London to Portsmouth canal facts for kids

Quick facts for kids London to Portsmouth Canal
Stewarts Bridge on the Arundel to Portsmouth section of the canal
History
Date completed	1823
Date closed	1847
Geography
Start point	London
End point	Portsmouth

The London to Portsmouth canal was a big idea for a safe inland canal route. It would have connected London, the capital, to Portsmouth, which was the main base for the Royal Navy. The goal was to let boats travel between the two cities without going into the English Channel, where enemy ships might be waiting.

There isn't a natural waterway between London and Portsmouth, so people came up with many plans. The first idea was in 1641, to link the River Wey and the River Arun, which were only about 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) apart. But this plan didn't pass in Parliament. Later, the River Wey was improved for boats in 1651, and extended to Godalming in 1763. During the American War of Independence, supplies were sent by water to Godalming, then by land to Portsmouth. This stopped when the war ended.

Around the late 1700s, more canal routes were suggested, and even a railway. The first canal to get approval was the Wey and Arun Junction Canal. It was meant to connect the River Wey to the Arun Navigation. This canal was approved in 1813 and finished in 1816. It provided a link to the south coast. The final connection to Portsmouth came with the Portsmouth and Arundel Canal, which linked the Arun to a ship canal near Chichester. This was approved in 1817 and finished in 1823.

However, the canal wasn't very successful. Salt water leaked into nearby farms and affected Portsmouth's drinking water. Also, once the war with France ended, it became cheaper and easier to ship goods by sea around the coast.

Between 1823 and 1825, three huge plans for an overland ship canal were proposed, but none of them happened, even though the Navy was briefly interested. The Portsea Canal was closed in 1830 because it was hardly used. Trade on the Portsmouth and Arundel and the Wey and Arun canals was much lower than expected. They were eventually closed in 1841 and 1871. But the Chichester Canal kept going until 1892. Since 1984, parts of the Chichester Canal have been restored. The Wey and Arun Canal Trust has also successfully restored large sections of that canal since it started in 1970.

Why a Canal? Early Ideas

The first serious attempt to create an inland route between London and the south coast happened in 1641. People suggested linking the River Wey and the River Arun because their sources were only about 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) apart near Cranleigh and Dunsfold. This seemed like an easy way to connect them with a canal. However, the plan was rejected by the House of Lords. At that time, Portsmouth harbour was quite basic, but by the mid-1700s, it had become Britain's most important naval port.

The River Wey in Surrey flows into the River Thames near Weybridge. Some parts of the river were improved for boats between 1618 and 1620. Then, in 1651, a law was passed to improve the 15 kilometres (9.3 miles) between Guildford and the Thames. This work involved building 12 locks and about 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) of new cuts (channels). In 1763, the river was made accessible for another 4 kilometres (2.5 miles) to Godalming, needing four more locks.

When the American War of Independence started in 1776, there was a need to move supplies from London to Portsmouth. They did this by shipping goods to Godalming, where a warehouse was built, and then carrying them by land to Portsmouth. The whole trip took about eight days. However, switching goods from boats to land wasn't ideal, and this trade quickly stopped when the war ended in 1783.

New Plans and Railways

The Basingstoke Canal company later suggested extending their canal to connect with the Itchen Navigation. This canal was seen as part of a bigger system linking London to Portsmouth and Southampton. The opening of the Andover Canal in 1796 helped their cause, leaving only about 17 kilometres (11 miles) between Andover and Basingstoke. People thought a canal between these two towns could be built quickly, cutting the London to Portsmouth journey to three days.

Around 1800, more ideas came up. William Jessop suggested a horse railway from Wandsworth to Portsmouth in 1799. The Surrey Iron Railway opened in 1803, connecting Wandsworth and Croydon, and some thought it should be extended to Portsmouth. John Rennie, another engineer, suggested extending the Croydon Canal through Horsham, Pulborough, and Chichester to Portsmouth. He tried to get a law passed for this, but it was rejected.

Rennie then proposed a "Grand Southern Canal" in 1810. It would be 95 kilometres (59 miles) long, running from the River Medway to Chichester. He planned to build a new canal next to the River Arun, rather than using the existing river. He managed to get promises for a lot of money to build it, but Parliament rejected his plan again.

The Wey and Arun Canal

In 1810, the Earl of Egremont started promoting the idea of a canal to link the Rivers Wey and Arun. These rivers were only about 15 kilometres (9.3 miles) apart. Even though this canal would go through a very rural area with few goods to transport, it was important because it would create an inland route from London to the south coast of England. This was especially important because England was at war with France, and ships along the coast were at risk of attack.

The Arun River had been navigable from its mouth to Ford for a long time. Later, improvements were made to reach Newbridge in 1787.

For the connecting link to the Wey, called the Wey and Arun Junction Canal, Josias Jessop was hired as an engineer in 1811. He estimated the cost to be around £72,000, which later increased. A law to build Jessop's route was passed on 19 April 1813. This allowed the canal to be built from the Godalming Navigation near Shalford to the Arun Navigation at Newbridge. Construction finished in 1816. The Junction Canal was 18.5 kilometres (11.5 miles) long with 23 locks. But by the time it opened, the war with France was over, which meant one of the main reasons for building it was gone.

The canal never made a lot of money. It did reasonably well for a while, carrying up to 23,000 tons of goods in 1839. However, railways started to compete strongly in 1865 with the opening of the Guildford and Horsham Railway, which went directly against the canal. The canal also had engineering problems, like not enough water sources and leaky soil, which caused water shortages.

The Arundel and Portsmouth Canal

Soon after the Wey and Arun Canal was approved, a group pushed for the final link in the London to Portsmouth route: a canal from the Arun to Portsmouth. They asked John Rennie for advice. He suggested a route from Ford on the lower Arun to Chichester harbour, with a link to Chichester town. From Chichester Harbour, boats would use a dredged channel around Thorney and Hayling Islands, and then the Portsea Island Canal to reach Portsmouth.

A law was passed in 1817 to allow this work. Another law in 1819 allowed the Chichester canal section to be bigger for small ships (up to 100 tons) and the Portsea Island section for larger vessels (up to 150 tons).

Construction of the canal from Hunston to Ford began in 1818. The Chichester Canal section opened first on 9 April 1822. The Portsea Canal followed on 19 September, and the final section from Hunston to the River Arun completed the London to Portsmouth link on 26 May 1823.

Water for the canal was pumped from the River Arun using a steam engine. But controlling this was tricky because the water could be fresh or salty depending on the tide. This caused problems, as salt leaked into nearby farmland, and the canal company had to pay farmers for the damage. Salt water also got into the Portsea Canal and contaminated some drinking water supplies, leading to more compensation payments.

How the Canal Worked (or Didn't)

The full canal route was not a success. It had a small amount of trade in 1824 and 1825, then it went down. There was a brief improvement in 1832 and 1833, but then it declined again. The best year was 1824, but the amount of goods carried was much, much lower than the 1.2 million tons that people had hoped for when the Wey and Arun Canal was being planned.

With no threat of enemy attacks, coastal shipping became cheaper for journeys. The 116-kilometre (72-mile) journey by canal involved tidal waters, locks, and tunnels, and was run by six different companies. The Portsea Canal was already drained and unused by 1827.

Big Ship Canal Ideas

Around the time the canal was opening, other huge plans were suggested that would have made it unnecessary. In 1823, William James proposed two intersecting railways. This was followed by plans for a ship canal, which, like earlier ideas, highlighted the benefits of an inland route to Portsmouth during wartime. James Elmes proposed a tidal ship canal in 1824, which he thought would cost millions of pounds. Another engineer, N. W. Cundy, made fun of this idea because it would be lock-free but would need to pass through high ground.

Cundy then created his own plan for a ship canal. It would need four large locks and be wide enough for ships to pass easily. The water would be deep. The canal would be 78 kilometres (48 miles) long and cost millions of pounds.

A third plan came from George Rennie and John Rennie the Younger in 1825. Their canal would be 86 kilometres (53 miles) long and cost even more millions. They claimed the journey from London to Portsmouth could be done in one day with a steam tug. In March 1825, a meeting was held, and the Rennies were asked to survey the routes and recommend the best one. They suggested their own route, which they estimated would be slightly cheaper than Cundy's. Cundy was unhappy and said the Rennies hadn't surveyed his route properly.

Both ship canal plans briefly reappeared in 1827, but the Navy wasn't interested. The Rennies reported that the existing Portsmouth and Arundel Canal was unlikely to make much profit. Both Cundy's and the Rennies' grand ship canal plans were dropped. Rennie later wrote that the problem was the huge amount of money needed, especially just before even larger sums were spent on building railways. For example, a railway of similar length to his ship canal cost much more just a few years later.

The End of the Canals

The Portsea Canal officially closed in 1830, having been hardly used in the eight years it was open. A channel was dug through Portsea Creek, allowing boats to get from Langstone Harbour to Portsmouth Harbour.

The London to Southampton Railway opened in November 1841. The London and Brighton Railway was extended to Chichester in 1846, covering much of the same route as the canal from Ford to Chichester. This led to that section of the canal closing for commercial boats in 1847. The railway was extended from Chichester to Portsmouth in 1847, and a direct line from London through Godalming opened in 1859.

A law to close the Wey and Arun Canal was passed in 1868. It was offered for sale in 1870 but officially closed in 1871. The Chichester section, however, continued to be used for a while. Traffic on it dropped over time, and in 1892, a law transferred ownership to Chichester Corporation. The company was officially closed in 1896. The canal was not used after 1906 and was finally sold in 1957.

Restoration Efforts

The River Wey Navigation was given to the National Trust in 1964. The section to Godalming was also given to the National Trust in 1968. For the first time, both sections were owned by the same group and are now managed for leisure activities. Commercial boat traffic stopped in 1968.

The Wey and Arun Canal Trust was formed in 1970. Their goal is to restore both the Wey and Arun Canal and the Arun Navigation, bringing back the link between London and the south coast. They have made great progress, buying back parts of the route that were sold when the canal closed.

Since 1984, West Sussex County Council has leased the Chichester Canal to the Chichester Canal Society. This group has restored about 4 kilometres (2.5 miles) from Chichester Basin. The end of the canal closer to the sea has been used for yacht moorings since 1932. The Society later became the Chichester Ship Canal Trust. Fully restoring the rest of the canal is difficult because two bridges have been lowered, making it hard for boats to pass.