Canal History and Heritage
Morning Lecture
21 February 2024
Traditional Narrowboat
Remarkably, only the National Trust and the Church of England have more listed buildings than our inland waterways. This lecture introduces us to the secret world of our 2000-mile inland waterway network and its exceptional artistic, architectural and engineering heritage, whose features range from sweeping aqueducts to tiny bollards; from colourful historic narrowboats to 'Roses and Castles' artwork; from grand World Heritage Sites to quirky listed buildings. A well-known architectural historian once described the UK's canals as a 'poor man's art gallery' and every part of the country has local and regional examples which reflect the unique distinctiveness of the inland waterway network.
Roger Butler is a landscape architect and an experienced writer, photographer and lecturer. He has a particular interest in the unique history, architecture and traditions of our canal network and worked on some of the UK’s major canal restoration projects. He has also acted as a consultant to bodies such as Waterways Ireland, Natural England and the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site. He regularly contributes to waterway and heritage magazines and writes and provides images for a range of countryside and outdoor titles.
Roger is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, a Licentiate of the Royal Photographic Society and a Chartered Member of the Landscape Institute. He lives near Stratford upon Avon and lectures across the UK and Europe.
Roger Butler