Rochdale Canal Lock 48 – Littleborough, UK
Posted by: 
dtrebilc
N 53° 38.596 W 002° 05.479
30U E 560071 N 5944215
The Rochdale canal is 32 miles long and connects Manchester on the west side of the Pennine Hills and Sowerby Bridge on the east side.
Waymark Code: WMH4CN
Location: Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 05/20/2013
Views: 3
The Canal History
The Rochdale Canal was completed in 1804 and is one of three canals that cross the Pennine hills. This is the only one that doesn’t use tunnels. In addition it was a broad canal with bridges and locks that allowed boats of 14 feet width to pass through.
The one downside of not using tunnels is that it originally had 92 locks. These days two of them have been combined into one deep lock.
Competition from railways and roads subsequently led to a decline in goods being carried and by 1937 the only section left in operation was at the Manchester end of the canal.
In 1965 there was talk of abandoning the canal but by this time leisure boating had become very popular in the UK and there was a campaign to keep it open. Work was started and the canal slowly re-opened in a number of different stages. The whole length finally reopened in September 2007.
Details of this lock
This lock is known as Littleborough Bottom Lock and has an integrated stone foot bridge. As well as carrying a local footpath It also gives access to the other side of the canal to allow the lock gates to be operated by boat users
A lock always forms the narrowest part of the canal and so incorporating the bridge into the lock makes it smaller and cheaper to build.
The upper wooden gates on this lock have a marker indicating they were made in 1998 at Callis Mill in Hebden Bridge.
Waterway Name: The Rochdale Canal
Connected Points:
The city of Manchester on the western side of the Pennine hills and the town of Sowerby Bridge on the east.
Type: Lock
Date Opened: 01/01/1804
Elevation Difference (meters): 3.00
Site Status: Operational
Date Closed (if applicable): Not listed
Web Site: Not listed
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