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Two
hundred years ago events took place that were to change the face of
Britain and play a major part in the industrial revolution. In 1793 62
different canals - half the canal system of Britain were being promoted,
planned or built. The face of Britain would never be the same again. Gripped
by the "canal mania" and a vision for a prosperous future
investors rushed headlong into the new canal building schemes that would
change Britain so greatly. In 1793 speculation in canal building schemes
reached its peak, and no less than 24 Acts for the construction of canals
were passed by Parliament. ("The Canal Age" National Waterways
Museum, Gloucester, March 1993) The
canals took over from the turnpikes and had a short monopoly that was
similarly eclipsed by the railways and later still by the motorway. The
canals were developed to provide an efficient and cheap way of
transporting bulk goods, such things as coal, limestone and soap. It is
true to say that, "the transport arteries of the canal system have
rightly been termed as carrying the lifeblood of the Industrial
Revolution". ("Heart of the Industrial Revolution",
Ellesmere Port Boat Museum, February 1993) The
waterway at the back of a town or on the edge of a field which is
identified as a canal by its black and white lock gates and pleasure
cruisers, is the same waterway that produced much of the impetus of the
industrial revolution. Once
the canal system drew the country together: its first proper transport
network since Roman times; today its slow course is used only for the
pursuit of leisure as two centuries on recreation has replaced commerce
and the waterways are now valued for their rich variety of landscapes and
historic buildings, reserves for wildlife and relaxed way of life; a
marked contrast to grime and sweat of two centuries ago. In
the later part of the 18th century and early part of the 19th, bands of
men travelled around the country building the canals. These men were
called Navigators, or "Navvies" for short, a term still used by
the teams of men building and repairing our motorway system. These men
provided Britain with a network of routes for the transport of bulk goods
and brought about a transport revolution. Recently,
over the last two or three decades there has been a revival of interest in
the canals. There are now a new band of workers called "New Navvies"
who are enthusiastic about canals and are actively helping to restore
them. They not only believe that these derelict canals can have a new
lease of life, but can also serve a useful purpose in the future. The
reason for this renewed interest in canals is due to the rapid growth in
the leisure industry creating a demand for more recreational space and a
recent interest in the whole environment in which we live. These reasons
along with the willingness of individuals to devote their spare time to
improving the amenities of the countryside have caused the 'old' canals to
offer new value to the community in which they are found and achieve a
multi-functional use. The
restoring of these derelict canals offers new leisure spaces and
opportunities for the local economy to again benefit from the facility
that originally provided the means for local industrial growth and wealth
to be generated. Sadly,
however, many canals are now derelict, and some, such as the Bradford
Canal, have been totally obliterated with very few traces left whatsoever.
The Bradford Textile Society Journal (Bradford Textile Society Journal
1962-1963 P.155) said of the Bradford Canal, "Forty years after its
official death the city which it helped to develop and which found it such
an awkward partner has done its best to bury it". Hardly any traces
of it are left: most of it has been filled in and built over. The canal is
now only remembered in a street name. It is however impossible to bury completely something that has been documented in history for nearly 230 years. When
studying the history of the Bradford Canal it is important to look at the
history of other navigable improvements made in West Yorkshire and then to
look at the history of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal Company. The rivers Aire and Calder were made navigable in
1699, thereby opening
transport communications between Leeds and Wakefield and the Humber. The
idea of linking the West to this waterway was first thought of in 1744
(RAILWAY & CANAL HISTORICAL SOCIETY JOURNAL 1958 P 50) by a group of
"Gentlemen, Farmers and other inhabitants of the towns and parishes
of Bingley, Keighley and other parts adjacent to the River Aire in the
Riding of the County of York" who were eager to improve
communications for the transport of coal, minerals and agricultural
products. These men proposed to make the River Aire navigable from Inghay
Bridge near Skipton to Cottingley Bridge near Bingley. The reason for this
was to link with the road at Cottingley that went over the hill through
Heaton into Bradford since the present road between Saltaire and Bradford
was not built until 1815. This Bill was not passed through Parliament and
so the scheme failed. However interest still remained high in improving
transport communications, as an article in the York Courant on the 7th
August 1764 said, "As the Rivers Aire and Ribble may be so easily
joined at different places and rendered Navigable between Leeds and
Preston at an expense which gentlemen who have estates on the banks may
readily supply, it is thought proper to mention it to the public at this
juncture". Interest still remained high in improving the transport communications, particularly in Bradford. The Leeds and Liverpool Canal company was formed at a meeting in the Sun Inn in Bradford on the 2nd July 1766. Where the idea of a waterway that would link the east and west coasts was discussed. John Hustler, a "principle inhabitant" of Bradford, a woolstapler and Quaker, paid £5 5s 0d as a contribution to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal Company. John Hustler is generally known as the founder of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal Company and was responsible for the Act of Parliament which said, "An Act for making and maintaining a navigable Cut or Canal from Leeds Bridge, in the County of York, to the North Lady's Walk in Liverpool, in the county palantine of Lancaster, and from thence to the River Mersey". (PRIESTLY 1969 P.385) The act was passed on the 17th May 1770, as Hustler spent much of his time in London until the Act was passed. This canal however by-passed Bradford at Skipton as the hills were too high on the South West. John
Hustler organized a meeting to take books for the Leeds to Liverpool Canal
Company in Bradford as he said in "A Summary View of the Proposed
Canal from Leeds to Liverpool and its importance to the Public"
published in 1768, "Books will be opened for taking in subscriptions
for the execution of the intended Canal from Leeds to Liverpool at meeting
to be held at the Sign of the Golden Lyon in Liverpool, on Monday 9th
January 1769 and on the same day at the Sun in Bradford". Bradford
had much to do with the Leeds and Liverpool Canal: the Canal Company
Offices were in Bradford until 1850. Bradford residents had the most
shares in the Leeds and Liverpool Canal Company, second only after London.
"An Alphabetical List of the Proprietors of the Leeds and Liverpool
Canal January 1st 1789" shows this, it states that the shares held in
the Leeds and Liverpool Canal Company in 1789 were as follows:
Old New ('Old' shares were those in the original flotation, 'new' shares those of a later fund-raising attempt.) |
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