I rarely actually walk across Junction Bridge on the Leeds-Liverpool Canal, more often simply walking past along the towpath. When I walked down from Dock Lane and had to cross the bridge, it struck me how much more you can see from the bridge, although it's not really that high a structure.The top photo is looking east, away from Shipley, with the old Junction Mills and Dockfield Mills on the left and newish apartments, Amber Wharf, where a canal dock used to be years ago. I found some interesting old maps of the area on a blog HERE.
The black and white photo is Junction Bridge itself. The one below is looking south, where a stump - all that remains of the Bradford Branch Canal - forms a pool in front of the flats.
The photo below is looking west towards Shipley. You can just see the modernist clock tower in the town centre, in the distance. There are more boats along this stretch, Gallows Bridge permanent moorings, with the boatyard on the left.
Jenny, I have just spent a fascinating hour perusing your above photos and the attached Ordnance Survey maps. Can you see the aqueduct beneath the two boats bearing the L&L over Bradford Beck? I had no idea. The 1893 O.S.map clearly shows a large gasometer which stood on the new boatyard site. Presumably the coal to produce the gas would have been delivered by canal barge. On one point I must refute Steve Bottom. He asserts Margaret Thatcher "murdered" industry. In truth the run-down started after WWII long before the Scargill saga. I have myself seen textile looms being lifted bodily out of the mills for transport by sea to cheap labour India. That was a sad sight. C.F. Taylor desperately tried to retain vanishing markets by importing Pakistani labour. They lived in Baildon hostels, complained bitterly of the Yorkshire cold and their progeny, often speaking broad West Riding dialect are still with us today. They had moved up, and so perforce did I. Many Yorkshire workers took the ""ten pound POM" assisted passage to a new life in Australia.
ReplyDeleteI love these photos. I can imagine taking the same walk-the sounds and smells that would accompany it.
ReplyDeleteAnother lovely area to explore!
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing how pretty this post-industrial landscape now looks. What Peter says above is absolutely correct - I was a Geography student in the early seventies and we were learning about the decline of industry in those days. And I also remember joining a demo against "Maggie Thatcher, milk snatcher" so she was Sec of State for Education at that time.
ReplyDeleteTerrific shots!
ReplyDeleteMy attention was drawn towards the different ages of the things I could see in the photos, for instance the bricks on the bridge and the buildings on the left versus those on thr gith.
ReplyDeleteA well known Shipley boatman needed more water in the pound to bring up his deeply laden barge. He asked his friend from BW to raise the overflow cill at Field Lock. Next morning the BW man phoned up, "Is that OK?" "NO!" answered the barge man, "the towpath at Junction Bridge is completely under water!" "Sorry", relied the BW workman, "guess I over did it!"
ReplyDeleteHey there - Comment Ca Va! It's nice to love the place you live ain't it lass?
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