Itchen Navigation
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The Itchen Navigation is a 10.4-mile (16.7 km) disused
On its completion it was capable of taking shallow barges of around 13 feet (4.0 m) in width and 70 feet (21 m) in length, but traffic was fairly modest. 18,310 tons of freight were carried in 1802, one of the better years, and there were never more than six boats in use on the waterway. Following the opening of the London and Southampton Railway in 1840, traffic declined sharply, and the navigation ceased to operate in 1869. There were various attempts to revitalise it, but none were successful. There had also been several proposals to link it to the Basingstoke Canal to form an inland route from London to Southampton during its life, which likewise did not come to fruition.
The revival of interest in inland waterways following the end of the
History
The River Itchen had been commercially important since before
Construction of the canal was authorised by an
The Act was unusual, as it was obtained without Pyott's consent, and created a new group of commissioners from local justices and dignitaries. They were empowered to set the rates for tolls, and the owner was obliged to transport all goods at the established rates. If there were not sufficient boats and the owner did not provide more, they could license others to provide carriage services. They could also order that locks, wharves and warehouses should be erected. The size of boats was specified, and were to be capable of carrying between 20 and 30 tons of cargo. The tolls set were quite moderate, and a group of merchants appear to have leased the river from Pyott for a period after 1767, but he eventually took control again.[4]
Some additional locks were added, and by 1795, there were fifteen, three made of masonry blocks, and twelve with turf sides. There were also two single gates or half locks. The lowest lock was at Woodmill, where the navigation joined the estuary of the River Itchen, on its way to Southampton Water. The main wharves at the Southampton end were at Northam, about 2 miles (3.2 km) below the lock, and barges worked down to them on the tide or were punted if the tide was rising.[5] As the river was tidal below Woodmill Lock, the structure was rebuilt in 1829 with a third set of gates facing downstream, to prevent high tides flooding the navigation.[6]
The route map shows the navigation in deep blue, (or green for the drained section), to distinguish it from the river, shown in light blue. Deep blue is normally used to represent navigable waterways, but is used here for clarity.
Operation
Following the death of Pyott, ownership of the navigation was bought by James D'Arcy, by then married to the widow of one of Pyott's sons. There were still mortgages of £4,666 outstanding, all of them owned by members of Pyott's family, on which interest had to be paid. He appears to have leased the tolls to the proprietors, according to a local newspaper report of the time, and then to Edward Knapp, before taking over again in 1794. Around 1802, the navigation was carrying 18,310 long tons (18,600 t) of freight, of which 10,300 long tons (10,500 t) were coal and culm, 350 long tons (360 t) were salt, 1,710 long tons (1,740 t) tons were chalk, and the remaining 5,950 long tons (6,050 t) tons were made up of other goods. The average annual income was quoted as £3,735, but this probably included freight charges as well as tolls, since D'Arcy managed both. He operated four barges.[7]
With the prospects of a link between the navigation and the Basingstoke Canal being constructed, the undertaking was valued at £24,000, and D'Arcy sold a half share in it to his agent, George Hollis. He then sold the other half to him, and moved to Ireland. Hollis became the sole proprietor from 1804, having bought out his sleeping partner. Throughout its life, the navigation had almost been a monopoly, but Hollis planned to end this, and obtained an Act of Parliament in 1802, to make it an open navigation, where anyone could use it on payment of the appropriate tolls. These were laid down in the Act, ending the setting of tolls by the Commissioners. The Act also specified that he had three years to put the river in order, which he appears to have achieved, since he then leased it to a group of merchants.[8]
From 1808, a number of detractors argued that the navigation was in a poor condition, hoping to force Hollis to concede water rights to mills, and traffic declined. Another Act of 1811 allowed Hollis to raise the tolls, and eight years later, he held a meeting at the
Decline
Hollis raised mortgages to pay for improvements, but receipts were down to £1,821 in 1839, the last full year of operation before the London and Southampton Railway opened. The receipts were obtained from tolls, as all freight was moved by independent carriers. At this point, Hollis gave control of the navigation to members of his family. His son managed it until 1841, when a banker called W. W. Bulpett, who was a mortgagee, took over. In 1847 he was given notice to quit by the Hollis family, despite having done a good job, but he refused. F. W. Hollis eventually obtained most of the shares from the other family members, and started legal action to remove Bulpett. Railway competition had caused a sharp drop in receipts, from £1,012 in 1843 to £430 in 1861, and payments to shareholders and mortgagees ceased in 1850 and 1857. In 1863, Bulpett was replaced by Mr Clarke, formerly the manager of the Andover Canal, but Bulpett returned when he won the action brought by Hollis.[10]
However, his re-instatement was short lived, as the navigation ceased to operate in January 1869, the last month in which tolls were collected. Mortgages of £19,708 were outstanding, of which £2,607 dated from the original construction by Pyott. A plan to buy the waterway by J. R. Stebbings of Southampton in 1871 fell through. A further attempt to buy the navigation was made in 1909 by Patrick O'Carroll, an estate agent from Southsea. He created a company called the Itchen Navigation Ltd, with a capital of £20,000, but they were unable to establish who owned it, and so the company never traded.[11]
Extensions
During the life of the canal, there were several proposals to link the canal to the Basingstoke Canal, to provide an inland route between London and Southampton. The first was in 1788, and was initiated by the Basingstoke Canal company, six months after they started work on their main line. A survey for a proposed route was made, but no further progress occurred.
The Basingstoke committee then investigated a link to the Andover Canal, but in December 1792, interest switched back to a link with the Itchen. A meeting was held in Southampton, which was chaired by the mayor and included James D'Arcy on the committee. It became part of a much grander scheme to link Bristol to Salisbury, and onwards to London, but although most of this soon died away, the Itchen to Basingstoke link was still being considered in 1796, by which time it was called the London and Southampton Ports Junction Canal. Two routes were surveyed by different engineers, one costing £127,000 and the other £157,566.[12]
The main focus was on providing a safe route between London and Southampton, in view of the war with France at the time and the threat to shipping using a coastal route. However, prices were rising, and there were a number of other canal schemes in difficulty at the time, which resulted in it being put on hold until 1807. Meanwhile, the Grand Surrey Canal was being proposed in 1800, and Ralph Dodd the main promoter suggested that it could easily be extended to join the Itchen. The previous scheme received more attention in 1807, by which time it had become the Portsmouth, Southampton and London Junction Canal. From Winchester it would pass through Alresford, Alton and Farnham, to join either the Basingstoke Canal at Aldershot or the Wey and Godalming Navigations at Godalming. To speed construction, it was suggested that the 2-mile (3.2 km) summit tunnel could be replaced by a 7-mile (11 km) railway, with the tunnel being built in due course.[13]
Widely divergent costs for the project were discussed. The original estimate was £140,000 if the railway was built, and £200,000 if the tunnel was built. Opponents suggested the cost would be nearer £700,000, and John Rennie estimated the tunnel line would cost £440,790 in 1809. Opponents argued that the real intent was to improve the water supply for the Basingstoke Canal or to line the pockets of George Hollis, the owner of the Itchen Navigation. There was considerable interest in the scheme, as 1,244 shares of £100 had been subscribed by early 1809, but with opposition from land and mill owners, and Rennie's report indicating much higher costs, the project was dropped.[13]
One final proposal was made in 1902. Experiments had been carried out on the Wey and Godalming using electric traction to pull the barges. The scheme was for a 64-mile (103 km) canal from Ditton on the River Thames through Guildford, Godalming and Alton to join the Itchen at Winchester. 250-ton barges would be pulled along from the towpath by engines fed from overhead catenary wires. However, although such a system was operational in France, nothing came of the proposal.[14]
Closure
Although the navigation ceased to operate from January 1869, Woodmill Lock remained in use, to enable barges to reach
In 1911, a Mr Bowker from Shawford successfully applied for the towpath to be diverted, but this was overturned when Rev. J. H. Du Boulay appealed against the decision. The diversion was sanctioned in 1914, although there have been doubts about the legality of the action, and subsequently two further diversions were made, at Chickenhall, near the southern end and at Hockley, near the northern end. No maintenance was carried out on the waterway until the formation of
In the 1960s, the value of the towpath as a leisure amenity began to be recognised. The deputy county clerk for Hampshire walked along the towpath from end to end in 1966, together with members of the
Legislation
The powers of the navigation were enshrined in Acts of Parliament obtained in 1665, 1767, 1795, 1802, 1811 and 1820, none of which have been repealed.[19]
Restoration
The newer technologies of road and rail led to the navigation falling into disuse. Some lengths of the system were drained or allowed to overgrow with vegetation. Increasingly the difference between the canal and the river became less obvious, although it is still possible to identify remains of the original locks. The threat to the remains which the construction of the M3 motorway posed spurred the Winchester Tenants and Residents Association and the local branch of the Inland Waterways Association into action in 1975, with both suggesting that the waterway could be restored. The two groups later co-operated, and the Itchen Navigation Preservation Society was formed.[20]
Little progress was made, but in 2005 the
Route
The official head of the canal was at Blackbridge Wharf,
The navigation passes St Catherine's Hill, an Iron Age
A
Below Twyford
The next lock is Compton Lock, the only one built on a river section. It is also called Compton Place Lock or Twyford Lock, and the extra flow compared to other locks may explain the erosion that has taken place, resulting in a circular area of water between the upper and lower gates.[33] Just above Shawford Bridge, the river and navigation diverged, with Shawford Mill just below the junction. The building still stands. The bridge is a modern construction, and is located at a point where the towpath crosses to the western bank. Just to the south is a weir at the site of Shawford Single Gates, which probably ensured the mill had an adequate head of water.[36] The village of Twyford lies to the east, and the Twyford Drain splits, with the western channel rejoining the river below the mill, and the eastern channel continuing as a relief channel. There are two more locks on the navigation, called Malm Lock and College Mead Lock, before the navigation rejoins the river. By the junction is the intake for Otterbourne Water Treatment Works.[36]
After some 450 yards (410 m), the river continues straight ahead, and another cut begins, turning sharply to the right. Soon the remains of Brambridge Lock are reached, which include a derelict eel trap. The design of the gates, which included vents near the top of the structure, to allow surplus water to pass through, was clearly shown in a drawing dating from 1880. Below it were Brambridge Single Gates, probably used to maintain water levels for a mill, of which some brickwork remains. There were hatches to allow water to return to the river channel either side of the gates, one of which is now a modern sluice. The navigation runs along an embankment for about 450 yards (410 m), which is 5 feet (1.5 m) high, before it reaches Allbrook Lock. This was moved in 1838, when the railway line was built, and was repaired in 1944. It has a chamber built of bricks, whereas the other locks are turf-sided. A bridge carries the B3335 over the tail of the lock, having been widened since it was first built. At the head of the lock is a gauging station, where the Environment Agency measure the flow and level of the water.[37]
The navigation turns to the west, passing under the railway line, and then loops back to return to the eastern side of the railway. It runs along the northern edge of some railway sidings which form part of Eastleigh Works, to reach Withymead Lock. This was unusual, as it included a bypass channel to take excess water around the lock, whereas the other locks used vents in the gates. Just below the lock, the navigation rejoins the river channel.[38] At Barton Bay, the Barton River leaves the navigation, following a course to the west of the channel. A horse bridge carried the towpath over the river, which used to supply water to Barton Peveril Mill. The next cut began a little further south, with Bishopstoke or Stoke Lock at the head of it.[39][40] There are four bridges on Bishopstoke Road, as it crosses the Barton River, the navigation, the river channel and the tailrace of Shears Mill, Bishopstoke.[41] The mill was a large four-storey building, which was demolished in the 1920s. Four years before demolition, two water turbines of 20-inch (51 cm) and 36-inch (91 cm) diameter were installed, and were retained after the demise of the mill, in the hope that they could be used to generate DC power for the village. Several community groups were looking at the possibility of restoring the water turbines to generate electricity.[42][43]
The next lock is Conegar Lock, which was also called Stoke Conegar or Coneygear Lock. Just above it are some hatches which supplied water to the adjacent water meadows. They were built of dressed stone, and are the best-preserved of the original hatches. There is no modern sluice at Conegar Lock, and the change in level has resulted in fast-flowing rapids which have cut back the channel above the lock. A little further south at Fish House Bay, the navigation crossed the Barton River diagonally, as the mill stream made its way back to the main river. A footbridge on the eastern bank carried the towpath over the Barton River, but the navigation below this point is dry, with its line occupied by a vegetable garden.[44]
Below Conegar
The next section is the least preserved part of the navigation, which skirted to the east of Eastleigh Sewage Treatment Works, to a point where it was crossed by the railway from Eastleigh to Gosport. Two lengths have been filled in, and although there is a footpath, it follows the approximate route of the navigation, rather than the actual towpath. The railway bridge was built in 1841 and originally had two arches, one for the navigation, and another for the landowners. Replacement was necessary in 1979, and the bridge was demolished. Part of it was replaced by an embankment, but a large-diameter concrete tube was provided, or sufficient size to carry the navigation should it be reinstated. The next lock is Lock House Lock, which was also called Chickenhall Lock. The name reflects the fact that there was a lock-keeper's cottage by the structure, but this has long since disappeared.[45]
The navigation then passes to the east of
The final lock was the sea lock at Woodmill. There are no visible remains of it, although its location can still be seen.
Flora and fauna
The Itchen Navigation supports a rich flora and fauna, and one benefit of the 5-year grant-funded restoration project has been the regular monitoring and publishing of reports to document this. Annual reports on the populations of birds, bats, otters, water voles and
In recognition of the fact that many people use the towpath to exercise their dogs, dog dips have been installed at Allbrook and Shawford. These provide easy access into the water for dogs, and owners are encouraged to only allow dogs to swim at these locations, to conserve the bank in other places.
Points of interest
51°03′22″N 1°18′33″W / 51.0561°N 1.3091°W
References
- ^ "History before 1665". Southampton Canal Society. Archived from the original on 2 December 2020. Retrieved 2 October 2012.
- ^ Hadfield 1969, p. 160
- ^ Hadfield 1969, pp. 160–162
- ^ Hadfield 1969, p. 161
- ^ Hadfield 1969, pp. 161–162
- ^ a b Course 2011, p. 13
- ^ Hadfield 1969, pp. 161–163
- ^ Hadfield 1969, p. 163
- ^ Hadfield 1969, pp. 163–164
- ^ Hadfield 1969, pp. 164–165
- ^ Hadfield 1969, pp. 165–166
- ^ Hadfield 1969, pp. 176–177
- ^ a b Hadfield 1969, p. 177
- ^ Hadfield 1969, pp. 177–179
- ^ a b Course 2011, pp. 13–14
- ^ Course 2011, p. 11
- ^ Course 2011, pp. 11–12
- ^ Course 2011, pp. 2, 5
- ^ Course 2011, p. 12
- ^ Squires 2008, p. 86
- ^ Squires 2008, p. 166
- ^ Wessex Archaeology 2005, pp. 2, 8.
- ^ a b "Itchen Navigation Wildlife". Hampshire Wildlife Trust. Archived from the original on 6 August 2012. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
- ^ Wessex Archaeology 2005, p. 21
- ^ Wessex Archaeology 2005, p. 47
- ^ Wessex Archaeology 2005, p. 52
- ^ Wessex Archaeology 2005, pp. 31, 41
- ^ Wessex Archaeology 2005, p. 46
- ^ Course 2011, p. 23
- ^ Ordnance Survey, 1:2500 map, 1953–1964
- ^ Course 2011, pp. 2, 12
- ^ "Taming The Tarmac: The Lesson of Twyford Down". Cambridge University. Archived from the original on 29 November 2006. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
- ^ a b Course 2011, p. 22
- ^ a b Ordnance Survey, 1:25,000 map, 2012
- ^ "Twyford Meads Information". Twyford Parish Council. Archived from the original on 16 March 2013. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
- ^ a b Course 2011, p. 21
- ^ Course 2011, pp. 20–21
- ^ Course 2011, p. 19
- ^ Course 2011, pp. 18–19
- ^ "Withymead Lock – Bishopstoke". Southampton Canal Society. Archived from the original on 22 October 2020. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
- ^ Ordnance Survey, 1:2500 map, 2012
- ^ "Shears Mill". Bishopstoke Parish Council. Archived from the original on 22 July 2012. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
- ^ "Bishopstoke Turbines". FOCUS on Industrial Archaeology. December 2007. Archived from the original on 30 October 2018.
- ^ Course 2011, pp. 17–18
- ^ Course 2011, p. 16
- ^ Course 2011, pp. 14–15
- ^ "About Us". Woodmill Outdoor Activities Centre. Archived from the original on 21 September 2012. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
- ^ Whyte 2012a, pp. 2, 4.
- ^ Whyte 2012a, p. 4
- ^ Whyte 2012a, p. 9.
- ^ Whyte & Morse 2009, pp. 4–5.
- ^ Busst 2017, p. 4.
- ^ Busst 2017, pp. 42–43.
- ^ Busst 2017, p. 39.
- ^ Busst 2017, pp. 41, 43.
- ^ All grid refs Wessex Archaeology 2005, pp. 44–46
Sources
- Busst, Georgina (2017). "Solent and South Downs: Fish monitoring report 2017" (PDF). Environment Agency. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 February 2021.
- Course, Edwin (2011). The Itchen Navigation. Hampshire Industrial Archaeology Society. ISBN 978-0-905280-10-3.
- Hadfield, Charles (1969). The Canals of South and South-East England. David and Charles. ISBN 0-7153-4693-8.
- Squires, Roger (2008). Britain's restored canals. Landmark Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84306-331-5.
- Wessex Archaeology (April 2005). Itchen Navigation Heritage Trail (PDF). Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 December 2020.
- Whyte, Polly (2012a). Itchen Navigation Water Vole Survey 2011 (PDF). Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust.[permanent dead link]
- Whyte, Polly; Morse, Ali (2009). "Itchen Navigation Bat Survey 2008" (PDF). Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust.[permanent dead link]
External links
- The Itchen Navigation Heritage Trail Project organised by the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust.
- Southampton Canal Society website Archived 12 July 2013 at the Wayback Machine