Andover Canal

More Information

Whilst this website gives a fairly detailed account of the Andover Canal, those seeking further information might find the following rather sparse resources of interest. However, it is not claimed that this page is exhaustive.

Books

The following books give information about the Andover Canal. Note: All these books are currently out of print but may be found second-hand via the internet or possibly borrowed from your local library. Click on the book image to see larger version(s).

Books dealing with the Andover Canal
Title Author ISBN & Size Publisher Notes
The Canals of South and South East England Charles Hadfield Hardback: 978-0715346938
Pages: 393
(215mm x 135mm)
David & Charles - Nov 1969 A comprehensive history of English inland waterways east of Bristol and south of and including the Thames. 9½ pages on Andover Canal. Considerably extended version of part of “The Canals of Southern England” of 1955.
Hampshire Waterways P A L Vine Hardback: 978-0906520840
Pages: 96
(232mm x 165mm)
Middleton Press - Nov 1990 Contains mainly images (historical and modern) of most waterways in Hampshire. It includes 14½ pages of maps, pictures and extracts from old documents about the Andover Canal.
Lost Canals of England and Wales Ronald Russell Hardback: 978-0715354175
Pages: 272
(215mm x 135mm)
David & Charles - Oct 1971. Contains about 1½ pages on the Andover Canal.“Lost Canals & Waterways of Britain” is an expanded and updated version of this book (see below).
Lost Canals and Waterways of Britain Ronald Russell Hardback: 978-0715380727
Pages: 272
(215mm x 135mm) Paperback: 978-0722175620
Pages: 264
(197m x 131mm)
David & Charles - Hardback: Jan 1982.
Sphere - Paperback: April 1983.
Expanded and updated version of “Lost Canals of England and Wales” (see above). However, only just over ½ page devoted to the Andover Canal.
Promotion of the Andover-Redbridge Canal J E H Spaul Paperback: 978-0903755023
Pages: 48
(210mm x 148mm)
Andover Local Archives Committee - 1 Jan 1975 This A5 publication is mainly interested in the promotion and financing of the canal’s construction.
Andover to Redbridge - ‘The Sprat & Winkle line’ Nigel Bray Softcover: 978-0954485948
Pages: 144
(273mm x 216mm)
KRB Publications (Kestrel Railway Books) - 11 Dec 2004 The first chapter of this railway book gives a fairly detailed account (about 8 pages) on the conversion of the canal to a railway.

Other Documents

The following is a non-exhaustive list of free documents giving more information about various aspects of the Andover Canal.

List of free documents about the Andover Canal
Author Date Title Publisher Notes
Phoebe Merrick undated Romsey and its Canal Romsey & District Society This web page gives some details about the history of the canal and some of the people involved with it.
Joseph Priestley 1831 Historical Account of the Navigable Rivers, Canals, and Railways of Great Britain Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown and Green, London, 1831 A few details of the canal and wharfage at Redbridge. Copies of the original book may be found on the internet but are not cheap. There are also reprints at a lower price. The link on the left leads to a transcription of the entry for the Andover Canal.
Philip A Brown 2021 The Case of Charles Mortimer Wheeler v the Southampton & Dorchester Railway Company, concerning Redbridge Viaduct and Purkis’s Wharf: a Calculated Risk? Hampshire Industrial Archaeology Society Journal No. 29 (2021) The Southampton & Dorchester Railway (S&DR) was promoted in the early 1840s. This article investigates the route of the railway at Redbridge and its effects on the area. Includes maps and pictures.

Further research

If you wish to delve even deeper into the canal’s past, there is a page on this website which provides information about various resources that might help you to find out more than the above books and documents provide.

It seems that the records of the original canal company are no longer in existence. One would have expected they would be held with records of the railway companies that replaced the canal company. It also seems that the records of the solicitor for the canal company have gone astray.

For example, a few records about the canal are held in the Hampshire Record Office in Winchester which is run by Hampshire County Council. Some resources are held at various other archives nationwide, details of which should be discoverable through the National Archives. Details of these and other resources, local and national, can be found here.