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Take home a piece of Standedge Tunnel

7th Sep 2010

Standedge Tunnel & Visitor Centre will be giving away special pieces of tunnel rock to the first 100 people to travel into the canal tunnel on Sunday 12 September.

The free giveaway comes as part of England’s biggest and most popular voluntary cultural event – Heritage Open Day 2010.

Over 9,000 people have travelled through Standedge Tunnel so far during 2010, but in a first for the attraction, the individually wrapped pieces of tunnel rock will give visitors the opportunity to walk away with a very rare piece of one of the ‘Seven Wonders of the Waterways’.

Also, as a special heritage open day treat, those who come for Sunday’s 10:00am trip will be able to hop on board for free.

Organised by English Heritage, the mix of nationwide events celebrate England’s architecture and culture by allowing visitors free access to interesting properties that are either not usually open, or would normally charge an entrance fee.

Community event

James Dean, visitor services manager for Standedge Tunnel & Visitor Centre, said: “What better way of celebrating the importance of our heritage than giving away a rare piece of our famous tunnel to a lucky few.

"Standedge and Huddersfield’s canals are steeped in fascinating history so this is a great event to get the community to explore their local heritage. We’ve also got lots of other things happening including a classic car rally, interesting local history displays and our exciting boat trips to keep all the family entertained.”

As an extra special bonus, an original 150-year-old minute book, which was originally thrown out in the rubbish in the 1940s, will also be on public show for the very first time. The book relates to London & North West Railway Company’s ownership of the Huddersfield canals and gives a fascinating insight into life on the canal during the mid 19th Century.

Invaluable minute records

Commenting on the very first public display of the minute book, Judy Jones, heritage advisor for British Waterways North said: “The book contains invaluable minute records about the Huddersfield Narrow Canal when it was under ownership of the railways from 1855-1869.

"There are some fascinating entries in the book, including one where Standedge Tunnel was damaged from rock and shale from railway traffic in the adjoining tunnel in February 1856. We can learn so much about life on the canals from social documents like this, so we’re really pleased to be able to put the original on show for the public.”

As an added treat, Standedge will also be hosting a classic car rally courtesy of the Manchester group of the Standard Motor Club.

To further provide some heritage delights the Marsden Local History Group will also be putting up their display in the visitor centre and local artist Pat Osborne will be performing some narrowboat painting demonstrations throughout the day.

This special event will run from 10.00am - 4pm and the free bits of tunnel rock are only available on a first come first served basis on Sunday 12 September.

Last updated: 22/02/2011

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