Hardham Canal Tunnel

This is a canal tunnel, built in 1790 by James Edwards. The tunnel is constructed of brick. It is 357 metres long, 3.7 metres wide, and blocked 205 metres from the southern portal by a mound of chalk and clay. Originally, the tunnel had a height of 3.7 metres from the base of the tunnel (invert) to the top (crown). Above the blocking mound, a ladder leads to a concrete-lined vertical tunnel and an inspection hatch.

The northern portal is brick, featuring a small parapet built with bricks laid in a stretcher bond pattern above a semicircular, stilted arch. The arch is made of brick voussoirs (the individual pieces forming the arch) and has brick spandrels (the areas to either side of the arch). Two iron tie bolts secure the parapet, held in place by crossed anchor plates. A section of the left (east) side of the arch's face has collapsed. The southern portal lacks a parapet and features a semicircular, stilted brick arch with voussoirs, many of which are missing. Since the canal closed, rising water levels have submerged the arch, obscuring its sides.

The tunnel’s interior walls are lined with brick laid in a header bond pattern, but the tunnel beyond the south portal's entrance was not accessible.