Report from our Talks Programme
by Peter Keen

1: In Memory of Amy, by Ben Williams

The final Society meeting of 2007 in November was addressed by Ben Williams of the Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal Society. He spoke on his cruise around the South Pennine Ring which he dedicated to his granddaughter, Amy, who died in her sleep, aged 11, in 2005. His boat, Woodstock, carried a banner supporting the CRY charity, (Cardiac Risk in the Young) a syndrome only recently recognised by the medical world which needs extensive research to reduce its incidence.

Ben has travelled many of Britain's waterways over the years, but it is only recently that the South Pennine ring has become available, thanks to the efforts of restoration societies on the Rochdale and Huddersfield Canals, so Ben determined to complete this trip in memory of Amy, supported at various times by friends and colleagues as and when paddles needed to be drawn and gates opened.

From his moorings at Worseley, Ben and his crew made their way across the Barton Aqueduct, through Trafford Park, passing Manchester United's ground, to Castlefields where the journey was to begin.

Where possible Ben was able to show the contrasts over the years where features had been transformed from dereliction to everyday use. Nowhere was this more visible than at Castlefields where canal-side warehouses have been restored, locks and gates rebuilt and canals brought back to life.

From The Bridgewater Canal the Woodstock locked up into the Rochdale Canal at Lock 92 and progressed to Bridgewater Hall where a special wharf was provided by the developers. Unfortunately they had not done their homework and the wharf is the only narrow boat wharf on the whole length of the Rochdale Canal, a broad canal. Further on the canal plunges underground below Piccadilly and Dale Street via a lengthy tunnel which was once a place to be avoided but is now much improved, with a sound towpath and electric lighting.

A sharp turn to starboard after Dale Street took Ben onto the Ashton Canal, another waterway which has seen much improvement after being "shallowed" in an ill fated development some years ago. Landmarks passed included Manchester City's ground, the old Ancoats Hospital (presently only a façade but intended for development), the junction with the Peak Forest Canal and, in Ashton itself, a new tunnel under Asda.

Beyond the superstore the waterway becomes the Huddersfield Narrow Canal (HNC) and approached Stalybridge. Here canal restoration was hindered for many years by the existence of two large local companies whose premises were built across its course. Over the years both companies have gone out of business, and the way opened up. Within the town itself the canal has become a feature, with public walkways, benches and lighting, a tremendous asset which other towns could well copy. The economic benefits of this section of canal have already outweighed the initial investments made by developers.

Leaving Stalybridge the canal enters a much more rural setting as it climbs ever higher into the hills. At one point an electricity pylon was needed which threatened to block the canal. Instead, the canal was narrowed for a short distance, allowing one of the pylon's feet to be built onto it but sufficient width of water was retained for boats to pass.

Uppermill was the next, again a place of change. Here the canal had been filled in, as recently as 1995, with an embankment carrying a high level road. After closing the road for a while, a new tunnel was constructed, the canal access restored and the road reopened.

At Dobcross is a transhipment warehouse, now fully restored and in use. This was the terminus for many years in the canal's early days as work progressed on the Standedge Tunnel. Goods were loaded on packhorses and taken "over the hump". During the later period of abandonment of the upper lock flight, it again become a dead end, blocked by road construction. The canal now burrows below the road and the locks have been restored leading up to the Tunnel Entrance.

A headache for the original canal engineers, a convenient method of carrying off spoil by the later railway engineers, the tunnel is one of the most famous canal structures in Britain. Subsidence closed it for many years but restoration has been carried out to restore contact between east and west and the tunnel is back in use. A one way tunnel, boats are marshalled into convoys of seven, sheeted up to protect them from drips from the tunnel roof and hauled through by electric tug boat, crews travelling in a separate vessel. The tunnel is three miles long and passage takes three hours. Boats have to be booked in advance and no animals are allowed. Pets must travel overland to meet the boats on the other side. The tunnel is also the summit pound of the canal and is much deeper than normal to store the water needed for operating the locks at either end.

Although the canal is in use, there remains work to be done, when the money becomes available. Many of the locks have voids behind the walls which fill with water when the lock is full and shower passing boats as the water level descends in the lock chamber. An interesting feature of this section of the canal is the use of guillotine lock gates rather than the more familiar mitre gates.

As the canal descends towards Huddersfield, there is again an example of a company's premises blocking restoration but again time has solved the problem. The company has gone, and a new channel built for the canal. Concrete lined, it has had a series of bracing beams fitted across the top to prevent the inward movement of the piling.

Beyond Huddersfield Ben reached the junction with the Calder and Hebble Navigation and turned westwards towards Sowerby Bridge. The paddle gear on these locks gates is operated by a wooden spike or lever, the length of a pick axe handle. Ben told the tale of a woman who used a spike made of soft wood which split during use, depositing her on the ground by the lock gate, causing some injury. She apparently intended to sue the Navigation Company for damages though it is doubtful if she would win any compensation since the problem was caused by her own foolishness. At Salter Hebble three locks have guillotine lock gates which are electrically operated, when correctly set up, so no levers are needed.

Reaching Sowerby Bridge, the Woodstock reached the waters of the Rochdale Canal which negotiated two locks before passing below a major road. For some years both locks have been inoperative and the passage below the road has been impossible. Not only had the tunnel been completely blocked, but the next section of canal had been filled in and was supporting part of the local supermarket's car park. Happily both locks are now working and after much local upheaval the tunnel below the road has been restored and a completely new lock built. As this is a deepest lock in England at 19'6" it has its own resident lock keeper to control passage through both the lock and the tunnel.

From here onwards for 47 miles the way lay upwards with many locks to be negotiated. Again there were features of interest along the way. By the clog factory was a new bridge under the road, quickly built with arco tubing so as to disturb road traffic as little as possible. Further still came Hebden Bridge, a small town which has made the most of the canal, opening up the waterside to pubic use and promoting water based activities at every opportunity. Next came Callis Mill where the gates for the New Double Lock on the Sankey Canal were built. The business has moved recently but continues its output of canal equipment and fixtures. The "Great Wall of Todmorden" is in fact a brick faced embankment carrying the railway but to canal users it looms large. The railway is later carried over the canal via a large castellated bridge which is again a well known feature. Just beyond Travis Mill is the summit level with its attendant cottages. Ben remarked on how many canal-side cottages and businesses put their best faces to the canal and these were no exception, clean, tidy and picturesque.

The Yorkshire section of the canal had been restored far earlier than the Lancashire side, 1972 and 1990 respectively as interest, enthusiasm and money varied in availability. From the summit pound at 600' the way lay downwards via the Littleborough Flight. This presented a dismal picture as the Woodstock descended in dark rainy weather but progress had to be made. More landmarks turned up, including the road to Hollinworth lake, a major feeder to the canal. A local manor house, Clegg Hall, had been in a state of disrepair but Ben was pleased to discover that it had been bought and turned into a family residence.

Passage through Rochdale itself was not a pleasant experience, there being much rubbish in the canal, sufficient to cause problems when operating the lock gates. At Castleton the canal restorers were faced with a considerable obstacle. The canal's course coincided with the course of proposed new road works. Following tough negotiations, a tunnel was constructed for the canal and the road built over the top, so everyone was a winner. Another obstacle was slightly larger in the form of the M62 Cross-Pennine Motorway whose elevation matched the canal's. Fortunately ( or otherwise) there was a convenient access tunnel close by where the motorway's height had increased and the canal was diverted through this. Because it is so narrow, the tow path provided is a floating one which can be hauled out to allow the passage of wider boats. The farmer involved was very disgruntled at not getting his asking price for his land and various mysterious events of vandalism have occurred from time to time since the canal was reopened.

At Mills Hill the River Irk flows below the canal aqueduct. In 2005 the flooding river carried debris up against its supports and demolished it, but it has been rebuilt and is back in full use. Past Chadderton the canal walls had been rebuilt in concrete but it was found that the curved nature of its course would not allow the passage of wide boats. It was therefore demolished and rebuilt.

Between Failsworth and Newton Heath, on the final approach to Manchester, the canal had been "cascaded" some years back and shallowed to 3" in an attempt to make it more attractive, and allow local children to paddle in the water. Sadly the canal became the dumping ground for all manner of rubbish and broken glass so neither intention was achieved. It is now restored to navigable depth.

Right near the end of the journey Ben came across a pound which had been drained by vandals but in the main there had been surprisingly few hold-ups, thanks to the sterling work of Ben and his crew, covering a distance of 87 miles, operating 216 locks, distributing publicity for the CRY Campaign and raising more than £2000 for its funds, a fitting memorial to Amy.

2: Harry Arnold - Waterway Photographer, by Colin Greenall

Society members who attended the October meeting had to be patient since, although we had the technology, we didn't have the know how. In other words we couldn't get the projector working. Eventually, after an excellent team effort, including audience participation, it was up and running and the evening could begin.

The topic was a selection of photographs of the Sankey Canal taken by Harry Arnold, the well known editor, publisher and photographer who has been most supportive to SCARS over the years and kindly lodged copies of his work in the SCARS Archive, most of which have been seen in recent issues of CUTTINGS, with the final set appearing in this issue.

Harry was born in Warrington and lived for some time in Newton-le-Willows, so the Sankey was a familiar stamping ground for him. Many of the pictures dated from the 1960s and, whilst the scenes may have looked familiar, in many cases the features depicted have long gone, consigned to history.

The commentary was given by Colin Greenall, the Society's work party organiser and stalwart of the sales team.

He began at Spike Island with a slide of the locks and lock cottage which have featured so prominently in our "Life of Riley" epic. Our own "Eustace Carey" was in a much better state in the 1960s , with most of its hull intact, now of course only the keel and bottom boards survive. Another slide showed the Jubilee Bridge across the Mersey under construction in the background. Carterhouse Bridge was then intact with the railway signal box in good repair and earning its keep, a sad contrast to today when the former is in need of replacement and the latter has only this year been demolished.

Harry is also a railway enthusiast so every so often a train appeared, including a coal train trundling alongside the canal on its way to Garston coal drops and a shot of the old push and pull Warrington to Widnes train.

Hall Nook swing bridge was intact in the 60s but has been replaced by a lift bridge. It has no lifting mechanism at present but there is space within the structure to add this at a later date. There was much to photograph at Sankey Bridges, the Lead Works, two swing bridges, one lift bridge, a WW2 pillbox, and a new overflow under construction to lead water into the old canal bed leading to the original lock into the Sankey Brook, now long gone.

Moving upstream the next stop was Bewsey Lock, at this time intact with fully working gates and paddle gear, with its attendant swing bridge. In common with the other lock gates along the Sankey, the windlass handles were a permanent part of the paddle gear and not removable as on later canals. The bridge illustrated was replaced this year (2007) with a new structure but sadly it is not a swing bridge. Some of the metal work from the old bridge has been incorporated into the new one. Of the lock gates there is no trace, with little prospect of change at present.

Dallam Sluices were perhaps the major engineering feat on the pioneer canal. The water in Sankey Brook, travelling southwards from St. Helens, was fed into the canal on its western bank just south of Hulme Lock and almost immediately fed out again eastwards via the sluices into Dallam Brook. There were also culverts available so the water management of this area was very complicated. Hulme Lock and cottage were intact when Harry took his photographs, surviving until the late 1970s.

Winwick was also a source of interesting photographs with the canal still in water. The maintenance yard, workshops, dry dock ( complete with crane to lift the bridge across its entrance) cottage and Ship Inn all came in for attention. Today there is a new bridge in position across the dry dock entrance but no means of opening it until the need arises when the canal is back in water. The shot of the workshop building showed the bell which was supposed to be used to mark lunch time and finishing time. This was put on display in Newton Library but was stolen, probably to be melted down for its scrap value.

Harry had continued upstream, passing Winwick Lock, then still in water, Hey Lock complete with its swing bridge and moved on to Bradley Lock, No cottages had survived at any of these locks. From Bradley could be seen the Sankey Viaduct and the site of Sankey Sugar Works, abandoned a few years before the photographs but already being used for tipping, with material encroaching onto the canal side.

North of the viaduct lay Newton Common Lock and its swing bridge, the Ship Inn, (another one) terraced housing and the site of Stephenson's cottage which survived until the 1960s. Today none of these features remain, only the lock chamber copings are visible as a result of the work carried out by SCARS and the Waterway Recovery Group.

Locals would like to dig out the four sailing flats buried in the canal between the lock and viaduct but this would be impractical since conservation of old timber is massively expensive and there would be nowhere to put them on display. Harry's photograph showed them to be examples of the old type of craft with the D-shaped transom.

Colin rounded off Harry's contribution with some old shots of the New Double Lock, complete with its cottage, together with some of its official reopening by the Mayor Councillor Tucker in 1992.

Having got into his stride, Colin was happy to show some more historic pictures of the Sankey Canal from the SCARS archives. A small set was shown depicting Bewsey Lock and swing bridge, Bewsey Lodge and the Lock Cottage C1915. The Lock Cottage had been uniquely extended eastwards from the back of the original wall, perhaps to house a large family? (Bradley Lock Cottage had also been extended and was almost doubled in size.) There must have been a real need for the canal company to invest its closely guarded capital in such works.

Some examples of Spike Island activity in the 1930s were shown, when the canal was still carrying traffic. All three sea locks were depicted, all in use, together with the steam cranes which were used to transfer materials from railway wagons into the waiting flats in the railway dock.

Hey Lock was shown in the 1920s (left, David Knowles' collection), boats at Sankey Bridges in the 1950s. Carter House Bridge and nearby fields were shown during a particularly high tide at around the same time with horses apparently walking on water as the sea inundated their grazing land (below, top, Frank Smith). Engine Lock was shown in 1960s (below, bottom) with the spoil heaps of Southport and Havanah Collieries in the background. There were still at that time the remains of a swing bridge, but time and major subsidence have resulted in the disappearance of both bridge and lock. The spoil has also gone, used to fill in the canal. The latest pictures were of Hulme Lock in 1976, disused and full of debris, vandalism is not a new phenomenon. By this time the lock cottage had gone but the lock was intact. Who knows, if SCARS had been formed a few years earlier perhaps more would have been saved.

The Society is most grateful for permission to use the photographs in the presentation, and very much appreciated Colin's excellent supporting commentary.

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