Editing Kennet and Avon Canal (section)

====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" />