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The Somerset Coal Canal (originally known as the Somersetshire Coal Canal) was a narrow canal in England, built around 1800. Its route began in basins at Paulton and Timsbury, ran to nearby Camerton, over two aqueducts at Dunkerton, through a tunnel at Combe Hay, then via Midford and Monkton Combe to Limpley Stoke where it joined the Kennet and Avon Canal. This link gave the Somerset coalfield (which at its peak contained 80 collieries) access east toward London. The longest arm was 10.6 miles (17.1 km) long with 23 locks. From Midford an arm also ran via Writhlington to Radstock, with a tunnel at Wellow.
The caisson lock is a type of canal lock in which a narrowboat is floated into a sealed watertight box and raised or lowered between two different canal water levels. It was invented in the late 18th century as a solution to the problem posed by the excessive demand for water when conventional locks were used to raise and lower canal boats through large height differences. Such locks, each of which would only raise and lower boats through small height differences of a few feet, would not suffice when large height differences had to be tackled nor when water was in short supply. The caisson (or caisoon) was thought to be one solution, although it transpired that the technology of the day was not capable of achieving this type of construction economically.
National Heritage List for England number: 1129519
National Heritage List for England number: 1115369, 1135781, 1158735
National Heritage List for England number: 1129446
National Heritage List for England number: 1479463
National Heritage List for England number: 1391753
National Heritage List for England number: 1129518
National Heritage List for England number: 1135792
National Heritage List for England number: 1135799
National Heritage List for England number: 1471874
National Heritage List for England number: 1320774