History of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal
CONCLUSIONS
The final costs of the canal project were quoted
as £396,267 in June 1811, but in view of the remedial
work and modifications carried out in the following year it
is more appropriate to include for this period also. Thus,
total costs by June 1812 were £402,653. This included
£123,804 for the Standedge Tunnel, or £22.60 per
yard compared with the original estimate of £10.25 per
yard, taking into account costs of shafts and all ancillary
works.
In retrospect it is easy to criticise the canal company's
inept management organisation with its shaky financial arrangements,
as well as the self-inflicted troubles and the shortcomings
of many individuals involved. Such a view, however, ignores
the pioneering nature of the task and the fact that the Huddersfield
Narrow Canal was a major project even judging by exacting
modern standards. It is not surprising, therefore, that a
group of citizens comprising weavers, farmers and others should
establish a company, hire a few professionals and set about
their immense task using only the crudest of equipment and
methods? That they completed the task even in seven years
is a tribute to their courage and faith in their country.
Perhaps the canal never made fortunes for the proprietors
and speculators but it generally assisted in the development
of the region which it served for generations to follow. Moreover,
it did much for the common folk who populated those bleak
moors and valleys, through improved communications and employment
opportunities, and such factors cannot easily be expressed
in monetary terms. For all its troubles and failings, the
canal was successful; it was a splendid concept and its completion
a wonderful achievement.
Later years saw the advent of the railway era and the construction
of three tunnels through Standedge in 1849, 1870 and 1894.
All utilised the canal tunnel for access and the removal of
spoil and thus in a sense the waterway subscribed its own
demise and ultimate closure in 1944. The working life of the
canal as a transport medium is long over, but recently moves
have been made to secure its future for water supply and recreational
pursuits, fitting enough purposes for this great navigational
waterway after many years of industrial life.
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