Monkland Canal - Origins

Origins

Prior to 1743 coal had been mined in Little Govan, close to Glasgow. When that working ceased, the price of coal in Glasgow rose considerably, doubling by 1760 (from between 1/1 and 1/3 per cart of 7 cwt, to between 2/1 and 2/6. (1 cwt = 112 lb or 50.8 kg). Available coal was mined in Lanarkshire, but, before proper roads were built, the cost of transport by horse and cart was a significant factor. When the Trades House of Glasgow protested, one member cited another cause: that the coal masters had combined to keep prices high; he asserted that the price ought not to exceed 1/6, including 6d for cartage and tolls.

The inventor and engineer James Watt said later that Monklands was "a country full of level free coals of good quality, in the hands of many proprietors, who sell them at present at 6d per cart of 7 cwt at the pit".

By 1768, the rapid growth of Glasgow had vastly augmented the demand for coal: several bodies expressed concern, and the magistrates of Glasgow took action. The Lord Provost was James Buchanan of Drumpellier, and the rich Monklands coalfield was practically untapped. Canals were being promoted all over the country, and seemed to be the obvious solution here; the magistrates commissioned James Watt to recommend a route.

In November 1869 he reported back, suggesting two possible routes; one was expensive, at more than £20,000, entering the Clyde at Glasgow Green. Its route involved 25 locks, with a summit 266 feet above the level of the Clyde. Watt said:

The Great expense of the above canal and the time that would be consumed in passing the locks ... have made me examine how far it is practicable to bring a canal without any locks ... I find that it can be brought to within a little more than a mile of the town and that a waggon way or good causeway can be made for the remainder of the way. ends a little south of Jermiston, there appearing to be no possibility of bringing it near Glasgow on that level."

This proposal seems to ignore completely the 96 feet of vertical interval at Blackhill.

On 3 January 1770 the cheaper scheme -- at £10,000 -- was laid before a meeting of business people, and following a second meeting on 11 January a subscription list was opened. The Town Council of Glasgow agreed to subscribe £500, with a complicated precondition designed to prevent the coalowners forming a cartel to keep prices high.

The subscription list was swiftly filled, and the necessary Act of Parliament was secured on 12 April 1770.

The Lord Provost was refunded "£65 as half of his charges in going to and coming from London anent obtaining the Act of Parliament ... the other half of such expense being chargeable on the proprietors of the Monkland Canal".

The Act allowed the proprietors to raise £10,000 by issuing shares, and an additional £5,000 if necessary. Water for the canal was to be extracted from Frankfield Loch, Hogganfield Loch, and any other streams or lochs within 3 miles (4.8 km) of the proposed route which were not already supplying the Forth and Clyde Canal. The prohibition on taking water from sources that fed the Forth and Clyde Canal resulted in continuing water shortage problems later.