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The Bridgewater Canal arguably marks the beginnings of the
UK canal system as we know it today, though it is not the first being
preceded by such enterprises as the Beverley Beck which actually pre-dates
it by at least 500 years, though it is probably the first major canal built
without following the path of an existing river. It was built by the Duke of
Bridgewater to service his mines by transporting the mined coal to
Manchester. Its success inspired a golden era of canal building from
1760 to 1830 which ended with the
development of the Railways. The canal becoming affectionately known as “The
Duke’s Cut”
The enterprise of building the canal was apparently
inspired by a “Grand Tour” of Europe, during which the Duke observed and was
impressed by the use of canals on the continent and decided that this might
provide a solution to transport problems at homes.
Progress started with Royal assent being given to the Duke’s bill in 1759 for two separate from Worsley, north of the river Irwell One via Patricroft to Salford and the other in rthe direction of Warrington to join with the Mersey, the first progressing without too many problems , with the second hit peat beds and having to be re-routed. The idea of developing a canal system was obviously not unique as at the time James Brindley was surveying on behalf of the Earl of Gower, (the Duke’s brother-in-law) for what was going to become the Trent and Mersey canal. The Duke and the Earl engaged in some discussion iduring which Brindley apparently used cheese to model a proposed aqueduct to take a modified route of the Patricroft over the river Irwell. These resulted in an Act of Parliament being passed in 1760 to allow the new route and the construction of the Barton aquaduct in stone later to be replaced by a steel construction we know today,
These events marked the beginnings of many years of
struggle and debate which eventually ended in the construction of a waterway
connecting to the Mersey.
The Duke died in 1803 bequeathing the canal and mines to a
trust, which eventually sold the navigation in 1872 to the Bridgewater
Navigation Co Ltd.
TheTrust believed that canals and Railways could work
happily side by side and continued the upkeep and improvement of the
waterway such as floodgates being erected with an overflow to stop flooding
from the medlock channel at Castleford, with the Old channel of the Irwell
being canalised about the same time, with the construction on Hulme Locks
1845 saw the purchase of the Mersey and Irwell navigation
, by the trust
1885 saw the sale of the navigation to the Manchester Ship
Canal Company
1920’s Bridgewater collieries were sold to Manchester
Collieries and then nationalised in 1948.
1994 The Manchester ship canal became a subsidiary of the
Peel Holds Group and transferred to the Peel Ports Group in 2004
The Bridgewater canal is currently owned and operated by
the Manchester Ship Canal Company in conjunction with the Bridgewater Canal
Trust