Text and photographs copyright of Jim Shead.

History by Waterway from Cromford Canal

Cromford Canal

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

1786	John Smith	He and William Jessop are believed to have surveyed part of the Cromford Canal around this date.
July 1787	John Hodgkinson	With Benjamin Outram and others he met with the Erewash Canal company to propose an extention of the canal to Pixton but could get no agreement. This being the start of the events that led to the building of the Cromford Canal.
December 1788	William Jessop	He presented his estimate of £42,697 for building the canal at a meeting in Alfreton.
1789	Authorised by an Act.
1789	William Jessop	He was appointed engineer at £350 a year plus expenses and was to give a third of his time to the works.
1789	Benjamin Outram	Was appointed full-time assistant engineer to William Jessop.
1790	Thomas Dadford senior	Around this date he was probably appointed as one of the two contractors building the canal.
1791	Benjamin Outram	He was now receiving a salary of £400 a year.
Early 1792	William Jessop	The Amber Aqueduct partially failed and he voluntarily paid the £650 repair cost. He also offered to forgo his salary for the past six months and until the completion of the canal but this offer was not accepted.
Autumn 1793	William Jessop	The Derwent Aqueduct cracked and he blames himself for the want of sufficient strngth in the front walls.
1794	Opened.
1900	The 3,063 yard Butterley Tunnel was closed due to subsidence.
1944	The whole of the canal, except for half a mile, was abandoned.
1962	The final stretch to Langley Mill was abandoned.
1995	Nottingham's Lost Canal by Bernard W Chell, Published by Happy Walking (John Merrill) - Informative history and route description of the Cromford Canal.

Crinan Canal

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

1792	John Rennie	Having been commissioned by the Duke of Argyll and the Earl of Breadabane to make a survey he reported on two passages, one called the Daill and the other the Achnashelloch passage. The canal itself was to be 66 feet wide at the surface, 30 feet at the bottom and 12 feet deep.
December 1792	John Rennie	He was asked by the committee to superintend the work, to provide iron tools, carts, wheel-barrows, and 'other wheel carriages', coal, meal, stone, sand, clay, timber, iron, lead and huts at 'different stations', and to treat with the landowners for their ground.
1793	Authorised by an Act.
January 1793	John Rennie	At a meeting of subscribers in London it was proposed that the canal be built with a depth of 15 feet so he revised his estimate for the canal to £107,512.
December 1793	John Rennie	He told the company clerk that American oak was the 'worst of all oak' and 'would not last six years in the work'.
April 1794	John Rennie	He was empowered to buy a steam engine for removing earth. Most of the commitee were in favour of reducing the depth of the canal to 12 feet but he and Captain Huddart favoured the 15 feet depth.
January 1795	John Rennie	He changed his mind on the depth of the canal and a decision was made to build it 12 feet deep. It was also decided that the Daill route should be followed and the locks should be 96 by 24 feet.
February 1796	John Rennie	He gave up his previous half-year's salary because he had not found it necessary to visit the works as often as he expected when he took the job. This 'liberal offer' was repaid with a piece of plate valued at 20 guineas.
1798	John Rennie	He thought that the canalwould be used not only by busses and fishing boats but also, because of the war, by vessels returning from the Baltic to the ports of the English Channel.
Mid 1798	John Rennie	He reported that bacause of lack of money he could not fix a completion date. The dimensions of the canal were to vary according to the ground conditions the width varying from 48 to 84 feet at the surface, 25 to 48 feet at the bottom and the depth from 13 to 14 feet.
1801	Opened but not completely finished until 1809.
1805	John Rennie	He recommended James Hollinsworth as resident engineer.
1809	Completely finished.
Summer 1812	Thomas Telford	He was asked by the Treasury to make a survey of the state of the canal and estimate the cost of completion.
January 1813	Thomas Telford	He reported that the canal was in "a very imperfect condition". Navigation of the eastern entrance was dangeous due to a range of rocks about 500 feet long that were only visible at low water. Shallow waters outside the western end made navigation of deep draughted vessels impossible except at high tide. Other works were also required and he estimated the cost of repairs as £18,251.
December 1816	Thomas Telford	Was made responsible for the direction of repairs to the canal and made a detailed inpection of the canal works.
January 1817	Thomas Telford	He found a contractor to undertake the main repairs.
1978	The Crinan Canal by A D Cameron , Published by Published by the author.
1994	The Crinan Canal - Puffers & Paddle Steamers by Guthrie Hutton, Published by Richard Stenlake - Historic photographs of the canal.

Croydon Canal

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

1799	Ralph Dodd	He produced a plan for a 12 mile canal from Croydon to Rotherhithe. It was to be a small canal taking boats of 10 to 20 tons, 24 feet wide and 3 feet 6 inches deep with two inclined planes and he estimated it would cost £25,000.
8 October 1800	John Rennie	He reported on the canal line that Ralph Dodd had surveyed wirh inclided plans and on one with locks which was to use a different route through Penge Common, Sydenham, Brockley, New Cross and Deptford to Rotherhithe. The former, estimated to cost £46,516 would take boats of 5 to 7 tons while the locked canal, costing £64,100, would take narrowboats. He was not expecting much trade on the canal and pointed out problems with water supply.
1801	Authorised by an Act.
1801	John Rennie	While the canal Bill was going through parliament the Grand Surrey Canal Act was passed so the Croydon Canal was shortened to join it at New Cross. His estimate for inclined plane canal set out in the Bill was £50,847. £4,500 of this was for inclined planes at New Cross and Deptford and £6,200 for two steam engines for hauling boats up the planes.
1801	Dudley Clark	Started builing the 9.25 mile barge canal about this date.
1809	Opened.
1823	Dudley Clark	Was paid 300 pounds by the company, presumably as arrears of fees for several previous years.
1834	Joseph Gibbs	Surveyed the line of the London & Croydon Railway which proposed making use of the bed of the canal.
1836	Closed.

Cassington Cut

1800	This private cut of the Duke of Marlborough's started around 1800.
1814	Opened about this date.
October 1842	Frederick Wood	He was approached by the Duke of Marlborough's agent over the lack of repairs to the wharf following the Oxford Canal company's decision not to renew their lease on the canal and wharf.
1870	Disused about this date.

Caistor Canal

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

3 July 1792	William Jessop	It was decided to ask him to carry out a survey and prepare a plan.
3 October 1792	William Jessop	His report was considered at a meeting of the Ancholme Navigation Commissioners who were concerned about the effect the proposed navigation would have on drainage.
1793	Authorised by an Act.
1795	Robert Dickenson	Was engineer for the canal when it was built.
1800	Closed.
1936	Abandoned.

Central Union Canal project

1832

William Cubitt

He produced a survey for this proposed canal.

Coventry Canal (Detached Portion)

Late 1787	Thomas Dadford senior	He completed the building of this section for the Trent & Mersey Canal Company. Soon afterwards the Coventry Canal exercised its right to buy this section for £10,541.
1788	This part was built by the Trent & Mersey Co, who reported if fully completed.

Coventry Canal

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

1766	Henry Bradford	Surveyed a line for a canal from Coventry to Tamworth with a river extension from there to Fazeley.
1767	James Brindley	Surveyed the route for the canal.
1768	Promoted by Act.
Early 1768	Joseph Parker	He was appointed Clerk of Works and sent to Hugh Henshall for a months training.
After January 1768	James Brindley	Appointed engineer and surveyor at £150 a year and undertook to give at least two months attendance in each whole year.
1769	Samuel Bull	Was appointed assistant to Edmund Lingard working on the construction of the canal.
Late 1769	Thomas Yeoman	He was called in to advise the company for a few months.
Late 1769	Edmund Lingard	He was appointed engineer.
September 1769	James Brindley	Dissmissed as engineer by the company.
Before 1770	Joseph Parker	He left his post of Clerk of Works.
Late 1771	Thomas Yeoman	He was called in to advise on the route from Atherstone to Fradley and recommended a new route to Polesworth and replacing the Tame aqueduct by a level crossing of the river.
1784	Thomas Dadford senior	He and Robert Whitworth advised on the proposed Tame Aqueduct.
After June 1785	Thomas, senior Sheasby	He was appointed engineer to build the canal extension from Atherstone to Fazeley.
1786	Promoted by Acts.
1790	Opened.
1819	Promoted by Act.
1957	IWA National Rally at Coventry.
1984	IWA National Festival at Hawkesbury.
1987	IWA National Festival at Hawkesbury.

Cyfarthfa Canal

1770	Built by Anthony Bacon to connect his iron works to the coal pits and opened in the late 1770s.
1836	Abandoned about 1836 No traces remain.

Dartford & Crayford Navigation

November 1835	Edward Hall	He proposed a ship canal from the entrance to Dartford Creek to the town of Dartford. This was to take vessels of 300 - 400 tons.
1840	Promoted by an Act.
1844	Completed.

Dearne and Dove Canal

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

Summer 1792	William Jessop	He was asked to survey the line for the canal but was too busy.
Summer 1792	Robert Whitworth	He made a survey for canal under William Jessop's supervision.
Summer 1792	William II Fairbank	Together with John Thompson he surveyed a route for the navigation.
Summer 1792	John Thompson	Together with William Fairbank he surveyed a route for the navigation.
October 1792	Robert Mylne	He as engineer for the company and William Jessop for the Barnsley Canal jointly planned a level junction lock to ensure that neither canal lost water.
22 December 1792	Robert Mylne	He started a two day survey for a canal from the river to Barnsley.
1793	Authorised by an Act.
Spring 1793	Robert Mylne	He gave evidence on the Bill for the navigation around this time.
Summer 1793	John Thompson	He took charge of the construction of the canal and in July offered contracts for the cutting and preparation of stone.
Spring 1795	Robert Whitworth	He surveyed the unfinished canal.
1804	Completed.
12 November 1804	William Whitworth	He, or his brother Robert, probably took over and completed the canal following their father's death in 1799.
12 November 1804	Robert, junior Whitworth	He, or his brother William, probably took over and completed the canal following their father's death in 1799.
After July 1823	George, junior Leather	He recommended raising Worsbrough reservoir by 4 foot 6 inches thus increasing it from 42 to 62 acres at a cost of £3,150 plus the cost of the land. The work was finished in 1826. He also said that the canal locks were too lightly built and it was agreed to reconstruct 2 or 3 each year.
Late 1864	William Hammond Bartholomew	Increased the capaicity of Cold Hiendley reservoir by 1,000 lockfulls.

Dorset & Somerset Canal

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

September 1793	Robert Whitworth	He reported on his survey and suggested a 37 mile route from the proposed Kennet & Avon Canal at Freshford to Stalbridge this would cost £100,000 and had good water supplies. From Stalbridge the line south could either go past Blandford at an estimated cost of £83,000 for 33 miles of canal, or by Wareham, which was £91,000 for 30 miles and had difficulties with water supply.
1794	William Bennet	On Robert Whitworth's recommendation he was employed in conducting a detailed suryey of the route for main line and branches of the canal.
Mid 1795	William Bennet	Completed his survey and estimated the cost as £200,000. Later changes were made and he estimated the shorter route as £146,018.
1796	Authorised by an Act of 1796 but never opened.
1800	James Fussell	Tests on his vertical boat lift were made and proved successful.
March 1802	William Underhill	He was perhaps the "Underhill" who reported to the shareholder's meeting on the cost of completing the Frome branch and on the present and future supplies from local collieries.
1803	Abandoned around 1803.
1971	The Dorset and Somerset Canal by Kenneth R Clew , Published by David & Charles.

Dick Brook

1653	Made navigable by Andrew Yarranton about this date.
After 1653	Andrew Yarranton	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.

Doctor's Canal

1813	Opened.
1918	Was derelict by 1918.

Duke's Cut

1789	Built by the Duke of Marlborough opened, and formed the first link between the Thames and the Oxford Canal.

River Dee

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

1734	Promoted by Act.
1744	Promoted by Act.
1791	Promoted by Act.
1934	The Wizard Dee. A June Voyage from Bala to the Sea by T W Cubbon, Published by Witherby - Illustrated.

Douglas Navigation

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

1712	Thomas Steers	He surveyed the river and recommended a navigation for carrying coal from Wigan to the Ribble.
1720	Authorised by an Act.
7 April 1721	Thomas Steers	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.
June 1721	Thomas Steers	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.
1742	Opened around 1742.
1801	All of the traffic was lost to the Leeds & Liverpool Canal by 1801.

Text and photographs copyright of Jim Shead.