Editing Regent's Canal

{{more citations needed|date=October 2012}}
{{short description|Canal in England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}}
{{Infobox canal
| name             = Regent's Canal
| image            = Regents Canal, London, England -Islington tunnel-21March2010.jpg
| image_size       =
| image_caption    = West portal of the Islington tunnel
| former_names     =
| modern_name      =
| original_owner   =
| engineer         = [[James Morgan (engineer)|James Morgan]]
| other_engineer   =
| date_act         = 13 July 1812
| date_began       = 14 October 1812
| date_use         = {{Start date and age|1816}}
| date_completed   = 1 August 1820
| date_extended    =
| date_closed      =
| date_restored    =
| len_ft           = 78
| len_in           = 0
| len_m            =
| original_boat_length_ft    =
| original_boat_length_in    =
| original_boat_length_m     =
| len_note    =
| beam_ft     = 14
| beam_in     = 6
| beam_m      =
| original_beam_ft   =
| original_beam_in   =
| original_beam_m    =
| beam_note          =
| min_boat_draft     =
| min_boat_air_draft =
| start_point        = [[Paddington Arm]]
| original_start     =
| start_note         = [[Grand Union Canal]]
| end_point          = [[River Thames]]
| original_end       =
| end_note           = Limehouse
| branch             = [[Hertford Union Canal]]<br />[[Limehouse Cut]]
| branch_of          =
| connects_to        =
| locks              = 13
| original_num_locks =
| lock_note   =
| length_mi   = 8.6
| length_km   =
| original_length_mi =
| original_length_km =
| length_note =
| elev_ft     =
| elev_m      =
| elev_note   =
| status      = Open
| navigation_authority = [[Canal and River Trust]]
  |routemap    = {{maplink|type=line|frame=yes|plain=yes|frame-align=center|stroke-colour=#5E74F3}}
}}
{{Regent's Canal map}}
'''Regent's Canal''' is a [[canal]] across an area just north of [[central London]], [[England]]. It provides a link from the [[Paddington Arm]] of the [[Grand Union Canal (old)|Grand Union Canal]], {{convert|550|yards}} north-west of [[Paddington Basin]] in the west, to the [[Limehouse Basin]] and the River [[Thames]] in east London. The canal is {{convert|8.6|miles}} long.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.waterways.org.uk/waterways/discover-the-waterways/regents-canal-and-hertford-union-canal|title=Regent's Canal}}</ref>

== History==
[[File:Regents Canal 1818.jpg|thumb|left|Regent's Canal: Transfer certificate of 10 shares, issued 1 December 1818]]
{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = Regent's Canal Act 1812
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title            = An Act for making and maintaining a navigable Canal from the Grand Junction Canal in the Parish of Paddington, to the River Thames in the Parish of Limehouse, with a Collateral Cut in the Parish of Saint Leonard, Shoreditch, in the County of Middlesex.
| year                  = 1812
| citation              = [[52 Geo. 3]]. c. cxcv
| introduced_commons    = 
| introduced_lords      = 
| territorial_extent    = 
| royal_assent          = 13 July 1812
| commencement          = 
| expiry_date           = 
| repeal_date           = 
| amends                = 
| replaces              = 
| amendments            = 
| repealing_legislation = 
| related_legislation   = 
| status                = 
| legislation_history   = 
| theyworkforyou        = 
| millbankhansard       = 
| original_text         = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/Geo3/52/195/pdfs/ukla_18120195_en.pdf
| revised_text          = 
| use_new_UK-LEG        = 
| UK-LEG_title          = 
| collapsed             = yes
}}

First proposed by Thomas Homer in 1802 as a link from the Paddington arm of the then [[Grand Junction Canal]] (opened in 1801) with the River [[Thames]] at [[Limehouse]], the Regent's Canal was built during the early 19th century after the '''{{visible anchor|Regent's Canal Act 1812}}''' ([[52 Geo. 3]]. c. cxcv) was passed. Noted [[architect]] and town planner [[John Nash (architect)|John Nash]] was a director of the company; in 1811 he had produced a masterplan for [[George IV]], then Prince Regent, to redevelop a large area of central north London – as a result, the Regent's Canal was included in the scheme, running for part of its distance along the northern edge of [[Regent's Park]]. [[File:Regent's Canal Limehouse1823.jpg|thumb|left|The entrance to the Regent's Canal at Limehouse, 1823.]]

As with many Nash projects, the detailed design was passed to one of his assistants, in this case [[James Morgan (engineer)|James Morgan]], who was appointed chief engineer of the canal company. Work began on 14 October 1812. The first section from Paddington to [[Camden Town]] opened in 1816 and included a {{convert|251|m|yd|0|adj=on}} long tunnel under Maida Hill east of an area now known as '[[Maida Vale#Little Venice|Little Venice]]', and a much shorter tunnel, just {{convert|48|m|yd|0}} long, under [[Lisson Grove]]. The Camden to Limehouse section, including the {{convert|886|m|yd|0|adj=on}} long [[Islington Tunnel]] and the Regent's Canal Dock (used to transfer cargo from seafaring vessels to canal barges – today known as [[Limehouse Basin]]), opened four years later on 1 August 1820. Various intermediate basins were also constructed (e.g.: Cumberland Basin to the east of Regent's Park, [[Battlebridge Basin]], close to [[King's Cross, London|Kings Cross]], and [[City Road Basin]]). Many other basins such as [[Wenlock Basin]], Kingsland Basin, St. Pancras Stone and Coal Basin, and one in front of the [[Great Northern Railway (Great Britain)|Great Northern Railway]]'s Granary were also built, and some of these survive.

All the locks were built with duplicate chambers to facilitate the heavy barge traffic.  With the demise of commercial traffic in the early 1970s, at the end of 1973, the [[British Waterways Board]] embarked on a three-year programme to convert one chamber at each lock into an overflow weir to facilitate unmanned use by pleasure craft without the risk of serious flooding due to incorrect use of the paddles.<ref>{{cite book |last1=McKnight |first1=Hugh |title=The Shell Book of Inland Waterways |date=1978 |publisher=David and Charles |location=Newton Abbot}}</ref>

The City Road Basin, the nearest to the [[City of London]], soon eclipsed the Paddington Basin in the amount of goods carried, principally coal and building materials. These were goods that were being shipped locally, in contrast to the canal's original purpose of transshipping imports to the Midlands. The opening of the [[London and Birmingham Railway]] in 1838 actually increased the tonnage of coal carried by the canal. By the early twentieth century, with the Midland trade lost to the railways, and more deliveries made by road, the canal had fallen into a long decline.<ref>[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=7111 ''Islington: Communications'', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 8: Islington and Stoke Newington parishes (1985), pp. 3–8] accessed: 22 July 2008</ref>

===Explosion of the barge ''Tilbury'' under the Macclesfield Bridge===
[[File:Macclesfield Bridge, Regent's Park - Shepherd, Metropolitan Improvements (1828), p219.jpg|thumb|left|Macclesfield Bridge before the explosion. After the explosion it was also known as Blow Up Bridge.]]
Just before 5am on 2 October 1874 the narrowboat barge ''Tilbury'' which was loaded with [[sugar]], [[Nut (food)|nuts]], three barrels of [[petroleum]] and around five tons of [[gunpowder]] exploded right under the Macclesfield Bridge, just outside [[London Zoo]].
Until the explosion, the ''Tilbury'' was part of a convoy consisting of a [[tugboat]] and three narrowboats travelling westwards heading for a quarry in the West Midlands.<ref name ="waterfront">{{Cite web|url=https://canalrivertrustwaterfront.org.uk/history/the-great-barge-explosion/|title=The Great Barge Explosion|date=November 25, 2015|website=Waterfront}}</ref><ref name="londonist">{{Cite web|url=https://londonist.com/london/history/the-explosive-history-of-blow-up-bridge|title=The Explosive History Of Blow-Up Bridge|date=January 26, 2017|website=Londonist}}</ref>

====Damage and aftermath====
All the people on board died; captain Charles Baxton, a labourer named William Taylor, a third man and a young boy. The Macclesfield Bridge was destroyed and rebuilt in 1876 reusing the cast iron pillars (made in [[Coalbrookdale]] according to an inscription at their top), but turning them by 180° (canal side towards tow path side) so tow rope grooves that were created before the incident can be seen on the outer side of the columns.

The explosion was heard 20 miles away. Debris flew in all directions; the roofs of surrounding houses blew off; windows were smashed and trees uprooted; and dead fish rained down on the West End. The tugboat's [[keel]] was found embedded in a house 300 yards away.<ref name="waterfront" /> The bridge was nick-named the 'Blow-Up Bridge'.<ref name="londonist" />

The damage would have been far worse had the barge exploded in the highly populated areas of [[London Borough of Camden|Camden]] and [[Islington]], which the convoy had passed through earlier that morning.

The canal company that owned ''Tilbury'' was condemned for gross negligence in permitting the “highly imprudent and improper” practice of carrying petroleum and gunpowder aboard the same barge.

The incident accelerated the passing of the [[Explosives Act 1875]],<ref>[https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Vict/38-39/17/contents Explosives Act 1875]</ref> which regulates the manufacture and carriage of dangerous substances.<ref name="waterfront" />

===Railway projects===
There were a number of abortive projects to convert the route of the canal into a railway. In September 1845 a special general assembly of the proprietors approved the sale of the canal at the price of one million pounds to a group of businessmen<ref name=denney/> who had formed the Regent's Canal Railway Company for the purpose.<ref name=bfr/> The advertisement for the company explained: <blockquote>The vast importance of this undertaking, whereby a junction will be effected between all existing and projected railways north of the Thames, combined with the advantage of a General City Terminus, is too obvious to require comment.
By the proposed railway, passengers and goods will be brought into the heart of the City at a great saving of time and expense, and facilities will be afforded for the more expeditious transmission of the mails to most parts of the kingdom.<ref name=bfr>{{cite journal |year=1845 |title=Regent's Canal Railway |journal=The British and Foreign Railway Review |volume=1 |issue=1 |page=306 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oawEAAAAQAAJ |access-date=July 5, 2011}}</ref> </blockquote>

The railway company subsequently failed, but in 1846 the directors of the canal went about trying to obtain an act of Parliament to allow them to build a railway along its banks. The scheme was abandoned in the face of vigorous opposition, especially from the government who objected to the idea of a railway passing through [[Regent's Park]]. In 1859, two further schemes to convert the canal into a railway were proposed. One, from a company called the Central London Railway and Dock Company, was accepted by the directors, but once again the railway company failed. In 1860 the Regent's Canal Company proposed a railway track alongside the canal from Kings Cross to Limehouse, but funds could not be raised. Further schemes over the next twenty years also came to nothing,{{citation needed|date=April 2016}} with the [[Metropolitan Railway]] that opened to the south in 1863 serving much the same purpose of linking the lines radiating north of London.

{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = Regent's Canal City and Docks Railway Act 1892
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title            = An Act for the abandonment of certain of the authorised Railways of the Regent's Canal City and Docks Railway Company for extending the period for the compulsory purchase of lands for and for the completion of others of such authorised Railways for changing the name of the Company for making other provisions with respect to the Company and their affairs and for other purposes.
| year                  = 1892
| citation              = [[55 & 56 Vict.]] c. clxxxviii
| introduced_commons    = 
| introduced_lords      = 
| territorial_extent    = 
| royal_assent          = 27 June 1892
| commencement          = 
| expiry_date           = 
| repeal_date           = 
| amends                = 
| replaces              = 
| amendments            = 
| repealing_legislation = 
| related_legislation   = 
| status                = 
| legislation_history   = 
| theyworkforyou        = 
| millbankhansard       = 
| original_text         = 
| revised_text          = 
| use_new_UK-LEG        = 
| UK-LEG_title          = 
| collapsed             = yes
}}
In 1883, after some years of negotiation, the canal was sold to a company called the Regent's Canal and City Docks Railway Company at a cost of £1,170,585. The company altered its name to the North Metropolitan Railway and Canal Company by the '''{{visible anchor|Regent's Canal City and Docks Railway Act 1892}}''' ([[55 & 56 Vict.]] c. clxxxviii), but no railway was ever built; instead it raised money for dock and canal improvement and eventually, in 1904, became the Regent's Canal and Dock Company.<ref name=denney>{{cite book |title=London's Waterways |last= Denney|first=Martin |year=1977 |publisher=B.T. Batsford |location=London |isbn=0-7134-0558-9 |pages= 79–80}}</ref>

The Regent's Canal and Dock Company became part of the merged Grand Union Canal Company on 1 January 1929.

[[File:WenlockStitch.jpg|centre|700px|thumb|Wenlock Basin, Islington (2004)]]

===New uses===
[[File:Limehouse Basin Bridge.jpg|thumb|upright|Modern bridge over the canal into Limehouse Basin next to the [[Docklands Light Railway|DLR]]]]
A new purpose was found for the canal route in 1979, when the [[Central Electricity Generating Board]] (CEGB) installed underground cables in a trough below the towpath between [[St John's Wood]] and [[City Road]]. These 400&nbsp;[[Volt|kV]] cables now form part of the [[National Grid (UK)|National Grid]], supplying electrical power to London. Pumped canal water is circulated as a coolant for the high-voltage cables. The canal is frequently used today for pleasure cruising; a regular [[London Waterbus Company|waterbus]] service operates between Maida Vale and Camden, running hourly during the summer months.<ref>{{cite web|title=Regents Canal Waterbus|url=http://www.londonwaterbus.com|website=London Waterbus Company|access-date=28 October 2017}}</ref>

Due to the increase in cycle commuting since the [[2005 London Bombings]]<ref>'Cycling on London's Waterways', British Waterways London</ref> and increasing environmental awareness, the canal's towpath has become a busy cycle route for commuters. [[National Cycle Route 1]] includes the stretch along the canal towpath from Limehouse Basin to Mile End. British Waterways carried out several studies into the effects of sharing the towpath between cyclists and pedestrians, all of which have concluded that despite the limited width there were relatively few problems at the time of the audits.<ref>See a [http://www.britishwaterways.co.uk/media/documents/BWL_Cycling_On_Londons_Waterways_Presentation.pdf presentation] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608215931/http://www.britishwaterways.co.uk/media/documents/BWL_Cycling_On_Londons_Waterways_Presentation.pdf |date=June 8, 2011 }} by British Waterways following a {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20110708094504/http://www.british-waterways.com/media/documents/BWL_Regents_Canal_towpath_safety_audit_final_report.pdf Safety Audit]}} study by [http://www.transport-initiatives.com Transport Initiatives] in 2006.   {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110128020430/http://www.transport-initiatives.com/ |date=January 28, 2011 }}</ref> More recently, in 2019, ''The Guardian'' reported on instances of conflict between pedestrians and cyclists.<ref name="Townsend-27Jul2019">{{cite news |last1=Townsend |first1=Mark |title=On roads, cyclists are vulnerable – but on towpaths they're the menace |url=https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2019/jul/27/on-roads-cyclists-are-vulnerable-but-on-towpaths-theyre-the-menace |access-date=18 February 2021 |work=Guardian |date=27 July 2019}}</ref>

== Geography ==
[[File:Canal lock - Regent's Canal - Limehouse Basin.jpg|thumb|right|[[Commercial Road Lock]] on Regent's Canal where it meets the
[[Limehouse Basin]]]]
The Regent's Canal forms a junction with the old [[Grand Junction Canal]] at [[Maida Vale#Little Venice|Little Venice]], a short distance north of [[Paddington Basin]]. After passing through the Maida Hill and Lisson Grove tunnels, the canal curves round the northern edge of Regent's Park, passing [[London Zoo]] and skirting round the base of [[Primrose Hill]]. It continues through [[Camden Town]] and [[King's Cross Central]]. It performs a sharp bend at [[Camley Street Natural Park]], following Goods Way where it flows behind both [[St Pancras railway station]] and [[London King's Cross railway station|King's Cross railway station]]. The canal opens out into [[Battlebridge Basin]] originally known as Horsfall Basin, home of the [[London Canal Museum]]. Continuing eastwards beyond the Islington tunnel it forms the southern end of [[Broadway Market, London|Broadway Market]] and meets the [[Hertford Union Canal]] at [[Victoria Park, Tower Hamlets|Victoria Park, East London]]. It turns south towards the [[Limehouse Basin]], where it meets the [[Limehouse Cut]], and ends as it joins the [[River Thames]]. {{citation needed|date=March 2016}}

==Maximum craft dimensions==

[[File:Canal Regent Londres.jpg|thumb|The Regent's Canal near St Mark's Regents' Park.]]
On the Regent's Canal the maximum length is {{convert|21.95|m|ft|1}}, with a beam of {{convert|4.27|m|ft|1}} and a headroom of {{convert|2.79|m|ftin|0}}. The navigational depth is, on average 1.15&nbsp;m (3&nbsp;ft&nbsp;6&nbsp;in).<ref>[http://www.waterscape.com/media/documents/20849 ''Boating in London'']([[British Waterways]]). Retrieved October 29, 2011 {{webarchive |url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110505200656/http://www.waterscape.com/media/documents/20849 |date=May 5, 2011}}</ref>

==Culture==
In 2012, playwright [[Rob Inglis]] was awarded a £16,000 Arts Council grant to write ''Regent's Canal, a Folk Opera'', a musical that celebrates the 200th anniversary of the digging of the canal.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://regentscanalafolkopera.org.uk/ |title="Regent's Canal" – a folk opera |access-date=January 9, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131222003515/http://regentscanalafolkopera.org.uk/ |archive-date=December 22, 2013}}</ref> It played in a number of locations around London in 2012.<ref name=gruner2012>{{cite web|url=http://www.camdennewjournal.com/news/2012/aug/musical-writer-rob-inglis-finishes-folk-opera-script-hospital-bed |title=Musical writer Rob Inglis finishes off folk opera script from hospital bed |work=CamdenNewJournal |author=Peter Gruner |date=August 23, 2012 |access-date=January 9, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140109175931/http://www.camdennewjournal.com/news/2012/aug/musical-writer-rob-inglis-finishes-folk-opera-script-hospital-bed |archive-date=January 9, 2014}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[St Pancras Cruising Club]]
* [[Canal & River Trust]]
* [[London Canal Museum]]
* [[Camden Lock]]
* [[City Road Basin]]
* [[Battlebridge Basin]]
* [[List of canal basins in Great Britain]]
* [[List of canal aqueducts in Great Britain]]
* [[List of canal locks in Great Britain]]
* [[List of canal tunnels in Great Britain]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* Alan Faulkner – ''The Regent's Canal: London's Hidden Waterway'' (2005) {{ISBN|1-870002-59-8}}
* Alan Faulkner – ''The George and the Mary: A Brief History of the Grand Union Canal carrying Company Ltd'' (1973)

== External links ==
* {{Commonscatinline}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080501155325/http://www2.mihalis.net/canal/cgi-bin/gazette.cgi?water=Grand+Union+Canal+%28Regent%27s+Canal%29 Canalplan AC Gazetteer: Grand Union Canal (Regent's Canal)]
* [http://canalplan.eu/waterway/b6mn Plan of Grand Union Canal (Regent's Canal)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110224221147/http://canalplan.eu/waterway/b6mn |date=24 February 2011 }} with links to places of interest near each lock, basin, and bridge.
* [http://www.towpathtreks.co.uk/Other/regents_canal.html Photographs of Regent's Canal]
* [http://www.waterscape.com/canals-and-rivers/regents-canal/map Regent's Canal interactive map]
* [http://www.canalguide.co.uk/canals/britain_canal_regents.htm More background information and history of the Regent's Arm] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171028080923/http://www.canalguide.co.uk/canals/britain_canal_regents.htm |date=28 October 2017 }}
* [http://www.londoncanals.uk/regents/reg00.html Regent's Canal, Camden markets, history and pictures] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150303125242/http://www.londoncanals.uk/regents/reg00.html |date=3 March 2015 }}
* [https://www.theplanetedit.com/regents-canal-walk/ Regent's Canal Walk: Little Venice to Limehouse Basin (Walking Guide)]
{{River item box
|type=confluence
|river=[[River Thames]]
|upstream=[[River Neckinger]] (south)
|downstream=[[River Ravensbourne]] (south)<br> (Deptford Creek)}}
{{Canals of Britain}}

[[Category:Regent's Canal| ]]
[[Category:Thames drainage basin|CRegents]]
[[Category:Port of London]]
[[Category:Canals opened in 1820]]
[[Category:1820 establishments in England]]