The English and Bristol Channels' ship canal. An ambitious 19th century scheme to link Stolford in Somerset and Beer in Devonshire.

Until I read Somerset Mapped (Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society in association with Halsgrove Publishing, 2016) by Emma Down and Adrian Webb I had never heard of the ambitious scheme to link the Bristol Channel and English Channel by constructing a ship canal between Stolford in Somerset and Beer in Devonshire

The idea first came about in 1768, but it was not until James Green, under the supervision of Thomas Telford, surveyed the route in 1824 that the project became a serious proposal.  In 1825 an Act of Parliament gave the scheme the go-ahead, but although 600 subscribers came forward by 1828 the estimated cost of £1,712,844 had not been raised and the canal never saw the light of day.

The ship canal would have had new docks and harbours at Stolford and Beer.  From Stolford on the coast of the Bristol Channel the canal was planned to pass close to Bridgwater and east of Taunton then on through Somerset skirting the Blackdown Hills between Ilminster and Chard before entering Devonshire to end at Beer.  Building new docks and a harbour at Beer might have been feasible, but I am curious to know how a canal would have negotiated the high cliffs and steep hills surrounding that picturesque little coastal village – no doubt Georgian and Victorian engineers could have found a way!     

A view of the beach at Beer in Devonshire looking west toward Beer Head.

The beach at Beer in Devonshire on the English Channel coast.