Image ID: 24929

Nottingham Canal, Cossall

Courtesy of Reg Baker

Dead Lane
Cossall
England

The Nottingham Canal can be seen in the foreground, looking north towards Cossall village from the point where the canal joined with the Robinettes Arm, a spur which led to the Oakwood Grange Colliery (a drift mine closed in 1960). A canal from Cromford along the Derwent Valley to connect up with the Erewash canal at Langley Mill was given parliamentary approval in 1789. This meant further markets for Erewash Valley coal were opening up. Increasingly Nottingham collieries looked as though they were going to be at a disadvantage and it seemed that the Erewash pits would flourish at their expense. Eager to ensure the town didn't miss out, a number of Nottingham men called a public meeting in October 1790 to discuss the possibility of constructing a rival to the Erewash which would run from the Cromford canal to Nottingham and on into the Trent. Those at the meeting apparently thought the proposal highly beneficial and elected a committee of nine to pursue the matter. William Jessop was asked to act as engineer and select the best route between Nottingham and Langley Mill. He was also requested to survey the land across Beeston Meadows for a branch canal to the Trent from Lenton. Lord Middleton (descendent of the Willoughby family, of Wollaton Hall) evidently had his own ideas on the way that the canal should go. It is not clear what these were but we do know that Jessop considered they would be impractical on account of the need for deep cutting and tunnelling. His own proposedd line, however, didn't meet with Lord Middleton's approval. Jessop had suggested that the canal go round the western side of Wollaton Park. Lord Middleton said he would opposed the whole venture unless the canal was made to run along the eastern boundary (co-incidentally past his own colliery!), even though this would mean an additional expense of about

Date: 1976

Organisation Reference: NCCC001023

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