Itchen Navigation

The Itchen Navigation is a 10.4-mile (16.7 km) disused canal system in Hampshire, England, that provided an important trading route from Winchester to the sea at Southampton for about 150 years.

There had also been several proposals to link it to the Basingstoke Canal to form an inland route from London to Southampton during its life, which likewise did not come to fruition.

The revival of interest in inland waterways following the end of the Second World War has resulted in the tow path alongside the canal becoming part of the Itchen Way long-distance footpath, and is a popular route for walkers.

A joint venture between the Environment Agency and the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust in 2005 led to the formation of the Itchen Navigation Trust, and two years later, they obtained a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, funding the creation of the Itchen Navigation Heritage Trail Project, which has sought to conserve and interpret the remains.

He funded the works himself, and as a consequence, was granted the right to levy tolls on goods transported on the river by King John.

The act allowed a number of rivers to be made navigable, and in each case, undertakers were appointed, to carry out the work, as were commissioners, chosen from the local justices, who were responsible for confirming the tolls.

They had built locks and some artificial cuts to bypass difficult sections of the river, and created a towing path for horses.

The tolls set were quite moderate, and a group of merchants appear to have leased the river from Pyott for a period after 1767, but he eventually took control again.

[5] As the river was tidal below Woodmill Lock, the structure was rebuilt in 1829 with a third set of gates facing downstream, to prevent high tides flooding the navigation.

[7] With the prospects of a link between the navigation and the Basingstoke Canal being constructed, the undertaking was valued at £24,000, and D'Arcy sold a half share in it to his agent, George Hollis.

[8] From 1808, a number of detractors argued that the navigation was in a poor condition, hoping to force Hollis to concede water rights to mills, and traffic declined.

a year later, which raised the tolls, but the commissioners reduced freight charges at the same time, resulting in the operation being more profitable for Hollis and less so for the barge owners.

[9] Hollis raised mortgages to pay for improvements, but receipts were down to £1,821 in 1839, the last full year of operation before the London and Southampton Railway opened.

Meanwhile, the Grand Surrey Canal was being proposed in 1800, and Ralph Dodd the main promoter suggested that it could easily be extended to join the Itchen.

Opponents argued that the real intent was to improve the water supply for the Basingstoke Canal or to line the pockets of George Hollis, the owner of the Itchen Navigation.

There was considerable interest in the scheme, as 1,244 shares of £100 had been subscribed by early 1809, but with opposition from land and mill owners, and Rennie's report indicating much higher costs, the project was dropped.

The scheme was for a 64-mile (103 km) canal from Ditton on the River Thames through Guildford, Godalming and Alton to join the Itchen at Winchester.

[14] Although the navigation ceased to operate from January 1869, Woodmill Lock remained in use, to enable barges to reach Gaters Mill at West End, which was on the main river channel just above the start of the first cut.

[23] The official head of the canal was at Blackbridge Wharf, Winchester, just to the south of Wharf Mill, a grade II listed water mill dating from 1885, and College Walk, which spans the river at Blackbridge, an eighteenth-century stone bridge which is also grade II listed.

[25] The navigation flows past the grounds of Winchester College, and under Tun Bridge, which carries Garnier Road, before continuing to the remains of St Catherine's Hill Lock, some 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) downstream of Blackbridge Wharf.

Some 220 yards (200 m) south of the junction are Tumbling Bay Hatches, originally used to control levels in the water meadows to the east of the river.

The design of the gates, which included vents near the top of the structure, to allow surplus water to pass through, was clearly shown in a drawing dating from 1880.

It runs along the northern edge of some railway sidings which form part of Eastleigh Works, to reach Withymead Lock.

A footbridge on the eastern bank carried the towpath over the Barton River, but the navigation below this point is dry, with its line occupied by a vegetable garden.

Part of it was replaced by an embankment, but a large-diameter concrete tube was provided, or sufficient size to carry the navigation should it be reinstated.

[15] The mill was to the west, and now forms part of the Woodmill Outdoor Activities Centre, with the main building used as a canoe shop.

[47] The navigation officially continued downstream to a wharf at Northam, and although there was never a towpath on the tidal section, the Itchen Way long-distance footpath follows the eastern bank of the river for most of the way.

[6] The Itchen Navigation supports a rich flora and fauna, and one benefit of the 5-year grant-funded restoration project has been the regular monitoring and publishing of reports to document this.

[23] As part of the project, a number of engineering works have been carried out to stabilise the banks, and trees have been cut back to reduce the amount of shade and encourage the growth of marginal vegetation.

[54] The surveys also record the other varieties of fish caught, which include brown trout, Atlantic salmon and grayling in significant numbers, with smaller quantities of gudgeon, roach, perch and pike.

Remains of Brambridge Lock
Lock conservation work in progress at Mansbridge Lock
Remains of Allbrook Lock on the former Itchen Navigation
The Itchen Navigation below Withymead Lock, showing the footpath
Woodmill, situated at the limit of the tidal Itchen
A water vole on the Itchen Navigation, between locks 9 and 10