Dorset and Somerset Canal
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The Dorset and Somerset Canal was a proposed canal in the south west of England, linking Poole, in Dorset with the Kennet and Avon Canal near Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, which would then connect to Bath, Somerset.
It was intended to have a branch from Frome to the southern reaches of the Somerset coalfield at Nettlebridge, and in fact construction began on that in order to capitalise on the lucrative coal transport and cloth for clothing manufacture in Frome. The coalfield branch was to incorporate novel balance locks designed by and a 1798 patent granted to James Fussell,[1] owner of the nearby Mells ironworks, to move boats up and down a hillside near Buckland Dinham, where the Murtry Aqueduct remains.[2]. It was successfully tested on 13th October 1800[3] however construction ceased in 1803 due to unforeseen costs and the canal was never completed.[4]
Several features are still visible; in particular an impressive aqueduct at Coleford[5] (locally known as the Hucky Duck).
[edit] References
- ^ Atthill, Robin (1964). Old Mendip. Newton Abbott: David and Charles. ISBN 0715351710.
- ^ Murtry Aqueduct. Images of England. Retrieved on November 25, 2006.
- ^ Toulson, Shirley (1984). The Mendip Hills: A Threatened Landscape. London: Victor Gollancz. ISBN 057503453X.
- ^ Dunning, Robert (1983). A History of Somerset. Chichester: Phillimore & Co. ISBN 0-85033-461-6.
- ^ Former Aqueduct. Images of England. Retrieved on November 11, 2006.
[edit] See also
- History of the British canal system
- James Fussell, canal promoter
