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Chesterfield Canal (Retford to the Trent)

 
 
Information about the waterway

The Chesterfield Canal (Retford to the Trent) is a narrow canal and is part of the Chesterfield Canal. It runs for 15 miles and 5 furlongs through 7 locks from Chesterfield Canal - River Trent Junction (where it joins the River Trent (tidal section - Cromwell to Keadby)) to West Retford Lock No 58 (where it joins the Chesterfield Canal (Norwood to Retford)).

The maximum dimensions for a boat to be able to travel on the waterway are 71 feet and 4 inches long and 13 feet and 6 inches wide. The maximum headroom is 7 feet and 1 inch. The maximum draught is 2 feet and 6 inches.

Notable features of the waterway include Drakeholes Tunnel

Although all the locks from the Trent to Retford are broad locks, some of the bridgeholes are fairly narrow, so full-width broad boats can not get through.

The navigational authority for this waterway is Canal & River Trust

Relevant publications — Waterway Maps:

Relevant publications — Waterway Guides:

Chesterfield Canal - River Trent Junction
West Stockwith
West Stockwith Lock
Lock between Chesterfield Canal and Tidal River Trent
¼ furlongs 0 locks
West Stockwith Basin ¾ furlongs 1 lock
Stockwith Bridge No 85 ¾ furlongs 1 lock
Railway Bridge No 84
Site of the Packet Inn
5 furlongs 1 lock
Misterton Low Lock Bridge No 83 5¾ furlongs 1 lock
Misterton Low Lock No 64 5¾ furlongs 1 lock
Station Street Bridge No 82A (Misterton) 6 furlongs 2 locks
Misterton Top Lock No 63 6½ furlongs 2 locks
Hillsyde Avenue Field Bridge No 82 7½ furlongs 3 locks
Misterton Shopping Moorings 1 mile and 1 furlong 3 locks
Grove Wood Road Bridge No 81
With Footbridge No 81A alongside
1 mile and 1¼ furlongs 3 locks
Cooper's Bridge No 80
Misterton
1 mile and 5¾ furlongs 3 locks
Manor Farm Field Bridge 2 miles and 2 furlongs 3 locks
Manor Farm Winding Hole 2 miles and 4¾ furlongs 3 locks
Fountain Hill Bridge No 78 2 miles and 5½ furlongs 3 locks
Smiths Bridge No 77 2 miles and 7¼ furlongs 3 locks
Wooden Beck Visitor Moorings 3 miles and 4½ furlongs 3 locks
Low Lock Bridge No 76 4 miles and ½ furlongs 3 locks
Shaw Lock No 62 4 miles and ¾ furlongs 3 locks
Middle Bridge Road Bridge No 75 4 miles and 4¼ furlongs 4 locks
Wood Lane Road Bridge No 74 4 miles and 6¼ furlongs 4 locks
Gringley Top Lock No 61 4 miles and 6¼ furlongs 4 locks
Gainsborough Road Bridge No 73 (A631) 6 miles and 3¼ furlongs 5 locks
Drakeholes Tunnel (northern entrance) 6 miles and 3¾ furlongs 5 locks
Drakeholes Tunnel (southern entrance) 6 miles and 4½ furlongs 5 locks
Drakeholes Visitor Moorings 6 miles and 4¾ furlongs 5 locks
Lady's Bridge No 72 7 miles and 1¼ furlongs 5 locks
Taylor's Bridge No 71 7 miles and 3½ furlongs 5 locks
Wiseton Top Bridge No 70 7 miles and 6 furlongs 5 locks
Gray's Bridge No 69
Clayworth half a mile southeast
8 miles and 4¼ furlongs 5 locks
Otter's Bridge Winding Hole 9 miles 5 locks
Otter's Bridge No 68 9 miles and ¼ furlongs 5 locks
Clayworth Top Bridge Winding Hole 9 miles and 5 furlongs 5 locks
Clayworth Top Bridge No 67
Clayworth half a mile northwest
9 miles and 5 furlongs 5 locks
Retford and Worksop Boat Club 9 miles and 5¼ furlongs 5 locks
Clayworth CRT Boaters Facilities 9 miles and 5½ furlongs 5 locks
Wheatley Road Aqueduct 10 miles and 3¼ furlongs 5 locks
Main Street Winding Hole 11 miles and 2¾ furlongs 5 locks
Hayton Low Bridge No 66 11 miles and 4¾ furlongs 5 locks
Scotter Lane Road Bridge No 65 11 miles and 6¾ furlongs 5 locks
Main Street Field Bridge No 64 11 miles and 7¾ furlongs 5 locks
Church Bridge No 63 12 miles and 2¼ furlongs 5 locks
Clarborough Top Bridge No 62 12 miles and 4¼ furlongs 5 locks
Gate Inn Visitor Moorings
Pub Closed - 2025
12 miles and 4¾ furlongs 5 locks
Bonemill Bridge No 61 13 miles and 2¼ furlongs 5 locks
Whitsunday Pie Bridge No 60 13 miles and 6 furlongs 5 locks
Whitsunday Pie Lock No 60 13 miles and 6 furlongs 5 locks
Hop Pole Bridge No 59 14 miles and ¼ furlongs 6 locks
Leverton Road Bridge No 58 14 miles and 3¼ furlongs 6 locks
Grove Mill Bridge Winding Hole 14 miles and 6½ furlongs 6 locks
Grove Mill Bridge No 57 14 miles and 6¾ furlongs 6 locks
Arlington Way Bridge No 56 15 miles 6 locks
Retford Winding Hole 15 miles and ¼ furlongs 6 locks
Carolgate Bridge No 56A 15 miles and ¾ furlongs 6 locks
Carolgate Wharf 15 miles and 1 furlong 6 locks
Retford Lock No 59 15 miles and 1½ furlongs 6 locks
Retford Wharf Road 15 miles and 2 furlongs 7 locks
Retford Top Aqueduct 15 miles and 2¼ furlongs 7 locks
River Idle Aqueduct 15 miles and 2¾ furlongs 7 locks
Retford Bottom Aqueduct 15 miles and 3¼ furlongs 7 locks
Pelham Road Footbridge 15 miles and 4 furlongs 7 locks
West Retford Lock No 58
Wharf Bridge
15 miles and 5 furlongs 7 locks
 
 
Maps
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External websites
 Retford and worksop boat club | Chesterfield Canal | Clayworth, Retford DN22 9AJ, UK — associated with Retford and Worksop Boat Club
The Retford & Worksop Boat Club was formed in 1961 by a group of like-minded enthusiasts, with the aim of frustrating British Waterways’ plan to prohibit all navigation on the 26 mile stretch between West Stockwith and Worksop.
 
Wikipedia

Wikipedia has a page about Chesterfield Canal

The Chesterfield Canal is a narrow canal in the East Midlands of England and it is known locally as 'Cuckoo Dyke'. It was one of the last of the canals designed by James Brindley, who died while it was being constructed. It was opened in 1777 and ran for 46 miles (74 km) from the River Trent at West Stockwith, Nottinghamshire to Chesterfield, Derbyshire, passing through the Norwood Tunnel at Kiveton Park, at the time one of the longest tunnels on the British canal system. The canal was built to export coal, limestone, and lead from Derbyshire, iron from Chesterfield, and corn, deals, timber, groceries and general merchandise into Derbyshire. The stone for the Palace of Westminster was quarried in North Anston, Rotherham, and transported via the canal.

It was reasonably profitable, paying dividends from 1789, and with the coming of the railways, some of the proprietors formed a railway company. It became part of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway company, and although there were intermittent plans to convert parts of it to a railway, it continued to thrive as a canal. In 1907, subsidence from local coal mines caused the collapse of the Norwood Tunnel, and the canal was effectively split in two. Subsequently, the main use of the Chesterfield end was the supply of water to the iron industry, while commercial carrying continued on the Worksop to West Stockwith section until the late 1950s.

It was formally closed in 1961, but campaigners fought for it to be retained, and the Worksop to Stockwith section was designated as a "cruiseway" under the Transport Act 1968, meaning that it would be retained for leisure use. The rest was designated as a remainder waterway, and parts were sold off, with housing being built over the route through Killamarsh. The Chesterfield Canal Society was formed in 1978 to spearhead restoration, becoming the Chesterfield Canal Trust in 1997. They initially sought to extend the navigable section beyond Worksop, but when progress was slow, moved to working on the Chesterfield end. Over 5 miles (8 km) of canal, including five original locks and a brand new lock at Staveley Basin were navigable by 2017. The eastern end was restored from Worksop to the mouth of the Norwood Tunnel at Kiveton Park near Rotherham, South Yorkshire, between 1995 and 2003, funded by Derelict Land Grants, English Partnerships and the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Less than 9 miles (14 km) of the original route remain to be restored to link the two navigable sections, but this will require some new lengths of canal to be built, to bypass the housing development at Killamarsh, and to replace most of the Norwood Tunnel, which cannot be restored. The eastern section is managed by the Canal and River Trust, while the western section is managed by Derbyshire County Council. It includes Tapton Lock Visitor Centre, located to the north of Tapton Park, and the Hollingwood Hub, which provides offices for the Trust, together with meeting rooms and a cafe. It is located by Hollingwood Lock, and consists of a large new extension on the back of the refurbished lock house.

Other Wikipedia pages that might relate to Chesterfield Canal
[Chesterfield, Derbyshire] July 2013. Chesterfield Borough Council Chesterfield, Derbyshire at Curlie Chesterfield Canal History Archive Chesterfield by Destination Chesterfield [Chesterfield Canal Trust] The Chesterfield Canal Trust Limited is a waterway society and charitable company which campaigns for and undertakes various activities related to the [List of canals of the United Kingdom] and linking to other nearby canals and navigable rivers. Rother Link: Planned canal which would connect the Chesterfield Canal at Killamarsh, via the River [John Varley (canal engineer)] Heanor, Derbyshire, and was responsible for the construction of the Chesterfield Canal. He died in 1809 and is buried at All Saints Church, Harthill, Derbyshire [Killamarsh] Sheffield. The Chesterfield Canal passed through the town on its way to Kiveton via the Norwood Tunnel, which was the joint longest canal tunnel in the [Retford] census was 22,013. The town is in the valley of the River Idle and the Chesterfield Canal passes through the centre. The village of Ordsall, west of the River [Rother Link] The Rother Link is a planned English canal that would connect the Chesterfield Canal at Killamarsh, via the River Rother through to the Sheffield and [Lock (water navigation)] two-chamber staircase (e.g. Turner Wood Double Locks on the Chesterfield Canal: the same canal has a three-rise staircase called Thorpe Low Treble locks) [Narrowboat] regions, the Chesterfield Canal being one waterway where narrow boats never bore such decorations. The origin of the roses and castles found on canal boats is
 
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