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Huddersfield Narrow 1978


jake_crew

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26 minutes ago, Pluto said:

Uppermill a little earlier.

Uppermill.jpg

A little earlier than what? 1978?

That is Lime Kiln Lock 23W. The infilled chamber was cleared out by a WRG Work Camp in summer 1982 - I was there!

 

I'm pretty sure that the first physical restoration work on the Huddersfield Narrow was the clearing of Dungebooth Lock 22W, which preceded the work at Lime Kiln. So I suspect the 1978 date of the Marsden photo may be incorrect.

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1 hour ago, David Mack said:

A little earlier than what? 1978?

That is Lime Kiln Lock 23W. The infilled chamber was cleared out by a WRG Work Camp in summer 1982 - I was there!

 

I'm pretty sure that the first physical restoration work on the Huddersfield Narrow was the clearing of Dungebooth Lock 22W, which preceded the work at Lime Kiln. So I suspect the 1978 date of the Marsden photo may be incorrect.

 

Just had a quick skim of a book i have and it says a demonstration dig at 1E in 1977 got around BW's attempts to block restoration as that short length had been sold to the Polytechnic, does that count as first?

 

Dungebooth, it states, was 4th April 1981.

 

It says work started on the Marsden locks 8th May 1984.

 

(source: The Huddersfield Narrow Canal - Two Hundred Years In The Life Of A Pennine Waterway by Keith Gibson & David Finnis)

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2 hours ago, David Mack said:

A little earlier than what? 1978?

That is Lime Kiln Lock 23W. The infilled chamber was cleared out by a WRG Work Camp in summer 1982 - I was there!

 

I'm pretty sure that the first physical restoration work on the Huddersfield Narrow was the clearing of Dungebooth Lock 22W, which preceded the work at Lime Kiln. So I suspect the 1978 date of the Marsden photo may be incorrect.

You are right, the image had got into the wrong file, and should have been in the 1983 one. I did take some photos in 1975, including this. Does anyone recognise the location?

HNC 1975.jpg

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Yes Pluto, I was on both. The one at Huddersfield was part of a rally held in the basin on the broad canal, and the first lock officially opened up was Dungebooth in April 1981. The picture shows John Palmer Junior and myself as we installed the compressor to work the jack hammers to break up the concrete capping on said lock. There is a picture somewhere of me breaking through the concrete if I find it I will add it to the thread.

1973166013_MeandPalmeratUppermill.jpg.b8d53b2f2175975b3bc43da3f67cc0d6.jpg

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The first time I went on a working party on the Huddersfield was to build a footpath through Slaithwaite thus maintaining the route of the canal, on both that occasion and the Huddersfield lock 1 working party we all stayed in a hall in Slaithwaite and I seem to remember dancing the night away in a club in the village to a rock and roll band, it would have been one of the political party clubs or a working mans club

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25 minutes ago, captain birdseye said:

The first time I went on a working party on the Huddersfield was to build a footpath through Slaithwaite thus maintaining the route of the canal, on both that occasion and the Huddersfield lock 1 working party we all stayed in a hall in Slaithwaite and I seem to remember dancing the night away in a club in the village to a rock and roll band, it would have been one of the political party clubs or a working mans club

And just to point out that drinking in a political party club doesn't mean you agree with their policies. IIRC my dad drank in Labour Liberal *and* Conservative clubs in Pontefract, they sold the three cheapest pints in town...;-)

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The only rally at Huddersfield I went to was in 1970. The narrow boat on the right is Princess Anne when Geoff Wheat was converting her. Roger and Paul Lorenz's Attila was behind. The second photo shows the start of the narrow canal at that time. The Broad Canal wasn't much better with regard to weed.

Huddersfield 639.jpg

Huddersfield Narrow 281.jpg

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That's lock 98 on the Rochdale probably a trip on the way back from one of the dale street rallies. I don't remember that trip down the nine. It would be interesting to me to see the Ashton ones as when I was a young lad I used to help Paul on those summer outings up the Ashton.

 

Edited by captain birdseye
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5 hours ago, captain birdseye said:

Great photos, with Crabtree lane when the swing bridge was over the lock. I don't remember the 1971 Rally but I was only 10 then and only remember Atilla converted into a trip boat. The one of the working party is just behind Guide Bridge Mill. 

The working party at Guide Bridge was part of the Ashtac event in March 1972. This part of the canal is a few yards from my parents' house and was my playground  from the early 60's (until the present day!). The canal here was in a dreadful state and had last been used I think in 1965 when the horseboat Medic carrying puddling clay  for leak repairs was punted  from Lumb Lane  to Portland Basin.

As a result of the Ashtac work we managed , a month later,to get motor maintenance boat Joel from Portland Basin to Fairfield Locks and back, last possible in 1962, so  a belated thank you to all those volunteers  on that week-end.

I had not realized that  the "Monorail" system was in use  here,( the  rail on the towpath can be seen) I was up at Margaret Street loading the monorail skips using  a Smalley digger.

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For those interested in industrial archeology,still at Guide Bridge:

There was a cotton spinning mill on the right of towpath here, Hamer's Union Cotton Mill. Originally powered by a 700HP   vertical marine type steam engine, built a few hundred yards away at Scott and Hodgson's , Guide Bridge. The mill was badly damaged by fire in 1917, the engine was undamaged and sold to Waterloo Room & Power Ltd at Silsden on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. Moved to that place by canal.

Very surprising ,  over a century later, the engine still exists, entombed in its engine house:

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1266636

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