The Romford Canal, Essex

In the first quarter of the 19th century there were five attempts to construct a canal from the Thames to Romford in Essex. At that time the area was a largely agricultural district and each proposal anticipated that the main carriage would be agricultural produce into London and manure on the return journey. Each proposal faced local opposition and was aborted before reaching the construction stage. The proposal was revived however in the mid 1870s, when the district was becoming more industrialised, in the hope of profiting from the greater returns of industrial-based trade. This time the opposition was limited and the southern half of the canal from the Thames to Dagenham including two locks, two bridges and a tunnel was constructed. However it appears that the company was unable to raise sufficient capital to complete the canal to Romford and the two mile stretch, which follows closely the course of the Beam River, remained isolated although in use. The Oxford Archaeological Unit was commissioned to undertake an assessment of the surviving physical evidence of the canal and an historical overview of the various attempts to construct the Romford Canal. The on site assessment found that only very limited evidence of the former canal survive and apparently none of the structures previously referred to.