BBC's Domesday Reloaded captures Coventry Canal change

The BBC's Domesday Project, originally an interactive videodisc with photographs, text and more, has been uploaded to the internet 25 years after its creation. If you go to the home page at http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/domesday almost the first thing to catch your eye will be a "then and now" comparison of Little Heath on the Coventry Canal.


In case the page changes I've taken a screen grab. Clicking on the photos (on the Domesday Reloaded website) takes you to a slightly larger picture, with a few words about the scene. The text for the 1986 photo reads:

A narrow boat on the Coventry Canal in Little Heath.In the background is Courtaulds factory.This boat is a pleasure boat.

And that for the 2011 photo:

The site of Courtaulds factory in 2011 now stands empty. On the horizon the Ricoh Arena can be seen.

What a difference!

I was at the BBC Open University Production Centre when much of the mastering of the videodiscs was done, so I must have worked on the 1986 Domesday project in a small way. I can't remember much about it now, except that I do recall sections of Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 maps being recorded. I think I was excited about being able to select an area and zoom in on it, bringing up associated images and text. And this was long before the internet was established.

This post was supposed to have been published yesterday, but Blogger was down.

Windlasses, however you spell them

Amington, Tamworth, on the Coventry Canal. An interesting spelling, though working boaters were often barely literate so it didn't/doesn't really matter.


Steve Haywood, writing in the latest issue of Canal Boat magazine says he calls them "lock keys". I think he's just being awkward.

First poppy, lots of Canaries and an old car

On my way to work this morning I spotted a sole red poppy, the first I've seen this year. I stopped on my way home for this photo.


The big event in Norwich was the celebration of Norwich City Football Club (The Canaries) marking its promotion to the Premier League. Speeches from the balcony of City Hall, crowds of fans, bus carrying players parading through streets - you know the sort of thing.


And the old car? Just after the poppy stop I was overtaken by a Wolseley 1500, a car I remember from my childhood. Somehow my parents, my two brothers and I - and our luggage - went on long journeys in a Wolseley 1500. (There was one memorable trip to France where the car broke down.) It looked tiny when it went past.

No photo (I was on my bike), but here's one I've borrowed from John Langham.

Two strange boats (and a strange name)

Also at Alvecote were two Canaltime boats. These had most unusual rooflines, raised at the rear and extending right over the bow, narrowing accordingly. The sides of the cabin were vertical. The front of the boats had an inspection launch look - with wooden (or wooden effect) window frames.


And how could anyone call a boat Sausage Machine?

Old boats at Alvecote

At Alvecote on the Coventry Canal were plenty of former working boats at the Narrowcraft boatyard when we passed on 5th April 2011.


We didn't stop, so I can positively identify only the boats in my photos: Nuneaton, Brighton, Australia and Stafford.


As far as I can make out from the legend on Stafford the boat was originally built by FMC (Fellows, Morton and Clayton) in 1898; rebuilt by Yarwoods in 19xx; renovated and converted by Narrowcraft in 2008.


I've just looked up Stafford on the Historic Narrow Boat Owners' Club website, which gives the following information: 1898 built as butty number 236 at FMC's Saltley Dock; 1938 converted to motor number 342 at Yarwood's; 1949 became part of north western division, Docks and Inland Waterways Executive; 2008 current conversion added.

Further browsing reveals that Stafford is/was for sale at £150,000 on the Apollo Duck website, which indicates that its status is "Sale Agreed".

I wonder if there's anything left of the original boat.

Top Thirty, 2011 Week 18

Here is the UK Waterways Site Ranking as it stood at 1205 on Sunday 8th May 2011. This is taken, with permission, from Tony Blews's UK Waterways Ranking Site.



1 Canal World Discussion Forums (=)

2 Jim Shead's Waterways Information (=)

3 CanalPlanAC (+1)

4 Pennine Waterways (-1)

5 JustCanals.com - Forums (=)

6 CanalCuttings.co.uk (=)

7 Granny Buttons (=)

8 Retirement with No Problem (=)

9 Towpath Treks (=)

10 Waterway Routes (=)

11 Canal Shop Company (+5)

12 ExOwnerships (=)

13 boatshare (-2)

14 UKCanals Network (+3)

15 Jannock Website (-1)

16 Narrowboat.co.uk (-1)

17 WB Takey Tezey (+2)

18 Water Explorer (-5)

19 Trafalgar Marine Services (+1)

20 Google Earth Canal Maps (-2)

21 nb Epiphany (=)

22 Captain Ahab's Watery Tales (+2)

23 Narrowboat Bones (-1)

24 nb Lucky Duck (+2)

25 Derwent6 (-2)

26 Chertsey (+4)

27 NB Siskin (-)

28 Warwickshire Fly Boat Company (-3)

29 Narrowboat Briar Rose (-)

30 Seyella's Journey (-2)


The figures in parentheses denote the number of places moved since the previous chart; (-) denotes new entry or re-entry into the top thirty; (=) denotes no change.

Halfie is at number 34.

There are 151 entries altogether.

Polesworth facilities

We made use of excellent visitor moorings at Polesworth on the Coventry Canal. It was here, though, that our chimney hat blew off overnight, never to be seen again. I fished for it in the morning, but found nothing but a penny. And speaking of which ...


I headed off into the undergrowth to use the, ahem, facilities - and was surprised to see rather more in the way of facilities than I was expecting!

Sunny Valley

Further along the Coventry Canal we passed Grendon Dock. In the dock was Sunny Valley, a boat name I recognised, but from where?

Ah yes. The film Painted Boats, for which Tom Rolt wrote the script (but received no on-screen credit) (see Granny Buttons). (Incidentally, Andrew, I think I still have your copy of the DVD - I'll have to return it.)


Please excuse the camera shake - the light was fading and I was on much too slow a "film speed".


I found an interesting article by Lutz Pietschker on making a model of Sunny Valley's cabin. He says he bought the model - four sheets of A4 to be cut out, coloured and assembled - in a canal museum, possibly in London. In the 1990s. (Image borrowed from his site.)