Sapperton Tunnel Portal

The Sapperton Canal Tunnel is on the Thames and Severn Canal near Cirencester. At 3490m it was the longest tunnel of any type in England from its completion in 1789 until 1811, when the Standedge Tunnel on the Huddersfield Narrow Canal was opened. The canal was an important driver of the development of the industries in Gloucestershire until - and in fact well beyond - the coming of the railways in the 1840s and 50s. John Ferrabee at one time had an interest in a canal cargo business.