BW157/3

Bridgwater and Taunton Canal

1811-1945

BW157/3

The Bridgwater and Taunton Canal came from a revived scheme for a Bristol and Taunton Canal; it went from Taunton to the River Parret at Huntworth, bypassing the River Tone. Its Act received Royal Assent in 1824, the engineer was James Hollinsworth and by 1827 the 13½ mile line with 6 locks was opened. Water supply came from the Tone and as soon as the canal was open disputes with the Tone Conservators began. The disputes were resolved when in 1832 an Act was passed allowing the canal company to compulsorily purchase the river. The locks on the canal were 54 feet long x 13 feet wide and took boats of up to 18 tons. The main traffics being carried were North Country coal, lime and general goods. The first railway threats came in 1844 when the Bristol and Exeter Railway was completed, prior to this, in an effort to compete, the canal had extended a mile to Bridgewater and built a dock there closing the basin and lock at Huntworth in 1841. The Bristol and Exeter Railway bought the canal in 1867 and for ten years used it, modernising the docks at Bridgewater and the wharves on the Parret at Bridgewater and Dunball. The Bristol and Exeter Railway was taken over by the GWR in 1876 and the canal fell into decline. By 1907 the canal carried no trade and became disused. It remained disused until the 1970s when BWB and local authorities began restoration. For further information on the Bridgwater and Taunton Canal see Edward Paget-Tomlinson's The Illustrated History of Canals & River Navigations and The Canals of South West England by Charles Hadfield.