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The Society
The Society was formed in 1966 to save the privately owned waterway,
and campaigned for restoration under public ownership. This was
achieved in the early 1970s when Hampshire and Surrey County Councils
purchased the derelict waterway.
In partnership with the local authorities, the Society organised voluntary working parties, managed work training schemes and employed a full-time team to restore the canal. Thirty two miles of the waterway, from the Wey Navigation junction to Greywell Tunnel, were formally reopened
in May 1991 by HRH The Duke of Kent. The canal is now managed by
the Basingstoke Canal Authority, financed by the two county council
owners and riparian local authorities.
In 1978 the
Society purchased a purpose-designed trip boat, the John
Pinkerton. This boat can seat 54 people and runs both public
and charter trips. The 'John Pinkerton' is manned by volunteers
and money raised was used to help the restoration, and now the maintenance
of the canal. New crews are always needed!
The name of the Society
The obvious name for a society wishing to restore the Basingstoke Canal would be the "Basingstoke Canal Society" and this indeed was the desired name. However, in 1966 the then owner of the canal, Mr S.E.Cooke, objected to it since, in his view, it was too close to that of his own company, The New Basingstoke Canal Co Ltd. So the compromise name of The Surrey & Hampshire Canal Society was chosen, and has remained so.
Why
support the Society now?
Whilst the canal
is navigable again, attracting motor cruisers and narrowboats, as
well as walkers, anglers, and canoeists, and supports a wide variety
of wildlife, full navigation throughout the year remains restricted.
Ever since the
waterway reopened, the locks have been closed for prolonged periods
during dry summer months to conserve the canal's limited supplies
of water. To alleviate closures, the Society is seeking to raise
funds for back-pumping of the St Johns flight of locks and other measures to guarantee all-year-round navigability of the canal.
The Society
continues to organise working parties
to help maintain and improve the canal and its towpath. Volunteers
have restored about a mile of the towpath west of Greywell Tunnel,
with a long-term plan to restore the 1,230-yard tunnel and the canal
westward. Society volunteers now carry out some maintenance work
such as tree clearance, towpath re-surfacing, piling, and building
overflow weirs.
Between 1994
and 1996 the Society managed a Community Action team which carried
out many tasks including building new moorings in Woking town centre.
The Society runs a series of illustrated talks
on a wide variety of subjects during the winter season.
Following the
completion of the main restoration phase of the canal, the Society's
present-day role, that of a "guardian" of the canal, watches for
unsuitable development plans and in general looks to safeguard the
canal's interests. Whether you join the Society
as an active member or simply to support its aims, your membership
will be welcomed - wherever you are in the world!
The Society
publishes for members a quarterly journal the Basingstoke Canal
News. All back issues are now available online.
Some
quotes from members -
- "I should have joined the Society years ago, you meet such nice people!"
- "The nice thing about it is that we've got all these friends, all the friends we've met, and we've got these friends for life."
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