Aberdeenshire Canal
Encyclopedia
The Aberdeenshire Canal was a waterway in Aberdeenshire
, Scotland
, designed by John Rennie, which ran from the port of Aberdeen to Port Elphinstone, Inverurie. It opened in 1805, and closed in 1854, when it was replaced by a railway which ran along the course of the canal for most of its length.
An Act of Parliament
was obtained on 26 April 1796, which created The Company of Proprietors of the Aberdeenshire Canal Navigation, and authorised them to raise £20,000 in £50 shares. No person was permitted to have less than one share or more than 40. Work started in 1796. In 1801, the project ran into financial difficulty and another Act was submitted to Parliament. In the Act, dated 24 March 1801, the company noted that of the £20,000 authorized by the previous Act, only £17,800 had been subscribed. All of this had been spent and the company were now in debt.
The canal eventually opened in June 1805. Fourteen of the locks failed within the first few weeks, and reconstruction of the masonry resulted in the canal being shut until 1806. A third Act of Parliament was passed on March 13, 1809 which enabled the company to raise a further £45,000 for work on the canal.
The canal ran up the strath
of the River Don
from Aberdeen
for a total of 18 miles (29 km) to a terminus just south of Inverurie
. The terminus area came to be known as Port Elphinstone after Sir James Elphinstone, who was a keen supporter and financier of the canal. He lived nearby at Logie House near Oyne and Pitcaple. The canal had 17 locks, all in the first 5.5 miles (8.8 km) between Aberdeen harbour and Stoneywood, together with 56 road bridges, 20 culverts and five aqueducts. From Stoneywood it ran level to Port Elphinstone and was used to carry both freight and passenger boats. Passengers were only carried on the top section, and disembarked at a building call the Boathouse, situated above the five St Machar Drive locks. The fall from Stoneywood to the low water mark at Aberdeen was 168 feet (51.2 m). It had a width of 23 feet (7 m) and averaged 3 in 9 in (1.14 m) in depth.
As built, there was no direct connection to the Aberdeen docks, which made transshipment
difficult, and it was not until 1834 that the sea lock was constructed, enabling boats to enter the docks at certain states of the tide. The weather also created problems, with the canal normally being shut between December and March due to icing.
The main material into which the canal was cut was granite
, some of which was quarried and transported to London
. The canal was never a financial success. It had cost nearly £44,000 to build, and revenues rose from £311 in 1807, the first full year of operation, to just £3062 in 1853, the last full year of operation.
in 1845, who started the construction of a railway from Inverness to Aberdeen in 1849. The canal remained open until early 1854, when it was closed so that railway tracks could be laid along much of its length. The railway opened in September of that year.
(at the foot of which road is an elderly bridge carrying the road diagonally over the railway), and again where the railway runs parallel to Great Northern Road in Woodside
. Dyce and Dalwearie also have obvious remains. Woodside still has a canal bridge which is in use for the road only with nothing now running underneath; the railway is slightly to the north at this point. It was once well outside the bounds of the city proper, and so both that area and Old Aberdeen
still boast roads named Canal Street, which sometimes leads to confusion.
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Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area.The present day Aberdeenshire council area does not include the City of Aberdeen, now a separate council area, from which its name derives. Together, the modern council area and the city formed historic...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, designed by John Rennie, which ran from the port of Aberdeen to Port Elphinstone, Inverurie. It opened in 1805, and closed in 1854, when it was replaced by a railway which ran along the course of the canal for most of its length.
History
The canal was originally conceived as part of a bigger scheme to link Aberdeen to Monymusk, via Inverurie, with a branch from Inverurie along the course of the Urie Glen to Insch. Captain George Taylor conducted a survey, which confirmed that the plan was feasible, but only the first part of it, to Inverurie, was built.An Act of Parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
was obtained on 26 April 1796, which created The Company of Proprietors of the Aberdeenshire Canal Navigation, and authorised them to raise £20,000 in £50 shares. No person was permitted to have less than one share or more than 40. Work started in 1796. In 1801, the project ran into financial difficulty and another Act was submitted to Parliament. In the Act, dated 24 March 1801, the company noted that of the £20,000 authorized by the previous Act, only £17,800 had been subscribed. All of this had been spent and the company were now in debt.
The canal eventually opened in June 1805. Fourteen of the locks failed within the first few weeks, and reconstruction of the masonry resulted in the canal being shut until 1806. A third Act of Parliament was passed on March 13, 1809 which enabled the company to raise a further £45,000 for work on the canal.
The canal ran up the strath
Strath
A strath is a large valley, typically a river valley that is wide and shallow .An anglicisation of the Gaelic word srath, it is one of many that have been absorbed into common use in the English language...
of the River Don
River Don, Aberdeenshire
The River Don is a river in north-east Scotland. It rises in the Grampians and flows eastwards, through Aberdeenshire, to the North Sea at Aberdeen. The Don passes through Alford, Kemnay, Inverurie, Kintore, and Dyce...
from Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
for a total of 18 miles (29 km) to a terminus just south of Inverurie
Inverurie
Inverurie is a Royal Burgh and town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, approximately north west of Aberdeen on the A96 road and is served by Inverurie railway station on the Aberdeen to Inverness Line...
. The terminus area came to be known as Port Elphinstone after Sir James Elphinstone, who was a keen supporter and financier of the canal. He lived nearby at Logie House near Oyne and Pitcaple. The canal had 17 locks, all in the first 5.5 miles (8.8 km) between Aberdeen harbour and Stoneywood, together with 56 road bridges, 20 culverts and five aqueducts. From Stoneywood it ran level to Port Elphinstone and was used to carry both freight and passenger boats. Passengers were only carried on the top section, and disembarked at a building call the Boathouse, situated above the five St Machar Drive locks. The fall from Stoneywood to the low water mark at Aberdeen was 168 feet (51.2 m). It had a width of 23 feet (7 m) and averaged 3 in 9 in (1.14 m) in depth.
As built, there was no direct connection to the Aberdeen docks, which made transshipment
Transshipment
Transshipment or Transhipment is the shipment of goods or containers to an intermediate destination, and then from there to yet another destination....
difficult, and it was not until 1834 that the sea lock was constructed, enabling boats to enter the docks at certain states of the tide. The weather also created problems, with the canal normally being shut between December and March due to icing.
The main material into which the canal was cut was granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
, some of which was quarried and transported to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. The canal was never a financial success. It had cost nearly £44,000 to build, and revenues rose from £311 in 1807, the first full year of operation, to just £3062 in 1853, the last full year of operation.
Conversion to a railway
The canal was bought by the Great North of Scotland RailwayGreat North of Scotland Railway
The Great North of Scotland Railway was one of the smaller Scottish railways before the grouping, operating in the far north-east of the country. It was formed in 1845 and received its Parliamentary approval on June 26, 1846, following over two years of local meetings...
in 1845, who started the construction of a railway from Inverness to Aberdeen in 1849. The canal remained open until early 1854, when it was closed so that railway tracks could be laid along much of its length. The railway opened in September of that year.
The canal today
Some fragments of the original canal construction may be discerned along the route of the railway. Within Aberdeen these include where the railway runs parallel to Elmbank Terrace, KittybrewsterKittybrewster
Kittybrewster is an area within Aberdeen, Scotland, north of the city centre and roughly south-west of Old Aberdeen.-Transport:Within the area the A9012 road joins the A978 road; there are also several railway tracks, one of which follows the route of the Aberdeenshire Canal...
(at the foot of which road is an elderly bridge carrying the road diagonally over the railway), and again where the railway runs parallel to Great Northern Road in Woodside
Woodside, Aberdeen
Woodside is a part of the city of Aberdeen, Scotland, United Kingdom.The area used to be separate from the city but was incorporated in 1891....
. Dyce and Dalwearie also have obvious remains. Woodside still has a canal bridge which is in use for the road only with nothing now running underneath; the railway is slightly to the north at this point. It was once well outside the bounds of the city proper, and so both that area and Old Aberdeen
Old Aberdeen
Old Aberdeen is part of the city of Aberdeen in Scotland. Old Aberdeen was originally a separate burgh, which was erected into a burgh of barony on 26 December 1489. It was incorporated into adjacent Aberdeen by Act of Parliament in 1891...
still boast roads named Canal Street, which sometimes leads to confusion.
Points of interest
See also
- Canals of Great Britain
- History of the British canal systemHistory of the British canal systemThe British canal system of water transport played a vital role in the United Kingdom's Industrial Revolution at a time when roads were only just emerging from the medieval mud and long trains of pack horses were the only means of "mass" transit by road of raw materials and finished products The...
- WaterscapeWaterscapeWaterscape was set up in the summer of 2003 and is British Waterways leisure website, supported by the Environment Agency and the Broads Authority as an official information and leisure resource for inland waterways within the UK....
External links
- Map and aerial photo sources for:
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