How Did the River Trent Help Nottingham to Grow?

How did the River Trent help Nottingham to grow? • The River Trent, at 185 miles, is one of England’s major rivers. • The source of the River is the slopes of Bidulph Moor in Staffordshire. • It ends at Trent Falls where it joins the River Ouse to become the Humber which empties into the North Sea, near Grimsby. • The Celts called the Trent, Troshynt, meaning over-way which could have been because of the river’s tendency to flood. • The Romans called it Trisantona, meaning a river that is easily forded. Since the end of the last Ice Age, settlements have occurred all along the River Trent. People have come to the area attracted by transport, food, defence and the resources the River Trent had to offer. It was inevitable that sooner or later Nottingham would grow into a town as it is the first point where the Trent can be forded (a shallow part of a river that can be crossed by wading)but the river is also navigable this far inland. Throughout history, the river has been a main route for trade and travel. It has been used as a navigation since Roman Times and in 867 AD, the Danish Vikings came up the Trent to Snottingaham in their longships. Later, the River Trent provided the links to transport goods, such as coal, in and out of the city and onto the Humber Estuary. After transhipment at Hull or Gainsborough, loads could go on to London or overseas. The River Trent and the Canal In 1796, during the Industrial Revolution, a new canal route was opened providing a new way to transport the goods and people of Nottingham. The coalfields of Nottinghamshire brought great wealth to the region but transport by road was slow and expensive. Canals were very popular means of transportation in the 1790s and the citizens of Nottingham resolved not to miss out. A new waterway was planned to link the city to Langley, where it would there connect with the Cromford Canal, which was already very busy with coal traffic. The new canal opened in 1796 during the Industrial Revolution. It was 15 miles long with 20 locks and provided new ways to transport goods and people of Nottingham. The most important traffic on the canal was coal; other goods carried were gravel, road stone and manure. The geography of the waterways in central Nottingham was complex. The city is built on the River Trent but the river navigation immediately upstream of the city had always been difficult. While the Nottingham Canal was constructed, the Trent Navigation Company built an artificial canal – the Beeston Cut – to bypass the river from Trent Lock to Lenton. There it met with the Nottingham Canal, which became part of the river through-route. This is now the only part of the Nottingham Canal to survive. By the mid 19th Century, the waterways were rapidly being overtaken by railways. The Nottingham to Lincoln Line was opened in 1846. Railways provided competition in transporting goods and people between towns and cities and forced many canal companies into financial difficulties. Trade along the river was affected. The canal was taken over by the Ambergate, Nottingham, Boston, and East Junction Railway in 1855 and traffic steadily declined. It was disused by 1928, finally abandoned in 1937 and filled in after WWII, except for the 2¼ mile (3.6 km) section that ran from Lenton Chain to the River Trent through the city centre which was transferred to the River Trent Navigation and is still in use today. Today, the central Nottingham section is used for transporting boats and people but also providing leisure activities, such as kayaking, fishing and scenic walks. .

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