The word "canal" derives from the Old French word chanel, which means “channel.” Canals were widely used in the far east from 600 AD and in  13th century Europe.

In post-Roman Britain, the first modern canal built appears to have been the Exeter Canal, surveyed in 1563, and opened in 1566. A single lock helped keep the boats arriving on the high tide in, to unload and reload, and then release them on the next high tide. In every respect this was an artificial way of making the river navigable - a ‘navigation’ rather than a canal but at least it had one set of lock gates.

Jumping from the 1560’s to the 1760’s there are no new canals recorded!      (So much for the history writers!)

According to their own website, the Bridgewater Canal is sometimes described as England’s first canal. Opened on 17th July 1761, they say that the Bridgewater Canal has a special place in history as the first canal in Britain to be built without following an existing watercourse, and so became a model for those that followed and was the forerunner of modern canals. However, being a channel between two rivers joining two points at the same height above sea level, it had NO locks when built!

So where did the Stamford Canal fit in?

 

The earliest proper canal in England !

 The Stamford Canal << The earliest proper canal in England? <<

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