The London Canal Museum has a great deal to offer students at Key Stage 4 and above, particularly those who are studying humanities.

The building in which the Museum is housed was constructed in the early nineteenth century as a warehouse for the storage of ice. The canal basin on which it stands was part of the Regent’s Canal system, built to allow transhipment of cargoes brought to London in ocean going ships, which then needed to be carried inland to the rapidly growing industrial towns of the Midlands and North of England.

The collections include displays about the lives of the families who lived on their canal boats; Battlebridge Basin; lifting & weighing; canal art; Carlo Gatti and the trade in ice from Norway; the London canal system; the horses who were used to power the boats; the operation of locks; and the Regent’s Canal.

All of these would be particularly useful for those studying

• 19th and 20th century social history
• 19th century transport systems
• Changing land use over a period of time
• Urban development in the 19th century
• Urban decay & regeneration in the 20th & 21st centuries
• The changing technology of building structures

Key Stage 4 Enquiry Question: How did the canal system and its proponents impact on transport and on London from the 1750s to the 1940s?

Key Stage 4 teachers are strongly encouraged to visit the Museum to see what is available, and discuss exactly what their curriculum needs are. Tailor-made sessions can be devised to fit in with your approach if you are working on a particular project of your own.

If you would like advice before making a preliminary visit, please contact education@canalmuseum.org.uk