334 THE UF/llXXIX'iS OF CANAL& 



CHAPTER III. 



THE BEGINNINGS OF CANALS THE DUKE OF BRIDGEWATEK. 



VERY little had as yet been done to open up the inland 

 navigation of England, beyond dredging and clearing 

 out in a very imperfect manner the channels of several 

 of the larger rivers, so as to admit of the passage of small 

 barges. Several attempts had been made in Lancashire 

 and Cheshire, as we have already shown, to open up the 

 navigation of the Mersey and the Irwell from Liverpool 

 to Manchester. There were similar projects for im- 

 proving the Weaver from Frodsham, where it joins 

 the Mersey, to Winford Bridge above North wich ; and 

 the Douglas, from the Bibble to Wigan. About the 

 same time like schemes were started in Yorkshire, with 

 the object of opening up the navigation of the Ahv 

 and Calder to Leeds and Wakefield, and of the Don from 

 Doncaster to near Sheffield. One of the Acts passed by 

 Parliament in 1737 is worthy of notice, as probably the 

 beginning of the Bridgewater Canal enterprise : we allude 

 to the Act for making navigable the Worsley Brook to 

 its junction with the river Irwell, near Manchester. A 

 similar Act was obtained in 1755, for making navigable 

 the Sankey Brook from the Mersey, about two miles 

 below Warrington, to St. Helens, Gerrard Bridge, and 

 Penny Bridge. In this case the canal was constructed 

 separate from the brook, but alongside of it ; and at 

 several points locks were provided to adapt the canal to 

 the level of the lands passed through. 



The same year in which application was made to 

 Parliament for powers to construct the Sankey Canal, 



