Editing Kennet and Avon Canal (section)

===Closing the gap===
[[File:John Rennie (Engineer).jpg|thumb|upright|alt=Portrait of John Rennie with white hair and wearing a white cravat and blue jacket|Surveyor [[John Rennie the Elder|John Rennie]] by [[Henry&nbsp;Raeburn]], 1810]]

====Proposals====
In 1788 a "Western Canal" was proposed to improve trade and communication links to towns such as [[Hungerford]], [[Marlborough, Wiltshire|Marlborough]], [[Calne]], [[Chippenham]] and [[Melksham]]. The following year the engineers Barns, Simcock and Weston submitted a proposed route for this canal, although there were doubts about the adequacy of the water supply. The name was changed from Western Canal to Kennet and Avon Canal to avoid confusion with the [[Grand Western Canal]], which was being proposed at the same time.<ref name=russell7to10>{{harvnb |Russell |1997 |pp=7–10}}</ref> This came in the midst of the [[Canal Mania]] period, with shares oversubscribed and reports of riotous crowds gathering outside meetings.<ref name=":HungerfordVirtualMuseumConstruction">{{Cite web |title=Building the Kennet & Avon Canal |url=https://www.hungerfordvirtualmuseum.co.uk/?view=article&amp;id=826&amp;catid=36 |access-date=2024-02-08 |website=www.hungerfordvirtualmuseum.co.uk}}</ref>

In 1793 a further survey was conducted by [[John Rennie the Elder|John Rennie]], and the route of the canal was altered to take a more southerly course through [[Great Bedwyn]], [[Devizes]], [[Trowbridge]] and [[Newbury, Berkshire|Newbury]]. The proposed route was accepted by the Kennet and Avon Canal Company, chaired by [[Charles Dundas, 1st Baron Amesbury|Charles Dundas]], and the company started to take [[Subscription (finance)|subscriptions]] from prospective shareholders. In July 1793 Rennie suggested further alterations to the route, including the construction of a tunnel in the [[Savernake Forest]].<ref name=russell7to10/>

====Organisation====
{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = Kennet and Avon Canal Act 1794
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of Great Britain
| long_title            = An Act for making a navigable canal from the river Kennet, at or near the town of Newbury, in the county of Berks, to the river Avon, at or near the city of Bath; and also certain navigable cuts therein described.
| year                  = 1794
| citation              = [[34 Geo. 3]]. c. 90
| introduced_commons    = 
| introduced_lords      = 
| territorial_extent    = 
| royal_assent          = 17 April 1794
| commencement          = 
| expiry_date           = 
| repeal_date           = 
| amends                = 
| replaces              = 
| amendments            = {{ubli|Kennet and Avon Canal Act 1796|Kennet and Avon Canal Act 1798}}
| repealing_legislation = 
| related_legislation   = 
| status                = 
| legislation_history   = 
| theyworkforyou        = 
| millbankhansard       = 
| original_text         = 
| revised_text          = 
| use_new_UK-LEG        = 
| UK-LEG_title          = 
| collapsed             = yes
}}
{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = {{visible anchor|Kennet and Avon Canal Act 1796}}
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of Great Britain
| long_title            = An act to vary and alter the line of the canal, authorised to be made by an act passed in the thirty-fourth year of the reign of his present Majesty, intituled, "An act for making a navigable canal from the river Kennet, at or near the town or Newbury, in the county of Berks, to the river Avon, at or near the city of Bath; and also certain navigable cuts therein described;" and to amend the said act; and also to make a certain navigable cut therein described.
| year                  = 1796
| citation              = [[36 Geo. 3]]. c. 44
| introduced_commons    = 
| introduced_lords      = 
| territorial_extent    = 
| royal_assent          = 24 March 1796
| commencement          = 
| expiry_date           = 
| repeal_date           = 
| amends                = {{ubli|Kennet and Avon Canal Act 1794}}
| replaces              = 
| amendments            = {{ubli|Kennet and Avon Canal Act 1798}}
| repealing_legislation = 
| related_legislation   = 
| status                = 
| legislation_history   = 
| theyworkforyou        = 
| millbankhansard       = 
| original_text         = 
| revised_text          = 
| use_new_UK-LEG        = 
| UK-LEG_title          = 
| collapsed             = yes
}}
{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = {{visible anchor|Kennet and Avon Canal Act 1798}}
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of Great Britain
| long_title            = An act to vary the line of the Kennet and Avon canal authorised to be made by two acts passed in the thirty-forth and thirty-sixth years of the reign of his present Majesty, and also to extend the powers of and to amend the said acts.
| year                  = 1798
| citation              = [[37 Geo. 3]]. c. xviii
| introduced_commons    = 
| introduced_lords      = 
| territorial_extent    = 
| royal_assent          = 7 May 1797
| commencement          = 
| expiry_date           = 
| repeal_date           = 
| amends                = {{ubli|Kennet and Avon Canal Act 1794|Kennet and Avon Canal Act 1796}}
| replaces              = 
| amendments            = 
| repealing_legislation = 
| related_legislation   = 
| status                = 
| legislation_history   = 
| theyworkforyou        = 
| millbankhansard       = 
| original_text         = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/gbla/Geo3/38/18/pdfs/gbla_17980018_en.pdf
| revised_text          = 
| use_new_UK-LEG        = 
| UK-LEG_title          = 
| collapsed             = yes
}}
On 17 April 1794 the '''{{visible anchor|Kennet and Avon Canal Act 1794}}''' ([[34 Geo. 3]]. c. 90) received [[royal assent]] and construction began.

Responsibility for construction was divided across three committees: the Western District, the central Wiltshire District (which was later absorbed into the Western in 1802), and the Eastern District. These awarded contracts and had delegated financial powers.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kennet and Avon Canal {{!}} Enjoy K&A {{!}} History |url=http://www.enjoykanda.co.uk/History_page_2.html#building%20the%20canal |access-date=2024-02-08 |website=www.enjoykanda.co.uk}}</ref> Problems with contractors occurred on multiple occasions, sometimes being overenthusiastic about tendering for multiple sections of work, failing to survey ground conditions thoroughly and encountering difficulties such as rock or natural springs.<ref name=":HungerfordVirtualMuseumConstruction" />

Construction began at [[Bradford-on-Avon]] in the west, and Newbury in the east, in October 1794.<ref name=":HungerfordVirtualMuseumConstruction" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Kennet & Avon Canal: timeline {{!}} Bradford-on-Avon Museum |url=https://www.bradfordonavonmuseum.co.uk/archives/4891 |access-date=2024-02-08 |language=en-GB}}</ref>

====Western section: Bath to Foxhangers====
{{anchor|Foxhangers}}The first sod for the Kennet and Avon Canal was turned in Bradford-on-Avon, and soon there were wharves above and below [[Bradford Lock]].<ref name="allsop23" /> The canal was complete from Bath to Foxhangers (a farm at the western foot of Caen Hill, below Devizes)<ref name=":KYPWiltsMap">{{Cite web |title=Know Your Place |url=https://maps.bristol.gov.uk/kyp/?edition=bristol&layer=Neighbouring%20authorities&mapbase=BCC%202019%20Q2%20Basemap&overlay=1844-1888%20OS%2025%22%201st%20Edition&x=403958.71&y=155333.3&extent=574.48 |access-date=2024-02-08 |website=maps.bristol.gov.uk}}</ref> 6.5 years after construction started, in May 1801.<ref name=":HungerfordVirtualMuseumConstruction" />

====Eastern section: Newbury to Devizes====
In 1796, completion of the eastern end of the new canal from Newbury to Great Bedwyn was anticipated within 12 months;<ref name=":HungerfordVirtualMuseumConstruction" /> but by July of that year, inflationary effects of the [[French Revolutionary Wars]] led labourers to take up more lucrative harvest work, and 23% of shareholders had fallen into arrears.<ref name=":HungerfordVirtualMuseumConstruction" /> Water springs encountered between Newbury and [[Crofton Locks|Crofton]] also caused delays.<ref name=":HungerfordVirtualMuseumConstruction" />

On 12 June 1797, the first section from Newbury to [[Kintbury]] was opened, with a band from the [[15th The King's Hussars|15th Regiment of Dragoons]] playing aboard the first barge to travel upstream, and chairman Charles Dundas joining the return passage back to Newbury.<ref name=":HungerfordVirtualMuseumConstruction" /> Construction continued uphill towards Hungerford, where seven houses in the path of the canal were demolished and a new road bridge provided. On 9 October 1798, the first cargo barge arrived in Hungerford, carrying a [[Portland stone]] staircase and Russian [[tallow]] – about {{convert|40|LT|t ST}} in all.<ref name=":HungerfordVirtualMuseumConstruction" /> By 2 July 1799, the canal was open as far west as Great Bedwyn. The summit beyond Great Bedwyn, and subsequent gentle descent to Devizes, remained incomplete as late as 1803.<ref name=":HungerfordVirtualMuseumConstruction" />

====Completion====
The final engineering task was the completion of the [[Caen Hill Locks]] at Devizes.<ref name=russell7to10/><ref name=allsop5>{{harvnb |Allsop |1987 |p=5}}</ref> While the lock flight was under construction, a [[Wagonway|horse-drawn railway]] provided a link between Foxhangers at the bottom of the flight and Devizes at the top, the remains of which can be seen under the towpath arches in the road bridges over the canal.<ref name=pearson27>{{harvnb |Pearson |2003 |p=27}}</ref>

The canal opened to through-traffic in 1810, after 16 years of construction. As well as Caen Hill Locks, other major structures included the [[Dundas Aqueduct|Dundas]] and [[Avoncliff Aqueduct|Avoncliff]] [[Navigable aqueduct|aqueducts]], the [[Bruce Tunnel]] near Savernake Forest, and the [[pumping station]]s at [[Claverton Pumping Station|Claverton]] and [[Crofton Pumping Station|Crofton]], needed to overcome water supply difficulties.