The Chesterfield Canal Trust Limited is a waterway society and charitable company which campaigns for and undertakes various activities related to the Chesterfield Canal, which runs from Chesterfield in Derbyshire, England to the River Trent at West Stockwith.
The forerunner of the Trust was the Chesterfield Canal Society, founded in September 1976, at a time when the canal was derelict above Worksop. The Society worked with the Retford and Worksop Boat Club and the local branch of the Inland Waterways Association to organise a boat rally to celebrate 200 years of the canal in 1977. The event attracted around 150 boats and 21,000 people, and was the first step towards plans to restore Morse Lock, then the head of navigation. [1]
With progress on the extension of the navigable canal above Worksop being slow, the Society turned its attention to the Chesterfield end of the canal, and completed the restoration of Tapton Lock, which was opened on 29 April 1990 by the Mayor of Chesterfield. Another major step forward occurred in 1995, when Dixon's Lock and Hollingwood Lock were opened, both having been restored by the Society. Dixon's lock was the biggest achievement, as open-cast coal mining had destroyed the original lock completely, but the replacement was surveyed, designed and built by members of the Society. [2]
The Trust was incorporated in 1997, and a year later it took over the assets of the Society. [3] In 2007, a new mobile information display was funded from a grant given to the Trust by the National Grid and AMEC. The money was part of a safe working initiative for workers refurbishing the overhead power lines between Chesterfield and High Marnham power station. [4]
The Trust has over 1500 members, and its aims include
The Trust operates three 12-seat trip boats, one based at Chesterfield, another at Retford and the latest one at Kiveton Park. [3] The boats are crewed by volunteer members of the Trust and are named after influential figures in the building of the canal, namely John Varley (based at Chesterfield), Seth Ellis (after Seth Ellis Stevenson, based at Retford) and Hugh Henshall (Kiveton Park). All the boats run public trips along their respective stretches of the canal and are available for private charter. The Hugh Henshall is a 45 ft diesel electric hybrid boat, funded by a grant from Peoples Millions and the Big Lottery Fund. The Hugh Henshall and John Varley boats are both accessible by wheelchair users.
In a similar way to the Waterway Recovery Group the trust has a volunteer workforce. This workforce meets most Sundays at various locations along the Canal to carry out repairs, or to work on specific projects.
Between 2008 and 2011 they were working on the head of navigation at Mill Green. This has now been opened up to boat traffic as a direct result of the efforts of the volunteers.
Tapton Lock Visitor Centre is located on the Chesterfield Canal to the north of Tapton Park. [5] Chesterfield Canal Trust volunteers run regular boat trips from the visitor centre on Sundays and Bank Holiday Mondays during the summer months.
Waterway restoration is the activity of restoring a canal or river, including special features such as warehouse buildings, locks, boat lifts, and boats. In the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States, the focus of waterway restoration is on improving navigability, while in Australia the term may also include improvements to water quality. (For water quality improvement activity in the US and UK see stream restoration.)
The Chesterfield Canal is a narrow canal in the East Midlands of England and it is known locally as 'Cuckoo Dyke'. It was one of the last of the canals designed by James Brindley, who died while it was being constructed. It was opened in 1777 and ran for 46 miles (74 km) from the River Trent at West Stockwith, Nottinghamshire to Chesterfield, Derbyshire, passing through the Norwood Tunnel at Kiveton Park, at the time one of the longest tunnels on the British canal system. The canal was built to export coal, limestone, and lead from Derbyshire, iron from Chesterfield, and corn, deals, timber, groceries and general merchandise into Derbyshire. The stone for the Palace of Westminster was quarried in North Anston, Rotherham, and transported via the canal.
The canal network of the United Kingdom played a vital role in the Industrial Revolution. The UK was the first country to develop a nationwide canal network which, at its peak, expanded to nearly 4,000 miles in length. The canals allowed raw materials to be transported to a place of manufacture, and finished goods to be transported to consumers, more quickly and cheaply than by a land based route. The canal network was extensive and included feats of civil engineering such as the Anderton Boat Lift, the Manchester Ship Canal, the Worsley Navigable Levels and the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct.
Retford, also known as East Retford, is a market town in the Bassetlaw District in Nottinghamshire, and one of the oldest market towns in England having been granted its first charter in 1105. It lies on the River Idle and the Chesterfield Canal passes through its centre. Retford is 26 miles (42 km) east of Sheffield, 23 miles (37 km) west of Lincoln and 31 miles (50 km) north-east of Nottingham. The population at the 2011 census was 22,013.
The River Idle is a river in Nottinghamshire, England. Its source is the confluence of the River Maun and River Meden, near Markham Moor. From there, it flows north through Retford and Bawtry before entering the River Trent at Stockwith near Misterton. The county boundary with South Yorkshire follows the river for a short distance near Bawtry, and the border with Lincolnshire does the same at Idle Stop. Originally, it flowed northwards from Idle Stop to meet the River Don on Hatfield Chase, but was diverted eastwards by drainage engineers in 1628.
The River Rother, a waterway in the northern midlands of England, gives its name to the town of Rotherham and to the Rother Valley parliamentary constituency. It rises near Clay Cross in Derbyshire and flows in a generally northwards direction through the centre of Chesterfield, where it feeds the Chesterfield Canal, and on through the Rother Valley Country Park and several districts of Sheffield before joining the River Don at Rotherham in Yorkshire. Historically, it powered a number of mills, mainly corn or flour mills, but most had ceased to operate by the early 20th century, and few of the mill buildings survive.
The Wey and Arun Canal is a partially open, 23-mile-long (37 km) canal in the southeast of England. It runs southwards from the River Wey at Gunsmouth, Shalford, Surrey to the River Arun at Pallingham, in West Sussex. The canal comprises parts of two separate undertakings – the northern part of the Arun Navigation, opened in 1787 between Pallingham and Newbridge Wharf, and the Wey and Arun Junction Canal, opened in 1816, which connected the Arun at Newbridge to the Godalming Navigation near Shalford, south of Guildford. The Arun Navigation was built with three locks and one turf-sided flood lock. The Junction Canal was built with 23 locks
The canals of the United Kingdom are a major part of the network of inland waterways in the United Kingdom. They have a varied history, from use for irrigation and transport, through becoming the focus of the Industrial Revolution, to today's role of recreational boating. Despite a period of abandonment, today the canal system in the United Kingdom is again increasing in use, with abandoned and derelict canals being reopened, and the construction of some new routes. Canals in England and Wales are maintained by navigation authorities. The biggest navigation authorities are the Canal & River Trust and the Environment Agency, but other canals are managed by companies, local authorities or charitable trusts.
The Derby Canal ran 14 miles (23 km) from the Trent and Mersey Canal at Swarkestone to Derby and Little Eaton, and to the Erewash Canal at Sandiacre, in Derbyshire, England. The canal was authorised by an Act of Parliament in 1793 and was fully completed in 1796. It featured a level crossing of the River Derwent in the centre of Derby. An early tramroad, known as the Little Eaton Gangway, linked Little Eaton to coal mines at Denby. The canal's main cargo was coal, and it was relatively successful until the arrival of the railways in 1840. It gradually declined, with the gangway closing in 1908 and the Little Eaton Branch in 1935. Early attempts at restoration were thwarted by the closure of the whole canal in 1964. Since 1994, there has been an active campaign for restoration spearheaded by the Derby and Sandiacre Canal Trust and Society. Loss of the Derwent crossing due to development has resulted in an innovative engineering solution called the Derby Arm being proposed, as a way of transferring boats across the river.
The Inland Waterways Association (IWA) is a registered charity in the United Kingdom and was formed in 1946 to campaign for the conservation, use, maintenance, restoration and sensitive development of British Canals and river navigations.
Dudley Tunnel is a canal tunnel on the Dudley Canal Line No 1, England. At about 3,172 yards (2,900.5 m) long, it is now the second longest canal tunnel on the UK canal network today.. However, since the Dudley Tunnel is not continuous this status is sometimes questioned:.
Killamarsh is a town and civil parish in North East Derbyshire, England, bordering Sheffield and South Yorkshire to the north-west. Killamarsh is surrounded by, in a clockwise direction from the north, Rother Valley Country Park, the village of Wales, South Yorkshire, Kiveton, Woodall, Harthill, Barlborough, Spinkhill, Renishaw, Eckington, and the Sheffield suburbs of Oxclose, Halfway and Holbrook.
The Bugsworth Basin Heritage Trust (BBHT), formerly known as the Inland Waterways Protection Society (IWPS), is a British organisation founded in 1958 to work for the restoration of the canal system. Its members carried out surveys of canals and produced reports in support of their retention when much of the canal network was under threat. Following official support for use of the canals for leisure activities in 1967, the Society have concentrated their efforts on the restoration and operation of Bugsworth Basin, located at the southern end of the Peak Forest Canal, which was one of the first canals that they surveyed in 1958.
Norwood Tunnel was a 2,884-yard-long (2,637 m), 9.25-foot-wide (2.82 m) and 12-foot-high (3.7 m) brick lined canal tunnel on the line of the Chesterfield Canal with its Western Portal in Norwood, Derbyshire and its Eastern Portal in Kiveton, South Yorkshire, England.
The Rother Link is a planned English canal that would connect the Chesterfield Canal at Killamarsh, via the River Rother through to the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation, thus creating a new cruising ring and encouraging boats to visit the Chesterfield Canal.
The Derby and Sandiacre Canal Trust is a waterway society, a charitable trust no. 1042227, registered 21 November 1994, and a registered company No. 2956417, operating in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, England, UK. Through its membership, the associated canal Society supports the operation of the Trust.
Hugh Henshall (1734–1816) was an English civil engineer, noted for his work on canals. He was born in North Staffordshire and was a student of the canal engineer James Brindley, who was also his brother-in-law.
The Cotswold Canals Trust is a British registered charity that aims to protect and restore the Stroudwater Navigation and the Thames and Severn Canal. Formed in 1972, the organisation has a goal to restore navigability on the two waterways between Saul Junction to the River Thames. Since then, it has overseen restoration of the waterways, with many bridges, locks, and cuttings being rebuilt and reinstated.
John Varley was an English engineer. He was born in Heanor, Derbyshire, and was responsible for the construction of the Chesterfield Canal. He died in 1809 and is buried at All Saints Church, Harthill, Derbyshire.
