The Huddersfield Broad Canal or Sir John Ramsden's Canal, is a wide-locked navigable canal in West Yorkshire in northern England. The waterway is 3.75 miles (6 km) long and has 9 wide locks. It follows the valley of the River Colne and connects the Calder and Hebble Navigation at Cooper Bridge junction with the Huddersfield Narrow Canal near Aspley Basin in Huddersfield.
Construction was authorised in 1774, and the canal opened two years later. It became part of a trans-Pennine route in 1811 when the Huddersfield Narrow Canal joined it at Aspley Basin. Traffic was hampered by the long narrowboats used on the narrow canal that could not use Ramsden's Canal's shorter locks. Goods were transhipped at Aspley Basin, and although shorter narrowboats were built, its success as a trans-Pennine route was overshadowed by the Rochdale Canal which had wide locks throughout and joined the Calder and Hebble Navigation at Sowerby Bridge. The canal passed into railway ownership in 1845, but prospered into the 20th century. Railway ownership ceased in 1945, when it was bought by the Calder and Hebble Navigation, at which point the narrow canal across the Pennines was abandoned. The broad canal carried commercial traffic, particularly coal for power stations, until 1953.
After the formation of British Waterways in 1962, the canal was designated a cruiseway in 1968, which meant that it was mainly for leisure traffic. Use of the canal has increased significantly since the Huddersfield Narrow Canal re-opened in 2001, as it is no longer a dead end. Many of its structures have been given listed building status, in recognition of their historic importance.
History
The canal appears to have been planned for some time before it was authorised, as the Calder and Hebble Navigation obtained an act of Parliament, the Calder and Hebble Navigation Act 1757 (31 Geo. 2. c. 72), for its canal in 1758, which included a clause to prevent interference with any future navigation "from the Mouth of the River Coln to the town of Huddersfield". In 1766, Robert Whitworth surveyed a route for such a canal, and the Calder and Hebble Navigation Act 1769 (9 Geo. 3. c. 71) contained a similar clause. A second survey was carried out in 1773 by Luke Holt and Joseph Atkinson for the Ramsden family, who owned the whole of Huddersfield at the time and keen to develop the canal. The family also owned roughly one-third of the land along the proposed route of the canal. Holt had worked on the construction of the Calder and Hebble above Cooper Bridge.
Atkinson presented evidence for the bill to the parliamentary committee, being somewhat less than truthful when he stated that Huddersfield was 'the only market for narrow woolen cloths' in the West Riding of Yorkshire. The estimated cost of its construction was £8,000, and it was expected to take one year to complete. Profits were limited by the act, which stipulated that the tolls must be cut as the profits increased. Commissioners were to be appointed, with powers to examine the canal accounts and ensure compliance. In order to prevent water drawn by the canal from interfering with the operation of local mills, the upper were made deeper than the rest of the canal, to provide a reservoir of water.
Construction
The canal was authorised by an act of Parliament, the (14 Geo. 3. c. 13), obtained on 9 March 1774, which enabled "Sir John Ramsden, Baronet, to make and maintain a navigable Canal from the River Calder, between a Bridge called Cooper's Bridge, and the Mouth of the River Colne to the King's Mill, near the town of Huddersfleld, in the West Riding of the county of York". Sir John was Lord of the Manor of Huddersfield, and proprietor of the Ramsden Estate that owned much of the town.
Although a connection to the River Colne at Huddersfield was authorised by the act, the upper terminus was a basin at Apsley, where Ramsden built wharves and warehouses. even after the Huddersfield Narrow opened throughout in 1811.
The Huddersfield Narrow Canal provided a heavily-locked western connection to the wool-weaving towns of the upper Colne valley, (Golcar, Linthwaite, Slaithwaite, and Marsden) and across the Pennines to Saddleworth, Stalybridge and Manchester via Standedge Tunnel. It was never particularly successful, and Ramsden's Canal was seen almost as a branch of the Calder and Hebble, with links to Yorkshire, rather than Lancashire. The Calder and Hebble brought prosperity to the area, and Ramsden's Canal shared in it. The adjacent lock keepers cottage, which is built of hammer-dressed stone, with two storeys and a stone slate roof, dates from the early or mid 19th century, and is also a listed structure. The canal turns to the south west to run parallel to the River Colne, and passes under a railway bridge to reach the Clone Bridge Lock. Just above it is a hammer-dressed stone warehouse, dating from the 18th century, followed by an arched bridge which carries Colne Bridge Road over the canal. A datestone indicates that it was built in 1775.
thumb|left|160px|Mooring section between [[Aspley, Huddersfield|Aspley and Turnbridge ]]
Pipelines cross the canal at Colliery Bridge, which is followed by Ladgrave Lock, with a hammer-dressed stone bridge over its tail. The canal is flanked by industrial buildings on both sides as it reaches Longlands Lock, again with a stone bridge over the tail. It passes under a disused railway bridge and the A62 road, and then close to Deighton railway station. The A62 bridge is a skew-arched bridge built for the opening of the canal, although the original structure is partially obscured by reinforced concrete extensions, which carry footpaths on both sides of the road. On the south bank is a large playing field, where the Inland Waterways Association held their National Festival in 2002. Turnpike Road Lock is situated at the southern end of the fields, and has a separate overflow channel to the north. Reading Lock has another stone bridge crossing its tail, and is followed by Fieldhouse Lock and bridge, which carries Fieldhouse Lane over the lock tail. Next comes Falls Lock, and finally Red Doles Lock and bridge. The lock is from the start of the canal, and the remaining mile (1.6 km) is level.
The canal is increasingly hemmed in by buildings. On the east bank is Phoenix Mill, a five-storey building with attics and a pitched slate roof. Close to the North Eastern Gas Board offices, which are located in a three-storey mid-19th century listed building, the canal makes a dog-leg turn under Leeds Road. On the west bank is an octagonal chimney, standing over tall, which was built in 1872 and formed part of a cotton spinning mill. Adjacent to it, the Locomotive lift bridge, which was installed in 1865, is a vertical lifting bridge. It was refurbished in 2002, and converted to electric operation. On the west bank is a seven-storey mill building originally belonging to John L Brierley. As the canal approaches Aspley Basin, there is a canal warehouse on the west bank, which dates from the construction of the canal, and another, which is Grade II* listed just after Wakefield Road bridge. The basin itself is at right angles to the canal.
Points of interest
See also
- Canals of the United Kingdom
- History of the British canal system