Exploring Rolt’s Landscapes: Writing, Heritage and Conservation

L.T.C. Rolt is still a towering figure in the fields of inland waterways, preserved railways and post-war conservation. A bridge and a locomotive have been named after him, and there is a Rolt Prize, Rolt Fellows and an annual Rolt Lecture. He played a crucial role in the revival of Britain’s inland waterways and pioneered the first preserved narrow-gauge railway. In this fascinating series of linked essays, Joseph Boughey explains aspects of Rolt’s earlier life and work, and sets his writing and practice in a broader context, considering such themes as the landscapes Rolt knew; the nature of travel and ‘country’ writing; the 1930s/40s organicist movement; English canals and navigable rivers from the 1930s to the ‘50s, including practical campaigning; the background to early railway preservation; and the nature of craft, craftspeople and preservation.