Bridgewater Canal
![](/Images/godic/202501/01/Worsley_packet_house_closeup_large_image4751.jpg")
![The Opening of the Bridgewater Canal A.D. 1761 by Ford Madox Brown, one of The Manchester Murals at Manchester Town Hall](/Images/godic/202501/01/BrownManchesterMuralBridgewater4751.jpg")
![Brindley's aqueduct, replaced late in the 19th century](/Images/godic/202501/01/Bridgewater_Canal_at_Barton_18914751.jpg")
![Bridgewater Foundry at Patricroft, 1839](/Images/godic/202501/01/Bridgewater_foundary4752.gif")
The Bridgewater Canal connects Runcorn, Manchester and Leigh, in North West England. It was commissioned by Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater, to transport coal from his mines in Worsley to Manchester. It was opened in 1761 from Worsley to Manchester, and later extended from Manchester to Runcorn, and then from Worsley to Leigh.