Runcorn to Latchford Canal

Last updated

Runcorn to Latchford Canal
Runcorn and Latchford Canal - geograph.org.uk - 323968.jpg
A small section between Walton Railway Bridges and the A5060 road still holds water.
Runcorn to Latchford Canal
Specifications
Maximum boat length 70 ft 0 in (21.34 m)
Maximum boat beam 14 ft 9 in (4.50 m)
StatusClosed
History
Original ownerMersey and Irwell Navigation Company
Date of act1720
Date of first use1804 (1804)
Date closed1890s
Runcorn to Latchford Canal
BSicon gCONTg.svg
Mersey and Irwell Navigation
BSicon gTEEnl.svg
BSicon gSTR+r.svg
Feeder to Runcorn to Latchford Canal
BSicon ugFGATEu.svg
BSicon gSTR.svg
Paddington Lock
BSicon uexSTR+l.svg
BSicon uexSTRq.svg
BSicon uexFABZqlr.svg
BSicon geuKRZo.svg
BSicon uexCONTfq.svg
Wooden Bridge (aqueduct) over R Mersey
BSicon uexFABZgl+l.svg
BSicon ugFGATEl.svg
BSicon gSTR+r.svg
BSicon uexSTR.svg
Latchford Lock or Manor Lock
BSicon uexFGATEu.svg
BSicon gTEEnl.svg
BSicon uexSTRr.svg
Howley Lock
BSicon uexSTR.svg
BSicon gSKRZ-Au.svg
A5061 Black Bear Bridge
BSicon uexSTR.svg
BSicon gemKRZu.svg
Warrington to Stockport Railway Bridge
BSicon uexSTR.svg
BSicon gSKRZ-Eu.svg
Twenty Steps Bridge
BSicon uexSTR.svg
BSicon ugFGATEu.svg
Twenty Steps Lock
BSicon uexSTR.svg
BSicon gSTR.svg
BSicon uCONTg.svg
Manchester Ship Canal (MSC)
BSicon uexSTR.svg
BSicon uABZmg+l +g.svg
BSicon uFGATEr.svg
BSicon uSTRr.svg
Latchford Locks
BSicon uexSTR.svg
BSicon gSTR+r.svg
BSicon gSKRZ-Eu.svg
Tom Paine's Bridge
BSicon uexSTR.svg
BSicon uFABZgl+l.svg
BSicon uFABZgr+r.svg
Warrington Dock entrance
BSicon uexSTR.svg
BSicon uexFGATEu.svg
BSicon gSTR.svg
Walton Lock
BSicon uexSTRl.svg
BSicon uexABZg+r.svg
BSicon uABZmgl +g.svg
BSicon uSTR+r.svg
MSC
BSicon uexSTR.svg
BSicon ugSWING.svg
BSicon uCONTf.svg
Walton Turn Bridge
BSicon uxmKRZu.svg
BSicon gmKRZu.svg
Walton Railway Bridge
BSicon uexSTR+l.svg
BSicon uexSTRr.svg
BSicon ugSWING.svg
Baxters Turn Bridge
BSicon uexCONTf.svg
BSicon ugSWING.svg
Bellhouse Turn Bridge
BSicon ugSWING.svg
Moore Turn Bridge
BSicon ugSWING.svg
BSicon uCONTg.svg
Bobs Turn Bridge
BSicon uABZmg+l +g.svg
BSicon uSTRr.svg
MSC
BSicon gSKRZ-Eu.svg
Old Randles Turn Bridge
BSicon ugSWING.svg
Stone Delph Turn Bridge
BSicon ugSWING.svg
Haystack Turn Bridge
BSicon uABZmgl +g.svg
BSicon uSTR+r.svg
MSC
BSicon ugSWING.svg
BSicon uCONTf.svg
Astmoor Turn Bridge
BSicon ugSWING.svg
BSicon uCONTg.svg
Point Turn Bridge
BSicon uABZmg+l +g.svg
BSicon uSTRr.svg
MSC
BSicon ugSWING.svg
Old Quay Bridge
BSicon gSTR+l.svg
BSicon gABZgr.svg
BSicon gSTR.svg
BSicon ugFGATEu.svg
BSicon uCONTg.svg
BSicon ugFGATEu.svg
BSicon gFABZgl+l.svg
BSicon gSTR+r.svg
Lock
BSicon ueFABZgl+l.svg
BSicon gSTRr.svg
BSicon ugFGATEu.svg
BSicon gBHF.svg
Lock and Tidal Basin
BSicon ueFABZgl+l.svg
BSicon gSTRq.svg
BSicon gSTRr.svg
BSicon gFGATEd.svg
single gate
BSicon uSTR.svg
BSicon gBHF.svg
Runcorn Lower Dock
BSicon ueFABZgl+l.svg
BSicon gSTRq.svg
BSicon ugFGATEr.svg
BSicon gSTRr.svg
single gate
BSicon uCONTf.svg
River Mersey

The Runcorn to Latchford Canal (or Old Quay Canal or Old Quay Cut or Black Bear Canal) was a man-made canal that ran from Runcorn, [1] to the Latchford [2] area of Warrington. It connected the Mersey and Irwell Navigation to the River Mersey at Runcorn.

Contents

History

The canal was built to bypass the shallow stretches of the Mersey at Fiddlers Ferry. It extended for 7 miles (11 km), ending to the east of Runcorn Gap close to the centre of the township of Runcorn, [3] and cost £48,000. [4] At Latchford, it joined the Mersey at a lock which was located above Howley Weir. [5] At its terminus a dock was built which became part of the Port of Runcorn. The canal was built under powers embodied in the Rivers Mercy and Irwell Navigation Act 1720 (7 Geo. 1. St. 1. c. 15) which permitted new cuts to be made without the necessity of further recourse to Parliament. It opened in July 1804. [3]

Manchester Ship Canal (Black Bear Canal) (Local Enactments) Order 1976
Statutory Instrument
Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (variant 1, 1952-2022).svg
Citation SI 1976/1084
Dates
Made7 July 1976
Laid before Parliament16 July 1976
Commencement 6 August 1976
Other legislation
Made under
Text of statute as originally enacted

The canal and the Mersey and Irwell Navigation were bought out by the Bridgewater Canal Company in 1844. The new owners invested little in the canal and its condition gradually grew worse. They in turn were bought out by the Manchester Ship Canal Company in the 1890s, who particularly wanted ownership of the Runcorn to Latchford Canal, as the ship canal would use the same course for part of its route. Much of the western end of the canal, including the docks at Runcorn, disappeared when the much larger ship canal was built. The eastern end fared rather better, as the section between Twenty Steps Bridge and Latchford Lock was retained. A new lock, called Twenty Steps Lock, was built where the old canal left the course of the ship canal, and it was used to supply tanneries at Howley with hides which were imported from Argentina, and this trade continued until the 1960s. This section was called the Black Bear Canal, and it ceased to be used after the tanneries closed. [6] It had its navigation rights removed by the Manchester Ship Canal (Black Bear Canal) (Local Enactments) Order 1976 (SI 1976/1084).

The canal as built had a locks at both ends, both of which dropped into the river. As it had no natural water supply, and water was lost every time a boat passed through a lock, a feeder was built from just above Paddington Lock on the Mersey and Irwell Navigation. The water was then carried across the Mersey in an aqueduct, which also acted as a footbridge, and followed the banks of the Mersey to arrive at Latchford Lock. It emptied into the canal just to the south of the lock. When the Black Bear Canal section was created, Twenty Steps Lock also rose from the ship canal, and so the feature was retained. Latchford Lock was usually known as Manor Lock after the construction of the ship canal, as the locks immediately above its junction with the Black Bear Canal were called Latchford Locks. [6] [7]

In 2015 the Runcorn Locks Restoration Society launched its Unlock Runcorn campaign, which is dedicated to reopening the flight of locks in Runcorn's Old Town. The society believes that the increase in passing boat trade that would come from reopening the locks has the potential to bring economical, recreational and social benefits to people within the region. [8]

Route

The route diagram shows the canal as it was in the 1880s, with some later additions, including the points at which the route of the Manchester Ship Canal destroyed the canal, and features such as Twenty Steps Lock, which was built to connect a section of the original canal to the ship canal. [9]

A section of the canal in Wigg Island Park is still in water. Former Runcorn-Latchford Canal - geograph.org.uk - 496527.jpg
A section of the canal in Wigg Island Park is still in water.
The canal at Moore Nature Reserve The Runcorn to Latchford canal at Moore Nature Reserve.jpg
The canal at Moore Nature Reserve

Traces of the canal still exist in Wigg Island and in Moore Nature Reserve. [10] The route of the canal forms the basis of the designated "Linear Park" that runs parallel to the river Mersey at Lower Walton and is clearly visible looking west from Chester Road (A5060) whilst standing on the road bridge over the River Mersey. In the distance is the "Twelve Arches Bridge" where arch number 3 (counted south to north) passes over where the canal would have passed. The largely dried out canal basin can be traced westwards after the bridge towards Moore Nature Reserve and then Runcorn. The canal passes east under the A5060 where it joins the Manchester Ship Canal at Latchford Locks (site of the proposed Port of Warrington). Thereafter it re-emerges in Stockton Heath just past the London Road Swing Bridge (A49) where it runs north-easterly passing under Loushers Lane Bridge until eventually passing under Knutsford Road at the site of the former Black Bear Public House. The course of the canal runs a short distance then to terminate and re-join the River Mersey close to Kingsway North Bridge.

The Wigg Island nature reserve covers 57 acres (23 ha) and was opened in April 2002. It is named after the Wigg Chemical Works, set up in the 1860s to extract copper from ore. The works were used to produce mustard gas in the Second World War, and closed in the 1960s. [11] While the canal was operational, a regular problem was the leaching of highly acidic effluent into the canal. Remediation work to reclaim the brownfield site has included the construction of a filter system which passes the water through a limestone-filled channel. This ensures that the water in the 600-yard (550 m) length of canal which crosses the site is safe and suitable for wildlife. [6]

See also

References

Citations

  1. 53°20′06″N2°43′44″W / 53.335°N 2.729°W
  2. 53°22′48″N2°34′08″W / 53.380°N 2.569°W
  3. 1 2 Starkey 1990 , p. 130.
  4. Nickson 1887 , p. 162.
  5. Wood 2006 , p. 87
  6. 1 2 3 Wood 2006 , pp. 88–89
  7. Ordnance Survey, 1:2500 maps, 1893 and 1937
  8. "Runcorn Locks Restoration Society". Archived from the original on 13 September 2016. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  9. Ordnance Survey, 1:2500 maps, 1881, 1907 and modern
  10. Starkey 1990, p. 189..
  11. "Wigg Island". Visit Halton. Archived from the original on 24 September 2014. Retrieved 19 December 2011.

Sources