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The waterways of Britain were a vital source of power for the early cotton industry. The flow of rivers and streams was harnessed to power mills built on their banks, their downward flow moving water wheels and machinery. Mill owners constructed weirs to hold back the water, forming artificial reservoirs and so ensuring a more reliable supply. This was necessary as river levels could drop or rise, depending on weather conditions. The topography of the pennines ensured that Manchester and surrounding towns were blessed with an abundance of rivers such as the Irwell, Derwent, Croal, Tame, Bollin, and of course, the Mersey. For example, the waterwheel at Quarry Bank Mill was driven by the River Bollin and that of Helmshore Mill by the River Ogden. Rivers were also an important transport system, criss-crossing the country, passing through towns and villages. Tradesmen could use the waterways to move their wares, manufacturers to transport raw goods. There were, however, various obstacles to contend with. Rivers could be badly affected by silt (sediment, mud and other material deposited by the flowing water on the river bed) and also by changes in water levels, stranding boats and their cargoes. Travellers could often find themselves having to negotiate with mill owners for a release of the water captured by their weirs, in order to free grounded vessels. Many rivers that suffered from such problems were made navigable with improvements such as alterations to the river's route and the removal of obstacles. An Act of Parliament was passed in 1721 permitting the navigation of the Rivers Mersey and Irwell. The work included the construction of eight locks which were built close to the riverbank alongside the weirs. The navigation was opened in the 1730s and was used to transport cotton and other cargoes between Liverpool and Manchester. Cargoes were carried by vessels known as Mersey and Irwell Flats, sturdy craft that were built to fit the Navigation's locks. Their masts could be lowered to allow the vessels to pass under bridges, and although equipped with a sail, they were often pulled along by men or horses. Competition to the Mersey and Irwell Navigation arrived in the 1750s with the Duke of Bridgewater's plan to build a canal. COMING OF THE CANALS The first Bridgewater Canal Act was passed by the British Parliament in 1759. The Canal's completion in 1776 added great impetus to canal building in the North West and beyond, and was a catalyst for the development of a national network of inland waterways. By the time Queen Victoria ascended to the throne in 1837, there were over 4,000 miles of canals in Great Britain. The Bridgewater Canal was not the first Canal to be built in the British Isles, but it is seen as the first true industrial canal. The Duke of Bridgewater owned coal mines in Worsley (near Salford), and saw a market for his coal in Manchester and the surrounding area. Assisted by his agent and resident engineer, John Gilbert, and consulting engineer, James Brindley, the Duke pushed ahead with his plans for a direct link with his mines. The completion of the Bridgewater Canal enabled coal to be transported more cheaply to Manchester (the price of coal fell steadily once the canal had been completed), the Duke's supplies therefore feeding industrial growth in the region. This was a major benefit for the cotton industry, playing an important role in the steady growth of steam-driven mills, such as the Murray Mills in Ancoats. The Canal that brought in the coal which supplied the cotton industry was also a valuable route for the carriage of cotton, in both a raw and finished state. Amongst the considerable engineering achievements of the Bridgewater Canal was the underground canal network, that ran directly into the coalmines at Worsley, from Worsley Delph. This underground section enabled coal to be loaded directly onto barges, which could then travel straight out onto the overland Bridgewater Canal. The Bridgewater Canal was also famous for Brindley's Barton Aqueduct, a stone structure which carried the Canal over the River Irwell. Around Manchester, other canals were opened which eventually led to a comprehensive network of waterways linking the major towns. Bury and Bolton's communications were greatly improved by the opening of the canal linking Bury to Bolton and Manchester in 1791, Ashton and Manchester were linked by the Ashton Canal (1796) and the Rochdale Canal connected Manchester and Rochdale by 1799. Further north, Blackburn quickly became a major centre of the Lancashire cotton industry soon after the completion of the Leeds Liverpool Canal in 1816. THE "BIG DITCH" LINKS MANCHESTER AND LIVERPOOL A century later came the Manchester Ship Canal. Nicknamed the "Big Ditch", the Ship Canal linked Manchester directly to Liverpool, the River Mersey and, via the Mersey estuary, to the Irish Sea. It made Manchester accessible to ocean-going vessels, and enabled direct importation of raw cotton via Merseyside and for finished textile products to be shipped out the same way. The "Port of Manchester" was established with the Canal's opening in 1894, adding to the already well-established network of canals, including the Worsley-Manchester Bridgewater Canal (see above) and canals to Bolton, Rochdale, Todmorden, Huddersfield and Oldham. Some facts and figures illustrate the achievement of the engineers and the 16,000 construction workers ('navvies' - short for navigators) who built it: the Manchester Ship Canal is 36 miles long, 45-80 feet wide and 28 feet deep, with five major locks (Eastham, Latchford, Irlam, Barton and Mode Wheel). It cost £15 million to build (1894 prices), and took over six years to construct. Today, the Manchester Ship Canal still handles over 8 million tonnes (peaking in 1956 at 18.5 million tonnes) of cargo and 3,000 ships a year. Nowadays, restoration projects such as that of the Rochdale Canal in Manchester, are important elements of urban regeneration. The British Waterways Trust and a whole range of voluntary organisations are helping restore and maintain the network of canals that did so much to start and keep Lancashire's wheels of industry turning. See http://www.britishwaterways.co.uk for further details. See also the Bridging the Years web site at http://www.canalarchive.org.uk. Ruth Shuttleworth and Nigel Rudyard View the Waterways collection to find out more > |
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| Associated Images |
"Port of Manchester" [OLD/6/21/4], 1901, Tracy, W Burnett |
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