Liskeard and Looe Union Canal
| Liskeard and Looe Union Canal | |
|---|---|
The remains of a lock on the defunct canal
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| Specifications | |
| Locks | 24 |
| Status | defunct |
| History | |
| Principal engineer | Robert Coad |
| Date of act | 1825 |
| Date completed | 1828 |
| Date closed | 1910 |
| Geography | |
| Start point | Liskeard |
| End point | Looe |
| Connects to | River Looe |
Coordinates: 50°23′46″N 4°28′23″W / 50.396°N 4.473°W The Liskeard and Looe Union Canal was a broad canal between Liskeard and Looe in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It was almost 6 miles (10 km) long and had 24 locks, and it opened progressively from 1827. The engineer was Robert Coad.
Its primary purpose originally was the carriage of sea sand and lime to improve the acid soil of agricultural lands, but when mineral deposits on Caradon Hill were exploited, it benefited considerably, carrying the mineral down to Looe Harbour. The trade increased so much that a railway—the Liskeard and Looe Railway—was built alongside its course by the Canal Company, and the canal itself gradually ceased to be navigable.
The canal started from a point on the tidal East Looe River just below Terras Bridge, about a mile (about 1.5 km) above Looe bridge. When the railway branch line was built, a bridge over the canal was made, and this bridge can still be seen, showing the alignment of the canal at its lower termination.
The canal ran broadly north, following closely the course of the river itself, for a distance of 5.9 miles (9.5 km), terminating at Moorswater, in the valley to the west of Liskeard. This involved a considerable climb, of 156 ft (48 m) over its length, and there were 24 locks. The canal ran on the east side of the River, except between a point below Plashford Bridge to near Landreast bridge, The present day railway branch line closely follows the route of the canal.
Moorswater was chosen as a feasible terminal because of its altitude—below Liskeard town—and proximity to the agricultural lands the canal was built to serve. Roads for onward transport were built, eastward to Liskeard itself and northward to Highwood.
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