503:, and it was his notes that Erasmus Galton used to prepare his article. Local opinion was that such land could not be improved, because any top dressing of soil would soon sink below the peat, and the effort expended would be wasted. However, Galton believed that if the land was drained properly before top dressing began, loss of the soil did not occur, and the land remained improved. His process consisted of dividing the land into ridges, which were 40 feet (12 m) wide, and cutting ditches at both sides. Peat was moved from the edges of the ridge to its centre, and over a period of 4 to 5 years, the peat compressed, and the surface sank by around 3 or 4 feet (0.9 or 1.2 m), but was firm enough to support cattle. The cost for this first stage was given as £4 2s 6d (£4.12) per acre (£10.30 per ha).
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to a depth of 6 feet (1.8 m). Between 1811 and 1842, the last year shown in Galton's table, the cost of the project was £4770 1s 10d (£4770.09), and a total of 27,540 cubic yards (21,055 m, or approximately 33,000 tons) of soil had been moved along the canal to be deposited on the land. The boatmen were paid
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Galton states that after draining the land, the native bog plants were soon replaced by ferns. Once the top dressing was applied, the ferns died away, to be replaced by clover and meadow grass. All of this grew naturally, as no planting was done. The soil used was largely clay or marl, and was added
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Galton was ordered to repair the floodbanks near to the canal by the
Commissioners of Sewers in 1830. It appears to have been little used from the 1850s, and it was abandoned in 1897, when the drainage authority constructed a wall across the channel, which included a tidal flap so that water could
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The River Brue provided a source of soil for top dressing, as rich soil was deposited on its banks after heavy rainfall. It is not known when construction of the canal began, as Galton makes no mention of it in his article, and costs for the whole project are shown starting in 1811. However, the
547:
Galton's map shows three droves running parallel to the canal. To the west is Parson's Drove, and to the east are London Drove and Dagg's Lane Drove. The area between London Drove and Dagg's Lane Drove was subsequently used for peat digging, and more recently has become the
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c. lxxii). It was about 1.4 miles (2.3 km) long and 16 feet (4.9 m) wide. The section which joined the River Brue was embanked on both sides, after which there was a small lock, which raised the level of the canal to allow it to cross the moor. It joined the
559:, and as well as open water and reedbeds, it contains a fragment of acid mire, the largest to have survived in the south west of England. The reserve covers 261 acres (106 ha) and provides habitat for many varieties of birds, which includes millions of
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first carriage of soil is shown in 1822, when 90 cubic yards (69 m) passed along the canal, so it must have been finished by this time. The canal had been authorised by the
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by
Erasmus Galton, and published in 1845. The journal was chosen because the main purpose of the canal was the improvement of a peat bog, to provide agricultural land. In 1811,
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Samuel Galton set out to improve his holding, and the project was managed by his agent, a Mr. Richard
Hammett, who came from the village of
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Erasmus Galton's map of 1845, showing the canal and the parts of
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Few details of the canal have survived, and the main source of information about it comes from a paper submitted to the
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in 1790, but most of it remained unimproved, and was only suitable for the cutting of turf, which was used as a fuel.
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still discharge into the river at some states of the tide. It is now incorporated into the local drainage system.
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at the far end, and continued a little further to service land being reclaimed on the north side of the drain.
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From the
British Library of Political and Economic Science: E.C.R. Hadfield, publisher and historian of canals
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852:. Vol. Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society of England Volume 6.
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An
Account of Improvement of a Shaking Bog at Meare in Somersetshire
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499:. Hammett would later provide the initial survey of the
1052:. Somerset Waterways Development Trust. Archived from
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833:History of the British canal system
1050:"Galton's Canal and Brown's Canal"
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1332:Liskeard and Looe Union Canal
1077:"Westhay Moor Nature Reserve"
1066:Ordnance Survey, 1:25,000 map
1347:Mersey and Irwell Navigation
1580:Kidwelly and Llanelly Canal
1447:Stourbridge Extension Canal
1079:. Somerset Wildlife Trust.
604:GPX (secondary coordinates)
16:Canal in the United Kingdom
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1407:Runcorn to Latchford Canal
1337:London to Portsmouth canal
888:Hadfield, Charles (1967).
854:Royal Agricultural Society
509:Somerset Drainage Act 1801
1252:Dorset and Somerset Canal
624:(Links to map resources)
599:GPX (primary coordinates)
574:Map all coordinates using
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582:Download coordinates as:
1432:Sir John Glynne's Canal
828:Canals of Great Britain
557:Somerset Wildlife Trust
555:. It is managed by the
553:National Nature Reserve
1187:Beat Bank Branch Canal
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1648:Canals opened in 1822
1392:Rochdale Branch Canal
1352:Newport Pagnell Canal
1247:Donnington Wood Canal
1237:Dearne and Dove Canal
892:. David and Charles.
806:United Kingdom portal
594:GPX (all coordinates)
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456:, and connecting the
1575:Glamorganshire Canal
1534:Forth and Cart Canal
1382:River Sow Navigation
1292:Heywood Branch Canal
637:Start at River Brue
1638:History of Somerset
1605: /
1524:Aberdeenshire Canal
1437:Somerset Coal Canal
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739:End at North Drain
705: /
670:Start at River Brue
654: /
480:, a financier from
294:Westhay Moor Drove
1633:Canals in Somerset
1609:51.1985°N 2.7896°W
1272:Grand Surrey Canal
1257:Douglas Navigation
1027:, pp. 184–185
951:, pp. 183–184
927:, pp. 182–183
772:End at North Drain
761:51.1985°N 2.7896°W
710:51.1845°N 2.7961°W
659:51.1797°N 2.7974°W
567:Points of interest
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67:Principal engineer
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1307:Itchen Navigation
1277:Greasbrough Canal
1267:Glastonbury Canal
1227:Coombe Hill Canal
1056:on 16 March 2012.
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513:41 Geo. 3. (U.K.)
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478:Samuel Galton Jr.
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1496:Northern Ireland
1427:Shropshire Canal
1422:Shrewsbury Canal
1342:Louth Navigation
1322:Leominster Canal
1302:Horncastle Canal
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62:Samuel Galton
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1457:Stover Canal
1362:Oakham Canal
1317:Ketley Canal
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1141:Unnavigable
1085:. Retrieved
1071:
1062:
1054:the original
1044:
1032:
1020:
996:, p. 77
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939:, p. 78
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857:. Retrieved
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839:Bibliography
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550:Westhay Moor
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473:
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446:Westhay Moor
433:
432:
18:
1612: /
1397:Rolle Canal
1327:Leven Canal
1242:Derby Canal
1217:Chard Canal
1037:Galton 1845
1025:Galton 1845
1013:Galton 1845
979:Galton 1845
964:Galton 1845
949:Galton 1845
925:Galton 1845
877:|work=
764: /
713: /
662: /
628:OS Grid Ref
621:Coordinates
518:North Drain
462:North Drain
444:, crossing
235:North Drain
125:Connects to
119:North Drain
104:Start point
91:Date closed
75:Date of act
1627:Categories
1597:51°11′55″N
1387:River Tone
1222:City Canal
1087:5 November
909:References
859:27 October
770: (
748:51°11′55″N
719: (
697:51°11′04″N
668: (
646:51°10′47″N
538:cubic yard
486:Birmingham
458:River Brue
406:River Brue
129:River Brue
108:River Brue
1600:2°47′23″W
1377:River Nar
1162:Aike Beck
879:ignored (
869:cite book
783:ST449446
751:2°47′23″W
732:ST444430
700:2°47′46″W
681:ST443425
649:2°47′51″W
561:starlings
482:Duddeston
440:with one
115:End point
99:Geography
1517:Scotland
1081:Archived
792:See also
450:Somerset
1150:England
468:History
460:to the
454:England
110:, Meare
54:History
896:
632:Notes
617:Point
497:Street
175:Legend
1563:Wales
688:Lock
484:, in
438:canal
94:1850s
46:Locks
1089:2011
894:ISBN
881:help
861:2008
721:Lock
442:lock
86:1822
78:1801
589:KML
534:7d.
448:in
1629::
1001:^
986:^
971:^
956:^
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873::
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867:{{
452:,
1134:e
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1120:v
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511:(
158:e
151:t
144:v
49:1
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