Hackney Canal

The area to the north of the River Teign, particularly near to Chudleigh Knighton, Kingsteignton and Preston, was an important source of ball clay in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Most of the extraction sites were owned by Lord Clifford, who lived at Ugbrooke House. The clay was taken to Hackney Clay Cellars for drying, and was then transferred to Teignmouth by packhorse, where it was loaded into coasters for delivery to the pottery industry. The situation was far from ideal, particularly as the Teignmouth moorings were tidal, and the high tidal range made loading difficult. In order to improve the situation, Lord Clifford built a canal to link the clay pits to the River Teign.…