The Nottingham to Grantham Canal within the parish of Stathern
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The Nottingham to Grantham Canal within the parish of Stathern
A short section of the Nottingham to Grantham Canal passes through the northern part of the parish. This canal, which is now mostly unnavigable, opened in 1797 and was commissioned to provide cheap coal and other commodities from the River Trent at Nottingham to Grantham. The length of the canal is 33 miles and it follows a circuitous route compared with 19 miles as the crow flies.
The survey and design was carried out by William Jessop, an important Civil Engineer at the time. There are 18 locks in total but none on the section passing through the parish, although there is a steep hump-back bridge (Bridge 45) carrying the dead-end Canal Lane to Dove Cottage Hospice.
At Stathern, a basin or ‘winding hole’ was built by the Canal Lane bridge on the opposite side to the tow path. A winding hole is where a full-sized canal boat of 72ft length, is able to turn, because the canal width is insufficient for these boats to turn round. The word is said to derive from the Old English word for turn, which is ‘windan’, and is derived from wind to help with the turn. The boat operator would steer the bow of the boat into the basin and swing the stern round. Originally, bargepoles would be used to facilitate this with horse-drawn boats.
The Stathern winding hole is now substantially silted up but can still be recognised. It is believed that night soil from Nottingham was unloaded at this site and metal detectorists have found items at this location.
The canal was making a profit for its shareholders in the 1840s, but as the railway developed so canal traffic declined, and in 1861 the canal came under the control of the Great Northern Railway and later the London and North Eastern Railway. There had been no boat traffic since 1929 and the canal was closed in 1936.
In 1948 the canal became part of the nationalisation of railways. It became controlled by British Waterways in 1968 and was classified as a “remainder waterway” meaning that it had no economic future
The Grantham Canal Restoration Society was formed in 1970 with the aim of restoring the whole canal, and for the past 50 years the Society has brought sections of the canal back to a working state. The section through the Stathern Parish is usually filled with water but it now mainly reed covered. There is a record of a boat rally at the Stathern section in 1972
The length from Harby to Redmile, which includes the Stathern section, is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Sedge warblers nest along this section and there are often a pair of mute swans at the bridge basin. Bull rushes now cover much of the canal waterway. The stream from Stathern, known as the Rundle Beck passes under the canal in a culvert, 100m or so on the Plungar side of Bridge 45.
There is a well-used public footpath on the north side of the canal, providing a very pleasant and scenic walk to Harby or Plungar and beyond, from Bridge 45.
