Of floods and boat building at Stretford

The weir in 1915

Now as I promised I am back with the Duke’s Canal at Stretford with memories of floods and boat building.

As benign as the Mersey appears on a warm summer’s day it has in the past been unpredictable and dangerous.

As a late as the beginning of the last century the river could flood with little warning and turn vast areas of our farmland into a gigantic lake.

It was for this reason that the weir in the bend of the river was constructed to protect the canal from a sudden surge of storm water and the banks continually raised to create a huge natural barrier.

There are many accounts of the extent of the flooding during the 18th and 19th centuries including plenty of oral testimony.  The Chorlton historian Thomas Ellwood published graphic descriptions of the flooding and there are of photographs from the turn of the last century along with the paintings by the artist Montgomery.

Likewise Samuel Massey in his book on Stretford** recalled the memories of his parents who were born in the middle of the 19th century and remembered that

“whenever the River Mersey was in flood, there was a boat stationed near the ‘Watch House’ the occupants of which were detailed to watch the Barfoot Bridge, and heavy baulks of timber were provided to place in grooves built in the stone embankment of the canal; these were provided on either side of the bridge.  

By these baulks being fitted into the grooves the canal water would be shut off in the event of the collapse of the bridge.”**

Now this was a real threat.  In the 1840s the weir was swept away and had to be rebuilt and as late as 1915 the rebuilt weir continued to channel storm water down towards the Kickety Brook.

Boat yards along the canal in 1893

That said for most of the year all was relatively tranquil by the canal and the high light of any year were the days that Rathbone’s the boat building company launched a boat built in their yard.

There were three boat building yards in the district, of which Rathbone’s was off Edge Lane on the south side of the road bridge, with another Rathbone yard at Longford Bridge  and for a few years around 1900 the company of Fellowes, Morton and Clayton on the north side of Edge Lane by the railway station.

So for Samuel Massey “it used to be a great treat for the scholars attending the Edge Lane Wesleyan Day School when they were allowed to stand on the towing path and watch from a short distance away the launching broadside, of a canal boat from Rathbone’s yard.  

The wave would go across the towing path and well up the school wall.”**

There will be those who remember the yards and I rather think this will be a rich source of further stories.

We shall see.

Picture of the weir in 1915 from the collection of Tony Walker, and detail of the Duke’s canal from the OS map of South Lancashire, 1888-93, courtesy of Digital Archives Association, http://www.digitalarchives.co.uk/


*Chorlton Rivers, http://chorltonhistory.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Chorlton%20rivers

**A History of Stretford, Samuel Massey, 1976