The
Somerset Coal Canal (originally known as the
Somersetshire Coal Canal) was a narrow canal in
England, built around 1800 from basins at
Paulton and
Timsbury via
Camerton, an
aqueduct at
Dunkerton,
Combe Hay,
Midford and
Monkton Combe to
Limpley Stoke where it joined the
Kennet and Avon Canal. This gave access from the
Somerset coalfield, which at its peak contained 80 collieries, to
London. The longest arm was 18 miles (29 km) long with 23
locks. From Midford an arm also ran via
Writhlington to
Radstock, with a
tunnel at
Wellow.
A feature of the canal was the variety of methods used at Combe Hay to overcome height differences between the upper and lower reaches of the canal, initially by the use of
caisson locks and when this failed an inclined plane and then a flight of 22
locks.
The Radstock arm was never commercially successful and was replaced first with a
tramway in 1815 and later incorporated into the
Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway. The Paulton route flourished for some years until the coming of the railway and closed in 1898. Much of the course of the canal has since been used for a railway. In October 2006 a grant was obtained from the
Heritage Lottery Fund to carry out a technical study on one of the locks and associated structures at Combe Hay.
History
In 1763 coal was discovered in
Radstock and mining began in the area, however transport was a major problem because of the poor state of the...
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