The Ivelchester and Langport Navigation was a scheme to make the River Ivel (now called the River Yeo) navigable from

Langport Langport is a small town and civil parish in Somerset, England, west of Somerton in the South Somerset district. The parish, which covers only part of the town, has a population of 1,081. Langport is contiguous with Huish Episcopi, a separate ...

Ilchester Ilchester is a village and civil parish, situated on the River Yeo or Ivel, five miles north of Yeovil, in the English county of Somerset. Originally a Roman town, and later a market town, Ilchester has a rich medieval history and was a notable ...

, in

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Work started in 1795, but the scheme was effectively bankrupt by 1797, and construction of the locks was never completed.

History

was a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

garrison town A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a mil ...

, built at the point where the

Fosse Way The Fosse Way was a Roman road built in Britain during the first and second centuries AD that linked Isca Dumnoniorum (Exeter) in the southwest and Lindum Colonia (Lincoln) to the northeast, via Lindinis (Ilchester), Aquae Sulis ( Bath), Corini ...

crossed the River Ivel, and there is evidence that the Romans built quays on the river. There are mentions of boats using the river in the 13th century, and in a survey carried out in 1632 by Gerard. However, the Ivel was never a large river, and when there was inadequate water to reach Ilchester, goods were unloaded at

Pill Bridge Pill Bridge is a stone arch bridge over the River Yeo between the parishes of Ilchester and Long Sutton, in the English county of Somerset. It is a scheduled monument. The current 17th century packhorse bridge replaced an earlier 13th-century ...

, which crossed the river downstream from the town. All goods moving from that bridge to the town had to pay tolls to the Borough of Ilchester, which increased the price of coal to the inhabitants. Navigation was also hampered by the restrictive size of the medieval bridge arch at Langport. The Ivelchester and Langport Navigation was conceived as a way of ensuring that boats could always reach the Ilchester town wharfs, and therefore duty would not be paid on goods using Pill Bridge Lane.

Construction

Following a meeting with representatives from the

Dorset and Somerset Canal The Dorset and Somerset Canal was a proposed canal in southwestern England. The main line was intended to link Poole, Dorset with the Kennet and Avon Canal near Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire. A branch was to go from the main line at Frome to the ...

, which was part of a grand scheme to link the Bristol Channel to the English Channel, a number of local businessmen obtained an

Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...

on 22 June 1795, which made provision for improving the river between Ilchester and Bicknell Bridge, just to the south east of Langport, and then cutting through the town along the course of the Portlake Rhine, which was then a drain, and rejoining the River Parrett below Langport lock. The act allowed the proprietors to raise £6,000 by issuing shares, and a further £2,000 in loans, if required. Around three quarters of the share capital had been promised before the act was obtained, and so work commenced immediately. The plans involved widening the Portlake Rhine, building a lock close to the Little Bow bridge, near the centre of the town, and making a cut to join the River Parrett again near Bicknell's Bridge, which would include two more locks. A further four locks were to be constructed between there and Ilchester. The engineer was a local man called Josiah Easton, and good progress was made in the first six months at the Langport end of the scheme, but costs were escalating, and by October 1796, the scheme was in difficulty. The £6,000 of share capital had all been spent, but little work had been done on removing shoals from the river towards Ilchester. In 1797, outstanding debts were cleared and the scheme was effectively abandoned.

The Parrett Navigation Act

Despite the scheme not being finished, some traffic continued to use the river. The Parrett Navigation Act, which was obtained in 1836, authorised improvements to the

River Parrett The River Parrett flows through the counties of Dorset and Somerset in South West England, from its source in the Thorney Mills springs in the hills around Chedington in Dorset. Flowing northwest through Somerset and the Somerset Levels to it ...

below Langport, the construction of a canal to Westport, and the rebuilding of the Great Bow Bridge, to allow larger boats to travel beyond Langport. Normal canal tolls were charged for use of the canal, and there was a toll for trade passing under the rebuilt bridge, but some of the shareholders felt that boat users on the River Ivel should also be charged, since the water levels on the river had improved since the construction of the Parrett Navigation works. Accordingly, Nicholas Broadmead, who was a solicitor, and Philip Broadmead, both of whom were shareholders in the

Parrett Navigation Company The Parrett Navigation Company was formed to improve river navigation on the River Parrett, Ivelchester and Langport Navigation and linked waterways. Tolls were introduced to pay for the improvements. It was a trading Company owned by Vincent Stu ...

, set about tracing and buying the 120 shares of the original Ivelchester and Langport Canal Company. Philip Broadmead obtained professional opinions on the legality of the proposed action, and produced a document outlining the expected returns on such a scheme. Some shares were obtained, and a meeting was held on 26 September 1843 at the Castle Inn in Ilchester, but the outcome is not known, as the plan faded away, and the planned resurrection of the company did not occur.

Today

Little remains of the Navigation. The course of the Portlake Rhine and the channel from Bicknell's Bridge to Little Bow bridge can be made out in the landscape, but navigation on the Parrett as a whole has largely ceased because the locks have been replaced by sluices.

Route and points of interest

Bibliography

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