Wilts and Berks Canal

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Wilts and Berks Canal

legend River Thames New basin Abingdon Lock Tythe Barn Lock Drayton Lock End of new route Steventon Lock Ardington Locks (2) Grove Locks (1) A338 road bridge Grove Locks (1) A417 road bridge Grove Locks (4) Railway bridge Longcot Locks (2) B4000 road bridge Marston Locks (4) Thames and Severn Canal Latton regulating Lock aqueducts (2) tunnel B4553 road bridge Hayes Knoll Lock Crosslands Lock Pry Lock Mouldon Lock Mannington Lock Rushey Platt Locks, Swindon (5) Kingsmill wharf North Wilts branch (far left) Chaddington Lock Woodshaw Lock B4011 road bridge Dunnington Locks (2) Dunnington aqueduct (Brinkworth Brook) A3102 road bridge Tokenham Reservoir Seven Locks, Lyneham (7) Dauntsey Lock Wood Common Lock Foxham Locks (2) Calne wharf Calne Lock Tunnel Conigre Locks (2) Calne branch Stanley Locks (2) Stanley aqueduct (River Marden) A426 road bridge Chippenham wharf Tunnel Chippenham branch Pewsham Locks (3) Lacock Lock Queensfield Lock Melksham Forest Lock A3102 road bridge A365 road bridge Semmington Lock Kennet and Avon Canal

The Wilts and Berks Canal is a canal in the historic counties of Wiltshire and Berkshire, England, linking the Kennet and Avon Canal at Semington, near Melksham, to the River Thames at Abingdon, with a branch to the Thames and Severn Canal at Cricklade. Following local authority boundary changes in 1973 the part of Berkshire through which the canal passes (mostly the Vale of White Horse) was transferred to Oxfordshire. However, the canal's original name is retained for historical reasons.

Contents 1 History 2 Restoration 3 Name 4 See also 5 References 6 External links 7 Further reading

[edit] History

A plan for the canal was published by Robert Whitworth Snr. along with William Whitworth in 1793.^[1] The Bill empowering construction of the canal received Royal Assent in 1795. It allowed the company to raise £111,900 through 1,119 shares at a cost of £100 each for the construction of the canal. Another Act of Parliament was passed in 1801 which allowed the company to raise a further £200,000 to complete the canal.^[2]

The canal was cut during the years 1796 to 1810. Robert Whitworth Snr. remained as an engineer on the canal from 1796 to 1799.^[1] William Whitworth was resident engineer during this time period and upon Robert's departure, he became engineer up until the canal's completion, for which he was paid £255,262.^[1]

Following completion, a further two Acts were passed in 1810 and 1813 to alter toll rates on the canal, and another Act was passed in 1815 to allow the company to raise £100,000 to pay off debts collected during the construction of the canal, and to construct a reservoir.^[2]

The main canal was 52 miles long, with branches totalling 6 miles to Chippenham, Calne, Wantage and Longcot. It was cut to take narrowboats 72 feet long and seven feet wide. There were 42 locks on the main line and three on the Calne branch. There were three short tunnels.

While the main canal was opened in 1810, some branches were operating before this and others added afterwards. The North Wilts Canal from Swindon to the Thames and Severn Canal at Cricklade was opened in 1819. It was originally a separate company, but merged with the Wilts & Berks following an Act of Parliament in 1821.^[2] It had 11 locks.

Coal came from the Radstock and Paulton mines in the Somerset coalfield by way of the Somersetshire Coal Canal, which joined the Kennet and Avon Canal at Dundas. In 1837 43,642 tons of coal were transported via the Wilts and Berks Canal from the Somerset coalfield, with 10,669 tons being handled at Abingdon wharf.^[3] The Wilts and Berks thus became a link in the "chain" of canals providing a transportation route between the West Country and the Midlands. Water supply was always a problem and a reservoir was constructed near Swindon to supply the canal, now known as Coate Water.^[4]

The Wilts and Berks Canal was never a great commercial success owing to its narrowness and competition from rail and other canals, especially the Great Western Railway from 1841. The Wilts and Berks Canal operated for more than a century before being abandoned by an Act of Parliament in 1914. The act was sponsored by Swindon Corporation, which gained control of all the land within its boundary. In other areas ownership returned to the owners of adjacent land. Through traffic had ceased in 1901 when the Stanley Aqueduct over the River Marden between Chippenham and Calne collapsed. From the early 1930s much of the canal was filled in and generally used for dumping rubbish. During 1939 to 1945 many of the locks and other canal structures were used for army exercises and damaged by explosives.

[edit] Restoration

In 1977 the Wilts and Berks Canal Trust began to preserve what remained,^[5] and ten years later this became a major restoration project. Some development had taken place on the land of the canal but much of it still exists in the form of lock and bridge remains, embankments, towpaths, hedgerows and ditches. The trust now plans to restore all of the extensive rural sections, and to construct new sections (possibly including new tunnels) where urban development has made the original route unavailable. Not all development has been urban, however. In Uffington, for instance, a farm has been built on the old wharf site, over the filled canal.

As of 2006, a number of bridges and locks have been rebuilt and at least eight miles of the canal are in water.

[edit] Name

The official name of the canal was always "Wilts & Berks Canal" as cited in the Acts of Parliament that authorised its building. It should not be referred to as the "Wiltshire and Berkshire" Canal.

Likewise the North Wilts Canal should not be referred to as the "North Wiltshire" Canal.

[edit] See also

• Canals of Great Britain
• History of the British canal system

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Restoration project website
• Wilts & Berks Canal Trust
• Wilts & Berks Canal Trust — West Vale branch
• Pictorial Restoration Log: East Vale section (Wantage)

[edit] Further reading

• Dalby, L. J. (1971) The Wilts and Berks Canal. Lingfield, Surrey: The Oakwood Press. (2nd edition, 1986, Oxford: Oakwood Press. ISBN 0-85361-332-X.)(3rd edition, 2000, Usk: Oakwood Press. ISBN 0-85361-562-4)

• Small, Doug (1999) "The Wilts & Berks Canal". Tempus Publishing Ltd. (Images of England series). ISBN 0-7524-1619-7