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History of the Huddersfield Broad Canal
The three-mile Huddersfield Broad Canal linked the Huddersfield Narrow Canal in the centre of Huddersfield with the Calder & Hebble Navigation at Cooper Bridge. Originally known as the Cooper Canal, it was later called Sir John Ramsden's Canal after the major landowner, before becoming known as the Broad Canal to distinguish it from the Narrow Canal. It served the developing textile industry, bringing in coal and raw materials and shipping out manufactured textiles.
Unlike the Huddersfield Narrow, the Broad Canal was never abandoned. However, it saw little use for 50 years until the Narrow was reopened in 2001, when the Broad Canal became part of a through-route once again.
