Operation
The canal connected Oakham to the Melton Mowbray Navigation, and hence to the River Soar and the national waterways system. The route passed through 19 broad locks along its 15.5-mile (24.9 km) route, rising 126 feet (38 m) between Melton and Oakham. No aqueducts or tunnels were required, and there was just one large embankment near Edmondthorpe. The main cargos carried were coal, which moved up the canal, and agricultural produce, which was carried away to market. The enterprise was not a financial success. Those who had invested in the canal had paid £130 for their shares, and the first dividend of £2 was paid in 1814. £3 was paid the following year, but there were no further payments until 1827, when another £2 was paid. The most profitable year was 1840, when the dividend reached £5.
The idea of a link from Oakham to Stamford, 11 miles (18 km) due east, was revived in 1809, with plans for a 7-mile (11 km) link from Stamford to the River Nene at Peterborough. The River Welland could be reached by a canal from Stamford at the time, and the plans also included a link from the Welland near Market Deeping northwards to the South Forty-Foot Drain, from where Boston could be reached. A bill for this, together with one for a rival scheme to link Stamford to the Grand Junction Canal, which also included a link to the South Forty-Foot Drain, were put before Parliament in 1811, but neither met with any success. The idea was revived in 1815 and 1828, but no further action was taken.
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