IN-PERSON London Heritages. Section A

Abstract

The people of Hull have long possessed a connection with drains and industrial waterways. For decades, drainage channels have served as a means of managing water and safeguarding against the peril of floods , with Hull second only to London for flood risk. Historically, drains provided underserved communities with space for leisure pursuits like swimming, ice-skating and fishing. Yet those who enjoyed these “sinuous” drains in the past were particularly vulnerable to “a perennial source of deadly danger” (Hull Daily Mail, 1895, p3), through risk of accidental drowning or exposure to polluted waters. Contemporary reports continue to warn of the environmental hazards of Hull’s drains, describing the Beverley and Barmston Drain as “black” and “greasy” (BBC News, 2024). Using these waterways as a case study, this paper seeks to build upon the concepts of ‘productive nostalgia’ (Wheeler 2015) and ‘heritage from below’ (Robertson 2012) by proposing a mixed methodology of original archival research, oral history and ‘learning histories’ (McDonagh et al., 2023) for climate action and education. Showcasing a range of archival sources, it will outline how the project will engage community groups and individuals in a series of workshops to create a complex social history of the danger and pleasure of the drains. In doing so, this project investigates whether ‘participatory heritage’ (Roued-Cunliffe and Copeland 2017) can help foster an authentic intergenerational understanding of shared water cultures in the past, present and future – and how this understanding might inspire new ways for us to live well with water.