Ivelchester and Langport Navigation

Following a meeting with representatives from the Dorset and Somerset Canal, which was part of a grand scheme to link the Bristol Channel to the English Channel,[2] a number of local businessmen obtained an Act of Parliament on 22 June 1795, which made provision for improving the river between Ilchester and Bicknell Bridge, just to the south east of Langport, and then cutting through the town along the course of the Portlake Rhine, which was then a drain, and rejoining the River Parrett below Langport lock. The act allowed the proprietors to raise £6,000 by issuing shares, and a further £2,000 in loans, if required.[3]

Around three quarters of the share capital had been promised before the act was obtained, and so work commenced immediately. The plans involved widening the Portlake Rhine, building a lock close to the Little Bow bridge, near the centre of the town, and making a cut to join the River Parrett again near Bicknell's Bridge, which would include two more locks. A further four locks were to be constructed between there and Ilchester. The engineer was a local man called Josiah Easton, and good progress was made in the first six months at the Langport end of the scheme, but costs were escalating, and by October 1796, the scheme was in difficulty. The £6,000 of share capital had all been spent, but little work had been done on removing shoals from the river towards Ilchester. In 1797, outstanding debts were cleared and the scheme was effectively abandoned.[4]

Despite the scheme not being finished, some traffic continued to use the river. The Parrett Navigation Act, which was obtained in 1836, authorised improvements to the River Parrett below Langport, the construction of a canal to Westport, and the rebuilding of the Great Bow Bridge, to allow larger boats to travel beyond Langport. Normal canal tolls were charged for use of the canal, and there was a toll for trade passing under the rebuilt bridge,Body & Gallop 2006, p. 13 but some of the shareholders felt that boat users on the River Ivel should also be charged, since the water levels on the river had improved since the construction of the Parrett Navigation works.[5]

Accordingly, Nicholas Broadmead, who was a solicitor, and Philip Broadmead, both of whom were shareholders in the Parrett Navigation Company, set about tracing and buying the 120 shares of the original Ivelchester and Langport Canal Company. Philip Broadmead obtained professional opinions on the legality of the proposed action, and produced a document outlining the expected returns on such a scheme. Some shares were obtained, and a meeting was held on 26 September 1843 at the Castle Inn in Ilchester, but the outcome is not known, as the plan faded away, and the planned resurrection of the company did not occur.[6]