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Crinan Canal

Records of the Crinan Canal: canal notice 1887.

1887

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The proposed Crinan Canal was first surveyed in 1771 and much discussed over the following years. John Rennie re-surveyed the route in 1792. The Act authorising a canal from Loch Gilp to Loch Crinan was passed in May 1793. The purpose of the canal was to provide a safer and shorter alternative for the journey around the Mull of Kintyre and to open up the region to trade. It was also hoped that the opportunities brought would halt the flow of emigrants to America. Subscribers, most of whom were English, were informed that profits were only ever likely to modest. John Rennie was appointed chief engineer; John Paterson as resident engineer. The Duke of Argyll and Robert Campbell were elected governor of the company and chairman of the committee of management respectively. Work on the canal proceeded slowly due to labour and financial shortages. A year after the Act passed, some of the proprietors had not paid anything and a minority wanted to withdraw altogether. These requests were refused but even in 1798, the year the canal was supposed to be completed, many subscribers still had not paid. The war with France, coupled with the remoteness of the works, created such a shortage of labour that the Commander-in-Chief was asked to excuse men from military service to work on the canal. Those men who were available to work demanded wage increases. A shortage of boats meant that transporting stone was a slow and unpredictable affair, so in 1798 Paterson was sent to the Lowlands with orders to employ some suitable vessels. War also brought inflation that only added to the proprietors' troubles. Banks and individuals alike were reluctant to invest money in the scheme and the spiralling costs led some to suggest abandonment. The 9-mile canal was prematurely opened in July 1801 with 15 locks for vessels 88 feet by 20 feet. Fears that the banks would collapse meant that water was only let in slowly. So slowly, in fact, that in spring 1803 the depth was still less than 10 feet and vessel owners considered the canal unreliable. For several years afterwards there were long periods when the canal was closed for repairs. John Rennie had warned against using American oak because it would rot in a short space of time, and he was proved correct. James Hollinsworth was the resident engineer who oversaw the final improvements and the eventual completion of the canal in 1809. Within two years the canal was closed after a reservoir embankment collapsed due to poor workmanship and a heavy gale destroying sections of a road and lock gate. A bridge-keeper's daughter died when the bridge collapsed. James Hollinsworth's son Isaac was dismissed in January 1812 for incompetence. He had only become resident engineer the year before and was not replaced until 1814 when William Thomson took over. The Caledonian Canal's engineer Thomas Telford was given the task of improving the state of the Crinan Canal. His 1813 survey revealed the canal was in very poor condition. Bridges and lock gates needed replacing and the navigation had severe water supply problems due to leaking locks and damage to one of the reservoirs. He did state, however, that despite the dire state of the company's finances, the extensive and expensive repairs would be justified. His recommendation that the Caledonian Commissioners assume responsibility influenced the government to do exactly that. Heavily in debt to the government, control of the canal was taken from the proprietors by the government in 1816. The Commissioners of the Caledonian Canal had authority over it, and then in 1848 they were given permanent responsibility for it, much to the original proprietors' dismay. The original proprietors would only be able to regain the canal when they had paid off their debts, with interest, and refunded the money the Commissioners spent on the Crinan Canal. Some of the repairs mentioned in Thomas Telford's report had been completed by the time the Commissioners became involved although the overall state of the canal had not improved. Efforts were increased and once again the Crinan Canal was closed. Financially, the Commissioners were not in a particularly strong position themselves, as the Caledonian Canal was still several years away from opening. Trade improved once the Crinan Canal reopened. A passenger service from Glasgow to Fort William began in 1818 and was extended after the opening of the Caledonian Canal in 1822. The success of the service was marred slightly by the wrecking of the steamship in 1820, but this did not appear to deter passengers from travelling on its replacement. The number of passengers rose throughout the 1820s and 1830s and more boats were brought into operation. Despite its popularity, the Commissioners received numerous complaints about the standard of overnight accommodation provided. The actual revenue rarely reached the amount predicted and the Commissioners worried that they would be unable to pay for the expensive repairs. There was never really a period when the canal did not need serious repairs, replacements or improvements. In 1834 it was suggested that they increase rates and duties. The Commissioners did not feel able to do so in light of the fact that experienced vessel crews would prefer to use the Mull of Kintyre than pay expensive tolls on an unreliable canal. The introduction of steam navigation reduced the risks travelling round the Kintyre peninsula, and many of the steamers were unable to use the locks on the Crinan Canal. Parts of the canal were deepened and widened and a new pier was built in 1837. Urgent repairs forced the canal to close in 1835, and drought closed it again in 1844, 1845 and 1880. Work was done in 1846 to the reservoirs to try and resolve the problem of water supply. In 1847 Queen Victoria, her husband and children journeyed along the canal. Her visit provided a boost in the numbers of tourists visiting the canal. From 1842 trade on the canal increased and many of the merchants expressed a willingness to pay more in tolls if facilities were improved. An 1857 Act authorised the construction of various piers, jetties and other facilities needed to cope with the increasing livestock and passenger traffic. Traffic and revenue did increase, but not enough to cover the expenditure. A railway or ship-canal was suggested as a means of improving the Crinan Canal after an embankment collapsed in 1859 and damaged a mile of the canal. The Commissioners rejected the idea and closed the canal for 15 months to make repairs. They received permission to arrange a 99-year privately-held lease for the canal to relieve the burden on the public but nothing came of it. In October 1875 the Commissioners were the subject of an inquiry. Complaints had been made about the arbitrary rates, alleged favouritism and, as always, the inadequate condition of quays, wharves, sea-locks and the danger posed by jutting rocks in the western section. Consequently, a new system of rates was implemented. By this time, traffic on the canal was slumping again. Herring-fishery trade had all but gone and there was the threat of competition from the Glasgow to Oban railway. Over the years, the various resident engineers and superintendents had seen many suggested improvements that would lessen journey times and reduce working expenses. Suggestions included the lowering of the summit level and lengthening locks. All were rejected as too costly. The Crinan Canal faced little competition. Several schemes for canals and railways were authorised, including an Argyll Canal and Clyde, Ardrishaig & Crinan Railway. All would have been detrimental to the already-struggling canal; but each collapsed because insufficient funds were subscribed. Proposals for a new ship canal at the beginning of the 20th century divided those involved with the Crinan Canal. All agreed that the existing canal was inadequate and in bad condition, but there was no guarantee the volume of traffic would justify construction costs and the major disruption it would cause. The debate was ongoing when the First World War broke out, effectively halting any discussions on the future of the Crinan Canal. Traffic declined during the War because the Admiralty commandeered many of the steam 'puffers' that were capable of using the locks. Simultaneously, wartime inflation raised the costs of carrying out repairs. In 1919 the Ministry of Transport took over responsibility of the canal from the Commissioners. The tonnage carried continued to fall and, as no work had been carried out on the locks and bridges since 1911, the maintenance situation was getting quite desperate. A major renovation scheme started in 1930, a year after the passenger services were abandoned and the steamers replaced by coaches. Work included a new reservoir, deepening Ardrishaig Harbour and replacing the sea-locks. The Crinan Canal continued to make a loss after nationalisation. An inquiry in 1959 acknowledged this, but decided that the benefits of a communication link with remote areas and of the goods that it did carry were sufficient that the Crinan Canal should remain open. For further information on the Crinan Canal see Edward Paget-Tomlinson's'The Illustrated History of Canals & River Navigations' and Jean Lindsay's 'The Canals of Scotland'.

It has not been possible to ascertain any original structure of record-keeping from the small number of records held for this company. The subfonds has therefore been arranged in chronological order.