Canal Wharf Crane - Burnley, UK
Posted by: 
dtrebilc
N 53° 47.208 W 002° 14.795
30U E 549637 N 5960064
This crane on the Leeds Liverpool Canal was used to load and unload boats into the warehouse at the side of the canal.
Waymark Code: WMPZP3
Location: North West England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 11/18/2015
Views: 6
The Leeds Liverpool canal is 127.25 miles long and flows from the inland woollen town of Leeds to the coastal sea port of Liverpool, crossing the Pennines along the way. Work on the canal started in 1770 and built in a number of sections and was finally completed in 1816.
The section of the canal near to Burnley was completed in 1801.
The canal was mainly intended to carry bulk cargoes such as limestone and coal but the town of Burnley had many cotton mills. The canal boats would bring raw cotton from the port of Liverpool for weaving in the cotton mills. The crane at this point would unload the raw cotton bails into the warehouse.
After the cotton had been processed into finished goods, these would loaded from the warehouse onto the boats for shipment to other towns and cities.
The loading area of the wharf was covered to protect against bad weather. The crane is under this covered area.
The wharf and nearby toll house and manager's office is an area called The Weavers' Triangle and forms a heritage site managed by The Weavers' Triangle Trust.
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