Ipswich and Stowmarket Navigation

The first proposals for a navigation based on the improvement of the River Gipping between Ipswich and Stowmarket were made in 1713, but objections were made by local traders and it was not until1789 that any serious progress was made, by which time transport was becoming a major issue with local populations beginning to dwindle because of poor road access. The renewed interested resulted in two Acts of Parliament in 1790 and 1793, with work commencing in 1790 under Dyson and Pinkerton, who were promptly replaced by a local contractor with John Rennie asked to oversee the project,. Who advised that the three turf and timber locks already constructed should be replaced buy brick and stone constructions and revised and presented new estimates for completing the project, for which the 1793 act was required in order to allow further funds to be raised. The estimaters more than doubling the original estimates from £14, 300 to £26.263.

The project was completed by 1793 with the first recorded cargo being coal and passing the 17 miles  of broad canal through 15 locks c apable of carrying craft 55 x 14 feet with a draft of up to 3ft 4 inches. The total rise being 90 feet.

The Railways arrived in 1846 with a line from Ipswich to Stowmarket in direct competition with the canal , which suffered severely as a consequence, but canal survived until 1934 until and Act of Revocation was passed releasing the Board of Trustees from their obligation to keep the canal in good order, which they were no longer able to do in absence of income. From this date the canal fell into decline until the 1970’s by which time there had developed a renewed interest in restoring the canal system, to preserve Architectural Heritage, as a leisure facility and as a means of preserving certain wildlife environments.

Restoration has been aided by the River Gipping Trust, British Waterways  and other interested parties. Towpaths are being restored to usable footpaths for walkers and the locks are gradually being restored as well … the work continues.