Kennet and Avon Canal
Kennet and Avon Canal | |
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Wilts and Berks Canal |
The Kennet and Avon Canal is a
The two river stretches were made navigable in the early 18th century, and the 57-mile (92 km) canal section was constructed between 1794 and 1810. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the canal gradually fell into disuse after the opening of the Great Western Railway. In the latter half of the 20th century the canal was restored in stages, largely by volunteers. After decades of dereliction and much restoration work, it was fully reopened in 1990. The Kennet and Avon Canal has been developed as a popular heritage tourism destination for boating, canoeing, fishing, walking and cycling, and is also important for wildlife conservation.
History
Early plans
The idea of an east-to-west waterway link across southern England was first mentioned in
The main alternative to road transport for the carriage of goods between Bristol and London was a hazardous sea route through the English Channel. The small coastal sailing ships of the day were often damaged by Atlantic storms, and risked being attacked by warships of the French Navy and privateers during a succession of conflicts with France.[3]
Plans for a waterway were shelved until the early 18th century. However, in 1715, work was authorised to make the River Kennet navigable from Reading to Newbury. Work commenced in 1718, under the supervision of surveyor and engineer John Hore of Newbury. In 1723, despite considerable local opposition, the Kennet Navigation opened, comprising stretches of natural riverbed alternating with 11 miles (18 km) of artificially created lock cuts.[3]
The
The two river navigations were built independently of one another, in order to meet local needs, but they eventually led to plans to connect them and form a through route.
Closing the gap
Proposals
In 1788 a "Western Canal" was proposed to improve trade and communication links to towns such as Hungerford, Marlborough, Calne, Chippenham and Melksham. The following year the engineers Barns, Simcock and Weston submitted a proposed route for this canal, although there were doubts about the adequacy of the water supply. The name was changed from Western Canal to Kennet and Avon Canal to avoid confusion with the Grand Western Canal, which was being proposed at the same time.[5] This came in the midst of the Canal Mania period, with shares oversubscribed and reports of riotous crowds gathering outside meetings.[6]
In 1793 a further survey was conducted by John Rennie, and the route of the canal was altered to take a more southerly course through Great Bedwyn, Devizes, Trowbridge and Newbury. The proposed route was accepted by the Kennet and Avon Canal Company, chaired by Charles Dundas, and the company started to take subscriptions from prospective shareholders. In July 1793 Rennie suggested further alterations to the route, including the construction of a tunnel in the Savernake Forest.[5]
Organisation
On 17 April 1794 the Kennet and Avon Canal Act 1794 (
Responsibility for construction was divided across three committees: the Western District, the central Wiltshire District (which was later absorbed into the Western in 1802), and the Eastern District. These awarded contracts and had delegated financial powers.[7] Problems with contractors occurred on multiple occasions, sometimes being overenthusiastic about tendering for multiple sections of work, failing to survey ground conditions thoroughly and encountering difficulties such as rock or natural springs.[6]
Construction began at Bradford-on-Avon in the west, and Newbury in the east, in October 1794.[6][8]
Western section: Bath to Foxhangers
The first sod for the Kennet and Avon Canal was turned in Bradford-on-Avon, and soon there were wharves above and below Bradford Lock.[9] The new canal was complete from Bath to Foxhangers (a farm immediately at the western foot of Caen Hill)[10] 6.5 years after construction started, in May 1801.[6]
Eastern section: Newbury to Devizes
In 1796, completion of the eastern end of the new canal from Newbury to Great Bedwyn was anticipated within 12 months;[6] however by July of that year, inflationary effects of the French Revolutionary Wars led labourers to take up more lucrative harvest work, and 23% of shareholders had fallen into arrears.[6] Water springs encountered between Newbury and Crofton also caused delays.[6] On 12th June 1797, the first section from Newbury to Kintbury was opened, with a band from the 15th Regiment of Dragoons playing onboard the first barge to travel upstream, and chairman Charles Dundas joining the return cruise back to Newbury.[6] Construction continued uphill towards Hungerford, where seven houses were demolished in the path of the canal, and a new road bridge provided. On 9th October 1798, the first cargo barge arrived in Hungerford, carrying a Portland stone staircase and Russian tallow - about 40 long tons (41 t; 45 short tons) in all.[6] By 2nd July 1799, the canal was open as far west as Great Bedwyn. The summit beyond Great Bedwyn, and subsequent gentle descent to Devizes, remained incomplete as late as 1803.[6]
Completion
The final engineering task was the completion of the Caen Hill Locks at Devizes.[5][11] While the lock flight was under construction, a horse-drawn railway provided a link between Foxhangers at the bottom of the flight and Devizes at the top, the remains of which can be seen in the towpath arches in the road bridges over the canal.[12]
The canal opened to through-traffic in 1810, after 16 years of construction. As well as Caen Hill Locks, other major structures included the Dundas and Avoncliff aqueducts, the Bruce Tunnel under Savernake Forest, and the pumping stations at Claverton and Crofton, needed to overcome water supply problems.
Operation
In 1801, trade along the canal commenced; goods initially had to be unloaded at Foxhangers at the bottom of what is now Caen Hill Locks, transported up the hill by a horse-drawn tramway, and reloaded into barges at the top. When the flight of locks opened in 1810, allowing the same vessel to navigate the entire canal, the rate of carriage per ton from London to Bath was £2 9s 6d. This compared well with carriage by road, which cost £6 3s to £7 per ton, and trade on the canal flourished. In 1812, the Kennet and Avon Canal Company bought the Kennet Navigation, which stretched from Newbury to the junction with the Thames at Kennet Mouth, near Reading. The purchase from Frederick Page cost £100,000, of which £70,000 was paid in cash with the balance paid back gradually. The purchase was authorised by the Kennet Navigation Act of June 1813, which enabled the company to raise the funds through the sale of 5,500 shares at £24 each. At the same time work was undertaken to improve the Avon Navigation, from Bristol to Bath, with the Kennet and Avon Canal Company purchasing a majority shareholding in the Avon Navigation in 1816.[13]
By 1818, seventy 60-ton barges were working on the canal, the majority of the tonnage being coal and stone travelling via the Somerset Coal Canal.[14] The journey from Bath to Newbury took an average of three and a half days. By 1832, 300,000 tons of freight was being carried each year and, between 1825 and 1834, the company had an annual revenue of around £45,000.[5]
A link connecting the Kennet & Avon to the Basingstoke Canal at its Basingstoke terminus was proposed three times between 1793 and 1810, and a route was even surveyed by John Rennie the Younger in 1824, but following opposition from landowners was eventually rejected by Parliament in 1824 and 1826.[15]
Decline
The opening of the
The Somerset Coal Canal and Wilts & Berks Canal, which each supplied some of the trade from the Somerset Coalfield to the Kennet and Avon,[18] closed in 1904 and 1906 respectively. In 1926, following a loss of £18,041 the previous year,[19] the Great Western Railway sought to close the canal by obtaining a Ministry of Transport Order, but the move was resisted and the company charged with improving its maintenance of the canal.[16] Cargo trade continued to decline, but a few pleasure boats started to use the canal.[20]
During the Second World War a large number of concrete pillboxes were built as part of the GHQ Line - Blue to defend against an expected German invasion; many of these are still visible along the banks of the canal.[21] They were generally built close to road and rail bridges, which would have formed important crossing points for enemy troops and vehicles.[22][23] After the war the Transport Act 1947 transferred control of the canal to the British Transport Commission, but by the 1950s large sections of the canal had been closed because of poor lock maintenance following a breach in the bank west of the Avoncliff Aqueduct.[5] The last through passage was made in 1951 by nb Queen.[24]
Closure avoided
A group supporting the restoration of the canal had been set up in the early 1950s independently of the
A government white paper followed the Bowes Report in February 1959, recommending that an Inland Waterways Redevelopment Advisory Committee should assist schemes to regenerate canals that were no longer able to collect enough fees from tolls to pay for their upkeep. Further reports followed, and in 1962 the Advisory Committee reported that the canal should be redeveloped, and allocated £20,000 for maintenance and £20,000 to begin restoration.[27] The Kennet and Avon Canal Trust was formed in 1962 to restore the canal from Reading to Bristol as a through navigation and as a public amenity. It was originally a voluntary group which had previously been known as the Kennet and Avon Canal Association. The Trust gained charitable status in April and was incorporated under the Companies Act on 6 June 1962.[28] In 1963 the newly formed British Waterways, which was created by the Transport Act of the previous year, and replaced the British Transport Commission as the statutory body for inland waterways, took over the canal and, in partnership with the Trust and riparian local authorities, restoration work began.[29]
Restoration
Restoration work involved a collaboration between staff from British Waterways and volunteer labour. In 1966
Further works continued during the 1980s.
Various fund-raising schemes, along with some financial support from local authorities, allowed small-scale work on the locks to continue, but the projected timescales for completion were missed. In 1983 the Manpower Services Commission, which had a remit to co-ordinate employment and training services in the United Kingdom, agreed to employ 50 men on work that included restoration of Aldermaston Lock, its adjacent wharf, and Widmead Lock. The restoration of Dundas Aqueduct and several smaller schemes were later added to the list. Maintenance agreements were signed with local authorities along the route, while fund-raising activities continued. The National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders sponsored a workshop, which opened in Shrivenham in 1987, to create new lock gates for the Crofton and Devizes flights. In 1988 the restoration of Woolhampton Lock was completed, but obstructions remained on either side. Frouds swing bridge could not be opened and the restoration of Midgham Lock had not been finished; both were completed the following year. Re-puddling of the Crofton pounds was carried out in 1989, along with the reconstruction of Midgham Bridge. Restoration of the turf-sided Monkey Marsh Lock proved difficult because of its status as a scheduled monument, and the consequent need to protect the historic site while improving safety.[34]
The stretch between Reading and Newbury was completed on 17 July 1990; at a ceremony held at
On 1 December 2004, two men died when the Ford tractor in which they were reversing along part of the towpath between Bridge 111 and Bridge 110 toppled into the water. British Waterways was found guilty of failing to adequately assess risk and fined £100,000. A subsequent dispute with their insurers gave rise to legal consideration of the meaning of certain terminology in their insurance policy concerned with liability "arising out of" the operation of a tractor.[43]
In 2011 the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs designated the canal a national "cruiseway" as defined by the Transport Act 1968. The listing imposes a legal requirement on British Waterways to maintain the canal to a standard that ensures cruising craft can safely navigate the entire length of the waterway.[44] In November 2011 the navigation between Bath and Bristol was closed for several months because of safety concerns about Victoria Bridge.[45][46]
Route
Bristol to Bath
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The River Avon was navigable from Bristol to Bath during the early years of the 13th century, until the construction of mills on the river forced its closure.[3] The modern Avon is navigable from its mouth at Avonmouth, through the Floating Harbour in Bristol, as far as Pulteney Weir in the centre of Bath and just beyond the start of the canal. Beyond Pulteney Weir the Avon is still navigable as far as the weir and site of the old "flash lock" at Bathampton but the lock at Pulteney has been replaced only with a small boat slide for dinghies and canoes. The stretch from Bristol to Bath is made navigable by the use of locks and weirs at Hanham, Keynsham, Swineford, Saltford, Kelston and Weston, which together overcome a rise of 30 feet (9 m) within 12 miles (19 km).[47][48][49][50][51]
Lock number one on the Kennet and Avon Canal is
The river then passes through Avon Valley Country Park and past Stidham Farm, another SSSI that contains Pleistocene terrace-gravels of the river. A depth of at least 7 feet (2 m) of sandy gravels are recorded, consisting mainly of limestone clasts, but also with Millstone Grit, Pennant Sandstone, flint, and chert clasts.[56] The river passes under the old railway line that now forms the Avon Valley Railway, a three-mile-long (5 km) heritage railway, before reaching Swineford Lock. Here, between 1709 and 1859, there was an active brass and copper industry served by the river, which also provided water power for the cloth industry.[57] The remains of Kelston Brass Mill, which was working until 1925, are next to Saltford Lock. The lock was opened in 1727 but destroyed by rival coal dealers in 1738, to prevent the river being used for transportation.[57]
The
Bath to Devizes
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The restored Bath Bottom Lock[60] marks the divergence of the River Avon and the canal. It is situated south of Pulteney Bridge. Just upstream of the Bottom Lock are a side pound and a pumping station that pumps water "upstream" of the locks, to replace that used each time a boat passes through.[61][62] The next of the six Bath Locks is Bath Deep Lock, numbered 8/9 as two locks were combined when the canal was restored in 1976.[63] The new chamber has a depth of 19 feet 5 inches (5.92 m), making it the UK's second-deepest canal lock.[62] Just above the Deep Lock is another side pound as a reservoir for refilling the lock, followed by Wash House Lock.[64] After a slightly longer pound is Abbey View Lock,[65] beside which there is another pumping station and then, in quick succession, Pulteney Lock and Bath Top Lock.[66]
Above the Top Lock the canal passes through Sydney Gardens via two short tunnels[67][68] and under two cast iron footbridges dating from 1800. Cleveland Tunnel is 173 feet (53 m) long and runs under Cleveland House, the former headquarters of the Kennet and Avon Canal Company[69] and now a Grade II* listed building.[70] A trap-door in the tunnel roof connects the canal with Cleveland House. It is often stated that was used to pass paperwork between clerks above and bargees below,[71][69] although it is possible that the hatch was a refuse chute.[72] Many of the bridges over the canal are listed buildings.[73]
On the eastern outskirts of Bath a toll bridge near the George Inn links
In the Avon Valley to the east of Bath the classic geographical example of a valley with all four forms of ground transport is found: road, rail, river, canal. The canal passes the remains of a loading dock, once used for
On the eastern bank Warleigh Wood and Inwood are ash-wych elm and ash-maple dry woodland, which comes right down to the canal.[78]
The canal then crosses over the river and the Wessex Main Line railway at the Dundas Aqueduct, past Conkwell Wood, before recrossing the river and railway at the Avoncliff Aqueduct. At the western end of the Dundas Aqueduct it is joined by the remains of the Somerset Coal Canal, a short stretch of which has been restored to create the Brassknocker Basin.[79] Excavations of the old stop lock showed that it was originally a broad 14-foot (4.3 m) lock that at some point was narrowed to 7 feet (2.1 m) by moving the lock wall.[80] The Somerset Coal Canal was built around 1800 from basins at Paulton and Timsbury, giving access to London from the Somerset Coalfield, which at its peak contained 80 collieries.[81]
After the Avoncliff Aqueduct the canal passes through Barton Farm
Further east, an aqueduct carries the canal over the River Biss.[85] There are locks at Semington and Seend, where water flows into the canal from the Summerham Brook, otherwise known as the Seend Feeder. In the village of Semington the Wilts & Berks Canal joined the canal, linking the Kennet and Avon to the River Thames at Abingdon. The North Wilts Canal merged with it to become a branch to the Thames and Severn Canal at Latton near Cricklade. The 52-mile (84 km) canal was opened in 1810, but abandoned in 1914 – a fate hastened by the collapse of Stanley Aqueduct in 1901.[86] In 1977 the Wilts & Berks Canal Amenity Group was formed with the aim of fully restoring the canal to re-connect the Kennet and Avon to the upper reaches of the Thames.[87]Caen Hill Locks, at Devizes, provides an insight into the engineering needed to build and maintain the canal. The main flight of 16 locks, which take 5–6 hours to navigate in a boat,[88] is part of a longer series of 29 locks built in three groups: seven at Foxhangers, sixteen at Caen Hill, and six at the town end of the flight.[89][90] The total rise is 237 feet (72 m) in 2 miles (3.2 km) or a 1 in 30 gradient.[91] The locks were the last part of the 87-mile (140 km) route of the canal to be completed. The steepness of the terrain meant that there was no space to use the normal arrangement of water pounds between the locks. As a result, the 16 locks utilise unusually large side ponds to store the water needed for their operation.[92] Because a large volume of water is needed a back pump was installed at Foxhangers in 1996, capable of returning 7 million imperial gallons (32,000 m3) of water per day to the top of the flight, equivalent to one lockful every 11 minutes.[12] From 1829 until 1843 the flight,[90] which includes the narrowest lock on the canal, Lock 41,[88] was illuminated by gas lights.[90]
At the top of the flight is Devizes Wharf, home to the
Devizes to Newbury
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Heading east from Devizes the canal passes through the Wiltshire countryside and a series of locks and swing bridges before another flight of locks at Crofton.[96]
At Honeystreet is the remains of a wharf that was the home of boat builders Robbins, Lane and Pinnegar, which served as the boat building headquarters of the Canal Company.[97] They built many of the boats used on the canals of southern England before closing in about 1950. Next to the wharf is the Barge Inn, a substantial public house once known as the George Inn. It was roughly half-way along the canal and served as a bakehouse, slaughterhouse and shop for provisions for those living and working on the canal. The building was destroyed by fire in 1858 and rebuilt within six months.[98] It was built just within the parish boundary of Stanton St Bernard to "serve the Honey Street wharf in Alton parish, which refused to allow drinking establishments".[99]
The four locks at
The Crofton Locks flight marks the start of the descent from the summit to the Thames; the nine locks have a total rise/fall of 61 feet (19 m).[105] When the canal was built there were no reliable water sources available to fill the summit by normal gravitational means. A number of usable springs were found adjacent to the canal route about one mile (1.6 km) east of the summit pound, and about 40 feet (12 m) below it, and arrangements were made for them to feed the pound below lock 60 at Crofton. Some years later the Wilton Water reservoir was created to enhance the supply to this pound using the springs and the River Dun.[106]
Water is pumped to the summit at the western end of the locks, from Wilton Water, by the restored Crofton Pumping Station. The original steam-powered pumping station is preserved and contains one of the oldest operational Watt-style beam engines in the world, dating from 1812. The steam engines still pump water on selected weekends, but for day-to-day operation electric pumps are used, automatically controlled by the water level in the summit pound.[107][108]
Near Crofton is
There are several locks and bridges in Hungerford, including one which carries the A338. Hungerford Marsh Lock is unique on the Kennet and Avon Canal in that it has a swing bridge directly over the centre of the lock that must be opened before the lock may be used.[117] In the area around the lock, called Hungerford Marsh Nature Reserve, more than 120 bird species have been recorded.[118]
Between
A wooden bridge was built over the Kennet at Newbury
Newbury to Reading
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The River Kennet is navigable from Newbury downstream to the confluence with the River Thames at Kennet Mouth, in Reading.[125]
The stretch from Newbury to High Bridge in Reading is an improved river navigation known as the Kennet Navigation, opened in 1723. Throughout this navigation stretches of natural riverbed alternate with 11 miles (18 km) of artificial lock cuts and a series of locks that overcome a fall of 130 feet (40 m).[126]
East of Newbury town centre the Kennet passes through the
Monkey Marsh Lock at Thatcham is one of only two remaining working examples of turf-sided locks on the canal today.[129] It is listed as a scheduled monument by English Heritage.[130][131]
Below
The village of
Shortly after passing Fobney Lock and the associated water treatment works, the Kennet flood plain narrows and the river enters a narrow steep-sided gap in the hills forming the southern flank of the Thames flood plain.[137] At County Lock the river enters the centre of Reading, where it formerly flowed through the centre of a large brewery. This narrow and twisting stretch of the river became known as Brewery Gut. Because of poor visibility and the difficulty of boats passing in this stretch, traffic has long been controlled by a set of maritime traffic lights.[138] Today the Brewery Gut is a major feature of Reading's The Oracle shopping centre.[139]
Immediately after The Oracle the river flows under the arched High Bridge, which forms a historical and administrative divide on the river. The last one mile (1.6 km) of the River Kennet in Reading below the bridge has been navigable since at least the 13th century. Because there is no wide floodplain, wharves could be built during the Middle Ages that allowed Reading to establish itself as a river port.[140] Originally this short stretch of river, which includes Blake's Lock, was under the control of Reading Abbey, but today it is administered by the Environment Agency as if it were part of the River Thames.[141][142] The Horseshoe Bridge at Kennet Mouth was built as a railway bridge in 1839, and the timber-clad iron-truss accommodation bridge was added in 1892.[143]
Canal today
The canal today is a heritage tourism destination. Boating, with narrowboats and cruisers, is a popular tourist attraction particularly in the summer months. It is a favourite haunt of several famous canal enthusiasts including canal boat veterans and original Kennet and Avon restoration supporters, Prunella Scales and Timothy West.[144][145][146] Privately owned craft and hire boats from the range of
Cycling is permitted along the towpath except for a 656-yard (600 m) section near Woolhampton, and some sections have been improved and widened to make them more suitable for cyclists and disabled users. Under a partnership arrangement involving British Waterways, Sustrans, and the riparian local authorities, two main sections of the canal have been improved, and, with a few short diversions, run from Reading to Marsh Benham and from Devizes to Bath as part of the National Cycle Network (NCN) Route 4.[149] Fishing for bream, tench, roach, rudd, perch, gudgeon, pike and carp is permitted throughout the year from the towpath of the canal, but almost its whole length is leased to angling associations or fishing clubs. There are a variety of riverside public houses, shops and tea rooms. The Kennet and Avon Canal Trust operates shops and tearooms at Aldermaston Lock, Newbury Wharf, Crofton Pumping Station, Devizes, and Bradford-on-Avon.[150]
Ecology
The canal and its environs are important for wildlife conservation. There are several
See also
Notes
- ^ "Information Pack: Kennet and Avon Canal" (PDF). Wow 4 Water. British Waterways. p. 2. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
- ^ a b Clew 1985, pp. 15–18
- ^ a b c d "Kennet & Avon Canal Trust". Kennet and Avon Canal Trust. Archived from the original on 2 April 2012. Retrieved 20 September 2006.
- ^ Allsop 1987, p. 4
- ^ a b c d e Russell 1997, pp. 7–10
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Building the Kennet & Avon Canal". www.hungerfordvirtualmuseum.co.uk. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
- ^ "Kennet and Avon Canal | Enjoy K&A | History". www.enjoykanda.co.uk. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
- ^ "The Kennet & Avon Canal: timeline | Bradford-on-Avon Museum". Retrieved 8 February 2024.
- ^ a b Allsop 1987, p. 23
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