{"id":16595,"date":"2016-02-03T19:35:46","date_gmt":"2016-02-04T00:35:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.howderfamily.com\/blog\/?p=16595"},"modified":"2021-12-08T20:15:08","modified_gmt":"2021-12-09T01:15:08","slug":"barton-swinging","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.howderfamily.com\/blog\/barton-swinging\/","title":{"rendered":"Barton Swinging"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

England underwent an extensive Canal Age<\/a> in the mid Eighteenth Century, lasting for longer than a century. Waterways provided an inexpensive means to move goods across a nation. This, in turn, helping to spark the country’s rapid transformation during the Industrial Revolution. Canals offered remarkable improvements over rutted, muddy overland routes and provided the best transportation alternative in the decades before the invention of railroads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bridgewater Canal<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Cottage<\/a>
Cottage beside Bridgewater Canal, Lymm, Cheshire<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Historians frequently cite the 1761 Bridgewater Canal<\/a> as a blueprint for a network that quickly evolved across the nation. Its builder and owner, Francis Egerton the third Duke of Bridgewater, envisioned a canal as a better way to move coal from his mines at Worsley to nearby towns. Coal from his mines heated homes and fueled industrial expansion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nobody had ever tried Egerton’s design in England before. His was the first canal that didn’t following an existing waterway. But he kept his design simple. The canal followed natural topography so it didn’t require locks anywhere along its 65 kilometre (39 mile) path from Leigh to Runcorn; near Liverpool and Manchester. He designed a narrow canal for small slender boats. It served its purpose well enough to inspire numerable imitators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Manchester Ship Canal<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"A<\/a>
A ship in the Ship Canal, Manchester<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Manchester Ship Canal<\/a>, by contrast, was one of the last canals built. It didn’t exist until the 1880’s. This one followed the original paths of the rivers Mersey and Irwell, in a general sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Industrialists in Manchester felt that they were at a distinct disadvantage because of the city’s inland location. Oceangoing vessels could not reach the city. On top of that, Manchester businesses paid dearly for railroad access to the docks at Liverpool. So the city lobbied for relief and Parliament approved construction of a canal despite Liverpool’s strong objections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Construction required an immense effort. This involved extensive dredging, numerous locks, and high overhead bridges to accommodate the passage of large cargo ships. These improvements allowed merchant vessels to sail all the way into Manchester and the city became an important seaport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Where the Canals Crossed<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

That was all fascinating of course. Even so, the stories of two specific canals didn’t differ materially from many of the dozens of other English canals. Yet, these two canals crossed physical paths and that’s where things got interesting. Engineers had to find a unique solution to accommodate the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bridgewater Canal crossed above the River Irwell on an historic stone arched aqueduct at the town of Barton-on-Irwell. Unfortunately, oceangoing ships on the new Manchester Canal, following the River Irwell, would never fit beneath the aqueduct. So officials had to demolish it. In its place rose a marvelous manifestation of Victorian design, a swing aqueduct.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Swing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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