Location :
Lincolnshire
Boston, North Kesteven
North Kyme, Ruskington, Leasingham, Amber Hill, Ewerby and Evedon, Dogdyke, South Kyme, Holland Fen with Brothertoft, Anwick
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| Summary : From the navigational point of view, Sleaford in the 1750s was isolated. In about 1774 there had been a survey for a canal from Sleaford to Grantham, but in the early 1780s there was more interest in the River Slea and its continuance, the already navigable Kyme Eau, if it could be opened to the Witham. The Kyme Eau had been a medieval waterway, but before extending it the promoters were concerned to secure a satisfactory toll agreement with the Witham commissioners; tolls were too high on the Witham to encourage traders to use any proposed navigation. By the end of 1783 the Witham commissioners were more accommodating, but the Sleaford project was not pursued until Jessop and J Hudson made a survey of the Slea and Kyme Eau in 1791. An Act for the Sleaford Navigation was passed in 1792. Seven locks were made on this 12.25 mile navigation from the Witham, via the Kyme Eau to Sleaford. In the first half of the 19th century the Sleaford did well and in 1833 there was an idea to extend it westwards to join the Grantham Canal. By the 1870s, owing to poor traffic receipts, the proprietors secured an Act for abandonment in 1878 and closed it in 1881. Actually over half of it remained navigable until the 1940s, when Kyme Lower lock was converted into a sluice. Below this, the Kyme Eau is used by pleasure craft, and the whole navigation remains a drainage channel. In 1986 Kyme Eau Lock was reopened. |