IWA was represented at the unveiling by branch chair David Faulkner.
Transport Heritage
The construction of the flight of 23 locks in 1816 was a notable technical achievement raising the canal more than 200 feet in just two and a half miles. Its construction also marked the completion of the canal linking the cities of Leeds and Liverpool, a project that had started 46 years before.
The Red Wheel was installed adjacent to Henhurst Lock 86, a seven-minute walk along the canal eastwards from Trencherfield Mill or a 15 minute walk from Wigan’s two railway stations.
The nationwide Red Wheel scheme was launched in 2009 by the Transport Trust to commemorate Britain’s greatest transport heritage sites with emphasis on key locations of engineering and transport importance. They complement English Heritage’s Blue Plaque scheme.
[The photo shows the plaque unveiling on 8th June 2023 by Deputy Lord Lieutenant Melanie Bryan OBE and Canal & River Trust Chief Executive Richard Parry accompanied by the Transport Trust’s deputy chair Jerry Swift – by David Faulkner]
[The top photo shows short boat Sylvia in Wigan Top Lock No. 65, taken in 1965 – by Edmund Barstow]
