Grantham Canal
Grantham Canal | |
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Canal and River Trust | |
History | |
Original owner | Grantham Canal Co |
Principal engineer | William Jessop |
Other engineer(s) | James Green, William King |
Date of act | 1793 |
Date completed | 1797 |
Date closed | 1936 |
Geography | |
Start point | Grantham |
End point | West Bridgford |
Connects to | River Trent |
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The Grantham Canal ran 33 miles (53 km) from
History
The concept of a canal from the River Trent to Grantham was first raised on 27 August 1791, as a way of supplying the district with cheaper coal. The intent was for the navigation to join the Trent below Nottingham at
The act authorised an initial £75,000 to be raised to pay for construction, together with an option to raise a further £30,000, of which £20,000 should be raised by shares of £100 each among the initial subscribers, and £10,000 by mortgaging the future income of the canal. However, this amount proved insufficient, and there was also disagreement between the shareholders as to their liability to raise the additional £20,000. As a result, a second act was sought. This received the Royal Assent on 3 March 1797, and made clear the obligations of existing shareholders to pay the extra subscription, and also authorised an additional £24,000 to be raised. The second act also removed restrictions in the first act, and allowed the company to set whatever rates it chose for using the canal.[2]
The eastern section from the Leicestershire border was opened on 1 February 1797, with the rest of the canal later that year. The canal was built with locks 75 by 14 feet (22.9 by 4.3 m), the same size as those on the Nottingham Canal to allow boats to use both. The branch to Bingham authorised by the first act was not built. The 18 locks raised the level of the canal by 140 feet (43 m) from the Trent to Grantham. Eleven of them were in the first 4 miles (6.4 km) above the Trent, after which there was a level pound of around 20 miles (32 km) before a flight of seven locks at Woolsthorpe, and a much shorter upper pound to Grantham. At Harlaxton, the canal passed through a deep cutting (effectively crossing the watershed between the River Witham and the River Trent), which was only wide enough for a single boat, but this situation was partially rectified in 1801 when the cutting was widened in two places to allow boats travelling on opposite directions to cross. At Cropwell Bishop and Cropwell Butler, the route passed through gypsum beds, which resulted in problems with leakage.[3]
Operation
The canal made sufficient money to repay substantial debts in 1804 and 1805, after which dividends were paid to the shareholders, beginning at 2 per cent in 1806, rising to 5 per cent in 1815, and reaching their highest level of 8.6 per cent in 1839. The tolls brought in an income which remained below £9,000 until 1823, but then rose steadily to reach £13,079 in 1841. Traffic towards Grantham included coal and coke, lime, groceries and building materials. Some of it supplied villages along the line of the canal, and some of that which travelled the full distance was distributed by land to villages beyond Grantham. Downward traffic was largely agricultural produce, including corn, beans, malt and wool. Such produce was normally loaded at Grantham or Harby.[3]
Initially, some of the coal carried on the canal had been transported in boats owned by the canal company, but they had given up this practice in 1812. They resumed carrying coal in 1827, because they felt that coal stocks at Grantham were not adequate, but were accused of price-fixing. Although the penalty imposed by Lincoln Assizes was small, they ceased this trade, and the coal merchants agreed to maintain stocks of 2,660 tons at Grantham. In 1833, J. Rofe and his son made a proposal for a canal to connect Grantham and Sleaford, but this was not pursued.[4]
Decline
In common with most canals, competition from railways posed a major threat, and in 1845 the canal owners agreed to sell it to the
Traffic declined as the railway companies neglected the canal, and were down to 18,802 tons in 1905, on which the tolls amounted to £242 and an Act of Parliament was passed in 1936, formally closing the canal,[7] though there had been no boat traffic since 1929.[8] The closure act stipulated that water levels should be maintained at 2 feet (60 cm) to support agricultural needs. This effectively guaranteed the continued existence of the canal channel, but structures such as locks and bridges deteriorated, and in the 1950s 46 of the 69 bridges over the canal were lowered as part of road improvement schemes.[9][10] Although the low bridges act as barriers to navigation, large parts of the canal are still in water.[11]
In 1948 Britain's railways, and hence the canal, were nationalised,[11] and became the responsibility of the British Transport Commission. In 1963 control of the canal passed to British Waterways.[12] Under the terms of the Transport Act 1968, all waterways within the jurisdiction of British Waterways were classified as commercial, cruising or remainder waterways. Remainder waterways were those that were deemed to have no economic future, and maintenance would only be carried out where failure to do so would create health or safety issues.[13] The Grantham Canal was listed in this latter category.[14]
Restoration
A plan to fill in a section of the canal in Nottingham resulted in a number of letters appearing in the local press in 1963, and a student at Kesteven College produced a report on the state of the canal, which was presented to the Grantham Civic Society.[15] In 1970, the British Waterways Board attempted to obtain an act of parliament which would have allowed them to cease maintaining the water levels of the canal. The Inland Waterways Association campaigned against the bill, and the clause was amended. The Grantham Canal Society was formed soon afterwards, to promote restoration of the waterway.[16] In 1974, a National Boat Rally was held at Nottingham, to gain support for the restoration scheme, and to promote the idea of a new link to the Trent, which would pass through old gravel workings.[17]
Together with British Waterways, the Inland Waterways Association and the
Following the restoration of the top three locks at Woolsthorpe in the 1990s, a 10-mile (16-km) section from the A1 to Redmile will be completed once the bottom four locks of the flight are restored.[11] The rebuilding of locks 6 and 7, completed in 2000, brought the number of locks restored to five, and approximately one quarter of the canal has been restored to navigable standard.[21] Much improvement of the towpath has also taken place, and access to it is possible at most of the bridges.[11]
A major setback occurred in 2007, when one of the walls of Woolsthorpe Top Lock had to be propped to prevent it collapsing, and British Waterways took the decision to fill it in, as funding was not available to rebuild it. The Inland Waterways Association received a legacy of £100,000 from the estate of Fredrick Woodman, designated for the Grantham Canal, but British Waterways ruled that no work could start until the whole cost of £175,000 had been found. The balance was made up by grants of £40,000 from Lincolnshire County Council and £35,000 from the East Midlands Development Agency. The wall was demolished and rebuilt in three sections, utilizing 290 cubic yards (220 m3) of concrete and 7,500 new bricks.[19]
Restoration of most of the canal does not present major problems, but challenges are presented by the final sections at both ends. The original route to join the Trent has been severed by the building of the A52 road. A route was identified which followed the course of the Polser Brook, which passes under the A52 to the north of the canal,[22] but by 2009, three possible solutions were under consideration.[11] These pose additional problems in finding funding, since they do not count as restoration, and many of the traditional funding sources are not then available. At Grantham, an embankment carrying the A1 road blocks the line of the canal, and the terminal basin has been filled in.[11] There are plans for a tunnel under the A1 as part of a cycle route to improve access to Grantham, and the basin could be redeveloped in due course.[23]
There is also a 5-mile (8 km) dry section between Cotgrave and Kinoulton, which has presented problems since construction in the 18th century: gypsum in the soil reacted with the waterproof clay leading to leaking.[24]
In early 2005, the Grantham Canal Partnership appointed a full-time Grantham Canal restoration manager, Kevin Mann, for an initial 18-month trial period. He would be responsible for planning and managing funding schemes for the restoration, identifying development opportunities and the promotion and interpretation of the canal. The trial proved to be successful, as he was still doing the job in 2009.[25]
The canal and its banks between Redmile and Harby is designated a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest as Grantham Canal SSSI.[26]
Points of interest
Belvoir tramway
The Duke of Rutland also constructed a private wagonway or tramway between the wharf at Muston Gorse and Belvoir Castle. It was constructed in 1814–15, and remained operational for 100 years.[27] It was constructed with fish-belly rail set into stone chairs, some of which, and some wagons, still exist in the castle cellars.[28] The gauge was 4 ft 4+1⁄2 in (1,333 mm), and the rails were supplied by The Butterley Company. Some are in the collection of the science museum,[29] and the National Railway Museum where there is the chassis of one of the wagons.[30]
See also
Bibliography
- Cumberlidge, Jane (1998). Inland Waterways of Great Britain (7th ed.). Imray Laurie Norie and Wilson. ISBN 978-0-85288-355-6.
- Cumberlidge, Jane (2009). Inland Waterways of Great Britain (8th ed.). Imray Laurie Norie and Wilson. ISBN 978-1-84623-010-3.
- De Salis, H.R. (1904). Bradshaw's Canals and Navigable Rivers. David and Charles Reprints.
- Hadfield, Charles (1970). The Canals of the East Midlands. David and Charles. ISBN 978-0-7153-4871-0.
- Potter, Hugh (July 2006). Restoring the Grantham Canal. Waterways World. ISSN 0309-1422.
- Priestley, Joseph (1831). "Historical Account of the Navigable Rivers, Canals, and Railways of Great Britain". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - Shill, Ray (2011). Silent Highways – The forgotten heritage of the Midlands Canals. The History Press. ISBN 978-0-7524-5842-7.
- Squires, Roger (2008). Britain's Restored Canals. Landmark Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84306-331-5.
References
- ^ Hadfield 1970, pp. 61–62
- ^ Priestley 1831, pp. 322–323
- ^ a b Hadfield 1970, p. 63
- ^ Hadfield 1970, pp. 63–64
- ^ Hadfield 1970, pp. 195–196.
- ^ Cumberlidge 2009, p. 145.
- ^ Hadfield 1970, p. 196.
- ^ Shill 2011, p. 179.
- ^ Potter 2006, p. 96.
- ^ "History". Grantham Canal Society. Archived from the original on 1 October 2020. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f Cumberlidge 2009, p. 146
- ^ Hadfield 1970, p. 207.
- ^ Cumberlidge 2009, p. 37.
- ^ Cumberlidge 2009, p. 40.
- ^ Squires 2008, p. 51
- ^ Squires 2008, p. 70
- ^ Squires 2008, p. 84
- ^ a b Squires 2008, p. 131
- ^ a b Newsletter 18. Lincolnshire Waterways Partnership. March 2009. p. 24.
- ^ Squires 2008, pp. 133, 144
- ^ Potter 2006, pp. 100–101.
- ^ Cumberlidge 1998, p. 110
- ^ Potter 2006, pp. 98–99.
- ^ "Fosse Bridge to Hickling Basin". Grantham Canal Society. Archived from the original on 21 September 2020. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
- ^ Newsletter 20. Lincolnshire Waterways Partnership. October 2009. p. 14.
- ^ "Designated Sites View: Grantham Canal". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Archived from the original on 28 December 2020. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
- ^ Historic England. "Belvoir tramway (323902)". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 29 October 2010.
- ^ "Wagons in castle cellar". Narrow Gauge Railway Museum. Archived from the original on 29 May 2014. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
- ^ "Railway Album web site". Archived from the original on 22 February 2018. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
- ^ "National Railway Museum exhibit". Archived from the original on 1 March 2015. Retrieved 29 October 2012.