Documents Library: Maps, Plans and Drawings Menu

Documents Library

Maps, Plans and Drawings

[Trial]

This Society is building a digital collection of material holding interesting content regarding the people, places and vessels once found on the canals and rivers of Yorkshire. These documents have been loaned by enthusiasts who want to preserve and publish material about the heritage of an industry which once underpinned the industrial success of the county but today has all but disappeared. We have had them digitised and then returned the originals to their owners.

What is the difference between a map and a plan? Generally speaking, a map is a record of the existing landscape, so factual in nature. A plan, on the other hand, typically includes features which do not yet exist, so are planned to happen, but may not.

Maps, plans and engineering drawings are typically large documents, too big to view the whole document in any detail on a single computer or mobile phone screen, but we think we have the answer. We have used a specialist scanning service to capture them for presentation on our website. Once scanned we then use clever tools to enable the user to move around the document zooming in on parts of particular interest.

Moving around the display

You will find a set of controls at the base of each document which most of you will recognise. These will allow you to zoom in and out, + and –. You will be able to drag the image across your screen to home in on an area of particular interest. Please have a go and see how you get on.

Finally, our website has to do a lot of work to bring you these documents, so please be patient as it sorts itself out and focuses the display for your enjoyment.

Plan of Harbour and Docks at Goole, 1825

Created by Civil Engineer, George Leather, this plan predates the opening of the port of Goole in July 1826. It reflects the thinking at that time for how the port and town would develop over the coming years. While some features would come to pass others did not. The vision expressed for Goole in this document would have impressed those considering investing in the town.

View and Plan of the Port of Goole with the Intended Improvements, 1828.

Created by Civil Engineer, George Leather, this is another forward thinking document which details many features that actually existed by 1828 but also others described as “intended” including the lengthy “intended back cut” which on paper looks like a water ring road for traffic wanting to avoid the docks. His view of Goole suggests that building had progressed at pace since the opening of the port in 1826.

Plan of the Town and Port of Goole, 1853.

This plan, attributed to T H Bartholomew, was clearly a working document as it appears to have been annotated using coloured inks to highlight features which did not appear on the original map. We think it must have been used by Aire and Calder Navigation Engineering Department to visualise changes in the port layout but if you have another explanation, please let us know.

Ordnance Survey Map of Goole, 1892

This colourful ordnance survey map was published in 1892, reflecting surveys done 1888-1890. It has been used as a working document, probably by the Aire and Calder Navigation Company Engineering Department, as can be seen from the annotations showing, for example, “Railway Diversion” and “Dock Extension”.

Drawing of Compartment Diesel Tug, 1957

This engineering drawing featured in the contract placed by the British Transport Commission with E C Jones (Brentford) Ltd for the construction of three single screw diesel compartment tugs. These were part of a new generation of diesel tugs built to replace the aging steam tugs pulling trains of compartment boats, the Tom Puddings, between the coal pits in Yorkshire’s West Riding and the port of Goole.

Drawing of Dunston Diesel Engined Launch Tug, 1950

This drawing shows the outboard profile of a vessel designed by Richard Dunston, shipbuilders, of Thorne, Yorkshire. Dunston s had established quite a reputation as a builder of quality tugs which was enhanced by the large numbers of vessels produced for the armed forces during World War II.

Drawing of Compartment Boat (Tom Pudding), 1877

This drawing was part of a contract for the building of compartment boats in 1877. It was subsequently used to record fine changes to the dimensions by the builder which can be seen on the drawing.

It holds a surprise in that changes to the design requested by W H Bartholomew himself are noted on the drawing.

Publication permission for copyright images

We acknowledge that copyright images are being shown for which no explicit permission to publish has been given to this Society. Many of the digital images shown had originally been produced with the knowledge and permission of the now defunct Yorkshire Waterways Museum from original photographs deposited there for public display. Following the closure of that organisation in 2019 and the break up of their collection those original photographs have disappeared and have effectively been lost to the public.

Through an incredible stroke of good fortune digital copies of those images were donated to this Society in 2022 allowing our volunteers to finally achieve the wishes of those photographers and collectors who had made the original donations.

If you are the copyright holder and would like to contact the Society please use the form below.

Documents Library: Maps, Plans and Drawings Menu