Roberta

Thank you to everyone who took the time to reply. It has been a thought-provoking thread -- especially the phrase immediately above. Gotta love those adjectives in combination: "moribund" and "sticky"!

Thanks for the prompt reply! My theoretical interest is not in trying to finance my own canal, but in ensuring that someone else does not nefariously attempt to dig a ditch through land I am considering buying. Just as a parcel of property is checked by solicitors before a client purchases it to ensure that it is not bisected by rights of way, so -- I would hazard -- it should be checked to see if ancient possibilities of canals snake through it. Who might know about this?

It is my understanding that more legislation was passed than was acted upon, given Canal Mania and financial bubbles etc. The routes were surveyed to enable the construction of a canal from A to B, and Parliament was persuaded to pass an act specific to that route, with the historical equivalent of compuslory purchase orders, or the right to serve such orders upon the hapless landowners. Then the canal was never built. Is there any case where those orders still hold some legal water? Could anyone direct me to resources or experts who could help me understand these issues better? Many thanks!