133-714: The Lancaster Canal is a canal in North West England , originally planned to run from Westhoughton in Lancashire to Kendal in south Cumbria ( historically in Westmorland ). The section around the crossing of the River Ribble was never completed, and much of the southern end leased to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal , of which it is now generally considered part. Of the canal north of Preston, only
266-547: A caisson of water in which boats float while being moved between two levels; and inclined planes where a caisson is hauled up a steep railway. To cross a stream, road or valley (where the delay caused by a flight of locks at either side would be unacceptable) the valley can be spanned by a navigable aqueduct – a famous example in Wales is the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct (now a UNESCO World Heritage Site ) across
399-510: A drainage divide atop a ridge , generally requiring an external water source above the highest elevation . The best-known example of such a canal is the Panama Canal . Many canals have been built at elevations, above valleys and other waterways. Canals with sources of water at a higher level can deliver water to a destination such as a city where water is needed. The Roman Empire 's aqueducts were such water supply canals. The term
532-415: A "cistern", or depressed area just downstream from the fall, to "cushion" the water by providing a deep pool for its kinetic energy to be diffused in. Vertical falls work for drops of up to 1.5 m in height, and for discharge of up to 15 cubic meters per second. The transport capacity of pack animals and carts is limited. A mule can carry an eighth-ton [250 pounds (113 kg)] maximum load over
665-496: A canal has a series of dams and locks that create reservoirs of low speed current flow. These reservoirs are referred to as slack water levels , often just called levels . A canal can be called a navigation canal when it parallels a natural river and shares part of the latter's discharges and drainage basin , and leverages its resources by building dams and locks to increase and lengthen its stretches of slack water levels while staying in its valley . A canal can cut across
798-413: A combination of the three, depending on available water and available path: Smaller transportation canals can carry barges or narrowboats , while ship canals allow seagoing ships to travel to an inland port (e.g., Manchester Ship Canal ), or from one sea or ocean to another (e.g., Caledonian Canal , Panama Canal ). At their simplest, canals consist of a trench filled with water. Depending on
931-746: A dispute occurred, and the railway started to block the coal traffic from Kendal to the Lake District. The London and North Western Railway leased the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway from 1859, and the proprietors sought to lease the canal to the London and North Western Railway in 1860. After a bill to authorise the arrangement was defeated in the House of Lords in 1863, it was reintroduced the following year, and became an act of Parliament on 29 July 1864. The canal company then received £12,665.87 per year for
1064-530: A further study in 2002 estimated the cost for full restoration at between £54.6 million and £62.4 million. A feasibility report was launched on 20 March 2003, at a public meeting held in Kendal. This included proposals for an inclined plane, to avoid two crossings where the canal was cut by the M6 motorway. Although the cost was high at around £55 million, with an extra £2 to £7 million needed to construct diversions to join
1197-549: A journey measured in days and weeks, though much more for shorter distances and periods with appropriate rest. Besides, carts need roads. Transport over water is much more efficient and cost-effective for large cargoes. The oldest known canals were irrigation canals, built in Mesopotamia c. 4000 BC , in what is now Iraq . The Indus Valley civilization of ancient India ( c. 3000 BC ) had sophisticated irrigation and storage systems developed, including
1330-574: A planning officer for Lancashire County Council, and had been instrumental in setting up the forerunner of the Lancaster Canal Trust. Ashton Basin on the outskirts of Preston was restored and reopened to provide a destination at the southern end of the canal in 1972. In the early 1970s, the Inland Waterways Amenity Advisory Council had carried out a fact-finding survey of the northern reaches, and
1463-609: A public meeting to promote a canal, John Longbotham , Robert Dickinson and Richard Beck resurveyed the proposed line, and looked at extending it southwards to join the Bridgewater Canal at Worsley. They could not suggest a better route than the one that Whitworth had proposed, but John Rennie was asked to see if he could, and in January 1792 suggested a 75.5-mile (121.5 km) route from Westhoughton to Kendal. This would have required 32 locks to descend to an aqueduct over
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#17327650644631596-581: A rather low gradient for its time. The canal is still in use after renovation. In the Middle Ages , water transport was several times cheaper and faster than transport overland. Overland transport by animal drawn conveyances was used around settled areas, but unimproved roads required pack animal trains, usually of mules to carry any degree of mass, and while a mule could carry an eighth ton, it also needed teamsters to tend it and one man could only tend perhaps five mules, meaning overland bulk transport
1729-435: A reservoir, but the cost of the branches and the reservoir meant that there was no money left to construct the canal, and so the link to Kendal was deferred again. Thomas Fletcher became the engineer in 1812, and his first task was to prepare estimates for the canal to Kendal. An agreement to start work was reached in 1813, and construction of the canal north of the locks, including Hincaster Tunnel and Killington Reservoir ,
1862-459: A uniform altitude. Other, generally later, canals took more direct routes requiring the use of various methods to deal with the change in level. Canals have various features to tackle the problem of water supply. In cases, like the Suez Canal, the canal is open to the sea. Where the canal is not at sea level, a number of approaches have been adopted. Taking water from existing rivers or springs
1995-422: Is a channel that cuts across a drainage divide , making a navigable channel connecting two different drainage basins . Both navigations and canals use engineered structures to improve navigation: Since they cut across drainage divides, canals are more difficult to construct and often need additional improvements, like viaducts and aqueducts to bridge waters over streams and roads, and ways to keep water in
2128-402: Is a traditional structure of that time, consisting of five stone arches supporting the stone trough. Within the piers, special volcanic pozzolana powder was imported to be mixed with cement, which allowed the concrete to set under water. Because of the rush to finish the initial stages, before the winter floods, the construction was carried out around the clock and the final bill for the project
2261-471: Is expected to start on another 490 yards (450 m) beyond bridge 173 in 2023, which will take the canal almost to Hincaster Tunnel, although details of how the canal will pass under the A590, just before the tunnel mouth, have not yet been finalised. The Grade I Listed Lune Aqueduct was scheduled for a £2 million facelift in 2009–10. The organisations responsible for the aqueduct were awarded £50,000 by
2394-518: Is mostly in a cutting, and on the eastern edge of Carnforth, is crossed by the A601(M) motorway. Immediately afterwards, it follows a new route alongside the M6 motorway, before making a sharp turn through a new bridge under the motorway, and rejoining its historic course. It crosses the River Keer on a small aqueduct at Capernwray , overshadowed by a much larger viaduct that carries the railway over
2527-701: Is presumed, introduced in Italy by Bertola da Novate in the 16th century. This allowed wider gates and also removed the height restriction of guillotine locks . To break out of the limitations caused by river valleys, the first summit level canals were developed with the Grand Canal of China in 581–617 AD whilst in Europe the first, also using single locks, was the Stecknitz Canal in Germany in 1398. In
2660-599: Is rarely less than 30 metres (98 ft) wide. In the 5th century BC, Achaemenid king Xerxes I of Persia ordered the construction of the Xerxes Canal through the base of Mount Athos peninsula, Chalkidiki , northern Greece. It was constructed as part of his preparations for the Second Persian invasion of Greece , a part of the Greco-Persian Wars . It is one of the few monuments left by
2793-418: Is steeper than the desired canal gradient. They are constructed so the falling water's kinetic energy is dissipated in order to prevent it from scouring the bed and sides of the canal. A canal fall is constructed by cut and fill . It may be combined with a regulator, bridge, or other structure to save costs. There are various types of canal falls, based on their shape. One type is the ogee fall, where
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#17327650644632926-452: Is the pound lock , which consists of a chamber within which the water level can be raised or lowered connecting either two pieces of canal at a different level or the canal with a river or the sea. When there is a hill to be climbed, flights of many locks in short succession may be used. Prior to the development of the pound lock in 984 AD in China by Chhaio Wei-Yo and later in Europe in
3059-408: Is to the east of the canal, with Holme to the west. The former bridge carrying North Road has been lowered to become a culvert, and at Spinney Culvert, the M6 motorway again crosses the canal, while the towpath has been diverted away from the canal, to rejoin it at Duke's Bridge. To the north of Farleton , Farleton Aqueduct carries the canal over Farleton Beck. Moss Side Culvert blocks the canal where
3192-610: The Lancaster Canal Act 1793 ( 33 Geo. 3 . c. 107) was obtained in May 1793 to authorise the construction of the Glasson branch, so that the canal had a connection to the sea. Work started almost immediately on the level section from Preston to Tewitfield. Contracts for 27 miles (43 km) of canal southwards from Tewitfield to Ray Lane near Catterall was awarded to John Murray of Colne and John Pinkerton. Although Pinkerton
3325-658: The Elbe , Oder and Weser being linked by canals. In post-Roman Britain, the first early modern period canal built appears to have been the Exeter Canal , which was surveyed in 1563, and open in 1566. The oldest canal in the European settlements of North America, technically a mill race built for industrial purposes, is Mother Brook between the Boston, Massachusetts neighbourhoods of Dedham and Hyde Park connecting
3458-532: The Lancaster Canal over the River Lune , on the east side of the city of Lancaster in Lancashire , England. It was completed in 1797 at a total cost of £48,320 18s 10d. It is a Grade I listed building . The aqueduct was designed by civil engineer John Rennie and constructed by architect Alexander Stevens (died 1796, aged 66). The cost of the construction was close to £50,000. The aqueduct
3591-598: The Leeds and Liverpool Canal . Work had been started on the South End, as it was officially known, in July 1793, when a contract for the length from Bark Hill near Wigan to Nightingales, near Chorley, had been let to Paul Vickers of Thorne. Negotiations with the Duke of Bridgewater had led to plans for an extension southwards from Westhoughton to the Bridgewater Canal at Worsley, but the bill presented to Parliament to authorise it
3724-488: The M6 motorway north of Preston, they were not prepared to fund bridges where the route crossed the canal, and published plans to abandon the canal north of Tewitfield in mid 1965. There was a local campaign for bridges to be built, so that restoration would be possible in the future, but the canal was culverted at the three locations where the motorway crossed it, and at three more sites, where other roads were re-routed as part of
3857-543: The Naviglio Grande built between 1127 and 1257 to connect Milan with the river Ticino . The Naviglio Grande is the most important of the lombard " navigli " and the oldest functioning canal in Europe. Later, canals were built in the Netherlands and Flanders to drain the polders and assist transportation of goods and people. Canal building was revived in this age because of commercial expansion from
3990-545: The Phoenix metropolitan area was the most complex in ancient North America. A portion of the ancient canals has been renovated for the Salt River Project and now helps to supply the city's water. The Sinhalese constructed the 87 km (54 mi) Yodha Ela in 459 A.D. as a part of their extensive irrigation network which functioned in a way of a moving reservoir due to its single banking aspect to manage
4123-528: The River Brue at Northover with Glastonbury Abbey , a distance of about 1.75 kilometres (1,900 yd). Its initial purpose is believed to be the transport of building stone for the abbey, but later it was used for delivering produce, including grain, wine and fish, from the abbey's outlying properties. It remained in use until at least the 14th century, but possibly as late as the mid-16th century. More lasting and of more economic impact were canals like
Lancaster Canal - Misplaced Pages Continue
4256-640: The River Calder and a stream near Ashton Hall under the canal. A formal opening ceremony was held on 27 November 1797, when six boats made the journey from Lancaster to the Lune aqueduct and back again, after which dinner was served at the King's Arms. £269,406 had been spent to get this far. The section south of the River Ribble was a little more complex, because part of it was close to the intended route of
4389-614: The Songhai Empire of West Africa, several canals were constructed under Sunni Ali and Askia Muhammad I between Kabara and Timbuktu in the 15th century. These were used primarily for irrigation and transport. Sunni Ali also attempted to construct a canal from the Niger River to Walata to facilitate conquest of the city but his progress was halted when he went to war with the Mossi Kingdoms . Around 1500–1800
4522-522: The Transport Act 1953 , which allowed the DIWE to close unused or little-used canals. Around 5.75 miles (9.25 km) of canal from Stainton Crossing Bridge to Kendal were drained because of leakage through fissures in the underlying limestone, and the last 2 miles (3.2 km) in Kendal were filled in. Although the land was sold to landowners, the towpath was retained as a public footpath, and many of
4655-631: The aqueduct was completed, carrying the canal 62 feet (19 m) above the river, and boats were able to travel the 42.4 miles (68.2 km) from Preston to Tewitfield, known as the North End. Single span aqueducts carried the canal over the River Keer and the River Wyre . As the River Brock was on almost the same level as the canal, a weir was built above the canal and its bed was lowered beneath an aqueduct. Syphons were constructed to carry
4788-556: The reservoirs built at Girnar in 3000 BC. This is the first time that such planned civil project had taken place in the ancient world. In Egypt , canals date back at least to the time of Pepi I Meryre (reigned 2332–2283 BC), who ordered a canal built to bypass the cataract on the Nile near Aswan . In ancient China , large canals for river transport were established as far back as the Spring and Autumn period (8th–5th centuries BC),
4921-404: The stratum the canal passes through, it may be necessary to line the cut with some form of watertight material such as clay or concrete. When this is done with clay, it is known as puddling . Canals need to be level, and while small irregularities in the lie of the land can be dealt with through cuttings and embankments, for larger deviations other approaches have been adopted. The most common
5054-471: The 12th century. River navigations were improved progressively by the use of single, or flash locks . Taking boats through these used large amounts of water leading to conflicts with watermill owners and to correct this, the pound or chamber lock first appeared, in the 10th century in China and in Europe in 1373 in Vreeswijk , Netherlands. Another important development was the mitre gate , which was, it
5187-472: The 15th century, either flash locks consisting of a single gate were used or ramps, sometimes equipped with rollers, were used to change the level. Flash locks were only practical where there was plenty of water available. Locks use a lot of water, so builders have adopted other approaches for situations where little water is available. These include boat lifts , such as the Falkirk Wheel , which use
5320-671: The 1830s, the Canal Company realised it would have to adapt to the threat of railways. They forced the North Union Railway to build a bridge where it crossed the line of the canal to Westhoughton by extending the canal beyond Wigan locks for a short distance, although the idea of a canal to Westhoughton had long since been abandoned. The Bolton and Preston Railway wanted to use the line of the Lancaster Canal Tramway to reach Preston, and so they leased
5453-595: The A6 road, the West Coast Main Line railway and the M6 motorway. To the north of the village is Brock Aqueduct, and the canal continues to the east of Catterall to reach Garstang , where it crosses the River Wyre on a stone aqueduct, which is 110 feet (34 m) long and 34 feet (10 m) high. The inlet from the canal to Garstang Marina is a visual reporting point (VRP) for general aviation aircraft in
Lancaster Canal - Misplaced Pages Continue
5586-471: The A6070 road at the southern end and Cinderbarrow Culvert under the M6 motorway at the northern end. Nearly 8 miles (13 km) of canal above Cinderbarrow Culvert remain in water, and can be used by canoes and other small craft that can be portaged around obstructions. It remains in water because Killington Reservoir still acts as the main water supply for the navigable section below the locks. Burton-in-Kendal
5719-584: The A65 road crosses it, and the M6 motorway crosses for the third time at Millness Culvert. At Crooklands , the canal crosses the Peasey Beck , which carries water from Killington Reservoir to supply the canal, and from here to Stainton the canal is used by a trip boat operated by the Lancaster Canal Trust. The watered section ends just beyond Stainton Aqueduct, some 50 miles (80 km) from Preston. Although dry and partly infilled, its route can be followed for
5852-577: The A683 road. The aqueduct is relatively modern, having been built in 1961. Shortly afterwards comes the Lune Aqueduct, crossing the non-tidal part of the River Lune, which is 30.8 miles (49.6 km) from Preston. At Hest Bank the canal comes close to the sea at Morecambe Bay , and follows the coastline through Bolton-le-Sands , before turning inland at Carnforth . Its passage through the town
5985-822: The British Transport Commission in April 1955, as part of a report entitled Canals and Inland Waterways . By then the Lancaster Canal was part of 771 miles (1,241 km) of waterways that formed group III, earmarked for disposal. Following its publication, the Inland Waterways Association organised a series of protest meetings, with the Lancaster Canal Boat Club being formed after the one held in Lancaster. The annual British Transport Commission bill
6118-540: The Company of Proprietors of the Lancaster Canal Navigation, and gave them powers to raise £414,100 by the issuing of shares, and an additional £200,000, either by mortgage or by issuing more shares, if required. John Rennie was appointed as engineer in July 1792, with William Crossley the elder as his assistant, and Archibald Millar as resident engineer and superintendent. A second act of Parliament,
6251-650: The Glasson Branch was preferred. They obtained another act of Parliament, the Lancaster Canal Navigation Act 1819 ( 59 Geo. 3 . c. lxiv) in 1819, to authorise the raising of more capital, and to retrospectively sanction the construction of Killington reservoir and the branch to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal at Johnson's Hillock. Crosley had taken over as superintendent of the entire canal from Fletcher in 1820, and work commenced in 1823. It
6384-595: The Heritage Lottery fund to enable them to put together a credible bid for funding. Work began to restore the aqueduct in January 2011, and was completed in March 2012 with the project costing £2.4 million. Stainton Aqueduct , which carries the canal over Stainton Beck near the northern end of the watered section, was extensively damaged in December 2015 as a result of flooding during Storm Desmond . This led to
6517-526: The Kendal Canal Head area, outlining plans for a comprehensive regeneration of both the canal and the surrounding area. The document incorporated many of the findings from the feasibility study produced by British Waterways, but restricted reinstatement at the final terminus. It suggested a new canal arm slightly further to the south, and that some of the hard edging proposed for the channel should be made softer, to accommodate some wetland and improve
6650-647: The Lamb and Packet (the lamb being the crest of Preston), the Fighting Cocks (formerly the Boatmans). Most of the ground formerly occupied by the canal basin is now part of the University of Central Lancashire site. A Trust was formed in 2003 to extend the canal back to a new marina at Maudland, but as no progress was made, the university plan to landscape the area, in a way that will not preclude restoration of
6783-539: The Lancaster Canal Trust produced a report outlining possible ways forward. They then began promoting the idea of building slipways on the truncated northern reaches, to enable boats to access the canal where possible, and a series of slipways were completed, enabling a boat rally to be held over the Easter weekend in 1978. Although the Northern Reaches were officially no longer navigable, the pipeline that blocked
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#17327650644636916-519: The Leeds and Liverpool Canal and remains well used by leisure traffic. At around the same time as the M6 was being planned, the first of many booklets produced to promote waterway restoration was published by the Association for the Restoration of the Lancaster Canal. It was written by T S H Wordsworth, and entitled The Lancaster Canal: Proposed Linear Park and Nature Reserve . Wordsworth was
7049-412: The Leeds and Liverpool Canal, which would allow them to use much of the South End. The Lancaster Canal would construct two branches, a short 0.5-mile (0.8 km) length from Bark Hill to Wigan top lock, and a longer branch rising 64 feet (20 m) through seven locks from Johnson's Hillock. In order to provide a water supply to the Kendal level, they bought 86 acres (35 ha) of land at Killington for
7182-405: The North End to the South End. Several options were considered, including linking to the Douglas Navigation , and although the Leeds and Liverpool agreed to improve that waterway, the Lancashire committee could not afford their part of the work. They asked Cartwright for his opinion in 1799, and he suggested a 5-mile (8 km) tramway, to run from Clayton Green on the South End to a little short of
7315-406: The Persian Empire in Europe . Greek engineers were also among the first to use canal locks , by which they regulated the water flow in the Ancient Suez Canal as early as the 3rd century BC. There was little experience moving bulk loads by carts, while a pack-horse would [i.e. 'could'] carry only an eighth of a ton. On a soft road a horse might be able to draw 5/8ths of a ton. But if
7448-401: The Ribble, and the Tewitfield flight would have been replaced by five locks at that location and four at Milton. The promoters sought an act of Parliament urgently, as proposals by the Leeds and Liverpool Canal to alter their route would have affected the profitability of the southern section. The Westmoreland Canals Act 1792 ( 32 Geo. 3 . c. 101) received royal assent on 11 June 1792, and
7581-416: The Ribble, it follows the course of the Savick Brook, and rises through eight locks to the junction with the canal. A bid for funding to restore the whole of the northern reaches was made to the North West Development Agency (NWDA), but was declined in mid-2004. However, both South Lakeland District Council and Rural Regeneration Cumbria, an independent organisation funded by the NWDA, pledged £325,000 towards
7714-476: The Southwest by 1300 CE. Archaeologists working at a major archaeological dig in the 1990s in the Tucson Basin, along the Santa Cruz River, identified a culture and people that may have been the ancestors of the Hohokam. This prehistoric group occupied southern Arizona as early as 2000 BCE, and in the Early Agricultural period grew corn, lived year-round in sedentary villages, and developed sophisticated irrigation canals. The large-scale Hohokam irrigation network in
7847-413: The Tewitfield locks were removed, and replaced by concrete cills, to act as weirs. From January 1963, responsibility for the canal passed to the newly formed British Waterways Board. The Association for the Restoration of the Lancaster Canal was formed in December 1963, to campaign for retention of the canal. It later became the Lancaster Canal Trust. When the Ministry of Transport were developing plans for
7980-430: The Waterways Trust . They commissioned the civil engineers Scott Wilson Kirkpatrick to determine whether full restoration was feasible, and their report of 1992 concluded that it was. In 1998, British Waterways and the Northern Reaches Restoration Group signed a joint Memorandum of Understanding, which formally outlined how restoration of the canal could proceed. In 2000, Scott Wilson Kirkpatrick updated their report, and
8113-430: The bridges remain in place. At the Preston end, around 0.75 miles (1.21 km) of canal from Aqueduct Street southwards were gradually drained and partly filled in. Above Tewitfield locks, a 100-yard (91 m) section at Burton-in-Kendal was drained because of problems with leakage, and replaced by a pipe, so that the water supply to the lower canal was maintained, but navigation north of Tewitfield ceased. The gates of
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#17327650644638246-401: The canal and by various railway companies, until in 1849, the Lancaster and Preston Junction Railway became part of the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway . Acting as arbitrator, Robert Stephenson awarded the canal £55,552, and their claims to the railway ceased on 1 August 1849. During the seven years, the canal had made a profit of £67,391, which enabled them to pay off all their mortgages, award
8379-409: The canal begins inconspicuously on an embankment, just to the south of Ashton Basin. It formerly continued for a little under a mile to a basin where it connected to the Lancaster Canal Tramroad. The towpath is on the left hand bank when heading to the north for almost all of the canal. With the exception of Preston and the City of Lancaster , most of the canal runs through open countryside, while all of
8512-466: The canal in the future. The canal between Walton Summit and the Leeds and Liverpool link at Johnson's Hillock was last used for commercial traffic in 1932, although a party in canoes managed to navigate the branch as late as 1969 with only two portages This section was closed in the 1960s, as a result of the M61 motorway proposal which would have required three bridges over the canal. The Ministry of Transport and British Waterways Board decided that
8645-436: The canal pressure with the influx of water. It was also designed as an elongated reservoir passing through traps creating 66 mini catchments as it flows from Kala Wewa to Thissa Wawa . The canal was not designed for the quick conveying of water from Kala Wewa to Thissa Wawa but to create a mass of water between the two reservoirs, which would in turn provided for agriculture and the use of humans and animals. They also achieved
8778-418: The canal to form a dam. They are generally placed in pre-existing grooves in the canal bank. On more modern canals, "guard locks" or gates were sometimes placed to allow a section of the canal to be quickly closed off, either for maintenance, or to prevent a major loss of water due to a canal breach. A canal fall , or canal drop, is a vertical drop in the canal bed. These are built when the natural ground slope
8911-462: The canal. Where large amounts of goods are loaded or unloaded such as at the end of a canal, a canal basin may be built. This would normally be a section of water wider than the general canal. In some cases, the canal basins contain wharfs and cranes to assist with movement of goods. When a section of the canal needs to be sealed off so it can be drained for maintenance stop planks are frequently used. These consist of planks of wood placed across
9044-609: The channel near Burton-in-Kendal was replaced by a concrete trough in the 1980s, which was made deep enough and wide enough to accommodate narrow boats, should navigation be restored. An umbrella organisation called the Northern Reaches Restoration Group (NRRG) had been formed by 1992 to coordinate the restoration, consisting of nine partners. These were British Waterways (now Canal & River Trust ), Cumbria County Council, Inland Waterways Association , Kendal Town Council, Lancashire County Council , Lancaster City Council , Lancaster Canal Trust , South Lakeland District Council and
9177-409: The channel. There are two broad types of canal: Historically, canals were of immense importance to commerce and the development, growth and vitality of a civilization. In 1855 the Lehigh Canal carried over 1.2 million tons of anthracite coal; by the 1930s the company which built and operated it for over a century ceased operation. The few canals still in operation in our modern age are a fraction of
9310-482: The construction of the Lune aqueduct, but by July 1799 was resident engineer for the whole canal. He announced that 12 miles (19 km) of the South End was then open, as far north as Johnson's Hillock, and that the next section to Clayton Green was nearly completed, with the exception of the Whittle Hill tunnels. Meanwhile, the committee were struggling with cash flow problems, but the open sections brought in some much-needed revenue. Attention then turned to how to join
9443-464: The construction. The channel below Stainton could still be used by small boats, as it delivered water from Killington Reservoir to the lower canal, and also fed a pipeline which ran from the canal near Garstang to a chemical works near Fleetwood . The Kendal to Preston section now terminates at Ashton basin, but previously continued to the centre of Preston where there are a number of streets and pubs whose names give clues: Wharfe Street, Kendal Street,
9576-631: The cost of a design phase in October 2004, which British Waterways estimated would cost £750,000. The restoration would involve dealing with the three motorway crossings and four trunk road crossing where the canal has been culverted, and include work on 52 listed structures . Following discussions with the NWDA, the project was broken down into three phases, with the first covering the 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from Canal Head at Kendal to Natland Road. The second phase would cover from Natland Road to Crooklands, and
9709-597: The cost of constructing the bridges was not justified, particularly as the canal was in poor condition, and promoted a bill in Parliament for closure of the canal. As a result, much is now buried under the M61 motorway , and in the Clayton-le-Woods area housing estates were built on the route in the 1990s. The remainder of the southern end, between Johnson's Hillock and Wigan Top Lock, is now considered to be part of
9842-496: The current terminus of the North End, which would be extended slightly. The committee then asked Rennie and William Jessop to consider Cartwright's tramway and another one that had been suggested, and to advise on a canal connection between the two sections. They suggested that an embankment should be used to support a canal at the same level as the section to Lancaster, with an aqueduct over the Ribble. Locks would be required to raise
9975-399: The drop follows an s-shaped curve to create a smooth transition and reduce turbulence . However, this smooth transition does not dissipate the water's kinetic energy, which leads to heavy scouring. As a result, the canal needs to be reinforced with concrete or masonry to protect it from eroding. Another type of canal fall is the vertical fall, which is "simple and economical". These feature
10108-415: The end of 1803. The tramway had two tracks and three inclined planes, each powered by a stationary engine and an endless chain. A wooden trestle bridge carried it over the Ribble. Cartwright died shortly after it was completed, on 19 January 1804. One of his other achievements was the cutting of a tunnel between the canal at Preston and the River Ribble, to provide a water supply for the canal. After his death,
10241-540: The end of the watered section at Stainton was offered for sale and was bought by two retired members of the Canal Trust, Angela and Howard Broomby. The Canal Trust worked on a 220-yard (200 m) length between bridges 172 and 173, which was dug out and lined with bentonite membrane to make it water tight. This was marketed as "the first furlong", and refilling of the restored bed occurred in 2014, to check that it did not leak. It did leak, and after much consultation, it
10374-595: The existing canal to the plane, it was estimated that the project would generate some £24 million per year into the local economy, and would also create around 800 new jobs. The Lancaster Canal was finally connected to the rest of the English canal network in 2002, with the opening of the Ribble Link . This provides access from the Rufford Arm of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal via the tidal River Ribble. On leaving
10507-542: The final 5 miles (8 km) to Kendal. It passes through Hincaster Tunnel and over Sedgwick Aqueduct, which crosses the main street in Sedgwick . Although the course is infilled, there are a number of bridges still in good condition, including the Changeline Bridge, where the towpath changes to the eastern bank of the canal. Shortly afterwards, it arrives at Canal Head, where a number of stone buildings date from
10640-670: The first summit level canal to use pound locks in Europe was the Briare Canal connecting the Loire and Seine (1642), followed by the more ambitious Canal du Midi (1683) connecting the Atlantic to the Mediterranean. This included a staircase of 8 locks at Béziers , a 157 metres (515 ft) tunnel, and three major aqueducts. Canal building progressed steadily in Germany in the 17th and 18th centuries with three great rivers,
10773-462: The freedom to make deliveries well away from rail lined road beds or ditches in the dirt which could not operate in the winter. The longest extant canal today, the Grand Canal in northern China, still remains in heavy use, especially the portion south of the Yellow River . It stretches from Beijing to Hangzhou at 1,794 kilometres (1,115 miles). Canals are built in one of three ways, or
10906-421: The gas works was unused and was closed because of leakage. The railway then attempted to close the whole canal in 1944, along with several others in their ownership, but opposition in the House of Lords resulted in the Lancaster Canal being removed from the scope of that act. Coal traffic to the gas works was transferred to road vehicles in 1944, and the canal carried its final commercial traffic in 1947. Following
11039-701: The higher waters of the Charles River and the mouth of the Neponset River and the sea. It was constructed in 1639 to provide water power for mills. In Russia, the Volga–Baltic Waterway , a nationwide canal system connecting the Baltic Sea and Caspian Sea via the Neva and Volga rivers, was opened in 1718. Lune Aqueduct The Lune Aqueduct is a navigable aqueduct that carries
11172-399: The lease of the northern end of the canal, which allowed them to continue paying dividends and to make investments. The South End was leased to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal for £7,075 per year, and the tramway was closed from Preston to Bamber Bridge. Traffic on the remainder of the tramway had ceased by 1879, and it was closed. Eventually, the railway company offered to buy the canal, and this
11305-520: The level to Tewitfield, passing through Preston and Lancaster. Locks would then raise the canal by 86 feet (26 m), and a further 18 miles (29 km) would bring the canal to Kendal. Major aqueducts would be required to cross the River Ribble and the River Lune . In 1787, a scheme to reclaim land along the coast and construct a canal passing through the reclaimed land was suggested by an ironmaster called John Wilkinson, but it failed to attract sufficient support for work to start. In 1791, following
11438-477: The level to meet the South End at Clayton Green. Their report included a design for an aqueduct with three arches, each of 117 feet (36 m), and a total length of 640 feet (200 m). Cartwright also submitted plans for an aqueduct, as did Thomas Gibson. Rennie and Jessop approved Cartwright's plan for a tramway as a temporary solution to the problem. They thought it would cost around £21,600, and work on it started shortly afterwards. The existing South End canal
11571-480: The line for £8,000 per year from 1837. However, they reached agreement with the North Union Railway in 1838 to use their line into Preston, but the Canal Company were not prepared to take back the tramway. In order to compete with a potential railway north of Preston, they ran packet boats providing an express passenger service between Preston and Lancaster, which took just three hours, and later extended
11704-460: The link to Kendal newly opened, rose to £25,289, with just over half coming from the North End, and in 1825 was £27,069, with the North End contributing 52 per cent. Goods carried included grain, timber, potatoes and slate, while the canal was also used to export coal bound for Ulverston, North Wales and Ireland. The Glasson branch allowed small ships to use the canal without transhipment, and the number doing so rose from 64 in 1830, to 185 in 1840. In
11837-549: The load were carried by a barge on a waterway, then up to 30 tons could be drawn by the same horse. — technology historian Ronald W. Clark referring to transport realities before the industrial revolution and the Canal age . Hohokam was a society in the North American Southwest in what is now part of Arizona , United States, and Sonora , Mexico. Their irrigation systems supported the largest population in
11970-505: The local Blackpool airspace. Beyond Garstang, the canal passes through open countryside, with few villages, before reaching the junction with the Glasson Dock branch, 24 miles (39 km) from Preston. A further rural section brings it to the southern edge of Lancaster. Within Lancaster, the canal is hemmed in by buildings. The towpath briefly crosses to the east bank between bridges 98 and 100, before Bulk Road Aqueduct carries it over
12103-480: The longest canal in the world today and the oldest extant one. It is 1,794 kilometres (1,115 mi) long and was built to carry the Emperor Yang Guang between Zhuodu ( Beijing ) and Yuhang ( Hangzhou ). The project began in 605 and was completed in 609, although much of the work combined older canals, the oldest section of the canal existing since at least 486 BC. Even in its narrowest urban sections it
12236-534: The longest one of that period being the Hong Gou (Canal of the Wild Geese), which according to the ancient historian Sima Qian connected the old states of Song, Zhang, Chen, Cai, Cao, and Wei. The Caoyun System of canals was essential for imperial taxation, which was largely assessed in kind and involved enormous shipments of rice and other grains. By far the longest canal was the Grand Canal of China , still
12369-600: The nationalisation of the railways and canals and the formation of the British Transport Commission as a result of the Transport Act 1947 , the Docks and Inland Waterways Executive (DIWE) were responsible for the newly nationalised canals. In late 1952, the DIWE formed plans to sell off some 600 miles (970 km) of canals which were no longer commercially viable, including the Lancaster Canal, to county and local authorities. These plans were published by
12502-473: The navigable main line follows the same contour , and is therefore free of locks . At Preston, the canal runs through urban surroundings for around 2 miles (3.2 km), passing the junction with the Ribble Link at 1.4 miles (2.3 km), where there was a large sculpture, Gauging the Ripple , one of four nearby which were created by Thompson Dagnall. However, the wooden construction suffered from rot, and it
12635-506: The numbers that once fueled and enabled economic growth, indeed were practically a prerequisite to further urbanization and industrialization. For the movement of bulk raw materials such as coal and ores are difficult and marginally affordable without water transport. Such raw materials fueled the industrial developments and new metallurgy resulting of the spiral of increasing mechanization during 17th–20th century, leading to new research disciplines, new industries and economies of scale, raising
12768-407: The possibility of a tramway. The tramway was much cheaper, but the committee obtained a new act of Parliament, the Lancaster Canal Navigation Act 1807 ( 47 Geo. 3 Sess. 2 . c. cxiii), to authorise variations to Rennie's route between Tewitfield and Hincaster, which also reverted to having all of the locks at Tewitfield. After much debate and several changes of plan, terms were finally agreed with
12901-604: The pre-railroad days of the industrial revolution, water transport was the gold standard of fast transportation. The first artificial canal in Western Europe was the Fossa Carolina built at the end of the 8th century under personal supervision of Charlemagne . In Britain, the Glastonbury Canal is believed to be the first post-Roman canal and was built in the middle of the 10th century to link
13034-447: The project was completed by William Millar of Preston, and in July 1806, a Boulton and Watt steam engine began pumping water through the tunnel. When the committee had been set up in 1792, most of the members had been from Lancaster, with one from Preston and one from Kendal. This continued to be the case, and resulted in the extension northwards to Kendal being continually deferred. Millar surveyed two routes in 1805, and also considered
13167-455: The proprietors a bonus of £1 17s 6d (£1 87.5p) per share and allocate £6,700 to a contingency fund. An agreement was reached with the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway in 1850, whereby the railway carried passengers and general merchandise to Kendal, but the canal carried coal and heavy goods. The canal continued to carry goods between Glasson and Preston, and the relationship between the canal and railway carried on somewhat uneasily until 1858, when
13300-422: The river and the canal. The Capernwray Arm, a short branch that once served a quarry, now offers secluded moorings to the east of the main line, and after passing along the western edge of Borwick , the navigable canal ends at Tewitfield Marina next to the M6 motorway, which is 42.1 miles (67.8 km) from Preston. Beyond lie the eight abandoned Tewitfield locks, isolated from the canal by Twitfield Culvert under
13433-495: The section from Preston to Tewitfield near Carnforth in Lancashire is currently open to navigation for 42 miles (67.6 km), with the canal north of Tewitfield having been severed in three places by the construction of the M6 motorway , and by the A590 road near Kendal . The southern part, from Johnson's Hillock to Aspull , remains navigable as part of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. The planned continuation to Westhoughton
13566-414: The service to Kendal, with passengers walking up or down the flight of locks at Tewitfield and embarking on a second boat. The seven-hour journey time halved the best speeds of stage coaches; because of the comfort of the journey, passengers stayed loyal to the packet boats even after the advent of railway competition in the 1840s. The pumping station at Preston was sold in 1836, as experience had shown that
13699-480: The standard of living for any industrialized society. Most ship canals today primarily service bulk cargo and large ship transportation industries, whereas the once critical smaller inland waterways conceived and engineered as boat and barge canals have largely been supplanted and filled in, abandoned and left to deteriorate, or kept in service and staffed by state employees, where dams and locks are maintained for flood control or pleasure boating. Their replacement
13832-540: The temporary closure of the canal by means of a clay dam (the dam being intended to prevent any loss of water from the remaining open section, should the aqueduct fail). Funding was obtained for the restoration of the aqueduct with the main works commenced in August 2018 by construction firm Kier Group who have been employed by the Canal & River Trust. Restoration, which included resurfacing of 1 mile (1.6 km) of towpath,
13965-529: The third phase would cover the rest of the northern reaches to Tewitfield. The Northern Reaches Restoration Group (NRRG) submitted a revised bid to the NWDA for £13.5 million, to fund the first phase of the restoration, and were hopeful that work could begin in 2007. South Lakeland District Council set aside £1.5 million to assist with this project in 2004. In parallel with these larger schemes, Cumbria County Council spent £125,000 on renovating Castle Bridge in Kendal, and Kendal Civic Society were are major funder for
14098-628: The time of the canal's construction. The basin is 55.8 miles (89.8 km) from Preston. [REDACTED] Media related to Lancaster Canal at Wikimedia Commons 54°04′N 2°48′W / 54.067°N 2.800°W / 54.067; -2.800 Canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation ) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi ). They carry free, calm surface flow under atmospheric pressure , and can be thought of as artificial rivers . In most cases,
14231-573: The valley of the River Dee . Another option for dealing with hills is to tunnel through them. An example of this approach is the Harecastle Tunnel on the Trent and Mersey Canal . Tunnels are only practical for smaller canals. Some canals attempted to keep changes in level down to a minimum. These canals known as contour canals would take longer, winding routes, along which the land was
14364-427: The visual impact of the canal. British Waterways had suggested using a concrete channel, to overcome problems of leakage, with edges using stonework excavated from the infill. Despite the intentions, work to restore the canal at Kendal had still not been started by late 2016. However, work had started on extending the canal northwards from Stainton. In 2002, around 0.5 miles (0.8 km) of canal immediately adjacent to
14497-637: The water supply from Killington reservoir was adequate for the whole canal. Part of Whittle Hill tunnel on the South End section was converted to a cutting after roof collapses in 1827 and 1836. In the early 1840s, attempts were made to sell the canal to a railway company, but as neither the North Union Railway nor the Bolton and Preston Railway were interested, they leased the Lancaster and Preston Junction Railway from 1 September 1842. Seven years of complicated haggling ensued, with claims and counter-claims made by
14630-400: The £20,000 restoration of Natland Mill Beck Lane Bridge. By 2006, the project development phase for the first section in Kendal was being led by British Waterways. Funding of £756,000 had been obtained from several sources, including NWDA, South Lakeland District Council and Rural Regeneration Cumbria. The two-year project commenced in January 2006. An Area Action Plan was published in 2008 for
14763-501: Was a well-known canal contractor, Millar complained that the quality of his work was poor, and that he failed to follow instructions. Murray and Pinkerton were dismissed in 1795, to be replaced by several contractors each building smaller lengths of canal. In January 1794 work began on the Lune Aqueduct , which was built of stone, although Rennie thought brick should have been used, as it would have been considerably cheaper. By 1797
14896-466: Was also expensive, as men expect compensation in the form of wages, room and board. This was because long-haul roads were unpaved, more often than not too narrow for carts, much less wagons, and in poor condition, wending their way through forests, marshy or muddy quagmires as often as unimproved but dry footing. In that era, as today, greater cargoes, especially bulk goods and raw materials , could be transported by ship far more economically than by land; in
15029-458: Was an option in some cases, sometimes supplemented by other methods to deal with seasonal variations in flow. Where such sources were unavailable, reservoirs – either separate from the canal or built into its course – and back pumping were used to provide the required water. In other cases, water pumped from mines was used to feed the canal. In certain cases, extensive "feeder canals" were built to bring water from sources located far from
15162-681: Was completed in 2020, but due to the coronavirus pandemic, a formal re-opening was delayed until October 2021, when the Lancaster Canal Regeneration Partnership hosted a month of festivities. The work was funded by a grant of £1.5 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund , with other contributions by the Rural Payments Agency , South Lakeland District Council, Cumbria County Council and Kendal Town Council. Starting at Preston,
15295-569: Was defeated, largely due to objections by the owner of Atherton Hall . The committee felt that a connection to the Leigh branch of the Bridgewater Canal, which was soon to be constructed, might be a better option. By February 1798, Vickers had completed construction of the canal from Bark Hill to Knowley Wharf near Chorley, and it was open for traffic. William Cartwright had been appointed as assistant resident engineer in January 1794, during
15428-426: Was entitled An Act for making and maintaining a navigable canal, from Kirkby Kendal in the county of Westmorland , to West Houghton in the county palatine of Lancaster, and also a navigable branch from the said intended canal at or near Barwick, to or near Warton Cragg, and also another navigable branch, from, at or near, Galemoss, by Chorley, to or near Duxbury in the said county palatine of Lancaster. The act created
15561-417: Was expected to contain details of what would happen to these waterways, but when it was published on 28 November 1955, the bill only contained proposals to abandon the derelict Nottingham and Walsall canals. The Inland Waterways Association detected a softening in official attitudes towards revival of the canal network. Nevertheless, parts of the canal were abandoned, using discretionary powers contained in
15694-467: Was extended by 1 mile (1.6 km) from Clayton Green to Walton Summit, and a 259-yard (237 m) tunnel was constructed at Whittle Hill. This proved to be difficult to build, and it was 1 June 1803 before the first boat was able to pass through it. By that time, the North End had been extended to a new basin near Fishergate in Preston, but the tramway had only reached Bamber Bridge, and finally opened at
15827-527: Was finished in December 1825, with six locks carrying the canal down 52 feet (16 m) to the basin and dock. The company was short of money, and the lack of warehouses and wharves initially led to trade developing slowly. With the project complete, Crosley left in June 1826 to become engineer on the Macclesfield Canal , and was replaced by Bryan Padgett Gregson. A canal crossing of the River Ribble
15960-420: Was formalised by an act of Parliament obtained on 16 July 1885, although they actually took over the canal on 1 July. Under railway ownership, the canal was well-maintained, particularly because it carried coal from Preston to Kendal Gas Works, which had been built in 1824 on land bought from the canal company. This traffic amounted to between 6,500 and 7,500 long tons (6,600 and 7,600 t) each year, and there
16093-470: Was gradual, beginning first in the United States in the mid-1850s where canal shipping was first augmented by, then began being replaced by using much faster , less geographically constrained & limited, and generally cheaper to maintain railways . By the early 1880s, canals which had little ability to economically compete with rail transport, were off the map. In the next couple of decades, coal
16226-460: Was held on 18 June 1819, with a flotilla of boats followed by dinner and a ball at the Town Hall in Kendal. The next project would be the 2.5-mile (4 km) Glasson Dock branch, which had been authorised by the act of Parliament obtained in 1792. There was opposition from Preston, who felt that the canal crossing of the Ribble was much more important, but the makeup of the committee meant that
16359-424: Was increasingly diminished as the heating fuel of choice by oil, and growth of coal shipments leveled off. Later, after World War I when motor-trucks came into their own, the last small U.S. barge canals saw a steady decline in cargo ton-miles alongside many railways, the flexibility and steep slope climbing capability of lorries taking over cargo hauling increasingly as road networks were improved, and which also had
16492-404: Was managed by William Crosley from May 1817. The tunnel was finished on 25 December 1817, but the finishing of the locks took a little longer. The embankment for Killington Reservoir was raised several times, so that it now covered an area of 153 acres (62 ha), and it was full by the time the locks were completed. The opening ceremony for the Northern Reaches, as this section would become known,
16625-422: Was never built. Initial ideas for what would become the Lancaster Canal were formulated as a result of the high price of coal in the city of Lancaster and the surrounding area. James Brindley was asked to make a survey in 1771, but the work was carried out by Robert Whitworth , who presented his plans in 1772. The canal would run from the Leeds and Liverpool Canal at Eccleston for 54.5 miles (87.7 km) on
16758-433: Was never constructed. In 1813, when the northern extension to Kendal was about to be built, some of the Preston proprietors, led by a man called Shuttleworth, proposed a scheme to cross the Ribble on the level, which Fletcher decided was not practicable. They then proposed an aqueduct at a lower level, with locks on both sides of the river. Fletcher estimated the cost as £160,537, and while it could be done, that amount of money
16891-529: Was no railway access to the gas works. The canal had always suffered problems with leakage due to limestone fissures in the bed, and the London, Midland and Scottish Railway , who by then owned the canal, obtained the London Midland and Scottish Railway Act 1939 ( 2 & 3 Geo. 6 . c. xxviii) which authorised them to close the first 0.5-mile (0.8 km) section at Kendal. By 1941–42, the section north of
17024-496: Was not available, and providing a water supply for the locks would be difficult. Shuttleworth then demanded a special general meeting in 1817, at which he suggested that the cost could be obtained by applying to the Exchequer Bill Loan Commission , but his proposal was defeated. Once the North End and the South End were connected by the tramway, profitability increased significantly. In 1803, gross income
17157-426: Was once used to describe linear features seen on the surface of Mars , Martian canals , an optical illusion. A navigation is a series of channels that run roughly parallel to the valley and stream bed of an unimproved river. A navigation always shares the drainage basin of the river. A vessel uses the calm parts of the river itself as well as improvements, traversing the same changes in height. A true canal
17290-506: Was over £30,000 over budget (2.6 times the original estimate). This vast overspend was the reason that the Lancaster canal was never joined to the main canal network – there wasn't enough money for the planned aqueduct over the River Ribble at the southern end of the canal. Work began to restore the aqueduct in January 2011, and was completed in March 2012. The work involved restoring the canal channel, masonry repairs, removing graffiti, and improving public access. The project cost £2.4m, and
17423-433: Was relined with large EPDM sheets, similar to pond liner, which was protected top and bottom by geotextile matting. The top layer was then covered with around 25,000 concrete blocks. Refilling of the section began in December 2021, and in the same month the Canal and River Trust, the successors to British Waterways, approved the work. As of early 2023, the final bund between the new section and the old has not been removed. Work
17556-533: Was removed in 2007. It has since been replaced by a statue of a canal barge with large hand tools on it, made from stainless steel, which is perched on top of a corten steel plinth. The canal is crossed by the M55 motorway before reaching Swillbrook, to the south of Catford, and then crosses the Woodplumpton Brook at Woodplumpton Aqueduct, before turning to the north. At Bilsborrow it is briefly joined by
17689-402: Was £4,853; the following year, with the tramway now open, income jumped to £8,490. Revenue from tolls in 1803 was £4,332, with around 29 per cent derived from the South End and tramway. By 1807, this had risen to £12,467, of which 51 per cent came from the South End and tramway. Shareholders received a dividend of half a percent in 1803, and one percent from 1805 onwards. Toll income for 1820, with
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