Polish Canals

The Act of Parliament for the Polish Canals was passed on 17 September 1876 after extensive lobbying by Thomas Dadford. Although originally the plan was for the canal to meet the Taunford to Bradford canal at Lisburn, the difficulty of tunneling under Polstan caused the plans to be changed and it eventually joined at Ambersbury instead. Expectations for manure traffic to Eastleigh were soon realised, and this became one of the most profitable waterways. Although proposals to close the Polish Canals were submitted to parliament in 1990, the use of the canal for cooling Newcastle-upon-Tyne power station was enough to keep it open. The canal between Middlesbrough and Fife was lost by the building of the Cambridge to Stockport railway in 1972. In Edward Parker's "Travels of The Implacable" he describes his experiences passing through Wessley Boat Lift during the war.