Your floating hotel on the Canals and Rivers of the UK

Our guide to the waterways of the UK in detail.

The history of the Leeds & Liverpool Canal.

N.B. This canal forms one of the links across the Pennies running from Liverpool over the central spine of Northern England to Leeds, with a branch off to Leigh to connect to the Bridgewater canal. However the route over the Pennies from Wigan East was built for the shorter Mersey flats and as such our boats are unfortunately unable to cruise it. So these pages only provide information on the Western section from Leigh over to Liverpool.

After considerable arguments about route the Act was obtained in 1770. It was to be a broad canal, but only 60 ft long to suit the barges on Aire & Calder, but thus unable to accommodate the Narrow boats from further South.

In 1773 the first section of the Leeds & Liverpool Canal to be opened for business was on the Yorkshire side in the middle of the route. This ran from Skipton eastwards to Bingley. The section had no locks or major structures but it only provided a very localised trade at this stage. All the same, this first income was certainly welcomed by the company.

In 1774 the first section on the Lancashire side to be completed was the 28 miles stretch from Liverpool to the Douglas Navigation at Parbold, west of Wigan. Later in the year a complete canal line from Parbold to Wigan was opened, replacing the Douglas Navigation. The opening was a scene of great celebrations with the firing of guns, playing of bands and ringing of bells. However, the new line was confusingly known as the Leigh Cut (named after the owner of the Douglas Navigation) and should not be confused with the Leigh Branch which was built many years later.
In 1782 with no through route construction stopped due to financial problems and the American War of Independence. Work resumed in 1790 but in 1804 the Napoleonic Wars stopped construction for a year. Finally in 1816 the Leeds & Liverpool was open throughout.

In 1817 with Leeds, Bradford, Wigan and Liverpool had been reached, a new line was begun to connect the canal to another major industrial area of the north - Manchester. The easiest way to do this was to connect a branch from Wigan to the western end of the Bridgewater Canal at Leigh. The route was accepted and work began. Opened in 1820.

In 1822 the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, although broad, was still only capable of taking short boats of 60 feet or less. Normal narrow boats wishing to access Liverpool from the rest of the network were unable to do so. The Leeds & Liverpool company lengthened all the locks between Leigh and Liverpool but left the route across the Pennines as it was. They felt it would be far too expensive to convert the whole trans-Pennine route when most traffic was very localised.

Over the years many improvements had been made at the western terminus of the canal and now in 1846 a link into the River Mersey was finally begun to be opened in 1848. It was to be less than ½ a mile long as the canal terminus was already very close to the river. Four locks were to take the Leeds & Liverpool Canal down into the newly built Stanley Dock.

In 1847 after approximately 80 years the company finally paid off all outstanding debts. This was the company's peak year though the railways were beginning to take more and more trade on the Lancashire side. The canal company began its own carrying company in an effort to boost profits and compete with the railways.
In 1899 the canal sold its old terminus basin in Liverpool to the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway for £185,000. As usual the money they earned was well spent. The company made improvements to their newer terminus at Stanley Dock.

During WW1 the government took control of the canal. Although the government paid the company compensation it was not enough to allow the company to maintain its income. The already low usage of the route due to the war was now virtually wiped out all together under government control. Even when the war ended the government kept control of the waterway, only handing it back to the company in 1920. By that time trade was hopelessly lost forever and the canal's own carrying company was flat broke.

In 1948 The Leeds & Liverpool Canal was nationalised along with most of the country's waterways. Unlike most others however, it was deemed to be worthy of retention as commercial traffic was still using the route, albeit at a lower and lower amount every year. By now the canal was declining rapidly, some bridges and locks were in a serious state of decay and the whole route was suffering from lack of proper maintenance. However, its new governors, the British Transport Commission, did make moves to keep the canal in business. They took over the running the carrying companies on the canal and even made innovative changes such as the building of new barges made of high-tensile steel which was lighter, stronger and allowed carrying capacity to be increased. Warehouses were also extended to take more cargo in Liverpool but while these helped the government to run a business, it did next to nothing to increase canal traffic.

In 1963 British Waterways sold off their fleet of barges on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal leaving what little trade there was to small independent carriers, most of these being at the eastern end near the Aire & Calder Navigation.

In 1973 the last recorded commercial delivery was a cargo of coal from Plank Lane Colliery on the Leigh Branch to Wigan power station.

Sources.

Nicholson Guides to the Waterways.

Roots & Routes, Peter Hardcastle's Website
http://www.canals.btinternet.co.uk/index.htm

Some pictures of this canal?

Pictures Leigh to Wigan / Pictures Wigan to Liverpool.

General information on the canal.

Find our information about other canals on the canal index page.

We will not be on this canal in 2008

If you have any questions then do ring us on 07977 229103
or email us at martinreed@reedboats.co.uk