September 2022 Centenary of Bradford Canal closure marked at Shipley
ONE hundred years to the day since the last commercial boat descended the Bradford Canal to Shipley, the anniversary of its closure was marked on July 15, 2022.
The canal had a chequered early history, from being central to the development of the town in the late 18th century, to being blamed for a cholera epidemic in the 1850s. This resulted in the canal’s first closure in 1866.
However, this was not the end of the story, with the canal reopening on April 16, 1873 and continuing to provide transport facilities for the town until 1922.
Originally proposed by Bradford merchants as an integral part of the Leeds & Liverpool Canal, it was actually built by a separate company, though the two canals had a joint office on Moor Row until around 1850. The canal was to prove even more important than those merchants could have wished for in supporting the development of Bradford.
During the next century and a half, the woollen and worsted industries came to rely upon raw materials delivered by boat from Liverpool and Hull. The canal also carried limestone from Craven for purifying the products of the world-famous iron works at Bowling and Low Moor, as well as building stone; Bradford’s industries and offices relied upon the canal.
The very last boat to make its way down the canal in July 1922 was the steamer Beta, recently purchased by Benjamin C Walls after he set up his carrying company in 1921. Despite the closure, the Walls family continued to be involved with canal carrying until canals were nationalised in 1948. The company then turned to roads as the Keighley-based Walls Shipping Company, an international carrier until 1972.
To commemorate the final closure of the canal, the Leeds & Liverpool Canal Society opened its heritage boat Kennet to the public at Gallows Bridge, Shipley, close to the old junction with the Bradford Canal. The Lord Mayor of Bradford, Coun Martin Love and local councillor Alex Ross-Shaw, members of the Walls family and other guests were given a short trip up to the junction. Sean McGinley and Bill Froggatt represented CRT and there were members of several local-interest groups including Yorkshire Archaeological Society, Friends of Saltaire and the Friends of Bradford Beck.
The event went off very well, L&LCS president Mike Clarke reported. “Gallows Bridge Marina was a big help with tidying up the visitor moorings and allowing us to moor overnight. Despite the hot weather, about 15 people took part in a guided walk up the remains of the canal and we will probably repeat this next year, which will be the 150th anniversary of the canal reopening in 1873.”