Location :
Trafford, Manchester, Wigan, Salford
Cheshire East, Warrington, Halton
Stockton Heath, Lymm, Little Bollington, Agden, Dunham Massey, Grappenhall and Thelwall, Appleton, Walton, Moore, Sandymoor, Preston Brook, Daresbury
Non Civil Parish
|
| Summary : The Bridgwater Canal, which received the Royal Assent on 23 March 1759, was the forerunner of all modern canals in that it followed a route independent of all existing natural watercourses. It was built by Francis Egerton, third Duke of Bridgwater, to enable coal from his mines at Worsley to be transported to Manchester and sold cheaply. His engineers were James Brindley and John Gilbert and the line was opened to Stretford by the end of 1765. While the canal was under construction, there began the excavation of a remarkable system of underground canals to serve the Duke's mines, reached through two entrances at Worsley Delph. Eventually 46 miles of underground canal were built and the whole system remained in use until the late 19th century. In 1762 the Duke received sanction to extend his canal to the Liverpool tideway at Runcorn - this was later amended to connect with the new Trant and Mersey Canal at Preston Brook. The route between Liverpool and Manchester was opened in 1776. In 1795, the Duke received Royal Assent for the final part of the network which linked Worsley to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal at Leigh. As a result of this enterprise, the Duke spent much of his life heavily in debt, although he finally recouped his investments before he died in 1803. In 1872 the newly formed Bridgwater Navigation Company purchased the canal for 1.12 million pounds, and they in turn sold it to the Manchester Ship Canal Company in 1885. The building of the new Ship Canal meant that Brindley's original stone aqueduct over the River Irwell would to be replaced. Its successor, the Barton Swing Aqueduct, was a steel trough closed by gates at each end, pivoting on an island in the Ship Canal. The weight of the water carried by the new aqueduct is 1500 tons. |