The Canal at Work

Why Canals were needed and their effect on the industrial revolution By the 18th century, roads had become extremely poor. In winter they were heavily rutted and so deep in mud that they often became impassable for wagons and coaches. On these treacherous roads, teams of between four and six horses were needed to pull about a ton but on a waterway a single horse could pull a boat laden with 30 tons of cargo.

With the coming of the Industrial Revolution, the new industries needed bulk raw materials (such as coal) brought directly to their factories, and the finished products, such as iron and cloth, transported efficiently to their markets. Canals became the answer to industry's needs. The first canal of the industrial age was built in 1761 for the Duke of Bridgewater to distribute coal from his mines at Worsley to Manchester and Runcorn. The construction of the canal network probably had a greater impact then than the motorway system of today because it affected the lives of so many people.

The Building of the Kennet & Avon Canal

It all started in the spring of 1788 with meetings at which the businessmen of Hungerford and Marlborough met to consider the extension of the river Kennet navigation westwards from Newbury. They agreed that a junction of the rivers Kennet and Avon would be of 'material benefit'.

John Rennie was appointed as the engineer to the canal and the construction of the Kennet and Avon canal began at Bradford on Avon and at Newbury in October 1794. The last section to be completed was the Caen Hill flight of locks at Devizes in December 1810.

The effect of opening the canal on the price of goods

In the early 19th century, the cost of transporting goods by road was so expensive that they were being transported on the Kennet and Avon Canal even before it was completed. Traders were even willing to accept the cost of transferring from tramway to boat and back again at suitable points such as the Devizes flight of locks, the last part of the canal to be completed. After its opening, the cost per ton of carrying goods on the canal from London to Bath was less than half that by land carriage.

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The trade on the canal and the years of prosperity

Goods imported from abroad came into both Bristol and London docks and some of that trade found its way onto the K&A. Tin plate, copper and salt passed down the canal from Bristol to London whilst tea and other provisions passed from London to Bristol. These goods also became available in the markets which served the people living near the canal.

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Coal from the Somerset coalfields generated a very lucrative trade during the 19th century. It descended on the Somerset Coal Canal to the Kennet and Avon Canal, joining at the western end of the Dundas Aqueduct. Much of the coal continued northward on the Wilts and Berks Canal via the Junction at Semington.

Most of the trade was conducted on the Kennet and Avon Navigation itself. In response, many wharves were built, ranging from the important gauging stations, where the weight of cargo being carried was gauged and a toll calculated, to small wharves which might serve just one mill.

The canal's most prosperous years were 1824 to 1839 when toll receipts annually exceeded £42,000.

Then came the railways and the inevitable decline

The Great Western Railway Act was passed in 1835 but, despite the rising threat of competition, the canal continued to prosper and toll receipts continued to rise. Ironically, this apparent prosperity was to a great extent earned by carrying materials for railway construction which, in turn, fuelled the canal's own destruction. By 1841, the year when the London to Bristol rail link was completed, toll receipts had started to plunge alarmingly downwards and toll rates were drastically reduced to try and improve trade. Only 11 years later the canal was taken over by its great rival, The Great Western Railway. There followed a long slow decline when the trade carried by the canal became less and less. Gradually the canal fell into disrepair.

The railways and hence the Great Western Railway were nationalised on 1^st January 1948 and the British Transport Commission became the owners of the Kennet & Avon Canal.

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