The Thames and Medway Canal
The Thames and Medway Canal which
was also known as the Gravesend and Rochester Canal
is a 7 mile disused waterway
built in Kent linking the Thames to the Medway from Gravesend to
Strood as a short cut mainly for military use saving a 47 mile journey
through the Thames Estuary and round the peninsula, though open to
commercial traffic as well.
The idea for the waterway was first promoted in a pamphlet
by and engineer Ralph Dodd in 1799 by which he was seeking to attract
investors, quoting a total cost of £24, 576 for a 2 year project, with part
of the cost defrayed by the sale of excavated chalk
for agricultural purposes. Stating
that the canal would be useful for Governmental ( military) and commercial
purposes.
The idea found favourable backing and an Act was passed
the following year, though by then the estimate had doubled to £57,433. Even
the higher estimate proved insufficient to complete the project which came
to a halt because of financial constraints in 1804, by which time Dodd was
either less active or had disassociated himself from the project as it was
taken over by Ralph Walker, who offered an alternative route, which was
finally completed in 1824 after the expenditure of about £260,000 and 5 Acts
of Parliament. Also finishing after the end of the Napoleonic wars, which
would have undoubtedly inspired interest in it, provided a market for its
services and useful means of income.
The canal was designed to take craft of a considerable
size being 43 ft wide and capable of accommodating Thames Sailing Barges,
which were commonly in use in the area. Unfortunately the canal leaked, not
helped by the chalk though which it had been dug and was consequently
vulnerable to the tidal changes. This had to be compensated for by a steam
pump.
Higham and Strood Tunnel was a remarkable feat of
engineering for its day: 2.25 miles long, 35ft high to canal bed and 21.5
feet wide at the waterline. Unfortunately with the canal virtually tidal
boats could only pass through it at certain times of day. 1844 saw the
creation of the ’Gravesend & Rochester Railway & Canal Company’’ followed by
the strange spectacle of the canal and rail services sharing one tunnel ,
with the rail track built half on the tow path and half on piles into the
canal.
Predictably from then on the demise of the canal was
assured with the tunnel being sold to the Southern Electric Railway Company
in 1846 who filled in the canal through the tunnel and laid a double rail
track.
The canal did continue in use between Higham and Gravesend
until bomb damage in the second World war put it out of action.
Currently the canal is a restoration project under the
Thames and Medway Canal Association, which aims to restore it for
recreational use, the towpaths being used for cycles and walkways.
Gravesend basin has been dredged and the lock to the
Thames restored.