Bulbourne Yard
Introduction
The photograph on this page of Bulbourne Yard by Stephen McKay as part of the Geograph project.
The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
There are currently over 7.5m images from over 14,400 individuals and you can help contribute to the project by visiting https://www.geograph.org.uk
Bulbourne Yard
Image: © Stephen McKay Taken: 22 Apr 2021
The Grand Junction Canal Company opened its works at Bulbourne in 1847 for the manufacture of lock gates. The workshops date from 1882 and are thought to have been designed by Hubert Thomas who later became general manager of the canal company. The choice of this location made sense; it was in easy reach of the canal's locks and the ready supply of oak from the surrounding Chiltern Hills may also have been a factor. The works continued in the same role until late in the British Waterways era, finally closing in 2004. The specialist work was transferred to Bradley and Stanley Ferry. Following that the buildings, four of which are listed, gradually deteriorated until redevelopment work began in 2019. By late 2021 25 new homes will be put on the market and there will be a facility for the Canal and River Trust.
Images are licensed for reuse under creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0
Image Location
Latitude
51.814159
Longitude
-0.64839