The 52-mile (84km) canal was opened in 1810, but abandoned in 1914 – a fate hastened by a breach at Stanley aqueduct in 1901. Much of the canal subsequently became unnavigable: many of the structures were deliberately damaged by army demolition exercises; parts of the route were filled in and in some cases built over. In 1977 the Wilts & Berks Canal Amenity Group was formed with a view to full restoration of the canal. Several locks and bridges have since been restored, and over 8 miles (13km) of the canal have been rewatered.
Name
The official name of the canal is the "Wilts & Berks Canal" as cited in the Private Acts of Parliament that authorised its building and abandonment. The "Wiltshire and Berkshire Canal" is incorrect. Neither is it correct to refer to the "North Wilts Canal" as the "North Wiltshire Canal".
An Act for making and maintaining a navigable canal from the river Thames or Isis, at or near the town of Abingdon, in the county of Berks, to join or communicate with the Kennet and Avon canal, at or near the town of Trowbridge, in the county of Wilts; and also certain navigable cuts therein described.
An Act for enabling the Company of Proprietors of the Wilts and Berks Canal Navigation, to raise Money for completing the said Canal; and to alter, explain, and amend the Act, passed in the Thirty-fifth Year of the Reign of His present Majesty, for making the said Canal.
A plan for the canal was published by Robert Whitworth Snr. and William Whitworth in 1793.[1] The bill empowering construction of the canal received royal assent in 1795 as the Abingdon to Trowbridge Canal Act 1795 (35 Geo. 3. c. 52). It allowed the company to raise £111,900 through 1,119 shares at a cost of £100 each for the construction of the canal. Another act of Parliament, the Wilts. and Berks. Canal Act 1801 (41 Geo. 3. (U.K.) c. lxviii), was passed allowing the company to raise a further £200,000 to complete the canal.[2]
The canal was cut during the years 1796 to 1810. Robert Whitworth Snr. remained as an engineer on the canal from 1796 to 1799.[1] William Whitworth was resident engineer during this period and, upon Robert's departure, he became engineer until the canal's completion, for which he was paid £255,262.[1]
An Act for consolidating the Shares in the Wilts and Berks Canal Navigation, and for extending the Powers of the Act of Incorporation[j] of the Company of Proprietors of the said Canal.
Following completion, a further two acts were passed, the Wilts. and Berks. Canal Act 1810 (50 Geo. 3. c. cxlviii), and the Wilts. and Berks. Canal Navigation Act 1813 (53 Geo. 3. c. cxx), to alter toll rates on the canal, and another act, the Wilts. and Berks. Canal Navigation Act 1815 (55 Geo. 3. c. vi) was passed in 1815 to allow the company to raise £100,000 to pay off debts collected during the construction of the canal, and to construct a reservoir.[2]
Route
The main canal was 52 miles (84km) long, with branches totalling 6 miles (9.7km) to Chippenham, Calne, Wantage and Longcot. It was cut to take narrowboats72 feet (22m) long and 7 feet (2.1m) wide. There were 42 locks on the main line and three on the Calne branch. There were three short tunnels.
While the main canal was opened in 1810, some branches were operating before this and others added afterwards. The North Wilts Canal from Swindon to the Thames and Severn Canal at Cricklade was opened in 1819; it had 11 locks. It was originally a separate company, but merged with the Wilts & Berks following an act of Parliament[which?] in 1821.[2]
Operation
Coal came from the Radstock and Paulton mines in the Somerset coalfield by way of the Somersetshire Coal Canal, which joined the Kennet and Avon Canal near the Dundas Aqueduct. In 1837, 43,642 long tons (44,342 tonnes) of coal were transported via the Wilts & Berks Canal from the Somerset coalfield, with 10,669 long tons (10,840 tonnes) being handled at Abingdon wharf.[3] The Wilts & Berks thus became a link in the chain of canals providing a transport route between the West Country and the Midlands. Water supply was always a problem and a reservoir was constructed near Swindon to supply the canal, now known as Coate Water.[4] From the reservoir, a feeder meandered northwards and eastwards, to feed water into the canal near Marston Locks.[5]
Competition from the railways, especially the Great Western Railway from 1841, meant that the Wilts & Berks Canal was never a great commercial success. In addition, long stretches of the canal were through a type of clay that is unsuitable for lining a canal, so there was a constant need for puddling, making maintenance costs prohibitive. Despite this, the Wilts & Berks Canal operated for more than a century, though traffic had pretty much ceased by 1901. In that year a breach occurred at Stanley Aqueduct over the River Marden, an event that proved to be the death knell of the canal.
Abandonment
United Kingdom legislation
Swindon Corporation (Wilts and Berks Canal Abandonment) Act 1914
Overgrown section of the canal, west of Wantage, in 2006
The canal was formally abandoned by the Swindon Corporation (Wilts and Berks Canal Abandonment) Act 1914 (4 & 5 Geo. 5. c. cviii).[6] The act was sponsored by Swindon Corporation, which gained control of all the land within its boundary. In other areas ownership returned to the owners of adjacent land.
From the early 1930s much of the canal was filled in and generally used for dumping rubbish. Chippenham Wharf, once home to Brinkworth's Coal Depot, was used by residents as a refuse tip, and council minutes from 1926 show a decision to dump pig offal in the disused waterway. A bus station was built on the site, the buried wharf being uncovered briefly during redevelopment in 2006.[7]
During the Second World War many of the locks and other canal structures were used for army exercises and damaged by explosives.
Very little of the old canal survived in usable form, but long rural stretches are clearly delineated.
Restoration
The new link to the Thames under constructionThe canal near Grove frozen in December 2010
In 1977 the Wilts & Berks Canal Amenity Group was formed to protect what remained of the canal, and to restore short sections for their amenity value. Their first projects included the clearing of sections at Kingshill, Shrivenham, Dauntsey and Wootton Bassett.[8] Ten years later this became a major restoration project.
The Wilts & Berks Canal Trust was formed in 1997 as a partnership between the W&BCanal Amenity Group and the district and county councils covering the route of the canal. This included the District Councils of North Wilts, West Wilts and Vale of White Horse, the County Councils of Oxfordshire and Wiltshire, and Swindon Borough Council. The aims of the Trust were to protect, conserve and improve the canal and its branches, with the ultimate aim of restoring the whole canal to navigable status. However, the legal structure of the group was unsuitable for accessing some of the grants available for canal restoration, and so it was reformed into the Wilts & Berks Canal Partnership in 2001.[9]
Although development has taken place on some of the land of the canal, much of its route is intact, especially in rural areas. The "line" of the canal has been preserved in Local Development Plans, which means that no new building or development should now take place on the former canal.
The connection of the canal with the River Thames at Abingdon had been closed by development. On 30 August 2006 the Jubilee Junction was opened, providing a new connection with the River Thames further downstream near Culham Lock.[10] The cut initially runs for about 150 yards (140m) to a winding hole, but will eventually link to the historic route of the canal to the west of Abingdon.[11]
A stretch near Chippenham (Pewsham section)
The Trust is progressing with re-watering many of the rural sections, and is working with local councils to construct new sections (possibly including new tunnels) where urban development has made the original route unavailable. Not all development has been urban, however. In Uffington, for instance, a farm has been built on the old wharf site, over the filled canal.
By 2006, a number of bridges and locks had been rebuilt and at least 8 miles (13km) of the canal were in water. On 26 May 2009, Double Bridge and a short section of rewatered canal to the south of Pewsham was officially opened by the Trust's patron, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.[12] With the help of a grant from the Gannett Foundation and many hours of work by volunteers, this section was extended to the foot of Pewsham Locks in 2012.[13]
There are some significant engineering challenges lying ahead for the Trust, but they offer opportunities to improve the areas surrounding the canal. The M4 motorway at Swindon was built over the line of the canal. Swindon Council are supporting the restoration of the canal, and are actively planning to route it through the town centre, albeit not quite on the original route. In 2007 a feasibility study suggested that a proposal to construct a canal through Swindon would cost £50m.[14][15] Despite some objections,[16][17] Swindon Borough Council gave approval in 2008 for further investigation of the scheme proposed by the Wilts & Berks Canal Trust.[18] The Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce Group also welcomed the project "as a key element in transforming Swindon's town centre into a leisure and visitor attraction, disposing of its dreary reputation."[19]
In Melksham, where much of the route has been lost to housing,[20] Melksham Town Council agreed in 2012 to support plans to route the canal through the River Avon in the centre of town,[21] involving construction of 2 miles (3.2km) of new waterway, with a towpath and cycleway which would create recreational activities.[22] The plans were submitted to Wiltshire Council in August 2012, but the Trust were required to produce supporting documentation. The environmental statement ran to 350,000 words and was published in five volumes in 2015, but the Environment Agency required further information, and supplementary reports were produced in March 2018 and January 2019. After delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, communication with the Environment Agency resumed, and agreement on the final two obstacles to the plan was reached. Details were submitted for planning approval in early 2022.[23]
The Wilts & Berks Canal Trust has the following active restoration projects:[24]
Note: Much of the route is over land in private ownership with no rights of public access, which may include restoration sites.
Restoration issues
There is some controversy about the restoration of the canal, in particular the felling of trees and the corresponding short-term disruption of wildlife habitats that have evolved in the 100 or so years since the canal was abandoned, and this has been addressed in the North Wiltshire Local Plan.[26][dead link]
The trees that most frequently have to be removed are Salix × fragilis (crack willow), a fast-growing, short-lived member of the willow family. These have seeded themselves on the towpath side of the canal and may shed large branches in windy weather and are therefore hazardous. Trust work parties consisting of unpaid volunteers may be called out at short notice to deal with trees that have fallen across the towpath, blocking the way for walkers and cyclists.
The Trust aims to keep local groups and residents informed and involved with the work. Senior members of the Trust regularly give talks and guided walks along the canal. These are intended to show how a linear wildlife corridor can be created from what has formerly been stagnant water with rubbish dumped in it. The phrase used is "not even wildlife likes a stagnant canal".
Objections to a canal route through Swindon town centre are believed to arise from misconception that canals contain "stagnant water". However canals are permanently moving water slowly downstream, and are thus not stagnant. The passage of boats keeps the water stirred up making it muddy-looking, but this is required to prevent the growth of weeds. In January 2008 Swindon Council considered a report, prepared by their consultants, on the feasibility and implications of restoring the town centre route. They endorsed the proposal, and have set up a task group to make further progress.[27][dead link]
There is concern in south Oxfordshire about the risk of flooding, and it can be argued that the canal will act as a drainage system, helping to take excess water and move it away to the Thames. The Environment Agency have expressed concerns about the proposed route of the canal at Melksham, and its effect on the floodplain, and there have been calls from local landowners to ensure that a town-centre route is re-established.[28][dead link]
Trust work parties are installing fencing, accommodation bridges and drainage as well as undertaking tree maintenance and removal where required.
Map of route
Map all coordinatesin "Wilts and Berks Canal" usingOpenStreetMap
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to the west. The largest settlement is Swindon, and Trowbridge is the county town.
The Kennet and Avon Canal is a waterway in southern England with an overall length of 87 miles (140 km), made up of two lengths of navigable river linked by a canal. The name is used to refer to the entire length of the navigation rather than solely to the central canal section. From Bristol to Bath the waterway follows the natural course of the River Avon before the canal links it to the River Kennet at Newbury, and from there to Reading on the River Thames. In all, the waterway incorporates 105 locks.
The Thames and Severn Canal is a canal in Gloucestershire in the south-west of England, which was completed in 1789. It was conceived as part of a cargo route from Bristol and the Midlands to London, linking England's two largest rivers for better trade. The route climbs the steep Cotswold escarpment through the Golden Valley, tunnels underneath the summit of the Cotswold Edge, and emerges near the source of the Thames.
The Magic Roundabout in Swindon, England, is a ring junction constructed in 1972 consisting of five mini-roundabouts arranged in a circle. Located near the County Ground, home of Swindon Town F.C., its name comes from the popular children's television series The Magic Roundabout. In 2009, it was voted the fourth-scariest junction in Britain.
The Lichfield Canal, as it is now known, was historically a part of the Wyrley and Essington Canal, being the section of that canal from Ogley Junction at Brownhills on the northern Birmingham Canal Navigations to Huddlesford Junction, east of Lichfield, on the Coventry Canal, a length of 7 miles (11.3 km). The branch was abandoned in 1955, along with several other branches of the Wyrley and Essington, and much of it was filled in.
The Grand Junction Canal is a canal in England from Braunston in Northamptonshire to the River Thames at Brentford, with a number of branches. The mainline was built between 1793 and 1805, to improve the route from the Midlands to London, by-passing the upper reaches of the River Thames near Oxford, thus shortening the journey.
Caldon Canal is a branch of the Trent and Mersey Canal which opened in 1779. It runs 18 miles (29 km) from Etruria, Stoke-on-Trent, to Froghall, Staffordshire. The canal has 17 locks and the 76-yard (69 m) Froghall Tunnel.
Melksham Without is a civil parish in the county of Wiltshire, England. It surrounds, but does not include, the town of Melksham and is the largest rural parish in Wiltshire, with a population of 7,230 and an area of 29 square kilometres.
The Dearne and Dove Canal ran for almost ten miles through South Yorkshire, England from Swinton to Barnsley through nineteen locks, rising 127 feet (39 m). The canal also had two short branches, the Worsbrough branch and the Elsecar branch, both about two miles long with reservoirs at the head of each. The Elsecar branch also has another six locks. The only tunnel was bypassed by a cutting in 1840.
The A350 is a north–south primary route in southern England, that runs from the M4 motorway in Wiltshire to Poole in Dorset.
The Somerset Coal Canal was a narrow canal in England, built around 1800. Its route began in basins at Paulton and Timsbury, ran to nearby Camerton, over two aqueducts at Dunkerton, through a tunnel at Combe Hay, then via Midford and Monkton Combe to Limpley Stoke where it joined the Kennet and Avon Canal. This link gave the Somerset coalfield access east toward London. The longest arm was 10.6 miles (17.1 km) long with 23 locks. From Midford an arm also ran via Writhlington to Radstock, with a tunnel at Wellow.
Foxham is a village in Bremhill civil parish in Wiltshire, England, about 5 miles (8.0 km) northeast of Chippenham and a similar distance northwest of Calne.
Pewsham is a small village and former civil parish just south-east of the town of Chippenham on the A4 national route towards Calne in Wiltshire, southwestern England.
Semington is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. The village is about 2 miles (3 km) south of Melksham and about 3 miles (5 km) northeast of Trowbridge. The parish includes the hamlets of Little Marsh and Littleton.
Swindon is a town in Wiltshire in the South West of England. People have lived in the town since the Bronze Age and the town's location, being approximately halfway between Bristol and London, made it an ideal location for the Locomotive Factories of the Great Western Railway in the 19th century.
Transport in Swindon, England, and the surroundings has directly contributed to the town's growth and the ingress of businesses and industries.
The Stroudwater Navigation is a canal in Gloucestershire, England which linked Stroud to the River Severn. It was authorised in 1776, although part had already been built, as the proprietors believed that an Act of Parliament obtained in 1730 gave them the necessary powers. Opened in 1779, it was a commercial success, its main cargo being coal. It was 8 miles (13 km) in length and had a rise of 102 ft 5 in (31.22 m) through 12 locks. Following the opening of the Thames and Severn Canal in 1789, it formed part of a through route from Bristol to London, although much of its trade vanished when the Kennet and Avon Canal provided a more direct route in 1810. Despite competition from the railways, the canal continued to pay dividends to shareholders until 1922, and was not finally abandoned until 1954.
Culham Lock is a lock on the River Thames in England close to Culham, Oxfordshire. It is on a lock cut to the north of the main stream, which approaches the large village of Sutton Courtenay. The lock was built of stone by the Thames Navigation Commission in 1809.
Berryfield is a small village to the south of the town of Melksham, in Wiltshire, England. The village is separated from the southwestern outskirts of Melksham by the A350 road and about 500 metres of farmland; it falls within the civil parish of Melksham Without. The Bristol Avon is about 0.6 miles (1 km) west of the village. Although close to Melksham town, Berryfield remains a separate community.
The Wilts & Berks Canal Trust is a registered charity no. 299595, and a waterway society based in Wiltshire, England, concerned with the restoration of the Wilts & Berks Canal.
References
1 2 3 Skempton, A. W. (2002). A Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers in Great Britain and Ireland. Thomas Telford. ISBN0-7277-2939-X.
Notes: 1 Contains canalised river. 2 Partly or mostly navigable, and/or under restoration. 3 A system of canals. Canals which form part of this system are not listed here individually.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
