Some ten to fifteen years ago, the great canal historian, Alan Faulkner, also at the time a Director of the East Anglian Waterways Association, asked me to take on the job of Archivist of the EAWA’s records of the North Walsham and Dilham Canal, a job which I was delighted to accept.
Now, with the big ‘eight zero’ looming, the time has come for me to pass those records onto newer, younger hands. Although a job for one person, a team would probably find the activity even more rewarding as they delved through the papers from the 1773 Bierdermann Survey to today’s digitised NW&DC Trust and canal owners’ minutes of meetings.
The new group will have the chance to analyse and scan the original Cheffin’s Papers of correspondences between the Engineer, Canal Secretary and contractors for the years 1811 to 1827, and a newly donated selection of papers covering the problems and court cases of the Canal Company Ltd. from around 1914. There are also a large number of unread Board of Trade correspondences encompassing the purchase of the canal by Press in the 1870’s, at the Kew Record Offices. Other papers in the collection cover the Barclay and Pallett wherries and trade.
Newer, mainly digitised records, cover the restoration schemes of the 1970’s through to the present day’s works started by Alan Faulkner in the 1990’s. These papers and reports are complemented by over 15,000 photographs of work parties and other activities along the Canal.
So a fabulous opportunity for either an individual, or preferably a team, to take on this amazing collection of 250 years of records of the North Walsham and Dilham Canal.
Please contact me if you are interested via this website’s Contact Us feature
Ivan Cane, East Anglian Waterways Association’s Archivist for the North Walsham and Dilham Canal Records (17th July 2023)
North Walsham Canal Archives
