History
Because the width of a canal channel (about thirty to forty feet) is less than the length of a full-size canal boat it is not usually possible to turn a boat in the canal. Winding holes are typically indentations in the off-side (non-towpath side) of the canal, allowing sufficient space to turn the boat.
One unverified suggestion for the derivation of the name winding hole comes from the fact that the winding hole is on the off-side of the canal. When horses were used to pull the boats, it was not possible for them to assist with the turning of the boat, due to being on the wrong side of the canal. As a result it was considered favourable to use the wind to assist in turning the boat, to reduce the amount of human power needed.
Read more about this topic: Winding Hole
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“Boys forget what their country means by just reading “the land of the free” in history books. Then they get to be men, they forget even more. Liberty’s too precious a thing to be buried in books.”
—Sidney Buchman (1902–1975)
“A man acquainted with history may, in some respect, be said to have lived from the beginning of the world, and to have been making continual additions to his stock of knowledge in every century.”
—David Hume (1711–1776)
“The history of persecution is a history of endeavors to cheat nature, to make water run up hill, to twist a rope of sand.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)