Standedge Tunnels

On 4 April 1794, construction of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal (then known as the Huddersfield Canal), linking Ashton-under-Lyne and Huddersfield via a tunnel, was authorised by an Act of Parliament.[4] Benjamin Outram was appointed the consulting engineer after his report in October 1793 estimated the cost of the canal and tunnel at £178,478. Nicholas Brown surveyed the route. Outram thought that geology of the hill through which the tunnel would pass was of gritstone and shale, and would not present any difficulties. Work on the 5,456-yard (4,989 m) tunnel would start at a dip in the hill at Red Brook and the tunnel would be driven simultaneously from both ends. Steam engines would keep the works drained during construction.[5]

Outram was the site engineer and Brown was superintendent and surveyor. During July 1795, John Evans was appointed to manage boring the tunnel. By mid-1796, 795 yards (727 m) of tunnel had been cut, some of which had been lined. Considerable effort had been spent constructing small tunnels to supply waterwheels to raise spoil and water from intermediate adits.[4] By the autumn, concerned that such work was expensive, Outram abandoned building extra workfaces and concentrated on boring out from both ends. Although cheaper, the completion date was extended.[6]

Other factors had slowed progress: a shortage of funding and poor working practices also contributed.[4][7] Cutbacks in drainage provision hampered tunnelling as larger quantities of water entered the workings. In September 1797, Outram advised the committee that Thomas Lee, the contractor, had made large losses as a result of the difficulties and could not complete his contract. He was awarded more money for timber, an increased rate per yard for completion and an extra year in which to finish the tunnel.[6]

By mid-1799, 1,000 yards (910 m) of the tunnel had been finished and 1,000 yards (910 m) had been excavated, but not completed. In October 1800, the Peak Forest Canal Company, who were keen to trade, suggested a tram road should be built to bypass the tunnel until it was completed but no action was taken. The next tunnel contract failed to attract any takers and canal engineer John Varley, who had repaired parts of the canal which had been damaged by floods, was invited to work on the tunnel. Soon thereafter, mine owner Matthew Fletcher was asked for his opinion; he suggested that time could be saved by tunnelling in both directions from Redbrook pit, which was kept dry by a large steam engine. He estimated that it would cost £8,000 but a contractor could not be found and tunnelling continued from both ends.[8]

In 1801, Outram resigned after work had stopped for a lengthy period.[9] Brown was dismissed.[4] In late 1804, a sub-committee visited Harecastle Tunnel on the Trent and Mersey Canal, Butterley Tunnel on the Cromford Canal and the Norwood Tunnel on the Chesterfield Canal. It recommended that a towing path should be built through the tunnel but the extra cost and delay were not affordable. Desperately short of money, the canal company obtained a new Act of Parliament in 1806 to raise additional finance and allow an extra toll for using the tunnel.[10] In 1807, Thomas Telford was asked for his advice. He produced a plan, which was followed until the work was completed.[9]

On 9 June 1809, both ends of the tunnel met.[4] On 10 December 1810, the first boat passed through.[11] On 26 March 1811, the tunnel was complete and a grand opening ceremony was held on 4 April; a party of invited guests, followed by several working boats, entered the tunnel at Diggle and completed the journey to Marsden in one hour and forty minutes. The tunnel had cost £160,000, making it the most expensive canal tunnel to have been built in Britain.[10] It was also the longest, deepest and highest. The tunnel was 5,445 yards (4,979 m) long,[2] 636 feet (194 m) underground at its deepest point, and 643 feet (196 m) above sea level. It was extended at the Marsden end in 1822 by 11 yards (10 m) when Tunnel End Reservoir's overflow was diverted over the tunnel mouth.[12] The tunnel was also extended at the Diggle end in 1893 by 242 yards (221 m) to accommodate the 1894 rail tunnel. The extensions made the tunnel 5,698 yards (5,210 m) long. A survey carried out before restoration using a modern measuring system gave the length as 5,675 yards (5,189 m), which is the accepted figure.[1]

Inside the canal tunnel

When the tunnel opened, the canal became a through route, 13 years after the rest of the canal had been completed and 17 years after work began, at a total cost of £123,803. Despite multiple problems, its construction showed that the technique of quantity surveying had advanced. Telford's plan covered every eventuality and was followed until the canal opened. Between 1811 and 1840, the tunnel was used on average by 40 boats daily.[13] The tunnel is brick-lined in some places, though some sections of bare rock were left exposed.[14]

The tunnel is only wide enough for one narrowboat for much of its length and, to save on cost, a towpath was not provided. Canal boats were horse-drawn when it opened and the boats were legged through the tunnel – one or more boatmen lay on the cargo and pushed against the roof or walls of the tunnel with their legs. Professional leggers were paid one shilling and sixpence for working a boat through the tunnel, which took one hour and twenty minutes for an empty boat and three hours with a full load.[15] The limited load capacity and the lack of a towpath damaged the competitiveness of the whole canal when compared to the rival Rochdale Canal, which was only a few miles to the north and competed with the Huddersfield Canal for business.[4]

Although there were widened passing places in the tunnel for handling bi-directional traffic, intense competition between boat crews was a hindrance and two-way operation in the tunnel was impractical. The canal company introduced one-way working, for which one end of the tunnel was closed by a locked chain to prevent access unless authorised. A similar arrangement remains in use.[14]

In 1846, the Huddersfield Narrow Canal was purchased by the Huddersfield & Manchester Railway. The canal tunnel was used during the construction of the first railway tunnel and no shafts were needed. The canal provided an easy means of removing the excavated spoil. When the railway tunnel was completed, several cross passages were retained.[14]

The last commercial boat passed through the tunnel in 1921 and the canal was closed to traffic in 1944 when maintenance ended and the tunnel fell into a state of disrepair. The last boat to pass through the tunnel before its restoration was the Rolt/Aickman expedition in the Ailsa Craig in 1948.[14] Writing in 1948, L. T. C. Rolt described the journey as taking two hours, during which the speed was kept very low to avoid damage to the boat.[16]

The canal had become obstructed in several places on both sides of the Pennines and the tunnel, which had become unsafe, was closed by large iron gates at each end. A local newspaper described a trip organised by the Railway and Canal Historical Society during 1961, which was held to commemorate 150 years since the canal's opening. The expedition used a single narrowboat, which departed Marsden around 11 a.m. and emerged from the Diggle portal around 1 p.m.[17]

The canal and tunnel benefitted from a £5 million restoration project to re-open the canal. Several rock-lined parts of the tunnel were stabilised by rock bolts where possible and concrete was used to stabilise the rock face where this was impractical. In May 2001, the tunnel was re-opened to traffic.[14] Most modern canal boats are diesel-powered and it was considered unsafe for boaters to navigate the tunnel using diesel power because of its length and the lack of ventilation, so electric tug boats haul the narrowboats through.[18] Since the 2009 season, boats have been allowed to travel through the tunnel under their own power with an experienced chaperone on board to guide its passage, followed by a service vehicle through one of the parallel disused railway tunnels.[19]