Little Cut

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
The northwest entrance to the Barnsay Tunnel
LocationBarnoldswick, Lancashire
CountryUnited Kingdom
Coordinates53.9188°N 2.1724°W / 53.9188; -2.1724
Specifications
Length0.53 miles (0.85 km)
Locks0
StatusInfilled
History
Original ownerLeeds and Liverpool Canal Company
Construction began1796
Date extended1799, 1828
Date closedc. 1918
Geography
Branch ofLeeds and Liverpool Canal

Canal
The Little Cut
 Rainhall Rocks Quarry
Viaduct
Rain Hall Tunnel (60 yards)
Barnsay Tunnel (90 yards)
Towpath
 Leeds and Liverpool Canal

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]

Quarry

Rock from the quarry has been classified by the British Geological Survey as nodular micaceous sandy limestone, with some specimens containing forams.[15]

References
  1. Johnson, David (2010). Limestone Industries of the Yorkshire Dales Second Edition. Stroud, Gloucestershire: Amberley Publishing Limited. p. 98. ISBN 9781445620404. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  2. Johnson, David (2010). Limestone Industries of the Yorkshire Dales Second Edition. Stroud, Gloucestershire: Amberley Publishing Limited. p. 97. ISBN 9781445620404. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  3. Rothwell, Margaret; Rothwell, Geoff. "SALTERFORTH" (PDF). Leeds & Liverpool Canal Society. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  4. "Claimed Bridleway from Rainhall Crescent, Barnoldswick, to Salterforth Lane, Salterforth, Borough of Pendle". www3.lancashire.gov.uk. Lancashire County Council. 2009. p. 5. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  5. "Leeds & Liverpool Canal Corridor Study" (PDF). blackburnworld.com. British Waterways.
  6. Jackson, Kenneth (2011). "Skipton-in-Craven, 1865 to 1914. A study of urban growth in a small textile town" (PDF). bradscholars.brad.ac.uk. University of Bradford. p. 315. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  7. "Greenberfield and Barnoldswick - Virtual Journey along the Leeds and Liverpool Canal". www.penninewaterways.co.uk. Pennine Waterways. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  8. Ray Shill (15 July 2014). Northern Canals Lancaster, Ulverston, Carlisle and the Pennine Waterways Through Time. Amberley Publishing Limited. p. 36. ISBN 978-1-4456-3333-6.
  9. Joseph Priestley (1831). Historical Account of the Navigable Rivers, Canals, and Railways, Throughout Great Britain: As a Reference to Nichols, Priestley & Walker's New Map of Inland Navigation, Derived from Original and Parliamentary Documents in the Possession of Joseph Priestley, Esq. Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown and Green. p. 420.
  10. Stuart Fisher (5 May 2009). The Canals of Britain: A Comprehensive Guide. A&C Black. p. 236. ISBN 978-1-4081-0517-7.
  11. "OS 25 inch". maps.nls.uk. National Library of Scotland. 1898. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  12. "OS 25 inch". maps.nls.uk. National Library of Scotland. 1841–1952. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  13. Wood, Andy (2014). Abandoned & vanished canals of England. Stroud, Gloucestershire: Amberley Publishing Limited. p. 391. ISBN 9781445639277.
  14. "Claimed Bridleway from Rainhall Crescent, Barnoldswick, to Salterforth Lane, Salterforth, Borough of Pendle". Regulatory Committee. Lancashire County Council. 2 December 2017. pp. 343–388. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  15. "E24599; COLLNOHL29;". BGS mineralogy and petrology collection record. British Geological Survey. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
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