River Douglas from Scot Lane Bridge
This picture, taken from Scot Lane Bridge, shows an unaturally straight stretch of the River Douglas. This was probably the site of Ell Meadow lock. "Ell Meadow” may be so named because it was once shaped like a letter “L”. Another possibility is that the name is derived from “Elbow Meadow” as the River Douglas once took a sharp turn here. It was later straightened, possibly when the Navigation was constructed.
The site of the old lock is not to be confused with present day "Ell Meadow" lock, which is situated on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal only a few yards away.
Monday 29th June, 2009
The Construction of the Douglas Navigation
The construction of the Douglas Navigation was a huge undertaking. It was to stretch from the bottom of Miry Lane in Wigan to the River Ribble near Tarleton, from where the goods (mostly coal) could be transferred to larger boats and taken around the coast to Liverpool and other more distant destinations.
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