Stover Canal
Encyclopedia
The Stover Canal is a canal
located in Devon
, England
. It was opened in 1792 and served the ball clay
industry until it closed in the early 1940s. Today it is derelict, but the Stover Canal Society is aiming to restore it and reopen it to navigation.
, passing through Jewsbridge, near Heathfield en route, and to construct a branch to Chudleigh
. Having invested over 1000 GBP in the project, he sought an Act of Parliament
which would allow him to raise more capital, but although the Act was passed on 11 June 1792, he did not invoke its powers, as the canal had already reached Ventiford and he did not extend it further.
As built, the canal was 1.7 miles (2.7 km) long and included five locks. It was supplied with water from three feeders, one from Ventiford Brook, a stream which also supplies Stover Lake and one from the River Bovey
at Jewsbridge, both of which fed the top pound, and one from the River Teign
at Fishwick, which entered the canal just below lock 4. The exit from the canal was on to the tidal Whitelake channel, and from there to the River Teign
and the docks. The first three locks did not originally have side walls, but used earth banks instead, which were replaced with timber or brick walls in due course. The Graving Dock lock was only 56 ft (17m) long, and so could take a single barge, but all the others were long enough to take two barges end to end. The first Jetty Marsh lock was much bigger, at 215 ft long and 45 ft wide (65m by 13.7m), but carries the inscription Duke of Somerset, 1841, and so it would appear that it was reconstructed as a basin, so that barges could wait in it for the tide. The Graving Dock lock is probably unique in the United Kingdom
, in that it was reconstructed with a dock at its side, which could be used as a dry dock when the lock was empty. Both Jetty Marsh lock and Graving Dock lock are currently Grade 2 listed.
Having invested most of his capital in the project, James Templer was rewarded by the success of the canal. A major contract with Josiah Wedgwood and Sons was re-established in 1798. Wedgwoods remained the major recipient of the ball clay until 1815, after which trade was established with other pottery manufacturers and other ports.
Opening on 16 September 1820, the Haytor Granite Tramway
was built to connect George Templer's granite
quarries at Haytor Rocks to the canal basin at Ventiford. For the next 40 years, the traffic in granite supplemented the ball clay trade. When plans to build the Newton and Moretonhampstead Railway were proposed, the Duke of Somerset, who by then was owner of the Stover estate, sought to sell both the canal and the trackbed of the Granite Tramway to the fledgling railway company. It was duly sold for 8000 GBP on 4 June 1862, by which time the section above Teignbridge
was effectively redundant, and so the railway company was not required to maintain it. However, the section up to Graving Dock lock was retained, so that users of the canal could still repair their barges, and it was at this point that the new dock was constructed which gave the Graving Dock lock its name. The canal was almost immediately leased to Watts, Blake and Co., a company who sank clay-pits.
The canal passed into the ownership of the Great Western Railway
in 1877, but continued to be leased to Watts, Blake and Co., who paid a fixed price for its use, and were also required to maintain it. Traffic dwindled and finally ceased in 1937, but Watts, Blake and Company's latest 14-year lease did not end until 1942, and so it was not formally abandoned until March 1943. It remained in water until 1951, when one of the banks was breached, flooding a clay pit.
. In early 1999, the West Country Branch of the Inland Waterways Association
and the Newton Abbot Fishing Association approached Teignbridge District Council to suggest that they negotiate with Railtrack to obtain the rest of the canal. Plans for a local canal society came out of these talks, and the Stover Canal Society was formed in February 1999. After negotiation, Railtrack agreed to hand over the canal to the District Council for leisure use. The Stover Canal Society worked with the District Council to formulate a strategy for its restoration, and this led to the creation of a Charitable Trust, on which the District Council, other local authorities and the Canal Society are all represented. Control of the remains passed to the Trust in February 2010, when a formal lease was signed.
Canal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
located in Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
, 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 was opened in 1792 and served the ball clay
Ball clay
Ball clays are kaolinitic sedimentary clays, that commonly consist of 20-80% kaolinite, 10-25% mica, 6-65% quartz. Localized seams in the same deposit have variations in composition, including the quantity of the major minerals, accessory minerals and carbonaceous materials such as lignite...
industry until it closed in the early 1940s. Today it is derelict, but the Stover Canal Society is aiming to restore it and reopen it to navigation.
History
The canal was built at a time when the ball clay industry was expanding, but transport of the bulky product was difficult. James Templer saw this as an opportunity, and began to construct the canal at his own expense in January 1790. He planned to reach Bovey TraceyBovey Tracey
Bovey Tracey is a small town in Devon, England, on the edge of Dartmoor, its proximity to which gives rise to the "slogan" used on the town's boundary signs, "The Gateway to the Moor". The locals just call the town "Bovey" ....
, passing through Jewsbridge, near Heathfield en route, and to construct a branch to Chudleigh
Chudleigh
Chudleigh is a small town in Devon, England located between the towns of Newton Abbot and Exeter.Chudleigh is very close to the edge of Dartmoor and bypassed by the A38 road in 1972. It began life as a small wool market town, though the nearby Castle Dyke is an Iron Age Hill Fort which demonstrates...
. Having invested over 1000 GBP in the project, he sought an Act of Parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
which would allow him to raise more capital, but although the Act was passed on 11 June 1792, he did not invoke its powers, as the canal had already reached Ventiford and he did not extend it further.
As built, the canal was 1.7 miles (2.7 km) long and included five locks. It was supplied with water from three feeders, one from Ventiford Brook, a stream which also supplies Stover Lake and one from the River Bovey
River Bovey
Bovey is a river in the Dartmoor moors in Devon in south-west England....
at Jewsbridge, both of which fed the top pound, and one from the River Teign
River Teign
The River Teign is a river in the county of Devon, England.Like many Devon rivers, the Teign rises on Dartmoor, near Cranmere Pool. Its course on the moor is crossed by a clapper bridge near Teigncombe, just below the prehistoric Kestor Settlement. It leaves the moor at its eastern side, flowing...
at Fishwick, which entered the canal just below lock 4. The exit from the canal was on to the tidal Whitelake channel, and from there to the River Teign
River Teign
The River Teign is a river in the county of Devon, England.Like many Devon rivers, the Teign rises on Dartmoor, near Cranmere Pool. Its course on the moor is crossed by a clapper bridge near Teigncombe, just below the prehistoric Kestor Settlement. It leaves the moor at its eastern side, flowing...
and the docks. The first three locks did not originally have side walls, but used earth banks instead, which were replaced with timber or brick walls in due course. The Graving Dock lock was only 56 ft (17m) long, and so could take a single barge, but all the others were long enough to take two barges end to end. The first Jetty Marsh lock was much bigger, at 215 ft long and 45 ft wide (65m by 13.7m), but carries the inscription Duke of Somerset, 1841, and so it would appear that it was reconstructed as a basin, so that barges could wait in it for the tide. The Graving Dock lock is probably unique in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, in that it was reconstructed with a dock at its side, which could be used as a dry dock when the lock was empty. Both Jetty Marsh lock and Graving Dock lock are currently Grade 2 listed.
Having invested most of his capital in the project, James Templer was rewarded by the success of the canal. A major contract with Josiah Wedgwood and Sons was re-established in 1798. Wedgwoods remained the major recipient of the ball clay until 1815, after which trade was established with other pottery manufacturers and other ports.
Opening on 16 September 1820, the Haytor Granite Tramway
Haytor Granite Tramway
The Haytor Granite Tramway was a unique granite-railed tramway running down from Haytor Down, Dartmoor, Devon. The tramway was built in 1820 to carry Haytor granite, which was of fine grain and high quality, down from the heights of Dartmoor for the construction of houses, bridges and other...
was built to connect George Templer's granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
quarries at Haytor Rocks to the canal basin at Ventiford. For the next 40 years, the traffic in granite supplemented the ball clay trade. When plans to build the Newton and Moretonhampstead Railway were proposed, the Duke of Somerset, who by then was owner of the Stover estate, sought to sell both the canal and the trackbed of the Granite Tramway to the fledgling railway company. It was duly sold for 8000 GBP on 4 June 1862, by which time the section above Teignbridge
Teignbridge
Teignbridge is a local government district in Devon, England. Its council is based in Newton Abbot.Other towns in the district include Ashburton, Dawlish and Teignmouth...
was effectively redundant, and so the railway company was not required to maintain it. However, the section up to Graving Dock lock was retained, so that users of the canal could still repair their barges, and it was at this point that the new dock was constructed which gave the Graving Dock lock its name. The canal was almost immediately leased to Watts, Blake and Co., a company who sank clay-pits.
The canal passed into the ownership of the Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
in 1877, but continued to be leased to Watts, Blake and Co., who paid a fixed price for its use, and were also required to maintain it. Traffic dwindled and finally ceased in 1937, but Watts, Blake and Company's latest 14-year lease did not end until 1942, and so it was not formally abandoned until March 1943. It remained in water until 1951, when one of the banks was breached, flooding a clay pit.
Current status
In the late 1980s, parts of the towpath were incorporated into the Templer Way historical trail, created by Teignbridge District Council, who were by then owners of Jetty Marsh Lock and Ventiford Basin. The rest of the canal was owned by RailtrackRailtrack
Railtrack was a group of companies that owned the track, signalling, tunnels, bridges, level crossings and all but a handful of the stations of the British railway system from its formation in April 1994 until 2002...
. In early 1999, the West Country Branch of the Inland Waterways Association
Inland Waterways Association
The Inland Waterways Association was formed in 1946 as a registered charity in the United Kingdom to campaign for the conservation, use, maintenance, restoration and sensitive development of British Canals and river navigations....
and the Newton Abbot Fishing Association approached Teignbridge District Council to suggest that they negotiate with Railtrack to obtain the rest of the canal. Plans for a local canal society came out of these talks, and the Stover Canal Society was formed in February 1999. After negotiation, Railtrack agreed to hand over the canal to the District Council for leisure use. The Stover Canal Society worked with the District Council to formulate a strategy for its restoration, and this led to the creation of a Charitable Trust, on which the District Council, other local authorities and the Canal Society are all represented. Control of the remains passed to the Trust in February 2010, when a formal lease was signed.