Bargee -Wigan, UK
Posted by: 
dtrebilc
N 53° 32.513 W 002° 38.363
30U E 523897 N 5932613
This sculpture shows a bargee or canal boat worker leaning on a wall looking over at what was once a busy wharf where boats were loaded and unloaded.
Waymark Code: WMPWB4
Location: North West England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 10/29/2015
Views: 1
He is looking at a wharf on The Leeds Liverpool Canal, which at 127 miles long is the longest broad canal in the North of England. It flows from the inland woollen town of Leeds to the coastal sea port of Liverpool, crossing the Pennines along the way. Work on the canal started in 1770 and built in a number of sections and was finally completed in 1816.
When the canal was built canal boats were pulled by horses and the canal boat workers not only had to work the boats, loading and unloading heavy loads, but also look after the horses.
The sculpture depicts a bargee from around 1880 and it is standing next to an information board that tells the story of the bargee and his horse called Sam. It is written in a Lancashire dialect, but should still be understandable.
LIFE ON THE CANAL
AS TOLD BY A BARGEE CIRCA 1880.
"A clap an' Sam's off - pullin' 25 ton. He's fast thar knows. Four miles an hour once he's got goin'.
Most of us bargees or canal boat workers were born and live on the canal, or the 'cut' as we call it round here.
Canals across the country are different widths. The Leeds & Liverpool Canal is one of the widest so we use bigger boats. This means we can take double the amount of cargo from the mills to the factories and docks.
The horse drawn barges carry everything from coal and cotton to stone and salt. We often join barges together, sometimes two or three at a time. When they're not working the horses rest in stables along the canal: there's one just on the other side of this bridge.
We're proud of how smart our horses look in their polished leathers and brasses.
If a horse falls into the 'cut' we have to guide it to a 'pull out' - a cobbled ramp every couple of miles along the canal. There were one next to Changeline Bridge, but it's gone now.
For most part it's a grand life on t' boats. It's the slow pace and fresh air that does it for me."
These days the canal is no longer used commercially, although it is extremely popular with leisure boaters. The wharves around here are no no longer used to load and unload cargoes, and the bargee is looking over a much quieter scene than what he would have seen in 1880.
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