Wendover Arm Canal

Wendover Arm Canal
The Stop Lock to Little Tring Bridge
Original owner	Grand Junction Canal Co
Date of act	1794
Date completed	1797
Date closed	1897
Start point	Wendover
End point	Bulbourne
Branch of	Grand Union Canal
Status	Part restored

The Wendover Arm Canal is part of the Grand Union Canal in England, and forms part of the British canal system. It originally linked the Grand Union Canal at Bulbourne near Star Top End in Hertfordshire to the town of Wendover in Buckinghamshire. The canal is 6.7 miles (10.8 km) miles long, but has been un-navigable since 1897. It is currently being reconstructed by the Wendover Arm Trust, and Phase 1 of the project, the first 1.3 miles (2.1 km) from the junction at Bulbourne, was completed and reopened in 2005.

History

Wendover Arm Canal

Legend Grand Union Canal Marsworth locks Bulbourne Gamnel bridge - Tring Ford Road Tringford Pumping Stn and Resr Stop lock Little Tring Road bridge End of navigable section culvert to Tringford Reservoir Drayton Beauchamp bridge culvert to Tringford Reservoir A41 Aston Clinton Bypass London Road culvert (old A41) B489 Stablebridge Road Harebridge Lane bridge Halton bridge Perch bridge Wendover Basin

The Grand Union Canal makes use of the river valleys of the rivers Bulbourne and Gade to pass through Hertfordshire so the canal could easily cross the Chiltern Hills without the need for costly tunnelling works. During its journey through the Chilterns it reaches a height of 390 feet (120 m) at Tring summit before it descends into the Vale of Aylesbury.

The need for water

Each lock uses 50,000 imperial gallons (230 m³) of water every time a boat passes so the main canal needs to find an adequate supply from the local watercourses. Fortunately the north-facing escarpment of the Chiltern Hills has an abundance of streams fed by the chalk aquifer.

The main line of the canal, then called the Grand Junction Canal, was authorised by an Act of Parliament obtained in 1793. A second Act was obtained on 28 March 1794, which authorised the construction of branches to Buckingham, Aylesbury, and Wendover. The Wendover branch was conceived as a non-navigable feeder, which would carry water from springs and streams in the Wendover area to the Tringford reservoirs which fed the Tring summit locks. However, the cost of widening it was small, and so it was always a navigable channel from the time of its completion in 1797.

Decline

The canal

The Wendover Arm itself only had a working life of 100 years. Part of its downfall was that some sections leaked. Much of it was repuddled within 10 years of its construction, to try to prevent some of the leakage. On one occasion a section known as The Narrows leaked so much that it caused a flood in a large neighbouring property called Aston Clinton House. In 1897, which was drier than usual, the Grand Union company decided that the arm was leaking more water than it was supplying, and stop planks were used to block off the arm at Little Tring. The stop planks were replaced by a stop lock, which was operational by 1901.

By 1904, the decision had been made to abandon the arm as a navigation. The top four miles were again repuddled, the water level was lowered, and all of the water flowing along it was fed into Wilstone reservoir. This put an extra load on the pumps at Tringford, as the Wilstone reservoir is at a lower level than the Tringford one. A pipeline was therefore laid from a sump at Drayton Beauchamp to the Tring pumping station, along the bed of the disused canal, so that water arrived at the pumps at a higher level. The new system was still not satisfactory, due to the large variations in flow along the feeder, and it was redesigned in 1912. Following reconstruction, the water was pumped directly into the main line, with surplus water flowing into Tringford reservoir. The section between Wendover and Drayton Beauchamp remained in water, resembling a chalk stream.

Wendover Arm Trust

Phase 1 Little Tring Bridge to Winding Basin

In 1989 the Wendover Trust was formed as a Charitable body with the aim of restoring and promoting the canal. Members and volunteers of the trust have even appeared at the Lord Mayor's Show in the City of London driving JCB tractors.

The trust is funded primarily by donations (with some funding from British Waterways), with the major fund-raising activity being the annual canal festival which began in 1990.

Restoration is currently in Phase 2, with plans being developed for the third and final stage.

The trust accepts volunteers to work on the restoration, as well as members and donors.

Phase 1

The Phase 1 head of navigation near Little Tring Farm

Phase 1 of the restoration involved the first 1.3 miles (2.1 km) of the canal from Bulbourne Junction (51.8156°N 0.6538°W / 51.8156; -0.6538 (Bulbourne Junction)) to Little Tring Farm (51.8072°N 0.6741°W / 51.8072; -0.6741 (Little Tring Farm)). Major engineering work included the refurbishment of the stop lock, and the construction of a winding basin at the terminus, to allow boats to turn round. Between the two, Little Tring Road crossed the course of the canal on an embankment which was constructed in 1973 when the original bridge was demolished. This was replaced by a new reinforced concrete bridge, built to a traditional design, which is faced with bricks to give it an authentic appearance. Funding was provided by the Wendover Arm Trust, and the award-winning bridge was completed by British Waterways in 2000/1 at a cost of £223,055.

Relining the dry canal bed near Drayton Beauchamp in April 2009

Key dates are

• Completed November 2004
• re-watered March 2005
• opened 28 March 2005

The total cost of Phase 1 was £400,340.

Phase 2

Phase 2 involves a 1¾-mile dry section from Little Tring to Drayton Beauchamp (51.799°N 0.6915°W / 51.799; -0.6915 (Drayton Beauchamp)). This phase is expected to be completed in 2010.

Phase 3

Disused section of the canal near Wendover

Phase 3, from Drayton Beauchamp via Buckland Wharf (51.7942°N 0.707°W / 51.7942; -0.707 (Buckland Wharf)) and Halton (51.7833°N 0.735°W / 51.7833; -0.735 (Halton bridge)) to Wendover (51.766°N 0.7411°W / 51.766; -0.7411 (Wendover basin)), requires major engineering work to three road bridges. This section has never been de-watered but is environmentally sensitive.

External links

• Wendover Arm Trust
• Wendover arm Trust restoration site