Сомерсет каналы: тарихы мен қайта жаңғырту жобасы

Canal in Somerset, England

The Somerset Coal Canal (originally known as the Somersetshire Coal Canal) was a narrow canal in England, built around 1800. Its route began in basins at Paulton and Timsbury, ran to nearby Camerton, over two aqueducts at Dunkerton, through a tunnel at Combe Hay, then via Midford and Monkton Combe to Limpley Stoke where it joined the Kennet and Avon Canal. This link gave the Somerset coalfield (which at its peak contained 80 collieries) access east toward London. The longest arm was 10.6 mile (17 km) long with 23 locks. From Midford an arm also ran via Writhlington to Radstock, with a tunnel at Wellow. A feature of the canal was the variety of methods used at Combe Hay to overcome height differences between the upper and lower reaches: initially by the use of caisson locks; when this method failed an inclined plane trackway; and finally a flight of 22 conventional locks. The Radstock arm was never commercially successful and was replaced first with a tramway in 1815 and later incorporated into the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway. The Paulton route flourished for nearly 100 years and was very profitable, carrying high tonnages of coal for many decades; this canal helped carry the fuel that powered the nearby city of Bath. By the 1880s, coal production declined as the various pits either ran out of coal or were flooded and then closed. In 1896 the main pump at Dunkerton, which maintained the canal water level, failed. The resultant lowering in level meant that only small loads could be transported, which reduced revenue, thus the canal company could not afford a replacement pump. The canal became disused after 1898 and officially closed in 1902, being sold off to the various railway companies who were expanding their networks. In September 2014, restoration work began on the canal section from Paulton to Radford, with the aim of restoring the entire canal to navigation in the future. The largest canal drydock in England has been revealed at Paulton; culverts and bridges nearby are being reinstated or rebuilt; and about of canal from Paulton to Radford has been in water since mid 2015.

When the Radstock branch was constructed, it was intended to link it to the main line of the Paulton branch at Midford, which was at a lower level at this point. The Lock Fund created in 1802 was to have paid for the construction of the locks, but because there was little regular traffic on the branch, the company built one lock, an aqueduct over the Midford Brook, and a short tramway to bridge the gap. The tramway was laid along the former canal's towpath. It was single line with passing places every , and was originally laid using cast iron plates on stone block sleepers, but was relaid using wrought iron plates.

located between the villages of Paulton and Timsbury was the terminus of the northern branch of the Somerset Coal Canal and was a central point for at least 15 collieries around Paulton, Timsbury and High Littleton, which were connected to the canal by tramroads. Timsbury basin was some 182.88 m to the west of Paulton basin. On the northern side of Timsbury basin was the terminus for the tramroads which served Old Grove, Prior's, Tyning and Hayeswood pits, with a branch line to Amesbury and Mearns pits. Parts of this line were still in use in 1873, probably all carrying horse drawn wagons of coal. Tramroads on the southern side of the Paulton basin served Brittens, Littleborrok, Paulton Ham, Paulton Hill, Simons Hill terminating at Salisbury Colliery. In addition the Paulton Foundry used this line. The entire line was disused by 1871 as were the collieries it served.

The first railway to affect the canal was the Bristol and North Somerset Railway's Frome to Radstock line completed in 1854 which took traffic away from the tramway. It finally closed in 1874 with the Somerset and Dorset Railway's extension to Bath, built along its route from Radstock to Midford. Another branch line was constructed in 1882 from Hallatrow to Camerton, running alongside the canal for the last of its route.

The route of the canal lies in a largely agricultural area, dotted with small villages linked by minor roads. Several stretches of the Paulton and Timsbury basins branch are easily visible, and various stretches and features were surveyed in 2014. Full restoration of the entire length from Paulton to Dundas is being explored. Four locks on the original canal route at Combe Hay have been buried; one by a 20 feet (6 m) railway embankment, and three overfilled by with building waste since the 1960s. It may no longer be feasible to reinstate the original locks 16, 17, 18 and 19 structures for this section. At Upper Midford the canal is blocked entirely at the accommodation bridge by the 40 feet (12 m) high embankment of the railway that crosses it. Most of the canal features along the entire route are on private land but the towpath survives in places as a right of way, while the later railway between Midford to Wellow has been surfaced to form part of National Cycle Route 24. It has been proposed that a statue, commissioned by Sustrans, of William Smith, the father of English Geology, will be sited next to the path on the line of the canal commemorating his work as its surveyor and his recognition of the significance of rock strata.

The stretch at Brassknocker Basin where the canal joins the Kennet and Avon at Dundas Aqueduct was restored during the 1980s and is now a thriving marina with moorings. Excavations of the old stop lock (at the junction with the Kennet and Avon Canal) showed that this had originally been a broad (14 feet (4 m)) lock that at some point was narrowed to 7 feet (2 m) by moving the lock wall. The drainage culvert at the southeast corner of the drydock was rebuilt in December 2013, and the drydock itself completely excavated in April 2014. The entrance to the drydock, at the western end, was surmounted by a bridge, partially demolished in 2002 but rebuilt during 2014. During excavations a drainage culvert was discovered about west of Terminus bridge. Work resumed in September and November 2014 to batter and reshape the canal embankments. Excess topsoil was removed and the towpath reinstated on the stretch to the east from Terminus bridge for about On the same stretch a retaining wall was discovered in the south embankment continuing for about , possibly built as a repair to a weak section of canal banking. Vertical infills of white clay have been used along this wall.

The canal has been studied for many years with exploration and restoration work being undertaken in Wellow and elsewhere. Particular effort, so far unsuccessful, has been put into trying to find the site of the second and third caisson locks at Combe Hay. In October 2006 a grant of £20,000 was obtained from the Heritage Lottery Fund, by the Somersetshire Coal Canal Society in association with Bath & North East Somerset Council and the Avon Industrial Buildings Trust to carry out a technical study on one of the locks and associated structures at Combe Hay. Many of the locks and associated workings are listed buildings.