Editing River Nene (section)

===Above Peterborough===
[[File:River Nene Navigation 1762.JPG|thumb|left|River Nene Navigation Joint Stock certificate for the Western Division of the Navigation, issued 1 April 1762]]

{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = River Nene (Northampton to Peterborough) Navigation Act 1713
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of Great Britain
| long_title            = An Act for making the River Nine, or Nen, running from Northampton to Peterborough, navigable.
| year                  = 1713
| citation              = 13 Ann. c. 19{{br}}(Ruffhead: 12 Ann. St. 2. c. 7)
| introduced_commons    = 
| introduced_lords      = 
| territorial_extent    = 
| royal_assent          = 28 May 1714
| commencement          = 
| expiry_date           = 
| repeal_date           = 
| amends                = 
| replaces              = [[Nene Valley Drainage and Navigation Improvement Act 1852]]
| amendments            = 
| repealing_legislation = 
| related_legislation   = 
| status                = repealed
| legislation_history   = 
| theyworkforyou        = 
| millbankhansard       = 
| original_text         = 
| revised_text          = 
| use_new_UK-LEG        = 
| UK-LEG_title          = 
| collapsed             = yes
}}
{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = River Nene (Norfolk) Navigation Act 1724
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of Great Britain
| long_title            = 
| year                  = 1724
| citation              = [[11 Geo. 1]]. c. 19
| introduced_commons    = 
| introduced_lords      = 
| territorial_extent    = 
| royal_assent          = 
| commencement          = 
| expiry_date           = 
| repeal_date           = 
| amends                = 
| replaces              = 
| amendments            = 
| repealing_legislation = 
| related_legislation   = 
| status                = 
| original_text         = 
| collapsed             = yes
}}

The first recorded attempts to improve the upper river for navigation occurred in 1567 and 1606, when the people of Northampton commissioned surveys. In 1653, a printed pamphlet suggested that 33 locks to bypass the mills could be built for £8,000, to make the river navigable. Eventually, an [[act of Parliament]], the '''{{visible anchor|River Nene (Northampton to Peterborough) Navigation Act 1713}}''' ([[13 Ann.]] c. 19) was obtained, which appointed large numbers of Commissioners, but stated that work could only proceed if any nine of them could find someone to make the entire river navigable. No-one was prepared to take on the task, although it appears from the Act that the river was navigable from Peterborough to [[Alwalton]] at the time. The act was superseded by a second act of Parliament, the '''{{visible anchor|River Nene (Norfolk) Navigation Act 1724}}''' ([[11 Geo. 1]]. c. 19), which allowed the river to be improved in stages, the work to be carried out at the contractor's expense, with the cost to be recouped from tolls. Robert Wright and Thomas Squire agreed to these terms for the section from Peterborough to the bridge at [[Oundle]] North in September 1726, and completed the work by 1730. Squire then agreed to the same terms for the next section to Thrapston in 1736, and completed it by late 1737. This part of the river was then designated as the Eastern Division.<ref name=boyes>{{harvnb |Boyes |Russell |1977 |pp=196–198}}</ref>

{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = River Nene Navigation Act 1756
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of Great Britain
| long_title            = 
| year                  = 1756
| citation              = [[29 Geo. 2]]. c. 69
| introduced_commons    = 
| introduced_lords      = 
| territorial_extent    = 
| royal_assent          = 
| 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
}}
A failure to find anyone prepared to work on the Western Division from Thrapston to Northampton resulted in a third act, the '''{{visible anchor|River Nene Navigation Act 1756}}''' ([[29 Geo. 2]]. c. 69) being obtained, which allowed the Commissioners to borrow money to finance the work. Lenders would become proprietors of the navigation, and the work was to begin at [[Thrapston]] and extend the navigable section towards Northampton. It took the Commissioners two years to agree who should carry out the work, but on 22 June 1758, John Smith jnr from Attercliffe, Yorkshire was contracted to construct 20 pound locks, 20 horse haling bridges and various other works at a cost of £14,070. The river opened to navigation in stages over the next three years, with a great celebration being held at Northampton on 7 August 1761 when the work was completed.<ref>{{harvnb |Boyes |Russell |1977 |pp=198–201}}</ref>

{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = River Nene Navigation Act 1794
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of Great Britain
| long_title            = An Act to remove certain difficulties in the execution of the powers vested in the commissioners appointed by two acts, passed in the thirteenth year of the reign of Queen Anne, and in the eleventh year of the reign of King George the First, for making the river Nine or Nen, running from Northampton to Peterborough, navigable, so far as the same relate to the navigation between Peterborough and Thrapston Bridge.
| year                  = 1794
| citation              = [[34 Geo. 3]]. c. 85
| introduced_commons    = 
| introduced_lords      = 
| territorial_extent    = 
| royal_assent          = 17 April 1794
| 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
}}
The proprietors had the right to use tolls as they saw fit, and the Commissioners found that they had no powers to ensure the navigation was maintained in good order. They obtained another act of Parliament, the '''{{visible anchor|River Nene Navigation Act 1794}}''' ([[34 Geo. 3]]. c. 85), which aimed to rectify the situation, but it was not until 1801 that Thomas Wright replied to their requests, and some repairs were made. There was little traffic and income from tolls was low, at just £488 per year between 1801 and 1804. The commissioners were also keen to see a link constructed from Northampton to the [[Grand Junction Canal]], but the canal company argued that there was an insufficient supply of water. It was agreed that a link would be built in two halves, but that there would be {{convert|1|mi|km}} of railway in the middle. When built, the canal company constructed the entire link as a railway, which opened in 1805. In a bid to get a navigable link, the Commissioners opposed the bill to build a link between the Grand Junction Canal and the Old Union Canal, but relented when they had a firm agreement that a navigable link to Northampton would be built. The link cost £35,000, was supervised by [[Benjamin Bevan]], and was built between 1812 and 1815. It was nearly {{convert|5|mi|km}} long, and dropped {{convert|107|ft|m}} through 17 locks.<ref>{{harvnb |Boyes |Russell |1977 |pp=202–207}}</ref>

Tolls rose to a little over £1,000 per year, but the Commissioners decided that the canal boats damaged the locks, and all traffic had to be transferred to river barges. This order was withdrawn in 1827, but the condition of the river gradually deteriorated, and the arrival of the Blisworth to Peterborough Railway in 1845 further reduced profitability. Flooding was also a problem, but the Commissioners had no powers to act as Commissioners of Sewers, to address the problems of drainage. With serious flooding in December 1848, a public meeting was held, and a committee was elected to consider Nene drainage. The main problem was a restriction at Wisbech, and the engineer [[James Meadows Rendel (engineer)|James Rendel]] estimated that £120,000 was required to reconstruct the river below Peterborough. The Nene Valley Drainage and Improvement Act 1852 was obtained to allow this work to be completed.<ref>{{harvnb |Boyes |Russell |1977 |pp=207–210}}</ref>