A canal across the Pennines linking Liverpool and Hull (by means of the Aire and Calder Navigation) would have obvious trade benefits.

The Liverpool committee was unhappy with the route originally proposed, following the Ribble valley through Preston, considering that it ran too far to the north, missing key towns and the Wigan coalfield.

James Brindley was called in to arbitrate, and ruled in favour of Longbotham's more northerly route, though with a branch towards Wigan, a decision which caused some of the Lancashire backers to withdraw their support, and which was subsequently amended over the course of development.

In 1768 Brindley gave a detailed estimate of a distance just less than 109 miles (175 km) built at a cost of £259,777 (equivalent to about £32.67 million as of 2014).

By the following year the Yorkshire end had been extended to Gargrave, and by 1777 the canal had joined the Aire and Calder Navigation in Leeds.

By now, the subscribed funds and further borrowing had all been spent, and work stopped in 1781 with the completion of the Rufford Branch from Burscough to the River Douglas at Tarleton.

3. c. 65), together with further fund-raising, and in 1791, construction of the canal finally recommenced south-westward from Gargrave,[4] heading toward Barrowford in Lancashire.

[6] In 1794 an agreement was reached with the Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal company to create a link near Red Moss near Horwich.

[7] The company's experiences running the two sections of the canal had shown that coal not limestone would be its main cargo,[1] and that there was plenty of income available from local trade between the settlements along the route.

The new route took the canal south via the expanding coal mines at Burnley,[8] Accrington and Blackburn, but would require some sizable earthworks to pass the former.

The completion in 1796 of the 1,640-yard-long (1,500-metre) Foulridge Tunnel and the flight of seven locks at Barrowford enabled the canal to open to eastern Burnley.

It would also require another 559 yards (511 m) tunnel nearby at Gannow and a sizeable cutting to allow the canal to traverse the hillside between the two.

High taxes and interest rates during this period made it difficult for the company to borrow money, and the pace of construction inevitably slowed.

In 1804 Samuel Fletcher also died and his brother Joseph and son James were jointly appointed to replace him and they were provided with Gannow House in Burnley.

[13] In 1805 they estimated the cost of linking Enfield to Red Moss would be £245,275 and £101,725 for the shorter continuation to Wigan (totalling about £27.36 million in 2014).

There was naturally a desire by the longer boats to reach Liverpool and the locks of the westerly end of the canal were extended to 72 feet (22 m) in 1822.

[16] In August 2010, a 60-mile stretch of the canal was closed due to the low reservoirs, following the driest start to the year since records began.

[19][20] Later that month, lock numbers 73 and 80 were among 142 sites across England to receive part of a £35-million grant from the government's Culture Recovery Fund.