The combination
of bench and chest saved space aboard a narrow-boat. The
pictures and motifs on the bench took the place of paintings
and soft furnishings in a 'normal' house.
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From the opening
of the Oxford-to-Birmingham canal in 1790 until the Second
World War, the canal linked Oxford and the Midlands for traffic
in coal (to Oxford) and grain (from Oxford). Canal families
worked and lived on the boats.
There
was little space for the usual home furnishings on a narrow
boat, only for the bare necessities - water container, bench
- which were covered in painted decoration. Canal workers
plying their trade in and out of Oxford and Banbury had no
space for chairs in the boats, and ate on the banks in good
weather. The canal boat mirror doubles up as a picture and
a fold-down table.
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