Bradford Canal - History

History

The first plans to provide a navigable route to Bradford were made in 1744, when a number of Gentlemen and Farmers sought parliamentary approval for improvements to 18 miles (29 km) of the River Aire, starting at Inghay Bridge, near Skipton, and ending at Cottingley Bridge, near Bingley, which was the nearest point on the river from which an existing road ran to Bradford. Although the bill reached the committee stage, nothing more became of it.

When the Leeds and Liverpool Canal was promoted in the 1760s, its course between Skipton and Bingley broadly followed that proposed by the 1744 plan. It was authorised in 1770, and in the same year fourteen merchants, including six who were already on the committee for the Leeds and Liverpool, planned a branch which would serve the town of Bradford. An Act of Parliament was obtained on 29 April 1771, which appointed 28 proprietors. They could raise £6,000 in capital by issuing shares, with a further £3,000 if needed, to be used to construct a canal from Shipley to a place in Bradford called Hoppy Bridge, which is now below Forster Square. They could also build reservoirs, and take water from various brooks.

The canal ran for 3.5 miles (5.6 km), dropping by 86 feet (26 m) through 10 locks on its way from Bradford to Shipley. Abraham Balme, one of the original promoters, oversaw the construction, with John Longbotham giving engineering advice. The locks on the canal were 66 by 15.2 feet (20 by 4.6 m), and could accommodate boats drawing 5 feet (1.5 m). The sizes were the same as those of the neighbouring Leeds and Liverpool. The work was completed by March 1774, when Mr Balme paid for the bell ringers of Bradford to ring out his arrival by boat. The Leeds and Liverpool opened from Bingley to Thackley in the same month. The opening was a year later than planned, and the canal had cost £9,424 14s 2d to build, about £3,500 over budget.

Initially the main cargo was stone, as a number of kilns were built beside the canal, and limestone was brought from Skipton. Coal pits on the south side of Bradford built tramways into the town, but there was no direct connection with the canal, as possible routes were blocked by buildings. However, finished iron products were exported from the town by the canal. The carriage of wool from Australia was an important souce of revenue from the 1820s, and from 1828, packet boats carried passengers to Selby and Leeds.