John Hore

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John Hore (1690 - 1762) was an English navigation engineer notable for engineering the River Kennet navigation in 1718.

Born in Newbury, Berkshire to a line of maltsters, worked alongside his father. When his father acquired part-ownership of the River Kennet, he also invested. With John Rennie he designed the Kennet and Avon Canal to reduce the length of the navigation to 18.5 miles by constructing 11.5 miles of canal. The initial works were completed in 1723. On 15 December 1727, the first barge arrived at Bath from Bristol after the 11.5 miles of the River Avon between the two cities was canalised. The work including six locks is attributed to Hore. He received no payment for any of this work because, when he claimed the cost from the company in 1728, his figures were rejected because he had not kept proper accounts.

In 1728 Hore surveyed the line of the Stroudwater Canal and recommended a 12-lock canal running 8.25 miles. He estimated the construction cost to be £20,000.

On 13 July 1733, he began to survey the Chelmer & Blackwater Navigation. He estimated that it would cost £9,355 to make the river navigable, but recommended spending an estimated £12,870 to build a canal.