121-609: The Horncastle Canal was a broad canal which ran 11 miles (18 km) from the River Witham to Horncastle in Lincolnshire , England, through twelve locks largely following the course of the River Bain . The canal opened in 1802, and was abandoned for navigation in 1889. By the 1790s, the Manor of Horncastle was leased by Sir Joseph Banks, a man of both local and national standing, with
242-427: A 7-mile (11 km) new cut to eliminate the "prodigious meandering course" of the channel above Boston. Although the estimated cost of £16,200 dissuaded the landowners from taking action at the time, the report formed the basis for improvements in the 1760s. Following meetings of Landowners held in 1752 and 1753, they asked John Grundy Jr, as his father had died in 1748, to re-evaluate his plans from 1744 and consider
363-631: A centre for the collection of business taxes, but this came at the cost of maintaining the waterways, and having finally decided it was too large a cost, James I presented the Fossdyke to the City of Lincoln . The Witham originally flowed into The Wash at Bicker Haven , where the port of Drayton was established in the Welland estuary, and it was only as a result of massive flooding in 1014 that it diverted itself to flow into The Haven at Boston . This gave rise to
484-521: A combination of two rivers, with the upper river originally emptying into Brayford Mere, to the west of Lincoln, and draining along the course of the Fossdyke , while the Langworth River emptied into another mere to the east of Lincoln, located between Washingborough and Chapel Hill. From there, the water flowed along a tidal creek to reach the sea. There was a ridge of high ground between the two meres, and
605-499: A dauntingly large railway network to build, and they had to prioritise the parts of their authorised network which they would start to construct. In the second half of 1847, the directors, owing to the state of the Money Market... decided to abstain from letting the works from Doncaster to York. But at the end of July a further small contract was let to Messrs. Peto & Betts for the works from ... Doncaster, northwards to Askern, with
726-475: A draught of 3.5 ft (1m) was overruled in favour of locks 72 ft by 15 ft (22m x 4.6m), which enabled the boats already plying the River Witham and Trent to use the canal. Gibson's Cut was bought for £840, but in order to entend it to join the main line at Tattershall, part of the terminal warehouse had to be demolished, as it obstructed the line of the extension. Sir Joseph expected Jessop to oversee
847-691: A fixed income for the proprietors. They would then merge with the London and York Railway. Both proposals had been absorbed into the Great Northern Railway (GNR) by the time an Act of Parliament was obtained, but the original agreement was retained, and the GNR leased the Witham for 999 years for a payment of £10,545 per year to the proprietors. This figure represented the average profits for the previous three years, plus five per cent. The railway company also agreed to pay
968-553: A goods service was operated. Part of the Loop Line was soon ready, and 58 miles from Walton Junction (near Peterborough, on the newly opened Midland Railway ) to Lincoln opened on 17 October 1848. The line was double except for a mile at Boston, which was made double track by a deviation on 11 May 1850. Captain Wynne viewed the line from Lincoln to Gainsborough on 29 March 1849, but refused permission to open until signals were provided at
1089-475: A halfpenny per mile, in 1850, and by 1863, the steam packet boats had ceased operation. Freight traffic also declined, with coal passing through the Grand Sluice dropping from 19,535 tons in 1847 to 3,780 tons in 1857. Nevertheless, the railway company had to maintain the river, and in 1871, spent £5,000 on making Bardney lock deeper by 5 feet (1.5 m) at the request of the drainage commissioners. The GNR leased
1210-541: A keen interest in agriculture and trade. He had plans which included an Enclosure Act for Horncastle and drainage of the Wildmore Fen, and was also influential in plans for the canalisation of the River Bain from Horncastle to the River Witham near Tatteshall. Tattershall was already served by a short canal from the River Witham, which had been constructed in 1786 by John Gibson, a merchant from Tattershall, and John Dyson, who
1331-682: A lock drops down into the Witham Navigable Drains , a system of drainage ditches which are used to prevent flooding of the fens to the north of Boston. Since November 2008 there has been an active campaign by the Billinghay Skirth Regeneration Society to restore navigation on the River Skirth, and the project has won the support of Billinghay and other parish councils, the Inland Waterways Association ,
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#17328489095131452-534: A new type of paddlewheel, which resulted in the boats travelling faster, and in 1836, wooden vessels were superseded by iron packet boats. Railways reached Lincoln in August 1848, 15 years after the first proposal. The Wakefield, Lincoln and Boston Railway hoped to build railways in the area, and negotiated with the proprietors and those of the Fosdyke. Under the arrangement, they would take over both navigations, and guarantee
1573-443: A plan for a "Grand Sluice" that had been produced by Daniel Coppin in 1745. Grundy suggested that the 1744 cut should be extended by a further 2 miles (3.2 km) into Boston, and that the sluice could then be built on the extension. The landowners moved the location of the sluice nearer to Boston, but otherwise approved his report, although no action was taken. John Grundy was again consulted in 1757, and Langley Edwards of King's Lynn
1694-670: A problem. In 1863 the BW&;LR changed its title to the West Yorkshire Railway, and in that year both it and the LB&;HJR agreed to be absorbed by the GNR; this was authorised by an act of Parliament in 1865. The GNR was therefore able to consolidate a substantial network in West Yorkshire, bringing Wakefield, Leeds, Bradford and Halifax into its area of influence. However, trains from Doncaster still had to rely on running powers over
1815-410: A proper feasibility study. Restoration plans are now supported by Lincolnshire County Council. Download coordinates as: [REDACTED] Media related to Horncastle Canal at Wikimedia Commons River Witham The River Witham is a river almost entirely in the county of Lincolnshire in the east of England. It rises south of Grantham close to South Witham at SK8818 , passes through
1936-535: A railway from London to York, and after much negotiation with promoters of other lines that might connect or compete, a London and York Railway was submitted to the 1845 session of Parliament. There were 224 railway bills in that session, and the Board of Trade was instructed to set up a committee to assess groups of proposed lines; the committee became known as the Five Kings. When the London and York Railway scheme came before
2057-513: A separate terminal at London Road, Nottingham. This opened on 3 October 1857. The GNR leased the Ambergate company from 1 August 1861. On 14 October 1852 King's Cross station was at last brought into use, and the Maiden Lane temporary station was closed. King's Cross had two large sheds, familiar to the present day, but only two passenger platforms, the later platforms 1 and 8. The intervening space
2178-633: A short cut known as the Tumby Cut was built in 1876. In 1888, the Board of Trade enquired about the status of the company, and Lindsey County Council suggested that it should be abandoned. The secretary sold Kirkby Watermill, which had been used as the company workshops, to raise some capital with which to clear debts, and notified the Board that the canal was effectively defunct. It was officially abandoned on 23 September 1889, but sand and gravel continued to be transported from Kirkby on Bain for another ten years, while
2299-584: A steamer service from Fleetwood to Ardrossan . This was the period of the Railway Mania , when myriad schemes, not all of them realistic, were promoted, and anyone could get rich quickly if they were not caught with a failed scheme. At this time George Hudson , a railway financier, was exceptionally skilled in promoting railways and having them built, and most particularly of neutralising or destroying any opposition or competition to his lines. His methods were not always respectable. Some promoters wanted to build
2420-488: A temporary station at Grantham . It now connected into the GNR at Grantham, opening the connection on 2 August 1852; it was worked by the GNR. The Ambergate company relied on running powers into the Midland Railway station at Nottingham, but there were considerable disputes about the matter for many years, and the GNR had difficulty in getting access. To resolve the situation the Ambergate company built its own line into
2541-504: A temporary station at Boston. The GNR opened a section of its own line from Stockbridge and Askern , and the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway opened from Knottingley . There was a formal opening on 5 June 1848 and a public opening two days later; at that stage the L&;YR operated the passenger trains. On 5 August 1848 the GNR section was extended south to a temporary Doncaster station, and
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#17328489095132662-593: Is navigable from Brayford Wharf in Lincoln to Boston. There are two locks between Boston and Lincoln – one at Bardney and the other in Lincoln itself, the Stamp End Lock which is unusually a guillotine lock. The main obstruction to navigation is the High Bridge or Glory Hole in Lincoln, a medieval structure which is only about 15 feet (4.6 m) wide and 8.5 feet (2.6 m) high at normal river levels. In times of flood it
2783-627: Is uncertain, although one possibility is Wye-om , meaning river plain , and the river has been known as the Witham since Saxon times. However, it was known as the Grant Avon in Ancient British times, meaning divine stream , and the fact that the main town on the upper river was Grant-ham may support this. John Leland writing in the 16th century noted that it was also called the Lindis, and others referred to it by that name. The present course may be
2904-439: Is unnavigable. The bridge spans the river for 87 feet (27 m), and consists of an arch built in c1160, with extensions added in 1235, 1540 to 1550 and 1762/3. It is the only British bridge which still has secular medieval buildings standing on it, and is believed to be the second oldest masonry arch bridge in the country. It is currently a Scheduled Ancient Monument and a Grade I Listed Building . There are traffic lights on
3025-588: The Environment Agency , Lincolnshire County Council and the Lincolnshire Waterways Partnership. The Environment Agency measure the water quality of the river systems in England. Each is given an overall ecological status, which may be one of five levels: high, good, moderate, poor and bad. There are several components that are used to determine this, including biological status, which looks at
3146-629: The Railways Act 1921 into one or other of four new larger concerns. The Great Northern Railway was a constituent of the London and North Eastern Railway , which took control at the beginning of 1923. Although many local lines have been closed, much of the network is active today. In 1836, a railway to be called the Great Northern Railway was proposed. It was to run from Whitechapel in east London via Cambridge and Lincoln to York. However, this
3267-478: The South Yorkshire Railway . 1846 was a peak year for railway scheme authorisations, fuelled by the feverish hunt for quick riches in railway shares. For a number of reasons, not all connected with railways, there was a massive slump in the following year, and investment money, especially for railway projects already authorised, became almost impossible to get. The Great Northern Railway directors had
3388-500: The BW&LR, on 10 October 1857, the LB&HJR opened a direct line from Ardsley on the BW&LR to Laisterdyke, near Bradford. This was an extension of its Gildersome mineral line; although steeply graded this formed an additional through route for GNR trains. Both the LB&HJR and the BW&LR constructed (or obtained approval to construct) some branches within their area of influence. There were branches to Batley, opened by each company separately in 1864. Perhaps more significant
3509-521: The GNR and the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway. Now at last the GNR had the line it sought. On 1 January 1847 the Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway came into existence by the merger of some smaller lines. The GNR had been granted running powers from Retford to Sheffield and in 1850 it informed the MS&;LR that it was to run passenger trains from Lincoln from 7 August 1849. The GNR
3630-515: The GNR got access to Bradford and Halifax. Another independent railway, the Bradford, Wakefield and Leeds Railway opened its line between Wakefield (the present-day Kirkgate station) and junctions near Leeds, on 3 October 1857. The GNR and the L&YR had running powers over the new line, and this enabled the Great Northern Company to route its Doncaster to Leeds trains by this route, using
3751-403: The GNR opened a new locomotive works at Doncaster in 1853, replacing earlier facilities at Boston. The authorised network of the GNR had included the line from Doncaster to York. The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway was building from Knottingley to a junction at Askern, near the present-day Shaftholme Junction north of Doncaster, and mutual running powers had been agreed. The line was opened to
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3872-507: The Grand Sluice would be as suggested by Edwards in 1760. Grundy produced another engraved map, and parliamentary approval for the works was obtained in June 1762. Once the Act of Parliament was obtained, Edwards became the engineer for the project, and drew up the detailed plans, which Grundy and Smeaton checked and altered slightly, after which they had no further involvement with the scheme. Construction
3993-639: The Grand/Great Sluice. Passage through the latter is restricted typically to 4-hour intervals during daylight when the tidal levels are suitable. The river provides access for boaters to the Witham Navigable Drains , to the north of Boston, and to the South Forty-Foot Drain to the south, which was reopened as part of the Fens Waterways Link , a project to link the river to the Nene flowing through
4114-467: The King's Cross site was occupied by a smallpox hospital. The freeholder demanded an impossibly large price to vacate, and the matter had to go before a jury. This, and the subsequent removal of the hospital to new premises, would incur a huge delay. The GNR board decided to make a temporary London terminal at Maiden Lane . The company undertook some extraordinary commitments at this time. It arranged to purchase
4235-455: The L&YR from Askern to Wakefield. The junctions near Leeds were with the LB&HJR at Wortley, forming a triangle and enabling through running towards either Leeds or Bradford. This development allowed the GNR to avoid using the hostile Midland Railway track at all, and allowed a direct entry to Leeds Central station, avoiding the awkward reversal on the Thirsk line. A week after the opening of
4356-504: The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (between Askern Junction and Methley), and the Midland Railway (between Methley and Leeds). On reaching Leeds the trains ran forward onto the Leeds and Thirsk Railway, and then reversed into the central station at Leeds. The South Yorkshire, Doncaster and Goole Railway opened its line from Doncaster to Barnsley on 1 January 1851. The GNR had running powers over
4477-514: The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway between Askern Junction and Wakefield. The solution was on the horizon, when the West Riding and Grimsby Railway opened its line between Wakefield and Doncaster. It was to make an eastward branch to Thorne, justifying the Grimsby reference in its title. It opened its line on 1 February 1866 and on the same day the hitherto independent concern became the joint property of
4598-566: The Lincoln Gap. This section has also been suggested as a lower course of the Trent during and before periods of glaciation. From Dogdyke near Coningsby to Boston, the north bank of the river was used by a section of the Great Northern Railway from Lincoln to Boston. A long-distance footpath, the Water Rail Way, follows the course of the river from Lincoln to Boston. The path uses sections of
4719-416: The Loop Line via Lincoln at the expense of the so-called Towns Line, the direct line from Peterborough to Doncaster. When this work was pressed forward, a number of difficulties presented themselves, including failure of a contractor. However, the line opened for goods traffic on 15 July 1852, and for passengers on 1 August 1851. The Towns Line ran from Werrington Junction north of Peterborough to Retford, where
4840-539: The MS&LR connected by a spur, known as the Lincoln Curve. There were flat crossings at Newark with the Midland Railway and at Retford with the MS&LR main line. A south to west curve was laid in at Retford, enabling a GNR service to Sheffield. The Ambergate, Nottingham, Boston and Eastern Junction Railway had been formed to connect the manufacturing districts of Manchester with the port of Boston, and had opened in 1850 between Colwick Junction, near Nottingham, and
4961-518: The Midland Railway and several other boards; the train service started on 1 October 1848. The York and North Midland Railway was urging the GNR to use the Y&;NMR line from Knottingley to York, shortly to be opened, and to abandon the GNR's plans for its own line to York. After considerable deliberation, the GNR agreed to this on 6 June 1850. By arrangement with the MS&LR the GNR started running trains between Lincoln and Sheffield on 7 August 1850;
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5082-529: The River Witham and that are protected by flood doors. These consist of a single pair of mitre gates that are designed to close if the level in the river rises above the level in the drain. Several of these are navigable to the more adventurous boater. The river is also joined by the Kyme Eau, which connects to the Sleaford Navigation on which navigation will eventually be restored to Sleaford. At Antons Gowt,
5203-589: The River Witham to the Brayford Pool, to be made deeper. The act also regularised the position of the Gibson Cut, which had been built without an act of Parliament on land owned by Lord Fortescue, and ensured that he would be compensated when the cut was taken over by the new company. The company was authorised to raise £15,000 by the issuing of shares, and another £10,000 if required. While the major shareholders were Sir Joseph and Lord Fortescue, 294 others, mostly from
5324-708: The Romans constructed the Fossdyke from Lincoln to Torksey on the River Trent , improved the River Witham from Lincoln to The Wash , and built the Car Dyke from Lincoln to the River Cam near Cambridge . The Witham thus gave Lincoln access to the east coast, while the Fossdyke gave access to the Trent and further on to the Humber . There have been claims that the Witham was originally tidal up to Lincoln, but that seems unlikely. Prior to
5445-692: The Romans cut a channel through it as part of some drainage works. Archaeological evidence points to river navigation as far back as the Iron Age. Artefacts such as the Iron Age Witham Shield , found in the river near Washingborough in 1826, and the Fiskerton Boat, a log boat found near Fiskerton during flood defence work in 2001 have been recovered and are on display at the British Museum in London or The Collection in Lincoln. The Witham
5566-525: The St Leger race meeting. It was a priority for the GNR to get access to the great manufacturing towns of West Yorkshire, to which it had been denied its own connection in Parliament. Leeds was the first to be reached. A Central station at Leeds was authorised on 22 July 1848. It was joint with three other companies, and GNR trains first reached it on 1 October 1848. GNR trains ran from Doncaster to Leeds over
5687-733: The Stamford and Spalding Railway; this would form a loop from north of Peterborough back on to the GNR Loop Line near Crowland ; and leases at 6% of the Royston and Hitchin Railway, the East Lincolnshire Railway (Boston to Great Grimsby; both authorised, but neither yet built) and the Boston, Stamford and Birmingham Railway (never built). It also took about a third-of-a-million-pounds-worth of shares in
5808-515: The Staunchkeeper, as adjustment of the sluice was vital in times of drought or flood. Tolls were collected, but for the first ten years were used to pay back the mortgage taken out in 1800, and it was not until 1813 that the first dividend was paid. Dividends were then paid every year as profits gradually increased. In the early 1850s, the canal carried around 9,710 tons of coal to Horncastle, and around 5,420 tons of goods, including corn and wool, in
5929-570: The Witham First , Third and Fourth District Internal Drainage Boards and Upper Witham Internal Drainage Board. These four internal drainage boards reduce the flood risk to the surrounding properties, land and environment. In 1791, as part of the campaign to promote the construction of the Horncastle Canal , the Commissioners of the River Witham asked the engineer William Jessop to assess
6050-462: The Witham as a navigable river from the Iron Age onwards. From Roman times it was navigable to Lincoln, from where the Fossdyke was constructed to link it to the River Trent . The mouth of the river moved in 1014 following severe flooding, and Boston became important as a port. From 1142 onwards, sluices were constructed to prevent flooding by the sea, and this culminated in the Great Sluice, which
6171-408: The bridge at Butts Road in Coningsby, and they agreed to rebuild them, rather than lose contracts for other parts of the canal. The canal was opened from the River Witham northwards, as each section became available. Tolls of £250 were collected in 1795, but the company was experiencing financial difficulties. The decision was taken to build a wharf at Dalderby, and to terminate the canal there. All of
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#17328489095136292-400: The centre of Grantham (where it may be closely followed using the Riverside Walk through Wyndham Park and Queen Elizabeth Park), passes Lincoln at SK9771 and at Boston , TF3244 , flows into The Haven , a tidal arm of The Wash , near RSPB Frampton Marsh . The name "Witham" seems to be extremely old and of unknown origin. Archaeological and documentary evidence shows the importance of
6413-485: The channel for land drainage, and run-off from agricultural and rural land. Like most rivers in the UK, the chemical status changed from good to fail in 2019, due to the presence of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE), perfluorooctane sulphonate (PFOS) and mercury compounds, none of which had previously been included in the assessment. In March 2018, the river suffered the worst incidence of pollution ever recorded in Lincolnshire, when Omex Agriculture released ammonia into
6534-424: The city of Peterborough . From Brayford Pool the Fossdyke Navigation links to the Trent. The Witham's course, which flows to the north and then to the south-east may be the result of glaciation (and possibly isostatic rebound ) redirecting older rivers. The source of the river is on high ground near South Witham , Lincolnshire, at around 340 feet (100 m) above ordnance datum (AOD). After briefly flowing to
6655-470: The collection of tolls at the bridge, but the amount they received from traffic passing through the locks increased as the volume of traffic grew in response to the easier passage through the bridge. When completed in 1766, Edwards' Grand Sluice consisted of three channels each 17 feet (5.2 m) wide, fitted with pointed gates on both sides, and a lock adjacent to the north bank, which could be used as an additional flood relief channel if required. The lock
6776-434: The company was already considerable, and a further million of money was authorised by an act of 1853. Another demand on financial resources was willingly undertaken: the installation of the electric telegraph, at first at the southern end of the system. It was soon used for signalling trains through the tunnel sections, and by 1856 it was used throughout as far north as Hitchin. Reflecting the anticipated focus of operations,
6897-403: The construction of the Grand Sluice, the lower river was affected by tides, but the highest they normally reached was Dogdyke or Chapel Hill, and Lincoln is considerably higher than these locations, by some 5 to 7 feet (1.5 to 2.1 m). Wheeler argues that it "would not have been possible for the tide to flow up to Lincoln," given the present geological conditions. Trading continued throughout
7018-443: The east to reach South Witham, it flows generally north, passing through Colsterworth where it is crossed by the A1 road , which largely follows the line of the river to Newark on Trent . At Great Ponton , it is joined by the Cringle Brook on its left bank, and continues through Grantham , where it has already descended to 170 feet (52 m) AOD. After Barkston it turns to the west to pass through Marston . Foston Beck joins on
7139-403: The gap is limited in times of flood. This is alleviated by the Sincil Dyke, which leaves the main channel at Bargate Weir and runs for 1.5 miles (2.4 km) through the industrial areas to the south of the main city centre. It used to rejoin the main channel at Stamp End, but was re-routed into the South Delph, a drainage ditch constructed by John Rennie in the early 19th century that joins
7260-437: The growth of Boston as a port in the 12th and 13th centuries, exporting wool and salt to the Hanseatic League , though Boston only received its charter in 1545. The river was affected by silting which restricted trade despite the construction of various sluices and barriers from 1142 onwards, when the first sluice was built below Boston. Other sluices were erected at Boston in 1500 and at Langrick in 1543, but navigation
7381-452: The interest on mortgages amounting to £24,692 which the proprietors held, but had redeemed them by 1857. The railway from Lincoln to Boston ran along the eastern bank of the river, and opened on 17 October 1848. Most of the stations were located near to the landing stages which the steam packets used, and the railway did all it could to draw passengers away from the river. This included the provision of fourth-class carriages, with fares set at
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#17328489095137502-619: The left bank, and at Long Bennington it resumes its northerly course. Beyond Claypole and near Barnby in the Willows it forms the border between Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire for about 3 miles (4.8 km), before passing through an Army training area near Beckingham . The River Brant joins on the right bank, before it passes through North Hykeham to reach Lincoln , where it is only 16 feet (4.9 m) AOD. The upper waters are important for agricultural water extraction, and for coarse fish such as roach, common bream and pike; small mammals like water voles, and native crayfish. A gap in
7623-412: The limestone scarp (see Lincolnshire Wolds ) near Ancaster may represent an earlier course of the River Trent towards Boston, but is now occupied by the River Slea . In Lincoln, the river flows into Brayford Pool and exits along a narrow channel that passes under the medieval High Bridge . The bridge not only restricts navigation due to its small size, but the volume of water that can pass through
7744-436: The line, and started running passenger trains to Barnsley, and mineral trains to and from Horbury. On 1 August 1854, the independent Leeds, Bradford and Halifax Junction Railway (LB&HJR) opened its line between Leeds and Bowling Junction, close to Bradford, where it made a connection with the L&YR. The LB&HJR had running powers over the L&YR to Halifax, and the GNR were granted running powers over this line, so
7865-426: The local area, bought shares. At this stage, the engineer William Jessop was asked to review the plans, and suggested two routes, one from Horncastle to Kirkstead, and the other following the course of the River Bain to Tattershall and joining the River Witham at Dogdyke. It was this latter scheme that was adopted, although Jessop's plans to build the locks to take boats of 54 ft by 14.3 ft (16.5m x 4.4m) with
7986-407: The lock at the Grand Sluice into the Witham. Although the lock is only 41 feet (12 m) long, it is possible for longer boats to pass through it at certain states of the tide. Unlike many such sea locks, the reverse-facing gates close on every tide, as the normal high tide water level is higher than the level of the river, while at low tides there is insufficient water in the Haven to allow exit from
8107-435: The lock. Passage is therefore restricted to a brief period approximately two hours before or after high water. It is still possible to navigate many of the drains in small vessels, and a new lock, completed in December 2008, provides entry to the South Forty-Foot Drain from below the Grand Sluice so that vessels will be able to reach the Fens without venturing out to the Wash, as part of the Fens Waterways Link . The Witham
8228-399: The locks at Kirkstead and Barlings should be removed, and replaced by one near Washingborough church. The Commissioners petitioned parliament in 1808, and a new Act of Parliament authorised the work, to be carried out by a company of proprietors. They could borrow £30,000 for the drainage element of the scheme and £70,000 for the navigation element. Two new locks were built, one at Stamp End and
8349-423: The lower reaches of the canal remained in use until 1910 with boats taking coal from Goole to the Coningsby wharf of Laythorpe and Son, Coal Merchants. There have been several suggestions that the canal should be restored. The first was made in 1975 by the Lincolnshire Branch of the Inland Waterways Association , who recognised that the volume of pleasure traffic on the River Witham would need to increase before
8470-416: The main aim of allowing more capital to be raised. Tolls on the Witham had gradually risen as improvements had been made. £263 was raised in 1763–4, and had reached £898 by 1790. In 1819, income exceeded £4,100 for the six months from March to September, and a five per cent dividend was paid in the following year. By 1826, over £180,000 had been spent on improvements, and another £40,000 was needed. However,
8591-423: The main channel below Bardney lock. The origins of the Sincil Dyke are unknown, but it is known to have been used as a drainage channel in the mid-13th century and is thought to be pre-medieval or even Roman. Parts of it were culverted in 1847 to allow the construction of Lincoln Central railway station . From Lincoln, the river again turns first east, then south, making a cut through a belt of upland known as
8712-402: The medieval period evidenced by the importance of Torksey, which was then a flourishing town, now only a small village. However, the Fossdyke needed much maintenance to keep it clear of silt. Henry I had overseen the scouring of its channel, and there were inquiries in 1335, 1365 and 1518 to consider the state of the Fossdyke and to compel the inhabitants of the region to maintain it. Lincoln was
8833-561: The nationalisation of the waterways following the Second World War , the navigation eventually became the responsibility of British Waterways as a result of the Transport Act 1962 , and since 2 July 2012 has been managed by the Canal & River Trust . Today, commercial traffic, apart from tour boats, has ceased above the port of Boston (The Haven) and only pleasure craft carry on through
8954-703: The navigation to the Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Committee in 1882, and in 1897, by which time the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway had become the Great Central Railway , they built a large warehouse beside Brayford Pool, with a transhipment dock next to it. Total traffic on the river had fallen to 18,548 tons in 1905, and averaged 5,870 tons during the years of the First World War , mainly general merchandise and agricultural produce. With
9075-588: The north and south basins. Water levels in the canal were controlled by a sluice or staunch near the point at which the River Bain joined the River Waring. A new cut, called the South Ings Drain, which ran from below the sluice to join the old course of the River Bain near Thornton, was made under the terms of the Horncastle Enclosure Award in 1805. A cottage was erected next to the sluice to house
9196-404: The object of forming an "end-on" junction there with the branch of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Company, over which... the Great Northern had just obtained power to run its trains to Wakefield and to Methley on the way to Leeds. The directors decided to build the Loop Line first, as that was the easiest to complete in order to start earning income. The first portion of the Great Northern Railway
9317-402: The original capital, together with the £10,000 mortgage on tolls had been spent by early 1797, and there was no immediate prospect of continuing. The engineer John Rennie was consulted, and he suggested that a new cut from Dalderby to Horncastle would be better than trying to follow the winding course of the River Bain. Accordingly, a new act of parliament was obtained on 9 July 1800, authorising
9438-477: The original estimate. The cost included £1,165 which was part of the cost for the work carried out at High Bridge, Lincoln in 1797 The formal opening of the canal was on 17 September 1802, and the day was declared to be a public holiday in Horncastle, so that everyone could celebrate. Boats were decked with bunting and flags, a band played "rousing tunes", and the navvies were given free food and beer on boats in both
9559-605: The other at Bardney, which replaced the original locks. A new channel was cut near Fiskerton , upstream of Bardney, and the plan for a lock at Washingborough was dropped. While Stamp End lock was being rebuilt, an alternative route was provided, utilising the Sincil Dyke and the South Delph. Rennie recorded that Branston Delph, Carlton Dike, Nocton Delph and Timberland Dike were navigable at the time. The proprietors obtained three more Acts of Parliament, in 1812, 1826 and 1829, all with
9680-407: The other direction. In 1848, the Great Northern Railway opened a line from Lincoln to Boston, and built a coal wharf at Dogdyke in 1851. This resulted in increased traffic on the canal, but a branch line from Kirkstead to Horncastle via Woodhall Spa was opened in 1854, in direct competition to the canal, after which decline was rapid, with the last dividend being paid in 1873. Against this trend
9801-470: The outset the Great Northern Railway had been anxious to acquire local railways or at least make arrangements with them, in order to expand the company's territory. In 1852 the shareholders expressed their displeasure at the volume of financial commitments implied by these, but the Chairman Edmund Denison continued his policy, without showing his hand. The company had prioritised construction of
9922-411: The parliamentary committees, Hudson set up such a protracted series of objections that the project ran out of parliamentary time in that session. The London and York Railway scheme was submitted to the 1846 session of Parliament; some other schemes for railways to the north had by now fallen by the wayside, and their supporters joined the London and York project; reflecting that, the proposed company name
10043-537: The proprietors were still optimistic, and commissioned Sir John Rennie to investigate an extension to link the Witham to the River Ancholme , but although he made two proposals, neither was implemented. Most traffic was carried by sailing vessels or in barges hauled by horses, but in March 1816, the first steam packet boat arrived on the river. It was named Witham and had been built by Shuttleworth and Robinson, whose yard
10164-614: The public imagination, and its Chief Mechanical Engineer Nigel Gresley became a celebrity. Anglo-Scottish travel on the East Coast Main Line became commercially important; the GNR controlled the line from London to Doncaster and allied itself with the North Eastern Railway and the North British Railway so as to offer seamless travel facilities. The main line railways of Great Britain were "grouped" following
10285-526: The public on 6 June 1848, between Knottingley and Askern. This was extended on 7 June 1848 over the GNR to Stockbridge, a place on the Bentley Road between Askern and Doncaster. The GNR stretch amounted to 2 miles 45 chains. Stockbridge was later renamed Arksey. The GNR further extended southwards to a temporary station immediately north of the River Don at Doncaster; it opened on the following 5 August in time for
10406-402: The quantity and varieties of invertebrates , angiosperms and fish. Chemical status, which compares the concentrations of various chemicals against known safe concentrations, is rated good or fail. The water quality of the River Witham system was as follows in 2019. The reasons for the quality being less than good include sewage discharge affecting most of the river, physical modification of
10527-401: The raising of a further £20,000, but very little money was attracted to the scheme, and the company eventually borrowed £20,600 from Lord Fortescue and Sir Joseph, mortgaged against the tolls of the canal. Rennie declined to oversee the work, and so William Walker was appointed, although he was not a qualified engineer. The canal was finally opened throughout in 1802, having cost nearly four times
10648-713: The river towpath and abandoned railway tracks, and has been opened in stages, with the final 2 miles (3.2 km) being completed in September 2008. The path is now part of Route 1 of the National Cycle Network and features a number of sculptures along its length, each commissioned from local artists. They include Lincoln longwool sheep at Stixwould, Lincoln Red cows at Washingborough, and Lincoln curly pigs , which became extinct in 1972, at Southrey. The name "Witham" seems to be extremely old, apparently predating Anglo-Saxon, Roman, and even Celtic influence. The meaning
10769-418: The river. The remediation notice was only the second to be issued since the legislation was introduced. Download coordinates as: The following flow into The Haven: Great Northern Railway (Great Britain) The Great Northern Railway (GNR) was a British railway company incorporated in 1846 with the object of building a line from London to York . It quickly saw that seizing control of territory
10890-419: The scheme would be viable. In 1986, they prepared a more serious report, which concentrated on Gibson's Cut, but also looked at complete restoration in more general terms. From 1989, the Horncastle and Tattershall Conningsby Canal Heritage group (HATCH) began working on plans for restoration, which were presented at a public meeting held on 18 November 2003. The meeting agreed that funds should be raised to finance
11011-415: The short section between Brayford Pool and Stamp End Lock, which are used to indicate the state of the river in times of flood. Green indicates that flows are low or normal, and boats can proceed along this stretch. Red indicates that flows are high and that great care is required. Flashing red indicates that flows are very high and boats must not use the section. There are a number of drains that connect to
11132-533: The state of the Fossdyke Navigation and the Witham, with particular reference to the problems of navigating through Lincoln, where the channel was restricted by a medieval bridge. He proposed two solutions; the first avoided the route through the city entirely, by utilising the course of the Sincil Dyke to the south, while the second involved lowering the bottom of the channel through the Glory Hole bridge, which
11253-494: The swing bridge at Brayford Mere (Lincoln); the line opened on 9 April 1849 when they had been provided. The route made a junction with the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway at Gainsborough; GNR trains reversed at the junction and used the MS&LR station at Gainsborough. A junction was made with the MS&LR line at Durham Ox Junction, Lincoln, some time after 3 April 1848, and sanctioned by Parliament retrospectively. The direct line between Peterborough and Doncaster
11374-415: The trains were routed over the MS&LR from Sykes Junction, a few miles north of Lincoln. The London (Maiden Lane) to Peterborough line was ready for a demonstration opening run on 5 August 1850, and it was opened to the public on 7 August 1850; eight passenger trains were run each way daily, with three on Sundays. On 8 August 1850 trains started running through from London to York. The Maiden Lane terminal
11495-468: The use of Victoria, but then made an outright payment of £25,000 to secure permanent half-rights to the station. From 1859 GNR trains also ran to Huddersfield via Sheffield and Penistone. From 1866 the Great Northern Railway had the control it wanted in West Yorkshire. A number of additional branches were built; perhaps the most important was the Dewsbury branch. A Dewsbury terminus opened in 1874, but this
11616-534: The water. It resulted in over 100,000 fish dying between Bardney and the Wash, for which the company was given a remediation notice as defined by the Environmental Damage (Prevention and Remediation) Regulations 2015. They must carry out a range of improvements to the river to ensure that its habitat is restored. Once the ammonia had been flushed out, 1.5 million fish larvae and 70,000 roach and bream were released into
11737-531: The work, but he was too busy and suggested William Cawley from Cheshire as engineer. Cawley was engaged in April 1793, and work started immediately, but workmanship was poor. The lock at Tattershall collapsed when first filled with water, and Cawley was dismissed in October, to be followed by a series of other engineers, none of whom lasted for very long. Pressure was put on the builders of the locks at Tattershall and Tumby and
11858-526: Was a stupendously ambitious project for such an early date, and Parliament turned it down. By 1844 there was only one trunk railway from London to the north of England: the London and Birmingham Railway was in an uneasy alliance with the Grand Junction Railway , which in turn connected with the North Union Railway which connected to Preston and Fleetwood . Scottish travellers made use of
11979-453: Was again difficult on both the river and the Fossdyke by 1660. In 1671 an Act of Parliament was obtained for the improvement of the Navigation. In 1743, John Grundy, Sr. and his son John Grundy, Jr. were commissioned to produce a detailed survey of the river. They produced an engraved map in 1743 and a printed report, running to 48 pages, in the following year. The main recommendation was
12100-501: Was altered to the Great Northern Railway . George Hudson continued to use his dubious methods to frustrate the scheme, but on 26 June the Great Northern Railway Act 1846 ( 9 & 10 Vict. c. lxxi) was given royal assent . Numerous branches earlier proposed had been deleted, but the main line was approved. Authorised capital was £5.6 million. The company had spent £590,355 on parliamentary expenses. The authorised line
12221-516: Was an important navigation in Roman times. Lincoln ( Lindum )—the meeting point of Ermine Street , joining London to York , and Fosse Way , leading to Leicester and Bath —was an important Roman fort that became one of only four colonia in Britain. Most important Roman cities were situated near navigable water, which enabled goods to be transported in bulk, but Lincoln did not possess this advantage, and so
12342-495: Was asked to review the positioning of the sluice in 1760. The landowners then asked John Smeaton to liaise with Grundy and Edwards, and the three engineers produced a joint report in 1761, with estimates of £38,000 for drainage works and £7,400 for improvements to navigation. The report was approved, although a meeting held in January 1762 decided that the new cut should revert to the alignment suggested by Grundy in 1753. The location of
12463-663: Was completed in 1766 and was effective in scouring the Haven below it and increasing silting of the river above it. The 1762 act created the Witham Navigation Commissioners and the Witham Drainage General Commissioners, who continued to promote drainage schemes actively, creating a drainage network known as the Witham Navigable Drains that transformed much of northern Lincolnshire from fen to farming land. Today many of these channels are managed by
12584-498: Was considered by a public meeting held on 4 April. That meeting approved the bill, which became an act of Parliament , the Tattershall Canal Act 1792 ( 32 Geo. 3 . c. 107) on 11 June 1792. In addition to local supporters, the bill was also supported by the corporations of Boston and Lincoln, as it included a clause that would enable the channel beneath Lincoln High Bridge, a medieval structure which prevented navigation from
12705-411: Was constructed in 1766. It maintained river levels above Boston, and helped to scour the channel below it. The land through which the lower river runs has been the subject of much land drainage, and many drains are connected to the Witham by flood doors, which block them off if river levels rise rapidly. The river is navigable from Brayford Pool in Lincoln to Boston. Its locks are at Lincoln, Bardney and
12826-462: Was followed by a through line to Batley via a new Dewsbury through station, opened in 1880. From 1867, the GNR launched into an expensive and ultimately unremunerative entry into the hilly terrain west of Bradford and north of Halifax. This started with the Halifax and Ovenden Junction Railway, a short line in the northern heights of Halifax, opened in 1874, jointly with the L&YR. This was followed by
12947-401: Was from Bawtry. The canal was about 1 mile (1.6 km) long, and had an entrance lock near to where it joined the river. Sir Joseph Banks canvassed the support of local merchants and the owners of the estates that bordered the river, and formed a steering committee, which instructed Sir Joseph's solicitor to draft a parliamentary bill for the proposed canal. This was ready by March 1792, and
13068-469: Was from London ("Pentonville") via Huntingdon, Peterborough, Grantham, Retford, Doncaster and Selby to a junction with the Great North of England Railway, just south of York Station. Also included in the act was a loop from Werrington Junction, north of Peterborough, via Spalding to Boston, Lincoln to Gainsborough and back on to the main line at Bawtry. Land acquisition proved to be difficult; in particular,
13189-492: Was in danger of collapse. He recommended that it be demolished and rebuilt elsewhere, and also suggested that access to Boston should be through the Witham Navigable Drains, rather than the Grand Sluice, or that a new cut should be built to the south of the sluice, to rejoin the river at Boston Harbour. In 1803, he suggested that High Bridge at Lincoln should be demolished and rebuilt. Four years later, he suggested that
13310-546: Was key to development, and it acquired, or took leases of, many local railways, whether actually built or not. In so doing, it overextended itself financially. Nevertheless, it succeeded in reaching into the coalfields of Nottinghamshire , Derbyshire and Yorkshire , as well as establishing dominance in Lincolnshire and north London . Bringing coal south to London was dominant, but general agricultural business, and short- and long-distance passenger traffic, were important activities too. Its fast passenger express trains captured
13431-604: Was known as the Towns Line. The first part of it was opened between the MS&LR station at Retford and Doncaster on 4 September 1849. A proper station at Doncaster was built and ready by the middle of 1851. By this means, the GNR was able to start a service between London and Leeds using running powers and agreements over other lines in a roundabout routing northward from Retford; George Hudson tried to repudiate his earlier undertaking to permit this, but at this time his disgraceful methods had come to light, and he had resigned from
13552-429: Was not made welcome at Sheffield, but a change of policy from 1856 brought some changes. In particular from 1 August 1857 the GNR "Manchester fliers" started running. They were worked by GNR locomotives through to Sheffield, and covered the 203 miles (325 km) from King's Cross to Manchester London Road via Sheffield in 5hr 20min, soon to be cut to an even five hours. Until February 1859 the GNR paid £1,500 per annum for
13673-548: Was occupied by carriage sidings. At the end of 1852 it was considered that the company had achieved its objectives as originally conceived, with the line opened from King's Cross over both the Towns Line and the Loop, into Yorkshire. Four passenger trains ran from Kings Cross to York, one of them first class only and one parliamentary train . The directors of the company continued to seek to consolidate occupation of territory, without necessarily building new lines. The capitalisation of
13794-404: Was on Sincil Dyke. Despite a boiler explosion in March 1817, fortunately without causing injury to any of the crew or the 30 passengers, a second steam packet was operating by July 1817, and they soon displaced the sailing packet boats. During a flood in 1828, one of them lost power when a floating hedge became jammed in the paddle wheels. In the following year, a Lincoln man, William Pool invented
13915-435: Was only 18 inches (46 cm) deep at normal water levels. The Commissioners had imposed a toll on all traffic passing under the bridge, but decided that a channel bypassing the city would have grave financial consequences. They opted for improving the existing channel and the work to remove the wooden floor, to lower the river bed under the bridge and to underpin its foundations was completed in 1795. The Commissioners dropped
14036-479: Was opened on 1 March 1848. It was actually on the leased East Lincolnshire Railway line, from Great Grimsby to Louth . Five trains ran each way every weekday, and on from Grimsby to New Holland on the River Humber , by alliance with the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway . This was followed by the opening from Louth to Firsby on 3 September 1848. On 2 October 1848, the line was opened from Firsby to
14157-453: Was opened on 21 October 1850; this was extended to Shepreth on 3 August 1851. Captain Mark Huish had been appointed General Manager of the London and North Western Railway on its formation in 1846. Huish was a skilful railway diplomat, and while his methods were generally more proper than Hudson's, they were aggressive in finding means of disadvantaging competitors, such as the GNR. From
14278-460: Was originally very small, but was lengthened to its current 41 by 12 feet (12.5 by 3.7 m) in 1881. The pointed doors on the non-tidal side of the sluice were replaced by steel guillotine gates between 1979 and 1982. The state of the Witham had deteriorated by 1802, and the Commissioners asked John Rennie for advice. He stated that the Kirkstead lock was badly placed, and the associated staunch
14399-500: Was referred to by the company as "King's Cross". A through train to Edinburgh was run from 2 September 1850; the train ran via Peterborough, Boston, Lincoln, Retford, Doncaster, Knottingley, Milford Junction and York, thence by the York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway (not yet open on a direct route). Goods traffic started on the main line from 12 December 1850, and the Hitchin to Royston line
14520-488: Was started in April 1763, and the drainage element of the project, which included the sluice, was finished in 1768, having cost £42,000. Work on three locks and other work connected with navigation cost £6,000 and continued until 1771. The locks were located at Stamp End, Kirkstead and Barlings. The Grand Sluice was a major construction which maintained the height of water above Boston to near normal high tide level and had massive flood gates to cope with any tides above this. It
14641-419: Was the decision to connect to the L&YR station at Bradford (later Bradford Exchange). The LB&HJR station was a terminus, called Adolphus Street, and the connection towards Halifax by-passed it. A new curve was built of that connecting line to allow trains to enter the L&YR terminus; this started on 7 January 1867. Train movements at the throat of the L&YR station were frequent, and congestion became
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