Chesterfield Canal: The waterway which transported the stone used to build the Houses of Parliament

The most famous cargo was 500,000 cubic feet of magnesium limestone extracted from a quarry owned by the Duke of Leeds near the village of North Anston, one mile from the canal.

After the Houses of Parliament were destroyed by fire in 1834, the stone was used to construct the building that’s seen today.

Teams of stonemasons were employed at the canal side to shape the blocks so they could be stowed compactly.

Narrowboats carried them 30 miles east to the Trent, where the stone was loaded onto Humber sloops - a type of strong, single-masted craft - for the journey to Hull.

The cargo was then transferred to large sea-going ships.

Locals have long referred to the canal as the “Cuckoo Dyke” after the name of a particular type of boat used only on the Chesterfield Canal.

Long and thin, cuckoos began appearing in the early 19th century.

However, some believe the description of “cuckoo” was applied not to the narrowboats but to their crews, who were considered mad to use such an unstable-looking craft.

The most famous feature is the 1.6 mile-long Norwood Tunnel between Norwood, Derbyshire, and Kiveton in South Yorkshire. Several sections have collapsed due to subsidence from old collieries.

Much of the canal has been abandoned or filled in since it ceased to carry commercial traffic in the 1950s, with some stretches covered by housing.

Other parts are still navigable thanks to the efforts of the Chesterfield Canal Society.

The towpath is popular with walkers and forms a long-distance trail known as the Cuckoo Way.