Chard Canal - History

History

With the Bridgwater and Taunton Canal having opened in 1827, there was further initiative to link Chard to it, and James Green carried out a survey in 1831. The route was 13.5 miles (21.7 km) long, but with Chard some 231 feet (70 m) higher than the canal at Creech St Michael, his plan involved two boat lifts, two inclined planes and two tunnels, and was costed at £57,000. An Act of Parliament was obtained in June 1834, authorising the raising of £57,000, with an additional £20,000 if required, but local enthusiasm for the scheme was muted, and most of the capital was provided by just five men, all of whom were involved in the Bridgwater and Taunton Canal. Work began at Wrantage in June 1835, but the Act did not allow parts of the canal to be built until tunnelling was well-advanced, and so work on the upper sections did not start until Autumn 1837. Green was replaced as engineer by Sydney Hall from the start of construction, and in view of the problems Green was experiencing on the Grand Western Canal with commissioning his boat lifts, Hall decided to replace the lifts with inclined planes instead.

Further changes to the original plans were made above Ilminster inclined plane, where another tunnel was constructed, enabling the line of the canal to be built at a lower level. A lock was added at Bere Mills, to raise the line by 7 feet (2.1 m) and the length of the Chard incline was increased. Construction costs were much higher than anticipated, and another Act of Parliament was obtained in March 1840, allowing the Company to raise another £80,000 in shares, and to obtain a mortgage for £26,000, while a third Act in 1841 allowed construction to continue beyond the original seven year limit. The canal opened to Ilminster on 15 May 1841, and to Dowlish Ford wharfs on 3 February 1842. There were delays caused by the rope on the Wrantage plane breaking, resulting in damage to the caissons, and further delays caused by the Bristol and Exeter Railway constructing their line under the canal at Creech, but the work was finally completed on 24 May 1842. There were immediate benefits to the community, as coal prices fell, but the total cost of construction had been about £140,000, and as income was only a third of what had been projected, the canal company was never able to meet even the interest payments on its debts.