Louth's canal heritage is celebrated at annual entertainment event
The canal heritage of Louth was celebrated with vibrant enthusiasm at an annual event in the town on Saturday.
Culture At The Canal took place at the grade II listed Navigation Warehouse on Riverhead Road, close to the head of the Louth Navigation canal.
And visitors enjoyed a relaxing afternoon of entertainment that included live music, the spoken world, water-based activities and drink, not forgetting oodles of home-made ice cream, courtesy of Grimsby firm, Bensley’s!
The free event, which has been running for several years, was opened by the Mayor of Louth, Coun Karen Parsons, and also featured an interesting local heritage talk by historian Stuart Sizer.
Patrick Purves started the music session and was followed by Pat McCarthy, Shannon Reilly, Mally Oxborrow, birthday boy Keith Angel, the Bluebird Jams and Will Gosling, while food and drink were provided by the nearby Woolpack Inn, with the help of a Pimm’s bar.
The event was organised by Louth Navigation Trust, in partnership with the independent, not-for-profit Zero Degrees community group, which runs the Louth Arts Festival.
The canal, a 12-mile stretch of water, was opened in 1770, connecting the town with the mouth of the River Humber estuary, until it closed to commercial navigation in 1924.
The Navigation Warehouse dates from around the same 18th century period and played an important role in the canal’s working history, with goods including wool, corn, timber and coal passing along the waterway.
Today, the fully restored building, re-opened in 1999, is used by the trust for community, heritage and visitors events and activities.
The trust, formed in 1986, is a charity with more than 250 members. It seeks to “enhance the Louth Navigation canal corridor by undertaking sustainable heritage programmes of canal and building restoration, together with educational, recreational, environmental and economic projects, for the long-term benefit of the community”.