Lune Aqueduct
The Lune Aqueduct is a navigable aqueduct that carries the Lancaster Canal over the River Lune, on the east side of the City of Lancaster in Lancashire.
It is was completed in 1797 at a total cost of £48,320-18s-10d. It is a Grade I listed building. It is 640 ft long, with 5 masonry arches. Designed by John Rennie (the elder) with the help of Alexander Stevens, a worthy architect.
The aqueduct is a traditional structure of that time, consisting of five brick arches supporting the stone trough. Within the piers, special volcanic pozzolana powder was imported to be mixed with cement, which allowed the concrete to set under water. Because of the rush to finish the initial stages, before the winter floods, the construction was carried out around the clock and the final bill for the project was more than £30,000 over budget (2.6 times the original estimate). This vast overspend was the reason that the Lancaster canal was never joined to the main canal network – there wasn’t enough money for the planned aqueduct over the River Ribble at the southern end of the canal.
See Also
Sources of Information
- [1] Wikipedia
- Lancaster Aqueduct