Norwood Tunnel

Norwood Tunnel

The Eastern Portal of Norwood Tunnel
Overview
Location	Derbyshire / South Yorkshire
Coordinates	53°20′06″N 1°16′11″W / 53.33501°N 1.26971°W / 53.33501; -1.26971 (Mid-point)Coordinates: 53°20′06″N 1°16′11″W / 53.33501°N 1.26971°W / 53.33501; -1.26971 (Mid-point)
OS grid reference	SK486822
Status	collapsed Condition Rebuilding Proposed
Waterway	Chesterfield Canal
Start	53°20′15″N 1°15′01″W / 53.33748°N 1.25021°W / 53.33748; -1.25021 (Eastern)
End	53°19′57″N 1°17′21″W / 53.33253°N 1.28921°W / 53.33253; -1.28921 (Western)
Operation
Opened	9 May 1775
Closed	1907 Collapsed
Owner	Chesterfield Canal Company
Technical
Design engineer	James Brindley
Construction	1771-1775
Length	2,884 yards (2,637.1 m)
Tunnel clearance	12 ft (3.7 m)
Width	9 feet 3 inches (2.8 m)
Towpath	No
Boat-passable	No

Norwood Tunnel was a 2,884-yard-long (2,637 m), 9.25-foot-wide (2.82 m) and 12-foot-high (3.7 m) brick (3 million of them)^[1] lined canal tunnel on the line of the Chesterfield Canal with its Western Portal in Norwood, Derbyshire and its Eastern Portal in Kiveton, South Yorkshire, England.^[2]

Origins

The Chesterfield Canal's Act of Parliament was passed in 1771. James Brindley was the chief engineer and John Varley the Clerk of the Works. John Varley was left to continue alone as acting chief engineer after the death of James Brindley in 1772. In 1774, Hugh Henshall, James Brindley's brother-in-law was made chief engineer, with John Varley keeping the position of resident engineer. John Varley's father and brothers were implicated when Hugh Henshall discovered that some of the work on the Norwood Tunnel was sub-standard but John Varley avoided sharing the blame. The Norwood Tunnel was opened on 9 May 1775 and at the time held the record for Britain's longest canal tunnel jointly with James Brindley's Harecastle Tunnel.^[3]

The Norwood Tunnel forms a large part of the summit pound of the canal, with Norwood Locks descending from the Western Portal and Thorpe Locks descending to the East of the Eastern Portal.

The tunnel does not have a towpath, therefore the narrowboats were pushed through the tunnel by their crews. This process of pushing against the walls or roof of a canal tunnel with one's legs in order to propel the narrowboat through the tunnel is called Legging.

Decline

The Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MSLR) purchased the Chesterfield Canal in 1847. In order to accommodate its railway line the tunnel was (according to some sources and rejected by others) lengthened to 3102 yards (measuring the distance on a map suggests the tunnel was not extended).

After days of heavy rain a 12–14 yard section of the tunnel collapsed on 18 October 1907, leaving a large hole in a field near the road to Harthill. With only minimal boat-traffic on the declining canal the cost of repairing the fall could not be justified and the tunnel has remained blocked ever since, splitting the Chesterfield Canal into two sections.

The tunnel today

The Western Portal of Norwood Tunnel in 2006

The Chesterfield Canal has been restored as far as the Eastern Portal of the Norwood Tunnel largely through the efforts of Chesterfield Canal Trust. Part of the canal West of the tunnel from Chesterfield to Staveley has also been restored. Further restoration is proceeding. Current plans for the tunnel include the opening up of the tunnel in the Kiveton Park area, creating a cutting followed by the restoration of the remaining tunnel to Norwood.

Portal	Coordinates
Eastern	53°20′15″N 1°15′01″W / 53.33748°N 1.25021°W / 53.33748; -1.25021 (Eastern)
Mid-point	53°20′06″N 1°16′11″W / 53.33501°N 1.26971°W / 53.33501; -1.26971 (Mid-point)
Western	53°19′57″N 1°17′21″W / 53.33253°N 1.28921°W / 53.33253; -1.28921 (Western)

See also

UK Waterways portal

• List of canal tunnels in Great Britain
• Chesterfield Canal

References

Notes

1. ^ "Whitwell Local History Group". http://www.wlhg.freeuk.com/book/part12.htm. 
2. ^ "Chesterfield Canal Trust History". http://www.chesterfield-canal-trust.org.uk/History.shtml. 
3. ^ "British Waterways Archives". http://www.virtualwaterways.co.uk/home.html. 

Bibliography

• De Salis, Henry Rodolph (1969). Bradshaw's Canals and Navigable Rivers. David & Charles. ISBN 0-7153-4689-X. 
• Farey, John (1811). General View of the Agriculture and Minerals of Derbyshire. 

External links

• "British Waterways Archives". http://www.virtualwaterways.co.uk/home.html. 
• "Chesterfield Canal Trust History". http://www.chesterfield-canal-trust.org.uk/History.shtml. 
• "The World's Longest Navigation Canal Tunnels". http://home.no.net/lotsberg/data/canal.html. 
• Jim Shead. "Canal Tunnels in the United Kingdom". http://www.jim-shead.com/waterways/mwp.php?wpage=Tunnels.html.