Very interesting article here, sorry if you've seen it before
"Up until the early 1960s, when carrying on the canal ceased, Accrington had to rely upon the wharves at Enfield and Church for its canal service. The former, opened in 1801, was built near to the junction of two turnpike roads which enabled goods to be carried to and from Bury and Clitheroe besides serving Accrington. The warehouses still stand partly derelict. Several factories were served by the canal at Enfield; of particular note are Royal Mill, the last to be built in Clayton, which opened in 1912, and Enfield Corn Mill, used for many years by Joseph Appleby, who had his own fleet of boats carrying grain on the canal. This mill was subsequently occupied by the East Lancashire Soap Company who used the canal for shipping their famous floating soap. Presumably, it must have been carried by boat!
The history of the canal at Church is, perhaps, more interesting. The turnpike from Blackburn to Accrington was opened after the canal and the canal embankment across Tinker Brook was enlarged to carry the road as well. The first canalside warehouse was opened in 1836, a few years afterwards. This was built by the Hargreaves brothers of Broad Oak. A proper wharf was erected seven years later, the canal company draining the canal for just twenty four hours to allow the foundations to be built. The canal company later took over the warehouse, enlarging and improving the facilities in 1890. It probably ceased to be used by the canal company around 1921, and today is in a derelict condition, despite being listed."
Accrington