Burnley Wharf - Burnley, UK
Posted by: 
dtrebilc
N 53° 47.180 W 002° 14.769
30U E 549667 N 5960013
This blue plaque is on the side of an old toll house on Burnley Wahrf next to The Leeds Liverpool Canal.
Waymark Code: WMPZWA
Location: North West England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 11/19/2015
Views: 2
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 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.
After the cotton had been processed into finished goods, these would be loaded onto the boats for shipment to other towns and cities.
The toll house and wharf area including a covered loading / unloading area and warehouse has been preserved by a historical society and is known as the Weavers' Triangle.
The toll house and joining building form a small museum and can be visited for free. The toll office was in operation until the 1950s and has been restored to how it would have looked when it was in use. There are also displays charting the history of the canal across the region.
link
The toll house is situated next to a bridge carrying Manchester Road over the canal. The main entrance to the museum is on the towpath, but one side of the building is accessible from Manchester Road.
The text on the plaque is a s follows.
BURNLEY HERITAGE SITE
Burnley Wharf
The stone warehouse and the lower
part of the toll office date from 1801,
when the Burnley section of the Leeds
and Liverpool Canal was opened.
The other warehouses and canopies
were added later in the 19th century.
The canal agents house and the
upper floor of the toll office
date from 1878
Sponsored by
British Waterways