The Dorset And Somerset Canal.

The Dorset and Somerset Canal was a proposed canal in the south west of England. The main line was intended to link Poole, in Dorset with the Kennet and Avon Canal near Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire. A branch was to go from the main line at Frome to the southern reaches of the Somerset coalfield at Nettlebridge.

Construction began on the branch line in order to capitalise on the lucrative markets in the coal fields and the clothing industry in Frome. It was to incorporate novel balance locks to move boats up and down a hillside near Buckland Dinham, where the Murtry Aqueduct remains. The balance lock was designed by James Fussell, owner of the nearby Mells ironworks, and patented in 1798. One balance lock was successfully tested on 13 October 1800. Construction ceased in 1803 due to unforeseen costs and the canal was never completed

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