talk report - february 2007
28 February: A History of Leeds-Liverpool Canal - Phil Watkinson
The first canal in the area was the River Douglas Navigation which ran from Wigan to Tarleton. This was finished in 1732 and had 17 locks. The disadvantage of this was it led to the land flooding and a reduced supply of water to the watermills on the banks. In 1760 this was improved with a New Cut between Rufford and Sollom. The 1770 Act which allowed the building of the Leeds Liverpool canal led to it being begun in 1774 when the first sod was cut, in November, at Halsall. The Leeds Liverpool Canal was originally going to miss Wigan and go via Dean Lock and Gathurst. By doing this it was possible to transfer goods from Liverpool via Gathurst to Wigan. In 1 780 the Canal incorporated the Rufford-Sollom cut and the River Douglas Navigation became redundant in c. 1800. This section was extended to Tarleton and to the Irish Sea via a tidal sealock.
The Leeds Liverpool Canal is 127 and a quarter miles long with branches to Tarleton and Wigan. It was completed as a through route in 1816 taking 40 plus years to complete. The length of the canal boats depended on the size of the lock and these are 60ft locks between Wigan and Leeds. The coastal section had 70ft locks and connected to the Stanley Dock in Liverpool in 1842. The Canal rises 500ft above sea level at its highest point and has 92 locks on its length from Leeds to Liverpool. It was originally intended that it should cross the Ribble to join the Lancaster Canal but this was to difficult and expensive too do. So a tramway was constructed to take goods down to the Ribble at Preston. Mr Watkinson completed his excellent talk by showing photographs both old and new of the canal, its boats and its people. We hope that he will return with more.