HUDDERSFIELD NARROW CANAL
ASPLEY BASIN.
Aspley Basin was one of the busiest places in Huddersfield
for over 150 years. It came into being when the Broad Canal
was completed 1778 ‑1780 and greatly increased in importance
once the Narrow Canal was finished in 1811. The site was laid
out with wharves, cranes and housing for canalworkers creating
a small dockland. It was a flourishing place because goods
had to be transhipped here from the Broad Canal barges to
narrowboats and vice versa. But canal traffic began to decline
in the mid to late 1800’s, so the basin lost much of its former
importance. The Narrow Canal was closed to navigation in 1944
and more recent improvement schemes have eradicated many of
the buildings associated with the basin's heyday.
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1. Ramsden Coat Of Arms
The Ramsden family were the main motivating force behind the
building of the Broad Canal and to a lesser extent the Narrow
Canal, so it is fitting that this site visit should start
with their coat of arms which can be seen on the bridge which
crosses the canal on Queen Street South.
In the late 18th century the Ramsdens owned most of the land
in and around Huddersfield and were anxious to develop the
town as a major textile centre. To this end they built the
Cloth Hall in 1766, and in the same year had a survey made
for a broad canal between the town and the Calder and Hebble
Navigation. An Act of Parliament in 1774 authorised construction
of the canal, which was completed in 1780 and entirely paid
for by the Ramsden family. By 1794 a scheme for a narrow canal
had been devised by a group of businessmen to link Huddersfield
with the industrial towns of Lancashire. This canal, known
as the Huddersfield Narrow Canal, was fully completed in 1811,
though at Aspley the canal was open to traffic as early as
1797.
2. Between the bridge and lock 2, note the stone setts of
the wharfside and the mooring rings for tying up boats. There
is a taking‑in door in the side of the wall through
which coal passed from the narrowboats to the mill. All the
mills along this stretch of the canal were built comparatively
late in the canal's history and date from 1850.
3. Lock 2 The section of canal between lock 2 and Longroyd
Bridge has two major blockages, one of which can be seen beyond
Queen Street South Bridge.
There are plans to restore this section by constructing a
'tunnel' beneath the building works which obstruct the line.
Because of this, lock 2 will not be needed, and the water
level in the tunnel will be the same as that below the lock.
A new lock 2 will be constructed beyond the first obstruction
to raise boats to the higher level before continuing their
journey.
4. Coal was delivered to mills along this section of canal,
and the towpath doubled as a Wharfside. The last load was
delivered in the early 1950's.
The bridge that carries Commercial Street over the canal shows
signs of rope marks caused by the friction of the tow rope
against the corner stones of the bridge supports. The holes
in the stonework enabled a crane to lift and position the
building blocks in place.
5. Lock 1 used to mark the junction between the Narrow and
Broad Canals. It has recently been fitted with new gates and
a trail bridge, but will not be made fully operational until
all the restoration work in the area has been completed. At
the head of the lock is a single gate, whilst at the tail
end there are two mitred gates. The locks were painted in
traditional black with white tips, so that they could be easily
identified at night. Note the ground paddle set into the lock
wall, and the gear mechanism above which operated it using
a rack and pinion device. Adjacent to the lock is a bywash
which was used to carry surplus water away from the upper
pound and prevent it spilling over the head gate. The masonry
markings in the side of the lock were made by stone masons
as a form of signature to say who had dressed and prepared
that particular stone. Just before the lock is a set of stop
plank grooves. If it is necessary to drain a section of the
canal, planks of wood are inserted into the grooves thus effectively
stopping the flow of water. A little way past the lock is
a stone plaque set in the wall with the initials CBW carved
on it. It is unclear what the letters stand for, but one of
the most likely suggestions is that it means Canal Boundary
Wall.
6. Shore Mill Goit (or the Black Dyke)
brings water from the River Colne to feed the Broad Canal.
It was necessary to build a weir on the river to give sufficient
head of water to feed the goit.
At the end of the goit is a sluice system which controls the
amount of water entering the canal and which is operated using
a hand spike.
7. The Slipway next to the Polytechnic marks the remains
of a canal loop which curved behind the warehouse, as shown
by the dotted line on the map. This gave additional wharf
space and also provided water power for the mills.
8. The Crane adjacent to the slipway is made of cast iron
and is thought to be early 19th century. It was used for lifting
goods from the holds of boats onto the wharfside.
9. The Crane adjacent to the warehouse has a base of cast
iron with a wooden jib. A heavy stone counter‑balances
the weight of the jib.
 10.
The Warehouse is judged to be one of the oldest surviving warehouses
of its type in Great Britain and is probably the oldest building
in Huddersfield town centre. It was erected by Sir John Ramsden
for storing wool and is indicated on a 1778 survey map. There are
taking‑in doors on four levels and the remains of a winch
system on the top floor. The right hand wing was added between 1780
and 1825; it was originally longer but was truncated when the Wakefield
Road was widened in the 1960's. The warehouse has now been converted
into luxury flats.
11. Wakefield Road Bridge Pass beneath the bridge and go
up the steps to Wakefield Road.
12. Aspley Basin was originally surrounded by a number of
mills and warehouses, most of which have now been demolished.
These included Martin's flour mill and the Locust Mill, so‑called
because it was here that locust pods from abroad were chopped
into animal feed. At the far end of the basin is a sluice
gate to drain excess water into the River Colne. Opposite
stands another early canal warehouse, which probably dates
from around 1800.
 13.
Turnbridge (Locomotive Bridge)
This unusual vertical lift bridge dates from 1865 when it
replaced an earlier swing bridge. A combination of wheels,
chains and counter‑weights are used to lift the deck
of the bridge out of the way of passing barges.
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