By 1852, the barge service to London only ran once a week, and it had ceased altogether three years later. Most vessels reaching Arundel were coasters rather than barges by 1886, and just 20 ships used the facilities that year. The Wey and Arun Canal closed in 1871. The proprietors of the upper river ceased to maintain the navigation from 1 January 1888, and the last barge passed through Hardham Tunnel on 29 January 1889. The river was abandoned as a navigation by a warrant issued as part of the Railway and Canal Traffic Act of 1888. The River Lark in Suffolk was the only other river navigation abandoned at that time. The Board of Trade issued a closing order in 1896, and after that, there was no navigation authority responsible for the upper river. However, traffic did not cease entirely.