CanalplanAC

Nick's Collection of Notable Dates in Waterways History


1620
Monday 14 AugustThe Court of Sewers for the counties of Nottinghamshire, Linconshire and Yorkshire was established by Royal Warrant to settle drainage and navigation disputes
1629
Tuesday 6 JanuaryCornelius Vermuyden was knighted in recognition of his work in drainage and navigation
1726
Saturday 14 MayThe Act for improvements to the River Don was obtained
1757
Tuesday 9 AugustThomas Telford, canal engineer, was born
1759
Friday 23 MarchThe Act for the Bridgewater Canal from Worsley to Salford was obtained
1760
Thursday 24 JulyBarton Aqueduct opened
1762
Wednesday 24 MarchThe Act for the Bridgewater Canal to Runcorn was obtained
1765
Sunday 8 DecemberJames Brindley married Anne Henshall
1766
Wednesday 29 JanuaryA public meeting to promote the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal took place in Wolverhampton
Tuesday 18 FebruaryThe bill for the Trent and Mersey Canal was presented to parliament
Wednesday 14 MayThe Act for the Trent and Mersey Canal was obtained
The Act for the Staffordshire and Worcester Canal was obtained
Saturday 26 JulyThe first sod of the Trent and Mersey Canal was cut, by Josiah Wedgwood, at Brownhills
1767
Wednesday 28 JanuaryThe first meeting to promote the Birmingham Canal took place
1768
Sunday 3 JanuaryConstruction of the Forth and Clyde Canal started
Friday 29 JanuaryThe Act for the Coventry Canal was obtained
Wednesday 24 FebruaryThe Act for the Birmingham Canal was obtained
Tuesday 24 MayConstruction of the Coventry Canal started
Monday 18 JulyAn attempt was made to raise funds for Brindley's plan for a canal bridge from Runcorn to Widness
Tuesday 25 OctoberA meeting to promote the Oxford Canal took place at the Three Tuns Inn, Banbury
1769
Tuesday 13 JuneWedgewood's Etruria works opened "Artes Etruria renascunter"
Thursday 10 AugustThe first load of coal was carried from Bedford to Coventry
Monday 6 NovemberThe Birmingham Canal opened from Paradise Street to Wednesbury
1770
Sunday 24 JuneThe Trent and Mersey Canal opened from Derwent Mouth to Shugborough
Saturday 18 AugustA meeting took place to promote a canal from Walsall to Fradley
1771
Thursday 27 JuneThe Droitwich Canal opened
Tuesday 12 NovemberThe Trent and Mersey Canal opened from the Trent to Stone
1772
Wednesday 1 AprilThe Act for the Chester Canal was obtained
Thursday 28 MayThe Staffordshire and Worcester Canal opened
Monday 21 SeptemberThe Birmingham Canal joined the Staffs and Worcs at Aldersley
Sunday 27 SeptemberJames Brindley, engineer of many early canals, died
1773
Sunday 10 JanuaryRuncorn Locks opened from the River Mersey to the Bridgewater Canal
Thursday 15 JulyThe Act for the Chelmer and Blackwater Canal was obtained
1774
Friday 18 FebruaryThe first boat passed through the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in Lancashire
1775
Monday 16 JanuaryThe Chester Canal opened from Chester to Huxley Aqueduct
Tuesday 26 SeptemberThe Trent and Mersey Canal opened from the Trent to Middlewich
1776
Wednesday 13 MarchWilliam "strata" Smith, engineer of the Somerset Coal Canal and known as "The Father of British Geology", was born
Thursday 21 MarchThe Bridgewater Canal extension to Runcorn opened
Tuesday 2 AprilThe Act for the Stourbridge Canal was obtained
The Act for the Dudley Canal was obtained
1777
Tuesday 15 AprilThe Oxford and the Coventry Canals joined at Longford
1778
Monday 30 MarchThe Oxford Canal opened as far south as Banbury
Monday 1 JuneDudley Tunnel opened as far as Tipton Colliery
1779
Friday 3 DecemberThe Dudley and the Stourbridge Canals opened
1782
Thursday 20 JuneThe Oxford, Coventry, Trent and Mersey and Birmingham and Fazeley Canals met at Coleshill to agree the plan whereby the T&M and B&F would complete the Coventry's from Fazeley to Fradley if the Oxford would complete their canal to Oxford and the Coventry extend to Fazeley
1789
Thursday 2 JulyThe temporary lower summit (just above current old main line summit) of the Birmingham Canal opened
1790
Tuesday 6 AprilThe new summit of the Birmingham Canal opened
Tuesday 13 JulyThe Coventry Canal opened from Atherstone to Fazeley
Wednesday 11 AugustThe Birmingham and Fazeley Canal opened
1791
Friday 13 MayThe Act for the Leicester Navigation was obtained
The Act for the Manchester Bolton and Bury Canal was obtained
1792
Tuesday 6 MarchA new, realigned, junction at Tipton opened
Monday 11 JuneThe Act for the Ashton-under-Lyne and Oldham Canal was obtained
Friday 20 JulyA public meeting at the Bull Inn in Stoney Stratford took place to promote the Grand Junction Canal
Monday 15 OctoberDudley Tunnel opened
Sunday 28 OctoberJohn Smeaton, canal engineer, died
1793
Tuesday 30 AprilThe Act for the Leicester and Northampton Union (The Old Union) Canal was obtained
The Act for the Grand Junction Canal was obtained
Tuesday 7 MayThe Act for the Oakham Canal was obtained
Thursday 30 MayA meeting was held at the George Inn, Huddersfield, to promote the Huddersfield Narrow Canal
1794
Monday 10 FebruaryThe Glamorganshire Canal opened
Friday 21 FebruaryThe River Line of the Leicester Navigation opened from Loughborough to Leicester
Friday 28 MarchThe Act for the Peak Forest Canal was obtained
Friday 4 AprilThe Act for the Rochdale Canal was obtained
The Act for the Huddersfield Narrow Canal was obtained
Friday 24 OctoberThe Forest Line of the Leicester Navigation opened from Nanpantan to Thringstone
Tuesday 28 OctoberThe first five miles (Leicester to Blaby) of the Old Union Canal opened
Monday 3 NovemberThe Grand Junction canal opened from Brentford to Uxbridge
1795
Saturday 3 JanuaryJosia Wedgwood, promotor of several early canals, died
Saturday 25 JulyConstruction of Pontcysyllte Aqueduct started
1796
Saturday 23 AprilThe first boat - the brig Fortunes Increase sailed into Heybridge Basin on the Chelmer and Blackwater Canal
Tuesday 21 JuneThe Grand Junction Canal opened from Braunston to Weedon
Braunston Tunnel opened
1797
Wednesday 22 MarchThe Act for the Leek Branch of the Trent and Mersey Canal was obtained
Wednesday 29 MarchThe Hudderfield Narrow Canal opened between Huddersfield and Slaithwaite
Friday 7 AprilThe Old Union Canal opened from Leicester to Debdale
Tuesday 6 JuneThe Act for the Caldon Canal extension from Froghall to Uttoxeter was obtained
The Act for the Burslem Branch of the Trent and Mersey Canal was obtained
1798
Thursday 29 MarchThe Hereford and Gloucester Canal opened from Gloucester to Ledbury
1800
Thursday 1 MayThe Peak Forest Canal opened with the exception of Marple Locks
Wednesday 28 MayThe Grand Junction Canal opened from Tring Summit to Fenny Stratford
1801
Friday 1 MayThe Buckingham Branch of the Grand Junction Canal opened
Friday 10 JulyThe Paddington Branch of the Grand Junction Canal opened
1805
Monday 25 MarchBlisworth Tunnel opened
Friday 31 MayThe Aberdeenshire Canal opened
Thursday 25 JulyPassage of wide boats through Braunston and Blissworth Tunnels
Monday 26 AugustThe original Wolverton Aqueduct opened
Tuesday 26 NovemberPontcysyllte Aqueduct opened
1808
Thursday 18 FebruaryWolverton Aqueduct collapsed
Friday 10 JuneA temporary wooden aqueduct at Wolverton opened
1809
Saturday 9 SeptemberThe foundation stone for the new Wolverton Aqueduct was laid
Friday 13 OctoberThe Old Union Canal opened as far as Market Harborough
1810
Thursday 24 MayThe Act for the Grand Union Canal (now known as the Old Union) was obtained
Monday 13 AugustConstruction of the Aylesbury Arm of the Grand Junction Canal started
Saturday 13 OctoberThe Paisley Canal opened
Saturday 10 NovemberMany drowned when a canal boat capsized in the Glasgow and Ardrossan canal
Thursday 29 NovemberBlack Moss reservoir (for the Huddersfield Narrow Canal) burst its banks; 6 people died
Monday 10 DecemberThe first boat passed through Foulridge Tunnel
1811
Sunday 27 JanuaryThe new Wolverton Aqueduct opened
Thursday 4 AprilThe Huddersfield Narrow Canal opened
Tuesday 3 SeptemberThe Caldon Canal extension from Froghall to Uttoxeter opened
1812
Thursday 1 OctoberFoxton Locks opened
1814
Friday 17 JuneThe Act for the Newport Pagnall Canal was obtained
Tuesday 9 AugustThe Old Union Canal opened
Friday 18 NovemberWilliam Jessop, engineer of many later canals and pioneer of the use of iron, died
1815
Monday 1 MayThe Northampton Branch of the Grand Junction Canal opened
Thursday 18 MayJames Francis, engineer of the Great Western Canal Co and Chief Engineer of the US Merrimack River Navigation), was born
1816
Monday 19 FebruaryBaswich, or St Thomas, Lock opened joining the Staffs and Worcs to the River Sow and hence to Stafford
1817
Tuesday 24 JuneThe Tavistock Canal opened
1818
Friday 17 JulyConstruction of Sharpness Docks started
Thursday 30 JulyA packet boat with a pleasure party aboard sank in the Manchester Bolton and Bury Canal at Withins Bridge
1819
Monday 18 JanuaryJames Barnes, Resident Engineer to the Grand Junction Canal, died
1820
Tuesday 1 AugustThe Regents Canal opened
1822
Thursday 24 OctoberThe Caledonian Canal opened
1825
Wednesday 26 OctoberThe Erie Canal opened
1826
Wednesday 19 AprilA llama, a kangaroo, a four horned ram and a female goat with 2 kids arrived in Derby by canal
1827
Thursday 26 AprilThe Gloucester and Sharpness Canal opened
1829
Tuesday 2 JuneAshwood Basin, on the Staffs and Worcs opened
Friday 18 SeptemberThe Large Dock at Runcorn opened taking ships up to 32ft wide
1833
Sunday 1 SeptemberThe Wardle Green section of the Trent and Mersey opened
Wednesday 9 OctoberWilliam Praed, first Chairman of the Grand Junction Canal, died
1835
Monday 2 MarchThe Birminham and Liverpool Junction Canal opened (now part of the SU main line)
1836
Monday 22 AugustThe Croydon Canal was closed
1839
Monday 17 JuneChristina Collins was murdered by boatmen on the Trent and Mersey Canal
Wednesday 28 AugustWilliam "strata" Smith, engineer of the Somerset Coal Canal and known as "The Father of British Geology", died
Monday 28 OctoberThe Manchester and Salford Junction Canal opened
1845
Thursday 22 MayThe Hereford and Gloucester Canal opened
Construction of the Hereford and Gloucester Canal from Ledbury to Hereford started
Monday 21 JulyThe Hudderfield Narrow Canal amalgamated iwth the Huddersfield and Manchester Railway
1847
Friday 31 DecemberPickfords stopped carrying
1850
Thursday 10 OctoberThe Chesapeake and Ohio Canal opened
1854
Tuesday 31 JanuaryThe lease for the Runcorn Ferry was granted to Gilbert Greenall (the previous incumbent having been sacked for drunkenness)
Tuesday 19 DecemberThe first steam screw propellor boat on the Lancaster Canal - the Dandy - took its firsts trip
1860
Saturday 29 SeptemberCoombswood Tube Works on the Dudley Canal reopened
1864
Thursday 8 SeptemberThe Newport Pagnall Canal was closed
1869
Wednesday 17 NovemberThe Suez Canal opened
1874
Friday 2 OctoberThe Tilbury exploded under Macclesfield Bridge
1876
Saturday 1 JulyThe Grand Junction Canal Company stopped carrying
1881
Thursday 30 JuneThe Hereford and Gloucester Canal was closed from Ledbury to Gloucester
1885
Friday 18 SeptemberJames Francis, engineer of the Great Western Canal Co and Chief Engineer of the US Merrimack River Navigation, died
1887
Wednesday 8 JuneThe contract for constructing the Manchester Ship Canal was signed
Friday 11 NovemberThe first sod of the Manchester Ship Canal was cut, by Lord Egerton, at the site of Eastham Lock.
1892
Friday 25 MarchConstruction of Richmond half-tide barrier started
1893
Monday 17 JulyThe Manchester Ship Canal opened as far as Runcorn Old Quay
1894
Monday 1 JanuaryThe Manchester Ship Canal opened
Saturday 19 MayRichmond half-tide barrier was opened by the Duke and Duchess of York
Friday 7 DecemberFerdinad de Lesseps, engineer of the Suez Canal, died
1895
Monday 11 MarchRuncorn Ferry reopened after being out of operation for four years
1900
Tuesday 26 JuneThe Leeds and Liverpool Canal at Poolstock breached
Tuesday 10 JulyFoxton Inclined Plane opened
The Act for the Runcorn to Widnes Transporter Bridge was obtained
1905
Monday 29 MayRuncorn Transporter Bridge opened by Sir John Brunner
1909
Thursday 5 AugustCharles Hadfield, canal historian, was born
1911
Thursday 11 MayThe last trip across the Thames and Severn Canal took place
1913
Monday 17 NovemberThe Steamship Louise was the first through the Panama Canal
1917
Thursday 1 MarchCanals were placed under the control of the Canal Committee of the Board of Trade as part of the war effort
1920
Tuesday 31 AugustCanals reverted to private control after the First World War
1921
Sunday 6 NovemberThe last commercial cargo passed through Standedge Tunnel
1925
Wednesday 8 JulyKing George V travelled from Widnes to Runcorn on the Transporter Bridge
1929
Tuesday 1 JanuaryThe Grand Union Canal was formed
1931
Thursday 26 NovemberRodolph Fane de Salis, last Chairman of the Grand Junction Canal, died
1932
Friday 1 JanuaryThe Leicester, Loughborough and Erewash navigations joined the Grand Union
1934
Tuesday 30 OctoberThe Duke of Kent opened the widened Grand Union locks
1945
Saturday 11 AugustThe first meeting of LTC Rolt and Robert Aickman took place at Tardebigge
1946
Friday 15 FebruaryThe inaugural meeting of the IWA took place
1947
Tuesday 20 MayThe Battle of Lifford Lane took place
1948
Thursday 1 JanuaryThe Board of Trade took over the waterways on nationalisation
1949
Tuesday 1 MarchThe Basingstoke Canal was sold at auction for 6000 pounds
1950
Friday 14 JulyLTC Rolt resigned from the IWA committee
1951
Tuesday 20 FebruaryThe founding, and first meeting, of the Great Ouse Restoration Association took place
Friday 26 OctoberRobert Aickman resigned as IWA Chairman
1955
Saturday 24 SeptemberThe first boat passed through the restored Bedford Lock on the Great Ouse
1956
Thursday 26 JulyColonel Nasser, president of Egypt, announces nationalisation of the Suez Canal
1962
Wednesday 24 OctoberThe new Thames Lock at Brentford opened
1963
Saturday 4 MayThe Canal Museum at Stoke Bruerne opened
Friday 17 MayCardington Lock on the Great Ouse reopened
1967
Tuesday 16 MayThe Grand Union Canal Society was formed
1968
Sunday 22 SeptemberLesley Morton, founder of Willow Wren, died
1972
Saturday 12 AugustThe new lock at Roxton on the Great Ouse was opened by the Duke of Bedford
Tuesday 22 AugustThe fitting of a new top gate to Engine Lock marked the start of official restoration of the Caldon Canal
1973
Saturday 21 AprilParkhead Locks and Dudley Tunnel after restoration opened
1974
Saturday 28 SeptemberThe Caldon Canal was reopened at a ceremony at Cheddleton Wharf
Friday 18 OctoberQueen Elizabeth II took a 23 mile cruise on the River Thames, from Hurley to Runnymede
1976
Saturday 8 MayGreat Barford and Willington Locks on the Great Ouse reopened
Saturday 12 JuneSonia Rolt opened the first stage of the Ellesmere Port Boat Museum (in the former tollhouse)
Monday 5 JulyManpower Services Commission funded work on the Rochdale Canal, in Rochdale, started
Tuesday 13 JulyRose Skinner, one of the last of the Number Ones, died
1978
Friday 28 AprilCastle Mill Lock reopened , the last lock to be restored on the Great Ouse
1979
Thursday 25 JanuaryThe Great Ouse Restoration Society met for the last time - its work was complete
Monday 22 OctoberThe decision to close Preston Docks and redevelop them was taken
1980
Saturday 19 AprilThe Huddersfield Canal Society was formed
1981
Thursday 26 FebruaryRobert Aickman, founder of the IWA, died
Friday 30 OctoberPreston Docks was closed to commercial traffic
1982
Thursday 2 DecemberRober Aickman Lock on the River Avon opened
1984
Wednesday 22 AugustBlisworth Tunnel reopened after extensive repairs
1986
Tuesday 22 AprilThe James Brindley Public House opened by Gas Street Basin
Saturday 26 AprilA rally has held at Chadderton, Oldham, to protest against plans to pipe the Rochdale Canal under the M66 extension
Sunday 18 MayThe Llangollen Canal was reopened from Trevor to Llangollen after a 15 month stoppage resulting from a breach
1987
Friday 6 FebruaryBlack Prince Narrowboats Ltd went into receivership
Sunday 8 NovemberThe bottom lock on the Kyme Eau (Sleaford Navigation) reopened
1988
Wednesday 24 FebruaryNorth Yorkshire County Council agreed to provide a high level bridge on the Ripon bypass, thereby permitting reopening of the Ripon Canal to the terminal basin
Tuesday 8 MarchMaryhill Locks reopened on the Forth and Clyde Canal
Tuesday 15 MarchThe Broads Act received the Royal Assent
Saturday 19 MarchThe River Aire at Lemonroyd breached into St Aiden's opencase coal mine
Monday 21 MarchJim Yates, the last of the Yates Brothers - boat builders of Noron Cannes, died
Friday 1 AprilThe Waterways Museum at Gloucester Docks opened to the public opened
The Southern Stratford on Avon Canal was transferred from the National Trust to British Waterways
Sunday 19 JuneThe Royal Canal (Ireland) between Leixlip and Maynooth was officially reopened
Tuesday 19 JulyGraham Palmer, founder of wrg, died
Friday 5 AugustThe National Waterways Museum at Gloucester was officially opened by HRH Prince Charles
1989
Saturday 18 FebruaryLock 1 on the Chesterfield Canal at Tapton reopened
Saturday 25 FebruaryA milepost in memory of Graham Palmer, founder of wrg, was unveiled on the Montgomery Canal
Saturday 1 AprilThe Norfolk Broads became a National Partk
Wednesday 19 AprilA petition bearing 12109 signatures was handed in at the Welsh Office to protest at the decision of Peter Walker (the Secretary of State for Wales) not to allow local authorities to apply for EC funding for canal restoration. He was "unavailable" to receive the petition
Sunday 30 AprilThe last of the 44 lock nameboards put up by the Staffs and Worcs Canal Society was unveilved
Saturday 20 MayThe reconstructed lock at Limehouse opened
Wednesday 12 JulyThe Grand Western Canal Trust was formally constituted
Friday 24 NovemberThe Welsh Office refused to allow local authorities to spend money on restoring the Montgomery Canal
1990
Saturday 7 AprilJess Owen, traditional narrow boat painter, died
Wednesday 25 AprilA new tunnel from Castle Mill Basin to the Singing Cavern at Dudley opened
Sunday 29 AprilTapton Lock (also known as Ford Lane Lock) reopened on the Chesterfield Canal
Sunday 13 MayThe Stop House at Braunston reopened after renovation
Friday 15 JuneA culvert under the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal collapsed, closing the canal
Wednesday 8 AugustThe Kennet and Avon Canal was officially reopened, by the HM Queen Elizabeth II at Devizes
1991
Thursday 24 JanuarySpringer Engineering Ltd went into voluntary liquidation
Saturday 6 AprilLady de Freitas reopened Welshes Dam Lock
Friday 10 MayThe Duke of Kent reopened the Basingstoke Canal
Monday 2 SeptemberThe British Waterways Maintenance Yard at Wigan was closed
1992
Monday 9 NovemberThe Ridacre Branch of the BCN was closed to build the Black Country Spine Road
Tuesday 17 NovemberMutford Lock between Oulton Broad and Lake Lothing reopened
1993
Sunday 21 MarchMichael Streat, pioneer of pleasure boat operation, died
Monday 22 MarchLimehouse Cut was reopened after a three and a half year stoppage to build a road
Saturday 29 MaySpringfield Lock on the Chelmer and Blackwater Canal reopened
Sunday 20 JuneJack Monk, one of the last working boatmen, died
Friday 15 OctoberLocks 13W to 17W of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal in Mossley reopened
1994
Saturday 6 AugustCharles Hadfield, canal historian, died
2000
Friday 7 AprilThe Union Canal reopened from Linlithgow to Hermiston
Monday 31 JulyBrian Young, founding chairman of the Bedford and Milton Keynes Waterway Trust, died
Tuesday 15 AugustThe first boat entered the new Barton Turns Marina on the Trent and Mersey Canal
Friday 29 SeptemberOver Basin on the Hereford and Gloucester Canal reopened
Tuesday 21 NovemberThis planner was first announced by a posting to uk.rec.waterways
Wednesday 13 DecemberConstruction of the Ribble Link started
2001
Tuesday 1 MayThe Hudderfield Narrow Canal was reopened throughout
Saturday 26 MayThe Forth and Cylde Canal reopened
Friday 15 JuneThe first sod was cut at Turnerwood to start work on the restoration of the Chesterfield Canal from Shireoaks to Norwood
Tuesday 3 JulyA formal partnership of the Cotswold Canal Trust, BW and local councils to restore the Cotswold Canals was announced
Saturday 7 JulyThe first boats passed through the lock at Denver linking the Flood Relief Channel to the navigable waterways
Tuesday 17 JulyA new lock at Denver opened linking the Relief Channel to the waterway network
Saturday 25 AugustThe Union Canal through Wester Hailes, Edinburgh reopened
Friday 14 SeptemberA new Bridge 14 on the Leicester Section opened
Wednesday 19 SeptemberThe lock at Denver, connecting the Flood Relief Channel to the waterways network, opened by Lord Whitty
Thursday 20 SeptemberDrungewich Bridge on the Way and Arun Canal was reopened by Sir Neil Cossons, having closed in 1903
Friday 19 OctoberJohn Gagg, waterway journalist, died
Friday 2 NovemberThe Montgomery Canal reopened from Burgedin Locks to Arddleen
Monday 12 NovemberWhitwood Wharf (for aggregates) opened on the Aire and Calder at Wakefield
Monday 26 NovemberA new lock at Moira on the Ashby Canal opened
Tuesday 11 DecemberThe Falkirk Wheel rotated for the first time
2002
Wednesday 13 MarchThe first public meeting of the Friends of the Cromford Canal took place
Tuesday 26 MarchThe Anderton Lift reopened
Friday 31 MayHanbury Locks on the Droitwich Canal reopened
Monday 1 JulyThe Rochdale Canal reopened
2003
Friday 4 AprilAston Locks on the Montgomery Canal reopened
Wednesday 12 NovemberEdward Paget-Tomlinson, canal historian, died
2005
Saturday 26 MarchBugsworth Basin reopened
Friday 22 AprilDavid Hutchings, leader of the Stratford Canal and Upper Avon restoration schemes in the 1960s and 1970s, and widely regarded as the founder of the voluntary waterway restoration movement, died
Saturday 23 JulyFroghall Basin and the first lock of the Uttoxeter Canal were reopened by Charlotte Atkins MP
Tuesday 26 JulyA new link bridge at Ellesmere Port was opened by Ken Dodd
2006
Wednesday 30 AugustThe new junction of the Wilts and Berks and the Thames at Abingdon opened by the Mayor of Abingdon and a Councilor from Sutton Courtenay who jointly cut the ribbon from the bow of nb Jubilee