[2] Against this background, and having engaged Isambard Kingdom Brunel as engineering consultant, the construction of the Westport Canal was authorised by an Act of Parliament obtained in 1836.

The Act gave the newly formed Parrett Navigation Company powers to raise £10,500 by the issuing of shares, and an additional £3,300 from a mortgage if required.

The cost of the initial work on the River Parrett exceeded the budget, and a second Act of Parliament was obtained in 1839, to allow the company to raise another £20,000 and to increase the tolls.

[8] The canal was officially opened on 20 May 1839, but there were complains about water levels from some of the merchants, and further work was required to remove shoals in the river section.

[4] The Westport terminus gained two warehouses, a coal yard owned by Stukey and Bagehot, and a manager's office.

[9] Other cargoes included incoming timber, which was stored in one of the warehouses for seasoning, together with outgoing stone and reeds.

[11] Major clearance work to remove reeds and mud was required in 1858, which caused the canal to trade at a loss.

[2] There is local interest in improving the canal as an amenity, and possibly the restoration of navigation for small boats.

[18] The bridge at the basin entrance, which carries a track called Barrington Broadway over the canal, was built of lias and ham stone with a single segmental arch.

A little before the River Isle joins from the west, Middlemoor bridge carries the towpath back onto the east bank, where it remains until Midelney Bridge, another grade II listed structure,[22] which carries a minor road to Midelney Manor, a grade I listed house built on what was once an island owned by Muchelney Abbey.

[23] Below the bridge, the Southmoor main drain runs parallel to the channel, with the towpath sandwiched between the two on the western bank.