Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal
Encyclopedia
The Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal is a disused canal
in Greater Manchester
, England, built to link Bolton
and Bury
with Manchester
. The canal, when fully opened, was 15 miles 1 furlong
(24.3 km) long. It was accessed via a junction with the River Irwell
in Salford. Seventeen locks
were required to climb to the summit
as it passed through Pendleton
, heading northwest to Prestolee
before it split northwest to Bolton and northeast to Bury. Between Bolton and Bury the canal was on the same level and required no locks. Six aqueduct
s were built to allow the canal to cross the rivers Irwell and Tonge
, as well as various minor roads.
The canal was commissioned in 1791 by local landowners and businessmen and built between 1791 and 1808, during the Golden Age of canal building, at a cost of £127,700
(£ today). Originally designed for narrow gauge boats
, during its construction the canal was altered into a broad gauge
canal to allow an ultimately unrealised connection with the Leeds and Liverpool Canal
. The canal company later converted into a railway company and built a railway line close to the canal's path, which required modifications to the Salford arm of the canal.
Most of the freight carried was coal from local collieries
but, as the mines reached the end of their working lives sections of the canal fell into disuse and disrepair and it was officially abandoned in 1961. In 1987 a society was formed with the aim of restoring the canal for leisure use and, in 2006, restoration began in the area around the junction with the River Irwell in Salford. The canal is currently navigable as far as East Ordsall Lane, in Salford.
, which included steep sided valleys with fast flowing rivers subject to rapid flooding and dry seasons, meant that river transport in the area was confined to the Mersey and Irwell Navigation to the west of Manchester. A combination of factors, including financial unrest and British involvement in the American Revolutionary War
, meant that transport investment in Manchester was restricted mainly to road improvements.
With the arrival of more favourable conditions, including the end of the war, a proposal for a canal to link the towns of Manchester, Bolton and Bury was mooted. Matthew Fletcher had in 1789 been employed as a technical advisor and had surveyed the route of the proposed canal, but the first public notice came from Manchester on 4 September 1790. The initial proposal probably came from a group in Bolton, with the support of the Mersey and Irwell Navigation Company. A meeting was "intended to be holden at the House of Mr Shawe, the Bull's Head in Manchester aforesaid, on Monday, the twentieth day of this instant, September, at eleven o'clock in the forenoon", where "Surveys, Plans, Levels, Estimates and Proposals" would be presented. A further meeting on 16 September, held in Bolton, appointed a committee of six Boltonians chaired by Lord Grey de Wilton
to attend at Manchester. A series of resolutions at this meeting followed a discussion of the route, and authorised the necessary actions to bring the plan into fruition, which included the petitioning of Parliament
for the required bill
. Hugh Henshall
was asked to survey the proposed route of the canal.
For local industries along the route of the proposed canal, whose operations relied on water from local rivers and brooks which the canal might also use, its construction was a controversial idea. At a meeting in Bolton on 4 October 1790, it was resolved that "proper clauses be inserted in the bill to prevent injury to owners of mills
". A meeting in Bury at the Eagle & Child public house
on 29 September 1790 secured an agreement that "the utility of this scheme nevertheless cannot with propriety be ascertained until such time as it has been certified, from whence and in what proportion the proprietors of the intended navigation expect to draw their resources of water". At another meeting in Bury, on 13 October 1790, Hugh Henshall
gave a written report on the canal, and stated that his plan would not require water from the river in times of drought, but that floods and rivulets would supply his reservoirs. He suggested that mill owners could be protected by a suitable clause in the bill, and such a clause was duly obtained by Robert Peel
. Businesses in Bolton were concerned with the location of the canal terminus, and proposed the construction of a tunnel to allow the terminus to be built closer to the town centre. Ralph Fletcher, spokesman for those concerned, reported on this proposal to the committee, although no tunnel was built.
In a document entitled "A list of subscribers to the intended Bolton Bury and Manchester Canal Navigation", now kept in the Greater Manchester County Record Office
, some of the more notable subscribers are listed, along with the amounts invested by each. Many of the 95 investments on the list appear to have been made by proxy
. The largest is £3,000, and the smallest £100. The total sum of investments is £47,700. £5 per £100 share
was initially paid, with an additional £10 call made by 10 August 1791. Similar share calls were made at regular intervals over the following years. The first dividend of 4% was paid in July 1812, with regular payments following thereafter.
on 13 May 1791 and became an Act of Parliament
for the construction of the canal, by which "the proprietors were empowered to purchase land for a breadth of 26 yards on level ground, and wider where required for cuttings or embankments." The Act allowed the company to raise £47,000, with shares of £100. The intention was that at Prestolee
the route would divide into two branches (arms), with one branch towards Bolton and the other to Bury, but it would not, however, join the River Irwell. The proprietors were entitled to take water from any brooks within 1000 yards (914.4 m) of the canal, or within 3 miles (4.8 km) of the canal summits at Bolton and Bury.
At a meeting in Manchester on 30 June 1791, at the house of Alexander Patten, a committee was formed with the following members:
The meeting secured a resolution that "Matthew Fletcher and Mr McNiven shall dispatch or procure 100 wheelbarrows and as many planks as they shall think necessary for the use and accommodation of the canal navigation". Further meetings took place from 26–29 July. Matthew Fletcher was ordered to meet with land owners to discuss the purchase of any land along the route of the canal, and with this in mind, on 30 July 1791 John Seddon of Sandy Lane was ordered to survey the line of the canal beginning within the estate of John Edenson Heathcote, and ending at the southern extremity of the Reverend Dauntesey's estate
. Fletcher and Henshall were ordered to contact people and companies in the building trade to discuss construction.
At a meeting on 16 August 1791, "several persons" attended, and made offers for the contract to build the canal. A Mr John Seddon of Little Hulton
, a labourer, agreed to a contract on Matthew Fletcher's terms, for a "certain part of the canal". Five other persons were rejected, their proposals not receiving the "approbation" of the committee.
With news of the planned Rochdale Canal
link into Manchester, the company proposed to extend the canal from Bury through Littleborough, and to connect with the Rochdale Canal at Sladen. The new route, known as the Bury and Sladen Canal, was intended as a rival scheme to the proposed Rochdale link into Manchester. A survey was also carried out on a proposed extension from Sladen to Sowerby Bridge
. The company also considered links to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal
and the Mersey and Irwell Navigation. These plans would have substantially increased the trans-Pennine traffic using the company's canal, and caused a potential loss of traffic and revenue on the nearby Bridgewater Canal
. With this in mind, the owner of the Bridgewater Canal, the Duke of Bridgewater
, agreed to allow the Rochdale Canal Company to connect to his canal at Manchester. Despite the persistence of the canal company, the Rochdale Canal plan won the day and in 1797 the company abandoned the Bury and Sladen Canal plan.
After several years of construction, on 9 January 1794 an agreement was reached with the Leeds and Liverpool Canal Company to create a link from the Bolton arm of the canal to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal at Red Moss, near Horwich
. This agreement required significant design changes to allow the canal to carry the wider boats used on the broad gauge Leeds and Liverpool Canal, which included a change to broad locks. Benjamin Outram
was employed to inspect the works, and reported on the cost of this conversion as being £26,924. Although the necessary changes were implemented, the route of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal was altered and the link was not built. In the same year the Haslingden Canal
link to the Leeds and Liverpool canal was proposed, from the Bury arm of the canal. Although authorised by an Act of Parliament, it too was never built. The canal company remained hopeful of a link between the two canals, but all hope of this was lost when on 21 June 1819 an Act of Parliament was enacted to create a link between the Leigh
extension of the Bridgewater Canal
, and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal.
A report entitled "A Statement of the Situation of the Works of the Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal, on the Eighteenth of December, 1795." gives details of the progress of the works, including details of bridges, cuttings, raised bankings and aqueducts. Much of the document details the work required to convert the canal to broad gauge. A 5.75 miles (9.3 km) length between Oldfield Lane in Salford and Giants Seat Locks in Outwood was navigable with 3 ft 8 in (1.12 m) of water. The remaining work included strengthening work to the banks, an increase of water depth to 5 feet (1.5 m), and the gravelling of half of the towpath. Between Giants Seat locks and Ringley Bridge
two locks had been erected, with a small section of canal to be broadened before becoming navigable. From Ringley Bridge to Prestolee Aqueduct one lock had been erected. Nob End Locks were still under construction but mostly complete, although the basin at the bottom had not yet been dug. The stretch to Bolton had at this time been widened, with several bridges requiring further work, incomplete embankments, construction of a weir, and gravelling of the towpath. On the Bury arm, almost the entire length had been dug, and walls to support the canal along the bank of the Irwell had been built. Some widening of previously narrow sections had yet to be undertaken, none of the towpath had been gravelled, and no fences had been erected along the towpath.
Significant parts of the canal were completed by 1796, including the stretch up to Bury in October of that year. With the completion of the Bolton arm in the following year, much of the canal opened for business. The connection to Fletcher's Canal
was completed in 1800, but with the failure of the scheme to connect the Bolton arm of the canal to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal
, the canal remained isolated from any other navigable waterway. One proposed remedy involved the construction of an aqueduct over the River Irwell in Manchester, to connect directly to the Rochdale Canal between Castlefield
and Piccadilly. A bill was proposed in 1799 but after strong objections from the Mersey and Irwell Navigation Company they eventually gave up and subsequently, over the following seven years, the canal company purchased enough land to build a canal link directly to the Irwell.
During construction the company, having spent all of the money allowed in the 1791 Act of Parliament, incurred a debt of £31,345. They therefore applied for a further Act to raise more money. This act, granted in 1805, allowed them to raise an additional £80,000. This allowed them to repay the debt, and continue work to finish the canal. An inspection in June 1808 reported that by November 1808 the canal would be complete throughout.
A connection to the Rochdale Canal was eventually built in 1839 via the Manchester and Salford Junction Canal
, which was funded in part by the proprietors of the MB&B canal.
and Ladyshore Colliery
. Some of these collieries were linked by road, and some were linked by short tramlines. In the late 19th century as much as 650000 metric tons (639,732.3 LT) of coal and 43000 metric tons (42,320.8 LT) of other materials including night soil
and fruit were transported annually. The canal also allowed the transport of salt
from Cheshire
to the many bleach
and dye
works in the area – hence the name of Salt Wharf on the Bolton arm of the canal. Tolls were easily calculated as milestones were placed at ¼ mile (400 m) intervals along the towpath. This was important as journeys were often quite short, the collieries being so close to industry along the canal's length.
The boats used to transport coal were short and narrow, and each contained a row of boxes used for carrying coal. Each box had a base of two halves, hinged and held closed with chains. These boxes would be lifted out of the boats, positioned by crane
over a bunker or cart and emptied by releasing the chains on the base. This design helped keep the canal competitive, as it increased the speed with which loading and unloading of the boats could be performed.
The canal would often freeze in winter, so an icebreaker
was used to ensure the canal remained navigable during the cold weather. Named "Sarah Lansdale" and owned by James Crompton Paperworks, it was towed by a team of horses while the crew stood astride the deck, secured to the handrails, rocking the boat from side to side and breaking the ice in the process. Often, ice would be encountered that was so thick the boat would rise up onto the surface of the ice. This boat did once reside at the boat museum in Ellesmere Port Dock
but was later destroyed by fire.
Food and drink was made available to those using the canal in several places including Margaret Barlow's Tea Gardens, Kilcoby Cottage and Rhodes Lock. A camping ground was also available at Kilcoby Cottage. The nearby Giant's Seat House was for some time the home of the canal manager.
The canal also carried packet services
, with passengers facing a three-hour journey between Bolton and Manchester. The first passenger boat to Bolton was launched in 1796 from the Windsor Castle public house, and in 1798 a new packet boat was built for the use of the company. Fares were initially fixed by the canal company (although from 1805 contracted-out) and based upon the service required; a passenger using the state cabin from Bolton to Manchester would be charged one shilling six pence
, and a single shilling on the return journey. Passengers would change boats at Prestolee to avoid delays at the lock flight and also to save water, and a purpose-built covered walkway the length of the road was constructed for their benefit. Another passenger service ran along the two arms from Bolton to Bury, and over 60,000 passengers per year travelled on the canal; between July 1833 and June 1834, 21,060 made the journey from Bolton to Manchester, 21,212 people travelled from Manchester to Bolton, and 20,818 intermediary passengers hopped on and off the boats en route. In 1834 the Bolton to Manchester service earned £1,177 and the Bolton to Bury service earned £75. The service was quite luxurious compared to some packet boat services: central heating was provided in winter and drinks were served on board. This caused a tragedy in 1818, however, when a party of twenty drunken passengers managed to capsize the boat and a number of passengers, including two children, were drowned.
Several fatal incidents combined with general passenger concern caused the canal company to improve passenger safety; in 1802 a wall was built at the wharf at Oldfield Lane in Salford and in 1833 a gas lamp
was installed at Ringley Wharf.
A parcel service was also offered, although this proved unpopular as it was unreliable.
In March 1829 the idea of building a branch railway line from the Oldfield Road terminus in Salford to the new Liverpool and Manchester Railway
was mooted, but nothing was built. In 1830 the canal company, led by chairman Sir John Tobin, began to promote a proposal to build a railway along the line of the canal, from Salford to Bolton. Alexander Nimmo was employed to report on the proposal and told that it was possible "so far as he expressed himself capable of judging from his present cursory view of the canal". The shareholders then sought a bill for a railway from Bolton to Manchester and on 23 August 1831 obtained an Act of Parliament to become the "Company of Proprietors of the Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal Navigation and Railway Company". They were empowered to build a line from Manchester to Bolton and Bury, "upon or near the line of ... the Canal", and a branch from Clifton Aqueduct
through to Great Lever
. In 1832 this company obtained an Act that allowed it to build the railway. Due mainly to the objections of local mine owners who would have lost access to the canal and supplies, and would not have had branch railways built for them, the company agreed to an amending bill which would keep the canal and allow the new railway to be constructed alongside it. Due to technical and financial constraints the branch to Bury was never built. The canal therefore survived, although locks 4 and 5 in Salford were moved and combined into a two-rise staircase, with a second tunnel built underneath the line which became known as the Manchester and Bolton Railway
.
The line opened on 28 May 1838, and the company had purchased four locomotives
from Bury, Curtis, and Kennedy
, two from George Forrester and Company
, and two from William Fairbairn & Sons
. Between the opening date and 9 January 1839 the railway carried 228,799 passengers – far more than had been carried on the canal. Shortly thereafter passenger services on the canal ceased and the boats were sold off. In 1846 the company was taken over by the Manchester and Leeds Railway
, which itself became the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
(L&YR) the following year. In 1890 the L&YR widened the line through Salford. Locks 4, 5 and 6 were moved slightly to the north and the tunnel under the railway was replaced by a bridge (although it is still referred to as a tunnel).
In 1922 the L&YR amalgamated into the London and North Western Railway
, and in 1923 this company amalgamated into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway
. This company was nationalised in 1948 under the Transport Act 1947
and became part of British Railways.
had fallen into disuse by 1935, and bank bursts alongside the Irwell and Croal
rivers (caused largely by subsidence from mining activities) were common. A major breach of the canal occurred in 1936, and this was never repaired. Cream's Paper Mill purchased 10.45 acres (42,289.7 m²) of disused canal and adjacent land from the British Transport Commission
around the area of the 1936 breach and built over part of the canal.
On Tuesday 2 March 1937 the London, Midland and Scottish Railway held a Special General Meeting and proposed an application to the Minister of Transport
to abandon a section of the canal from Clifton Aqueduct to Bailey Bridge, from Bailey Bridge to Bury, and the entire Bolton arm from Nob End Locks to Bolton. This proposal was not carried. However, four years later under the London, Midland and Scottish Railway Act of 1941, 7 miles (11.3 km) of the canal were abandoned, including a section from Prestolee to Clifton, and all of the Bolton arm. In 1939 during the Second World War
, a half-mile long section in Agecroft
was ordered piped by the Ministry of Transport
to reduce the risk of German bomb damage to the canal affecting the adjacent Magnesium Elektron Company’s site.
The canal continued to generate some revenue from the sale of water, while tolls produced only a small proportion of the canal's income. In 1946 the canal earned a total of £7,296 of which only £471 was from tolls, against expenses of £12,500 and in 1951 total income was £8,815 against a total expenditure of £9,574. In the same year, the canal carried 3933 LT of coal, and no other materials.
A report commissioned in 1955 by the British Transport Commission included the canal in a list of "Waterways having insufficient commercial prospects to justify their retention for navigation". The canal was abandoned in 1961 following an Act of Parliament, although a single coal delivery service between Sion Street and Bury Moors continued until 1968, the last commercial traffic to use the canal.
There are several notable features along the canal, including Prestolee Aqueduct
and Clifton Aqueduct
, both of which are Grade II listed structures. Nob End Locks
(sometimes referred to as Prestolee Locks) sit at the junction of the three arms of the canal at Nob End. They comprise two sets of three staircase locks, separated by a passing basin. These locks served to lower the level of the canal by 64 feet (20 m) over a distance of 600 feet (183 m). The upper staircase is still visible, but most of the lower staircase was filled in at some point in the 1950s, and much of the stonework was removed.
A major breach of the canal along the Bury arm revealed the scale of the engineering used in the construction of the retaining wall. Railway rails
, which were used to increase the strength of the walls, are still clearly visible at the site of the breach.
The Mount Sion steam crane
(a depiction of which is used as the logo of the Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal Society) sits rusting and unused at Mount Sion, on the Bury arm. The crane was built in 1884 for Mount Sion Bleach Works by J Smith & Sons of Rodley, West Yorkshire
and was used to unload coal boxes from barges into the yard below the canal.
The original source of water for the canal was the River Irwell
in Bury, at the Weddell Brook tributary. This was, however, insufficient for the needs of local industry and in 1842 Elton Reservoir at Bury was constructed as the principal supply for the canal. Although the Bury and Bolton arms are on one level, the Salford arm used seventeen broad locks, including some in staircases (Nob End, for example), to descend 190 feet (58 m) over 8 miles (13 km) from the summit
level to the lowest point at Salford. Robert Fulton
had proposed an inclined plane
at Nob End, but this design was rejected. The connection with Fletcher's Canal
near Clifton Aqueduct was made by a single lock 90 feet (27 m) long by 21 feet (6 m) wide, with a drop of 18 inches (46 cm).
Although the canal was originally designed to be a narrow canal with narrow locks for boats 7 feet (2 m) wide, in 1794 an agreement was reached with the Leeds and Liverpool Canal
company to create a link near Red Moss near Horwich
, so broad locks were built to accommodate the 14 feet (4 m) wide boats using that canal. This meant removing some of the narrow locks that had already been built. An extension to the original canal feeder was built at Weddell Brook in Bury, alongside the River Irwell. The route of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal was changed, however, and the planned link never materialised. The design changes to the canal were not completely without merit, since they allowed two narrowboats to use each lock simultaneously, saving passage time and water.
Much of the Bury arm of the canal runs alongside the River Irwell through the Irwell Valley, and eventually required the construction of huge retaining walls to prevent the canal bank from sliding down the hill. Similar strengthening, although on a smaller scale, was required on the Bolton arm where it ran alongside the River Croal
. Through these sections the towpath is normally on the side of the canal closest to the river.
Six aqueducts were required to allow the canal to cross the River Irwell, the River Tonge
and four roads. On the Bolton arm these were Hall Lane Aqueduct, Fogg's Aqueduct and the larger Damside Aqueduct, all of which have since been demolished. Hall Lane Aqueduct was damaged by mining subsidence and replaced in 1884–1885. It was demolished in 1950. The Salford arm flowed over Prestolee Aqueduct
, then Clifton Aqueduct
, and finally the smaller Lumn's Lane Aqueduct (since demolished).
Many bridges were also constructed, along the length of the canal. Most were of small design allowing access to farmland, although many are wide enough for a horse and cart. In places where the canal crossed important thoroughfares, such as Water Street in Radcliffe
, Radcliffe Road in Darcy Lever
and Agecroft Road in Pendlebury
, larger bridges were constructed.
Cranes were used along the many wharfs on the canal to offload cargo. One of these, a steam crane
at Mount Sion, still exists (albeit in poor condition). At Bury Wharf a traversing steam crane positioned between the two arms of the terminus would offload cargo to be loaded into waiting lorries and a similar system was used at Radcliffe Wharf.
The total cost of construction was £127,700.
Throughout its history the canal has suffered several major breaches. As early as 1799 a flood carried away large sections of the lower banks, and another such incident occurred on 15 October 1853 when two boats were swept through a 93 yards (85 m) breach near the bottom of Nob End Locks, although nobody was injured. Subsidence due to mining caused a breach near Agecroft in 1881.
As a result of such incidents, from 1881 to 1888 the engineer Edwin Muir was employed to undertake work to reduce damage from subsidence caused by mining activity, and more work was carried out for the same purpose throughout the 1920s. Maps from the 1880s show that the canal company had purchased areas of coal beneath the canal to safeguard against further subsidence.
In 1884 the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
, which at this time owned the canal, successfully pursued an action against the colliery owners Knowles & Sons to claim compensation for damage that subsidence
caused by their mining had done to the canal. After the judgement the railway company settled out of court with other colliery owners. Constant repairs were required to correct the subsidence, particularly through Pendleton where the embankment had to be raised periodically, with some bridges raised many feet above their original supports. Some bridges sank as low as 8 feet (2 m) above head height.
The most serious breach occurred on 6 July 1936 at Nob End, close to Nob End Locks near the junction of the three arms of the canal. This breach was never repaired, and although the canal saw continued use between Ladyshore Colliery and Bury, it eventually closed in 1961. The Manchester Evening News
reported the breach on 7 July 1936:
Almost 60% of the original length of the canal is no longer in water. Bury Wharf is now an industrial estate and the section between this wharf and the first part of the canal still in water, south of Daisyfield Viaduct
, is more accessible; a car park has been built near the viaduct but there has been no further building here. A small section is infilled, and the canal is in water until Water Street in Radcliffe
, although overgrown with weeds. Water Street now blocks the canal, which continues under the road through a small culvert built in the 1960s. The canal remains in water up to the point where it is dammed at Ladyshore, following which an empty paper mill building, built in 1956, is found on the line of the canal.
The 1936 breach, never repaired, presents a large gap in the canal route, and there is no towpath at this point. On the Salford arm, the locks at Prestolee
are completely derelict although the top three locks are still in good condition. The canal is in water from the bottom of the lock flight until it reaches Ringley Locks. Ringley Bridge is infilled, and the line of the canal is filled throughout Ringley Village, and through Giants Seat Locks. Kilcoby Bridge is missing and the line of the canal is inaccessible from this point up to the M60 motorway
. Rhodes Lock is still in reasonable condition, although completely overgrown, and one or more electricity pylon
s straddle the infilled canal between Rhodes Lock and the motorway, which has been built over the line of the canal. A sludge lagoon
built during the construction of the motorway also blocks a short section of canal between the motorway and Clifton Aqueduct. The canal does not take water again until beyond Clifton Aqueduct, where a short 900 feet (274.3 m) length exists between Pilkingtons
and the Enersys
factory. Lumn's Lane aqueduct is missing but the canal is in water between Lumn's Lane and Holland Street. Beyond this point the canal has been filled in and some parts built over, especially through Pendleton. The canal at the junction with the River Irwell in Salford has recently been restored to operation and is navigable.
The Bolton arm of the canal is interrupted by the absence of Hall Lane Aqueduct at Little Lever, which was demolished in 1950 to make way for the widening of Hall Lane. In Darcy Lever, Damside Aqueduct, which crossed Radcliffe Road and the Tonge River, is also missing, having been demolished in June 1965. The route of St Peter's Way
has almost entirely destroyed a significant section of the canal as it heads into the centre of Bolton and Church Wharf no longer exists. The last section of the Bolton arm of the canal still in water is currently used for fishing.
The entire route of the canal is protected from any adverse development that would prevent the restoration of the canal, having been included in the unitary development plan
s of Salford City Council, Bolton Council and Bury Council.
The Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal Society was formed in 1987 to protect the line of the canal. Despite the problems mentioned above, on 21 October 2005 British Waterways
announced funding from European Objective Two Funding, the Northwest Regional Development Agency
(NWDA) and Salford City Council for the restoration at the newly named Middlewood Locks in Salford, which began in September 2006. Completion of this section was scheduled for the end of July 2008, and was marked with an opening ceremony on 19 September 2008. It is hoped that the full length of the canal will eventually be restored to operation by 2020. The restoration of the canal could create up to 6,000 jobs and add £6M to the local economy each year. The locks and all of the canal at Middlewood have already been dug out and are visible for the first time in many years, with new wash walls replacing the missing stonework. Asbestos was found in the infill, and there were delays to the work whilst an application was made to HM Revenue and Customs
for an exemption licence to the landfill tax: "The licence has been applied for because small quantities of asbestos (less than 1%) within the material remaining mean that a separate registered disposal tip has to be used." Restoration was also halted briefly by the discovery of what was initially thought to be a Second World War
bomb, but which proved to be a wartime American mortar with no explosive contents.
The new Margaret Fletcher tunnel under the Manchester Inner Ring Road
was formally named on 19 September 2008. Pilings for the tunnel under the Manchester to Preston Line
have also been completed, allowing tunnelling to continue further along the route. The missing Irwell towpath bridge across the canal entrance, formerly known as Bloody Bridge, has been replaced with an arched timber structure, incorporating elements of the old Lock 3. Much of the existing masonry from the canal has been re-used, including coping stones around Lock 3, and the original washwalls have been grouted and pointed where possible. The original river locks 1 and 2 have now been replaced by a single deep lock.
The total cost of restoration of the canal is estimated at £60M, with the next stage of the work planned for the section through Salford Crescent.
Local volunteers have for many years worked along sections of the canal, removing overgrowth and tidying up the general appearance, and the Manchester Bolton and Bury Canal Society routinely organises working parties. One of these was held from 29–30 March 2008, and worked to clear overgrowth from Nob End Locks. The Waterway Recovery Group
also assists with this voluntary work.
Bolton Arm
Salford Arm
>
Images of canal, external sites
Canal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
in Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
, England, built to link Bolton
Bolton
Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...
and Bury
Bury
Bury is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the River Irwell, east of Bolton, west-southwest of Rochdale, and north-northwest of the city of Manchester...
with Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
. The canal, when fully opened, was 15 miles 1 furlong
Furlong
A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and U.S. customary units equal to one-eighth of a mile, equivalent to 220 yards, 660 feet, 40 rods, or 10 chains. The exact value of the furlong varies slightly among English-speaking countries....
(24.3 km) long. It was accessed via a junction with the River Irwell
River Irwell
The River Irwell is a long river which flows through the Irwell Valley in the counties of Lancashire and Greater Manchester in North West England. The river's source is at Irwell Springs on Deerplay Moor, approximately north of Bacup, in the parish of Cliviger, Lancashire...
in Salford. Seventeen locks
Lock (water transport)
A lock is a device for raising and lowering boats between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a fixed chamber in which the water level can be varied; whereas in a caisson lock, a boat lift, or on a canal inclined plane, it is...
were required to climb to the summit
Route summit
A route summit is the highest point on a transportation route crossing higher ground. The term is often used in describing railway routes, less often in road transportation...
as it passed through Pendleton
Pendleton, Greater Manchester
Pendleton is an inner city area of Salford, Greater Manchester, England. It is about from Manchester city centre. The A6 dual carriageway skirts the east of the district....
, heading northwest to Prestolee
Prestolee
Prestolee is a small village within the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the River Irwell and is one of a cluster of villages between Bolton and Kearsley, which includes Stoneclough and Ringley....
before it split northwest to Bolton and northeast to Bury. Between Bolton and Bury the canal was on the same level and required no locks. Six aqueduct
Aqueduct
An aqueduct is a water supply or navigable channel constructed to convey water. In modern engineering, the term is used for any system of pipes, ditches, canals, tunnels, and other structures used for this purpose....
s were built to allow the canal to cross the rivers Irwell and Tonge
River Tonge
The River Tonge is a short river flowing close to Bolton, in Greater Manchester, England.The Tonge is formed at the Meeting of the Waters, where Astley Brook, flowing from the Smithills area in the west, meets the southerly-flowing Eagley Brook...
, as well as various minor roads.
The canal was commissioned in 1791 by local landowners and businessmen and built between 1791 and 1808, during the Golden Age of canal building, at a cost of £127,700
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
(£ today). Originally designed for narrow gauge boats
Narrowboat
A narrowboat or narrow boat is a boat of a distinctive design, made to fit the narrow canals of Great Britain.In the context of British Inland Waterways, "narrow boat" refers to the original working boats built in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries for carrying goods on the narrow canals...
, during its construction the canal was altered into a broad gauge
Barge
A barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. Some barges are not self-propelled and need to be towed by tugboats or pushed by towboats...
canal to allow an ultimately unrealised connection with the Leeds and Liverpool Canal
Leeds and Liverpool Canal
The Leeds and Liverpool Canal is a canal in Northern England, linking the cities of Leeds and Liverpool. Over a distance of , it crosses the Pennines, and includes 91 locks on the main line...
. The canal company later converted into a railway company and built a railway line close to the canal's path, which required modifications to the Salford arm of the canal.
Most of the freight carried was coal from local collieries
Coal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
but, as the mines reached the end of their working lives sections of the canal fell into disuse and disrepair and it was officially abandoned in 1961. In 1987 a society was formed with the aim of restoring the canal for leisure use and, in 2006, restoration began in the area around the junction with the River Irwell in Salford. The canal is currently navigable as far as East Ordsall Lane, in Salford.
Proposal
The local geology of the Irwell ValleyIrwell Valley
The Irwell Valley extends from the Forest of Rossendale in North West England, through to the cities of Salford and Manchester. The River Irwell runs through the valley, along with the River Croal.-Geology:...
, which included steep sided valleys with fast flowing rivers subject to rapid flooding and dry seasons, meant that river transport in the area was confined to the Mersey and Irwell Navigation to the west of Manchester. A combination of factors, including financial unrest and British involvement in the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
, meant that transport investment in Manchester was restricted mainly to road improvements.
With the arrival of more favourable conditions, including the end of the war, a proposal for a canal to link the towns of Manchester, Bolton and Bury was mooted. Matthew Fletcher had in 1789 been employed as a technical advisor and had surveyed the route of the proposed canal, but the first public notice came from Manchester on 4 September 1790. The initial proposal probably came from a group in Bolton, with the support of the Mersey and Irwell Navigation Company. A meeting was "intended to be holden at the House of Mr Shawe, the Bull's Head in Manchester aforesaid, on Monday, the twentieth day of this instant, September, at eleven o'clock in the forenoon", where "Surveys, Plans, Levels, Estimates and Proposals" would be presented. A further meeting on 16 September, held in Bolton, appointed a committee of six Boltonians chaired by Lord Grey de Wilton
Thomas Egerton, 1st Earl of Wilton
Thomas Grey Egerton, 1st Earl of Wilton , known as Sir Thomas Grey Egerton, 7th Baronet from 1756 to 1784, was a British peer....
to attend at Manchester. A series of resolutions at this meeting followed a discussion of the route, and authorised the necessary actions to bring the plan into fruition, which included the petitioning of Parliament
Parliament of Great Britain
The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and Parliament of Scotland...
for the required bill
Acts of Parliament in the United Kingdom
An Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom is a type of legislation called primary legislation. These Acts are passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom at Westminster, or by the Scottish Parliament at Edinburgh....
. Hugh Henshall
Hugh Henshall
Hugh Henshall was an English civil engineer, noted for his work on canals. He was born in North Staffordshire and was a student of the canal engineer James Brindley, who was also his brother-in-law.-Early life:...
was asked to survey the proposed route of the canal.
For local industries along the route of the proposed canal, whose operations relied on water from local rivers and brooks which the canal might also use, its construction was a controversial idea. At a meeting in Bolton on 4 October 1790, it was resolved that "proper clauses be inserted in the bill to prevent injury to owners of mills
Factory
A factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial building where laborers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production...
". A meeting in Bury at the Eagle & Child public house
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
on 29 September 1790 secured an agreement that "the utility of this scheme nevertheless cannot with propriety be ascertained until such time as it has been certified, from whence and in what proportion the proprietors of the intended navigation expect to draw their resources of water". At another meeting in Bury, on 13 October 1790, Hugh Henshall
Hugh Henshall
Hugh Henshall was an English civil engineer, noted for his work on canals. He was born in North Staffordshire and was a student of the canal engineer James Brindley, who was also his brother-in-law.-Early life:...
gave a written report on the canal, and stated that his plan would not require water from the river in times of drought, but that floods and rivulets would supply his reservoirs. He suggested that mill owners could be protected by a suitable clause in the bill, and such a clause was duly obtained by Robert Peel
Sir Robert Peel, 1st Baronet
Sir Robert Peel, 1st Baronet , was a British politician and industrialist and one of early textile manufacturers of the Industrial Revolution...
. Businesses in Bolton were concerned with the location of the canal terminus, and proposed the construction of a tunnel to allow the terminus to be built closer to the town centre. Ralph Fletcher, spokesman for those concerned, reported on this proposal to the committee, although no tunnel was built.
Subscribers and funding
| Name of subscriber | Value of shares purchased in £ |
| Earl of Derby Edward Smith-Stanley, 12th Earl of Derby Edward Smith-Stanley, 12th Earl of Derby PC , styled Lord Strange between 1771 and 1776, was a British peer and politician of the late 18th and early 19th centuries... |
3,000 |
| Lord Grey de Wilton Thomas Egerton, 1st Earl of Wilton Thomas Grey Egerton, 1st Earl of Wilton , known as Sir Thomas Grey Egerton, 7th Baronet from 1756 to 1784, was a British peer.... |
2,000 |
| John Heathcote | 3,000 |
| Mr Bent | 2,000 |
| W Marsden | 1,000 |
| John Drinkwater | 500 |
| Thomas Hatfield and son | 1,000 |
| Matthew Fletcher | 1,500 |
| Nathaniel Heywood Benjamin Heywood Sir Benjamin Heywood, 1st Baronet FRS was an English banker and philanthropist.Born in St Ann's Square, Manchester, grandson of Thomas Percival, son of Nathaniel Heywood and Ann Percival, and brother to Thomas Heywood and James Heywood... |
300 |
| Peter Drinkwater Drinkwater Park Drinkwater Park is situated in the Irwell Valley on the western border of Prestwich, near Manchester bounded by the River Irwell to the west, Agecroft Road and Rainsough Brow to the south, Butterstile Lane and Carr Clough estate to the east and Bunkers Hill to the north... |
1,000 |
| John Trafford esq | 300 |
| Rev James Lyon | 1,000 |
| Thomas Lyon of Warrington | 1,000 |
| Robert Peel Sir Robert Peel, 1st Baronet Sir Robert Peel, 1st Baronet , was a British politician and industrialist and one of early textile manufacturers of the Industrial Revolution... |
300 |
| John Fletcher | 200 |
| Hugh Henshall | 1,000 |
In a document entitled "A list of subscribers to the intended Bolton Bury and Manchester Canal Navigation", now kept in the Greater Manchester County Record Office
Greater Manchester County Record Office
The Greater Manchester County Record Office is an archive of primary materials relating to the heritage of Greater Manchester, in North West England; it is located in Manchester city centre. Opened in 1976, the main function of the GMCRO is to store historical records relating to the Greater...
, some of the more notable subscribers are listed, along with the amounts invested by each. Many of the 95 investments on the list appear to have been made by proxy
Proxy voting
Proxy voting has two forms: delegable voting and delegated voting, which are procedures for the delegation to another member of a voting body of that member's power to vote in his absence, and/or for the selection of additional representatives, as in the case with transitive proxies...
. The largest is £3,000, and the smallest £100. The total sum of investments is £47,700. £5 per £100 share
Share (finance)
A joint stock company divides its capital into units of equal denomination. Each unit is called a share. These units are offered for sale to raise capital. This is termed as issuing shares. A person who buys share/shares of the company is called a shareholder, and by acquiring share or shares in...
was initially paid, with an additional £10 call made by 10 August 1791. Similar share calls were made at regular intervals over the following years. The first dividend of 4% was paid in July 1812, with regular payments following thereafter.
Work begins
Following a parliamentary survey of the route by Charles McNiven, the bill received Royal AssentRoyal Assent
The granting of royal assent refers to the method by which any constitutional monarch formally approves and promulgates an act of his or her nation's parliament, thus making it a law...
on 13 May 1791 and became an Act of Parliament
Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal Act 1791
The Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal Act 1791 c.68 was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain that granted permission for the construction of the Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal in Greater Manchester, England....
for the construction of the canal, by which "the proprietors were empowered to purchase land for a breadth of 26 yards on level ground, and wider where required for cuttings or embankments." The Act allowed the company to raise £47,000, with shares of £100. The intention was that at Prestolee
Prestolee
Prestolee is a small village within the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the River Irwell and is one of a cluster of villages between Bolton and Kearsley, which includes Stoneclough and Ringley....
the route would divide into two branches (arms), with one branch towards Bolton and the other to Bury, but it would not, however, join the River Irwell. The proprietors were entitled to take water from any brooks within 1000 yards (914.4 m) of the canal, or within 3 miles (4.8 km) of the canal summits at Bolton and Bury.
At a meeting in Manchester on 30 June 1791, at the house of Alexander Patten, a committee was formed with the following members:
- Lord Grey de Wilton, Heaton House, Lancashire
- Sir John Edenson Heathcote, Longton, Newcastle, Staffordshire
- Thomas Butterworth BayleyThomas Butterworth BayleyThomas Butterworth Bayley was an English magistrate, agriculturist and philanthropist.-Life:He was from an old Lancashire family, and his mother was one of the Dukinfields of Dukinfield, Cheshire. Shortly after completing his education at the University of Edinburgh, he was chosen a justice of the...
esq. — Hope, Salford - Robert Andrews esq — Rivington
- James Wareing, Gentleman, Knowsley
- Matthew Fletcher (Mine owner, Clifton)
- Peter Wright, Gentleman, Manchester
- William Marsden, Merchant, Manchester
- Charles McNiven, Gentleman, Manchester
- Hugh Henshall, Longpost, Staffordshire
- John Pilkington, Merchant, Manchester
The meeting secured a resolution that "Matthew Fletcher and Mr McNiven shall dispatch or procure 100 wheelbarrows and as many planks as they shall think necessary for the use and accommodation of the canal navigation". Further meetings took place from 26–29 July. Matthew Fletcher was ordered to meet with land owners to discuss the purchase of any land along the route of the canal, and with this in mind, on 30 July 1791 John Seddon of Sandy Lane was ordered to survey the line of the canal beginning within the estate of John Edenson Heathcote, and ending at the southern extremity of the Reverend Dauntesey's estate
Agecroft Hall
Agecroft Hall is a Tudor-style estate currently on the James River in Virginia, United States, though originally built in Pendlebury, Lancashire, England in the late 15th century. It is now operated as a museum. It was the home of Lancashire's Langley and Dauntesey families before falling into...
. Fletcher and Henshall were ordered to contact people and companies in the building trade to discuss construction.
At a meeting on 16 August 1791, "several persons" attended, and made offers for the contract to build the canal. A Mr John Seddon of Little Hulton
Little Hulton
Little Hulton is a village—effectively a suburb—within the City of Salford, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies south of Bolton, west-northwest of Salford, and west-northwest of Manchester...
, a labourer, agreed to a contract on Matthew Fletcher's terms, for a "certain part of the canal". Five other persons were rejected, their proposals not receiving the "approbation" of the committee.
With news of the planned Rochdale Canal
Rochdale Canal
The Rochdale Canal is a navigable "broad" canal in northern England, part of the connected system of the canals of Great Britain. The "Rochdale" in its name refers to the town of Rochdale, Greater Manchester, through which the canal passes....
link into Manchester, the company proposed to extend the canal from Bury through Littleborough, and to connect with the Rochdale Canal at Sladen. The new route, known as the Bury and Sladen Canal, was intended as a rival scheme to the proposed Rochdale link into Manchester. A survey was also carried out on a proposed extension from Sladen to Sowerby Bridge
Sowerby Bridge
Sowerby Bridge is a market town that lies within the Upper Calder Valley in the district of Calderdale in the county of West Yorkshire, in northern England.-Geography:Sowerby Bridge is situated on the edge of Halifax, about three miles from its centre...
. The company also considered links to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal
Leeds and Liverpool Canal
The Leeds and Liverpool Canal is a canal in Northern England, linking the cities of Leeds and Liverpool. Over a distance of , it crosses the Pennines, and includes 91 locks on the main line...
and the Mersey and Irwell Navigation. These plans would have substantially increased the trans-Pennine traffic using the company's canal, and caused a potential loss of traffic and revenue on the nearby Bridgewater Canal
Bridgewater Canal
The Bridgewater Canal connects Runcorn, Manchester and Leigh, in North West England. It was commissioned by Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater, to transport coal from his mines in Worsley to Manchester...
. With this in mind, the owner of the Bridgewater Canal, the Duke of Bridgewater
Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater
Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater , known as Lord Francis Egerton until 1748, was a British nobleman, the younger son of the 1st Duke...
, agreed to allow the Rochdale Canal Company to connect to his canal at Manchester. Despite the persistence of the canal company, the Rochdale Canal plan won the day and in 1797 the company abandoned the Bury and Sladen Canal plan.
Horwich
Horwich is a town and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, in Greater Manchester, England. It is southeast of Chorley, northwest of Bolton and northwest from the city of Manchester. It lies at the southern edge of the West Pennine Moors with the M61 motorway close to the...
. This agreement required significant design changes to allow the canal to carry the wider boats used on the broad gauge Leeds and Liverpool Canal, which included a change to broad locks. Benjamin Outram
Benjamin Outram
Benjamin Outram was an English civil engineer, surveyor and industrialist. He was a pioneer in the building of canals and tramways.-Personal life:...
was employed to inspect the works, and reported on the cost of this conversion as being £26,924. Although the necessary changes were implemented, the route of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal was altered and the link was not built. In the same year the Haslingden Canal
Haslingden Canal
The Haslingden Canal was a proposed canal link between the Bury arm of the Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal in Greater Manchester, England, and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in Accrington, England, passing through Haslingden...
link to the Leeds and Liverpool canal was proposed, from the Bury arm of the canal. Although authorised by an Act of Parliament, it too was never built. The canal company remained hopeful of a link between the two canals, but all hope of this was lost when on 21 June 1819 an Act of Parliament was enacted to create a link between the Leigh
Leigh, Greater Manchester
Leigh is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. It is southeast of Wigan, and west of Manchester. Leigh is situated on low lying land to the north west of Chat Moss....
extension of the Bridgewater Canal
Bridgewater Canal
The Bridgewater Canal connects Runcorn, Manchester and Leigh, in North West England. It was commissioned by Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater, to transport coal from his mines in Worsley to Manchester...
, and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal.
A report entitled "A Statement of the Situation of the Works of the Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal, on the Eighteenth of December, 1795." gives details of the progress of the works, including details of bridges, cuttings, raised bankings and aqueducts. Much of the document details the work required to convert the canal to broad gauge. A 5.75 miles (9.3 km) length between Oldfield Lane in Salford and Giants Seat Locks in Outwood was navigable with 3 ft 8 in (1.12 m) of water. The remaining work included strengthening work to the banks, an increase of water depth to 5 feet (1.5 m), and the gravelling of half of the towpath. Between Giants Seat locks and Ringley Bridge
Stoneclough
Stoneclough is a suburban area of Kearsley, in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. It is located on the banks of the River Irwell to the southeast of Bolton....
two locks had been erected, with a small section of canal to be broadened before becoming navigable. From Ringley Bridge to Prestolee Aqueduct one lock had been erected. Nob End Locks were still under construction but mostly complete, although the basin at the bottom had not yet been dug. The stretch to Bolton had at this time been widened, with several bridges requiring further work, incomplete embankments, construction of a weir, and gravelling of the towpath. On the Bury arm, almost the entire length had been dug, and walls to support the canal along the bank of the Irwell had been built. Some widening of previously narrow sections had yet to be undertaken, none of the towpath had been gravelled, and no fences had been erected along the towpath.
Significant parts of the canal were completed by 1796, including the stretch up to Bury in October of that year. With the completion of the Bolton arm in the following year, much of the canal opened for business. The connection to Fletcher's Canal
Fletcher's Canal
Fletcher's Canal was a long canal in Greater Manchester, which connected the Wet Earth Colliery to the Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal at Clifton Aqueduct. The canal is now derelict and no longer used....
was completed in 1800, but with the failure of the scheme to connect the Bolton arm of the canal to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal
Leeds and Liverpool Canal
The Leeds and Liverpool Canal is a canal in Northern England, linking the cities of Leeds and Liverpool. Over a distance of , it crosses the Pennines, and includes 91 locks on the main line...
, the canal remained isolated from any other navigable waterway. One proposed remedy involved the construction of an aqueduct over the River Irwell in Manchester, to connect directly to the Rochdale Canal between Castlefield
Castlefield
Castlefield is an inner city area of Manchester, in North West England. The conservation area which bears its name is bounded by the River Irwell, Quay Street, Deansgate and the Chester Road. It was the site of the Roman era fort of Mamucium or Mancunium which gave its name to Manchester...
and Piccadilly. A bill was proposed in 1799 but after strong objections from the Mersey and Irwell Navigation Company they eventually gave up and subsequently, over the following seven years, the canal company purchased enough land to build a canal link directly to the Irwell.
During construction the company, having spent all of the money allowed in the 1791 Act of Parliament, incurred a debt of £31,345. They therefore applied for a further Act to raise more money. This act, granted in 1805, allowed them to raise an additional £80,000. This allowed them to repay the debt, and continue work to finish the canal. An inspection in June 1808 reported that by November 1808 the canal would be complete throughout.
A connection to the Rochdale Canal was eventually built in 1839 via the Manchester and Salford Junction Canal
Manchester and Salford Junction Canal
The Manchester and Salford Junction Canal was a canal in the city of Manchester. It was originally built to provide a direct waterway between the Mersey and Irwell Navigation and the Rochdale Canal...
, which was funded in part by the proprietors of the MB&B canal.
Traffic
Most of the traffic along the canal transported coal from the many collieries that existed along its length, including Outwood CollieryOutwood Colliery
Outwood Colliery was a coal mine in Outwood, near Stoneclough, then in the historic county of Lancashire, England. Originally named Clough Side Colliery, it opened in the 1840s and was the largest colliery in the area It was owned by Thomas Fletcher & Sons, Outwood Collieries, Stoneclough,...
and Ladyshore Colliery
Ladyshore Colliery
Ladyshore Colliery, originally named Back o' th Barn, was situated on the Irwell Valley fault on the Manchester Coalfield in Little Lever, then in the historic county of Lancashire, England. Founded by Thomas Fletcher Senior, the colliery opened in the 1830s and mined several types of coal...
. Some of these collieries were linked by road, and some were linked by short tramlines. In the late 19th century as much as 650000 metric tons (639,732.3 LT) of coal and 43000 metric tons (42,320.8 LT) of other materials including night soil
Night soil
Night soil is a euphemism for human excrement collected at night from cesspools, privies, etc. and sometimes used as a fertilizer. Night soil is produced as a result of a waste management system in areas without community infrastructure such as a sewage treatment facility, or individual septic...
and fruit were transported annually. The canal also allowed the transport of salt
Salt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
from Cheshire
Salt in Cheshire
Cheshire is a county in North West England. Rock salt was laid down in this region some 220 million years ago, during the Triassic period. Seawater moved inland from an open sea, creating a chain of shallow salt marshes across what is today the Cheshire basin...
to the many bleach
Bleach
Bleach refers to a number of chemicals that remove color, whiten, or disinfect, often via oxidation. Common chemical bleaches include household chlorine bleach , lye, oxygen bleach , and bleaching powder...
and dye
Dye
A dye is a colored substance that has an affinity to the substrate to which it is being applied. The dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution, and requires a mordant to improve the fastness of the dye on the fiber....
works in the area – hence the name of Salt Wharf on the Bolton arm of the canal. Tolls were easily calculated as milestones were placed at ¼ mile (400 m) intervals along the towpath. This was important as journeys were often quite short, the collieries being so close to industry along the canal's length.
Crane (machine)
A crane is a type of machine, generally equipped with a hoist, wire ropes or chains, and sheaves, that can be used both to lift and lower materials and to move them horizontally. It uses one or more simple machines to create mechanical advantage and thus move loads beyond the normal capability of...
over a bunker or cart and emptied by releasing the chains on the base. This design helped keep the canal competitive, as it increased the speed with which loading and unloading of the boats could be performed.
The canal would often freeze in winter, so an icebreaker
Icebreaker
An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller vessels .For a ship to be considered an icebreaker, it requires three traits most...
was used to ensure the canal remained navigable during the cold weather. Named "Sarah Lansdale" and owned by James Crompton Paperworks, it was towed by a team of horses while the crew stood astride the deck, secured to the handrails, rocking the boat from side to side and breaking the ice in the process. Often, ice would be encountered that was so thick the boat would rise up onto the surface of the ice. This boat did once reside at the boat museum in Ellesmere Port Dock
Ellesmere Port Dock
Ellesmere Port Dock is a dock situated on the Manchester Ship Canal, in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, England. The Ellesmere Canal gives its name to the area were the canal joins the Mersey, by the mid-1790s, it was known as Ellesmere Port. Docks and warehouses were built to facilitate this.Between...
but was later destroyed by fire.
Food and drink was made available to those using the canal in several places including Margaret Barlow's Tea Gardens, Kilcoby Cottage and Rhodes Lock. A camping ground was also available at Kilcoby Cottage. The nearby Giant's Seat House was for some time the home of the canal manager.
The canal also carried packet services
Packet trade
Packet trade generally refers to any regularly scheduled cargo, passenger and mail trade conducted by ship. The ships are called "packet boats" as their original function was to carry mail.-United States:...
, with passengers facing a three-hour journey between Bolton and Manchester. The first passenger boat to Bolton was launched in 1796 from the Windsor Castle public house, and in 1798 a new packet boat was built for the use of the company. Fares were initially fixed by the canal company (although from 1805 contracted-out) and based upon the service required; a passenger using the state cabin from Bolton to Manchester would be charged one shilling six pence
Penny (British pre-decimal coin)
The penny of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, was in circulation from the early 18th century until February 1971, Decimal Day....
, and a single shilling on the return journey. Passengers would change boats at Prestolee to avoid delays at the lock flight and also to save water, and a purpose-built covered walkway the length of the road was constructed for their benefit. Another passenger service ran along the two arms from Bolton to Bury, and over 60,000 passengers per year travelled on the canal; between July 1833 and June 1834, 21,060 made the journey from Bolton to Manchester, 21,212 people travelled from Manchester to Bolton, and 20,818 intermediary passengers hopped on and off the boats en route. In 1834 the Bolton to Manchester service earned £1,177 and the Bolton to Bury service earned £75. The service was quite luxurious compared to some packet boat services: central heating was provided in winter and drinks were served on board. This caused a tragedy in 1818, however, when a party of twenty drunken passengers managed to capsize the boat and a number of passengers, including two children, were drowned.
Several fatal incidents combined with general passenger concern caused the canal company to improve passenger safety; in 1802 a wall was built at the wharf at Oldfield Lane in Salford and in 1833 a gas lamp
Gas lighting
Gas lighting is production of artificial light from combustion of a gaseous fuel, including hydrogen, methane, carbon monoxide, propane, butane, acetylene, ethylene, or natural gas. Before electricity became sufficiently widespread and economical to allow for general public use, gas was the most...
was installed at Ringley Wharf.
A parcel service was also offered, although this proved unpopular as it was unreliable.
Railway proposal
Liverpool and Manchester Railway
The Liverpool and Manchester Railway was the world's first inter-city passenger railway in which all the trains were timetabled and were hauled for most of the distance solely by steam locomotives. The line opened on 15 September 1830 and ran between the cities of Liverpool and Manchester in North...
was mooted, but nothing was built. In 1830 the canal company, led by chairman Sir John Tobin, began to promote a proposal to build a railway along the line of the canal, from Salford to Bolton. Alexander Nimmo was employed to report on the proposal and told that it was possible "so far as he expressed himself capable of judging from his present cursory view of the canal". The shareholders then sought a bill for a railway from Bolton to Manchester and on 23 August 1831 obtained an Act of Parliament to become the "Company of Proprietors of the Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal Navigation and Railway Company". They were empowered to build a line from Manchester to Bolton and Bury, "upon or near the line of ... the Canal", and a branch from Clifton Aqueduct
Clifton Aqueduct
Clifton Aqueduct, built in 1796, carried the Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal across the River Irwell in Salford, England. It is preserved as a Grade II listed building. The construction is of dressed stone with brick arches. Three segmental arches with keystones rest on triangular-ended...
through to Great Lever
Great Lever
Great Lever is mainly a residential suburb of Bolton in Greater Manchester, England. Historically within Lancashire, it is about 2½ miles south of Bolton town centre and the same distance north of Farnworth town centre. Great Lever has many shops and services serving the local community...
. In 1832 this company obtained an Act that allowed it to build the railway. Due mainly to the objections of local mine owners who would have lost access to the canal and supplies, and would not have had branch railways built for them, the company agreed to an amending bill which would keep the canal and allow the new railway to be constructed alongside it. Due to technical and financial constraints the branch to Bury was never built. The canal therefore survived, although locks 4 and 5 in Salford were moved and combined into a two-rise staircase, with a second tunnel built underneath the line which became known as the Manchester and Bolton Railway
Manchester and Bolton Railway
The Manchester and Bolton Railway was a railway in the historic county of Lancashire, England, connecting Salford to Bolton. It was built by the proprietors of the Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal Navigation and Railway Company who had in 1831 converted from a canal company...
.
The line opened on 28 May 1838, and the company had purchased four locomotives
Steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
from Bury, Curtis, and Kennedy
Bury, Curtis, and Kennedy
Bury, Curtis and Kennedy was a steam locomotive manufacturer in Liverpool, England.Edward Bury set up his works in 1826, under the name of Edward Bury and Company. He employed James Kennedy, who had gained experience of locomotive production under Robert Stephenson and Mather, Dixon and Company,...
, two from George Forrester and Company
George Forrester and Company
George Forrester and Company was a British locomotive manufacturer at Vauxhall Foundry in Liverpool.The company had opened in 1827 as iron founders and commenced building locomotives in 1834....
, and two from William Fairbairn & Sons
William Fairbairn & Sons
William Fairbairn and Sons, was an engineering works in Manchester, England.-History:William Fairbairn opened an iron foundry in 1816 and was joined the following year by a Mr. Lillie, and the firm became known as Fairbairn and Lillie Engine Makers, producing iron steamboats.Their foundry and...
. Between the opening date and 9 January 1839 the railway carried 228,799 passengers – far more than had been carried on the canal. Shortly thereafter passenger services on the canal ceased and the boats were sold off. In 1846 the company was taken over by the Manchester and Leeds Railway
Manchester and Leeds Railway
The Manchester and Leeds Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom which opened in 1839, connecting Manchester with Leeds via the North Midland Railway which it joined at Normanton....
, which itself became the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway was a major British railway company before the 1923 Grouping. It was incorporated in 1847 from an amalgamation of several existing railways...
(L&YR) the following year. In 1890 the L&YR widened the line through Salford. Locks 4, 5 and 6 were moved slightly to the north and the tunnel under the railway was replaced by a bridge (although it is still referred to as a tunnel).
In 1922 the L&YR amalgamated into the London and North Western Railway
London and North Western Railway
The London and North Western Railway was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. It was created by the merger of three companies – the Grand Junction Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway...
, and in 1923 this company amalgamated into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway
London, Midland and Scottish Railway
The London Midland and Scottish Railway was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act of 1921, which required the grouping of over 120 separate railway companies into just four...
. This company was nationalised in 1948 under the Transport Act 1947
Transport Act 1947
The Transport Act 1947 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Under it the railways, long-distance road haulage and various other types of transport were acquired by the state and handed over to a new British Transport Commission for operation...
and became part of British Railways.
Decline
By 1924 there had been a significant reduction in the use of the Bolton arm, though the coal trade remained brisk until the 1930s when the effects of colliery closures reduced traffic. Fletcher's CanalFletcher's Canal
Fletcher's Canal was a long canal in Greater Manchester, which connected the Wet Earth Colliery to the Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal at Clifton Aqueduct. The canal is now derelict and no longer used....
had fallen into disuse by 1935, and bank bursts alongside the Irwell and Croal
River Croal
The River Croal is a river located in Greater Manchester, England. It is a tributary of the River Irwell.Rising at the confluence of Middle Brook and Deane Church Brook, it flows eastwards through Bolton, collecting Gilnow Brook and the larger River Tonge at Darcy Lever...
rivers (caused largely by subsidence from mining activities) were common. A major breach of the canal occurred in 1936, and this was never repaired. Cream's Paper Mill purchased 10.45 acres (42,289.7 m²) of disused canal and adjacent land from the British Transport Commission
British Transport Commission
The British Transport Commission was created by Clement Attlee's post-war Labour government as a part of its nationalisation programme, to oversee railways, canals and road freight transport in Great Britain...
around the area of the 1936 breach and built over part of the canal.
On Tuesday 2 March 1937 the London, Midland and Scottish Railway held a Special General Meeting and proposed an application to the Minister of Transport
Secretary of State for Transport
The Secretary of State for Transport is the member of the cabinet responsible for the British Department for Transport. The role has had a high turnover as new appointments are blamed for the failures of decades of their predecessors...
to abandon a section of the canal from Clifton Aqueduct to Bailey Bridge, from Bailey Bridge to Bury, and the entire Bolton arm from Nob End Locks to Bolton. This proposal was not carried. However, four years later under the London, Midland and Scottish Railway Act of 1941, 7 miles (11.3 km) of the canal were abandoned, including a section from Prestolee to Clifton, and all of the Bolton arm. In 1939 during the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, a half-mile long section in Agecroft
Agecroft
Agecroft may refer to several places near Salford, England:* Agecroft Hall, a Tudor estate near Pendlebury, Salford exported and rebuilt on the James River in Virginia, United States* Agecroft Bridge railway station, closed in 1861...
was ordered piped by the Ministry of Transport
Department for Transport
In the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...
to reduce the risk of German bomb damage to the canal affecting the adjacent Magnesium Elektron Company’s site.
The canal continued to generate some revenue from the sale of water, while tolls produced only a small proportion of the canal's income. In 1946 the canal earned a total of £7,296 of which only £471 was from tolls, against expenses of £12,500 and in 1951 total income was £8,815 against a total expenditure of £9,574. In the same year, the canal carried 3933 LT of coal, and no other materials.
A report commissioned in 1955 by the British Transport Commission included the canal in a list of "Waterways having insufficient commercial prospects to justify their retention for navigation". The canal was abandoned in 1961 following an Act of Parliament, although a single coal delivery service between Sion Street and Bury Moors continued until 1968, the last commercial traffic to use the canal.
Features
Prestolee Aqueduct
Prestolee Aqueduct is a stone-built aqueduct in Prestolee in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. The four-arch structure was constructed in the 1790s to carry the Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal across the River Irwell...
and Clifton Aqueduct
Clifton Aqueduct
Clifton Aqueduct, built in 1796, carried the Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal across the River Irwell in Salford, England. It is preserved as a Grade II listed building. The construction is of dressed stone with brick arches. Three segmental arches with keystones rest on triangular-ended...
, both of which are Grade II listed structures. Nob End Locks
Nob End
Nob End is the site of a former waste tip, and now a Site of Special Scientific Interest near Kearsley, Bolton, England.Standing at the confluence of the River Irwell and River Croal it was used around 1850-70 as a tip for alkaline waste from the production of sodium carbonate by the Leblanc...
(sometimes referred to as Prestolee Locks) sit at the junction of the three arms of the canal at Nob End. They comprise two sets of three staircase locks, separated by a passing basin. These locks served to lower the level of the canal by 64 feet (20 m) over a distance of 600 feet (183 m). The upper staircase is still visible, but most of the lower staircase was filled in at some point in the 1950s, and much of the stonework was removed.
A major breach of the canal along the Bury arm revealed the scale of the engineering used in the construction of the retaining wall. Railway rails
Rail profile
The rail profile is the cross sectional shape of a railway rail, perpendicular to the length of the rail.In all but very early cast iron rails, a rail is hot rolled steel of a specific cross sectional profile designed for use as the fundamental component of railway track.Unlike some other uses of...
, which were used to increase the strength of the walls, are still clearly visible at the site of the breach.
The Mount Sion steam crane
Steam crane
A steam crane is a crane powered by a steam engine. It may be fixed or mobile and, if mobile, it may run on rail tracks, caterpillar tracks, road wheels, or be mounted on a barge...
(a depiction of which is used as the logo of the Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal Society) sits rusting and unused at Mount Sion, on the Bury arm. The crane was built in 1884 for Mount Sion Bleach Works by J Smith & Sons of Rodley, West Yorkshire
Rodley, West Yorkshire
Rodley is a village on the outskirts of west Leeds, West Yorkshire, England with a recorded history dating back a thousand years. The earliest use of the name on record appears to be RODELE who was listed as a tenant in the Domesday Book of 1086, and REDLEGA who was recorded in Yorkshire in 1157...
and was used to unload coal boxes from barges into the yard below the canal.
Design and construction
River Irwell
The River Irwell is a long river which flows through the Irwell Valley in the counties of Lancashire and Greater Manchester in North West England. The river's source is at Irwell Springs on Deerplay Moor, approximately north of Bacup, in the parish of Cliviger, Lancashire...
in Bury, at the Weddell Brook tributary. This was, however, insufficient for the needs of local industry and in 1842 Elton Reservoir at Bury was constructed as the principal supply for the canal. Although the Bury and Bolton arms are on one level, the Salford arm used seventeen broad locks, including some in staircases (Nob End, for example), to descend 190 feet (58 m) over 8 miles (13 km) from the summit
Route summit
A route summit is the highest point on a transportation route crossing higher ground. The term is often used in describing railway routes, less often in road transportation...
level to the lowest point at Salford. Robert Fulton
Robert Fulton
Robert Fulton was an American engineer and inventor who is widely credited with developing the first commercially successful steamboat...
had proposed an inclined plane
Canal inclined plane
An inclined plane is a system used on some canals for raising boats between different water levels. Boats may be conveyed afloat, in caissons, or may be carried in cradles or slings. It can be considered as a specialised type of cable railway....
at Nob End, but this design was rejected. The connection with Fletcher's Canal
Fletcher's Canal
Fletcher's Canal was a long canal in Greater Manchester, which connected the Wet Earth Colliery to the Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal at Clifton Aqueduct. The canal is now derelict and no longer used....
near Clifton Aqueduct was made by a single lock 90 feet (27 m) long by 21 feet (6 m) wide, with a drop of 18 inches (46 cm).
Although the canal was originally designed to be a narrow canal with narrow locks for boats 7 feet (2 m) wide, in 1794 an agreement was reached with the Leeds and Liverpool Canal
Leeds and Liverpool Canal
The Leeds and Liverpool Canal is a canal in Northern England, linking the cities of Leeds and Liverpool. Over a distance of , it crosses the Pennines, and includes 91 locks on the main line...
company to create a link near Red Moss near Horwich
Horwich
Horwich is a town and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, in Greater Manchester, England. It is southeast of Chorley, northwest of Bolton and northwest from the city of Manchester. It lies at the southern edge of the West Pennine Moors with the M61 motorway close to the...
, so broad locks were built to accommodate the 14 feet (4 m) wide boats using that canal. This meant removing some of the narrow locks that had already been built. An extension to the original canal feeder was built at Weddell Brook in Bury, alongside the River Irwell. The route of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal was changed, however, and the planned link never materialised. The design changes to the canal were not completely without merit, since they allowed two narrowboats to use each lock simultaneously, saving passage time and water.
Much of the Bury arm of the canal runs alongside the River Irwell through the Irwell Valley, and eventually required the construction of huge retaining walls to prevent the canal bank from sliding down the hill. Similar strengthening, although on a smaller scale, was required on the Bolton arm where it ran alongside the River Croal
River Croal
The River Croal is a river located in Greater Manchester, England. It is a tributary of the River Irwell.Rising at the confluence of Middle Brook and Deane Church Brook, it flows eastwards through Bolton, collecting Gilnow Brook and the larger River Tonge at Darcy Lever...
. Through these sections the towpath is normally on the side of the canal closest to the river.
River Tonge
The River Tonge is a short river flowing close to Bolton, in Greater Manchester, England.The Tonge is formed at the Meeting of the Waters, where Astley Brook, flowing from the Smithills area in the west, meets the southerly-flowing Eagley Brook...
and four roads. On the Bolton arm these were Hall Lane Aqueduct, Fogg's Aqueduct and the larger Damside Aqueduct, all of which have since been demolished. Hall Lane Aqueduct was damaged by mining subsidence and replaced in 1884–1885. It was demolished in 1950. The Salford arm flowed over Prestolee Aqueduct
Prestolee Aqueduct
Prestolee Aqueduct is a stone-built aqueduct in Prestolee in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. The four-arch structure was constructed in the 1790s to carry the Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal across the River Irwell...
, then Clifton Aqueduct
Clifton Aqueduct
Clifton Aqueduct, built in 1796, carried the Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal across the River Irwell in Salford, England. It is preserved as a Grade II listed building. The construction is of dressed stone with brick arches. Three segmental arches with keystones rest on triangular-ended...
, and finally the smaller Lumn's Lane Aqueduct (since demolished).
Many bridges were also constructed, along the length of the canal. Most were of small design allowing access to farmland, although many are wide enough for a horse and cart. In places where the canal crossed important thoroughfares, such as Water Street in Radcliffe
Radcliffe, Greater Manchester
Radcliffe is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on undulating ground in the Irwell Valley, along the course of the River Irwell, south-west of Bury and north-northwest of Manchester. Radcliffe is contiguous with the town of Whitefield to the...
, Radcliffe Road in Darcy Lever
Darcy Lever
Darcy Lever is a township within the Metropoliton Borough of Bolton in Greater Manchester, England. Historically part of Lancashire, the village lies on the B6209 , between Bolton and Little Lever...
and Agecroft Road in Pendlebury
Pendlebury
Pendlebury is a suburban town in the City of Salford, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies to the northwest of Manchester city centre, northwest of Salford, and southeast of Bolton....
, larger bridges were constructed.
Cranes were used along the many wharfs on the canal to offload cargo. One of these, a steam crane
Steam crane
A steam crane is a crane powered by a steam engine. It may be fixed or mobile and, if mobile, it may run on rail tracks, caterpillar tracks, road wheels, or be mounted on a barge...
at Mount Sion, still exists (albeit in poor condition). At Bury Wharf a traversing steam crane positioned between the two arms of the terminus would offload cargo to be loaded into waiting lorries and a similar system was used at Radcliffe Wharf.
Costs
In 1795 costs of construction were detailed as follows:| Work done | £. | S. | D. |
| Original Subscription Amounts | 47,700 | 0 | 0 |
| Four calls since of ten percent | 19,080 | 0 | 0 |
| Interest allowed by the treasurer | 376 | 17 | 5 |
| Sundry Articles sold | 39 | 6 | 10 |
| Total | 67,196 | 4 | 3 |
| For obtaining the Act of Parliament, and for subsequent Law Expenses inclusive of Expenses of Meetings | 1,274 | 8 | 5 |
| Purchase of Lands | 2,586 | 7 | 8 |
| Cutting and Banking | 25,228 | 18 | 11 |
| Bricks | 5,825 | 3 | 11¾ |
| Masonry, Lock-Building and Walls | 8,611 | 19 | 1½ |
| Bridges and Aqueducts | 8,069 | 19 | 9½ |
| Timber | 4,123 | 3 | 8 |
| Iron Work | 548 | 0 | 2½ |
| Wages, &c. | 1,506 | 15 | 5½ |
| Damage and Trespasses | 144 | 13 | 9 |
| Team Work | 2,383 | 13 | 1 |
| Carpenters | 1,506 | 4 | 5 |
| Annual Rents | 419 | 18 | 2 |
| Surveys | 1,256 | 15 | 9 |
| Expenses of a Meeting paid by the Treasurer | 10 | 18 | 6 |
| Calls in arrear | 2,400 | 0 | 0 |
| Balance in Treasurer's Hands | 1,750 | 8 | 5 |
| Total | 67,647 | 9 | 3¾ |
| Deduct for Cash advanced on the above Payments included in the outstanding Debts | 451 | 5 | 0¾ |
| Outstanding | 67,196 | 4 | 3 |
The total cost of construction was £127,700.
Breaches
As a result of such incidents, from 1881 to 1888 the engineer Edwin Muir was employed to undertake work to reduce damage from subsidence caused by mining activity, and more work was carried out for the same purpose throughout the 1920s. Maps from the 1880s show that the canal company had purchased areas of coal beneath the canal to safeguard against further subsidence.
In 1884 the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway was a major British railway company before the 1923 Grouping. It was incorporated in 1847 from an amalgamation of several existing railways...
, which at this time owned the canal, successfully pursued an action against the colliery owners Knowles & Sons to claim compensation for damage that subsidence
Subsidence
Subsidence is the motion of a surface as it shifts downward relative to a datum such as sea-level. The opposite of subsidence is uplift, which results in an increase in elevation...
caused by their mining had done to the canal. After the judgement the railway company settled out of court with other colliery owners. Constant repairs were required to correct the subsidence, particularly through Pendleton where the embankment had to be raised periodically, with some bridges raised many feet above their original supports. Some bridges sank as low as 8 feet (2 m) above head height.
The most serious breach occurred on 6 July 1936 at Nob End, close to Nob End Locks near the junction of the three arms of the canal. This breach was never repaired, and although the canal saw continued use between Ladyshore Colliery and Bury, it eventually closed in 1961. The Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
The Manchester Evening News is a regional daily newspaper covering Greater Manchester in the United Kingdom. It is published every day except Sunday and is owned by Trinity Mirror plc following its sale by Guardian Media Group in early 2010. It has an average daily circulation of 90,973 copies...
reported the breach on 7 July 1936:
Current status
Daisyfield Viaduct
Daisyfield Viaduct is a stone structure crossing the Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal and River Irwell in Bury, Greater Manchester, England. It no longer carries trains, and is now used as a recreational feature for the general public.-History:...
, is more accessible; a car park has been built near the viaduct but there has been no further building here. A small section is infilled, and the canal is in water until Water Street in Radcliffe
Radcliffe, Greater Manchester
Radcliffe is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on undulating ground in the Irwell Valley, along the course of the River Irwell, south-west of Bury and north-northwest of Manchester. Radcliffe is contiguous with the town of Whitefield to the...
, although overgrown with weeds. Water Street now blocks the canal, which continues under the road through a small culvert built in the 1960s. The canal remains in water up to the point where it is dammed at Ladyshore, following which an empty paper mill building, built in 1956, is found on the line of the canal.
The 1936 breach, never repaired, presents a large gap in the canal route, and there is no towpath at this point. On the Salford arm, the locks at Prestolee
Prestolee
Prestolee is a small village within the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the River Irwell and is one of a cluster of villages between Bolton and Kearsley, which includes Stoneclough and Ringley....
are completely derelict although the top three locks are still in good condition. The canal is in water from the bottom of the lock flight until it reaches Ringley Locks. Ringley Bridge is infilled, and the line of the canal is filled throughout Ringley Village, and through Giants Seat Locks. Kilcoby Bridge is missing and the line of the canal is inaccessible from this point up to the M60 motorway
M60 motorway
The M60 motorway, or Manchester Orbital, is an orbital motorway circling Greater Manchester, a metropolitan county in North West England. It passes through all Greater Manchester's metropolitan boroughs except for Wigan and Bolton...
. Rhodes Lock is still in reasonable condition, although completely overgrown, and one or more electricity pylon
Electricity pylon
A transmission tower is a tall structure, usually a steel lattice tower, used to support an overhead power line. They are used in high-voltage AC and DC systems, and come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes...
s straddle the infilled canal between Rhodes Lock and the motorway, which has been built over the line of the canal. A sludge lagoon
Sewage treatment
Sewage treatment, or domestic wastewater treatment, is the process of removing contaminants from wastewater and household sewage, both runoff and domestic. It includes physical, chemical, and biological processes to remove physical, chemical and biological contaminants...
built during the construction of the motorway also blocks a short section of canal between the motorway and Clifton Aqueduct. The canal does not take water again until beyond Clifton Aqueduct, where a short 900 feet (274.3 m) length exists between Pilkingtons
Pilkington's Lancastrian Pottery & Tiles
Pilkington's Lancastrian Pottery & Tiles was a manufacturer of tiles, vases and bowls, based in Clifton, Greater Manchester, England. The company was established in 1892 at Clifton Junction, alongside Fletcher's Canal...
and the Enersys
EnerSys
EnerSys is a manufacturer of batteries for motive power, reserve power, aerospace, and defense applications. It operates in over 100 countries worldwide, with over 25% market share worldwide with US $2 billion in revenue....
factory. Lumn's Lane aqueduct is missing but the canal is in water between Lumn's Lane and Holland Street. Beyond this point the canal has been filled in and some parts built over, especially through Pendleton. The canal at the junction with the River Irwell in Salford has recently been restored to operation and is navigable.
The Bolton arm of the canal is interrupted by the absence of Hall Lane Aqueduct at Little Lever, which was demolished in 1950 to make way for the widening of Hall Lane. In Darcy Lever, Damside Aqueduct, which crossed Radcliffe Road and the Tonge River, is also missing, having been demolished in June 1965. The route of St Peter's Way
A666 road
The A666 is a major road in Greater Manchester and Lancashire, England. Known as Manchester Road, Bolton Road, or Blackburn Road, depending on which area it is in, it runs from its junction with A6 and A580 at the Irlams o' th' Height boundary with Pendlebury near Manchester, through Pendlebury,...
has almost entirely destroyed a significant section of the canal as it heads into the centre of Bolton and Church Wharf no longer exists. The last section of the Bolton arm of the canal still in water is currently used for fishing.
The entire route of the canal is protected from any adverse development that would prevent the restoration of the canal, having been included in the unitary development plan
Unitary Development Plan
In United Kingdom planning law, a unitary development plan is an old-style development plan prepared by a metropolitan district and some unitary local authorities that contains policies equivalent to those in both a structure plan and a local plan...
s of Salford City Council, Bolton Council and Bury Council.
Restoration
British Waterways
British Waterways is a statutory corporation wholly owned by the government of the United Kingdom, serving as the navigation authority in England, Scotland and Wales for the vast majority of the canals as well as a number of rivers and docks...
announced funding from European Objective Two Funding, the Northwest Regional Development Agency
Northwest Regional Development Agency
The Northwest Regional Development Agency is the regional development agency for the North West England region and is a non-departmental public body.....
(NWDA) and Salford City Council for the restoration at the newly named Middlewood Locks in Salford, which began in September 2006. Completion of this section was scheduled for the end of July 2008, and was marked with an opening ceremony on 19 September 2008. It is hoped that the full length of the canal will eventually be restored to operation by 2020. The restoration of the canal could create up to 6,000 jobs and add £6M to the local economy each year. The locks and all of the canal at Middlewood have already been dug out and are visible for the first time in many years, with new wash walls replacing the missing stonework. Asbestos was found in the infill, and there were delays to the work whilst an application was made to HM Revenue and Customs
Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs
Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs is a non-ministerial department of the UK Government responsible for the collection of taxes and the payment of some forms of state support....
for an exemption licence to the landfill tax: "The licence has been applied for because small quantities of asbestos (less than 1%) within the material remaining mean that a separate registered disposal tip has to be used." Restoration was also halted briefly by the discovery of what was initially thought to be a Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
bomb, but which proved to be a wartime American mortar with no explosive contents.
The new Margaret Fletcher tunnel under the Manchester Inner Ring Road
Manchester Inner Ring Road
Manchester and Salford Inner Relief Route is a Ring Road in Greater Manchester, England. It is the product of the amalgamation of several major roads around the city centres of Manchester and Salford to form a ring...
was formally named on 19 September 2008. Pilings for the tunnel under the Manchester to Preston Line
Manchester to Preston Line
The Manchester to Preston Line runs from the city of Manchester to Preston, Lancashire. It is largely used by commuters entering Manchester from surrounding suburbs and cities, but is also one of the main railway lines in the North West and is utilised by intercity services for Scotland and the...
have also been completed, allowing tunnelling to continue further along the route. The missing Irwell towpath bridge across the canal entrance, formerly known as Bloody Bridge, has been replaced with an arched timber structure, incorporating elements of the old Lock 3. Much of the existing masonry from the canal has been re-used, including coping stones around Lock 3, and the original washwalls have been grouted and pointed where possible. The original river locks 1 and 2 have now been replaced by a single deep lock.
The total cost of restoration of the canal is estimated at £60M, with the next stage of the work planned for the section through Salford Crescent.
Local volunteers have for many years worked along sections of the canal, removing overgrowth and tidying up the general appearance, and the Manchester Bolton and Bury Canal Society routinely organises working parties. One of these was held from 29–30 March 2008, and worked to clear overgrowth from Nob End Locks. The Waterway Recovery Group
Waterway Recovery Group
The Waterway Recovery Group , founded in 1970, is the national co-ordinating body for voluntary labour on the inland waterways of the United Kingdom.-Activities:...
also assists with this voluntary work.
Locations of features
| Coordinates Geographic coordinate system A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system that enables every location on the Earth to be specified by a set of numbers. The coordinates are often chosen such that one of the numbers represent vertical position, and two or three of the numbers represent horizontal position... |
||
|---|---|---|
| Location | Coordinates |
|---|---|
| Bury Terminus | 53.593228°N 2.308583°W |
| Elton Reservoir | 53.580022°N 2.319231°W |
| Radcliffe Wharf | 53.564088°N 2.32981°W |
| Steam Crane | 53.557493°N 2.352694°W |
| Ladyshore Dam | 53.555608°N 2.365762°W |
| Paper Mill | 53.55488°N 2.368254°W |
| Nob End breach | 53.555108°N 2.371623°W |
Bolton Arm
| Location | Coordinates |
|---|---|
| Church Wharf | 53.577665°N 2.419969°W |
| Damside Aqueduct | 53.569261°N 2.404139°W |
| Smithy Bridge | 53.569084°N 2.399738°W |
| Fogg's Aqueduct | 53.562714°N 2.390774°W |
| Hall Lane Aqueduct | 53.560232°N 2.389041°W |
| Nob End Dam | 53.554413°N 2.375126°W |
Salford Arm
| Location | Coordinates |
|---|---|
| Bloody Bridge | 53.478468°N 2.259536°W |
| River Locks 1 & 2 | 53.478737°N 2.259992°W |
| Lock 3 | 53.480278°N 2.264302°W |
| Tunnel no.1 | 53.480934°N 2.264576°W |
| Locks 4 & 5 and turning basin | 53.481239°N 2.264619°W |
| Salford Terminus and Lock 6 | 53.481436°N 2.266856°W |
| Windsor Bridge | 53.485187°N 2.275136°W |
| Indigo Street | 53.499539°N 2.290515°W |
| Park House Bridge Road | 53.505011°N 2.294388°W |
| Agecroft Road Bridge | 53.510897°N 2.298028°W |
| Lumn's Lane Aqueduct | 53.518186°N 2.307676°W |
| Clifton Viaduct | 53.526802°N 2.314556°W |
| Clifton Aqueduct | 53.527312°N 2.316844°W |
| M60 Motorway | 53.528728°N 2.325529°W |
| Rhodes Lock | 53.532503°N 2.335973°W |
| Kilcoby Bridge | 53.535972°N 2.340721°W |
| Giant's Seat Locks | 53.538195°N 2.346332°W |
| Horse Shoe Inn | 53.544657°N 2.358238°W |
| Ringley Locks | 53.546536°N 2.360618°W |
| Prestolee Aqueduct | 53.552582°N 2.376284°W |
| Nob End Locks | 53.553793°N 2.375761°W |
>
See also
- Waterway restorationWaterway restorationWaterway restoration is the activity of restoring a canal or river, including special features such as warehouse buildings, locks, boat lifts, and boats. In the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States, the focus of waterway restoration is on improving navigability, while in Australia the term...
- Agecroft CollieryAgecroft CollieryAgecroft Colliery was a coalmine on the Manchester Coalfield in the Agecroft district of Pendlebury that first opened in 1844 in the historic county of Lancashire, England. It exploited the coal seams of the Middle Coal Measures of the Manchester Coalfield....
- Manchester to Preston LineManchester to Preston LineThe Manchester to Preston Line runs from the city of Manchester to Preston, Lancashire. It is largely used by commuters entering Manchester from surrounding suburbs and cities, but is also one of the main railway lines in the North West and is utilised by intercity services for Scotland and the...
External links
- 1850 overlay of the entire canal for Google Earth
- Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal Society
- Formal opening of the River Irwell entrance to the Canal, 19 September 2008, on YouTube
- Dave Lane home page, includes information about Fletcher's Canal
- Steven Parker's canal journeys part 1
- Towpath Guide by Alan Taylor, includes contemporary and more recent images of the canal
- DS Racing, featuring recent images of the Salford arm of the canal
Images of canal, external sites
- Image of canal at entrance to River Irwell 1901 at Manchester City Council
- Image of canal entrance at River Irwell 1909
- Image of canal at Darcy Lever in the 1960s at The Bolton News
- Image of Church Wharf in 1961
- Image of canal at Church Wharf in 1963
- 2 Images of the canal at Darcy Lever
- Image of canal at Ringley, being infilled under bridge
- Image of canal breach 1936
- Image of canal breach 1936, lower down