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Our guide to the waterways of the UK in detail.

The history of the Gloucester & Sharpness ship Canal.

In 1793 an Act was passed enabling the construction of a canal large enough to take sea-going vessels, which, at that time, had to struggle with the tidal, winding and often dangerous lower reaches of the River Severn to reach the city of Gloucester. The canal (as planned) was to run from the Severn estuary at Berkeley Pill to Gloucester. A large dock area was to be built near the centre of the city where goods could be unloaded or transhipped onto barges, narrowboats or the trows, which then used the upper Severn.

In 1794 work began on the planned 17¾ mile canal at the Gloucester end, heading southwards towards Berkeley Pill. The canal company had all the usual problems to contend with while construction went on. After 5 years only 5½ miles of the route had been cut but money had completely run out. Gloucester docks were open but only for ships which still came up the Severn.

In 1809 being in a somewhat useless situation as far as the canal was concerned, the company made a very early decision to co-operate with tramways and railroads. The first of these was the Cheltenham & Gloucester Tramway that laid its lines right onto Gloucester docks, remaining there until 1862.

1818 For 19 years nothing had been done on the canal though behind the scenes the committee had tried various ways of raising money. It was the government who came to the canal's rescue in the end. Parliament employed Thomas Telford as a surveyor whose job it was to recommended which schemes were worthy of an "Exchequer Bill Loan Commission" (grant). Telford suggested that the Gloucester & Berkeley Canal should be restarted with its southern terminus changed to Sharpness (making the route slightly shorter than the original plan to terminate at Berkeley Pill) and depth increased from 15 ft to 18 ft to allow for increases in ship design.

The government of the day also created the "Poor Employment Act" and these two schemes provided the canal company with money and a free work force. In July the Duke of Gloucester laid the foundation stone at what was to become Sharpness docks. But by the end of 1820 work was at a total standstill again. The government stepped in and took control of administration and this led to a much more efficient running of the company.

Finally in 1827, thirty-four years after the first Act was passed, the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal was fully opened. It was the greatest canal in England at that time, it was successful but debts and loans from its construction days hung over it for many years. Unlike smaller canals, the boats on the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal did not use horses to pull them along the route. It was customary in the River Severn area for gangs of men to bow haul ships along the navigations. Of course sailing ships and, later, steam boats could navigate the wide waters very easily.

In 1844 the canal was used at night for the first time. The carriers Pickfords persuaded the company to permit this to help them compete with the railways.

In 1862 the first tugs were introduced on the canal to replace the gangs of men who had hauled the boats along the route up until then.

After thirteen years of fighting against various railways to save the Worcester & Birmingham Canal, the Gloucester & Sharpness Company leased the Worcester & Birmingham from the liquidators in 1874. They also leased the Droitwich Barge Canal and the Droitwich Junction Canal at the same time. The Gloucester &Sharpness Company now controlled all of the artificial waterways between Bristol and Birmingham.

They did a lot of work in improving their new acquisitions during the following months, including dredging the Droitwich Barge Canal for the first time since it had opened. However, none of these canals ever paid any profits and, in fact, the tolls didn't even cover maintenance costs but the Gloucester & Sharpness Company kept the routes to Birmingham open because it was very important to their own canal's survival.

In 1874 a new harbour was built at Sharpness. This was because trade was being lost to the "modern" harbours at Swansea and Cardiff. The old docks at Sharpness were originally made for sailing ships and had become too small to take the new large streamers. The improvements allowed steamers carrying over 1,000 tons to navigate the canal to Gloucester.

In 1897 The Gloucester & Sharpness Canal became involved in the Thames & Severn Canal Trust that was set up to keep that canal open after railway ownership had almost destroyed it. This was just one of a number of times that the Gloucester & Sharpness supported the retention of these canals which both ensured a through route and also supplied water.

Over the following decades the G&S continued to survive against strong railway competition. Unfortunately its neighbours did not fair so well. Their railway owners neglected the Thames & Severn until it was rendered useless. The Droitwich and Stroudwater canals also declined and eventually closed. Because the G&S was not a trading route but a passageway for sea going vessels it continued in business and was nationalised in 1948.

1951 The Gloucester & Sharpness Canal, now under government control following nationalisation, was listed by the government as one of a small band of canals thought to be worth maintaining and promoting for commercial use.

Sources.

Nicholson Guides to the Waterways.

Roots & Routes, Peter Hardcastle's Website
http://www.canals.btinternet.co.uk/index.htm

The Gloucester & Sharpness Canal by Hugh Conway-Jones, Published by Tempus Publishing, Stroud in 2003. ISBN 0-7524-2789-X

Some pictures of this canal?

Pictures of Gloucester docks. / Pictures of the rest of the canal.

General information

Find our information about other canals on the canal index page.

We will not be on this canal in 2008

If you have any questions then do ring us on 07977 229103
or email us at martinreed@reedboats.co.uk