What was the traffic on the river here while there were barges and bargemen?
Play the audio file to find out.
For an interactive map showing the old industries in the area, click here (or see the information panel at Carpenters Road Lock)
What was the traffic on the river here while there were barges and bargemen?
Play the audio file to find out.
For an interactive map showing the old industries in the area, click here (or see the information panel at Carpenters Road Lock)
This is a quiet spot or is it?
Picture the scene its 1860 we’re right in the middle of the Industrial revolution on a busy London waterway.
The lock in front of you is opened manually by a single lock keeper, there are horse drawn barges coming and going along the Lee navigation, smoke billows from factory chimneys and the sound of anvils and machines provide the backdrop to a busy Industrial area.
Wherever you have a canal it often represented the world of work.
The building of the canal itself created thousands of jobs for labourers digging the trenches, engineers building the locks and bargeman navigating their boats along its reaches.
And beyond its banks Industry grew creating hundreds of jobs, and craft skills. It spurred invention and innovation, encouraged production and attracted migration into the area for work.
Canals made it possible to move goods over long distances
You could fill a barge here and transport the cargo to over 2000 miles of rivers and canals throughout England.
Your route continues up the Lee Navigation. In two places the path rises slightly. Stop at the second of these raised areas for the next point.
This page is part of Start the audio trail
