1796 The tunnel was challenging...
The construction of Oxenhall tunnel was meeting considerable difficulty and incurring ruinous expenditure. At a meeting in November, the shareholders were informed of the company’s predicament; for an expenditure of £100,000 - more than Clowes’s original estimate for the whole line, the halfway town of Ledbury had not yet been reached.
1798 ...and more money was found
As a result of raising a further £4,000 the canal was opened to one mile short of Ledbury, on the Ross-on-Wye road.
1827 Ballard steps in...
Stephen Ballard, (aged 23), was appointed clerk.
1829 ...and tots up the costs.
Ballard submits a detailed report on the completion of the canal, which he estimates would cost £53,000.
1832 The Canal reaches Ledbury...
The canal was extended from the Ross
road to the Little Marcle road, in Ledbury,
in order to convey coal to the recently
opened Ledbury gas works.
