The Lagan Navigation
Main photo comprises of Union Locks at the back of Navigation House - Access from the house to the towpath was originally via steps (c.1930s).
The Lagan Navigation comprises of the River Lagan and man-made structures, such as canals and locks, which enabled commercial navigation along the 27 miles (43kms) of waterway between Belfast Lough and Lough Neagh from the late-18th to the mid-20th century. From Belfast to Union Locks, this waterway was mostly via the River Lagan and from Union Locks to Lough Neagh it was mostly via canal.
On reaching Lough Neagh, goods could then be transported onwards to ports and cities across Ireland via a network of other canal and river navigations. The first stretch of the Lagan Navigation, from Belfast to Lisburn was opened in 1763 and the final section between Lisburn and Lough Neagh was completed 30 years later in 1793.
Flat bottomed barges, known as ‘lighters’ were used to transport goods up and down the waterway. These lighters were originally towed by horses and could transport up to 80 tonnes of goods. The path running alongside the river and canal network is still known as the ‘towpath’ today.
The Lagan Navigation was one of the most successful commercial navigations in Ireland.
Navigation House
Built in 1866, Navigation House was central to the whole of the Lagan Navigation, acting as both the office of the Navigation Manager as well as home to his family.
In the 1800s it took around 14 hours for a loaded, horse-drawn lighter (barge) to go from Belfast to Lisburn. The ‘lightermen’ would stop at Navigation House to feed and rest their horses and to receive instructions from the manager for their onward journey, which from that point was largely along canals rather than the river. Lightermen lived on the barges with their families and generations of children grew up on barges.
What is a lock?
Locks are used to raise or lower boats from one water level to another along a river or canal. There are 27 locks along the approximately 27 miles (43kms) of the Lagan Navigation. These locks represent one of the region’s best industrial heritage assets.
A flight of locks consists of a number of locks one after another. Here, at Union Locks on the Lagan Navigation, is the only flight of four locks in the Irish waterway network.
Photos include:
- Jane Mullan and her husband Atty, a lighterman, lived on their lighter ‘Shamrock’ (c.1920s).
- Commercial Transport - The ‘Eva of Hilden’ near Drum Bridge being drawn by a horse and its hauler, Ned Hanna (c.1920s).
- Lock 3 (McLeave’s Lock) filled with water, ready for a boat coming downstream (1924).