London Canal Museum

Last updated

London Canal Museum
London Canal Museum TQ3083.jpg
Open street map central london.svg
Red pog.svg
Location within Central London
Established1992;30 years ago (1992)
Location King's Cross, London, N1
England
Coordinates 51°32′02″N0°07′13″W / 51.5339°N 0.1204°W / 51.5339; -0.1204 Coordinates: 51°32′02″N0°07′13″W / 51.5339°N 0.1204°W / 51.5339; -0.1204
Type Transport museum
Visitors16,000
ChairpersonMartin Sach
Public transit access Underground no-text.svg King's Cross St Pancras
National Rail logo.svg King's Cross
National Rail logo.svg St Pancras
Website canalmuseum.org.uk

London Canal Museum in the King's Cross area of London, England, is a regional museum devoted to the history of London's canals.

Contents

History

The museum was opened in 1992. [1] It is housed in a Victorian ice warehouse that was used by Carlo Gatti. [2] The building was constructed between 1862 and 1863 to house ice imported from Norway by ship and canal barge. [2] There are two preserved ice wells under the building, one of which may be viewed from the public area of the museum. [3]

Exhibitions and activities

The museum covers all aspects of the UK's waterways. The main exhibitions in the museum cover the following topics:

The museum runs guided trips through the Islington Tunnel. [4] In addition the museum sponsors two boats at the National Waterways Museum, Ferret and Ilkeston, that are part of the national collection. [5]

Location

The museum is situated in the King's Cross area of London, on the Regent's Canal. Battlebridge Basin is accessible from the rear of the museum. It is a five-minute walk to King's Cross St Pancras tube station. [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

Brentford Suburb of London

Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, 8 miles (13 km) west of Charing Cross.

Kings Cross, London Area of central London in England

Kings Cross is a district on either side of Euston Road, in Central London, England, 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north of Charing Cross. It is served by two major rail termini, St Pancras and King's Cross. King's Cross station is the terminus of one of the major rail routes between London and the North.

Camden Town Inner city district of London

Camden Town, often shortened to Camden, is a district of northwest London, England, 2.5 miles (4.1 km) north of Charing Cross. Historically in Middlesex, it is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Camden, and identified in the London Plan as one of 34 major centres in Greater London.

British Waterways Canal and inland waterway authority

British Waterways, often shortened to BW, was a statutory corporation wholly owned by the government of the United Kingdom. It served as the navigation authority for the majority of canals and a number of rivers and docks in England, Scotland and Wales.

History of the British canal system Building, use, decline and restoration of artificial waterways in the United Kingdom

The canal network of the United Kingdom played a vital role in the Industrial Revolution. The UK was the first country to develop a nationwide canal network which, at its peak, expanded to nearly 4,000 miles in length. The canals allowed raw materials to be transported to a place of manufacture, and finished goods to be transported to consumers, more quickly and cheaply than by a land based route. The canal network was extensive and included feats of civil engineering such as the Anderton Boat Lift, the Manchester Ship Canal, the Worsley Navigable Levels and the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct.

Rideau Canal Canal in Canada

The Rideau Canal, also known unofficially as the Rideau Waterway, connects Canada's capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, to Lake Ontario and the Saint Lawrence River at Kingston. It is 202 kilometres long. The name Rideau, French for "curtain", is derived from the curtain-like appearance of the Rideau River's twin waterfalls where they join the Ottawa River. The canal system uses sections of two rivers, the Rideau and the Cataraqui, as well as several lakes. Parks Canada operates the Rideau Canal.

Limehouse Basin

Limehouse Basin, a navigable link between the River Thames and two of London's canals, is a body of water 2 miles east of London Bridge. First dug in 1820 as the eastern terminus of the new Regent's Canal, its wet area was less than 5 acres originally, but it was gradually enlarged in the Victorian era, reaching a maximum of double that size, when it was given its characteristic oblique entrance lock, big enough to admit 2,000-ton ships. Throughout its working life the basin was better known as the Regent's Canal Dock, and was used to transship goods between the old Port of London and the English canal system. Cargoes handled were chiefly coal and timber, but also ice, circus animals, and even Russian oil and WW1 submarines. Sailing ships delivered cargoes there until WW2, and can be seen in surviving films and paintings.

Regents Canal Canal in England

Regent's Canal is a canal across an area just north of central London, England. It provides a link from the Paddington Arm of the Grand Union Canal, 550 yards (500 m) north-west of Paddington Basin in the west, to the Limehouse Basin and the River Thames in east London. The canal is 8.6 miles (13.8 km) long.

Hertford Union Canal Canal in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets

The Hertford Union Canal or Duckett's Cut, just over 1 mile (1.6 km) long, connects the Regent's Canal to the Lee Navigation in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London. It was opened in 1830 but quickly proved to be a commercial failure. It was acquired by the Regents Canal Company in 1857, and became part of the Grand Union Canal in 1927.

Ice house (building) Building used for storing ice all year round, before refrigeration

An ice house, or icehouse, is a building used to store ice throughout the year, commonly used prior to the invention of the refrigerator. Some were underground chambers, usually man-made, close to natural sources of winter ice such as freshwater lakes, but many were buildings with various types of insulation.

Canals of the United Kingdom

The canals of the United Kingdom are a major part of the network of inland waterways in the United Kingdom. They have a varied history, from use for irrigation and transport, through becoming the focus of the Industrial Revolution, to today's role of recreational boating. Despite a period of abandonment, today the canal system in the United Kingdom is again increasing in use, with abandoned and derelict canals being reopened, and the construction of some new routes. Canals in England and Wales are maintained by navigation authorities. The biggest navigation authorities are the Canal & River Trust and the Environment Agency, but other canals are managed by companies, local authorities or charitable trusts.

National Waterways Museum

The National Waterways Museum (NWM) is in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, England, at the northern end of the Shropshire Union Canal where it meets the Manchester Ship Canal. The museum's collections and archives focus on the Britain's navigable inland waterways, including its rivers and canals, and include canal boats, traditional clothing, painted canal decorative ware and tools. It is one of several museums and attractions operated by the Canal & River Trust, the successor to The Waterways Trust.

St Pancras Cruising Club

St Pancras Cruising Club (SPCC) is a members' association of boat owners located between Camden Town and Islington on the Regent's Canal in central London. Most boats in the basin are narrowboats, the most common form of craft on the British canals. As the club is near to King's Cross station, it is affected by the ongoing developments at King's Cross Central, formerly known as the Railway Lands.

Old Ford Human settlement in England

Old Ford is an area in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets that is named after the natural ford which provided a crossing of the River Lea.

Kings Cross Central Large mixed-use development in central London

King's Cross Central (KXC) is a multi-billion pound mixed-use development in the north-east of central London. The site is owned and controlled by the King's Cross Central Limited Partnership. It consists of approximately 67 acres (27 ha) of former railway lands to the north of King's Cross and St Pancras mainline railway stations. The site is largely determined by three boundaries: the existing East Coast Main Line railway leading out of King's Cross; York Way, a road marking the division between Camden and Islington boroughs; and the new railway line, High Speed 1 (HS1), formerly known as the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, which curves around the site to the north and west.

Carlo Gatti Swiss entrepreneur in England

Carlo Gatti (1817–1878) was a Swiss entrepreneur in the Victorian era. He came to England in 1847, where he established restaurants and an ice importing business. He is credited with first making ice cream available to the general public and he then moved into the music hall business. He returned to Switzerland in 1871, leaving his businesses in the hands of members of his family and he died a millionaire.

St Pancras Lock

St Pancras Lock is a lock on the Regent's Canal, in the London Borough of Camden, England. The St Pancras Basin is nearby.

Battlebridge Basin

Battlebridge Basin is a canal basin in King's Cross, in the London Borough of Islington. It is located off the Regent's Canal.

Little Venice District in London, England

Little Venice is a district in West London, England, around the junction of the Paddington Arm of the Grand Union Canal, the Regent's Canal, and the entrance to Paddington Basin. The junction forms a triangular shape basin. Many of the buildings in the vicinity are Regency white painted stucco terraced town houses and taller blocks (mansions) in the same style. The area is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) west-north-west of Charing Cross and immediately north-west of Paddington.

Coal Drops Yard

Coal Drops Yard is a shopping complex and privately owned public space that forms part of the King's Cross Central development scheme in London, England. The development was designed by Thomas Heatherwick and opened in October 2018.

References

  1. "The Regent's Canal". London Canal Museum. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  2. 1 2 "The Canal Museum" . Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  3. "The Ice Wells: Underground ice storage wells". London Canal Museum. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  4. "What's on". London Canal Museum. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  5. "Sponsorship of historic boats". London Canal Museum. Archived from the original on 22 October 2016. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  6. "Find us". London Canal Museum. Retrieved 9 February 2014.