Editing Bridgwater and Taunton Canal (section)

===Operation===
{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = Bridgwater and Taunton Canal Navigation Act 1832
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title            = An Act to explain and amend Two Acts, of the Fifty-first Year of His late Majesty King George the Third and the Fifth Year of His late Majesty King George the Fourth, relative to the Bridgewater and Taunton Canal Navigation.
| year                  = 1832
| citation              = [[2 & 3 Will. 4]]. c. xliii
| introduced_commons    = 
| introduced_lords      = 
| territorial_extent    = 
| royal_assent          = 23 May 1832
| commencement          = 
| expiry_date           = 
| repeal_date           = 
| amends                = 
| replaces              = 
| amendments            = 
| repealing_legislation = 
| related_legislation   = {{ubli|Bristol and Taunton Canal Navigation Act 1811|Bristol and Taunton Canal Navigation Act 1824}}
| status                = 
| legislation_history   = 
| theyworkforyou        = 
| millbankhansard       = 
| original_text         = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/Will4/2-3/43/pdfs/ukla_18320043_en.pdf
| revised_text          = 
| use_new_UK-LEG        = 
| UK-LEG_title          = 
| collapsed             = yes
}}
[[File:Standards lock, Taunton and Bridgwater canal - geograph.org.uk - 313647.jpg|thumb|Standard's Lock]]

The early years of the new canal were marred by legal disputes with the Conservators of the River Tone.{{sfn |Harrison |Henry |1835 |p=1516}} The connection to the Tone at Taunton had been made forcibly, by the canal company breaching the bank of the river. In August 1827 they announced that they were taking over the Tone, and evicted William Goodland, the river superintendent, from his cottage. Despite a ruling by the [[Court of King's Bench (England)|Court of King's Bench]] that their action was illegal, the canal company held on to the river until a [[High Court of Justice|High Court]] judgment in February 1830.<ref name=haskell4>{{harvnb |Haskell |1994 |pp=34–38}}</ref> The conservators promptly built a [[dam]], to prevent boats reaching the river and water entering the canal, which they removed after further legal action and an order of the [[Court of Chancery|Chancery Court]].<ref name=hadfield>{{harvnb |Hadfield |1985 |p=50}}</ref> Reconciliation finally came in late 1831, when the two parties proposed a new act of Parliament to authorise the sale of the Tone Navigation to the canal company. The '''{{visible anchor|Bridgwater and Taunton Canal Navigation Act 1832}}''' ([[2 & 3 Will. 4]]. c. xliii) was obtained in July 1832, and required the canal company to erect a new iron bridge to replace the existing North Town Bridge, which hampered access to the [[wharf]]s in Taunton. They also had powers to construct a lock and a short length of canal at French Weir, to connect with the [[Grand Western Canal]], while the conservators were allowed to conduct an annual inspection of the canal, and to resume their ownership of the river if the canal was not maintained in good order.<ref name=haskell4/>

{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = Bridgwater and Taunton Canal Navigation Act 1837
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title            = An Act to enable the Company of Proprietors of the Bridgewater and Taunton Canal Navigation to continue the Line of the Canal below the Town of Bridgewater, and for varying the Powers of the several Acts relative to the said Canal.
| year                  = 1837
| citation              = [[7 Will. 4 & 1 Vict.]] c. xi
| introduced_commons    = 
| introduced_lords      = 
| territorial_extent    = 
| royal_assent          = 21 April 1837
| 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/Will4and1Vict/7/11/pdfs/ukla_18370011_en.pdf
| revised_text          = 
| use_new_UK-LEG        = 
| UK-LEG_title          = 
| collapsed             = yes
}}
At the Bridgwater end, navigation onto the River Parrett was not easy, and the Corporation of Bridgwater had commissioned a number of surveys to construct a floating harbour. All came to nothing, but in 1836 the Bristol and Exeter Railway Company obtained an act of Parliament, the [[Bristol and Exeter Railway Act 1836]] ([[6 & 7 Will. 4]]. c. xxxvi), to construct a railway which would pass through Bridgwater. Subsequently, the canal company, in order to protect their trade, sought their own act of Parliament to construct a floating harbour to the west of Bridgwater, and to extend the canal to join it. The '''{{visible anchor|Bridgwater and Taunton Canal Navigation Act 1837}}''' ([[7 Will. 4 & 1 Vict.]] c. xi) was obtained on 21 April 1837, and the works were started. The construction work involved a deep [[Cutting (transportation)|cutting]] from Albert Street to West Street, a short [[tunnel]] at West Street. There it entered [[Bridgwater Docks]], which consisted of:
*Inner [[canal basin|basin]] that covered {{convert|4|acre}}<ref name=haskell5>{{harvnb |Haskell |1994 |pp=39–52}}</ref>
*Outer basin covering {{convert|0.5|acre|ha}}

The two basins were connected by a lock, whilst towards the river a ship [[canal lock|lock]] consisting of a single {{convert|40|ft|m|adj=on}} gate, and a barge lock, consisting of a pair of {{convert|14|ft|m|adj=on}} gates. The whole outer basin could be used as a lock by larger ships up to 600 tons.<ref>{{harvnb |Otter |1994}}</ref> The estimated cost of £25,000 for the scheme escalated to nearly £100,000, most of which was raised by mortgage.<ref name=haskell5/>

{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = Bridgwater and Taunton Canal and Stolford Railway and Harbour Act 1846
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title            = An Act to enable the Bridgewater and Taunton Canal Company to make a Railway from Bridgewater to the Bristol Channel at or near Stolford in the County of Somerset, with Branches therefrom, and to make a Harbour at or near Stolford.
| year                  = 1846
| citation              = [[9 & 10 Vict.]] c. cxlv
| introduced_commons    = 
| introduced_lords      = 
| territorial_extent    = 
| royal_assent          = 3 July 1846
| 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 new facilities were opened on 25 March 1841, after which the basin and locks at Huntworth were filled in.<ref>{{harvnb |Hadfield |1985 |pp=55–56}}</ref> Trade increased from {{convert|90000|LT|t}}  in 1840, before the harbour opened, to {{convert|120000|LT|t}} shortly afterwards. Around 2,400 vessels per year were using the port by 1853. The canal company had hoped that the opening of the [[Grand Western Canal]] in 1838 and the [[Chard Canal]] in 1842 would increase traffic significantly, but their impact was marginal. Despite commercial success, the interest payments on the mortgage were crippling, and in 1846 the company obtained an act of Parliament, the '''{{visible anchor|Bridgwater and Taunton Canal and Stolford Railway and Harbour Act 1846}}''' ([[9 & 10 Vict.]] c. cxlv), to convert the canal into a railway, although its powers were never used. Trade halved as railway competition increased, and the company was in the hands of [[Receivership|receivers]] by the early 1850s.<ref name=haskell5/>

In 1866 the Bristol and Exeter Railway stepped in and bought the canal.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.somersetheritage.org.uk/record/43826|title=Bridgwater and Taunton Canal|work=Somerset Historic Environment Record|publisher=Somerset County Council|access-date=2008-10-11|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161003100303/http://www.somersetheritage.org.uk/record/43826|archive-date=3 October 2016}}</ref> The main attraction was the dock, with its large volume of coal traffic, but they purchased both the canal and the dock for £64,000, under the terms of an act of Parliament{{which|date=July 2024}} obtained that year,<ref>{{harvnb |Hadfield |1985 |p=63}}</ref> which included a requirement that there should always be "a good and sufficient water communication between the towns of Taunton and Bridgwater".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.somerset.gov.uk/archives/ASH/Canals.htm|title=Canals and canal projects|publisher=Somerset County Council|access-date=2008-10-20|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060502032008/http://www.somerset.gov.uk/archives/ASH/Canals.htm|archive-date=2 May 2006}}</ref> Unlike many such acquisitions, the canal was seen as a useful adjunct to the railway network, and was maintained in good order for several years, with the Conservators of the River Tone continuing their annual inspections, and reporting any defects to the railway company.<ref name=haskell5/>