Pocklington Canal - History

History

The first proposals to build a canal to Pocklington were made in 1765, when there were plans for a canal from the Humber Estuary to Wholesea, with two branches from there, one to Weighton and the other to Pocklington. Wholesea is near to the site of Sod House Lock on the Market Weighton Canal. A second assessment of the project was made two years later, and a third in 1771, but by December of that year, the plan was for the Market Weighton Canal as built, and the branch to Pocklington had been dropped completely. In 1777, a new plan for a canal from the River Derwent to Pocklington was considered, and approval was obtained from Lord Rockingham, but no further action was taken. Further debate occurred in 1801, when a public meeting was held at Pocklington. Some were in favour of a route to the River Ouse, but after due consideration, an engineer called Henry Eastburn was asked to make a survey of two possible routes to the Derwent. Eastburn had worked for John Rennie, but his whereabouts after 1801 are unknown, and when the report was presented, it had been produced by William Chapman. He suggested two routes, an 8-mile (13 km) route from East Cottingwith and a 9.5-mile (15.3 km) one from Bubwith. He then recommended that they choose a third route, 13.5 miles (21.7 km) long, which would join the Ouse near Howden. Knowing that this was unlikely to meet the approval either of Lord Rockingham or of Lord Fitzwilliam, who owned the Derwent, the plan was dropped.

Finally, in 1812, Earl Fitzwilliam employed George Leather Jr., to survey a proposed route. At the time, both Leather and his father were working for the Earl on a navigation and drainage scheme for the upper Derwent. The suggested route started at Sutton Lock on the Derwent, presumably so that goods for the Pocklington Canal would have to travel a greater distance along the Derwent, and therefore the tolls would be greater, but Leather found this route to be problematic, and proposed an alternative route to East Cottingwith. Prior to actually conducting the survey, he estimated the cost at £43,630, for a route with 8 locks that stopped at the turnpike road to Hull. He also suggested that the canal could be continued into Pocklington, with an extra two locks, for an additional cost of £8,257. He calculated the probable revenue at £1,245.50 per year, which was surprisingly close to the actual figure once the canal was build. He started surveying in 1813, but became ill, and the work was not completed until June 1814.

There was some debate as to whether the extension from the road into Pocklington should be built, but it was decided to include provision for it in the bill to be put before Parliament, on the understanding that it would only be built if a majority of the shareholders approved. Leather estimated the cost for the section to the road, which included eight locks, at £32,032. The plan which accompanied the bill showed an extra five locks on the extension into Pocklington. The bill became an Act of Parliament on 25 May 1815, which authorised the newly-formed Pocklington Canal Company to raise £32,000 by issuing shares, and an extra £10,000 is required, either by subscriptions from the shareholders or by mortgaging the works. A management committee was elected at a shareholders meeting held on 19 June, and all the money had been pledged by 7 July. Leather acted as engineer, and his first job was to write to Earl Fitzwilliam's agent, to enquire whether the Earl would be building a lock on the Derwent at East Cottingwith. As he was not, an entrance lock had to be built, which had not been included in the original estimate.

The canal was started from the Derwent end, so that sections could be brought into use as they were completed. Work progressed quickly, and some of the shareholders protested at the frequency with which calls were made for the money, but a fast build reduced overheads. The section to Hagg Bridge opened in August 1816, and the head of navigation was extended to Walbut in the following spring. Bad weather prevented Leather from completing the work by the end of 1817, and the canal eventually opened on 30 July 1818. The final cost was £32,695, the excess over the original estimate being caused by some additional works which had to be done. £2,495 was borrowed to cover the shortfall, and Leather received a warm vote of thanks from the shareholders.