THERE is a big argument about the Bridgewater Canal's place in the history of inland navigation.

It was hailed as the first "true" canal in Britain, but in fact it was pre-dated by the Sankey Navigation just a few miles away to the west.

The Sankey ran originally from the Mersey at Sankey Bridges, just below Warrington, to St Helens, and Henry Berry, Liverpool's second dock engineer, began its construction on September 5th 1755 - nearly four years before the first turf was cut on the Bridgewater.

At the time, the Sankey was not considered a true canal because, to simplify the passage of its authorising bill through parliament, its builders described it as a canalised river, claiming they planned to widen and deepen the adjacent Sankey Brook.

However, this was nothing more than a ploy - the canal was a completely separate waterway throughout its length.

The Sankey, wide enough and deep enough to accommodate

the substantial Mersey Flats, carried coal from St Helens mines to the chemical works which were springing up along its course, notably at Widnes.

These works in turn provided the chemicals and dyes needed for the finishing of cotton goods.

There were several plans to connect the Sankey Navigation with the rest of Britain's inland waterway system.

One would have linked it to the Leeds-Liverpool Canal while another was to build an aqueduct over the Mersey to join the Sankey to the Bridgewater.

But although a five-mile extension was cut to give better access to the River Mersey at Widnes, the navigation remained isolated from all other artificial waterways throughout its days.

Today, while a few stretches of Britain's first real industrial 'cut' remain in water, much of it has been filled in - a prime example of bureaucratic vandalism.