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FIRST NEW AQUEDUCT IN SUSSEX FOR TWO CENTURIES
On Saturday 31 May the Wey & Arun Canal Trust’s new Aqueduct at Drungewick Lane, Loxwood, West Sussex will be opened by Dr Dave Fletcher, recently retired Chief Executive Officer of British Waterways.
The modern single-span concrete aqueduct over the River Lox replaces a three arched brick structure which was built in 1815/16 and finally disappeared during the 1950s. The aqueduct brings together the existing Loxwood Link of almost 1¾ miles and the Drungewick pound, which runs for a further ½ mile to the already restored Drungewick Lock, and the whole navigable length of some 2¼ miles should be available for cruising from June onwards. Gates generously donated by Mrs Iris Piggott in memory of her late husband, Desmond, were fitted to Drungewick Lock during
April.
From Drungewick Lock it is nearly 4 miles to the A272 crossing at Newbridge. The two further locks on this section have been restored already, although they are still ungated, and the Trust has every hope that a total of almost 6 miles of waterway can be opened from Loxwood High Street to Newbridge in the not too distant future. This will represent over 25% of the total 23 miles of the Wey & Arun Canal.
The aqueduct is the final stage in the three part Drungewick Crossing. First came the Drungewick Lane Canal Bridge, opened in September 2001 after several months’ postponement because of the threat of foot and mouth disease, at a cost of almost £318,000. This was followed by the heavy plant crossing, which permits the Environment Agency to access its gauging station on the River Lox with major equipment, and cost rather over £20,000. Finally the aqueduct, which will be ready for opening in May, has cost about £276,000. So for the whole Drungewick Crossing the Wey & Arun Canal Trust has paid well over £600,000.
Many people have contributed massively to this funding including both West Sussex County Council and Chichester District Council who co-operated fully with the Trust during the planning stages thus simplifying what could have been a complex procedure. The Trust has been very fortunate in its contractors, Geoffrey Osborne Ltd. on the bridge and the Green Construction Group with Burras Groundworks at the aqueduct.
The funding came from many generous sources including two major contributions from Biffaward, a multi-million pound environment fund managed by the Royal Society for Nature Conservation, which utilises landfill tax credits donated by Biffa Waste Services.
Further grants came from the Inland Waterways Association and a number of Charitable Trusts including the Garfield Weston Foundation, the Manifold Trust, the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, the Gatwick Airport Community Trust, the Idlewild Trust, the David Wadham Charitable Trust and the Forty One Trust. Other supporters included Ringsoft Ltd. and HITEK Calibration Services, while the heavy plant crossing was wholly funded by the Countryside Agency as administrators of the Local Heritage Initiative in partnership with the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Nationwide Building Society’s Community Award.
But above all, the money was raised by individuals, not necessarily members of the Trust, who contributed through the annual “Poddle” sponsored walks and made specific donations, including funds set up in memory of former members Greg Henke and Jack Pocock.
Near the aqueduct site work is in progress to build a double slipway to permit trailed boats to be launched onto the canal. The road leading to these slipways is to be named Roger Dimmick Lane in memory of the benefactor whose legacy funded this project.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION ABOUT THE WEY & ARUN CANAL
The canal was built in two sections - in 1785/87 the Arun Navigation of 4½ miles from the River Arun at its tidal limit, Pallingham (about 2 miles north-west of Pulborough), to Newbridge on the A272 between Billingshurst and Wisborough Green. Then the Wey & Arun junction Canal, built in 1813/16, linked the Arun Navigation at Newbridge to the River Wey at Shalford (about 2 miles south of Guildford) a distance of 18½ miles, thus giving access to the River Thames, London and thence to the Midlands and North of England.
The through route opened in 1816 and provided the only outlet to the English Channel from the country’s inland waterways system - which will again be the case when the Wey & Arun Canal’s current restoration is completed. Trading was mostly in farm produce, chalk, coal etc and the canal was never very profitable. The arrival of the railways sealed its fate and in 1871 the Junction Canal was formally closed. The Arun Navigation was not formally abandoned until 1896.
Restoration of the waterway was started by the Wey & Arun Canal Society, founded in 1970, which became the Wey & Arun Canal Trust three years later.
To date (March 2003) the Trust has restored 8 locks and 22 bridges as well as numerous culverts and weirs. It has opened the 1¾ miles of the Loxwood Link to navigation, and a trip boat commenced operations here in 1994 - a facility enjoyed by over 5,000 passengers in 2002.
The Trust’s biggest challenge thus far has been the Drungewick Crossing, near Loxwood, which carries the canal over the River Lox and under Drungewick Lane. It took over 10 years of planning, negotiation and fundraising to establish this Crossing at a total cost well in excess of £600,000.
The Trust’s Working Parties operate throughout the year at many sites along the 23 mile canal.
For more details please contact the Trust's Office.
or -
Geoff Perks
61 Ashleigh Road
HORSHAM
West Sussex RH12 2LE
Tel: 01403 262 855
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