Louth Navigation
The Louth Navigation was a canalisation of the River Lud. It ran for 11 miles (18 km) from Louth in Lincolnshire, England, to Tetney Haven, at the mouth of the Humber. It was authorised by Act of Parliament in 1763 and completed in 1770, under the supervision of the engineer John Grundy, Jr. and then by James Hogard. Eight locks were required to overcome the difference in altitude, six of which were constructed with sides consisting of four elliptical bays, a design only ever used on this canal in Britain.
The Act did not provide the normal provisions for raising capital for the construction, as finance could only be obtained by leasing of the tolls. When completed, the commissioners leased the tolls to Charles Chaplin, who held ten shares and was also a commissioner, for an initial period of seven years. When the lease was due for renewal, no other takers were found, and Chaplin was granted a 99-year lease, despite the fact that the Act did not authorise such an action. He collected the tolls but failed to maintain the navigation. When complaints were received, a new Act of Parliament was obtained in 1828, to alter the tolls and legalise Chaplin's long lease. The lease was transferred to two railway companies in 1847, and reverted to the commissioners in 1876. The operation was a moderate success until the beginning of the twentieth century, when there was a rapid decline in income, and the canal formally closed in 1924.
Podcasts:
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by Roger Whittaker
River Lady
by: Roger WhittakerThe day the river freezes
Is the day it won´t seem fair
´Cause they´ll come to get the River Lady
And I don´t think they´ll care
I know they´ll scrape her paint off
In their same old foolish ways
Now the people see the river
But the old ships gone away
Water turns cold and gets ta freezin´
Before you even know it
The old girl´s easin´
Away from her berth
Round by the point
And out of our view
Off in the mist
Her engine´s woundin´
Like on the banks
That old horn´s soundin´
A little goodbye
A little I´ll do what I must do
A little goodbye
A little I´ll do what I must do
A da da dum, dum, dum, da da da dum dum
I know I will remember
When I cannot hear that horn
That would roll up by the mountains
As she took us through the storm
I know they´ve got to take her
But I can´t say I approve
´Cause she´s won so many battles
That I hate to see her lose
Water turns cold and gets ta freezin´
Before you even know it
The old girl´s easin´
Away from her berth
Round by the point
And out of our view
A little goodbye
A little I´ll do, what I must do
The water turns cold
And gets to freezin´
Before you even know it
The old girl´s easin´
Away from her berth
´Round by the point
And out of our view
Off in the mist
Her engine´s boundin´
Like on the banks
That old horn´s soundin´
A little goodbye
A little I´ll do
What I must do
A little goodbye
A little I´ll do
What I must do
Dum da da da-dum...