Canals, a short history. Max Sinclair.

When earliest man arrived in Britain the only way he could explore the land was by following the rivers, streams and brooks inland. Without a compass crossing the country through the densest forest was impossible. The dug out canoe and then the coracle were devised to provide transport for man and his goods. At suitable spots clearings were made for settlements known as Lays, Lyes ,Leighs and towns and villages still carry their origins in their names
The Romans developed improvements to rivers with weirs and watergates which deepened the channel and cargoes of Iron, Lead, Stone, and wheat were transported on the Severn, Avon, Salwarpe ,Stour, and importantly the Teme. Their forts at Worcester, Lugwardine and along the Welsh border were dependent on water transport. Enormous tonnages of iron came to Worcester for smelting at Powick and Pope Iron Mill and the resultant huge slag heap was reclaimed by Andrew Yarranton in the 17th Century for his forge to make beautiful buckles on Dick Brook, Shrawley using barges and at the same time he created Pitchcroft Common .
The salt industry at Droitwich was industrialised by the Romans bringing a considerable tonnage of lead in sheet form from the Temes source to create boiling pans. Of course they couldn’t realise their extensive use of poisonous lead contamination in Salt, Glass, and Pewter Plates and Pots would eventually lead to the decline of their empire.
Through the middle ages the River Severn became an increasingly important highway with hundreds of Sailing Barges carrying the goods and using men to haul them when the wind was unfavourable.These solidly constructed craft, designed to bump over the shallows and sit out the tide resembled the village bakers Dough Trough or Trow. The Severn became the busiest navigation in the world carrying the goods and foodstuffs brought to its banks by the packhorse and donkeys.
Mans increasing technical knowledge was creating a manufacturing and consumer Industrial Revolution.Town populations were exploding with workers streaming in from the country to the factories and mills but our totally inadequate boggy roads could not carry the goods away.
The Duke of Bridgewater realised he needed reliable water transport to bring coal from his mines into Manchester and employed James Brindley a brilliant miller/millwright to construct our first industrial canal. The price of coal tumbled and Brindleys skills were much in demand.
In 1762 the proprietors of the Droitwich Salt Works were getting desperate to meet the demand and asked for Brindleys advice. Salt was vital for food preservation and the Black Country workers wanted their sausages , hams, pies and meats in enormous volumes. There were fifteen roads from Droitwich to the Severn which could only be used for a few weeks in the year. In 1768 he produced a Barge Canal scheme and this was opened in 1771.
The canal was surveyed by Brindley using a primitive level to follow the banks of the Salwarpe, which ancient navigation he used to convey the millions of bricks made in Salwarpe village to the Lock, Bridges and Tunnel sites. He laid out the line with a huge ball of tarred twine and then the Navigators (navvies) started digging with spades and pickaxes. Thousands of tons of earth were shifted by the labourers who came from Ireland, or were Cornish redundant miners, for the more specialised tasks.
There was still at this time a lack of trust in brickwork so all the Locks and Bridges were built with Elm and Oak timber frames. The great trees were supplied by Dr Wall of Porcelain fame. Incidentally Worcesters Guildhall was built with inserted timbers,not to save bricks which were cheap ,but to act as lintels for the less than confident builders.The massive lock gates were made from oak trees and fitted with iron brackets made in Coalbrookdale.
Brindley said that of all the canals he constructed the Droitwich gave him the most satisfaction. This is understandable as Hawford Lock on to the Severn was tidal at that time with a rise and fall of five feet daily.The twenty foot deep hole had to be pumped night and day with wooden and leather pumps to keep the structure dry until the lime mortar set. The great embankment between Ladywood and Salwarpe was protected from flooding if it burst by large rising gates in the bed of the channel, another Brindley innovation.The opening of this canal must have been like a miracle to the Salt Proprietors as barges could carry sixty tons of salt down to Bristol and later London instead of the couple of hundredweights on a packhorse. In the 1800’s the locks were lengthened to take sixty ton loads and with added salt loaded at Hawford the ‘Harriet ‘took one hundred and fifteen tons to Bristol. This historically important waterway must be restored with the greatest of care.
Meanwhile the Staffs. and Worcs. narrow canal was proving to be a great success connecting the Severn at the new town of Stourport to the Black Country population and manufacturers.
The River Stour continued for a time as an Industrial navigation and the first railway locomotive shipped to the United States from Foster and Rastricks works came down from Stourbridge on a ‘Flote’, a raft with raised sides, and down the Severn for loading in a larger ship at Gloucester.
From Roman times until 1894 the river Teme was sailed by barges and small Trows using the twenty five weirs and flashlocks taking wheat and stone up to above Ludlow and returning with iron products from Downton Gorge.
When the countries first hydro electric power station opened at Powick in 1894 through navigation was blocked although the river is still freely used by canoes and coracles. By then the railway had taken most of the available trade.
The River Avon was navigable to Coventry for many years but then fell into disuse until restored to Stratford by enthusiasts.
Worcesters Canal to was slow off the mark with financial and political problems and was nearly built to Stourbridge until the value of Birmingham was recognised belatedly. Opening in 1815 this lovely waterway has 58 locks with a change of scenery at every rise or fall. Tunnels with steam tugs pulling barges added to the interest on a fine waterway.
A canal which failed economically was proposed from Stourport through Tenbury Wells to Leominster and eventually to Hereford. Started too late it was taken over by the railway for much of its length although surprising remains can still be found and coal was shipped westward from the Pensax, Mamble area. There is supposed to be a lock in the woods to the west of Stourport. The gifted engineer for this project, who was let down by the bickering financiers, was Stephen Ballard. He lived in Colwall and had his office in Edgar St. Worcester. He used to walk to the canal construction and back to the office before returning home as he recounted “Much tired” Ballard became a railway engineer and built the tunnel under the Malvern Hills. These early engineer/surveyors were giants among men.
The River Severn has been neglected by the City which owes its origins to the Ancient Britons fording point which survived until the 1960’s alongside North Quay.It is good to see the Rowing and Canoe clubs thriving and now joined by the spectacular Dragon Boats, all following in the wake of the trading vessels which created this countries wealth. Unfortunately no control has been exercised on the growth of trees and bushes all along the towpaths and adjoining fields which used to be kept clear and we can expect floods to be higher than in past years. In 1886 the river rose to the top of the central arch of Worcester Bridge ,a rise of twenty five feet over the Diglis Weir crest which maintains the lowest level of the river. From Worcester to Gloucester the river is eight feet deep and six feet to Stourport. Dredging has no effect on the rivers capacity to carry floodwater. Worcester bridge stands on a rock bed which can not be deepened, known as a Ketch of which there are many in the Severn.

R.M.Sinclair
Lower Broadheath
Worcester WR2 6QU
England