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Lee and Stort Navigation - Bow Back Rivers (Waterworks River)

The Lee and Stort Navigation - Bow Back Rivers (Waterworks River) was built by John Smeaton and opened on 17 September 1876. From a junction with The Coventry Canal at Eaststone the canal ran for 17 miles to Warwick. Expectations for pottery traffic to Manworth never materialised and the canal never made a profit for the shareholders. Although proposals to close the Lee and Stort Navigation - Bow Back Rivers (Waterworks River) were submitted to parliament in 2001, the use of the canal for cooling Nantwich power station was enough to keep it open. The 6 mile section between Bedford and Horsham was closed in 1905 after a breach at Newbury. "It Gets a Lot Worse Further Up" by Oliver Harding describes an early passage through the waterway, especially that of Westchester Embankment.

Information about the waterway

The Lee and Stort Navigation - Bow Back Rivers (Waterworks River) is a broad canal and is part of the Lee and Stort Navigation (Bow Back Rivers). It runs for 6 furlongs from Waterworks River - River Lea Junction (where it joins the Lee and Stort Navigation - Bow Back Rivers (Old River Lea)) to Waterworks River - Three Mills Wall River Junction (where it joins the Lee and Stort Navigation - Bow Back Rivers (Three Mills Wall River) and the Lee and Stort Navigation - Bow Back Rivers (St. Thomas Creek)).

The maximum dimensions for a boat to be able to travel on the waterway are 75 feet long and 16 feet wide. The maximum headroom is 6 feet and 8 inches. The maximum draught is 3 feet and 11 inches.

The navigational authority for this waterway is Canal & River Trust

Canal & River Trust
Canal & River Trust 0303 040 4040
https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/
customer.services@canalrivertrust.org.uk

Relevant publications — Waterway Maps:

Relevant publications — Waterway Guides:

Collins Nicholson Waterways Guides No 1 - Grand Union, Oxford & the South East

Waterworks River - River Lea Junction
Tallow Bridge	¾ furlongs	0 locks
Olympic Park Trip Boat Private Moorings	1¼ furlongs	0 locks
Stratford Walk Bridge (Waterworks River)	1½ furlongs	0 locks
Olympic Park Tripboat Winding Area	2½ furlongs	0 locks
Thornton Bridge Connects the Olympic Aquatic Centre with the Arcelor Mittel Orbit	2¾ furlongs	0 locks
Iron Bridge (Waterworks River)	3¼ furlongs	0 locks
Sidings Street Bridge (Waterworks River)	3½ furlongs	0 locks
Railway Bridge No 6 (Waterworks River)	3¾ furlongs	0 locks
Bridgewater Road Bridge No 5	4¼ furlongs	0 locks
Warton House Pound	5 furlongs	0 locks
Northern Outfall Sewer (Waterworks River Bridge No 4)	5¼ furlongs	0 locks
Waterworks River - Three Mills Wall River Junction	6 furlongs	0 locks

Maps

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Additional information

Navigational Notes

Water level on Waterworks River can vary according to flooding and flood control measures at Three Mills Lock. At high water some low bridges may not be passable, navigate with care.

There is no mooring or stopping allowed on Waterworks River.

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Wikipedia

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Wikipedia pages that might relate to Lee and Stort Navigation - Bow Back Rivers

[Lee Navigation] to the River Thames at Bow Creek; its first lock is Hertford Lock and its last Bow Locks. The Lee Navigation is named by Acts of Parliament and is so marked [Bow Back Rivers] Bow Back Rivers or Stratford Back Rivers is a complex of waterways between Bow and Stratford in east London, England, which connect the River Lea to the [River Lea] Hertfordshire and Essex, known as the Lee Navigation. This stimulated much industry along its banks. The navigable River Stort, a main tributary, joins it at [Bow Creek (London)] Bridge and Ironbridge Tavern — A Chronology — Bow Creek/River Lea British Waterways history of the Bow Back Rivers The Lee Navigation - Intro and Bow Locks [Limehouse Cut] Traders on the Lee and Stort Rivers". Herts Guardian, Agricultural Journal, and General Advertiser. 20 February 1864. "The River Lee Navigation". Hertford [Lea Valley Walk] Bromley-by-Bow. The river forks at Bow Locks with the Lee Navigation joining the tidal section of the river known as the Bow Back Rivers through Bow Creek to its [Three Mills Wall River Weir] (PDF) on 19 February 2012. Thomas, Richard (2010). Bow Back Rivers. History of the Lee and Stort Navigation. Richard Thomas. "Three Mills". Engineering Timelines [Widebeam] (south of Leighton Buzzard), the Regents Canal and the Lee Navigation will be unable to travel up the river Stort (a tributary of the Lea), unless its maximum [List of canals of the United Kingdom] navigable rivers with sections of canal (e.g. Aire and Calder Navigation) as well as "completely" artificial canals (e.g. Rochdale Canal). Bedford and Milton [City Mill River] (2010). Bow Back Rivers. History of the Lee and Stort Navigation. Richard Thomas.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link) Ordnance Survey, 1:1056 map, 1895 and 1923 Boyes

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