Survey scheme to record changing history of canals

Volunteers will be asked to use an app to record changes to the canals

A project to survey South Yorkshire's canals is calling for volunteers to record the heritage of the county's 250-year-old waterways.

The Canal & River Trust appealed for people to map out changes to the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation since the routes were last mapped 30 years ago.

The survey will update and augment a survey of canals completed in the early 1990s by British Waterways and Historic England.

Simon Hinchliffe, Canal & River Trust heritage adviser, said: "In volunteering to survey our heritage, people can get to see the canals in a different way, enjoy their history and undertake some research."

Volunteers will use an app developed to survey an array of heritage assets.

It will record buildings associated with the canals such as locks and lock cottages, bridges, aqueducts, tunnels, quaysides, warehouses and stables.

It will also include details such as mileposts, horse ramps, cobbles and World War Two pill boxes.

As well as physically surveying and photographing the canal network, the team will also use historical maps, photos and archive text to chart what has changed.

Mr Hinchliffe said the project would celebrate the legacy of South Yorkshire's industrial past and preserve it for the future.

"The historic structures on our inland waterways come in all shapes and sizes, from majestic aqueducts to humbler humpback bridges," he said.

"These are still in use today, providing some of the world's finest examples of living industrial heritage and providing much needed outdoor space."

A pilot project took place earlier this year along the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, with volunteers undertaking more than 700 surveys.

The project is being rolled out across the 2,000-mile network of canals that span England and Wales.

It is expected to take four years and has been funded by the People's Postcode Lottery.

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