The Hertford Union Canal
The Act authorising the Hertford Union was passed in 1824, and it
opened without a great deal of ceremony in the spring of 1830. The canal linked
- and still does - The Regent's Canal to the Lee Navigation, avoiding the
distance via Limehouse and the semi-tidal Limehouse Cut. It runs alongside
Victoria Park for much of its short length of just over a mile, with three
locks. The canal is also known as Duckett's Canal after Sir George Duckett, its
original promoter. It was never a great commercial success and indeed for a
time from the late 1840s to the mid 1850s it was unnavigable. In 1851 it was
advertised for sale but no buyer wanted to invest in it. Eventually The
Regent's Canal bought it and from 28th October 1857 onwards it became a branch
of The Regent's Canal and from 1929, part of the Grand Union system.
The Grand Surrey Canal
The Grand Surrey Canal Act was passed in 1801, authorising a canal
through what is now south London from Rotherhithe to Epsom. It's original
Engineer was Ralph Dodd. Even before the canal was built the company started
making plans for an enlarge ship dock at its entrance which soon began to take
priority over the canal. The company, trying to deliver both canal and dock at
the same time, ran into financial problems and for a while work stopped on them
both. The Dock, or basin, opened first, on 13th March 1807. The Croydon Canal
depended on the Grand Surrey for its connection with the river Thames, and this
was under construction at the same time. The directors of the Croydon applied
pressure to complete the Grand Surrey, as far as their junction, as well they
might. This did happen but the relationship between the two companies was never
as good as it might have been, with the Grand Surrey company focusing most on
its dock operation. The Grand Surrey was opened as far as Camberwell Road in
1809 but was never built any further. A 1,100 yard arm served Peckham, opened
in 1826. The dock was enlarged in 1812. The canal lasted until the 1940s when
part of it was abandoned,. In 1960 much of it was drained, and in 1970 the dock
was closed. A park is now sited on the former Camberwell Basin, and there are
few traces of the canal left.
The Kensington Canal
This canal led from the Thames at Chelsea Creek to Kensington, where
there was a basin, near Warwick Road. There was one lock, at the entrance. It
opened in 1828. It was many times beset by problems with silting and mud,
making navigation difficult, especially at low tide. The canal itself was sold
to the Bristol Birmingham and Thames Junction Railway in 1836. That company
built its line from the north to the canal basin where traffic could be
exchanged. The take-over of the canal proceeded with legal wrangling for
several years and problems with deterioration of the navigation and accumulated
mud. The railway company, now renamed the West London Railway, leased its line
to the London and Birmingham Railway in 1846 leaving the West London Railway
owning the canal. The original canal company was wound up in the same year. An
Act of 1859 authorised a joint venture of several railways companies to extend
the railway south from Kensington and in so doing close a part of the canal to
use as a track bed. Only a short stretch remained, and this was then owned by
the West London Extension Railway as it was called. The canal continued, its
principal customer being a gas works. The canal continued to carry traffic
until 1967. Like the Croydon canal, a journey by train takes you along part of
the trackbed, in this case the West London line from Willesden to Clapham
Junction.
The Grosvenor Canal
This small canal was opened in 1825, and ran on land in Lord
Grosvenor's estate, from the Thames to Grosvenor Basin. The site of the basin
is now covered by Victoria Station. The top part of the canal was closed to
enable the station complex to be enlarged in 1899. The remaining short length
of canal was purchased in 1906 by Westminster City Council. A further section
was in-filled in 1927 to provide space for housing. The Council's interest in
the canal was sustained, despite its deterioration, because its principal
traffic was refuse collected by the authority for disposal. For almost a year
from July 1928 the canal was closed for major repairs and improvements to
facilitate this important traffic. In the late 1940s and early 1950s other
local authorities added their refuse to the traffic carried.
The Limehouse Cut
From the Lee navigation to the Thames using nature's route requires
the Bow Creek to be navigated, a twisting, tidal waterway not at all well
suited to inland waterway traffic. The River Lea Act 1766 authorised the
construction of the Limehouse Cut, a straight section linking the Lee
Navigation at Bromley-by-Bow to the Thames at Limehouse. The exit lock from the
Cut to the Thames was replaced in 1968 by a short length of new canal linking
the Limehouse Cut with The Regent's Canal Dock, now known as Limehouse
Basin.
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