North East Portal - Gannow Tunnel - Leeds Liverpool Canal - Burnley, UK
Posted by: 
dtrebilc
N 53° 47.567 W 002° 15.786
30U E 548542 N 5960718
Although Only 511 metres long this tunnel took 5 years to build.
Waymark Code: WMPZA5
Location: North West England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 11/16/2015
Views: 2
The canal, the longest in northen England, 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.
This section of the canal was completed in 1801, and the tunnel passed through a coal mining area that had affected the level of the water table, making construction difficult, especially as it was cut using hand tools only.
The tunnel was constructed without a towpath, so boaters would lie on their backs and walk along the ceiling or wall of the tunnel to propel the boat along. ‘Boat Horse Lane’ was built to connect the two ends of the tunnel. As the boats navigated the tunnel, the horses were walked over the top, along the lane and back onto the towpath.
The tunnel is a Historic England Grade II listed building.
link It has the following description. "Portal of Gannow tunnel of Leeds-Liverpool Canal. c1797-1801; engineer, Samuel Fletcher. Sandstone ashlar. Semicircular arch with rusticated voussoirs, channelled pilasters with primitively-patterned "vermiculation", a plain band, and coped parapet; slightly concave full-height abutments; oval number plate "128" on the right-hand abutment."
There is an information board attached to the wall of the tunnel.
Gannow Tunnel
North East Portal
Tunnel length: 511m
Method of working: Two way traffic
Maximum craft size:
5.0m Beam
3.3m Maximum headroom
Approximate travel time through the tunnel: 5 mins