Thames and Severn Canal
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The Thames and Severn Canal is a canal in the south of England, linking the River Thames to the River Severn, via Cricklade and Stroudwater. It was completed in 1789. It runs just under 29 miles from Wallbridge to Inglesham Lock. Its length includes the two mile long Sapperton tunnel which was at the time of its completion was the longest tunnel in England.
The canal always had problems with its water supply due to springs breaking through the clay lining of the canal bed. This meant that in summer when the springs receded the rate of water loss was greater than the available supply. In one of the attempts to tackle this the size of the locks was reduced giving the canal locks their unusual double headed appearance. In a further attempt to prevent water loss the canal directly after the coates portal of the tunnel (know as the King's Reach) was lined with concrete rather than the normal puddle clay.
The canal was abandoned in 1933 and is now being restored. A number of locks have been rebuilt however the Sapperton tunnel remains blocked by two rock falls. In addition the original line near the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal has been lost in the construction of the M5 motorway and the road improvements on the A38 trunk road.
In 1953 C. S. Forester published Hornblower and the Atropos (ISBN 0316289299), a historical novel set during the Napoleonic Wars, in which Capt. Hornblower travels along the canal (including the tunnel) to London.
External links
- Cotswold Canals Trust http://www.cotswoldcanals.com/
- Excerpt from Hornblower and the Atropos http://www.twbookmark.com/books/13/0316289299/chapter_excerpt461.html