The following article appeared in the Spring 2010 edition of The Roundhouse Newsletter, the magazine of the Barrow Hill Engine Shed Society.

HISTORICAL CORNER

The Chesterfield Canal

Our little corner of North Derbyshire is rich in industrial archaeology. Anyone with a pleasant summer stroll in mind would appreciate a walk along the surviving sections of the Chesterfield Canal and it is convenient that there is an original section still “in water”, close by to us at Staveley. Here, during the summer months, the Chesterfield Canal Trust operates a passenger narrow boat named “John Varley”, which plies between Tapton Lock and Staveley. (Ring 01246 551035 for bookings.) Those that don’t have the time or energy to walk the complete length, can take advantage of the narrow boat for the journey and relax in comfort. There is also an interesting visitors’ centre at Tapton Lock, which is operated by Derbyshire County Council and is open every weekend. Hollingwood Lock House is currently being restored and extended and will open early next year as a community hub. A new basin is being built at Staveley. Along this five mile section, the tow path is fully accessible and is popular with dog walkers, hikers, cyclists and the occasional horse rider. The canal is directly accessible from both Shireoaks and Kiveton Park railway stations. Nothing exemplifies the dawn of the Industrial Age like an impressive flight of canal locks. There is an excellent example of these at Thorpe, which is close by to the Eastern portal of the Norwood tunnel. The flight comprises of no less than fifteen locks with two triple and two double staircases. They were the first locks to be built on the canal and are some of the oldest staircase locks in the country. The remote hamlet of Turnerwood and the disused limestone quarry of the same name are close by and both make a worthwhile visit in themselves.

The heyday of the canal came in the 1840’s, when it was used to convey limestone blocks from the North Anston Quarries on the first leg of the journey to London, for the construction of the Houses of Parliament. Almost 500,000 cubic feet (35,000 tons) was conveyed in 5 years. From the beginning of the 20th century, the fortunes of the Chesterfield Canal began to wane and the first blow came when the roof of Norwood tunnel collapsed in 1907, which was never repaired. This effectively cut the canal into two parts and all commercial traffic then terminated at Shireoaks. The middle section of the Norwood tunnel was eventually lost to coal mining. The canal company formed an alliance with the Manchester & Lincoln Union Railway and Chesterfield & Gainsborough Canal Company (M&LUR/C&GCC). This line eventually became the Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway (MSLR) on 9 July 1847. Ultimately, this undertaking became the Great Central Railway and with the grouping of the railways on 1^st January 1923, the canal passed into the ownership of the LNER.

The carrying of coal by canal from nearby Shireoaks Colliery could not normally compete with the railway, but the canal traffic was kept going because the railways were overworked during World War 2. After the war, there was no further justification and conveying coal by canal ceased. Other minor traffic continued, such as bricks from the kilns at Walkeringham but this ceased in 1955. A curious enterprise was the collecting of river silt from the Trent, which was ground down and filtered to produce an ingredient called warp, which was used in the manufacture of silver polish. This trade was finished by 1956. The entire length of the canal was then proposed for official abandonment. However, all was not lost. Here the story changes to one that will be familiar to us Barrow Hill stalwarts. The tale is of long arguments with officialdom, of fundraising, many a public meeting and innumerable committee debates. Eventually, the campaigners, led by the Retford and Worksop Boat Club, emerged triumphant. The long-term future of the canal was secured when the 26 mile section between Worksop and West Stockwith was designated as a “Cruise Way” under the Transport Act of 1968. This became the catalyst to save the remaining 20 mile section and the Chesterfield Canal Society was formed in 1976 with this objective. The society became the Chesterfield Canal Trust Ltd. in 1998. Restoration of the five miles of the canal from Chesterfield to Staveley began in 1988 and Tapton lock was reopened in 1990. The remaining five mile section from Chesterfield, which included four more locks and three new bridges, was made navigable and reopened in 2002. Much of the work on restoring these five locks was done by the Trust’s volunteer Work Party. Derelict Land Grants were obtained by Rotherham and Nottinghamshire councils in 1995 and restoration from Worksop began in earnest. The six mile section from the Eastern portal of Norwood tunnel was restored between 1996 and 2003. This included thirty restored locks, one new lock and a further three new bridges. The fifteen locks of the Thorpe flight and the seven locks of the Turnerwood flight are all Grade ll listed structures. The work on the Thorpe flight earned a national award. The intervening nine miles between Staveley and Kiveton Park is the subject of The Chesterfield Canal Trust’s Closing the Gap campaign to get it fully restored. Many challenges will need to be overcome. A significant diversion will be needed through the village of Killamarsh, where a housing estate has been built on the line of the canal. Most of the collapsed Norwood Tunnel will be opened out but the eastern end will be retained. The long-term aim of the Trust is to create a navigation along the Rother Valley between Killamarsh and Rotherham, which in turn would connect with the South Yorkshire Navigation. This would give the canal a second outlet for the first time in its history. Although our respective modes of transport differ widely, both BHESS and the CCT have come far. We therefore congratulate our comrades and wish them continued success and progress.

Vignoles