Page "Thames and Severn Canal" Paragraph 10

Neither of the river navigations to which the canal connected were satisfactory.

In the west, the situation was remedied in 1820, with the construction of the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal seven years later.

On the Thames, there had been a proposal for a canal from Lechlade to Abingdon in 1784, and for a cut from Inglesham to Buscot in 1788, but neither had been built.

Some improvements were made to the river after 1786, but the Canal company encouraged the building of bypasses.

The Wilts and Berks Canal was one, providing a link to the river at Abingdon, but although it was proposed in 1793, it was not opened until 1810, and the North Wilts Canal, which provided a connecting link from Latton to Swindon was not completed until 1819.

Ultimately, most of the Bristol to London trade used the Kennet and Avon Canal after it opened in 1810, as it provided a much shorter route than the Thames and Severn Canal.