Birkenshaw Canal

Railways, trams, buses, etc.
BIG N
Posts: 419
Joined: Thu 06 Dec, 2007 10:29 am

Post by BIG N »

I know Birkenshaw is not really Leeds, more Bradford really but I wonder if anyone can help me with some information.Chatting in the canteen at work about things that have long since dissapeared someone threw into the conversation a titbit about a long lost Canal that was at Birkenshaw, they said it was about two miles in length and was built to link up a foundery with a quarry or something similar.Does anyone have any info on this canal please ??

rod bottom
Posts: 10
Joined: Wed 18 Jun, 2008 12:30 pm

Post by rod bottom »

big n,there was branch canal that ran off the leeds/liverpool canal about 3 miles into bradford.it was closed in 1866 and filled in.the last 20ft or so can still be seen at shipley,though it just looks like a turning point[or winding hole].it was built to allow bradford colliery owners to move coal out and bring in limestone etc.one of the reasons it closed apart from the coming of the railways was the fact it was completely minging and in places would even ignite!!.if you search the net ,there is a virtual tour of the route.sorry cant remember the site.hope this is some help

BIG N
Posts: 419
Joined: Thu 06 Dec, 2007 10:29 am

Post by BIG N »

Hi Rod - I know the Bradford branch of the Leeds and Liverpool well, spent quite a bit of time living in Frizinghall and Shipley.The one I am talking about was apparently built to link two industries together and was in effect a private canal (only going off what I have been told) in the Birkenshaw area, several miles from the one you mention - and quite a few feet higher up as well.I have had a look on Google Earth and found something of interest that could be the remains of a waterway - see what you guys think.http://www.flashearth.com/?lat=53.75087 ... src=mslThe wiggly line running top to bottom down the picture could have been a canal possibly, interesting too that the street at the top end is called Furnace Lane.

Si
Posts: 4480
Joined: Wed 10 Oct, 2007 7:22 am
Location: Otley

Post by Si »

Looks more like a beck to me, BigN. A bit too wiggly for a canal IMHO.

Chrism
Posts: 1828
Joined: Sun 20 Jan, 2008 8:26 am

Post by Chrism »

Hiya BigN, it's called Emmet's Canal. See here http://www.jim-shead.com/waterways/Emmets-Canal.html and scroll down a tad for some details.
Sit thissen dahn an' tell us abaht it.

Tasa
Posts: 826
Joined: Mon 08 Oct, 2007 11:11 am

Post by Tasa »

Si wrote: Looks more like a beck to me, BigN. A bit too wiggly for a canal IMHO. It's to the east of the beck Si - the curvy thick green line with precise edges going through the fields (it took me a while to find it, and then only with the aid of an old map!). There's a bit more history here:http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/517673

Si
Posts: 4480
Joined: Wed 10 Oct, 2007 7:22 am
Location: Otley

Post by Si »

Tasa wrote: Si wrote: Looks more like a beck to me, BigN. A bit too wiggly for a canal IMHO. It's to the east of the beck Si - the curvy thick green line with precise edges going through the fields (it took me a while to find it, and then only with the aid of an old map!). There's a bit more history here:http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/517673 Now THAT'S a canal! Shoulda gone to Specsavers...

BIG N
Posts: 419
Joined: Thu 06 Dec, 2007 10:29 am

Post by BIG N »

I knew you guys would come up with an answer, my first reaction when told of this canal was to say - "What, up there, no way - where did it go" but it seems my informant was correct and this waterway did in fact exist.Cheers for the links guys, are we in agreement then that the "Wiggly line" is in fact the remains of Emmetts Canal and that the name Foundery Lane is more than just a coincidence?? P.S. - I love the idea that the Blue hills got their name from being the site of the iron ore slag heaps, it's something I have wondered about in the past - and would go a long way to explaining where the name came from.Just to tax your brains a little further - could the long, narrow brown bit at the bottom of the Wiggly line have actually been the Basin at one end of the waterway??Cheers again guys.    

Si
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Joined: Wed 10 Oct, 2007 7:22 am
Location: Otley

Post by Si »

There were (are?) similar heaps on Baildon Moor - not Leeds, I know, but there must be similar heaps still in Leeds?

simong
Posts: 722
Joined: Sat 08 Sep, 2007 6:17 am

Post by simong »

BIG N wrote: The wiggly line running top to bottom down the picture could have been a canal possibly, interesting too that the street at the top end is called Furnace Lane. Bradford had a considerable iron industry until fairly recently. It was mostly around Bowling and Low Moor, and there's a pub called the Furnace on Sticker Lane. The remains of the industry is generally scrap metal dealers and small wrought iron workshops in the area north of Bowling Back Lane, and there are references to Birkenshaw if you search for 'Bradford iron' or similar. The University even has an archeometalurgy department.

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