Text and photographs copyright of Jim Shead.

This Book "Priestley's Navigable Rivers and Canals" by Joseph Priestley was previously published in April 1831. NOTE: Oringinally called "Historical Account of the Navigable Rivers, Canals, and Railways, of Great Britain".

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NEW HARBOUR AND QUAY DUTIES CONTINUED.

The Shed Duties for every Article are particularly specified, but as the enumeration of them would far exceed the Limits of our Publication, we refer the Reader to the Act. The highest Rates are Two-pence per Toii, and the lowest One Penny; and if those Duties shall, on an Average of Three Years, exceed fifteen per Cent, of the Cost of Erection, the Duties to be reduced until the Annual Revenue be fifteen per Cent.

For the Navigation of the River above The Broomielaw, a River Duty of Two-pence per Ton upon all Articles; but when the Annual Revenue, thus derived, exceeds £600, then the Duty to be reduced to One Penny per Ton; and, again raised to Two-pence per Ton if the Revenue should be below £600, or, the Proprietors may, at their option, take the full Produce of the One Penny Rate.

For the further Purpose of improving the Clyde Navigation, above the Harbour of Broomielaw, from and after the opening of the Communication, they are entitled to a further Duty of from Three-pence to One Shilling per Ton, as the Trustees shall determine, on all Wares and Merchandize whatever, navigating the said proposed Extension.

Coal brought downwards and unshipped at the Harbour of Broomielaw are exempt from the above Duty if not re-shipped.

Vessels and Goods passing up the River to the Quays of Glasgow are not liable to the Charges on the Extension to the East of the City.

For the more equitable Payment of the River Duties, the Clyde is again divided into Three Stages. The First Stage comprehends the space between the Harbour of Broomielaw and the Old Ferry of Renfrew; the Second Stage is between the last-mentioned Place and the Mouth of Dalmuir Burn; and the last extends to the Castle of Dumbarton; and the Rates and River Duties are to be paid on these Stages in the Proportion recited in the preceding Act.

None of the New or Additional Duties shall be paid on any Goods, Wares, or Merchandize, which shall pass from the Forth and Clyde Canal into any Part of the River lying Westward of Dalmuir Burn, (except Coal, which shall pay a Duty of One Farthing per Ton); and at the Expiration of Nine Years from the Date of this Act, the present Duty of Two-pence per Ton on all Goods (except Coal) conveyed on the lowermost Stage, on entering the Forth and Clyde, or vice versa, shall be reduced to One Penny per Ton; and if after the Expiration of the above Term of Nine Years, an Annual Revenue, exceeding One-third of the Annual Expenditure on these Works, below Dalmuir Burn, the Duties of One Penny and One Farthing per Ton shall be so reduced until the Revenue from this Stage be no more than One-third of the Expenditure on this part of the Navigation.

All Vessels (including those propelled by Steam, going direct between Glasgow and Dumbarton) belonging to the Royal Burgh of Dumbarton, are, by Virtue of a Contract, entered into with the Corporation of Glasgow, in the Year 1700, exempt from River and Harbour Dues upon the Clyde. if Steam Vessels make any Voyages, except direct from Dumbarton and Glasgow, they are liable to the River and Harbour Duties; so are Coals not bone fide for the Use of the Burgesses of Dumbarton. This Exemption dues not extend to the Navigation beyond the Harbour of Broomielaw.

The Burgesses of Glasgow are likewise exempted, by Virtue of the original Contract above-mentioned, from the Payment of any Duties on entering the Harbour of Dumbarton.

Ships or Vessels in His Majesty's Service are exempt from any Rates or Duties by Virtue of this Act.

In addition to the great advantages which the city of Glasgow experiences, from the facilities which this excellent navigation gives for importing colonial and other produce, and for exporting the vast quantity of manufactured cotton goods, which a population of one hundred and fifty thousand souls continues to produce, it is connected with the Great Lanarkshire Coal Field, by means of

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the Monkland Canal and the Garnkirk Railway, which connect with the Ballochney and the Garturk and Cariongill Railways, by means of which, coal is supplied at a comparatively low rate; besides these, considerable advantages arise from a branch of the Forth and Clyde Canal, terminating on the east side of the city, which gives certain communication with the Forth, and city of Edinburgh.

Some idea may be formed of the traffic to the Clyde, from a return to parliament, by which it appears, that three hundred and ten British, and thirty-seven Foreign Ships, entered it in the year 1824.

Before the American War, the import of tobacco from Maryland and Virginia, into this river, was from 35 to 45,000 hogsheads, and the year immediately preceding that event, the amount was 57,143 hogsheads. From the West Indies, 540,198 hogsheads of sugar, 1,251,900 gallons of rum, and 6,530,177 lbs. of cotton were imported. Of the exports, which consist chiefly of their own manufactures, we need not do more than state, that in 1815, there were 52 cotton mills, containing 511,200 spindles; 18 works for weaving by steam power, which weekly produced 8,400 pieces; 39 calenders, which worked off, daily, 118,000 yards; besides dressing 116,000, and glazing 30,000.

COLNE RIVER.

THIS river rises a few miles north-west of Castle Hedingham, in the hundred of Hinckford, Essex, by which places it runs to the town of Halstead; from whence, it takes a more eastwardly course by Earls Colne Priory, to The Hythe, near the town of Colehester, from which place to the sea, into which it falls at Mersea Island, it is navigable. From The Hythe to Wivenhoe, the distance is three miles and a half and from thence the river opens into an estuary, terminating in the sea opposite the eastern end of Mersea Island, at the distance of four miles and a half. It is one of the earliest navigations, as appears by an act of the 21st James I.

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entitled, 'An Act for the repairing and maintaining of the Haven, River, and Channel running unto the Borough and Town of Colchester, in the County of Essex, and also for the paving of the said Town.' The succeeding acts relate only to the river above Wivenhoe, for to that place the navigation has always been of sufficient depth, and where now there is a dock-yard for building frigates and merchant-men.

By the act of the 9th and 10th William III. entitled, 'An Act for cleansing and making navigable the Channel from The Hythe, at Colchester, to Wivenhoe,' certain duties were granted to the corporation of Colchester, on all goods navigated between Wivenhoe and The Hythe, for the term of twenty-one years, and the powers of which said act was, by another of the 5th of George I. entitled, 'An Act for enlarging the Term granted by an Act of the Ninth and Tenth of William III. for cleansing and making navigable the Channel from The Hythe, at Colchester, to Wivenhoe, and for making the said Act more effectual,' extended to the 1st of May, 1740.

By another act, dated the 29th of April, 1740, entitled, 'An Act for further enlarging the Term granted by an Act of the Ninth and Tenth Years of the Reign of King William III. for cleansing and making navigable the Channel from The Hythe, at Colchester, to Wivenhoe, and for making the said Act, and another Act of the Fifth Year of the Reign of his late Majesty King George the First, for enlarging the Term granted by the said Act of the Ninth and Tenth Years of the Reign of King William the Third more effectual,' the powers of the former acts, together with the additional powers, should be in force for ever.

DUTY ON SEA COAL.

That the Duty on Sea Coal should be Three-pence per Chaldron, to be levied for Forty Years, from the 1st of May, 1740, and that no other Duty should be raised upon any other Goods, Wares, or Merchandize.

In the preamble, however, of the 23rd of George II. it appears, that in consequence of the powers of the mayor and commonalty to collect a large amount of arrears of rates, due under the former acts, having ceased, together with the loss of a considerable sum of money, then laying in the hands of the representatives of the late

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receiver general of these duties, and for the payment of which no legal discharges could be given, that the only lock upon this navigation, together with other of the works, had necessarily fallen into decay; fresh powers are, therefore, indispensable; accordingly, an act received the royal assent on the 12th of April, 1750, entitled, 'An Act for making more effectual several Acts of Parliament passed for cleansing and making more navigable the Channel from The Hythe, at Colchester, to Wivenhoe, in the County of Essex, and for repairing and cleansing the Streets and Lanes of the Town of Colchester.' By this act an additional duty of three-pence per chaldron is levied on sea coal for thirty years, from the 1st of May, 1750, the collection of which is placed in the hands of a number of gentlemen, who are entitled, "The Commissioners for putting in Execution the several Acts of Parliament made for cleansing and making navigable the Channel from The Hythe, at Colchester, to Wivenhoe."

The last act relating to this navigation was passed in 1781, and is entitled, 'An Act for continuing, and making more effectual,several Acts of Parliament passed for cleansing and making navigable the Channelfroni The Hythe, at Colchester, to Wivenhoe, in the County of Essex; and for repairing and cleansing the Streets of the Town of Colchester; and also for lighting the Streets and Lanes, and for preventing Annoyances in the said Town,' by which the powers of the above-recited acts are extended to the further term of forty years, and from thence to the end of the then next session of parliament. Commissioners are appointed for putting the acts in execution, who are directed to apply for and dispose of the sum of £2,000, which was vested in the fund called The South Sea Annuities, for the purpose of keeping this navigation in sufficient repair.

The chief objects of this navigable river are the import of coal, deals, and groceries, and the export of farming produce, and Colchester Oysters from the banks below Wivenhoe.

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CONWAY RIVER.

THIS river has its source in that mountainous tract which separates, the counties of Denbigh and Carnarvon from Merionethshire; from whence it takes a northerly course by the village of Yspytty Efan, near which place it is crossed by the Holyhead Mail Road; having in its way received the waters of the Llygwy, it pursues a north-easterly route to Llanrwst, whence, at high water, it continues navigable to its fall into the sea, about a mile below the Conway Suspension Bridge. Conway Harbour, situated at the mouth of this river, is well protected from the north and east, by the promontory called Great Orme's Head, but is fit only for vessels of small burthen, and the channel is very difficult to navigate.

The length of this navigation is about thirteen miles and a half. Being a tideway river, and not being the subject of any parliamentary enactment, it is toll free; and is chiefly used for the trade of Conway and Llanrwst.

COOMBE HILL CANAL.

THIS canal proceeds from the River Severn at Fletcher's Leap, in the parish of Deerhurst, in nearly a straight course, to Coombe Hill, a village situate about seven miles from Gloucester, on the road to Tewkesbury. It is three miles and a half in length, with a rise of 15 feet, and was made under the authority of an act, entitled, 'An Act for making and maintaining a navigable Canal from the foot of Coombe Hill, in the parish of Leigh, in the county of Gloucester, to join tire River Severn, at or near a place called Fisher's otherwise Fletcher's Leap, in the parish of Deerhurst, in the said county,' at the sole expense of T. Burges and W. Miller, Esquires, and Mrs. Sarah Mumford.

The principal object proposed was the shortening and rendering more cheap, the communication between the River Severn and the town of Cheltenham, which is about five miles distant from

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Coombe Hill; but since the Gloucester and Cheltenham Railway has been constructed, the business on this canal has been materially reduced.

TONNAGE RATES.

COVENTRY CANAL.

THE original, line, for which the act of 8th George III. was obtained, commences at the Trent and Mersey or Grand Trunk Canal, on Fradley Heath, from whence it takes a southerly direction to Huddlesford, where it is joined by the Wyrley and Essington Canal; afterwards by Hopwas to Fazeley, near Tamworth, where the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal locks down into it. From this place its course is across the River Tame, in a north-eastwardly direction by Amlington, where it approaches the banks of the Little River Anker; thence, it takes a south-easterly direction, and runs in nearly a parallel course with the river above mentioned; then by Polesworth, to the west side of the town of Atherstone; by Hartshill, the town of Nuneaton, and the villages of Bedworth and Longford, to the city of Coventry, where it terminates.

The original subscribers to this canal were one hundred and thirteen in number, amongst whom were Lord Archer, Lady Mary Greatheed, and Sir Roger Newdigate, Bart. who were incorporated by the name of "The Company of Proprietors of the Coventry Canal Navigation." The act of 8th George III. so incorporating them, is entitled, 'An Act for making and maintaining a navigable Canal from the city of Coventry, to communicate, upon Fradledy Heath, in the county of Stafford, with a Canal now making between the Rivers Trent and Mersey,' and it empowered the subscribers to raise, among themselves, for the

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purposes of this act, the sum of £50,000, in five hundred shares of £100 each, and an additional sum of £30,000, if necessary, by creating new shares.

TONNAGE RATES.

EXEMPTION FROM TOLL.

Paving-stones, Sand, Gravel, and all other Material for the repair of Roads; Dung, Soil, Marl, and all sorts of Manure, provided they do not pass a Lock, except at such Times as the Water flows over it.

Vessels under Fifteen Tons not to pass Locks without leave.

Wharfage to be paid for all Goods remaining more than Twenty-four Hours on the Wharfs, but no Charge to be made for the Use of the Crane, which the Company are required to erect on the Bank of the Canal, near Tamworth.

Proprietors of Lands may erect Wharfs, but that no more than Three-pence per Ton shall be charged for Goods which shall not remain more than Six Days.

Mr. James Brindley was the original engineer to this canal, and made the estimate for constructing it; but it appears that the amount of subscriptions was expended in executing between sixteen and seventeen miles of the line, viz, from Coventry to Atherstone; and as the company failed to raise any portion of the £30,000, which the act of 8th George III. authorized them to do, an end was put to the further prosecution of the remaining twenty-one miles of canal, until 1782, when a meeting of delegates from the Coventry, Oxford, and Trent and Mersey Canal Companies, and the subscribers to a proposed canal from the Wednesbury Collieries, to join the Coventry Canal, at Fazeley, took place at Coleshill, on the 20th of June in that year, where it was agreed that the Trent and Mersey Canal Company and the subscribers to the proposed canal, should execute the line from Fradley to Fazeley, (which is eleven miles in length and level,) and divide it equally between the last-mentioned company and the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal Company.

In an act passed on the 24th of June, 1783, authorizing the making of the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal, the agreement above referred to is confirmed, and that half lying between Fazeley and Whittington Brook, is declared to belong to the last mentioned company, and the other half, terminating at Fradley, to the Trent and Mersey Canal Company; and, it was further

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agreed, that the tonnage upon all coal navigated from Birmingham to Fazeley, and upon all or any part of the Coventry and Oxford Canals, should not exceed one penny per ton, per mile.

The act embodying this agreement, and authorizing the several parties to carry the works into execution, was passed on the 13th June, 1785, (25th George III. cap. 98,) and is entitled, 'An Act to enable the Company of Proprietors of the Navigation from the Trent to the Mersey, and the Company of Proprietors of the Navigation from Birmingham to Fazeley, to make a navigable Canal from the said Trent and Mersey Navigation on Fradley Heath, in the county of Stafford, to Fazeley, in the said county; and for confirming certain Articles of Agreement entered into between the said Trent and Mersey, the Oxford, and the Coventry Canal Navigation Companies.' The act also confirms an agreement between the Coventry and Trent and Mersey Canal Companies, to this effect, viz, that within two months after notice had been given to the Coventry Canal Company that the part between Whittington Brook and Fradley Heath was completed, such company should be at liberty to purchase this portion at the original cost, with interest, from the time of advancing the several sums expended thereon.

In the preamble of the act of the 26th George III. entitled, 'An Act to enable the Company of Proprietors of the Coventry Canal Navigation, to complete the said Canal to Fradley Heath, in the county of Stafford, and for other Purposes therein mentioned,' it is stated, that the sum of £50,000 had been expended in making the canal from Coventry to Atherstone, and that they had not been able to raise any portion of the additional sum of £30,000, which the act of 8th George III. authorized them to do. For the purpose, therefore, of enabling the company to execute the remaining part of the canal, between Atherstone and Fazeley, and to purchase that half-part of the canal between Fazeley and Fradley, belonging to the Trent and Mersey Canal Company, authority is given to raise, on mortgage of the undertaking, the sum of £40,000. This act limited the dividends, on that part of the navigation already executed, to three per cent, until the whole was completed; it also repeals that part of the original act limiting the number of shares to be held by one person, to ten, unless

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they came by will or act in law; instead of which, it enacts that any person may have any number of shares not exceeding thirty. The line of canal from Fazeley to Fradley being completed, and notice given to the Coventry Canal Company, in January, 1787, they agreed to purchase the half-part above-mentioned, and it was accordingly conveyed to them in October, 1787. The whole line of canal was completed and opened in July, 1790. The length of this canal, from Fradley Heath to Coventry, was thirty-seven miles and three-quarters, including the portion of the original line now belonging to the Birmingham Canal Company. The first eleven miles, to Fazeley, is level; there is then a rise, to Glascote, near Tamworth, of 14½ feet, by two locks; thence, to Grendon, six miles and a half, is level; from Grendon to Atherstone, a distance of two miles and a half, there is a rise of 81½ feet; from which place, to its termination at Coventry, it is level. At Marston Bridge, near Bedworth, the Ashby-de-la-Zouch Canal joins it, and at Longford, the Oxford Canal communicates with it. Between Nuneaton and the junction with the Ashby-de-la-Zouch Canal, there is a short branch of three-quarters of a mile in length, to some collieries; and at Griff, near Marston Bridge, there is another branch. It is here worthy of remark, that these three canals conjointly preserve the longest canal level in England, being upwards of seventy miles, exclusive of branches.

TONNAGE RATES.

By an Act of the 9th George III. for making the Oxford Canal, it is stipulated that the Coventry Canal Proprietors shall receive all the Rates, arising from Coal, on the Oxford Canal, on the Two Miles nearest the Coventry Canal; and, that the Oxford Canal Company shall have all the Rates, arising from all Articles except Coal, which shall be navigated upon any Part or Parts of the Oxford Canal, and afterwards upon the Coventry Canal, within Three Miles and a Half from the Junction of the Two Canals towards Coventry; and by the Act of 34th George III, for making the Ashby-de-la-Zouch Canal, the Coventry Canal Company are authorized to collect Five-pence per Ton upon all Coal, Goods, and Merchandize whatsoever, which shall be navigated upon the Ashby-de-la-Zouch, and afterwards upon the Coventry, Oxford, or Grand Junction Canals, or upon any of the above-mentioned Canals, and afterwards upon the Ashby Canal.

EXEMPTION.

An Exemption to this Toll is extended to Corn or Grain; Sheep or other Cattle; Iron, Stone, Wrought Iron, got or made upon the Banks of the Ashby-de-la-Zouch Canal; Dung, Ashes, and Marl, for Manure; and Gravel, Sand, and Stone, for the repair of Roads.

The last act relating to the Coventry Canal Navigation, received the royal assent on the 14th of June, 1819, and is entitled,

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'An Act for amending several Acts of his present Majesty, relating to the Coventry Canal Navigation,' and was obtained chiefly for the purpose of enabling proprietors of shares to transfer a portion equal to one or more tenths, and for enabling the company to create a fund for repairs, but which is not to exceed £25,000.

This canal was a part of Mr. Brindley's scheme for completing an inland navigation between the ports of London, Liverpool, and Hull, and now that that object is effected, its revenue is derived chiefly from cargoes passing between those places, as will appear from the circumstance, that shortly after the completion of the Oxford Canal, the original shares were quadrupled in value, and have, since that period, considerably advanced.

CREE RIVER OR WATER OF CREE.

THIS river has its source in Loch Moan, situate among the hills which separate the counties of Kirkcudbright and Ayr; from whence its course is southerly, by Newton Stewart, to Carty, to which place it is navigable for small vessels. From hence its course is very crooked to Creetown, where it empties itself into Wigton Bay. The navigable part of it is nearly eight miles in length, and is free of toll.

There is no proper harbour in Wigton Bay, although there are several places where vessels may stop in moderate weather, or with off-shore winds.

The channel to the water of Cree lies on the east side of the bay, but as there is neither buoy or perch, it is difficult to find; however, a vessel drawing 9 to 10 feet, at four hours flood, may get up a considerable distance.

This river is chiefly useful for facilitating the importation of coal from Ayr, Troon, and Irvine, to Newton Stewart and its vicinity.

CRINAN CANAL.

THIS canal was made across an isthmus in Argyleshire, lying between Lochs Crinan and Gilp, under the authority of an act,

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entitled, 'An Act for making and maintaining a navigable Canal from Loch Gilp to Loch Crinan, in the shire of Argyll.' It commences at the point of Ardreshaig, in Loch Gilp; thence, by Oakfield, Craiglass, Auchinshellach and Leikachluan, to Loch Crinan, into which it falls near Duntroon Castle. It is nine miles and a half in length, and 12 to 15 feet deep; there are fifteen locks upon it, with a rise of 58 feet from Loch Gilp, and a fall of 59 feet to Loch Crinan. Mr. Watt surveyed the line, in the first instance, but Mr. John Rennie was afterwards appointed engineer, and we believe it was carried into execution under his direction.

The subscribers, at the time the act was obtained, consisted of two hundred and eighty-eight persons, amongst whom were the Duke of Argyle, the Marquesses of Tweedale and Lorne, Earl of Breadalbane, Lord Frederick and Lord J. Campbell, Lord Macdonald, Sir A. Edmonstone, Sir J. Sinclair, Sir A. Campbell, and Sir James Riddell, Baronets, and Sir J. Campbell, Knight, besides nearly fifty other gentlemen bearing the last-mentioned name of Campbell. They were incorporated by the name of "The Company of Proprietors of the Crinan Canal," and empowered to raise among themselves the sum of £120,000, in two thousand four hundred shares of £50 each, and an additional sum of £30,000, should the former sum prove insufficient, or they may borrow the last-mentioned sum on mortgage of the undertaking, or by granting annuities on lives. The work is under the management of a director and fourteen other persons, who are called, "The Governor and Directors of the Company of Proprietors of the Crinan Canal." The width of the canal and towing path is not to exceed 450 feet, except where the canal is raised higher or cut deeper than 16 feet from the surface of the ground.

TONNAGE RATES.

HARBOUR DUES.

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Fractions to be taken as for a Quarter of a Ton, and as for a Quarter of a Mile.

No Wharfage to be taken for any Goods unless they have been upon the Wharfs or Quays more than Twenty-four Hours.

The Wharfage Rates are fixed by the Bye-Laws of the Company.

By an act of 39th George III. entitled, 'An Act for amending and rendering more effectual an Act passed in the Thirty-third Year of the Reign of his present Majesty, entitled, An Act for making and maintaining a navigable Canal from Loch Gilp to Loch Crinan, in the shire of Argyll,' the company are authorized to raise or borrow the sum of £30,000, (although the whole of the sum of £150,000, allowed to be raised by the above-recited act, may not have been raised,) on mortgage of the undertaking, by granting annuities, or by creating new shares, or by bonds, or promissory notes under the common seal of the company; but as there afterwards. appeared little probability of raising the above sum, in consequence of many of the subscribers being unable to make good their engagements, the lord chief baron and other the barons of the court of exchequer, of Scotland, were directed, under authority of an act of 39th George III. cap. 71, entitled, 'An Act for empowering the Company of Proprietors of the Forth and Clyde Navigation to repay into the Court of Exchequer, in Scotland, the Sum advanced to them for the Purpose of completing the said Navigation; for repealing so much of an Act of the Twenty-fourth Year of his present Majesty as relates to the said Company, and for enabling the Barons of the said Court of Exchequer to advance Part of the Sum, so to be received, to the Company of Proprietors of the Crinan Canal, on certain Conditions,' to pay to the Crinan Canal Company, on security of the rates and duties, the sum of £25,000: the interest of which sum, and the other moiety of the sum of £50,000, to be paid by the Forth and Clyde Navigation Company, is by the same act directed to be laid out in the repair of the roads and bridges in the highlands of Scotland.

The chief object of this ship canal is the shortening of the passage between the ports in the highlands, or the Caledonian Canal and the River Clyde, by avoiding the circuitous route round the peninsula of Cantire. The distance thus saved is more than seventy miles, and when we take into consideration the difficulty

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of this circuitous navigation, the islands and rocks to be avoided, the tacks and evolutions necessarily occasioned by contrary winds and lee-shores, and the certainty that the wind which favours vessels to the Mull of Cantire must be directly opposed when the point is doubled, the advantages arising to the navigation from the execution of this canal, and the safety and certainty with which the voyage through it can at all times be accomplished, must be much more largely appreciated, than from the mere consideration of the saving of time and distance.

CROMFORD CANAL.

THIS canal commences in the Erewash Canal, near Langley Bridge, in the county of Nottingham, and near its junction with the Nottingham Canal, from whence it pursues a northerly course, following the line of the River Erewash, which it crosses, but still proceeds along its banks to Codnor Park Iron Works, when it takes a westwardly course to Butterley Park, where it enters a tunnel of two thousand nine hundred and sixty-six yards in length, terminating a short distance west of Butterley Iron Works, under which it passes. From hence its course is by Buckland Bottom to Bull Bridge, where it crosses the River Amber by an aqueduct two hundred yards in length and 50 feet high. Near this place it enters a short tunnel, and from thence takes a north-westwardly direction, following the course of the Derwent, by Hepstandell Bridge, a mile beyond which, at Lea Hurst, it enters another short tunnel, and at a little distance further crosses the last-mentioned river by an aqueduct two hundred yards long and 30 feet high.

The span of the principal arch of the Derwent Aqueduct, through which the river flows, is 80 feet. From this place it is about a mile and three-quarters to the wharf at Cromford, where the canal terminates. Within half a mile of Cromford it is joined by the Cromford and High Peak Railway, now in execution. Near the Derwent Aqueduct there is a branch a quarter of a mile in length, extending towards Lea Bridge; and at the Bull Bridge Aqueduct it is joined by a railway a mile and a quarter in length,

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from the Crich Limestone Quarries. Near Codnor Park Iron Works, a branch from the Mansfield and Pinxton Railway communicates with this canal; and about half a mile north-west of this junction, a cut called the Pinxton Branch of this canal, proceeds from the main line to Pinxton; and at the basin, at its termination, the main line of the Mansfield and Pinxton Railway commences. At the place where the canal crosses the River Erewash, a short railway is laid from it to the collieries lying east of the village of Codnor, and at Langley Bridge, communicating with another railway from the coal works near the village of Heanor.

This canal is eighteen miles in length; in the first four miles of which, to Codnor Park Iron Works, it rises 80 feet; the remaining fourteen miles, and the Pinxton Branch of nearly three miles, are level. It is, in a great measure, supplied with water from a stream taken in by means of a feeder at the Cromford End, assisted by reservoirs; one of which, near the tunnel at Butterley Iron Works, is fifty acres, and, when full, will contain two thousand eight hundred locks of water; besides this, there are other reservoirs of smaller capacity; one of which is situated at the eastern end of the Great Tunnel, and another where the Pinxton Branch commences. The head level of the canal of fourteen miles in length, acts also as a reservoir, in consequence of being made 1 foot extra depth of water.

Mr. William Jessop designed this canal for narrow boats drawing 2½ feet only, the tunnels being 9 feet wide at the surface of the water.

The act authorizing the execution of this canal, is entitled, 'An Act for making and maintaining a navigable Canal from, or from near to, Cromford Bridge, in the county of Derby, to join and communicate with the Erewash Canal, at or near Langley Bridge; and also a collateral Cut from the said intended Canal, at or near Codnor Park Mill, to or near Pinxton Mill, in the said county.'

The original subscribers were seventy-eight in number, amongst whom were the Duke of Newcastle and Sir Richard Arkwright, who were incorporated by the name of "The Cromford Canal Company," with power to raise among themselves the sum of

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£46,000, in four hundred and sixty shares, of £100 each, and an additional sum of £20,000, if necessary, either among themselves, or on mortgage of the undertaking.

TONNAGE RATES.

Fractions to be paid as for a full Mile, and as for a Quarter of a Ton.

EXEMPTION FROM RATES.

Small Rubbish or Waste Stones, Paving or other Stones. Gravel and Sand for the repairs of Roads, in any Township through which the Canal passes; Dung, Soil, Marl, Ashes of Coal and Turf, and all other Manure, (except Lime used for the Improvement of Lands, in any Township through which the Canal is made, and carried only at such Times as when the Water is running over the Lock Weirs.)

By a Clause in 29th George III. the Erewash Canal Company agree to take only One-half of the Rates they were authorized to take by the 17th George III. for all Goods (except Coke or Coal) which shall pass along the said Canal out of the Cromford CanaL

The Cromford Canal Company are entitled to Wharfage for any Article laying longer than Six Months.

For the Purposes of this Act Fifty Cubic Feet of Round, or Forty Feet of Square Oak, Ash, Elm, or Beech Timber, or Fifty Feet of Fir, or Deal, Balk, Poplar, or other Timber Wood, shall be deemed One Ton.

Nine Score Pounds Avoirdupois of Limestone; and Six Score Pounds of Unwrought Stone, Coal, and other Articles, shall be deemed a Hundred Weight.

Proprietors of estates may make railways and cuts to communicate with this canal, on payment of damages done by crossing the lands of other persons; they may also erect warehouses and wharfs, but the charges for the latter are limited by the act as follows.

RATES ON PRIVATE WHARFS.

Provided that they do not remain more than Six Days (except Coal, Iron, and Iron-stone which may remain Six Months,) and Timber, Clay, Lime, Iron-stone, Stone, Brick, Tile, Slate, or Gravel, may remain Thirty Days. If any Articles remain for the Space of Ten Days over the several Periods as above, One Penny per Ton per Day for every Day such Ten Days, as above-mentioned, are exceeded.

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In the year following the passing of the original act, another was obtained for the purpose of amending the provisions relating to the supply of water; it is entitled, 'An Act to alter and amend an Act passed in the last Session of Parliament, for making and maintaining a navigable Canal from, or from near to, Cromford Bridge, in the county of Derby, to join and communicate with the Erewash Canal, at or near Langley Bridge; and also a collateral Cut from the said intended Canal at or near Codnor Park Mill, to or near Pinxton Mill, in the said county.' It enacts, that for the supply of the canal, not more shall be taken than one-twentieth of the water of the River Derwent at Cromford Bridge, and that only between the hours of eight o'clock on every Saturday afternoon, and eight o'clock on Sunday afternoon; but at all times when less than five hundred and seventy tons per minute shall be passing Cromford Bridge, then the company are restrained from taking any water from the Derwent, or from any of the streams which flow into it

The chief object of the promoters of this canal, was to open a better communication with the valuable and extensive mineral districts on its line; but it has partaken amply of the advantage arising from an extended trade, by becoming a part of the line of communication between London and the northern counties.

CROMFORD AND HIGH PEAK RAILWAY.

THIS railway commences from the Cromford Canal, about half a mile from its termination at Cromford Wharf; from whence it takes an eastwardly course by the village of Middleton, and within a mile of the town of Wirksworth; thence, by a circuitous course, by Carsington Pasture, Brassington, and over the high grounds of the parish of Hartington, by Hurdlow, and Church Sterndale, to the north side of the range of hills called Axedge, where the line makes a considerable detour, for the purpose of passing a valley; from this place its course lies within little more than a mile of Buxton, passing Goyts Bridge, to the Peak Forest Canal, at Whaley Bridge, where it terminates. It is in length thirty-three

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miles and seven furlongs, and it attains an elevation of 990 feet above the head level of the Cromford Canal, and 1271 feet above the level of the sea at low water, by means of six inclined planes, which are thus disposed - the first inclined plane, from Cromford, is four hundred and sixty yards in length, rising 240 feet; another at its termination, two hundred and forty yards, rising 225 feet; from thence, it is level one mile, three furlongs and four chains; next then is another inclined plane of five hundred and fifty yards in length, with a rise of 265 feet; then a level for the distance of one mile, six furlongs and seven chains; next a plane of three hundred and thirty yards in length, rising 70 feet; from the end of this inclined plane, it continues level for six miles, one furlong and seven chains; then a rise of 45 feet only in the next three miles and three furlongs; it is afterwards level three miles and six chains to the foot of the last inclined plane at Hurdlow, which is four hundred and eighty-four yards in length, with a rise, to the summit, of 145 feet. The summit level is maintained for the distance of twelve miles, three furlongs and eight chains, and in its course passes under a hill 150 feet below the summit, by means of a tuunel six hundred and thirty-eight yards in length. From the end of this elevated stretch of railway, there is a fall of 740 feet to the Peak Forest Canal, by three inclined planes; the first is nine hundred yards in length, with a fall of 460 feet, at the foot of which, the line of railroad crosses into Staffordshire, near Goyts Bridge; it then runs level two miles, four furlongs and two chains, to an inclined plane of seven hundred yards, with a fall of 237 feet; it is then level five furlongs and two chains; and the last inclined plane descends 43 feet in one hundred and ten yards, from the foot of which it is level to the Peak Forest Canal, a distance of one furlong and two chains.

Mr. Josias Jessop was the engineer employed to lay out this railroad, and he estimated the cost (including £20,000 for stationary engines to work the inclined planes,) at the sum of £155,079, 16s. 8d. The act for making it received the royal assent on the 2nd May, 1825, and is entitled, 'An Act for making and maintaining a Railway or Tramroad,from the Cromford Canal, at or near to Cromford, in the parish of Wirksworth, in the county of Derby, to the Peak Forest Canal, at or near to Whaley, (otherwise

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Yardsley-cum-Whaley,) in the county palatine of Chester.' It was obtained by a company consisting of one hundred and sixteen persons, amongst whom were the Dowager Viscountess Anson, the Honourable Edward Curzon, Sir Charles H. Colville, and Admiral Digby, who were incorporated by the name of "The Cromford and High Peak Railway Company," and empowered to raise among themselves the sum of £164,000, in sixteen hundred and forty shares of £100 each, (which sum was subscribed before going to parliament,) and, if necessary, the further sum of £32,880, by mortgage of the undertaking.

TONNAGE RATES.

Fractions to be taken as for Half a Mile, and as for a Quarter of a Ton.

Forty Cubic Feet of Oak, Mahogany, Beech and Ash, and Fifty Cubic Feet of all otherWood, shall, for the Purposes of this Act, be deemed a Ton.

Waggons of Four Wheels not to be allowed to carry more than Six Tons, including the Weight of such Carriages, and Waggons of Six Wheels to be allowed Nine Tons.

WHARFAGE RATES.

If longer than Ten Days, One Penny per Ton, in Addition; and Sixpence per Ton for the Warehousing the same for the succeeding Week; and the like Sum of One Penny and Sixpence for every subsequent Week.

CRANAGE RATES.

And so progressively, advancing Sixpence per Ton for greater Weights.

The chief object of this railway, is to open a nearer and more convenient communication between the counties of Derby, Nottingham and Leicester, with the port of Liverpool, and the towns of Manchester and Stockport. A glance at the accompanying map

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will shew, in less time than words can express it, the great advantages which cannot fail to attend the execution of this grand scheme, for passing such a mountainous tract of country.

CROUCH RIVER.

THIS river has its source about three miles east of the magnificent seat of Lord Petre, called Thorndon Hall, in Essex; whence, its course is easterly, passing to the south of the town of Billericay, and Wickford, to Hull Bridge, to which place it is navigable for barges at high water. From hence its course is directly east, by Cricksey and Burnham, to Foulness, where it falls into the Thames. It is sixteen miles in length, and being a tideway river, is consequently free of toll.

As a navigation, it is chiefly used for the importation of fuel and groceries, and for the export of agricultural produce.

CROYDON CANAL.

THIS canal commences in the Grand Surrey Canal, about three quarters of a mile west from Deptford Dock Yard; from whence its course is southerly, crossing the London and Greenwich Road near New Cross, and shortly afterwards enters Kent, whence it passes Brockley, Sydenham, and re-enters Surrey, on the east side of Penge Common, over which it passes in a direct course, to its termination at Croydon, where there is a convenient wharf and basin. Its length is nine miles and a half; in the first of which it rises 70 feet, by twelve locks; from whence, it continues level something more than three quarters of a mile, where another series of locks, termninating at the entrance into Forest Wood, and rising 79½ feet in the space of three quarters of a mile, conducts to its summit level, which is seven miles in length. The act for making

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it was obtained in 1801, by a company consisting of two hundred and four persons, (amongst whom were the Duke of Norfolk, Lord Gwydir, Sir Francis Baring, Sir C. W. Blunt, Sir John Bridger, Admiral Pigot, Sir Thomas Turton, and Sir Benjamin Harnmett and Company,) who were incorporated by the name of "The Company of Proprietors of the Croydon Canal." It is entitled, 'An Act for making and maintaining a navigable Canal from, or from near, the town of Croydon, in the county of Surrey, into the Grand Surrey Canal, in the parish of St. Paul, Deptford, in the county of Surrey; and for supplying the towns of Croydon, Streatham, and Dulwich, and the district called Norwood, in the parish of Croydon, in the said county of Surrey, and the town of Sydenham, in the county of Kent, with Water from the said Canal.' Many clauses are introduced in the act for the protection of the mill owners on the Rivers Wandle and Ravensbourne, or any streams running into them, and as the company are prohibited from taking water from any of these, they are, with this view, required to maintain the surface of the summit pool of the canal 2 feet above the highest part of Croydon Common. To carry this canal into execution, the company were empowered to raise among themselves the sum of £50,000, in five hundred shares of £100 each, and, if necessary, a further sum of £30,000, or by mortgage of the undertaking.

This canal is 5 feet deep, and the locks are 60 feet long and 9 feet wide, and it is supplied with water by small reservoirs, (one of which is situate on the edge of Penge Common,) and by drains cut in the adjoining lands, though the act gives authority to raise water for this purpose from the Grand Surrey, which is on a level with high water in the Thames; but at that time it seems to have been the intention to use inclined planes instead of locks; and the steam engines to be used in raising the water, to replace the loss by leakage and evaporation, were also intended to draw the boats up the inclined planes.

TONNAGE RATES.

Fractions to be taken as for a Quarter of a Ton, and as for a Quarter of a Mile.

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Text and photographs copyright of Jim Shead.