chrismjones1

Christopher M. Jones Canal and Waterways Artist and Illustrator.

Canal and Waterways Historical Articles Written by Christopher M. Jones:

‘Southern Oxford Cement’ – The canal carrying history of the Oxford Portland Cement Company Limited, Kirtlington, Oxfordshire, England. Waterways World magazine April 2003.

‘Pride of the Thames’ – Historical details about the history of narrow boat ‘Pride of the Thames’ depicted in the well known, and often reproduced, engraving of 1875. Waterways World magazine April 2004.

‘Paper Tiger’ – The canal carrying history of paper manufacturers John Dickinson & Company Limited of Hertfordshire, England. Waterways World magazine November 2006.

‘King Coal’ – The canal carrying history of William Harry King, canal contractor, who worked for John Dickinson & Company Limited of Hertfordshire, England. Co-written with Christopher R. Jones.  Waterways World magazine December 2006.

‘The Usual Style’ – A personal hypothesis describing the development and history of the folk art painting style applied to narrow boats of the canals of the English midlands. NarrowBoat magazine Autumn 2006.

‘Canal Boat Registers’ – A brief history of the various historical documents used in the administration of the Canal Boats Act 1877 and successive amendments.  NarrowBoat magazine Spring 2007.

‘Taking Their Toll’ – Looking at some historical aspects of charging tolls on the English canals. NarrowBoat magazine Spring 2008.

‘Franks Family’ – Historical notes on the canal carrying history of canal contractors John and Benjamin Franks, an additional part added to an article ‘The Franks Family’. NarrowBoat magazine Summer 2008.

‘Wide Boats of the Grand Junction Canal’ – Historical details of the distinctive wide-beam canal carrying craft of the Grand Junction canal and river Thames. NarrowBoat magazine Winter 2009/2010.

‘Getting The Gauge’ – Looking at some historical aspects of weighing and gauging of canal carrying boats for the payment of tolls on the canals of the English midlands. NarrowBoat magazine Summer 2010.

‘Charles Nelson’ –  History of the small canal carrying fleet of cement manufacturers Charles Nelson & Company Limited of Stockton, England. Co-written with Alan H. Faulkner. NarrowBoat magazine Spring 2011. 

‘Greaves, Bull & Lakin’ – History of the small canal carrying fleet of cement manufacturers Greaves, Bull & Lakin of Stockton and Wilmcote, England. NarrowBoat magazine Summer 2012.

‘Griffiths Update’ – A recent Griffiths family gathering provided new historical information on the canal carrying business of John Griffiths, Bedworth, England. NarrowBoat magazine Autumn 2012.

‘Livery Variations on Narrow Boats’ – Looking at folk art painting details on canal carrying boats of the southern Grand Junction canal. NarrowBoat magazine Spring 2013.

‘The Warwickshire Canal Carrying Co.’ – The history of the canal carrying business of the Warwickshire Canal Carrying Company of Nuneaton, England. Co-written with Alan H. Faulkner. NarrowBoat magazine Summer 2013.

‘The Birmingham Canal Boat Register’ – Looking at how the Canal Boats Act of 1877 was implemented in Birmingham, England. NarrowBoat magazine Autumn 2013.

‘Barlow’s Joey’s’ – Historical notes on the Joey boats operated by Samuel Barlow (Tamworth) Limited of Glascote, and its successors, Samuel Barlow Coal Company Limited of Birmingham, England. Co-written with Christopher R. Jones. NarrowBoat magazine Autumn 2013.

‘Boating Through World War One’ – Its a hundred years since the outbreak of the First World War and this article looks at the effects it had on the English canals and the people who worked on them. NarrowBoat magazine Summer 2014.

‘Cargo Packaging & Handling’ – Looking at how boats were loaded and unloaded, and the various types of cargo packaging used over the history of the English canals. This article was written jointly with Tom Foxon. NarrowBoat magazine Autumn 2014.

‘James Hall’ – The history of canal carrier James Hall of Droylsden on the Ashton canal near Manchester, England. NarrowBoat magazine Autumn 2014.

‘Writing a Letter’ – Looking at the different and often idiosyncratic aspects of signwriting on canal boats of the English Midlands. NarrowBoat magazine Spring 2015.

‘Stone Boating’ – A brief history detailing the carriage of granite roadstone from the Hartshill quarry district alongside the Coventry canal near Nuneaton, England, to destinations on the Grand Junction, Oxford canals and the river Thames. NarrowBoat magazine Spring 2015.

‘Crossing the Trent’ – This article describes how horse drawn narrow boats crossed the potentially hazardous River Trent crossing between the River Soar and Trent Lock in Leicestershire. England. NarrowBoat magazine Autumn 2015.

‘Thames Traffic of the 19th Century’ – A close study of the narrow boats and Thames barges in a painting by John Anderson in 1860 reveals some interesting details about the evolution of these craft and the traffics they were involved in. NarrowBoat magazine Autumn 2015.

‘Tom the Boater’ – A rare collection of late 19th – early 20th century photos shows detailed views of narrow boats on the Grand Junction canal at Leighton Buzzard, England. NarrowBoat magazine Autumn 2015.

‘Carriage of Paper Making Materials by Samuel Barlow of Glascote’ – Historical notes of materials carried on the canals of the English midlands. The Raymond and Nutfield News Spring 2012.

‘Use of Sub-contracting in Canal Transport’ – Looking at how sub-contracting enabled canal carrying companies of the English midlands to pool their boats for their own mutual benefit and keep traffic moving. The Raymond and Nutfield News Summer 2012.

‘Safety First’ – Historical notes detailing accidents on motor narrow boat Nutfield. The Raymond and Nutfield News Autumn 2012.

‘What Did You Do in the War Nutfield?’ – Historical details of the canal carrying activities of motor narrow boat Nutfield during the Second World War. The Raymond and Nutfield News Spring 2013.

‘Raymond! The Epitome of Evolved Tradition’ – Historical notes showing the evolution of the midlands canal narrow boat from the middle of the 19th century until 1958, when Raymond was built. The Raymond and Nutfield News Summer 2013.

‘Boat Building at Braunston Wharf – 1858 to 1958’ – An account of 100 years of boat building at Braunston Wharf in Northamptonshire, England. The Raymond and Nutfield News Winter 2013.

‘Blue Line Livery Variations’ – Although the Blue Line canal carrying fleet of Braunston in Northamptonshire, England, carried the same colour scheme there was quite a degree of variation between the various craft. This article illustrates those differences known in full colour from the study of historic photographs. The Raymond and Nutfield News Spring 2014.

‘War Names’, describing how names of famous battles and military figures and heroes have been given to commercial carrying craft on the English canals over many generations. The Raymond and Nutfield News Summer 2014.

‘Bowhauling Techniques’, describes the various techniques used as members of ‘The Friends of Raymond’ whilst ascending Atherstone Locks on the Coventry Canal in Warwickshire on the 26th August 2014 with boats NUTFIELD and RAYMOND. The Raymond and Nutfield News Autumn 2014.

‘Destination Braunston – Part One’, describes the canal traffic that came to the village of Braunston in Northamptonshire, England from the 1850’s until the 1920’s. The Raymond and Nutfield News Spring 2015.

‘Destination Braunston – Part Two’, describes the canal traffic that came to the village of Braunston in Northamptonshire, England from the 1890’s until the 1920’s, including competition from the railways. The Raymond and Nutfield News Autumn 2015.

Copyright Notice: All images and articles mentioned on this website are copyright and should not be reproduced either by electronic, print or by any other means without permission of Christopher M. Jones, artist and illustrator.