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| Andover Canal |
1789 authorised 1796 opened 1859 closed |
The Andover Canal was authorised by Act of Parliament 1789, it was
opened in 1796. In 1854 the railway reached Andover, and the canal
proprietors decided to fill in the canal and build a railway. The
canal closed 1859
Monkhouse, F J (ed): 1964: Survey of Southampton and its Region: British Association for the Advancement of Science Spaul, J E H: : Promotion of the Andover - Redbridge Canal: Andover Local Archives Committee Vine, P A L: 1994 (edn) & 1968: London's Lost Route to Basingstoke: Alan Sutton Publishing:: ISBN 0 7509 0228 0 |
| Avon, River |
1677 made navigable (to Salisbury) 1730 unnavigable |
At the same time as improvements to Christchurch Harbour, the River
Avon was made navigable up to Salisbury. The costs were more than than
Salisbury men could afford; no help came from Christchurch. The Avon
remained navigable to small craft for 50 years. Maintenance of the
banks and channel was neglected, and the navigation fell into
disrepair.
Yarranton, Andrew: 1677: England's Improvement by Sea and Land Lavender, R A: 1970: Thousand Years of Christchurch: Christchurch Times |
| Basingstoke and Andover Canal |
1810 proposal |
Proposed at a public meeting, New Inn, Overton, Hampshire, 28
September 1810.
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| Basingstoke and Maidenhead Canal |
1770 proposal 1771 rejected |
A survey by James Brindley of the Thames recommended a cut across the
loop in the river from Monkey Island near Maidenhead to Sonning by
Reading. This was proposed formally by Reading Corporation, 9 October
1770.
Consequent on this scheme a 29 mile canal from Basingstoke through Eastrop and Basing was suggested, to join the Reading-Maidenhead cut. This was put forward at a meeting at the town hall, Basingstoke, 11 October 1770. A survey was made by Benjamin Davies, 1769. The Reading-Maidenhead scheme was rejected by Parliament, February 1771, and the Basingstoke link was abandoned. Vine, P A: 1994: London to Portsmouth Waterway: Middleton Press (Midhurst, West Sussex):: ISBN 1 873793 43 X |
| Basingstoke and Winchester Canal |
1792 proposal |
A canal joining Basingstoke and Winchester was proposed 27 December
1792, at a meeting in Southampton, Hampshire. Nothing came of it.
Vine, P A: 1994: London to Portsmouth Waterway: Middleton Press (Midhurst, West Sussex):: ISBN 1 873793 43 X |
| Basingstoke Canal |
1776 proposal 1778 authorised 1793 opened (to Odiham) 1794 opened (to Basingstoke) 1825 decayed |
After earlier suggestions a Basingstoke Canal was seriously proposed
about 1776, and a survey made by Joseph Parker. The line was from
Cooper's Meadow at Basingstoke through:-
to join the Wey Navigation near West Byfleet. 44 miles. Plus a 1 1/4 mile branch from Hulls Farm on the canal to the turnpike road near Turgis Green. Authorised by Act of Parliament passed 15 May 1778; allowing either the route around Tylney Hall, or a tunnel at Greywell. The scheme lay dormant for want of funds; work began 1788 under William Wright, resident engineer, and William Jessop, consulting engineer and surveyor. It was open to Woking 1791, Pirbright 1792, Odiham 1793, and through to Basingstoke 1794. The tunnel was built instead of the long loop around Greywell Hill. The branch to Turgis was not cut, it was reconsidered about 1797 but never dug. By 1825 the canal was in a state of decay. : 1778 (April):: Gentlemans Magazine: vol.48: p.172 : 1792 (November):: Hampshire Chronicle:: p.33 : 1995: Basingstoke Canal (map): GEOprojects (Reading, Berkshire) Jebens, Dieter & Robinson, David: 1985: Basingstoke Canal Restoration: Surrey and Hampshire Canal Society:: ISBN 0 900945 04 4 Vine, P A L: 1994 (edn) & 1968: London's Lost Route to Basingstoke: Alan Sutton Publishing:: ISBN 0 7509 0228 0The mile sections listed below are not original. As far as is known the Basingstoke Canal did not have a series of milestones. But the present canal association believe that distances were measured from the River Wey. Distances have been estimated with a map waywiser, and canal features put into mile groups. Note that mile 16 is the section from 15 to 16 miles from the River Wey, and so on. Only Hampshire parts of the canal have been recorded. |
| Berks and Hants Canal |
1794 proposal 1810 rejected 1826 rejected |
First noticed in the minutes of the Kennet and Avon Canal Company, 7
February 1794: a proposal by Mr Best, Basingstoke, Hampshire for a
link from Hampstead Marshall on the Kennet and Avon Canal to the
Basingstoke Canal at Old Basing.
Ralph Dodd presented a report to subscribers of the KandAC about an intended junction of the Basingstoke, Andover and Kennet and Avon Canals. He proposed a line from Basingstoke, through Whitchurch to Kitcomb Bridge on the Andover Canal, 20 miles, and from Whitchurch to the 3rd lock on the KandAC near Newbury, 14 miles. The KandAC made a proposal in 1810, backed by a survey by their engineer, John Rennie, for a 21 mile link from Enborne, through Brimpton, Berkshire, across Kingsclere Common to Old Basing, Hampshire. There would have been a 1500 yard tunnel at Tadley. The scheme was opposed by the Thames Conservancy et al, and failed. Francis Giles surveyed a shorter route, 1824. This was 13 miles long linking the Basingstoke Canal at Old Basing, Hampshire, to the Kennet and Avon Canal at Midgham, Berkshire. The route proposed 6 1/2 miles of deep cuttings or embankments, a 1/2 mile tunnel at Tadley Hill, an inclined plane at Sherborne St John, 3 aqueducts, 38 bridges, and about a dozen locks. Pumps would have been needed to feed the summit level. The bill was lost in 1826. Vine, P A L: 1968: London's Lost Route to Basingstoke: David and Charles:: ISBN 0 7153 4304 1 |
| Cosham Canal |
1815 proposal |
A proposed Cosham Canal, never built, is shown on a map by John
Rennie, 1815, of the Portsmouth area. It was to run parallel to Ports
Creek, on the north, connecting Langstone harbour to Portsmouth
Harbour. Ports Creek was difficult to keep clear for navigation.
Vine, P A: 1994: London to Portsmouth Waterway: Middleton Press (Midhurst, West Sussex):: ISBN 1 873793 43 X |
| Croydon and Portsmouth Canal |
1803 proposal |
A line north from Portsmouth, Hampshire, crossing Ports Creek to the
mainland, then eastwards; past Chichester, West Sussex turning north
after Arundel, through Horsham, Crawley, and by Reigate, to Croydon,
Surrey. About 1803. This failed to attract support.
Vine, P A L: 1968: London's Lost Route to Basingstoke: David and Charles:: ISBN 0 7153 4304 1 |
| Itchen Dyke, Winchester | ||
| Itchen Navigation |
1663 authorised 1710 opened 1869 closed |
An act to make the River Itchen navigable was passed 1663. The
navigation was done piecemeal; cuts across meanders, locks built, etc,
completed by about 1710. The navigation closed 1869; locks became
weirs, some cuts were filled in. The towpath can still be followed.
Course, E: 1967: Itchen Navigation: ProcHFC: 24: pp113-126 Hadfield, Charles: 1969: British Canals, an illustrated history: David and Charles (Newton Abbot, Devon) Monkhouse, F J (ed): 1964: Survey of Southampton and its Region: British Association for the Advancement of Science |
| London and Southampton Canal |
1796 proposal |
A line south from Basingstoke to about New Alresford, joining the
Portsmouth, London and Southampton Canal on its route to join the
Itchen Navigation at Winchester. Proposed about 1796.
|
| London and Southampton Ports Junction Canal |
1796 proposal |
A canal line to join Basingstoke to Winchester, thus linking London to
Southampton, was proposed in 1796. Two surveys were made, by Joseph
Hill and George Smith, for a route through Alresford.
Vine, P A: 1994: London to Portsmouth Waterway: Middleton Press (Midhurst, West Sussex):: ISBN 1 873793 43 X |
| Portsmouth and Arundel Canal |
1822 opened (across Portsea Island) 1823 opened (whole canal) 1825 traffic ceased (Portsea Island) |
The canal was cut to join the Arun Navigation at Ford, north of
Littlehampton, East Sussex, to Chichester Harbour; by dredged channels
round Thorney and Hayling Islands, and across Langstone Harbour; and
finally a cut across Portsea Island to Portsmouth. The route gave give
access to London, through the Arun Navigation, Wey and Arun Canal, Wey
Navigation, and River Thames.
The Portsea Island section, about 2.5 miles from Milton to Halfway Houses was a small ship canal to carry vessels up to 150 tons burthen; opened 19 September 1822. The whole canal opened May 1823. Trade was never much; traffic ceased on the Portsea section 1825, and the basin at Halfway houses was filled in 1829. By 1855 only the Chichester to Chichester Harbour section was still open. Sea water from the canal got into the wells on Portsea island, which did not please residents who relied on the wells for drinking water. The basin at Halfway Houses is roughly where Arundel Street is now (1994); the canal bed at Fratton became the track of the Portsmouth railway; further parts of the canal became Goldsmith Avenue and Locksway. Hadfield, Charles: 1969: British Canals: David and Charles Vine, P A: 1994: London to Portsmouth Waterway: Middleton Press (Midhurst, West Sussex):: ISBN 1 873793 43 X |
| Portsmouth, Southampton and London Canal |
1790-1799 proposal 1801 authorised 1803 proposal 1807 proposal 1809 abandoned |
A Grand Surrey Canal Extension, Act of 1801, included ideas put
forward by Ralph Dodd in the 1790s. The act authorised a line from
Rotherhyde, through Mitcham, and it was proposed to extend form
Camberwell to Kingston upon Thames and the River Wey and:-
A canal line was proposed, from the lock near Ash through Farnham, past Alton, through Alresford to the Itchen, in a survey by William Belworthy, 1803. There was to be a branch to Portsmouth. A similar route connecting the Thames to the English Channel was surveyed by Michael Walker, 1807. The line was from the River Itchen at Alresford, through Alton, Farnham, to the Basingstoke Canal above Ash Lock, near Aldershot, or, to the Wey Navigation near Godalming. John Rennie made a new survey proposing a line joining the Basingstoke Canal at Basingstoke instead of Ash Lock. The proposal was abandoned by 1809. Vine, P A L: 1994 (edn) & 1968: London's Lost Route to Basingstoke: Alan Sutton Publishing:: ISBN 0 7509 0228 0 |
| Salisbury and Basingstoke Navigation |
1790 proposal |
There was, perhaps, more than one proposal for this canal link.
John Rennie was invited by a Basingstoke Extension Committee to carry out a survey to join the Andover Canal to Basingstoke and Salisbury. His report, September 1790, says he took levels from Basingstoke to Polhampton, and made an 'occular' survey to Andover, January 1790. The chalk hills had no 'living waters' near their summit and he believed that either water would have to be pumped to a summit, or a 3 mile tunnel would be needed. The continuation to Kitcomb Bridge on the Andover Canal was not too difficult. The proposed route then went from Kitcomb Mill to Old Sarum. A petition for this canal (or a similar proposal) was lodged in the House of Commons, September 1790. Nothing came of it. Rennie, John: 1790 (23 September): Report of the Extension of the Basingstoke Canal to Salisbury:: Institute of Civil Engineers library, Westminster, London Vine, P A: 1994: London to Portsmouth Waterway: Middleton Press (Midhurst, West Sussex):: ISBN 1 873793 43 X |
| Salisbury and Southampton Canal |
1802 proposal 1807-1808 closed |
On a line eastwards from Salisbury joining the Andover Canal near
Kimbridge; plus an extension of the latter canal from Redbridge into
Southampton. Proposed about 1802, it was started but never completed.
The Redbridge to Southampton part involved a tunnel under the central
plateau of Southampton. This part closed 1805-06; whatever had been
built of the Salisbury part closed 1807-08.
There was a poem about the canal when it was proposed. Why did they need a canal alongside a navigable river? Monkhouse, F J (ed): 1964: Survey of Southampton and its Region: British Association for the Advancement of Science |
| Titchfield Canal |
1610-1611 opened |
Canal built by Henry, 2nd Earl of Southampton, 1610-11. The canal was
still in use in the late 19th century.
: 2000: Bridges in Hampshire of Historic Interest: Hampshire CC |
