The Barnsley Canal opened between Heath and the Barnsley Basin in 1799. The remaining section connecting Barnsley to Barnby opened in 1802. Walter Spencer-Stanhope of Cannon Hall was the principal investor in the project. He owned coal rich lands around Silkstone and Cawthorne which required a good transport route to make profitable. (Glister 1996, 215-6). The canal also transported limestone to the Cawthorne area where numerous kilns produced lime (Lewis 1848). The canal suffered from a lack of trade early on as the Barnby Colliery closed in 1807 but traffic improved on the opening of the Silkstone tram road in 1810. Competition with newly built railways caused problems for the canal from the mid 19th century onwards. This, coupled with subsidence and breaching problems, led to the closure of the canal in 1953. (Barnsley, Dearne and Dove Canals Trust 2007). The basin and reservoir had been filled in and the new houses built by 1965. There is fragmentary legibility of the canal site as canal workers cottages survive.