Towpath Treks: Canal Architecture of the Leeds Liverpool Canal

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Canals have their own architecture: bridges, locks, houses, warehouses and stables, aqueducts, tunnels and the canal itself.

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Bridges
The canal builders were required by Act of Parliament to preserve rights of way, they had to ensure landowners had access to their land if it was cut by the canal. If the canal builders were lucky this could be done with a cheap wooden swing bridge. These bridges have never been popular, from the first design they were flawed and prone to jamming. Swing bridges are still being replaced, now they are electric. If the landowner insisted on it they would have to put a stone bridge in place, even if it was only linking two fields and would only be used by cows and sheep. The bridges were built out of stone quarried locally. The earliest bridges on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal are smaller than the later ones designed by such engineers as John Rennie. Stone built humpback bridges couldn't cope with the increased loads carried so metal began to be used. The C19th bridges saw the use of iron work. Many older bridges were widened to cope with the increased traffic. Bridges have been removed and replaced with every stage of redevelopment and regeneration. Some are better than others. To protect bridges from being rope worn they had rollers on their edges.

wooden swing bridge	metal swing bridge	early stone bridge	Rennie stone bridge	double arched bridge

metal bridge	bridge has been widened	skewed bridge	imposing concrete bridge	metal girders replace stonework with no thought of aesthetics

bridge side storage for stop planks	bridge with tunnel for lock overflow

bridge makers names	commemoration plaque	liver bird crest	Blackburn crest	date on bridge 1816 the year the canal was completed

metal ring to hold roller. the upper one has worn through and been replaced.	metal spike to holds the roller in place	Over the years the ropes from horse drawn barges have worn away the stonework on this bridge	wooden and metal rollers in place, note the metal roller has jammed and been worn through by ropes	look out for marks on the stonework like this benchmark (top) or masons mark (bottom)
Locks
Locks are used to take boats up and down hills. Boats enter a chamber with gates at either end. The gates are opened by pushing against a balance beam, or in some cases where space is tight by winding the gates open. The water level is controlled with sluices. The sluices are opened and closed by paddles which are raised and lowered with winding gear. There are sluices on the gates and in the ground. There are overflows which allow water to by pass lock. Footbridges allow boatmen to cross from one side to the other and ladders give access when the lock camber is empty. Locks have to be protected against misuse. Winding gear and gates are locked, boaters have keys to open them. The locks on the Leeds Liverpool Canal were built for the barges used on the Ribble and Mersey, and are therefore 62 foot long. When the Leigh branch was built connecting the canal to the rest of the network it allowed the 72 foot long narrowboats access to the Leeds Liverpool. The locks between Liverpool and Wigan were extended to 72ft to allow narrowboats access to Wign and Liverpool. In some places locks have become redundant and removed. They can be recognised by the narrowness of the chamber, the niches in the stonework for the gates, the metal in the stonework where the gate hinges were, the over flow channel and marks in the stonework where paddles one were.

footbridge by lock	overgrown ladder in lock chamber	bollard for tying boat to	lock numbers	pounds between locks

two pairs of gates, pointing uphill	The hinge	balance beam, pushed right to left to open gate	chain winding gear to open gate	this gate is too close to a bridge to have a long balance beam so has geared winding gear instead operated with a fixed windlass.

an empty lock showing the gate and paddle, and the cill	the windlass is attached to the gate paddle gear this one has a lock	this gate paddle has extra gears	gate paddle gears

Simple ground paddle or jack clough	Ground paddle with fixed handle, wound in a horizontal circle to raise the paddle by screw	unusual boxed ground paddle screw	ground paddle screw at angle to aid winding	rack and pinion ground paddle, wound with windlass in vertical circle
	Disused locks: a spotters guide

Crooke lock, note niche for lower gate (right)	Crooke lock note niche for upper gates (left)	Sollom lock, note narrow lock chamber and niche for lock gates	this is where the gate was attached at Sollom, part of the metal hinge can be seen.
Canals

towing path and hedgerow		winding hole	edge stones

stop planks	cobbles	slope for horse to get out of the canal after falling in	rock cutting	quarry
Signs

milestone	milestone	milepost	half mile post	quarter milepost

Leeds Liverpool Canal Company Boundary Marker	county boundary maker	road names reflecting the canal nearby	even on the canal you sometimes need directions
Canalside Buildings

depot	toll house	pub	mill	warehouse

boatmens' cottages and dry dock	lock keepers house	most lock and bridge cottages have been demolished and are only visible by hedge lines, gateposts and on maps.	Coal Wharf	warehouse with covered loading bay this one in Wigan is similar to Blackburn, Nelson, Skipton

world war two defence	world war two pill box	Packet hotel	Lime Kiln	Coke Ovens

brick kilns	brick kiln	Stables