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The Wey & Arun Canal was built to link the Rivers Wey and Arun to form an inland waterway route between London and the South Coast. Parts of the route were navigable as early as 1575, but the final link was not completed until 1816.
The Wey & Arun Canal consisted of two sections. The first section was the Arun Navigation, which gave trading vessels access to Newbridge Wharf (near Billingshurst) and was opened in 1787. The other part was the Wey & Arun Junction Canal, which ran from Newbridge to Shalford (near Guildford), and was opened in 1816.
Following the Industrial Revolution, commercial trade on the canal gradually increased, with 23000 tons carried at its peak in 1839. However, after 1840 traffic was lost to the railways. This resulted in closure of the canal in 1868 and legal abandonment three years later.
Trade still continued on the Wey Navigation (which runs between the Thames and Guildford). The Wey Navigation is now owned by the National Trust and is a very successful recreational waterway.
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