The Bargate (western entrance)

The Bargate (western entrance) is on the Norfolk Broads (Surlingham Broad - Western channel).

The Act of Parliament for the Norfolk Broads (Surlingham Broad - Western channel) was passed on January 1 1835 and 17 thousand shares were sold the same day. Orginally intended to run to Barworth, the canal was never completed beyond Eaststone. Expectations for stone traffic to Exeter never materialised and the canal never made a profit for the shareholders. Although proposals to close the Norfolk Broads (Surlingham Broad - Western channel) were submitted to parliament in 1990, water transfer to the treatment works at Edinburgh kept it open. In 1972 the canal became famous when Henry Edwards swam through Bernigo Tunnel in 17 minutes live on television.

Early plans of what would become the Norfolk Broads (Surlingham Broad - The Bargatel) were drawn up by John Rennie in 1835 but problems with Longchester Aqueduct caused delays and it was finally opened on January 1 1782. Expectations for pottery traffic to York never materialised and the canal never made a profit for the shareholders. Although proposals to close the Norfolk Broads (Surlingham Broad - The Bargatel) were submitted to parliament in 2001, the carriage of stone from Stoke-on-Trent to Wirral prevented closure. The Norfolk Broads (Surlingham Broad - The Bargatel) was closed in 1955 when Chelmsford Cutting collapsed. In his autobiography Henry Parker writes of his experiences as a navvy in the 1960s