Stories from the Manchester Bury Bolton Canal
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- Опубликовано: 28 сен 2024
- In this video we walk along the now disused Manchester Bury Bolton Canal. The canal spans from Salford to Bolton and Bury. We are in the Little lever area looking at areas of Industrial archeological interest along the disused canal. We start by looking at the Mount Sion Steam crane. The only in situ Steam crane in the UK. This piece of Victorian industrial history has survived remarkably intact. We then talk a walk through Ladyshore woods down to the River Irwell. We look at an old now disused footbridge that one spanned the River Irwell. Only the bridge supporting columns remain. We look for evidence of the old Leverbank Bleach works. Using old photographs we piece together the history of this Lancashire industrial canal and whole area. Ladyshore colliery was one of the last mines in the UK to use candles for lighting.
Ues to walk all over this patch from 1973 with my dog.. Lived on Ladyshore Estate and the remnants of the bleach works still there.. the crane did not look as good as it does now! Must be the preservation group looking after it. There was a plan to dredge out the section to Radcliffe ( sunk dredger was there amongst the reeds ) The fields opposite my house still had ventilation shafts from Ladyshore Pit ( Fenced off - did not stop a cow wandering over one and going through the capped shaft and falling down to the coal mine galleries ) At the edge of Stopes Road were the remnants of small "Bell Pits" the coal was quite close to the surface and men used to dig down and out ( forming a "Bell Shaped" pit), that would then collapse in on itself leaving a load of small depressions years later all over the fields. BTW the paper mill you referred to as a Sion Paper works was in my time 70s and 80's named "Creams Paper Mill" Fred Dibna did a really good documentary on the area and the canal collapse... Cracking stuff Martin.... Thanks :-)
Sounds an interesting place. Do you know the name of, or where I can find the Fred Dibnah documentary?
Thanks Richard, poor old cow
@@StupidBlokeStupidVideos ruclips.net/video/biyjm7GUYpQ/видео.html OK? :-) This is good as well ruclips.net/video/G3h5qD3j9yc/видео.html
@@richardtierney7724 thanks mate, I’ll watch that tonight!
Q
Hi Martin. Love the old cobble stone road. The mind goes wild imagining horses and carts clattering along it. Thank god for the Ken Howarths of the world. People will probably say the same of Martin Zero and his videos in 50 years time. I wonder if Ken Howarth's mate remembered the spoon.
Am sure Ken didnt have the spoon dilemma Peter
@@MartinZero Poor old James, copping an earful from all directions. Tell him not to take it to heart.
You remind of Anneka Rice on Treasure hunt in this vid Martin. "Come on James, keep up". 😂😂
Yep thats me 😀
Idea for a new series - Challenge Martin
👌🤣🤣🤣Well i feel im being cheated if you dont don the yellow jumpsuit 🙄🤣🤣
Heh heh anneka rice !!!!! Must be the tash lol - well done lads cheers Rob
Thanks again, Martin. These videos are a real treasure covering a slice industrial British history that might lie idle in the weeds and brambles otherwise.
I used to climb that crane as a kid. I have walked up and down this canal a million times.
You guys are a breath of fresh air and always make me laugh! By the way I hope your videos are also kept by some industrial museum as they are incredibly valuable as an record of local industry. And James try to remember the teaspoon it only gets him cross! Keep up the great work.
One day I'll come over to Manchester to look at it myself. Or: what's left then. Takes me a few years into retirement. Until then I follow your activities. Thanks for sharing !
Martin, love this! I am amazed and feel childlike enthusiasm everytime you discover something long forgotten and gave some clue about it's use.
That steam powered crane is absolutely amazing. Glad that James the cake expert is keeping you boys safe. LOL Love you guys and your interesting and entertaining videos. As always, great work. Stay safe and healthy everyone.
That thing looked like it had a differential gear - probably not though as I guess they weren't invented.
Thank you, one day he will bring a spoon
Half of me wants to see it restored, the other half to keep it in its time worn beauty.
Just been reading about the Fletcher family who owned the Ladyshore mine. Awful people who were terrible to their employees. Fighting the open flame ban all the way to the House of Lords, losing the appeal, and then still continuing to insist on the usage of candles. The disregard for human life is shocking.
yup... they like many others were brutal
I love the information and history you give in every video. I've learnt so much from your channel ❤ keep up the fantastic work 👏
I have always been intrigued by this site. I always thought the towpath was a disused rail platform. Loved this, Martin. Very accomplished and a joy to watch.🇯🇪
Always glad to see another Martin Zero video with the lads! The backlight effect always looks cool.
Thank you Hans
be nice to James, backbone of the trip, vital to the excellent production values, well done all.
One of my favourite places to go cycling. I usually follow the MBBC adjacent to Drinkwater Park and then take the Fletcher’s Arm down to Clifton. So much hidden history to find along that route.
Keep up the good work Martin(and friends). Love the content😀👍
What is the amazing thing about your trip today is that how nature after the demolition of the bleach works and the colliery at the top of the hill has in30 40 years taken back the environment,, or was it planned if so what a great job ☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️from Northern Ireland great job
Hi Cecil, yes we find that a lot, doesnt take nature long to reclaim
Another fine video thanks Martin
The main difference between Chorley cakes and Eccles cakes is the pastry. While Eccles cakes have a sweet puff pastry, Chorley cakes tend to use an unsweetened shortcrust-style pastry. TraditionallY, a Chorley cake is spread with butter and served with a lump of crumbly Lancashire cheese.
As far as I know, the nearest Scottish equivalent is simply called a fruit slice but we also refer to them a fly cemeteries.😁
Nice one Martin, glad you lit that boiler up - bringing history to life!! Nature is a great leveller but equally good to see that B & W, so much going on, fantastic👍🏻. Amazing that 20 odd miles can produce the same but different cake!!🤔
Yeah the cakes are a mystery to me. I loved lighting the boiler back up
Great watching and lads
It was like War of the Worlds that first bit! Great video Martin!
Yeah definitely Steam Punk ish, and thanks
Very cool stuff stood the test of time
Feel that James and Martin are lovely gents....
Thanks Martin for a brilliant vlog and I can't wait for the next part of this adventure. Take care and all the best. Stevie
Thank you Stevie
Great video again Martin.👏👍
So much history to discover in that area.
Thanks Ian, yeah more to come
great upload, love all these hidden spots and history you guys find, but waters never hot enough for tea out of a flask, James get a jet boil.
The Smith's of Rodley crane- as a volunteer on the Great Central Railway loughborough in the 70's we were reliant on the rail mounted version for all the heavy lifting & rail relaying. It was also self propelling. To say it was primitive would be an understatement, the thing tended to lurch at various speeds according to steam pressure & operators skill (or lack of!). We soon learned to keep well clear & get out the way quickly. I'm sure there's still one similar to mount syon on the end of Ryde Pier Isle of Wight, but it still has a cab fitted. Great video, shame the light went!
Good God Martin, that opening sequence was just like the start of an Alien film. That was brilliant. Gonna watch the video now!
Thanks Graham, a little piece of music I made
They must have done a grand job of clearing the bleach factory site as there is normally always something left if only very small.
The footbridge pillars are a lovely relic as is the steam crane. Great vid and looking forward to the next installment.
Liked the crane. Will seek it out next time I'm down that way. I like the way you contrast the new with the old. You are obviously doing a great deal of research beforehand to get the old photos in advance of your trip.
Thanks Mark, yeah it was a bit of luck getting the Bleach works pics
Hi Martin, loved the video it’s not far from my house.. there’s a quite interesting place near mine, there used to be a bleachworks where the irwell was split to power the works... there is still evidence of the old workings.
Whereabouts Steven
@@MartinZero Hi Martin, I’ve sent you a message on Facebook as RUclips wouldn’t let me put links in the comment section.
Hope you visit Knob End locks ( real name ) and the newly refurbished Meccano bridge , just a mile up the cut from you today .. plus a viaduct
Excellent video 👍👍 great information and you can’t fault the enthusiasm 👏👏👏
Thank you Sir
0:33 Dunno why, but picturing James as a 2Tone era rudeboy is exceedingly funny to me 😆
I will put it to him 😀
Another well researched and intriguing video. Thanks.
Thank you
I visited manchester on bonfire night and suddenly realised i was tib st etc - i looked down every gully drain and manhole cover but sadly couldnt catch a glimst of you or your lad anywhere - we need better maps 🤣🤣 a great video into the past as ever cheers Rob
I used to work at the bottom of Tib street
Excellent video
I worked at Strong and Fishers at Bury end of the canal and walked from Radcliffe along the towpath daily
Another truly excellent video Martin! It's always wonderful when you can find old photos of structures/areas for comparison to what a place looks like now :) I think my favorite thing featured in this video was the steam crane! Very cool :)
Yeah I loved the steam crane, It was great lighting it
Excellent video, Marty. Thrilled to see this, as I find the MB&B Canal a fascinating place - and bear in mind that I knew sweet f... I mean very little... about "real" Manchester until I got hooked on your channel a couple of years back!
Top marks for not going straight to the... err shall we say the 1936 modification (don't want to spoil your next video). This always gets covered as the main "feature", with the crane as a passing comment, and it annoys me greatly because there's so much more to the area. Stuff like the Ladyshore and that footbridge either don't get touched upon at all, or get so little attention that they might as well have been ignored anyway.
The 1936 modification, 😆 I love it
Loved the old photos, great video.
Thank you Jeff
Really good!
Thank you Martin for good video See you next week i see Part 2 soon
That first bit you're standing on at 1:40 is the site of Creams Paper Mill. It was a small building, separate from the main site below, and was demolished maybe 10 years back.
I thought Creams was down by the river ?
Gonna have to find / procure a small portable water wheel that can be placed into a head of water, that's connected to a dynamo that's connected to a small filament heater, that can boil water so Team Zero can make a Victorian era brew.
🔌☕😂
Steampunk kettle
That would be a good idea
Blimey I thought you was going to sing thing ummy Bob then Gracie fields darkstate 😀
The Rossendale collieries still used candles into the 1960's, Old Meadows and The Brig being the last to use them. Following the Hapton Valley explosion in 1962 they stopped using them, that was under the NCB. That's at least 13 years after Ladyshore colliery closed. Red Lumb near Rochdale was still on candles in 1966 till it closed. My mate was a drawer there and he turned up first day without candles...the owner gave him a frying pan full of fat with a wick in it to use as a candle
That reminded me of when Fred dibnah walked that canal.
But wasn't that some good luck getting those photos.
It's amazing what lies underneath.
But that was a good video.
Nice one lads.
Thanks very much
First class as always martin x
"Milk Monitor", that was your last real job wasn't it Martin?
Keep up the good work guys. Fascinating as always. Give me a shout if you come back down to the Harecastle tunnel . I'm on the doorstep.
My last real Job was a Butler for James until he sacked me
Eccles Cake is puff pastry and Chorley Cake is is shortcrust. Great vid lads.
You know your cakes !! and cheers
I like that you brought two Manchester bash boys along for security! 😄
That could pull the skin off a rice pudding
Coming soon: James's biscuit Channel!
More than likely, he has a sweet tooth 😀
The bit when you said you were walking on bricks like an old factory was infact an mill/factory that was built after the canal breached.
Great vid. Loads of other interesting bits of the canal, so looking forward to more videos.
Thanks Mark
i was down looking at the MBB cannal deep lock 1 two years ago
Looked like you were going to snipe a few ducks over that wall.
I just loved that little dam
hi martin just watched your vid just after the crane walking back to ladyshore on the right is stopes collieries loading basin on the top theres still a small cuting in the land where loading carts yousto go n behind the crane in the mill yard below if you look yal see some flaps screening thats where coal was pushed down to the boilers in side the mill crane was used to unload coal boxes in to yard below bet the crane belongs to alstroms pulp recycling radcliffe was ch dexters and if you follow the cobbled road down to the bottom at ladyshore theres a big weigh bridge in the floor if ya look
Perhaps the footbridge was built as a shortcut to Margaret Barlow's tea gardens?. Great night-time shot of the steam crane - could almost be Mary Anne, the steam shovel!!!. Enjoy all your videos. Good luck from Spain
Is that Mike Mulligan's steam shovel of which you speak?
@@ronm3245 Thats the one!!
Thank you David, Margaret Barlows
i do love James, quiet but funny,,, but if he put bloody oat milk in my tea,,,, my god,,, lol an the choice of eccles cakes..... good man
Another great video Martin
Thanks Matthew
A few yards down from the crane was a giant Puffball! (a type of fungi that could grow to a massive ball a couple of feet across) I think the reason for removing the weirs was safety. The force of water could easily force a body to be kept under with no chance of swimming out!
As per usual another good 'un!
Puff ball sounds good Dave
Love it Martin👍
Thanks Matthew
Super high energy Martin, whats James putting in that char? Nice to see him happy though, another good video as always!
That algae is Duck Weed and the wildfowl don't mind it as it is a primary source of food. Some smaller fish such as Minnows and Sticklebacks also eat it.
You're still topping the Taggart-scale.* Love it.
How about advocating for all the youngsters in Manchester to become Archeologists ?
There are several fields of Archeology. It's not just bones or pots. It's also looking into environmental deposits and determine all sorts of things from it.
Force them to watch Time Team.
* Should I watch this or any of the Taggart episodes with Mark McManus yelling and grunting at everybody ?
Fletchers and Burrows where big mine owners in this part of Lancashire.
John
That steam crane could use a lick of paint and some TLC.
Great pal as always. So much history on our doorstep. Seriously tho Martin it’s gotta be full fat milk. Milk that actually tastes like milk!!
Thank you 👏👏😊
Thanks Barbara
@@MartinZero have you looked on the fb group bury olden days you might fined some stuff to do with it on there or ad your vids there plus the bury end of the canal starts at burrs Country Park with some history there with old engine parts that used to run the mills
As a coincidence I watched one of Fred Dibnahs out and about films and he is standing next to the steam crane and explains that there were brass parts on it and a good few of the goodies have been nicked .I think he said he could remember seeing it in one piece
Ahh right, shame about the brass that would have looked splendid
Hi Martin it is Fred Dibnah’s Industrial Age, Mills and Factory’s, 1 of 6 and it is ‘no1 ‘ the next no 2 is on Sat 7.10 BBCFOUR so you should be able to catch up ! Hope this helps
Hey Martin .. My wife (ex) tells me that my winter insulating beard makes me look 39 years older AND that I can't seem to stop stroking it all the time. - Fortunately it;s now Spring here in NZ eh mate. - Thanks for sharing
Only 39 ..😂😂
Another wonderful video. Is there to be a part 2? What happened to the dog?
Have you started selling ' cofftea ' yet? If you do, buy James a hat with Teaspoons around its rim .
There will be more Geoff, The dog was with a guy we bumped into, Cofftea 😀
That was great. How fab is it that, that steam crane has been left there? And looking in fantastic condition for saying it's the best part of a 150 years old. Great stuff, nice vid as per usual, cheers.
Yeah I think I fell in love with it
So that I am ready with a brew in hand when it's time can you start with the details? When will the brew happen, which tea bags, which cake. I am in Montreal so I need the Mary Berry recipe too. Also this is turning into a brew with some exploration around it. That's fine by me!
Martin have a walk around near the Barton swing bridge.
Also have a look on green lane near patricroft train station.
You will see a crane and a forging hammer.
You will have to go look to see where each one is.
Oh that sounds good
Is it by the buisness park
If you ever do the Mechano Bridge at Prestolee give us a shout,I know the artist (Liam Cutin) he would be happy to be interviewed .
That sounds good Joel. We will be doing that
Good Video,
It's a shame that part of the canal has been filled in, It would be nice if there was plans to reinstate it...🙂👍
Great video lads 👍
Thanks Paul
How long before the start of the Medlock appears?
That steam crane was awesome. As for forgetting the spoon, I have a theory. I think it's because you all drink tea (which is just a weed) and not nourishing coffee or hot chocolate, ha ha. Keep up the good work. God bless
Both Eccles Cakes & Chorley cakes are made on Hyde Road in Ardwick. Not far from Belle Vue.
Are they ??? I will look next time Kenneth
@@MartinZero - The ones I buy here in Canada are!! I even get Hills biscuits from Ashton Under Lyne here as well. Best custard creams in the world. They'd go well with a cup of James's tea. Lol.
I know this area well used to swim in the lodge at ladyshore and the old black cat spent hours with our gang of ner do wells piss arising about sailing down the irwell on home made rafts from the old beatwaste near close park and fair Ellen's hall great days white rocks and the old train line the steam crane was always a thing of wonder fantastic we used to call it the pea factory the bleach works that is and the great named nicker hole bridge at cams lane
Sounds fab John
@@MartinZero it was mate we had some fun growing up it's a wonder we survived in one piece 🤣🤣🤣
The reason the Weirs i’ve been removed and rivers it’s a fish like salmon and Chad Which use the river system for spawning before returning to the sea
Yeah, good idea
It could quite easily be back in use one day as many derelict canals are being brought back into use
gate posts where on a road that crossed the canal to the beach works
Hey when did Father Christmas join the channel? :)
Ho Ho Zero
Tis the season
I was Milk Monitor at least once in Infant school - a few years before Mrs Thatcher stopped school milk.
I was bell monitor. I had to ring the bell for break
Beautiful English countryside.
Be good if the Canal and River Trust brought it back
Yeah definitely Richard
all things fade like tears in rain
Martin, I've always called this canal, The Manchester, Bolton and Bury canal, you always call it The Manchester, Bury and Bolton canal, who is right? On all the maps I've have seen its called, Manchester, Bolton and Bury canal.
Wow that beard looks better than the tash...... You really looked like a jimmy Saville fan
Dont really work that joke. A jimmy Saville fan 🙄
Wow ...isn't engineering brilliant and the engineers that create these purpose built pieces of machinery,hats off to them 👌
Yes agreed Clare, and the fact its still there
@@MartinZero i know,ive got start going out more to inconspicuous places and find some gems like this and maybe even find that spoon😁my mum always said i was a bit of a stirrer 🤦🤣
You'll not be crossing that footbridge I'm afraid!
What's happening with Cornbrook part 2.
Amazon! Sign these guys up .
Cheers Peter 😀
I love what you do! If I could live there I would. There's nothing as interesting here in the states because America hasn't been established as long. Hell, I feel like I was born in the wrong Country most of the time.
Thank you, you should come visit 👍
If you would like to know the location of another in situ steam crane that would probably interest you for the purpose of a video please leave a reply and I will give you details should you wish.PS great series of videos well done for documenting Lancashires great history.
Thanks John, I believe there is one in Bradford
@@MartinZero Thanks for reply.The crane I refered to is very similar to the one in your video it is a Smith Rodley and is situated in Jumbles Quarry where it has been since early 1920? You can visit it quite easily from the Slaidburn to Bentham road. You can park up at Cross of Greet bridge and if you look carefully Northwards on the left bank of the river is the trackbed of a disused three foot gauge railway that was used to transport stone from Jumbles Quarry to provide stone for the building of Stocks reservoir prior to world war one. As you ascend the trackbed you will see bits of railway sleepers and nearer to the quarry you will find remains o f track etc. I think it would make a decent video and the story of the railway is very interesting to say the least. there is a book by Eric Bowtell which tells the story in detail. If you need more info please ask. Good hunting.
Berry or Bury ?
Berry spelled as Bury
That pile of bricks you were stood on at the beginning wasn't that the place where a building was built across the canal line? Think the MBB preservation society pulled it down quite recently
Reading the comments I believe so Kevan
👍