Grosvenor Canal

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Grosvenor Canal was a canal in the Pimlico area of London, opened in 1825. Almost nothing of it remains today.

The canal started as the ponds of the Chelsea Water Works, constructed in 1723 to supply West London with drinking water. These continued to operate after the canal was opened to traffic in 1825, but moved to Putney Heath in 1856.

The canal originally stretched from the Thames near Chelsea Bridge all the way to a basin on the current site of Victoria station. When the station was built around 1858 the canal was halved in length, stretching only as far as Ebury Bridge. Around 1925 it was halved in length again to allow Ebury Bridge Estate to be built by Westminster City Council. The lower portion of the canal was kept as a dock, allowing the council to load barges with rubbish.

In 2000 planning permission was granted to turn the dock site into high end housing known as Grosvenor Waterside. Two ornamental pools in the centre of the development will mirror the route of the canal. The connection to the Thames will remain, but with no access to boats. As of 2006 nothing remains of the canal beyond the lock gates that now separate the building site from the lower pool, which is connected directly to the Thames.