Timeline Slider

Bridgewater Canal Trust Formed The Bridgewater Canal Trust was formed following a breach of the canal at Dunham Massey. On the 2nd August 1971, a report was received from the Altrincham police concerning a leak from the Bridgewater Canal near the Bollin Aqueduct. The canal crosses over the River Bollin on an embankment with the […]

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1920’s – Present Day In the 1920’s, Bridgewater Collieries were sold to Manchester Collieries which was nationalised in 1948. Similarly, in 1923, a new company was formed to acquire the estate owned by the Ellesmere family in Worsley and other parts. This company became known as Bridgewater Estates Ltd, and was subsequently purchased by Peel […]

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Manchester Ship Canal Company Acquires The Canal & Barton Swing Bridge In 1885 (completed in 1887) the Canal was again sold when, under the Manchester Ship Canal Act the Manchester Ship Canal Company paid the Bridgewater Navigation Company £1,710,000 for the whole of their properties. One of the Ship Canal’s earliest requirements was to replace […]

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Change & Consolidation As the century passed the canal Trustees were hard pressed to find money to develop the coal mines and to build modern coke ovens – approximately £23,000 a year had to be spent on new plant. More money was needed to offset the threat of the railway on new canal development. The […]

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Competition & Conflict Much of the 19th century was taken up with battles in Parliament between the Canal Trustees and the new railways. The proposed Manchester to Liverpool railway was a huge threat to the Bridgewater Canal. The Railway’s Bill in 1825 was opposed to by the Trustees, but this was withdrawn when 1,000 railway […]

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Death of The Duke The work involved in creating the Bridgewater Canal by the 6th Earl and 3rd Duke of Bridgewater, left him heavily in debt for most of his working life. It was only in his later years when the Canal and other activities began to yield marked results that he was able to […]

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From Worsley to Leigh Nevertheless when the Duke was 60 years old, he successfully developed and secured his fifth Canal Act in 1795 to extend the Bridgewater Canal from Worsley to Leigh to link up with the Wigan branch of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. This would provide a through navigation between Lancashire and Cheshire […]

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From Sale to Stockport In 1765, the Duke progressed his fourth Bill for a Branch Canal from Sale to Stockport, following the valley of the Mersey. Although this was enacted the following year, the work was not started and the Act lapsed. Financial problems and other Canals in the course of development evidently had affected […]

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Activity on the Canal Castlefield Wharf and the Basin became a hive of activity from the time the first loads of coal were hoisted to street level by waterwheel at a rate of 5 tons an hour. In addition, warehouses, a brick kiln and lime kiln were also built and boating was extended when the […]

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Financial Strain At the Manchester end, the difficulties regarding land ownership were resolved by the Canal Duke purchasing the Hulme Hall Estate for £9,000. Spending this large amount of money, as well as other similar costs along the line of Canal, and the cost of constructing the navigation, wharves, warehouses, etc. was a great strain […]

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Extending to Merseyside At the end of 1761, the Canal was completed through to Stretford and to Castlefield Wharf, Manchester by 1765. Whilst this work was being carried out, the Duke and his team were busy on the next phase of extending the Canal to the Mersey tideway at Runcorn to forge a link with […]

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The Process Begins The Duke’s Bill, which received Royal Assent on 23rd March 1759, proposed two separate cuts from Worsley keeping north of the River Irwell, one via Patricroft to Salford and the other in the direction of Warrington to link with the River Mersey at Hollins Ferry. The route towards Patricroft made good progress […]

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The Early Days As a young man Francis Egerton, 6th Earl and 3rd Duke of Bridgewater, took a grand tour of Europe, and was evidently impressed with the canals in use on the continent which, after turning his back on London, spurred him on to develop this means of transport to serve his collieries in […]

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