|
|
|
The Arun and Wey Navigation
In 1641 a bill was proposed to the House of Lords for the linking of the rivers Arun and Wey. This navigation would permit boats and barges to pass from the river Thames through Arundel to the south coast. Before the 19th century the primary method of transport in Britain was the sea. Goods could be transported more quickly and cheaply by sea than on land. Prior to the rise of the canals rivers provided a means of transporting goods inland. Moreover, the range of rivers was increased with the development of locks.
The river Arun has been navigable in part since the time of the Norman conquest. In 1544 the Earl of Arundel began work to make the Arun more navigable. Prior to this the tide limited navigation. By 1547 the channel to the sea had been cleared and widened (Vine, 1973). The river was also directed to flow beside the town where a wharf was established to export timber. Nevertheless navigation above the tidal limit was still extremely limited.
The bill of 1641 suggested the establishment of a navigation along the path of the river Arun and Wey . The two rivers would be linked by a two mile stretch of canal. The navigation was designed to transport chalk, timber and iron products (Vine, 1973). The bill received two readings but was lost.
In May 1785 a bill was passed in the House of Lords to improve navigation above the tidal limit at Houghton. The formation of the Arun Navigation Company followed which had a share capital, of £10,000 (Vine, 1973). By 1790 15 miles remained between the Arun and Wey navigation.
In 1803 John Rennie suggested a scheme for linking Portsmouth to London by extending the Croydon Canal. The route would not use the Arun but cross it above Arundel before continuing through Chichester to arrive at the Portsmouth dockyard. Although a bill was presented to parliament the scheme was unsuccessful.
In 1820 John Rennie proposed the Great Southern Canal linking the Medway to Portsmouth. The proposed canal would follow the the Arun for only 1.25 miles due to a lack of water in droughts and navigation problems during floods. Nevertheless the Great Southern Canal project ws discarded due to opposition from land owners and doubts over profitability.
In accordance with standing orders on private bills Lord Egremont called a meeting on the 17 May 1811 to propose the connection of the rivers Arun and Wey. Owing to the large amount of land required by canal projects the details of compulsory purchase now had to be published prior to approval. Guilford and Godalming expressed approval for Egremont's project soon after the meeting. Hence Lord Egremont formed a committee to prepare a bill and find funding for the project.
On the 1 April 1813 after the third reading, the bill to unite the Arun and Wey was given Royal Assent. The next stage of the project was the compulsory acquisition of land required for building the canal. However, considerable friction existed as landowners saw there land being separated. Before building could begin the land had to be cleared of vegetation and topsoil. The construction of locks, aqueducts, bridges and lock keepers cottages designed by Josias Jessop (Vine, 1973) followed. The canal was finally opened on 29 September 1816 after 63 years of planning and a further 3 years of building. The canal connected Arundel to London and promised to cut fuel prices.