History of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal
The scheme for the Huddersfield Canal was devised by a group
of local businessmen who were encouraged by the high premiums
paid on shares in other canals, and excited at the prospect
of creating a link between the newly opened Ashton Canal in
Lancashire and Sir John Ramsden's canal in Huddersfield. In
effect, it was the shortest Trans‑Pennine waterway yet
proposed.
A meeting was held at the George Inn in Huddersfield on 30th
May 1793 which received an enthusiastic response. Benjamin
Outram was appointed as Chief Engineer and Nicholas Brown
as Surveyor.
 A
later meeting was held on 22nd October 1793 when a survey and report
were presented for inspection (see documents 1 and 2). It was decided
to build a narrow canal with locks of 7ft (2. lm) width as opposed
to a broad canal with locks of 14ft (5.4m) width to save on construction
costs. Outram recommended a route from a junction with the Ramsden
Canal, Huddersfield, to follow the Colne valley to Waterside (Tunnel
End), Marsden, and then proceed by a tunnel over three miles in
length before descending down the Tame valley to join the Ashton
Canal at Dukinfield Bridge. The ascent to Tunnel End would be 436ft
(133m), where the canal reaches its summit pound at 645ft (196m)
AOD,with a descent of 334ft (102m) to the Ashton Canal. The total
length was given as 193/4 miles (32km).
In his report Outram stressed the benefits the canal would
bring in reducing the costs of land carriage and encouraging
more trade to the area. He also recognised the fears of millowners
over the security of their mill waters, and stated that the
canal would have its own network of feeder reservoirs. These
reservoirs were to have a capacity of 14, 900 locks of water,
which "will be more than adequate to answer the consumption
that would be occasioned by the largest trade that can be
expected to be carried upon this canal". However the
millowners were not to be appeased and the report was later
amended to increase the reservoir
 After
the Act became law on 4th April 1794 (see document 4), the Huddersfield
Canal Company was officially formed and work began on the canal
in July of that year. Stretches of the canal were opened to navigation
as soon as they were completed in order to get a return on the money
invested as soon as possible. The Huddersfield to Slaithwaite section
was opened in March 1797; the sections between Slaithwaite and Marsden,
and Ashton and Greenfield by the end of 1798. Only the tunnel remained
to be finished. Much carelessness in the construction of the canal
was responsible for increasing the actual cost of the work and prolonging
the time it took to complete. For instance, many of the bridges
were built without towpaths beneath them which necessitated some
rebuilding, and some of the bypass channels were not watertight
which meant that water seeped into the foundations of the lock chamber
and caused severe frost damage during cold spells.
Outram fell ill during this time and Robert Whitworth was
called in to report on the work. He said that the masonry
and earthworks "were the worst executed of any he had
seen".
Further delay and damage was caused by the floods of 1799
which caused havoc along sixteen miles of the canal; many
immature earthbanks were wrecked, several bridges destroyed
and the aqueduct at Marsden washed away. There was no money
available to pay for repairs, so the Company turned to Parliament
to pass another Act (1800) to raise further capital from the
shareholders.
The Company sacked Nicholas Brown and appointed John Rooth
in his place. Outram formally resigned in 1801 without the
appointment of a successor. Work continued to proceed slowly
and a third Act had to be passed in 1806 to relieve chronic
financial problems.
 In
the same year the Company asked Thomas Telford to survey the canal
workings and replan its construction to completion. He presented
his report in January 1807 (see document 5) and recommended the
building of another summit reservoir, later known as Swellands,
to augment the supply of water to the canal. Telford's plan was
followed closely over the next few years, but just as the completion
date was in sight, a final disaster occurred on November 29th 1810
when the Swellands reservoir failed. The Colne valley from Marsden
to Paddock was inundated and many mills and factories wrecked under
the force of the waters. Six people lost their lives during this
terrible 'Black Flood'. The canal was finally completed in December
1810 and officially opened on April 4th 1811 in the presence of
a large crowd. The final cost of the project was over £300,000,
with the cost of the tunnel taking up a third of that amount. It
had taken seventeen arduous years to build the canal, and now there
were hopes that this huge investment
Unfortunately the canal's profits fell far short of expectations.
One of the problems was that the dues charged were too high
in relation to the other Trans‑Pennine canals, with
the added cost of ls.6d. to pay on boats going through the
tunnel.
 Although
the canal was losing money, towns like Milnsbridge, Slaithwaite
and Marsden benefited greatly from the enterprise. The numerous
mills in the valley bottom thrived on the trade that the canal brought
in and rapidly expanded their output. In the towns there was a corresponding
increase in population and services, such that the Colne valley
experienced a new, hitherto unknown, level of prosperity.
In 1831 the Canal Company proposed a reduction in tolls to
stimulate more trade. The move proved successful and by 1833
the Company was able to afford the appointment of official
leggers to work the boats through the tunnel. But success
was short‑lived, for by the beginning of the 1840's
it was apparent that competition from the railways was causing
another fall in revenue. After the opening of the Leeds and
Manchester railway in 1841 the income from canal dues dropped
from £2435 in 1841 to £ 1720 in 1843.
In 1844 a railway line was proposed to run from Cooper Bridge
to Huddersfield and thence to Stalybridge and Manchester via
Marsden, following the line of the canal. Parliament sanctioned
the scheme and the Huddersfield and Manchester Railway Company
was formed. The Huddersfield Canal Company amalgamated with
the Railway Company in 1845 after accepting the fact that
it could no longer continue to operate as a viable independent
concern. The canal proved to be a valuable asset to the railway
and saved much expense and time in the building of the first
single track railway tunnel under Standedge
In 1847 the canal and railway were taken over by the London
and North‑Western Railway Company, who built a second
single track railway parallel to the first. Increasing demand
necessitated the building of a third double track railway
in 1894, In all cases the canal tunnel proved invaluable for
removing the rubble from the railway tunnels to which it was
joined by a number of transverse passages.
 Trade
on the canal was limited to heavy mineral ores and coal, but it
continued to function up to 1944 when an Act of Parliament authorised
its abandonment. In 1947 all canals were nationalised under the
Transport Act of that year, and later came under the jurisdiction
of the British Waterways Board. In 1951 the upper gates of the locks
were removed and replaced by concrete weir planks. A section through
Slaithwaite was filled in and the water channelled through a culvert
in 1956, with the adjoining section filled in, in 1971. Following
a number of accidents, most lock chambers were either cascaded or
capped in 1971.
With the revival of interest in canals, and the need to promote
alternative employment opportunities in the Colne Valley,
Kirklees Council and the former West Yorkshire County Council
decided to restore a 31/a mile section of the Canal between
Marsden and Slaithwaite to navigation. This, begun in 1984,
was completed in 1987. Since then Kirklees Council has dedicated
itself to full restoration, and a programme of works is being
identified to secure full restoration of the Canal from Marsden
to Huddersfield, so that it can be reconnected to the national
canal network. Already most of the canal east of Slaithwaite
has been restored and work should be complete on this section
by 1991. Major funding will be needed to negotiate blockages
in Slaithwaite and Huddersfield Town Centre, and to re‑open
Standedge Tunnel, but a high level of commitment by the Council,
the Canal Society and British Waterways means that the impetus
will not be lost, and full restoration will eventually be
realised.
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