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ROOTS
The River Witham has of course run into the North Sea for many
thousands of years but the Fossdyke Canal is very much an artificial
waterway. However, this "canal" makes the likes of the
Trent & Mersey or Bridgewater canals seem like mere babies
in comparison as it is nearer to 2,000 years old than 200.
120AD Lincoln (or Lindum Colonia) was a very strategic
place for the Romans. It had a very high hill overlooking very
flat land.Land which was rich in agricultural produce. Out of
Lincoln there are still a whole series of amazingly straight and
long Roman roads which were perfect for the Romans to quickly
march their armies up and down but were very hard work to carry
goods along. Almost all other Roman settlements were built on
navigable rivers but Lincoln only had the small River Witham.
And so, the Romans decided to improve the river and bring it to
a navigable standard. It was straightened and deepened from Lincoln
to the sea, turning Lincoln into a very important inland port.
To the west, across land, there were other important Roman settlements,
such as Nottingham on the navigable River Trent. With no chance
of making any river navigable to the west, the Romans built Foss
Dyke, Britain's first ever artificial navigation - or at least
this is what some historians believe. There are other Roman history
"experts" who believe that these waterways were simply
built for land drainage. But the Romans were - simply because
they were here - experienced sailors, and because these inland
waterways connected the sea to an important city and then on to
an equally important navigable river, it seems hard to believe
that they did not use them as navigations.Further evidence is
found at Torksey, a port that grew around the junction of the
Foss Dyke and River Trent. Not many towns grow up around the ends
of drains!! Another waterway, very similar to Foss Dyke, named
Car Dyke, was also built by the Romans. It headed south from Lincoln
towards the River Cam near Cambridge.
Dark Ages After the departure of the Romans it is thought that
the Foss Dyke was left to decay. This is highly likely as the
Britons, when left to fend for themselves, did not even maintain
the excellent roads that they had inherited so maintaining a waterway
would appear to have been well beyond them. However, there is
some evidence that the Foss Dyke continued to be used as a link
from the River Trent to Lincoln. This, once again, comes at Torksey
which remained a fairly prosperous town despite not being on a
major road between any large towns. During these centuries, the
River Witham and the Foss Dyke were both navigable enough to allow
the Dane's to travel along them - invading the local towns as
they came.
1050 Proof that the Foss Dyke was used by boats comes
from the reign of Edward the Confessor. The King's Monetari in
Nottingham had (among his other duties) "the care of the
Foss Dyke and navigations thereon".
1121 Thirty five years after William the Conqueror's Doomsday
Book had reported 111 resident burgesses (inhabitants) in Torksey,
Bishop Atwater, under instructions from Henry I, improved the
Foss Dyke by "scouring the channel". Some historians
have claimed Henry actually built the canal which survives today
but it is more widely believed that he merely restored the Roman
cut which had already been in existence for around a thousand
years. Still - this must go down as Britain's first ever canal
restoration!
1335 The Foss Dyke became so badly silted up (after 210
years of no maintenance!) that the government had to force local
inhabitants to clean up the navigation. Similar orders were issued
just 30 years later and once again in 1518.
1500 A sluice was built on the River Witham Navigation
at Boston, presumably to make the river non-tidal. Another sluice
was also built at Langrick a few miles further upstream.
1620 After nearly 500 years of Royal ownership, James
I decided the maintenance of the Foss Dyke was costing the Realm
far too much so he kindly gave it away to Lincoln city!
1660 Lincoln was not any more keen on maintaining the
Foss Dyke than the government had been. The waterway soon fell
into decay and by this time traffic had virtually ceased, having
given up the fight to navigate the dyke.
1671 Lincoln obtained an Act of Parliament allowing it
to make improvements (or virtually fully restore) the Foss Dyke
and River Witham between the River Trent and Boston. In the end
they restored the Foss Dyke, Brayford Pool in Lincoln and the
first 100 yards of the River Witham Navigation from Brayford Pool
to High Bridge.
1672 Lincoln sold a third share of the Foss Dyke and used
the money to develop Brayford Pool in the centre of the city.
Wharves and warehouses were built and the pool became a busy port.
The dyke was well used for a number of decades after this with
small boats being able to bring goods from Torksey, having reached
that town via the River Trent.
1717 Less than ½ a century after the Lincoln improvements,
the Foss Dyke was once again impassable. Boats had stopped using
the waterway and Brayford Pool lost its importance. It would seem
that, from time to time at least, the authorities saw the advantages
of opening the waterway but none of them ever realised that it
would not stay open by itself - or they simply were not prepared
to pay for its upkeep.
1724 During all this time, very little was done to maintain
or upgrade the River Witham so a decision to carry out a thorough
survey from Lincoln to Boston was made. However, it was not until
1733 that a report was presented by James Scribo.
1731 Meanwhile, the Foss Dyke was also being completely
neglected and few boats were bothering to attempt passage. By
now the one third share, that Lincoln city had sold in 1672, belonged
to a Robert Peart who mortgaged it for £750 to a James Humberston.
1733 The Foss Dyke reached its all time low during this
period of its existence - its income was just £66 for the
year.
Back on the River Witham James Scribo's report was heard, causing
great alarm. He said that the river was not only close to being
lost forever as a navigation but its poor maintenance was threatening
the nearby low lying land which it drained. Several urgent meetings
were held and an application was sent to Parliament for the critical
repairs but nothing was actually done at this point.
1735 In "Diaries and Letters Vol. 2" by William
Stukeley it was written that hay laden waggons were seen crossing
the Foss Dyke bound for Lincoln. This was despite the waterway
still being officially open for navigation. Clearly the carriers
of such hay felt the dyke was more trouble than it was worth though
coal - maybe because it is somewhat heavier than hay - was reported
to have arrived in Lincoln via the dyke at an average rate of
1,357 tons per year. By now however, it was obvious to Lincoln
city that they could not afford to maintain the waterway and they
realised they did not have the expertise to improve it. Hence,
they leased the whole waterway to a Richard Ellison who had previously
been associated with the River Don Navigation in South Yorkshire.
1741 Ellison took over the lease on New Years day at a
rent of £50 per year to Lincoln city and £25 per year
to James Humberston.Ellison immediately began to restore the Foss
Dyke. The work took 3 years to complete though Ellison died just
before the channel was re-opened. His son, Richard Ellison II,
took over and the route from Torksey to Lincoln was re-opened
in 1744.
1746 Before Ellison's take-over, the Foss Dyke had been
lucky to earn £100 a year. Within 2 years of the re-opening,
the waterway brought in an income of £595, within 15 years
this had risen to £1,000.
1750's With the Foss Dyke back in business, Lincoln began
to look at the River Witham again. There were differing opinions
on its potential use as the people with drainage needs were not
keen on boats using the river. Lincoln themselves were concerned
that if they didn't restore the river themselves, they may lose
their rights (along the city portion of the river) to a river
commission. Although many ideas and discussions were held, nothing
was actually done.
1761 Land owners between Boston and Lincoln along the
River Witham asked John Grundy, Langley Edwards and John Smeaton
to make surveys with a view to improving navigable standards.
1762 A Bill, put together by the land owners (with backing
from Boston council), went to Parliament seeking authority to
take over control of the River Witham. The Bill was strongly opposed
by Lincoln city on the grounds that the river navigation would
steal vital water from the connecting Foss Dyke Navigation. They
were also concerned about losing control of the river within their
town centre.Towns as far away as Rotherham and Rochdale joined
the Lincoln objections as they were quite reliant on farm produce
from Lincolnshire. Despite the strong objections, Parliament authorised
the Act on June 2nd. The Act authorised a commission who then
set up two separate groups - one which would look after drainage
interests and one which would develop the river for navigational
purposes. The Act gave the commissioners authority to make new
cuts, build locks and generally improve the river to navigable
standards. In August the commissioners held their first meeting
and soon afterwards Langley Edwards was appointed as surveyor
(the word "engineer" was not yet in use) with a salary
of £25 a year. His first job was simple enough, he had to
install a chain at Stamp End near Washingborough where the river
reached the eastern edge of Lincoln. A toll of 2½d had
to be paid before the chain would be lifted to allow boats to
pass. Edwards was also asked to survey the whole river and put
a plan together to build a new sluice at Boston. The commissioners
created 120 shares of which Boston council bought 30 and Edwards
bought one.
1766 Boston Grand Sluice was opened with the two separate
commission groups looking after their own interests. The drainage
commissioners regulated the water passing through the sluice while
the navigation commissioners looked after the adjoining lock through
which boats past.
1771 Locks were begun at Stamp End, Kirkstead, and Barlings
but other urgent work had to wait as the commissioners were struggling
for money.
1772 The Witham Navigation commissioners had to borrow
£1,200 to continue with their upgrades. The river was not
enjoying the success that the Foss Dyke was, its income was feeble
in comparison.While the Foss Dyke's tolls were bringing in around
£1,500 a year, the Witham Navigation could only manage around
£300. Despite tolls being charged at Stamp End Lock for
boats coming off the Foss Dyke, the commissioners actual received
very little income from this lock. Only the smallest of boats
(lighters) could fit under High Bridge in Lincoln city centre
and the Foss Dyke owners were not interested in helping the river
commissioners by creating a navigable passage for larger boats
because they were still "unfriendly" towards the river
and did not want it to steal their water. The trouble with High
Bridge was not just how low it was. It was almost a tunnel and
had a 4 storey Tudor house on top of it! The road which the bridge
also carried was the busy main city street and the only river
crossing in the city at that time. Their were also important buildings
all around, making widening or bypassing the bridge impossible.
Hence, there was no way the city would allow the river commissioners
to knock down the bridge or cut off or block the main street.
1774 More bad news was to come for the Witham Navigation
commissioners when it was revealed that a group of businessmen
in Sleaford, around 10 miles west of the Witham Navigation, had
begun to promote the idea of a canal from Sleaford to Lincoln.
This would provide direct competition to the river but thankfully
the proposals never turned into anything more than just ideas
at this stage.
1779 A proposal was put forward to build a lock which
would allow boats to move off the river and onto the drainage
dykes on the East and West Fens onthe north west side of Boston.
The commissioners liked the idea but simply did not have the money
to build a lock at this time.
1781 Above Stamp End Lock on the River Witham their were
a number of industries and warehouses whose boats travelled on
the Foss Dyke but entered the River Witham at Brayford Pool in
central Lincoln.The commissioners had only been charging tolls
when a boat passed through Stamp End Lock and they were none too
pleased when they discovered numerous boats were coming off the
Foss Dyke and using the river within Lincoln without reaching
as far as the lock. Immediately the commissioners put a boom across
the river at High Bridge and levied the carriers for unpaid tolls
- the very thing that Lincoln city had feared in the 1750's and
had objected to when the river's Act was passed in 1762. The traders
who used the river (probably backed by Lincoln city) wrote to
the river commissioners complaining about the charges for using
the river above the lock. Their letter included a pretty clear
warning that if the boom and tolls were not lifted they would
report the commissioners for failing to construct Stamp End Lock
in the way dictated by the Act of Parliament! The commissioners
obviously felt this threat had a sound base as they immediately
removed the boom and dropped the charges. However, this kept the
bad feelings going between Lincoln and the river commissioners
and there was still no navigable link for large boats from the
Foss Dyke to the river.
1783 Despite all the bad news, poor income and lack of
money, there was some reason for optimism on the Witham Navigation
during this period... For instance, a number of arms which would
branch off the main river navigation were talked about. One such
branch was a line to Sleaford where, at a number of meetings,
the possibility of making the River Slea navigable was discussed.
Nothing was actually done at this point but the idea was not forgotten.
Other schemes were started - such as the Tattershall Canal - while
other schemes were started and completed - such as the conversion
of the drainage ditches which ran into the East and West Fens
on the north of the River Witham near Boston. This scheme had
first been mooted 4 years earlier but lack of money had prevented
a lock being built. This was now overcome by the installation
of "flood doors" and the new navigations became collectively
known as the Witham Navigable Drains.
1787 The Tattershall Canal opened, running north for 2
miles from near Tattershall Bridge (on the Witham Navigation)
to Coningsby.
1789 While the Witham Navigation continued to struggle
for income, Richard Ellison II's business ability - together with
the increasing use of artificial waterways in general - saw the
Foss Dyke's toll income rise steadily to £2,367. The River
Trent was now in a very good navigable state and canals like the
Trent & Mersey and Erewash were running successfully and carrying
goods to and from places as far away as Derby, Stoke, the Black
Country and Manchester.South Yorkshire and even places like Rochdale
in the Pennines were able to receive farm produce from Lincolnshire
thanks to the Foss Dyke. Meanwhile, because of the continued unfriendly
relations, there was no way Lincoln city would co-operate with
the River Witham commissioners to allow normal canal boats to
pass through High Bridge, in the city centre, onto the river.
It seems rather ludicrous that canal boats could reach Lincoln
from Wolverhampton but not from Woodhall Spa - just 10 miles away
on a waterway with a direct connection!
1791 Help came from Sir Joseph Banks when he began to
push for the building of a canal from the River Witham Navigation
to Horncastle. His town was rich in agricultural produce and he
wanted it linked to the main inland waterways network. Banks'
plan was simple enough - just include, as part of the Bill, the
construction of a navigable link between the Foss Dyke (on the
west of Lincoln) and the Witham Navigation (on the east), thus
avoiding Lincoln and High Bridge altogether. He employed William
Jessop to survey a possible link.Jessop reported back with two
alternatives. The first would be to build a new waterway via Sincel
Dyke which would pass around the south of the city. The other,
and more obvious, was to increase the depth under High Bridge
which was then only 18 inches and had a wooden floor. The first
plan would mean building a brand new cut while the second plan
was a simple enough conversion. However, the first would bypass
Lincoln while the second would need the city's full co-operation.
In the end Banks was able to convince the city that if High Bridge
was made navigable, the extra income would far outweigh any other
losses. Given that the alternative for the city was the prospect
of a new canal completely bypassing them, it was probably fairly
easy for Banks to persuade them.
Work began on deepening the channel under High Bridge. The main
problem was not in making it deep enough but in how to overcome
its narrowness. Not only were there buildings on the famous old
bridge but other buildings completely enclosed the river on both
sides. Canal boats needed horses to pull them and horses needed
towpaths. If a towpath was included, the channel would have to
become even narrower and that would cause problems because deep,
narrow rivers have much stronger currents than shallow, wide ones.
1792 Richard Ellison II died leaving his Foss Dyke navigation
(now known as the Fossdyke Canal) in a better state than ever
with income up to £3,000 a year. His death did not bring
about the end of the Ellison family's association with the canal
however. It seemed that whenever one Richard Ellison died, another
one was always waiting in the wings. (Colonel) Richard Ellison
III inherited two thirds of his father's shares with brother Henry
taking the other third. Henry had no interest in the canal however
and he left all the control to Richard III. Richard had lots of
interest in the canal but only on the income side! It seemed it
was virtually impossible to get money out of him for maintenance
and repairs. Subsequently, the canal began to slowly deteriorate
though at first this was hardly noticeable and profits continued
to rise.
Also during this year the long talked about Horncastle Canal
and the Sleaford Navigation both got their authorisation from
Parliament. Both were strongly backed by all the local corporations,
influential traders and the Witham Navigation commissioners. The
Sleaford Navigation was built with little difficulty and opened
in May 1794 but only parts of the Horncastle route were begun.
Despite all the support it still ran into many problems, most
of them financial. Delays kept putting the completion date back
year after year. Both of the new routes made an agreement with
the River Witham Navigation whereby any boat using both the River
Witham and either one of the two new waterways would receive a
toll concession.
1795 The new channel under High Bridge was opened allowing
traditional canal boats to travel from anywhere on the fast growing
inland waterways network to Boston for the first time. Needless
to say, the new link was a roaring success though tolls for passage
through it increased steadily over the next decade.
1801 After many years of little activity, the owners of
the unfinished Horncastle Canal applied for - and received - a
new Act allowing them to complete their route. The canal, which
was in effect an extension of the earlier Tattershall Canal, opened
during the following year. It left the River Witham near Coningsby
and ran north for about 9 miles into Horncastle.
1802 The commissioners of the River Witham Navigation
were finding it very difficult to maintain the river with income
often much lower than spending. John Rennie was called in to survey
the river and he reported that his initial concern was Kirkstead
Lock. It had been built in 1770 with an adjoining staunch which
was in very bad condition. Rennie's report on the lock said that
he was surprised that it was still standing. Its poor building
and bad placement could only satisfactorily be rectified by pulling
it down and rebuilding a brand new lock in a better position.
Later in the year he also recommended that Boston Sluice should
be avoided and boats should have to reach the east side of the
town by use of the navigable drains or by the construction of
a brand new cut, bypassing the sluice and running into Boston
Harbour.
1803 Rennie returned to complete his recommendations.
This time he suggested the complete demolition of High Bridge
with the building of a new bridge which would allow a wider channel
with a towpath. His survey also included many drainage improvements
and his estimates were £58,000 for the Witham Navigation
and £12,600 for the Fossdyke Canal at High Bridge. Neither
of the two sets of proprietors were willing to pay this much and
nothing was done.
1807 The commissioners of the Witham Navigation, by now
in even more desperate need for improvements and repairs, called
John Rennie in again, asking him to make a new survey with a cheaper
outcome! For Kirkstead lock he advised its demolition along with
the removal of Barlings Lock. The construction of just one new
lock somewhere near to Washingborough church would take away the
need for the two old locks. An Act of Parliament was obtained
and the long awaited upgrading began. In the end, rather than
building the new lock near Washingborough church, a brand new
cut at Fiskerton was begun and new locks replaced old ones at
Stamp End and Bardney. Kirkstead lock was demolished and Barlings
Lock was removed.
1812 During the construction of these latest upgrades
to the Witham Navigation, an amazing story was reported in local
newspapers concerning the navvies (labourers) who worked on the
improvements.These men were invariably not local men but travellers
who moved around the country working on new navigations or did
other construction work. They were generally badly (if at all)
educated and were usually unruly. The following account of disorder,
at Bardney on the River Witham, is exceptional even by their standards.....
A dispute arose concerning the price of bread which was sold
to the navvies daily by a Mr. Edmonds of Wragby - the baker. The
navvies began to riot outside the Plough public house on the west
side of the river. They drove the landlord out of his house and
stole the beer barrels, opened them and drank the contents. Now
drunk - as well as angry with the baker - they tore down the pub
sign and stole the baker's basket before proceeding to cross the
river. On the far side they entered Bardney with one man riding
"piggy-back" holding the Plough pub sign aloft and declaring
free beer for all, he was surrounded by a mob of navvies who all
carried their plank hooks and other tools. The whole mob chased
after the baker, pelted him with his own bread (let us hope it
was fresh) and then hung his basket high in a tree. Next, the
mob attacked the Bottle of Glass pub, fetched the beer barrels
outside and drank the lot. When the landlord of another pub, the
Angel, saw them heading his way he rolled out his barrels himself
to prevent being attacked and having his house ransacked. Once
the mob had emptied their third pub of the day they began to invade
the houses within the village. Items were stolen and residents
were attacked. The village constable had to flea and hide in the
local almshouses until reinforcements could be called for. Thirteen
more constables were sent from Horncastle, over 10 miles away,
but they were no match for the mob. In fact one constable was
so badly hurt in the fighting that he later died in hospital.
Meanwhile, the cavalry had been called for and they arrived with
a magistrate, Rev. Mouncey of Gautby. He read out the Riot Act
and the cavalry soon rounded up the mob, some of which had gone
into hiding. They were loaded into 3 waggons and carted off to
Horncastle. Later they were tried and imprisoned.
1813 A lock was built at Anton's Gowt some 34 years after
it was first proposed. It superseded the flood doors, built around
1783, which had been installed to allow boats onto the Witham
Navigable Drains.
1816 John Rennie was called in once again to report on
any possible improvements to the Witham Navigation. He reported
back saying he had noted 4 more unused drains were navigable and
could be used by boats without any major works needing to be done.
These were all on the south side of the river to the west of Bardney
and Woodhall Spa.
Over the next decade or so the river continued - as it had done
- to struggle to find money. The commissioners were even accused
a number of times of gross waste of their resources.
1817 The first two steam powered boats to use the Fossdyke
Canal were launched from Sincel Dyke. These were both packet boats
which carried passengers between Boston and Nottingham. One of
them, the Witham, ran into big trouble during its first year when
a boiler burst on a journey to Boston. Fortunately none of the
30 passengers were hurt but it probably took them a long time
before getting on a steam boat again! This would have pleased
the sailing packet boat operators no end. In fact, there was a
lot of inevitable friction between the owners of sailing boats
and the steam operated boats but (equally as inevitable) it was
the steam boats which survived.
1820's While the Witham Navigation was struggling to find
cash, Colonel Richard Ellison III was rolling in profits from
his Fossdyke Canal. The trouble was, he had hardly done a thing
to maintain it since his father died nearly 30 years earlier.
Disgruntled users and local traders tied in vain to push him into
doing more to maintain the waterway. However, Ellison was very
powerful and influential in Lincoln and there was little the traders
could do. Eventually enough support was gathered to put a Bill
of Chancery through Parliament which would declare Ellison's lease
void on the grounds that he was not keeping up the original agreement
that tolls levied should be reflected in the amount of maintenance
carried out. As virtually no maintenance was being done and yet
tolls remained very high, the traders seemed to have a pretty
good cause for complaint. Ellison was obviously worried enough
because he quickly came up with a compromise of maintenance plans.
By this time however there was a large group of anti-Ellison men
who wanted only one thing - rid of him.
1826 Back on the Witham Navigation, John Rennie reported
that the River Ancholme Navigation, some 10 miles north of Lincoln,
could be reached by creating a linking canal. Such a route would
give the River Witham a direct link to the Humber, completely
bypassing the Fossdyke Canal. Rennie was asked to make a survey
and he came up with two possible routes though neither were ever
put into practice. This may have been due to the usual lack of
funds but may also have had something to do with the change in
ownership of the Fossdyke Canal which happened during the following
year.
1827 While the Bill of Chancery concerning the Fossdyke
Canal was still waiting to be heard, Colonel Ellison died leaving
control of the waterway in the hands of his brother Henry. Still
totally disinterested in the canal business, Henry handed control
over to his brother-in-law, Humphrey Sibthorp. Coincidentally,
Sibthorp was already one of the proprietors of the Witham Navigation.
He sympathised with those who had wanted rid of Ellison as he
knew only too well that the Fossdyke Canal desperately needed
improving.
1828 Problems arose for the steam packet boat operators
who found it incredibly difficult going during the bad floods
of that year. One boat even got stuck on a runaway hedge and was
dragged off with the flood into the neighbouring countryside.
1829 A new paddle was invented, by a Lincoln man, for
use on the steam packet boats. It enabled them to go much faster
on the Witham Navigation - mind you, the speed limit was just
6mph!
1833 As part of Sibthorp's efforts to improve the Fossdyke
Canal, he contacted none other than Marc Isambard Brunel. The
engineer accepted Sibthorp's invitation to make a survey of the
canal and when he arrived he was very thorough. He took measurements
of the canal at various points and measured all the boats in Brayford
Pool. He also took a boat ride from the River Trent to Lincoln
and found no major problems with the journey. However, when he
passed onto the river Witham channel under High Bridge his keel
got stuck and had to be dragged out. He made a report on his findings
but nothing was done - possibly because Henry and Humphrey were
waiting for the outcome of the Bill of Chancery report.
1836 The first iron steam boats appeared on the Fossdyke
and Witham navigations and they were an instant success, being
clearly more efficient than their predecessors.
1839 The Chancery case dragged on and on, so long in fact,
that Henry Ellison also died. The case was then abandoned. With
Humphrey Sibthorp in full control conditions were now much better.
During the following years both the Witham Navigation and the
Fossdyke Canal continued to do fairly well. Most of the trade
on the river navigation was centred around Boston while the canal
continued to serve Lincoln as it had done for many centuries though
goods now came from and went to towns all over the country.
1840's The railway age arrived and the first company to
attempt the construction of a line to Lincoln was the Wakefield,
Lincoln & Boston Railway Company. They made the same sort
of agreement with the waterways as were being made all over the
country. This was usually an agreement to take over the navigations
as soon as their railway was up and running. They would also usually
agree to pay the navigation's owners an assured income. In return,
they would get control of the navigations, thus preventing competition.
This usually suited the navigation proprietors who knew they could
not compete with the railways. These agreements always sounded
great when they were made, but nearly every "local"
railway company was engulfed by (or merged with) a larger "regional"
company. Usually these companies were happy enough to carry over
the agreements but 9 times out of 10 these "regional"
railways were taken over by a "national" railway just
before the line was complete. The "national" company
in the case of Lincoln was Great Northern Railways who became
almost famous for their hatred of canals!
1848 The railway line into Lincoln was almost complete
when GNR bought out the smaller railway company. GNR honoured
the agreement made with the waterways, including taking on all
of the Witham Navigation's debt and mortgages. It would have took
the commissioners decades to pay these off but GNR cleared them
in just 9 years.
The railway line from Lincoln to Boston clung to the Witham Navigation
throughout the whole journey. This created massive battles for
business between the packet boats and the new passenger trains.However,
just as sailing boats are no match for steam boats, steam boats
are no match for steam trains. Anything the packet boats did,
the railway would counter. GNR built its stations very close to
the river's landing stages, they invented "4th class travel"
at a ha'penny a mile - the packet boats simply could not compete
and by 1863 they were all put out of business.
It was not just passenger travel which suffered of course. In
the year before the railway opened, nearly 20,000 tons of coal
passed by Boston Sluice. Within just a couple of years of railway
operation this dropped to under 4,000 tons. Wool carriage completely
disappeared and it looked as though all other merchandise would
do the same.
1871 GNR (and the other railways) generally did nothing
to maintain the waterways under their control. This was usually
their only lawful way of closing them down - by letting them decay
beyond repair. However, GNR was not able to do this with the Fossdyke
& Witham Navigations as both were used for land drainage and
had to be kept in good order. When the drainage commissioners
asked for Bardney Lock to be deepened (for instance), the railway
were left with no choice but to do the work.
1881 Railway competition did not just affect the River
Witham and the Fossdyke Canal. Trade had been declining so badly
that the Sleaford Navigation was officially closed. The first
1¾ miles of the route were handed over to the River Witham
commissioners and this short stretch of the Sleaford Navigation
(known as Kyme Eau) has remained under the River Witham Navigation's
jurisdiction ever since (and has remained open).
1882 GNR subleased both of the navigations to the Great
Northern & Great Eastern Joint Committee. (In later years
the waterways became controlled by London & North Eastern
Railways).
1889 After many years of few (or no) boats travelling
off the River Witham to Horncastle, the Horncastle Canal was officially
closed. However, commercial traffic continued to carry coal to
Coningsby on the Horncastle Canal until 1910.
1897 The former Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire
Railway, which had become Great Central Railway, built a line
right down to Brayford Pool with a large warehouse and transhipment
facilities.
1910 Both the Witham Navigation and Fossdyke Canal were
suffering declines in tonnage. The Fossdyke Canal was faring the
better of the two with a lot of cargo being transhipped at Lincoln.However,
most of the goods now being carried were agricultural products
only.
After WW1 both navigations fell into dormancy. Commercial traffic
ceased and the waterways returned to being just well kept, and
very wide, drains. Individual authorities took over their local
sections of the River Witham and once split up it was impossible
to put plans together to put the whole line in order. At one point
13 different bodies had control over the different sections of
the river.
1950's After nationalisation the government placed the
Fossdyke Canal in its group 2 rating which basically meant it
would be kept open for leisure purposes but not maintained for
commercial purposes.Because the Fossdyke & Witham Navigations
were never officially abandoned - due to their drainage needs
- they became among the first to see pleasure craft.
1964 A new government report suggested that the Fossdyke
& Witham Navigations could be developed (along with such routes
as the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal and River Weaver) as commercial
concerns.However, while the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal and
Weaver Navigation were upgraded, it would appear that little was
done to the Fossdyke & Witham Navigations. The route continued
(and still continues to the present day) to provide holiday makers
with a peaceful and very rural - though very flat - landscape
with virtually no industry to spoil the tranquillity.
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Canals & Waterways: Roots
& Routes © Peter
Hardcastle 1994-2006
Website Design © Shaun
Smith 2003
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