Runcorn and Weston Canal

The Runcorn and Weston Canal was a short canal near Runcorn in Cheshire, England, constructed to link the Weston Canal, which is part of the River Weaver Navigation, to the Bridgewater Canal and Runcorn Docks.

History

The canal was authorised by an Act of Parliament passed on 14 June 1853, which specified that the canal was to run from Francis Dock, which was connected to the Duke of Bridgewater's Canal at Runcorn, to a junction with the River Weaver Navigation or Weston Canal at Weston Point. [Francis Watts, (1854), "Bulletins and Other State Intelligence for the year 1853", Harrison and Sons] The length of the canal was about 1.4 miles (2.2km), with a lock at either end, [Jane Cumberlidge, (1998), "Inland Waterways of Great Britain", 7th Ed., Imray Laurie Norie and Wilson, ISBN 0-85288-355-2] and it provided a convenient route for canal boats to move between the Weaver Navigation and the Bridgewater Canal without having to venture out into the Mersey estuary.

With the coming of the Manchester Ship Canal, its function continued, as the large shipping using that canal was also a hazzard to the smaller canal boats. The canal remained in use until the flights of locks from the Bridgewater Canal down to Runcorn Docks were filled in when the Runcorn-Widnes road bridge was constructed in 1966. [Nicholson Waterways Guide, Volume 4, (2006), Harper Collins Publishers Ltd, ISBN 0-00-721112-0] About half of the Runcorn and Weston Canal was filled in at the same time. The southern half remains in water, but is in a derelict state.

Today

The New Flight of locks from the Bridgewater Canal was abandoned in 1966, but the Old Flight was left in place and covered over. [ [http://www.runcornlocks.org.uk/ Runcorn Locks Restoration Society] ] Its line has now been protected by the local council [ [http://www.cartoplus.co.uk/halton/text/01_rg_regeneration.htm Halton Borough Council, Regeneration Plan] ] , and there are plans to re-open the locks. [ [http://www.waterways.org.uk/Waterways/PrincipalNavigations/BridgewaterCanalRuncornLocksUnderRestoration Inland Waterways Association, Runcorn Locks] ] This would almost certainly result in the Runcorn and Weston Canal being reopened, in order to provide somewhere for pleasure craft which have descended the flight to go without having to negotiate passage on the Manchester Ship Canal, [ [http://www.scars.org.uk/cuttings/volume5/issue5-8/vision.html John Pomfret, IWA Inland Shipping Group, "A Mersey Waterways Vision"] ] which requires notice to be given in advance, and is not encouraged by the owning authority.

References

ee also

*Canals of Great Britain
*History of the British canal system