Retaining Walls to Canal from Lock Number 1 to Bridge 226 Including 2 Graving Docks

Retaining walls and graving docks to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, dating to the late 18th and 19th centuries. This section of the canal, built between 1770 and 1777, runs from Lock Number 1 to Bridge 226. A western graving dock was constructed by 1815, a Leeds and Liverpool Dock by 1831, and a northern graving dock likely around 1816. The northern end of the Leeds and Liverpool Dock was blocked around 1989. The retaining walls are constructed of squared gritstone blocks. The canal section is approximately 100 meters long. The Leeds and Liverpool Dock projects to the north and measures approximately 20 meters; it formerly extended and linked to the River Aire around 1868. The two graving, or repair, docks to the east end of the canal’s north side have stepped sides. The western dock was waterlogged at the time of the review, while the eastern dock was empty, with paddle and sluice mechanisms visible at the north end to facilitate drainage. Cradles for supporting boats during dry dock repairs are also present. The Leeds and Liverpool Canal, built between 1770 and 1816, significantly impacted transportation, facilitating the movement of textiles, stone, limestone, and coal and contributing to Leeds’ expansion as an industrial center.