MONTGOMERY CANAL

The 'Montgomery Canal' (or "Montgomeryshire Canal") is a semi-disused canal in eastern Wales. It is now considered to run 33 miles (53 km) from "Frankton Junction" with the Llangollen Canal in Shropshire, England, to the town of Newtown, via Welshpool. However, the first section of the canal from Frankton Junction is historically the main line of the Ellesmere Canal to the point where what we now call the Weston branch diverges, and then the Llanymynech branch of the Ellesmere Canal: approximately the first 10 miles (16 km) of what is now called the Montgomery Canal was built by the Ellesmere Canal Company. The Montgomeryshire Canal was planned with an end-on junction with the Llanymynech branch of the Ellesmere Canal.
At present only 7 miles of the northern section from Frankton Junction to Gronwen Wharf, and a central section of the canal around Welshpool are navigable.

Contents

History

Restoration

See also

External links

History

The canal was authorised in 1793 and by 1797 16 miles (26 km) had been built from Llanymynech to Garthmyl, but stopped 7 miles (11 km) short of Newtown. The canal travelled through a sparsely populated area, and generated only rural traffic which made little profit. The canal's main purpose was to carry limestone, used for agricultural purposes.
A lack of capital and income greatly delayed construction of the canal. With shareholders fearing they might lose their investment if the canal were completed, a separate company was set up to build the remainder of the canal through to Newtown, the work being completed in 1821: this part was known as the Western Branch of the Montgomeryshire, the original section being known as the Eastern Branch. In total the canal was built over a period of 30 years by three independent companies.
In 1847 the Eastern Branch joined the Shropshire Union network, followed in 1850 by the Western Branch.
Partly due to the late arrival of railways in the area, the Montgomery Canal gradually increased traffic and became profitable. It remained so until after the First World War after which it began making heavy losses. The Shropshire Union company was bought out by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway in 1922 and the canal became increasingly run down.
In 1936 a breach occurred near Frankton Junction and the decision was taken to abandon the canal, with an Act of Abandonment being passed by parliament in 1944.

Restoration

In recent years enthusiasts have been steadily restoring the canal for use by pleasure boaters. In some places the canal has been filled in, and roads have been built over the formation, presenting several obstacles to restoration.
In 1996 the 4 mile section from Frankton Junction to Queen's Head was reopened.
In 2001 work was started on the restoration of Newhouse Lock, with an estimated cost of £104,000. Soon after work started on the lock, it became evident that there were structural problems which had not been apparent when the first engineering inspection had been carried out. The costs were reappraised and a revised estimate of £250,000 was produced. The restoration was completed on schedule in 2006, and the lock was opened officially on 25th June 2006 by Lembit Opik, M.P., in conjunction with the Annual Montgomery Dinghy Dawdle. This completed the restoration of all of the locks on the section of the canal owned by British Waterways, and was the eleventh lock to be restored by Shropshire Union Canal Society.
In 2003 the 3 mile section from Queen's Head to Gronwen Wharf was restored.
In 2007 restoration on the section from Gronwen Wharf to Redwith Bridge was started, with a scheduled completion date of September 2007.
In 2007 restoration of Crickheath Wharf was started, with a scheduled completion date of Winter 2008.

See also

★ Canals of the United Kingdom

★ History of the British canal system

★ British Waterways

External links

Pete’s Montgomery Canal web-site, incorporating the Montgomery Waterway Restoration Trust