The Round House at
Inglesham, the entrance to
the Thames and Severn Canal
from the River Thames.
Picture by Ron ReadLinking two rivers
Words by Joanne Collier Lechlade.“It is a case of getting smaller - when coal from the Forest of Dean
parts of the work done whenever we could be transported to the other side
can.” of Gloucestershire so much more
The Stroudwater Navigation was the directly that its price to customers
first Cotswold section to be built, opened dropped considerably.However,RIDGE building and
for river-borne traffic in 1779 to connect during the 19th century the growth oflock excavation are all
Stroud, with its industries,to the River the railway network proved too
Severnat Saul. In 1789 the completion of serious a rival and by 1933 theBin a day’s work for
the Thames and SevernCanal, a further declining commercial fortunes of thevolunteers of the Cotswold
37 miles eastwards as far as Inglesham, waterways resulted in the closure ofCanals Trust, as they are all
on the river Thames near Lechlade, the Thames and SevernCanal,
completed the link between the two followed by that of Stroudwatersetting to work on individual
rivers. Navigation in 1954.aspects of its two waterways,
The two sections were built to different But by 1972 the Cotswolds Canals
guages: the locks on the western length Trust had been formed, to protectthe Stroudwater Navigation
were built to accommodate the trows, the and restore both waterways,and itsand the Thames and Severn
sailing boats from the River Severnwhile studies concluded that it would beCanal.
the more-narrow boats plied the eastern possible to restore full navigation, all
They are working,with contractors and section and loads were transferred to and the way from Gloucester in the north-
other volunteer groups,to a very long- from these at the inland “port” at west through to Lechlade in the
term aim, that of re-opening this part of Brimsscombe,now the subject of a south-east where the canals network
the canal network. development project by Stroud District joins the River Thames.The trust
“It is a bit like a jigsaw puzzle or a dot- Council. The name of the Trow lives on now has over 5,000 members and is
to-dot drawing - with the eventual in the title of trust’s quarter magazine. the country’s largest canal trust.
objective of it all joining up,” says Liz In their heyday,the canals played a A financial boost came in 2007 with
Payne,chairman of the trust, who lives in major part in the economy of the county a grant of £250,000 from the Big
46 COTSWOLDESSENCE September - November 2008 Inspiring life in the Cotswolds
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