British Transport Historical Records: Maps, Plans & Surveys of Canals and Inland...

RAIL 1029

1761-1974

This series consists principally of plans of proposed and constructed canals and maps of the inland navigation network, but also includes some plans of rivers, wharves and docks. These are generally maps specific to particular companies.

The information in this series was enhanced in 2008 drawing on catalogue descriptions made by the editor Mr P D Roos in the early 1990s.

Many of the series of records of individual companies, as well as those of the Railway Clearing House, committees and commissions etc contain maps and plans. There are also numerous maps of waterways among the records of the Ministry of Transport, the Home Office, the War Office, the Welsh Office, and other departments.

MPS 1

Not Public Record(s)

English

93 flat sheets, portfolios, rolls and volumes

Open

Topics

Canals and river transport

Maps and plans

This series is one of nine artificially created accumulations of maps, plans and surveys gathered together by the staff who supervised the historical records of the British Transport Commission. Formerly held at the British Transport Historical Records repository at Porchester Road, they were transferred to the custody of the Public Record Office in 1972.

Under the Transport Act 1947 the railways, canals, long-distance road haulage and various other types of transport were acquired by the State and operated by the British Transport Commission. The Commission was responsible to the Ministry of Transport for general transport policy, which it exercised principally through financial control of executive bodies set up to manage specific sections of the industry under schemes of delegation. Details of these executive bodies are set out in PRO Current Guide part 1, 629/1/1; copies of the Guide are available in the reading rooms at The National Archives.