Derby Canal

Derby Canal
The Shacklecross Lock (Borrowash Bottom Lock) undergoing restoration in 2006
Specifications
Maximum boat length	72 ft 0 in (21.95 m)
Maximum boat beam	14 ft 0 in (4.27 m)
Locks	17
Status	Under restoration
History
Original owner	Derby Canal Co
Principal engineer	Benjamin Outram
Date of act	1793
Date of first use	1795
Date completed	1796
Date closed	1964
Geography
Start point	Derby
End point	Swarkestone
Connects to	Trent and Mersey Canal, Erewash Canal

The Derby Canal ran 14 miles (23 km) from the Trent and Mersey Canal at Swarkestone to Derby and Little Eaton, and to the Erewash Canal at Sandiacre, in Derbyshire, England. The canal was authorised by an act of Parliament, the Derby Canal Act 1793 (33 Geo. 3. c. 102) and was fully completed in 1796. It featured a level crossing of the River Derwent in the centre of Derby. An early tramroad, known as the Little Eaton Gangway, linked Little Eaton to coal mines at Denby. The canal's main cargo was coal, and it was relatively successful until the arrival of the railways in 1840. It gradually declined, with the gangway closing in 1908 and the Little Eaton Branch in 1935. Early attempts at restoration were thwarted by the closure of the whole canal in 1964. Since 1994, there has been an active campaign for restoration spearheaded by the Derby and Sandiacre Canal Trust and Society. Loss of the Derwent crossing due to development has resulted in an innovative engineering solution called the Derby Arm being proposed, as a way of transferring boats across the river.