Berwick Tunnel
Encyclopedia
Berwick Tunnel is a canal
tunnel
located on the Shrewsbury Canal
, Shropshire
, England
, UK.
At 970 yards long, it was the first tunnel to be constructed with a towpath
. This meant that boats did not need to be legged
through the tunnel.
Because the tunnel was not straight, it was not possible to see if someone had entered the tunnel from the other end. To overcome this, a byelaw was introduced which stated that whoever reached the centre first should continue, whilst the other boat would have to turn back.
Today the canal is disused, and the tunnel remains, though the ends have been bricked up.
Canal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
tunnel
Tunnel
A tunnel is an underground passageway, completely enclosed except for openings for egress, commonly at each end.A tunnel may be for foot or vehicular road traffic, for rail traffic, or for a canal. Some tunnels are aqueducts to supply water for consumption or for hydroelectric stations or are sewers...
located on the Shrewsbury Canal
Shrewsbury Canal
The Shrewsbury Canal was a canal in Shropshire, England. Authorised in 1793, the main line from Trench to Shrewsbury was fully open by 1797, but it remained isolated from the rest of the canal network until 1835, when the Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal built the Newport Branch from...
, Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, UK.
At 970 yards long, it was the first tunnel to be constructed with a towpath
Towpath
A towpath is a road or trail on the bank of a river, canal, or other inland waterway. The purpose of a towpath is to allow a land vehicle, beasts of burden, or a team of human pullers to tow a boat, often a barge...
. This meant that boats did not need to be legged
Legging (canals)
Legging is a method of moving a boat through a canal tunnel or adit containing water.-Legging in canal tunnels:Early canal tunnels were built without a towpath as this would require a much larger bore, and hence cost more to build. Prior to the introduction of motorised boats, legging was one of...
through the tunnel.
Because the tunnel was not straight, it was not possible to see if someone had entered the tunnel from the other end. To overcome this, a byelaw was introduced which stated that whoever reached the centre first should continue, whilst the other boat would have to turn back.
Today the canal is disused, and the tunnel remains, though the ends have been bricked up.