The average tonnage passing Newnham (1849) was 363,000 tons, or about 1,000 tons per day. This was exclusive of 205,000 tons that go by way of the Gloucester and Berkeley Canal, part of which is locked into the river again.
Ben Devey, of Stourport, a carrier, took 25,000 to 30,000 tons a year to and from Bristol. The total tonnage on the Severn was reckoned about 5000,000 tons per annum. (E.Leader Williams).
'I have frequently seen 200 to 300 vessels aground at one time at Upton'. (E.Leader Williams). In one flood, 7 ft of sand was deposited throughout the Lincombe region for half a mile in 1847. Lincombe Lock was built on dry land and a new channel formed.
