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Grantham canal The Vale in 1934 with the Grantham Canal highlighted in blue. The Grantham Canal enters the Vale near Cropwell Butler, snakes south to Kinoulton and Hickling, then turns north-east towards Hose, Harby, Plungar, Barkestone and Redmile before passing south of Muston to leave the Vale close to Stenwith. In its brief heyday of 53 years this waterway brought many advantages to nearby residents as it made the transport of goods in and out the Vale much easier and cheaper. But it wasn't constructed primarily for the convenience of these rural settlements. In the middle of the eighteenth century Grantham's coal supplies were transported from elsewhere in Lincolnshire along the Trent and then by horse-drawn carts. Road haulage was relatively expensive and so coal in Grantham could be twice the price of that in Nottingham. As a result in 1792 a group of local businessmen sought an Act of Parliament to create a canal from Nottingham to Grantham. However this was defeated because it conflicted with the interests of the Witham Navigation Commissioners (concerned about the depletion of water levels) and various Lincolnshire coal merchants. The following year a revised Bill, which had clauses to mitigate these concerns, received Royal Assent. An initial investment of £75,000 was quickly raised, with a £30,000 contingency available if needed. Construction started later the same year, 1793, and was completed in 1797. In the event only £24,000 of the contingency was needed. Starting near Trent Bridge and rising 140 feet through eighteen locks, the distance to Grantham is 33 miles. Reservoirs providing almost all the water were constructed at Denton and Knipton. It is the longest of ten canals engineered by William Jessop in south Nottinghamshire and adjoining counties. Unexpected problems arose at Cropwell Bishop and Cropwell Butler where gypsum in the soil reacted with the waterproof clay lining, resulting in leaks. The missing branch The 1793 Act specifically states the canal was to 'assist and promote trade and commerce of said towns of Grantham and Bingham'. But the nearest the canal gets to Bingham is Cropwell lock, on the east side of the Fosse Way. The plans for the canal show an approximately two-mile branch ending near Long Acre in Bingham. But it was never built. Despite what is printed in early nineteenth century trade directories! The highest stretch The Harlaxton cut. Between Barrowby and Harlaxton a deep 'cut' allows the canal to pass over the Witham-Trent watershed. Most of this cutting is only wide enough for a single vessel, but two passing places were created in 1801. Provisioning the Vale The main cargoes were coal, stone, timber, grain, flour, meat, lime and marl. (Lime was used mostly to help fertilise fields but also used for mortar. Marl was used only to improve soils.). Sacks of malt were also carried from Grantham to Nottingham. Also carried on the barges to help fertilise arable land was ash and 'night soil' – Nottingham's residents created far more waste than the city could dispose of locally until piped sewage was installed. The canal was so important that in 1815 the Duke of Rutland built a horse-drawn tramway to bring goods from the canal wharf at Muston to the castle. It was presumably about three miles long. Although still in use about 1915 I'm not aware of any surviving traces. Allowing for time to load and unload – few mechanical aids in those days, just shovels, barrows and carts – it took about five days to go in each direction. Not exactly speedy, but commercially-viable at the time. The canal company was profitable, although not exceptionally so compared to, say, the Soar Navigation in Leicestershire (where in good years the dividend equalled shareholders' original investments). The Grantham canal's best year was 1841 when income peaked at £18,000. But major changes were on the way. In 1850 the Grantham to Nottingham railway opened. Just eleven years later, in 1861, the railway company bought out the canal. The inevitable was delayed until 1936, when a Closure Act was passed, but requiring two feet of water to be maintained for agricultural needs. During the 1950s forty-six of the sixty-nine bridges over the canal were flattened. The A52 around Nottingham has severed the connection to the Trent while the Grantham wharf has been filled in and is now used for commercial premises. The former wharf in Grantham photographed in February 2022. The original bridge at Hickling. The replacement flattened bridge at Hickling, Nottinghamshire. A more picturesque view of the same bridge. Just because… In 1963 ownership of the canal passed to British Waterways. Since the 1970s two voluntary groups have done extensive work to restore parts of it. Two stretches are now navigable to small vessels. Reportedly the whole length from Grantham to West Bridgford is navigable by canoe. The towpaths can be walked or cycled for the full length. Sources Wikipedia entry for the Grantham canal Grantham Canal Society towpath walk Redmile to Grantham more about the Grantham wharf Back to top of this page     Back to home page   This website does not gather or store any visitor information. Copyright Bob Trubshaw 2025 No unauthorised copying or reproduction except if all following conditions apply: a: Copy is complete (including this copyright statement). b: No changes are made. c: No charge is made. www.hoap.co.uk/chronicle

Chronicle entries home page what's new? the geology of the Vale the boundaries and rivers of the Vale long, long ago prehistory in the Vale prehistoric boundaries in the Vale north-south prehistoric routeways Romans roads in the Vale Roman settlements in and near the Vale long ago introduction to Anglo-Saxons place-names of the Vale waterborne transport around the sixth century Orston's early church Anglo-Saxon sculpture in the Vale why Orston lost out to Bingham and Bottesford what the Normans did for the Vale Granby's importance in 1086 Granby's lost castle the Vale's watermills in 1086 Romanesque sculpture in the Vale St Remigius why Bottesford is in Leicestershire the Vale in medieval times medieval gargoyles of the Vale Eastwell's chancel screen St Ethelburga's church other early saints Elston's old chapel Muston and Long Clawson saltways of the Vale the Vale's medieval tile collection the Vale in Tudor times Dissolution in the Vale not that long ago the Vale in the C17th the 'great and the good' of the Vale Bottesford's effigies 'wicked practice and sorcerye' the whales on the Whalley memorial Car Colston's bigoted GP cum JP the Vale's very own regicide Wiverton Hall five rare C17th fonts in the Vale pinfolds and pounds in the Vale dovecotes in the Vale the Vale in the C18th turnpiking the Vale gravestones and C18th trade routes goodbye 'Belvoir Angels' C18th gravestone carvers in the Vale Daffy's Elixir the Marquess of Granby Stilton from the Vale springs and spas of the Vale outstanding organs in the Vale Grantham canal changes in the Vale's agriculture since 1800 Eastwell's recusant priest house and chapel Colston Bassett's ruined church seems like yesterday windmills in the Vale stained glass in the Vale village life in the southern Vale 1850 to 1880 folklore of the Vale Flintham museum lacemaking in the Vale gypsum pits in the Vale brick and tile works in the Vale ironstone quarrying in the Vale ironstone railways ironstone quarries of Leicestershire (YouTube video) The Vale's railway stations Orston's famous architect Mothers Union banners of the Vale redundant telephone exchanges in the Vale WWII airfields and pillboxes in the Vale the Vale in 1944 location shooting at Belvoir Castle Screveton's giants researching and writing local history the Vale as a verb getting started free advice from 2005 asking curious questions (YouTube video) local history groups in and around the Vale Aslockton (Cranmer LHG) Bingham Heritage Trails Association Bottesford Eastwell Harby Harlaxton Hickling Redmile archive Belvoir Villages History and Memories Group Belvoir Angel Society Grantham Canal Society you may also be interested in free PDFs written by Bob Trubshaw Earliest Churches in Nottinghamshire How Anglo-Saxons Found Their Way Anglo-Saxon Leicestershire Conversations in Churchyards Little-known Leicestershire and Rutland Bob Trubshaw's YouTube channel Introduction to medieval carvings Anglo-Saxon and Romanesque carvings How Anglo-Saxons found their way Anglo-Saxon shrines at fords Meetings at triangles Rota's Land and Franni's Land Reading Romanesque fonts Church and manor The significances of square headdresses Early churches and waterborne trade Charnwood slate gravestones and C18th trade routes Ironstone quarries of Leicestershire Roman roads in north-east Leicestershire Salt ways in Leicestershire Why Melton Mowbray needed to called 'middle town' Evolving Anglo-Saxon agriculture Nottinghamshire's earliest churches Ploughs not piety? Economic regeneration in the C7th Were Anglo-Saxon weaving huts women-only places? Barrowby Until Now website Rutland Village by Village website Sepulchral Effigies of Leicestershire and Rutland