LEEDS AND LIVERPOOL CANAL.
Posted: 21 Apr 2012, 08:13
This Book "Priestley's Navigable Rivers and Canals" by Joseph Priestley was previously published in April 1831. NOTE: Originally called "Historical Account of the Navigable Rivers, Canals, and Railways, of Great Britain".
Thanks to http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/jim.shead/PNRC0401.htm for putting this transcript on the web.
LEEDS AND LIVERPOOL CANAL.
6 Geo. I. C. 28, R. A. 7th April, 1720.
10 Geo. III. C. 114, R. A. 19th May, 1770.
23 Geo. III. C. 47, R. A. 24th June, 1783.
30 Geo. III. C. 65, R. A. 9th June, 1790.
34 Geo. III. C. 94, R. A. 9th May, 1794.
59 Geo. III. C. 105, R. A. 21st June, 1819.
A navigation between the east and west seas, by the Rivers Aire and Ribble, had been deemed practicable by several public spirited gentlemen, residents in the counties of York and Lancaster, who at various times had endeavoured to draw the public attention to the scheme. But while this was in contemplation, the Duke of Bridgewater formed a plan of making a navigable canal from Worsley Mill to Manchester, which was soon afterwards executed with great ability and amazing rapidity.
The Duke's success drew forth the attention of Mr. Longbotham, a native of Halifax, who, after inspecting and examining the works on the Duke's Canal, projected the scheme of making a similar canal from Leeds to Liverpool, and for this purpose he took an actual survey of the country between those two places, laid down a plan and prepared an estimate of the expense, which
he produced at sundry meetings of gentlemen and land-owners interested in promoting the scheme. It was unanimously resolved, in order to put it beyond a doubt, whether it was practicable or not, to call Mr. Brindley, to re-survey the line laid down by Mr. Longbotham; and after surveying by himself, and Mr. Whitworth, (who was engaged with him) he reported to two numerous meetings, one held at Bradford on the 5th and the other at Liverpool on the 9th of December, 1768, that it was very practicable, and might be executed for the total sum of £259,777, which he stated in detail. The canal, according to the plan and estimate, was one hundred and eight miles and three quarters in length, 42 feet wide at the top, 27 feet at the bottom, and 5 feet deep.
This canal, as its name implies, proceeds from Leeds to Liverpool, and is the most extensive of any in the kingdom. At that era of canal navigation, when first commenced, it was one of the boldest and most magnificent projects hitherto attempted in Great Britain.
The act of the 10th George III. is entitled, 'An Act for making and maintaining a navigable Cut or Canal from Leeds Bridge, in the county of York, to the North Lady's Walk in Liverpool, in the county palatine of Lancaster, and from thence to the River Mersey.'
In describing the line of this canal, we shall confine ourselves to the course of country through which it has been actually executed; and afterwards mention a few of the places through which it was projected by the original line.
Commencing at Leeds Bridge, where the jurisdiction of the Aire and Calder Navigation terminates, and where the two navigations unite, it proceeds twenty-seven chains in the River Aire, to the first lock on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, where the extensive warehouses, wharfs, basins and docks belonging to this concern are situate; from which circumstance, the lock here may be admitted as the commencement of the canal. From this place its course is north westerly, passing alongside the River Aire by Armley, Kirkstall Bridge, Kirkstall Abbey and Forge, to near New Leeds, whence it makes a detour southerly to Ross Mill; from hence it again takes a north-westerly course, leaving Horsforth on the north and Calverley on the south, to Woodhouse, when bending westerly to Apperley Bridge, it then changes its course to the north, leaving Idle to the south and Esholt Hall to the north; thence proceeding westward by Buck Mill to Shipley, where the Bradford Canal branches off; having obtained a rise, from the surface water in the River Aire, at the tail of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal Lock above Leeds Bridge, of 155 feet 7 inches. From the junction with the Bradford Canal, it proceeds westward to New Mill, at which place it crosses the River Aire by an extensive aqueduct, and runs north-westerly to Bingley, where locking up 88 feet 8 inches, it attains a level that continues above eighteen miles, without another lock.
The Great Lock, as it is commonly called, at Bingley, consisting of five rises in one range of gates and masonry, and which unfortunate arrangement requires five locks full of water to pass one vessel from the lower to the higher level, must always cause a great waste of water, till remedied by dividing the fall or side ponds.
From Bingley Great Lock the canal proceeds in a north-westerly direction, passing Rushforth Hall, Riddlesden, within a mile of Keighley, about the same distance from Steeton, close to Silsden; thence to Kildwick, Snaygill and to Skipton. At this place, which is at an elevation of 272½ feet above the River Aire at Leeds Bridge, a short branch proceeds from the canal to a lime-stone wharf on the north side of Skipton Castle, which branch belongs to the Earl of Thanet. From Skipton the canal runs north-west by Thorleby and Gargrave, and just above the latter place it again crosses the River Aire by another large aqueduct; it then bends south-westerly, passing Bank Newton, Marton, Gill Church, Greenberfield and Rainhall Pasture, at which point, another branch of a quarter of a mile runs off southward to a limestone quarry called Rainhall Rock; this branch is upon the summit level of the canal, and at an elevation of 411 feet 4 inches above the River Aire at Leeds, which elevation is attained in a distance (from Leeds Bridge to the summit lock at Greenberfield) of forty-one miles. The canal then proceeds by Barnoldswick and Salterford to Foulridge, where the great tunnel commences, whose height is 18 feet, width 17 feet, and the length one thousand six hundred and forty yards. The surface of the ground on the highest part over the tunnel, is at an elevation of 60 feet above the water in the tunnel. Within a little distance of the tunnel, are two reservoirs, for the supply of the canal, which cover one hundred and four acres of land, and will contain twelve hundred thousand cubic yards of water. From Foulridge the canal proceeds to near Barrowford, where it locks down from the summit 70 feet towards Liverpool; crosses Colne Water by an aqueduct; passes near Carr Hall (a seat of Colonel Clayton's) and Dancer House to the town of Burnley, which it circumscribes on three sides, and at which place an embankment has been carried for one thousand two hundred and fifty-six yards in length, at above 60 feet high, and aqueducts made over the Rivers Brown and Calder, and a road aqueduct under the canal; thence the canal proceeds to near Gannow, where there is another tunnel five hundred and fifty-nine yards in length; thence by Hapton, Altham, Clayton Hall, Henfield, to Church Valley, whence Messrs. Peels' short branch runs to their print works at Church; now crossing the River Henburn by an aqueduct, the main line proceeds past Rushton and White Birch to the town of Blackburn, sweeping on the south side of this town to a place called Grimshaw Park, where by six locks there is a fall of 54 feet 3 inches; thence passing over Derwent Water by an aqueduct, it runs by Livesey Hall, and passing Roddlesworth Water by another aqueduct, proceeds to near Chorley; thence to Cophurst Valley, and here locking down 64 feet 6 inches by seven locks into the head level of the Lancaster Canal, at Johnson's Hillock. At this part of the line there is an interval of eleven miles of the Lancaster Canal upon one level, when the Leeds and Liverpool Canal again commences near Kirklees, at the head of a range of twenty-three locks, which brings the canal down 214 feet 6 inches from the level of the Lancaster Canal to the basin at Wigan. Here it may be observed, that the basin at Wigan is situate upon that part of the canal made under the powers of the River Douglas Navigation Act. From this basin to Newburgh constitutes the Upper Douglas Navigation, a distance of seven miles, in which there is a fall to Newburgh of 30 feet.
In this last-mentioned distance the principal part of the coal carried by the Leeds and Liverpool Canal to Liverpool, is put on board the vessels; as also the coal sent down to the Ribble. Commencing at Newburgh and tracing the canal to Liverpool, it has been executed according to the original plan and act. There it has a stretch of twenty-eight miles and a half upon the same level, passing Brier's Mill, Burscough, Scaresbrick, Halsall, Downholland, Lidiate, Mayhull, over the Alt River, Litherland, Bootle, Bankhall, Vauxhall, the Gaol, and to the basin of this canal at the North Lady's Walk in Liverpool, being a distance from Leeds Bridge of one hundred and twenty-seven miles and thirteen chains, and containing a lockage of 844 feet 7½ inches; that is from Leeds to the summit, a rise of 411 feet 4½ inches; and from the summit to the basin at Liverpool a fall of 433 feet 3 inches.
Hence it appears that the basin at Liverpool is 21 feet 10½ inches below the level of the River Aire at Leeds; and the canal basin at Liverpool is 56 feet above low-water-mark in the River Mersey.
At three miles from Newburgh, is the junction of the line of the Lower Douglas Navigation with the Leeds and Liverpool Canal; the Douglas Navigation locks into the tideway at the tail of Tarleton Cut, from whence to the Ribble is two miles and a half, and from the union with the Ribble is six miles and a half to the custom house at Preston.
As the act for making the Douglas Navigation stands in priority of date to that for making the canal from Leeds to Liverpool, we shall here recite it. It was obtained in the 6th George I. and is entitled, 'An Act for making the River Douglas, alias Asland, navigable, from the River Ribble to Wigan, in the county palatine of Lancaster;' wherein it is stated, that the making of this river navigable from the River Ribble to a place called Mirey Lane End, in the township of Wigan, will be very beneficial to trade, advantageous to the poor, and convenient for the carriage of coals, cannel, stone, slate, and other goods and merchandize. The only proprietors were William Squire, Esq. and Thomas Steeres, Gentleman, both of Liverpool, who were by the act nominated and appointed undertakers to make the said River Douglas, alias Asland, navigable; and they and their heirs and assigns have power to charge for goods conveyed thereon, the following tonnage rates.
TONNAGE RATES.
For Coal, Cannel, Slate, Stone, or other Goods, Wares, Merchandize or Commodities, from the River Ribble to the Town of Wigan, or vice versa, or any intermediate Distance
2s 6d per Ton.
And so in Proportion for a greater or lesser Weight.
But no Rates shall be charged to the Land-owners within Five Miles of the said River, upon Manure for Land only.
The next act respecting the Douglas Navigation is that of the 23rd George III. and is entitled, 'An Act for altering and varying the Powers of an Act, passed in the Sixth Year of the Reign of King George the First, for making the River Douglas, alias Asland, navigable, from the River Ribble, to Wigan, in the county palatine of Lancaster; and for enabling the Company of Proprietors of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, incorporated by an Act passed in the Tenth Year of his present Majesty's Reign, to purchase the said River Navigation; for amending the said last-mentioned Act; for incorporating and consolidating the said two Navigations; and for other Purposes.'
By this act, as its title imports, the Douglas Navigation became incorporated with the Leeds ;and Liverpool Canal; which company, in January, 1772, purchased twenty-eight shares out of the whole thirty-six shares of the Douglas Navigation, and they now have the power to purchase the remaining eight shares. They had already made the connecting branch with the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, a length of three miles and a half, with 12 feet lockage; but, upon becoming possessed of the remainder of this property, which took place in 1780, they extended the canal, and altogether abandoned the river from Wigan to the low end of Tarleton Cut, which, out of a distance of sixteen miles and three quarters, leaves only two miles and a half of river navigation, and that in the tideway. The Leeds and Liverpool Canal Company had a power to make a call of £14 per share upon their proprietors, for the purpose of purchasing the Douglas Navigation and improving the same. And by the time they had finished all the improvements, it had cost altogether about £74,000.
The length from Wigan to Newburgh (now made the line of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, as stated before) is seven miles, and has a fall of 30 feet; this part is usually called the Upper Douglas. From Burscough to the Ribble is nine miles and a half, and has a fall of 42 feet; this is called the Lower Douglas Navigation.
Now recurring back to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, the first act relating thereto passed in the 10th George III. as stated above, and the number of subscribers when the act was obtained, amounted to five hundred and twenty-nine, (amongst whom appears only one nobleman, the Earl of Thanet) who are incorporated by the name of "The Company of Proprietors of the Canal Navigation from Leeds to Liverpool." Under this act the company were empowered to raise the sum of £260,000, to be divided into two thousand six hundred shares of £100 each, and the said shares to be deemed personal estate; and in case the above sum be found insufficient, the company may raise the additional sum of £60,000 in the same manner. The act authorizes the proprietors to receive five per cent, interest upon the sums advanced during the execution of the canal. Proprietors to have a vote for every share; but not to vote by proxy for more than fifty shares.
The estimate for this canal, as before stated, was made by the celebrated Mr. Brindley, and amounted to only £259,777; but as he could not attend to the execution thereof, it was put under the direction of Mr. Longbotham, who completed in less than seven years, (commencing July, 1770,) that part from Leeds to a place called Holm bridge, near Gargrave, on the Yorkshire side, a distance of thirty-three miles and a half, at a cost of £175,000; and from Liverpool to Newburgh, on the Lancashire side, twenty-eight miles, at an expense of £125,000. The canal was opened for trade from Liverpool to Newburgh in 1775, and from Leeds to Holm bridge on the 4th June, 1777. At that time it appears this company had expended in the works and in purchasing the Douglas Navigation, the whole of the money they had a power to raise; and therefore applied for another act in the 30th year of George III. for authority to raise more money and to vary the line; which act is entitled, 'An Act to enable the Company of Proprietors of the Canal Navigation from Leeds to Liverpool, to vary the Line of the said Canal Navigation; and to raise a further Sum of Money for the Purpose of completing the said Canal Navigation; and for other Purposes.' This act enables the company to vary the original line of canal commencing at a place called Lomishay in the township of Marsden, through the several parishes and places called Marsden, Pendle Forest, Ighten Hill Park, Gawthorpe, Padiham, Hapton, Altham, Clayton and Harwood, in the county of Lancaster, to a place called Nut or Banks Wood, there to communicate again, with the original line. Under this act the company were authorized to borrow the further sum of £200,000 on the credit of the said canal and of that of the River Douglas Navigation, by assigning over the tolls, rates or duties; the interest on which to be paid in preference to any dividend.
There yet remained the most difficult and most expensive part of this canal to execute: and after an interval of near thirteen years, the company, on resuming the prosecution of the work, appointed Mr. R. Whitworth their engineer, under whose direction it recommenced at Holm bridge in the year 1790. He re-surveyed the whole line and made an estimate for completing the same amounting to £169,817, 15s. 5d.; he also recommended various improvements, the most important of which was to make a tunnel at the summit level near Foulridge, in lieu of following the original plan, by which a head level of above six miles in length was obtained instead of one mile; he also made this part of the canal 2 feet extra depth, which answers the purpose of a reservoir in dry seasons. The work from Holm bridge to Wanless Banks, near Barrowford, a distance of fourteen miles, in which are 208 feet of lockage, cost £210,000, including £40,000 the expense of the tunnel at Foulridge.
At this period the trade of Lancashire had become so important as to induce the proprietors of this canal to turn their attention to the accommodation of the established manufactories; for which purpose they abandoned the idea of pursuing their original scheme of connecting the east and west sides of the island by the shortest route, and directed their engineer to take a survey through a new line of country which would embrace both the coal and manufacturing districts.
Hence the company, in 1794, again applied to parliament for power to make the proposed deviation in the line of their canal, and obtained an act, entitled, 'An Act to enable the Company of Proprietors of the Canal Navigation from Leeds to Liverpool, to complete the said Navigation, and to vary the Line thereof, and to raise a further Sum of Money for those Purposes; and to make a navigable Branch, therein described, from the intended new Line of the said Canal.
' The branch above-mentioned was intended to have been cut into Ighten Hill Park, near Burnley, for the purpose of opening a valuable bed of coal; but this has not been done. By this act several land-owners have a power to cut side branches in their own estates, subject to certain restrictions. They have also the power to make railways within one thousand yards of the canal.
The company is authorized to borrow, or raise amongst themselves, or by the admission of new subscribers, the further sum of £280,000, which is to be applied in paying off £101,394, being part of the £200,000 borrowed under the powers of the 39th George III. and in completing and finishing the said canal. They are also restricted by this act from taking more than twenty-six yards in breadth for the canal and towing-path, except in certain cases.
The works were now prosecuted with great vigour, and in May, 1796, the canal was opened for trade from the east end of the Foulridge Tunnel to Burnley, a distance of eight miles, in which space there is a lockage westwards of 70 feet. Again in April, 1801, the canal was opened for trade from Burnley to Henfield Warehouse, a distance of nine miles and thirty-seven chains, and level. In this seventeen miles and a half, from Foulridge to Henfield, is embraced the most expensive, as well as the most difficult work on the whole navigation, having cost no less than £120,000; but this sum includes for extraordinaries £40,000 for the tunnel at Foulridge; £9,000 for reservoirs there; £22,000 for an embankment at Burnley; and £10,000 for another tunnel of five hundred and fifty-nine yards in length, at a place called Ridge near the last-mentioned town.
During the succeeding nine years the execution of the canal proceeded slowly, but in June, 1810, another stretch of eight miles upon the same level, that is, from Henfield to Blackburn, was opened for trade. This last work and the remainder of the canal from Blackburn to Wigan was executed under the direction of Mr. J. Fletcher. And lastly, having completed the remainder of the canal, it was opened for trade in October, 1816, between Blackburn and Wigan, when vessels could then proceed direct from Leeds to Liverpool.
Here it may be observed, that this company abandoned their own line of canal for the space of eleven miles, and locked down 64 feet 6 inches at Cophurst, into the head level of the Lancaster Canal; consequently, every vessel going through the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, must pass eleven miles along the Lancaster Canal, that is, from Cophurst or Johnson's Hillock to Kirklees. To establish this junction, an agreement between the two companies was entered into, stipulating that such junction should be made, and the same was confirmed by an act obtained by the Lancaster Canal Company in the 59th George III.
This gigantic concern, which was no less than forty-six years in executing, and which has cost £1,200,000, has proved highly beneficial to the country through which it passes, giving facility to the transport of coal, limestone, lime for manure, and all agricultural produce, connecting the trade of Leeds with Liverpool and with Manchester, Wigan, Blackburn, Burnley, Colne, Skipton, Keighley, Bingley and Bradford; and by opening a communication between the eastern and western sides of the island, which in a great measure was the original object of the first promoters, now bids fair to remunerate the proprietors for their risk and patient endurance through a long and difficult struggle, having had to borrow above £400,000, at a time when the public funds were very low.
Although they only applied for tolls to remunerate them upon the original estimate made by Mr. Brindley, those rates have never been increased, and now stand the same as by the first act of 10th George III. which empowered them to take the following
TONNAGE RATES.
For Clay, Brick or Stones
½d per Ton, per Mile.
For Coal or Lime
1d ditto. ditto.
For Timber, Goods, Wares, Merchandize or other Commodities
1½d ditto. ditto.
For Soap Ashes, Salt, Salt Scrow, Foul Salt and Grey Salt, Pigeon Dung, Rape or Cole Seed; Dust, Rage or Tanners' Bark to be used for manuring Lands of any Person whose Lands shall be cut through, lying in the Township through which the Canal passes
¼d ditto. ditto.
All small Rubbish, Waste Stones from Quarries, Gravel and Sand employed for repairing Roads, not being Turnpike, if not carried more than Five Miles; also all Dung, Soil, Marl, Ashes of Coal and Turf for the Improvement of Lands belonging to Persons through whose Lands the Canal passes, but not to pass any Lock unless the Water flows over the Gauge, Paddle, or Niche of such Lock, are exempt from Toll.
Fifty Feet of Round, or Forty Feet of Square Oak, Ash or Elm Timber, or Fifty Feet of Fir or Deal, Balk, Poplar and other Timber Wood, to be deemed One Ton Weight; and the Ton of Coals and Lime-stone to be Twenty-two Hundreds of One Hundred and Twelve Pounds each.
Lords of manors or land-owners have a power to erect wharfs, warehouses, &c. upon their lands; and if such lords of manors or owners of land shall not do so within twelve months after notice given them by the company, then the company may erect the same.
WHARFAGE RATES.
For Coals, Stone or Brick, not longer than Six Days
1½d per Ton.
For Goods or Merchandize, ditto
3d ditto.
No Charge whatever if the Articles do not lie longer than Six Hours.
Fractions of a Mile to be reckoned as a Mile. Fractions of a Ton as the Quarters of a Ton, and of a Quarter as a Quarter.
Every Vessel passing the Leeds Lock, to pay the Tonnage of Eight Miles.
When the Canal shall communicate with the Douglas Navigation at or near the Warehouses in Wigan, the Coals, Stones, Timber, Goods, Wares and Merchandize passing upon any Part of it, shall be charged no more than if the same had been carried the like Distance on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal.
The Leeds and Liverpool Canal Company having finished their main line of navigation in the year 1816, they now turned their attention to forming a communication with the town of Manchester, a subject which had engaged their consideration prior to the death of the late Duke of Bridgewater; and for this purpose they again applied to parliament and obtained an act, entitled, 'An Act to enable the Company of Proprietors of the Canal Navigation from Leeds to Liverpool, to make a navigable Cut, and also a collateral Branch or Railway, from their said Canal at Hennis Bridge near Wigan, to join the Duke of Bridgewater's Canal at Leigh, all in the county palatine of Lancaster, and to amend the several Acts relating to the said Leeds and Liverpool Canal, so far as relates to certain Powers, therein given to the late Duke of Bridgewater.
' This branch proceeds from the main line of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, at a point half a mile from the basin at Wigan, southward to Brin Moss, then easterly, passing between Platt Bridge and Bamferlong Hall, intersecting Hindley Brook, and passing Strangwood, West Leigh House, and terminates in that part of the Duke of Bridgewater's Canal which extends from Manchester to Leigh, at the south end of the town of Leigh, being a distance of six miles, seven furlongs and twenty-one poles, and with a lockage down to the Duke's Canal of 15 feet 2 inches, by two locks. At the road leading from Ashton to Platt Bridge, the side cut or railway branches off nearly north for about a mile in length. By this branch another communication by water is made between Liverpool and Manchester; it also affords the first communication which had ever been made to connect Kendal, Lancaster and Preston, with Manchester, Rochdale and other trading towns in that part of the country. In the execution of this branch, which was completed by the end of the year 1821, above £50,000 was expended. The tonnage rates are the same as upon the main line of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, excepting the side cut or railway, which shall not exceed 4d. per ton for any article what ever; and the fractions of tons and miles to be reckoned as on the Leeds and Liverpool Main Line; but the devisees of the late Duke of Bridgewater have authority by this act to charge and receive for articles passing into or out of the said Leigh Branch, as under.
TONNAGE RATES.
For every Article, except Flags
1s 2d per Ton.
For Flags
0s 2d ditto.
Fractions of a Quarter of a Ton to be paid for as a Quarter of a Ton.
These Rates shall exempt the above-named Articles from any Charge at the Castlefield Lock, situate upon the Rochdale Canal in the Town of Manchester.
The reservation clause in the Leeds and Liverpool Canal Acts, and in those for making the River Douglas navigable, which restrained any boat or vessel from passing locks, without tonnage was paid for a burthen of twenty tons, is by this act repealed; and in lieu thereof, it is enacted, that empty boats or vessels shall each pay at the first lock they shall arrive at, the sum of five shillings only; provided also, that every empty boat or vessel passing through or returning out of the summit level upon the line of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, either through the Greenberfield Lock on the Yorkshire side, or through the Barrowford Lock on the Lancashire side of the said summit level, shall pay a further sum of five shillings.
By this act for making the Leigh Branch the company obtained power to raise £50,000, either by admission of new subscribers, or by contributing amongst themselves in such manner as they may direct, or by mortgage of the navigations, cuts and works, conformably to any order of a general assembly of the said proprietors, where there shall be present, as principals or proxies, the holders of not less than twelve hundred shares in the said navigation. It may be observed, that when the first parts of the canal opened for business, the interest ceased on the money advanced for calls, which was made stock, thereby causing an original share to amount, on the 1st of January, 1779, to £139, 8s. 9d.
Upon inspection of the map, it will appear that this canal connects the Irish Sea with the German Ocean, and the great ports of Liverpool and Hull, by which a cheap and ready transit is afforded to the Foreign Trade to and from the Baltic, Holland, Hanseatic Towns, the Netherlands, France and Germany; also with Ireland, the West Indies and America. Besides, the public are greatly benefited by the ease with which the interior trade is carried from Leeds and the West Riding into the manufacturing districts of Lancashire and to Liverpool, and vice versa. Moreover, upon the banks of this canal are found immense quantities of stone for paving and building, limestone for repairs of roads and for burning into lime for manure; inexhaustible beds of coal, which not only supply the neighbouring districts, but furnish an abundance for exportation at Liverpool; in short no part of the kingdom is more benefited by a public work of this kind than the country, through which the Leeds and Liverpool Canal passes.
Thanks to http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/jim.shead/PNRC0401.htm for putting this transcript on the web.
LEEDS AND LIVERPOOL CANAL.
6 Geo. I. C. 28, R. A. 7th April, 1720.
10 Geo. III. C. 114, R. A. 19th May, 1770.
23 Geo. III. C. 47, R. A. 24th June, 1783.
30 Geo. III. C. 65, R. A. 9th June, 1790.
34 Geo. III. C. 94, R. A. 9th May, 1794.
59 Geo. III. C. 105, R. A. 21st June, 1819.
A navigation between the east and west seas, by the Rivers Aire and Ribble, had been deemed practicable by several public spirited gentlemen, residents in the counties of York and Lancaster, who at various times had endeavoured to draw the public attention to the scheme. But while this was in contemplation, the Duke of Bridgewater formed a plan of making a navigable canal from Worsley Mill to Manchester, which was soon afterwards executed with great ability and amazing rapidity.
The Duke's success drew forth the attention of Mr. Longbotham, a native of Halifax, who, after inspecting and examining the works on the Duke's Canal, projected the scheme of making a similar canal from Leeds to Liverpool, and for this purpose he took an actual survey of the country between those two places, laid down a plan and prepared an estimate of the expense, which
he produced at sundry meetings of gentlemen and land-owners interested in promoting the scheme. It was unanimously resolved, in order to put it beyond a doubt, whether it was practicable or not, to call Mr. Brindley, to re-survey the line laid down by Mr. Longbotham; and after surveying by himself, and Mr. Whitworth, (who was engaged with him) he reported to two numerous meetings, one held at Bradford on the 5th and the other at Liverpool on the 9th of December, 1768, that it was very practicable, and might be executed for the total sum of £259,777, which he stated in detail. The canal, according to the plan and estimate, was one hundred and eight miles and three quarters in length, 42 feet wide at the top, 27 feet at the bottom, and 5 feet deep.
This canal, as its name implies, proceeds from Leeds to Liverpool, and is the most extensive of any in the kingdom. At that era of canal navigation, when first commenced, it was one of the boldest and most magnificent projects hitherto attempted in Great Britain.
The act of the 10th George III. is entitled, 'An Act for making and maintaining a navigable Cut or Canal from Leeds Bridge, in the county of York, to the North Lady's Walk in Liverpool, in the county palatine of Lancaster, and from thence to the River Mersey.'
In describing the line of this canal, we shall confine ourselves to the course of country through which it has been actually executed; and afterwards mention a few of the places through which it was projected by the original line.
Commencing at Leeds Bridge, where the jurisdiction of the Aire and Calder Navigation terminates, and where the two navigations unite, it proceeds twenty-seven chains in the River Aire, to the first lock on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, where the extensive warehouses, wharfs, basins and docks belonging to this concern are situate; from which circumstance, the lock here may be admitted as the commencement of the canal. From this place its course is north westerly, passing alongside the River Aire by Armley, Kirkstall Bridge, Kirkstall Abbey and Forge, to near New Leeds, whence it makes a detour southerly to Ross Mill; from hence it again takes a north-westerly course, leaving Horsforth on the north and Calverley on the south, to Woodhouse, when bending westerly to Apperley Bridge, it then changes its course to the north, leaving Idle to the south and Esholt Hall to the north; thence proceeding westward by Buck Mill to Shipley, where the Bradford Canal branches off; having obtained a rise, from the surface water in the River Aire, at the tail of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal Lock above Leeds Bridge, of 155 feet 7 inches. From the junction with the Bradford Canal, it proceeds westward to New Mill, at which place it crosses the River Aire by an extensive aqueduct, and runs north-westerly to Bingley, where locking up 88 feet 8 inches, it attains a level that continues above eighteen miles, without another lock.
The Great Lock, as it is commonly called, at Bingley, consisting of five rises in one range of gates and masonry, and which unfortunate arrangement requires five locks full of water to pass one vessel from the lower to the higher level, must always cause a great waste of water, till remedied by dividing the fall or side ponds.
From Bingley Great Lock the canal proceeds in a north-westerly direction, passing Rushforth Hall, Riddlesden, within a mile of Keighley, about the same distance from Steeton, close to Silsden; thence to Kildwick, Snaygill and to Skipton. At this place, which is at an elevation of 272½ feet above the River Aire at Leeds Bridge, a short branch proceeds from the canal to a lime-stone wharf on the north side of Skipton Castle, which branch belongs to the Earl of Thanet. From Skipton the canal runs north-west by Thorleby and Gargrave, and just above the latter place it again crosses the River Aire by another large aqueduct; it then bends south-westerly, passing Bank Newton, Marton, Gill Church, Greenberfield and Rainhall Pasture, at which point, another branch of a quarter of a mile runs off southward to a limestone quarry called Rainhall Rock; this branch is upon the summit level of the canal, and at an elevation of 411 feet 4 inches above the River Aire at Leeds, which elevation is attained in a distance (from Leeds Bridge to the summit lock at Greenberfield) of forty-one miles. The canal then proceeds by Barnoldswick and Salterford to Foulridge, where the great tunnel commences, whose height is 18 feet, width 17 feet, and the length one thousand six hundred and forty yards. The surface of the ground on the highest part over the tunnel, is at an elevation of 60 feet above the water in the tunnel. Within a little distance of the tunnel, are two reservoirs, for the supply of the canal, which cover one hundred and four acres of land, and will contain twelve hundred thousand cubic yards of water. From Foulridge the canal proceeds to near Barrowford, where it locks down from the summit 70 feet towards Liverpool; crosses Colne Water by an aqueduct; passes near Carr Hall (a seat of Colonel Clayton's) and Dancer House to the town of Burnley, which it circumscribes on three sides, and at which place an embankment has been carried for one thousand two hundred and fifty-six yards in length, at above 60 feet high, and aqueducts made over the Rivers Brown and Calder, and a road aqueduct under the canal; thence the canal proceeds to near Gannow, where there is another tunnel five hundred and fifty-nine yards in length; thence by Hapton, Altham, Clayton Hall, Henfield, to Church Valley, whence Messrs. Peels' short branch runs to their print works at Church; now crossing the River Henburn by an aqueduct, the main line proceeds past Rushton and White Birch to the town of Blackburn, sweeping on the south side of this town to a place called Grimshaw Park, where by six locks there is a fall of 54 feet 3 inches; thence passing over Derwent Water by an aqueduct, it runs by Livesey Hall, and passing Roddlesworth Water by another aqueduct, proceeds to near Chorley; thence to Cophurst Valley, and here locking down 64 feet 6 inches by seven locks into the head level of the Lancaster Canal, at Johnson's Hillock. At this part of the line there is an interval of eleven miles of the Lancaster Canal upon one level, when the Leeds and Liverpool Canal again commences near Kirklees, at the head of a range of twenty-three locks, which brings the canal down 214 feet 6 inches from the level of the Lancaster Canal to the basin at Wigan. Here it may be observed, that the basin at Wigan is situate upon that part of the canal made under the powers of the River Douglas Navigation Act. From this basin to Newburgh constitutes the Upper Douglas Navigation, a distance of seven miles, in which there is a fall to Newburgh of 30 feet.
In this last-mentioned distance the principal part of the coal carried by the Leeds and Liverpool Canal to Liverpool, is put on board the vessels; as also the coal sent down to the Ribble. Commencing at Newburgh and tracing the canal to Liverpool, it has been executed according to the original plan and act. There it has a stretch of twenty-eight miles and a half upon the same level, passing Brier's Mill, Burscough, Scaresbrick, Halsall, Downholland, Lidiate, Mayhull, over the Alt River, Litherland, Bootle, Bankhall, Vauxhall, the Gaol, and to the basin of this canal at the North Lady's Walk in Liverpool, being a distance from Leeds Bridge of one hundred and twenty-seven miles and thirteen chains, and containing a lockage of 844 feet 7½ inches; that is from Leeds to the summit, a rise of 411 feet 4½ inches; and from the summit to the basin at Liverpool a fall of 433 feet 3 inches.
Hence it appears that the basin at Liverpool is 21 feet 10½ inches below the level of the River Aire at Leeds; and the canal basin at Liverpool is 56 feet above low-water-mark in the River Mersey.
At three miles from Newburgh, is the junction of the line of the Lower Douglas Navigation with the Leeds and Liverpool Canal; the Douglas Navigation locks into the tideway at the tail of Tarleton Cut, from whence to the Ribble is two miles and a half, and from the union with the Ribble is six miles and a half to the custom house at Preston.
As the act for making the Douglas Navigation stands in priority of date to that for making the canal from Leeds to Liverpool, we shall here recite it. It was obtained in the 6th George I. and is entitled, 'An Act for making the River Douglas, alias Asland, navigable, from the River Ribble to Wigan, in the county palatine of Lancaster;' wherein it is stated, that the making of this river navigable from the River Ribble to a place called Mirey Lane End, in the township of Wigan, will be very beneficial to trade, advantageous to the poor, and convenient for the carriage of coals, cannel, stone, slate, and other goods and merchandize. The only proprietors were William Squire, Esq. and Thomas Steeres, Gentleman, both of Liverpool, who were by the act nominated and appointed undertakers to make the said River Douglas, alias Asland, navigable; and they and their heirs and assigns have power to charge for goods conveyed thereon, the following tonnage rates.
TONNAGE RATES.
For Coal, Cannel, Slate, Stone, or other Goods, Wares, Merchandize or Commodities, from the River Ribble to the Town of Wigan, or vice versa, or any intermediate Distance
2s 6d per Ton.
And so in Proportion for a greater or lesser Weight.
But no Rates shall be charged to the Land-owners within Five Miles of the said River, upon Manure for Land only.
The next act respecting the Douglas Navigation is that of the 23rd George III. and is entitled, 'An Act for altering and varying the Powers of an Act, passed in the Sixth Year of the Reign of King George the First, for making the River Douglas, alias Asland, navigable, from the River Ribble, to Wigan, in the county palatine of Lancaster; and for enabling the Company of Proprietors of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, incorporated by an Act passed in the Tenth Year of his present Majesty's Reign, to purchase the said River Navigation; for amending the said last-mentioned Act; for incorporating and consolidating the said two Navigations; and for other Purposes.'
By this act, as its title imports, the Douglas Navigation became incorporated with the Leeds ;and Liverpool Canal; which company, in January, 1772, purchased twenty-eight shares out of the whole thirty-six shares of the Douglas Navigation, and they now have the power to purchase the remaining eight shares. They had already made the connecting branch with the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, a length of three miles and a half, with 12 feet lockage; but, upon becoming possessed of the remainder of this property, which took place in 1780, they extended the canal, and altogether abandoned the river from Wigan to the low end of Tarleton Cut, which, out of a distance of sixteen miles and three quarters, leaves only two miles and a half of river navigation, and that in the tideway. The Leeds and Liverpool Canal Company had a power to make a call of £14 per share upon their proprietors, for the purpose of purchasing the Douglas Navigation and improving the same. And by the time they had finished all the improvements, it had cost altogether about £74,000.
The length from Wigan to Newburgh (now made the line of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, as stated before) is seven miles, and has a fall of 30 feet; this part is usually called the Upper Douglas. From Burscough to the Ribble is nine miles and a half, and has a fall of 42 feet; this is called the Lower Douglas Navigation.
Now recurring back to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, the first act relating thereto passed in the 10th George III. as stated above, and the number of subscribers when the act was obtained, amounted to five hundred and twenty-nine, (amongst whom appears only one nobleman, the Earl of Thanet) who are incorporated by the name of "The Company of Proprietors of the Canal Navigation from Leeds to Liverpool." Under this act the company were empowered to raise the sum of £260,000, to be divided into two thousand six hundred shares of £100 each, and the said shares to be deemed personal estate; and in case the above sum be found insufficient, the company may raise the additional sum of £60,000 in the same manner. The act authorizes the proprietors to receive five per cent, interest upon the sums advanced during the execution of the canal. Proprietors to have a vote for every share; but not to vote by proxy for more than fifty shares.
The estimate for this canal, as before stated, was made by the celebrated Mr. Brindley, and amounted to only £259,777; but as he could not attend to the execution thereof, it was put under the direction of Mr. Longbotham, who completed in less than seven years, (commencing July, 1770,) that part from Leeds to a place called Holm bridge, near Gargrave, on the Yorkshire side, a distance of thirty-three miles and a half, at a cost of £175,000; and from Liverpool to Newburgh, on the Lancashire side, twenty-eight miles, at an expense of £125,000. The canal was opened for trade from Liverpool to Newburgh in 1775, and from Leeds to Holm bridge on the 4th June, 1777. At that time it appears this company had expended in the works and in purchasing the Douglas Navigation, the whole of the money they had a power to raise; and therefore applied for another act in the 30th year of George III. for authority to raise more money and to vary the line; which act is entitled, 'An Act to enable the Company of Proprietors of the Canal Navigation from Leeds to Liverpool, to vary the Line of the said Canal Navigation; and to raise a further Sum of Money for the Purpose of completing the said Canal Navigation; and for other Purposes.' This act enables the company to vary the original line of canal commencing at a place called Lomishay in the township of Marsden, through the several parishes and places called Marsden, Pendle Forest, Ighten Hill Park, Gawthorpe, Padiham, Hapton, Altham, Clayton and Harwood, in the county of Lancaster, to a place called Nut or Banks Wood, there to communicate again, with the original line. Under this act the company were authorized to borrow the further sum of £200,000 on the credit of the said canal and of that of the River Douglas Navigation, by assigning over the tolls, rates or duties; the interest on which to be paid in preference to any dividend.
There yet remained the most difficult and most expensive part of this canal to execute: and after an interval of near thirteen years, the company, on resuming the prosecution of the work, appointed Mr. R. Whitworth their engineer, under whose direction it recommenced at Holm bridge in the year 1790. He re-surveyed the whole line and made an estimate for completing the same amounting to £169,817, 15s. 5d.; he also recommended various improvements, the most important of which was to make a tunnel at the summit level near Foulridge, in lieu of following the original plan, by which a head level of above six miles in length was obtained instead of one mile; he also made this part of the canal 2 feet extra depth, which answers the purpose of a reservoir in dry seasons. The work from Holm bridge to Wanless Banks, near Barrowford, a distance of fourteen miles, in which are 208 feet of lockage, cost £210,000, including £40,000 the expense of the tunnel at Foulridge.
At this period the trade of Lancashire had become so important as to induce the proprietors of this canal to turn their attention to the accommodation of the established manufactories; for which purpose they abandoned the idea of pursuing their original scheme of connecting the east and west sides of the island by the shortest route, and directed their engineer to take a survey through a new line of country which would embrace both the coal and manufacturing districts.
Hence the company, in 1794, again applied to parliament for power to make the proposed deviation in the line of their canal, and obtained an act, entitled, 'An Act to enable the Company of Proprietors of the Canal Navigation from Leeds to Liverpool, to complete the said Navigation, and to vary the Line thereof, and to raise a further Sum of Money for those Purposes; and to make a navigable Branch, therein described, from the intended new Line of the said Canal.
' The branch above-mentioned was intended to have been cut into Ighten Hill Park, near Burnley, for the purpose of opening a valuable bed of coal; but this has not been done. By this act several land-owners have a power to cut side branches in their own estates, subject to certain restrictions. They have also the power to make railways within one thousand yards of the canal.
The company is authorized to borrow, or raise amongst themselves, or by the admission of new subscribers, the further sum of £280,000, which is to be applied in paying off £101,394, being part of the £200,000 borrowed under the powers of the 39th George III. and in completing and finishing the said canal. They are also restricted by this act from taking more than twenty-six yards in breadth for the canal and towing-path, except in certain cases.
The works were now prosecuted with great vigour, and in May, 1796, the canal was opened for trade from the east end of the Foulridge Tunnel to Burnley, a distance of eight miles, in which space there is a lockage westwards of 70 feet. Again in April, 1801, the canal was opened for trade from Burnley to Henfield Warehouse, a distance of nine miles and thirty-seven chains, and level. In this seventeen miles and a half, from Foulridge to Henfield, is embraced the most expensive, as well as the most difficult work on the whole navigation, having cost no less than £120,000; but this sum includes for extraordinaries £40,000 for the tunnel at Foulridge; £9,000 for reservoirs there; £22,000 for an embankment at Burnley; and £10,000 for another tunnel of five hundred and fifty-nine yards in length, at a place called Ridge near the last-mentioned town.
During the succeeding nine years the execution of the canal proceeded slowly, but in June, 1810, another stretch of eight miles upon the same level, that is, from Henfield to Blackburn, was opened for trade. This last work and the remainder of the canal from Blackburn to Wigan was executed under the direction of Mr. J. Fletcher. And lastly, having completed the remainder of the canal, it was opened for trade in October, 1816, between Blackburn and Wigan, when vessels could then proceed direct from Leeds to Liverpool.
Here it may be observed, that this company abandoned their own line of canal for the space of eleven miles, and locked down 64 feet 6 inches at Cophurst, into the head level of the Lancaster Canal; consequently, every vessel going through the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, must pass eleven miles along the Lancaster Canal, that is, from Cophurst or Johnson's Hillock to Kirklees. To establish this junction, an agreement between the two companies was entered into, stipulating that such junction should be made, and the same was confirmed by an act obtained by the Lancaster Canal Company in the 59th George III.
This gigantic concern, which was no less than forty-six years in executing, and which has cost £1,200,000, has proved highly beneficial to the country through which it passes, giving facility to the transport of coal, limestone, lime for manure, and all agricultural produce, connecting the trade of Leeds with Liverpool and with Manchester, Wigan, Blackburn, Burnley, Colne, Skipton, Keighley, Bingley and Bradford; and by opening a communication between the eastern and western sides of the island, which in a great measure was the original object of the first promoters, now bids fair to remunerate the proprietors for their risk and patient endurance through a long and difficult struggle, having had to borrow above £400,000, at a time when the public funds were very low.
Although they only applied for tolls to remunerate them upon the original estimate made by Mr. Brindley, those rates have never been increased, and now stand the same as by the first act of 10th George III. which empowered them to take the following
TONNAGE RATES.
For Clay, Brick or Stones
½d per Ton, per Mile.
For Coal or Lime
1d ditto. ditto.
For Timber, Goods, Wares, Merchandize or other Commodities
1½d ditto. ditto.
For Soap Ashes, Salt, Salt Scrow, Foul Salt and Grey Salt, Pigeon Dung, Rape or Cole Seed; Dust, Rage or Tanners' Bark to be used for manuring Lands of any Person whose Lands shall be cut through, lying in the Township through which the Canal passes
¼d ditto. ditto.
All small Rubbish, Waste Stones from Quarries, Gravel and Sand employed for repairing Roads, not being Turnpike, if not carried more than Five Miles; also all Dung, Soil, Marl, Ashes of Coal and Turf for the Improvement of Lands belonging to Persons through whose Lands the Canal passes, but not to pass any Lock unless the Water flows over the Gauge, Paddle, or Niche of such Lock, are exempt from Toll.
Fifty Feet of Round, or Forty Feet of Square Oak, Ash or Elm Timber, or Fifty Feet of Fir or Deal, Balk, Poplar and other Timber Wood, to be deemed One Ton Weight; and the Ton of Coals and Lime-stone to be Twenty-two Hundreds of One Hundred and Twelve Pounds each.
Lords of manors or land-owners have a power to erect wharfs, warehouses, &c. upon their lands; and if such lords of manors or owners of land shall not do so within twelve months after notice given them by the company, then the company may erect the same.
WHARFAGE RATES.
For Coals, Stone or Brick, not longer than Six Days
1½d per Ton.
For Goods or Merchandize, ditto
3d ditto.
No Charge whatever if the Articles do not lie longer than Six Hours.
Fractions of a Mile to be reckoned as a Mile. Fractions of a Ton as the Quarters of a Ton, and of a Quarter as a Quarter.
Every Vessel passing the Leeds Lock, to pay the Tonnage of Eight Miles.
When the Canal shall communicate with the Douglas Navigation at or near the Warehouses in Wigan, the Coals, Stones, Timber, Goods, Wares and Merchandize passing upon any Part of it, shall be charged no more than if the same had been carried the like Distance on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal.
The Leeds and Liverpool Canal Company having finished their main line of navigation in the year 1816, they now turned their attention to forming a communication with the town of Manchester, a subject which had engaged their consideration prior to the death of the late Duke of Bridgewater; and for this purpose they again applied to parliament and obtained an act, entitled, 'An Act to enable the Company of Proprietors of the Canal Navigation from Leeds to Liverpool, to make a navigable Cut, and also a collateral Branch or Railway, from their said Canal at Hennis Bridge near Wigan, to join the Duke of Bridgewater's Canal at Leigh, all in the county palatine of Lancaster, and to amend the several Acts relating to the said Leeds and Liverpool Canal, so far as relates to certain Powers, therein given to the late Duke of Bridgewater.
' This branch proceeds from the main line of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, at a point half a mile from the basin at Wigan, southward to Brin Moss, then easterly, passing between Platt Bridge and Bamferlong Hall, intersecting Hindley Brook, and passing Strangwood, West Leigh House, and terminates in that part of the Duke of Bridgewater's Canal which extends from Manchester to Leigh, at the south end of the town of Leigh, being a distance of six miles, seven furlongs and twenty-one poles, and with a lockage down to the Duke's Canal of 15 feet 2 inches, by two locks. At the road leading from Ashton to Platt Bridge, the side cut or railway branches off nearly north for about a mile in length. By this branch another communication by water is made between Liverpool and Manchester; it also affords the first communication which had ever been made to connect Kendal, Lancaster and Preston, with Manchester, Rochdale and other trading towns in that part of the country. In the execution of this branch, which was completed by the end of the year 1821, above £50,000 was expended. The tonnage rates are the same as upon the main line of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, excepting the side cut or railway, which shall not exceed 4d. per ton for any article what ever; and the fractions of tons and miles to be reckoned as on the Leeds and Liverpool Main Line; but the devisees of the late Duke of Bridgewater have authority by this act to charge and receive for articles passing into or out of the said Leigh Branch, as under.
TONNAGE RATES.
For every Article, except Flags
1s 2d per Ton.
For Flags
0s 2d ditto.
Fractions of a Quarter of a Ton to be paid for as a Quarter of a Ton.
These Rates shall exempt the above-named Articles from any Charge at the Castlefield Lock, situate upon the Rochdale Canal in the Town of Manchester.
The reservation clause in the Leeds and Liverpool Canal Acts, and in those for making the River Douglas navigable, which restrained any boat or vessel from passing locks, without tonnage was paid for a burthen of twenty tons, is by this act repealed; and in lieu thereof, it is enacted, that empty boats or vessels shall each pay at the first lock they shall arrive at, the sum of five shillings only; provided also, that every empty boat or vessel passing through or returning out of the summit level upon the line of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, either through the Greenberfield Lock on the Yorkshire side, or through the Barrowford Lock on the Lancashire side of the said summit level, shall pay a further sum of five shillings.
By this act for making the Leigh Branch the company obtained power to raise £50,000, either by admission of new subscribers, or by contributing amongst themselves in such manner as they may direct, or by mortgage of the navigations, cuts and works, conformably to any order of a general assembly of the said proprietors, where there shall be present, as principals or proxies, the holders of not less than twelve hundred shares in the said navigation. It may be observed, that when the first parts of the canal opened for business, the interest ceased on the money advanced for calls, which was made stock, thereby causing an original share to amount, on the 1st of January, 1779, to £139, 8s. 9d.
Upon inspection of the map, it will appear that this canal connects the Irish Sea with the German Ocean, and the great ports of Liverpool and Hull, by which a cheap and ready transit is afforded to the Foreign Trade to and from the Baltic, Holland, Hanseatic Towns, the Netherlands, France and Germany; also with Ireland, the West Indies and America. Besides, the public are greatly benefited by the ease with which the interior trade is carried from Leeds and the West Riding into the manufacturing districts of Lancashire and to Liverpool, and vice versa. Moreover, upon the banks of this canal are found immense quantities of stone for paving and building, limestone for repairs of roads and for burning into lime for manure; inexhaustible beds of coal, which not only supply the neighbouring districts, but furnish an abundance for exportation at Liverpool; in short no part of the kingdom is more benefited by a public work of this kind than the country, through which the Leeds and Liverpool Canal passes.