Project to reopen Melton canal gets £20K boost

Melton & Oakham Waterways Society (MOWS) say the grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund will pay for an 18-month project for further research into the history of the canal.

As well as investigating historical facts, the funding will also be used to raise awareness in the community about the Navigation, which linked Melton to the national canal system in the 1800s.

It will involve exhibitions, a series of talks, information boards and organised walks along the route of the Melton Navigation.

The project is kicking off with a display at the Melton Carnegie Museum.

Dr Mike Patterson, project director with MOWS, which was set up 28 years ago with the aim of restoring the Navigation which follows the course of the Rivers Eye and Wreake, commented: “We’re delighted to receive our first grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

"There is stiff competition for grants and we were able to produce a convincing case for the award.

“Our rivers are a hidden gem and MOWS volunteers have worked for years on clearing rubbish, cutting back vegetation and generally maintaining them, all with the aim of one day reopening the Navigation."

He added: “Now with the funding we will be able to to highlight the role it played in an important part of Melton’s history at the time of the industrial revolution.

"We hope that, as a result, many more people will become aware of what an asset they have on their doorstep and become involved in this exciting project.

“We are thrilled to have received this support from the Heritage Fund and it is thanks to all National Lottery players that it’s made possible.”

The Melton Mowbray Navigation operated from 1797 to 1877 from the River Soar near Syston to a cargo basin where the Melton Borough Council offices now stand.

The basin was also the start of the 16-mile Oakham canal and The Boat Inn was then a quayside pub.

Local historian Brian Fare will be undertaking the research for MOWS.

He said: “Although the Navigation operated for nearly 100 years and horse-drawn cargo boats brought goods such as coal right into the heart of the town, there is very little existing information about how it operated and what effect it had on the villages along the way.

“It was a time of canal mania in England and Melton did not miss out.

"We hope that the research will lead to a lot more history being uncovered.”

The research will cover the first phase of the project and the talks to schools and community groups as well as organised walks will take place when this is complete.

The display at the Melton Carnegie Museum, which will run until the end of April, tells how the Navigation was built and operated, bringing goods from all over the country into the heart of the town.

It eventually closed at the end of the century after facing stiff competition from the new railway which ran between Syston and Stamford.