The 18th Century Joining of the Forth & Clyde and Monkland Canals.

'The Cut of Junction' - the name given to a section of canal constructed to join the Forth & Clyde Canal and the Monkland Canal together. This new canal cut was probably built around 1794, but there remains a little uncertainty as to whether it was built separately or at the same time as other parts of the canal system. The first Statistical Account of Scotland for this area, for example, was published in 1794, and clearly states that at that time the Glasgow branch of the Forth & Clyde Canal terminated at the basin below Hamilton Hill, and that an extension was planned to Port Dundas, along with a further extension to join with the Monkland Canal. Certainly, a map dating to 1795 shows both canals joined. The actual Cut of Junction probably ran from Port Dundas - between an old basin and a new basin, all the way to a basin on the Monkland Canal close to Castle Street in Glasgow, and probably known as the Townhead Basin. Both canals were built in stages. The Forth & Clyde Canal, for example, was started in the 1760s and completed decades later in 1790. The Glasgow branch of it, from Stockingfield Junction, managed to reach the basin below Hamilton Hill in 1777, and was only extended to Port Dundas around 1794, at more or less the same time that the Cut of Junction was created. The Monkland Canal was created at a similar time, with work starting around 1770 and finishing at the Townhead Basin around 1794, when both canals were joined. Following initial confusion on my part during a previous video that looked at Pinkston Power Station, I felt compelled to look into the Cut of Junction further. While there remains some uncertainty with regard to dates and timings, I feel fairly confident in saying that both the Spiers Wharf extension from the Old Basin at Hamilton Hill towards Port Dundas, and the Cut of Junction, were built in 1793/94, and that if not taking place at the same time there was just a few months between their completion.