Brindley Harecastle Tunnel South Entrance - Tunstall, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, UK - Cave Entrances (Artificial) on Waymarking.com

The Brindley Harecastle Tunnel is a disused canal tunnel on the Trent and Mersey Canal in Staffordshire.

"Although described singularly as a tunnel, Harecastle is actually two separate but parallel tunnels built almost 50 years apart. The first was constructed by James Brindley in the late 18th century and the second larger tunnel was designed by Thomas Telford, and opened in the late 1820s."
The second tunnel built by Thomas Telford is the only tunnel that is navigable today. (visit link)

A red plaque placed by the Transport Trust is mounted on the wall of the Lock Keepers Lobby at the south portal of the Harecastle Tunnel on the Trent and Mersey Canal and marks this a Transport Heritage Site.
The entrances to both tunnels can also be seen at this location.

James Brindley started work on the first tunnel on 27 June 1766, partly at the urging of local potter Josiah Wedgewood, who needed a safe and cheap means to transport coal to the kilns. The tunnel took eleven years to build, during which time Brindley died and was replaced as chief engineer by his brother in law, Hugh Henshall. The 2,880 yards long tunnel had presented a number of problems, including quicksand, hard rock outcrops, springs and even deadly methane gas. It was eventually opened in 1777, a tremendous engineering achievement.

The tunnel had no towpath, and so boatsmen had to leg their way through the tunnel, lying on the roof of their boat and pushing on the sides of the tunnel with their feet. It could take up to three hours to get through the tunnel. The boat horses were led over Harecastle Hill via 'Boathorse Road'.

Brindley's Tunnel was a great success but was unable to cope with the increasing traffic on the canal and the slow process of legging meant that the Harecastle Tunnel was becoming a major bottleneck on the canal.

The second tunnel was commissioned and built by Thomas Telford. Due to advances in engineering, it took just three years to build compared with the eleven years it took to build James Brindley's tunnel. The 2962 yard tunnel was completed in 1827. It had a towpath so that horses could pull the boats through the tunnel. After its construction it was used in conjunction with the Brindley tunnel, with each tunnel taking traffic in opposite directions.

The Brindley tunnel was closed in 1914.
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