Site Event/Activity record ECH4013 - A Historical and Architectual Assesment of Bridgewater House and Canal, Runcorn

An assessment, prepared in support of a planning application for the redevelopment of Bridgewater House and adjoining land, which contains the remains of the terminal tidal locks of the Bridgewater Canal, considers the historical and architectural significance of the two historic structures, which are both Grade II Listed buildings. It established that both the house and the remains of the canal are of considerable historical significance as the temporary residence built for the owner, the 3rd Duke of Bridgewater, and his principal engineers, James Brindley and John Gilbert, who between them, as 'The Canal Trio', were responsible for the construction of what is usually regarded as the first true commercial canal in the country, as opposed to a Navigation, and the forerunner and model for many others of the canal era, which did much to generate and support the Industrial Revolution. The assessment suggested that both the house and the remains of the two tidal locks marking the seaward terminal of the Bridgewater Canal should be retained and respected in the proposed redevelopment of the site.