East portal of Hincaster Tunnel. Northern Reach of the Lancaster to Kendal canal. Hincaster, Cumbria, England, United Kingdom.

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Hincaster Tunnel is The Hincaster Tunnel was built between 1816-1817 and is 378 yards long and 146 feet above sea-level. The working water level was 76 feet below the hill summit. The engineer was Thomas Fletcher and the builder was William Crosley. The portals, the first ten yards of the interior at each end and all of the underwater parts are of limestone; the rest is lined with bricks, approximately 4 million, all made locally at Heversham. The Tunnel was the first major brick-built civil engineering project North of the River Mersey. Boats were pulled through the Tunnel by means of a chain or rope fixed to the South wall (fixing rings can still be seen), or legged through by boat men. Lacking a towpath, the horses were led over the hill on the horesepath. The Tunnel was last used commercial traffic in 1944. The Tunnel is a scheduled Ancient Monument.

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Size: 4180px × 2780px
Location: Hincaster Tunnel. Northern Reach, Lancaster to Kendal canal. Hincaster, Cumbria, England,
Photo credit: © Stan Pritchard / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: ancient, canal, crosley, fletcher, hincaster, kendal, lancaster, monument, portal, thomas, tunnel, william