Chesterfield Canal
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Chesterfield Canal is in the north of England. It was opened in 1777 and ran 46 miles (74 km) from the River Trent at West Stockwith, Nottinghamshire to Chesterfield, Derbyshire. It is currently only navigable as far as Kiveton Park near Rotherham, South Yorkshire, plus an isolated section near Chesterfield.
The canal was built to export coal, limestone, and lead from Derbyshire, iron from Chesterfield, and corn, deals, timber, groceries, etc. into Derbyshire. The stone for the Palace of Westminster was quarried in South Anston, Rotherham, and transported via the canal.
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[edit] Construction
The route of the canal was surveyed by James Brindley and John Varley, who estimated the cost at £94,908 17s. Brindley presented his proposals to a meeting in Worksop on 24 August 1769. The investors asked John Grundy to carry out a second survey. He proposed a rather shorter course, from Storckwith in a straight line to Bawtry and then by Scrooby, Blyth and Carlton, to join Brindley's line at Shire Oaks. Grundy's line was 5½ miles (9 km) shorter, and the cost estimated at £71,479, 6s. 9½d. Although Grundy's line was considerably cheaper, it achieved this by missing Worksop and Retford, and the investors decided in favour of Brindley's route. An application was made to Parliament and the Act of Parliament received the Royal Assent on 28 March 1771, entitled An Act for making a navigable Cut or Canal from Chesterfield, in the county of Derby, through or near Worksop and Retford, to join the River Trent, at or near Stockwith, in the county of Nottingham.
The promoters consisted of one hundred and seventy-four persons, amongst whom were the Duke of Devonshire, the Duke of Newcastle, Lord Scarsdale, the Dean of York, and Sir Cecil Wray. They were incorporated by the name of The Company of Proprietors of the Canal Navigation from Chesterfield to the River Trent, and empowered to raise among themselves the sum of £100,000, in one thousand shares of £100 each, to fund the construction.
Immediately on the passing of the act, construction began under the direction of Brindley. Upon his death in September 1772, John Varley moved from Clerk of Works to resident engineer with Hugh Henshall, Brindley's brother-in-law. Concerns were raised about John Varley's accounting and collusion in awarding contracts for construction to his relatives, and in 1773 Henshall was appointed Chief Engineer. The canal was opened throughout in 1777.
As built, the canal was almost 46 miles (74 km) long, being 24 miles from the Trent to Worksop with a rise of 250 feet (76 metres). From Worksop to the entrance to Norwood Tunnel it was 9 miles (14 km) with a further 85 feet (26 metres) rise. From there to Chesterfield it was a further 13 miles (21 km) with a fall of 45 feet (14 metres). There were 65 locks in all, with two tunnels: a short 153 yard (140 metre) tunnel near Gringley Beacon, and the major 3,102 yard (2,836 m) long Norwood Tunnel. At the time of construction, Norwood Tunnel was the joint longest canal tunnel in Britain, and it was sixth longest by the time it collapsed.
The canal was initially fairly successful, with dividends being returned to the investors. However, the building of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway line parallel to the canal (1849) left much of the navigation redundant, and the Worksop to Chesterfield stretch ceased to serve commercial traffic in 1908, when problems with mining subsidence necessitated the closure of Norwood Tunnel. The stretch between the tunnel and Worksop subsequently fell into ruin and became un-navigable, while parts of the isolated section from the tunnel to Chesterfield were infilled and redeveloped.
[edit] Restoration
In 1961, the entire length of the canal was proposed for official abandonment, but protests made meant that under the Transport Act 1968 it was classified as a cruiseway between the Trent and Worksop, while the rest was classified as remainder. Restoration efforts began in the 1970s, with the Chesterfield Canal Society formed in 1976, focussing initially on the route east from Norwood Tunnel to Worksop, which presented relatively few physical obstacles to being restored to navigation.
However, in practice progress was slow, and attention turned to the section west of [[Norwood Tunnel], where much more damage had been done to the canal bed, with it being filled in and built over in many places. However, the last five miles (8 km) of the canal, from Chesterfield to Staveley, were in good condition, and restoration began in 1987, with Tapton lock being re-opened in 1990, followed by four more locks and three new bridges, with the five-mile section from Chesterfield being reopened to navigation in 2002, though still isolated from other waterways.
East of Norwood, Derelict Land Grants were obtained by Rotherham and Nottinghamshire councils in 1995, and restoration between Norwood and Worksop begain in earnest. In 2003, the Worksop to Norwood Tunnel stretch of the canal was reopened, with 30 restored locks, one new lock and three new bridges.
The most difficult part of the restoration project, linking the two re-opened sections, remains, with 10 miles (16 km) of canal to be restored or rebuilt, including the length of the tunnel. A significant diversion will be needed around the village of Killamarsh, where a housing estate has been built on the line of the canal. The middle section of the tunnel was lost to coal mining, and as part of the reclamation of the derelict mining area, the canal will be rebuilt in the open air, probably at a higher level with locks at each end. The eastern end of the tunnel will be retained; no firm decision has been made on the western end of the tunnel, which could be reused, or the new higher summit level extended to the west.
[edit] New link to the north
Proposals are at early stages for a link north from Killamarsh to the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation along the River Rother.
[edit] External Links
[edit] Further Reading
- De Salis, H.R., (1904) "Bradshaw's Canals and Navigable Rivers" David & Charles Reprints
- Garner, E., (2003) "The Seven Canals of Derbyshire" Landmark Publishing
