Editing Bridgwater and Taunton Canal (section)

===Precursors===
From 1768 there were a number of grand schemes proposed, all with the aim of linking the [[Bristol Channel]] to the [[English Channel]] by a [[waterway]], thereby avoiding the need to navigate by sea around [[Cornwall]] and [[Devon]]. [[James Brindley]] was the first to survey a route, which would have run from the Bristol Channel to [[Exeter]], following the course of the River Tone for part of its route. In 1769, [[Robert Whitworth (canal engineer)|Robert Whitworth]] looked at a shorter route from Bridgwater Bay to [[Seaton, Devon|Seaton]], following the River Parrett and the [[River Axe (Lyme Bay)|River Axe]]. He was asked to reassess the route in the 1790s. [[William Jessop]] surveyed a route between Taunton and Exeter in 1794, while another group proposed a canal linking [[Bristol]], [[Nailsea]], Bridgwater and Taunton, which was surveyed by [[William White (canal engineer)|William White]]. Jessop's assistant, [[Josiah Easton]], suggested a route from [[Uphill]] (on the Bristol Channel) to Seaton, again in 1794, and the previous two schemes sought parliamentary approval as the [[Grand Western Canal]] and the Bristol and Western Canal, respectively. Only the first was authorised, as the [[Grand Western Canal Act 1796]] ([[36 Geo. 3]]. c. 46), but the economic downturn caused by the [[Napoleonic Wars]] meant that construction did not begin immediately.<ref name=haskell2>{{harvnb |Haskell |1994 |pp=14–23}}</ref>

{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = Bristol and Taunton Canal Navigation Act 1811
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title            = 
| year                  = 1811
| citation              = [[51 Geo. 3]]. c. lx
| introduced_commons    = 
| introduced_lords      = 
| territorial_extent    = 
| royal_assent          = 14 May 1811
| commencement          = 
| expiry_date           = 
| repeal_date           = 
| amends                = 
| replaces              = 
| amendments            = 
| repealing_legislation = 
| related_legislation   = 
| status                = 
| legislation_history   = 
| theyworkforyou        = 
| millbankhansard       = 
| original_text         = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/Geo3/51/60/pdfs/ukla_18110060_en.pdf
| revised_text          = 
| use_new_UK-LEG        = 
| UK-LEG_title          = 
| collapsed             = yes
}}
{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = Bristol and Taunton Canal Navigation Act 1824
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title            = An Act to abridge, vary, extend and improve the Bristol and Taunton Canal Navigation; and to alter the Powers of an Act of the Fifty first Year of His late Majesty, for making the said Canal.
| year                  = 1824
| citation              = [[5 Geo. 4]]. c. cxx
| introduced_commons    = 
| introduced_lords      = 
| territorial_extent    = 
| royal_assent          = 17 June 1824
| 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
}}
[[John Rennie the Elder|John Rennie]] surveyed the line for a [[ship canal]] from the mouth of the River Parrett to Seaton in 1810, which was designed for ships of {{convert|120|LT|t}}, but it was felt that the economic situation would not support the projected expenditure of over £1&nbsp;million. He then considered a more modest proposal, based on the original Bristol and Western plans,<ref name=haskell2/> and the scheme, now renamed the Bristol and Taunton Canal, was authorised by an act of Parliament, the '''{{visible anchor|Bristol and Taunton Canal Navigation Act 1811}}''' ([[51 Geo. 3]]. c. lx) dated 14 May 1811. The company had powers to raise £420,000 in shares and an additional £150,000 if required,<ref name=priestley>{{harvnb |Priestley |1831 |pp=93–97}}</ref> but economic concerns meant that the project did not start immediately. Powers for the Bristol to Bridgwater section lapsed in 1815, but work finally commenced in 1822, to be halted by an [[injunction]] because the authorised route was not being followed.<ref name=haskell2/> A further act, the '''{{visible anchor|Bristol and Taunton Canal Navigation Act 1824}}''' ([[5 Geo. 4]]. c. cxx) of 17 June 1824, authorised the revised route, and changed the name of the project to the Bridgwater and Taunton Canal Company. The predicted costs for the construction of the shorter canal were £34,145, as opposed to £429,990 for the longer scheme.<ref name=priestley/>

Three further schemes were proposed before the idea of a Channel-to-Channel link was abandoned. [[James Green (engineer)|James Green]] proposed a [[tub-boat]] canal in 1822, capable of handling {{convert|5|LT|t|adj=on}} boats, which would have used [[canal inclined plane|inclines]] instead of locks, and would have cost £120,000. [[Thomas Telford]] revived the idea of a ship canal in 1824, which would have taken over the line of the Bridgwater and Taunton Canal – enabling {{convert|200|LT|t|adj=on}} boats to reach the south coast – at a cost of £1.75 million. This was authorised in 1825, but no further action occurred. Finally, a [[barge]] canal between Bridgwater and [[Beer, Devon|Beer]], costing £600,000, was proposed in 1828, but enthusiasm for large canal schemes was waning, and the advent of iron-hulled [[steamship]]s meant that the risks of navigation around the south-west peninsula were reduced.<ref name=haskell2/>