The start of the Sankey Canal at Spike Island in Widnes
Specifications
Locks
16
Status
Partly restored
History
Original owner
Sankey Brook Navigation Co
Principal engineer
Henry Berry
Date of act
1755
Date of first use
1757
Date closed
1963
Geography
Start point
River Mersey, Widnes
End point
St Helens
Connects to
River Mersey
v
t
e
Sankey Canal
Legend
Ravenhead Branch
Sutton Branch
St Helens
Gerard's Bridge Branch
New Double Lock (2)
Blackbrook Branch
A58 bridges
Old Double Lock (2)
Haydock Lock
A572 Common Road bridge
Newton Common Lock
Sankey Viaduct
Bradley Lock
Hey Lock
M62 bridge
Winwick Lock
Hulme Lock
Sankey Brook aqueduct
A574 bridge
Bewsey Lock
Great Sankey viaduct
A57 bridge
Railway bridge
Sankey Brook
Sankey Lock
River Mersey
Fiddlers Ferry Locks (2)
Widnes Locks (2)
River Mersey
The Sankey Canal in North West England, initially known as the Sankey Brook Navigation and later the St Helens Canal, is a former industrial canal, which when opened in 1757 was England's first of the Industrial revolution, and the first modern canal.[1][2][3]
The canal eventually connected St Helens to the River Mersey at Spike Island in Widnes. Originally it followed the valley of the Sankey Brook from the Mersey through Warrington to Parr following which extensions were constructed at the Mersey end to Fiddlers Ferry and then to Widnes, while at the northern end it was extended to Sutton.
The canal was abandoned between 1931 and 1963 but has been the object of ongoing restoration attempts since 1985.
^"History of the Sankey Canal". Pennine Waterways. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021.
^"A brief history of the Sankey Canal". SCARS. 12 June 2017. Archived from the original on 25 November 2020.
The SankeyCanal in North West England, initially known as the Sankey Brook Navigation and later the St Helens Canal, is a former industrial canal, which...
Ship Canal was completed in 1567. The SankeyCanal was the first British canal of the Industrial Revolution, opening in 1757. The Bridgewater Canal followed...
traverse the valley and SankeyCanal with sufficient clearance for the masts and sails of the Mersey flats that used the canal. The viaduct was built between...
Sankey, also spelled Sanchi, Zanchi may refer to: People: Bishop Sankey (b 1992), American football running back Ben Sankey (b 1976), American football...
quickly. Canal boats were much quicker, could carry large volumes, and were much safer for fragile items. Following the success of first the SankeyCanal followed...
flight of locks. The Bridgewater canal is described as the first great achievement of the canal age, although the SankeyCanal opened earlier. Bridgewater...
between Sankey Bridges in the south and Callands in the north. The valley follows the course of Sankey Brook and the now disused SankeyCanal. The park...
each arch of 50 feet (15 m) span and around 60 feet (18 m) high) over the Sankey Brook valley. The railway included the 4+3⁄4-mile (7.6 km) crossing of Chat...
Cuerdley. In the 1750s the SankeyCanal was constructed. This linked the area of St. Helens with the River Mersey at Sankey Bridges, near Warrington and...
first solution was to build the SankeyCanal which opened in 1755 and ran from the Blackbrook canal via Parr to Sankey Bridges, to the west of Warrington...
allowed them to work along the Bridgewater Canal, the SankeyCanal and the northern parts of the Shropshire Union Canal. The Weaver flat was a larger version...
The following list of canals in the United Kingdom, includes some systems that are navigable rivers with sections of canal (e.g. Aire and Calder Navigation)...
Multimodal Gateway will be built on the old West Bank Dock Estate. "SankeyCanal Restoration Society". Retrieved 9 June 2013. "Disused Stations: Widnes...
Cheshire in 1974. There was industrial growth along the banks of the SankeyCanal at Sankey Bridges during the 19th century but otherwise the area was rural...
rail-to-ship facility in the world. It was built in 1833 between the end of the SankeyCanal and the St Helens and Runcorn Gap Railway in Widnes. The remains of the...
opening of the SankeyCanal, the first wholly artificial canal built in England during the Industrial Revolution. When opened, the canal entered the River...
Hall Park Ridgway Grundy Memorial Park (Lymm) Risley Moss Rixton Clay Pits Sankey Valley Park St Elphin's Park St. Peter's Park The Twiggeries Trans Pennine...
of canals, which extend into neighbouring counties. These include the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, Lancaster Canal, SankeyCanal, Bridgewater Canal, Rochdale...
scheme to make the Sankey Brook navigable, it included an entirely new artificial channel that was effectively a canal along the Sankey Brook valley. However...
Walton Hall and Gardens, a local park/leisure area. The course of the SankeyCanal runs through the west of the town, although the only navigable section...
Spike Island, a public park, located between the River Mersey and the SankeyCanal that has woodlands, wetlands, footpaths and industrial archaeological...
Eccleston and connecting with the (disused) St. Helens Branch/Section of the SankeyCanal in the town centre. The centre of St Helens is around 160 feet (50 m)...
barges known as Mersey Flats to Howley Wharf in Warrington and (via the SankeyCanal) to St Helens. Motor barges delivered to riverside factories at Warrington...
the crossing over the Mersey at Fiddlers Ferry and the building of the SankeyCanal. The area was mainly rural and agricultural until well into the 20th...
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