Opened in 1760 the Bridgewater Canal first linked Worsley in Lancashire to the growing industrial towns of nearby Salford and then Manchester in the east. It was soon extended westwards towards the port of Liverpool via Runcorn. Finally, by 1800 a branch had been built to Leigh near Wigan (to the north-east of Liverpool).
Why was the Bridgewater Canal built? Like the Sankey Brook Navigation the Bridgewater Canal was built to carry coal. In this case coals from the mines at Worsley belonging to Francis Egerton, the 3rd Duke of Bridgewater. Construction work began soon after parliamentary approval was granted in March 1759. Water drained from the Duke’s mines was used as a source of water for the canal. A second Act in 1760 approved the canal’s extension to Manchester and a third Act in 1762 allowed its extension to the River Mersey at Runcorn.
Plan of the Bridgewater Canal's route