Canal in Chichester, England
Chichester Canal
A map of the planned route of the canal from 1815
Interactive map of Chichester Canal
Maximum
boat length
85 ft 0 in (25.91 m)
Maximum
boat beam
18 ft 0 in (5.49 m)
Locks
(originally 2)
Status
part navigable
Navigation authority
West Sussex County Council
Date of act
1819
Date of first use
1822
Date closed
1928
Date restored
1984
Start point
Chichester
End point
Chichester Harbour
The
Chichester Canal
is a
ship canal
in England. Partly
navigable
, its course is essentially intact and runs 3.8 miles (6.1 km) from the sea at
Birdham
on
Chichester Harbour
to
Chichester
through two
locks
. The canal (originally part of the
Portsmouth and Arundel Canal
) was opened in 1822 and took three years to build. The canal could take ships of up to 100
long tons
(100
). Dimensions were limited to 85 feet (26 metres) long, 18 feet (5.5 m) wide and a draft of up to 7 feet (2.1 m).
As denoted by the suffix -chester, Chichester is a Roman settlement (
Noviomagus Reginorum
), and 300
Denarii
were unearthed when
Chichester Basin
was formed in the 1820s.
Planning, construction and early operation
edit
Chichester Canal
by
J. M. W. Turner
Proposals for a canal linking Chichester directly to the sea go back as least as far as 1584 when an act of Parliament, the
Chichester Haven Act 1584
27 Eliz. 1
. c. 22), was passed authorising a cut linking Chichester with the sea. Further proposals were made in the early 19th century, with schemes being proposed in 1801, 1802, 1803 and 1811, but none of these came to pass and as a result the first link to the sea was via a branch of the Portsmouth and Arundel Canal opened in 1822. In 1817 it had been decided that the section between Chichester and Chichester Harbour, unlike the rest of the canal, would be built large enough to carry boats of 100 tons. Putting this into practice required a new act of Parliament, and the
Portsmouth and Arundel Navigation and Wey and Arun Junction Canal Act 1819
59 Geo. 3
. c. civ) was obtained on 21 June 1819. In the same year the construction of the Chichester branch began. In digging out of the basin a hoard of 300
Denarii
was found. The section of the canal that would become the Chichester Canal was formally opened on 9 April 1822.
The Portsmouth and Arundel Canal was conceived as part of a bigger plan to provide a secure inland canal route from
London to Portsmouth
, but by the time the route was completed, the war with France had ended. With the reason for its construction removed, the canal was not a commercial success, and apart from the Chichester section, it had fallen into disuse by 1847.
Under the ownership of the Corporation of Chichester
edit
The canal was transferred to the Corporation of Chichester by the
Chichester Canal Transfer Act 1892
55 & 56 Vict.
c. cxxxviii). In November of that year the City Surveyor gave a figure of £1,000 to put the canal back into full working order; key tasks were repair of locks, bridges and the removal of weeds and mud from the channel. By 1898 only 704 tons of goods were carried – tolls for the year were £18. The last recorded commercial traffic was in 1906 when a load of shingle was carried from the Harbour to the basin. In the same year it was found that the
swing bridge
at
Donnington
and
Birdham
needed to be repaired or replaced. Westhampnett Rural District Council wanted to replace them with fixed bridges (which would have blocked the canal) but the Corporation of Chichester wanted to keep the canal open to traffic. By 1923 the corporation appears to have accepted that there would be no further great loads; it authorised and funded fixed bridges.
The canal was officially open for trade until June 1928 before being formally abandoned. In 1932 the section of the canal between Cutfield Bridge and Salterns lock was reopened to allow yachts to be berthed there. The open section was initially leased by D. S. Vernon but in 1934 he transferred it to the Chichester Yacht Company.
13
In
Britain in World War II
the canal towpath was made an anti-tank and anti-barge route by the
4th Infantry Division (United Kingdom)
to militate against a German invasion. This entailed dismantling four swing bridges, diversion of some of the
Lavant
to raise the water by 3 feet (0.91 m) (thus over the towpath) and a low dam above Cutfield bridge.
14
13
The partial diversion proved hard to control and the fluctuations damaged the canal and a houseboat;
13
argument as to the duty to compensate lasted until June 1947.
15
Southgate basin at the Chichester end of the canal in 2025
The canal at Hunston in 2025; view north with Chichester cathedral spire visible in the distance
In 1953 the canal and surrounding lands were sold to West Sussex County Council for £7,500.
16
The council let plans be known to use part of the canal for road improvement; on opposition and with higher priority issues for funds, these never took place.
16
The section below Cutfield Bridge continued to be leased to the Chichester Yacht Company while the upper part of the canal was leased to Chichester Canal Angling Association.
16
The Sussex Canal Trust was formed in July 1973, initially intending to preserve and restore the Portsmouth and Arundel Canal, of which the Chichester Canal was a part. This followed the success of a rally of small boats on the Chichester Canal in June 1973, organised as a response to the dredging of the entrance channel and Chichester Basin by the council. The Portsmouth and Arundel Canal Society renamed itself to the Chichester Canal Society and then the Chichester Ship Canal Trust, to reflect its changing aims.
18
They took over the lease of the upper section from the angling club in 1984, and dredged Chichester Basin, after which they carried on towards Hunston, which they reached in the mid-1990s. This allowed them to run a trip boat called
Egremont
from 1992, which gave them a steady stream of income.
In 1993, an engineering report on restoring the Portsmouth and Arudel Canal found that there were no problems which could not be solved on the Chichester section, although the remaining section from Ford to Hunston was much more problematic. Floodwaters in lower Chichester were diverted into the canal in January 1994.
21
The Trust had hoped that further development of a flood relief scheme for Chichester would result in more of the canal being restored. As it did not, they talked with the local council and a Central Committee was formed. Their remit was to create a "Chichester Ship Canal Master Plan" to consider how obstacles could be overcome, and to look at how such plans could be implemented. By 2002, dredging had reached Crosbie Bridge, the first of the dropped bridges. With nearly 2 miles (3.2 km) of canal navigable, the Trust bought a second trip boat.
Richmond
was a wide-beamed boat, suitable for dining cruises and charters, and began operating in 2005. The 1-mile (1.6 km) length between Crosbie Bridge and Cutfield Bridge was too difficult for the volunteers to tackle, and so they paid Land & Water to dredge this section in 2004.
Salterns sea lock
A 2009 restoration of Casher's Lock was halted due to the presence of
water voles
23
The Trust was awarded a grant of £3,000 in 2021 from the Downs & Harbours Clean Water Partnership, to conduct a biodiversity audit of the canal. It is a designated local wildlife site, providing habitat for some rare and internationally protected species.
24
Denny, Andrew (January 2017). "Chichester Ship Canal".
Waterways World
ISSN
0309-1422
Green, Alan H.J. (2006).
The History of Chichester's Canal
. Sussex Industrial Archaeology Society.
ISBN
978-0-9512036-1-3
Hadfield, Charles (1969).
The Canals of South and South East England
. David and Charles.
ISBN
978-0-7153-4693-8
Heneghan, F. D. (1958).
The Chichester Canal
. Chichester City Council.
ASIN
B000XCT5Z6
Squires, Roger (2008).
Britain's restored canals
. Landmark Publishing.
ISBN
978-1-84306-331-5
Vine, P.A.L (1985).
West Sussex waterways
. Middleton Press.
ISBN
978-0-906520-24-6
Vine, P.A.L (2005).
London's Lost Route to Portsmouth
. Phillimore & Co.
ISBN
978-1-86077-283-2
Media related to
Chichester Canal
at Wikimedia Commons
50°48′47.58″N
0°46′27.71″W
 / 
50.8132167°N 0.7743639°W
 /
50.8132167; -0.7743639