THE DORSET & SOMERSET CANAL
The Dorset & Somerset Canal was
planned to connect the Bristol and English Channels and to
connect the counties of Dorset & Somerset into the canal
network. It was intended to be built from Bradford on Avon,
near Bath, to Poole, Dorset.
The main line was planned to run
from the Kennet & Avon Canal, southwards through Frome,
Wincanton and Blandford to Poole. An alternative, via. the
Piddle valley to Wareham, was considered.
A branch line was planned to run
westwards from Frome up the Mells Valley, via. Vobster and
Coleford to Nettlebridge (on the Fosseway, now the
A367).
A route was authorised by an Act of
Parliament in 1796 from Bradford-on-Avon, only as far as
Shillingstone, but including the 11 mile branch from Frome
to Nettlebridge. Work commenced on building some 8 miles of
this branch but it was never completed. The main trade was
to be coal from the Somerset collieries and clay from
Dorset.
During the construction period it
was badly affected by unplanned factors. The costs had been
underestimated, insufficient funds raised and inflation
(because of the Napoleonic Wars) devalued the company's
capital. After unsuccessfully trying to raise more funds in
1803, work was finally abandoned. It is believed that only
one contractor's boat ever used the canal.
The Nettlebridge branch was planned
to have boat lifts instead of locks, one balance lock was
built by James Fussell as a trial. Recently the site of
Fussells
Trial Balance Lock has been
located and excavated. The Main Line of the Dorset
& Somerset Canal
[Click on image for a detailed
version]
The Branch Line of the Dorset &
Somerset Canal
[Click on image for a detailed version]