I went back to the canal yesterday, to write down the words and phrases carved into the wooden beams supporting the space between the footpath and an ancient building over the other side of the water. I have yet to discover the history of the carvings, but I’d like to research it and maybe create a story from my findings. They read as follows (each line represents the words carved on each separate beam):
Navigators
Sinew and Bone
Jolt of the pick
Clack of the Hammer
Iron on Stone
Red Quantock
We came and went
Our legacy
A Boat
Coming Clean
Through the Hill
I sometimes find it hard to believe that Bridgwater was a highly prosperous port town, with a brick making industry that was hard to rival. It has all but lost those affluent connotations now. The river Parrot is now nothing more than a mud bath for abandoned supermarket trolleys. But I have seen old photographs of magnificent boats entering the town’s high and clean waters, and the contrast is striking.
I’d like to think that the carvings on the beams above the canal are there to honour the men who worked so hard to make the town industrious. It tells of their toil and the pride they bestowed on their work. I think ‘sinew and bone’ is a reference to the close relationship they have with the earth they were extracting. I have a feeling that ‘Red Quantock’ is the name given to the stone - this would fit perfectly with the colour of the stone walls the beams are supporting. Quantock Red is abundant in Bridgwater; most of the houses built in the same period are all a very distinguishable burnt red colour.
The last three phrases really confuse me. Obviously, there were boats on the canal, but I can’t figure out the significance here. Unless the men are digging the canal, ready for boats to use. The only reason I could give for the use of ‘through the hill’ is another reference to the Quantock Hills.
The form is poetic and I am intrigued to find out the true meaning of the words. Why they are placed where they are? Who wrote them?
