Chesterfield Canal

Chesterfield Canal
Drakeholes Tunnel in 2007
Specifications
Length	45.5 miles (73.2 km)
Maximum boat length	72 ft 0 in (21.95 m)
Maximum boat beam	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) (Locks are 14 feet (4.3 m) wide from Stockwith to Retford)
Status	part open, part under restoration
Navigation authority	Canal & River Trust, Derbyshire County Council
History
Principal engineer	James Brindley
Other engineer(s)	John Varley; Hugh Henshall
Date of act	1771
Date completed	1777
Date closed	1908, 1968
Geography
Start point	Chesterfield
End point	West Stockwith

v t e Chesterfield Canal
Legend
West Stockwith Junction, River Trent Tidal Lock (65) West Stockwith basin Doncaster to Lincoln railway bridge (84) Misterton low lock(64)  A161  Station Street bridge, Misterton (82a) Misterton high lock (63)  B1403  Misterton Coopers Bridge (80) Shaw Lock (62) Gringley Top Lock (61)  A631  Bawtry Road Bridge (73a)  B6045  Drakeholes Tunnel (73) (154 yds)  B1403  Gray's Bridge (69)  B1403  Clayworth Bridge (67) Whitsunday Pie Lock (60)  A620  Hop Pole Bridge (59)  A638  Arlington Way Bridge (56a) Carolgate Wharf Retford Town Lock (59) River Idle West Retford Lock (58)  A620  Woodcocks Bridge (55) East Coast Main Line bridge (54a) Forest locks (54–57) Ranby  A1  Ranby Bridge (50a) Osberton Lock (53) Sheffield to Lincoln railway bridge (45a) Kilton Low Lock (52) Bracebridge Pumping Station River Ryton  B6041  High Hoe Road bridge, Worksop (44a) Bracebridge Lock (51)  B6045  Bridge Street bridge, Worksop (42) Worksop Town Lock (50) Morse Lock (49) Lady Lee Arm Locks (47–48) Haggonfields lock (46)  A57  Worksop Bypass Nottingham to Worksop railway bridge (39a) Doefield Dun lock (45) Shireoaks Locks (42–44) Shireoaks Marina Boundary lock (41a) Ryton Aqueduct (Aq.4) Shireoaks Locks (39–41) Turnerwood Locks (32–38) Brickyard Double (30–31) Milestone lock (29) Thorpe Low Treble (26–28) Thorpe locks (23–25) Thorpe Top Treble (20–22) Summit Pound Feeder from Harthill Reservoir Dry/unnavigable sections Norwood Tunnel (2884 yards) Proposed restoration routes New Locks Harthill and Pebley Resr New Locks Replacement tunnel (660 yards)  M1  (tunnel blocked) Norwood Top Quadruple (16–19) Norwood Top Treble (13–15) Norwood Middle Treble (10–12) Norwood Bottom Treble (7–9) Killamarsh diversion New Locks Belk Lane Lock (6) Nethermoor Lake New Locks Killamarsh Fishery (restored 1992) Renishaw Ironworks section (rest. 2008/9) Renishaw Norbriggs cutting and wharf River Doe Lea culvert former Lowgates Arm Proposed Railway Lock (5b) Former mineral railway Staveley Town Lock (5a) Staveley Town Basin former Staveley Works loop Hollingwood lock (5) former Cinderhill lock (5) Dixon's lock (4) Bluebank lock (3) Wheeldon Mill lock (2) Tapton Lock (1)  A619  Tapton Tunnel Flood gate River Rother, Chesterfield Chesterfield Waterside New canal section River navigation River Rother Basin lock Chesterfield Basin

The Chesterfield Canal is a narrow canal in the East Midlands of England and it is known locally as 'Cuckoo Dyke'.^[1] It was one of the last of the canals designed by James Brindley, who died while it was being constructed. It was opened in 1777 and ran for 46 miles (74 km) from the River Trent at West Stockwith, Nottinghamshire to Chesterfield, Derbyshire, passing through the Norwood Tunnel at Kiveton Park, at the time one of the longest tunnels on the British canal system. The canal was built to export coal, limestone, and lead from Derbyshire, iron from Chesterfield, and corn, deals, timber, groceries and general merchandise into Derbyshire. The stone for the Palace of Westminster was quarried in North Anston, Rotherham, and transported via the canal.^[2]

It was reasonably profitable, paying dividends from 1789, and with the coming of the railways, some of the proprietors formed a railway company. It became part of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway company, and although there were intermittent plans to convert parts of it to a railway, it continued to thrive as a canal. In 1907, subsidence from local coal mines caused the collapse of the Norwood Tunnel, and the canal was effectively split in two. Subsequently, the main use of the Chesterfield end was the supply of water to the iron industry, while commercial carrying continued on the Worksop to West Stockwith section until the late 1950s.

It was formally closed in 1961, but campaigners fought for it to be retained, and the Worksop to Stockwith section was designated as a "cruiseway" under the Transport Act 1968, meaning that it would be retained for leisure use. The rest was designated as a remainder waterway, and parts were sold off, with housing being built over the route through Killamarsh. The Chesterfield Canal Society was formed in 1978 to spearhead restoration, becoming the Chesterfield Canal Trust in 1997. They initially sought to extend the navigable section beyond Worksop, but when progress was slow, moved to working on the Chesterfield end. Over 5 miles (8 km) of canal, including five original locks and a brand new lock at Staveley Basin were navigable by 2017. The eastern end was restored from Worksop to the mouth of the Norwood Tunnel at Kiveton Park near Rotherham, South Yorkshire, between 1995 and 2003, funded by Derelict Land Grants, English Partnerships and the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Less than 9 miles (14 km) of the original route remain to be restored to link the two navigable sections, but this will require some new lengths of canal to be built, to bypass the housing development at Killamarsh, and to replace most of the Norwood Tunnel, which cannot be restored. The eastern section is managed by the Canal and River Trust, while the western section is managed by Derbyshire County Council. It includes Tapton Lock Visitor Centre, located to the north of Tapton Park,^[3] and the Hollingwood Hub, which provides offices for the Trust, together with meeting rooms and a cafe. It is located by Hollingwood Lock, and consists of a large new extension on the back of the refurbished lock house.