George Webster green plaque

This green commemorative plaque records: The KENDAL LANCASTER CANAL. This canal, completed in 1819, brought coal into Kendal from Lancashire and carried out limestone and manufactured goods. By providing cheap coal to replace water power with steam power it enabled Kendal's manufacturing industry to expand, the Kendal yards then developing as workshops and workers' housing. The canal terminated at Canal Head with warehouses, wharves and stables, the whole complex being designed by the Kendal architect George Webster. This plaque is mounted on the former canal ticket office. The opening of the Kendal railway in 1847 led to a decline in canal traffic and in 1856 the warehouses became an engineering works. The canal was filled in in 1947. Recorded plaque organisation: Kendal Civic Society.

George Webster was a Kendal architect who designed the comprehensive complex at Canal Head including warehouses, wharves, and stables for the Kendal Lancaster Canal, which played a crucial role in expanding Kendal's manufacturing industry by facilitating cheaper coal transport.