Castlefield Canals & Railways
in the City of Manchester

In order to get his coal from the mines at Worsley, the third Duke of Bridgewater, Francis Egerton, employed the great engineer James Brindley to build a canal, which was begun in 1759. It was to be the forerunner of all subsequent canals, and on its completion, it heralded the beginning of the canal age.
Where the canal terminated, the first wharf was built in Castlefield in 1765, to be followed soon by other warehouses and wharves, including The Potato Wharf, to handle the growing canal trade. There were several major warehouses, including the Merchants Warehouse completed in 1827, and seriously damaged by fire in 1971. This Grade 2 listed building is now extensively repaired and refurbished as part of the Castlefield renewal - it was purchased as a ruin by Jim Ramsbottom's Castlefield Estates and restored by Ian Simpson Architects, who completed the work in late 1999.
The so-called Middle Warehouse was its contemporary and has recently undergone considerable restoration; it now serves as high-class canalside residential dwellings. Amongst the most notable was the Grocers Warehouse, originally a 5 storey brick building designed by James Brindley, and demolished (!) in 1960, but, fortunately, the remains of the rear wall, the tunnel and the reconstructed freight hoists can still be seen.
Within 50 years of the opening of the Bridgewater Canal, Manchester had become the hub of an extensive canal network, which linked it with all parts of the country, including the major ports of Liverpool and Hull. In 1804 the new Rochdale Canal joined up with the Bridgewater Canal at Lock 92, the bottom of the "Rochdale Flight" in Castlefield. It soon became known as "Dukes Lock", and remains so-called today, marked by the Dukes 92 Lock-keepers cottage, now fully restored and occupied as a private dwelling. Just a few hundred yards along the Bridgewater Canal from Castlefield, the construction of Hulme Lock joined the canal system to the River Irwell, (currently only partially navigable).
The vast waterways network enabled Manchester to receive incoming raw materials from all over the United Kingdom, and to despatch and export finished manufactured goods via the same system. In many ways, it was the canal system which made the largest single contribution to the early prosperity and growth of the City of Manchester.. The vast waterways network enabled Manchester to receive incoming raw materials from all over the United Kingdom, and to despatch and export finished manufactured goods via the same system. In many ways, it was the canal system which made the largest single contribution to the early prosperity and growth of the City of Manchester.

Road Bridge over the Rochdale "Nine"

Dukes Lock 92

The Middle Warehouse - now luxury apartments

The remains of the Grocers Warehouse

Railways in Castlefield

Castlefield is as conspicuous by its viaducts as it is by its canals - they have both become an indelible part of the landscape, valued and treasured as part of Manchester's industrial heritage. But it was not always so. Their building was as controversial as it was destructive. During the late 1800s, at least 4 railway lines were laid across the Castlefield Basins. As the new Railway Companies needed to access the city centre through largely built-up areas, only one option lay open to them - the building of viaducts to carry traffic over the city.
The first such viaduct, the Northern Brick Viaduct, construct of more than 50 million bricks, was designed by David Bellhouse, and carried the line from Manchester to Altrincham. It was to be Manchester's first suburban line and was opened in 1849. In 1877, the Cheshire Lines Committee opened the Southern Iron Viaduct. In 1880, coinciding with the opening of Central Station (now the G-MEX Centre), a third viaduct was constructed, decorated with castle turrets in an attempt to blend the (then) modern with the ancient character of the site. 1894 saw the building of the last viaduct at Castlefield, financed and constructed by the Great Northern Railway Company (the GNR).
Three of these viaducts passed right through the ancient Roman site, virtually obliterating it, as the opening of the Rochdale Canal had already destroyed much of it, as well as the old town of Aldport. The viaducts are now owned by Railtrack (probably), who maintain and upkeep them (possibly?). Three are still in use, and the fourth is offered for sale.

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Liverpool Road Station

Liverpool Road Station ranks as one of, if not the most important railway stations in Britain. Manchester can be said to have been the place where the Railway Age began. It was the service established between Liverpool and Manchester which first demonstrated the feasibility of rail as a viable public transport system. Opened to the public in 1830, it marked the terminus of the newly created line which ran from Liverpool to Manchester, and it is now part of the Museum of Science and Industry. The station building and the warehouse opposite date from the earliest days of railway history. It was to this station that the Rainhill Trials to choose a locomotive to pull passenger coaches between Liverpool and Manchester arrived. George Stephenson's ubiquitous "Rocket" being the winner. The rail link, together with the canal system, was instrumental in the growth of Manchester's industrial base in the 19th century.

Liverpool Road Railway Station