Sankey Canal Restoration Society

Volume 4 : Number 11 : Winter 2001/2

ROCHDALE CANAL

The Rochdale in its heyday: From Cassell’s History of England

Our November meeting was addressed by Brian Holden who has been connected with the Rochdale Canal Society since its very beginning in 1974. In fact he had worked for many years before that on the restoration of the Peak Forest Canal but when this project was completed he cast around for another society to join and, unlike most of his Peak Forest Volunteers, joined the Rochdale organisation.

Progress on restoring the canal has varied from rapid to static, especially during disputes caused by the withdrawal of funding, first from one source, then another. A major problem was the ownership of the canal and the difficulty in obtaining control of it. The Waterways Trust resolved this in July 2000 by buying the canal outright, using Heritage Lottery Funding. From that time onwards work has gone ahead at a great rate.

The main contractor is Balfour Beattie along with four subsidiary contractors. This allows work to be carried out simultaneously at many points along the canal, instead of starting at one end and working along its course. This speeds up the work considerably and the contractors are confident with their target date for reopening of 1st July 2002.

A great deal of work had been done on the Yorkshire side of the Pennines before sufficient interest was generated on the Manchester side, and Brian restricted most of his talk to the latter, beginning with Lock 92 at Castlefields, a familiar site to all SCARS members who have manned our sales stall during the annual carnivals. He lead us through the urban landscape of Manchester, along the brick and concrete canyons normally hidden from view, describing the problems associated with various sites and how they were solved. Who would know now for example that the neat little Lock Cottage beside lock 92 was until comparatively recently roofless and derelict, the haunt of tramps and drug users. A wealthy Society member, Jim Ramsbottom, purchased the building and has restored it.

A number of canal arms have been re-excavated as the northern area of Manchester is spruced up, some new bridges installed and the few surviving old warehouses have been given a new lease of life.

A supermarket built across the canal was a substantial obstacle. Negotiations resulted in a court case in which the company was offered a large sum to demolish their store and rebuild it away from the canal. The money paid over included a sum for the disruption to trade caused by having to close down and restart in a new store on the site. Strangely, the new store has never been rebuilt.

Beneath the same lock at Miles Platting as above – a different activity following the shallowing of the channel

A difficulty unique to this area resulted from protests that the canal should be filled in because of its potential dangers to local children. The response of the local authority was to fill in the channel, but to leave a water depth of four inches, a “shallows”, sure that no one could come to any harm in so little water. In this they were quite correct, but unfortunately the local populace continued their long standing tradition of throwing rubbish into the canal but now it didn’t sink into the depths but remained in view, an obvious eyesore until eventually removed.
As part of the restoration, all these shallows are being ripped out, and
the canal restored to near its original depth. During the early part of this work dumpers full of spoil could be seen driving along the canal bed and even through the locks

Some canal arms where they cross private land into the shipping holes of surviving canal buildings are not to be restored. A long straight stretch of the canal has been re-excavated but piled along both banks, creating a stark life-less aspect. Another section of new canal has a sharp bend in it as it approaches a bridge and lock. So sharp is the bend that long vessels have great difficulty in negotiating it. Earlier ‘restorations’ by Manpower Services are now showing their age, with tow paths being broken up by plant growth. All will be addressed during the coming months.

All the locks along the canal were ‘stanked’ that is a wall of pilings was erected across them, to maintain water levels and many of them were ’cascaded’ to negotiate the 9 feet drop. These are now being ripped out and new lock gates installed, made by Callis Mill, which supplied the gates for our own New Double Lock. Diversions are being built where immovable obstacles like roundabouts happen to be in the way. The water authorities have re-routed Haweswater Aqueduct which crossed the canal inches above water level, creating a sump below the canal to maintain the water supply. Plants and animals have been removed from the canal and until restoration is complete, after which they will be returned to the water. Every effort is now being directed to the completion of the work on time. SCARS wishes Brian and the Rochdale Canal Society every success on this final stretch, and in the future, when it is hoped that there will still be a role for its members to play.

Peter Keen