2013

SP1765 : Stratford-Upon-Avon Canal, Bridge#47 at Preston Bagot

taken 11 years ago, near to Preston Bagot, Warwickshire, England

Stratford-Upon-Avon Canal, Bridge#47 at Preston Bagot
Stratford-Upon-Avon Canal, Bridge#47 at Preston Bagot
The Stratford-upon-Avon Canal links the Worcester and Birmingham Canal at King's Norton Junction with the River Avon at Stratford. The canal is 25·5 miles long, and has 56 locks*, the last onto the river being a broad lock. The canal was built in several stages (including changes of route) from 1793 on, finally opening fully to the River Avon in 1815. Multiple changes of ownership followed leading to the Great Western Railway taking control by 1863.

By the 1950s the section north of Lapworth was rarely being used, and the southern section from Lapworth was badly silted with some unusable locks. It is believed that the last boat reached Stratford in the early 1930s, though a pleasure cruiser reached Wilmcote at Easter in 1947.

Threat of total closure of the southern section in the mid 1950s caused protests, leading to an enquiry in 1958, and a big public campaign to save the canal, so the abandonment plans were reversed in 1959.

The National Trust took on the task of restoring the southern section of the canal in 1960, leading to its re-opening by Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother on 11 July 1964. Control was passed to the British Waterways Board in 1988, then to the Canal and River Trust in 2012.

*One stop-lock at King's Norton is unused and open, another at Kingswood Junction is duplicated.

(Details reduced from Nicholson's Waterways Guide No 2)

See other images of The Stratford-upon-Avon Canal

Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright David Dixon and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
Geographical Context: Village, Rural settlement Canals Canal: Stratford Upon Avon other tags: Bridge Road Bridge Canal Click a tag, to view other nearby images.
This photo is linked from: Automatic Clusters: · Bridge 47 [18] ·
1:50,000 Modern Day Landranger(TM) Map © Crown Copyright
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SP1765, 152 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
David Dixon   (more nearby)
Date Taken
Wednesday, 3 July, 2013   (more nearby)
Submitted
Wednesday, 10 July, 2013
Subject Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SP 1750 6547 [10m precision]
WGS84: 52:17.2255N 1:44.6922W
Camera Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SP 1749 6544
View Direction
North-northeast (about 22 degrees)
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Image classification(about): Geograph
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