The Kennet and Avon navigation - Warren Berry

The Kennet and Avon navigation was built to link Bristol with London, via Reading and the river Thames. The canal section took some 16 years to construct and was finally completed in 1810, although piecemeal trading was already taking place on completed parts long before that date. It was considered a major feat of Georgian engineering, incorporating many at-tractive stone and iron bridges, a 500-yard brick-lined tunnel, purpose-built pumping stations incorporating both steam- and water-powered pumps, and two magnificent aqueducts that carried the canal over the Avon valley. But the most spectacu-lar structure on the navigation was the 19 lock flight that climbs straight up the side of Caen Hill,making a striking visual impression. This chronological narrative begins with the two river navi-gations, and assesses the financial, technical, and political dif-ficulties that had to be overcome before they were linked. The story of how such a huge undertaking was planned and funded is told, and further chapters describe how canal and associ-ated structures were built. This important waterway enabled extensive trade activity to take place across the southern half of England, and an overview is given of what it was like to live and work on the navigation. Later chapters show why the Kennet and Avon eventually declined as a trading concern and how it was saved from total closure and eventually restored. It has become the biggest success story of canal restoration in recent times.