This area covers Britain's rich history of the construction of inland waterways, which profoundly affected the shape of the country for 300 years and which were pivotal to the creation of the world's first industrialised nation.

Virtual waterways

The Waterways Archive is an excellent resource established to collect, preserve and makes publicly available rich and diverse records of Britains inland waterways in many forms - plans, drawings, accounts, photographs and audio-visual recordings.

At its core are the archives of British Waterways and the early canal companies, which trace the history of Britain‘s inland waterways back to their very roots.

It is an archival resource covering the history of canals from the 17th century to the near present day and brings together information from fifteen archives across the UK. Its core aim is to stimulate and encourage wider public use of waterways‘ archives.

The archive is free to use and has powerful search facilities - click here - as well as comprehensive educational outreach packages.

Useful links
There are many websites covering the history and operation of Britain's inland waterways.

Click here to view our comprehensive listings.

Moving images

Click here to see videos of Britain's inland waterways.

History of the canal system

Canals first saw use during the Roman occupation of Great Britain, and were used mainly for irrigation. However, the Romans did create several navigable canals, such as Foss Dyke, to link rivers, enabling significantly increased transportation inland by water. Click here to see how the canal system developed, making a major contribution to Britain's economic prosperity.