Hillmorton canal heritage group pays tribute to the father of English canals

Volunteers in Rugby have marked the 250th anniversary of the death of the father of English canals, James Brindley, in a town where canals have played a vital role in its history.

Old Mortonians are a Hillmorton canal heritage group named after the old Morton Pound that had reached just short of the site of the bottom Lock at Hillmorton on the day James died.

Working with Rugby Borough Council they designed and produced an information board to display on a small lectern beside the canal below bottom lock opposite the overgrown remains of that last Brindley canal, to mark the anniversary.

As Canal and River Trust would not permit that, local teenager Thomas Brindley (not a direct descendant but he also lives just off Brindley Road, Hillmorton) is pictured holding the information board to pay tribute to his famous namesake.