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Brightwork; a history of folk art


Roses & Castles is well known as the vivid folk art used to decorate working boats in the 19th century. But boats on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal were painted in a style known as Brightwork.

This painted decoration of working boats on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal was one of the most colourful of Britain’s folk traditions. It was last used in the early 1960s, but despite this being less than fifty years ago, little was recorded about the tradition until recently.

What is Brightwork?

The style of decoration varied along the canal, but the main features are scrolls, geometric patterns and panels with intricate edgings, sometimes with scenes within them. The tradition seems to have developed from early religious symbols which were probably used to protect the boat, its cargo and crew. Similar symbols can be found on buildings and boats across Europe, but only in Portugal has the tradition developed into something as colourful as that used on Leeds & Liverpool Canal boats.

Who practiced Brightwork?

Each boat yard had its own particular style, easily recognised by those on the canal. The detailed painting was done by just one man, often the owner of the yard or the foreman, and handed down from generation to generation. A day, or day and a half, was allowed for the painting, which was a very small part of the work at the boat yard. In Yorkshire, varnished woodwork was another major feature of boat decoration. There was less of this in Lancashire, but the paintwork was more colourful, and the lettering of the boat's name and owner became much more detailed, often with curly serifs to the letters.

Why the Leeds & Liverpool Canal

Why the tradition developed on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal will never really be known, as there was no similar tradition on other northern canals. Perhaps it was influenced by the 'Arts and Crafts' movement at the end of the nineteenth century, but, however it developed, it remains one of the most colourful of England's folk arts.

Read more about Roses & Castles

Thanks to Mike Clarke

Last updated: 01/07/2009