Trent Navigation Warehouse at Newark on Trent

The Trent Navigation Company existed from 1783 to 1940. It was responsible for control of navigation on the

River Trent The Trent is the third-longest river in the United Kingdom. Its source is in Staffordshire, on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through and drains the North Midlands. The river is known for dramatic flooding after storms and ...

in England.

History

The Trent Navigation Company was established by Trent Navigation Act 1783 'An Act for improving the Navigation of the River Trent'. It was responsible for improving and maintaining the navigation on the river between Wilden Ferry (near

Cavendish Bridge Cavendish Bridge is a bridge over the River Trent, connecting the counties of Leicestershire and Derbyshire; it is also the name of a hamlet on the Leicestershire side of the river within the Castle Donington parish. This bridge once carried th ...

) and

Gainsborough Gainsborough or Gainsboro may refer to: Places * Gainsborough, Ipswich, Suffolk, England ** Gainsborough Ward, Ipswich * Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, a town in England ** Gainsborough (UK Parliament constituency) * Gainsborough, New South Wales, ...

(with the exception of

Averham Averham is a village and civil parish in the Newark and Sherwood district of Nottinghamshire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 187, increasing to 294 at the 2011 census. The village is just west of Newark-on-Trent. ...

South Muskham South Muskham is a village and civil parish in Nottinghamshire, England, close to the border with Lincolnshire. It is located west of the River Trent and the A1 road, north of Newark-upon-Trent. The parish includes the hamlet of Little Carl ...

), and junctions with the various other canals. The first business tackled by the Company was the building of towpaths. Some of the canals opening in the 1790s offered routes for traffic by-passing large sections of the River Trent. By 1796 the

Derby Canal The Derby Canal ran 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 179 ...

connected directly to the

Erewash Canal The Erewash Canal is a broad canal in Derbyshire, England. It runs just under and has 14 locks. The first lock at Langley Bridge is part of the Cromford Canal. Origins The canal obtained its act of parliament in 1777 with John Varley a ...

at Sandiacre and the

at Swarkestone. The

Nottingham Canal The Nottingham Canal is a canal in the English counties of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. As built, it comprised a long main line between the River Trent just downstream of Trent Bridge in Nottingham and Langley Mill in Derbyshire. At the sam ...

ran from the

junction at

Langley Mill Langley Mill is a large village in the Amber Valley district of Derbyshire, England. History Originally named ''Long Lea'', the village of Langley Mill was a major employer throughout the mid 1900s with many companies including The Flour Mi ...

, which itself linked to the Cromford Canal, down to the River Trent near Trent Bridge in Nottingham. Coal from Derbyshire could be transported to

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

and

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...

without using the river. Trentattrentlock231

The competition prompted the company to implement canals cuts of their own. The Sawley cut, the Cranfleet cut and the Beeston canal provided easier navigation avoiding difficult and shallow sections of the river. In a minor hiccup in its history, an Act of Parliament of 1887 caused the company to be taken over by the Trent (Burton-upon-Trent and Humber) Navigation Company. The Trent Navigation Act of 1892 restored the original company name. Shardlow to Sawley Marinas

In 1906 the Trent Navigation Company obtained an Act of Parliament authorising improvements upstream of Newark. However, only one lock at Cromwell was constructed before the outbreak of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. By the Nottingham Corporation (Trent Navigation Transfer) Act of 1915, the river from

was put under the control of Nottingham Corporation. They implemented improvements to a value of £450,000 (equivalent to £ in ),which included a new locks and a cut at Holme Lock. The works completed by 1927 enabled larger river boats to sail up to

from Hull and the continent. In 1937, the bulk of the Nottingham Canal was closed with the exception of the stretch through Nottingham, from Trent Bridge to the junction with the Beeston Canal at Lenton. This was taken over by the Trent Navigation Company. The Trent Navigation Company ceased to exist in 1940, when it was taken over by the Trent River Catchment Board. The Catchment Board was replaced by the Trent River Board in 1951 and by the

Trent River Authority The Trent River Authority was one of 27 river authorities created by the Water Resources Act 1963 (1963 C. 38). It took over the powers of the existing Trent River Board and was given additional duties to monitor water quality and protect wate ...

in 1965.

Statistics

Annual tonnage carried for the years 1913 to 1926 inclusive 29,062 tons. *1928 – 66,960 tons *1929 – 83,118 tons *1930 – 105,337 tons *1931 – 159,315 tons *1932 – 284,666 tons *1933 – 230,609 tons *1934 – 242,853 tons *1935 – 222,538 tons *1936 – 230,514 tons *1937 – 259,321 tons *1938 – 275,030 tons The annual tonnage carried increased more than eight-fold following the Nottingham Corporation assumption of control of part of the Trent Navigation.

Freight transport

In the late 1930s, the powerful motor vessels and dumb barges owned by the company had a total carrying capacity of 4,500 tons.Nottingham. Official Handbook. Tenth Edition Each day, vessels were in attendance at each of the Hull docks and consignments of five tons and upwards were collected direct overside from steamers. Under an ancient charter, the port of Hull is free to river and canal craft. No wharfage or landing charges were incurred when cargo was directly discharged into the company's boats. A train of the company's barges could reach

within five hours from Hull, and

Newark-on-Trent Newark-on-Trent or Newark () is a market town and civil parish in the Newark and Sherwood district in Nottinghamshire, England. It is on the River Trent, and was historically a major inland port. The A1 road (Great Britain), A1 road bypasses th ...

within twelve hours. The journey from Hull to

took eighteen hours. A typical train consisted of a mechanically propelled barge carrying 60 tons, towing three dumb barges each of which had 120 tons of goods. The largest trains of barges could carry 600 tons of cargo.

References

{{authority control River Trent River navigations in the United Kingdom Transport companies established in 1783 Transport companies disestablished in 1940 1783 establishments in England 1940 disestablishments in England British companies disestablished in 1940 British companies established in 1783