Croydon Canal

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Template:Infobox Canal Template:Croydon Canal map The Croydon Canal ran Template:Convert from Croydon, via Forest Hill, to the Grand Surrey Canal at New Cross in south London, England. It opened in 1809 and closed in 1836, the first canal to be abandoned by an act of Parliament.

Authorised in 1801, the canal was originally intended to extend northwards to Rotherhithe, but the simultaneous construction of the Grand Surrey Canal provided a convenient access route. It was Template:Convert long, and opened on 22 October 1809.<ref name="hadfield374">Template:Harvnb</ref>

The Croydon Canal linked to the Croydon, Merstham and Godstone Railway (itself connected to the Surrey Iron Railway), enabling the canal to be used to transport stone and lime from workings at Merstham. The canal was never extended further south-west, as was initially intended, to reach Epsom.

The canal was originally planned with two inclined planes but 28 locks, arranged in two flights, were used instead. To keep the canal supplied with water, reservoirs were constructed at Sydenham and South Norwood; the latter still exists as South Norwood Lake in a public park.

History

Origins

A canal from Croydon to Rotherhithe was the idea of Ralph Dodd, who had been commissioned in 1799 to ascertain “… the most eligible part of the River Thames” for a canal from Croydon.Template:Sfn<ref name=":0">Template:Cite book</ref> Dodd’s canal was to be on a small scale, only Template:Convert deep and Template:Convert wide at the top for boats up to 20 tons (20.3 tonnes).Template:Sfn<ref name=":0" /> It would start in today’s Tamworth Road, Croydon and head north to the west of London Road (A23) until Broad Green where it would swing northeast towards Selhurst, Woodside and the west of Beckenham. It would broadly follow the Ravensbourne valley to Lewisham and Deptford, finally turning west of north to join the Thames at Rotherhithe, a distance of about 12 miles.Template:Sfn<ref name=":0" /> Instead of locks there would be horse-powered inclined planes where the boat would be lowered down the hillside in a tank of water or caisson, counterbalanced by another caisson being raised.Template:Sfn Bridges would be minimised where possible by using paved fords,Template:Sfn the whole costing no more than £25,000.Template:Sfn<ref name=":0" /> After finishing his report in November 1799,Template:Sfn<ref name=":0" /> Dodd had no further involvement with the Croydon and Rotherhithe Canal, but went on to promote a scheme for a Grand Surrey Canal from Rotherhithe.

Design and planning

Following Dodd’s report, a meeting of prospective investors was held at the Croydon Greyhound where it was agreed that a canal from Croydon to Rotherhithe would be of great utility to Croydon, towns close to the canal and considerable parts of Kent, Surrey and Sussex.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

A detailed survey was made by Mr Warner, and John Rennie was hired as the consulting engineer.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> This canal took a more direct line to Rotherhithe along a ridge of higher ground, which could loosely be described as the west side of the Ravensbourne valley. It headed northeast from West Croydon to Selhurst, turned north to South Norwood, Sydenham, Forest Hill and New Cross to join the Thames at Rotherhithe. The canal would remain on the same level from Croydon to Brockley at Template:Convert and drop down the hillside by 17 locks or 2 inclined planes by slightly different paths to New Cross,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> where it would remain on the same level to a tidal lock at the Thames. Rennie agreed that a canal of small dimensions would be sufficient, but recommended a larger canal to act in part as a reservoir.<ref name=":2">Template:Cite book</ref> It was to be Template:Convert deep, Template:Convert wide along the summit level from Croydon and Template:Convert wide on the lower Rotherhithe level.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Rennie also favoured a canal with steam powered inclined planes over locks on cost grounds.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite book</ref> A disadvantage of inclined planes was they could only lift smaller, lighter boats that limited the bulky goods that could be carried on the canal. Several 5-7 ton (5.1 - 7.1 tonnes) boats or barges could be pulled in gangs by a single horse, but there would be delays at the inclined planes where the boats were individually raised or lowered. At over £46,000 Rennie’s canal was nearly twice the cost of Dodd’s; a large proportion of this was for the cost of 47 bridges (£6,460) and steam engines to power the inclined planes (£6,000).<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The large number of bridges were necessary to allow land owners to access land bisected by the canal.

Royal assent

Template:Infobox UK legislation Rennie completed his report on the 8 October 1800,<ref name=":1" /> which was presented to the investors on 10 October 1800.<ref name=":12">Template:Cite news</ref> They adopted Rennie’s recommendation for a canal with inclined planes and submitted a petition to parliament on 18 February 1801.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> A petition for Dodd’s Grand Surrey Canal had already been submitted,<ref name=":5">Template:Cite book</ref> and its proprietors petitioned against the Croydon canal bill in the House of Lords.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> As a result, the Croydon canal was changed to join the Grand Surrey Canal rather than the Thames.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> There were other petitions for and against the canal but the biggest effect was the petition from the Wandle mill owners. They were concerned that a deep cut across Croydon Common, between West Croydon and Selhurst would drain water into the canal instead of Norbury Brook and the River Wandle to the detriment of their mills.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> As a result the canal had raised banks across Croydon Common so it only cut Template:Convert into the soil and reduced its depth to Template:Convert.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The summit level between Selhurst and Honor Oak Park was also raised further up the hillside.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Despite these delays the canal received royal assent on 27 June 1801 via the Template:Visible anchor (41 Geo. 3. (U.K.) c. cxxvii).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Inclined planes to locks

The decision to implement a canal with locks was made soon after the act of Parliament was passed, because "it was realised the boats would be too small to meet the needs of the public, particularly the conveyance of large sized timber".<ref name=":3">Template:Cite book</ref> The board realised there would be little cost advantage over toll-roads without larger 30-35 ton (30.5 - 35.6 tonnes) boats and traffic on the canal would be less than Rennie’s estimate of 5 boats in each direction.<ref name=":2" /> Trade was also threatened by the Surrey Iron Railway, which had received royal assent a month before the Croydon canal. Connection with the Grand Surrey Canal took boats close to the King’s Yard and victualing office at Deptford.<ref name=":3" /> These docks supplied the Royal Navy, but supply ships sailing along the coast to Portsmouth were liable to attack from the French and an inland navigation was desirable.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In 1802, Rennie was commissioned to consider extending the canal to Portsmouth, but ultimately nothing became of it.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>Template:Sfn<ref name=":4">Template:Cite news</ref>

The adoption of locks required a water source for the canal to replace water lost when ascending / descending through the locks. Rennie’s original plan was to pump water from the Thames, which with the cost of the locks made it nearly £20,000 more expensive than a canal with inclined planes.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The proprietors considered a deviation between Brockley and the Grand Surrey Canal so the ascent / descent would be less steep, take the canal closer to the King’s Yard and join the Grand Surrey at its southeast corner.<ref name=":4" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> This conflicted with plans for a branch of the Grand Surrey Canal to Deptford,<ref name=":5" /> and was objected to by their board. Instead, reservoirs were built at South Norwood and Sydenham. According to the resident engineer Dudley Clark<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> the canal “is of itself so considerable, that, with the addition of a large reservoir upon Sydenham, and another upon Norwood Common, it leaves no doubt, of a most ample supply in the driest season."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The reservoirs collected rainwater from the adjacent hillsides by ditches or feeder canals.<ref name=":6">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=":22">Template:Cite book</ref> Rainwater was also collected by ditches on Plowgarlic / Telegraph Hill above New Cross that fed into small reservoirs or side ponds at the locks.<ref name=":9">Template:Cite news</ref>

Implementation

The canal was Template:Convert wide. It had a maximum depth of Template:Convert. After the initial flights of locks, most of the canal followed the Template:Convert contour.<ref name=":14">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The first 2¼ miles of the canal was dug approximately between today’s Penge West and Forest Hill railway stations.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> By 17 April 1804 tenders were invited for cutting the remaining 2 miles of the canal’s north end<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and contracts for the iron and woodwork on “upwards of 20” locks were received a month later.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> By October 1805 Sydenham reservoir had been completed, the canal was in water and in use from within a few miles of the town of Croydon to Brockley Green for conveying bricks, timber and other materials for the works.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=":62">Template:Cite book</ref> The Brockley locks were “well built and exceedingly water tight”.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Closer to New Cross the canal was less complete and locks were in every stage of their progress. Around March 1807 a commodious bridge carried the New Cross Road over the canal at New Cross.<ref name=":92">Template:Cite news</ref> Contrary to Rennie's original plan there were also locks between New Cross Road and the Grand Surrey Canal.Template:Sfn

The proprietors expected to join the Grand Surrey canal by July,<ref name=":7">Template:Cite book</ref> having announced to the public that it would be open for navigation from the Thames to the crossroads at (South) Norwood.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The canal was at least partially open by 15 August 1807.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Hugh McIntosh, a major construction contractor, claimed he played a significant part in the canal’s construction.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Template:Infobox UK legislation Having already spent over £68,000 on the canal, the company required a further £30,000 to complete the works and repay the money borrowed.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> They petitioned Parliament on 10 February 1808<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and were granted authority to raise the additional funds via the Template:Visible anchor (48 Geo. 3. c. xviii) on 14 April 1808.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Although the act did not increase the tolls, the minimum tonnage was increased from 4 to 20 tons when passing through a lock. Tenders were placed for bricks, building the basin wall at Croydon, fencing, a crane, counting house, warehouse and lock keeper’s cottage at Forest Wood.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Despite raising the summit level, it was still lower than Croydon Common and a deviation between Selhurst and West Croydon was considered.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Instead it was decided to raise the canal by two additional locks near Selhurst. These final two locks at Croydon Common raised the canal to the Template:Convert contour, and because there was no natural source of water a steam pumping station was built at the foot of the locks to pump water up to the summit pound.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

At around £300 p.a. this was expensive to run.Template:Sfn In June 1830 a new pumping engine was installed on Croydon Common,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> which was the first commercial installation of Samuel Brown's gas vacuum engine, and quite probably the first commercial internal combustion engine in the world. The economics of the gas engine were interesting as the gas it consumed was made by turning coal into coke. The value of the resulting coke and coal tar by-products of making the gas substantially exceeded the cost of the coal, ground rent, repairs etc., so the gas vacuum engine made a profit of over £100 a year before considering the useful work it was doing.<ref>Brown's Gas Vacuum Engine, Evening Mail, 27 July 1832</ref> Unlike a steam engine, which required time for the water to be heated into steam, Brown’s engine could be turned on and off almost instantly; it was typically used for 3 hours every other day.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Around 1827 there was a steam engine near today’s Towpath Way, south of Tennison Road, Selhurst to pump water from a well or spring.Template:Sfn<ref name=":13">Template:Cite news</ref>

The canal had 28 locks, 11 more than Rennie planned (excluding the Thames lock): 10 near New Cross, 16 between Forest Wood (Honor Oak Park) and Brockley, and two near Selhurst.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The locks would only admit boats Template:Convert long<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> rather than Template:Convert long as originally proposed.<ref name=":23">Template:Cite book</ref> Lock 26 near Honor Oak Park had three gates which could be used singly or in pairs,<ref name=":63">Template:Cite book</ref> and would today be counted as two locks.<ref name=":14" /> Near the Thames, the Grand Surrey Canal became a dock which had a lock to protect the canal, and another at the Thames,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> making a total of 31 locks for the navigation from Croydon to the Thames.

Opening and third act of Parliament

The canal was officially opened on Monday 23 October 1809 with a procession that left Sydenham at 11am to a band playing "God save the King" and a 21 gun salute.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=":10">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The proprietor’s barge was followed by “a great many barges loaded with coal, stone, corn etc.”

At Croydon they were greeted by many thousands of people, church bells, guns firing and a band playing "God save the King". The proprietors witnessed the arrival of the barges at the Croydon basin, examined the wharf and warehouses before walking to the Greyhound at 4pm, led by the workmen marching in order with their tools on their shoulders and accompanied by a band.

Template:Infobox UK legislation Despite the canal being opened, it was not complete. They had not built the road mentioned in clause 10 of their first act between Church Street and the Croydon wharf<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and in January 1810 they invited tenders for warehouses at Croydon,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> with more in August.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> A third act of Parliament, the Template:Visible anchor (51 Geo. 3. c. xi) was sought and granted in 1811 to raise £80,000 (with £2,658 in hand) to pay off debts (£25,700), loans (£29,615) and complete the works (£27,343).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The total cost of the canal and works was £150,000.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Tenders for the road, and a tramway along its east side were sought.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The tramway connected with the Croydon Merstham and Godstone railway and ran alongside the south side of the canal basis. It was open for business by January 1812 when it was leased to Edward Grantham.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Other work included enlarging the reservoirs and building wharves at New Cross and Sydenham.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=":11">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Sydenham wharf was on the site of today’s Sydenham railway station on Sydenham Road and was initially leased to R Hutson on 22 December 1813.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> It was subsequently let to Henry Doo on 23 October 1824 until the canal closed when he was a successful coal merchant, lighterman and boat owner with an average trade of £700 p.a. Land owners were also entitled to build wharves (clause 102),<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> which included Penge wharf on the north side of Penge High Street, near Penge West railway station.<ref name=":10" />Template:Sfn

Boats

By 1811, 22 barges plied the canal. The barges were Template:Convert long and Template:Convert wide and could carry about 30 tons. The main cargo was timber.

The barges, or strictly lighters,  had flat bottoms, which were joined to the sides of the boat by a quadrant of a circle to reduce damage to the canal bank.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Depicted in several paintings,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Sfn the barges had no living accommodation,Template:Sfn were steered by a large rudder and pulled by a horse led along the towpath on the easterly side of the canal.<ref name=":8">Template:Cite book</ref> At least initially, the docks on the Grand Surrey Canal near the Thames had no towpath.<ref name=":72">Template:Cite book</ref> There was also no towpath on the Thames, which barges navigated using the tides, rudder and oar-like sweeps.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Navigation through the pool of London was particularly dangerous because of the shipping,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and in 1818 a Croydon canal bargeman was assaulted seeking shelter at a private mooring during tempestuous weather.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The boats had to be registered with the canal company and the number, name of the owner and abode had to be painted in white letters 4 inches high on a black background (clause 105).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The canal company had its own barges, not only for the construction and maintenance of the canal, but also for its own freight carrier business that barely broke even.<ref name=":112">Template:Cite book</ref> This was often prohibited in canal acts to reduce the risk of anticompetitive behaviour.Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Pleasure craft also plied sections of the canal,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> to the benefit of several hostelries.<ref name=":8" />Template:Sfn The Selhurst lockkeeper, ‘old Grumble’, rented boats at a shilling (5p) an hour.<ref name=":8" />

Trade

Dodd’s introductory report forecast revenues of more than £3,200,Template:Sfn<ref name=":02">Template:Cite book</ref> most of this was from the importation of coal via London:

Dodd's revenue estimates (Based on an average journey of 8 miles and 240d to £1)Template:Sfn

Imports	Annual tonnage	Rate (per ton mile)	Revenue per annum
Coal	31,250	2d	£2,083
Other goods including imported timber	6,000	2d	£400
Manure	2,000	1d	£67
Exports
Native timber	4,000	2d	£267
Stone, Fuller’s earth, charcoal	6,000	2d	£400
			£3,217

Dodd believed the canal would stimulate demand by reducing transportation costs to a quarter to a third of those by road and extend trade to places as far away as East Grinstead.Template:Sfn The committee did determine its own forecasts following Rennie’s report,<ref name=":122">Template:Cite news</ref> but Phillips feared the lack of manufacturing towns, mines and heavy goods would prevent a proper return for investors.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Trade was boosted with the opening of the canal tramway by around £600 per annum with goods from Merstham quarry transported to the canal via the Croydon Merstham and Godstone iron railway.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Toll revenues averaged about £2,700 between 1820 – 1824, but there were additional revenues from rents of about £350 p.a. and £80 p.a. from osier sales, as well as the freight business.Template:Sfn This was comparable with Dodd’s estimate, but the capital cost was significantly higher. The tolls authorised by parliament were also higher, although the company may have set lower rates:

Tonnage rates (per ton per mile)	d
Timber, Stone, Coal, Bricks, Tiles, and all other goods and commodities	3
Dung, Chalk etc.	1½

Profits and dividends were significantly less because of costs. In 1827 the canal made a profit of £196 on revenues of £3,634, which had steadily declined from a profit of £500 in 1825.<ref name=":132">Template:Cite news</ref> There were calls to close the canal, but it was agreed to continue for another year without incurring further expense.

Closure and opening of the railway

The canal was never a success and closed in 1836,<ref name=hadfield374/> the first canal to be abandoned by an act of Parliament, the London and Croydon Railway Act 1835 (5 & 6 Will. 4. c. x). Much of the alignment was used by the London and Croydon Railway Company, which had bought the canal for £40,250,<ref name=hadfield374/> for part of the railway between London Bridge and West Croydon station, which is on the site of the canal basin. The gas vacuum engine appears to have been in full working order when offered for sale in 1837.<ref>Gas Vacuum Engine, Morning Advertiser, 17 May 1837</ref> It was described as able to lift water a height of Template:Convert at a rate of Template:Convert. Tenders for its purchase (including the Template:Convert diameter gasometer) were to be sent to the offices of the Croydon Railway Company, which shared the same address as the London and Croydon Railway Company and dealt with the acquisition of the canal and disposal of any unwanted assets.

Today

After the canal closed, sections were retained for leisure use, and some remained in water for a considerable time. The section at the Anerley Arms, Ridsdale Road in Anerley was used as a boating lake, and the area was called Anerley Tea Rooms. The canal in Betts Park was turned into a concrete trough in 1934, approximately 170m can still be seen at the northern corner of Betts Park. Another section exists as a long curved pond in the Dacres Wood Nature Reserve<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> in Dacres Road, Forest Hill. This was considered for redevelopment in 1989, but research by Lewisham Council resulted in its identity being confirmed and it now forms an attractive wetland, having been returned to its former width.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> There is a high pavement in David's Road, Forest Hill, which is thought to be part of the towpath. Part of the wall below the path has been rebuilt with murals depicting transport in Forest Hill.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Norwood reservoir is now preserved as South Norwood Lake.Template:Sfn

Gallery

• Croydon Canal roads.jpg

  Modern roads built over and named for the canal

• Anerley Gardens.jpg

  Anerley, 1860. This part of the canal remained, after closure, for pleasure boating

See also

• Canals of the United Kingdom
• History of the British canal system

Bibliography

• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite book

External links

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