With his Agent, John Gilbert, he looked at ways to transport his coal into Manchester and
Liverpool, he wanted a route which would be cheaper than using the turnpike roads. Between them the two men
came up with idea to build "artificial navigable cuts", one from Worsley to the River Irwell at Salford and one
from Worsley to the River Mersey at Hollin Ferry (near Irlam).
Although this still meant they'd have to use the Mersey & Irwell Navigation it would be
much cheaper than using the turnpike roads. Although the Duke is often credited as the "Father" of British
canals his idea to create artificial navigable cuts was by no means an original one; as we have seen there were
earlier attempts in 1737 and 1753 to do much the same thing at Worsley and the Duke's uncle, Lord Gower, had
recently had a possible canal route surveyed which would connect the Mersey to the Potteries in Staffordshire. Near St. Helens a similar canal was already under construction and on top of all
of this, it is thought that the Duke had seen many canals in operation whilst touring Europe where such
waterways had carried goods for many centuries.
The Duke took his Bill to Parliament but gaining the Act was no formality as all the same
objectors who had succeeded in preventing the 1753 canal were out in force again. However, the Duke and Gilbert
had learned from the 1753 episode and were well prepared. Among other things the Duke promised that his coal
would be no more than 4d per hundredweight and that he would allow certain cargoes (such as manure and lime) to
be carried free. Water supply objections were dismissed as the Duke said the supply would come entirely from
Worsley Brook within his own estate. He also said no public money would be used as he was to fund the whole
venture himself. The Act was passed on March 23rd and the Duke immediately bought a tract of land on the banks
of the Irwell where he planned to make a junction into the river.
During that summer the Duke was introduced by Lord Gower's Agent, Thomas Gilbert (John
Gilbert's brother), to the man who had surveyed Gower's route to the Potteries. This was a millwright and mine
drainage expert named James Brindley, the Duke showed Brindley his plans and Brindley agreed to build the canal
with John Gilbert overseeing the works.
1760
Within 12 months the Duke's cut had reached Patricroft, 2 miles south of Worsley and just one mile from the
Irwell. The second route to Hollin Ferry had also reached 2 miles to Botany Bay Wood, north of Irlam.
The Mersey & Irwell Navigation Company were only too aware that the new waterway would
become a direct rival to their monopolising route. To keep the Duke at bay they refused to agree reasonable
terms to allow the Duke to build junctions into their navigation. Brindley was told to re-survey the routes and
it was decided to cancel the line to Hollin Ferry and concentrate on a route into Manchester. The Duke went
back to Parliament and a new Act was granted but the new route left people wondering if the Duke and his
assistants were going slightly mad. The new Act allowed the waterway to cross over the River Irwell on a
navigable bridge. The idea of carrying boats in the air over the top of a river was ridiculed by many but the
Duke was not to be put off.
Around this time John Gilbert came up with the idea to take the canal right inside the
Duke's mine workings. Gilbert designed the layout of the underground channels and Brindley (using his mine
drainage expertise) engineered the work. When finished this allowed canal boats to travel right up to the coal
face, the boats were built 47 feet long and just 4½ feet wide. They had very prominent ribbed sides and this
skeletal appearance led to them being nicknamed "starvationers".
The boats were not crewed but were strung together 5 at a time and pulled in a train by a
horse. Inside the mines the water channel was 10 feet wide with 8 feet headroom. The "main line" of the channel
(built on the same level as the outside canal) reached 4 miles to shafts at Dixon Green Colliery in Farnworth.
A branch off this line reached a further 2 miles to Brackley Colliery. Many other branches were cut, some
totalling over a mile in length and extensions continued to be built in the following years, some of which were
built on different levels.
1761
It took just one year to complete the aqueduct over the Irwell at Barton. People watched - some in terror -
most in astonishment - as the first boats past across the aqueduct on July 17th. Within another 6 months the
canal had passed across Trafford Moss and reached Stretford.
Although it is not clear who dreamed up the idea, the plan to build an aqueduct was very
daring. No navigable aqueduct had ever been built in this country, many people had believed it to be
impossible. There are many differing viewpoints on the subject of who's idea the aqueduct was. Some say it must
have been Brindley - he was the man who became famous for his canal building. However, he was never much of an
aqueduct builder, the aqueducts he built after this were usually far inferior. Some say it must have been
Gilbert's idea, the whole route was planned by him so why not the aqueduct as well? Not many seem to think it
was the Duke himself who dreamed up the idea of a waterway in the air. Yet he surely must have seen many
similar structures on his travels around Europe. Who ever it was that thought of the idea, it took all 3 to
complete it; the Duke's money, Gilbert's management and Brindley's engineering know-how.
1762
With his waterway now on the south side of the Irwell the Duke was in a very commanding position. He now
intended to create a route to Runcorn, this would completely bypass the Mersey & Irwell Navigation and
provide very stiff competition for it. In a pamphlet which the Duke published he described the river navigation
as "imperfect, expensive and precarious". His new canal would be nearly 10 miles shorter than the river's route
between Manchester and Runcorn and it would pass through a number of prospering towns. The Act was passed in
Parliament with little difficulty and work began.
1763
Work continued on both lines of the canal. The Manchester line reached Trafford while the Runcorn line reached
Sale having crossed the Mersey via another aqueduct - this one much smaller than the one at Barton.
1765
The whole of the line from Worsley to Manchester was completed to a terminus at Castle Field. Almost
immediately the price of coal in Manchester plummeted to just a fraction of its pre-canal cost. By this time
the Runcorn line had crossed Sale Moor and reached the outskirts of Altrincham.
1766
An agreement was made with the promoters of the Trent and Mersey
Canal which was then about to begin construction. Both the Bridgewater Canal and the Trent & Mersey
Canal wanted to terminate in Runcorn so it was agreed that the two waterways would share the route from Preston
Brook to Runcorn. Brindley was also to be engineer on the Trent & Mersey route.
Meanwhile, passenger services were begun between Worsley and Manchester and also between
Lymm and Manchester on the Runcorn Line. Lymm had been reached quickly despite the need for a number of high
embankments.
A rival company proposed a route from Manchester to Stockport. The Duke quickly retaliated
by proposing a 7 mile route of his own from Sale to Stockport. The Duke successfully obtained an Act to build
this canal though no work was ever started.
By this time the building of the canal was sapping the Duke's finances. However, he was so
sure that his canal would succeed that he sold his London home, mortgaged his estates and borrowed money from
his relatives to pay for work to continue. Even with all the help he could muster he still fell heavily into
debt and was refused credit in certain areas. On top of this he was given little or no confidence in his scheme
from anyone outside the small group who worked with him. Despite all this he kept going and the canal was
completed.
1772
In September, James Brindley died. By this time he was not only involved with the Bridgewater Canal and the
Trent & Mersey Canal but with many other schemes all over the country. Sadly, only a very small amount of
Brindley's projects were finished in his life time but most of them became great successes and many of his
waterways still see thousands of boats every year. Shortly after his death his great flight of 10 locks down
into the Mersey were completed at Runcorn. In December these were opened and the first boat left the Mersey to
climb up onto the Bridgewater Canal. However, at this point there was no through route to Manchester or to the
junction at Preston Brook where the Trent & Mersey Canal began. This was due to a landowner, Sir Richard
Brooke of Norton, who would not allow the canal to be built across his land. The "Battle of Norton Priory" was
begun.
1775
After 3 years of negotiation, Sir Richard Brooke finally agreed to give up his land to allow the Bridgewater
Canal to be completed from Preston Brook to Runcorn.
1776
It took 14 years to complete the whole line to Runcorn, it finally opened on March 21st and it was an instant
success. Not only did the Duke now have a connection from his mines to Manchester, he now had a link to
Liverpool and the sea. Within a year the Trent & Mersey Canal opened giving the Bridgewater Canal access to
the Potteries, Birmingham and even the east coast via the River Trent. The Duke soon repaid all his debts and
the canal went from strength to strength. By 1779 the line to Runcorn had earned over £21,000. This was growing
all the time and in the next two years the route earned the Duke a further £7,000. To ensure he kept full
control of his coal he bought land on the banks of the Mersey in Liverpool on which he created his own
dock.
The Duke spent the rest of his life dedicated to his mines and the canal and he did much to
help promote other canals throughout the country.
1791
With the Runcorn line carrying more cargo every month, the Duke extended his docks at Runcorn
1793
The Duke went into negotiations with the Lancaster Canal company. This
company were building a route into the south Lancashire area but had not finalised a link into the main canal
network. They hoped to continue their route from the north east of Wigan, through Westhoughton and on to
Worsley. Although the link would have been of advantage to both canals no deal was ever completed and the link
was never built.
1795
The Duke went back to Parliament to obtain an Act enabling him to build a new canal. This would run west from
his mines at Worsley to the mining town of Leigh. The Act was granted and work began. However, there was great
sadness for the Duke when on August 4th his agent and great friend John Gilbert died aged 71. Whereas the Duke
is credited with providing the money for this country's first true independent artificial navigation and
Brindley is credited with providing the know-how to built it, Gilbert was for many years left out of the
honours. Not until the middle of the 20th century, with greater research techniques available, was it realised
that the Bridgewater Canal would not have existed without Gilbert. As well as managing the canal's business
(both during construction and operation) he also drew up most of its planned route and the idea to build canals
within the Duke's mines.
Just before his death, Gilbert had put together a plan to extend the use of the underground
channels within the Duke's mines. By now the underground canals were longer than those outside - totalling well
over 40 miles in length. However, the channels were built on 4 different levels - the original main line built
at the same level as the outside canal, a channel running at 35 yards above the main line, one running 56 yards
below and another running 83 yards below. To connect these Gilbert designed an underground inclined plane which
had two parallel wagonways each with a container which could hold a "starvationer". The incline opened in
1797.
1799
The Leigh extension was opened. It was 5 miles long and, like the rest of the Bridgewater Canal main line, had
no locks.
1803
On March 8th the Duke of Bridgewater died aged 67, remembered not only as a wealthy businessman but as the man
who's determination started the British canal system which later resulted in the industrial revolution and,
therefore, the modern world as we know it.
The Bridgewater Canal passed into the hands of the Duke's uncle, the Marquess of Stafford
(formerly Lord Gower), though the Duke willed that a group of trustees should be formed to look after the
interests of his collieries and the canal company. Robert Bradshaw was appointed manager. The new managers
first job was to fight a proposal by the Leeds and Liverpool
Canal to build a link from Wigan to Leigh. The last thing the Bridgewater Canal wanted was a short cut
route to Liverpool which would take business away from their Runcorn line. Bradshaw was successful in his
opposition to the link and the plan was dropped.
1804
A new canal arrived on the scene in Manchester. This was the Rochdale Canal
which crossed the Pennines and connected with the navigations to Leeds and Hull. The Rochdale Canal ended at a
junction into the Bridgewater Canal at Castle Field in Manchester. A transhipment warehouse was built on the
Bridgewater Canal at a point a little further along the route where the Rochdale Canal ran above the
Bridgewater. Hoists and pulleys were used to lift or drop goods from one canal to the other. Castle Field (or
Castlefield as it is now known) became a very busy place after the opening of the Rochdale Canal with twelve
different carrying companies using the wharves. These included Pickfords, the Bridgewater's own carrying
company and the Hugh Henshall Carrying Company which belonged to the Trent & Mersey Canal. (By 1821 there
were 21 companies using the wharves at Castlefield, including a fly boat service carrying goods all the way to
London).
1805
Not everything was going in the Bridgewater Canal's favour. The Mersey & Irwell Navigation didn't simply
give up the fight for trade between Manchester and Runcorn. By now they had opened a new artificial cut of
their own which ran right into Runcorn. They instantly stole most of the Bridgewater's passengers with the
start of a packet boat service which made the journey in 8 hours, one hour less than the route via the
Bridgewater. The Bridgewater's yearly growth in profits suddenly halted and this caused the company to fight
back. They ended a special rates agreement and changed their toll prices, within a year profits soared and this
continued for a number of years until a new agreement was made between the two companies which reset an equal
rate for tolls.
1820
The Leeds and Liverpool Canal connected a line from Wigan to
the Bridgewater Canal at Leigh. This provided a new direct route to Liverpool and to the Lancashire towns of
Wigan, Blackburn & Burnley. A similar link had been objected to by the Bridgewater Canal in 1803 but
different circumstances brought different needs and no objections were made on this occasion.
1822
Railways came early to Manchester and Liverpool, in fact, the world's first ever passenger service ran between
the two cities. The first railway to be proposed was announced in the press on October 2nd. Being the good
friends that they were (!) the Bridgewater and Mersey & Irwell companies joined forces to vigorously object
to this new mode of transport. This first railway onslaught was defeated with its Bill being turned down by
Parliament in 1825.
1826
Within a year of the railway's defeat in Parliament they were back with a new Bill. Having now looked fully at
the potential of a railway the Marquess of Stafford (Lord Gower) decided to help promote the project this time.
He invested £100,000 in the new company though at the same time (probably to keep the trustees happy) he also
invested £40,000 in the Bridgewater Canal. The Mersey & Irwell company were devastated by the canal's
change of allegiance though they vowed to fight on alone. This was to prove fruitless and the Act to build the
Liverpool & Manchester Railway was passed on May 1st.
1830
The Liverpool & Manchester Railway opened on September 15th. Following this the canal had a real trade
battle on its hands. The company's manager, Robert Bradshaw, was left in the position of having to compete with
a railway that his own canal's owner had promoted! Bradshaw was given complete control of the canal and was
able to set tolls as he pleased but because the Mersey & Irwell company had completely fallen out with the
Marquess, Bradshaw was unable to strike up any toll agreement with the river navigation. Although no great
losses were made at first, maintaining profit levels was very difficult.
1833
The Marquess of Stafford died. Like his nephew, the Duke of Bridgewater, he should always be remembered as one
of the founders of the canal system. In fact, his first venture - a route from the Mersey to the Potteries -
predated the Bridgewater Canal. He is also the man who first employed James Brindley as a canal surveyor. Most
of the Marquess' business was passed to his eldest son, the notorious Duke of Sutherland. This included the
Donnington Wood Canal on the East Shropshire tub-boat network but
thankfully Sutherland did not inherit the Bridgewater Canal, instead it was left to Gower's second son, Lord
Francis Egerton.
The job of manager of the mines and the canal company (and head of the canal's trustees) was
now held by James Sothern, a man who rarely agreed with Egerton on how the canal should be run. Egerton was
keen to make toll agreements with both the railway and the Mersey & Irwell but Sothern refused. Because of
this the canal was losing trade but Sothern would not make deals with the rival companies.
1837
After 4 years of battles within the canal company, Egerton was able to buy out Sothern and run his own canal.
Immediately he put a stop to the damaging toll wars that Sothern had kept up with the river and railway. He
then put James Loch in charge of the company under the title of "Superintendent".
1838
Although the connection of the Rochdale and Bridgewater canals was of advantage to both companies, they were
still in the business of trying to out do each other at all times. This was exaggerated further when both
companies created links into the Mersey & Irwell Navigation in Manchester at the same time. The Bridgewater
company built a link from Castlefield, via Hulme Locks, while the Rochdale Canal backed the creation of the
Manchester and Salford Junction Canal which would
link its canal to the Irwell without having to use the Bridgewater Canal at all. This junction canal could have
had a devastating effect on the wharves at Castlefield though in the end it was the Bridgewater's Hulme Locks
link which became the most used.
1840
A number of years of wheeling and dealing, buying and selling began when the Mersey & Irwell Navigation
company broke ranks and went back on the latest toll agreement between itself, the railway and the Bridgewater
Canal. The river navigation had big ideas of a great ship canal into Manchester, it also attempted to strike a
deal with the new Manchester & Leeds Railway but one way or another the Bridgewater Canal and the Liverpool
& Manchester Railway forced the river navigation back into its original agreement.
1841
Next it was the Liverpool & Manchester Railway who broke ranks. It began to see a decline in profits so in
December it reduced the tolls on cotton carrying. A few months later it joined forces with the Manchester &
Leeds Railway, creating direct competition to all the waterways from Liverpool to Leeds.
1842
Desperate to regain lost trade from somewhere the Mersey & Irwell company bought the Manchester &
Salford Junction Canal. This was somewhat worrying to the Bridgewater company because river traffic could now
reach the centre of Manchester and the Rochdale Canal without paying any extra tolls to the Bridgewater. This
meant boats no longer wanted to use Hulme Locks on the Bridgewater Canal and Castlefield would be bypassed.
1843
Another tolls agreement was set up but this did more to help the river and railway than it did the canal.
Egerton and Loch knew they could not afford to let the situation continue.
1845
The solution to the Bridgewater company's problem was somewhat drastic .... they proposed to buy out their long
time rivals the Mersey & Irwell Navigation. Egerton (now known as Lord Ellesmere) went to Parliament in
order to gain an Act enabling him to take over the river navigation. His Bill was successful and on January
17th 1846 he bought the Mersey & Irwell Navigation for £400,000 (of which £110,000 came from his own
pocket), his ancestor the 3rd Duke Of Bridgewater (another Francis Egerton), would have been well pleased!
Along with the river he also acquired numerous docks and wharves all along the route, including those in
Liverpool. He also acquired the Manchester & Salford Junction Canal which he kept open but did not promote
as the best route to take - thus keeping Castlefield busy.
1850
Not surprisingly the Bridgewater company saw something of an upturn in profits following its take over of the
river and Loch was becoming increasingly tempted to sell out to prospective railway and ship canal builders. By
this time railway companies owned all the adjacent canals including all the waterway routes across the
Pennines. This meant that the Bridgewater Canal could soon be left at a great disadvantage again and matters
were made worse when London & North Western Railway forced the canal into giving up some of its traffic.
The share had always been one third canal, one third river and one third railway but the railway successfully
argued that this should be changed to 50/50 railway/waterway. To counter this Loch attempted to lease his
waterways to Great Western Railway who were then struggling to find a way into the north west market.
1855
James Loch died before any settlement was agreed with GWR. All negotiations were instantly stopped by the new
superintendent, the Hon. Algernon Egerton (Lord Ellesmere's third son). Egerton had no wish to do deals with
railways, he decided the company would instead strengthen its ties with other waterways and attempt to create
water borne long distance trade routes.
1859
The first (and ultimately - only) step was the opening of a linking canal from Runcorn to Weston Point on the
Mersey estuary where the River Weaver Navigation had a large port. The link was just 1¼ miles long and was
known as the Runcorn & Weston Canal.
1860
Other improvements were made to Egerton's waterways including new docks at Runcorn and Liverpool. These
improvements and the link with the River Weaver kept the Bridgewater company in good health. Added income came
from carrying with nearly half of all goods on the Bridgewater Canal and river navigation being carried by the
company's own carrying fleet.
1872
Two railway companies, the Midland and the Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire joined forces and then made
a bid for the Bridgewater company. The trustees decided it was an offer they could not refuse and both the
canal and river navigation past into railway ownership on July 3rd at a price of £1,115,000. The new operation
was to be known as the Bridgewater Navigation Company.
The railway owners did not close down the waterways, instead they brought them into the
railway age by introducing steam tugs. These were able to pull three barges at once on the lock free stretch of
the canal between Manchester and Runcorn. The company also improved the river navigation by upgrading its
wharves and opening Fenton Dock in Runcorn. By this time Runcorn Docks covered 16 acres of land and 36 acres of
quay.
1885
The BNC enjoyed stable profits for well over a decade but this came to an abrupt end on August 6th when an Act
of Parliament was granted allowing the construction of the Manchester Ship Canal. This was not just the usual
worry of competition however, the Act enabled the newly formed company to buy out the BNC and this it did for
£1,710,000.
Perhaps the saddest part of this as far as the Bridgewater Canal is concerned was that Barton Aqueduct had to
be demolished. Once proclaimed as a joke and later as the eighth wonder of the world, the aqueduct now had to
make way for the mighty ship canal. However, the aqueduct was replaced by a new wonder created by Edward Leader
Williams. This was the first (and only) swing aqueduct. It stretched across the new ship canal joining the
Bridgewater Canal on either side, when a vessel needed to pass along the ship canal the water channel on the
aqueduct would close, sealing water within it and then it swing open on huge rollers.
1887
The Manchester Ship Canal company had no interest in small local collieries so the underground canals which
began at Worsley Delph were closed and never used again.
1894
The ship canal saw its first traffic on January 1st and was officially opened by Queen Victoria in May. The new
canal ran along the south bank of the Mersey estuary and then completely took over the Mersey & Irwell
Navigation's route. Unlike the old navigation, the ship canal was straight, wide and always deep. The much
smaller Bridgewater Canal survived intact however and while some amount of trade was lost to the new waterway,
far more was gained.
1920
Up until WW1 the Bridgewater Canal continued to carry huge amounts of cargo, especially along its Leigh Branch
where coal mines were still going strong. Following the war, when all canal boats were handed back to their
private owners, many companies simply couldn't afford to make up the backlog of maintenance. Many independent
companies closed all together while most of the Canals which had run their own carrying fleets now reverted to
just collecting tolls for income. Railways and the growing use of road haulage also quickened the canal's
decline.
1963
The locks leading from the Bridgewater Canal down to the Manchester Ship Canal at Runcorn Docks were closed.
Within a few years they were demolished.
1972
The last major commercial carrying came to an end on the Bridgewater Canal when Trafford Park power station
stopped its water borne coal deliveries.
1974
All commercial carrying on the Bridgewater Canal came to an end.
1990's
After 100 years of success, commercial traffic on the Manchester Ship Canal dwindled to as little as just one
vessel per week. The owners of the Manchester Ship Canal began to look at other ways to earn money, one idea
was to redevelop the massive docks at the Manchester end of the canal.
Manchester Docks became Salford Quays with the actual docks becoming a huge recreational
water park. Hotels, shops, apartments, night clubs, art galleries.... and lots more were built around what was
once the ship canal's wharfs.
A new lock was opened connecting the ship canal to the Bridgewater Canal. The new lock
replaced the old Hulme Lock connection and was named Pomona Lock (after the former dock which it connected
with), it cost £1.5 million and was built 70 feet long by 15 feet wide. It opened in May 1995 but sadly this
did not pave the way for pleasure craft to use the Manchester Ship Canal. In the main the huge waterway stands
unused with its owners seemingly at a loss as to what to do with it.
Because the Bridgewater Canal belongs to the Manchester Ship Canal company it was not
nationalised in 1948 when the Government took over most of the country's other waterways. The canal is now a
popular pleasure route, it has outlived many of the local railways and sees hundreds more vessels every year
than the ship canal.
Back to top
Back on the Bridgewater Canal, at the village of Preston Brook is a 3-way junction where the
branch to Runcorn begins. The Bridgewater continues on for another ¾ of a mile south into Preston Brook Tunnel.
When it emerges (¾ of a mile further south) it then becomes the Trent & Mersey Canal.
Preston Brook is on the A56 just ¼ of a mile south west of Junction 11 of the M56. It is
possible to turn north at the A56 bridge over the canal and drive along the towpath.
Today there is not a great deal to see here (on the surface) but in working days it was a
very different story, for this was once the busiest transhipment wharf in all of Britain.
Click on the image to the left to see a diagram of Preston Brook as it was in working days.
North, is to the right.
Today, on the north side of the A56 and on the towpath (west) side of the canal there is a
short row of white terraced cottages. Directly opposite, on the east bank, there is a small boat yard. In
working days, directly in front of the terraced cottages, was an office building used by the canal company's
agent and other administrative officers. This building stood right up against the road bridge and straddled the
towpath, causing boatmen to unhitch their horses to pass through.
A few yards north of this office is the site of a small building which was called the Bell
warehouse. This got its name because it had a belfry on the roof. The bell sounded at 6am to start the working
day and at noon to start lunch break. It was replaced by a hooter in 1900. The agent's office and Bell
warehouse were demolished in 1934 and a new, wider road bridge was constructed at the same time.
Behind (west of) the Bell Warehouse, set back from the towpath, were a row of houses
situated around a green facing the canal. These were occupied by company servants such as the agent, the
warehouse manager, the ostler and other people who worked at the wharf. These houses can still be seen, the
largest of them is named Wharf House.
As you continue north along the towpath, beyond Wharf House was a fire engine shed and then
a long row of stables. A newer building and a rough parking lot now stand here.
On the opposite bank, where the boat yard is now situated, there was a row of warehouses
collectively known as the Preston Sheds. These were the main transhipment sheds which made Preston Brook a very
busy place. Transhipment was necessary because there were 3 types of boat capable of reaching this point with
none being well suited to travel on the other's waterway. These were Mersey Flats, Bridgewater Barges and Trent
& Mersey narrowboats. Cranes and hoists used to stand beside the warehouses, the hoists being powered by a
steam beam engine which was used up until the 1930's. One of the warehouses was built out over the canal to
create a covered wharf.
North of these buildings was a large area of open cargo space containing over half a dozen
hand operated cranes. Further north was an isolated building called Dandy Warehouse (standing where the M56
bridge now crosses over). Preston Sheds were derelict by WW2 as transhipment had moved to a site further north
(see below). The sheds were reinstated to hold lard during WW2 but they were demolished soon afterwards.
Just north of the M56 bridge is a 3-way canal junction. In the early days of the canal there
was nothing to the north west of the junction (on the Runcorn arm) but as time went on the area was developed.
First came a railway, this still passes beneath an aqueduct just a few yards into the Runcorn arm. A few yards
further along the Runcorn arm was a smaller arm leading into a basin on the west side of the canal. The large
Norton Warehouse straddled this arm, allowing boats to pull inside to be loaded under cover.
Numerous smaller buildings stood around the basin at the back of the warehouse. These
included a smithy, an engine driver's house, the Hay Shed, the Ginny Shed and a gas works which lit the whole
transhipment area. The Ginny Shed was a long building containing a crane on rails which could move up and down
the length of the basin moving cargo from boat to boat or to almost anywhere on the wharf. The men who worked
on this wharf were known as "iron men" because iron was the main cargo. The Hay Shed was where the "provender
gang" worked. These were the men who made up the feed for the horses belonging to the Bridgewater company. The
feed was bagged and loaded onto barges to be sent to stables (or "horse stations") all along the canal. The men
who ran these stables were called Ostlers. Originally I wondered if this was a slang term because they looked
after the ‘osses! But I’ve since upped my education and found that the word Ostle is the same as Hostel - and
means a safe place to stay at night.
At the back of the basin were a row of cottages, once again occupied by canal officers.
Between the railway aqueduct and the basin was a school and chapel. Lewis Caroll's father, the vicar of nearby
Daresbury, is said to have taught here. The school was for the children of the clerks at the transhipment area,
the chapel had apparently been capable of floating before it was fixed in place at Preston Brook. In 1880 the
"boat school" was burned down and replaced by a mission hut though this was never used as a school.
To the north of Norton Warehouse, right on the canal bank, were a number of other sheds. One
of these was called Railway Shed, it had a double arch at each end and a massive canopy built out over the
canal. Although the building was impressive the railway's success was not and the Birkenhead, Lancashire &
Cheshire Junction Railway was dismantled by 1877. Other sheds were also built on this stretch, they all used
horse powered hoists where the horse would drag a rope via a pulley to lift goods between the barges and the
sheds.
Today there is no sign of Norton Warehouse, it was accidentally burnt down during its
demolition just after WW2. The Ginny Shed had already been demolished before the war after its roof had blown
off. Only one canal building, Stitts Shed, has survived and today it stands on the northern side of the
junction into the former Norton Basin. On the opposite side of the junction was "Black Shed" which was still
standing in the mid 1970's but has now disappeared, replaced by new housing. In fact, all around the area is
the huge new private housing estate of Murdishaw. Some of the back gardens of the new houses surround the old
basin, now called Duke's Wharf.
Further along the canal the impressive railway shed also burnt down with enormous damage
being caused to a hotel boat company who used the shed at the time. On its site, and where the horse powered
hoist sheds used to be, there is now a road with houses facing the canal. The sheds survived in place until the
late 1960's when the housing estate replaced them. Directly opposite the housing estate (though hidden from
view) is the huge Preston Brook Marina.
Back at the A56 road bridge you should take a look south towards Preston Brook Tunnel.
Although the tunnel is some way out of sight you will be able to see a large old building on
the non-towpath side. This was the North Stafford Warehouse, also known as the "flour" warehouse. In recent
decades this has been used as a night club and a restaurant though it has now been converted into apartments.
On the towpath side there were two rows of cottages, other houses, some shops, a smithy, a weigh ticket office
and a gauging dock. There were also two railway interchange buildings and although the railway sidings are
still used today, no transhipment has taken place here since about 1920. Sadly, all but a few of the houses
have now completely gone from this side of the canal.
