Grantham Canal

In 1949 concerns were rasied over the Grantham Canal when one of the most unobtrusive abandonments was brought to light by IWA Council Member Mr.L.A.Edwards in the course of his work in revising INLAND WATERWAYS OF GREAT BRTIAIN. The Docks & Inland Waterways Executive wrote to Mr. Edwards as follows: "The Grantham Canal was closed for navigation purposes in accordance with the provisions of Section 38 of the London & North Eastern Railway (General Powers) Act 1936. The locks generally are inoperable and part of the Canal has been culverted." It was not thought that this abandonment was generally known even among students of canals. An inspection by Robert Aickman confirmed that the waterway was in an advanced state of unnavigability and that it was of peculiar beauty.

Concerns were expressed at the start of 1953 that the Docks & Inland Waterways Executive had plans to transfer canals that were not "required commercially" to local autorities or other bodies. These included some legally abandoned waterways such as the Cromford Canal, Grantham Canal and Llangollen Canal. Other canals included in the list were the Ashton Canal, Peak Forest Canal, Lancaster Canal, Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal and the southern section of the Oxford Canal. In response to this the Association continued to advocate full use and development of the whole waterways system for the benefit of all types of user and for the establishment of a National Waterways Commission covering all navigations as well as a public enquiry into the best ways of developing them.

In March 1955 the Board of Survey reported and recommended the disposal of 771 miles of waterway including some canals like the Huddersfield Narrow Canal and the Barnsley Canal that had already been abandoned and closed to traffic. These "Group 3" waterways also included the Ashton, Peak Forest, Macclesfield, Bridgwater and Taunton, Chesterfield, Cromford, Dearne and Dove, Erewash, Forth & Clyde, Grand Western, Grantham, Kennet & Avon, Lancaster, Manchester, Bolton & Bury, Monmouthshire & Brecon, Nottingham, Oxford (southern section), Pocklington, Ripon, Llangollen, Montgomery, Stratford-upon-Avon (southern section), Swansea and Edinburgh & Glasgow Union canals as well as the River Witham.

In response IWA advocate a National Waterway Conservancy to look after all our waterways and point out that it is cheaper to restore and use waterways than to eliminate them.

In September 1963, a number of letters appeared in the Nottingham press opposing the scheme to fill in a short length of the abandoned Grantham Canal, and calling for the reinstatement of the waterway. One correspondent said that the City Council's policy should be 'to preserve for all time a useful amenity for non-motorists to enjoy their leisure away from the danger and noise of the roads.' Another observed that 'we are slowly approaching the day when we shall be living in a concrete and tarmac jungle. I wonder how long it will be before they start building on the Nottingham side of the Trent Embankment, and turning the river into a smaller version of the Thames at its worst. It could happen.' Bulletin 69 commented "Very much worse than that could happen, and will if we do not fight: in London there is a very active group which advocates narrowing the Thames by building a wide motorway on each side of it; and exactly the same would be possible in Nottingham".

The Grantham Canal Society was founded in 1970.

In 1973 IWA and the Grantham Canal Society went from towpath clearing to a campaign for full restoration of the navigaion.

IWA National Rally held at Nottingham on the River Trent in 1974 and attracted over 600 boats. Drawing attention to the nearby Grantham Canal restoration was one of its objectives.

The National Trail Boat Festival was held in May 1994 on the Grantham Canal.