Ashton Canal: Difference between revisions
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[[Image:portland-basin.jpg|thumb|Portland Basin, Ashton-under-Lyne, with the Tame Aqueduct in the foreground, 1962]] |
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The '''Ashton Canal''' runs six miles from central [[Manchester]] to [[Ashton-under-Lyne]] and it rises through 18 [[canal lock|locks]] to make a head-on junction with the [[Huddersfield Narrow Canal]] (formerly the Huddersfield Canal) at Whitelands. Adjoining Portland Basin, in the centre of Ashton-under-Lyne, there is a short arm across the river Tame on the Tame Aqueduct, which makes a head-on junction with the [[Peak Forest Canal]]. |
The '''Ashton Canal''' runs six miles from central [[Manchester]] to [[Ashton-under-Lyne]] and it rises through 18 [[canal lock|locks]] to make a head-on junction with the [[Huddersfield Narrow Canal]] (formerly the Huddersfield Canal) at Whitelands. Adjoining Portland Basin, in the centre of Ashton-under-Lyne, there is a short arm across the river Tame on the Tame Aqueduct, which makes a head-on junction with the [[Peak Forest Canal]]. |
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Revision as of 15:53, 2 July 2005
The Ashton Canal runs six miles from central Manchester to Ashton-under-Lyne and it rises through 18 locks to make a head-on junction with the Huddersfield Narrow Canal (formerly the Huddersfield Canal) at Whitelands. Adjoining Portland Basin, in the centre of Ashton-under-Lyne, there is a short arm across the river Tame on the Tame Aqueduct, which makes a head-on junction with the Peak Forest Canal.
The Ashton Canal had four important branches, these being the Islington Branch Canal in Ancoats, the Stockport Branch Canal from Clayton to Stockport (Heaton Norris), the Hollinwood Branch Canal from Fairfield to Hollinwood and the Fairbottom Branch Canal from Waterhouses to Fairbottom. There was to have been a fifth branch, namely the Beat Bank Branch Canal from Reddish to Beat Bank in Denton, but this was abandoned before completion.
Between Manchester and Ashton-under-Lyne the Ashton Canal passes through Ancoats, Holt Town, Bradford-with-Beswick, Clayton, Openshaw, Droylsden, Fairfield and Audenshaw, all in the County of Lancaster (now Greater Manchester).
The canal received its Act of Parliament in 1792 and it opened in 1797. Competition from railways eventually caused it to fall into disuse. The resulting neglect, combined with vandalism, led to the canal becoming unnavigable by 1961. The canal was expected to be abandoned but large volunteer efforts, led by the Peak Forest Canal Society, cleared and eventually restored it. The first major clearance was at Clayton and Droylsden in September 1968 and a second followed shortly afterwards in Ashton-under-Lyne. The canal was reopened on the 1 April 1974.
In central Manchester there have been a number of thefts from boats. This, for a time, caused boats to go through in convoys. The canal passes by the venue of the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Bradford-with-Beswick before heading towards Clayton. Today the Ashton Canal is increasingly valued by the communities through which it passes.
See Also
External links
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