Text and photographs copyright of Jim Shead.

History by Waterway from Middle Level - Forty Foot River

Middle Level - Forty Foot River

1649

Sir Cornelius Vermuyden

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

Millwall Canal

1864	Authorised by an Act.

Middle Level - Old River Nene

See Priestley's Navigable Rivers and Canals for more information.

1844	James Walker	About this time he built Marmont Priory sluice to enable vessels of 4 feet draught to navigate through Upwell and Outwell.
1997	Marmont Priory Lock was lengthened in 1997.

Middle Level - Sixteen Foot River

1649

Sir Cornelius Vermuyden

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

Melton Mowbray Navigation

See Priestley's Navigable Rivers and Canals for more information.

1790	William Jessop	He oversaw the survey by Christopher Staveley.
1790	Christopher, junior Staveley	He surveyed the line for the canal under William Jessops guidance.
1796	Authorised by an Act.
1797	Opened.
1877	Abandoned.
1984	The Melton to Oakham Canal by David Tew, Published by Sycamore - Illustrated book issued as a limited edition of 1,000.

Mundon or White House Farm Canal

1832	Built.
1880	Disused by 1880.

Monkland Canal

See Priestley's Navigable Rivers and Canals for more information.

1770	Authorised by an Act.
1790	The extension to Woodhall authorised by an Act.
1793	Opened.
1935	No traffic after 1935.
1950	Abandoned.
1993	Monkland - The Canal That Made Money by Guthrie Hutton, Published by Richard Stenlake - A large number of photographs and a map are included.

Monmouthshire Canal

See Priestley's Navigable Rivers and Canals for more information.

1792	Authorised by an Act.
July 1792	Thomas Dadford junior	Was appointed engineer and was to give three-quarters of his time to the work and not to work elsewhere except on the Leominster Canal (where he was already engineer) and was not to have any concern in the contract for cutting.
12 March 1793	Thomas Dadford junior	He was ordered to survey the route of a tramroad from Beaufort and Ebbw Vale furnaces and Sirhowy to a place called Trevill.
1796	Main line opened.
1796	Thomas Dadford junior	He produced a plan for the extension of the canal one and a half miles from the Newport Town Pill.
1797	Promoted by Act.
1799	The Crumlin branch opened.
1799	Benjamin Outram	Recommends the conversion of the company's cast-iron edge-rails to plateways.
1800	Benjamin Outram	He produced plans for a tramroad from the canal at Risca to the Tredegar works.
1802	David Davies	Surveyed the tramroad from Sirhowy worksto Newport.
1804	John Hodgkinson	He made plans to extend the canal by half a mile at Newport eliminating the Town Lock and the tunnel.
May 1805	John Hodgkinson	The Sirhowy tramroad which he built was opened around this date.
Late 1823	William Wells	He was asked to survey a tramroad from the Beaufort tramroad at Crumlin to Risca, where it was to connect with the Sirhowy tramroad thus providing a tramroad route from Beaufort and Ebbw Vale to Newport.
September 1825	John Hodgkinson	He was asked to survey the line to extend the Blaenavon tramroad from Pontnewynydd to a junction with the Trosnant tramroad at Pontypool.
1836	William Cubitt	He was asked by the company to report on the canal and the tramroad from Pontymoile to Pontnewyndd and recommended improved water supplies for the canal.
1840	E S Barber	Made a report to the canal committee on the use of iron rails to replace the tram plates in use on their various tramroads.
August 1844	Thomas E Marsh	As company engineer he surveyed the line of a proposed Pontypool to Newport Railway, having previously surveyed for a Newport Dock to Nant-y-glo railway before he joined the canal company.
February 1846	E S Barber	Became engineer of the canal
August 1847	E S Barber	Ceased to be engineer of the Monmouthshire Canal
July 1851	G P Bidder	Together with Robert Stephenson he reported the problems of working locomotives on tramroads with sharp curves.
July 1851	Robert Stephenson	Together with G P Bidder he reported the problems of working locomotives on tramroads with sharp curves.
1862	Promoted by Act.
1949	The Crumlin branch was closed.
1954	The main line of the waterway was closed by Acts of 1954 and 1962.
1962	The main line of the waterway was closed by Acts of 1954 and 1962.
1974	Breknock & Abergavenny and Monmouthshire Canals by R Alan Stevens, Published by Goose & Son - Towpath Guide No 2. 30 pages of route maps, 14 pages of plates.

Montgomeryshire Canal

See Priestley's Navigable Rivers and Canals for more information.

1794	Authorised by an Act.
1794	John Dadford	Was appointed engineer, with his brother Thomas to assist hin, for which they were jointly paid.
1794	Thomas Dadford junior	Was appointed to assist his brother John as engineer, for which they were jointly paid.
1797	Frankton Locks built as two rise staircase.
1797	Opened to Garthmyl.
1797	John Dadford	He resigned as engineer and went to America.
1797	Thomas Dadford junior	Following the resignation of his brother, John, he suggests his father as a replacement.
1797	Thomas Dadford senior	He became engineer following the resignation of his son John.
Late 1797	William Jessop	He was called in to examine the engineering following the collapse of an arch on the Vyrnwy Aqueduct, which he considered a normal teething trouble.
July 1797	Thomas Dadford senior	Appionted engineer, following his son John in the post.
Autumn 1813	Josias Jessop	He was called in to make plans for the Western Branch to Newport and estimated a cost of £28,268 but was later accused of not including the cost of puddlling and lining the canal.
1819	Opened to Newtown in March 1819.
1845	William Cubitt	Was asked by the company to consider if their canal could be turned into a railway. The survey was never completed as the canal company accepted an offer of £110 per share from the Ellesmere & Chester Canal and had agreed to become part of the Shropshire Union Canal.
1850	Joined the Shropshire Union.

Mardyke Canal

July 1776	John Swinden	He submitted a £15,746 estimate for making the Mardyke navigable for 9½ miles from Poorfleet Slice, through Bulphan, to a bridge near Childerditch Church. He proposed 5 locks to cope with the 50 feet fall, including an entrance lock from the Thames.
17 October 1833	Edward Lapidge	He was appointed engineer after havig already made a partial survey.
19 November 1833	Edward Lapidge	He produced his plans for the navigation.
19 August 1834	Edward Lapidge	He wrote to Comyns Parker, a land agent amd supporter of the scheme, to say that the support for the project had disappeared.

Muirkirk Canal

1789	Built about 1789.

Morris's Canal

1790	Built about 1790.
1794	Became part of the Trewyddfa Canal.

Middlesbrough - Redcar Ship Canal Project

1832

W A Brooks

Proposed a new harbour at Redcar connected to Middlesbrough by a ship canal.

Manchester Ship Canal

1882	Sir Edward Leader Williams	He had his first connection with the project.
1885	Promoted by the Manchester Ship Canal Act.
1885	Sir Edward Leader Williams	Gave evidence before a parliamentary committee in opposition to the Bridgewater Navigation Company.
1887	Construction started in November 1887.
1894	The canal was opened on 1 January 1894.
1907	History of the Manchester Ship Canal by Sir B T Leech , Published by Sherratt & Hughes - 2 volumes
1966	The original access to the Bridgewater canal, via Bridgewater Locks, was closed.
1980	The Manchester Ship Canal and the rise of the Port of Manchester 1894-1975 by D A Farnie, Published by Manchester University Press.
1994	A Hundred Years of the Manchester Ship Canal by Edward Gray, Published by Aurora Eterprises Ltd - The story of the building and history of the canal published to coincide with its centenary.
1994	Manchester Ship Canal Company, Preliminary Prospectus by Richard Dean, Published by M & M Baldwin - copy of the original prospectus, plus commentary by Richard Dean.
1997	Manchester Ship Canal by Edward Gray, Published by Sutton Publishing - Historic record of the canal featuring over 200 photographs
1998	IWA National Festival at Salford Quays.

Manchester Ship Canal - River Irwell Upper Reach

1907	The River Irwell by J Corbett , Published by E J Morten 1974 Believed to be a reprint of a 1907 book.

Market Weighton Canal

See Priestley's Navigable Rivers and Canals for more information.

1772	Promoted by an Act.
1772	John Smeaton	He was suggested as consultant engineer for the canal but the idea was rejected on grounds of cost.
June 1772	Samuel Allam	He is appointed resident engineer.
12 June 1772	John Grundy	The commissioners decide not to employ Grundy as consultant as his terms were considered too expensive.
12 June 1772	John, junior Smith	As engineer for the canal he put his plans and estimates to the first meeting of commissioners at the Black Swan, Market Weighton. His proposal included a sea lock and four other locks with rises of up to 16 feet.
August 1772	John Grundy	A group of landowners ask him to check John Smith's plans and estimats or the canal and he writes a critical report. He proposes locks of around 8 foot fall, about half the fall of some of the locks Smith planned. He is soon afterwards taken on as Consultant Engineer in place of Smith.
Autumn 1772	John, junior Smith	Following John Grundy's criticisms of his plans for the canal he is dismissed as engineer.
August 1773	Samuel Allam	He completed a survey for the line into Market Drayton.
1777	William Jessop	He was asked to measure the work done by the Pinkerton's so that their account could be settled.
1778	John Holt	He was asked to estimate the smallest possible amount needed to finish the canal to Market Weighton.
1782	Opened.
1900	The Market Weighton Drainage Act of 1900 abandoned the upper 3.5 miles of the canal.
1971	Right of navigation through the Humber entrance lock was abandoned under section 112 of the Transport Act 1968.

Neath and Tennant Canals

1934	Navigation ceased on the Neath Canal in 1934 and about the same time the Tennant canal stopped carrying commercial traffic.
1974	Canals of Welsh Valleys & Their Tramroads by David D Gladwin & J M White, Published by Oakwood Press.

River Nar

See Priestley's Navigable Rivers and Canals for more information.

1751	River improvements authorised by an Act.
June 1751	John Aram	Instructed by the Nar Commissioners, together with Langley Edwards, to make a survey and estimate for making the river navigable.
June 1751	Langley Edwards	Instructed by the Nar Commissioners, together with John Aram, to make a survey and estimate for making the river navigable.
May 1757	Langley Edwards	He was paid £100 for survey and for "putting out the works from King's Lynn to Westacre for himself and his assistants untill the same is completed". He produced an estimate of £2,500 for the entire works, chiefly for the making of new cuts.
October 1758	Langley Edwards	He was asked to complete the work on the river by 1st January 1759, lter extended to 15th February but with a £20 a week penalty for any over-run.
1759	John Aram	Was paid ten guineas for his part in surveying the river.
August 1759	Langley Edwards	He completed the navigation but was in dispute with the commissioners over the payment of the costs for two additional staunches that had been found to be needed.
1814	Charles Burcham	Drew a plan of the river showing some straightening of bends.
1884	No traffic after 1884.

Norfolk and Suffolk Broads

See Priestley's Navigable Rivers and Canals for more information.

1670	Promoted by Act.
1722	Promoted by Act.
1747	Promoted by Act.
1772	Promoted by Act.
1773	Promoted by Act.
1827	Promoted by Act.
1866	Promoted by Act.
1884	Norfolk Broads and Rivers, or the Water-ways, Lagoons, & Decoys of East Anglia by G C Davies, Published by Blackwood.
1887	The Handbook to the Rivers and Broads of Norfolk & Suffolk by G C Davies, (9th edition) Published by Jarrold Publishing - Illustrations and folding map. This book ran to 18 editions by 1890.
1890	Summer in Broadland: Gypsying in East Anglian Waters by H M Doughty (3rd edition) Published by Jarrold Publishing - Account of a cruise on a converted wherry.
1890	The Swan and Her Crew, or the Adventures of Three Young Naturalists & Sportsmen on the Broads & Rivers of Norfolk by G C Davies, (4th edition) Published by Frederick Warne & Co. Ltd. - Many natural history illustrations.
1892	The Land of the Broads by E R Suffling, Published by Benjamin Perry.
1902	Broadland Sport by N Everitt, Published by R A Everitt.
1907	Promoted by Act.
1923	A Guide to the Norfolk Broads by W A Dutt, Published by Methuen London Ltd - This is part 1 of "The Norfolk Broads".
1930	The Norfolk Broads by W A Dutt, (4th edition 407 pages) Published by Methuen London Ltd - The book is in two parts the first, being on the broads and rivers, is written by Dutt but the second part, on various broadland topics, is by local writers.
1951	Portrait of the Broads by J Wentworth-Day, Published by Country Life.
1952	Norfolk Broads Holiday Book by John May, Published by Hulton.
1952	The Broads by R H Mottram , Published by Robert Hale.
1953	Broadland Adventure by J Wentworth-Day, Published by Batsford.
1953	Norwich and the Broads by J Wentworth-Day, Published by Batsford.
1953	The Norfolk Wherry, Its Construction, Evolution & History by G C Green, Published by G R Reeve - Includes a 12 page picture supplement.
1960	The Making of the Broads by S A Manning, Published by Royal Geographical Society.
1963	Promoted by Acts.
1965	The Broads by E A Ellis , Published by Collins.
1972	Black Sailed Traders by R Clark, Published by David & Charles.
1972	Holiday Cruising on the Broads & Fens by L A Edwards, Published by David & Charles.
1980	Portrait of Broadland by S A Manning , Published by Robert Hale.
1996	Norfolk Rivers and Harbours by Robert Simper, Published by Creekside Publishing - Covers the history of the Broads.

Text and photographs copyright of Jim Shead.