Pocklington Canal - Canal Head, UK
Posted by: 
dtrebilc
N 53° 54.901 W 000° 47.091
30U E 645486 N 5976340
This information board at the start of the Pocklington Canal tells the history of the canal.
Waymark Code: WM13AH3
Location: Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 10/26/2020
Views: 1
The board includes an artist's impression of what the wharves would have looked like here when the canal was in operation. It was one of the last canals to be built in the UK and due to competition from railways ceased to be used by 1848.
There were plans to fill the canal in but a local preservation society managed to save it and the southern half of the canal has been renovated for leisure boaters and they are trying to raise funds to convert this end which although still has a towpath and popular with walkers is not navigable by boats.
What's in a name?
This is Canal Head, the start of
the Pocklington Canal
Why didn't it start in the town?
It was too expensive to build a bridge to allow the canal to cross the York Road. Whilst it may look flat, it would have required a further five locks to change the level of the canal.
What do you see?
Imagine standing here in the canal's heyday surrounded by a sawmill and busy coal and public wharves (moorings). Today only the converted warehouse remains.
What was carried on the canal?
Boats in this bustling basin brought coal, lime, pottery and ale to East Yorkshire. Animal bones were also brought in then crushed in a nearby mill to be used as fertiliser. Locally grown produce such as barley, wheat, rye and malt were transported to the River Derwent and onwards to Hull and West Yorkshire.
Did you know?
Pocklington Beck is the source of the canal's water and runs the length of the canal.