The Wilts and Berks Canal
Archive - Originally posted on "The Horse's Mouth" - 2006-07-05 06:25:50 - Graham EllisThe Wilts and Berks Canal was authorised by act of parliament in 1794, and officially opened throughout, from Semington on the Kennet and Avon Canal to Abingdon on the river Thames, on 10th September 1810. The engineer was Robert Whitworth, succeeded by his son William in 1799.
The canal proprietors foresaw their market as coal traffic from the Somerset coalfields and the Forest of Dean to Abingdon, and beyond to London and the Midlands. A second market was agricultural products from the countryside through which the canal passed to big cities such as Bristol and London.
In those days, the largest town near to the canal (from west to east) were:Melksham - 5006
Chippenham - 3366
Calne - 3767
Wootton Bassett - 1244
Swindon - 1198
Wantage - 2339
Abingdon - 4356
The canal was 52 miles long, and rose from the Thames through 18 locks to a summit pound some 8.5 miles long through Swindon. It then dropped through a further 24 locks to Semington. Wantage, Calne and Chippenham were all on short branch canals; there were a further three locks on the Calne branch, but Wantage and Chippenham were both level.
The North Wilts canal, linking Swindon to the Thames and Severn Canal at Latton, was opened in 1819. It was 7 miles long, with 12 locks.
Locks were "narrow" - that is, they were 7 foot wide by 72 foot long, even though the Kennet and Avon, the Thames and Severn, and the River Thames could accommodate boats of twice that width at least. The greatest fall at a single lock was 10 foot 1 inch, at both Pewsham middle and bottom locks. Boats, which were all horse or donkey drawn from the towpath, could carry 25 to 30 tons of coal each.The canal settled down to a moderate prosperity until around 1841 - at its peak in 1840, £24,000 was collected in tolls, but that had dropped to £6,900 by 1849 as competition from the Great Western Railway took away most of the business. The canal staggered on, and very occasional through traffic continued until the early 1901, when the Stanley Aquaduct over the river Marden, between Chippenham and Calne, failed and much of the canal was left dry. The canal was abandoned under an act of parliament dated 31st July 1914, and which point Coate Water reservoir in Swindon was transferred to the Borough and the rest of the lands released for sale.
Since abandonment the canal has gradually been taken over by nature. In many rural areas, restoration would be surprisingly easy, with little more than clearance needed. Towns such as Swindon and Melksham have been developed over the path of the canal, locks infilled with domestic rubbish and even blown up by the army for practise during the second world war. To the south of Swindon, the M4 motorway has been built across the canal and this would require major engineering for a re-opening. In towns such as Melksham, a new route would need to be found; many have been suggested and the current favoured option is along the river Avon through the town - but there is fierce local debate as to whether this would be a good idea; an alternative strategy to build a new canal to the east of the town would not, however, bring the benefit of the extra tourist business to the town.
Restoration work is underway already. From an inaugral meeting in October 1977, the Wilts and Berks Canal Amenity Group has grown into what is now the Wilts and Berks Canal Trust, committed to restoring the canal to its original condition. Some progress has been made already, but there's a long way to go yet. A target of completion by 2014 has been set, to allow us to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the abandonment with something much more positive - a full re-opening.
The Wilts and Berks Canal (it was always known as that - never as the Wiltshire and Berkshire) passed just a stone's throw from Well House Manor. As you walk from the hotel to the town centre, the road rises and falls to cross, at bridge height, the former path of the canal. Melksham wharf was located close by here. We've named our training and meeting rooms as "The Wilts Room" and "The Berks Room" in honour of the canal, its place in local history,and the hard work and aspirations for the future.
See also:
Wilts and Berks History
Robert and William Whitworth, engineers
The Wilts and Berks in Melksham
The reservoir at Coate Water
The canal at Calne
Further links (off site)