Thames And Severn Canal
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The Thames and Severn Canal is a
canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...
in
Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...
in the south-west of England, which was completed in 1789. It was conceived as part of a cargo route from
Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
and the
Midlands The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in the Ind ...
to
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, linking England's two largest rivers for better trade. The route climbs the steep
Cotswold The Cotswolds (, ) is a region in central-southwest England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and Evesham Vale. The area is defined by the bedrock of Jura ...
escarpment An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations. The terms ''scarp'' and ''scarp face'' are often used interchangeably with ''escar ...
through the Golden Valley, tunnels underneath the summit of the Cotswold Edge, and emerges near the
source of the Thames Source may refer to: Research * Historical document * Historical source * Source (intelligence) or sub source, typically a confidential provider of non open-source intelligence * Source (journalism), a person, publication, publishing institute o ...
. At its eastern end, it connects to the top of the navigable
Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...
at Inglesham Lock near
Lechlade Lechlade () is a town at the southern edge of the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England, south of Birmingham and west of London. It is the highest point at which the River Thames is navigable, although there is a right of navigation that contin ...
, while at its western end, it connects to the
Stroudwater Navigation 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 173 ...
at Wallbridge near
Stroud Stroud is a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District. The town's population was 13,500 in 2021. Below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills, at the meeting point of the Five ...
, and thence to the
River Severn , name_etymology = , image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG , image_size = 288 , image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle , map = RiverSevernMap.jpg , map_size = 288 , map_c ...
. It had one short
arm In human anatomy, the arm refers to the upper limb in common usage, although academically the term specifically means the upper arm between the glenohumeral joint (shoulder joint) and the elbow joint. The distal part of the upper limb between th ...
(branch), from Siddington to the town of
Cirencester Cirencester (, ; see below for more variations) is a market town in Gloucestershire, England, west of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswolds. It is the home of ...
. It includes Sapperton Tunnel, which when built was the longest canal tunnel in Britain, and remains the second-longest complete tunnel. There were always problems with water supply, as no reservoirs were built, while the summit section near the tunnel ran through porous limestone, and there were constant difficulties with leakage. Competition from the railways took much of the canal's traffic by the end of the 19th century, and most of the canal was abandoned in 1927, the remainder in 1941. Since 1972, the
Cotswold Canals Trust 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 be ...
has been working to restore both the canal and the Stroudwater Navigation to navigably re-link the Thames and the Severn. A number of the structures have been restored, and some sections are now in water. A major step forward occurred in 2003, when a bid was made to the Heritage Lottery Fund for £82 million to restore both canals. The bid and the project had to be split into smaller sections, but £11.9 million was awarded in 2006 for Phase 1A, which with matched funding has restored from 'The Ocean' at Stonehouse to Wallbridge on the Stroudwater Navigation, and from there to Stroud Brewery on the Thames & Severn. The Phase 1B reconnection to the national waterways network at Saul Junction is expected to be completed by 2025, welcoming arrivals by water into the Golden Valley for the first time in a century. In 2010, British Waterways gave Inglesham Lock to the Trust, and the
Inland Waterways Association 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. No ...
mounted a national campaign to fund its restoration (and of canal above). To re-open the whole canal some major engineering obstacles will need to be overcome.


History

Since the 1730s, when the first
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 ...
to authorize a canal from the
River Severn , name_etymology = , image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG , image_size = 288 , image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle , map = RiverSevernMap.jpg , map_size = 288 , map_c ...
to
Stroud Stroud is a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District. The town's population was 13,500 in 2021. Below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills, at the meeting point of the Five ...
had been passed, the
Stroudwater Navigation 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 173 ...
had been seen as part of a larger plan to link
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
and
Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
by waterway. No work took place immediately, but the Stroudwater was eventually opened in 1779, and within two years the shareholders commissioned a survey for a canal from
Dudbridge Dudbridge is a suburb on the southern edge of Stroud in Gloucestershire, England. History Dudbridge gains its name from the first bridge in the location, which spanned the River Frome. This made it an important crossing point for traffic heading ...
to
Cricklade Cricklade is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in north Wiltshire, England, midway between Swindon and Cirencester. It is the first downstream town on the Thames. The parish population at the 2011 census was 4,227. History Cricklade ...
, which would complete the link. It is likely that John Priddy – previously the engineer for the Stroudwater scheme – carried out the survey, but others were soon involved including Sir Edward Littleton, who was connected with the
Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal The Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal is a navigable narrow canal in Staffordshire and Worcestershire in the English Midlands. It is long, linking the River Severn at Stourport in Worcestershire with the Trent and Mersey Canal at Haywoo ...
. Priddy suggested that there were better terminal points at Wallbridge and
Lechlade Lechlade () is a town at the southern edge of the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England, south of Birmingham and west of London. It is the highest point at which the River Thames is navigable, although there is a right of navigation that contin ...
.
Robert Whitworth Robert Whitworth (1734 – 30 March 1799) was an English land surveyor and engineer, who learnt his trade under John Smeaton and James Brindley, and went on to become one of the leading canal engineers of his generation. Biography Whitworth was ...
then surveyed two routes, the first as suggested by Priddy, and the second direct from the
Severn , name_etymology = , image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG , image_size = 288 , image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle , map = RiverSevernMap.jpg , map_size = 288 , map_c ...
to the
Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...
following the valley of the
River Coln The River Coln is a river in Gloucestershire, England. It rises to the north of Brockhampton, a village to the east of Cheltenham, and flows in a south/south-easterly direction through the Cotswold Hills via Andoversford, Withington, Fosseb ...
. The first route was chosen, based on excellent water supplies at
Cirencester Cirencester (, ; see below for more variations) is a market town in Gloucestershire, England, west of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswolds. It is the home of ...
, although the estimates of the amount of water available proved to be wildly optimistic. The estimated cost of the project was £127,916, most of which was promised within three weeks. The bill to authorise the canal passed through Parliament relatively easily, and became an Act on 17 April 1783. The company could raise an initial £130,000, with an additional £60,000 if required. The canal was to be suitable for boats wide, and so could accommodate
Thames barge A Thames sailing barge is a type of commercial sailing boat once common on the River Thames in London. The flat-bottomed barges with a shallow draught and leeboards, were perfectly adapted to the Thames Estuary, with its shallow waters and narr ...
s, but not
Severn Trow A trow was a type of cargo boat found in the past on the rivers Severn and Wye in Great Britain and used to transport goods. Features The mast could be taken down so that the trow could go under bridges, such as the bridge at Worcester and ...
s.
Josiah Clowes Josiah Clowes (1735–1794) was a noted English civil engineer and canal builder. His early years were spent running a canal carrying company with Hugh Henshall, and although he worked on some canal projects before 1783, that year marked his switc ...
was appointed head engineer, surveyor and carpenter to the canal in 1783 to assist Whitworth. Clowes became resident engineer and was paid £300 per year. Clowes' work on the canal gave him a reputation that made him highly sought after in the last five years of his life. He left the construction of the canal shortly before completion to work on
Dudley Tunnel Dudley Tunnel is a canal tunnel on the Dudley Canal Line No 1, England. At about long, it is now the second longest canal tunnel on the UK canal network today. ( Standedge Tunnel is the longest, at , and the Higham and Strood tunnel is now ...
. There was great debate about the gauge of the tunnel required at Sapperton. Commissioners from the River Thames thought that it would have to be built for narrow boats, since the cost of a larger tunnel would be prohibitive. It was also going to be longer than any tunnel yet built. However, a decision was made that it would be built as a broad tunnel, wide and high, and so the company advertised for tunnellers. The tunnel was expected to take four years to complete when work began at the start of 1784, but it was not completed until April 1789. The canal opened in stages as it was completed. The first from Wallbridge to
Chalford Chalford is a large village in the Frome Valley of the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. It is to the southeast of Stroud about upstream. It gives its name to Chalford parish, which covers the villages of Chalford, Chalford Hill, Fran ...
opened in January 1785, and by mid-1786, the navigable section had reached the western portal of the tunnel, and 28 locks from Wallbridge. A wharf was built at Daneway Bridge, equipped with a warehouse and coalyard. The tunnel was constructed from many workfaces, with 25 shafts sunk along its course to provide access. After completion there were problems, and the tunnel was shut for two and a half months during 1790 for further work to be carried out. The summit level and a branch to Cirencester were completed in 1787, and became operational as soon as the tunnel opened. The final section to the junction with the Thames at
Inglesham Inglesham is a small village and civil parish in the Borough of Swindon, Wiltshire, England, notable for the Grade-I listed St John the Baptist Church. The village is just off the A361 road about south-west of Lechlade in Gloucestershire. Mos ...
, which descends through 16 locks, was finished in November 1789. The canal was completed at a cost of £250,000. With the Stroudwater Navigation, which had been completed in 1779, it completed a link between the River Severn in the west and the River Thames in the east. As built, the main line was just under long and had 44
locks Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...
. The branch to Cirencester added a further . The first from Wallbridge to Brimscombe, where there was a transhipment basin, was built with locks , enabling Severn trows to use it. Beyond that, the locks were and the boats used were Thames barges. The canal's summit, which is above sea level and long, includes the Sapperton Tunnel, at the time, the longest in England. Its length has only been exceeded by two other canal tunnels, at Standedge in the Pennines and at Strood in Kent.


Operation

Until the summit level was completed, little thought seems to have been given to water supply. It was assumed that the River Frome, to the west of the tunnel, the
River Churn The River Churn is a tributary of the River Thames in central England. It rises at Seven Springs in Gloucestershire and flows south for approximately to meet the Thames at Cricklade in Wiltshire. Its length from its source to the confluence wi ...
which flowed through
Cirencester Cirencester (, ; see below for more variations) is a market town in Gloucestershire, England, west of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswolds. It is the home of ...
, and the
River Coln The River Coln is a river in Gloucestershire, England. It rises to the north of Brockhampton, a village to the east of Cheltenham, and flows in a south/south-easterly direction through the Cotswold Hills via Andoversford, Withington, Fosseb ...
, together with springs at
Boxwell Boxwell is a hamlet in Gloucestershire, England, near the village of Leighterton Boxwell Court is a Grade II* listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a televi ...
and a well near the source of the River Thames at
Thames Head Thames Head is a group of seasonal springs that arise near the village of Coates in the Cotswolds, about three miles south-west of the town of Cirencester, in the county of Gloucestershire, England. The spring water comes from the limestone ...
, would be sufficient. The original horse pump at Thames Head was replaced by a windmill, but Clowes discovered that he could not stop the summit pound from leaking. The flow on the River Churn was , whereas the calculated flow at the start of the project had been more than ten times this value. The summit level was losing around , largely because the underlying rock was porous
limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
, and it was estimated that around half of the daily requirement could actually be supplied. The wells at Thames Head were extended and a
Boulton & Watt Boulton & Watt was an early British engineering and manufacturing firm in the business of designing and making marine and stationary steam engines. Founded in the English West Midlands around Birmingham in 1775 as a partnership between the Eng ...
steam engine was installed in 1792 to pump the water into the canal. An extra, shallow lock was built at Boxwell, which allowed the level of the canal to be dropped beyond it, and more water to be taken from Boxwell springs. The new arrangements were adequate, although some of the reason was the failure of traffic to develop to the levels anticipated. Leakage was affected by springs breaking through the
clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...
lining of the canal bed. In summer when the springs receded, water was lost through these holes at a rate greater than the available supply. In one of the attempts to conserve water, the length of the locks was reduced by , which resulted in their unusual double headed appearance. In a further attempt to prevent water loss, at King's Reach, the section immediately east of Sapperton Tunnel, the canal was lined with
concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...
rather than puddle clay. The concrete invert was thick, and A Brome Wilson, the canal's engineer, used pipes to feed water from the underlying springs into the canal, but at a level above the waterline. Neither of the river navigations to which the canal connected were satisfactory. In the west, the situation was remedied in 1820, with the construction of the
Gloucester and Sharpness Canal The Gloucester and Sharpness Canal (also known as the Gloucester and Berkeley Canal) is a ship canal in the west of England, between Gloucester and Sharpness; for much of its length it runs close to the tidal River Severn, but cuts off a sign ...
seven years later. On the Thames, there had been a proposal for a canal from
Lechlade Lechlade () is a town at the southern edge of the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England, south of Birmingham and west of London. It is the highest point at which the River Thames is navigable, although there is a right of navigation that contin ...
to Abingdon in 1784, and for a cut from
Inglesham Inglesham is a small village and civil parish in the Borough of Swindon, Wiltshire, England, notable for the Grade-I listed St John the Baptist Church. The village is just off the A361 road about south-west of Lechlade in Gloucestershire. Mos ...
to
Buscot Buscot is an English village and civil parish on the River Thames, about south-east of Lechlade. Buscot was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire. Two houses there contain notable collections of pain ...
in 1788, but neither had been built. Some improvements were made to the river after 1786, but the Canal company encouraged the building of bypasses. The
Wilts and Berks Canal The Wilts & Berks Canal is a canal in the historic counties of Wiltshire and Berkshire, England, linking the Kennet and Avon Canal at Semington near Melksham, to the River Thames at Abingdon. The North Wilts Canal merged with it to become a b ...
was one Thames bypass, providing a link to the river at Abingdon, but did not initially connect to the Thames & Severn Canal. Although it was proposed in 1793, it was not opened until 1810, and the
North Wilts Canal North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...
, which eventually provided the connecting link from Latton to
Swindon Swindon () is a town and unitary authority with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Wiltshire, England. As of the 2021 Census, the population of Swindon was 201,669, making it the largest town in the county. The Swindon un ...
for Thames & Severn traffic to bypass the upper river, was not completed until 1819. Even after this, vessels were restricted by the narrow 7ft width of the North Wilts, which was considerably smaller than the rest of the link between the Thames and the Severn, limiting income from cargo. Ultimately, most of the Bristol to London trade used the Kennet and Avon Canal after it opened in 1810, as it provided a much shorter route than the Thames and Severn Canal. Similarly, the Midlands-London traffic that the proprietors had hoped to attract via the Severn found newer routes further east considerably more direct. Thus, the compromise alignment of the Thames & Severn found itself bypassed, with income mainly generated by carriage of Forest of Dean coal to places along the canal rather than the balanced trade of long-distance traffic between Thames and Severn that had been anticipated. Pleasure cruising, meanwhile, was firmly discouraged, with the Proprietors setting a punitive toll of £1 per lock for such boats (equivalent to over £120 today).


Decline

Railway competition began in 1836, when the Cheltenham and Great Western Railway proposed a line between Swindon and
Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...
, via
Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...
. The canal company opposed the scheme, and received compensation of £7,500 from the railway company over the next four and a half years. The line opened to Kemble in 1841, and the tolls on the carriage of materials for the railway's construction improved the financial position of the canal for a short time. The railway company was then taken over by the
Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...
, who built a new tunnel at Sapperton, and opened the railway to Gloucester in 1845. Canal tolls were cut, in an attempt to retain traffic, but toll revenue fell from £11,000 to £2,874 between 1841 and 1855. The Thames Commissioners were also in financial difficulties, and the Thames was nearly unnavigable from Oxford to Lechlade after 1855. In 1866, plans to convert the canal to a railway were rejected by Parliament, but the Thames Commissioners were replaced by the
Thames Conservancy The Thames Conservancy (formally the Conservators of the River Thames) was a body responsible for the management of the that river in England. It was founded in 1857 to replace the jurisdiction of the City of London up to Staines. Nine years la ...
, and most of the river was soon returned to a navigable state. The condition of the canal continued to decline. Complaints were made about its state in 1874 and 1885, which resulted in surveys being undertaken, but little was done to remedy the situation. In 1893, the Thames and Severn company announced that the canal between Chalford and Inglesham would close two days later. Negotiations with a number of interested parties took place, and having given an assurance that it would not be converted into a railway to the Great Western Railway, an Act of Parliament was obtained in 1895, which formed a Trust with powers to raise £15,000. The Trust included representatives from the Sharpness New Docks & Gloucester & Birmingham Company, the Stroudwater Canal, the Staffs & Worcs Canal, the Severn Commissioners,
Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...
,
Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...
and
Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
County Councils and
Stroud Stroud is a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District. The town's population was 13,500 in 2021. Below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills, at the meeting point of the Five ...
and
Cirencester Cirencester (, ; see below for more variations) is a market town in Gloucestershire, England, west of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswolds. It is the home of ...
District Councils. At the same time as the Trust refurbished the canal, the upper Thames was upgraded by the Thames Conservancy. Although the canal was re-opened in March 1899, lack of water on the summit level soon closed it again, after which Gloucestershire County Council suggested that they take it over. They did so on 2 July 1901. In 1925 they began negotiations with interested parties which ultimately led to the abandonment of the canal from Chalford to Inglesham in 1927. The
Stroudwater Navigation 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 173 ...
managed to keep the remaining section open until 1933, when it was abandoned, and their own canal closed in 1941.


Restoration

Following the publication of Ronald Russell's influential book entitled ''Lost Canals of England and Wales'' in 1972, a number of canal restoration schemes sprang up. Among the organisations established that year was the Stroudwater Canal Society, which soon became the Stroudwater, Thames and Severn Canal Trust, and from 1975, the
Cotswold Canals Trust 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 be ...
. Volunteers for the Trust have since been working to restore both the
Stroudwater Navigation 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 173 ...
and the Thames and Severn Canal. Extensive lobbying in 1979 resulted in Gloucestershire County Council deciding to rebuild a damaged bridge at Daneway, rather than replace it with a much cheaper low-level causeway, which would have severed the route. Two years later, County Council support was required when the project benefited from 20 workers and a £17,000 budget for materials under the Job Creation Scheme set up by the
Manpower Services Commission The Manpower Services Commission (MSC) was a non-departmental public body of the Department of Employment Group in the United Kingdom created by Edward Heath's Conservative Government in 1973. The MSC had a remit to co-ordinate employment and tr ...
, as the council had to manage the scheme. In 1991, the Trust commissioned the engineering consultancy
Sir William Halcrow and Partners Halcrow Group Limited was a multinational engineering consultancy company, based in the United Kingdom Halcrow was one of the UK's largest consultancies, with origins stretching back to 1868. The UK-based consultancy specialised in the provisi ...
to conduct a feasibility study for restoration of the eastern end of the canal. Funding was provided by the
National Rivers Authority The National Rivers Authority (NRA) was one of the forerunners of the Environment Agency of England and Wales, existing between 1989 and 1996. Before 1989 the regulation of the aquatic environment had largely been carried out by the ten region ...
, local authorities, and other interested parties. The report demonstrated that there was a good case for the provision of a navigable culvert beneath the proposed Latton Bypass. Despite initially saying that a culvert would not be built, negotiation continued, and – helped by grants of £250,000 from Gloucestershire County Council and £125,000 from North Wilts Council – the Department of the Environment decided in 1997 that a culvert would be provided under the road.


Funding

In order to provide a suitable structure to drive the restoration forwards, the Cotswold Canals Partnership was established in 2001, drawing together people representing the Proprietors of the Stroudwater Navigation, the Cotswold Canals Trust, councils at district and county level, and a number of other interested parties. In 2002, the waterway was identified as being of high priority in the
Association of Inland Navigation Authorities {{Use British English, date=July 2017 The Association of Inland Navigation Authorities (AINA) is an unincorporated membership organisation in the United Kingdom. Membership is available for navigation authorities in the United Kingdom who have le ...
report entitled ''Vision for Strategic Enhancement of Britain's Inland Navigation Network'', and was one of several new projects highlighted at
British Waterways British Waterways, often shortened to BW, was a statutory corporation wholly owned by the government of the United Kingdom. It served as the navigation authority for the majority of canals and a number of rivers and docks in England, Scotlan ...
' ''Unlocked and Unlimited'' conference held in March. The estimated cost of the project was £82 million. Having raised £100,000, the Trust lodged the money with the
Waterways Trust The Waterways Trust was an independent registered charity, established in 1999, that worked with partners to see the waterway network in England, Wales and Scotland supported, valued and enjoyed by a wide audience. The Trust was formerly registe ...
, in the hope that it could be used as match funding for any grants that might be received. Andy Stumpf became the full-time Regeneration Programme Manager, working on a major bid application to the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to finance the restoration, and the canal was visited by
Charles, Prince of Wales Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...
, in his capacity as Patron of the Waterways Trust. A Heritage Survey, which cost £60,000 and was funded by the
Inland Waterways Association 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. No ...
, was carried out, as was a Community Development Plan and a Visitor Management Strategy, costing another £30,000, all of which were pre-requisites for the main HLF bid. By the time the bid was ready for submission, the HLF were under pressure for the funds they had, and asked British Waterways, who were managing the application, to split the bid and the project into smaller phases. At the end of 2003, a provisional grant of £11.3 million was awarded by the HLF, to enable the restoration of the Stroudwater Navigation between Stonehouse and Wallbridge, and the Thames and Severn Canal between Wallbridge and Brimscombe Port. An additional £2.9 million was received from the European Inter-Regional budget for this first phase. By the time the grant was awarded in January 2006, it had risen to £11.9 million, and a further £6 million of match funding was received from the South West of England Regional Development Agency. Alongside these major developments, the Trust has rebuilt a number of locks and bridges and some small sections of the rest of the route are now in water. With the restoration underway, British Waterways pulled out of the partnership in 2008 because of financial difficulties. The role of project leader was taken over by Stroud District Council, and a new body, the Stroud Valleys Canal Company, was created in March 2009 to act as a holding company for the assets of the waterway, with a responsibility to manage and maintain it once it is reopened. They now own most of the canal bed between Wallbridge and Brimscombe. The cost of the restoration exceeded estimates, and as a result, the Heritage Lottery Fund agreed to supply an additional £800,000 in December 2012, to allow full restoration between Stonehouse and Bowbridge, and the upgrading of the towpath onwards to Brimscombe Port. Work on the canal beyond Bowbridge would be handled by volunteers.


Progress

The Restoration Programme is divided into several key phases. Phase 1a covers of the most difficult section to restore, centred on Stroud, comprising the lengths of the Stroudwater Navigation between Stonehouse and Wallbridge, and the Thames and Severn Canal between Wallbridge and Brimscombe Port. Phase 1b connects the completed Phase 1a section, westwards, to the rest of the inland waterways network, at Saul Junction on the
Gloucester and Sharpness Canal The Gloucester and Sharpness Canal (also known as the Gloucester and Berkeley Canal) is a ship canal in the west of England, between Gloucester and Sharpness; for much of its length it runs close to the tidal River Severn, but cuts off a sign ...
. Phase 2 covers work at the eastern end of the canal, between Gateway Bridge in the Cotswold Water Park (Cerney Wick), and Inglesham Lock, the junction with the Thames. It will form a link between the upper Thames, the North Wilts Canal and the
Wilts and Berks Canal The Wilts & Berks Canal is a canal in the historic counties of Wiltshire and Berkshire, England, linking the Kennet and Avon Canal at Semington near Melksham, to the River Thames at Abingdon. The North Wilts Canal merged with it to become a b ...
. Phase 3 completes the project, connecting Brimscombe Port in the west with Gateway Bridge in the east, via Sapperton Tunnel.


Phase 1a

Phase 1a of the Restoration Programme covered the length of canal from The Ocean at Stonehouse, on the Stroudwater Navigation, to Brimscombe Port, east of Stroud, on the Thames and Severn Canal – a length of about . The work included restoration of 10 locks, reconstruction of 10 bridges, and reinstatement of about of in-filled canal; plus the major reconstruction of Brimscombe Port. Funding was in place for all of the scheduled work, but increasing costs curtailed the programme. A revised plan – with increased support from volunteer labour – aimed to have restoration completed to Bowbridge by the end of 2015, with all major work eastwards put on hold. Phase 1a also included the provision of a multi-user trail between Stonehouse and Saul, but this was held over to Phase 1b. The final section of the canal before it joins the Stroudwater Navigation presented particular problems for restoration, as the channel had been used as part of a flood relief scheme by the
Environment Agency The Environment Agency (EA) is a non-departmental public body, established in 1996 and sponsored by the United Kingdom government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with responsibilities relating to the protection and enha ...
. Water from the Slad Brook, which is culverted beneath Stroud, joins the canal a short distance above Lower Wallbridge Lock. The Painswick Stream and Ruscombe Brook join the channel below the junction and flow through the Dudbridge locks, after which the water is discharged into the River Frome below the A419 Dudbridge Road bridge. As a consequence of its flood relief function, the channel here is classified as a "
main river Main rivers () are a statutory type of watercourse in England and Wales, usually larger streams and rivers, but also some smaller watercourses. A main river is designated by being marked as such on a main river map, and can include any structure o ...
". Designs for reinstatement of the canal had to accommodate large flows on this section, and include underground bywash culverts, capable of carrying the full flood flow of the streams. At Capels Mill, the bed of the canal was used as the route for the Stroud Bypass in the 1980s, and so a diversion had to be built at this point. It passes through an area that was used as a landfill site in the 1960s and 1970s. Some of new channel was constructed, some of it edged with sheet piling. After passing through a railway viaduct, the bank is supported by a series of contiguous concrete piles, which were drilled to a depth of between and and provide a retaining wall which is tall at its highest point. As the project neared completion, open days to allow the public to walk along the bottom of the new canal section were held on 10 and 11 May 2013, and were attended by over 1,800 people. Where domestic rubbish had to be removed, it was relocated on the site, covered with of crushed recycled concrete and a layer of Bentomat geotextile, which was topped by subsoil and topsoil obtained from elsewhere on the site. Tubular vents allow any methane produced by the disturbed rubbish to escape safely. The new section was filled with water and officially completed on 2 June 2013. An evaluation cruise was held on 10 November 2017, when the maintenance boat ''Wookey Hole'' carried three assessors from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the chief executive from Stroud District Council and their canal project manager, the Mayor of Stroud, and the Cotswold Canal Trust chief executive and vice-chair. It travelled from The Ocean at Stonebridge eastwards to Bowbridge Lock, with a stop for lunch at Upper Wallbridge Lock. The cruise enabled the HLF assessors to view the work done and to sign off the Phase 1a project, bringing it to a conclusion. An official opening of Wallbridge Lower Lock took place on 2 February 2018, when
Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...
cut a ribbon to celebrate the reconnection of the Thames and Severn Canal with the Stroudwater Navigation, and unveiled a commemorative plaque. During the execution of the phase 1a project, it became obvious that there would be a shortfall in funding, caused in part by the development of Brimscombe Port being deferred. Thus the Heritage Lottery funded works ended at Bowbridge Lock, and work up to Hope Mill Lock has been undertaken largely by volunteers. Some work to prepare the Brimscombe Port site for development was funded by a £2 million grant from the Homes & Communities Agency given in October 2015. Volunteers completed restoration of Griffin's Mill Lock in 2017, but dredging of the intervening channel took rather longer, and the lock was opened on 9 July 2018. Work had already begun on the restoration of Ham Mill Lock, the next one upstream. In a separate development, water supply to the restored section was improved by building a feeder siphon at Gough's Orchard Lock, which takes water from a millpond supplied by the River Frome and feeds it into the lock. The pipeline runs over the top of the canal bank, and a solar-powered pump creates a vacuum within the pipe to allow the siphoning to begin. The volume of water taken is regulated by a gate valve, and is governed by an abstraction licence issued by the Environment Agency.


Phase 1b

The second phase of the Restoration Programme covers the length of the Stroudwater Navigation between the Ocean Railway Bridge, Stonehouse, and Saul Junction on the
Gloucester and Sharpness Canal The Gloucester and Sharpness Canal (also known as the Gloucester and Berkeley Canal) is a ship canal in the west of England, between Gloucester and Sharpness; for much of its length it runs close to the tidal River Severn, but cuts off a sign ...
, a distance of about . The simpler work includes construction of two new locks, restoration of a further six locks, construction of several minor road bridges, and reinstatement of about of in-filled canal. This section poses some significant engineering problems. A new railway bridge was required at Stonehouse, where the canal had been culverted underneath the Bristol–Birmingham line. Since the canal was abandoned, the River Frome and the Oldbury Brook have both been diverted to use part of the canal bed. Most significantly, the original route has been divided by both the construction of the
M5 motorway The M5 is a motorway in England linking the Midlands with the South West England, South West. It runs from junction 8 of the M6 motorway, M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Brom ...
and development of the A38 trunk road. Plans to overcome these obstacles were produced, in anticipation of the necessary funding becoming available. Bids for Heritage Lottery funding were rejected in May 2012 and November 2015. A revised bid was submitted in November 2017, and following criticism of the lack of investment by partners in the project, was backed by a promise of £3 million from
Stroud District Council Stroud is a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District. The town's population was 13,500 in 2021. Below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills, at the meeting point of the Five Va ...
, £700,000 from
Gloucestershire County Council Gloucestershire County Council is a county council which administers the most strategic local government services in the non-metropolitan county of Gloucestershire, in the South West of England. The council's principal functions are county road ...
and £675,000 from the Canal and River Trust, who also pledged practical support. In addition, the Cotswold Canals Trust offered financial assistance and volunteer labour. A development grant of £0.8 million was received from the Heritage Lottery Fund in April 2018, which led to the award of £8.9 million in October 2020. A further boost was the granting of £4 million from
Highways England National Highways, formerly the Highways Agency and later Highways England, is a government-owned company charged with operating, maintaining and improving motorways and major A roads in England. It also sets highways standards used by all f ...
in May 2019, to cover the cost of tunnelling under the A38 roundabout and other environmental projects along the "missing mile", the new route of the canal to replace the section obliterated by road construction and infilling. Phase 1b, which became known as Cotswold Canals Connected in 2018, is expected to be completed by 2025. Stroud District Council decided that the infrastructure costs for the development of Brimscombe Port were too high to entice developers to the scheme, and made a bid to
Homes England Homes England is the non-departmental public body that funds new affordable housing in England. It was founded on 1 January 2018 to replace the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA). HCA in turn was established by the Housing and Regeneration Act 20 ...
in 2015 for public funding. They received £2 million from this source, to which they added another £2 million as match funding. They also received £776,000 from the One Public Estate Land Release Fund, which is given for the development of brownfield sites. Planning permission was obtained on 24 March 2021 for the development of the port, including reinstatement of the canal, basin and various bridge works. The initial work includes demolition of modern additions to Port Mill, so that a new canal channel and river bed can be constructed further to the south than formerly, with the new river channel replacing the previous culvert under the modern parts of Port Mill. In July 2022, the council selected St. Modwen Homes as the developer to work on the project.


Phase 2

Restoration Programme Phase 2 covers work at the eastern end of the canal, between Gateway Bridge in the Cotswold Water Park (Cerney Wick), and the junction with the Thames at Inglesham Lock, a distance of about . The section does not pose the major engineering challenges faced elsewhere, but land ownership is an issue, and there are several miles of infilled canal around Kempsford. Funding is only in place for minor projects, but several locks have been substantially restored, lengths of towpath reconstructed, and dredging completed. In 2002
British Waterways British Waterways, often shortened to BW, was a statutory corporation wholly owned by the government of the United Kingdom. It served as the navigation authority for the majority of canals and a number of rivers and docks in England, Scotlan ...
bought the lock at Inglesham and the adjacent
round house Roundhouse may refer to: Architecture and buildings Types * Roundhouse (dwelling), a kind of house with circular walls, prehistoric and modern, all over the world ** Atlantic roundhouse, an Iron Age stone building found in the northern and weste ...
, to safeguard the route of the canal. After they pulled out of the restoration scheme, they sold the house, which was bought by a member of the Cotswold Canals Trust, and transferred the ownership of the lock to the Trust. In June 2010 the
Inland Waterways Association 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. No ...
(IWA) mounted a national campaign for £125,000 to enable Inglesham Lock and around of the pound above it to be restored. Work on the refurbishment of the lock structure began in 2016 and was completed in May 2019, with some tidying up of the site continuing until September.


Phase 3

The completion of the project is outlined in Phase 3, to connect Brimscombe Port in the west with Gateway Bridge in the east, a distance of about . Restoring this central section poses several major engineering difficulties: firstly to overcome the water supply that was always inadequate, and secondly because the Sapperton Tunnel is blocked by two rock falls. In addition, there are two missing railway bridges, an aqueduct, and 31 locks to rebuild. As of May 2015, there was no significant funding in place for any restoration projects on this section of the canal. Parts of the tunnel are in good condition, where it has been cut through stable rock, either
Great Oolite The Great Oolite Group is a Middle Jurassic stratigraphic unit that outcrops in southern England. It consists of a complex set of marine deposits primarily mudstone and bioclastic ooidal and fine grained limestone, deposited in nearshore to she ...
limestone at the Coates end, or
Inferior Oolite The Inferior Oolite is a sequence of Jurassic age sedimentary rocks in Europe. It was deposited during the Middle Jurassic.Weishampel, David B; et al. (2004). "Dinosaur distribution (Middle Jurassic, Europe)." In: Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Pet ...
towards the Daneway end. However, a length of near the middle of the tunnel and at the Daneway end are cut through
fuller's earth Fuller's earth is any clay material that has the capability to decolorize oil or other liquids without the use of harsh chemical treatment. Fuller's earth typically consists of palygorskite (attapulgite) or bentonite. Modern uses of fuller's ea ...
, and although lined with brick, the fuller's earth expands when wet, and this has resulted in heave of the bottom of the tunnel, causing wall and roof falls from above.


Structures

A number of the buildings associated with the canal have survived and appear on the
listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
register, including five circular cottages, built with three floors. The lower floor was intended to be used as a store and has access to the outside. A set of outside steps leads up to the first floor, which is around in diameter. It was designed as a living area and was equipped with a
cooking range A kitchen stove, often called simply a stove or a cooker, is a kitchen appliance designed for the purpose of cooking food. Kitchen stoves rely on the application of direct heat for the cooking process and may also contain an oven, used for b ...
. A staircase, built between the inner and outer wall, leads up to a circular bedroom on the second floor. The round houses are situated at Lechlade (the
Round House, Inglesham The round houses on the Thames and Severn Canal are five former lengthsmen's cottages built along the canal between Chalford and Lechlade in Gloucestershire. Constructed in the 1790s when the canal was built, all but one of the round houses are ...
), by the entrance lock from the Thames; at Marston Meysey; at Cerney Wick near Latton, next to lock 39; at Coates, close to the eastern portal of the tunnel; and at Chalford, next to lock 13. Some had a pointed slate roof, while others had a lead cone, which collected rainwater for drinking. They were built in the 1790s for use by lock-keepers and
lengthsmen The term Lengthsman was coined in the 1700s in a concept rooted in the Tudor Era as far back as War of the Roses and enclosure. Originally, it referred to someone who kept a "length" of road neat, tidy and passable in the Middle Ages, with particul ...
, but were not particularly popular due to the limited amount of space and problems with finding suitable furniture for a circular room.


Literary connections

In 1953, C. S. Forester published ''
Hornblower and the Atropos ''Hornblower and the Atropos'' is a 1953 historical novel by C.S. Forester. Horatio Hornblower is posted to HMS ''Atropos'', the smallest vessel in the Royal Navy that merits command by a post-captain, as he salvages treasure from the Mediterra ...
'', a historical novel set during the
Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
, in which Horatio Hornblower, a captain in the Royal Navy, travels along the canal to London. He assists with legging the boat through the Sapperton tunnel and then steering it after the
postillion A postilion or postillion is a person who guides a horse-drawn coach or post chaise while mounted on the horse or one of a pair of horses. By contrast, a coachman controls the horses from the vehicle itself. Originally the English name for a ...
in charge of the horses is injured.Excerpt from "Hornblower and the Atropos"
/ref>


Points of interest


See also

*
Canals of Great Britain 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 ro ...
*
History of the British canal system History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
*
List of canal tunnels in the United Kingdom This is a list of canal tunnels in the United Kingdom. Listed by name Navigatable adits and mine levels An adit is a horizontal entrance to a mine: Listed by canal Grand Union Canal * Blisworth Tunnel, Northamptonshire * Braunston Tunnel, ...
* The Golden Valley line which runs alongside the canal between
Stroud Stroud is a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District. The town's population was 13,500 in 2021. Below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills, at the meeting point of the Five ...
and Kemble.


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * *


References


External links


Cotswold Canals TrustCotswold Canals in Picturesimages & map of mile markers seen along the Thames & Severn canal Stroud Voices (Stroudwater & Thames & Severn selection) - oral history site List of YouTube videos of Stroudwater & Thames & Severn canals restoration
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thames And Severn Canal Canals in England Canals in Gloucestershire Canals linked to the River Severn CThamesandSevern Stroud District Canals opened in 1789 1789 establishments in England Thames and Severn Canal