Ventiford Basin

The Northern terminus of the Canal

Following  the  opening  of  the  Moretonhampstead  and  South  Devon  Railway  in  1866,  canal  traffic  gradually  declined  and  the Ventiford Basin  subsequently  became  redundant  and  steadily  fell  into  disrepair.  Flooding  by  the  adjacent  River  Teign  over  the  decades left layers of silt which gradually built up and buried all evidence of the canal and tramway. For  two  weeks  in  2014,  the  excavation  started  of  an  old  barge  which  had  been  laid-up  in  the  basin  when  it  became redundant  in  the  late  1800’s.  Granite  walls  to  the  basin  were  also  uncovered.  Later  that  year,  whilst  work  was  being  carried out  by  Devon  County  Council  on  the  construction  of  the  Stover  Trail  cycle  and  walkway,  evidence  of  the  Granite  Tramway was  uncovered. A  further  two  week  excavation  continued  in  2015.   It  was  becoming  evident  that  the  open  grassed  area  that was ‘Ventiford’ held many surprises in store. Restoration  work  was  greatly  helped  in  the  early  Summer  of  2016  by  the  involvement  of  the  management  and  some  of  the  staff of  the  local  clay  company,  Sibelco.  Hundreds  of  tonnes  of  silt  were  removed  from  the  canal  channel  and  more  hulked  barges and granite ‘rails’ were found

Permissions were received to re-water the canal basin by building a small, clay-cored dam with overspill, and to create a replica crane on the Western quayside. Further excavation on the Eastern side revealed the original working surface of the basin area. This has been preserved as a picnic area for visitors.