Beaumont Cut was a canal linking Beaumont Quay, in the parish of

Beaumont-cum-Moze Beaumont-cum-Moze () is a civil parish in the Tendring district of Essex, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 352, reducing to 339 at the 2011 Census. The parish includes the hamlets of Beaumont and Moze Cross. The plac ...

Tendring Tendring is a village and civil parish in Essex. It gives its name to the Tendring District and before that the Tendring Hundred. Its name was given to the larger groupings because it was at the centre, not because it was larger than the othe ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, England, with

Hamford Water Hamford Water is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest between Walton-on-the-Naze and Harwich in Essex. The site is a tidal inlet which has marsh grasslands, creeks, mud and sand flats, salt marshes, islands and beaches. It is descri ...

and the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

. It was opened in 1832 but fell into disuse and was closed at some time in the 1930s.

History

Archaeological studies suggest that the first canal on the site was built by the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

, possibly in connection with salt extraction in the area; Roman-era pottery sherds have been found and sites of

saltern A saltern is an area or installation for making salt. Salterns include modern salt-making works (saltworks), as well as hypersaline waters that usually contain high concentrations of Halophile, halophilic microorganisms, primarily haloarchaea but ...

s identified. The nineteenth-century canal was constructed to serve the extensive coastal traffic between the agricultural hinterland of Essex and London, with produce and animal fodder being carried into the capital and manure for the fields as cargo for the return trip. The proprietors of the venture were the governors of

Guy’s Hospital Guy's Hospital is an NHS hospital founded by philanthropist Thomas Guy in 1721, located in the borough of Southwark in central London. It is part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and one of the institutions that comprise the King' ...

, who owned agricultural estates in the area. They were granted supplies of stone from

Old London Bridge The name "London Bridge" refers to several historic crossings that have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark in central London since Roman times. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 1973, is a box gir ...

(demolished in 1831) for the purpose. Two vessels, the

Thames barge A Thames sailing barge is a type of commercial sailing boat once common on the River Thames in London. The flat-bottomed barges, with a shallow draught and leeboards, were perfectly adapted to the Thames Estuary, with its shallow waters and nar ...

s ''Beaumont Belle'' and ''The Gleaner'', both owned by the tenant of one of the estates, were initially based on the canal, but general trade was accepted. Beaumont Quay features in the 1939 novel ''

Secret Water ''Secret Water'' is the eighth book in Arthur Ransome's ''Swallows and Amazons'' series of children's books. It was published on 28 November 1939. This book is set in and around Hamford Water in Essex, close to the resort town of Walton-on-th ...

'' by

Arthur Ransome Arthur Michell Ransome (18 January 1884 – 3 June 1967) was an English author and journalist. He is best known for writing and illustrating the ''Swallows and Amazons'' series of children's books about the school-holiday adventures of childre ...

Surviving structures

The line of the canal remains watered and is easily traceable. The quay at the western end of the canal – together with a disused barn and a

lime kiln A lime kiln is a kiln used for the calcination of limestone (calcium carbonate) to produce the form of lime called ''quicklime'' (calcium oxide). The chemical equation for this reaction is: CaCO3 + heat → CaO + CO2 This reaction can tak ...

– was made a scheduled

ancient monument An ancient monument can refer to any early or historical manmade structure or architecture. Certain ancient monuments are of cultural importance for nations and become symbols of international recognition, including the Baalbek, ruins of Baalbek ...

and is now under the care of the parks department of Essex County Council.

References

External links

">Beaumont-cum-Moze parish historyEssex Essex Historic Environment RecordImage of restored west end of canal, from Pbase online image forum
{{coord, 51.8715, N, 1.1795, E, region:GB_source:enwiki-osgb36(TM187238), display=title, format=dms Canals in Essex History of Essex Scheduled monuments in Essex Archaeological sites in Essex Canals opened in 1832 Tendring