Coal mining and iron working prospered in the West Midlands in the nineteenth century, after the development of local industry, in particular metalworking and trades using coal, iron and limestone. Subsequently these grew industries in gas making, flour milling and the chemical trade, also beside the water's edge.

This detailed and informative book examines the development of the Birmingham Canal Navigation and adjacent waterways, as well as discussing canal construction and the various industries along the banks of the canal.

Much of the material in this illustrated volume is from archive sources and the book discusses the use of navigable waterways, canal carrying both locally and long-distance, the linking of the canals to the railways, the use of coal in steam and gas engines and the changes wrought by the development of electrical machinery and the road.