The Stamford Canal book Chapter 3

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The building of the Stamford to Market Deeping canal would have been a considerable undertaking. It involved six and a half miles of excavation as well as the construction of twelve locks and towpaths. We know, from observations on the ground, that the towpath changed sides at various places along the canal's length. This would have involved the building of bridges to enable the towing horse to cross over to the other side at these points. The type of bridge(s) used must be, because of lack of evidence, mere conjecture.

No documents could be found regarding the actual construction of the canal. When one considers that this waterway was, in many ways, a pioneer in the field of canal building, little seems to have been recorded about its opening. If there was an 'official' opening we have not been able to find any record of it. Richard Blome, in a description of England in 1673 remarked upon the traffic passing up and down the river "now made navigable and which affordeth no small advantage to the town and adjacent places". Thomas Surbey (see later) reported strings of barges passing along the canal in 1699.

The Royal Charter (King James) of 1621 stated that the route of the canal should be: from the north side of the River Welland between the east end of Stamford and Hudds Mill across the river called Newstead (Gwash) and thence through Uffington, Tallington and so onwards... .to... West Deeping and from there into an old ditch dividing the fields of West Deeping and a little land leading towards Market Deeping until it come to the Highway that leadeth from Tallington to Market Deeping and from thence on the south side of the said way to Market Deeping corn mill and so past the said corn mill'.

The actual physical construction of the canal would have been carried out by the use of many men with pickaxes, spades and wheel barrows. Back breaking work but the means by which all such constructions were made at that time. Not only would the watercourse have to be dug out by manual labour, but the existing river water course would have to be dammed. or at least the flow diverted whilst work was carried out. The work of the "navvy" or navigator, was heavy and monotonous, filling barrows with soil and removing them up the bank for disposal. Where the sides needed to be deep, the barrows were pushed up on planks. (A photograph of this is in D. Robinson's book 'Sir Joseph Banks and the East Fen'). Sometimes horses were used to haul the fully loaded waste barrows up the slope of the canal sides.

When Sir Joseph Banks wished to drain the East Fen in 1802, an advertisement for labourers appeared in the 'Rutland and Stamford Mercury'. One assumes that some kind of advertisement must have been posted by Daniel Wigmore, perhaps some handbills at local inns. Presumably word of mouth would also have been used. Newspapers of the type we know today, carrying advertisements, for people to build the canal, would not have been available. Even if there had been newspapers, it is unlikely that most would-be labourers would have been able to read.

The 'Industrial History of Spalding' quotes travellers in 1632 commenting on the river work from 'Frosdick Slough' to Deeping 'which they need not be long about, having 600 men daily at work in’t’.

Labour must therefore have been plentiful. Did the landowners 'loan' men to work on the canal when it passed through their land? It seems unlikely as these men were hired at the relevant Hiring Fairs to only do agricultural labour. If the landowner concerned had mercantile interests, this would not have been a source of labour.

When the trench had been dug there was the problem of puddling or lining the canal basin with clay to make it watertight. In 1974, excavations to carry out sewage work, close to the lock pen at Hudd's mill, in Stamford, revealed sections of the canal with a base lining of blue clay. Other excavations of a rubbish tip nearby, in 1979, revealed a similar lining of the canal. It is assumed that the source for this clay must have been local. The pottery industry of Stamford is likely to have used local materials. That there were clay pits dug for the pottery industry of Stamford is well known but their actual location is unknown (Kathy Kilmurry ‘eThe pottery industry of Stamford, Lincs. 850 to 1250').

The lakes at both Burghley House and Grimsthorpe Castle, a few miles away, are puddled with blue clay. Lady Victoria Leatham in her book 'Burghley' says " Capability Brown made the lake from the old stew ponds dating from the time of St Martin's priory". One assumes that these were the old monastic fishponds. Perhaps these fish ponds were clay lined. Did the monks know about puddling? Victoria Leatham also reports that "there is a seam of blue clay, which exactly follows the line of the present lake and is ideal for puddling". Clay also appears in alluvium along both the River Welland and River Gwash.

The problems of puddling are reported in John Rennie's letter to the Kennet and Avon Management Committee in 1804 (quoted in A.I Burton's. 'Canal Builders') "the makings of linings are tedious owing to the distance in many places from which clay is to be brought...". Even if clay were local it still had to be dug out and brought to where it was needed. It then had to be mixed with water to a suitable consistency and applied in successive layers to the bottom and sides of the canal. The most common method of doing this was to manually stamp in the semi-fluid puddle (hence the term 'puddling'). A large labour force would have had to be involved to get this work done in reasonable time.

The locks themselves were major constructions. Ten lock pens were constructed on the canal and two on the River Welland in Deeping St. James. At both places on the river where locks were constructed, there are now weirs adjacent to the lock pens. Although we have no actual evidence, we feel it is possible that the two weirs were already in place when the canal was constructed. Both weirs have a single metal lock gate to one side. This metal lock gate is used today to release water in times, of flood. In the past the gate is likely to have been made of wood. The gate could well have been used as a flash lock. The River Welland was in use as a navigable waterway before the 12th century. Weirs had been constructed since Saxon times in order to provide a head of water to power the mills. Staunches or flash locks had been in use in Europe since 1065, so there were examples to follow. The weirs in Deeping St. James could well have been in use during the earlier period of Stamford’fs history. A retired River Authority worker, who had responsibility for the River Welland between Stamford and the Deepings, has said that, until the 1950s, the river was tidal up to Deeping St. James. In the 1950s following disastrous flooding throughout the whole of the Fens, remedial work was undertaken on many rivers, including the River Welland. The work involved the construction of the 'Coronation Channel' in Spalding, after this the River Welland was only tidal up to Spalding.

The Stamford to Market Deeping canal is important in that it was, at the time of its construction, the longest locked canal in England (six and a half miles). The twelve lock pens had mitred gates. Although mitred lock gates had been in use on the continent for some time (they were invented in the 16th century by Leonardo Da vinci) it is thought that this was the first time such gates were used on a canal in England.

Mitred gates, like those used in the Stamford to Market Deeping canal, are still in use today. There is one slight difference on the gates of the Stamford Canal. The evidence seen suggests that the arms on the gates on the Stamford Canal were shorter than those in use today. The gates were, apparently, opened by means of chains attached to the gates. There is no reason to believe that basic construction methods changed over a hundred years or so, therefore those described, although from later sources, would probably have been similar in the seventeenth oentury. The gates on the two lock pens, on the River Welland at Deeping St. James, were removed in the 1950s. In Briggin's lock pen there are still (in 2005) traces of the wood of which the gates were constructed. The circular piece of metalwork used to hold the upper part of the gate is also still present on this lock (see photo.).

The original document giving permission to construct the canal mentions the Newstead river. This river (actually the River Gwash) joins the River Welland just to the east of Stamford. The canal left the River Welland on its north side, at Hudd's mill. To continue on this course (it would remain completely separate from the river for the whole of its six and half mile length) it had to cross the River Gwash just below Newstead mill. The River Gwash and the Stamford Canal were both on the same level. The crossing occurred, just below Newstead mill, where the canal entered, what is now, Uffington park. No details were found in the records, of the way this crossing was achieved but, as this part of the canal's construction was likely to have been innovative, we felt that we could not publish a book about the history of this waterway without solving the problem of the crossing of the River Gwash.

The solution came from Mr Geoffrey Lawrance, a gentleman living in Stamford. Mr Lawrance remembered Uffington Park from his youth and how the River Gwash and the canal intersected. A visit was made to the park, with Mr Lawrance, where he explained the mechanisms he had seen in the 1950s.

Almost immediately after the canal crossed the River Gwash, the river divided into two channels. The direct channel was held back by a sluice gate (approximately two metres wide as Geoffrey remembers it). The diverted channel passed over a weir (four metres wide measured) After passing over the weir this 'secondary channel' rejoined the main channel of the River Gwash. The two diverging channels created an island approximately sixty metres long. A visitor to Uffington Park today will see many earthworks showing both the course of the Canal through the park and that of the secondary channel that passed over the weir. The earthworks of the canal bed, lined with willow trees, are clearly visible from the road (the A16) that passes by Uffington park on two sides (these earthworks are the ones mentioned in the preface to the book). One can also see the earthworks more closely from a footpath that leads from the A16 to the canal bed, with a further footpath along the towpath to the Uffington to Barnack road.

The weir in the bypass channel would have ensured a constant level of water within the canal between the lock pen at Hudd’fs mill and the lock pen lower dlown the canal. The gate in the river would, we assume, be opened at those times when the River Gwash was in flood. In 1865, when the canal was put up for sale, the mechanism of this gate was made of metal but it is possible that, when the canal was originally constructed, the gate could have been made of wood. The weir can still be seen in Uffington park and is a substantial structure. It is likely to have remained in the place where it was constructed. Although there are Victorian 'blue' bricks present in the weir, these could well have been incorporated during any maintenance of the weir subsequent to its original construction. A visitor might be surprised to find that the present River Gwash is a gently flowing river (more like a stream). However, in the days when the canal was in use, the River Gwash could have been a much wider and deeper river. The river now passes through the vast expanse of Rutland Water before reaching Newstead mill and is therefore never in flood!

The route of the canal, on its journey to Market Deeping, meant that it passed through the villages of Uffington, Tallington and West Deeping. ln the course of this journey the canal crossed four roads. The first is between Uffington and Barnack (possibly an old drovers road). The canal passed under a bridge on this road, just prior to the where the road now crosses a river bridge (constructed in the 18th century) over the River Welland. The canal bridge has been designated a site of special scientific interest (SSSI). The space under this bridge has been completely filled in to protect its structure. when the canal was in use it is likely that the River Welland would have been forded at this point

The 1810 enclosure map of Tallington and West Deeping indicates where the canal crossed the two roads in the former village, a ford was constructed. In West Deeping, likewise, where the road through the village crossed the canal it appears, on the 1810 enclosure map, to be by a ford. However to enable pedestrians, walking along the road, to cross the canal, there was a footbridge over the canal. The notice, in the 'Stamford Mercury' in 1865, referring to the sale of the canal, lists the various lots for sale. Lot 15 mentioned a bridge in West Deeping. Lot 16 further mentions a plot 201 yards long from the bridge in West Deeping to the footbridge. The footbridge (mentioned) is shown on the 1810 enclosure map as going over the canal in West Deeping's main road (King's street). The advertisement in the Stamford Mercury did not say what type of bridge it referred to in lot 16.

The Canal Road Bridge on Bainton Road in Tallington.

Lot 13, in the sale document, mentions a stone bridge as a point of reference on the canal in Tallington. The fact that fords appear to be the means by which the canal was crossed in Tallington and West Deeping in the 1810 (enclosure map) does not exclude the possibility of bridge being built between 1810 and 1865 when the canal was put up for sale.

At the request of Anglian Water Services Ltd., Pre-Construction Archaeology (Lincoln) carried out a watching brief in connection with the 'West Deeping to Tallington Pipeline Project'. They reported in January 1998. The report included a drawing of two pieces of stone well below road level crossing the trench they had cut along the eastern verge, on the line of the canal. At first they attributed this masonry to part of a canal lock but later, after the construction of the lock pen had been explained to them, they changed their minds and suggested that the masonry could be part of bridge works roughly 4 metres apart. The space between these walls would correspond to the cut of the canal as it crossed the road.

No more information was obtained so it is not known what the actual construction of the bridge was like. However looking at the level line of the road down its whole length almost as far as the river it seems unlikely that there was ever a hump-backed type of bridge for which extensive approach ramps would have been needed unless the cut was already very deep As there are no signs of this, it is assumed there was some kind of moving bridge. Two possibilities were considered about the type of bridge in situ at this point. a) At one side of the canal, a section of road pivoted on a vertical axis allowing the moving section to be drawn around the axis to come clear of the canal; or b) there was a lift/draw bridge such as is seen on many canals today. Here one end of the bridge can be lifted high enough to allow loaded vessels to pass under while the other end is hinged to the ground. The lifting of the heavy section of the bridge is made possible by the provision of overhead counter-balance weights, the whole structure being able to be activated by one person.

In Uffington park, approximately one mile from Hudd's mill, there are two stone abutments of what remains of a bridge over the canal. These abutments are 1.5 metres above the present ground level and 3 metres from front to back. The distance between the stone abutments is 3.7 metres (see photo). This would have been a substantial bridge. The stone on the top of the two abutments is relatively smooth and does not appear to have been part of a bridge made entirely of stone. These abutments are in a very good condition. The bridge, at this point, is on private land and would only have been used by whoever owned the park, possibly to carry live stock over the canal, onto the meadows for grazing. A bridge of these dimensions could also have been used to carry farm machinery.

There would, we believe, have been no pressing reason to demolish the upper structure of a bridge within a farm and leave the two abutments standing. The canal bed would have substantially lower than the present ground level. As high embankments (still visible) were constructed to enable the canal to pass through Uffington park, we feel that it would not have been possible to create a ford at this point. There are remains affixed to the stonework that indicate the means by which the canal itself was crossed. So perhaps it was possible that a simple wood or drawbridge could have been built here. The type of bridge is like that immortalised by Vincent Van Gogh in his famous painting of the drawbridge at Arles in Provence, France. Being built of wood, the superstructure of this type of bridge would leave little or no evidence on the stone abutments after the removal of the woodwork. Relying on counter balance weights, a drawbridge of this type could be opened by one person (to allow a barge to pass under) and closed afterwards to allow the free passage of local farm traffic. This superstructure would probably have been removed after it became unsafe due to deterioration of the wooden structure. An example of a similar type of bridge is shown in one of the paintings of Hilkiah Burgess (the picture shows a chain bridge over the River Welland in Spalding). There are still examples of these types of drawbridges (lift or chain bridges) throughout the national canal network.

In 1699 Thomas Surbey, a water engineer, journeyed from London to York. He was travelling to York to survey the River Ouse for the Corporation. On his journey he stopped at Stamford and visited pen number 12, at Hudd's mill, where the River Welland leads into the canal He was able to make detailed notes about the construction of the lock pen. He also made a series of drawings, together with scale plans of the various structures around the lock pens. The drawings are in the diary which is held in the city Archives at York. (we are indebted to York city Archives for allowing us to reproduce the drawings of the lock pen at Hudd's mill).

Below are the actual words written by Thomas Surbey:-

The Description of a Lock a Little below Stamford being Situated upon ye River for Suply of ye Town.

ye general Plan:-

a: The Main River;

b: The Lock in a new Cut;

c: is a Mill upon ye Main River;

d: is ye dam & waste water Corse.

Described Ye Lock at Large'.-

4: Is the Plan of ye Lock at Large

e: Is ye head of water Pent up above ye Lock;

f: is ye surfac

How built:-

This Lock is stone peers & earth banks between them

Surbey's drawing shows the following details all of which agree with what has been seen elsewhere on the remains of the canal: -

i) The lock chamber is about 26.2 metres long; (between closed gates)

ii) The chamber (the excavated volume of the lock) was described by Surbey as having 'earth banks' between the stone piers. The term used throughout this book is 'turf lock' (i.e. the sides are made simply of sloping cuts into the natural soil finished with turves to stabilise it) to describe this type of construction.

iii) The gates at both ends are hung from massive stonework abutments with a stone riser and sill at the upper gate and a flush sill at the lower. The opening width is shown as 3.4 metres. (As measured at lock 6 in West Deeping).

iv) The gates are paired side-hung, opening against the water flow and when closed forming an arrow shape so that the water pressure presses them together to ensure a good seal when closed. The timber framing on the backs of the gates is clearly shown.

v) The drawing shows on the back of the gates a small rectangle that seems to indicate a Paddle.

vi) In the lock pens on canals today (2005) the gates are opened by pushing against the landward projecting ends of the top beams which are longer than those shown in the Surbey drawing (and also in the photograph of Briggin's lock gates). Surbey's drawing shows a rope or chain fixed to the opening edge of the gate to be pulled from the towpath (the photograph of Briggin's lock gates shows chains at the same point).

Although the chains, or ropes, would have been used to open the gates, it is not clear how they were shut afterwards. However, once the edges of the gates were moved out into the stream, the water pressure could have shut them.

All the lock pens on the canal, appear to have had stone piers at either end with turf banks between them. The remains of the lock pens in West Deeping and Tallington have turf sides. It is likely that this was the way all ten lock pens on the canal were constructed. The two lock pens on the River Welland, in Deeping St. James, have stone sides. Number two lock (Briggin's lock) together with a weir, is opposite the 'Crown and Anchor' public house in Bridge street, Deeping St James. The stone

sides of number one lock pen are less obvious and it was originally thought that the sides of this lock pen were turf with stone rubble being incorporated to add strength. Careful examination of one of the walls of the lock pen shows that it is too well constructed to be mere rubble re-enforcing! That there is no evidence of mortar between the stones on the wall that is visible (without further major archaeological investigation) does not exclude the possibility that there was mortar present when the wall was constructed. one hundred and fifty years after the sale of the canal, with the many severe floods that have occurred would, quite possibly, have washed away any mortar present. If one looks at this particular lock pen today (2005) it is obvious that it has had no maintenance for some considerable time (unlike the walls of Briggin's lock pen).

Without any written records of the construction of the lock pens it can only be surmised how the various structures were created. The complete construction at 'Low Locks'(number one lock) is of a weir with a side gate, with another channel leading to the actual lock pen itself. The construction of this lock pen in the 17th century could have been achieved by digging a completely new channel, at this point creating a small island.

We were perplexed at one time with the presence of the remains of four rollers on the weir at Low Locks. on the upstream side of the weir, in a line with these rollers, there is a concrete platform just below the surface of the water. As with many such rivers, during the 20th century there were many boats for hire. Just rowing the short distance between Briggin's Lock and Low Locks would only have provided a trip of approximately one mile. If a means could be devised, to enable the boats to be lowered to below Low Locks, the boats could be rowed all the way, to Crowland (a journey of approximately six miles). The passengers, in any boat that was to be rowed to Crowland, could have climbed out of their boat, stepped onto the platform and lowered the boat over the weir by means of the rollers, They could then have climbed down steps constructed into the side of the weir and stepped back into their boat to continue the journey. These rollers were of insufficient size to be able to provide a means to lowering any craft larger than a punt or a rowing boat.

The construction of lock pens with turf sides would be cheaper and easier to build than those completely made of stone. Why then the Stone sides on the two lock pens on the river when those in the canal have turf sides? The water in the canal would have been, by the nature of canals, relatively still and not liable to sudden rushes at any time. The two lock pens on the river would have had to withstand, during times of flood, enormous water surges. The present day River Welland is gently flowing and fairly shallow. But until the 1950s, when a channel was built to bypass the Deepings, the township often suffered from severe flooding. In times of high flow the lock gates could have been opened to allow the water to pass relatively freely.

If the walls of the two lock pens on the river had been constructed of turf, like those on the canal, the force of the water in flood could well have washed away parts of the turf and soil at the lower end of the lock pen and could thus, by putting pressure behind the stone piers have caused a great deal of damage to them. In the 1950s major works were undertaken on the River Welland to prevent flooding within the Deepings. A new cut was constructed, from approximately three miles west of Market Deeping, to a point about one mile below Deeping St James. This is close to where the River Folly joins the River Welland. During the winter months the majority of the water in the river is diverted into this bypass channel. Since its construction there has been no serious flooding within the Deepings.

The remains of the various lock pens are all. with one exception, approximately 26.2 metres long. The one exception is Briggin's lock pen (number two). Briggin's lock pen is shorter than the others by about 9.2 metres. No reason can be found to explain this. If the lock pens needed to be 26.2 metres long for their optimum efficiency, why make one shorter than this. There is no visible evidence to suggest that there were particular problems at this point in the river. If Briggin's lock pen was originally the same length as the others perhaps it was shortened after 1863 for some reason. It is known that the river continued to be used for the transport of goods up to Market Deeping until the late 19th/early 20th century. Examination of Briggin's lock pen as it is at present provides no clue as to if or why it was shortened. No obvious reason for shortening this lock pen can be found. Had there been damage to the pen in the past that necessitated its reconstruction in a shorter form? The photograph of the lock pen, taken in about 1910 shows, with the gates in position, the length it is now. This is one of a few unanswered questions posed by the lack of written information about the canal's construction!

 

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