Dearne And Dove Canal
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The Dearne and Dove Canal ran for almost ten miles through
South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a ceremonial and metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of Doncaster and Sheffield as well as the boroughs of Barnsley and Rotherham. In N ...
,
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
from Swinton to
Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...
through nineteen
locks Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...
, rising . The canal also had two short branches, the
Worsbrough Worsbrough is an area about two miles south of Barnsley in the metropolitan borough of Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England. Before 1974, Worsbrough had its own urban district council in the West Riding of the historic county of Yorkshire and it ...
branch and the
Elsecar Elsecar (, ) is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England. It is near the villages of Jump and Wentworth and south of the town of Hoyland, south of Barnsley and north-east of Sheffield. Elsecar falls withi ...
branch, both about two miles long with
reservoirs A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including control ...
at the head of each. The Elsecar branch also has another six locks. The only tunnel was bypassed by a cutting in 1840. The canal was created mainly to carry cargo from the extensive
coal mining Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...
industry in the area. Other cargo included
pig iron Pig iron, also known as crude iron, is an intermediate product of the iron industry in the production of steel which is obtained by smelting iron ore in a blast furnace. Pig iron has a high carbon content, typically 3.8–4.7%, along with silic ...
,
glass Glass is a non-crystalline, often transparent, amorphous solid that has widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in, for example, window panes, tableware, and optics. Glass is most often formed by rapid cooling (quenching) of ...
,
lime Lime commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a color between yellow and green Lime may also refer to: Botany ...
,
oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...
products and general merchandise. A combination of
railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
competition and
subsidence Subsidence is a general term for downward vertical movement of the Earth's surface, which can be caused by both natural processes and human activities. Subsidence involves little or no horizontal movement, which distinguishes it from slope move ...
caused by the same mines it served forced the canal into a gradual decline, closing completely in 1961. As the local coal industry also collapsed in the 1980s the canal was thrown a lifeline with the forming of the Barnsley Canal Group who are now attempting to restore the whole canal, an effort further boosted by the abandonment of the railway which replaced it.


History


Creation and early years

The idea of creating a navigable waterway from the River Don to Barnsley along the course of the
River Dearne The River Dearne South Yorkshire, England flows roughly east for more than , from its source just inside West Yorkshire. It flows through Denby Dale, Clayton West, Darton, Barnsley, Darfield, Wath upon Dearne, Bolton on Dearne, Adwick upon D ...
was first proposed in 1773 by
Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, (13 May 1730 – 1 July 1782; styled The Hon. Charles Watson-Wentworth before 1733, Viscount Higham between 1733 and 1746, Earl of Malton between 1746 and 1750 and The Marquess of Rocking ...
. However the idea was not pursued, until a meeting of the shareholders of the Don Navigation Company in 1792, where a canal from the
River Don Navigation The River Don Navigation was the result of early efforts to make the River Don in South Yorkshire, England, navigable between Fishlake and Sheffield. The Dutch engineer Cornelius Vermuyden had re-routed the mouth of the river in 1626, to impr ...
into Barnsley was proposed. At the same time the Aire & Calder Navigation company was considering a canal from
Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...
to Barnsley. On 20 October 1792, the rival companies held a famous meeting at the White Bear Inn (now the Royal Hotel) in Barnsley and agreed to join their canals just south of Barnsley and go forward with complementary proposals. These were to become the Dearne and Dove Canal and the
Barnsley Canal The Barnsley Canal is a canal that ran from Barnby Basin, through Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England to a junction with the Aire and Calder Navigation near Wakefield, West Yorkshire. It was built in the 1790s, to provide a transport link from c ...
, both of which sought to provide access to the coalfields of Barnby bridge and Haigh bridge. The canal obtained its
Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...
on 3 June 1793, on the same day as the Act which authorised the building of the
Barnsley Canal The Barnsley Canal is a canal that ran from Barnby Basin, through Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England to a junction with the Aire and Calder Navigation near Wakefield, West Yorkshire. It was built in the 1790s, to provide a transport link from c ...
. The Act created the Dearne and Dove Canal Company, consisting of 211 people, and allowed them to raise £60,000 by issuing shares, and a further £30,000 by mortgage if required. Robert Mylne was named as chief
engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...
on the project, and appears to have made the initial survey and given evidence to parliament in support of the bill. However the construction was managed by John Thompson, the engineer to the Don Navigation Company, until he died in 1795. The post was then held by
Robert Whitworth Robert Whitworth (1734 – 30 March 1799) was an English land surveyor and engineer, who learnt his trade under John Smeaton and James Brindley, and went on to become one of the leading canal engineers of his generation. Biography Whitworth was ...
until 1799, when he died also, and it is thought that one of Whitworth's sons acted as engineer until the finish of the work. The canal was opened as far as
Elsecar Elsecar (, ) is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England. It is near the villages of Jump and Wentworth and south of the town of Hoyland, south of Barnsley and north-east of Sheffield. Elsecar falls withi ...
by 1798 and fully opened by November 1804 at a cost of just under £100,000. The cost overrun was managed when the company obtained a second Act of Parliament on 30 May 1800, which allowed the original option for a £30,000 mortgage to be raised by shares, a mortgage of £10,000 to be obtained, and the toll rates to be increased. Construction costs included the provision of two reservoirs, at Elsecar and
Worsbrough Worsbrough is an area about two miles south of Barnsley in the metropolitan borough of Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England. Before 1974, Worsbrough had its own urban district council in the West Riding of the historic county of Yorkshire and it ...
, tramroads from Elsecar basin to two ironworks and a colliery, which included
inclined planes An inclined plane, also known as a ramp, is a flat supporting surface tilted at an angle from the vertical direction, with one end higher than the other, used as an aid for raising or lowering a load. The inclined plane is one of the six clas ...
, and a tunnel near Swinton, which was built using the
cut-and-cover A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube constr ...
method. The main line rose by through 19 locks. The canal was shut briefly in the summers of 1805 and 1806 due to a shortage of water, but was initially successful and by 1830 it was carrying 181,000 tons of coal a year. In the early 1820s, several proposals were made to build additional tramroads and reservoirs, but the plans were opposed by the Barnsley Canal and the Aire and Calder. Plans for an additional reservoir at Wentworth Castle, above the Worsbrough reservoir, were opposed in the House of Lords, unless the Company would release its exclusive rights to build tramways from the canal to local collieries, and the bill was withdrawn, rather than agree to a clause which would have broken their monopoly on the coal reserves near to the canal. A decision was taken instead to raise the level of the Worsbrough reservoir by , thereby increasing the surface area to , and this was completed in 1826.


Railway competition

The
North Midland Railway The North Midland Railway was a British railway company, which opened its line from Derby to Rotherham (Masbrough) and Leeds in 1840. At Derby, it connected with the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway and the Midland Counties Railway at what ...
, running from Leeds to Derby, opened in 1840 and this represented a major threat to the domination of the coal trade by all the
South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a ceremonial and metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of Doncaster and Sheffield as well as the boroughs of Barnsley and Rotherham. In N ...
navigations. Parts of the railway ran alongside the canal. At
Adwick upon Dearne Adwick upon Dearne is a small village and civil parish on the A6023 road near Mexborough. The Adwick upon Dearne civil parish covers Adwick itself and a small part of northern Mexborough. The population of the civil parish as of the 2011 census ...
the railway constructed a long cutting, and in order to maintain their alignment, the canal tunnel was demolished and the canal was re-routed to share the new cutting. The canal Company took the opportunity to build interchange facilities with the new railway. With the threat of the railways taking trade from the canals, the Don Navigation Company decided to purchase the Barnsley Canal, and to lease the Dearne and Dove for a year, after which they would buy it. The agreement with the Dearne and Dove went ahead, with the River Don Navigation taking over the canal from 1 January 1846, and paying £210,000 for it on 2 January 1847, but they failed to reach agreement with the Barnsley Canal. Tolls were reduced by 60 per cent in 1846, with free passage for empty boats from 1847, with the result that much of the coal traffic which had previously used the Barnsley Canal now used the Dearne and Dove. The South Yorkshire, Doncaster & Goole Railway Company was authorised in 1847, and the Act of Parliament allowed them to amalgamate with the Don Navigation Company, and hence the Dearne and Dove, once they had raised half of their authorised capital. The amalgamation took place on 19 April 1850. The railway company opened their line from Doncaster to Swinton in November 1849, which was followed by a branch to Elsecar in February 1850, and another branch to Worsbrough in June 1850. At Elsecar, the canal basin was moved, and about of the canal were filled in to make way for the railway. While the takeover was beneficial to traffic on parts of the Don Navigation, tonnage carried on the Dearne and Dove fell. Subsequently, both the railway and the canals were leased to the
Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway The Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR) was formed in 1847 when the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway joined with authorised but unbuilt railway companies, forming a proposed network from Manchester to Grimsb ...
, with a 999-year lease starting in June 1864, but in 1874 the lease became a takeover, and the canals were just a small part of a bigger undertaking. Users of the canals were unhappy with the high tolls and the lack of modernisation, and so in November 1888, the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Canal Company was formed, with the intent of obtaining the canals from the railway company. They obtained an
Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...
on 26 August 1889, which created the
Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation The Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation (S&SY) is a system of navigable inland waterways (canals and canalised rivers) in South Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, England. Chiefly based on the River Don, it runs for a length of and has 27 locks ...
Company, with an authorised capital of £1.5 million, and powers to buy the canals, by compulsory purchase if agreement could not be reached with the railway company. The transfer did not occur until 1895, when agreement was finally reached, and the Dearne and Dove Canal became part of the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation along with the
Sheffield Canal The Sheffield & Tinsley Canal is a canal in the City of Sheffield, England. It runs from Tinsley, where it leaves the River Don, to the Sheffield Canal Basin (now Victoria Quays) in the city centre, passing through 11 locks. The maximum craft ...
, the
River Don Navigation The River Don Navigation was the result of early efforts to make the River Don in South Yorkshire, England, navigable between Fishlake and Sheffield. The Dutch engineer Cornelius Vermuyden had re-routed the mouth of the river in 1626, to impr ...
, and the
Stainforth and Keadby Canal The Stainforth and Keadby Canal is a navigable canal in South Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, England. It connects the River Don Navigation at Bramwith to the River Trent at Keadby, by way of Stainforth, Thorne and Ealand, near Crowle. It ope ...
.


Decline

The Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation Company intended to upgrade the system to take 300 or 400 ton boats, and to allow compartment boats to be used. Coal from the collieries on the canal would transferred from the compartment boats to larger vessels at a new coal handling plant to be located at Keadby. However, the company failed to raise the finance to purchase the canals from the railway company outright, and so struggled to make significant improvements. The Dearne and Dove was the least profitable part of the system, with high maintenance costs as a result of subsidence from the coal mining. As early as 1884, a stretch of the Worsbrough branch had collapsed due to
subsidence Subsidence is a general term for downward vertical movement of the Earth's surface, which can be caused by both natural processes and human activities. Subsidence involves little or no horizontal movement, which distinguishes it from slope move ...
, which had taken 6 months and cost £19,000 to repair. In 1906 the branch to
Worsbrough Worsbrough is an area about two miles south of Barnsley in the metropolitan borough of Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England. Before 1974, Worsbrough had its own urban district council in the West Riding of the historic county of Yorkshire and it ...
closed due to the increasing cost of maintenance, although it was retained as a water feeder. The depth of water at the top end of the canal could only be maintained at , rather than , and in 1909, the company agreed to allow mining beneath the canal. The Elsecar branch was the next to close in 1928, also due to subsidence. The last boat traversed the central section of the main line in 1934, although an abandonment order for the canal was not obtained, as the company expected opposition to such a bill. After this date water levels were not maintained: this allowed the maintenance necessary to combat the ever-present mining subsidence to be reduced; only a mile or so of each end of the canal attracted traffic and was properly maintained. In 1942 traffic at the Barnsley end ceased. Traffic from the Manvers Main colliery ended in 1952, and despite vigorous campaigning for the reinstatement of the canal by the Inland Waterways Association and the Inland Waterways Protection Society in the late 1950s, the canal was finally closed in 1961, under the terms of the British Transport Commission Act. Only the half mile (0.8 km) to the
glassworks Glass production involves two main methods – the float glass process that produces sheet glass, and glassblowing that produces bottles and other containers. It has been done in a variety of ways during the history of glass. Glass container ...
in Swinton was retained. This included four locks which were supplied with water by pumps. The last boat called at the glassworks in 1977; since then the lower portion of the remaining canal has been incorporated into a boatyard, while the upper portion remains in water but not accessible by boat as the uppermost lock's gates have been replaced with a dam. After closure the canal land passed into the hands of the local councils. Several drownings of children in the 1960s caused large parts of the canal in the Swinton and Wath-upon-Dearne areas to be filled in; however, much of the remaining canal was simply left to deteriorate, in some areas still in water, albeit at a much lower level than the original canal and very overgrown. Even as late as the early 1980s large parts of the canal line were easily recognisable with local roads passing over the old narrow sandstone hump-back canal bridges; however, since then road-improvement schemes have seen the removal of redundant bridges and in some areas the utilisation of the canal bed for new roads.


Restoration

On 1 April 1984, after a number of articles in the local press, twelve people met to address the lack of interest in local waterways. The Barnsley Canal Group was formed at this meeting and started campaigning for the preservation and restoration of the Dearne and Dove and Barnsley Canals. Since the late 1980s the group has been active in trying to protect the remaining canal bed from obstruction through the local planning process. In 1991 the canal group commenced restoring the top of the Elsecar branch of the canal in conjunction with work at what is now the
Elsecar Heritage Centre Elsecar Heritage Centre is a visitor attraction centre in Elsecar, Barnsley, England. Operated by Barnsley Museums, it has independent shops, studios, galleries, cafes and a large antiques centre in former Victorian engineering workshops. A vis ...
. A
feasibility study A feasibility study is an assessment of the practicality of a project or system. A feasibility study aims to objectively and rationally uncover the strengths and weaknesses of an existing business or proposed venture, opportunities and threats pr ...
was also carried out on the branch. It determined that, although expensive, it is viable to restore that section of the canal. The Barnsley Canal Group was reformed as the Barnsley, Dearne & Dove Canals Trust in 2000.


Preservation

The two branches have fared far better than the main line since its closure. The more rural nature of these sections means that the land has been left relatively untouched. In parts of the main line problems of obstruction and poor maintenance means that alternative routes have been suggested. This is particularly acute in
Wath-upon-Dearne Wath upon Dearne (shortened to Wath or often hyphenated) is a town south of the River Dearne in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, north of Rotherham and almost midway between Barnsley and Doncaster. It had a pop ...
,
Wombwell Wombwell () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England. The town in the 2011 census was split between a ward called Wombwell, as well as small parts that fell under two other wards called Darfield (specifically ...
and
Stairfoot Stairfoot is a Ward (electoral subdivision), ward in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England. It is perhaps so named because it lies at the bottom of a valley in between the undulations of two small hills on the old road from Barnsley to Doncaster. St ...
where road improvement and land-reclamation schemes have utilised and obliterated several miles of the former canal bed. The closure of all the local mines that the canal served means that further subsidence is no longer a problem. The abandonment of the railway line that replaced the canal in 1988 has given the canal an alternative route. This land has been secured from intrusion by other land users and will be relatively easily excavated to create a new channel. It is also being used as part of the
Trans Pennine Trail The Trans Pennine Trail is a long-distance path running from coast to coast across Northern England entirely on surfaced paths and using only gentle gradients (it runs largely along disused railway lines and canal towpaths). It forms part of ...
. The canal is referred to as 'a vital missing link' by the Barnsley, Dearne & Dove Canals Trust. Their aim is to completely restore the canal along with the Barnsley Canal in order to complete the Yorkshire Ring. The canal is now undergoing
restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...
. The Elsecar branch is to be the first part of the canal to be restored. The top two pounds and top lock have been restored and a launch ramp has been added in the top pound. Funding was obtained from the Yorkshire European Community Trust, and the lock gates were fitted in May 1999. Other parts of the canal such as the top of the Worsbrough branch have remained in good condition despite years of neglect. Parts of the
towpath A towpath is a road or trail on the bank of a river, canal, or other inland waterway. The purpose of a towpath is to allow a land vehicle, beasts of burden, or a team of human pullers to tow a boat, often a barge. This mode of transport ...
form sections of the
Trans Pennine Trail The Trans Pennine Trail is a long-distance path running from coast to coast across Northern England entirely on surfaced paths and using only gentle gradients (it runs largely along disused railway lines and canal towpaths). It forms part of ...
, a long distance footpath that connects
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
,
Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
, Hull and
Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...
. The reservoir at the top of the Elsecar branch has been designated a local
nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...
by Barnsley Council and the area surrounding the reservoir at the top of the Worsbrough branch has become Worsbrough Country Park.


Original route


Main Line

The canal started at a junction with the Don Navigation at Swinton. From there it passed through six locks before it passed through a 472-yard tunnel. This tunnel was bypassed in 1840 when the canal was diverted to run through the same cutting created to accommodate the railway. It then passed
Manvers Manvers is a suburb of Wath upon Dearne in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham in South Yorkshire, England. It lies across the border with the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster, whilst Mexborough is part of Doncaster. It is situated between Mexb ...
Main Colliery and entered
Wath-upon-Dearne Wath upon Dearne (shortened to Wath or often hyphenated) is a town south of the River Dearne in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, north of Rotherham and almost midway between Barnsley and Doncaster. It had a pop ...
running parallel to Doncaster Road, before passing between rows of terraced houses past the town centre. It then looped north-west towards the middle of the valley, with a wide section on a high
embankment Embankment may refer to: Geology and geography * A levee, an artificial bank raised above the immediately surrounding land to redirect or prevent flooding by a river, lake or sea * Embankment (earthworks), a raised bank to carry a road, railwa ...
which became known as the ''Bay of Biscay''. After that it passed into
Brampton Brampton ( or ) is a city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Brampton is a city in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a List of municipalities in Ontario#Lower-tier municipalities, lower-tier municipalit ...
and back onto the hillside. There were another four locks up to the junction with the Elsecar branch, which lay between Brampton and
Wombwell Wombwell () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England. The town in the 2011 census was split between a ward called Wombwell, as well as small parts that fell under two other wards called Darfield (specifically ...
at the junction of the Dearne Valley Parkway and the A633. The canal then passed Wombwell to the north of the town centre, and Aldham before arriving at the eight locks of the
Stairfoot Stairfoot is a Ward (electoral subdivision), ward in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England. It is perhaps so named because it lies at the bottom of a valley in between the undulations of two small hills on the old road from Barnsley to Doncaster. St ...
flight. At that point there followed the junction with the Worsbrough Branch. The canal then passed through the site of Stairfoot Roundabout and headed towards
Hoyle Mill Kendray is an area in the S70 postal district of Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England that lies between Sheffield Road and Doncaster Road, both of which lead to and from Barnsley town centre. The area takes its name from Kendray Hospital which ...
where a final
stop lock A lock is a device used for raising and lowering boats, ships and other watercraft between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a fixed chamber in which the water lev ...
marks the boundary between the Dearne & Dove and Barnsley Canals.


Elsecar Branch

The Elsecar branch was built to serve the
coal mine Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...
s and so went past many of them. Starting in Brampton the branch passed Cortonwood Colliery (now a
retail park A retail park is a type of shopping centre found on the fringes of most large towns and cities in the United Kingdom and other European countries. They form a key aspect of European retail geographies, alongside indoor shopping centres, standalo ...
). After passing below
Hemingfield Hemingfield is a village in the metropolitan borough of Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England. The village falls within the Hoyland Milton Ward of Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council. The village has two pubs, The Albion and The Elephant & Castl ...
and the site of the Hemingfield Colliery it finished at Elsecar basin. The reservoir is about another half a mile from the basin past the
heritage centre A heritage centre, center, or museum is a public facility – typically a museum, monument, visitor centre, or park – that is primarily dedicated to the presentation of historical and cultural information about a place and its people, and often ...
. The majority of the towpath is on the Elsecar Greenway, part of the Trans Pennine Trail.


Worsbrough Branch

After leaving Stairfoot the Worsbrough branch passes through Swaithe and then passes under the
Penistone Line The Penistone Line is operated by Northern Trains in the West Yorkshire Metro and Travel South Yorkshire areas of northern England. It connects Huddersfield and Sheffield via Penistone and Barnsley, serving many rural communities. Metrocards ( ...
. After this it ran alongside the River Dove until reaching Worsbrough Basin. The reservoir is just beyond the basin.


Proposed restoration route

In the survey done by the Barnsley Canal Group in 1987 it was established that the original route of the canal would be very difficult to restore. This is due in large part to canal land reclaimed by the council in the 1970s. Over time, several proposals have been put forward as to a possible new route. These include the use of the River Dearne or the use of the
Mexborough Mexborough is a town in the City of Doncaster in South Yorkshire, England. Situated between Manvers and Denaby Main, it lies on the River Don close to where it joins the River Dearne, and the A6023 road runs through the town. It is contiguous ...
to
Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...
railway line, which was abandoned in 1988. In August 2004, a professional engineering company was commissioned to conduct a feasibility study of restoration options, and presented its findings in November 2006. The estimated costs for a full restoration of the Dearne and Dove and the Barnsley Canals to take narrow boats was £127 million, and the likely benefits to the local economy were estimated at £3.1 million per year. The route which this proposed would follow the old route through Swinton onto the old Manvers pit pony field where it would divert around the newly built Dearne Valley College and Call Centres. It would then divert around to the north of Wath-Upon-Dearne via an Aqueduct to join up to its old route. There would be relatively minor course corrections to the rest of the route through to Barnsley, although it would follow a parallel route to the original canal on this section.


Barnsley Canals Consortium

The Barnsley Canals Consortium is the name given to all the interested parties who are cooperating in order to restore the Dearne and Dove along with its sister canal the Barnsley. Its members include:- * Barnsley, Dearne & Dove Canals Trust *
Inland Waterways Association The Inland Waterways Association (IWA) is a registered charity in the United Kingdom and was formed in 1946 to campaign for the conservation, use, maintenance, restoration and sensitive development of British Canals and river navigations. Not ...
* Royston and Carlton Partnership *
Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council is the local authority of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England. It is a metropolitan district council, one of four in South Yorkshire and one of 36 in the metropolitan counties of ...
*
Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council is the local authority of the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham in South Yorkshire, England. It is a metropolitan district council, one of four in South Yorkshire and one of 36 in the metropolitan countie ...
* Wakefield City Council


Points of interest


See also

*
Canals of Great Britain The canals of the United Kingdom are a major part of the network of inland waterways in the United Kingdom. They have a varied history, from use for irrigation and transport, through becoming the focus of the Industrial Revolution, to today's ro ...
*
History of the British canal system History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...


Bibliography

* * * * * * *


References


External links


Barnsley, Dearne & Dove Canals TrustPennine Waterways
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dearne And Dove Canal Canals in Barnsley Canals in Rotherham Canals opened in 1804 South Yorkshire Railway