Chard Canal Company

RAIL 889

1720-1873

This series contains documentation of the Chard Canal Company dealing deals mainly with land matters.

These are filed in numerical order although some documents with earlier numbers were transferred at a later date and thus are out of sequence at the end of the list.

The subsequent history and papers of this company are to be found in RAIL 106

Public Record(s)

English

124 file(s)

Topics

Canals and river transport

The Chard Canal Company was incorporated by the Chard Canal Act 1834 which also authorised the construction of a canal from the Bridgwater and Taunton Canal at Creech St Michael, Somerset to Chard.

The first section of the canal was opened in May 1841 and the rest being opened in May of the following year, giving a total length of 13.5 miles. It had three tunnels and four inclined planes and was designed to carry 'tub boats' which were 26ft long and 6ft 6in wide.

Further Acts were passed in 1840 and 1841 to raise more capital and amend earlier acts. The Chard Canal and Railway Act 1846 changed the name of the company to the Chard Canal and Railway Company and allowed the company to convert part of the canal to a railway, the authorised section being that from Creech St Michael to Ilminster. A connection to the Bristol and Exeter Railway at Creech was also authorised.

In the following year the Chard Railway Act 1847 again changed the name of the company to the Chard Railway Company and authorised more railways.