Wey and Godalming Navigations
Encyclopedia
The Wey and Godalming Navigations is the name given to the navigable parts of the River Wey
, in Surrey
, UK. The navigation runs for around 20 miles (32.2 km) between the River Thames
below Shepperton Lock
near Weybridge
, to the south-west of London
, and the centre of Godalming
, in Surrey; it runs through Guildford
and Pyrford
and is joined by the Basingstoke Canal
at West Byfleet
, and the Wey and Arun Canal
near Godalming. Some parts of the navigation are canal
sections and others are the original River Wey which intertwines with the canal sections.
was one of the first rivers in England
to be made navigable.
The canal was built by Sir Richard Weston
, beginning in 1635. The 25 km from Weybridge to Guildford were made navigable by an Act of 1651, with work completed in 1653, allowing barges to transport goods to London
. Further improvements were made under another Act of 1671.
Originally the Wey Navigations were used for transporting barge
loads of heavy goods via the Thames to London. Timber
, corn
, flour
, wood
and gunpowder
from the Chilworth Mills
were moved up the canal to London whilst coal
was brought back.
In 1760, another Act authorised the Godalming Navigation, taking navigation a further 7 km upstream to Godalming
. Work was completed in 1764.
The Basingstoke Canal and Wey and Arun Junction Canal were later dug to connect with the Wey and Godalming Navigation.
From 1900 to 1963, the Wey Navigation was owned by the Stevens family, who were commercial carriers on the canal. It was then donated to the National Trust
in 1964 which operates a visitor centre at Dapdune Wharf
, a former boatyard in Guildford. The Godalming Navigation was donated to the Trust in 1968. Commercial traffic ceased in 1983.
and Horsham
crossed the Wey just south of the entrance to the Wey and Arun Canal
. The line was in direct competition with that canal and accelerated its demise. However, the railway itself also closed in 1965, as a result of the Beeching Axe
, and the bridge across the river was subsequently demolished, leaving just the supporting abutments visible.
In more recent times there had been proposals to install a footbridge on the same site, to link the public footpaths which run along the trackbed of the line on both sides of the river. In 1990, the National Trust's own navigation guide shows such a footbridge at this point, and even gave the headroom as 8 ft 6ins. However the accompanying text notes that it was yet to be built, "to carry the National Trust's 'Disused Railway Walk' [along] the route of the former Horsham line".
However, on 7 July 2006, the Unstead Woods Downslink Bridge was re-instated – a single-span metal structure providing a cycleway connection across the river.
, there are various features. Between the Town Lock and Coxes Lock is the Blackboys footbridge and Coxes Mill. Between New Haw
Lock and Pyrford
Lock is the Woodham
footbridge,Byfleet boat club, the boat club has been on the site for over a hundred years, Grist
Mill, Parvis Wharf, Murray's footbridge and Dodds footbridge.
Between Pyrford
Lock and Newark Lock are the Walsham Gates and the ruins of Newark Priory. Between Papercourt Lock and Triggs Lock are the Tanyard footbridge, High Bridge (foot), Cartbridge Wharf, Cart Bridge and Worsford Gates. Between Triggs Lock and Bowers Lock are the Send Church footbridge and Broad Oak Bridge. Between Stoke Lock and Millmead Lock are Stoke Mill, Dapdune Wharf
and Guildford
Town Wharf. Finally between Millmead Lock and Unstead Lock are the Guildford
boathouse, a footbridge carrying the North Downs Way
and Broadford Bridge.
at Weybridge and the North Downs Way
at St. Catherines. Due to this convenient connection, and its mostly traffic free route through a densely built-up part of South-East England, that part of the towpath has been designated part of European long-distance path E2. This runs from Galway
in Ireland
to Nice
on the Mediterranean coast of France
.
River Wey
The River Wey in Surrey, Hampshire and West Sussex is a tributary of the River Thames with two separate branches which join at Tilford. The source of the north branch is at Alton, Hampshire and of the south branch at both Blackdown south of Haslemere, and also close to Gibbet Hill, near Hindhead...
, in Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, UK. The navigation runs for around 20 miles (32.2 km) between the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
below Shepperton Lock
Shepperton Lock
Shepperton Lock is a lock on the River Thames, in England adjoining the northern bank near Shepperton, Surrey . It is across the river from Weybridge, but not directly accessible from there....
near Weybridge
Weybridge
Weybridge is a town in the Elmbridge district of Surrey in South East England. It is bounded to the north by the River Thames at the mouth of the River Wey, from which it gets its name...
, to the south-west of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and the centre of Godalming
Godalming
Godalming is a town and civil parish in the Waverley district of the county of Surrey, England, south of Guildford. It is built on the banks of the River Wey and is a prosperous part of the London commuter belt. Godalming shares a three-way twinning arrangement with the towns of Joigny in France...
, in Surrey; it runs through Guildford
Guildford
Guildford is the county town of Surrey. England, as well as the seat for the borough of Guildford and the administrative headquarters of the South East England region...
and Pyrford
Pyrford
Pyrford is an English village that for centuries had historical links with the monastery of Westminster, in whose possession it remained between the Norman Conquest and the Dissolution of the Monasteries nearly five hundred years later. It is thirty miles by road from central London and situated...
and is joined by the Basingstoke Canal
Basingstoke Canal
The Basingstoke Canal is a British Canal, completed in 1794, built to connect Basingstoke with the River Thames at Weybridge via the Wey Navigation....
at West Byfleet
West Byfleet
West Byfleet is a village in Surrey. Forming part of the Greater London Urban Area it lies in the stockbroker belt just outside the M25 motorway, 19 miles from Charing Cross, 8 miles from London Heathrow. The village grew up around the station on the London & South Western Railway. The...
, and the Wey and Arun Canal
Wey and Arun Canal
The Wey and Arun Canal is a 23-mile-long canal in the south of England, between the River Wey at Shalford, Surrey and the River Arun at Pallingham, in West Sussex...
near Godalming. Some parts of the navigation are canal
Canal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
sections and others are the original River Wey which intertwines with the canal sections.
History
The River WeyRiver Wey
The River Wey in Surrey, Hampshire and West Sussex is a tributary of the River Thames with two separate branches which join at Tilford. The source of the north branch is at Alton, Hampshire and of the south branch at both Blackdown south of Haslemere, and also close to Gibbet Hill, near Hindhead...
was one of the first rivers in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
to be made navigable.
The canal was built by Sir Richard Weston
Richard Weston (1591-1652)
Sir Richard III Weston was an English canal builder and agricultural improver. He instigated the construction of the Wey Navigation one of the first man-made navigations in Britain and introduced new plants and systems of crop rotation....
, beginning in 1635. The 25 km from Weybridge to Guildford were made navigable by an Act of 1651, with work completed in 1653, allowing barges to transport goods to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Further improvements were made under another Act of 1671.
Originally the Wey Navigations were used for transporting barge
Barge
A barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. Some barges are not self-propelled and need to be towed by tugboats or pushed by towboats...
loads of heavy goods via the Thames to London. Timber
Timber
Timber may refer to:* Timber, a term common in the United Kingdom and Australia for wood materials * Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S...
, corn
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
, flour
Flour
Flour is a powder which is made by grinding cereal grains, other seeds or roots . It is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many cultures, making the availability of adequate supplies of flour a major economic and political issue at various times throughout history...
, wood
Wood
Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...
and gunpowder
Gunpowder
Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...
from the Chilworth Mills
Chilworth, Surrey
Chilworth is a village in Surrey, England, southeast of Guildford. Chilworth has about 2000 residents , two churches , two schools , a pub and a railway station. The village nestles below the North Downs, overlooked by St. Martha's Hill and St. Martha's Church...
were moved up the canal to London whilst coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
was brought back.
In 1760, another Act authorised the Godalming Navigation, taking navigation a further 7 km upstream to Godalming
Godalming
Godalming is a town and civil parish in the Waverley district of the county of Surrey, England, south of Guildford. It is built on the banks of the River Wey and is a prosperous part of the London commuter belt. Godalming shares a three-way twinning arrangement with the towns of Joigny in France...
. Work was completed in 1764.
The Basingstoke Canal and Wey and Arun Junction Canal were later dug to connect with the Wey and Godalming Navigation.
From 1900 to 1963, the Wey Navigation was owned by the Stevens family, who were commercial carriers on the canal. It was then donated to the National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
in 1964 which operates a visitor centre at Dapdune Wharf
Dapdune Wharf
Dapdune Wharf is a former wharf on the Wey and Godalming Navigations in Guildford, England, UK, close to the Surrey County Cricket Club ground. It is now maintained by the National Trust....
, a former boatyard in Guildford. The Godalming Navigation was donated to the Trust in 1968. Commercial traffic ceased in 1983.
Recent developments
The railway line between GuildfordGuildford (Surrey) railway station
Guildford railway station is an important railway junction on the Portsmouth Direct Line serving the town of Guildford in Surrey, England. It is 30.3 miles from London Waterloo....
and Horsham
Horsham railway station
Horsham railway station serves the town of Horsham in West Sussex, England. It is on the Arun Valley Line 61 km south of London Victoria and the Sutton & Mole Valley Lines, and train services are provided by Southern...
crossed the Wey just south of the entrance to the Wey and Arun Canal
Wey and Arun Canal
The Wey and Arun Canal is a 23-mile-long canal in the south of England, between the River Wey at Shalford, Surrey and the River Arun at Pallingham, in West Sussex...
. The line was in direct competition with that canal and accelerated its demise. However, the railway itself also closed in 1965, as a result of the Beeching Axe
Beeching Axe
The Beeching Axe or the Beeching Cuts are informal names for the British Government's attempt in the 1960s to reduce the cost of running British Railways, the nationalised railway system in the United Kingdom. The name is that of the main author of The Reshaping of British Railways, Dr Richard...
, and the bridge across the river was subsequently demolished, leaving just the supporting abutments visible.
In more recent times there had been proposals to install a footbridge on the same site, to link the public footpaths which run along the trackbed of the line on both sides of the river. In 1990, the National Trust's own navigation guide shows such a footbridge at this point, and even gave the headroom as 8 ft 6ins. However the accompanying text notes that it was yet to be built, "to carry the National Trust's 'Disused Railway Walk' [along] the route of the former Horsham line".
However, on 7 July 2006, the Unstead Woods Downslink Bridge was re-instated – a single-span metal structure providing a cycleway connection across the river.
Features along the canal
Moving upstream from the River ThamesRiver Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
, there are various features. Between the Town Lock and Coxes Lock is the Blackboys footbridge and Coxes Mill. Between New Haw
New Haw
New Haw is a village in Surrey, England about 25 miles to the southwest of London. It is located near the communities of Byfleet, West Byfleet, Woodham, Weybridge, Addlestone and Ottershaw....
Lock and Pyrford
Pyrford
Pyrford is an English village that for centuries had historical links with the monastery of Westminster, in whose possession it remained between the Norman Conquest and the Dissolution of the Monasteries nearly five hundred years later. It is thirty miles by road from central London and situated...
Lock is the Woodham
Woodham
-People:* Cecil Woodham-Smith , a British historian* Dai Woodham , a British businessman* Luke Woodham , an American murderer-England:* Woodham, Buckinghamshire* Woodham, County Durham* Woodham Ferrers* Woodham Mortimer...
footbridge,Byfleet boat club, the boat club has been on the site for over a hundred years, Grist
Grist
Grist is grain that has been separated from its chaff in preparation for grinding. It can also mean grain that has been ground at a grist mill. Its etymology derives from the verb grind....
Mill, Parvis Wharf, Murray's footbridge and Dodds footbridge.
Between Pyrford
Pyrford
Pyrford is an English village that for centuries had historical links with the monastery of Westminster, in whose possession it remained between the Norman Conquest and the Dissolution of the Monasteries nearly five hundred years later. It is thirty miles by road from central London and situated...
Lock and Newark Lock are the Walsham Gates and the ruins of Newark Priory. Between Papercourt Lock and Triggs Lock are the Tanyard footbridge, High Bridge (foot), Cartbridge Wharf, Cart Bridge and Worsford Gates. Between Triggs Lock and Bowers Lock are the Send Church footbridge and Broad Oak Bridge. Between Stoke Lock and Millmead Lock are Stoke Mill, Dapdune Wharf
Dapdune Wharf
Dapdune Wharf is a former wharf on the Wey and Godalming Navigations in Guildford, England, UK, close to the Surrey County Cricket Club ground. It is now maintained by the National Trust....
and Guildford
Guildford
Guildford is the county town of Surrey. England, as well as the seat for the borough of Guildford and the administrative headquarters of the South East England region...
Town Wharf. Finally between Millmead Lock and Unstead Lock are the Guildford
Guildford
Guildford is the county town of Surrey. England, as well as the seat for the borough of Guildford and the administrative headquarters of the South East England region...
boathouse, a footbridge carrying the North Downs Way
North Downs Way
The North Downs Way is a long-distance path in southern England, opened in 1978. It runs from Farnham to Dover, past Godalming, Guildford, Dorking, Merstham, Otford and Rochester, along the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Kent Downs AONB.East of Boughton Lees, the path splits...
and Broadford Bridge.
Towpath and Footpath Links
The towpath is open throughout and is a popular walking route. As well as linking with the Basingstoke Canal towpath at Byfleet, it has links with many public footpaths and with two National Trails. These are the Thames PathThames Path
The Thames Path is a National Trail, opened in 1996, following the length of the River Thames from its source near Kemble in Gloucestershire to the Thames Barrier at Charlton. It is about long....
at Weybridge and the North Downs Way
North Downs Way
The North Downs Way is a long-distance path in southern England, opened in 1978. It runs from Farnham to Dover, past Godalming, Guildford, Dorking, Merstham, Otford and Rochester, along the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Kent Downs AONB.East of Boughton Lees, the path splits...
at St. Catherines. Due to this convenient connection, and its mostly traffic free route through a densely built-up part of South-East England, that part of the towpath has been designated part of European long-distance path E2. This runs from Galway
Galway
Galway or City of Galway is a city in County Galway, Republic of Ireland. It is the sixth largest and the fastest-growing city in Ireland. It is also the third largest city within the Republic and the only city in the Province of Connacht. Located on the west coast of Ireland, it sits on the...
in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
to Nice
Nice
Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...
on the Mediterranean coast of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Further reading
- Inland Waterways Association (South-East Region) The River Wey and Godalming Navigation: Weybridge to Godalming Inland Waterways Association 1976
See also
- Canals of the United KingdomCanals of the United KingdomThe canals of the United Kingdom are a major part of the network of inland waterways in the United Kingdom. They have a colourful history, from use for irrigation and transport, through becoming the focus of the Industrial Revolution, to today's role for recreational boating...
- History of the British canal systemHistory of the British canal systemThe British canal system of water transport played a vital role in the United Kingdom's Industrial Revolution at a time when roads were only just emerging from the medieval mud and long trains of pack horses were the only means of "mass" transit by road of raw materials and finished products The...