Serendipity Curiosities

- a sort of mixed oddities, "did you know that...."

Inflation is not a new problem. 200 years ago it was reported that the cost of constructing the canal came to £153,463 - 64% more than estimated, due largely to a steep rise in wages....     The last attempt to reach Basingstoke was made by Mr A.J.Harmsworth aboard his narrowboat "Basingstoke " late in 1913, but the trip was abandoned at Basing through lack of water.... [More on the Last trip]     Colonel Samuel Cody, the first man in Britain to achieve powered flight on 16 October 1908 over Farnborough Common, tested a seaplane on Eelmoor Flash in 1913 the year of his death in a flying accident on nearby Laffan's Plain. [More on Col Cody]     One of the subcontractors employed to construct the canal, an American named Benjamin Henry Latrobe who became an architect, went on to design the American President's original White House in Washington.

Lock 24 on the Deepcut flight became known as Washerwoman's Lock during the canal's commercial days because a woman who lived in an adjacent cottage took in bargemens' washing.     800 gold guineas were unearthed when the canal was dug along the perimeter of Basing House. Believed to have been buried during the seige of Oliver Cromwell in 1645, more treasure worth £3 million is said to be buried there....     The one shilling copper token, the size of an old penny, which was paid to the navvies who built the canal for exchange at local pubs and shops, is now worth £250!     It took 33 thousand bricks (enough for 2 houses) to rebuild each of the locks on the canal. Some of the bricks used when rebuilding bridges (such as the half-round capping bricks) had to be made specially for the project. [More on the bricks]

Approx 46 thousand gallons of water are discharged down the canal whenever a boat uses a lock.     Why Lock 30? Although the Basingstoke Canal opened with 29 locks it was found that a further lock was necessary to raise the water level by 12 inches (30 cm) to assist navigation through the Greywell Tunnel and along the five miles of canal to Basingstoke.     This lock was constructed in 1797 (3 years after the canal opened to Basingstoke) and its remains can be found on the approach to the eastern end of the tunnel. [More on Lock 30]     This copper coin, dated 1813 was unearthed by a Hymac excavator at Dogmersfield. On one side the words "Pure copper is preferable to paper. One penny" and on the other side "Navigation and Trade".     But what is it? There is no record of it in English coin catalogues, but in a Canadian coin catalogue. It was minted between 1812 and 1814, and is known to have been imported, but why was it found at Dogmersfield?     Bridge name plates: It seems doubtful if any of the bridges over the canal had a number or name plate on their parapets as is traditional on most other canals. But during restoration, a Midlands firm was commissioned to make plates for the brick accomodation bridges in order to enhance them and to mark the restoration.     They were made in cast iron and stove enamelled, and each cost, at the time, £37.     Boundary stones: A few of these were discovered during the restoration of the canal. But where were they?     Strange things sometimes occur on the Basingstoke Canal.....     According to Duncan Larcombe reporting in The Sun newspaper for 2 July 2001, a businessman crashed this £25,000 car into the canal, three hours after borrowing it from a garage.     The driver decided to make the most of having the sporty Audi TT by driving two pals to a waterside restaurant for lunch. Towards the end of the meal, the man, in his '40s, went to start the car so the air conditioning would cool it down before they left.     But the 140mph motor had apparently been left in gear with the handbrake off. When the man leaned in and turned the key, the car shot down the bank and into the canal at North Warnborough with an almighty splash.     The X-reg Audi, on loan from a dealer while the (very embarrassed) man's own car was serviced, was eventually pulled free by a recovery truck in "a terrible state". The water may have ruined the car's electrics and may have to be "written off".     [First published in: The Sun, 2 July 2001 and reproduced with kind permission]   BACK

Last updated July 2001