The idea of building a canal to link the River Wey and the River Arun, and so provide an inland water route between London and the south coast, was first put forward in the mid-17th century. Nothing became of it at that time, but a hundred years later the Wey had been made navigable as far as Godalming and the Arun to beyond Pulborough, and a scheme was promoted for a canal to fill the 20-mile gap between them. However, work did not start until 1813 and the canal was not completed until 1816.
The new canal was a failure right from the start. The through traffic which had been expected failed to materialise. The coastal route proved more attractive now that the war with the French had ended and Channel shipping was no longer threatened. Local traffic was insufficient to pay the costs of running the canal, although the benefits to agriculture in the area were considerable.
The supply of water to keep the canal topped up was always a problem. The company had enlarged Vachery Pond, just south of Cranleigh, to act as a reservoir, but even so, there were often restrictions in dry periods. This meant the carrying capacity of boats had to be reduced, further undermining the venture's usefulness.
The canal had been in operation for only a couple of decades when the railways began to spread across the south of England. In 1865 the line from Guildford to Horsham via Cranleigh opened for business, depriving the canal of even its local traffic. By 1871 it was bankrupt and was abandoned after a working life of just 55 years. It was already in a poor state of repair, and it did not take long for nature to begin to reclaim its course. Most of the bridges were demolished once the canal had been drained, and even brickwork from the locks seems to have been scavenged. Parts of the canal bed were sold off and have now been built over, but its old course can be traced for considerable distances.
Interest in the canal was revived in the 1960s with the publication of the poignantly-titled book London's Lost Route to the Sea by Paul Vine. With several schemes to restore closed canals being promoted in other parts of the country, local enthusiasts set up a Trust to attempt the 'impossible'. Progress has been slow, but parts of the canal have now been restored and rewatered, although it will still be many years before there is any chance of it reopening as a through route.
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