The Journey of Raw Cotton - Carlisle Ship Canal 1823 - 1853 - 22rd May, 2019

Carlisle Ship Canal by local historian and author David Ramshaw

 -

As part of tracing the journey of raw cotton to the Mills in Carlisle we today learned how cotton made its way from the port of Whitehaven into the centre of Carlisle.

Britain was developing fast - there was a high need for a cheap and reliable way to transfer raw and manufactured materials to and from the new factories and canal building was at its height.  Factories were being built in Carlisle to meet the demand replacing the hand loom weavers and more people were coming into Carlisle to work in the mills.  But Carlisle had poor transport links - goods were transported to and from Carlisle to the Solway ports by horse and cart along inadequate roads.  A river - the Eden connected Carlisle to the sea but was shallow, ships could get so far but ran aground. 

The local council looked at the possibility of building a canal from the Solway coast to Newcastle - money was raised by the sale of shares and it was decided a canal from Carlisle to the Solway Firth be built at first.

An  Act of Parliament was gained and in 1819 work started - 300 men (navvies) with spades -  dug and constructed the canal - 11 and a half miles long - 16.5 metres wide and 2.6 metres deep. From Port Carlisle the land was level for 5 miles until Burgh by Sands then went uphill to Carlisle.  8 locks - 5.5 metres wide x 24 metres long were built.

Where the canal crossed roads, drawbridges were built similar to those on the Forth & Clyde were built.

In 1823 the Canal was officially opened from the basin - 18 to 20 thousand people attended - Carlisle's population then was about 15,000.  The basin was situated behind Carrs biscuit factory, what is now McVitties.

The local paper 'The Carlisle Patriot' said people could not believe their eyes that sea going ships had sailed into Carlisle.

 In addition to Whitehaven, ships came from other ports bringing merchandise from all over the world such as timber, coal and of course raw cotton.  Coal was half the price as when it was carried by horse and cart, goods manufactured in Carlisle were exported along the Canal.

However in 1814 George Stephenson had built the first steam engine – this could haul 30 tons of coal at 4 mph walking pace uphill. In 1825 he created the first public railway for steam engines.
So not surprisingly a railway – one of the first – was proposed in 1825 to link Newcastle and Carlisle ending any hope of a canal being built to Newcastle.


The development of the railways was embraced as this increased the trade coming through the Canal – a passenger boat service began- a special jetty was built at Port Carlisle and a Hotel built there. People used the canal to go to the coast for the day and it was also used for people emigrating to other countries.

In 1832 a new County Hospital (now Cumberland Infirmary) was built close to the Canal Basin - the building materials were transported along the Canal - in particular the large stone columns of Yorkshire stone came from Leeds and were transported by canal.

 
However by 1845 the railways continued to develop and took trade away from the Canal – they thought about filling in the Canal and turning it into a railway and in 1853 the Canal closed and opened a year later as a railway.

Four horse drawn ‘Dandy’ cars were built by North British Railway – these were used for freight until 1899 – passenger service continued until 1914 replaced by steam then line closed in 1932.

 

The Canal had a very short life compared to other canals - many in other towns and cities being still in use today and it was closed in 1853 and filled in.  It is amazing that seagoing ships sailed into Carlisle and sadly little evidence remains of this in Carlisle- other than a few names hinting at the past - Port Road, Canal Road, Jovial Sailor.

Little remains at Port Carlisle also to remind us of this lost industrial heritage - the lock to the entrance of the holding basin can be seen - where ships would wait for the tide to change.

holding lock - all overgrown now sadly

Dock at Port Carlisle now

A small area of the dock still remains however a plaque has now been installed opposite two year ago explaining the area's connection to the industrial heritage of Carlisle and for those who walk the Hadrian's Wall path that goes alongside.

 Part of our local industrial heritage that should not be forgotten.