A Disaster averted at Great Linford?
At least one near disaster was narrowly averted a few years after the completion of the Grand Junction Canal passing through Great Linford, which, if as serious as claimed, could have caused “considerable damage” to life, limb and property. On the night of March 13th, 1809, a part of the canal embankment at Great Linford collapsed, with damage reportedly done to lands adjoining. The Northampton Mercury newspaper of Saturday April 22nd went into a small amount of detail on the event, indicating that water springs unknown to the builders had caused the “mischief”, and if not for the actions of canal employees who had let down the floodgates, then the damage could have been far worse, as there were several “inhabited huts near where the bank gave way.”
Another, more detailed record exists of the breach in the records of the Grand Junction Canal Company, a part of the Alan Faulkner archive (held at the London Canal Museum). Dated May 9th, 1809, the entry reads as follows.
Another, more detailed record exists of the breach in the records of the Grand Junction Canal Company, a part of the Alan Faulkner archive (held at the London Canal Museum). Dated May 9th, 1809, the entry reads as follows.
Mr Harvey reported that a. breach was discovered in the Embankment of the Canal at Linford on the 13th of last month about 12 o'clock at Night, which would have been attended with very serious consequences to the Company had it not been for the great exertions of Mr Kemp of the Black Horse Publick House at Linford who first discovered the same, and with great promptitude get the stop Gates up at Stantonbury and Linford, by which means not only the water of a Pound 11 miles in length was preserved but the extent of the breach was diminished and the adjoining Country secured from an inundation which from the effects produced by the quantity of water which had escaped must have been attended with very serious consequences and would have made the Company liable for the damages sustained by the occupiers of Lands injured. Resolved: That a Silver Tankard of a Value not exceeding fifteen Guineas with a suitable inscription be presented to Mr Kemp for his great Services on the above occasion.
While we cannot say with certainty exactly where the breach occurred, the reference in the Northampton Mercury to "several inhabited huts" perhaps offers a clue. The canal embankment passes through the heart of Great Linford Manor Park, and since it seems unlikely that the Uthwatts would have allowed any unsightly huts in the gardens, we can speculate that the collapse most likely occurred on the far bank. The 1840 tithe map for Great Linford does show a building located in an area of woodland named in the map index as “The plantation", though oddly the map omits to illustrate the large pond located in the centre of the woodland, which was once part of the cascading water gardens thought to have been established in the mid to late 1770s. The pond still exists today and has recently been restored to public view. No occupants are named on the tithe map indexes, but the land was owned by Henry Uthwatt of the Manor house.
1840 tithe map of Great Linford (Tithe/255), showing L-shaped building by the canal. From the collections of Buckinghamshire Archives and reproduced with permission.
Given that we have a building of some sort in an area called The Plantation on the 1840 Tithe Map and assuming it occupies the same location as the huts reported in 1809, might they have been wood-cutters' cabins? The 1911 tax record map still shows a structure in the same location. The land was then being rented from the Uthwatts by Colonel Charles Walter Mead, who was also occupying the Manor house. Again, no specific occupier is named, which provides further evidence that the building was never intended as a dwelling house. No obvious sign now exists of the building, though fragments of brick and pottery disturbed during the recent renovation works hint at its prior existence. If the bricks are indicative of a building, then this would suggest a more substantive structure than the "wooden huts" alluded to by The Northampton Mercury, but perhaps between 1809 and 1840, the huts had been upgraded.
For such a major event, the collapse of the the bank seems oddly little reported; was it much noticed by the villagers – the imagination provides for an apocalyptic deluge of water rushing from the canal, but perhaps the original reporter had overplayed the severity of the collapse, as the official record of the canal company makes no reference to damage done and implies strongly that the actions of Mr Kemp of The Black Horse Inn had prevented any significant loss of water from the pound, this being a term for the body of water impounded between two locks. Also, the huts may not even have been permanently occupied, serving only as an occasional base for wood-cutting. Certainly, all the indications are that repairs were quickly made and traffic on the canal resumed with minimal disruption.
For such a major event, the collapse of the the bank seems oddly little reported; was it much noticed by the villagers – the imagination provides for an apocalyptic deluge of water rushing from the canal, but perhaps the original reporter had overplayed the severity of the collapse, as the official record of the canal company makes no reference to damage done and implies strongly that the actions of Mr Kemp of The Black Horse Inn had prevented any significant loss of water from the pound, this being a term for the body of water impounded between two locks. Also, the huts may not even have been permanently occupied, serving only as an occasional base for wood-cutting. Certainly, all the indications are that repairs were quickly made and traffic on the canal resumed with minimal disruption.
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