Basingstoke Canal

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The Basingstoke Canal passing through Woking
The Basingstoke Canal passing through Woking

The Basingstoke Canal is a British Canal, built to connect Basingstoke with the River Thames at Weybridge via the Wey Navigation.

Contents

From Basingstoke, the canal passes through or near Odiham, Fleet, Aldershot, Mytchett, Brookwood, and Woking. Its eastern end is at Byfleet, where it connects to the Wey Navigation. This, in turn, leads to the River Thames at Weybridge. Its intended purpose was to allow boats to travel from the docks in East London to Basingstoke.

After many years of neglect and dereliction, the canal has been restored and is once again a fully navigable waterway from the River Wey as far as the Greywell Tunnel.

[edit] History

The canal was conceived as a way to stimulate agricultural development in Hampshire. Following a Parliamentary Bill in 1778, construction began in that same year and was completed on 4th September 1794. One of the main cargoes carried from Basingstoke was timber.[1]

The canal was never a commercial success and fell into disuse even before the construction of the London and South Western Railway, which runs parallel to the canal along much of its length. Commercial use ended in 1910 but low-level use of the canal continued.

In 1913 Mr A.J.Harmsworth tried to navigate the canal in a boat called Basingstoke. The journey was motivated by a desire to keep the canal open since the Canal Act of 1778 specified that if the canal was not used for 5 years then the land the canal was built on would be returned to the original owners. It is thought that it proved impossible to navigate the entire canal but despite this the canal was not abandoned.[2]

During World War I the Royal Engineers took over the running of the canal and used it to transport supplies from Woolwich. The canal was also used to train soldiers in boat handling [3]

Mr A.J.Harmsworth later purchased the canal (in 1922) and ran a number of boats on it for a mixture of limited commercial carrying and pleasure cruising. The canal was sold upon his death in 1947 and by 1950 was in the hands of the New Basingstoke Canal Co Ltd. This company did not maintain the canal and by the mid-'60s it was essentially derelict.[4]

A light railway track installed on the towpath by volunteers, to aid restoration of the Deepcut Flight of locks.
A light railway track installed on the towpath by volunteers, to aid restoration of the Deepcut Flight of locks.

[edit] Restoration

In 1966, the Surrey and Hampshire Canal Society was formed by a group of local canal enthusiasts, with a view to reopening the derelict canal. They were instrumental in running a campaign that culminated in 1976 with the compulsory purchase of the canal by the County Councils of Hampshire and Surrey.

In February 1977 a job creation project started with the aim of carrying out restoration work on the Deepcut flight of locks. The work was coordinated with the work of the canal society who organised work parties at weekends while the job creation team worked on weekdays.[5]

After about 18 years of restoration, 32 miles of the canal were formally re-opened on 10th May 1991. The western section from North Warnborough to Basingstoke remains un-navigable from the point at which it enters the Greywell Tunnel. The tunnel is partially collapsed and is inhabited by a protected bat colony making it unlikely that the tunnel will ever be restored. Some of the former canal basin at the western end has also been lost to modern development in and around Basingstoke.

The canal is now managed by the Basingstoke Canal Authority and is open to navigation, but access is usually restricted due to the very limited water supply and the fact that most of the canal has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).[6] The heathland areas surrounding the canal are habitats for many rare reptilian species, such as vipers and lizards, and birds such as nightjars.

There is an information centre for the canal at Mytchett.

[edit] Architectural features

A notable feature of the canal is the large number of concrete bunkers known as pillboxes still visible along its length; these were built during World War II as part of the GHQ Line to defend against an expected German invasion.

Odiham Castle is situated at the Greywell (Basingstoke) end of the canal.

The Greywell Tunnel (now disused), at 1230 yards (1125 metres) long, was the 12th longest canal tunnel in Great Britain.[7].

[edit] Alfred Burtoo incident

On 12 August 1983, at about 1am, 77 year old Alfred John Burtoo (18 March 1906-31 August 1986) from North Town in Aldershot was fishing on the canal near Government Road in Aldershot with his dog Tiny, when, according to Burtoo, a disc-shaped unidentified flying object landed nearby. At first, the powerful light from the disc made Alfred think it was an Army helicopter.[8] However, four foot high humanoid figures from craft beckoned him to the UFO. He claims, 'he was 77 and didn't have much to lose', so he followed them on board. He was medically examined[9], and the dimunitive creatures could even speak English in a 'sing song' voice. On finding out that he was 77, the creatures told him he was no use to them, as he was too old and infirm for our purposes.[10] He was 'anxious not to cause any offence', so avoided asking questions such as what planet do you come from? Later at 10am, he told two military policemen of his UFO sighting and they had seen it too. An incident of this type is designated a close encounter of the third kind.

[edit] Gallery

Inside the Greywell Tunnel (east end)

The eastern portal of Greywell Tunnel

View from the 'Lift Bridge' in North Warnborough
Hampshire Portal

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Britain's lost waterways Michael E Ware page 40 ISBN 0-86190-327-7
  2. ^ Britain's lost waterways Michael E Ware page 43 ISBN 0-86190-327-7
  3. ^ The Great Days of the Canals Anthony Burton page 169 ISBN 0-7153-9264-6
  4. ^ Basingstoke Canal - Canal Story
  5. ^ Peter Cooper Navvies 65 May - June 1977 Page 9
  6. ^ Guildford Borough
  7. ^ Hampshire Chronicle 11th April 1984 page 6
  8. ^ What the angler says he saw … and boarded
  9. ^ Keep watching the skies - MoD releases UFO files,
  10. ^ The Alfred Burtoo Encounter (dodgy site)

[edit] External links