The
Ashby-de-la-Zouch Canal is a 22-mile (35 km) long
canal in England
which
connects the Leicestershire
village of Snarestone
with the Coventry Canal at Bedworth
in Warwickshire
. The canal used to travel 8 miles (13 km)
further north to Moira
, just outside the town of Ashby-de-la-Zouch
, but this section was affected by mining
subsidence, and was progressively closed between 1918 and
1966.
The abandoned section is the subject of a restoration project and
is the first canal where a new section has been authorised under
the Transport and Works Act (1992).
The Transport and Works Order was obtained
by Leicestershire County Council, as some of the original route has
been infilled and built over, and restoration therefore involves
construction on a new route through the centre of Measham
.
Route
The canal
starts at a junction with the Coventry
Canal just outside Bedworth and travels north-east for about 7
miles (11 km) through the town of Hinckley
. It
then continues to run north through largely rural and remote
countryside for another 15 miles (24 km) until reaching its
terminus at Snarestone.
Near Sutton Cheney
Wharf, it passes the foot of Ambion Hill
, the site of the Battle of
Bosworth Field
. At Shackerstone
, it passes the station that is the HQ of the
Battlefield
Line Railway
.
History
Origins
In the last half of the eighteenth century there had been an
increasing need for transport to exploit the
coal reserves at Ashby Wolds and
lime from the quarries north of
Ashby-de-la-Zouch.
It was not, however, until 1794 that William Jessop and Robert Whitworth proposed
a canal from the Coventry Canal near Nuneaton
. (Robert Whitworth was later remembered with
the naming in 2002 of Whitworth Avenue on the new George Wimpey
development in Hinckley, which overlooks the Ashby Canal). Its
course, though meandering, was to be substantially level until the
last four miles (6 km), where it would climb to a summit at Ashby
Wolds. This summit level would be supplied by a steam-engine pump
from a nearby reservoir. It would continue for four and a half
miles to a junction on the far side of Ashby-de-la-Zouch.
One branch
would run to Coleorton
and thence to Cloud Hill, near Breedon-on-the-Hill
. The other would run to Ticknall
.
Construction
The Act having been passed in that year, Jessop withdrew, and
Whitworth carried on with the assistance of his son. By 1797,
however, it was clear that the costs had been seriously
underestimated. Moreover, many shareholders had not honoured their
pledges, and the country was in the grip of one of its periodic
financial crises.
All work was stopped, except on the lower part, and consideration
was given to using railways (or
wagonways
as they are now known). Fortunately the necessary wording had been
included in the Act. However, Whitworth's proposals, somewhat
incompehensibly, were for lines independent of the canal. One would
run from Ticknall to the
River Trent;
the other, following a plan which had previously been suggested by
Jessop for the
Earl of Stamford
would run to the Trent from the Cloud Hill quarries.
In 1798, Thomas Newton had taken over from Whitworth and was asked
to investigate the possible lines for railways which would serve
the canal at Ashby Wolds, then in September,
Benjamin Outram was asked to advise.
The lines
finally built ran from the Willersley
Basin through Ashby to a junction at Old Parks, thus eliminating
the long canal loop through Ashby Wolds and Blackfordby
. One branch ran through Lount
to Cloud
Hill, replacing the proposed canal and its diversion through
Coleorton. The other branch led from Old Parks to
Ticknall, with branches to the quarries between Calke Abbey
and Staunton Harold
. As built the lines measured twelve and a
half miles.
Outram's engineer for the line was John Hodgkinson who was
experienced in the work, but problems arose because the committee
insisted that it should proceed on all sections of the line
simultaneously, which made supervision difficult. Moreover,
perennially short of money, they were dilatory in making decisions
and providing funds, which caused Outram problems at his
Butterley Works as he was having to refuse
contracts, so that he could be ready to provide the canal with
material, as and when it was authorised. During this period of
delay, the labour costs and the price of iron also rose.
Originally intended to be the three foot six inch (1068 mm) gauge
usual at that time, Outram recommended in 1799 that it should be
four feet two inches (1322 mm), forecasting that, within a few
years, railways would be the principal mode of transport throughout
the country. Even though Outram's experience of his treatment by
the canal proprietors must have spoilt his satisfaction on the
completion of the lines, they were arguably a major achievement and
a model for railways in the future. The proprietors also must have
been somewhat scarred, inexperienced as they were in the financing
of major capital works.
Later history
The canal was opened in 1804 and it took several years for the
venture to become successful, with a dividend not being paid until
1828. In 1846 it was taken over by the
Midland Railway company for just £110,000, a
considerable loss for the owners, who had paid £184,000 in
construction.
In 1864
the Midland replaced the section from Ashby to Worthington,
enlarging the Old Parks tunnel, running it on through Melbourne
to Derby
. The
remainder of the lines were kept for local use, the branch to
Ticknall closing in 1915.
Its railway owners did not invest sufficient money in the canal to
maintain it properly, preferring to see traffic being carried on
the railway, and so its condition gradually deteriorated. In 1918 a
major breach caused by mining subsidence caused the last few miles
of the canal near Ashby to be abandoned. The canal was nearly
closed completely: only the strategic importance of the coal
supplies during the
First World War
allowed it to survive. In 1944, the
London, Midland and
Scottish Railway (LMS) railway, which by then owned the canal,
closed down several more miles of its northern end. Further
closures followed in 1966, largely owing to mining
subsidence.
Traces of the old railway can still be seen, particularly towards
Ticknall.
A low embankment, still with some stone
sleeper blocks crosses a field and a tunnel under the drive to
Calke
Abbey. There is also an arch bridge in Ticknall
village where the line ran into the quarries.
Restoration
Now the mining industry in the area has gone, there are plans to
re-open the canal to the
National Forest visitor centre at
Moira, about one mile (2 km) short of its original terminus at
Spring Cottage.
Between 1999 and 2005, a stretch of the
canal near Moira was restored and re-filled with water, passing the
historic Moira
Furnace
. However, the
A42 main
road has been built across the canal's formation making a
complete re-opening unlikely in the near future. In October 2005,
Leicestershire County Council obtained a Transport and Works Order
to enable them to purchase land and construct 2.5 miles (4 km) of
canal from Snarestone to Measham. Initially, this will follow the
original route, but will diverge near Measham, to use the track of
a redundant railway. The new canal will pass through Measham
Station and cross the High Street on an aqueduct. It now seems only
a matter of time until complete restoration will be
accomplished.
The Transport and Works Act Order was introduced by the British
Parliament in 1992 as a way of simplifying the legal processes for
railway and canal projects, and works which interfere with
navigation rights. Although a number of railway projects had
previously been authorised under this legislation, the Ashby Canal
Order obtained by Leicestershire County Council was the first time
that construction of a canal had been authorised in this way.
Re-construction of the first of the infilled section began on 26
February 2009, after a grant from the East Midlands Development
Agency was secured. The £0.5 million project involves the provision
of stop gates, a new slipway, an improved winding hole and a
wetland nature reserve, running parallel to the canal and connected
to it.
Coordinates
See also
References
- Leicester County Council business plan
- Department of Transport, A Guide to Transport
and Works Act Procedures
- Leicestershire County Council press
release
- Towpath Telegraph, Waterways World Magazine, April
2009
- Clinker, C.R., and Hadfield, C., (1978) The
Ashby-de-la-Zouch Canal and its Railways Bristol: Avon-Anglia
Publications & Services. Reprinted from (1958) the Transactions
of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society.
- Schofield, R.B., (2000) Benjamin Outram, Cardiff:
Merton Priory Press
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