The Exeter Canal
£14.95
This book is out of print. The copies available are second hand, in near-as-new or very good condition.
The Exeter canal is unique. It is the only one in Britain to have remained under the control of local government for more than 400 years. This has been both its strength and its weakness. One of the few canals to escape nationalisation on 1st January 1948, it has been unhindered by the decisions of national government policy. On the other hand, the crippling burden of ever-increasing costs of alterations and improvements has led to extreme caution in making any changes.
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Until the 13th century, small ships could sail up the river Exe at high tide to the city walls at Exeter. Then, the Countess of Devon blocked the river at a place known as Countess Wear. More than three centuries were to pass before powers were given for the Exeter Canal to bypass this obstruction.
The history of the navigations, from the blocking of the river at Countess Wear to present day, is now told in full for the first time. Here is the story of the Lighter Canal (1539 to 1697); the first Ship Canal (1698 to 1819); the rivalries with other canals, including the Exeter and Crediton Navigation (1792 to 1819); the alterations and extensions to make the present ship canal (1820 to 1830); the struggles for finance, competition with the railways, the gradual decline in trade and, more recently, the establishment of Exeter Maritime Museum and the Exeter canal and Quay Trust.
This carefully researched account of the waterway will be warmly welcomed, not only via enthusiasts and by local historians of Devonshire, but also by the residents of the Exeter area, for whom the canal is a familiar part of their daily environment. It is no mere recital effect in figures, but the absorbing story of the men who built the canal and those who have worked on it through the centuries.
Author: Kenneth Clew
Binding: Hardback
Published: January 1984
Pages: 128
Size: 252 x 190 mm
ISBN: 0850335442
Publisher’s Price (in 1984): not known
