History
Plans for a canal to Oakham were first conceived in 1785, by some of those proposing the Melton Mowbray Navigation. William Jessop was asked to survey a route, but it was Robert Whitworth who carried out the work. His route was generally further west than the adopted route, passing to the west of Stapleford, and then through Leesthorpe and Ashwell to reach Oakham. It would have required 13 locks. Meetings were held in December 1785 to consider proposals for an extension onwards from Oakham to Stamford. In 1791, the Leicester Navigation and the Melton Mowbray line were authorised by acts of Parliament, and new plans for the Oakham line were drawn up, following a meeting in April 1792. The Earls of Harborough and Winchilsea supported the navigation, and a bill was put before Parliament in September. In November, some £51,000 was promised towards the costs of construction, and on 7 May 1793, the act of Parliament was granted, authorising the Oakham Canal Company to raise £56,000 by issuing shares, with an additional £20,000 if required.
The new route had been surveyed by William Jessop, but the detailed design was done by Christopher Staveley Jr., who then became the engineer. Staveley was also involved with the Leicester and the Melton navigations, but was sacked by the Melton company in 1795. A report into his work on the Melton line and the Oakham line was critical of him, and he resigned as engineer, to be replaced in late 1797 by William Dunn of Sheffield. Although Dunn had no previous experience at building canals, he saw the work through to a successful conclusion. Costs overran, and it was difficult to raise money due to the uncertainties caused by the French Revolutionary Wars, but a second act of Parliament was obtained in 1800, allowing the company to raise another £30,000. The final cost of construction was between £65,000 and £70,000. The canal opened in stages, reaching Saxby in November 1800, and was declared to be completed in June 1802, but the water supply was inadequate, and it was probably not usable to Oakham until January 1803.
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