![]() Text and photographs copyright of Jim Shead. |
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Description: A 60 mile, 29 lock, ship canal through the Great Glen from Inverness to Fort William.
History: Authorised by Acts of 1803 and 1804 and completed in 1822.Built by William Jessop and Thomas Telford.
See Priestley's Navigable Rivers and Canals for more information.
Caledonian Canal
1802 | After surveying the area around this time he recommended that public works should be carried out to "furnish employment for the industrious and valuable part of people in their own country" and advised the building of waterways and roads in the highlands and a canal through the Great Glen. | |
1803 | Authorised by an Act. | |
1803 | He was appointed consulting engineer for the project. | |
July 1803 | Around this time he was appointed principal engineer at a daily rate of 3 guineas plus travelling expenses. | |
1804 | Authorised by an Act. | |
April 1804 | He estimated the cost of the canal as £474,500 excluding land purchase. | |
Summer 1804 | He advised Thomas Telford to appoint two resident engineers or superintendents. | |
Summer 1804 | On William Jessop's advice he appointed Matthew Davison and John Telford as resident engineers. | |
1805 | He and Thomas Telford decided that a basin should be made for Corpach sea-lock and that the locks should be arranged as staircase flights to save expense. | |
1805 | He and William Jessop decided that a basin should be made for Corpach sea-lock and that the locks should be arranged as staircase flights to save expense. | |
April 1805 | He told the commissioners that the eastern district of the canal employed about 500 workers, mainly from around the Moray Firth, and in the western district there were 404, including about 300 "strangers" from Appin, Arisaig, Kintyre, Lismore, Morrar and Skye also some crofters who had stettled on Corpach Moss after being evicted by Cameron of Lochiel from their farms on Loch Arkaig. | |
1811 | Eight lock staircase built at Banavie. | |
1813 | Muirtown four-rise staircase locks built. | |
1818 | He was engaged in negotiations with Colonel Alexander Ranaldson McDonnell of Clanronald and Glengrry about the course of the navigation through Loch Oich. | |
May 1818 | He gave the increased price of food and labour, the higher than expected cost of land, extra sections of canal that needed clay linings, more rock cutting than estimated and the assembling of dredgers in remote country as the reasons for the canal construction taking longer and costing more than was planned. | |
1820 | Five lock staircase built at Fort Augustus. | |
1822 | Completed. | |
1826 | He attributes the premature decay of the Gairlochy regulating-lock to it being built with inferior stone, no better being available in the area prior to the canal being in use. | |
1916 | The Caledonian Canal. By P Bonthron. First published. | |
1972 | The Caledonian Canal by A D Cameron , Published by Terrence Dalton Ltd. | |
1992 | Caledonian - Monster Canal by Guthrie Hutton, IPublished by Richard Stenlake - Pictures of the canal earlier this century with informative captions. | |
Description: Runs just over 14 miles, from Cambridge to the junction with the River Ouse at Popes Corner. There are also four navigable tributaries.
History: Promoted by Acts of 1702 and 1813.
See Priestley's Navigable Rivers and Canals for more information.
1618 | Reported on a survey of the river and the conflicts between navigation and drainage interests and sandbanks between Clayhithe and Cambridge. | |
1702 | River improvements were promoted by Act. | |
1813 | Promoted by Act. | |
1829 | He issued his report on the river and estimated it would cost £5,125 to carry out his recommended improvements. He also suggested that the Jesus Green Sluice, which was a few hundred yards downsteam from the present lock, should be rebuilt and had advice on how barge traffic past the colledge backs could be improved. | |
1916 | The River Cam. By P Bonthron. First published. | |
1930 | Photographs taken between the 1930s and 50s published by Cambridgeshire Libraries Publications in 1996 in the book Along the Cam and the Great Ouse with Briscoe Snelson. | |
1993 | The Rivers Cam & Lower Great Ouse, Published by Imray Laurie Norie & Wilson -Large scale chart of the rivers in an A5 ring binder. Compiled together with the Great Ouse Boating Association. | |
1996 | Along the Cam and the Great Ouse with Briscoe Snelson by Peter Snelson, Published by Cambridgeshire Libraries Publications 1996 Photographs taken between the 1930s and 50s. | |
Description: Navigation improvements to the White Cart, Renfrewshire.
History: Authorised by two Acts of 1753 and 1787, the only work, on a cut, followed the second Act.
See Priestley's Navigable Rivers and Canals for more information.
1753 | Authorised by an Act but no work done under this Act. | |
1787 | Authorised by an Act work, on a cut, following this second Act. | |
Description: A proposed canal from the Solway Firth about a mile east of Bowness to Carlisle with a navigable feeder to Wigton. The main line for coasting vessels was to have locks 20 feet wide with 8 foot depth over the sills and was estimated to cost £109,393. The navigable feeder which wasprobably intended for narrowboats was estimated at £38,139.
History: Proposed by Telford in 1808 but was soon superseded by other plans for the Carlisle Canal.
6 February 1808 | He reported on the canal project adding that the £109,393 estimate could be reduced by £20,000 if the canal was built the same size as the Bridgewater or by £50,000 if it was a narrow canal. He said the canal could be extended to Eskdale and up the Eden valley as part of the route to Newcastle. |
Description: Runs 4.5 miles, from Chichester Basin to Chichester Harbour.
History: Promoted by Act of 1817 and at one time formed part of the route from Portsmouth to London, via the Arun Junction Canal and the River Wey.
Points of Special Interest: Now under the control of West Sussex County Council.
1817 | Promoted by an Act. | |
Description: A plan to build a canal from Cottingham to Hull, about four miles away. No canal was authorised or built.
History: A meeting to launch the project was held on 22 December 1802.
1803 | Was consulted about the estimate for the canal. |
Description: A 13.5-mile tub-boat canal, with inclined planes and 3 tunnels, from the Bridgewater and Taunton at Creech St. Michael to Chard.
History: Authorised by an Act of 1834, open to Ilminster in 1841 and to Chard in 1842. Closed in 1868.
1831 | He examined a proposal for the Bridgwater & Taunton Canal Company to build the main drain at Westmoor as part of their navigation and suggested it would be better for them to make a branch direct to Chard. | |
Mid 1831 | He carried out a survey and proposed a canal leaving the Bridgwater & Taunton at Creech St Michael with five pounds separated by inclined planes and lifts. The cost was estimated at £57,000 andthe completion time as five years. | |
1834 | Authorised by an Act. | |
1834 | He recommended Sydney Hall as engineer for the canal. | |
1834 | He was appointed engineer. | |
1834 | He was assistant engineer. | |
1841 | Open to Ilminster. | |
1842 | Open to Chard. | |
1842 | He was working on the Chard Common incline. | |
July 1842 | By this time he had left the company. | |
1853 | Appointed engineer. | |
1868 | Closed. | |
Description: A 19.5 mile, 17 lock, broad canal from the River Dee to Nantwich. Now part of the Shropshire Union Main Line.
History: Authorised by an Act of 1772, opened in 1775 to Beeston and in 1779 to Nantwich.
1762 | Surveys canal line. | |
1772 | Authorised by an Act. | |
April 1772 | He was appointed engineer. His prevoius experience having been as surveyor and as a contractor for cutting. | |
April 1772 | He was employed as assistant engineer to Samuel Weston. | |
1774 | Was called back from Ireland to take up the appointment of engineer. | |
1774 | He left his post as engineer. | |
1775 | Opened to Beeston. | |
Late 1775 | About this date he became engineer. | |
September 1775 | Became resident engineer after apparently having previously been a carrier on the Trent & Mersey. It was not long before he was dismissed for inattention to duty. | |
September 1775 | He had been dismissed by this date. | |
Early 1776 | Around this time he briefly served as company engineer. | |
1779 | Opened to Nantwich. | |
Description: Now navigable for 31 miles from the River Trent at West Stockwith to the Norwood Tunnel at Kiveton Park. A further 5 mile isolated section is available for trailboats between Chesterfield and Staveley
History: Promoted by an Act of 1771, and opened in 1777, it originally ran 45.5 miles from Chesterfield to the Trent.
Points of Special Interest: Water levels are maintained by pumping. Only for topping up at Retford, the rest is by gravity.
See Priestley's Navigable Rivers and Canals for more information.
After 1769 | He proposed a line from Chesterfield to the Trent that was over five miles shorter and £23,430 cheaper than the line that Brindley proposed but it did not include Worksop or Retford on the route. | |
24 August 1769 | Presented to a meeting at Worksop the plans and estimates resulting from his survey. The line was to run from Chesterfield, through a tunnel at Norwood, past Shireoaks, Worksop and East Retford to Stockwith on the Trent. The cost was estimated at £100,000. | |
1771 | Promoted by an Act. | |
Mid 1771 | Engaged for superintending the Execution of the Works. | |
Late 1772 | Following Brindley's death he moved from his post of Clerk of Works to become resident engineer with Hugh Henshall. | |
Autumn 1772 | Was appointed to act as consultant following Brindley's death. | |
Late 1773 | The committee found that his books were in a muddle and that the tunnel contracts "have been improvidently made and at prices greatly exceeding the real value thereof and in a collusive manner". One of the contractors was his brother Thomas Varley. He (John Varley) was kept on but three other Varleys were dismissed and his co-resident engineer, Hugh Henshall, became chief engineer. | |
1777 | Opened. | |
1777 | Thorpe Locks and Turner Wood Lock Double Locks built as staircase locks. | |
22 October 1852 | He reported on the line of the Sheffield & Chesterfield Junction Canal which had been surveyed by Mr Burke. In general he approved of the 7.75 mile line but suggested it be lengthen by about a mile to reduce earthworks and estimated the cost at £75,870. | |
1992 | The Waterways Revolution by Christine Richardson, Published by Self Publishing Association - The history of the first ten years of the Chesterfield Canal. | |
1994 | The Walkers' and Boaters' Gude to the Chesterfield Canal and Cuckoo Way by Christine Richardson & John Lower, Published by Hallamshire Press. | |
1996 | Minutes of the Chesterfield Canal Company 1771-1780 by Christine Richardson, Published by Derbyshire Records Society. | |
Description: A proposal for a canal from Abingdon through Whitney, Burford, Upper Swell, Batsford and Shipston-on-Stour to Stratford-upon-Avon, with a branch to quarries at lower Guiting.
History: Surveyed in 1810 but opposed by the Grand Junction Canal and the Warwick & Napton companies and did not reach the parliamentary Bill stage.
1810 | Was surveyed under his supervision. |
Description: This 17.5 mile branch runs from Etruria, where it joins the Trent and Mersey main line, to Froghall Basin
History: Opened in 1779.The section from Hazelhurst to Froghall became un-navigable in 1961and was fully reoppened for navigation in 1974.
Points of Special Interest: Before 1841 the Caldon branch had a three lock staircase at Hazelhurst, then the course of the canal was changed so that the main line went under the Leek branch, as it does today, and three new separate locks were built.
1772 | Survey the route for the canal, during which he caught a chill that led to his death. | |
1779 | Opened. | |
1802 | He was engineer for the third rail line between Froghall and the Caldon quarries. This was a four mile double line of plateway rising 649 feet through a combination of inclined planes and normal gradient track. | |
1841 | Before 1841 the Caldon branch had a three lock staircase at Hazelhurst, then the course of the canal was changed so that the main line went under the Leek branch, as it does today, and three new separate locks were built. | |
1961 | The section from Hazelhurst to Froghall became un-navigable. | |
1963 | A public meeting at Leek, on the 18 February, was followed by the setting up of the Caldon Canal Committtee. | |
1974 | Fully reoppened for navigation. | |
1979 | The Caldon Canal and Tramroads by P Lead, Published by Oakwood Press. | |
1997 | Rudyard Lake - The Bicentenary 1797 - 1997 by Basil Jeuda, Published by Churnet Valley Books - History of this resevior that supplies the Trent & Mersey Canal with water via the Leek Arm of the Caldon Canal. | |
Description: Runs 2.75 miles, from Coombe Hill, Gloucestershire, to the junction with the river Severn at Wainlode.
History: Promoted under Acts of 1792, opened in 1796 and closed under an Act of 1876.
Points of Special Interest: Currently being restored by the Coombe Hill Canal Trust.
See Priestley's Navigable Rivers and Canals for more information.
1792 | Promoted under Acts. | |
1796 | Opened. | |
1867 | He was asked to report on the canal and concluded that it could not be made to cover its expenses and would be better turned in to an osier bed. | |
1876 | Closed under an Act. | |
Description: A proposed barge canal from The Chester Canal at Nantwich to the Trent & Mersey Canal at Burton on Trent.
History: Promoted in 1795 and 1796 but not authorised or built.
Autumn 1795 | He surveyed the line for the canal. | |
Before October 1796 | He re-surveyed the proposed route. |
Description: A three mile canal across Kintyre to Campbeltown.
History: Completed in 1794 closed in 1856.
1794 | Completed. | |
1856 | Closed. | |
Description: A private canal of 1.25 miles from a water wheel at Broad Moor, fed with water by the canal, to Cinderford.
History: Completed by 1795.
1795 | Completed by this time. | |
Description: A two mile tub boat canal connecting with the, horse drawn, Plymouth & Dartmoor Railway.
History: Opened to Earl Morley's slate quarries in 1829 and closed 10 years later.
1778 | He was asked by John Parker, proprietor of the Cann slate quarry, to survey for a canal from there to the new bridge over the River Plym at Marsh Mills, from where barges could reach Plymouth on the tide. He considered a 2¼ mile canal was practicable but recommended a railroad on economic grounds. | |
1829 | Opened to Earl Morley's slate quarries. | |
1839 | Closed. | |
Description: A navigation from Thirsk to the River Swale.
History: An Act authorising making the beck navigable by building four locks and other works was passed in 1767. Work continued until about 1770 but only one lock was completed before lack of funds halted the project.
1767 | He supported Richard Firth in giving evidece for the parliamentary Bill. |
Description: A tidal navigation from Colchester to Colne Point. The top three and a half miles are practically dry at low water.
History: Promoted by acts of 1623, 1689, 1718, 1740, 1750 and 1781.
Points of Special Interest: Maximum length 195 foot, width 28 foot.
See Priestley's Navigable Rivers and Canals for more information.
1623 | River improvements were promoted by Act. | |
1689 | Promoted by an Act. | |
1718 | Promoted by an Act. | |
1740 | Promoted by an Act. | |
1750 | Promoted by an Act. | |
1781 | Promoted by an Act. | |
1824 | Produced a plan for a ship canal to run parallel to the river from Hythe to Wivenhoe. He also proposed a 2.25 mile barge canal from Hythe to Lexden. | |
1971 | Down Tops'l - The story of East Coast Sailing Barges by H Benham, (2nd edition) Published by George G Harrap & Co. - This illustrated work includes river and creek navigation on the Crouch, Colne and Roach. | |
Description: A 11.25 mile, 8 lock, broad canal from Carlisle to the Solway.
History: Authorised by an Act of 1819, opened in 1823 and closed in 1853.
See Priestley's Navigable Rivers and Canals for more information.
29 June 1807 | The Canal Committee meeting considered his report proposing a canal from the town to the sea. The cost was estimated at 40,000 pounds if it took vessels of up to 45 tons or between 55,000 and 65,000 pounds for craft up to 90 tons. | |
22 August 1807 | He added an appendix to his report of 27th June proposing both a 90 - 100 ton canal for the Irish, Scottish and Liverpool trade, and a 50 ton line to the collieries near Maryport, saying "I see by the newspapers, that the Sea Vessel Canal from Carlisle appearsto be as warmly espoused as that to Maryport for Canal Boats". | |
1808 | In making comments on Telford's proposals for the canal he suggests that a steam engine would be a cheaper way of supplying water to the canal than the Wigton branch unless the branch could be commercially justified and that the locks could be 65 by 16 feet with 6 feet over the cill rather than of Forth & Clyde dimensions. This would be big enough for the Mersey flats that were expected to be trading from Liverpool. | |
7 October 1817 | He was asked to survey a canal route from Carlisle to the Solway Firthfor craft of not less than 70 tons. He was told he should "strictly adhere to the great ultimate object of connecting the east and west seas". | |
1818 | He recommended a canal from Fisher's Cross (later to be called Port Carlisle) to Carlisle, 50 foot wide and 8 feet deep with locks 74 by 17 feet. The estimated cost was 73,392 pounds. | |
Early 1818 | Around this time he assisted William Chapman in a survey of the route for the canal. | |
1819 | Authorised by an Act. | |
1819 | Was appointed consulting engineer to the navigation. | |
Late 1819 | Was appointed resident engineer. | |
1820 | Was assisting William Chapman on the construction of the canal with his brother Henry working for some of the time as resident engineer. | |
March 1820 | Was employed as overseer of works. | |
July 1820 | Resigned from his post of resident engineer. | |
July 1820 | Following the resignation of the engineer, Henry Buck, he took over that role. | |
Late December 1822 | Was dismissed by the canal committee after a disagreement over the quality of the work of the site engineer, Thomas Ferrier, who was backed by the committeee who rejected Chapman's criticism. | |
1823 | Opened. | |
February 1823 | Was asked to leave the company following the dismissal of his former principal, William Chapman, in the previous December. | |
Late 1826 | He left the company. | |
November 1835 | He produced plans for inner and outer docks at Port Carlisle. | |
June 1836 | He proposed to start work at Port Carlisle by enclosing the ground and building the outer dock with a single gate. | |
1853 | Closed. | |