History of the Navigation

The idea of making the Wey navigable came from Sir Richard Weston of Sutton Place in the early 1600s. He'd seen river improvements in the Low Countries and believed similar work could bring trade and prosperity to Surrey. His scheme stalled with his death, but in 1651 a group of local businessmen obtained an Act of Parliament to proceed.

By 1653, the navigation was open from Guildford to the Thames--one of the first artificial waterways in England, predating the canal age by over a century. The engineering was impressive: 12 locks to manage the change in level, with cuts and channels to bypass the most difficult stretches of natural river.

Commercial years

The navigation transformed Guildford's economy. Heavy goods that previously went by road--slow, expensive, and damaging--could move by water. Timber from Surrey's forests, grain from local farms, manufactured goods for London markets. In the opposite direction came coal, building materials, and imported products.

The Godalming Extension opened in 1764, adding another 4 miles of navigation and bringing the total to 20 miles with 16 locks. This remained the commercial peak--traffic began to decline with the arrival of railways in the 1840s, though the last commercial cargo didn't pass until 1969.

National Trust stewardship

In 1964, Harry Stevens--owner of the navigation--gave it to the National Trust in lieu of death duties. It was the first such waterway the Trust had accepted. They've managed it ever since, maintaining the infrastructure for pleasure boats while preserving its heritage character.

Today the navigation carries narrowboats, day boats, kayaks, and paddleboards rather than barges of timber. But the locks still work, the towpath still runs alongside, and the Wey remains recognisably the waterway that Sir Richard Weston envisioned nearly 400 years ago.