Waterways Chronology from 1121

Originally a Roman navigation dating back to AD 120, and deepened by Henry I.

A very old navigation with a patent dating back to 1287.

St. Ives Bridge river was built about 1415. The bridge is unusual as it has a chapel on the central pier.

Promoted under Acts.

Promoted under Act.

Promoted by Act.

Promoted by Act.

Promoted by Act.

Promoted by Act.

The oldest post Roman canal in England, authorised by an Act.

Work started.

He was engaged to make a canal alongside the River Exe for a fee of £225 and a share of the tolls. This was the first canal to be built in Britain since the Roman occupation.

Opened.

Promoted under Act.

Ancient navigation first improved under an Act of Parliament.

Navigation was authorised by an Act.

Made navigable around this date.

Reported on a survey of the river and the conflicts between navigation and drainage interests and sandbanks between Clayhithe and Cambridge.

Reported on a survey of the river and the conflicts between navigation and drainage interests.

River improvements were promoted by Act.

He consentrated the waters of the river into a single channel and washland running into the River Aire.

He started work on the Dutch River which, by providing a direct route to the Ouse, was to reduce the waters of the Don that were flowing into the Aire and thus prevent flooding.

He was employed by a company lead by Francis, Earl of Bedford to drain a large area of land now known as the Bedford Level. The work included the Bedford River and nine other major drains.

Promoted under an Act.

He received an Order in Council authorising him make the river navigable. He began work on this but it seems did not do any work on the River Teme, which he was also authorised to improve.

His task was declared complete by the Commission of Sewers.

Some of the river was made navigable around 1638.

Charles I wrote to Derby corporation asking for him to be accomodated as "with his partners, has undertaken a work very acceptable to the King about the lead works at Wirksworth, and to make the river of Derwent to be navigable till it fall into the Trent".

Open for navigation.

He finished making the river navigable by building 13 flash and pound locks so that 30-ton barges could navigate from Tewkesbury to Stratford.

Promoted by Act.

He started drainage works that included the cutting of the New Bedford or Hundred Foot river parallel to the Old Bedford River.

He cut this river from Ramsey to the Old Bedford River at Weches Dam.

He started cutting this river fromWell Creek to the Forty Foot river to drain the area around Chatteris.

He completed works on the outfall and improved Morton Leam.

Promoted by Act.

He completed drainage works that included the cutting of the New Bedford or Hundred Foot river parallel to the Old Bedford River.

Made navigable by Andrew Yarranton about this date.

Navigation from Weybridge to Guildford opened.

He made the brook navigable with two flash locks in the first yards from the Severn. These were built to take iron-ore to a forge about half a mile above the upper lock.

He and Captain Wall offered to seek letters patent from the Lord Protector to make the river navigable. He made an agreement with Droitwich corporation which allotted land to him for 21 years as payment for this. No further action was taken on this proposal.

Promoted by Act.

In 1660 there were 685 miles of river navigation.

Promoted by Act.

Improvements were authorised by an Act.

An Act was passed for the Wye Navigation in 1662.

Navigation was promoted by Act.

Work was started.

He started work on making the river navigable for 16 ton craft between Stourbridge and Kidderminster, building 12 locks and 4 "turnpikes" (thought to be half-locks) a task he completed in 1667. He wrote that he "fell on, and made it compleatly Navigable from Sturbridge to Kederminster; and carried down many hundres Tuns of Coals, . . . and there it was obstructed for want of money, which by Contract was to be paid". He also constructed a tramroad from near Stourbridge to a colliery, for a £1,255 fee.

Improvements were completed.

He attempted to complete the works but lack of money meant little more was done.

Promoted under Act.

The first act was passed relating to navigation on the river.

Promoted by Act.

Stamford Canal from Stamford to Market Deeping opened.

Promoted by an Act.

He was appointed engineer.

He surveyed the river, at the request of Lord Salisbury, and found it was practicable to make it navigable. He thought timber and ironstone might be carried.

For a fee of £100 he throughly dredged the canal, extended it half a mile, so avoiding a mile of difficult river, and built a new transhipment basin and entrance with a pair of single gates that would take 60 ton craft. He also built a new weir at Exeter. The work continued into 1776.

In his book England's Improvement by Land and Sea he recorded the results of his survey and estimated a cost of £8,000 to make the river navigable.

In his book England's Improvement by Land and Sea he proposed making the River Cherwell navigable from Banbury to Oxford for £10,000 so that corn from the area could be carried to London.

Promoted by Act.

Promoted by Act.

Promoted by an Act.

5 locks built by Lord Windsor around the time of the Restoration but the intended sixth lock was not completed. Bills introduced in 1693 and 1747 but no work done.

He surveyed the river and concluded it could be made navigable for less expence than expected.

About this time he assisted John Hadley with a survey of the Calder.

He produced plans for making the river navigable on which two unsuccessful Bills were promoted in 1695 and 1698.

Made navigable again around this date, having become unnavigable previously.

Built in about 1696 to serve Sir Humphry Mackworth's lead and copper works.

Agreed to deepen the canal to 14 feet to take seagoing craft.

Promoted by Act.

He was appointed engineer at £420 per year.

He surveyed the river again for a Bill introduced in 1700, which failed, but an Act was passed in 1701.

Promoted by Act.

Improvements authorised by Act.

Promoted by Act.

The main promoter in obtaining an Act to make the river navigable and to take a 3d a ton toll. The Act forbade the building of any wharf or warehouse between Nottingham Bridge and Burton without Lord Paget's permission.

Built locks at King's Mills and Burton Mills and made cuts and basins. He then leased the navigation to a man called Hayne.

Leased the navigation from Nottingham to Burton, the lease ending in 1762.

Absconded with some of the city's money, leaving the canal impassable.

He arrived in York to survey the river. Based on this survey he later recommended a lock, 100 feet long and 20 feet wide, at Naburn.

He was engaged to survey the river and concluded a lock was needed ay Naburn.

Promoted by Act.

Promoted by an Act.

Major reconstruction of the canal was opened.

River improvements were promoted by Act.

He produced plans for the Bill proposing four new cuts and nine locks with a fall of 50 feet.

Built Beal and Haddlesey Locks, with James Mitchell, so completing the original from Leeds to the Ouse.

Built Beal and Haddlesey Locks, with George Atkinson, so completing the original from Leeds to the Ouse.

ACML

Promoted under Act.

Promoted by Act.

Improvements authorised by Act.

Opened about this date.

The river was made navigable to Winchester.

Act passed to provide navigation between Hanham Mills and Bath.

He surveyed the river and recommended a navigation for carrying coal from Wigan to the Ribble.

He proposed to make the rivers navigable by builing 8 locks and a cut at Butchersfield.

Promoted by Act but no work done.

Born.

Promoted by an Act.

Opened for Navigation.

Promoted by an Act.

He was appointed engineer of the River Kennet and shortened the length of the navigation to 18.5 miles, 11.5 miles of which were artificial cuts.

Authorised by an Act.

Worked on a survey for making the river navigable and between 1723 and 1724 leased the tolls jointly with Mark Andrew

Worked on making the river navigable and between 1723 and 1724 leased the tolls jointly with Joshua Mitchel

Promoted under an Act.

Promoted by Act.

Disused about 1720.

Built about 1720.

Wholly opened from Leeds to Selby.

Authorised by an Act of June 1721.

He was one of the promoters of the Act to build the navigation that was passed this year.

Work started on the new cut he proposed to straighten the river between Peterbough and Wisbech. Although nearly all the work was done a change of mind by the Wisbech corporation delayed its openning until 1773.

Promoted by Act.

He supported the Bill that became the Weaver Navigation Act to make the river navigable to Winsford and Witton Brook navigable to Witton bridge.

Under an Act of Parliament he and William Squire were given powers to make the river navigable from the Ribble estuary to Miry Lane End, Wigan.

He was taken to court by some shareholders who alleged that his scheme to make the river navigable was impractical and only designed to raise money from unwary persons.

Doncaster Corporation commissioned him, with Joshua Mitchel and Joseph Atkinson, to survey the river.

Doncaster Corporation commissioned him, with Joshua Mitchel and William Palmer, to survey the river.

Doncaster Corporation commissioned him, with William Palmerl and Joseph Atkinson, to survey the river.

Promoted by Act.

He produced a survey showing the whole river up to Sheffield could be made navigable.

Between 1660 and 1724 river navigation increased from 685 miles to 1160 miles, achieved by improvements to many rivers including the Aire & Calder, Douglas, Idle, Irwell, Kennet and Weaver.

Was asked by the people of Lynn to survey the river.

Work started.

Navigation from Thrapston to Peterborough promoted by Act.