The Caistor Canal was a 4-mile (6.4 km) canal in Lincolnshire, England, constructed between 1793 and 1798. It fell into disuse sometime after 1850 and was legally abandoned in 1936. It ran from the River Ancholme, near South Kelsey toward Caistor through six locks, terminating at Moortown, 3.5 miles (5.6 km) away from its intended terminus at Caistor. Parts of it were dredged in 2010, to aid flood defences in South Kelsey. History Water transport in the vale of the River Ancholme was improved as a result of work carried out between 1767 and 1769. The Caistor Canal was conceived in July 1792 as a feeder to the river, enabling boats to reach the market town of Caistor, some to the east. An initial meeting was called by a Mr Hall on 3 July 1792, at which it was decided to ask the canal engineer William Jessop to prepare a report. This was considered by the Ancholme Navigation Commissioners in order to assess the risks of flooding caused by the proposal. As they did not oppose the plan, the canal was authorised by an Act of Parliament passed on 3 June 1793, which created the Caistor Canal Navigation Company, with powers to raise £15,000 in £100 shares to construct the canal, and an additional £10,000 by loan if required. The potential for flooding was to be mitigated by routing the local springs into the head of the canal, and Robert Dickinson acted as engineer for the scheme. There were six locks, which lowered the level of the canal by . The Act authorised the building of the canal to a point near Caistor where a basin was to be built. Under the Caistor enclosure award, being prepared at the same time, a new road was laid out to the site of the proposed basin, but the basin and canal to it were never constructed. Instead, the canal ended 3.5 miles short at the Brigg to Market Rasen road. An entirely new settlement grew up here called Moortown. The canal opened to that point, probably in 1797/8. It is likely that financial problems were the reason for the shorter canal, as the company borrowed £4,600 from Francis Foljambe, one of the principal promoters of the canal and the major landowner on its route. Income from the tolls was not sufficient even to pay the interest, for there were £574 of arrears