Ketley Canal
Encyclopedia
The Ketley Canal was a tub boat
canal that ran about 1.5 miles from Oakengates
to Ketley
works in Shropshire
, England
. The canal was built about 1788 and featured the first inclined plane
in Britain. The main cargo of the canal was coal and ironstone
(a form of iron ore).
in his twenties, who owned iron foundries at Ketley, and had recently completed the Wombridge Canal
and the Coalport
Tar Tunnel
. The canal linked the Oakengates iron ore and coal mines to his foundries. It ran in a westerly direction from Oakengates, passing through a tunnel where Shepherds Lane crossed Red Lake Hill, and ended to the south of Ketley Hall. At this point there was a 73 ft (22.3m) drop to his works.
The construction of locks to lower the level of the canal was out of the question, as the meagre water supply for the canal was pumped from the mines. Transhipment of the loads to wagons would have involved extra work, and being an innovator, he decided to construct an inclined plane
, down which the loaded tub boat
s would be lowered. A boat entered a lock at the top of the incline, from which the water was released into a side lock, resulting in the tub boat rested in a cradle. The incline had two tracks, so that a loaded boat descending on one track was counterbalanced by an empty or lightly loaded boat ascending on the other. The manoeuvre was controlled by a windlass, acting as a brake. A steam pumping engine was used to pump the water from the side lock back into the canal. Such a system had only been used once before, in Tyrone, Ireland, and had failed. Reynolds incline, however, continued to work for 28 years, until Ketley works closed in 1816.
Having completed the canal, Reynolds, together with several others, went on to construct the Shropshire Canal
, which connected to the Ketley canal at the Oakengates end. There was a difference of 1 ft (0.3m) in the water levels at the junction, and so a lock was constructed.
Although the incline was disused by 1818, after closure of the Ketley ironworks, the Ketley Canal still served a coal wharf near Ketley Hall in 1842, and was not finally abandoned until the 1880s.
Little is left of the canal today, although the incline itself can still be seen, and there are traces of the upper level where it passed near to Ketley Hall.
Tub boat
A tub boat was a type of unpowered cargo boat used on a number of the early English and German canals. The English boats were typically long and wide and generally carried to of cargo, though some extra deep ones could carry up to . They are also called compartment boats or container boats.The...
canal that ran about 1.5 miles from Oakengates
Oakengates
Oakengates is a town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, and now forms part of the new town of Telford...
to Ketley
Ketley
Ketley is a suburb of the new town of Telford in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England. It is a civil parish. East Ketley is currently being re-developed as part of the Telford Millennium Community, part of the Millennium Communities Programme...
works in Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
, 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...
. The canal was built about 1788 and featured the first inclined plane
Canal inclined plane
An inclined plane is a system used on some canals for raising boats between different water levels. Boats may be conveyed afloat, in caissons, or may be carried in cradles or slings. It can be considered as a specialised type of cable railway....
in Britain. The main cargo of the canal was coal and ironstone
Ironstone
Ironstone is a sedimentary rock, either deposited directly as a ferruginous sediment or created by chemical repacement, that contains a substantial proportion of an iron compound from which iron either can be or once was smelted commercially. This term is customarily restricted to hard coarsely...
(a form of iron ore).
History
The canal was constructed in 1788 by William Reynolds of Ketley. He was an IronmasterIronmaster
An ironmaster is the manager – and usually owner – of a forge or blast furnace for the processing of iron. It is a term mainly associated with the period of the Industrial Revolution, especially in Great Britain....
in his twenties, who owned iron foundries at Ketley, and had recently completed the Wombridge Canal
Wombridge Canal
The Wombridge Canal was a tub-boat canal in Shropshire, England, built to carry coal and iron ore from mines in the area to the furnaces where the iron was extracted.- History :...
and the Coalport
Coalport
Coalport is a village in Shropshire, now part of the new town of Telford. It is located on the River Severn at , a mile downstream of Ironbridge...
Tar Tunnel
Tar Tunnel
The Tar Tunnel is located on the north bank of the River Severn in the Ironbridge Gorge at Coalport, England, and now forms part of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust....
. The canal linked the Oakengates iron ore and coal mines to his foundries. It ran in a westerly direction from Oakengates, passing through a tunnel where Shepherds Lane crossed Red Lake Hill, and ended to the south of Ketley Hall. At this point there was a 73 ft (22.3m) drop to his works.
The construction of locks to lower the level of the canal was out of the question, as the meagre water supply for the canal was pumped from the mines. Transhipment of the loads to wagons would have involved extra work, and being an innovator, he decided to construct an inclined plane
Canal inclined plane
An inclined plane is a system used on some canals for raising boats between different water levels. Boats may be conveyed afloat, in caissons, or may be carried in cradles or slings. It can be considered as a specialised type of cable railway....
, down which the loaded tub boat
Tub boat
A tub boat was a type of unpowered cargo boat used on a number of the early English and German canals. The English boats were typically long and wide and generally carried to of cargo, though some extra deep ones could carry up to . They are also called compartment boats or container boats.The...
s would be lowered. A boat entered a lock at the top of the incline, from which the water was released into a side lock, resulting in the tub boat rested in a cradle. The incline had two tracks, so that a loaded boat descending on one track was counterbalanced by an empty or lightly loaded boat ascending on the other. The manoeuvre was controlled by a windlass, acting as a brake. A steam pumping engine was used to pump the water from the side lock back into the canal. Such a system had only been used once before, in Tyrone, Ireland, and had failed. Reynolds incline, however, continued to work for 28 years, until Ketley works closed in 1816.
Having completed the canal, Reynolds, together with several others, went on to construct the Shropshire Canal
Shropshire Canal
The Shropshire Canal was a tub boat canal built to supply coal, ore and limestone to the industrial region of east Shropshire, England, that adjoined the River Severn at Coalbrookdale...
, which connected to the Ketley canal at the Oakengates end. There was a difference of 1 ft (0.3m) in the water levels at the junction, and so a lock was constructed.
Although the incline was disused by 1818, after closure of the Ketley ironworks, the Ketley Canal still served a coal wharf near Ketley Hall in 1842, and was not finally abandoned until the 1880s.
Little is left of the canal today, although the incline itself can still be seen, and there are traces of the upper level where it passed near to Ketley Hall.
Locations
- Canal's original startpoint (OakengatesOakengatesOakengates is a town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, and now forms part of the new town of Telford...
) (52.69545°N 2.45028°W - Canal's original endpoint (KetleyKetleyKetley is a suburb of the new town of Telford in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England. It is a civil parish. East Ketley is currently being re-developed as part of the Telford Millennium Community, part of the Millennium Communities Programme...
) 52.69639°N 2.47186°W
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...