DO THE SOURCES AND THE SITE ITSELF PROVE THAT THE CANAL BROUGHT BENEFITS TO THE PEOPLE OF COVENTRY
GURDEEP SIAN
The Coventry canal brought many benefits to the people of Coventry. One way in which it was beneficial, was because it employed people. It gave people jobs, which was especially beneficial to the working class people. Another reason is the canal was so popular; and because of this people like the keeper of the greyhound inn would have made a lot of profit. Shareholders and canal companies benefited due to the tollhouse. The tollhouse was there for the money that was collected for the people passing through the canal. The tollhouse was one of the reasons why the canal stayed profitable over the years. Even if the profit being made was falling; it still continued to make a profit. This is shown in source C. The miners and the locals would have made benefited a lot from living in the cottages. The cottages had good living conditions for its time. To them it was very good housing. A minor reason is the lock keepers cottage employed people for jobs. Again, this was very beneficial to the working class. The pump house was very beneficial. The pump house stopped the mines from flooding which benefited the miners, and also pumped water into the canal where it was needed. The reason why this was so beneficial was because the pump house was solving two problems at once. The canal made trading possible between large industrial cities, which were far apart. This was beneficial to the people in Coventry who were involved in trade. This is shown in source A. Source A quotes ‘’The making of a canal from the city of Coventry to communicate with the Trent and Mersey canal would open trade between the counties, towns and places where considerable trades and manufacturer are carried on and established….’’ Many goods were sent by canal such as wool, tin, copper. Other goods, which were sent by canal, were stone, paving (for road making), bricks and timber. The canals easily persuaded many manufacturers to send their goods this way. This benefited manufacturers and those involved in trade.
