The Rochdale Canal is in
Northern England
Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...
, between
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
and
Sowerby Bridge
Sowerby Bridge ( ) is a market town in the Upper Calder Valley in Calderdale in West Yorkshire, England. The Calderdale Council ward population at the 2011 census was 11,703.
History
The town was originally a fording point over the once muc ...
, part of the connected system of the
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 ...
. Its name refers to the town of
Rochdale
Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...
through which it passes.
The Rochdale is a broad canal because its
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 ...
are wide enough to allow vessels of width. The canal runs for across the
Pennines
The Pennines (), also known as the Pennine Chain or Pennine Hills, are a range of uplands running between three regions of Northern England: North West England on the west, North East England and Yorkshire and the Humber on the east. Commo ...
from the
Bridgewater Canal
The Bridgewater Canal connects Runcorn, Manchester and Leigh, Greater Manchester, Leigh, in North West England. It was commissioned by Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater, to transport coal from his mines in Worsley to Manchester. It was ...
at
Castlefield
Castlefield is an inner-city conservation area in Manchester, North West England. The conservation area which bears its name is bounded by the River Irwell, Quay Street, Deansgate and Chester Road. It was the site of the Roman era fort of Mam ...
Basin in Manchester to join the
Calder and Hebble Navigation
The Calder and Hebble Navigation is a broad inland waterway, with locks and bridgeholes that are suitable for boats, in West Yorkshire, England. Construction to improve the River Calder and the River Hebble began in 1759, and the initial sch ...
at Sowerby Bridge in
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...
.
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
The Rochdale Canal was conceived in 1776, when a group of 48 men from Rochdale raised £237 and commissioned
James Brindley
James Brindley (1716 – 27 September 1772) was an English engineer. He was born in Tunstead, Derbyshire, and lived much of his life in Leek, Staffordshire, becoming one of the most notable engineers of the 18th century.
Early life
Born i ...
to conduct a survey of possible routes between Sowerby Bridge and Manchester.
Brindley proposed a route similar to the one built, and another more expensive route via
Bury
Bury may refer to:
*The burial of human remains
*-bury, a suffix in English placenames
Places England
* Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village
* Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire
** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...
.
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
Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, wh ...
and to a limeworks near
Todmorden
Todmorden ( ; ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Upper Calder Valley in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England. It is north-east of Manchester, south-east of Burnley and west of Halifax, West Yorkshire, Hal ...
. Rennie at the time had no experience of building canals.
The promoters, unsure as to whether to build a wide or a narrow canal, postponed the decision until 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 ...
had been obtained. 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
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
, eight in
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
, and one on the
Burnley
Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...
Branch, but the mill owners argued that 59 mills would be affected by the scheme, resulting in unemployment, and the
bill
Bill(s) may refer to:
Common meanings
* Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States)
* Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature
* Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer
* Bill, a bird or animal's beak
Plac ...
was defeated. In September 1792, William Crosley and
John Longbotham
John Longbotham (died 1801) was a canal engineer and pupil of John Smeaton who in 1766 suggested a Leeds and Liverpool Canal and did a survey which was approved by James Brindley. He subsequently became the chief engineer and completed the canal ...
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 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
William Jessop (23 January 1745 – 18 November 1814) was an English civil engineer, best known for his work on canals, harbours and early railways in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
Early life
Jessop was born in Devonport, Devon, the ...
to survey the parts of the proposed canal that were causing most concern. Jessop gave evidence to the Parliamentary committee, and on 4 April 1794 an act was obtained which created the Rochdale Canal Company and authorised construction.
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 , resulting in efficient use of water and the need to manufacture only one size of lock gate.
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
The Ashton Canal is a canal in Greater Manchester, England, linking Manchester with Ashton-under-Lyne.
Route
The Ashton leaves the Rochdale Canal at Ducie St. Junction in central Manchester, and climbs for through 18 locks, passing thro ...
could reach Manchester.
Officially, the canal opened in 1804, but construction work continued for three more years.
[ A branch from Heywood to Castleton opened in 1834.][
]
Operation
As a result of having no summit tunnel, there were more locks, and the summit pound was very short, at just . 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
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
. The summit pound is above sea level
Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...
, and is one of the highest summit pounds in Britain. Blackstone Edge Reservoir
Blackstone Edge Reservoir is a List of reservoirs and dams in the United Kingdom, reservoir in the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England. It is close to Blackstone Edge, from which it takes its name, and the border with C ...
, covering and Chelburn Reservoir, covering , were the first two reservoirs built to supply the water for all these locks. They were completed in 1798, and Hollingworth Lake
Hollingworth Lake is a reservoir at Smithy Bridge in Littleborough, Greater Manchester, England. It was originally built as the main water source for the Rochdale Canal, but developed as a tourist resort from the 1860s. Hotels were built arou ...
, covering , 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 feeder, which connected to the summit. The feeder was about above the level of the lake, and the pumping engine was used until 1910, when the installation was demolished. Another Act of Parliament obtained in 1807 enabled the Whiteholme Reservoir and the Light Hazzles Reservoir to be constructed, to ensure that supplies remained adequate as trade increased.
Because of its width, the canal was more successful than the Huddersfield Narrow Canal
The Huddersfield Narrow Canal is an inland waterway in northern England. It runs just under 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 Whi ...
and became the main highway of commerce between Lancashire and Yorkshire. Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...
, wool
Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool.
As ...
, coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal is formed when dea ...
, limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
, timber
Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...
, salt
Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...
and general merchandise were transported.[ 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
The Manchester and Leeds Railway was a British railway company that built a line from Manchester to Normanton where it made a junction with the North Midland Railway, over which it relied on running powers to access Leeds. The line followed the ...
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.
In 1839, the Manchester and Salford Junction Canal
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 i ...
opened, which provided a link between a private branch of the Rochdale Canal and the Mersey and Irwell Navigation
The Mersey and Irwell Navigation was a river navigation in North West England, which provided a navigable route from the Mersey estuary to Salford and Manchester, by improving the course of the River Irwell and the River Mersey. Eight locks were ...
. 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. 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.
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 Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR) was a major British railway company before the 1923 Grouping. It was incorporated in 1847 from an amalgamation of several existing railways. It was the third-largest railway system based in northern ...
. 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. 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.
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
The Bridgewater Canal connects Runcorn, Manchester and Leigh, Greater Manchester, Leigh, in North West England. It was commissioned by Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater, to transport coal from his mines in Worsley to Manchester. It was ...
at the Manchester end amounted to 418,716 tons, most of it connected with the Manchester Ship Canal
The Manchester Ship Canal is a inland waterway in the North West of England linking Manchester to the Irish Sea. Starting at the Mersey Estuary at Eastham, near Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, it generally follows the original routes of the river ...
trade. During the First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, 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 paved the way for the transfer of its eight reservoirs, Blackstone Edge, Easterly Gaddings Dam, Higher and Lower Chelburn, Hollingworth Lake
Hollingworth Lake is a reservoir at Smithy Bridge in Littleborough, Greater Manchester, England. It was originally built as the main water source for the Rochdale Canal, but developed as a tourist resort from the 1860s. Hotels were built arou ...
, 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.
Apart from a short profitable section in Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
linking the Bridgewater and Ashton Canals, most of the length was closed in 1952 when an act of parliament was obtained to ban public navigation.[ The last complete journey had taken place in 1937, and by the mid 1960s the remainder was almost unusable. Construction of the ]M62 motorway
The M62 is a west–east trans-Pennine motorway in Northern England, connecting Liverpool and Hull via Manchester, Bradford, Leeds and Wakefield; of the route is shared with the M60 orbital motorway around Manchester. The road is part of ...
in the late 1960s took no account of the canal, cutting it in two.[
]
Restoration
When an Act of Parliament was sought in 1965, to authorise the abandonment of the canal, the 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.
No ...
petitioned against it, and when it was finally passed, it contained a clause that ensured the owners would maintain it until the adjacent Ashton Canal was abandoned. 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. 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. 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
The Bridgewater Canal connects Runcorn, Manchester and Leigh, Greater Manchester, Leigh, in North West England. It was commissioned by Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater, to transport coal from his mines in Worsley to Manchester. It was ...
were restored at that time.
The canal benefited from the activities of the Manpower Services Commission
The Manpower Services Commission (MSC) was a non-departmental public body of the Department of Employment Group in the United Kingdom created by Edward Heath's Conservative Government in 1973. The MSC had a remit to co-ordinate employment and tr ...
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. 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. 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
Hebden Bridge is a market town in the Upper Calder Valley in West Yorkshire, England. It is west of Halifax and 14 miles (21 km) north-east of Rochdale, at the confluence of the River Calder and the Hebden Water. The town is the largest ...
was completed in 1983, and opened on 20 May.
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. 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
Failsworth is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham in Greater Manchester, England, north-east of Manchester city centre and south-west of Oldham. The orbital M60 motorway skirts it to the east. The population at the 2011 census was 2 ...
. Calderdale Council
Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council is the local authority of the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale in West Yorkshire, England. The council styles itself Calderdale Council. It is a metropolitan district council, one of five in West Yorkshir ...
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 European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...
. 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. The entire eastern section from Sowerby Bridge to the summit at Longlees was open by 1990, although it remained isolated from the canal network.[
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. 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 long, but space was eventually found for a standard 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. Tuel Lane Lock is nearly deep, making it one of the candidates for the deepest lock on the British canal system.][
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
The Millennium Commission, a United Kingdom public body, was set up to celebrate the turn of the millennium. It used funding raised through the UK National Lottery to assist communities in marking the close of the second millennium and celebra ...
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, the Waterways Trust
The Waterways Trust was an independent registered charity, established in 1999, that worked with partners to see the waterway network in England, Wales and Scotland supported, valued and enjoyed by a wide audience. The Trust was formerly registe ...
took over ownership of the canal.[ Additional funding to make up a £23.8 million investment package came from English Partnerships and the councils of Oldham and Rochdale. 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.
]
Today
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
Ring may refer to:
* Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry
* To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell
:(hence) to initiate a telephone connection
Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...
(the Huddersfield Narrow Canal had reopened the year before, and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal
The Leeds and Liverpool Canal is a canal in Northern England, linking the cities of Leeds and Liverpool.
Over a distance of , crossing the Pennines, and including 91 locks on the main line. The Leeds and Liverpool Canal has several small branc ...
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).
The Rochdale is at the heart of several important leisure boating routes
* In Manchester, the Rochdale Canal connects the Ashton Canal to the Bridgewater Canal, and is thus a short link in the Cheshire Ring
The Cheshire Ring is a canal cruising circuit or canal ring, which includes sections of six canals in and around Cheshire and Greater Manchester in North West England: the Ashton Canal, Peak Forest Canal, Macclesfield Canal, Trent and Mersey Ca ...
, a one- (or better, two-) week canal ring
A canal ring is the name given to a series of canals that make a complete loop.
Etymology
There have been canals which formed a ring for more than 200 years, but the term was unknown before the 1960s, when the Inland Waterways Association coine ...
which has been popular for 30 years.
* The Ashton Canal connects to the western end of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal
The Huddersfield Narrow Canal is an inland waterway in northern England. It runs just under 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 Whi ...
, making the Rochdale Canal part of the South Pennine Ring
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 cr ...
.
* The Bridgewater Canal connects to the western end of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal
The Leeds and Liverpool Canal is a canal in Northern England, linking the cities of Leeds and Liverpool.
Over a distance of , crossing the Pennines, and including 91 locks on the main line. The Leeds and Liverpool Canal has several small branc ...
, making the Rochdale Canal part of the North Pennine Ring
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 southe ...
.
* The Ashton and the Bridgewater connect the Rochdale to all the canals on the west side of England, including the Trent and Mersey Canal
The Trent and Mersey Canal is a canal in Derbyshire, Staffordshire and Cheshire in north-central England. It is a "narrow canal" for the vast majority of its length, but at the extremities to the east of Burton upon Trent and north of Middle ...
and Macclesfield Canal
The Macclesfield Canal is a canal in east Cheshire, England. There were various proposals for a canal to connect the town of Macclesfield to the national network from 1765 onwards, but it was not until 1824 that a scheme came to fruition. There ...
.
East from Manchester, it crosses the Pennines via the hill towns and villages of Littleborough, Summit
A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topography, topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous.
The term (mountain top) is generally used ...
, Todmorden
Todmorden ( ; ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Upper Calder Valley in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England. It is north-east of Manchester, south-east of Burnley and west of Halifax, West Yorkshire, Hal ...
, Hebden Bridge
Hebden Bridge is a market town in the Upper Calder Valley in West Yorkshire, England. It is west of Halifax and 14 miles (21 km) north-east of Rochdale, at the confluence of the River Calder and the Hebden Water. The town is the largest ...
, Mytholmroyd
Mytholmroyd (pronounced ) is a large village in the Upper Calder Valley in West Yorkshire, England, east of Hebden Bridge. It lies east of Burnley and west of Halifax. The village, which has a population of approximately 4,000 is in the L ...
and Luddendenfoot
Luddendenfoot or Luddenden Foot is a community in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England. The population of Luddendenfoot is 2,547, with the wider Calderdale Ward (of the same name) at the 2011 Census as 10,653. It lies along the Upper Calder Vall ...
(where Branwell Brontë
Patrick Branwell Brontë (, commonly ; 26 June 1817 – 24 September 1848) was an English painter and writer. He was the only son of the Brontë family, and brother of the writers Charlotte, Emily, and Anne. Brontë was rigorously tutored at ...
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 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 ...
, 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 ...
, and the rivers Ouse
Ouse may refer to:
Places Rivers in England
* River Ouse, Yorkshire
* River Ouse, Sussex
* River Great Ouse, Northamptonshire and East Anglia
** River Little Ouse, a tributary of the River Great Ouse
Other places
* Ouse, Tasmania, a town in Au ...
and Trent
Trent may refer to:
Places Italy
* Trento in northern Italy, site of the Council of Trent United Kingdom
* Trent, Dorset, England, United Kingdom Germany
* Trent, Germany, a municipality on the island of Rügen United States
* Trent, California, ...
(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,[Irk Aqueduct Breac]
from Pennine Waterways
/ref> near the River Irk
The River Irk is a river in the historic county of Lancashire in the North West England that flows through the northern most Lancastrian towns of the ceremonial county of Greater Manchester.
It rises to the east of Royton and runs west past ...
. 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. 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
The Canal & River Trust (CRT), branded as in Wales, holds the guardianship of 2,000 miles of canals and rivers, together with reservoirs and a wide range of heritage buildings and structures, in England and Wales. Launched on 12 July 2012, the ...
website.
See also
*Canals of the United Kingdom
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 ...
*Murder of Lindsay Rimer
Lindsay Jo Rimer (17 February 1981 – ''ca.''7 November 1994) was a thirteen-year-old British girl from Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, who was murdered. She was last seen alive buying cornflakes at a SPAR shop on Crown Street in Hebden Bridg ...
, a 13-year-old girl found murdered in the canal in 1994
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
References
External links
Rochdale Canal
Images and map of mile markers along the Rochdale Canal
British Waterways Leisure Site
{{Canals of Britain
Canals in West Yorkshire
Canals in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham
Canals in the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale
Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Greater Manchester
Canals opened in 1804
CRochdale