I have a postcard which I have had for some time of the river at Wakefield, entitled 'Heath Locks, Wakefield'. It is postmarked, Wakefield, February 21st, 1906 at 7.15 pm and it has a halfpenny stamp of Edward VII, the normal postage for a postcard at that time. It is addressed to Miss Lily Earnshaw, North Featherstone, Pontefract which is a few miles from Wakefield. No house number nor street. Obviously it was then a small village where everyone was known. A brief message signed Amy.
It is printed in colour and
published by W.C.Machan, Kirkgate, Wakefield. The picture is coloured and
depicts a river side with a lock entrance. The river is the navigable Calder,
the Wakefield Section of the Aire and Calder Navigation and the lock, Heath
Lock, is the entrance to the Barnsley Canal. The Barnsley Canal is long abandoned
with this part of the canal obliterated by Wakefield Power Station, itself
now gone.
A barge is leaving the lock
and there are two men leaning on the large balance beams, probably closing
the gates. The barge is going downstream and it is possible there is a rope
fastened to the towing mast indicating that there is a towing boat out of
the picture. It is a Leeds and Liverpool Canal dumb boat, easily identified
by its flat decorated stern and double wooden chimneys, wooden so that when
they catch fire they will float when thrown into the water. These boats did
not operate on tidal water, although some did venture across the Mersey under
tow - a hairy experience no doubt.
It would be carrying about
40 tons of coal which was loaded at one of the many collieries on the Barnsley
Canal and would travel up the Wakefield section of the Aire and Calder Navigation
to Castleford and then up the Leeds section to join the Leeds and Liverpool.
It would then travel possibly to a canalside power station, mill or even a
domestic coal merchant as far as Skipton and if it were lucky could bring
back a load of limestone, but this is unlikely. They would pick up a horse
for towing, at least from Leeds, but they might be able to get a tow as far
as there. The round trip would take several days but the crew of two could
live in reasonable comfort with two cabins. Usually the coal was unloaded
by hand by the barge crew using shovels and wheelbarrows, but some wharves
did have steam grab cranes. A crew of two was needed as on the Leeds and Liverpool
one man had to open the many swing bridges. They usually carried a bicycle
to help with this.
On the river is a landing
stage with several small boats moored. Some of these are cock boats which
are towed by sailing barges or keels on the Humber and up the rivers. It was
sometimes possible to sail as far as Wakefield, but as the locks after Wakefield
were small, then the cock boat would be left if the barge was going up the
Barnsley Canal or the Calder and Hebble. They would be used as tenders for
laying out anchors or mooring ropes on the tidal waters, or going shopping.
Possibly the mast and sails may also have been left, to be picked up on the
return journey.
One of the boats is larger
and this is a ferry probably to carry the horse across the river to the towpath
opposite. This would be punted across.
At the corner of the lock
house is a man and a girl wearing a white dress and large pinafore.
The river bank is well wooded
with Heath Hall on the hill in the background.
The Aire and Calder finished
with a short section of canal the entrance lock which is on the other side
of the river taking the navigation into the town. This is now derelict.
The entrance to the Calder
and Hebble is behind the photographer.
I wonder if either Lily or
Amy would have believed that this little card would still be around nearly
a century later than when it was bought at Mr Machan's shop in Kirkgate, Wakefield,
half a mile or so from the scene on the card.