Sleaford Navigation - History

History

The River Slea rises to the west of Sleaford, near Ancaster, and flows in an easterly direction, passing through Sleaford on its way to South Kyme, beyond which it is called the Kyme Eau, joining the River Witham at Chapel Hill. Kyme Eau had been navigable since at least the reign of Edward III, for in 1375 Gilbert d'Umframville was accused of illegally collecting tolls on boats carrying food products to the people of Kesteven. He had been doing so for 12 years, and he defended his case before the king, explaining that the river was navigable from Dog Dyke to Brent Fen, but that it suffered from silting and the banks were in a poor state of repair. Having agreed to carry out repairs, he was granted the right to levy tolls by letters patent.

With influential local landowners such as Sir Jenison Gordon of Haverholme Priory and Sir Christopher Whitchcote of Aswarby wanting to improve communications to the area, a proposal to link Sleaford by canal to Grantham was considered in 1774, but was replaced by a scheme to provide a navigable link along the Slea and the Kyme Eau to the Witham in 1783. Following a public meeting in Sleaford on 16 January, a committee was formed to promote the scheme, and in order for it to be profitable, negotiations began with the Commissioners of the River Witham, to reduce the tolls on that river for traffic to and from the Slea. Although initially rebuffed, the committee persisted, and the Commissioners eventually agreed to terms.

At the time, the River Slea was not navigable beyond Kyme, as the channel was inadequate, and there were fish weirs and water mills on its course. Three attempts were made to obtain an Act of Parliament to authorise improvements, but all were defeated. In 1791, William Jessop and John Hudson were commissioned to prepare a new survey and plans. Jessop was a canal engineer of some repute, with experience of several navigations, including the River Trent at Newark, while Hudson was less well known, but had experience of canal building in eastern England and Yorkshire. Their report was published on 25 November 1791, and estimated that the improvements would cost £9,979. The plans obtained the support of Sir Joseph Banks, a baronet who was a patron of the natural sciences, and had been the President of the Royal Society since 1778. The fourth attempt to obtain an act of Parliament was successful, probably due to his influence.

The Act was passed on 11 June 1792, creating The Company of Proprietors of the Sleaford Navigation, which was empowered to make and maintain a Navigation from Sleaford Castle Causeway, through the town of Sleaford, along the course of Sleaford Mill Stream and Kyme Eau, to the River Witham, at or near Chappel Hill. It had authority to raise £13,000 in capital for the project, with an additional £6,500 if necessary. Most of the money was raised within Lincolnshire, with half of the shares being bought by people living in Sleaford. Six proprietors were elected to serve on a committee, which expressed its thanks to Joseph Banks at its first meeting. By the end of 1793, £16,000 had been raised to fund construction.

The Horncastle Canal was being constructed at the same time, and the two companies negotiated to find an engineer who would oversee both projects. They approached Henry Eastburn, but he did not accept, and so William Cawley from Mickle Trafford in Cheshire was appointed. Five locks were required to negotiate the mills, and there were additional locks at Lower Kyme and near Flax Dyke, in the parish of Ewerley. They were built as broad locks, 60 by 15 feet (18 by 4.6 m), and the total fall from Sleaford was 42 feet (13 m). Six contracts with a total value of £4,000, for the construction of locks and bridges, were awarded to John Dyson Sr., who worked with Peter Tyler and John Langwith. Defects were reported with the lock at Haverholme in 1794, and when the opening of the canal was announced, Dyson produced advertisements which stated that the canal would not open unless he was paid for the work he had carried out. The company responded that the only place to sort out such disagreements was in a law court, and the opening went ahead on 6 May 1794. The enabling act specified that the terminus would be at Castle Causeway, from where it would follow the southern mill stream to pass through the south bridge, and then along the Sleaford millstream through Old Sleaford and New Sleaford. Financial difficulties meant that it stopped short of its intended terminus, and instead the company built a wharf to the east of what is now Carre Street in Sleaford.