The Lagan Canal, known as the Lagan Navigation was built before the development of rail and road to transport goods between Belfast and Lough Neagh and all points in between.
Boats on the canal carried grain, sand, linen, timber, potatoes and coal. Coal was first brought across the lough from the Coalisland area.
Local produce could be carried to Belfast for sale or to be shipped further afield and essential supplies brought from Belfast to all areas around the canal and Lough Neagh.
The Lagan Canal also provided a transport link via Lough Neagh with the Ulster Canal and onto the Shannon Erne Waterway facilitating transport to and from counties Tyrone onto Longford and ultimately linking with the Grand Canal which ran between Dublin and Limerick. The Newry Canal provided a transport link from Lough Neagh to Newry in County Armagh.
The canal has a total length of 27 miles( 44km.) and has 27 locks. It is made up of two distinct sections — 6 miles (10km.) of river (Lagan) and 21 miles (34km.) canal.
The prospect of linking Lough Neagh to the eastern seaboard was first considered in 1649 in a survey ordered by Colonel Monk of the Cromwellian army; but a century passed before any further progress was made.
In 1741 Arthur Dobbs, the Surveyor General, surveyed the route again and by 1753 a petition was presented to the Irish House of Commons supporting the construction of the canal so that Belfast could compete with Newry as a port.
Work commenced in 1756 when the Commissioners of Inland Navigation appointed engineer Thomas Omer to supervise the scheme.
Initial expenses were about £60,000 – of which £16,000 was contributed by the Irish Parliament, £10,000 lent by the Marquess of Donegall and others, and the remainder raised by taxes on alcohol across the local district.
The initial section, opened in 1763, followed the existing river to Lisburn, with an additional section to Sprucefield and the Union Locks completed by 1768.
Work then stalled due to difficulties with both planning and funding the project; until, in 1779, the 'Company of Undertakers of the Lagan Navigation' was formed. The Marquess of Donegall was the chief contributor to, and shareholder in, this company.
In June 1782, Richard Owen agreed to oversee the project for four years. Progress was much slower than expected - but the canal reached Aghalee in March 1792, ten years after Owen began work.
Initially, goods were transferred by road between the canal and the lough-shore, but the final connection to Ellis’ Gut was eventually completed by December 1793.
The canal was officially opened by the Marquess of Donegall on 1 January 1794. He had funded most of the £62,000 cost himself.
The Belfast Newsletter reported – ‘the Commissioners breakfasted at the home of Richard Owen in Moira, then travelled to Lough Neagh by boat, embarking at ten o'clock from the aqueduct. They were met with a celebratory “charge of guns" from a boat previously placed at "Friars Glynn." It was reported that thousands had turned out and that "refreshments of drink" were copiously distributed.'
The aqueduct had cost £3,000 and taken 3 years to build, so it was a point of pride on the route.
People who laboured to dig and build the navigation were known as Navies.
Barges, known as lighters, were grey horse-drawn boats (unlike the brightly painted English boats) which could carry up to 78 tons of cargo and took on average 2 days to travel the 27 miles although this could be considerably longer, even up to two weeks, if water levels were low and barges had to wait for water levels to rise sufficiently.
Bargees (or lightermen), handled and lived on the barges with their families. Generations of children grew up on barges.
Haulers controlled the horses and sub-contracted to others for the pulling of the barges. Haulers cared well for their horses. Local families of haulers included Laverys, Creaneys, McVeighs and Mulhollands. Many of their relatives and descendants live in the locality.
Initially, the canal was beset by many problems – by the time the final section was completed, the lower section was described as being in ‘an extremely ruinous state’.
Floods in winter and low water levels in summer could leave the canal unnavigable for three months of the year. Maintaining the correct water levels was an on-going problem.
It was said that at times, ‘the passage of boats was so tedious and uncertain as to render the Navigation of little public utility.’
Matters improved greatly with substantial investment from the merchants of Belfast from 1800 and two decades later it was recorded that ‘the passage is so regular that this Navigation now enjoys public confidence, and the trade is rapidly increasing’.
Trade continued to improve with the establishment of The Lagan Navigation Company in 1842; in the latter half of C19th The Lagan Canal was one of the most successful commercial navigations in Ireland, with over 153,000 tons of cargo transported in 1893.
The Broadwater is almost unique in canal building. It was a natural depression which was enlarged and dredged to form a section of the canal.
This lake served to provide a passing place and parking area for barges waiting for the water level to rise.
Canals are normally kept filled by nearby rivers as is the section of the Lagan Canal from Lisburn to Belfast. The River Lagan does not pass near to the section of canal between Lough Neagh and beyond Moira.
The problem of maintaining the correct water level in the canal was resolved by the Lagan Navigation Company about 1884, with the erection of a pumping station near Aghagallon. Water was pumped from Ellis’ Gut in Lough Neagh up to the Broadwater – a distance of 3.3 miles and a rise of 73 feet.
The Broadwater, at the summit of the canal, thus became a balancing lake - from which the water could be re-directed in either direction along the canal, as needed to maintain the correct water levels.
The pumphouse seems to have fallen into disuse from 1911 – and a few years later was dismantled and demolished. Its excavated remains indicate that it was of brick construction, probably built to a 50ft x 20ft platform.
Building of railways in Ireland began in the 1830s mainly for passenger transport but by the 1930's railways were carrying much freight and this caused the eventual demise of canal use although the Lagan Canal did enjoy an increase in transport during World War 2.
In 1888 the Lagan Navigation Company had taken over the Ulster Canal and Tyrone Navigation although this was to prove a drain on resources.
In 1954 the Inland Navigation Act NI dissolved the Lagan Navigation Company and the section from Lough Neagh to Union Locks in Lisburn was abandoned.
In 1958 the ministry announced the closure of the Navigation between Lisburn and Stranmillis.
Miss Jean Weir lived until recently in the lock-keeper’s cottage at the western end of the Broadwater. However, it has since fallen into disrepair.
The Lagan Navigation Trust is now working to raise funds to fully restore the canal to its original condition with clean water, working lock gates and sluices, to be used for water sports and create a beautiful recreation facility with a fascinating historical link to an earlier and slower way of life.
The canal and towpath today provide a wonderful and scenic recreation area rich in wildlife. The towpath is maintained by the relevant councils and provides a beautiful walking and cycling path and is a wonderful corridor for wildlife.
Richard Owen, an engineer from Flixton, Manchester, oversaw the building of the section of Lagan Navigation between Lisburn and Lough Neagh.
He was a pupil of James Brindley - a revered pioneer of the Industrial Revolution and worked under Brindley on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal for ten years before agreeing to oversee the Lagan Navigation project for four years from 1782. The project extended to 10 years, but under Owen’s direction and management the section between Union Docks and Ellis’s Gut was eventually completed in 1793.
Owen continued to reside in Moira until his death in January 1830, in his 87th year.
His obituary stated - "he was eminent and incorruptible as an engineer, a good neighbour - a sincere friend - a kind relation, and an affectionate husband."
Richard Owen is buried in Holy Trinity Church graveyard, over-looking his beloved canal.
His head stone reads: 'Here lieth the body of Richard Owen of Flixton in Lancashire who departed this life January 13th 1830 Engineer of The Lagan Navigation'
It is thought that he asked to be buried in a standing position to continue overlooking the Broadwater. His horizontal gravestone is raised on stone pillars - creating windows through which he could enjoy the view (at least, until it was obstructed by the building of the church hall in 1984!).
