The Little Cut | |
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![]() The northwest entrance to the Barnsay Tunnel | |
Location | Barnoldswick, Lancashire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Coordinates | 53°55′08″N 2°10′21″W / 53.9188°N 2.1724°W |
Specifications | |
Length | 0.53 miles (0.85 km) |
Locks | 0 |
Status | Infilled |
History | |
Original owner | Leeds and Liverpool Canal Company |
Construction began | 1796 |
Date extended | 1799, 1828 |
Date closed | c. 1918 |
Geography | |
Branch of | Leeds and Liverpool Canal |
The Little Cut, also known as the Rain Hall Rock Branch or the Rain Hall Rock Canal, was a short canal connecting the Leeds and Liverpool Canal at Barnoldswick to the nearby Rain Hall Rock limestone quarry. The canal ran north-east for 950 yards (870 m) through farmland and a deep cutting—including two tunnels—before terminating in a small basin.
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The cut was constructed in 1796, around the time of the second phase of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. [1] Built to serve a limestone quarry known as Rain Hall Rock, [2] the cut left the main canal beneath a small bridge carrying the towing path, [3] approximately 220 yards (200 m) south of Long Ing Bridge. The short length of the canal led to it being named locally as the "Little Cut", [4] [5] [6] although it was formally known as the Rain Hall Rock Canal or Rain Hall Rock Branch. [7] [8]
A 90-yard (82 m) tunnel was bored through the limestone near Higher Barnsay Farm, before a northwards bend took the canal through a deep cutting; this was the start of the quarry and the original canal terminus, 1⁄4 mile (0.40 km) from its junction with the main line. [1] [9] This tunnel was the only tunnel on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal to carry the towpath as well as the waterway. [10] From the canal's junction with the main line, the towpath ran along the south side of the channel. Upon reaching the second tunnel, a turnover bridge moved the towpath to the north side of the canal. [11]
Permission to extend the quarry was granted in 1826 and the canal was extended through a second tunnel. A further extension had been made by 1862, when a viaduct was built (as an accommodation bridge) across the cut. [1] Rather than building a large wharf or dock, limestone was loaded directly from the quarry into waiting barges in a widened basin. [2] [12]
The quarry closed around the end of the First World War, [13] and later the cut was used by Lancashire County Council for landfill. [14] Only the central cutting—between the two tunnels—as well as parts of the tunnels are extant. [7]
Rock from the quarry has been classified by the British Geological Survey as nodular micaceous sandy limestone, with some specimens containing forams. [15]
The Little Cut | |
---|---|
![]() The northwest entrance to the Barnsay Tunnel | |
Location | Barnoldswick, Lancashire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Coordinates | 53°55′08″N 2°10′21″W / 53.9188°N 2.1724°W |
Specifications | |
Length | 0.53 miles (0.85 km) |
Locks | 0 |
Status | Infilled |
History | |
Original owner | Leeds and Liverpool Canal Company |
Construction began | 1796 |
Date extended | 1799, 1828 |
Date closed | c. 1918 |
Geography | |
Branch of | Leeds and Liverpool Canal |
The Little Cut, also known as the Rain Hall Rock Branch or the Rain Hall Rock Canal, was a short canal connecting the Leeds and Liverpool Canal at Barnoldswick to the nearby Rain Hall Rock limestone quarry. The canal ran north-east for 950 yards (870 m) through farmland and a deep cutting—including two tunnels—before terminating in a small basin.
The Little Cut | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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|
The cut was constructed in 1796, around the time of the second phase of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. [1] Built to serve a limestone quarry known as Rain Hall Rock, [2] the cut left the main canal beneath a small bridge carrying the towing path, [3] approximately 220 yards (200 m) south of Long Ing Bridge. The short length of the canal led to it being named locally as the "Little Cut", [4] [5] [6] although it was formally known as the Rain Hall Rock Canal or Rain Hall Rock Branch. [7] [8]
A 90-yard (82 m) tunnel was bored through the limestone near Higher Barnsay Farm, before a northwards bend took the canal through a deep cutting; this was the start of the quarry and the original canal terminus, 1⁄4 mile (0.40 km) from its junction with the main line. [1] [9] This tunnel was the only tunnel on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal to carry the towpath as well as the waterway. [10] From the canal's junction with the main line, the towpath ran along the south side of the channel. Upon reaching the second tunnel, a turnover bridge moved the towpath to the north side of the canal. [11]
Permission to extend the quarry was granted in 1826 and the canal was extended through a second tunnel. A further extension had been made by 1862, when a viaduct was built (as an accommodation bridge) across the cut. [1] Rather than building a large wharf or dock, limestone was loaded directly from the quarry into waiting barges in a widened basin. [2] [12]
The quarry closed around the end of the First World War, [13] and later the cut was used by Lancashire County Council for landfill. [14] Only the central cutting—between the two tunnels—as well as parts of the tunnels are extant. [7]
Rock from the quarry has been classified by the British Geological Survey as nodular micaceous sandy limestone, with some specimens containing forams. [15]