 > 0:14:29began to build and adapt existing horse boats to take
0:14:29 > 0:14:31this new technology. There's one that
0:14:31 > 0:14:34still survives today. She's called President,
0:14:34 > 0:14:37and is being restored at the Black Country Living Museum
0:14:37 > 0:14:38in the West Midlands.
0:14:40 > 0:14:41Well, I think a lot of people
0:14:41 > 0:14:45are surprised when they see President, because if you think
0:14:45 > 0:14:47about steamer vehicles, people think about traction engines,
0:14:47 > 0:14:52about sort of locomotives, but not necessarily about narrow boats.
0:14:54 > 0:14:56Narrow boat steamers were the express delivery
0:14:56 > 0:14:59service of their day. Unlike horse boats, they
0:14:59 > 0:15:01could operate around the clock, and it led
0:15:01 > 0:15:05to a new way of working, with crews on a strict timetable.
0:15:05 > 0:15:09It meant they could carry high-value goods - in fact, anything
0:15:09 > 0:15:11that was needed in a hurry.
0:15:11 > 0:15:13President, because she was
0:15:13 > 0:15:16a steamboat, she was also known as a fly boat.
0:15:16 > 0:15:19She was basically flying along the canal network and doing
0:15:19 > 0:15:23the distance between Birmingham and London at top speed.
0:15:23 > 0:15:27It would take 54 hours to get from Birmingham Fazeley Street
0:15:27 > 0:15:31to London Limehouse docks. That is very, very quick.
0:15:36 > 0:15:41But these new boats weren't perfect. Steamers like President had
0:15:41 > 0:15:44a significant drawback, as this beautiful model shows.
0:15:44 > 0:15:47They needed a larger crew, and they also had a bulky boiler
0:15:47 > 0:15:52and coal store which went here, taking up valuable cargo space.
0:15:52 > 0:15:55That means that, in order to make boats like this viable, they had to
0:15:55 > 0:15:59be worked incredibly hard, and a boat like President
0:15:59 > 0:16:04would probably make about 52 trips from London to Birmingham ever year.
0:16:04 > 0:16:07That's 274 miles -
0:16:07 > 0:16:10332 locks every journey.
0:16:10 > 0:16:12That would take your average pleasure cruiser about
0:16:12 > 0:16:14three weeks to do now.
0:16:19 > 0:16:22Despite their drawbacks, Fellows,
0:16:22 > 0:16:25Morton and Clayton made a success of their steamers and had a fleet
0:16:25 > 0:16:29of around 30. While engines were changing,
0:16:29 > 0:16:32some parts of the boats stayed the same.
0:16:33 > 0:16:35MELLOW PIANO AND STRINGS PLAY
0:16:40 > 0:16:44Fenders are like bumpers for boats, and making them from rope requires
0:16:44 > 0:16:49a traditional skill passed down by the early narrow boatmen.
0:16:49 > 0:16:51Pete Flockhart produces them in a way that hasn't changed
0:16:51 > 0:16:54much in over 200 years.
0:16:54 > 0:16:58- Wow, this is an Aladdin's Cave, Pete.- Mary-Ann.
0:16:58 > 0:16:59Hi, how are you doing?
0:16:59 > 0:17:02What a fantastic little place you've got here.
0:17:02 > 0:17:04Yeah, it's kind of grown around us, really.
0:17:04 > 0:17:07What's this one going to be? Is it for a particular
0:17:07 > 0:17:10part of the boat, or can you use them wherever?
0:17:10 > 0:17:15Yeah, I mean, basically the pattern I'm using at the moment is called
0:17:15 > 0:17:19walling, and I'm walling down over the actual fender.
0:17:19 > 0:17:22This will actually be very easy to bend around the bows of boats.
0:17:24 > 0:17:27UPBEAT GUITAR MUSIC PLAYS
0:17:28 > 0:17:32Pete's using manila fibre. Packed with natural oils, it's
0:17:32 > 0:17:34hard-wearing and easy to work with.
0:17:38 > 0:17:40I think, with the boat people,
0:17:40 > 0:17:46a lot of it really is like folk art, but these methods will have been
0:17:46 > 0:17:51used by mariners as well as inland boat people.
0:17:55 > 0:17:58How long would a fender like this last for?
0:17:58 > 0:18:02The olden days, they were very much a consumable.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05So they'd get through one a trip, between Birmingham and London.
0:18:05 > 0:18:08Do you know what - you've got a natural affinity with it,
0:18:08 > 0:18:11I can see that, so if you give up the day job, there's plenty
0:18:11 > 0:18:13of work here for you.
0:18:21 > 0:18:24The early years of the 20th century saw big changes
0:18:24 > 0:18:27on board the narrow boats.
0:18:27 > 0:18:30Britain was now criss-crossed with railways, and motorcars
0:18:30 > 0:18:32were a common sight on our roads.
0:18:34 > 0:18:36The age of diesel had arrived.
0:18:36 > 0:18:38RHYTHMIC THUDDING
0:18:38 > 0:18:42Fellows, Morton and Clayton embraced the diesel engine, and they
0:18:42 > 0:18:46installed these Bolinder single-cylinder hot bulb engines.
0:18:50 > 0:18:54They're rugged, reliable and slow-revving, and create an
0:18:54 > 0:18:58unmistakable rhythmic thud that's still loved today.
0:19:00 > 0:19:03They provide the same amount of power as their steam
0:19:03 > 0:19:07engine counterparts, but they have added benefits.
0:19:07 > 0:19:11Canal historian Laurence Hogg knows all about these boats
0:19:11 > 0:19:13and their diesel engines.
0:19:13 > 0:19:17I'm meeting him on the Coventry Canal at Glascote Boatyard, which
0:19:17 > 0:19:19has been here for over 170 years.
0:19:19 > 0:19:23So, Laurence, how did these fleets of boats go
0:19:23 > 0:19:26- from steam to diesel? - The change was sort of gradual.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29A lot of people think there was a massive fleet of steamboats.
0:19:29 > 0:19:31There wasn't.
0:19:33 > 0:19:36In and around the country, you had tens of thousands of boats
0:19:36 > 0:19:40which were still horse-drawn, mill drawn, and it wasn't
0:19:40 > 0:19:44until their owners saw the advantages of the diesel engine that
0:19:44 > 0:19:48they then started to take on that method of propulsion for themselves.
0:19:53 > 0:19:57The benefits of the diesel engine were obvious.
0:19:57 > 0:19:59Compared to a horse, you didn't need to feed it
0:19:59 > 0:20:03or put it to bed at night. In comparison to a steam engine,
0:20:03 > 0:20:08the diesel saved seven to nine tons of cargo space.
0:20:09 > 0:20:12What were the boat people's responses to
0:20:12 > 0:20:14- this new technology? - Well, it was a new-fangled
0:20:14 > 0:20:17- technology, and it certainly wasn't a horse. - SHE CHUCKLES
0:20:17 > 0:20:20Some people took to it with open arms, as
0:20:20 > 0:20:24people like technology. Other people were somewhat
0:20:24 > 0:20:26resistant that it wasn't the traditional way
0:20:26 > 0:20:27of going about things.
0:20:27 > 0:20:30MELLOW PIANO AND STRINGS PLAY
0:20:33 > 0:20:35Gradually, gradually,
0:20:35 > 0:20:38- the diesel got its way. - HE CHUCKLES
0:20:46 > 0:20:48While the narrow boats had changed,
0:20:48 > 0:20:51the canals remained pretty much the same.
0:20:51 > 0:20:54By the end of the 1920s, the British Government had developed
0:20:54 > 0:20:57big ideas for the country's canals.
0:20:57 > 0:21:00Concerned by a rise in unemployment,
0:21:00 > 0:21:03they decided to modernise the system and create plenty of jobs
0:21:03 > 0:21:05in the process.
0:21:05 > 0:21:07Backed by government grants
0:21:07 > 0:21:11and loans, a new business, called the Grand Union Canal Carrying
0:21:11 > 0:21:17Company, commissioned a massive order of around 400 new boats.
0:21:17 > 0:21:20And on the busy route from London to Birmingham, the Brindley-style
0:21:20 > 0:21:24narrow locks were widened, just like our motorways have been.
0:21:26 > 0:21:29Wider locks could accommodate bigger boats or two narrow boats
0:21:29 > 0:21:32passing side by side, which means double the cargo
0:21:32 > 0:21:34could pass through.
0:21:34 > 0:21:38All this meant competition for the traditional canal carriers like
0:21:38 > 0:21:40Fellows, Morton and Clayton.
0:21:40 > 0:21:44We've got here the plans of one of the new boats that was commissioned
0:21:44 > 0:21:46in the 1930s. How on earth did
0:21:46 > 0:21:52Fellows, Morton and Clayton respond to this huge influx of new boats?
0:21:52 > 0:21:56It must have been a terrific shock, to know that you were going to face
0:21:56 > 0:21:58186 new pairs of boats, which was much larger
0:22:00 > 0:22:03than their own fleet. And these boats were modern -
0:22:03 > 0:22:08they had electric lights, they had electric horns,
0:22:08 > 0:22:10some were reputed to have had toilets,
0:22:10 > 0:22:13which was absolutely, you know, something that was terribly unknown.
0:22:13 > 0:22:18But FMC had good-quality boats, they did maintain them very well,
0:22:18 > 0:22:23and they were a good competitive player in the game
0:22:23 > 0:22:25right until the very end.
0:22:28 > 0:22:31And the end was not long in coming.
0:22:31 > 0:22:34After the War, the construction of new roads and motorways meant
0:22:34 > 0:22:38fierce competition from lorries. The canals were now in terminal
0:22:38 > 0:22:41decline, and many working narrow boats were abandoned
0:22:41 > 0:22:42and then scrapped.
0:22:42 > 0:22:45EVOCATIVE STRINGS AND PIANO PLAY
0:22:47 > 0:22:49I've come to the bottom
0:22:49 > 0:22:52of the Grand Union Canal just outside London, and I am on a little
0:22:52 > 0:22:56bit of a treasure hunt. I have a map and I'm looking
0:22:56 > 0:22:58for a canal boat graveyard.
0:23:07 > 0:23:09Beneath this water are boats
0:23:09 > 0:23:13with names like Trixie and Jill and Daisy and Erica.
0:23:13 > 0:23:18In all, 30 narrow boats were sunk deliberately in this pool.
0:23:18 > 0:23:20A hole was punched through their hulls.
0:23:20 > 0:23:23They were allowed to fill with water and drop to the bottom.
0:23:23 > 0:23:25This happened in the late '50s, and there was a bit of a public
0:23:25 > 0:23:28outcry, but, to be honest, it was too little, too late,
0:23:28 > 0:23:32the deed had already been done. And all you can see now
0:23:32 > 0:23:35are the remains sticking up from the waterline, like this.
0:23:36 > 0:23:39This is a knee, which was part of the fixings to hold
0:23:39 > 0:23:42the hull together. And there's little
0:23:42 > 0:23:44bits, just poking up.
0:23:44 > 0:23:47But that's all that remains of them.
0:23:47 > 0:23:51Mark Pollinger has spent years investigating these lost boats,
0:23:51 > 0:23:55and he discovered one in a particularly surprising location.
0:23:56 > 0:23:59So, Mark, how on earth did you come across this boat in the middle of
0:23:59 > 0:24:01- a woodland?- Well, many years ago,
0:24:01 > 0:24:04when I left school, I started to work on the canal,
0:24:04 > 0:24:07and working on the canal, you get to hear about all the legends
0:24:07 > 0:24:10of the old boats, and one of them was about the boats
0:24:10 > 0:24:13which were sunk in this area. Many years later, I was walking
0:24:13 > 0:24:16the dog and came across this boat out of the water,
0:24:16 > 0:24:19- which blew us away. - So, do we know who she is?
0:24:19 > 0:24:22We think the boat's name is Mavis. It was a boat built
0:24:22 > 0:24:27in the 1930s and used by Thomas Clayton (Paddington),
0:24:27 > 0:24:31- and latterly for Marylebone Council. - It's astonishing, because
0:24:31 > 0:24:34you wouldn't know, I mean, obviously the brambles, the nettles have
0:24:34 > 0:24:37all grown up, but you get into it and it's massive!
0:24:37 > 0:24:40There's still the boat there. It's quite extraordinary,
0:24:40 > 0:24:41after all these years.
0:24:50 > 0:24:54Mark's found these incredible photos taken back in the 1960s
0:24:54 > 0:24:58during a summer drought. They show what lies beneath the water.
0:24:58 > 0:25:02- And this one, you can see Fellows, Morton and Clayton.- Absolutely,
0:25:02 > 0:25:05yeah. Both of these boats would be Fellows, Morton and Clayton
0:25:05 > 0:25:07narrow boats. This one is a four-cabin. This is the bow of a
0:25:07 > 0:25:11boat with a four-cabin. Would have had a larger family living in it,
0:25:11 > 0:25:13and the extra accommodation was required.
0:25:13 > 0:25:17Mark, what a sad end to such an important piece of our industrial
0:25:17 > 0:25:20- history.- Yeah, it is. It is.
0:25:20 > 0:25:23So, it's been so well hidden, but now is the time to
0:25:23 > 0:25:27recognise its importance, and we hope that in the future it can be
0:25:27 > 0:25:33recognised and in some way preserved or looked after.
0:25:38 > 0:25:41While some of these working narrow boats met a sorry end, others
0:25:41 > 0:25:44have been brought back from the brink.
0:25:44 > 0:25:48Barry Argent's mum was born on a narrow boat, and both his
0:25:48 > 0:25:50parents worked for Fellows, Morton and Clayton.
0:25:50 > 0:25:54Barry just had to have one of the boats for himself.
0:25:54 > 0:25:57My grandad, my grandma, my dad, my mum, all worked for
0:25:57 > 0:25:58Fellows, Morton and Clayton,
0:25:58 > 0:26:02so I wanted a Fellows, Morton and Clayton boat.
0:26:02 > 0:26:06To handle, I think it's a dream. She steers absolutely beautiful.
0:26:06 > 0:26:09She can steer backwards just as well as forwards.
0:26:09 > 0:26:12It's knowing what you're doing, you know. A lot of boats, no matter
0:26:12 > 0:26:16what you do, they won't steer backwards, but this one will.
0:26:24 > 0:26:28Fellows, Morton and Clayton's narrow boats were nicknamed "Joshers",
0:26:28 > 0:26:31after Joshua Fellows, one of the first company directors.
0:26:31 > 0:26:33It's a term that's stuck.
0:26:35 > 0:26:38What is it about Joshers that you love so much?
0:26:38 > 0:26:42It's the shape of the front end. They've got a double bend in them,
0:26:42 > 0:26:44really nice curve, really nice lines.
0:26:44 > 0:26:47I just think they go through water really nice,
0:26:47 > 0:26:49you know, like a knife through butter.
0:26:54 > 0:26:58Barry bought his Josher as a wreck, and has spent countless hours
0:26:58 > 0:27:01restoring her from a workshop in his back garden.
0:27:02 > 0:27:05Sounds like a real labour of love.
0:27:05 > 0:27:08It took me five years. Every single day, I did something to
0:27:08 > 0:27:13this boat for five years, except Christmas Day and New Year's Day.
0:27:19 > 0:27:21LIVELY MUSIC PLAYS
0:27:24 > 0:27:29Narrow boats were so much more then workboats, they were a way of life,
0:27:29 > 0:27:32and now they're celebrated in style.
0:27:32 > 0:27:35This is Braunston in Northamptonshire.
0:27:35 > 0:27:39Back in the day, this was the boat people's spiritual home,
0:27:39 > 0:27:42and the village of choice for many baptisms and burials.
0:27:48 > 0:27:52Nowadays, hundreds of historic narrow boat enthusiasts make
0:27:52 > 0:27:55an annual pilgrimage here, including Barry and his
0:27:55 > 0:27:59- narrow boat Perch. - It's weekends like this,
0:27:59 > 0:28:02when all the boats get together and they're looking really nice,
0:28:02 > 0:28:06and it shows the public just what it was like.
0:28:06 > 0:28:10Can you imagine what the original boat people would have made of this
0:28:10 > 0:28:12extraordinary renaissance?
0:28:12 > 0:28:18Festivals and rallies like this one go to show the historic narrow boat
0:28:18 > 0:28:20certainly has a special place in our hearts.
0:28:20 > 0:28:23We really are a nation in love with our canals
0:28:23 > 0:28:26and the beautiful boats that were built for them.