Hertford Union Canal drained

THE Herford Union Canal that connects the Regent's Canal to the Lee Navigation has been drained.

This just over one mile waterway, also  known as Ducket's Cut, that runs by the side of Victoria Park in Tower Hamlets, has been drained to carry out restoration work on its walls on both sides of the canal that are below the surface.

Canal & River Trust is using traditional building techniques to repair the walls, removing broken brickwork and masonry and replacing on a like-for-like basis. Open joints are being repointed with lime mortar and the new brickwork and masonry will aim to match the original as closely as possible.

Walk along the bottom

Hundreds of people have signed-up to take a walk along the bottom of the drained canal on Friday 18th and Saturday 19th February, for a rare view of the repairs and to meet the experts carrying out the works, with Ros Daniels, Regional Director for London & the South East at Canal & River Trust, explaining:

“The works on the Hertford Union Canal are a chance for people to see the effort that goes into preserving and protecting London’s precious waterways.

“Draining the canal is fascinating and the free ‘under water’ tours are fully booked-up with Londoners looking to take advantage of this rare opportunity. As well as being able to see the centuries-old canal walls that are usually hidden beneath the surface, they’ll get an insight into the things that get thrown into the capital’s waterways—including motor bikes, guns and historic artefacts—and find out about the work that goes into looking after the canal."

Safeguard the canal

This year’s work is part of a longer project to safeguard the Hertford Union Canal. Last year the trust carried out a detailed survey of the walls, removed weeds and foliage, reset coping stones, undertook repairs to Grove Road Bridge and a 25m long collapsed section of wall, and laid 50m of polyurethane grouting along the waterway wall.

The work on the canal costs £769,000 and has been supported by £547,200 via Historic England through the Heritage Stimulus Fund, part of the Government's Culture Recovery Fund.