remained unpaid. The cost of construction was about £30,000, but it appears that some debts were never paid. On 16 December 1831 the proprietors borrowed £5,000 from the Exchequer at a 5% rate of interest. Opening The canal finally opened on 15 August 1833, amid celebrations at both ends of the canal and a cavalcade to and from Highbridge to Glastonbury. A second celebration for the "respectable trading classes" was held nine days later. The first cargo of wood from Canada arrived in July 1835. The canal appears to have been successful initially, but the revenues generated were inadequate, and there were problems with water levels on the upper section. In 1840, the Prat brothers, whose legal firm had played a major part in the creation of the canal, disappeared, leaving a financial shortfall of over £40,000. It appears that they had put up most of the extra costs of construction, and may have borrowed some money from client's funds. They were declared bankrupt and Richard Prat was removed from office as town clerk and a Commissioner of Sewers, but the firm's collapse had a serious effect on the prosperity of Glastonbury. On the upper section, the final pond prevented the proper drainage of the surrounding land, which being composed of peat, started to swell. This caused the canal itself to rise and the clay puddling to fracture, resulting in further loss of water, and a reduced depth for navigation. Traffic had to be transhipped to smaller boats at Highbridge, which added to the costs of delivery. Receipts for 1848 were £300, which would indicate that the canal was probably only carrying about per annum. Closure Railways arrived in the area in 1841, with the opening of part of the Bristol and Exeter Railway on 14 June, which eventually reached Exeter in 1844. In late 1846, the railway company attempted to buy the canal to prevent its use by rival railway companies. The sale was agreed in principle in June 1847, and was authorised by an act of Parliament passed on 30 June 1848. The shareholders received £7,372 in 1850, and the canal company was dissolved in 1851. There was friction between the new owners and the Commissioners of Sewers. The railway company proposed the creation of a railway between Highbridge and Glastonbury in 1850, and the Somerset Central Railway was authorised by Parliament on 17 June 1852. The canal