After construction of the Arm had started, it was soon realised that little extra expense would be incurred in making the feeder navigable and authority to carry out this work, costing £13,000, was obtained in 1794. Although the Wendover Arm was primarily built to supply water for the locks at Marsworth and Cowroast it was served by many wharves along its length sending local produce to the London markets and also receiving coal, timber and manure for use on the land. Commercial traffic on the Grand Junction Canal increased very rapidly – the canal was the “M1″ of its day – so much so that a great number of reservoirs were built in the Tring area to collect water for canal use.
But the life of the Arm was short. By 1802 there was a considerable loss of water through the banks and the canal was closed for repairs to be carried out. By 1841, 20 locks of water were being lost per day through leakage, and extensive repuddling over a length of four and a half miles was carried out. To no avail, however, as by 1855 some 25 locks of water were escaping.
Further repairs saw the lining of the leaking parts of the canal with a layer of asphalt two and a half inches thick, in preference to repuddling with clay, a task which was completed by 1858. In spite of this, by 1870 the loss was 30 locks of water per day. Repair work continued in 1895-96. In 1897 the leakage was so large that the Arm was actually taking water from the main line.
Trade was lost to the nearby Aylesbury Arm which did not suffer from the same problems. – this of course meant that the Wendover Arm became less commercially viable. Stop-planks were put in at Little Tring with the result that, although the Wendover Arm was severed, the level of water in the summit pound immediately improved.
A stop-lock (which can still be seen above the Pumping Station) was constructed at Little Tring to permit the Arm to be used for traffic should the water situation improve. Eventually, despite massive protests from local people, the Royal Commission for Canals and Waterways, and the County Councils of Herts. and Bucks., the Grand Junction Canal Company blocked the canal above the stop lock and Little Tring, de-watered the next 1¼ miles and lowered the water level on the remaining 3¾ miles.
The Arm was closed in 1904.
