Leominster Canal
Encyclopedia
The Leominster Canal was an English canal which ran for just over 18 miles from Mamble
to Leominster
through 16 locks
and a number of tunnels, some of which suffered engineering problems even before the canal opened. Originally the canal was part of a much more ambitious plan to run 46 miles from Stourport to Kington
.
in 1772, which linked the industrial Midlands to the River Severn
at Stourport, the engineer Robert Whitworth proposed a canal to link Stourport to Hereford, passing through Pensax
and Leominster in 1777. Meetings were held at Leominster and Tenbury in 1789, at which it was decided to survey possible routes from Leominster to Stourport. Thomas Dadford, Jr.
carried out the survey, and presented a plan to a meeting in December 1789 for a 31 miles (49.9 km) canal, costing £83,000, with estimated receipts of £4,300 per year. Three tunnels would be required, at Putnal Field, Southnet and Pensax.
Despite the low estimated returns, a meeting in January 1790 decided to proceed with Dadford's canal. A further meeting was held in Kington in April, and there were calls to build a connecting canal to the town. The two schemes became one, and the total length of the canal would be 46 miles (74 km). From Kington, locks would raise the level of the canal by 48 feet (14.6 m), and then it would fall by 496 feet (151.2 m) to reach the River Severn. The lack of major towns or industries did not seem to worry the proposers, and an Act of Parliament
was obtained on 13 May 1791, which allowed the Proprietors to raise £150,000, with another £40,000 if necessary. Dadford was appointed as Engineer, a position which he held until 1795, although he only devoted one-quarter of his time to the Leominster Canal, as he performed the same role for the Monmouthshire Canal and was contracted to them for the remaining three-quarters of his time. Work began soon after his appointment, and by October 1794, the section from Woofferton near Tenbury to Marlbrook near Mamble was open for traffic.
The following year saw most of the section from Leominster to Woofferton completed, while beyond Marlbrook the 1254 yards (1,146.7 m) Southnet tunnel was finished and work started on an aqueduct over the River Lugg
at Kingsland
. Around £90,000 had been spent to reach this stage. There were problems with the Southnet tunnel, part of which collapsed in 1795. The Proprietors sought the advice of John Rennie
, who criticised Dadford's work. He estimated that £20,000 would be required to rectify the existing works from Southnet to Leominster, and that another £135,937 would be needed to complete the project. Undaunted, the Proprietors applied for a second Act of Parliament, which they obtained on 26 April 1796, authorising them to raise or borrow a further £180,000. The 330 yards (301.8 m) tunnel at Putnall Fields, which had proved very difficult to construct, was completed in July 1796, completing the route to Leominster, and creating a working canal which was 18.5 miles (29.8 km) long. On 1 June 1797, a ceremonial cut was made on the banks of the River Severn, where the canal was eventually planned to join it, but only £62,582 had been raised under the terms of the second Act, and with some £25,000 owing, all work ceased.
In 1803, the Proprietors sought the advice of John Hodgkinson, as to how the canal could be completed. As a railway engineer, Hodgkinson recommended that railways should be built at either end of the existing section of canal, to connect to Kington and Stourport. Although another Act of Parliament was obtained, no construction work took place. Nine years later, they again approached Hodgkinson, and this time he suggested that they should abandon the authorised route to Stourport and extend the canal on a new alignment to the River Severn at Worcester
. Nothing came of this plan, either.
s and transported to Leominster. For the next 60 years the canal carried coal to Leominster, enabling the Mamble collieries to prosper. However the traffic from Mamble Colliery was not sufficient to run the canal at a profit, so the owners were constantly seeking to extend it eastwards to meet the River Severn, although this never materialised.
paid £12,000 for the canal, which valued each £100 share at £16, and drained it soon after to sell the land. Part of the route was subsequently used for the Tenbury and Bewdley Railway that connected Woofferton
to Bewdley
via Tenbury Wells station, which was actually in Burford, not Tenbury Wells
.
over the River Rea
, and parts of a 3-arched aqueduct over the River Teme
. The centre arch of the latter was destroyed as part of an explosives exercise during the Second World War.
Mamble
Mamble is a village and civil parish in the Malvern Hills District in the county of Worcestershire, England. It is located on the A456 between Bewdley and Cleobury Mortimer. Notable buildings include the 13th century sandstone church of St John the Baptist and the 17th century Sun & Slipper Inn...
to Leominster
Leominster
Leominster is a market town in Herefordshire, England, located approximately north of the city of Hereford and south of Ludlow, at...
through 16 locks
Lock (water transport)
A lock is a device for raising and lowering boats between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a fixed chamber in which the water level can be varied; whereas in a caisson lock, a boat lift, or on a canal inclined plane, it is...
and a number of tunnels, some of which suffered engineering problems even before the canal opened. Originally the canal was part of a much more ambitious plan to run 46 miles from Stourport to Kington
Kington, Herefordshire
Kington is a market town and civil parish in Herefordshire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 2,597.-Location:Kington is near the Wales-England border and, despite being on the western side of Offa's Dyke, has been English for over a thousand years. The town is in the...
.
Construction
Following the opening of the Staffordshire and Worcestershire CanalStaffordshire and Worcestershire Canal
The Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal is a narrow navigable canal in the English Midlands, passing through the counties of Staffordshire and Worcestershire....
in 1772, which linked the industrial Midlands to the River Severn
River Severn
The River Severn is the longest river in Great Britain, at about , but the second longest on the British Isles, behind the River Shannon. It rises at an altitude of on Plynlimon, Ceredigion near Llanidloes, Powys, in the Cambrian Mountains of mid Wales...
at Stourport, the engineer Robert Whitworth proposed a canal to link Stourport to Hereford, passing through Pensax
Pensax
Pensax is a village and civil parish of Northwest Worcestershire in England, incorporating the hamlet of Menithwood to the west of Pensax Common. According to the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 317....
and Leominster in 1777. Meetings were held at Leominster and Tenbury in 1789, at which it was decided to survey possible routes from Leominster to Stourport. Thomas Dadford, Jr.
Thomas Dadford, Jr.
Thomas Dadford was an English canal engineer, who came from a family of canal engineers. He worked with his father and later independently, contributing to a number of canal schemes before dying at the relatively young age of 40....
carried out the survey, and presented a plan to a meeting in December 1789 for a 31 miles (49.9 km) canal, costing £83,000, with estimated receipts of £4,300 per year. Three tunnels would be required, at Putnal Field, Southnet and Pensax.
Despite the low estimated returns, a meeting in January 1790 decided to proceed with Dadford's canal. A further meeting was held in Kington in April, and there were calls to build a connecting canal to the town. The two schemes became one, and the total length of the canal would be 46 miles (74 km). From Kington, locks would raise the level of the canal by 48 feet (14.6 m), and then it would fall by 496 feet (151.2 m) to reach the River Severn. The lack of major towns or industries did not seem to worry the proposers, and 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 13 May 1791, which allowed the Proprietors to raise £150,000, with another £40,000 if necessary. Dadford was appointed as Engineer, a position which he held until 1795, although he only devoted one-quarter of his time to the Leominster Canal, as he performed the same role for the Monmouthshire Canal and was contracted to them for the remaining three-quarters of his time. Work began soon after his appointment, and by October 1794, the section from Woofferton near Tenbury to Marlbrook near Mamble was open for traffic.
The following year saw most of the section from Leominster to Woofferton completed, while beyond Marlbrook the 1254 yards (1,146.7 m) Southnet tunnel was finished and work started on an aqueduct over the River Lugg
River Lugg
The River Lugg , rises near Llangynllo, Powys. It flows through the border town of Presteigne, Wales then through Herefordshire, England, including the town of Leominster, south of which it is met by a tributary, the River Arrow, then to a confluence with the River Wye, which it joins at Mordiford,...
at Kingsland
Kingsland, Herefordshire
Kingsland is a small village and civil parish in the English county of Herefordshire. It is located north-west of Leominster.To the west of the church are the earthwork remains of a motte-and-bailey castle.-External links:...
. Around £90,000 had been spent to reach this stage. There were problems with the Southnet tunnel, part of which collapsed in 1795. The Proprietors sought the advice of John Rennie
John Rennie
-People:* John Rennie the Elder , engineer * Sir John Rennie the Younger , engineer * John Rennie , naval architect...
, who criticised Dadford's work. He estimated that £20,000 would be required to rectify the existing works from Southnet to Leominster, and that another £135,937 would be needed to complete the project. Undaunted, the Proprietors applied for a second Act of Parliament, which they obtained on 26 April 1796, authorising them to raise or borrow a further £180,000. The 330 yards (301.8 m) tunnel at Putnall Fields, which had proved very difficult to construct, was completed in July 1796, completing the route to Leominster, and creating a working canal which was 18.5 miles (29.8 km) long. On 1 June 1797, a ceremonial cut was made on the banks of the River Severn, where the canal was eventually planned to join it, but only £62,582 had been raised under the terms of the second Act, and with some £25,000 owing, all work ceased.
In 1803, the Proprietors sought the advice of John Hodgkinson, as to how the canal could be completed. As a railway engineer, Hodgkinson recommended that railways should be built at either end of the existing section of canal, to connect to Kington and Stourport. Although another Act of Parliament was obtained, no construction work took place. Nine years later, they again approached Hodgkinson, and this time he suggested that they should abandon the authorised route to Stourport and extend the canal on a new alignment to the River Severn at Worcester
Worcester
The City of Worcester, commonly known as Worcester, , is a city and county town of Worcestershire in the West Midlands of England. Worcester is situated some southwest of Birmingham and north of Gloucester, and has an approximate population of 94,000 people. The River Severn runs through the...
. Nothing came of this plan, either.
Operation
In January 1794 the canal opened from Marlbrook to Woofferton and seven boatloads of coal were transported from the Mamble collieries on the first day. Engineering difficulties delayed the opening of Putnall Tunnel (south of Woofferton) until 1796. By the end of that year an 18.5 miles (29.8 km) stretch of the canal was open between Marlbrook and Leominster and on the first day 14 boatloads of coal arrived in Leominster. Coal from the Mamble collieries was brought down the hill on tramways to Southnet wharf, where it was loaded onto bargeBarge
A barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. Some barges are not self-propelled and need to be towed by tugboats or pushed by towboats...
s and transported to Leominster. For the next 60 years the canal carried coal to Leominster, enabling the Mamble collieries to prosper. However the traffic from Mamble Colliery was not sufficient to run the canal at a profit, so the owners were constantly seeking to extend it eastwards to meet the River Severn, although this never materialised.
Decline
The canal never paid a dividend. What little money was collected was mostly paid for tolls on the transport of coal. In 1858, after sustained pressure by the Canal Company, the Shrewsbury and Hereford RailwayShrewsbury and Hereford Railway
The Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway was an independently developed English railway, the first to run train services in Herefordshire.Built between 1850 and 1853, it crossed a number of services by both the Great Western Railway and London and North Western Railway companies, became a joint...
paid £12,000 for the canal, which valued each £100 share at £16, and drained it soon after to sell the land. Part of the route was subsequently used for the Tenbury and Bewdley Railway that connected Woofferton
Woofferton
Woofferton is a village to the south of Ludlow, Shropshire, England. It is one of Shropshire's most southerly villages and lies on the border with Herefordshire. The public house there - the "Salwey Arms" - is the most southerly in the county...
to Bewdley
Bewdley
Bewdley is a town and civil parish in the Wyre Forest District of Worcestershire, England, along the Severn Valley a few miles to the west of Kidderminster...
via Tenbury Wells station, which was actually in Burford, not Tenbury Wells
Tenbury Wells
Tenbury Wells is a market town and civil parish in the north-western extremity of the Malvern Hills District administrative area of Worcestershire, England. The 2001 census reported a population of 3,316.-Geography:...
.
Today
Although the canal has been closed for over 150 years, there are some remains left, including an aqueductNavigable aqueduct
Navigable aqueducts are bridge structures that carry navigable waterway canals over other rivers, valleys, railways or roads. They are primarily distinguished by their size, carrying a larger cross-section of water than most water-supply aqueducts...
over the River Rea
River Rea, Shropshire
The River Rea is a small river that flows through south east Shropshire, England and passes just to the east of the small market town of Cleobury Mortimer, before entering the Teme at Newnham Bridge in Worcestershire. Its waters eventually reach the Bristol Channel, via the Severn. The upper...
, and parts of a 3-arched aqueduct over the River Teme
River Teme
The River Teme rises in Mid Wales, south of Newtown in Powys, and flows through Knighton where it crosses the border into England down to Ludlow in Shropshire, then to the north of Tenbury Wells on the Shropshire/Worcestershire border there, on its way to join the River Severn south of Worcester...
. The centre arch of the latter was destroyed as part of an explosives exercise during the Second World War.
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...