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Canal competition
For thousands of years goods had to be carried by roads, and a horse and cart could move about a ton of stone or coal. But with industrial growth in the eighteenth century increasing demand for raw materials canals became a feasible mode of transport, a horse-drawn narrowboat could carry 30 tons. From about 1760…
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Comfort at the crossroads
Roman military dominance depended on its well-known road system, which not only allowed troops to move quickly, but also allowed messengers to ride rapidly with news or orders. To accommodate such travellers a kind of guest house, called ‘mansio’ in Latin, was built at regular intervals on the main roads, offering fresh horses as well…
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Comings and goings at Haddon
Haddon Hall, near Bakewell on the River Wye is such a remarkably well-preserved late medieval house it has been irresistible to film makers. Firebrand, the story of Henry VIII and Katherine Parr, is currently on release, and previously Haddon has been the setting for two versions of Jane Eyre (involving burning the building down), Pride…
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Driven by drovers
Well into the twentieth century herds of cattle or flocks of sheep were a common feature of rural roads. Even after the coming of the railways, farmers often had little alternative to walking their animals to and from markets. As towns such as Sheffield and Chesterfield grew, the demand for meat meant that beasts had…
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On the road – in style
Although few people could have predicted it, in 1900 thousands of years of horse-drawn transport were coming to an end. Since the Bronze Age horses had provided the fastest means of movement, and thanks to better roads the range of vehicles increased dramatically in the nineteenth century, becoming more lightweight. For moving goods the two-wheeled…
