When was bridgewater canal built

New technology saw the introduction of locks, inclined planes, and lifts to cope with changes in elevation. By the s, the canal was gradually abandoned to commercial circulation, which endured until The canal is now used for recreational purposes.

This meant that it could be more easily connected to any future canals but would also provide competition for the Mersey and Irwell Navigation Company. Indeed it was Brindley who travelled to London in January to discuss a new Act with the Parliamentary Committee which would incorporate the amended route.

However, two months later the second Act was agreed and work commenced on the canal. The aqueduct itself was completed in record time, with work beginning in September and the first boat crossing over the Irwell on 17 July A remarkable structure, the aqueduct carried the canal over the Irwell at a height of 13 metres and remained in full working order until the introduction of the Manchester Ship Canal in , when it was replaced by the Barton Swing Aqueduct to allow for the passage of larger vessels.

However, as a result of the canal the price of coal in Manchester had fallen fifty per cent by The completion of this first canal was just the beginning for the Duke.

In March a third Act was passed for the duke which allowed for an expansion from Manchester to the River Mersey at Runcorn, and so access to the Port of Liverpool. Published: AM November 9, Most Read.

Cheshire Life. Don't Miss. Dominic Castle. Beth Windsor. Shireburn Arms. Lancashire Life The best Christmas markets and fairs in and around Lancashire. Much of the Mersey and Irwell was incorporated into the Ship Canal but, to enable the much larger vessels to pass below the Bridgewater Canal, the historic landmark of Barton Aqueduct had to be replaced by the present swing aqueduct.

This was an even more daring structure than the original aqueduct, consisting of a channel that could be sealed off at each end to form a feet long and 18 feet wide tank, holding tons of water, that swung round on its pivot, situated on an island in the middle of the Ship Canal.

The canal was built because of the Duke of Bridgewater's coal mines at Worsley. The coal seams ran under the higher ground to the north. The Duke's land agent, John Gilbert, saw that it was possible to connect the canal directly to the mines by way of an underground canal. This in turn could be used to help with draining the mines, providing a source of water for the canal.

The iron ore deposits in the rock faces the tunnels pass through are responsible for the deep orange colour of the canal at Worsley. Around 47 miles of underground canal was constructed, on four different levels connected by a water powered inclined plane and lifts. The main tunnels stretch as far north as Farnsworth, with side tunnels running at right angles along the seams. Through most of its history boats on the canal were horse-drawn.