[20706] Worksop : Chesterfield Canal

Chesterfield Canal, Worksop, Nottinghamshire.

New build overlooking the section of canal restored to navigation c1996.

 

The Chesterfield Canal was one of the last of the canals designed by James Brindley, who died while it was being constructed. It was opened in 1777 and ran for 46 miles from the River Trent at West Stockwith, Nottinghamshire to Chesterfield, passing through the Norwood Tunnel at Kiveton Park, at the time one of the longest tunnels on the British canal system.

 

It was formally closed in 1961, but campaigners fought for it to be retained, and the Worksop to Stockwith section was designated as a "cruiseway" under the Transport Act 1968, meaning that it would be retained for leisure use. The rest was designated as a remainder waterway, and parts were sold off, with housing being built over the route through Killamarsh.

 

The Chesterfield Canal Society was formed in 1978 to spearhead restoration, becoming the Chesterfield Canal Trust in 1997. They initially sought to extend the navigable section beyond Worksop, but when progress was slow, moved to working on the Chesterfield end. Over 5 miles of canal, including five original locks and a brand new lock at Staveley Basin were navigable by 2017. The eastern end was restored from Worksop to the mouth of the Norwood Tunnel between 1995 and 2003.

 

Less than 9 miles of the original route remain to be restored to link the two navigable sections, but this will require some new lengths of canal to be built, to bypass the housing development at Killamarsh, and to replace most of the Norwood Tunnel, which cannot be restored.

Done