Itchen Navigation - History

History

The River Itchen had been commercially important since before Norman times, with a staithe for unloading boats recorded at Bishopstoke in 960, and stone for Winchester Cathedral, built when Winchester was the capital city of England, was probably transported by water from the quarries of Caen in France. The first recorded improvements to the river were made by Godfrey de Lucy, who was Bishop of Winchester between 1189 and 1204. He funded the works himself, and as a consequence, was granted the right to levy tolls on goods transported on the river by King John. There was considerable trade in wool and leather, but the centres for this moved to Calais and Melcombe Regis in 1353, and as the trade declined, so did the navigable parts of the river. It was noted to be in poor condition in 1452, and a report for the Commissioners of Sewers in 1617 suggested that much of it was obstructed by mills which had been built on the banks.

Construction of the canal was authorised by an Act of Parliament passed in 1665. The Act allowed a number of rivers to be made navigable, and in each case, undertakers were appointed, to carry out the work, as were commissioners, chosen from the local justices, who were responsible for confirming the tolls. The undertakers made very slow progress, and it was not until 1710 that the work was completed. They had built locks and some artificial cuts to bypass difficult sections of the river, and created a towing path for horses. The route was 10.4 miles (16.7 km) long, of which 2.75 miles (4.43 km) were new cuts, and although some of the rest used the course of the river, much of it followed secondary streams. New undertakers were not appointed as old ones died, and by 1767, the navigation was effectively owned by one man, a Mr Edward Pyott. Local people felt that he was exceeding his powers, and they obtained a second Act of Parliament in 1767, which noted that Pyott had created a trading and carrying monopoly, as he would refuse to carry coal and other goods which interfered with his own activities. The preamble to the Act claimed that this was harming the poor and the inhabitants of Winchester.

The Act was unusual, as it was obtained without Pyott's consent, and created a new group of commissioners from local justices and dignitaries. They were empowered to set the rates for tolls, and the owner was obliged to transport all goods at the established rates. If there were not sufficient boats and the owner did not provide more, they could licence others to provide carriage services. They could also order that locks, wharves and warehouses should be erected. The size of boats was specified, and were to be capable of carrying between 20 and 30 tons of cargo. The tolls set were quite moderate, and a group of merchants appear to have leased the river from Pyott for a period after 1767, but he eventually took control again.

Some additional locks were added, and by 1795, there were fifteen, three made of masonry blocks, and twelve with turf sides. There were also two single gates or half locks. The lowest lock was at Woodmill, where the navigation joined the estuary of the River Itchen, on its way to Southampton Water. The main wharves at the Southampton end were at Northam, about 2 miles (3.2 km) below the lock, and barges worked down to them on the tide or were punted if the tide was rising. As the river was tidal below Woodmill Lock, the structure was rebuilt in 1829 with a third set of gates facing downstream, to prevent high tides flooding the navigation.

The route map shows the navigation in deep blue, (or green for the drained section), in order to distinguish it from the river, shown in light blue. Deep blue is normally used to represent navigable waterways, but is used here for clarity.