Historical Background
Calder & Hebble Navigation.
In 1758 powers were granted to a trust (later known as the Calder & Hebble Navigation) to make the River Calder navigable from Wakefield to Sowerby Bridge. Under the direction of John Smeaton, James Brindley and Thomas Simpson, canal cuts were made in the river and the entire length was opened for navigation in September 1770. This provided commercial access to the upper Calder Valley and its textile and coal industries.In 1776 the Sir John Ramsden's Canal, also known as the Huddersfield Broad Canal, connected this town to the navigation. In 1804 and 1811, respectively, the Rochdale and Huddersfield Narrow canals were completed and provided connecting links to the Manchester area and the industries of Lancashire and Cheshire. In 1828 a heavily locked branch to Halifax was opened and, along with the connecting tramroads, benefited the nearby coal, iron and stone industries.
The arrival of the railways in the mid 1800's, compounded by the problems of differing lock dimensions, led to a decline in commercial traffic. In 1944 the Halifax Branch and Huddersfield Narrow were closed and eight years later the Rochdale followed the same fate. Changing markets and the advent of the lorry dealt the final blow and commercial traffic on the Calder & Hebble Navigation ceased in 1981.
Aire & Calder Navigation.
Powers were granted in 1699 to make the Aire to Leeds and the Calder to Wakefield navigable. By 1700, the engineer, John Hadley had constructed cuts on the Aire that allowed boats to reach Leeds Bridge from Knottingley and by 1702, barges were able to trade up the Calder to Wakefield. The Aire & Calder became very prosperous and from 1770 onwards major improvements were made. In 1799 the canal from Wakefield to Barnsley was completed and was extended to the Dearne & Dove Canal in 1804; this gave access to the Don River and opened up new trading opportunities (both the Barnsley and Dearne & Dove Canals have long since fallen into disrepair). In 1835 the route to Leeds was largely canalized and four years later a windy section of the River Calder was bypassed with the construction of a cut from just below Wakefield down to Whitwood including a suspension aqueduct at Stanley Ferry; the new aqueduct was opened in 1981.
Since the mid 1800's the navigation has been enlarged on many occasions to allow for even larger vessels. Although the nature of commercial traffic has changed on the A & C, the tonnage carried today remains substantial.
As we did not travel east of Castleford Junction I will leave the historical discussion of this part of the Aire & Calder to those who have experienced these commercial waterways.
to return to the journey.
If you have any comments, corrections or additions to this historical overview please sent an EMail to John..... The Canaloholic.