Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal

The local geology of the Irwell Valley, which included steep sided valleys with fast flowing rivers subject to rapid flooding and dry seasons, confined local river transport to the Mersey and Irwell Navigation, west of Manchester. Financial unrest and British involvement in the American Revolutionary War restricted local transport investment to road improvements.[4]

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,[5] but the first public notice came from Manchester on 4 September 1790.[nb 1][6] The initial proposal probably came from a group in Bolton, with the support of the Mersey and Irwell Navigation Company.[7] 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.[6][8] 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.[6]

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".[6] 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".[9] 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.[10] 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.[11]

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,[12] lists notable subscribers including the Earl of Derby, Lord Grey de Wilton, Matthew Fletcher, and Robert Peel. The 95 investments ranged from £100 to £3,000, and many were made by proxy. The total sum of investments was £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.[13] The first dividend of 4% was paid in July 1812, with regular payments following thereafter.[14]

Following a parliamentary survey of the route by Charles McNiven,[15] the bill received Royal Assent on 13 May 1791[10] 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."[16][17] The Act allowed the company to raise £47,000, with shares of £100.[18] 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.[16] The proprietors were entitled to take water from any brooks within 1,000 yards (910 m) of the canal, or within 3 miles (4.8 km) of the canal summits at Bolton and Bury.[17]

At a meeting in Manchester on 30 June 1791, at the house of Alexander Patten, a committee was formed with the following members:[19]

1. Lord Grey de Wilton, Heaton House, Lancashire
2. Sir John Edensor Heathcote, Longton, Newcastle, Staffordshire
3. Thomas Butterworth Bayley esq. — Hope, Salford[20]
4. Robert Andrews esq — Rivington
5. James Wareing, Gentleman, Knowsley
6. Matthew Fletcher (Mine owner, Clifton)
7. Peter Wright, Gentleman, Manchester
8. William Marsden, Merchant, Manchester
9. Charles McNiven, Gentleman, Manchester
10. Hugh Henshall, Longpost, Staffordshire
11. 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. Fletcher and Henshall were ordered to contact people and companies in the building trade to discuss construction.[19]

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.[19]

With news of the planned Rochdale Canal link into Manchester,[21] 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.[22] 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.[23] 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.[24]

Map of the canal showing features and sections with/without water.

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,[18] 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.[25] 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.[26][27] 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.[28]

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.[29] Much of the document details the work required to convert the canal to broad gauge. A 5.75-mile (9.25 km) length between Oldfield Lane in Salford and Giants Seat Locks in Outwood was navigable with 3 feet 8 inches (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.[16] With the completion of the Bolton arm in the following year,[30] 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.[31] A bill was proposed in 1799 but after strong objections from the Mersey and Irwell Navigation Company[31] 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[32] to raise more money. This act, granted in 1805,[33] allowed them to raise an additional £80,000. This allowed them to repay the debt, and continue work to finish the canal.[34] An inspection in June 1808 reported that by November 1808 the canal would be complete throughout.[35]

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.[36]

Ladyshore Colliery

Most of the traffic along the canal transported coal from the many collieries that existed along its length, such as Outwood Colliery and Ladyshore Colliery. Some of these pits were linked to the canal by road, and some by short tramlines.[37][38] In the late 19th century as much as 650,000 metric tons (640,000 long tons) of coal and 43,000 metric tons (42,000 long tons) of other materials[39] including night soil[40] and fruit[41] were transported annually. The canal also enabled the transport of salt from Cheshire to the many bleach and dye works in its area – hence the name of Salt Wharf on the Bolton arm of the canal. Tolls were easily calculated as milestones were placed along the towpath at ¼ mile (400 m) intervals. This was important as journeys were often quite short, the collieries being so close to industry along the canal's length.[42]

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.[43]

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"[44] 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.[45] This boat did once reside at the boat museum in Ellesmere Port Dock[44] 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.[46] The nearby Giant's Seat House was for some time the home of the canal manager.[47]

The canal also carried packet services, with passengers facing a three-hour journey between Bolton and Manchester.[48] 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.[8][49] 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.[49] Passengers would change boats at Prestolee to avoid delays at the lock flight and also to save water,[17] and a purpose-built covered walkway the length of the road was constructed for their benefit.[50][51][52] 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.[53] In 1834 the Bolton to Manchester service earned £1,177 and the Bolton to Bury service earned £75.[53] 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.[48][53]

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.[50]

A parcel service was also offered, although this proved unpopular as it was unreliable.[54]

The seal of the Manchester, Bolton & Bury Canal Navigation & Railway Company

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".[55] 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".[7][55] 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.[56] 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.[57][58] Due to technical and financial constraints the branch to Bury was never built.[59] 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[60][61] which became known as the Manchester and Bolton Railway.

The line opened on 28 May 1838,[62] and the company had purchased four locomotives from Bury, Curtis, and Kennedy, two from George Forrester and Company, and two from William Fairbairn & Sons.[63] Between the opening date and 9 January 1839 the railway carried 228,799 passengers – far more than had been carried on the canal.[64] 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,[56] 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).[65]

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.

By 1924 the Bolton arm had experienced a significant fall in traffic, although until the 1930s, when colliery closures reduced traffic even further, coal trade remained brisk.[7] By 1935 Fletcher's Canal had fallen into disuse. Burst banks alongside the Irwell and Croal rivers (caused largely by subsidence from mining activities) were common. A major breach occurred in 1936 and was never repaired. 10.45 acres (42,300 m²) of land around this breach was purchased from the British Transport Commission by Cream's Paper Mill, who subsequently built over part of the canal.[66]

On 2 March 1937 the London, Midland and Scottish Railway held a Special General Meeting during which they proposed to abandon the canal from Clifton Aqueduct to Bailey Bridge, from Bailey Bridge to Bury, and the entire Bolton arm from Nob End Locks to Bolton.[67] The proposal was not carried[68] but four years later, under the London, Midland and Scottish Railway Act of 1941, they abandoned 7 miles (11 km) of the canal, including a section from Prestolee to Clifton and the entire Bolton arm.[69] In 1939, during the Second World War, the Ministry of Transport ordered a half-mile section in Agecroft piped, to reduce the risk of German bomb damage damaging the adjacent Magnesium Elektron Company's site.[7]

Although it continued to generate revenue from the sale of water, tolls produced only a small proportion of the canal's income. In 1946, against expenses of £12,500, it earned a total of £7,296, of which only £471 was from tolls.[70] In 1951 total income was £8,815 against a total expenditure of £9,574.[71] In the same year, the canal carried 3,933 long tons (3,996 t) of coal and no other materials.[72]

A British Transport Commission report of 1955 included the canal in its list of "Waterways having insufficient commercial prospects to justify their retention for navigation".[73] Following an Act of Parliament, in 1961 the canal was abandoned.[7][74] A single coal delivery service between Sion Street and Bury Moors continued until 1968, but this was the last commercial traffic to use the canal.

In 1795 costs of construction were detailed as follows:[29]

The total cost of construction was £127,700.