HUDDERSFIELD NARROW CANAL
INTRODUCTION
The history of canal construction in this country spans a
long period of time from the Roman occupation of AD 43 to
the 1830's, but the main bulk of building was concentrated
in a few years between 1790 and 1795, known as the 'Canal
Mania' years. It was during this heyday that the Huddersfield
Narrow Canal was born.
To put the mania years of canal construction in a historical
context, it is necessary to start at the beginning. The Car
Dyke in Cambridgeshire is of Roman origin and two others in
Lincolnshire are thought to be from the same period. Once
the Romans withdrew, a period of stagnation set in and there
was no further development in canal building until 1566 when
the Exeter Canal was constructed to bypass an obstructed River
Exe. This was the first to utilise the pound lock which is
so familiar today.
However it was a development on the continent which was to
have the greatest influence on canal construction in this
country. The Canal du Midi (1666 ‑ 1681) was an ambitious
project to link the Mediterranean with the Atlantic, and in
doing so overcame a number of major engineering problems.
Such an achievement could not fail to inspire the Duke of
Bridgewater who was seeking a way of transporting coal away
from his mines at Worsley. He thus obtained an Act of Parliament
in 1759 to construct a canal from Worsley to Manchester, which
was completed in 1765. His success captured the public imagination
and encouraged further canal building. Within a few years
a number of other Canal Acts were obtained, including the
Leeds and Liverpool in 1770 and the Sir John Ramsden in 1774.
By the 1790's the early canals were completed and proving
to be profitable, encouraging further interest in speculation
followed by a boom in the authorisation of Canal Acts. In
this area, they were as follows: the Ashton Canal in 1792
which was to link Manchester to Ashton‑under‑Lyne,
the Rochdale canal in 1794 to link Manchester to the Calder
and Hebble Navigation at Sowerby Bridge, the Huddersfield
Narrow Canal in 1794 which was promoted through the interests
of the Ashton Canal Company to connect with the Sir John Ramsden
canal over the shortest Trans‑Pennine route yet proposed,
and the Peak Forest Canal in 1794. But the mania was short‑lived
for during this time Britain was at War with France and costs
were rising through inflation. This meant that the original
estimates for completing canals were wildly out, and second
and often third Parliamentary Acts had to be obtained to raise
more money to finish the work. From 1795 onwards all new construction
work was devoted to completing the canal network. By the 1830's
most major towns were near to navigable water but the advent
of the railways reduced the profitability of the canals. Freight
was being directed away from the canals to the faster and
more efficient railways and a long series of canal abandonments
began.
In 1948 the Transport Act nationalised most of the inland
waterways. A second Transport Act established the British
Waterways Board in 1963 who were to take control of policies
for a national network of canals. In 1968 a classification
list was set out which graded all waterways into commercial,
cruising or remainder. The Huddersfield Narrow Canal was graded
as a remainder waterway to be "dealt with in the most
economical manner consistent with the requirements of public
health and the preservation of amenity and safety."
British Waterways effectively relinquished their interest
in the canal as a navigable waterway from this point, and
allowed locks to be demolished, sections to be filled in and
in some cases even built over. Public interest in the canal
did not, however, disappear and in 1974 the Huddersfield Canal
Society was formed to promote the restoration of the Canal.
From what at first seemed an impossible dream, real progress
began to be made when Kirklees and the former West Yorkshire
County Council decided that restoration of part of the canal,
between Marsden and Slaithwaite, was a viable improvement
to the environment of the Come Valley. Since then, Kirklees
Council has committed itself to the full restoration of the
Canal and, although it could be some years before the job
is finished, it now seems certain that the future of the canal
as a navigable waterway is assured.
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