Regent’s Fact File

This Fact File will help you to find out more about the canal that runs right through the city of .

• Discover why it was built • Find out who built it • Hear all about a bridge explosion • Learn about famous people and places

Visiting the Regent’s Canal is like stepping into a hidden world. From the colourful collection of at it runs through Regent’s Park, where it is overlooked by ’s vast aviary. In Camden, it passes the craft stalls and quirky clothing shops of the famous market. It passes parks, theatres and colleges, ending in a spectacular way at the Thames. In 2020, this historic waterway celebrates its 200th birthday.

1 Regent’s Canal Map

Camden North Locks Primrose Hill Regent’s T Kingsland h Canal e West East L Cumberland Basin e e Basin N St Pancras a v

i Basin Sturts g 2 a South 1 3 t i Arm Camden o n Regent’s Town Lock (Regents) 4 Tunnel Acton’s or Duckett’s Cut’ Park Lock Camley St Victoria Natural Park Park (Lee) 5 Maida Hill Kings Cross Bow Wharf Little Paddington Tunnel Battlebridge City Road Venice Basin Basin Mile End Lock Johnson’s Lock CIT F LNDN To River Lee

Limehouse Cut Salmon Lane Lock Lock Places of Interest Key Limehouse Ship Lock 1 oo et osue

2 Tham Limehouse oo oo River es Basin 3 s oes St s

4 oo useu

5 s oes e Visit the online map of our canal and river network

2 Regent’s Canal: Why was it built?

Canals were being built all over Britain to carry goods such as coal and building materials. This canal was built to link the in Paddington to the at Limehouse. It meant that sailing ships arriving in London from all over the world could unload their cargo onto barges and narrowboats on the Regent’s Canal. These boats could then transport the cargo to other parts of the country by canal.

In 1825 alone, 504,000 tons of cargo was Entrance to the Regent’s Canal carried along the canal which is the same from the River Thames at weight as 63,000 elephants! Limehouse in 1828.

Did you know?

• The Regent’s Canal is 14km long • There are three tunnels and 12 locks • The canal joins the River Thames at Limehouse. • The work to build the canal started in 1812 and it was opened in 1820. • It cost £772,000 to build (approximately £45 million in today’s money)!

3 Who built the Regent’s Canal?

Thomas Homer was one of the first to promote the building of a new canal and later became the Super Intendent of the canal company. However, later he was found stealing money so he was arrested and sentenced to 7 years in Australia! He never arrived there though, and the reminder of his life in was a mystery. The main architect was and the chief engineer was James Morgan. Nash also designed Regent’s Park and redesigned some of . He was friends with the Prince Regent who later became George IV. Nash persuaded the Prince to allow the canal to be called the Regent’s Canal. Nash wanted to build the canal through Regent’s Park, however officers in the government thought the people who lived there would object to the rough trade on the canal. So, the canal was built round the John Nash (Achitect) edge of the park.

There were hundreds of workers, called navvies, who dug out the canal channel and built the canal. Stone masons, brick layers and carpenters also helped to build the canal.

What job would you like to have done on the canal? The soil that was dug out from Navvie (worker) the was used to make Lord’s Cricket Ground.

4 What was the impact on Victorian London?

Before the canal was built, most of the area was agricultural land, market gardens and quiet villages. The building of the canal and the railways changed them into busy industrial areas. Warehouses and factories were built next to A wharf is a the canal so goods did not have to be transported far. man-made, level area where boats Wharves were built to load and unload goods from the boats. can dock to People moved from the country to get work in London so houses, unload goods schools and shops were built for them.

Throughout the Victorian era (1837 – 1901) London’s population grew as more people came looking for work. By the 1870s there were over 3 million people living in London - the biggest city in Europe.

Coal became one of the most important cargoes. The Victorians used coal to heat their homes. In their factories, coal heated water, producing steam to power machines. Coal was heated to make gas for lighting streets and homes. It was stored in big gasometer tanks, and you can still see the giant frames today.

Victorians

5 Arrival of the railways!

The first railway station in London was built at Euston in1837 only 17 years after the Regent’s Canal was opened. Trains could travel much faster than boats.

It took 4 days for a pulled by a horse to get from London to Birmingham and only 4 hours for a steam train. Eventually most cargoes were carried by train and the were used less and less.

The railway from King’s Cross station goes under the canal and the railway from Euston station goes over the canal.

The railways In 1845 the canal directors received an offer of £1million to convert opened up the canal into a railway. The money was never raised so the railway huge was never built. opportunites for travel and transporatation.

6 Places along the Regent’s Canal Rats! Little Venice They fought the dogs and killed the cats, And bit the babies in the cradles, Little Venice is the point where the Paddington stretch And ate the cheese out of the vats, of the Grand Union Canal joins the Regent’s Canal. And licked the soup from the cooks’ own ladles, It is thought that it was named Little Venice by Robert Split open the kegs of salted sprats, Browning, a poet who lived in the area but spent a lot A poem by Made nests inside men’s Sunday hats, of time in Italy. And even spoiled the women’s chats.

How do these two images of Little Venice compare? What is similar? What is different?

Here is an engraved picture of Little Venice shortly after the Regent’s Canal opened in 1820

Little Venice today Little Venice in 1820

7 Places along the Regent’s Canal A newspaper article about the explosion. Newspapers were very Blow-up Bridge important in the past. How would an accident like this be reported today? In 1874 a boat carrying gunpowder exploded under Macclesfield Bridge in Regent’s Park. The explosion was so loud that it was heard all over London. arly in the morning of FridayE 2nd October 1874, five The canal was reopened within five boats were being towed days of the explosion. The bridge was by a steam powered tug rebuilt using the same heavy cast along the Regent’s Canal iron columns. Ever since the in Regent’s Park. One of the explosion Macclesfield Bridge has boats, called the Tilbury, was been called Blow-Up Bridge. carrying a cargo of about five tons of gunpowder. The boat was on its way to Nottingham where the gunpowder would be used completely demolished and the for blasting in the coal mines. houses nearby suffered damage to Just before 5 o’clock in the windows, walls, furniture and roofs. morning, when the Tilbury The loud explosion woke people up in was passing under their houses and they rushed out Macclesfield Bridge, the on to the streets in a panic still in their gunpowder caught fire and night clothes. There was thick there was an enormous smoke everywhere and people explosion. The bridge was thought that the end of the world had come. Three of the boatmen died. The Macclesfield Bridge in the 1820s (before the explosion).

8 Places along the Regent’s Canal

Camden There is a hidden network of underground In Victorian times Camden was an important link tunnels which link the canal to the railway. between the railway and the canal. The canal entrance to the tunnels is called It was a busy industrial town with factories and Dead Dog Basin. Nobody knows how it got this name. warehouses. The area was covered in soot and grime from the railways. Before boats had engines, Now, Camden is a popular tourist destination, they were pulled by horses a home to artists and musicians and the walking along the . warehouses have been changed into shops, The ropes attaching the markets and restaurants. horses to the boats rubbed You can see plenty of evidence showing what deep grooves in the metal Camden was like in the past by looking at the strips on the sides of the buildings and canal structures alongside the bridges. towpath.

The roving bridge These buildings are now was built so that part of horses could cross market. They were originally over the canal to timber yards and stables. the other towpath.

9 Places along the Regent’s Canal

Battlebridge Basin

Battlebridge Basin has a number of old warehouses around it including a jam factory, saw mills and a flour mill. Although the warehouses have been redeveloped into flats, you can still see the hoists on the walls which were used for unloading goods from canal barges. You can now visit the London Canal Museum in Battlebridge Basin.

Carlo Gatti and the ice trade

In the 1850s Carlo Gatti opened an ice warehouse in the building which is now the London Canal Museum. In winter, Gatti gathered ice from the Regent’s Canal, and he also imported ice from Norway. People used the ice to keep food cold (and fresh) before fridges were invented. Gatti also made the eating of ice cream popular with Victorians.

You can find out more about Carlo Gatti at theLondon Canal Museum.

Look at this map from 1891 to locate some of Battlebridge Basin was built using the soil dug out of the new the warehouses in . Battlebridge Basin. After trading boats stopped using the Regent’s Canal, the basin lay empty except for a couple of sunken cars and plans were made to fill it in. However, in 1978 a group of boat owners managed to save it and turn it into boat moorings.

10 Places along the Regent’s Canal

Legging through a tunnel Islington Tunnel About one o’clock in the morning we reached the Islington tunnel, and here we Near Battlebridge Basin is the Islington tunnel. are enlightened as to another process of barge propulsion, called legging. A There is no towpath through the tunnel. When the couple of strong thick boards, very like in shape to tailors’ sleeve-boards, but canal was opened boats were legged through the twice the size, are hooked onto places formed on each side of the barge, near tunnel by two men lying on their backs and ‘walking’ the head, from which they project like two raised oars. On these two narrow, along the tunnel walls to move the boat. insecure platforms, the two venturesome boatmen lie on their backs, holding on by grasping the board underneath, and with their legs, up to the waist, hanging The Islington tunnel is 875 metres in length, that’s over the water. longer than eight football pitches placed end to end! A lantern, placed at the head of the barge, serves to light the operation which In 1858 John Hollingshead travelled on a boat called consists of moving the Stourport through the black tunnel, by a measured side- the “Stourport” along the Regent’s Canal. He wrote step against the slimy, glistening walls; the right foot is first planted in a half- about his journey for a magazine. slanting direction, and the left foot is constantly brought over with a sweep to This is an extract from his article. take the vacated place, until the right can recover its footing; like the operation known as ‘hands over’ by young ladies who play upon the piano in a showy and gymnastic manner.

The Stourport, steered by its commander, Captain Randle, walks through the tunnel in the dead of night, by the aid of its four stout legs, and its four heavily hob-nailed boots, that make a full echoing sound upon the walls like the measured clapping of hands, but disturb not the sleeping inmates of houses and kitchens under which they pass; many of whom, perhaps are utterly ignorant of the black and barge loaded Styx* that flows beneath them.

* N.B. In Greek mythology, the River Styx separated the world of the living from the world of the dead, also called Hades or the underworld.

11 Places along the Regent’s Canal

Parks and green space

Victoria Park

Victoria Park opened in 1845 and cost £50,000 to build. In Victorian times this was a very poor part of London so the park provided a green space for local people to enjoy. They were even allowed to swim in the pond!

Victoria Park has canals along two of its sides - the Regent’s Canal and the .

The Hertford Union Canal is one and a quarter miles long and has three locks. It was built as a short cut to the River to save boats having to go on to the River Thames.

Did you know? The Hertford Union Canal is sometimes called Duckett’s Cut after Sir George Duckett, the man who built it.

Why do you think parks and green spaces are important, even in 1845? What do you think it would have been like in Victoria Park compared to Battlebridge Basin?

12 Places along the Regent’s Canal

Parks and green space

Mile End

Mile End, now a park, did not always look like this. It was once a row of houses which were destroyed by bombing in the Second World War. Instead of rebuilding the houses the council decided to build a new park.

The park follows the Regent’s Canal from Victoria Park to . is a haven for wildlife including birds, butterflies and bees. There are lots of things to do and places to visit in the park. You can find out more at www.towerhamlets.gov.uk The Regent’s Canal next to Mile End Park. You can see the tall towerblocks of in the background.

Did you know you can walk underneath some trees on the Mile End Road? Local people decided they wanted a bridge to connect two areas of Mile End Park on either side of the road. The bridge was planted with trees and plants. It was opened in 2000. It’s real name is ‘The Green Bridge’ but people often call it the Banana Bridge as it is yellow underneath!

13 Places along the Regent’s Canal

Limehouse Basin

Limehouse Basin was opened in 1820. It was originally called What was Limehouse like in the past? Regent’s Canal Dock. It was built to link the River Thames with the Limehouse has always been an important area linked to Regent’s Canal. shipbuilding on the River Thames. In the eighteenth century it Ships arriving in London from all over the world unloaded their was a busy place full of industries including rope making, sail cargoes onto narrowboats which then travelled by canal to making, barge building, and rigging and mast making. factories across London and throughout England.

There have always been people from different nationalities living and working in the area. In the 1880s Chinese people began to settle here and opened businesses bringing new cultures and languages to the city.

During the 1930s, dockers crowded , next to Limehouse, each morning hoping to get work unloading the cargo from the ships.

Limehouse Basin is now a quiet area away from the noisy Many of the traffic on busy Commercial Road. There are no factories or boats in the marina warehouses – instead there are high rise flats surrounding have travelled from the basin and it’s a smart place to live. other countries, reminding us of Limehouse’s important link to the sea.

14 Places along the Regent’s Canal

Images from the past Look at these pictures of Limehouse Basin in the 1800s

Images of the canal today

Can you list 5 things that have changed from the past?

Can you list anything that is still the same?

15 Timeline: Important dates in the history of the Regent’s Canal

Here are some important dates in the history of the Regent’s Canal but they have been muddled up. 1852: Kings Cross station built. 1948: Cumberland Basin filled in The railway goes under the Cut them out, sort them into the with bomb rubble after the canal correct order, and stick them onto Second World War the timeline.

1821: 195,000 tons of cargo 1828: London Zoo opened in Regent’s carried on the Regent’s Canal in Park - only for scientists to study its first year exotic animals from overseas 1857: Carlo Gatti opened an ice warehouse at Battlebridge Basin

1812: Act of Parliament passed 1840: London to Birmingham allowing the Regent’s Canal 1874: A boat carrying gunpowder to be built takes four hours by train, but exploded under Macclesfield 1820: Regent’s Canal completed four days by boat on 1st August. Cost £772,000 to Bridge in Regent’s Park. build (approx £45 million today)

1837: Euston station built. The railway goes over the canal 1930s: By now boats with 1847: London Zoo opened engines were becoming more to the public. It costs one common place shilling to visit

16 Timeline: Important dates in the history of the Regent’s Canal

1801: of the opens, linking London to the canal network

1801 1956

1956: Last horse-drawn cargoboat travels along the canal

17 Timeline: Important dates in the history of the Regent’s Canal

1801: Paddington Arm of the Grand 1828: London Zoo opened in Regent’s 1852: Kings Cross station built. 1948: Cumberland Basin filled in Junction Canal opens, linking Park - only for scientists to study The railway goes under the with bomb rubble after the London to the canal network exotic animals from overseas canal Second World War

1820: Regent’s Canal completed 1840: London to Birmingham 1874: A boat carrying gunpowder on 1st August. Cost £772,000 to takes four hours by train, but exploded under Macclesfield build (approx £45 million today) four days by boat Bridge in Regent’s Park.

1801 1956

1821: 195,000 tons of cargo 1847: London Zoo opened to 1930s: By now boats with carried on the Regent’s Canal in the public. It costs one shilling engines were becoming more its first year to visit common place

: Last horse-drawn 1812: Act of Parliament passed 1837: Euston station built. 1857: Carlo Gatti opened an ice 1956 allowing the Regent’s Canal The railway goes over the canal warehouse at Battlebridge Basin cargoboat travels along to be built the canal

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