Stenwith To Grantham

Bjorlow (Great Britain) Ltd

Prior to 1933 high quality leather goods had been exported by Bjorlow’s from Copenhagen in Denmark but in that year the British Government imposed a high import tariff on leather goods so the decision was made to set up a factory in Britain and serve their well established customers with high their quality calf suede.

In 1934 an independent company was set up and moved to a derelict site of Shaw’s Tannery adjacent to the Grantham Canal. A tannery had been on this site for over 200 years and much of the previous machinery was still available. Danish technicians initially set up production and recruited new staff as well as taking on a nucleus of previously experienced staff. The technicians returned home once their work was completed.

Bjorlows started producing split leather suede in 1939 which was very suitable for heavier shoe production and served them well during the war years for supplying flying boot leather to the RAF.

The company decided to specialise in suede kid which was a more popular leather for use in the manufacture of ladies shoes and produced from goatskins. Goatskins were imported from many parts of the commonwealth particularly East & South Africa, Nigeria and New Zealand.

In the early 50’s a new suede product was pioneered by Bjorlows which rendered it water repellent and significantly improved the resistance to rain on shoes made from this product. Suede calf was made from domestic calf skins with a small amount imported, mainly from Scandanavia.

During the 60’s production increased and the factory grew to occupy a ground area of 100,000 square feet. In 1965 the company began to manufacture a suede leather particularly suitable for clothing as it could be dry cleaned. There were at this time 170 staff, of which 32 had received gold watches as a token of 25 years long service. The factory closed in 1973

By late September 1921, the canal at Hollis’s Bridge had shrunk to under a metre wide due to drought.

Front view of the factory

Aerial view early 50s

Boiler House with new extension under construction seen from across the canal.

The tannery personnel photographed in 1935

These were occupied when completed by four staff members.

Company bungalow on Hollis Lane.

Denton Wharf

In early 1993 the IWA and John Baylis provided detailed drawings of an RYA trailboat slipway. John helped us plan out the site which had British Waterways approval. At the start of the project BW were dredging the canal in the Denton area so agreed to loan us the excavator at weekends. This meant that we only had to hire a dumper truck and water pump. Dave Smith was a very skilled operator of the excavator and, with guidance from John Baylis, soon had the profile dug. The bank entrance was piled to allow dry access to the site and a small pump installed to keep the water ingress acceptable.

A 3 x 4 metre area of the middle slope was prepared with a crushed stone base and re-enforcing mesh cut to size on site. This was topped by concrete. The same procedure was followed on the bottom section followed by the top section. The side walls were difficult as making the re-enforcing mesh and shuttering was awkward but eventually a concrete pour was effected to just above water level. The sheet piles and remaining shuttering was then removed and the entrance dredged to remove the extra clay we had used to seal the piling.

A society volunteer laid the brickwork and the area landscaped. Timber barriers and mooring bollards were installed together with a ground anchor, which was buried near the entrance hedge, to enable anyone stuck to winch them selves out. BW also required a lifting barrier to be installed at the entrance.

Denton Slipway present day

2070 Dredging by Land & Water for British Waterways

The slipway was officially opened by the BW area manager and Mel Crosby (GCRS Chairman). Many local dignitaries attended and this set the seeds for the Casthorpe Road bridge being rebuilt and the 1994 Trailboat rally at Woolsthorpe. Roger Cook, the following chairman, had compiled a photo album of the build which was submitted to the RYA National awards at the International Boat Show in London and we won first prize, a Mirror sailing dingy and plaque.

In 2007 the East Midlands Development Agency (EMDA) was persuaded by Kevin Mann, Grantham Canal Restoration Society (GCRS) Manager, to award a Derelict Land Grant to clear most of the canal between the A1 and Denton Winding Hole, in preparation for the IWA’s National Trailboat Festival to be held in Spring 2007.

The principal contract was awarded by British Waterways to Land & Water, whose plant was delivered to Denton Wharf and included dredgers, tugs and pans, which shuttled up and down the Harlaxton Cutting between February and May, manned by some very capable operators, who lived in canal-side caravans. The ‘modus operandi’ was to commence at the A1 end of the canal and for a dredger to work its way west, filling pans, which were then pushed or pulled by tugs to one of two off-loading points. At these, a digger was used to swing the silt over the bank and into a giant sieve, which extracted any timber or other unwanted solids. The sieved silt was then spread over agreed adjacent fields, as a soil improver, using a bulldozer

Denton Slipway present day

2070 Dredging by Land & Water for British Waterways

Denton Reservoir

Denton Reservoir is recommended a visit. Two public footpaths will take you there; one from Harlaxton Drift, Bridge 66; the other from Denton Village, Casthorpe Road by the side of the brook. Alternatively, the well trodden permissive path from Denton Wharf, Bridge 65. There is a public footpath around the reservoir.

With a capacity of around 60 million gallons, this reservoir feeds the canal's summit. This 'summit pound' is approximately 139 feet higher than the canal's beginning at Nottingham.

The term 'pound' is used to denote a section of canal between locks, i.e. the water is impounded by the locks. In the case of our canal's summit pound (sometimes called the summit level), the water is impounded by the head of navigation and Lock 18; where the canal begins its descent through the seven locks of the Woolsthorpe flight to the 20 mile pound.

Mute Swans, Mallard Ducks, Great Crested Grebes, Coots and Moorhens can be seen all year round on the reservoir, with Tufted Ducks and Pochard joining during the winter months. Cormorants, herons and egrets too can be seen.

The towpath traveller will need an eagle eye to spot the canal feeder stream, bringing water from the reservoir. Kingfishers can sometimes be seen following this stream, using it as their highway between reservoir and canal

Denton Winding Hole

Not winding as in winding a clock; but winding as in winding a baby!

One of 17 winding holes along the canal, where boatmen would turn their horse- drawn boats of 70 feet in length, using the wind to assist whenever they could.

A busy area of canal engineering, with Denton Reservoir lying behind the trees on the far side of the canal. Denton Brook feeds this reservoir, which in turn supplies the canal with water. Having completed its task in topping up the reservoir, the brook carries on its way, being taken under the canal bed in a culvert. This tributary of the River Witham, becomes 'Old Beck' and later 'Foston Beck' on reaching the river.

The steel bridge, over the overspill weir (being one of many), maintain the water level in the canal.

Overspill weir on the left into the River Devon

GCS vintage workboat Centauri and dredger Mudlard

Casthorpe Road Bridge

Bridge No 64

A significant bridge both in construction and in being the first road bridge to be raised as part of the restoration programme. Opened on the 3 rd June 1995, at a cost of £350,000. South Kesteven District Council offered £50,000, with £70,000 coming from a Derelict Land Grant, a forward thinking Lincolnshire County Council funding the remainder. Such a level of support from the authorities here, is one of the main reasons the restoration of the canal began at the Grantham end.

The Original Bridge

The lowered bridge in the 1970s and pictured with The Three Shires

The Gasworks

The Grantham Gas, Light & Coke Company was established in 1833 on the canal bank. The object of the company was to manufacture and produce inflammable air or gas from coal, oil or other materials for the express purpose of supplying the town of Grantham. The location was ideal for the movement of coal from the Nottinghamshire coalfields via the canal and later the Old Wharf Road railway sidings. The canal water proved a useful source for process & cooling water. Apart from the Gas Works there were several coal merchants and these included J Gibson & Co, H Bowman & Co, WA Garton & Burton’s

Firefighters tackle a blaze at Grantham Gasworks in 1955. By the mid 1950s it was redundant and only the gasometers down Gas Works Lane, off Harlaxton Road, remained until they too were demolished in 1959.

Grantham

Classic photo of the Misses Camerons’ penny boats in the Wharf, with the Straddle Warehouse in the background

The Straddle Warehouse being demolished in 1929

Maybe there is hope for this section of canal to be redeveloped. Early plans considered by South Kesteven District Council show a reinstated canal and wharf area surrounded by a residential area with grassed areas and trees.

The main Wharf area was filled in between 1959 and 1962 It was then progressively filled, down to the Gas Works Lane area, from about 1964 to1970. The last section down to Hollis’s Lane Bridge was filled late 1970s to early 1980s. Most of the demolished buildings ended up in the canal.

Map of the Wharf (published in 1957)

Lee’s Yard in the early 1970s

Harlaxton Cutting

Spare a thought for surveyor Hodgkinson when he reported to the canal company that a deep cutting was required at Harlaxton – he was fired!

Deep cuttings were bad news in the 18th century, when all had to be dug by pick, shovel and brawn. At twenty feet deep, this was a huge and expensive task. Initially only built one boat wide; two passing places were cut in 1801 to alleviate this bottleneck, with the total length widened later.

No need for humpback bridges here! Two bridges span the cutting; Grade 2 listed Vincent's Bridge (67), see if you can spot the 18 th century graffiti! The other being Bridge 66 on The Drift, between the villages of Barrowby and Harlaxton. This was rebuilt on its original buttresses in the early 1980s.

Work was carried out by EMDA & GCS in January 2007 to clear the canal in the cutting and the photos below show both before and after the work

Looking upstream from Vincent’s Bridge

GCP Chairman (2007) Tony Wilkinson, views the work

Land & Water removing tree trunks from the canal

Looking upstream towards Harlaxton Drift

Harlaxton Wharf

The restoration of Harlaxton Wharf is a fine example of what can be achieved by communities along the canal. This former coal wharf supplied Harlaxton Manor and surrounding villages. Becoming disused, it was utilised as the village ash-pit. The soil abounds with broken bottles and crockery. Harlaxton Wharf Community Space Group was formed, funding sourced from WREN, and the work executed with help from the Prince's Trust. Sit a while under the dappled sunlight on a summer's day, taking in the surround sound of the birdsong! Today, the wharf is managed for its ecology by a small group of volunteers from the village. This is a requirement of the funding. Over 200 species of wild plants have been recorded; quite an achievement for a north facing bank! Four hour cruises on the canal include a break at the wharf. The Society sometimes operates 45minute boat trips from this location; visit the boat trip page of our website for details

Opening ceremony 2009

The site after clearance in 2007

Barbecue at the wharf opening in 2010

Horse drawn narrowboats William & Hannah 1911

Trent Lock looking downstream towards the River Trent

Trent Lock looking upstream

Trent Hauling Bridge

Longmoor Bridge

Could this be the first skew bridge to be built in the country? It's certainly one of the first according to members of the Railway and Canal Historical Society. Built in the 'Canal Mania' years, we'll never know which was first over the line. We have another very early skew bridge; Stenwith Bridge 60.

A skew bridge crosses the canal at an angle other than 90 degrees – look at the brick courses on the underside of the arch, then compare with a non-skew bridge. Bridge 62, or more precisely, the lane which it carries over the canal, can be traced back to the Bronze Age. This lane does have an identity crises. Longmoor Lane here; overall it's the Sewstern Lane, part of the Viking Way long distance path, which is also called The Drift in places.

This gives us a clue to its other purpose in times past; a drove road. Drovers would drive their herds many hundreds of miles making for the lucrative London markets. Leaving the Great North Road at Long Bennington and rejoining at Colsterworth, the Sewstern Lane, a green lane for much of its way, was the original Grantham bypass, avoiding toll houses! With a sprinkling of supposition; where this lane crosses the Salt Way (Gorse Lane) a short distance farther south, stood an inn. Upon this lonely spot; den of iniquity, The Three Queens, was said to have been the haunt of highwaymen. 'Gentleman' John Nevison and Dick Turpin, both knew the area well. Both were said to have made epic London to York rides in a single day – quite probably using the Sewstern Lane in avoiding Grantham. Neither would have paused on Bridge 62 to admire the view; the canal was yet to be built.

These rascals had one more thing in common. Both were to meet their maker at the end of a rope on the Knavesmire (York Racecourse).

Rebuilding Lock 15

In November 2014 a small group from The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) visited the sites of Locks 12 to 15 to assess the application that had been made by The Canal and River Trust to rebuild the locks using voluntary labour. Following their visit it was announced that they had awarded £830,800 to rebuild Locks 14 and 15 and so commenced the Grantham Canal Waterway Heritage Initiative (GCHI). This sum was was then to be match funded by the Canal & River Trust and The Grantham Canal Society. The project was to take place over a 5 year period and, with the skills then obtained, volunteers would be able to proceed onto rebuilding locks 12 & 13.

Bottom of Half Mile Pond Lock (Lock 15)

Work commenced in August 2015 and building work was completed in July 2018.

Before work commenced

WRG expose the problem

Removing the side walls

Walls removed

First blockwork laid

First concrete pour - of many

Pointing skills learnt

Completed chamber

Lower approach walls rebuilt

Removing lower dam

Landscaping

Fitting upper gates

Fitting lower gates

The first fill

Official opening 13th September 2019

Wharves

The canal was of great benefit to the communities it served especially the town of Grantham. Various wharves were constructed close to villages along the route where coal could be offloaded on the inbound journey and local agricultural produce on the return. Whilst not an exhaustive list here are some of the locations where wharves were established.

Grantham
Harlaxton
Woolsthorpe
Muston
Bottesford

Redmile
Barkestone
Stathern
Harby
Hickling

Kinoulton
Lime Kiln
Cropwell
Cotgrave
Fosse Bridge

Cropwell Wharf

Grantham Coal Wharf

Harlaxton Wharf

Duke’s Wharf

Lime Kiln Wharf Cropwell Butler

Harby Mill Wharf

Hickling Wharf & Warehouse

Woolsthorpe Wharf

Redmile Wharf

Fosse Wharf

Woolsthorpe Depot

Originally built as the Carpenter’s Shop in the early 19th Century it became redundant in the 1930s.

The Depot, or Carpenter’s Shop its original use, was built to service and repair lock gates, boats, fences and other wooden structures for a large part of the canal.

Trainline Ltd, an organisation set up to train people in alternative skills, were appointed by John Nuttall of British Waterways to refurbish the Depot in the late 1990s. John Blatherwick organised the work and the group was supervised by Brian Hobson.

There was no actual planning permission given for the rebuild other than to follow the original design where possible. The decision was made for it to be demolished and rebuilt owing to there being a considerable amount of rot and decay in many of the roof timbers.

All the old bricks had to be reused and if one side was damaged they were to be turned round.

The old roof timbers had to be sandblasted and treated before being reinstalled or replaced with new where necessary. None of the existing roof tiles could be reused and were all replaced with those from a redundant railway building near Stoke Tunnel at Great Ponton.

One requirement was that the gutters had to be made of wood. It was fairly common in the early days for rural buildings to have wooden gutters particularly over the front of doors and windows. They were often fitted to buildings with shingle roofing. The Depot’s gutters were fabricated by a company in Leeds. There is no evidence of them now as they have all been replaced with aluminium.

However there is still evidence of the old stables, (marked ‘K’ on the plan), in the concrete floor of the main building. The work was completed in or around 1998.

Numerous events take place at the Depot including Discovery Day, held in October, as well as entertainment, lectures and training. The building is constantly being improved and recent additions include partition walling and disabled toilet facilities.

Woolsthorpe Embankment

A major step forward was the removal of the Woolsthorpe railway embankment in 1992. This followed years of negotiation with British Rail and permission was finally granted to allow the disused ironstone railway embankment to be removed.

The embankment cut across the canal between Woolsthorpe Top Lock (lock 18) and Willis’s Lock (lock 17), and had been used to transport ore from the quarries around Harlaxton and Harston, joining the Nottingham- Grantham line at Muston. Quarrying had ceased in the area in 1974 and the branch line closed by 1977. All the track had been removed by 1980. Originally the line crossed the canal by means of a trestle bridge, but when this became unsound, it was totally enshrouded within a large embankment. Two large pipe culverts allowed for water flow, but the canal was now completely blocked to navigation at this location.

Negotiations were ‘interesting’ at times to say the least. At one point British Rail insisted that if they ever needed to re-open the line, then the canal society would have to foot the bill for a bridge over the canal to the tune of £1.5m. Clearly this was not possible, and it took the intervention of Quentin Davies MP. to arrive at a more favourable solution!

The society now had the go ahead to remove the embankment. This was a huge project for a comparatively small volunteer workforce to undertake. Despite the enormity of the task work commenced!

An excavator was hired from British Waterways and three big dumpers were obtained from a plant hire firm. The Waterway Recovery Group were also on site and assisted in breaking up the concrete culverts in the embankment. This was a real team effort: local farmers helped by carting away the spoil – 10 tons at a time – 600 tons a day – the whole operation taking 3 weeks!

No mean achievement.

For further details of the Woolsthorpe and Harston Iron Stone railways take a look at Minerals on the Home page.

The Great Northern Line mineral railway crossed the A52 near Muston. The sign indicates double bends, locally know as the “Muston Bends” and scene of several accidents. The bridge was dismantled in 1982.

Full details can be found on the Bottesford Living History website

The original bridge.

The Embankment with the concrete culverts

The bridge and embankment removed

Woolsthorpe Rallies

1994

The rally was organised by John Bayliss and the IWA as a National Trailboat Rally. Trailboats are short narrowboats suitable for towing. This was to celebrate the restoration of locks 16, 17, and 18, and the removal of the railway embankment. Casthorpe Road and Casthorpe Bridle Bridges had also been rebuilt to full navigable height. Denton Slipway had also been rebuilt by volunteers under the supervision of John Bayliss. Many Wilderness Trail Boats attended and it proved to be another successful event.

2007 - IWA National Trailboat Festival

organised by the Grantham Canal Partnership and Grantham Canal Society to take place over the Spring Bank Holiday Weekend. John Brydon chaired the committee and one of the first decisions was to name the event ‘Grantham on Water’. The fact that we were forbidden to charge admission, because we were deemed to be ‘blocking’ a public Right of Way, didn’t deter us and we managed to attract some two dozen Trailboats from all over the country. Some of these were moored above Lock 18 but others stretched all the way to Lock 15 and made a very colourful sight.

We launched, and later slipped them, all through Denton slipway and erected temporary landing stages near the A1 and above Lock 18. School visits were arranged to show how locks work, general canal construction and an introduction to angling from local fishermen.

There were marquees containing craft and trade stands, excellent local food and displays by fellow charities together with a miniature railway and demonstrations by the Grantham-based Royal Logistics Corps.

We arranged a ‘Park & Ride’ bus service of ex-London Transport ‘Routemasters’ from a car park below Belvoir Castle, offered boat trips between Lock 18, Denton and the A1 and arranged for Morris Dancers at the ‘Dirty Duck’ pub.

Over 800 visitors were carried by trip boats including Union Canal Society’s small craft ‘Roseann’ (which they towed from Central Scotland), Blisworth Tunnel Boats’ day boat and an electrically-powered GRP trip-boat, more used to life as a Spalding Water Taxi.

The Committee raised awareness of the Grantham Canal within the East Midlands and showed the local population what they were missing by not having a restored waterway. The event attracted in excess of 4,000 visitors but, if it hadn’t rained heavily over 2 of the 3 days, there would have been many more