Page:Rivers, Canals, Railways of Great Britain.djvu/36

14 River Don, a little above New Bridge; and for extending a branch from the same at Norton, to Doncaster, which threatened serious injury to the trade upon the lower part of the Aire and Calder Navigation: but the hopes of the projectors were totally annihilated, by the undertakers of the Aire and Calder Navigation applying, in the year 1819, to parliament, for an act, to enable them to cut a canal from Knottingley to Goole, (now called the Goole Canal), but in consequence of the king's death, it was not obtained till the middle of June, 1820, as appears from its title,  'An Act to enable the Undertakers of the Navigation of the Rivers Aire and Calder in the West Riding of the county of York, to make a navigable Cut or Canal from and out of the said Navigation at Knottingley, to communicate with the River Ouze, near Goole, with two collateral Branches, all in the said Riding, and to amend the Acts relating to the said Navigation.'  This canal, projected by that eminent engineer, the late Mr. Rennie, and surveyed, laid down, and executed, by Mr. G. Leather, was opened in July, 1826. At first it commenced at the Knottingley Cut, but was subsequently extended to Ferrybridge, from which town it passes through Knottingley, crossing the high road to Snaith, no less than three times in the short distance of three quarters of a mile. It is carried across the road in a very oblique direction, and some of the bridges exhibit that novel style of architecture (designed by Mr. G. Leather, the undertakers' engineer), popularly termed a skew-bridge. From the canal, at the end of the village of Knottingley, there is a short branch-cut to Bank Dole, with a lock of 6½ feet fall into the river. The canal here takes a south easterly direction, passing Egborough and Heck, (at which place, the Heck and Wentbridge Railway communicates with it), and runs to the south of Snaith, near a place called New Bridge; thence running parallel to the River Dun, or Dutch River, until it reaches its termination at Goole, where it falls into the tideway of the River Ouse.

All the works of this canal (the principal part of which have been executed by Jolliffe and Banks, under the direction of the company's engineer, Mr. G. Leather), are admirably executed; equalled by few and excelled by none in the kingdom.

The original estimate made by Mr. Rennie, for this line of