Rochdale Canal

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Rochdale Canal
Gauxholme Bridge, Todmorden.jpg
The castellated railway viaduct of the Manchester and Leeds Railway just south of Todmorden
Specifications
Locks91 (92 as built; two locks merged)
StatusOpen
Navigation authority Canal & River Trust
History
Date of act1794
Date completed1804
Date closed1952
Date restored2002
Route map
Rochdale Canal
Rochdale Canal
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Calder and Hebble Navigation
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Start of canal
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1-2
Sowerby Bridge Locks (2)
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Tuel Lane Tunnel under A58
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3/4
Tuel Lane Lock
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5-6
Brearley Locks (2)
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A646 Halifax Road Bridge
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7
Broadbottom Lock
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A646 Falling Royd Bridge
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8
Mayroyd Mill Lock
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Station Road, Hebden Bridge
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9
Black Pit Lock
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Hebden Aqueduct
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Hebble End
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10-11
Stubbing Locks (2)
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Stubbing Brink
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Caldervale Line
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12
Rawden Mill Lock
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Pennine Way
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13
Callis Lock
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Stoodley Glen
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14
Holmcoat Lock
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Stoodley Lane
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Shaw Wood Road
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15
Shawplains Lock
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16
Lobb Mill Lock
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Haugh Road
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Woodhouse Road
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17
Old Royd Lock
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Key Syke Lane
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Stack Hills Road
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18
Shop Lock
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A6033 Todmorden
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19
Library Lock
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Dobroyd Road
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20
Wadsworth Mill Lock
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21
Shade Lock
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Caldervale Line
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22-23
Gauxholme Locks (2)
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A681 Gauxholme Arch
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24
Gauxholme Highest Lock
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Caldervale Line
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A6033 Copperas House Bridge
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25
Smithyholm Lock
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26
Pinnel Lock
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Alma Road
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27
Hollings Lock
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Hollins Road
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Saint Peter's Gate
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28-33
Locks (6)
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34-35
Warland Locks (2)
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36
Longlees Lock
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summit
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37
West Summit Lock
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Chelburn
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River Roch
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38-44
Locks (7)
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Sladen
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45
Pikehouse Lock
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Lightowlers Lane
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46-47
Locks (2)
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A58 Halifax Road
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Ealees Road
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48
Littleborough Bottom Lock
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B6275
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Little Clegg Road
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A640 Milnrow Road
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Manchester Metrolink
Oldham and Rochdale Line
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Burnside Road
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A664 Kingsway
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Moss Bridge Road
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Rochdale Wharf
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49-50
Moss Locks (2)
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Calder Valley line
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Bedford Street Mills arm
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Durham Street
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A671
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Rochdale Branch Junction
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Milkstone Road
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Dicken Green Lane
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A664 Edinburgh Way
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Gorrels Way
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Heywood Wharf
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Green Lane
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51
Blue Pits Highest Lock
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Canal Street
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A664 Castleton
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Hope Street
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52
Blue Pits Middle Lock
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Calder Valley line
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Montrose Street
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Old (blocked) route
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UK-Motorway-icon.svg M62
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Heywood Branch Junction
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Blue Pits New Lock 53
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Earl Street
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Old (blocked) route
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54-55
Laneside Locks (2)
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A664 Slattocks
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56-58
Laneside Locks (3)
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Calder Valley line
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59-60
Locks (2)
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61
Scowcroft Lock
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Calder Valley line
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62
Coney Green Lock
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63
Walk Mill Lock
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River Irk Aqueduct
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A669 Mills Hill Bridge
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64
Kay Lane Lock
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Drummer Hill Branch
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Grimshaw Lane Lift Bridge
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The Causeway
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A671
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UK-Motorway-icon.svg M60 and Semple Way
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A6104 Hollinwood Avenue
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Manchester Metrolink
Oldham and Rochdale Line
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65
Failsworth Top Lock
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A62 Oldham Road
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Sisson St/Failsworth new Bridge
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Ashton Road West
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66-68
Tannersfield Locks (3)
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Droylsden Road
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69
Newton Heath Lock
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Old Church Street
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70-76
Newton Heath Locks (7)
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Huddersfield line
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77
Anthony Lock
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Hulme Hall Lane A6010
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78-80
Coalpit Locks (3)
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81
Butler Lane Lock
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82
Lock
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A665 Great Ancoats Street
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83
Brownsfield Lock
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Tariff Street
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Junction with Ashton Canal
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84
Dale Street Lock
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Dale Street
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85
Piccadilly Lock
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Aytoun Street
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Manchester Metrolink
City Zone
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Minshull Street
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86
Chorlton Street Lock
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Chorlton Street
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87
Princess Street Lock
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88
Oxford Street Lock
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Oxford Street
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Basins
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Manch'str & Salford Junc Canal
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Bridgewater Hall Basin
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89
Tib Lock
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Albion Street
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90
Albion Mills Lock
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91
Tunnel Lock
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A56 Deansgate
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Link to Bridgewater Arm
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Liverpool–Manchester railway
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92
Duke's Lock
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Castle Street
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Castlefield Junction
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Bridgewater Canal

The Rochdale Canal is in Northern England, between Manchester and Sowerby Bridge, part of the connected system of the canals of Great Britain. Its name refers to the town of Rochdale through which it passes.

Contents

The Rochdale is a broad canal because its locks are wide enough to allow vessels of 14 feet (4.3 m) width. The canal runs for 32 miles (51 km) across the Pennines from the Bridgewater Canal at Castlefield Basin in Manchester to join the Calder and Hebble Navigation at Sowerby Bridge in West Yorkshire.

As built, the canal had 92 locks. Whilst the traditional lock numbering has been retained on all restored locks, and on the relocated locks, the canal now has 91. Locks 3 and 4 have been replaced with a single deep lock, Tuel Lane Lock, which is numbered 3/4.

History

A lock on the Rochdale Canal with water flowing over the gate Shade Lock.jpg
A lock on the Rochdale Canal with water flowing over the gate
Share of the Rochdale Canal Company, issued 1 May 1805 Rochdale Canal Company 1805.jpg
Share of the Rochdale Canal Company, issued 1 May 1805

The Rochdale Canal was conceived in 1776, when a group of 48 men from Rochdale raised £237 and commissioned James Brindley to conduct a survey of possible routes between Sowerby Bridge and Manchester. [1] Brindley proposed a route similar to the one built, and another more expensive route via Bury. [2] Further progress was not made until 1791, when John Rennie was asked to make a new survey in June, and two months later to make surveys for branches to Rochdale, Oldham and to a limeworks near Todmorden. Rennie at the time had no experience of building canals. [3]

Rochdale Canal Act 1794
Act of Parliament
Coat of Arms of Great Britain (1714-1801).svg
Long title An Act for making and maintaining a navigable canal from the Calder Navigation, at or near Sowerby Bridge wharf, in the parish of Halifax, in the west riding of the county of York, to join the canal of his grace the duke of Bridgewater, in the parish of Manchester, in the county palatine of Lancaster; and also certain cuts from the said intended canal.
Citation 34 Geo. 3. c. 78
Dates
Royal assent 4 April 1794

The promoters, unsure as to whether to build a wide or a narrow canal, postponed the decision until an act of Parliament had been obtained. [4] The first attempt to obtain an act was made in 1792, but was opposed by mill owners, concerned about water supply. Rennie proposed using steam pumping engines, three in Yorkshire, eight in Lancashire, and one on the Burnley Branch, but the mill owners argued that 59 mills would be affected by the scheme, resulting in unemployment, and the bill was defeated. In September 1792, William Crosley and John Longbotham surveyed the area in an attempt to find locations for reservoirs which would not affect water supplies to the mills. A second bill was presented to Parliament, for a canal which would have a 3,000-yard (2,700 m) tunnel and 11 reservoirs. Again the bill was defeated, this time by one vote. The promoters, in an attempt to understand the mill owners' position, asked William Jessop to survey the parts of the proposed canal that were causing most concern. Jessop gave evidence to the parliamentary committee, [5] and on 4 April 1794 the Rochdale Canal Act 1794 (34 Geo. 3. c. 78) was obtained which created the Rochdale Canal Company and authorised construction. [6] [7]

Rennie's estimated cost in the second bill was £291,000, and the company was empowered to raise the money by issuing shares, with powers to raise a further £100,000 if required. The estimate was for a narrow canal, whereas the act authorised a broad canal, and so the capital was never going to be adequate. The summit tunnel was abandoned in favour of 14 additional locks saving £20,000. Jessop proposed constructing each lock with a drop of 10 feet (3.0 m), resulting in efficient use of water and the need to manufacture only one size of lock gate. [8]

The canal opened in stages as sections were completed, with the Rochdale Branch the first in 1798 and further sections in 1799. The bottom nine locks opened in 1800 and boats using the Ashton Canal could reach Manchester. [9] Officially, the canal opened in 1804, but construction work continued for three more years. [2] A 1.5-mile (2.4 km) branch from Heywood to Castleton opened in 1834. [9]

Operation

Rochdale Canal Act 1807
Act of Parliament
Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (1801-1816).svg
Long title An Act to alter amend explain and enlarge the Powers of the Acts passed for making and maintaining the Rochdale Canal Navigation.
Citation 47 Geo. 3 Sess. 2. c. lxxxi
Dates
Royal assent 8 August 1807

As a result of having no summit tunnel, there were more locks, and the summit pound was very short, at just 0.8 miles (1.3 km). To the north and east, 36 locks descended to Sowerby Bridge, while to the south and west, another 56 locks descended to Castlefield Junction, on the edge of Manchester. The summit pound is 600 feet (183 m) above sea level, and is one of the highest summit pounds in Britain. [10] Blackstone Edge Reservoir, covering 50 acres (20 ha) and Chelburn Reservoir, covering 16 acres (6.5 ha), were the first two reservoirs built to supply the water for all these locks. They were completed in 1798, and Hollingworth Lake, covering 130 acres (53 ha), was finished in 1800. It was lower than the summit pound, and so a steam pumping engine was installed to raise the water into a 4-mile (6.4 km) feeder, which connected to the summit. [11] The feeder was about 45 feet (14 m) above the level of the lake, and the pumping engine was used until 1910, when the installation was demolished. [12] The Rochdale Canal Act 1807 (47 Geo. 3 Sess. 2. c. lxxxi) enabled the 92-acre (37 ha) Whiteholme Reservoir and the 30-acre (12 ha) Light Hazzles Reservoir to be constructed, to ensure that supplies remained adequate as trade increased. [13]

Because of its width, the canal was more successful than the Huddersfield Narrow Canal and became the main highway of commerce between Lancashire and Yorkshire. Cotton, wool, coal, limestone, timber, salt and general merchandise were transported. [7] Between 1830 and 1832, the canal carried 539,081 tons per year, which generated £40,123 in toll revenue. In 1839, this had risen to 875,436 tons, generating £62,712 in tolls, but the opening of the Manchester and Leeds Railway in 1841 caused a significant drop in trade. The following year, £27,266 was earned from the carriage of 667,311 tons, and although a programme of toll reductions succeeded in restoring the trade, the income remained at a similar level for many years. The highest volume of traffic was in 1845, when 979,443 tons were carried. [14]

In 1839, the Manchester and Salford Junction Canal opened, which provided a link between a private branch of the Rochdale Canal and the Mersey and Irwell Navigation. It had been built because around 30,000 tons of goods a year were being transferred between the two waterways by cart, through the streets of Manchester, and the charges for this service did not meet the costs of providing it. It opened on 20 September, but was not a success, as the enabling Act of Parliament had also authorised the Bridgewater Canal to build the Hulme Cut, which linked their canal to the Irwell by three locks, and provided a more convenient route. [15] The eastern end of the canal, with its connection to the Rochdale Canal, closed in 1875, the rest was disused by 1922, and it was abandoned in 1936. [16]

In 1855, the company agreed the terms of a lease with four railway companies, with the largest stake of 73 per cent held by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway. The railways paid £37,652 per year for a 21-year period, which allowed the canal company to pay a 4 per cent dividend to its shareholders and still have £15,000 for maintenance work. During the lease period, traffic increased a little, from 754,421 tons to 878,651 tons, and toll revenue also increased, from £23,048 to £28,579. At the end of the 21 years, the arrangement was continued for another fourteen, and four final half-yearly payments of £15,000 were made by way of compensation when the agreement ended. [17] One surprising development was that Hollingworth Lake became a pleasure resort, with steamers operating on it six days a week in 1865. Allegations of "immoralities which it is stated take place in connection with the dancing stages at Hollingworth" in November of that year were strenuously denied by the company in January 1866. [18]

By cutting tolls, the canal managed to retain trade and remain profitable. A series of administrative changes took place, sanctioned by acts of Parliament. The title of the company changed from the Company of Proprietors of the Rochdale Canal to the Rochdale Canal Company, and they were also empowered to sell water. In 1905, cargo moving between the canal and the Bridgewater Canal at the Manchester end amounted to 418,716 tons, most of it connected with the Manchester Ship Canal trade. During the First World War, the government took control of the canals, and when they were handed back in August 1920, the Rochdale was in financial trouble. Sunday and Saturday afternoon working was no longer acceptable, wages had risen and working hours had reduced. In 1923, the Oldham and Rochdale Corporations Water Act 1923 (13 & 14 Geo. 5. c. lxxvii) paved the way for the transfer of its eight reservoirs, Blackstone Edge, Easterly Gaddings Dam, Higher and Lower Chelburn, Hollingworth Lake, Light Hazzles, Warland and Whiteholme, to those corporations to supply drinking water. They received £396,667 for the sale, of which some was paid to the Manchester Ship Canal, since it would no longer receive water from the Rochdale, and made a net profit of £298,333. They could still draw water from some nearby streams, and could also draw some from the reservoirs under certain conditions. [19]

Rochdale Canal Act 1952
Act of Parliament
Coat of arms of the United Kingdom (1901-1952).svg
Long title An Act to authorise the closing for navigation of part of the Rochdale Canal and for other purposes.
Citation 15 & 16 Geo. 6 & 1 Eliz. 2. c. xxxvii
Dates
Royal assent 1 August 1952
Text of statute as originally enacted

Apart from a short profitable section in Manchester linking the Bridgewater and Ashton Canals, most of the length was closed in 1952 when the Rochdale Canal Act 1952 (15 & 16 Geo. 6 & 1 Eliz. 2. c. xxxvii) was obtained to ban public navigation. [1] The last complete journey had taken place in 1937, and by the mid 1960s the remainder was almost unusable. Construction of the M62 motorway in the late 1960s took no account of the canal, cutting it in two. [1]

Restoration

Rochdale Canal Act 1965
Act of Parliament
Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (variant 1, 1952-2022).svg
Long title An Act to authorise the closing for navigation of part of the Rochdale Canal; to make provision as to voting rights, the qualification of directors and the alteration of capital; and for other purposes.
Citation 1965 c. xxxvii
Dates
Royal assent 5 August 1965
Text of statute as originally enacted

When an act of Parliament was sought in 1965, to authorise the abandonment of the canal, the Inland Waterways Association petitioned against it, and when it was finally passed, the Rochdale Canal Act 1965 (c. xxxvii) contained a clause that ensured the owners would maintain it until the adjacent Ashton Canal was abandoned. [20] In early 1971, a boat rally was organised on the canal, and later that year, there was public debate over the high cost of a project which had infilled part of the canal to create a shallow water park, when restoring the section for navigation would have been cheaper. [21] Discussion of the relative merits of restoring the canal or the Huddersfield Narrow Canal in 1973 led the formation of societies to promote both schemes in 1974. The Rochdale Canal Society wanted to see the canal fully re-opened, as part of a proposed Pennine Park. [22] The Ashton Canal, which joins the canal above lock 84, reopened in 1974, and the nine locks on the Rochdale Canal between the junction and the Bridgewater Canal were restored at that time. [23]

The canal benefited from the activities of the Manpower Services Commission in 1975, when £40,000 was allocated under the Job Creation Scheme to fund work on the Rochdale town section of the canal. The following year, another 150 jobs were created when a further £208,000 grant was made. [24] Despite the progress, there were plans to sever the route with a low-level crossing by the proposed M66 motorway in 1979, and to build a supermarket on it at Sowerby Bridge in 1980, both of which were met with opposition. [25] One benefit of the Job Creation Scheme was that the perception of the restoration changed in official circles. The local council was responsible for the young people employed on the scheme, which ran for twelve years, and found itself having to negotiate with the canal company. At its height, there were 450 people working on the canal, and since no-one could work on the scheme for more than a year, several thousand people learnt practical restoration skills, and many retained an interest in canals afterwards. The section from Todmorden to Hebden Bridge was completed in 1983, and opened on 20 May. [26]

The Rochdale Canal Society worked hard both to protect the line of the canal and to begin the process of refurbishing it. A new organisational structure was created in 1984, with the formation of the Rochdale Canal Trust Ltd, who leased the canal from the owning company. [27] A proposed extension to the M66 motorway created a new threat to the canal in 1985, but Greater Manchester Council began to look at ways to remove blockages in the following year, particularly the M62 embankment which blocked the route at Failsworth. [28] Calderdale Council managed a £1 million scheme to remove three culverts and restore two locks later that year, with some funding coming from the European Economic Commission. The MSC-funded restoration was approaching Sowerby Bridge, where planners were proposing a tunnel and deep lock to negotiate a difficult road junction at Tuel Lane, so that a connection could be made with the Calder and Hebble Navigation. [29] The entire eastern section from Sowerby Bridge to the summit at Longlees was open by 1990, although it remained isolated from the canal network. [27]

In 1991, an Ecotec Report looked at the costs and benefits of completing the restoration. It estimated that another £15.9 million was needed, but for a total expenditure of £17.3 million, some £30 million of benefits would be gained by the region, including 1,028 full-time jobs. Some of this money would come from Derelict Land Grants. [30] The re-fashioned link with the Calder and Hebble Canal (which had never closed) was funded by £2.5 million from this source. The initial plan included a lock that was only 57.5 feet (17.5 m) long, but space was eventually found for a standard 72-foot (22 m) lock. The first boat to pass between the restored Rochdale Canal and the Calder and Hebble Navigation did so on 11 April 1996, although the official opening did not take place until 3 May. [31] Tuel Lane Lock is nearly 20 feet (6.1 m) deep, making it one of the candidates for the deepest lock on the British canal system. [2]

In 1997, the Rochdale Canal Trust was restructured, in response to announcements that there might be large grants available as part of the millennium celebrations. The canal was still at this point owned by a private company, and the Millennium Commission would not make grants to a scheme which was for private profit, rather than public benefit. The restructuring would allow the Trust to take over responsibility for the canal from the Rochdale Canal Company. However, the plan was rejected by the Commission, and in order to access the grant of £11.3 million, [32] the Waterways Trust took over ownership of the canal. [27] Additional funding to make up a £23.8 million investment package came from English Partnerships and the councils of Oldham and Rochdale. [33] As restoration proceeded, boats could travel further and further west, and the restoration of the sections through Failsworth and Ancoats were a significant part of the re-development of the north Manchester districts. The restored sections joined up with the section in Manchester below the Ashton Canal junction, which had never been closed, and on 1 July 2002 the canal was open for navigation along its entire length. [34]

Today

The canal passes through Manchester city centre, seen here by the "Deansgate Locks" bars. Deansgate Locks - geograph.org.uk - 1352312.jpg
The canal passes through Manchester city centre, seen here by the "Deansgate Locks" bars.

The Rochdale Canal is significant for leisure boating in that it is one of the three canals which cross the Pennines and thus join north-western canals with the waterways of the North East, as well as opening the possibilities of touring various Pennine Rings (the Huddersfield Narrow Canal had reopened the year before, and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal had never closed).

A great attraction of the Rochdale Canal for the leisure boater lies in the fact that (unlike the Leeds and Liverpool and the Huddersfield Narrow) it climbs high over the Pennine moors rather than tunnelling through them, and the boater is surrounded by scenery which is correspondingly more spectacular (with the "penalty" of having to work more locks). [35]

The Rochdale is at the heart of several important leisure boating routes

East from Manchester, it crosses the Pennines via the hill towns and villages of Littleborough, Summit, Todmorden, Hebden Bridge, Mytholmroyd and Luddendenfoot (where Branwell Brontë was a railway booking clerk). Finally, at Sowerby Bridge, its connection with the Calder and Hebble gives boats access to all the north-eastern waterways including the Aire and Calder Navigation, the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation, and the rivers Ouse and Trent (and, for boaters who wish to do a "ring", the eastern ends of the Huddersfield Narrow and Leeds and Liverpool canals).

The Rochdale has had many problems since reopening (often related to a shortage of water, because the canal's reservoirs had been sold off in 1923). In April 2005 the canal bank was breached between lock 60 and lock 63, [36] near the River Irk. A large volume of water surged down the river towards the nearby town of Middleton, echoing the great Middleton canal tragedy of 1927, when a breach occurred at the aqueduct, and three people were drowned. [37] The canal re-opened in summer 2006, but had problems throughout the season.

The high frequency of navigation restrictions (and the need to book passage through Tuel Lane lock, and across the summit pound) means that anyone planning to use the canal should consult the Canal & River Trust website. [38]

See also

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

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The Lancaster Canal is a canal in North West England, originally planned to run from Westhoughton in Lancashire to Kendal in south Cumbria. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Calder and Hebble Navigation</span> Inland waterway in West Yorkshire, England

The Calder and Hebble Navigation is a broad inland waterway, with locks and bridge holes that are suitable for 14-foot-wide (4.3 m) boats, in West Yorkshire, England. Construction to improve the River Calder and the River Hebble began in 1759, and the initial scheme, which included 5.7 miles (9.2 km) of new cuts, was completed in 1770 and has remained navigable since it was opened. Significant improvements were made, including the Salterhebble branch to Halifax, opened in 1828, and ever-longer cuts to bypass river sections. Trade was assisted by the opening of the Rochdale Canal in 1804, which provided a through route from Sowerby Bridge to Manchester. There were plans to abandon the river sections completely in the 1830s, but these were modified as the needs of mill owners and other riparian landowners were recognised.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aire and Calder Navigation</span> Canal in West Yorkshire, England

The Aire and Calder Navigation is the canalised section of the Rivers Aire and Calder in West Yorkshire, England. The first improvements to the rivers above Knottingley were completed in 1704 when the Aire was made navigable to Leeds and the Calder to Wakefield, by the construction of 16 locks. Lock sizes were increased several times, as was the depth of water, to enable larger boats to use the system. The Aire below Haddlesey was bypassed by the opening of the Selby Canal in 1778. A canal from Knottingley to the new docks and new town at Goole provided a much shorter route to the River Ouse from 1826. The New Junction Canal was constructed in 1905, to link the system to the River Don Navigation, by then part of the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal</span> Canal in Greater Manchester, England

The Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal is a disused canal in Greater Manchester, England, built to link Bolton and Bury with Manchester. The canal, when fully opened, was 15 miles 1 furlong (24 km) long. It was accessed via a junction with the River Irwell in Salford. Seventeen locks were required to climb to the summit as it passed through Pendleton, heading northwest to Prestolee before it split northwest to Bolton and northeast to Bury. Between Bolton and Bury the canal was level and required no locks. Six aqueducts were built to allow the canal to cross the rivers Irwell and Tonge and several minor roads.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the British canal system</span> Building, use, decline and restoration of artificial waterways in the United Kingdom

The canal network of the United Kingdom played a vital role in the Industrial Revolution. The UK was the first country to develop a nationwide canal network which, at its peak, expanded to nearly 4,000 miles in length. The canals allowed raw materials to be transported to a place of manufacture, and finished goods to be transported to consumers, more quickly and cheaply than by a land based route. The canal network was extensive and included feats of civil engineering such as the Anderton Boat Lift, the Manchester Ship Canal, the Worsley Navigable Levels and the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashton Canal</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Ashton Canal is a canal in Greater Manchester, England, linking Manchester with Ashton-under-Lyne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Huddersfield Narrow Canal</span> Navigable channel in England

The Huddersfield Narrow Canal is an inland waterway in northern England. It runs just under 20 miles (32 km) from Lock 1E at the rear of the University of Huddersfield campus, near Aspley Basin in Huddersfield, to the junction with the Ashton Canal at Whitelands Basin in Ashton-under-Lyne. It crosses the Pennines by means of 74 locks and the Standedge Tunnel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bradford Canal</span> English canal

The Bradford Canal was a 3.5-mile (5.6 km) English canal which ran from the Leeds and Liverpool Canal at Shipley into the centre of Bradford. It opened in 1774, and was closed in 1866, when it was declared to be a public health hazard. Four years later it reopened with a better water supply, and closed for the second time in 1922. It was subsequently filled in, although consideration has been given to restoring it. There are some remains, including a short section of canal at the junction and a pumping station building, which is now a dwelling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Huddersfield Broad Canal</span> Navigation canal in West Yorkshire, England

The Huddersfield Broad Canal or Sir John Ramsden's Canal, is a wide-locked navigable canal in West Yorkshire in northern England. The waterway is 3.75 miles (6 km) long and has 9 wide locks. It follows the valley of the River Colne and connects the Calder and Hebble Navigation at Cooper Bridge junction with the Huddersfield Narrow Canal near Aspley Basin in Huddersfield.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dearne and Dove Canal</span> Canal in South Yorkshire, England

The Dearne and Dove Canal ran for almost ten miles through South Yorkshire, England from Swinton to Barnsley through nineteen locks, rising 127 feet (39 m). The canal also had two short branches, the Worsbrough branch and the Elsecar branch, both about two miles long with reservoirs at the head of each. The Elsecar branch also has another six locks. The only tunnel was bypassed by a cutting in 1840.

A canal ring is the name given to a series of canals that make a complete loop.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manchester and Salford Junction Canal</span>

The Manchester and Salford Junction Canal was a canal in the city of Manchester. It was originally built to provide a direct waterway between the Mersey and Irwell Navigation and the Rochdale Canal. The canal opened in 1839 and was abandoned in 1922.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Pennine Ring</span>

The South Pennine Ring is an English canal ring which crosses the Pennines between Manchester and Huddersfield. It covers parts of five canals, and includes passage through the longest canal tunnel in Britain. It has only been possible to cruise it since 2002, when restoration of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal provided the return route across the Pennines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Pennine Ring</span>

The North Pennine Ring is a canal ring which crosses the Pennines between Manchester, Leeds and Castleford. It follows parts of five canals, and shares much of its route with the Outer Pennine Ring, which uses a different route for the southern crossing of the Pennines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outer Pennine Ring</span>

The Outer Pennine Ring is an English canal ring which crosses the Pennines between Manchester, Leeds and Castleford. Its route follows parts of eight canals, and includes the longest canal tunnel in England. The ring was completed in 2001, with the opening of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal. Much of the route is shared with the North Pennine Ring, which crosses the Pennines by a different route on the southern leg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tuel Lane Lock</span> Canal lock on the Rochdale Canal in Sowerby Bridge, England

Tuel Lane Lock is a canal lock, situated on the Rochdale Canal in Sowerby Bridge, England. It was built in 1996 as part of the canal's restoration, and replaces two previous locks, locks 3 and 4, from the original canal system. With a fall of 19 feet 8.5 inches (6 m), it is the deepest lock in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heywood Branch Canal</span> Branch of Rochdale Canal

The Heywood Branch Canal was a branch of the Rochdale Canal from Castleton which led to Heywood. It opened in 1834 and carried traffic until 1937. It was abandoned in 1952, along with most of the Rochdale Canal, and although the Rochdale Canal has been reopened, the junction lies under the embankments of the M62 motorway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Runcorn and Weston Canal</span> Canal in Cheshire, England

The Runcorn and Weston Canal was a short canal near Runcorn in Cheshire, England, constructed to link the Weston Canal, which is part of the River Weaver Navigation, to the Bridgewater Canal and Runcorn Docks. It was completed in 1859, but was little used. Around half of it became the Arnold Dock in 1876, when it was made wider and deeper, and linked to Fenton Dock by a ship lock. The dock section and some of the remaining canal were filled in during the 1960s, and the remainder is in a derelict state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haslingden Canal</span>

The Haslingden Canal was a proposed canal link between the Bury arm of the Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal in Greater Manchester, England, and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in Accrington, England, passing through Haslingden. 53°42′N2°18′W Authorised by an Act of Parliament in 1794, the canal was not built.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hulme Locks Branch Canal</span> Canal in Manchester, England

The Hulme Locks Branch Canal is a canal in the city of Manchester. It is 200m in length and was built to provide a direct waterway between the Mersey and Irwell Navigation and the Bridgewater Canal. The canal opened in 1838 and was superseded in 1995 by a new lock at Pomona Dock 3. As both of its locks remain closed, the canal is now overgrown.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "A brief history of the Rochdale Canal". Rochdale Observer. Archived from the original on 1 April 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 "History of the Rochdale Canal". Jim Shead. 24 January 2009. Retrieved 5 August 2011.
  3. Hadfield & Biddle 1970b , p. 264
  4. Hadfield & Biddle 1970b , pp. 265–267
  5. Hadfield & Biddle 1970b , pp. 267–269
  6. "Act for Making and Maintaining A Canal, 1794". From Weaver to Web: Online Visual Archive of Calderdale History. Calderdale Council.
  7. 1 2 Priestley 1831 , pp. 542–547
  8. Hadfield & Biddle 1970b , pp. 270–271
  9. 1 2 "The Rise, Fall and Rise of the Rochdale Canal". Rochdale Observer. Archived from the original on 5 November 2009.
  10. Cumberlidge 2009 , pp. 255–258
  11. Hadfield & Biddle 1970b , p. 272
  12. Colligan 1977 , p. 10
  13. Hadfield & Biddle 1970b , p. 278
  14. Hadfield & Biddle 1970b , p. 432
  15. Hadfield & Biddle 1970a , pp. 127–128
  16. Hadfield & Biddle 1970b , pp. 365–366
  17. Hadfield & Biddle 1970b , pp. 431–433
  18. Hadfield & Biddle 1970b , p. 434
  19. Hadfield & Biddle 1970b , pp. 436–438
  20. Squires 2008 , p. 58
  21. Squires 2008 , pp. 74–76
  22. Squires 2008 , pp. 80, 83
  23. "Rochdale Canal History". Pennine Waterways. Retrieved 5 August 2011.
  24. Squires 2008 , pp. 88, 93
  25. Squires 2008 , pp. 102, 106
  26. Squires 2008 , pp. 110, 113
  27. 1 2 3 Cumberlidge 2009 , p. 255
  28. Squires 2008 , pp. 115–116
  29. Squires 2008 , pp. 120, 125
  30. Squires 2008 , pp. 128–130
  31. Squires 2008 , pp. 133, 137
  32. Squires 2008 , pp. 140–142
  33. "Thats the way the money went". Rochdale Observer. Archived from the original on 4 November 2009.
  34. Squires 2008 , p. 154
  35. "Rochdale Canal". Waterscape. 1 July 2002. Retrieved 5 August 2011.
  36. Irk Aqueduct Breach from Pennine Waterways
  37. "Great Flood of Middleton". Rochdale Observer. Archived from the original on 5 November 2009.
  38. "Rochdale Canal: Boating". Waterscape. Retrieved 5 August 2011.
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