Information for record number MWA4373:
The Coventry Canal

Summary The Coventry Canal, a waterway for transporting goods, was built during the Imperial period.
What Is It?  
Type: Canal
Period: Imperial - Industrial (1751 AD - 1913 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Nuneaton and Bedworth
District: Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 32 95
(Data represented on this map shows the current selected record as a single point, this is for illustrative purposes only and does not represent an accurate or complete representation of archaeological sites or features)
Level of Protection National - Old SMR PrefRef (Grade: )
Sites & Monuments Record
Description

  
Source Number  

1 In 1768 the act was passed authorising a link from the Grand Trunk to Coventry. The scheme had been mooted alongside the scheme for the Oxford Canal but it was appreciated that the C.C. on its own would have benefits such as improving the coal supply to Coventry. Brindley was the original choice of engineer but he was dismissed in 1769. By 1771 the Canal was open to Nuneaton. There were problems regarding the choice of line to Polesworth and the company's work slowed down. The Oxford had to exert pressure on the C.C. to persuade it to make the junction with the Oxford. Legal action finally succeeded in 1777 and a junction was made at Longford. The Coventry also had to be persuaded to complete its line to Fradley and the Trent and Mersey Canal. As it was, the Canal served fully the interests of the colliery owners along the banks if not serving fully its investors. Eventually a deal was struck whereby the Trent and Mersey and Birmingham and Fazeley shared the cost of the Fazeley-Fradley line. In 1790 the Coventry was completed to Fazeley. After the opening of the Warwick Canals the Coventry suffered a drop in profits, but it benefited from the opening of the Ashby Canal in 1804. Along with the other Midlands Canals it suffered greatly from railway competition and dividends fell sharply from 40% in 1839 to 24% in 1845. By 1890 it was 8%. An approach made to the LNWR was unsuccessful in getting a rates agreement. The Canals great earlier success meant that it didn't suffer so badly as other Canals and it kept going until nationalisation by developing its property and selling water to local authorities. However, the final dividend was 6% rather than the 50% payed 1824-1828. The Canal totalled 32 and a half miles including that section between Whittington Brook and Fradley built by the Trent and Mersey then purchased by the Coventry. There are a total of 13 locks.
2 Plan of the Coventry and Warwick Canals and their connections.
3 cf West Midlands SMR No 5861.
4 Atherstone to Fazeley length of Canal was constructed by the Coventry Canal Company as a result of the Coleshill Agreement of 20th June, 1782, which committed the Trent & Mersey, Birmingham & Fazeley, Coventry and Oxford companies to complete the Grand Cross network. The design of Sheasby's 4-arch aqueduct was changed to 3 arches in 1788, but it collapsed in 1790. When it was re-opened on 13thJuly, 1790 it was the last link in the Grand Cross to be completed. All of the locks on the Coventry Canal are concentrated in this length.
 
Sources
Source No: 3
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Bibliographic reference
Author/originator: West Midlands SMR
Date: 1998
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: PRN 3180
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Canals of the East Midlands
Author/originator: Hadfield
Date:
Page Number: 15-26;142-146,
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No:
Source Type: Building Survey
Title: Panel for Historical Engineering Works
Author/originator: Institution of Civil Engineers
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Plan
Title: Canals of the East Midlands
Author/originator: Hadfield
Date:
Page Number: 145
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
period Imperial 1751 AD to 1914 AD (end of the 18th century AD to the beginning of the 20th century AD)

This period comes after the Post Medieval period and before the modern period and starts with beginning of the Industrial Revolution in 1750. It includes the second part of the Hannoverian period (1714 – 1836) and the Victorian period (1837 – 1901). The Imperial period ends with the start of the First World War in 1914.
more -> 		back
monument LOCK * A section of the water channel on a canal or river shut off above and below by lock gates provided with sluices to let the water out and in, and thus raise or lower boats from one level to another. Use more specific type where known. back
monument CANAL * An artificial navigable waterway used for the transportation of goods. Nowadays also used for recreational purposes. back
monument ARCH * A structure over an opening usually formed of wedge-shaped blocks of brick or stone held together by mutual pressure and supported at the sides; they can also be formed from moulded concrete/ cast metal. A component; use for free-standing structure only. back
monument INDUSTRIAL * This is the top term for the class. See INDUSTRIAL Class List for narrow terms. back
monument COLLIERY * A place where coal is mined. back
monument ENGINEERING WORKS * Any factory or site using machine tools in a manufacturing or processing capacity. back
monument AQUEDUCT * An artificial water channel for carrying water over long distances. Use also for bridge-like structures that carry the channel or canal across a valley, river or other obstacle. back
monument CROSS * A free-standing structure, in the form of a cross (+), symbolizing the structure on which Jesus Christ was crucified and sacred to the Christian faith. Use specific type where known. back
monument RAILWAY * A line or track consisting of iron or steel rails, on which passenger carriages or goods wagons are moved, usually by a locomotive engine. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record