History of the Ripon Canal
The Ripon Canal is an early navigation which opened in 1773, right at the beginning of the “Canal Age”. It facilitated trade by extending the River Ure Navigation into Ripon and allowed the passage of the local 58ft long Keels.
Closure
Traffic declined under ownership by the North Eastern Railway who failed to officially abandon the canal in 1894. As a result, the canal became unusable and was reported to be impassable in 1906. It was never nationalised in 1948 and was therefore, officially abandoned in 1956. The British Transport Commission offered to sell the canal to Ripon Corporation in 1952 without success. Additionally, the closure was unpopular locally and prevented the canal from being filled in. Meanwhile, members of the Ripon motor Boat Club started restoration work in 1961. Later on, the Ripon Canal Society officially reopened the canal in September 1996.
Navigation
The Ripon Canal runs from its junction with the River Ure at Oxclose Lock to the Canal terminus at Ripon. It is 2.3 miles (4 km) long and has 3 locks. The River Ure Navigation runs from the Ripon Canal at Oxclose Lock to Swale Nab, where it joins the River Swale (navigable for about 1 mile – 1.6 km – to Myton) and becomes the Yorkshire Ouse. The River Ure Navigation is 8 miles (12.8 km) long and has 2 locks.
Photo: A narrowboat at Ripon Basin on the Ripon Canal by John Lower.
