97-512: The Bradford Canal was a 3.5-mile (5.6 km) English canal which ran from the Leeds and Liverpool Canal at Shipley into the centre of Bradford . It opened in 1774, and was closed in 1866, when it was declared to be a public health hazard. Four years later it reopened with a better water supply, and closed for the second time in 1922. It was subsequently filled in, although consideration has been given to restoring it. There are some remains, including
194-650: A canal. John Longbotham was engaged to survey a route. Two groups were set up to promote the scheme, one in Liverpool and one in Bradford. The Liverpool committee was unhappy with the route originally proposed, following the Ribble valley through Preston , considering that it ran too far to the north, missing key towns and the Wigan coalfield. A counter-proposal was produced by John Eyes and Richard Melling, improved by P.P. Burdett , which
291-411: A committee to investigate the possibilities of a new canal. According to "Canal Road News", a full feasibility study has "concluded that reinstating Bradford Canal is feasible, represents value for money, and opens considerable development opportunities along the five-kilometre canal corridor". Issue 1 of "Canal Road News" shows a map of the proposed canal: it more or less follows the original path from
388-491: A detailed estimate of a distance just less than 109 miles (175 km) built at a cost of £259,777 (equivalent to about £32.67 million as of 2014). The Leeds and Liverpool Canal Act 1770 ( 10 Geo. 3 . c. 114) was passed in May 1770 authorising construction, and Brindley was appointed chief engineer and John Longbotham clerk of works ; following Brindley's death in 1772, Longbotham carried out both roles. A commencement ceremony
485-484: A draught of 8.2 feet (2.5 m). Locks on the Wakefield section can accommodate vessels which are 195 by 17.6 feet (59.4 by 5.4 m) with a draught of 7.5 feet (2.3 m), though rigid vessels are constrained to 141 ft to enable turning at Wakefield while the locks below Castleford have three sets of gates, so that a 200-foot (61 m) section can be used, rather than the full 457 feet (139 m) required by
582-470: A hydraulic hoist at Goole, which would lift them from the water and tip them over. Warde-Aldam thought that such a system could carry 45,000 tons of coal per year, and £13,382 was allocated for three train boats, a hoist, and hydraulic machinery to control the hoist and the lock into the docks. By late 1864, the prototypes were operational, with the stern section replaced by a pusher tug . Soon afterwards, extra compartments were ordered, as experience showed that
679-512: A narrow boat. Much of the ex-industrial (western) part of the Navigation now has the appearance of a tree-lined, gently-twisting river. The eastern part of the Navigation, sometimes known as the Knottingley and Goole Canal, is rather different: it has long straight stretches, but mainly through flat land that has always been agricultural. Between Wakefield and Leeds, via Castleford, the Navigation
776-522: A new cut at Castleford and on the line to Leeds, but legal action over the Selby Canal meant that it had to be made deeper and wider in 1832 and 1833. The Leeds line was completed in April 1835, somewhat later than anticipated, as the banks were made more substantial, to cope with steam tugs, which would be introduced in due course. The seven locks above Castelford were all 18 feet (5.5 m) wide. Improvements to
873-412: A newspaper article of April 2006, "Ambitious plans for a new canal between Shipley and Bradford have been given a cautious welcome by members of the construction industry. … After the presentation, many of the audience said the plans were exciting and could stimulate regeneration. But others were more cautious and questioned where funding would come from." By April 2010, Bradford Council owned 63 per cent of
970-459: A short section of canal at the junction and a pumping station building, which is now a dwelling. The first plans to provide a navigable route to Bradford were made in 1744, when a number of Gentlemen and Farmers sought parliamentary approval for improvements to 18 miles (29 km) of the River Aire , starting at Inghay Bridge, near Skipton , and ending at Cottingley Bridge, near Bingley , which
1067-510: A similar system in September 1974. Called BACAT , for Barges Aboard Catamaran, the system consisted of trains of barges, which were pushed by a tug, and which would be loaded between the twin hulls of a custom-built delivery ship. The ship would then transport them across the North Sea to continental waterways, without their contents having to be transshipped . The concept failed after 18 months, as
SECTION 10
#17328514818341164-519: A single lock at Lemonroyd. Opencast mining finally resumed ten years later, after the site had been pumped out, but the coal reserves are now exhausted, and the site forms a nature reserve, with wet grasslands, reedbeds and open water covering 740 acres (300 ha). A 20th-century modification of the compartment boat system was used to feed the coal-fired Ferrybridge "C" power station. Starting in 1967, Cawoods Hargreaves used trains of three tubs or coal pans, which were rigidly connected, and pushed by
1261-404: A six-day operation, after which the navigation was diverted over it, although the old aqueduct was left in place and can still be used. Although coal mining was one of the main reasons for the success of the navigation, it has also brought problems, caused by subsidence. In March 1988, the bank near Lemonroyd lock collapsed into St Aidan's opencast mine , which then flooded. A significant factor
1358-440: A source of water. The Bradford Board of Surveyors commented on the filth and stench in a report made in 1844, and an outbreak of cholera five years later, in which 406 people died, prompted the city council to take action. A wide-ranging sanitation bill was prepared, which included a clause to buy the canal and close it. The action would be funded by a £100,000 public loan. The bill went before Parliament, but concerted opposition by
1455-519: A tug and seven compartments could fit into the larger locks. In 1874, Warde-Aldam noted that "...the people now call them ' Tom Puddings ' from their wobbling gait." The length of the trains increased to ten or eleven tubs, but such a train was difficult to steer from the rear, and so the tugs moved to the front and pulled the assembly. In 1880 they carried 151,860 tons, and by 1913 there were 18 tugs, 1,010 compartments, and 1,560,006 tons were carried, 33 times Warde-Aldam's original estimate. Around 1864,
1552-587: A tug when loaded. The trains were filled with coal using canalside chutes at the colliery and pushed to the power station, where a hoist lifted each pan from the canal and upturned it to drop its contents onto a conveyor belt. Nine tugs and 35 pans were employed, with each pan holding around 170 tonnes. By the time the final load left Astley colliery in December 2002, 43 million tonnes had been delivered to Ferrybridge in this way. Experiments were made with trains of four pans, which allowed copper pipes to be carried on top of
1649-549: A tunnel at Foulridge , lowering the proposed summit level by 40 feet (12 m), using a more southerly route in Lancashire. These proposals were authorised by a fresh act of Parliament, the Leeds and Liverpool Canal Act 1790 ( 30 Geo. 3 . c. 65), together with further fund-raising, and in 1791, construction of the canal finally recommenced south-westward from Gargrave, heading toward Barrowford in Lancashire. By this time planning for
1746-456: A wagon-way from its works in Bowling to Staithes at Golden Lyon Yard about 200 yards south of the canal basin. Finished iron products and coal were exported from the town by the canal via the wagon-way. The carriage of wool from Australia was an important source of revenue from the 1820s, and from 1828, packet boats carried passengers to Selby and Leeds . Water supply was a significant issue for
1843-574: A winding course to join the River Ouse at Airmyn . The section below Haddlesey is no longer part of the navigation, as a derelict lock blocks access to the lower river. Instead, the Selby Canal flows northwards from Haddlesey to the Ouse at Selby . Below Dole Bank Junction, the Knottingley and Goole Canal flows eastwards to join the Ouse at Goole . From just before Newbridge, where the modern A614 road crosses
1940-576: Is 127 miles (204 km) long and crosses the country from Liverpool to Leeds, via East Lancashire and the Pennines. It was generally built with locks 60 ft (18 m) long and 14 ft 3 in (4.34 m) wide. From Liverpool to Appley Locks, the canal runs for 27 miles (43 km) without locks, across the West Lancashire Coastal Plain . The two main side-branches both connect to other waterways. The Rufford Branch links into
2037-641: Is a canal in Northern England , linking the cities of Leeds and Liverpool . Over a distance of 127 miles (204 km), crossing the Pennines , and including 91 locks on the main line. The Leeds and Liverpool Canal has several small branches, and in the early 21st century a new link was constructed into the Liverpool docks system . In the mid-18th century the growing towns of Yorkshire , including Leeds, Wakefield and Bradford , were trading increasingly. While
SECTION 20
#17328514818342134-611: Is achieved have changed significantly. More recent canals now also make the Navigation a vital link in the English and Welsh connected inland waterway network. Beyond Leeds, the Leeds and Liverpool Canal carries boats over the Pennines. The Calder and Hebble Navigation , which connects to the Navigation at Wakefield, allows boats to reach the Huddersfield Broad and Narrow Canals, and the Rochdale Canal . The Selby Canal connects to
2231-491: Is now below Forster Square. They could also build reservoirs, and take water from various brooks. The canal ran for 3.5 miles (5.6 km), dropping by 86 feet (26 m) through 10 locks on its way from Bradford to Shipley. Abraham Balme, one of the original promoters, oversaw the construction, with John Longbotham giving engineering advice. The locks on the canal were 66 by 15.2 feet (20.1 by 4.6 m), and could accommodate boats drawing 5 feet (1.5 m). The sizes were
2328-685: Is part of a circular cruising route or "ring", formed by the Leeds & Liverpool and the Huddersfield or Rochdale canals. The Outer Pennine Ring utilises the Huddersfield Canal, while the North Pennine Ring uses the Rochdale Canal for the southern crossing of the Pennines. Beyond Castleford, boaters can travel on to Selby, York, Goole, Sheffield, and Keadby. With the possible restoration of
2425-614: Is the canalised section of the Rivers Aire and Calder in West Yorkshire , England. The first improvements to the rivers above Knottingley were completed in 1704 when the Aire was made navigable to Leeds and the Calder to Wakefield, by the construction of 16 locks. Lock sizes were increased several times, as was the depth of water, to enable larger boats to use the system. The Aire below Haddlesey
2522-486: Is used as a dwelling. In the early years of the 21st century, there is a plan to rebuild the Bradford Canal. Among of the many projects conceived in connection with Bradford's bid to be European Capital of Culture for 2008 (which competition was actually won by Liverpool ), one was a scheme to recreate the Bradford Canal. In 2004 Bradford Council, British Waterways , and Bradford Centre Regeneration jointly established
2619-535: The Aire and Calder Navigation improved links to the east for Leeds, links to the west were limited. Bradford merchants wanted to increase the supply of limestone to make lime for mortar and agriculture using coal from Bradford's collieries and to transport textiles to the Port of Liverpool . On the west coast, traders in the busy port of Liverpool wanted a cheap supply of coal for their shipping and manufacturing businesses and to tap
2716-706: The First World War , and was down to 38,821 tons in 1920. With no obvious way to return the canal to profit, a bill to abandon the canal was submitted to Parliament in 1921, but was opposed by West Riding County Council, Bradford Corporation, and the Bradford Chamber of Commerce . A second attempt the following year was successful, with the Bradford Canal (Abandonment) Act 1922 ( 12 & 13 Geo. 5 . c. xxix) being passed in June 1922. Closure occurred on 25 June, with just
2813-668: The French Revolution , Britain had been at war with France from 1793 to 1802. The peace proved temporary, with the Napoleonic Wars beginning the following year. High taxes and interest rates during this period made it difficult for the company to borrow money, and the pace of construction inevitably slowed. In 1804 Samuel Fletcher also died and his brother Joseph and son James were jointly appointed to replace him and they were provided with Gannow House in Burnley. In 1805 they estimated
2910-642: The Haslingden Canal . The Peel family asked the canal company not to construct the crossing over the River Hyndburn above their textile printworks; such a crossing would have required the construction of embankments, and reduced the water supply to their factories. Consequently, Accrington was bypassed and the Haslingden Canal was never built. Yet more fund-raising took place, as the Foulridge Tunnel
3007-544: The Leeds and Liverpool Canal as far as Queens Road bridge. But south of that bridge the map shows it crossing Canal Road, and continuing on the west (city) side of that road, past the Conditioning House and finishing at the proposed Channel Urban Village. The plan shows 11 locks. Another noteworthy item on the map, not directly related to the canal, is a potential Manningham station on the Airedale Line. According to
Bradford Canal - Misplaced Pages Continue
3104-466: The River Aire , at Dowley Gap. Also completed was the branch to Bradford . On the western side, the section from Liverpool to Newburgh was dug. By the following year the Yorkshire end had been extended to Gargrave , and by 1777 the canal had joined the Aire and Calder Navigation in Leeds. From Liverpool it had reached Wigan by 1781, replacing the earlier and unsatisfactory Douglas Navigation . By now,
3201-570: The 1840s, by making traffic agreements, but still suffered a significant drop in trade. Receipts dropped by one-third between 1851 and 1856. Thomas Hammond Bartholomew, the chief engineer, had been experimenting with steam power since 1813, and steam paddle tugs had been operating on the system since 1831. When he died in late 1852, two-thirds of the traffic was pulled by steam tugs. His son, William Hammond Bartholomew, replaced him and introduced tugs with propellers soon afterwards. These could tow ten keels , carrying 700 tons, but were held up at locks, as
3298-401: The Aire and Calder Navigation. They received £27,000, and the buyers also redeemed a £5,000 mortgage. The sale was authorised by the Bradford Canal (Transfer) Act 1878 ( 41 & 42 Vict. c. clvi), and the new Bradford Canal Company was dissolved. Traffic rose from 80,674 tons in 1888 to 102,390 tons in 1910, but profits were minimal due to the cost of maintenance. Traffic decreased during
3395-554: The Aire and Calder dabbled in owning its own railways, purchasing the Silkstone Waggonway from the Barnsley Canal . But this proved a poor investment; in 1866 the waggonway carried just 3,246 tons of coal down from a peak of over 32,000 in 1851, and in 1870 no coal was carried at all. In August 1872, it was reported that "the rails have been pulled up and sold". After the First World War , another programme of improvements to
3492-501: The Aire and the Selby canal was maintained by the lock at Bank Dole. Goole became an official port in 1827, when it gained its own Customs facilities. The scheme had cost £361,484, of which £221,350 had been borrowed, while the rest came from company resources. Faced with yet another outside scheme which would bypass the navigation from Wakefield to Ferrybridge, the company looked at improvements which would give 7 feet (2.1 m) of water all
3589-520: The Bradford Canal." Although the company argued that the water was polluted before it entered the canal, an injunction prevented them from taking water from the Bradford Beck after 6 November 1866. An offer by the Leeds and Liverpool Canal to take it over and clean it up was rejected by those who had brought the court order. Closure was postponed until 1 May 1867, while both the Bradford Company and
3686-477: The Calder to Wakefield took longer, as there were problems with floods filling the workings, difficulty with constructing foundations for an aqueduct which would carry the navigation over the River Calder at Stanley Ferry , and then in transporting the castings for the aqueduct to the site. The cost of the improvements ran to around £510,000. The Aire and Calder tried to work with the railways when they arrived in
3783-645: The City of York, who feared that the River Ouse would be damaged by the scheme. The parliamentary bill was hotly contested, and the House of Lords asked Trinity House to produce a report on the three rivers. This favoured the scheme, and in May 1699 the Aire and Calder Navigation Act 1698 ( 10 Will. 3 . c. 25) was granted. It named 18 undertakers, nine from the Corporation of Leeds, and nine "gentlemen of Wakefield", who would oversee
3880-537: The Dutch River at Newbridge, with a branch to Doncaster , and another for a Went and Wakefield Canal, to connect Cold Hiendley on the Barnsley Canal to Newbridge on the Don. With revenue from tolls reaching £82,092 in 1818, which enabled a dividend of £54,000 to be paid, the company was in a healthy state, and proposed their own route from Haddlesey to the Dutch River. The destination was then changed to Goole , and John Rennie
3977-562: The Lancaster Canal between Aspull and Johnson's Hillock. The main line of the canal was thus completed in 1816. There had been various unsuccessful negotiations to connect the canal to the Bridgewater Canal at Leigh but agreement was finally reached in 1818, and embodied in the Leeds and Liverpool Canal Branch and Railway Act 1819 ( 59 Geo. 3 . c. cv) and the connection was opened in 1820, thus giving access to Manchester and
Bradford Canal - Misplaced Pages Continue
4074-476: The Leeds and Liverpool Canal, the Aire and Calder Navigation , the Bradford Canal and other industrialists succeeded in reducing the amount of the loan to £50,000, which was insufficient to enable the canal to be purchased. Hot weather in 1864 led to a fund being opened, so that a court order could be used to close the canal, on the basis that it was a public nuisance. A local newspaper, The Bradford Observer , described it as "that seething cauldron of all impurity,
4171-517: The Leeds and Liverpool attempted to obtain an act of Parliament, but both failed, and so the canal closed and was drained. With no means to transport their stone, several merchants started to negotiate with the Leeds and Liverpool, the Aire and Calder and Bradford Council. A new company, called the Bradford Canal Company Limited, was formed, and bought most of the canal from the old company for £2,500. The section above Northbrook Bridge
4268-424: The Leeds to Selby bill was rejected by Parliament, but the Aire and Calder bill was passed as the Aire and Calder Navigation Act 1774 ( 14 Geo. 3 . c. 96) with a few amendments. Construction of the Selby Canal began in 1775, and it was opened on 29 April 1778. The new cut at Castleford opened in spring 1775, while those at Knostrop and Hunslet were finished in 1779. Methley cut was completed, but Woodlesford
4365-592: The Ouse, from where boats can travel upstream to reach York, Boroughbridge and Ripon , or downstream to the River Derwent . Beyond Goole are the Humber and hence Hull , Immingham , and the North Sea . The Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation , which can be reached via the New Junction Canal , forms a link with Doncaster , Rotherham and Sheffield to the south west, and the tidal River Trent at Keadby to
4462-496: The Pennines the Leeds and Liverpool had been beaten by the Huddersfield Narrow Canal and the Rochdale Canal . The most important cargo was always coal, with over a million tons per year being delivered to Liverpool in the 1860s. Even in Yorkshire, more coal was carried than limestone. Once the canal was fully open, receipts for carrying merchandise matched those of coal. The heavy industry along its route, together with
4559-785: The River Douglas and, via the Ribble Link and the River Ribble to the previously isolated Lancaster Canal . The Leigh Branch from Wigan leads to the Bridgewater Canal and thus to Manchester and the Midlands . The canal at Aintree passes close to the racecourse and gives the name to the course's Canal Turn . Direction: East (top) to west (bottom) Bibliography 53°47′34″N 01°32′53″W / 53.79278°N 1.54806°W / 53.79278; -1.54806 Aire and Calder Navigation The Aire and Calder Navigation
4656-439: The canal company. As Bradford grew, the basin was surrounded by housing, and pollution from sewage occurred. Further down, mills drew water from the canal, used it for industrial processes, and returned it to the canal. The company had bought up tracts of land at the end of the 18th century, to obtain water rights, and had dammed Bradford Beck , despite the fact that their authorising act of Parliament had specifically excluded it as
4753-482: The canal there were tank traps , bunkers and blockhouses . Some buildings such as barns and pubs along the canal were fortified. There are still some remaining concrete pillboxes and brick built blockhouses. In August 2010, a 60-mile stretch of the canal was closed due to the low reservoirs, following the driest start to the year since records began. It was reopened the following month, although some restrictions remained. The £22 million Liverpool Canal Link
4850-542: The coal for delivery to Goole, but this was short-lived. Coal carrying came to an abrupt halt in 2003 when the St Aidan's opencast mine was exhausted and the coal from Kellingley colliery was found to have levels of sulphur content high above the acceptable limit. During 2008, three of the trains were used on the River Don, to transport 250,000 tonnes of limestone from a quarry at Cadeby to Hexthorpe. British Waterways introduced
4947-483: The committee for the Leeds and Liverpool, planned a branch which would serve the town of Bradford . An act of Parliament , the Bradford to Idle Canal Act 1771 ( 11 Geo. 3 . c. 89) was obtained on 29 April 1771, which appointed 28 proprietors. They could raise £6,000 in capital by issuing shares, with a further £3,000 if needed, to be used to construct a canal from Shipley to a place in Bradford called Hoppy Bridge, which
SECTION 50
#17328514818345044-445: The company eventually built much of the new town as well as the docks. The canal and docks opened on 20 July 1826. A barge lock, 72.5 by 22 feet (22.1 by 6.7 m) and a ship lock, 120 by 33.7 feet (36.6 by 10.3 m), capable of taking vessels up to 400 tons, connected the extensive docks to the Ouse. The new section was 18.7 miles (30.1 km) long, with locks at Ferrybridge , Whitley , Pollington and Goole. The connection to
5141-443: The compartment boats. The main problem with upgrading the Wakefield branch was the dimensions of George Leather's cast iron aqueduct over the River Calder at Stanley Ferry. Structural analysis showed that parts of the ironwork were overloaded, and so in 1981 a new concrete aqueduct was cast by John Laing Construction Ltd , on a site a little further upstream. The complete structure was then pushed into position by hydraulic jacks in
5238-577: The competing Rochdale Canal was under way and it was likely to offer a more direct journey to Liverpool via Manchester and the Bridgewater Canal. The same year John Rennie surveyed a branch of the Rochdale between Todmorden and Burnley. In 1794 an agreement was reached with the Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal company to create a link near Red Moss near Horwich . The company's experiences running
5335-531: The cost of linking Enfield to Red Moss would be £245,275 and £101,725 for the shorter continuation to Wigan (totalling about £27.36 million in 2014). The planned link with the Manchester, Bolton and Bury did not materialize. The latest plan for the route had it running parallel to, and then crossing the southern section of the Lancaster Canal , but common sense prevailed and the Leeds and Liverpool connected with
5432-621: The decision to build the canal with broad locks, ensured that (unlike the other two trans-Pennine canals) the Leeds and Liverpool competed successfully with the railways throughout the 19th century and remained open through the 20th century. The canal suffered some damage during the Second World War . It was breached when a German bomb fell on it in Bootle . The canal in West Lancashire was part of Britain's defensive plans against invasion. Along
5529-447: The depth of water. There was a long-running dispute with Arthur Ingram, who owned Knottingley mill, which started in 1731, and was not finally resolved until 1776, when the company bought both of Ingram's mills. Despite this, the general profitability of the navigation led the undertakers to be complacent about its development. They asked John Smeaton to suggest improvements in 1771, but the subsequent attempt to authorise such improvements
5626-441: The dock workers at Hull blacklisted the entire British Waterways fleet, because they believed that the system would threaten their jobs. Most of the commercial traffic using the navigation now consists of petroleum tankers and gravel barges. The Aire and Calder was built for commercial freight, and although the volume carried has dropped significantly, particularly since coal deliveries to Ferrybridge power station by canal stopped,
5723-521: The east. In the early 1600s, the River Aire was navigable to Knottingley, and boats carrying up to 30 tons traded on the river, which was tidal up to this point. The traders of Leeds were keen to have a navigable link to the town, to make easier the export of woollen cloth, but bills presented to Parliament in 1621 and 1625 had failed. William Pickering, who was mayor of Leeds, had made further attempts to obtain an act of Parliament for improvements to
5820-558: The gradual demise of the coal industry led to compartment traffic ceasing in 1986. The 20th century saw two major phases of improvement. In 1905, the New Junction Canal connected the Aire and Calder to the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation near Stainforth. It was funded by the Aire and Calder, with the Don Navigation eventually meeting half the cost. During the 1960s, the navigation underwent another modernisation scheme, in which
5917-408: The improvements to the River Aire (from the River Ouse at Airmyn via Castleford to Leeds ) and the River Calder (from Castleford to Wakefield ). The act gave them powers which included the creation of weirs bypassed by short "cuts" equipped with locks, the creation of a towpath , and the right to buy and demolish mills and weirs . John Hadley was engaged as the engineer immediately, and by 1704
SECTION 60
#17328514818346014-403: The keels had to be worked through one at a time. Between 1860 and 1867, the locks from Goole to Castleford were extended to 206 by 22 feet (62.8 by 6.7 m) to alleviate this. In 1861, Bartholomew met with the chairman, Warde-Aldam, to propose a system of sectional boats, each consisting of six compartments, with a bow and stern section. The compartments or tubs would be unloaded into ships by
6111-421: The locks from Goole to Leeds were upgraded and enlarged to accommodate vessels conforming to the 600-tonne Euro-barge standard. There is some variation in lock sizes, with the smallest being at Knostrop, which is 203 by 22 feet (61.9 by 6.7 m) with a water depth of 8.4 feet (2.6 m) over the lock cill. Euro barges are 200 by 20 feet (61.0 by 6.1 m), and when fully loaded with 600 tonnes of cargo, have
6208-474: The locks was carried out, extending the locks to 457 feet (139 m), which enabled trains of 19 compartments to operate regularly. Experiments with trains as long as 38 tubs were carried out, but the difficulty of splitting the train to pass through the locks meant that 19 was the usual maximum. The compartments continued until the late 1960s to carry around half a million tons of coal, long after most British canals had ceased to be used for commercial traffic, but
6305-432: The lower Aire, but his assistant, William Jessop actually carried out the work. He proposed a 7 + 1 ⁄ 4 -mile (11.7 km) canal from Haddlesey lock to the Ouse at Newland. With Parliament not reaching a decision, they reworked their plan, which was now for a 5 + 1 ⁄ 4 -mile (8.4 km) canal from Haddlesey to Selby , with a new cut from Ferrybridge to Beal, and improvements above Castleford. In 1774
6402-479: The most expensive single item in the whole project. At Burnley, rather than using two sets of locks to cross the shallow Calder valley, Whitworth designed the Burnley Embankment , a 1,350 yards (1,234 m) long and up to 60 feet (18 m) high earthwork. It would also require another 559 yards (511 m) tunnel nearby at Gannow and a sizeable cutting to allow the canal to traverse the hillside between
6499-460: The navigation still carried 300,000 tonnes of freight in 2007, down from 1.64 million tonnes in 2000. The Leeds to Castleford section and much of the Wakefield branch are now mainly used as leisure routes, but below Castleford, the industrial nature of the waterway is more obvious, and pleasure boats must give way to commercial vessels. 600 tonne vessels, designed to make maximum use of the locks, produce considerable wash, and are not as manoeuvrable as
6596-509: The nominal capital at £26,700. Regular dividends at 7 per cent were paid to the shareholders from 1718, and the navigation was leased to various groups, who would be responsible for collection of tolls and repairs. The lease rose from £800 in 1704 to £2,600 in 1729, when receipts from each of the previous five years had averaged £6,016. The early trade consisted mainly of woollen goods from Leeds, Wakefield, Halifax and Bradford , with wool and corn from Lincolnshire and East Anglia travelling in
6693-414: The opposite direction. By the 1720s there were also significant quantities of coal. Some development of the navigation occurred. In 1744, the undertakers bought some land at Airmyn, and developed warehousing and wharfage there, as a more convenient point than Rawcliffe, where the water was shallower. In the 1760s, £13,000 was spent on improvements and maintenance, with several weirs being rebuilt to improve
6790-416: The original work was completed, including 12 locks on the Aire between Haddesley and Leeds and 4 on the Calder. The locks were 58 to 60 feet (17.7 to 18.3 m) long by 14.5 to 15 feet (4.4 to 4.6 m) wide with 3.5 feet (1.1 m) depths over the sills. Capital to fund the scheme had been raised separately by the Wakefield and Leeds committees. A complicated restructuring of the finances in 1721 fixed
6887-456: The output from the industrial regions of Lancashire . Inspired by the effectiveness of the wholly artificial navigation, the Bridgewater Canal opened in 1759–60. A canal across the Pennines linking Liverpool and Hull (by means of the Aire and Calder Navigation) would have obvious trade benefits. A public meeting took place at the Sun Inn in Bradford on 2 July 1766 to promote the building of such
6984-511: The rest of the canal network. The Bridgewater Canal, like most of Brindley's designs was for boats of 72 feet (22 m) length, whereas the Leeds and Liverpool had been designed for broad boats of 62 feet (19 m) length. There was naturally a desire by the longer boats to reach Liverpool and the locks of the westerly end of the canal were extended to 72 feet (22 m) in 1822. James Fletcher continued as engineer until his death in 1844. The canal took almost 50 years to complete; in crossing
7081-406: The river in 1679, again without success. As the 1600s drew to a close, a number of bills were passed for other rivers, and there was general support for river navigations. A bill was drawn up in 1698, with support from wool traders in Leeds and general merchants in Wakefield. John Hadley surveyed the Aire, and Samuel Shelton surveyed the Calder. Although the bill had a lot of support, it was opposed by
7178-445: The route of the renewed canal, and was considering how best to acquire the rest, which was in private ownership at the time. A feasibility study by the civil engineers Arup and the architects Lathams identified the potential for regeneration that such a scheme would have. Download coordinates as: [REDACTED] Media related to Bradford Canal at Wikimedia Commons Leeds and Liverpool Canal The Leeds and Liverpool Canal
7275-403: The same as those of the neighbouring Leeds and Liverpool. The work was completed by March 1774, when Mr Balme paid for the bell ringers of Bradford to ring out his arrival by boat. The Leeds and Liverpool opened from Bingley to Thackley in the same month. The opening was a year later than planned, and the canal had cost £9,424 14s 2d to build, about £3,500 over budget. Initially the main cargo
7372-422: The section from the Leeds and Liverpool canal to the bottom of the first lock being retained, to be used as moorings. Subsequently, much of the canal's route has been built upon and filled in. Apart from the junction, several of the bridges which once spanned it are still visible in whole or in part. Near the site of the first lock is a lock keepers cottage and the pumping station building, which has been restored and
7469-575: The subscribed funds and further borrowing had all been spent, and work stopped in 1781 with the completion of the Rufford Branch from Burscough to the River Douglas at Tarleton . The war in the American colonies and its aftermath made it impossible to continue for more than a decade. In 1789 Robert Whitworth developed fresh proposals to vary the line of the remaining part of the canal, including
7566-404: The time, and became a major transhipment port for the smaller boats using the canal. Canal boats were limited to about 60 tons, whereas ships of up to 200 tons could reach Selby. By 1800, it was handling some 369,780 tons of goods, and the support industries of ropemaking, sailmaking and shipbuilding were expanding. In 1817, there was a proposal for an Aire and Don Canal, to connect Knottingley to
7663-476: The traffic is now petroleum and gravel, rather than the coal which kept the navigation profitable for 150 years. The Aire and Calder is a canalisation of the River Calder from Wakefield to Castleford , where it joins the branch from Leeds , which follows the River Aire . The Aire continues to flow eastwards to Bank Dole Junction, then continues in a north-easterly direction to Haddlesey, from where it follows
7760-537: The two sections of the canal had shown that coal not limestone would be its main cargo, and that there was plenty of income available from local trade between the settlements along the route. With this in mind in the same year, the route was changed again with a further act of Parliament, the Leeds and Liverpool Canal Act 1794 ( 34 Geo. 3 . c. 94), moving closer to that proposed by Burdett. The Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal company proposed another link from Bury to Accrington. This new link would have been known as
7857-488: The two. It took 5 years to complete this work, with the embankment alone costing £22,000, about £1.55 million in 2014 (comparing the historic opportunity cost of £22,000 in 1801 with 2014). Whitworth died aged 64, on 30 March 1799 and Samuel Fletcher, previously the inspector of works took over as engineer. Once the Burnley work was completed, the canal opened to Enfield near Accrington in 1801. It would be another 9 years until it reached Blackburn only 4 miles away. Following
7954-569: The waterway, this branch of the navigation runs parallel to the Dutch River, an artificial channel built in 1635 to alleviate flooding caused by Cornelius Vermuyden 's original diversion of the River Don northwards to the River Aire in 1628. The Aire and Calder still fulfils its original purpose of linking Leeds and Wakefield with York and the Humber (and thence the Trent ), although the routes by which this
8051-450: The way to both Leeds and Wakefield. Thomas Telford surveyed both routes, and it became the basis for an act of Parliament, the Aire and Calder Navigation Act 1828 ( 9 Geo. 4 . c. xcviii), which was passed in June 1828. It included a clause to ensure that the Selby Canal was maintained with a depth of water of 5 feet (1.5 m), and made provision for extensions to Goole docks. Work started on
8148-461: Was asked to survey the route. Those opposing the scheme were placated by a clause which ensured the Aire to Airmyn and the Selby Canal would be maintained. In July 1821, Rennie proposed the construction of docks at Goole, rather than a lock into the river, and the company proposed that 7 feet (2.1 m) of water should be available. Rennie died in late 1821, and George Leather took over as engineer. Construction at Goole started on 28 September 1822, and
8245-543: Was bypassed by the opening of the Selby Canal in 1778. A canal from Knottingley to the new docks and new town at Goole provided a much shorter route to the River Ouse from 1826. The New Junction Canal was constructed in 1905, to link the system to the River Don Navigation , by then part of the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation . Steam tugs were introduced in 1831. In the 1860s, compartment boats were introduced, later called Tom Puddings , from which coal
8342-485: Was completed in 2009, joining the Leeds and Liverpool Canal with the City Centre. On 11 October 2021 the stretch between Barrowford and Blackburn was closed following a breach in the canal appearing between bridges 109 and 110. Later that month, lock numbers 73 and 80 were among 142 sites across England to receive part of a £35-million grant from the government's Culture Recovery Fund . The Leeds and Liverpool Canal
8439-458: Was disputed in Parliament on the basis that the present navigation was totally inadequate. The recently finished Calder and Hebble Navigation proposed to build a canal from Wakefield to the Dutch River, which would bypass the Calder completely, and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal supported a Leeds to Selby canal, which would bypass the Aire. During 1772, they asked Smeaton to survey a route to avoid
8536-531: Was held at Halsall , north of Liverpool on 5 November 1770, with the first sod being dug by the Hon. Charles Mordaunt of Halsall Hall. The first section of the canal opened from Bingley to Skipton in 1773. By 1774 the canal had been completed from Skipton to Shipley , including significant engineering features such as the Bingley Five Rise Locks , Bingley Three Rise Locks and the seven-arch aqueduct over
8633-426: Was not, as the company bought the mill there instead. All locks were replaced, and the total cost was over £60,000, of which around £20,000 was for the Selby Canal. The navigation remained profitable, paying £9,000 in dividends in 1775, which had risen to £32,000 by 1791. Most traffic now used the Selby route, and the transhipment facilities at Airmyn were closed in 1779. Selby was the upper limit for seagoing ships at
8730-452: Was proving difficult and expensive to dig. The new route took the canal south via the expanding coal mines at Burnley , Accrington and Blackburn , but would require some sizable earthworks to pass the former. The completion in 1796 of the 1,640-yard-long (1,500-metre) Foulridge Tunnel and the flight of seven locks at Barrowford enabled the canal to open to eastern Burnley. At a cost of £40,000 (about £3.65 million in 2014). The tunnel became
8827-418: Was rejected by the Bradford committee as too expensive, mainly because of the valley crossing at Burnley . James Brindley was called in to arbitrate, and ruled in favour of Longbotham's more northerly route, though with a branch towards Wigan, a decision which caused some of the Lancashire backers to withdraw their support, and which was subsequently amended over the course of development. In 1768 Brindley gave
8924-411: Was reopened in 1872, five years to the day since it had closed, and the top section was reopened the following April. Although the stone traffic, which had been around 125,000 tons per year prior to closure, returned, most of the other traffic had moved to the railway, and did not. Receipts were inadequate to make the canal pay, and so the owners sold it to a coalition of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and
9021-436: Was sold to developers, and on 21 March 1870, the old company was wound up. The new company expected to get a water supply from two reservoirs and three streams, and hoped to supplement this with a pipeline running from the top of the Leeds and Liverpool's Bingley locks . This suggestion was refused, and they resorted to building steam pumping engines at each lock, to pump water up the canal. The section from Shipley to Oliver Lock
9118-529: Was stone, as a number of kilns were built beside the canal by the Bradford Lime Kiln Company and limestone was brought from Skipton. Coal pit owners on the south side of Bradford in Broomfields and Bowling built tramways into the town, but there was no direct connection with the canal as possible routes were blocked by buildings. In about 1790 the newly established Bowling Iron Works constructed
9215-409: Was the nearest point on the river from which an existing road ran to Bradford. Although the bill reached the committee stage, nothing more became of it. When the Leeds and Liverpool Canal was promoted in the 1760s, its course between Skipton and Bingley broadly followed that proposed by the 1744 plan. It was authorised in 1770, and in the same year fourteen merchants, including six who were already on
9312-541: Was the presence of excavations below the opencast workings where lower coal seams had previously been mined. The failure resulted in some 780,000 cubic yards (600,000 m ) of material, including the banks of the river and the canal, slipping into the workings, which then flooded to a depth of 230 feet (70 m), creating a lake which covered 250 acres (100 ha). An act of Parliament was obtained to allow 1.9 miles (3.1 km) of new waterway to be constructed. The original locks at Kippax and Lemonroyd were replaced by
9409-466: Was unloaded into ships by large hydraulic hoists. This system enabled the canal to carry at its peak more than 1.5 million tons of coal per year, and was not abandoned until 1986. To handle trains of compartments, many of the locks were lengthened to 450 feet (140 m). Although much of the upper reaches are now designated as leisure routes, there is still significant commercial traffic on the navigation. 300,000 tons were carried in 2007, although most of
#833166