The Chesterfield Canal Trust Limited is a waterway society and charitable company which campaigns for and undertakes various activities related to the Chesterfield Canal, which runs from Chesterfield in Derbyshire, England to the River Trent at West Stockwith.
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The forerunner of the Trust was the Chesterfield Canal Society, founded in September 1976, at a time when the canal was derelict above Worksop. The Society worked with the Retford and Worksop Boat Club and the local branch of the Inland Waterways Association to organise a boat rally to celebrate 200 years of the canal in 1977. The event attracted around 150 boats and 21,000 people, and was the first step towards plans to restore Morse Lock, then the head of navigation.[1]
With progress on the extension of the navigable canal above Worksop being slow, the Society turned its attention to the Chesterfield end of the canal, and completed the restoration of Tapton Lock, which was opened on 29 April 1990 by the Mayor of Chesterfield. Another major step forward occurred in 1995, when Dixon's Lock and Hollingwood Lock were opened, both having been restored by the Society. Dixon's lock was the biggest achievement, as open-cast coal mining had destroyed the original lock completely, but the replacement was surveyed, designed and built by members of the Society.[2]
The Trust was incorporated in 1997, and a year later it took over the assets of the Society. In 2007, a new mobile information display was funded from a grant given to the Trust by the National Grid and AMEC. The money was part of a safe working initiative for workers refurbishing the overhead power lines between Chesterfield and High Marnham power station.[3]
The Trust has over 1000 members, and its aims include
The Trust operates two 12-seat trip boats, one based at Chesterfield, the other at Retford. The boats are crewed by volunteer members of the Trust and are named after influential figures in the building of the canal, namely John Varley (based at Chesterfield) and Seth Ellis (after Seth Ellis Stevenson, based at Retford). Both boats run public trips along their respective stretches of the canal and are available for private charter.