Fletcher's Canal on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
Fletcher's Canal was a long canal in 
Map of Fletcher's Canal
/ref> along the canal, to avoid taking too much water. The canal construction was completed and navigable by 1800. In 1867 the original Brindley water wheel was decommissioned and replaced with a
Images of Fletcher's CanalManchester Bolton and Bury canal societyManchester Bury and Bolton canal non-official websiteWaterway recovery group website
{{Coord, 53.526629, -2.319864, type:landmark, display=title Canals in Salford Irwell Valley Canals opened in 1800
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...
, which connected the Wet Earth Colliery
Wet Earth Colliery was a coal mine located on the Manchester Coalfield, in Clifton, Greater Manchester. The colliery site is now the location of Clifton Country Park. The colliery has a unique place in British coal mining history; apart from bei ...
to the Manchester, Bolton & Bury Canal
The Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal is a disused canal in Greater Manchester, England, built to link Bolton and Bury with Manchester. The canal, when fully opened, was long. It was accessed via a junction with the River Irwell in Salford. ...
at Clifton Aqueduct. The canal is now derelict and no longer used.
The canal was built on the south bank of the River Irwell
The River Irwell ( ) is a tributary of the River Mersey in north west England. It rises at Irwell Springs on Deerplay Moor, approximately north of Bacup and flows southwards for to meet the Mersey near Irlam. The Irwell marks the boundary be ...
through the area now known as Clifton Country Park. West of Pilkington's long sections of the canal are evident, although none of these sections hold water. As the canal passes through Clifton Country Park a footpath is maintained along the former towpath. Some of the original features are still evident, albeit in extremely poor condition.
History
Between 1752 and 1756,James Brindley
James Brindley (1716 – 27 September 1772) was an English engineer. He was born in Tunstead, Derbyshire, and lived much of his life in Leek, Staffordshire, becoming one of the most notable engineers of the 18th century.
Early life
Born i ...
devised a method of pumping water from the nearby Wet Earth Colliery
Wet Earth Colliery was a coal mine located on the Manchester Coalfield, in Clifton, Greater Manchester. The colliery site is now the location of Clifton Country Park. The colliery has a unique place in British coal mining history; apart from bei ...
using power harnessed from the River Irwell
The River Irwell ( ) is a tributary of the River Mersey in north west England. It rises at Irwell Springs on Deerplay Moor, approximately north of Bacup and flows southwards for to meet the Mersey near Irlam. The Irwell marks the boundary be ...
via a water wheel
A water wheel is a machine for converting the energy of flowing or falling water into useful forms of power, often in a watermill. A water wheel consists of a wheel (usually constructed from wood or metal), with a number of blades or buckets ...
.
Around 1790-91 Matthew Fletcher began widening some of the original Brindley water channels
Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to:
Geography
* Channel (geography), in physical geography, a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water.
Australia
* Channel Country, region of outback Austral ...
to create a new canal, latterly known as Fletcher's Canal. In 1799 Benjamin Outram
Benjamin Outram (1 April 1764 – 22 May 1805) was an English civil engineer, surveyor and industrialist. He was a pioneer in the building of canals and tramways.
Life
Born at Alfreton in Derbyshire, he began his career assisting his father ...
installed a lock /ref> along the canal, to avoid taking too much water. The canal construction was completed and navigable by 1800. In 1867 the original Brindley water wheel was decommissioned and replaced with a
water turbine
A water turbine is a rotary machine that converts kinetic energy and potential energy of water into mechanical work.
Water turbines were developed in the 19th century and were widely used for industrial power prior to electrical grids. Now, t ...
. This was replaced by a steam
Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...
pump in 1924. Wet Earth Colliery was closed in 1928, and in 1952 the canal was closed and abandoned.
See also
*Canals of Great Britain
The canals of the United Kingdom are a major part of the network of inland waterways in the United Kingdom. They have a varied history, from use for irrigation and transport, through becoming the focus of the Industrial Revolution, to today's ro ...
*History of the British canal system
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
*Wet Earth Colliery
Wet Earth Colliery was a coal mine located on the Manchester Coalfield, in Clifton, Greater Manchester. The colliery site is now the location of Clifton Country Park. The colliery has a unique place in British coal mining history; apart from bei ...
* Pilkington Lancastrian Pottery
References
Bibliography
External links
Images of Fletcher's Canal
{{Coord, 53.526629, -2.319864, type:landmark, display=title Canals in Salford Irwell Valley Canals opened in 1800