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Latest Updates* Saltaire, 21 and 22 April - we will be at the World Heritage Weekend at Saltaire on the Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 4pm, with our stand on the towpath by the road bridge.
The Horse Boating Society will also be attending with the boat Elland, and Shipley Glen Tramway will also be operating. There are also illustrated talks on both days at 3-15pm, and as Mike is giving the one on Sunday,
some help with the stand then would be most useful. If you can help, even for just an hour or two, please contact Mike Clarke |
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OriginsFor 178 years the Leeds and Liverpool Canal was a private company, leading an independent existence. But in 1948, together with the majority of the country's canals and railways, it was nationalised, and today is maintained by the British Waterways Board. With a total length of 141 miles, including branches, it is the country's longest canal. More in a Brief History of the Canal and a Canal Chronology |
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OperationsIt costs British Waterways about £2.5 million per annum to keep the canal open. Almost £1 million of this is generated along the canal, comprising the income from boat licences, property leases, angling and water supply, while the rest is provided by the Government. This works out at £18,000 per mile, about double the cost of building the canal almost two hundred years ago. More in Waterways Now |
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Access & UseSuch expenditure can only be justified if the canal is used by many people. The Leeds & Liverpool Canal Society has been formed to help promote the canal and to encourage greater understanding and appreciation of the canal's history and environment. More in Leisure Access and Activities |
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HeritageHistorically, the canal had a great effect on the areas it passed through. It also had its own unique traditions. The Society will encourage the recording of these traditions, and the conservation and preservation of the canal's environment. Many canal side warehouses and lock-keepers cottages are listed buildings, and there are well over 100 other listed structures, such as bridges and wharfs, along the canal. The Society will work with those developing land and buildings along the canal, to ensure that the distinct traditions and heritage of the canal are continued. |
| Traditional Boatman's Gansey - A pattern for knitting a traditional boatman's gansey, taken from the 1930s gansey held by the National Waterways Museum, has now been worked out. The Society has a leaflet about L&L clothing which includes the pattern. There are also some boatwomen's clothes in the collection at Liverpool Museum, and we will be investigating the possibility of photographing and documenting them as well. |
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EducationTo strengthen these aims the Society has now taken ownership of the heritage Short Boat Kennet which travels along the Canal visiting local communities where it is open to the public, schools and organisations. |
| Presentations – the Society has a wealth of information which can be utilised by members to give presentations about the history of the Leeds & Liverpool Canal and the activities of the Society. |
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The L&LCS can only develop its
objectives through an active and enthusiastic membership. |
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