Tin Brook, also known as Carr Brook or Hempshaw Brook earlier in its course, is a

culvert A culvert is a structure that channels water past an obstacle or to a subterranean waterway. Typically embedded so as to be surrounded by soil, a culvert may be made from a pipe, reinforced concrete or other material. In the United Kingdom ...

stream A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream ...

Stockport Stockport is a town and borough in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt and Tame merge to create the River Mersey here. Most of the town is within ...

. The Brook is a minor

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...

to the

River Mersey The River Mersey () is in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it has formed part ...

Etymology

The name possibly originates from the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

'' tȳnan'', 'to enclose'.

History

Before the 20th century

Hempshaw Brook cut a deep valley in Little Underbank on its southwestern side, through erosion of the areas

red sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) b ...

. Located at both ends of the valley was a carr, which enhanced the areas natural defencibility. According to tradition, the Brook was described as a clear and crystal stream flowing down a valley, that was crossed nearby Lower Hillgate through a paved way allowing

carriages A carriage is a private four-wheeled vehicle for people and is most commonly horse-drawn. Second-hand private carriages were common public transport, the equivalent of modern cars used as taxis. Carriage suspensions are by leather strapping an ...

to pass through, and

stepping stones Stepping stones or stepstones are sets of stones arranged to form an improvised causeway that allows a pedestrian to cross a natural watercourse such as a river; or a water feature in a garden where water is allowed to flow between stone steps. U ...

for passengers. By 1718, the Brook was crossed by the 'Brook Bridge' located in Lower Hillgate, which became known as the 'Schole-House Bridge' in 1744. The Tin Brook's original outfall, located between the present day Chestergate Tavern and

Primark Primark Stores Limited (; trading as Penneys in the Republic of Ireland) is an Irish multinational fast fashion retailer with headquarters in Dublin, Ireland. It has stores across Europe and in the United States. The Penneys brand is not u ...

building in the Merseyway Shopping Centre, was built in the mid-eighteenth century. As early as 1744, authority was obtained to place a

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

on the section of what would later be known as the Carr Valley, to power

silk mills A silk mill is a factory that makes silk for garments using a process called silk throwing. Traditionally, silk mills were concentrated in Japan, England, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Italy and Switzerland. The silk throwing process Silk is a natu ...

. The mill was built in 1759, and was powered by the High Carr Dam. Thomas Hope bought the land in the 1790s, and constructed a series of

cotton mills A cotton mill is a building that houses spinning or weaving machinery for the production of yarn or cloth from cotton, an important product during the Industrial Revolution in the development of the factory system. Although some were driven ...

across the valley. In 1835, Hempshaw Brook Brewery was constructed, damming the Brook to create a reservoir. Stockport Cemetery was opened on the banks of the Brook in 1838, eventually expanding over the Brook, which was covered by a brick tunnel. By 1872, the Hempshaw Brook Brewery had expanded and built over the reservoir, culverting it with a brick tunnel.

Post-industrial revolution

In the 1967

Stockport air disaster On 4 June 1967 a Canadair C-4 Argonaut passenger aircraft owned by British Midland Airways crashed near the centre of Stockport, Cheshire, England. Of the 84 people on board, 72 were killed. It is the fourth-worst accident in British aviation ...

, a

Canadair C-4 Argonaut The Canadair North Star is a 1940s Canadian development, for Trans-Canada Air Lines (TCA), of the Douglas DC-4. Instead of radial piston engines used by the Douglas design, Canadair used Rolls-Royce Merlin V12 engines to achieve a higher cruisin ...

struck a substation overlooking the Brook, killing 72 passengers and leaving with critical injuries. Following a flood, the rest of the Brook in Merseyway was culverted during the rebuilding of Chestergate. In 1995, a new flood outlet sewer was built to prevent storm water and sewage from backing up, further moving the brook's outfall east.

Course

The Brook rises in either

Woodsmoor Woodsmoor is a suburb of Stockport in Greater Manchester, England The area is served by Woodsmoor railway station, opened by British Rail in 1990. The area is populated by many large and old trees, existing since the time that it was the es ...

, Great Moor or Heavily. The stream flows northwest toward Stockport Cemetery, where it is joined by the Brown House Fold Brook and flows toward the Carr Valley, where the Brook is locally known as the Carr Brook. The Carr Brook flows northwest underneath Wellington Street, where it becomes known as the Tin Brook. A flood outlet sewer built in 1995 relocated the Brook's outfall underneath the

Merseyway Shopping Centre Merseyway Shopping Centre is a shopping complex in Stockport. Name The centre's name, Merseyway, comes from the fact that the centre is supported above the River Mersey which runs for the length of the centre. History The centre was opened ...

References

{{Reflist

External links

Stockport Navigation
''The Industrial History of Britain''. Rivers of Greater Manchester Mersey catchment