PRESS RELEASE
Oxfordshire Blue Plaque for Tom Rolt (1910–1974)
Champion of Inland Waterways
The unveiling of the plaque will be performed at Tooley’s Boatyard, Banbury,
on Saturday 7th August 2010 at 12 noon
by Tony Baldry MP, staunch supporter of the Inland Waterways Association.
Tom Rolt bought the narrow boat Cressy and had it fitted out at Tooley’s Boatyard on the Oxford Canal at Banbury. In 1939 he set out on a honeymoon cruise with his new bride around the canal system, returning several months later to overwinter at the yard. He and his wife lived aboard the Cressy, cruising around the canals until 1951. During all that time Tooley’s remained home base for winter repairs. The voyage inspired him to write the classic book Narrow Boat in celebration of canals and boatmen.
Shocked by the decaying state of the canals, he was inspired to found the Inland Waterways Association, becoming the first secretary in 1946. He was therefore instrumental in reviving the canal network as a recreational amenity which thrives today in Oxfordshire and elsewhere. As part of the Rolt centenary celebrations Ron Heritage and his wife Mary set off from Tooley’s Yard on a replica cruise on 24th April and will return in time for the unveiling of the Blue Plaque.
Rolt was trained as a mechanical engineer and became a distinguished engineering historian, writing over forty books, including a celebrated biography of Brunel. He played an active part in promoting many preservation movements connected with engineering such as the study of industrial archaeology, becoming the first president of the Association for Industrial Archaeology in 1973.
This will be the 53rd Oxfordshire Blue Plaque erected since 2001.
Contacts: Ron Heritage, Inland Waterways Association
01869 277400
Tricia Campbell, Civic Officer, Banbury Town Council
01295 817312
Eda Forbes, Secretary to Oxfordshire Blue Plaques Board
01865 552763 |
