Background In the mid-18th century the growing towns of
Yorkshire, including Leeds,
Wakefield and
Bradford, were trading increasingly. While the
Aire and Calder Navigation improved links to the east for Leeds, links to the west were limited. Bradford merchants wanted to increase the supply of limestone to make lime for mortar and agriculture using coal from Bradford's collieries and to transport textiles to the
Port of Liverpool. On the west coast, traders in the busy port of Liverpool wanted a cheap supply of coal for their shipping and manufacturing businesses and to tap the output from the industrial regions of
Lancashire. Inspired by the effectiveness of the wholly artificial navigation, the
Bridgewater Canal opened in 1759–60. A canal across the Pennines linking Liverpool and
Hull (by means of the Aire and Calder Navigation) would have obvious trade benefits. A public meeting took place at the Sun Inn in Bradford on 2 July 1766 to promote the building of such a canal. John Longbotham was engaged to survey a route. Two groups were set up to promote the scheme, one in Liverpool and one in Bradford. The Liverpool committee was unhappy with the route originally proposed, following the
Ribble valley through
Preston, considering that it ran too far to the north, missing key towns and the
Wigan coalfield. A counter-proposal was produced by John Eyes and Richard Melling, improved by
P.P. Burdett, which was rejected by the Bradford committee as too expensive, mainly because of the valley crossing at
Burnley.
James Brindley was called in to arbitrate, and ruled in favour of Longbotham's more northerly route, though with a branch towards Wigan, a decision which caused some of the Lancashire backers to withdraw their support, and which was subsequently amended over the course of development. In 1768 Brindley gave a detailed estimate of a distance just less than built at a cost of £259,777 (equivalent to about £32.67 million as of 2014). The '''''' (
10 Geo. 3. c. 114) was passed in May 1770 authorising construction, and Brindley was appointed chief engineer and John Longbotham
clerk of works; following Brindley's death in 1772, Longbotham carried out both roles.
Construction First phase A commencement ceremony was held at
Halsall, north of Liverpool on 5 November 1770, with the first sod being dug by the Hon. Charles Mordaunt of Halsall Hall. The first section of the canal opened from
Bingley to
Skipton in 1773. By 1774 the canal had been completed from
Skipton to
Shipley, including significant engineering features such as the
Bingley Five Rise Locks,
Bingley Three Rise Locks and the seven-arch aqueduct over the
River Aire, at Dowley Gap. Also completed was the
branch to Bradford. On the western side, the section from Liverpool to
Newburgh was dug. By the following year the Yorkshire end had been extended to
Gargrave, and by 1777 the canal had joined the Aire and Calder Navigation in Leeds. In 1794 an agreement was reached with the
Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal company to create a link near Red Moss near
Horwich. The company's experiences running the two sections of the canal had shown that coal not limestone would be its main cargo, Consequently, Accrington was bypassed and the Haslingden Canal was never built. Yet more fund-raising took place, as the
Foulridge Tunnel was proving difficult and expensive to dig. The new route took the canal south via the expanding coal mines at
Burnley,
Accrington and
Blackburn, but would require some sizable earthworks to pass the former. The completion in 1796 of the Foulridge Tunnel and the flight of seven locks at Barrowford enabled the canal to open to eastern Burnley. At Burnley, rather than using two sets of locks to cross the shallow
Calder valley, Whitworth designed the
Burnley Embankment, a long and up to high earthwork. It would also require another tunnel nearby at Gannow and a sizeable cutting to allow the canal to traverse the hillside between the two. It took 5 years to complete this work, with the embankment alone costing £22,000, about £1.55 million in 2014 (comparing the historic opportunity cost of £22,000 in 1801 with 2014).
Whitworth died aged 64, on 30 March 1799 and Samuel Fletcher, previously the inspector of works took over as engineer. Once the Burnley work was completed, the canal opened to Enfield near Accrington in 1801. In 1805 they estimated the cost of linking Enfield to Red Moss would be £245,275 and £101,725 for the shorter continuation to Wigan (totalling about £27.36 million in 2014). The planned link with the Manchester, Bolton and Bury did not materialize. The latest plan for the route had it running parallel to, and then crossing the southern section of the
Lancaster Canal, but common sense prevailed and the Leeds and Liverpool connected with the Lancaster Canal between
Aspull and Johnson's Hillock. The main line of the canal was thus completed in 1816. There had been various unsuccessful negotiations to connect the canal to the
Bridgewater Canal at
Leigh but agreement was finally reached in 1818, and embodied in the '''''' (
59 Geo. 3. c. cv) and the connection was opened in 1820, thus giving access to Manchester and the rest of the canal network. The Bridgewater Canal, like most of Brindley's designs was for boats of length, whereas the Leeds and Liverpool had been designed for broad boats of length. There was naturally a desire by the longer boats to reach Liverpool and the locks of the westerly end of the canal were extended to in 1822. James Fletcher continued as engineer until his death in 1844. The canal in West Lancashire was part of Britain's defensive plans against invasion. Along the canal there were
tank traps,
bunkers and
blockhouses. Some buildings such as barns and pubs along the canal were fortified. There are still some remaining concrete
pillboxes and brick built blockhouses.
21st century In August 2010, a 60-mile stretch of the canal was closed due to the low reservoirs, following the driest start to the year since records began. It was reopened the following month, although some restrictions remained. The £22 million
Liverpool Canal Link was completed in 2009, joining the Leeds and Liverpool Canal with the City Centre. On 11 October 2021 the stretch between Barrowford and Blackburn was closed following a breach in the canal appearing between bridges 109 and 110. Later that month, lock numbers 73 and 80 were among 142 sites across England to receive part of a £35-million grant from the government's
Culture Recovery Fund. ==Route==