The Transport Revolution of the 18 th Century

1. The Transport Revolution of the 18th Century Canals and Waterways

2. The Need for Canals • Roads were very poor • The new Turnpikes were not good for heavy, bulky and fragile goods • Water transport could carry more • But coastal and river transport was unreliable and could not serve the whole country

3. The Advantages of Canals • Canals could carry a lot more than roads • They were much safer for fragile goods (like pottery) • Unlike rivers, canals did not meander,or have adverse currents and shallows • They could be built where they were needed

4. Disadvantages of Canals • They had to be built on a level – this meant expensive tunnels, aqueducts and locks • They were very slow – top speed 4 miles per hour • Locks, tunnels and aqueducts, and overnight stops meant average speeds of less than one mile per hour • Journeys took weeks

5. James Brindley 1716-1772 • Semi-literate engineer • The most important canal builder of the Industrial Revolution • Solved the main problems facing canal builders • Used puddled clay to seal in the water • Built the “Silver Cross” – network of canals linking the corners of England

6. The Bridgewater Canal 1759-76 • The Duke of Bridgewater owned coal mines at Worsley, 8 miles from Manchester • Brindley was employed to build a canal • It crossed the River Irwell at Barton – an aqueduct was built • The canal cut the price of coal in Manchester by 50%, making vast profits for the Duke • In 1776 the canal was extended to the Mersey at Runcorn

7. The Grand Trunk (Trent & Mersey) Canal 1766-77 • Josiah Wedgwood owned a pottery works at “Etruria” in Stoke-on-Trent • He wanted a safe form of transport for his pottery • He wanted to bring supplies of clay from the port of Liverpool • He invested heavily in Brindley’s project to link the Bridgewater Canal to the Trent • It was known as the Grand Trunk because many branch lines were built

8. The success of the Bridgewater and Grand Trunk canals led to many more canals being built By 1850 more than 4000miles had been built Birmingham’s importance grew because it was at the hub- it had more canals than Venice But many of the later canals were disastrous investments – they could not produce profits Other famous canal engineers included:- Telford, Smeaton and Rennie Canals created many jobs for “Navvies” and “Bargees” Canals reshaped the countryside Canals made profits for many investors Canals assisted industry by solving the problem of moving heavy, bulky goods at cheaper rates than on the roads “Canal Mania” and the effects of Canals

9. Conclusions – The Railways • Between them Turnpikes and Canals provided a solution to the problems of transport during the early Industrial Revolution • Roads moved people, mail, money, & livestock • Canals moved coal, iron, grain, clay, pottery • BUT neither form of transport would be able to compete with the new RAILWAYS (after 1830) for speed, price and capacity