Edinburgh, Union Canal. General view of canal. Digital image of ED 6950

Description Edinburgh, Union Canal. General view of canal. Digital image of ED 6950

Date 1900 to 1930

Collection Collection of photographs by George Chrystal and Francis Maxwell Chrystal, photographers, Edinburgh,

Catalogue Number SC 786874

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of ED 6950

Scope and Content Union Canal, Edinburgh, looking east towards Viewforth Bridge (closed 1965 and navigation restored 2002) This section of canal followed a straight course on its route east towards the stone-arched bridge at Viewforth (centre). The north bank is bordered by a towpath wide enough to accommodate the pairs of horses that were required to pull the larger barges and passenger boats. The south bank is built up to the water's edge with dwelling houses, workshops and small industries, many of which were dependent on drawing a source of water from the canal. The canal succeeded in breaking the Edinburgh coal monopoly, flooding the city with cheap coal from the pits along the waterway, particularly the Duke of Hamilton's mines at Redding near Falkirk. This was the incentive for many small industries to develop along the banks, not only because they could have cheap coal delivered virtually to their back door, but also because they could use the canal as a source of water and deliver their end products directly to the Forth & Clyde Canal and hence to Glasgow. The Union Canal, the last of Scotland's major canals, was a commercial venture begun in 1818 and completed in 1822. It was built principally as a means of importing coal and lime into Edinburgh, and ran from Port Hopetoun in Edinburgh to join the Forth & Clyde Canal at Camelon, Stirlingshire. However, within 20 years of completion most of its passenger traffic was lost to the railways, and the Edinburgh basins closed in 1922. The rest of the canal remained navigational until 1965 when it was finally closed by an Act of Parliament. In 2002, Britain's largest canal restoration project, The Millennium Link, restored navigation, and with an extension to the Union Canal and a link with the Forth & Clyde Canal through the Falkirk Wheel, boats were once more able to travel between Edinburgh and Glasgow. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/786874

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap