National Waterways Museum
Encyclopedia
The National Waterways Museum holds the inland waterways collection at three museum sites in England
: Gloucester
, Ellesmere Port
, and Stoke Bruerne
.
The museum is operated by The Waterways Trust and receives sponsorship from British Waterways
. It is concerned with Britain's navigable inland waterways, including rivers and canals
. It is an Anchor Point of ERIH, The European Route of Industrial Heritage
.
The original National Waterways Museum at Gloucester, now known as Gloucester Waterways Museum, is housed in a Victorian
warehouse at Gloucester Docks
, in the city of Gloucester. It has a collection of boats including narrowboat
s, river barges, canal and river tug
s, and a steam powered dredger. There is also a steam crane
and heavy oil engine
in the setting of a canal repair yard, complete with working machine shop, forge
and weighbridge. The museum uses modern interactive techniques and hands on exhibits. In the Summer of 2010 the Gloucester site lost its national status and was renamed the 'Gloucester Waterways Museum.
The National Waterways Museum, Ellesmere Port
, South Pier Road, Ellesmere Port, Cheshire
, and the Canal Museum (Stoke Bruerne Canal Museum
), Stoke Bruerne, Towcester
, Northamptonshire
remain linked as part of the National Waterways Museum. Only the museum at Ellesmere Port is now branded as the National Waterways Museum.
The museum is entrusted with a collection that has the status of a designated collection, as determined by the Museums Libraries and Archives Council. However, the standard of collection management has been the subject of considerable concern and criticism in the specialist press because, essentially, the museum has insufficient money to fund the upkeep of the many historic boats in the collection. Unlike the National Railway Museum
, which receives funding direct from HM Government, the NWM only receives public money through British Waterways. During the winter of 2008-2009 opening hours were cut at Gloucester and Ellesmere Port to just two days per week in an effort to manage a tough financial situation. Some boats were advertised in Museums Journal early in 2009 for disposal, there being insufficient money for their restoration. Visitors to the Ellesmere Port site can see boats, in the care of a National Museum, sunken into the water or kept afloat by automatic pumps. However, the initiative to create a Heritage Boatyard, with lottery and other funding, has spurred a revival in the museum's fortunes and work on addressing the arears of maintenance is now taking place. The Heritage Boatyard trains young people in skills that might otherwise be lost.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
: Gloucester
Gloucester
Gloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....
, Ellesmere Port
Ellesmere Port
Ellesmere Port is a large industrial town and port in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is situated on the south border of the Wirral Peninsula on the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal, which in turn gives access to the River...
, and Stoke Bruerne
Stoke Bruerne
Stoke Bruerne is a small village and civil parish in South Northamptonshire, England about north of Milton Keynes and south of Northampton.-History:...
.
The museum is operated by The Waterways Trust and receives sponsorship from British Waterways
British Waterways
British Waterways is a statutory corporation wholly owned by the government of the United Kingdom, serving as the navigation authority in England, Scotland and Wales for the vast majority of the canals as well as a number of rivers and docks...
. It is concerned with Britain's navigable inland waterways, including rivers and canals
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 colourful history, from use for irrigation and transport, through becoming the focus of the Industrial Revolution, to today's role for recreational boating...
. It is an Anchor Point of ERIH, The European Route of Industrial Heritage
European Route of Industrial Heritage
The European Route of Industrial Heritage is a network of the most important industrial heritage sites in Europe. The aim of the project is to create interest for the common European Heritage of the Industrialisation and its remains...
.
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
warehouse at Gloucester Docks
Dock (maritime)
A dock is a human-made structure or group of structures involved in the handling of boats or ships, usually on or close to a shore.However, the exact meaning varies among different variants of the English language...
, in the city of Gloucester. It has a collection of boats including narrowboat
Narrowboat
A narrowboat or narrow boat is a boat of a distinctive design, made to fit the narrow canals of Great Britain.In the context of British Inland Waterways, "narrow boat" refers to the original working boats built in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries for carrying goods on the narrow canals...
s, river barges, canal and river tug
Tug
Tuğ is a village in the Khojavend Rayon of Azerbaijan....
s, and a steam powered dredger. There is also a steam crane
Steam crane
A steam crane is a crane powered by a steam engine. It may be fixed or mobile and, if mobile, it may run on rail tracks, caterpillar tracks, road wheels, or be mounted on a barge...
and heavy oil engine
Hot bulb engine
The hot bulb engine, or hotbulb or heavy oil engine is a type of internal combustion engine. It is an engine in which fuel is ignited by being brought into contact with a red-hot metal surface inside a bulb....
in the setting of a canal repair yard, complete with working machine shop, forge
Forge
A forge is a hearth used for forging. The term "forge" can also refer to the workplace of a smith or a blacksmith, although the term smithy is then more commonly used.The basic smithy contains a forge, also known as a hearth, for heating metals...
and weighbridge. The museum uses modern interactive techniques and hands on exhibits. In the Summer of 2010 the Gloucester site lost its national status and was renamed the 'Gloucester Waterways Museum.
The National Waterways Museum, Ellesmere Port
National Waterways Museum, Ellesmere Port
The Ellesmere Port site of the National Waterways Museum is situated at the northern extremity of the Shropshire Union Canal where it enters the Manchester Ship Canal at Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, England...
, South Pier Road, Ellesmere Port, Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, and the Canal Museum (Stoke Bruerne Canal Museum
Stoke Bruerne Canal Museum
Stoke Bruerne Canal Museum, part of England's National Waterways Museum, is a canal museum located next to the Grand Union Canal just south of the Blisworth Tunnel, near the village of Stoke Bruerne in Northamptonshire...
), Stoke Bruerne, Towcester
Towcester
Towcester , the Roman town of Lactodorum, is a small town in south Northamptonshire, England.-Etymology:Towcester comes from the Old English Tófe-ceaster. Tófe refers to the River Tove; Bosworth and Toller compare it to the "Scandinavian proper names" Tófi and Tófa...
, Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
remain linked as part of the National Waterways Museum. Only the museum at Ellesmere Port is now branded as the National Waterways Museum.
The museum is entrusted with a collection that has the status of a designated collection, as determined by the Museums Libraries and Archives Council. However, the standard of collection management has been the subject of considerable concern and criticism in the specialist press because, essentially, the museum has insufficient money to fund the upkeep of the many historic boats in the collection. Unlike the National Railway Museum
National Railway Museum
The National Railway Museum is a museum in York forming part of the British National Museum of Science and Industry and telling the story of rail transport in Britain and its impact on society. It has won many awards, including the European Museum of the Year Award in 2001...
, which receives funding direct from HM Government, the NWM only receives public money through British Waterways. During the winter of 2008-2009 opening hours were cut at Gloucester and Ellesmere Port to just two days per week in an effort to manage a tough financial situation. Some boats were advertised in Museums Journal early in 2009 for disposal, there being insufficient money for their restoration. Visitors to the Ellesmere Port site can see boats, in the care of a National Museum, sunken into the water or kept afloat by automatic pumps. However, the initiative to create a Heritage Boatyard, with lottery and other funding, has spurred a revival in the museum's fortunes and work on addressing the arears of maintenance is now taking place. The Heritage Boatyard trains young people in skills that might otherwise be lost.
See also
- National Maritime MuseumNational Maritime MuseumThe National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England is the leading maritime museum of the United Kingdom and may be the largest museum of its kind in the world. The historic buildings forming part of the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site, it also incorporates the Royal Observatory, Greenwich,...
– England's national museum of ocean going transport, which is at GreenwichGreenwichGreenwich is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich.Greenwich is best known for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time...
in London.