Stockport Branch - Ashton Canal

[magpie patrick]

On a trip up to see Dad recently I was shown round the remains of the Stockport Branch of the Ashton Canal: as some have enjoyed my forays onto things like the Chard Canal and the Dorset and Somerset (more to come on those when I make further visits and sort some of my photos out) I thought peeps might like a glimpse at this as well, whilst acknowledging that unlike the canals of Mendip, Martin Clark's Pennine Waterways Website also covers this one.

 

Given I grew up in Marple, I knew remarkably little of what is left of the Stockport Branch, very brief historical summary. It was one of at least two canals proposed to Stockport, a major industrial town very bady served by navigable waterways. It ran level for five miles from the Ashton, was opened in 1797, derelict by the 1920's and formally abandoned in 1962, a branch off it, the Beat Bank Branch, was started was neither completed nor opened.

 

As usual I won't swamp a single post with lots of photos, a bit at a time

 

 

The first few yards from the Junction with the Ashton Main Line are in water, although a barrier would prevent actually getting a boat in. The bridge as can be seen is intact and also is listed I believe

 

 

Not far away, the line of the canal is obvious but also obviously not a canal: the footpath/cyclepath follows the route continuously as far as Reddish

 

The other end of the canal, at the top of Lancashire Hill above Stockport Town Centre, is far less obvious. The terminus was behind me, but even the dedicated believer would have difficulty discerning it. Albion Mills, pictured, were once canalside, they were served by the canal. The lorry is about where the canal would have been

More to come as I sort them, as I saw quite a few bits between including an impressive aqueduct, just need to sort 'em

Edited May 31, 2014 by magpie patrick

[pearley]

Having looked on Google maps before, I believe there is a footpath following g the route most of the way.

[magpie patrick]

Having looked on Google maps before, I believe there is a footpath following g the route most of the way.

 

You can certainly get as far as the Manchester to Sheffield Railway crossing near Reddish North Station, about three miles distant from the Ashton Canal: there is no easy crossing of the railway there and towards Stockport from Boulderstone Mill the canal route is lost in an industrial estate for some distance.

 

 

 

 

Speaking of which: this is the car park of Boulderstone Mill with the corner of the mill building. Again this would have been canalside but the car park and the building beyond are on the line of the canal.

That picture is taken over the parapet of this bridge (the car park above was behind me, this is the other parapet of Boulderstone Bridge)

 

 

This bridge was rebuilt in 1910, as the canal was still legally navigable. I assume it was still used to here then unless anyone knows better

 

 

More to follow, Pearley's prompt response gave me a good excuse to post those!

Edited May 31, 2014 by magpie patrick

[Laurence Hogg]

In my film "No Progress to Huddersfield" made in 2002, Chris Coburn and myself followed the route of this canal, we were surprised how much was left to see and it didn't seem to us it was beyond restoration to some degree. We didn't find any evidence of the Beat bank branch but the terminus revealed some interesting remains. We also covered the Hollinwood branch too which now has an active interest in it..

[Heartland]

Patrick, did Ian mention the Gorton Aqueduct, which still exists, I believe, as I have been under it by train recently- some trains running from Leeds to Manchester and Liverpool go that way.

 

 

Does the reservoir exist also?

 

 

Ray Shill

[magpie patrick]

Indeed Gorton Aqueduct does still exist...

 

 

Easiest way to find it is to catch a train to Gorton Station, from where it is visible, although it is not immediately obvious how to get to it from the station I'm sure peeps will work it out.

 

If you mean Gorton Reservoirs, yes they are still there

 

 

But recent works to the headbank of the lower reservoir, including the spillway in the picture, mean that the canal across the dam is lost and would be very difficult to reinstate (note to Laurence and others, there was a good reason I was being shown round... and why there will be more visits!)

 

This is the line of the canal approaching the reservoir from Clayton

 

 

Taking Laurence's comment about restoration being straightforward: this is the point at which it stops being run-of-the-mill stuff, the headbank being the first major engineering challenge

 

Yes there is more to follow

 

(Ray, it's nice to hear someone who obviously knows who "dad" is!)

Edited June 1, 2014 by magpie patrick

[Heartland]

Yes,

 

I have been on some of his walks.

 

Best regards

 

Ray Shill

[billh]

In my film "No Progress to Huddersfield" made in 2002, Chris Coburn and myself followed the route of this canal, we were surprised how much was left to see and it didn't seem to us it was beyond restoration to some degree. We didn't find any evidence of the Beat bank branch but the terminus revealed some interesting remains. We also covered the Hollinwood branch too which now has an active interest in it..

Slight remains of the Beat Bank branch (never completed or in water) exist near the M60 motorway in Denton- a shallow ditch and a line of trees.

The aqueduct over the GC railway at Gorton dates from about 1904 and is a replacement , required when the railway was quadrupled between Ardwick and Hyde Junction at that time. The Gorton (lower) reservoirs were built for the Manchester Corporation Waterworks and had no connection to the canal . The canal supplied water via a half mile pipeline to the boating lake at Belle Vue amusement park, for which the GC and later LNER received annual payment.

The Stockport Branch was still regularly dredged between the Junction and the Gorton canal depot, about 1 mile, well into the 1950's but the depot closed in 1962 and the canal infilled soon after. Interesting to see that the aforementioned aqueduct has not been infilled and looks in good condition inside and out.

Bill

[billh]

 

 

 

The other end of the canal, at the top of Lancashire Hill above Stockport Town Centre, is far less obvious. The terminus was behind me, but even the dedicated believer would have difficulty discerning it. Albion Mills, pictured, were once canalside, they were served by the canal. The lorry is about where the canal would have been

 

 

Albion Mills are still served by canal! The raw material is loaded at Seaforth and brought by barge to Runcorn via MSC, thence forward by road.