Monkland Canal. The Monkland Canal was a 12¼ mile (19.6 km) canal, designed to bring coal from the mining areas of Monklands to Glasgow in Scotland. In the course of a long and difficult construction process, it was opened progressively as short sections were completed, from 1771. It reached Gartcraig in 1782, and in 1794 it reached its full originally planned extent, from pits at Calderbank to a basin at Townhead in Glasgow; at first this was in two sections with a 96 feet (29 m) vertical interval between them at Blackhill; coal was unloaded and carted to the lower section and loaded onto a fresh barge. Locks were later constructed linking the two sections, and the canal was also connected to the Forth and Clyde Canal, giving additional business potential. Maintaining an adequate water supply was a problem, and later an inclined plane was built at Blackhill, in which barges were let down and hauled up, floating in caissons that ran on rails. Route[edit] Route of the canal Boats[edit] History[edit]
Overview of Monkland Canal. The Monkland Canal once ran for 12 miles (19 km) from Woodhall to Glasgow having been developed to serve the coal mines of North Lanarkshire. The Glasgow terminus was at the Monkland basin, close to Glasgow Cathedral. From there it linked was Port Dundas with the Glasgow branch of the Forth and Clyde Canal. Work began under the direction of engineer James Watt (1736 - 1819) in 1770 and the canal opened in 1793 having cost £120,000.
In the first half of the 19th Century the Monkland Canal was the most profitable in Scotland and had a strategic role in the industrial development of Glasgow. Between 1850 and 1887, barges were raised and lowered along a steam-driven inclined plane at Blackhill. The Monkland Canal merged with the Forth & Clyde in 1867, when the Caledonian Railway Company took over both waterways. The canal continued only to supply water to the Forth and Clyde and successive sections of the canal were filled in through until the 1960s. Scottish Canals: Destinations for leisure, sport & investment. A perfect place for family walks! Gentle stroll, regular power walking or long-distance run. The Monkland canal is a great place to stay active or up the pace for a bit of serious exercise. Along the way you are sure to spot some amazing wildlife! Gracious swansGentle stroll, regular power walking or long-distance run. The Monkland canal is a great place to stay active or up the pace for a bit of serious exercise.
Along the way you are sure to spot some amazing wildlife! Moore hens than you can shake a stick at! Brilliant Summer (lee) events! Our vital source The Monkland Canal is no longer available for navigation but is still a vital part of Scotland's canal system. Categories: Canal Features, Things to Do & Places to Visit, Places to Eat and Drink, Events, Routes. Monkland Canal. Glasgow from Monkland Canal. A section of the Monkland canal (right) and the Town's Mill Road (left) from Millburn Bridge to the east, as they would have appeared in the early 19th century.
The Knox Monument, the Cathedral's steeple and Glasgow Royal Infirmary can be seen in the distance, left. The Monkland Canal was opened from the Sheepford in the Monklands to Riddrie in 1773, and extended to Blackhill (with a connected basin in Castle Street) 1782-1793. Surveyed and engineered by James Watt of steam engine fame, it was over 12 miles long.
It was intended primarily as a coal canal, bringing cargoes into the city from the Monkland coal fields. Reference: Mitchell Library GC 914.14353 FAI Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow City Council, Libraries Information and Learning Return to top. Monkland Canal Information. The Monkland Canal It may not be as large and impressive as the Forth and Clyde, or as technically innovative as the Union, but the Monkland Canal was actually the only really successful Scottish canal. Unfortunately, most of it is now gone, filled in beneath the M8 motorway. But two of the original sections still remain, one at Drumpelier Country Park, the other to the south of Airdrie. Recently, some restoration work has been carried out. A culvert on the Drumpelier section has been removed and a replica of the original bridge put back instead, allowing this short section to be used.
A section of canal in the centre of Coatbridge, once filled in under a footpath, has been recreated, and with fountains, it forms an attractive feature. Re-instated section of Monkland Canal in Coatbridge Re-instated section of the Monkland Canal at Summerlee Heritage Centre Click here to view more photos of the Monkland Canal For a brief history of the canal, click here to the main canal page. Monkland Canal - Urban Glasgow. Monkland CanalProgress only really came in the late 1780’s when Andrew Stirling, a Monklands landowner and entrepreneur, took control of the Canal. He struck a deal with Forth and Clyde Navigation to join the two canals together in Glasgow and to extend the Monkland Canal eastwards to North Calder Water and Calderbank.
The Glasgow terminus was at the Monkland basin, close to Glasgow Cathedral. From there it linked was Port Dundas with the Glasgow branch of the Forth and Clyde Canal. In the 1790’s the Canal was extended eastwards, a set of locks was built and it was one of only two lock systems on the whole of the Canal. Sheepford Locks were built as part of the extension to Calderbank. The Monkland Canal took around 24 years to complete and cost £120,000.
Profit In the first half of the 19th Century the Monkland Canal was the most profitable in Scotland and had a strategic role in the industrial development of Glasgow. Route. North Lanarkshire Council : Monkland canal walk and cycle route. This trail starts at Summerlee Museum of Scottish Industrial Life in Coatbridge. A leading 4-star visitor attraction with free admission. Summerlee Museum of Scottish Industrial Life to Drumpellier Country Park (4km) and Bargeddie Gradient - minimal By Car : Parking available at both venues. By Rail : Alight at Coatbridge Sunnyside or Coatbridge Central rail stations From the main gates head south along Heritage Way to West Canal Street, turn left for a few metres, cross West Canal Street with care, then and descend stairs and a ramp to canal basin. Formerly known as the muttonhole, this area is unique in that the Gartsherrie Burn passes under the Monklands Canal, which in turn is crossed by a road-bridge, spanned by a rail-bridge.
From here you will be following the line of the Monkland canal westwards as far as Drumpellier Home Farm. Before passing below Merrystone Bridge you can observe the original gas lighting standards mounted on the sandstone parapets of the bridge. Monklands Memories- Monkland Canal. Formerly with NLC as North Calder Heritage Trail Officer In the late eighteenth century in Britain, canal fever was in the air. City magnates and tobacco barons in Glasgow decided to build a canal to the extensive coalfields of Monklands and bring much needed cheap coal to the city. James Watt, the famous engineer and inventor, was commissioned to build the Canal. Work began at Sheepford, Coatbridge, in 1770 but after a couple of years money ran out and the whole project was nearly abandoned.
Progress only really came in the late 1780’s when Andrew Stirling, a Monklands landowner and entrepreneur, took control of the Canal. He struck a deal with Forth and Clyde Navigation to join the two canals together in Glasgow and to extend the Monkland Canal eastwards to North Calder Water and Calderbank. The photograph below shows the area known as Sheepford where the construction of the Monkland Canal began in 1770. Sheepford Locks At the top of the picture is the Lock Street Railway Viaduct. Shettleston - East End Glasgow History. The Monkland Canal was created out of a need to convey coal easily and cheaply from collieries outwith Glasgow, and in 1769 Glasgow Town Council discussed plans for "communication with some distant collieries by water.
" James Watt was commissioned to survey a suitable route from Monkland collieries to the city. 88) Monkland Canal - about 1905. Towpath with horse pulling barge, looking eastward to Milncroft. Early in 1770 a scheme was agreed on, a subscription list opened , and by April 1770 the Monkland Canal Act was passed which empowered the proprietors "to make a cut or canal of three feet depths of water from the Monkland Collieries of north Lanark beginning at a place called Sheep Ford in the parish of Old Monkland, passing by or near the house of Drumpellier, by or near Wellhouse Bleachfield to or near the City of Glasgow.
" 89) Monkland Canal - Queenslie Bridge - about 1960. Work on the canal then ceased for a period, mainly due to lack of capital. 94) The Grange - about 1914.