Wallington canal

The Wallington Canal, created in 1839, was a 12.87 mile canal running from Sutton via Wallington to Carshalton.

History
The canal was created after the closour of the Croydon Canal, which ran from Croydon, via Forest Hill, to the Grand Surrey Canal at New Cross in south London in 1836 by an Act of Parliament. Its primary purpose was for the transport of lavender from Wallington to the surrounding areas. Its role was curcial during this period as Wallington at the time lacked a rail way. Afeter Wallington satation was built there was no real need for the canal, and most of it has since been built over leaving an underground river which links to the River Theams via Wimbledon. The canal had two inclined planes and 8 locks, arranged in two flights. A reservoir was constructed at Tooting to help keep the canal supplied with water. The canal was built to be 34 feet (10 m) wide. It had a maximum depth of 5 feet (1.5 m). By 1834, shortly after the poor law act, there were 22 barges on the canal. The barges were 60 feet (18 m) long and 9 feet (2.7 m) wide and could carry about 30 tons. The canal's main cargo was lavender.

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