Survey Data
Reg No
41401016
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Historical, Technical
Original Use
Canal (section of)
Date
1835 - 1845
Coordinates
271618, 335625
Date Recorded
19/03/2012
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Section of Ulster Canal, built c.1840, now disused. Largely cut into earth, with shallow ramped sides and without any trace of lining along its length. Paired locks with ashlar limestone retaining walls, having curved walls to extremities, and single set of square-plan rebates for lock gates. One low lock to west of Tyholland School, stretch of canal to east of Tyholland School to higher lock having stepped canal cascade. Wrought-iron gate to Tyholland School from towpath to north of canal.
Appraisal
This group forms a section of the Ulster Canal, built between 1825 and 1841, and was 74km (46mi) long with 26 locks. The now disused canal ran through Armagh, Monaghan, Tyrone and Fermanagh, from Charlemont at Lough Neagh to Wattle Bridge at Lough Erne. The Ulster Canal was an ill-considered venture, with the locks built narrower than the other Irish waterways, preventing through-trade, and had an inadequate water supply. The canal fell into rapid decline from the mid-nineteenth century and was abandoned in 1931. The 11th lock would have given access to Tyholland School, as well as acting as a regulator for the water level of the canal. This stretch of locks and canal is of considerable historical and social significance as a reminder of canal network development in Ireland. It forms an attractive grouping in the landscape.