Canals · Yorkshire & the Humber
Calder and Hebble Navigation
Calder and Hebble Navigation — inland waterway in West Yorkshire, England.
Wikimedia Commons contributors — see linked file page for photographer and licence licence
Plan your visit
- Typical visit
- 1 h–2 h
- Nearest railway station
- Sowerby Bridge · 0.6 km
- Free entry
- Dog-friendly
About
Calder and Hebble Navigation is a canal in the United Kingdom. Wikidata describes it as: "inland waterway in West Yorkshire, England". Coordinates: 53.7060°, -1.9160°.
Photo gallery
Protected designations
- Site of Special Scientific Interest: South Pennine Moors SSSI
Designations sourced from Natural England open data under OGL v3.
From the Wikipedia article
The Calder and Hebble Navigation is a broad inland waterway, with locks and bridge holes that are suitable for 14-foot-wide (4.3 m) boats, in West Yorkshire, England. Construction to improve the River Calder and the River Hebble began in 1759, and the initial scheme, which included 5.7 miles (9.2 km) of new cuts, was completed in 1770 and has remained navigable since it was opened. Significant improvements were made, including the Salterhebble branch to Halifax, opened in 1828, and ever-longer cuts to bypass river sections. Trade was assisted by the opening of the Rochdale Canal in 1804, which provided a through route from Sowerby Bridge to Manchester. There were plans to abandon the river sections completely in the 1830s, but these were modified as the needs of mill owners and other riparian landowners were recognised. With the coming of the railways, the canal was leased to the Manchester and Leeds Railway in 1843, but this was subsequently deemed to be illegal, and the Aire and Calder Navigation with which the Calder and Hebble Navigation connected at its eastern end, leased the canal from September 1847 until 1885. Some of the locks were enlarged, but many were not, and having been designed for Yorkshire Keels, they remain among the shortest on the English connected waterways network, at 57 feet (17 m). The navigation became a cul-de-sac in the 20th century, but with the burgeoning interest in leisure use of the canals, the trans-Pennine Rochdale Canal was reopened in 1996 and the Huddersfield Narrow Canal followed in 2001, resulting in the navigation becoming part of three Pennine cruising rings.
Excerpt from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0. See the source article linked in Sources below.
Background
History
By the beginning of the 18th century, the Aire and Calder Navigation had made the River Calder navigable as far upstream as Wakefield. The aim of the Calder and Hebble Navigation was to extend navigation west (upstream) from Wakefield to Sowerby Bridge near Halifax. The first attempt to obtain an act of Parliament was made in 1740, as a result of a petition by the people of Halifax, Ripponden and Elland. John Eyes of Liverpool surveyed the route, and presented a scheme for a navigation which would use the River Calder from Wakefield to its junction with the River Hebble, follow the Hebble to Salterhebble bridge, and then follow the Halifax Brook to reach Halifax. It included the…
Architecture
Construction started in November 1759, with Smeaton acting as engineer. By November 1764, the navigation was open as far as Brighouse, some 16 mi from Wakefield. Having borrowed £56,000, factions arose within the commissioners, with some wanting to stop at Brooksmouth, where the Rivers Hebble and Calder meet, and others wanting to raise more money and complete the scheme. The second option gained most support, and a new committee was set up, who asked James Brindley to take over from Smeaton in 1765. The work was nearly completed by 1767, but serious floods in October caused some damage, with further damage caused by more floods in February 1768. Brindley appears to have left by mid-1766,…
Visiting
Since the demise of commercial carrying in 1981, the navigation has only been used by leisure boaters, to whom it represents both an attractive cruising ground, passing through beautiful countryside and traditional Yorkshire industrial areas. For many years it was effectively a cul-de-sac, with the only access from the Aire and Calder Navigation at the eastern end. However, the growth of the restoration movement resulted in the reopening of the Rochdale Canal, to which connection was made in 1996 with the opening of Tuel Lane Lock, just beyond Sowerby Bridge, and it is now possible to reach Rochdale and Manchester. The canal always provided access to the Huddersfield Broad Canal at Cooper…
Sourced from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Coordinates
- 53.7060, -1.9160
- District
- Calderdale
- Parish
- Calderdale, unparished area
- Postcode
- HX6 3GB
- Parliamentary constituency
- Halifax
- Nearest railway station
- Sowerby Bridge — 0.6 km
Sources
- wikidata: Q5019017 (CC0)
- wikipedia: Calder and Hebble Navigation (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- commons: Calder and hebble.jpg (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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Frequently asked questions
- Where is Calder and Hebble Navigation?
- Calder and Hebble Navigation is in Yorkshire, United Kingdom (postcode HX6 3GB), in the parish of Calderdale, unparished area.
- Is Calder and Hebble Navigation a protected site?
- Yes — Calder and Hebble Navigation is part of the South Pennine Moors SSSI Site of Special Scientific Interest.
- Is Calder and Hebble Navigation free to visit?
- Yes, Calder and Hebble Navigation is free to enter.
- How do I get to Calder and Hebble Navigation?
- The nearest railway station is Sowerby Bridge, about 0.6 km away. Drivers can navigate to postcode HX6 3GB.