Andover Canal

Andover Canal
Remains of the Andover canal near Romsey
Specifications
Length	22 miles (35 km)
Maximum boat length	65 ft 0 in (19.81 m)
Maximum boat beam	8 ft 6 in (2.59 m)
Locks	24 (level dropped 179 ft (55 m))
Status	Railway built over route
History
Original owner	Andover Canal Navigation Company
Principal engineer	Robert Whitworth
Date of act	1789
Date of first use	1794
Date closed	1859
Geography
Start point	Andover
End point	Southampton Water
Connects to	Salisbury and Southampton Canal

[ ] Andover Canal
River Anton, Andover Andover Wharf 9 locks(Andover - Stockbridge) Fullerton River Anton aqueduct River Test aqueduct Stockbridge Kings Somborne 8 locks(Stockbridge - Romsey) Salisbury and Southampton Canal Kimbridge Romsey 6 locks(Romsey - Redbridge) Redbridge Salisbury and Southampton Canal Entrance lock Salisbury - Southampton Road Southampton Water

The Andover Canal was a canal built in Hampshire, England. It ran 22 miles (35 km) from Andover to Redbridge through and Romsey. The canal had a fall of 179 feet (55 m) through 24 locks, and for much of its length paralleled the River Anton and River Test. It opened in 1794, but was never a commercial success. The only dividend paid to shareholders was in 1859, using the proceeds from the sale of the canal to the London and South Western Railway, who bought it to lay a railway line along much of its course. The railway line is now also defunct.

The first survey for an Andover Canal was carried out in 1770 by Robert Whitworth, at a time when there was a great deal of canal building activity in the country. The canal would follow the valley of the River Anton, until it joined the River Test, and then follow that valley down to Redbridge. He produced an estimated price for a narrow canal, and another for a wider canal. The following year, Parliament was approached for permission to bring a bill, quoting an Act of Parliament from the reign of Charles II, which had granted rights to make several rivers, including the Test and the Anton, navigable. The bill was not submitted, which Phillips, writing his General History of Navigation in 1795, stated was due to objections concerning land purchase and possible damage to property, but a newspaper report in 1788 believed it was due to a lack of subscribers.

Interest in the scheme revived in 1788, when a meeting was held in Andover on 4 August. With support from Andover Corporation, a committee was appointed, and Robert Whitworth carried out another survey. Of the estimated £35,000, over £19,000 had been pledged within two weeks, and by the time the bill was submitted to Parliament in March 1789, this figure had risen to £30,700. An Act of Parliament was obtained on 13 July, which created "The Company of Proprietors of the Andover Canal Navigation", who had powers to raise £35,000 by the issuing of shares, and an additional £30,000 if required, of which £10,000 could be raised by issuing more shares and £20,000 by mortgage. Management was by a committee of 15, appointed from among the proprietors. One ususual aspect of the Act was that it specified that the canal could open between 4:00 am and 10:00 pm, and that the maximum size of barges was to be 60 by 8 feet (18.3 by 2.4 m) with a draught of 3.5 feet (1.1 m).