The Huddersfield Narrow Canal - A Brief History

Early Restoration | Recent Restoration

The construction of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal began in 1794 but it was not until 1811 that the Standedge Tunnel, the longest and highest canal tunnel in Britain, was completed allowing boats to navigate the whole length of the canal from Huddersfield to Ashton-under-Lyne.

As a commercial venture the canal could never be described as a success, largely due to competition from the Rochdale Canal and, later, from the railways. The last commercial vessel to pass through the Standedge Tunnel was in 1921.

During the 1950s the lock gates were removed and the locks were filled in, turning them into man-made cascades and waterfalls. They would be safer and require little or no maintenance.

The Huddersfield Canal Society was formed in 1974 with the object of restoring the whole of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal to navigation. Volunteers from the Society began the restoration of a half mile stretch of the canal and two locks in Saddleworth in 1981.

The photographs are in two sections. The first, in monochrome, shows the restoration carried out in 1981 on Dungebooth lock (22W). The second, in colour, shows recent work (1999-2001) on the locks and bridges at either end of the village of Uppermill, where the canal had been culverted when road improvements were carried out.

Early Restoration | Recent Restoration