SOMERSET CANALS (PB)

In the eighteenth century, Somerset was almost entirely rural, and its towns were linked by a network of very rudimentary roads. As new industries emerged, a better system of transport was required to bring to the factories the raw materials they needed, such as coal and metal ores, but also to ferry the goods they manufactured to the wider world. Out of this situation the golden age of canals was born. Henry Buckton examines the histories of the county’s canals and provides a fascinating glimpse into Somerset’s industrial heritage.