What is Sankey Canal?
The Sankey Canal in North West England used to be an industrial canal. It was called the Sankey Brook Navigation and later the St Helens Canal. Sankey Canal opened in 1757. It was the first modern canal. Earlier canals were all to make river [[navigation]] possible. The [[Act of Parliament]] passed in 1757 was to make Sankey Brook navigable. But the brook was too shallow and twisting to be of practical use, so they constructed a completely separate canal alongside the brook.<ref>{{Cite web|title=History of the Sankey or St Helens Canal|url=http://www.penninewaterways.co.uk/sankey/sa2.htm|access-date=2023-03-31|website=www.penninewaterways.co.uk}}</ref> It connected [[St Helens, Merseyside|St Helens]] to the [[River Mersey]] at Spike Island in [[Widnes]]. It closed in 1963, but much of it has been restored. Fixed bridges which have replaced the original wooden swing bridges and other blocks separate the sections from one another.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sankey (St.Helens) Canal {{!}} Canal & River Trust|url=https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/enjoy-the-waterways/canal-and-river-network/sankey-sthelens-canal|access-date=2023-03-30|website=canalrivertrust.org.uk|language=en}}</ref> ==References== {{reflist}} [[Category:Canals in England]] [[Category:Buildings and structures in Cheshire]] [[Category:1757 establishments]] [[Category:18th-century buildings and structures]]