Erewash Canal
Encyclopedia
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It runs just under 12 miles (19.3 km) and has 14 locks. The first lock at Langley Bridge is actually part of the Cromford Canal
Cromford Canal
The Cromford Canal ran 14.5 miles from Cromford to the Erewash Canal in Derbyshire, England with a branch to Pinxton. Built by William Jessop with the assistance of Benjamin Outram, its alignment included four tunnels and 14 locks....
.
Origins
The canal obtained its act of parliament in 1777 with John Varley appointed as engineer and John and James Pinkerton the main contractors, it was completed in 1779 at a cost of £21,000 (£ as of ),. It was a commercial success from the start mainly transporting coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
.
The canal's success kept it going far longer than many of its contemporaries in the face of competition from the railways. When the Grand Union Canal
Grand Union Canal
The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. Its main line connects London and Birmingham, stretching for 137 miles with 166 locks...
Company took over the running of the Erewash in 1932 it was still a going concern. The canal was nationalised in 1947. By this time the closure of feeder canals resulting in a loss of trade and competition from other forms of transport was making itself felt and the last commercial narrowboat
Narrowboat
A narrowboat or narrow boat is a boat of a distinctive design, made to fit the narrow canals of Great Britain.In the context of British Inland Waterways, "narrow boat" refers to the original working boats built in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries for carrying goods on the narrow canals...
delivered its cargo in 1952. In 1962 the British Transport Commission
British Transport Commission
The British Transport Commission was created by Clement Attlee's post-war Labour government as a part of its nationalisation programme, to oversee railways, canals and road freight transport in Great Britain...
closed the top section of canal. However, it was kept in water to supply the lower half of the canal and it remained navigable.
The main line from Long Eaton to Langley Mill was one of seven stretches of canal, formally designated as remainder waterways, which were re-classified by the British Waterways Act of 8 February 1983. Under the act, a total of 82 route miles (132 km) were upgraded to Cruising Waterway Standard.
Shipley Wharf
At the turn of the twentieth century Shipley Wharf directly above Shipley Lock was very busy with the transhipment of coal from railway wagons which had descended down an incline from the Shipley Collieries to narrowboats on the Erewash Canal.There was also a much earlier wagonway
Wagonway
Wagonways consisted of the horses, equipment and tracks used for hauling wagons, which preceded steam powered railways. The terms "plateway", "tramway" and in someplaces, "dramway" are also found.- Early developments :...
which connected the Shipley collieries to Shipley wharf between the completion of the Erewash Canal in 1779 and the completion of the Nutbrook Canal
Nutbrook Canal
The Nutbrook Canal was a canal in England which ran between Shipley, Derbyshire and the Erewash Canal, joining it near Trowell. It was built to serve the collieries at Shipley and West Hallam, and was completed in 1796. It was initially profitable, but from 1846 faced competition from the railways,...
in 1796, from which point in time the Nutbrook Canal took this traffic.
The incline in use at the end of the nineteenth century was originally built to connect the Shipley Collieries, then owned by the Miller-Mundy family with the Midland Railway's
Midland Railway
The Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 to 1922, when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway....
Erewash Valley railway line and was operated for this purpose between 1848 and 1870. Problems with the Nutbrook Canal's water supply instigated the re-laying of rails on the incline and its extension under the Midland Railway's Erewash Valley line and under the Midland Railway's Eastwood Colliery branch line, to Shipley Wharf. Coal was loaded into narrowboats here from 1895 until 1942.
The sidings at the wharf were laid in a triangle. The coal wagons descended the incline under braking relying on gravity and accumulated momentum to carry them to the sidings where they were connected to an endless rope kept in motion by a stationary steam engine in the centre of the triangle. The endless rope went around three wheels at the corners of the triangle. One was sited on the Erewash Canal's aqueduct which spanned the Erewash River, a second was under the bridge which carried the Eastwood Colliery's branch line over the Shipley line and the third was alongside Eastwood Lock. Using this mechanism the colliery wagons were brought alongside the wharf and could be emptied directly into waiting narrowboats.
Eastwood Colliery
Eastwood Colliery was situated on a narrow plot of land sandwiched between the Nottingham Canal and the Erewash Canal just above the Erewash Canal's Eastwood Lock. It was originally owned by Doctor Manson but was taken over by Barber Walker and Company. It was served by a branch line from the Great Northern RailwayGreat Northern Railway (Great Britain)
The Great Northern Railway was a British railway company established by the Great Northern Railway Act of 1846. On 1 January 1923 the company lost its identity as a constituent of the newly formed London and North Eastern Railway....
departing the main line close to Newthorpe and Greasley railway station
Newthorpe, Greasley and Shipley Gate railway station
Newthorpe, Greasley and Shipley Gate railway station was a former railway station which served the villages of Newthorpe, Greasley and Shipley Gate on the border of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire...
. The colliery was also served by a branch line of the Midland Railway's Erewash Valley line departing the main line at Shipley Gate. Some of the ebankments of the two branches are still in existence. The bridge abutments for the Midland Railway's wooden bridge which once stood directly below the Eastwood Lock can still be seen. The colliery was therefore, well served with transport options with the choice of two canals and two railways to export their coal. The Great Northern Railway branch crossed the Nottingham Canal using a swing bridge. The railway swing bridge no longer exists but the pedestrian bridge built next to it is still in use. Excessive water underground brought about the mine's closure in about 1884.
The Canal Today
It starts from the River TrentRiver Trent
The River Trent is one of the major rivers of England. Its source is in Staffordshire on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through the Midlands until it joins the River Ouse at Trent Falls to form the Humber Estuary, which empties into the North Sea below Hull and Immingham.The Trent...
at Trentlock
Trentlock
Trent Lock is located south of Long Eaton, on the borders of Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire in the United Kingdom...
, then goes through Long Eaton
Long Eaton
Long Eaton is a town in Derbyshire, England. It lies just north of the River Trent about southwest of Nottingham and is part of the Nottingham Urban Area...
. After Long Eaton it runs roughly parallel to the River Erewash
River Erewash
The River Erewash is a river in England that flows roughly southwards through Derbyshire, close to its eastern border with Nottinghamshire.-Etymology:...
, past Sandiacre
Sandiacre
Sandiacre is a town in the Borough of Erewash in Derbyshire, in the East Midlands region of England adjoining the border with Nottinghamshire....
and Ilkeston
Ilkeston
Ilkeston is a town within the Borough of Erewash, in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the River Erewash, from which the local borough takes its name. Its population at the 2001 census was 37,550...
, crossing the Erewash near Eastwood
Eastwood, Nottinghamshire
Eastwood is a former coal mining town in the Broxtowe district of Nottinghamshire, England. With a population of over 18,000, it is northwest of Nottingham, and northeast of Derby, on the border between Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. Mentioned in Domesday Book, it expanded rapidly during the...
. The canal finally ends at the Langley Mill
Langley Mill
Langley Mill is a small town in the Amber Valley district of Derbyshire, England. It is on the border of Nottinghamshire, and runs into the towns of Aldercar and Heanor . Across the River Erewash is the Nottinghamshire town of Eastwood. It is part of the Aldercar and Langley Mill parish....
(Great Northern) basin, where it joins the Nottingham Canal
Nottingham Canal
The Nottingham Canal was a long canal between Langley Mill in Derbyshire and Nottingham, England. It opened in 1796, and most of it was closed in 1937. The southern section is now part of the River Trent Navigation, and the northern section is a nature reserve.-Origins:The idea for the canal first...
and the Cromford Canal
Cromford Canal
The Cromford Canal ran 14.5 miles from Cromford to the Erewash Canal in Derbyshire, England with a branch to Pinxton. Built by William Jessop with the assistance of Benjamin Outram, its alignment included four tunnels and 14 locks....
(both currently in a state of abandonment).
In 1968 the Erewash Canal Preservation & Development Association (ECP&DA) was formed in response to a threat by the British Waterways Board to close the canal. One of the ECP&DA's achievements was the re-opening of the Great Northern Basin at Langley Mill
Langley Mill
Langley Mill is a small town in the Amber Valley district of Derbyshire, England. It is on the border of Nottinghamshire, and runs into the towns of Aldercar and Heanor . Across the River Erewash is the Nottinghamshire town of Eastwood. It is part of the Aldercar and Langley Mill parish....
. This canal basin was the point at which the Cromford, Erewash and Nottingham Canal
Nottingham Canal
The Nottingham Canal was a long canal between Langley Mill in Derbyshire and Nottingham, England. It opened in 1796, and most of it was closed in 1937. The southern section is now part of the River Trent Navigation, and the northern section is a nature reserve.-Origins:The idea for the canal first...
s met. The Langley Mill Boat Company formed in 1974 and based at the Great Northern Basin has cleared and put back into water a short section of the Cromford Canal
Cromford Canal
The Cromford Canal ran 14.5 miles from Cromford to the Erewash Canal in Derbyshire, England with a branch to Pinxton. Built by William Jessop with the assistance of Benjamin Outram, its alignment included four tunnels and 14 locks....
connected to the basin. Today the Erewash Canal is fully open and is actively used by pleasure cruisers.
At present [2006] the section of canal running through Long Eaton is oft frequented by pleasure craft; the factories which follow the canal along the Northern march of the town are no longer associated with the waterway, and fencing separates them from it.
However, these factories only block the western bank of the canal, and on the eastern bank, between the Erewash flood plain and the railway lines, there is an active community cycle path, which follows the course of the canal to Ripley.
The canal is also regularly restocked with fish for anglers, and along the eastern tow path dozens of anglers are often seen.
See also
- Canals of the United KingdomCanals of the United KingdomThe canals of the United Kingdom are a major part of the network of inland waterways in the United Kingdom. They have a colourful history, from use for irrigation and transport, through becoming the focus of the Industrial Revolution, to today's role for recreational boating...
- History of the British canal systemHistory of the British canal systemThe British canal system of water transport played a vital role in the United Kingdom's Industrial Revolution at a time when roads were only just emerging from the medieval mud and long trains of pack horses were the only means of "mass" transit by road of raw materials and finished products The...