The River Douglas Navigation

  John Hodson            3 December 2012

 

Mr Hodson explained that he had lived in Sutton Avenue Tarleton which was called

“the lock” and he moved into Douglas House in 2005 and bought part of the riverbank in 2007. He received deeds from the Land Registry and made enquiries about the history of the house (built 1726) and the river Douglas from local boat builders Harry Mayor and Harry Hall. He also got information from Mike Clarke on the Leeds Liverpool Canal.

The Douglas Navigation was proposed in 1712 to carry coal from Wigan, surveyed by Thomas Steers, with 7 locks, a distance of 11 miles. The bill was put before parliament in 1713 and opposed by local farmers as a rich source of fertilizer for the fields would be lost if the river did not flood. Work started in 1720 financed by selling shares, however, Mr Squires, in charge of raising revenue, was suspected of some fraudulent practice and the scheme was not completed until 1742. The first lock was built at Rufford and the second at Croston (13 in total). The journey was still difficult because of the winding river and the difference in levels. The boats used called flats – 20 feet long with a shallow draught – were initially hauled by men and later horses. Headwater for the locks was supplied from Anglezarke. The   Leeds Liverpool Canal had to buy out Douglas Navigation to gain access to this resource.