Douglas Navigation
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Douglas Navigation is a canalised section of the River Douglas or Asland, in Lancashire, England, running from the Douglas' confluence with the River Ribble to Wigan.
In 1712, Thomas Steers surveyed the Douglas and recommended that it be made accessible to ships, enabling the transport of coal from the coalfields around Wigan down to the Ribble. The canalisation was authorised by Parliament in 1720, though it was not opened until 1742.
The working life of the Douglas Navigation was short lived, however, with all trade lost to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, to which the Douglas is joined at Tarleton, by 1801.