Leominster Canal

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The Leominster canal ran just over 18 miles from Mamble to Leominster through 16 locks and a number of tunnels, some of which suffered engineering problems even before the canal opened. It cost £93,000 to build. Originally the canal was part of a much more ambitious plan to run 46 miles from Stourport to Kington. As with so many of the canals built in the canal mania era, costs and other factors prevented these plans from being followed through to completion. The canal gained its Act of Parliament in 1791 and building work started the same year. Formally the work continued until 1803 however the main building phase ended in 1796. The canal never paid a dividend. What little money was collected was mostly paid for tolls on the transport of coal. In 1858 the Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway paid £12,000 for the canal and drained it soon after to sell the land. Part of the route was subsequently used for the railway that connected Woofferton to Bewdley via Tenbury Wells.