Baybridge Canal.

The Baybridge Canal
(River Adur)

Like other Sussex rivers the Adur was a natural navigation route for a long time before the age of the canals, in 1825,the Baybridge Canal Company was formed, this was so that a navigable cut or canal could be formed from the river Adur at Bines Bridge to Baybridge a distance of some 3 ¾ miles.

Strictly speaking, what was built was not so much a canal but an improvement of the north- west arm of the river, this being widened and dredged.
Two locks were built and a small wharf at Baybridge.The northeast arm of the Adur was navigable to Mockbridge, 2miles north of Henfield on the A281.

The canal was built so that the local commodities could be sent to the markets more easier and quicker, this being wheat and high quality timber, especially oak, the canal was in use for about 35yrs,it was abandoned in 1875,but it had not really been used since around 1861,about the time the Shoreham-Horsham railway line opened.

The Canal is worth a visit, there are various areas that have survived the passage of time, the best preserved part is the Lock at Partridge Green, here can be found a brick lock-chamber, the brickwork is very fine, also there are remains of iron fitments. The best way to explore this canal is to walk the entire length, from Baybridge to Binesbridge a little over 3 miles ,refer to OS sheet197,or any good map of Sussex.

R.Gunner