This follows my previous article on the building of the Kennet and Avon canal and its great success initially. For instance, in 1816, the Bath stone to build St. Lawrence’s church, Hungerford, was brought along the canal to the building site alongside the towpath. However, the canal’s use declined after the railway came through in 1847. Of course, it was in the interest of the railway companies that the canals should fall into disuse.
Nationalisation in 1948 put the canals in the ‘care’ of consecutive organisations, which eventually became the current Canal & River Trust. Initially, these organisations had little interest in the canals and did not consider they had a future, but the 1950s saw the start of the canal restoration movement, whose aim was to use the canals as pleasure waterways.
One saving factor for the K&A was barge operator John Gould of Newbury, who won a legal case because the 1794 Act demanded the right of navigation in perpetuity. So the canal was saved in principle, but in reality it was a total mess. Long stretches without water were filled with undergrowth, broken and rotting lock gates, crumbling banks, locks filled with deep mud, and so on.
Restoration in earnest started in the early 1970s with volunteers working in weekend gangs. As skilled as they became, the task was totally beyond them and most of the work had to be done by contractors.
The main task for the volunteers was then raising vast amounts of money. Fortunately, the National Lottery came up trumps, providing £25 million, one of its largest grants. After nearly 20 years, the restoration was complete and the entire Kennet and Avon canal was reopened by Queen Elizabeth II on the 8th August 1990.
Today the work of the Trust is focused on maintenance. Dredging is on a 3-year cycle. Wooden lock gates last about 25 years. Steel gates were tried but proved to be a disaster.
However, as reported in the Newbury Weekly News dated 23rd March 2000:
Members of the Newbury Britain in Bloom committee were joined by local canoeists, residents, representatives of the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust and canal enthusiasts, actors Timothy West and Prunella Scales, for the sixth annual River and Environmental Space Clean Up Event (RESCUE). On Saturday, the volunteers worked on the canal, using grappling hooks and ropes to dredge the bottom.
Passers-by were amazed at what came out and soon a crowd gathered to watch. The newspaper reported that, among the items pulled out of Newbury’s rivers and canals at the weekend, were eighty-five shopping trolleys, two armchairs, a tractor tyre, and security fencing and signposts, complete with concrete foundations.
“It just got to the point where we just threw the grappling hooks in and would pull something out. It was a lucky dip,” said one of the organisers.
Hopefully, our 2,000 miles of waterways in England and Wales will now be kept in good repair and continue to provide homes and leisure pursuits for all who wish to use them.
Iris Lloyd