Construction of the canal was authorised by an Act of Parliament passed in 1665. The Act allowed a number of rivers to be made navigable, and in each case, undertakers were appointed, to carry out the work, as were commissioners, chosen from the local justices, who were responsible for confirming the tolls. The undertakers made very slow progress, and it was not until 1710 that the work was completed. They had built locks and some artificial cuts to bypass difficult sections of the river, and created a towing path for horses. The route was long, of which were new cuts, and although some of the rest used the course of the river, much of it followed secondary streams. New undertakers were not appointed as old ones died, and by 1767, the navigation was effectively owned by one man, a Mr Edward Pyott. Local people felt that he was exceeding his powers, and they obtained a second Act of Parliament in 1767, which noted that Pyott had created a trading and carrying monopoly, as he would refuse to carry coal and other goods which interfered with his own activities. The preamble to the Act claimed that this was harming the poor and the inhabitants of Winchester.